Description of Securities of the Registrant
Exhibit 4.6
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Introduction
Eton Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) has one security registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which is our common stock. Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “ETON”.
The following summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified by reference to certain provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended (the “DGCL”), our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, dated November 15, 2018 (our “Certificate of Incorporation”), and our Amended and Restated Bylaws, effective November 15, 2018 (our “Bylaws”), each of which has been filed as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to which this exhibit is attached and is hereby incorporated by reference.
Authorized Capital Stock
Our authorized capital stock consists of 50,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share.
Preferred Stock
Our Certificate of Incorporation authorizes our board of directors to issue preferred stock from time to time in one or more series and to fix the number of shares and to determine or alter for each such series, such voting powers, full or limited, or no voting powers, and such designation, preferences, and relative, participating, optional, or other rights and such qualifications, limitations, or restrictions thereof, as shall be stated and expressed in the resolution or resolutions adopted by the board of directors providing for the issuance of such shares and as may be permitted by the DGCL. Our board of directors is also expressly authorized to increase or decrease the number of shares of any series subsequent to the issuance of shares of that series, but not below the number of shares of such series then outstanding. In case the number of shares of any series shall be decreased in accordance with the foregoing sentence, the shares constituting such decrease shall resume the status that they had prior to the adoption of the resolution originally fixing the number of shares of such series. The number of authorized shares of preferred stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the stock of the Company entitled to vote thereon, without a separate vote of the holders of the preferred stock, or of any series thereof, unless a vote of any such holders is required pursuant to the terms of any certificate of designation filed with respect to any series of preferred stock.
Common Stock
Dividend Rights
Subject to preferences to which holders of preferred stock may be entitled, holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably such dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors out of funds legally available therefor. We do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and expansion of our business.
Voting Rights
Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share on each matter properly submitted to the stockholders of the Company; provided, that a holder of common stock is not entitled to vote on any amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation filed with respect to any series of preferred stock) that relates solely to the terms of a series of outstanding preferred stock if the holders of such affected series of preferred stock are entitled to vote thereon. In all matters other than the election of directors, stockholder approval requires the affirmative vote of the majority of the holders of our common stock entitled to vote on the subject matter unless the matter is one upon which, by express provision of law, our Certificate of Incorporation or our Bylaws, a different vote is required. Directors are elected by a plurality of the votes of the shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the election of directors.
Classification of Board of Directors
The board of directors are divided into three classes designated as Class I, Class II and Class III, respectively. Each director is expected to be elected to hold office for a three-year term or until the election and qualification of his or her successor in office.
No Preemptive or Similar Rights
Holders of our common stock do not have preemptive rights, and our common stock is not convertible or redeemable.
Right to Receive Liquidation Distributions
In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of common stock would be entitled to share in our assets remaining after the payment of liabilities and the satisfaction of any liquidation preference granted the holders of any outstanding shares of any senior class of securities. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock which we may designate in the future.
Section 203 of the Delaware Corporation Law
We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which prevents an “interested stockholder” (defined in Section 203 of the DGCL, generally, as a person owning 15% or more of a corporation’s outstanding voting stock), from engaging in a “business combination” (as defined in Section 203 of the DGCL) with a publicly held Delaware corporation for three years following the date such person became an interested stockholder, unless:
| ● | before such person became an interested stockholder, the board of directors of the corporation approved the transaction in which the interested stockholder became an interested stockholder or approved the business combination; | |
| ● | upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the interested stockholders becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owns at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced (excluding stock held by directors who are also officers of the corporation and by employee stock plans that do not provide employees with the rights to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer); or | |
| ● | following the transaction in which such person became an interested stockholder, the business combination is approved by the board of directors of the corporation and authorized at a meeting of stockholders by the affirmative vote of the holders of two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation not owned by the interested stockholder. |
The provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL could make a takeover of the Company difficult.
Effect of Certain Provisions of Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws include provisions that may have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control or an unsolicited acquisition proposal that a stockholder might consider favorable, including a proposal that might result in the payment of a premium over the market price for the shares held by our stockholders. Certain of these provisions are summarized in the following paragraphs.
Effects of Authorized but Unissued Common Stock.
One of the effects of the existence of authorized but unissued common stock may be to enable our board of directors to make more difficult or to discourage an attempt to obtain control of our Company by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, and thereby to protect the continuity of management. If, in the due exercise of its fiduciary obligations, the board of directors were to determine that a takeover proposal was not in our best interest, such shares could be issued by the board of directors without stockholder approval in one or more transactions that might prevent or render more difficult or costly the completion of the takeover transaction by diluting the voting or other rights of the proposed acquirer or insurgent stockholder group, by putting a substantial voting block in institutional or other hands that might undertake to support the position of the incumbent board of directors, by effecting an acquisition that might complicate or preclude the takeover, or otherwise.
Cumulative Voting.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors, which would allow holders of less than a majority of the stock to elect some directors.
Vacancies.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that all vacancies may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum.
Special Meeting of Stockholders and Stockholder Action by Written Consent.
A special meeting of stockholders may only be called by our president, board of directors, or such officers or other persons as our board may designate at any time and for any purpose or purposes as shall be stated in the notice of the meeting.
