Description of Securities

EX-4.1 2 arth-20210930xex4d1.htm EX-4.1

Exhibit 4.1

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT

TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

As of December 15, 2021, Arch Therapeutics, Inc. had one class of common stock registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

The following description of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Common Stock”) is a summary and does not purport to be complete. It is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our amended and restated Articles of Incorporation (the “Articles of Incorporation”) and our amended and restated bylaws (the “Bylaws”), each of which is incorporated herein by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, of which this Exhibit 4.1 is a part. We encourage you to read our Certificate of Incorporation, our Bylaws and the applicable provisions of the Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”).

Authorized Capital Stock

Effective May 24, 2013, we amended our Articles of Incorporation to increase our authorized Common Stock from 75,000,000 shares to 300,000,000 shares. Other than our Common Stock, we have no other class or series of authorized capital stock.

Also on May 24, 2013, we effected a forward stock split, by way of a stock dividend, of our issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock at a ratio of 11 shares to each one issued and outstanding share. As a result, our outstanding Common Stock increased from 3,960,000 shares to 43,560,000 shares immediately following the forward stock split.

On July 1, 2020, a special meeting of the Company was held. At the meeting, the stockholders approved an increase to the number of authorized shares of our Common Stock from 300,000,000 to 800,000,000 shares.

Description of Common Stock

The holders of our Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, are entitled to one vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including the election of directors. Our Articles of Incorporation do not provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors, and our Bylaws provide that directors are elected by a plurality vote of the votes cast and entitled to vote on the election of directors at any meeting for the election of directors at which a quorum is present. Matters other than the election of directors to be voted on by stockholders are generally approved if, at a duly convened stockholder meeting, the number of votes cast in favor of the action exceeds the number of votes cast in opposition to the action, unless a different vote for the action is required by applicable law, our Articles of Incorporation or our Bylaws. Applicable Nevada law requires any amendment to our Articles of Incorporation to be approved by stockholders holding shares entitling them to exercise at least a majority of the voting power of the Company. The holders of our Common Stock will be entitled to cash dividends as may be declared, if any, by our Board of Directors (“Board”) from funds available. Upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our Company, the holders of our Common Stock will be entitled to receive pro rata all assets available for distribution to the holders. All rights of our Common Stockholders described in this paragraph could be subject to any preferential voting, liquidation or other rights of any series of preferred stock that we may authorize and issue in the future. Our Common Stock is presently traded on the QB tier of the OTC Marketplace under the trading symbol “ARTH”.


Transfer Agent

The transfer agent for our Common Stock is Empire Stock Transfer. Our transfer agent’s address is 1859 Whitney Mesa Drive, Henderson, Nevada 89014.

Anti-Takeover Provisions Of Nevada State Law

Some features of the NRS which are further described below, may have the effect of deterring third parties from making takeover bids for control of us or may be used to hinder or delay a takeover bid. This would decrease the chance that our stockholders would realize a premium over market price for their shares of Common Stock as a result of a takeover bid.

Acquisition of Controlling Interest

The NRS contain provisions governing acquisition of a controlling interest of a Nevada corporation. These provisions provide generally that any person or entity that acquires a certain percentage of the outstanding voting shares of a Nevada corporation may be denied voting rights with respect to the acquired shares, unless certain criteria are satisfied. Our Bylaws provide that these provisions will not apply to us or to any existing or future stockholder or stockholders.

Combination with Interested Stockholder

The NRS contain provisions governing combinations of a Nevada corporation that has 200 or more stockholders of record with an “interested stockholder.” These provisions only apply to a Nevada corporation that, at the time the potential acquirer became an interested stockholder, has a class or series of voting shares listed on a national securities exchange, or has a class or series of voting shares traded in an “organized market” and satisfies certain specified public float and stockholder levels. As we do not now meet those requirements, we do not believe that these provisions are currently applicable to us. However, to the extent they become applicable to us in the future, they may have the effect of delaying or making it more difficult to affect a change in control of the Company in the future.

A corporation affected by these provisions may not engage in a combination within two years after the interested stockholder acquires his, her or its shares unless the combination or purchase is approved by the board of directors before the interested stockholder acquired such shares. Generally, if approval is not obtained, then after the expiration of the two-year period, the business combination may be consummated with the approval of the board of directors before the person became an interested stockholder or a majority of the voting power held by disinterested stockholders, or if the consideration to be received per share by disinterested stockholders is at least equal to the highest of:

the highest price per share paid by the interested stockholder within the three years immediately preceding the date of the announcement of the combination or within three years immediately before, or in, the transaction in which he, she or it became an interested stockholder, whichever is higher;
the market value per share on the date of announcement of the combination or the date the person became an interested stockholder, whichever is higher; or
if higher for the holders of preferred stock, the highest liquidation value of the preferred stock, if any.

Generally, these provisions define an interested stockholder as a person who is the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly of 10% or more of the voting power of the outstanding voting shares of a corporation, and define combination to include any merger or consolidation with an interested stockholder, or any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or other disposition, in one transaction or a series of transactions with an interested stockholder of assets of the corporation:


having an aggregate market value equal to 5% or more of the aggregate market value of the assets of the corporation;
having an aggregate market value equal to 5% or more of the aggregate market value of all outstanding shares of the corporation; or
representing 10% or more of the earning power or net income of the corporation.

Liability And Indemnification Of Directors And Officers

The NRS empower us to indemnify our directors and officers against expenses relating to certain actions, suits or proceedings as provided for therein. In order for such indemnification to be available, the applicable director or officer must not have acted in a manner that constituted a breach of his or her fiduciary duties and involved intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of law, or must have acted in good faith and reasonably believed that his or her conduct was in, or not opposed to, our best interests. In the event of a criminal action, the applicable director or officer must not have had reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

We have not entered into separate indemnification agreements with our directors and officers. Our Bylaws provide that we shall indemnify any director or officer to the fullest extent authorized by the laws of the State of Nevada. Our Bylaws further provide that we shall pay the expenses incurred by an officer or director (acting in his capacity as such) in defending any action, suit or proceeding in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding, subject to the delivery to us by or on behalf of such director or officer of an undertaking to repay the amount of such expenses if it shall ultimately be determined that he or she is not entitled to be indemnified by us as authorized in our bylaws or otherwise.

The NRS further provide that a corporation may purchase and maintain insurance or make other financial arrangements on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise for any liability asserted against him and liability and expenses incurred by him in his capacity as a director, officer, employee or agent, or arising out of his status as such, whether or not the corporation has the authority to indemnify him against such liability and expenses. We have secured a directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy. We expect that we will continue to maintain such a policy.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), may be permitted for our directors, officers and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.