Description of Securities

EX-4.6 2 kod-ex46_599.htm DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES kod-ex46_599.htm

Exhibit 4.6

DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK

Kodiak Sciences Inc. (“we,” “our,” “us,” or the “Company”) has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”): our common stock. The following summary of the terms of our common stock is based upon our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (our “certificate of incorporation”) and our amended and restated bylaws (our “bylaws”). This summary does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by express reference to, the applicable provisions of our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws. We encourage you to read our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws and the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) for more information.

Under our certificate of incorporation we are authorized to issue up to 490,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

Voting Rights

Each share of common stock is entitled to one vote per share on all matters (including the election of directors) submitted to a vote of stockholders, unless otherwise required by law or our certificate of incorporation. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws do not provide for cumulative voting rights. Because of this, the holders of a plurality of the shares of 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 be applicable to any then-outstanding 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 legally available funds.

Liquidation

Upon a liquidation event, 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 and the satisfaction of any liquidation preference granted to the holders of any then-outstanding shares of preferred stock.

Rights and Preferences

Holders of common stock have no preemptive, conversion, subscription or other rights, and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock. 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 that we may designate in the future.

Fully Paid and Nonassessable

All of our outstanding shares of common stock are, and the shares of common stock we may issue under this prospectus, upon payment and delivery in accordance with the underwriting agreement, will be, fully paid and nonassessable.

Registration Rights

Certain holders of shares of our common stock have the right to demand that we file a registration statement or request that we cover their shares by a registration statement that we otherwise file, as described below. These shares are collectively referred to herein as registrable securities.

Demand Registration Rights

The holders of at least a majority of the shares having demand registration rights have the right to demand that we use commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement for the registration of the offer and sale of at least such number of shares with anticipated offering proceeds in excess of $30 million. We are only obligated to file up to two registration statements in connection with the exercise of demand registration rights. These registration rights are subject to specified conditions and limitations, including the right of the underwriters to limit the number of shares included in any such registration under certain circumstances and our ability to defer the filing of a registration statement with respect to an exercise of such demand registration rights for up to 180 days under certain circumstances.

Form S-3 Registration Rights

A stockholder with registration rights has the right to demand that we file a registration statement on Form S-3 so long as the aggregate number of shares to be offered and sold under such registration statement on Form S-3 is at least $10 million. We are only obligated to file up to three registration statements in connection with the exercise of Form S-3 registration rights. We are not obligated to file any registration statements within 180 days of a registration statement filed in connection with the exercise of the demand registration rights described above. These investor registration rights are subject to specified conditions and limitations, including our ability to defer the filing of a registration statement with respect to an exercise of such Form S-3 registration rights for up to 180 days under certain circumstances.

Piggyback Registration Rights

If we propose to register the offer and sale of any of our securities under the Securities Act either for our own account or for the account of other stockholders, a stockholder with registration rights will have the right, subject to certain exceptions, to include their shares of common stock in the registration statement. These registration rights are subject to specified conditions and limitations, and any proposed offering in connection therewith may be terminated or withdrawn by us at our sole discretion.

Expenses of Registration

We will pay all expenses relating to any Form S-3 registrations and piggyback registrations, other than underwriting discounts and selling commissions.

Termination of Registration Rights

The registration rights terminate upon the earlier of (1) the date that is three years after the closing of our IPO and (2) as to a given holder of registration rights, when such holder of registration rights can sell all of such holder’s registrable securities in a three month-period pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law and Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Delaware Law

We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL. Section 203 generally prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with any “interested stockholder” for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless:

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prior to the date of the transaction, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;

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upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder 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 for purposes of determining the number of shares outstanding (1) shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers and (2) shares owned 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

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on or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business combination is approved by the board and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder.

Section 203 defines a business combination to include:

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any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder;

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any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition involving the interested stockholder of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation;

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subject to exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder;

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any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock or any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; and

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the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits provided by or through the corporation.

In general, Section 203 defines an interested stockholder as any entity or person who, together with the person’s affiliates and associates, beneficially owns, or within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation.

Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may delay or discourage transactions involving an actual or potential change in our control or change in our management, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares, or transactions that our stockholders might otherwise deem to be in their best interests. Therefore, these provisions could adversely affect the price of our common stock. Among other things, our certificate of incorporation and bylaws:

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permit our board of directors to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, with any rights, preferences and privileges as they may designate, including the right to approve an acquisition or other change in our control;

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provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the board of directors, subject to the rights of any holders of preferred stock;

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provide that all vacancies, including newly created directorships, may, except as otherwise required by law, be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum;

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divide our board of directors into three classes, each of which stands for election once every three years;

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provide that a director may only be removed from the board of directors by the stockholders for cause;

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require that any action to be taken by our stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders and not be taken by written consent;

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provide that stockholders seeking to present proposals before a meeting of stockholders or to nominate candidates for election as directors at a meeting of stockholders must provide notice in writing in a timely manner, and also meet specific requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice;

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not provide for cumulative voting rights (therefore allowing the holders of a plurality of the shares of common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors to elect all of the directors standing for election, if they should so choose);

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provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by the board of directors, the chairperson of the board of directors, our chief executive officer or president (in the absence of a chief executive officer); and

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provide that stockholders will be permitted to amend certain provisions of our certification of incorporation and bylaws only upon receiving at least 66 2/3% of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of all outstanding shares then entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class.

Our bylaws also provide that, unless we otherwise consent in writing, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) shall be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the company, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to the company or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the company arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, or the certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against the company governed by the internal affairs doctrine, except for, as to each of (i) through (iv) above, any claim as to which such court determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of such court (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of such court within ten days following such determination), which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than such court, or for which such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction.. This exclusive forum provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.

Our bylaws further provide that unless we otherwise consent in writing, the U.S. federal district courts will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act, which we refer to as the Federal Forum Provision. However, on December 19, 2018, the Delaware Chancery Court issued an opinion in Sciabacucchi v. Salzberg, C.A. No. 2017-0931-JTL, finding that provisions similar to the Federal Forum Provision are not valid under Delaware Law. As previously disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K we filed on January 28, 2019, in light of the Sciabacucchi decision, we do not currently intend to enforce the foregoing federal forum selection provision unless the Sciabacucchi decision is reversed. If the Delaware Supreme Court affirms the Chancery Court’s decision, then we intend to amend the Bylaws to remove the invalid provision.

Although our bylaws contain the choice of forum provisions described above, it is possible that a court could rule that such a provisions are inapplicable for a particular claim or action or that such provisions are unenforceable.

We recognize that the Federal Forum Provision may impose additional litigation costs on stockholders who assert the provision is not enforceable and may impose more general additional litigation costs in pursuing any these claims. Additionally, the forum selection clauses in our bylaws may limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us. Alternatively, if the Federal Forum Provision is found inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could have an adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations. The Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and the U.S. federal district courts may also reach different judgments or results than would other courts, including courts where a stockholder considering an action may be located or would otherwise choose to bring the action, and such judgments may be more or less favorable to us than our stockholders. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against us and our directors and officers.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

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