Description of Registered Securities
Exhibit 4.5
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED
F-star Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company” or “we”) has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended: our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share.
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK
We are authorized to issue 200,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. As of March 1, 2022, we had 21,064,788 shares of common stock outstanding with approximately 155 common stockholders of record and no shares of preferred stock outstanding.
The following summary of certain provisions of our common stock does not purport to be complete. You should refer to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws, both of which are included as exhibits to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. The summary below is also qualified by provisions of applicable law.
General
We are authorized to issue one class of common stock. Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held of record for the election of directors and on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, except matters that relate only to one or more of the series of our preferred stock, and no holder has cumulative voting rights. Accordingly, the holders of a majority 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 so choose. Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any then outstanding preferred stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends ratably, if any, as may be declared by our board of directors out of legally available funds, subject to any preferential dividend rights of any preferred stock then outstanding. Upon our dissolution, liquidation or winding up, holders of our common stock are entitled to share ratably in our net assets legally available after the payment of all our debts and other liabilities, subject to the preferential rights of any preferred stock then outstanding. Holders of our common stock have no preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. The rights, preferences and privileges of 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 are currently designated and issued or that we may designate and issue in the future. Except as described under “Certain Provisions of Delaware Law and of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws—Anti-Takeover Provisions” below, a majority vote of the holders of common stock is generally required to take action under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws.
Stock Options and Warrants
As of December 31, 2021, we had outstanding options to purchase 1,098,134 shares of our common stock at a weighted average price of $5.80 per share. All of our stock options expire 10 years after their grant date.
As of December 31, 2021, we had outstanding warrants to purchase 104,736 shares of our common stock at exercise prices ranging from $8.32 to $9.46 per share. 62,500 warrants will expire on September 19, 2025, and 42,236 warrants expire on April 1, 2028.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Investor Services, 6200 S. Quebec St., Greenwood Village, CO 80111.
Stock Exchange Listing
Our common stock is listed for quotation on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “FSTX.”
CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF DELAWARE LAW AND OF THE COMPANY’S CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS
Anti-Takeover Provisions
The provisions of Delaware law, our restated certificate of incorporation and our restated bylaws may have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another person from acquiring control of our company.
Delaware Law
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law prevents some Delaware corporations from engaging, under some circumstances, in a business combination, which includes a merger or sale of at least 10% of the corporation’s assets with any interested stockholder, meaning a stockholder who, together with affiliates and associates, owns or, within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status, did own 15% or more of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock, unless:
If Section 203 applied to us, the restrictions could prohibit or delay mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts and, accordingly, could discourage attempts to acquire us.
Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Restated Bylaw Provisions
Our restated certificate of incorporation and our restated bylaws include a number of provisions that may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying or preventing changes in control of our management team, including the following:
Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
As permitted by Delaware law, we have adopted provisions in our certificate of incorporation that limit or eliminate the personal liability of our directors. Our restated certificate of incorporation limits the liability of directors to the maximum extent permitted by Delaware law. Delaware law provides that directors of a corporation will not be personally liable for monetary damages for breaches of their fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for:
These limitations do not apply to liabilities arising under federal securities laws and do not affect the availability of equitable remedies, including injunctive relief or rescission. If Delaware law is amended to authorize the further elimination or limiting of a director, then the liability of our directors will be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law as so amended.
As permitted by Delaware law, our certificate of incorporation also provides that:
The indemnification provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation are not exclusive. In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. Each of these indemnification agreements provides, among other things, that we will indemnify such director or executive officer to the fullest extent permitted by law for claims arising in his or her capacity as a director or officer, as applicable, provided that he or she acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, our best interests and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful. Each of these indemnification agreements provide that in the event that we do not assume the defense of a claim against a director or officer, as applicable, we will be required to advance his or her expenses in connection with his or her defense, provided that he or she undertakes to repay all amounts advanced if it is ultimately determined that he or she is not entitled to be indemnified by us.
We believe that these provisions and agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and officers. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling our company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we understand that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
In addition, we maintain standard policies of insurance under which coverage is provided to our directors and officers against losses arising from claims made by reason of breach of duty or other wrongful act, and to us with respect to payments which may be made by us to such directors and officers pursuant to the above indemnification provisions or otherwise as a matter of law.
The foregoing discussion of our restated certificate of incorporation, restated bylaws, indemnification agreements and Delaware law is not intended to be exhaustive and is qualified in its entirety by such restated certificate of incorporation, restated bylaws, indemnification agreements or law.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.
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