Description of Capital Stock
Exhibit 4.3
Description of the Registrant’s Securities Registered Pursuant to
Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
The common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”) of Neos Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our”) is registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The following description sets forth certain general terms and provisions of our Common Stock. These descriptions are in all respects subject to and qualified in their entirety by, and should be read in conjunction with the applicable provisions of, our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (“Certificate of Incorporation”) and our Amended and Restated Bylaws (“Bylaws”), each of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.3 is a part, and by applicable law. We encourage you to read our Certificate of Incorporation, our Bylaws and the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law for additional information.
Authorized Capital Stock
Our authorized capital stock consists of 100,000,000 shares of Common Stock and 5,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share (“Preferred Stock”).
Common Stock
The holders of Common Stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters to be voted on by our stockholders. The Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws currently 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.
Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any outstanding shares of Preferred Stock, holders of Common Stock are entitled to receive ratably such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available for that purpose. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of Common Stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after the payment of liabilities, subject to the prior distribution rights of preferred stock then outstanding. Holders of Common Stock have no preemptive, conversion or subscription rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Common Stock.
Preferred Stock
Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue up to 5,000,000 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, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences, sinking fund terms and the number of shares constituting, or the designation of, such series, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of Common Stock. The issuance of our 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 our liquidation. In addition, the issuance of Preferred Stock could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company or other corporate action. There are no shares of Preferred Stock currently outstanding, and we have no present plans to issue any shares of Preferred Stock.
Warrants
In connection with our loan and security agreement with Hercules Technology III, L.P., or Hercules, in March 2014 and as amended in September 2014, we issued to Hercules warrants, which, upon the closing of our initial public offering in July 2015, became exercisable for up to 70,833 shares of our Common Stock at an exercise price of $12.00 per share pursuant to the terms thereof. The warrants may be exercised at the option of the holder either by delivery of the exercise price in cash or by a cashless exercise.
Registration Rights
Certain holders of our Common Stock are entitled to rights with respect to the registration of these shares under the Securities Act. These rights are provided under the terms of the Amended and Restated Investors' Rights Agreement, dated as of June 9, 2015, by and between us and certain of our stockholders, or the Investor Rights Agreement. All fees, costs and expenses of underwritten registrations will be borne by us and all selling expenses, including underwriting discounts and selling commissions, will be borne by the holders of the shares being registered.
The Investor Rights Agreement provides for various registration rights, including demand registration rights, short-form registration rights and piggyback registration rights, all as described below:
Demand registration rights
Certain holders of our Common Stock are entitled to demand registration rights. Under the terms of the Investor Rights Agreement, we will be required, upon the written request of holders of a majority of the then-outstanding shares of Registrable Securities, as such term is defined in the Investor Rights Agreement, requesting registration of at least 40% of the then-outstanding shares of Registrable Securities, to use our commercially reasonable efforts to effect the registration of such shares for public resale. We are required to effect only two registrations pursuant to this provision of the Investor Rights Agreement. A demand for registration may not be made until six months after the closing of this offering.
Form S-3 registration rights
If at any time we become entitled under the Securities Act to register our shares on Form S-3 and the holders of at least 20% of the then-outstanding Registrable Securities request in writing that we register their shares for public resale on Form S-3 with an aggregate price to the public of the shares to be registered, net of underwriting discounts and commissions, of at least $3.0 million, we will be required to effect such registration; provided, however, that if our board of directors determines, in good faith, that such registration would be materially detrimental to us and our stockholders at such time, we may defer the registration for up to 60 days. We are only obligated to effect up to two registrations on Form S-3 within any twelve month period.
Piggyback registration rights
Certain holders of our Common Stock are entitled to piggyback registration rights. If we register any of our securities either for our own account or for the account of other security holders, the holders of these shares are entitled to include their shares in the registration. Subject to certain exceptions, we and the underwriters may limit the number of shares included in the underwritten offering if the underwriters believe that including these shares would adversely affect the offering.
Indemnification
Our Investor Rights Agreement contains customary cross-indemnification provisions, under which we are obligated to indemnify holders of registrable securities in the event of material misstatements or omissions in the registration statement attributable to us, and they are obligated to indemnify us for material misstatements or omissions attributable to them.
Termination of registration rights
The registration rights granted under the Investor Rights Agreement will terminate on July 28, 2020, or, with respect to any holder of registrable securities, such earlier time as all such registrable securities held by such holder are available for resale without limitation during a three-month period without registration, pursuant to Rule 144 or another similar exemption under the Securities Act.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws contain certain provisions that are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of the board of directors and which may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a future takeover or change in control of the company unless such takeover or change in control is approved by the board of directors.
Classified board
Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that our board of directors will be divided into three classes of directors, with the classes as nearly equal in number as possible. As a result, approximately one-third of our board of directors will be elected each year. The classification of directors will have the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to change the composition of our board. Our Certificate of Incorporation also provides that, subject to any rights of holders of Preferred Stock to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, the number of directors will be fixed exclusively pursuant to a resolution adopted by our board of directors.
Action by written consent; special meetings of stockholders
Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that stockholder action can be taken only at an annual or special meeting of stockholders and cannot be taken by written consent in lieu of a meeting. Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws also provide that, except as otherwise required by law, special meetings of the stockholders can be called only by or at the direction of the board of directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the total number of directors. Stockholders will not be permitted to call a special meeting or to require the board of directors to call a special meeting.
Removal of directors
Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that our directors may be removed only for cause by the affirmative vote of at least 75% of the votes that all our stockholders would be entitled to cast in an annual election of directors, voting together as a single class, at a meeting of the stockholders called for that purpose. This requirement of a supermajority vote to remove directors could enable a minority of our stockholders to prevent a change in the composition of our board.
Advance notice procedures
Our Bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to the board of directors. Stockholders at an annual meeting will only be able to consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the board of directors or by a stockholder who was a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given our Secretary timely written notice, in proper form, of the stockholder's intention to bring that business before the meeting. Although our Bylaws do not give the board of directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting, our 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 our company.
Super majority approval requirements
The Delaware General Corporation Law generally provides that the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares entitled to vote on any matter is required to amend a corporation's certificate of incorporation or bylaws, unless either a corporation's certificate of incorporation or bylaws requires a greater percentage. A majority vote of our board of directors or the affirmative vote of holders of at least 75% of the total votes of our outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote with respect thereto, voting together as a single class, will be required to amend, alter, change or repeal the bylaws. In addition, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of the total votes of our outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote with respect thereto, voting together as a single class, will be required to amend, alter, change or repeal, or to adopt any provisions inconsistent with, any of the provisions in our certificate of incorporation relating to amendments to our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws. This requirement of a supermajority vote to approve amendments to our Bylaws and Certificate of Incorporation could enable a minority of our stockholders to exercise veto power over any such amendments.
Authorized but unissued shares
Our authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock and Preferred Stock will be available for future issuance without stockholder approval. These additional shares may be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital and corporate acquisitions. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock and Preferred Stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of a majority of our Common Stock by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Exclusive forum
Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for any state law claim for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim for breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine. The foregoing provisions will not apply to any causes of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. The choice of forum provision may impose additional litigation costs on stockholders in pursuing such claims, particularly if the stockholders do not reside in or near the State of Delaware. Additionally, the choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. The Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware 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. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or Section 203. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly-held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a
three-year period following the time that this stockholder becomes an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. A “business combination” includes, among other things, a merger, asset or stock sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. An “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or did own within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status, 15% or more of the corporation's voting stock.
Under Section 203, a business combination between a corporation and an interested stockholder is prohibited unless it satisfies one of the following conditions: before the stockholder became interested, the board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 75% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding, shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers, and employee stock plans, in some instances; or at or after the time the stockholder became interested, the business combination was approved by the board of directors of the corporation and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder.
A Delaware corporation may “opt out” of these provisions with an express provision in its original certificate of incorporation or an express provision in its certificate of incorporation or bylaws resulting from a stockholders' amendment approved by at least a majority of the outstanding voting shares. We have not opted out of these provisions. As a result, mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts of us may be discouraged or prevented.
