Description of Bio-Path Holdings, Inc.s Securities Registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Exhibit 4.17
Description of Bio-Path Holdings, Inc.’s Securities Registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
We have one class of securities, our common stock, registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Our common stock is listed for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “BPTH.” Our authorized capital stock consists of 200,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share. The following description of our common stock is a summary. It is not complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by our certificate of incorporation and first amended and restated bylaws, each of which is filed as an exhibit to this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated by reference herein.
Common Stock
Holders of common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held in the election of directors and on all other matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Cumulative voting of shares of common stock is prohibited. Accordingly, holders of a majority of the shares of common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors may elect all of the directors standing for election.
Subject to the prior rights of the holders of any outstanding preferred stock, holders of common stock are entitled to receive dividends when, as and if declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available therefor. Upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably the assets of our company remaining after payment of all liabilities and payment to holders of preferred stock if such preferred stock has an involuntary liquidation preference over the common stock. Holders of common stock have no preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. The outstanding shares of common stock are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
Preferred Stock
Our board of directors is authorized, without any further notice to or action of the stockholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix by resolution or resolutions the designations, powers, preferences and rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of any wholly unissued series of our preferred stock, including without limitation authority to fix by resolution or resolutions the dividend rights, dividend rate, conversion rights, voting rights, rights and terms of redemption (including sinking fund provisions), redemption price or prices, and liquidation preferences of any such series, and the number of shares constituting any such series and the designation thereof, or any of the foregoing. Our board of directors may cause shares of preferred stock to be issued in public or private transactions for any proper corporate purposes, and such issuance could adversely affect the voting rights of the holders of our common stock. The issuance of our preferred stock could also affect the likelihood that the holders of common stock will receive dividends or distributions upon liquidation. In addition, the issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of acting as an anti-takeover device to prevent a change in control of our company.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our certificate of incorporation and first amended and restated bylaws provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Our certificate of incorporation and first amended and restated bylaws limit the liability of our directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. We maintain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of Our Certificate of Incorporation, Our Bylaws and Delaware Law
Some provisions of Delaware law and our certificate of incorporation and our first amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing another party from acquiring or seeking to acquire control of us. These provisions are intended to discourage certain types of coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to encourage anyone seeking to acquire control of us to negotiate first with our board of directors. However, these provisions may also delay, deter or prevent a change in control or other takeover of our company that our stockholders might consider to be in their best interests, including transactions that might result in a premium being paid over the market price of our common stock and also may limit the price that investors are willing to pay in the future for our common stock. These provisions may also have the effect of preventing changes in our management.
Our certificate of incorporation and first amended and restated bylaws include anti-takeover provisions that:
| • | authorize our board of directors, without further action by the stockholders, to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more series, and with respect to each series, to fix the number of shares constituting that series and establish the rights and other terms of that series; | |
| • | establish advance notice procedures for stockholders to submit nominations of candidates for election to our board of directors and other proposals to be brought before a stockholders meeting; | |
| • | provide that our first amended and restated bylaws may be amended by our board of directors without stockholder approval; | |
| • | limit our stockholders’ ability to call special meetings of stockholders; | |
| • | allow our directors to establish the size of the board of directors by action of the board, subject to a minimum of three members; | |
| • | provide that vacancies on our board of directors or newly created directorships resulting from an increase in the number of our directors may be filled only by a majority of directors then in office, even though less than a quorum; and | |
| • | do not give the holders of our common stock cumulative voting rights with respect to the election of directors. |
Business Combinations
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that we may not engage in certain “business combinations” with any “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that the person became an interested stockholder, unless:
| • | prior to the time that person became an interested stockholder, our board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the person becoming an interested stockholder; | |
| • | upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the person becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding certain shares; or | |
| • | at or subsequent to the time the person became an interested stockholder, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
Generally, a business combination includes a merger, consolidation, asset or stock sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. Subject to certain exceptions, an interested stockholder is a person who, together with that person’s affiliates and associates, owns, or within the previous three years owned, 15% or more of our voting stock. The statute could prohibit or delay mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts with respect to us and, accordingly, may discourage attempts to acquire us.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11219. Its phone number is ###-###-####.
