Description of Registered Securities
Exhibit 4.3
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANTS’ SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
The following description summarizes selected information regarding our capital stock, as well as relevant provisions of: (i) our amended and restated certificate of incorporation; (ii) our amended and restated bylaws; and (iii) the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or the DGCL. The following summary is qualified in its entirety by, and should be read in conjunction with, the amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the amended and restated bylaws, copies of which have been filed as exhibits to our Annual Report on Form 10-K to which this exhibit is attached, and the applicable provisions of the DGCL.
General
Our authorized capital stock consists of 320,000,000 shares, all with a par value of $0.0001 per share, of which 310,000,000 shares are designated as common stock and 10,000,000 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. The affirmative vote of holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock, voting as a single class, will be required to amend certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, including provisions relating to amending our amended and restated bylaws, the classified board, the size of our board, removal of directors, director liability, vacancies on our board, special meetings, stockholder notices, actions by written consent, exclusive jurisdiction and our public benefit corporation purpose.
Economic Rights
Dividends and Distributions. Subject to preferences that may apply to any outstanding preferred stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends that our board of directors may declare out of funds legally available for that purpose on a non-cumulative basis.
Liquidation Rights. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our common stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities and the liquidation preference of any outstanding preferred stock.
No Preemptive or Similar Rights
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 our preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.
Preferred Stock
Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation currently in effect, our board of directors may, without further action by our stockholders, fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of up to an aggregate of 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and authorize their issuance. These rights, preferences and privileges could include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences 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 our common stock. Any issuance of our preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of our common stock, and the likelihood that such holders would receive dividend payments and payments on liquidation. In addition, the issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of delaying,
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deferring or preventing a change of control or other corporate action. No shares of preferred stock are outstanding. We have no present plan to issue any shares of preferred stock.
Registration Rights
Stockholder Registration Rights
We are party to a stockholders agreement that provides that certain holders of certain shares of our common stock have registration rights, as set forth below. This stockholders agreement was entered into as of July 6, 2020. The registration of shares of our common stock by the exercise of registration rights described below would enable the holders to sell these shares without restriction under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) when the applicable registration statement is declared effective. We will pay the registration expenses, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, of the shares registered by the demand, piggyback and Form S-3 registrations described below.
Demand Registration Rights
Certain holders of certain shares of our common stock (the “registrable securities”) are entitled to demand registration rights. Such holders are entitled, on not more than one occasion, provided that the holders of at least 10% of the registrable securities as are then outstanding make such request, to request that we register all or a portion of their registrable securities. Such request for registration must cover share of our common stock with an anticipated aggregate offering price, net of underwriting discounts and commissions, of at least $15 million.
Piggyback Registration Rights
Certain holders of registrable securities issuable upon the exercise of outstanding vested and unvested stock options are entitled to include their shares of registrable securities in an offering. 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 certain piggyback registration rights allowing such holders 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, subject to certain exceptions, 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.
Form S-3 Registration Rights
Certain holders of shares of common stock are entitled to certain Form S-3 registration rights. If we are eligible to file a registration statement on Form S-3, these holders have the right, upon written request from holders of at least 10% of such shares as are then outstanding, to have such shares registered by us if the anticipated aggregate offering price of such shares, net of underwriting discounts and commissions, is at least $5 million, subject to exceptions set forth in the stockholders agreement.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Among other things, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated 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 control; |
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| • | provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of our board of directors; |
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| • | provide that our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors; |
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| • | provide that, subject to the rights of any series of preferred stock to elect directors, directors may only be removed for cause, which removal may be effected, subject to any limitation imposed by law, by the |
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| holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote generally at an election of directors; |
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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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| • | 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 or electronic transmission; |
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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 advance notice in writing, and also specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice; |
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| • | provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by the chairman of our board of directors, our chief executive officer or by our board of directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the total number of authorized directors; and |
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| • | do not provide for cumulative voting rights, therefore allowing the holders of a majority 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. |
The amendment of any of these provisions would require approval by the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of all of our then-outstanding common stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class.
The combination of these provisions makes it more difficult for our existing stockholders to replace our board of directors as well as for another party to obtain control of us by replacing our board of directors. Because our board of directors has the power to retain and discharge our officers, these provisions could also make it more difficult for existing stockholders or another party to effect a change in management. In addition, the authorization of undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change our control.
These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of our board of directors and its policies and to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to reduce our vulnerability to hostile takeovers and to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and may have the effect of delaying changes in our control or management. As a consequence, these provisions may also inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our stock that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts. We believe that the benefits of these provisions, including increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure our company, outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging takeover proposals, because negotiation of takeover proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.
Public Benefit Corporation Status
We are a public benefit corporation under Section 362 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we may not, without the approval of the holders of 66 2/3% of the voting power of our outstanding stock, amend our certificate of incorporation to delete or amend a provision relating to our public benefit corporation status or our public benefit purpose (or effect a merger or consolidation involving stock consideration with an entity that is not a public benefit corporation with an identical public benefit to ours).
Additionally, as a public benefit corporation, our board of directors is required by the Delaware General Corporation Law to manage or direct our business and affairs in a manner that balances the pecuniary interests of our stockholders, the best interests of those materially affected by our conduct, and the specific public benefits identified in our certificate of incorporation. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, our stockholders may bring a derivative suit to enforce this requirement only if they own (individually or collectively), at least 2% of our outstanding capital stock or shares having at least $2 million in market value (whichever is less).
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We believe that our public benefit corporation status will make it more difficult for another party to obtain control of us without maintaining our public benefit corporation status and purpose.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
At any time when we have a class of voting stock that is either listed on a national securities exchange or held of record by more than 2,000 stockholders, we will be subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, subject to certain exceptions.
Choice of Forum
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) is the exclusive forum for actions or proceedings brought under Delaware statutory or common law: (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (2) any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; (3) any action asserting a claim against us arising under the Delaware General Corporation Law; (4) any action regarding our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; (5) any action as to which the Delaware General Corporation Law confers jurisdiction to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; or (6) any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine.
In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act.
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