Description of the Registrants Securities Registered Under Section 12 of the Exchange Act
Exhibit 4.1
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED UNDER SECTION 12 OF THE EXCHANGE ACT
General
BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). References herein to “we,” “us,” “our” and the “Company” refer to BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. and not to any of its subsidiaries.
The following description of our common stock and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (as amended and/or restated from time to time, our “charter”) and amended and restated bylaws (as amended and/or restated from time to time, our “bylaws”) are summaries and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws, each of which have been publicly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). We encourage you to read our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws and the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) for additional information.
Common Stock
We are authorized to issue up to a total of 100,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share. Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders. Holders of our common stock have no cumulative voting rights. Further, holders of our common stock have no preemptive or conversion rights or other subscription rights.
Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding- up, holders of our common stock are entitled to share in all assets remaining after payment of all liabilities and the liquidation preferences of any of our outstanding shares of preferred stock. Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any outstanding shares of preferred stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors out of our assets which are legally available. Such dividends, if any, are payable in cash, in property or in shares of capital stock.
The holders of one-third of the voting power of our issued and outstanding capital stock, represented in person or by proxy, are necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting. If a quorum is present, an action by stockholders entitled to vote on a matter is approved if 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 is required by law, the charter, the by-laws or, with respect to a class or series of preferred stock, the terms of any resolution or resolutions adopted by the board of directors. Pursuant to our charter, the election of directors requires a plurality of the votes cast by the stockholders present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote thereon.
Preferred Stock
Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the designations, powers, preferences, privileges, and relative participating, optional, or special rights as well as the qualifications, limitations, or restrictions of the preferred stock, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of the common stock. Our board of directors, without stockholder approval, can issue convertible preferred stock with voting, conversion, or other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of common stock. Preferred stock could be issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change of control or make removal of management more difficult. Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock may have the effect of decreasing the market price of our common stock, and may adversely affect the voting and other rights of the holders of common stock.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Certain Provisions of our Charter and Bylaws and the DGCL
Delaware Law
We are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly traded Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. A business combination includes mergers, asset sales or other transactions resulting in a financial benefit to the stockholder. An interested stockholder is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns (or within three years, did own) 15% or more of the corporation's voting stock, subject to certain exceptions. The statute could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company.
Classified Board of Directors
Our charter provides that our Board is divided into three classes, with the classes as nearly equal in number as possible and each class serving three-year staggered terms. Directors may only be removed from our board of directors for cause and only by the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the voting power of all then-outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class. These provisions may have the effect of deferring, delaying or discouraging hostile takeovers, or changes in control of us or our management.
Board of Directors Vacancies
Our charter and bylaws authorize only our board of directors to fill vacant directorships. In addition, the number of directors constituting our board of directors may be set only by resolution of the majority of the incumbent directors.
Stockholder Action; Special Meeting of Stockholders
Our charter and bylaws provide that our stockholders may not take action by written consent. Our charter and bylaws further provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called by a majority of the board of directors, the Chief Executive Officer, or the Chairman of the board of directors.
Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations
Our bylaws provide that stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders, or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders, must provide timely notice of their intent in writing. To be timely, a stockholder's notice must be delivered to the secretary at our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year's annual meeting; provided, however, that in the event the date of the annual meeting is more than 30 days before or more than 60 days after such anniversary date, or if no annual meeting was held in the preceding year, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so delivered not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the 90th day prior to such annual meeting or the 10th day following the day on which a public announcement of the date of such meeting is first made by us. These provisions may preclude our stockholders from bringing matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our annual meeting of stockholders.
Authorized but Unissued Shares
Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval and may be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, corporate acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized
but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Limitations on Liability, Indemnification of Officers and Directors and Insurance
The DGCL authorizes corporations to limit or eliminate the personal liability of directors to corporations and their stockholders for monetary damages for breaches of directors’ fiduciary duties as directors and our charter includes such an exculpation provision. Our charter and bylaws include provisions that indemnify, to the fullest extent allowable under the DGCL, the personal liability of directors or officers for monetary damages for actions taken as a director or officer of us, or for serving at our request as a director or officer or another position at another corporation or enterprise, as the case may be. Our charter and bylaws also provide that we must indemnify and advance reasonable expenses to our directors and officers, subject to our receipt of an undertaking from the indemnified party as may be required under the DGCL. Our bylaws expressly authorize us to carry directors' and officers' insurance to protect us, our directors, officers and certain employees for some liabilities. The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our charter and bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions may also have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. However, these provisions do not limit or eliminate our rights, or those of any stockholder, to seek non-monetary relief such as injunction or rescission in the event of a breach of a director's duty of care. These provisions will not alter the liability of directors under federal securities laws.
