Description of Securities of the Registrant

EX-4.1 2 yten-20191231x10xkexh41.htm EXHIBIT 4.1 Exhibit

Exhibit 4.1

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Yield10 Bioscience, 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 $0.01 per share.

DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK

We are authorized to issue 60,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share. As of December 31, 2019, we had 933,423 shares of common stock outstanding.

The following description of our common stock is a summary and does not purport to be complete. You should refer to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated by-laws, both of which are incorporated by reference as exhibits to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this exhibit is a part. The summary below is also qualified by provisions of applicable law.

General

The holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders and do not have cumulative voting rights. Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of outstanding shares of common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends declared by our board of directors out of assets legally available. Upon 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 then outstanding shares of preferred stock. Holders of common stock have no preemptive or conversion rights or other subscription rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, with offices at 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11219.

Stock Exchange Listing

Our common stock is listed for quotation on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “YTEN.”

CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF DELAWARE LAW AND

OF THE COMPANY’S CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS

Anti-Takeover Provisions

We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Subject to certain exceptions, Section 203 prevents a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with any “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that this stockholder becomes an interested stockholder, unless the interested stockholder attained such status with the approval of our board of directors or unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. A “business combination” includes, among other things, a merger or consolidation involving us and the “interested stockholder” and the sale of more than 10% of our assets. In general, an “interested stockholder” is any entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock and any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or controlled by such entity or person.

Charter Documents

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws include a number of provisions that may have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of our company or preventing changes in our management, including the following:

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Issuance of Undesignated Preferred Stock. Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock with rights, preferences and privileges designated from time to time by our board of directors without further action by stockholders. These rights, preferences and privileges could include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences and sinking fund terms, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of common stock.

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Size of the Board of Directors and Filling Vacancies. The number of directors constituting our board of directors may be set only by resolution adopted by a majority vote of our entire board of directors. Any vacancy on our board of directors, however occurring, including a vacancy resulting from an increase in the size of the board of directors, may only be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of our directors then in office, even if less than a quorum.


•	Classified Board. Our board of directors is divided into three classes of directors, with staggered three-year terms. Only one class of directors will be elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms.


•	No Cumulative Voting. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as amended, and amended and restated by-laws do not permit cumulative voting in the election of directors. Cumulative voting allows a stockholder to vote a portion, or all of its shares for one or more candidates. The absence of cumulative voting makes it more difficult for a minority stockholder to gain a seat.


•	Removal of Directors. Directors can only be removed by our stockholders for cause and removal of a director will require a 75% stockholder vote.

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No Written Consent of Stockholders. All stockholder actions are required to be taken by a vote of the stockholders at an annual or special meeting. Stockholders may not take action by written consent in lieu of a meeting. The inability of stockholders to take action by written consent means that a stockholder would need to wait until the next annual or special meeting to bring business before the stockholders for a vote.


•	Special Meetings of Stockholders. Special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by our board of directors acting pursuant to a resolution approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office. Only those matters set forth in the notice of the special meeting may be considered or acted upon at a special meeting of our stockholders.

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Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations. Our amended and restated by-laws provide advance notice procedures for stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders. These procedures provide that notice must be given in writing not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting. These procedures 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 attempt to obtain control of us.

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Amendment to Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws. Any amendment, repeal or modification of certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated by-laws requires a 75% stockholder vote. Provisions requiring such supermajority vote include, among other things, any amendment, repeal or modification of the provisions relating to the classification of our board of directors, the requirement that stockholder actions be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of our stockholders and the designated parties entitled to call a special meeting of our stockholders.