Description of Securities

General

 

Kinnate Biopharma Inc. (“we,” “our,” or “us”) has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”): our common stock, $0.0001 par value per share. The following descriptions of our capital stock and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws are summaries and are qualified by reference to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws. Copies of these documents were filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference as exhibits to our Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.3 is a part.

 

Our authorized capital stock consists of 1,200,000,000 shares, $0.0001 par value per share, of which:

 

•

1,000,000,000 shares are designated as common stock; and

•

200,000,000 shares are designated as preferred stock.

 

Common Stock

 

Voting Rights

 

Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders, including the election of directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws do not provide for cumulative voting rights. Because of this, the holders of a plurality of the shares of our common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors can elect all of the directors standing for election, if they should so choose. With respect to matters other than the election of directors, at any meeting of the stockholders at which a quorum is present or represented, the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at such meeting and entitled to vote on the subject matter shall be the act of the stockholders, except as otherwise required by law. The holders of a majority of the stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at all meetings of the stockholders. 

 

Dividends

 

Subject to preferences that may apply to any outstanding shares of preferred stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends, if any, that our board of directors may declare from time to time out of funds legally available for that purpose on a non-cumulative basis and shared ratably.

 

Liquidation

 

In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our common stock will be entitled to share ratably in the net assets legally available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all of our debts and other liabilities, subject to the satisfaction of any liquidation preference granted to the holders of any outstanding shares of preferred stock. 

 

Rights and Preferences

 

Holders of our common stock have no preemptive, conversion or subscription rights, and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of our common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future. 

 

Preferred Stock

 

Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 200,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions thereof. These rights, preferences and privileges could include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, redemption rights, liquidation preferences, sinking fund terms and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of such series, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of common stock. The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of common stock and the likelihood that such holders will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation. In addition, the issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing change in our control or other corporate action. We have no present plan to issue any shares of preferred stock.

 

Registration Rights

 

Certain holders of our common stock are entitled to rights with respect to the registration of their shares under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). These registration rights are contained in the Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement dated August 24, 2020 (the “IRA”), which was filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 10-K. We will pay the registration expenses (other than underwriting discounts and commissions) of the holders of the shares registered pursuant to the registrations described below. Generally, in an underwritten offering, the managing underwriter, if any, has the right, subject to specified conditions, to limit the number of shares such holders may include.

 

Demand Registration Rights

 

Certain holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to certain demand registration rights. At any time beginning 180 days after the effective date of our initial public offering (“IPO”) and before the 5 year anniversary of the date of the IRA, the holders of at least 30% of these shares in the aggregate may, on not more than two occasions, request that we register all or a portion of their shares. Such request for registration must cover shares with anticipated aggregate gross proceeds, before deducting underwriting discounts and expenses, of at least $15 million.

 

S-3 Registration Rights

 

Certain holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to certain Form S-3 registration rights. The holders of these shares can make a request that we register their shares on Form S-3 if we are qualified to file a registration statement on Form S-3 and if the reasonably anticipated aggregate gross proceeds of the shares offered would equal or exceed $3,000,000. We will not be required to effect more than two registrations on Form S-3 within any consecutive 12-month period.

 

Piggyback Registration Rights

 

Certain holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to certain piggyback registration rights. In the event that we propose to register any of our securities under the Securities Act, either for our own account or for the account of other security holders, the holders of these shares will be entitled to include their shares in such registration, subject to certain marketing and other limitations. As a result, whenever we propose to file a registration statement under the Securities Act, other than with respect to (i) a registration solely to employee benefit plans; (ii) a registration relating to the offer and sale of debt securities; (iii) a registration relating to a corporate reorganization or other transaction covered by Rule 145 promulgated under the Securities Act; (iv) a registration on any registration form that does not permit secondary sales; or (v) a registration pursuant to the demand or Form S-3 registration rights described in the preceding two paragraphs above, the holders of these shares are entitled to notice of the registration and have the right to include their shares in the registration, subject to limitations that the underwriters may impose on the number of shares included in the offering.

 

Anti-Takeover Effects of Certain Provisions of Delaware Law, Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Our Amended and Restated Bylaws

 

Certain provisions of Delaware law and certain provisions included in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws summarized below may be deemed to have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, deter or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider to be in its best interests, including attempts that might result in a premium being paid over the market price for the shares held by stockholders.

 

Preferred Stock

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that permit our board of directors to issue, without any further vote or action by the stockholders, shares of preferred stock in one or more series and, with respect to each such series, to fix the number of shares constituting the series and the designation of the series, the voting rights (if any) of the shares of the series and the powers, preferences or relative, participation, optional and other special rights, if any, and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions, of the shares of such series.

 

Classified Board

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors is divided into three classes, designated Class I, Class II and Class III. Each class has an equal number of directors, as nearly as possible, consisting of one third of the total number of directors constituting the entire board of directors. At each annual meeting of stockholders, successors to the class of directors whose term expires at that annual meeting will be elected for a three-year term. The classification of directors, together with the limitations on removal of directors and treatment of vacancies, has the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to change the composition of our board of directors.

 

Removal of Directors

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that stockholders may only remove a director for cause by a vote of no less than a majority of the shares present in person or by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote.

 

Director Vacancies

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes only our board of directors to fill vacant directorships.

 

No Cumulative Voting

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that stockholders do not have the right to cumulate votes in the election of directors.

 

Special Meetings of Stockholders

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that, except as otherwise required by law, special meetings of the stockholders may be called only by an officer at the request of a majority of our board of directors, by the Chair of our board of directors or by our Chief Executive Officer.

 

Advance Notice Procedures for Director Nominations

 

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that stockholders seeking to nominate candidates for election as directors at an annual or special meeting of stockholders must provide timely notice thereof in writing. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice generally will have to be delivered to and received at our principal executive offices before notice of the meeting is issued by the secretary of the company, with such notice being served not less than 90 or more than 120 days before the meeting. Although the amended and restated bylaws do not give the board of directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates to be elected at an annual meeting, the amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the company.

 

Action by Written Consent

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that any action to be taken by the stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders and may not be effected by written consent.

 

Amending Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended or altered in any manner provided by the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”). Our amended and restated bylaws may be adopted, amended, altered or repealed by stockholders only upon approval of at least majority of the voting power of all the then outstanding shares of the common stock, except for any amendment of the above provisions, which would require the approval of a two-thirds majority of our then outstanding common stock. Additionally, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our bylaws may be amended, altered or repealed by the board of directors.

 

Authorized But Unissued Shares

 

Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuances without stockholder approval, except as required by the listing standards of The Nasdaq Global Select Market, and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, 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 the company by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

 

Exclusive Jurisdiction

 

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless we consent to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding under Delaware statutory or common law brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to the DGCL, (iv) any action regarding our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws, or (v) any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This exclusive forum provision does not apply to any causes of action arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to this provision. Although we believe these provisions benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law for the specified types of actions and proceedings, the provisions may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against us or our directors and officers.

 

Business Combinations with Interested Stockholders

 

We are governed by Section 203 of the DGCL. Subject to certain exceptions, Section 203 of the DGCL prohibits a public Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination (as defined in such section) with an “interested stockholder” (defined generally as any person who beneficially owns 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of such corporation or any person affiliated with such person) for a period of three years following the time that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless (1) prior to such time the board of directors of such corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; (2) upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of such corporation at the time the transaction commenced (excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock of such corporation outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) those shares owned (A) by persons who are directors and also officers of such corporation and (B) by employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer); or (3) at or subsequent to such time the business combination is approved by the board of directors of such corporation and authorized at a meeting of stockholders (and not by written consent) by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock of such corporation not owned by the interested stockholder.

Limitation of Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws provide that we must indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL. We are expressly authorized to, and do, carry directors’ and officers’ insurance providing coverage for our directors, officers and certain employees for some liabilities. We believe that these indemnification provisions and insurance are useful to attract and retain qualified directors and executive officers.

 

The limitation on liability and indemnification provisions in our certificate of incorporation 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 directors and officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. In addition, your investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions.

 

Listing

 

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol “KNTE”.

 

Transfer Agent and Registrar

 

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC. The transfer agent and registrar’s address is 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11219.