Document

Exhibit 4.5



DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
General
The following is a summary of the material terms of our capital stock, as well as other material terms of our restated certificate of incorporation, as amended (“certificate of incorporation”), and amended and restated bylaws (“bylaws”) and certain provisions of Delaware law. This summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, copies of which are filed as exhibits to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, to which this exhibit is also appended.
Our certificate of incorporation, authorizes us to issue up to 200,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share (“Common Stock”), and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock (“Preferred Stock”), including 398,487 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, $0.01 par value per share. 
Common Stock
Voting Rights
Each holder of our Common Stock is entitled to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders, except on matters relating solely to terms of Preferred Stock. Under our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights. Because of this, 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 should so choose.
Dividends
Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any then-outstanding Preferred Stock, holders of our Common Stock are entitled to receive ratably those dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors out of legally available funds.
Liquidation
In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our Common Stock will be entitled to share ratably in the net assets legally available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all of our debts and other liabilities and the satisfaction of any liquidation preference granted to the holders of any then-outstanding shares of Preferred Stock.
Rights and Preferences
Holders of our Common Stock do not have any preemptive, conversion or subscription rights and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Common Stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the 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 we may designate in the future.
Fully Paid and Nonassessable
All of our outstanding shares of Common Stock are fully paid and nonassessable.
Preferred Stock
Pursuant to our certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders (unless such stockholder action is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing rules), to designate and issue up to 5,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock in one or more series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such series, to fix the designations, powers, preferences, privileges and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of the Common Stock, and to increase 








or decrease the number of shares of any such series, but not below the number of shares of such series then outstanding.
Our board of directors, without stockholder approval, can issue Preferred Stock with voting, conversion or other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of Common Stock. Preferred Stock could be issued quickly with terms designed to delay or prevent a change in control of our company or make removal of management more difficult. Additionally, the issuance of Preferred Stock may have the effect of decreasing the market price of the Common Stock and may adversely affect the voting power of holders of Common Stock and reduce the likelihood that holders of our Common Stock will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation.
We will fix the designations, voting powers, preferences and rights of the Preferred Stock of each series we issue, as well as the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, in the certificate of designation relating to that series. We will describe the terms of the series of Preferred Stock being offered, including, to the extent applicable:
•the title and stated value;
•the number of shares we are offering;
•the liquidation preference per share;
•the purchase price;
•the dividend rate, period and payment date and method of calculation for dividends;
•whether dividends will be cumulative or non-cumulative and, if cumulative, the date from which dividends will accumulate;
•the procedures for any auction and remarketing;
•the provisions for a sinking fund;
•the provisions for redemption or repurchase and any restrictions on our ability to exercise those redemption and repurchase rights;
•any listing of the Preferred Stock on any securities exchange or market;
•whether the Preferred Stock will be convertible into our Common Stock, and the conversion rate or conversion price, or how they will be calculated, and the conversion period;
•whether the Preferred Stock will be exchangeable into debt securities, and the exchange rate or exchange price, or how they will be calculated, and the exchange period;
•voting rights of the Preferred Stock;
•preemptive rights;
•restrictions on transfer, sale or other assignment;
•whether interests in the Preferred Stock will be represented by depositary shares;
•a discussion of material or special U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the Preferred Stock;
•the relative ranking and preferences of the Preferred Stock as to dividend rights and rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs;








•any limitations on the issuance of any class or series of Preferred Stock ranking senior to or on a parity with the series of Preferred Stock as to dividend rights and rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs; and
•any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of, or restrictions on, the Preferred Stock.
If we issue shares of Preferred Stock, the shares will be fully paid and nonassessable.
The issuance of Preferred Stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of Common Stock and reduce the likelihood that the holders of our Common Stock will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation. The issuance could have the effect of decreasing the market price of the Common Stock. The issuance of Preferred Stock also could have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control of us.
Registration Rights
Certain of the holders of our Common Stock are entitled to rights with respect to the registration of such securities as set forth below under the Securities Act. These rights are provided under the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement between us and certain holders of our Common Stock. Under the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement, we have filed a registration statement on Form S-3 to sell registrable securities. We are required to use commercially reasonable efforts to effect a registration of such shares. The Registration Rights Agreement does not include demand registration rights or piggyback registration rights. All fees, costs and expenses of underwritten registrations under these agreements 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.
Indemnification
The Registration 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.
Expenses of Registration
We are generally required to bear all registration and selling expenses incurred in connection with the registration described above, other than underwriting discounts and selling commissions.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or Section 203. Section 203 generally prohibits a public Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless:
•prior to the date of the transaction, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;
•upon completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding upon consummation of the transaction, excluding for purposes of determining the number of shares outstanding (i) shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) shares owned by employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or
•on or subsequent to the consummation of the transaction, the business combination is approved by the board and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by 








the affirmative vote of at least 66 2⁄3% of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder.
Section 203 defines a “business combination” to include:
•any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder;
•any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition involving the interested stockholder of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation;
•subject to exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder;
•any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock of any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; and
•the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits provided by or through the corporation.
In general, Section 203 defines an “interested stockholder” as an entity or person who, together with the person’s affiliates and associates, beneficially owns, or within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation.
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that:
•the authorized number of directors can be changed only by resolution of our board of directors;
•our bylaws may be amended or repealed by our board of directors or stockholders;
•our stockholders may not call special meetings of the stockholders or fill vacancies on our board of directors;
•our stockholders may remove our directors only for cause;
•all vacancies, including newly created directorships, may, except as otherwise required by law or subject to the rights of holders of Preferred Stock as designated from time to time, be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum;
•our board of directors will be authorized to issue, without stockholder approval, Preferred Stock, the rights of which will be determined at the discretion of our board of directors and that, if issued, could operate as a “poison pill” to dilute the stock ownership of a potential hostile acquirer to prevent an acquisition that ours board of directors does not approve;
•our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights, and therefore our stockholders holding a majority of the shares of Common Stock outstanding will be able to elect all of our directors;
•our stockholders must comply with advance notice provisions to bring business before or nominate directors for election at a stockholder meeting; and
•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 owed by any of our directors, officers or other employee to us or our stockholders, (3) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or our certificate of incorporation or bylaws or (4) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Notwithstanding the foregoing, these choice of 








forum provisions do not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
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 certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened acquisition of us. These provisions are designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal. The provisions also are intended to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, these provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and, as a consequence, they may also reduce fluctuations in the market price of our shares that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts.
Potential Effects of Authorized but Unissued Stock
Our shares of Common Stock and Preferred Stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval. We may utilize these additional shares for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, to facilitate corporate acquisitions or payment as a dividend on the capital stock.
The existence of unissued and unreserved Common Stock and Preferred Stock may enable our board of directors to issue shares to persons friendly to current management or to issue Preferred Stock with terms that could render more difficult or discourage a third-party attempt to obtain control by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, thereby protecting the continuity of our management. In addition, our board of directors has the discretion to determine designations, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, dividend rights, conversion rights, redemption privileges and liquidation preferences of each series of Preferred Stock, all to the fullest extent permissible under the Delaware General Corporation Law and subject to any limitations set forth in our certificate of incorporation. The purpose of authorizing the board of directors to issue Preferred Stock and to determine the rights and preferences applicable to such Preferred Stock is to eliminate delays associated with a stockholder vote on specific issuances. The issuance of Preferred Stock, while providing desirable flexibility in connection with possible financings, acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or could discourage a third party from acquiring, a majority of our outstanding voting stock.
Amendments to Governing Documents
Generally, the amendment of our certificate of incorporation requires approval by our board of directors and a majority vote of stockholders. Any amendment to our bylaws requires the approval of either a majority of our board of directors or approval of at least a majority of the votes entitled to be cast by the holders of our outstanding capital stock in elections of our board of directors.
Listing
Our Common Stock is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “VRDN.”
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our Common Stock and our Series A Preferred Stock is VStock Transfer, LLC. The transfer agent and registrar’s address is 18 Lafayette Place, Woodmere, New York 11598.