ctmx-ex44_216.htm



Exhibit 4.4

 

DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

The following summary describes the capital stock of CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our”) and the material provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws, the registration rights agreement to which we and a stockholder are parties and of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. Because the following is only a summary, it does not contain all of the information that may be important to you. For a complete description, you should refer to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws, and registration rights agreement, copies of which are incorporated by reference as exhibits to our Annual Report on Form 10-K.

As of June 30, 2020, CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. (“CytomX”) had common stock, $0.00001 par value per share, registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol “CTMX.”  

General

We have authorized 150,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.00001 par value per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.00001 par value per share under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.  As of June 30, 2020, there were outstanding:


	
 
	
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46,190,070 shares of our common stock; and




 


	
 
	
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11,632,550 shares of common stock subject to outstanding stock options.




As of June 30, 2020, there were 31 holders on record of our common stock. This number does not include beneficial owners whose shares are held by nominees in street name.

Common Stock

Voting Rights

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. In the election of directors, a plurality of the votes cast at a meeting of stockholders is sufficient to elect a director. Our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors. Accordingly, holders of a majority of the voting shares are able to elect all of the directors. In all other matters, except as noted below under “Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law, Our Certificate of Incorporation and Our Bylaws,” a majority vote of common stockholders is generally required to take action under our certificate of incorporation and bylaws.

Dividends

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.

Liquidation

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.

Other Rights and Preferences



Holders of our common stock have no preemptive, subscription or conversion rights, and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock. 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 we may designate and issue in the future.

Preferred Stock

Our board of directors has the authority, without action by the stockholders, to designate and issue up to an aggregate of 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series. The board of directors can fix the rights, preferences and privileges of the shares of each series and any of its qualifications, limitations or restrictions. Our board of directors may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of common stock. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible future financings and acquisitions and other corporate purposes could, under certain circumstances, have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of our company and might harm the market price of our common stock. As of June 30, 2020, no shares of preferred stock were outstanding, and we have no present plan to issue any shares of preferred stock.

Registration Rights Agreement

Pursuant to our registration rights agreement, as of June 30, 2020, Amgen Inc. (“Amgen”), the holder of 1,156,069 shares of our common stock, is entitled to require us register the resale of the shares purchased by Amgen pursuant to that certain share purchase agreement, dated September 29, 2017, between the Company and Amgen, on a registration statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The registration rights agreement contains customary indemnification provisions, and terminates if there are no registrable shares outstanding.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law, Our Certificate of Incorporation and Our Bylaws

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws include a number of provisions that may have the effect of encouraging persons considering unsolicited tender offers or other unilateral takeover proposals to negotiate with our board of directors rather than pursue non-negotiated takeover attempts. These provisions include the items described below.

Removal of Directors 

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that subject to any limitations imposed by law and the rights of the holders of any series of our preferred stock, the board of directors or any individual director may be removed from office at any time without cause by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of voting stock of our company entitled to vote at an election of directors.

No Written Consent of Stockholders 

Our bylaws provide that all stockholder actions are required to be taken by a vote of the stockholders at an annual or special meeting, and that stockholders may not take any action by written consent in lieu of a meeting.

Staggered Board

Our board of directors is divided into three staggered classes of directors of the same or nearly the same number and each director will be assigned to one of the three classes. At each annual meeting of the stockholders, a class of directors will be elected for a three-year term to succeed the directors of the same class whose terms are then expiring. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the number of our directors shall be fixed from time to time by a resolution of the majority of our board of directors. Any additional directorships resulting from an increase in the number of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class shall consist of one third of the board of directors. The division of our board of directors into three classes with staggered three-year terms may delay or prevent stockholder efforts to effect a change of our management or a change in control.



Meetings of Stockholders 

Our bylaws provide that special meetings of stockholders, which our company is not obligated to call more than once per calendar year, may only be called by the chairman of our board of directors, our chief executive officer, or our board of directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the total number of authorized directors. In addition, our bylaws will limit the business that may be conducted at an annual meeting of stockholders to those matters properly brought before the meeting.

Advance Notice Requirements 

Our bylaws include advance notice procedures with regard to stockholder proposals relating to the nomination of candidates for election as directors or new business to be brought before meetings of our stockholders. These procedures provide that notice of stockholder proposals must be timely given in writing to our 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 later than the close of business on the ninetieth (90th) day nor earlier than the close of business on the one hundred twentieth (120th) day prior to the first anniversary of the annual meeting for the preceding year. The notice must contain certain information specified in the bylaws. These provisions may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed. These provisions may also discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company.

Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws 

Our certificate of incorporation provides that the affirmative votes of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of our voting stock will be required to amend certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation, including provisions relating to the size of our board of directors, removal of directors, special meeting of stockholders and actions by written consent. The affirmative votes of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of our voting stock will be required to amend or repeal our bylaws. In addition, our bylaws may be amended by our board of directors, subject to any limitations set forth in the bylaws.

Blank Check Preferred Stock 

Our certificate of incorporation provides for 10,000,000 authorized shares of preferred stock. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock may enable our board of directors to render more difficult or to discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest 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 us or our stockholders, our board of directors could cause shares of 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 certificate of incorporation grants our board of directors broad power to establish the rights and preferences of authorized and unissued shares of preferred stock. The issuance of shares of 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.

Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law 

We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended. 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 percent 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: 


	
 
	
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before the stockholder became interested, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;  




 


	
 
	
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upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85 percent 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  




 


	
 
	
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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 66 2/3 percent 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.

Delaware as Sole and Exclusive Forum 

Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of us, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by, or otherwise wrongdoing by, any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended, or our certificate of incorporation or bylaws, (iv) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (v) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine.

Limitations of Liability and Indemnification 

As permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, in each case, limit or eliminate the personal liability of our directors. Consequently, a director will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability for: 


	
 
	
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any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;




 


	
 
	
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any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;  




 


	
 
	
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any unlawful payments related to dividends or unlawful stock repurchases, redemptions or other distributions; or  




 


	
 
	
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any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.  




These limitations of liability do not alter director liability under the U.S. federal securities laws and do not affect the availability of equitable remedies such as an injunction or rescission. 

In addition, our amended and restated bylaws provide that: 


	
 
	
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we will indemnify our directors, officers and, at the discretion of our board of directors, certain employees and agents to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended;  




 








	
 
	
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we will advance expenses, including attorneys’ fees, to our directors and to our officers and certain employees, in connection with legal proceedings, subject to limited exceptions; and 




 


	
 
	
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the indemnification and advancement of expenses provided in our amended and restated bylaws are not exclusive of any other right to which our directors or officers may be entitled under any indemnification agreement we enter into with any individual director, officer, employee or agent.  




We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our executive officers and directors. The form of these agreements have been approved by our stockholders. These agreements provide that we will indemnify each of our executive officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law and advance expenses to each indemnitee in connection with any proceeding in which indemnification is available. 

We have obtained general liability insurance that covers certain liabilities of our directors and officers arising out of claims based on acts or omissions in their capacities as directors or officers, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable. 

The above provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. The provisions may also have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions. We believe that these provisions, the indemnification agreements and the insurance are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced directors and officers. 

At present, there is no pending litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors or officers where indemnification will be required or permitted. We are not aware of any threatened litigation or proceedings that might result in a claim for such indemnification.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A. The transfer agent and registrar’s address is 462 South 4th Street, Suite 1600, Louisville, KY 40202.