ccxi-ex44_10.htm



Exhibit 4.4

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

ChemoCentryx, Inc. (we, us and our) has one class of securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended: our common stock.

Description of Common Stock

General

The following summary of the terms of our common stock is based upon our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws. The summary is not complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, which are filed as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K and are incorporated by reference herein. We encourage you to read our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws and the applicable provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (DGCL) for additional information.

Under our certificate of incorporation, the total number of shares of all classes of stock that we have authority to issue is 210,000,000 shares, consisting of 200,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share.

Common Stock

Voting rights

Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders, and do not have cumulative voting rights. 

Dividend rights

Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any then outstanding preferred stock, holders of common stock are entitled to receive dividends, if any, as and when declared by our board of directors. 

Liquidation rights

In the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of our affairs, holders of common stock will be entitled to share ratably in our assets that are remaining after payment or provision for payment of all of our debts and obligations and after liquidation payments to holders of outstanding shares of preferred stock, if any.

Rights and preferences

Holders of common stock have no 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, which we may designate in the future.

Fully paid and nonassessable

The outstanding shares of our common stock are fully paid and nonassessable.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, our Amended and Restated Bylaws and Delaware Law

Some provisions of Delaware law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could make the following transactions more difficult: acquisition of us by means of a tender offer; acquisition of us by means of a proxy contest or otherwise; or removal of our incumbent officers and directors. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish or could deter transactions that stockholders may otherwise consider to be in their best interest or in our best interests, including transactions that might result in a premium over the market price for our shares.

These provisions, summarized below, are expected to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure us outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging these proposals because negotiation of these proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.

Undesignated Preferred Stock

The ability to authorize 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 control of us. These and other provisions may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control or management of our company.

Stockholder Meetings

Our charter documents provide that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by our chairperson of the board of directors, Chief Executive Officer or President, or by the board of directors.

Requirements for Advance Notification of Stockholder Nominations and Proposals

Our amended and restated bylaws establish advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of the board of directors or a committee of the board of directors.

 



 

Elimination of Stockholder Action by Written Consent

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation eliminates the right of stockholders to act by written consent without a meeting.

Election and Removal of Directors

Our board of directors is divided into three classes. The directors in each class serve for a three-year term, one class being elected each year by our stockholders. This system of electing and removing directors may tend to discourage a third party from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us, because it generally makes it more difficult for stockholders to replace a majority of the directors.

Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute

We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which prohibits persons deemed “interested stockholders” from engaging in a “business combination” with a publicly-held Delaware corporation for three years following the date these persons become interested stockholders unless the business combination is, or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder was, approved in a prescribed manner or another prescribed exception applies. Generally, an “interested stockholder” is a person 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 a corporation’s voting stock. Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. The existence of this provision may have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by the board of directors, such as discouraging takeover attempts that might result in a premium over the market price of our common stock.

Amendment of Charter Provisions

The amendment of any of the above provisions, except for the provision making it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock, would require approval by holders of at least 66 2/3% of our then outstanding common stock.

The provisions of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws could have the effect of discouraging others from attempting hostile takeovers and, as a consequence, they may also inhibit temporary fluctuations in the market price of our common stock that often result from actual or rumored hostile takeover attempts. These provisions may also have the effect of preventing changes in our management. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.

Listing

Our common stock is listed for trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “CCXI.”

 



 

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC.