Description of the Registrants Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

EX-4.8 2 exhibit48q42019.htm EXHIBIT 4.8 Exhibit
Exhibit 4.8



DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Establishment Labs Holdings Inc. (the “Company”) has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended: our common shares, no par value per share.
As used in this summary, the terms “Establishment Labs,” “the Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Establishment Labs Holdings Inc.
We are incorporated as a British Virgin Islands company, and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the laws of the British Virgin Islands. Our authorized share capital consists of an unlimited amount of common shares, no par value per share. In addition, we may by resolution of the board of directors, without shareholder consent, amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to create new classes of preferred shares and fix the rights preferences and restrictions of such shares, as the board of directors in their sole discretion deem fit, which shares may be issued as one or more series. Copies of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which may be amended from time to time, is included as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K to which this description is an Exhibit.

Key Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and British Virgin Islands Law Affecting our Common Shares

The following are summaries of material terms and provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the BVI Business Companies Act, or the BVI Act, insofar as they relate to the material terms of our common shares. This summary is not intended to be complete, and you should read the forms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

Meetings of Shareholders

If our shareholders want us to hold a meeting of our shareholders, they may requisition the directors to hold one upon the written request of shareholders entitled to exercise at least 30% of the voting rights in respect of the matter for which the meeting is requested. Under British Virgin Islands law, we may not increase the required percentage to call a meeting above 30%.

Subject to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, a meeting of our shareholders may be called by not less than seven days’ notice in writing. Notice of every meeting of shareholders will be given to all of our shareholders. However, the inadvertent failure of the convener or conveners of a meeting of shareholders to give notice of the meeting to a shareholder, or the fact that a shareholder has not received the properly given notice, does not invalidate the meeting.

A meeting may be called by shorter notice than that mentioned above, but, subject to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, it will be deemed to have been duly called if shareholders holding at least 90% of the total voting rights on all the matters to be considered at the meeting have waived notice of the meeting and, for this purpose, the presence of a shareholder at the meeting shall constitute a waiver in relation to all the shares which that shareholder holds.

A meeting of shareholders is duly constituted if, at the commencement of the meeting, there are present in person or by proxy not less than 50% of the votes of the shares entitled to vote at the meeting. A quorum may be comprised of a single shareholder or proxy and then such person may pass a Resolution of Shareholders and a certificate signed by such person accompanied where such person is a proxy by a copy of the proxy instrument shall constitute a valid Resolution of Shareholders.




Voting Rights

Under the BVI Act, the common shares are deemed to be issued when the name of the shareholder is entered in our register of members. Our register of members is maintained by our transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company, N.A., which will enter the name of our shareholders in our register of members. If (a) information that is required to be entered in the register of shareholders is omitted from the register or is inaccurately entered in the register, or (b) there is unreasonable delay in entering information in the register, a shareholder of ours, or any person who is aggrieved by the omission, inaccuracy or delay, may apply to the British Virgin Islands courts for an order that the register be rectified, and the court may either refuse the application or order the rectification of the register, and may direct us to pay all costs of the application and any damages the applicant may have sustained.

Subject to any rights or restrictions attached to any shares, at any general meeting on a show of hands every shareholder of record who is present in person (or, in the case of a shareholder being a corporation, by its duly authorized representative) or by proxy shall have one vote and on a poll every shareholder present in person (or, in the case of a shareholder being a corporation, by its duly appointed representative) or by proxy shall have one vote for each share which such shareholder is the holder. Voting at any meeting of the shareholders is by show of hands unless a poll is demanded. A poll may be demanded by shareholders present in person or by proxy if the shareholder disputes the outcome of the vote on a proposed resolution and the chairman shall cause a poll to be taken.

No shareholder shall be entitled to vote or be reckoned in a quorum, in respect of any share, unless such shareholder is registered as our shareholder at the applicable record date for that meeting. Shareholders of record may also pass written resolutions without a meeting.

There is nothing under the laws of the British Virgin Islands which specifically prohibits or restricts the creation of cumulative voting rights for the election of our directors, but cumulative voting for the election of directors is permitted only if expressly provided for in the memorandum or articles of association. We have not made provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association for cumulative voting for such elections.

Protection of Minority Shareholders

Under the laws of the British Virgin Islands, there is little statutory law for the protection of minority shareholders other than the provisions of the BVI Act dealing with shareholder remedies. One protection under statutory law is that shareholders may bring an action to enforce the BVI Act or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Shareholders are entitled to have our affairs conducted in accordance with the BVI Act and the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

There are common law rights for the protection of shareholders that may be invoked, largely dependent on English common law, since the common law of the British Virgin Islands is limited. Under the general rule pursuant to English common law known as the rule in Foss v. Harbottle, a court will generally refuse to interfere with the management of a company at the insistence of a minority of its shareholders who express dissatisfaction with the conduct of our affairs by the majority or the board of directors. However, every shareholder is entitled to have our affairs conducted properly according to British Virgin Islands law and our constituent documents. As such, if those who control the company have disregarded the requirements of applicable law or the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, then the courts may grant relief. Generally, the areas in which the courts will intervene are the following: (1) an act complained of which is illegal; (2) acts that constitute oppression, unfair discrimination or unfair prejudice against the minority; (3) acts that infringe or are about to infringe on the personal rights of the shareholders, such as the right to vote; and (4) where we have not complied with provisions requiring approval of a special or extraordinary majority of shareholders, which are more limited than the rights afforded minority shareholders under the laws of many states in the United States.






Preemption Rights

British Virgin Islands law does not make a distinction between public and private companies and some of the protections and safeguards (such as statutory preemption rights, save to the extent that they are expressly provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) that investors may expect to find in relation to a public company are not provided for under British Virgin Islands law. There are no preemption rights applicable to the issuance of new shares under either British Virgin Islands law or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

Liquidation Rights

As permitted by British Virgin Islands law and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we may be voluntarily liquidated under Part XII of the BVI Act by resolution of directors and resolution of shareholders if our assets are greater than our liabilities and we are able to pay our debts as they fall due.

Modification of Rights

As permitted by British Virgin Islands law, and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if our shares are divided into more than one class of shares, we may vary the rights attached to any class only with the consent in writing of or by a resolution passed at a meeting by the holders of not less than 50% of the issued shares of that class.

Transfer of Shares

Subject to any applicable restrictions set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of his or her shares by a written instrument of transfer in the usual or common form or in any other form which our directors may approve.

Our board of directors may, in its absolute discretion, resolve to refuse or delay the registration of any transfer of any share without assigning any reasons therefor. If our directors refuse or delay the registration of a transfer they shall, as soon as practicable, send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of such refusal or delay in the agreed form.

Share Repurchase

As permitted by the BVI Act and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, shares may be repurchased, redeemed or otherwise acquired by us.

Dividends

Subject to the BVI Act and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our directors may, by resolution, authorize a distribution to shareholders at such time and of such an amount as they think fit, if they are satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that, immediately after the distribution, we will satisfy the ‘solvency test’. A company will satisfy the solvency test if (i) the value of our assets exceeds our liabilities; and (ii) we are able to pay our debts as they fall due. Where a distribution is made to a shareholder at a time when we did not, immediately after the distribution, satisfy the solvency test, it may be recovered by the company from the shareholder unless (i) the shareholder received the distribution in good faith and without knowledge of our failure to satisfy the solvency test; (ii) the shareholder has altered his position in reliance on the validity of the distribution; and (iii) it would be unfair to require repayment in full or at all.

Board of Directors




We are managed by a board of directors which currently consists of seven directors. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that the board of directors shall consist of not less than seven directors.

There are no share ownership qualifications for directors.

Meetings of our board of directors may be convened at any time deemed necessary by any of our directors.

A meeting of our board of directors will be competent to make lawful and binding decisions if at least a majority of the directors are present or represented. At any meeting of our directors, each director, whether by his or her presence or by his or her alternate, is entitled to one vote.

Questions arising at a meeting of our board of directors are required to be decided by simple majority votes of the directors present or represented at the meeting. In the case of a tie vote, the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or deciding vote. Our board of directors may also pass unanimous written resolutions without a meeting.

The remuneration to be paid to the directors shall be such remuneration as the directors shall determine. Under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the independent directors shall also be entitled to reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses in connection with the performance of his or her duties as director.

Staggered Board of Directors

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for a staggered board of directors consisting of three classes of directors. Directors of each Class are chosen for three year terms upon the expiration of their current terms and each year one class will be elected by our shareholders. Our shareholders will elect directors for three-year terms upon the expiration of their current terms. Our shareholders elect only one class of directors each year. We believe that classification of our board of directors helps to ensure the continuity and stability of our business strategies and policies as determined by our board of directors. There is no cumulative voting in the election of directors. As such, this classified board provision could have the effect of making the replacement of incumbent directors more time-consuming and difficult. At least two annual meetings of shareholders, instead of one, will generally be required to effect a change in a majority of our board of directors. Thus, the classified board provision could increase the likelihood that incumbent directors will retain their positions. The staggered terms of directors also may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer or an attempt to change control of us, even though a tender offer or change in control might be believed by our shareholders to be in their best interest.

Duties of Directors

British Virgin Islands law provides that each of our directors, in exercising his powers or performing his duties, shall act honestly and in good faith and in what the director believes to be in the best interests of the company. Additionally, the director shall exercise the care, diligence, and skill that a reasonable director would exercise in the same circumstances taking into account the nature of the company, the nature of the decision and the position of the director and his responsibilities. In addition, British Virgin Islands law provides that a director shall exercise his powers as a director for a proper purpose and shall not act, or agree to the company acting, in a manner that contravenes British Virgin Islands law or the memorandum or articles of association of the company.

Issuance of Additional Common Shares

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize our board of directors to issue additional common shares from time to time as our board of directors shall determine, to the extent of available authorized but unissued shares.




Changes in Authorized Shares

We are authorized to issue an unlimited number of common shares which will be subject to the same provisions with reference to the payment of calls, lien, transfer, transmission, forfeiture and otherwise as the shares in issue. We may by resolution:
combine all of our shares into shares of larger par value than our existing shares;
divide all of our shares into shares of smaller par value than our existing shares; or
create new classes of shares with preferences to be determined by the board of directors at the time of authorization, which could adversely affect the voting power of holders of common shares and the likelihood that such holders will receive dividend payments and payments upon our liquidation or have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company or other corporate action.

Inspection of Books and Records

Under British Virgin Islands law holders of our common shares are entitled, on giving written notice to us, to inspect and make copies or take extracts of our: (a) amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; (b) register of shareholders; (c) register of directors; and (d) minutes of meetings and resolutions of shareholders and those classes of shareholders of which he is a shareholder.

Subject to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our directors may, if they are satisfied that it would be contrary to our interest to allow a shareholder to inspect any document, or part of a document as referenced in (b), (c) or (d) above, refuse to permit the shareholder to inspect the document or limit the inspection of the document, including limiting the making of copies or the taking of extracts from the records. Where our directors exercise their powers in these circumstances, they shall notify the shareholder as soon as reasonably practicable.

Differences in Corporate Law

We were incorporated under, and are governed by, the laws of the British Virgin Islands. The flexibility available under British Virgin Islands law has enabled us to adopt the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that will provide shareholders with rights that do not vary in any material respect from those they enjoyed under the Delaware Corporate Law.

Conflicts of Interest

Pursuant to the BVI Act and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, a director of a company who has an interest in a transaction and who has declared such interest to the other directors, may:
vote on a matter relating to the transaction;
attend a meeting of directors at which a matter relating to the transaction arises and be included among the directors present at the meeting for the purposes of a quorum; and
sign a document on our behalf, or do any other thing in his capacity as a director, that relates to the transaction.

Anti-money Laundering Laws

In order to comply with legislation or regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering we may require subscribers to provide evidence to verify their identity.

We reserve the right to request such information as is necessary to verify the identity of a subscriber. In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information required for verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited.




If any person resident in the British Virgin Islands knows or suspects that another person is engaged in money laundering or terrorist financing and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of their business, the person will be required to report his belief or suspicion to the Financial Investigation Agency of the British Virgin Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Act 1997 (as amended). Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.

Anti-takeover Provisions

The BVI Act does not prevent companies from adopting a wide range of defensive measures, such as staggered boards, blank check preferred shares, removal of directors only for cause and provisions that restrict the rights of shareholders to call meetings and submit shareholder proposals. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain the following provisions which may be regarded as defensive measures: (i) a requirement of the affirmative vote of two-thirds or more of the shares entitled to vote on special matters such as mergers or acquisitions; (ii) the prevention of ‘‘business combinations’’ with ‘‘interested shareholders’’ for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested shareholder, unless the business combination is approved in accordance with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association by a general meeting of our shareholders or satisfies other requirements specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; (iii) directors’ ability, in their absolute discretion, to decline to register any transfer of shares without assigning any reason; (iv) our board of directors’ ability to issue, from time to time, one or more classes of preferred shares and, with respect to each such class, to fix the terms thereof by resolution; (v) restrictions on the ability of shareholders to call meetings and bring proposals before meetings; (vi) elimination of the ability of shareholders to act by written consent; and (vii) the requirement of the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the shares entitled to vote to amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

Interested Directors

The BVI Act provides that a director shall, after becoming aware that he is interested in a transaction entered into or to be entered into by the company, disclose that interest to our board of directors. The failure of a director to disclose that interest does not affect the validity of a transaction entered into by us or the director, so long as the director’s interest was disclosed to the board prior to our entry into the transaction or was not required to be disclosed (for example where the transaction is between us and the director himself or is otherwise in the ordinary course of business and on usual terms and conditions). As permitted by British Virgin Islands law and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, a director interested in a particular transaction may vote on it, attend meetings at which it is considered, and sign documents on our behalf which relate to the transaction.

Voting Rights and Quorum Requirements

Under British Virgin Islands law, the voting rights of shareholders are regulated by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and, in certain circumstances, the BVI Act. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association govern matters such as quorum for the transaction of business, rights of shares, and majority votes required to approve any action or resolution at a meeting of the shareholders or board of directors. Unless the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association otherwise provide, the requisite majority is usually a simple majority of votes cast.

Mergers and Similar Arrangements

Under the BVI Act, two or more companies may merge or consolidate in accordance with the statutory provisions. A merger means the merging of two or more constituent companies into one of the constituent companies, and a consolidation means the uniting of two or more constituent companies into a new company. In order to merger or consolidate, the directors of each constituent company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation which must be authorized by a resolution of shareholders.




Shareholders not otherwise entitled to vote on the merger or consolidation may still acquire the right to vote if the plan or merger or consolidation contains any provision which, if proposed as an amendment to the memorandum of association or articles of association, would entitle them to vote as a class or series on the proposed amendment. In any event, all shareholders must be given a copy of the plan of merger or consolidation irrespective of whether they are entitled to vote at the meeting or consent to the written resolution to approve the plan of merger or consolidation.

Shareholder Suits

We are not aware of any reported class action or derivative action having been brought in a British Virgin Islands court.

Under the BVI Act, if a company or a director of a company engages in, or proposes to engage in, conduct that contravenes the BVI Act or the memorandum of association or articles of the company, the BVI Court may, on the application of a shareholder or a director of the company, make an order directing the company or director to comply with, or restraining the company or director from engaging in that conduct.

In addition, under the BVI Act, the BVI Court may, on the application of a shareholder of a company, grant leave to that shareholder to bring proceedings in the name and on behalf of that company or to intervene in proceedings to which the company is a party for the purpose of continuing, defending or discontinuing the proceedings on behalf of the company. In determining whether to grant leave for such derivative actions, the Court must take into account certain matters, including whether the shareholder is acting in good faith, whether the derivative action is in the interests of the company taking account of the views of the company’s directors on commercial matters and whether an alternative remedy to the derivative claim is available.

A shareholder of a company may bring an action against the company for breach of a duty owed by the company to him as a shareholder. The BVI Act also includes provisions for actions based on oppression, and for representative actions where the interests of the claimant are substantially the same as those of other shareholders.

Corporate Governance

British Virgin Islands laws do not restrict transactions with directors, requiring only that directors exercise a duty to act honestly, in good faith and in what the directors believe to be in the best interests to the companies for which they serve.

Indemnification

British Virgin Islands law and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for the indemnification of our directors against all losses or liabilities incurred or sustained by him or her as a director of our company in defending any proceedings, whether civil or criminal and this indemnity only applies if he or she acted honestly and in good faith with a view to our best interests and, with respect to any criminal action, he or she must have had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common shares is Computershare Trust Company, N.A., and their address is 250 Royall Street, Canton, Massachusetts 02021.

Listing

Our common shares are listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ESTA.”