PROPOSAL 3: APPROVAL OF 2021 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
Our board of directors adopted our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the 2021 Plan) on October 28, 2021. The stockholders are being
asked to approve the 2021 Plan, a copy of which is set forth in this proxy statement as Appendix A.
On December 14, 2020, we,
Meta Materials Inc. (formerly known as Torchlight Energy Resources, Inc.), and our subsidiaries entered into an Arrangement Agreement (the Arrangement Agreement) with Metamaterial Inc., an Ontario corporation headquartered in Nova
Scotia, Canada (Meta) to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Meta by way of a statutory plan of arrangement (the Arrangement) under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario), on and subject
to the terms and conditions of the Arrangement Agreement. On June 28, 2021, following the satisfaction of the closing conditions set forth in the Arrangement Agreement, the Arrangement was completed.
In connection with the Arrangement, on June 25, 2021, we effected a reverse stock split of our Common Stock, at a ratio of two-to-one (the Reverse Stock Split), and changed our name from Torchlight Energy Resources, Inc. to Meta Materials Inc.. The
shares of our Common Stock, previously traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market (Nasdaq) through the close of business on June 25, 2021 under the ticker symbol TRCH, commenced trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol
MMAT on June 28, 2021.
In connection with the Arrangement, we assumed the Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan of
Metamaterial, Inc. (the Meta Plan) which, after the closing of the Arrangement, had 6,445,745 shares remaining in its pool for future grants and issuances. At the closing of the Arrangement, we also had 3,500,000 shares in our 2015 Stock
Option Plan (the Torchlight Plan). The Meta Plan and Torchlight Plan are referred to herein as our Prior Plans.
The size of the share reserve (the Pool) for the 2021 Plan will be 34,945,745 shares, which number is (i) 3,500,000 shares
remaining eligible for grants in the Torchlight Plan as of October 25, 2021, (ii) the 6,445,745 shares remaining eligible for grants in the Meta Plan that we assumed in the Arrangement as of October 25, 2021, and (iii) 25,000,000
additional shares. The stockholders are being asked to approve the 2021 Plan so that we may use our 2021 Plan to retain and attract the best available personnel for positions of substantial responsibility, to provide additional incentives to our
employees, directors and consultants and to promote the success of our business. If stockholders approve the 2021 Plan, then the Pool will be available for issuance to our employees, directors and our service providers.
Reasons for Voting for Approval of the 2021 Plan
The 2021 Plan Will Allow Us to Retain and to Continue Attracting and Retaining the Best Talent
Our board of directors believe that our success depends on the ability to attract and retain the best available personnel and that the ability
to grant equity awards is crucial to recruiting and retaining the services of such individuals. In addition, our board of directors believes that equity awards align the interests of service providers and stockholders by giving service providers an
ownership stake in the company, motivate service providers to achieve outstanding performance, and provide an effective means of rewarding service providers for their contributions to our success.
If stockholders approve the 2021 Plan, then the Pool would be available to be issued to our service providers. If stockholders do not approve
the 2021 Plan, the we would continue to grant equity awards to our employees and service providers under our Prior Plans, but we will be limited to 9,955,745 shares which our board of directors feels will not be sufficient to adequately incentivize
our current employees and service providers or for our future growth.
As a result of the above, it would be challenging to attract and
retain talent. Furthermore, we will be unable to continue our equity incentive program and we will have to restructure our existing compensation programs for