Description of Capital Stock
Exhibit 4.4
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
The following description of the capital stock of Scholar Rock Holding Corporation (“us,” “our,” “we” or the “Company”) is a summary of the rights of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “common stock”), and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as amended (the “charter”), and our amended and restated bylaws currently in effect (“bylaws”). This summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the provisions of our charter and bylaws, each previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.4 is a part, as well as to the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”). We encourage you to read our charter and bylaws, and the applicable portions of the DGCL carefully.
Authorized Capital Stock
Our authorized capital stock consists of 150,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, all of which shares of preferred stock are undesignated.
Dividend Rights
Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available for that purpose, subject to any preferential dividend rights of any outstanding preferred stock.
Liquidation Rights
In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our common stock will be entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of all debts and other liabilities and any liquidation preference of any outstanding preferred stock.
Voting Rights
The holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders. The holders of our common stock do not have any cumulative voting rights.
Other Matters
Our common stock has no preemptive rights, conversion rights or other subscription rights or redemption or sinking fund provisions. The shares to be issued by us will be, when issued and paid for, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. The rights, preferences, and privileges of our common shareholders are subject to the rights of the shareholders of any series of preferred stock that we may designate in the future. Our charter and bylaws do not restrict the ability of a holder of our common stock to transfer his, her or its shares of common stock.
Transfer Agent and Listing
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A. Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “SRRK.”
Anti-Takeover Effects of Our Certificate of Incorporation and Our Bylaws
Our charter 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.
These provisions include:
Classified Board. Our charter provides that our board of directors is 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 has the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to change the composition of our board. Our charter 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. Our board of directors has eight members. Our charter provides that the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote, and the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of each class entitled to vote as a class, is required to amend or repeal the foregoing provision. This requirement of a supermajority vote to amend or repeal that provision of our bylaws could enable a minority of our stockholders to prevent a declassification of our Board.
Action by Written Consent; Special Meetings of Stockholders. Our charter 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. This limit may lengthen the amount of time required to take stockholder actions and would prevent the amendment of our bylaws or removal of directors by our stockholders without holding a meeting of stockholders. Our charter provides that the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote, and the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of each class entitled to vote as a class, is required to amend or repeal the foregoing provision. Our charter and bylaws 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, and only those matters set forth in the notice of the special meeting may be considered or acted upon at a special meeting of stockholders. Our bylaws limit the business that may be conducted at an annual meeting of stockholders to those matters properly brought before the meeting. Stockholders are not permitted to call a special meeting or to require the board of directors to call a special meeting. Our bylaws provide that the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, and of each class entitled to vote, respectively, is required to amend the or repeal the provision in our bylaws that provides that 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, unless the Board first recommends such amendment or repeal to stockholders. This requirement of a supermajority vote to amend or repeal that provision of our bylaws could enable a minority of our stockholders to prevent a change to such provision and has the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to call a special meeting of stockholders.
Removal of Directors. Our charter provides that our directors may be removed only for cause and then only by the affirmative vote of the holders of two-thirds or more of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors, at a meeting of the stockholders called for that purpose. Furthermore, any vacancy on our board of directors, however occurring, including a vacancy resulting from an increase in the size of our board, may only be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of our directors then in office even if less than a quorum. 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, and the treatment of vacancies also has the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to change 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. These procedures provide that notice of stockholder proposals must be timely given in writing to our corporate secretary prior to the meeting at which the action is to be taken. Generally, to be timely, notice must be received at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary date of the annual meeting for the preceding year. Our bylaws specify the requirements as to form and content of all stockholders’ notices. 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 the 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, the 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.
Super Majority Approval Requirements and Amendment to Charter and Bylaws. Any amendment of our charter must first be approved by a majority of our board of directors, and if required by law or our charter, must thereafter be approved by a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment and a majority of the outstanding shares of each class entitled to vote thereon as a class, except that the amendment of the provisions relating to stockholder action, board composition, limitation of liability and the amendment of our bylaws and charter must be approved by not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment, and not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of each class entitled to vote thereon as a class. Our bylaws may be amended by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office, subject to any limitations set forth in the bylaws, and may also be amended by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment, or, if our board of directors recommends that the stockholders approve the amendment, by the affirmative vote of the majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment, in each case voting together as a single class.
Authorized but Unissued Shares. Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock are 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. For example, if in the due exercise of its fiduciary obligations, our board of directors were to determine that a takeover proposal is not in the best interests of our stockholders, our board of directors could cause shares of convertible preferred stock to be issued without stockholder approval in one or more private offerings or other transactions that might dilute the voting or other rights of the proposed acquirer or insurgent stockholder or stockholder group. In this regard, our charter grants our board of directors broad power to establish the rights and preferences of authorized and unissued shares of convertible preferred stock. The issuance of shares of convertible preferred stock could decrease the amount of earnings and assets available for distribution to holders of shares of common stock. The issuance may also adversely affect the rights and powers, including voting rights, of these holders and may have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control of us.
Choice of Forum. Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for: (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty or other wrongdoing by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents to us or our stockholders; (3) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or our charter or bylaws; (4) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our charter or bylaws; or (5) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine.
In addition, our bylaws contain a provision by virtue of which, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts will be the exclusive forum for any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. In addition, our bylaws provide that any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our common stock is deemed to have notice of and consented to the foregoing provisions.
We have chosen the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts as the exclusive forum for such causes of action because our principal executive offices are located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Some companies that have adopted similar federal district court forum selection provisions are currently subject to a suit in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware brought by stockholders who assert that the federal district court forum selection provision is not enforceable. On December 19, 2018, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware issued a decision declaring that federal forum selection provisions purporting to require claims under the Securities Act be brought in federal court are ineffective and invalid under Delaware law. On January 17, 2019, the decision was appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court. While the Delaware Supreme Court recently dismissed the appeal on jurisdictional grounds, we expect that the appeal will be re-filed after the Court of Chancery issues a final judgment. Unless and until the Court of Chancery’s decision is reversed by the Delaware Supreme Court or otherwise abrogated, we do not intend to enforce our federal forum selection provision designating the District of Massachusetts as the exclusive forum for Securities Act claims. In the event that the Delaware Supreme Court affirms the Court of Chancery’s decision or otherwise determines that federal forum selection provisions are invalid, our board of directors intends to amend promptly our bylaws to remove our federal forum selection bylaw provision.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL (“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 85% 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.
