Document

Exhibit 4.4





DESCRIPTION OF REVANCE THERAPEUTICS, INC. COMMON STOCK
The following is a description of the common stock, $0.001 par value (the “Common Stock”), of Revance Therapeutics, Inc. (“we” or the “Company”), which is the only security of the Company registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). 
General 
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation as currently in effect (the “Certificate of Incorporation”) authorizes us to issue up to 190,000,000 shares of Common Stock and up to and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share (the “Preferred Stock”). The following description summarizes selected information regarding the Common Stock, as well as relevant provisions of (i) the Certificate of Incorporation, (ii) the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws, as currently in effect (the “Bylaws”), and (iii) the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”). The following summary description of the Common Stock of the Company is qualified in its entirety by reference to the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, copies of which have been filed as exhibits to the Company’s periodic reports under the Exchange Act, and the applicable provisions of the DGCL.
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, including the election of directors. 
At all meetings of stockholders, except where otherwise provided by statute or by the Certificate of Incorporation, or by the Bylaws, the presence of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Except as otherwise provided by statute or by applicable stock exchange rules, or by the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws, in all matters other than the election of directors, the affirmative vote of the majority of shares present at the meeting and entitled to vote generally on the subject matter shall be the act of the stockholders. 
Our board of directors is divided into three classes, with each class having a three-year term. Except as otherwise provided by statute, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, directors standing for election shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of the shares present at the meeting and entitled to vote generally on the election of directors. The Company’s stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors. As a result, 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 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 of the Company, holders of Common Stock are 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 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 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
Under 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 the rules of any stock exchange or market on which our securities are then traded), 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, voting powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each wholly unissued series, and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, 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. The, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions granted to or imposed upon any unissued series of Preferred Stock may be greater than the rights of the Common Stock. The issuance of Preferred Stock may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of the Company without further action by the stockholders, and may have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in management of the Company. In addition, 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 Common Stock will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws 
Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws provide for our board of directors to be divided into three classes, with staggered three-year terms. Only one class of directors is elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms. Because our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights, our stockholders representing a majority of the shares of Common Stock outstanding will be able to elect all of our directors due to be elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders. In addition, our Certificate of Incorporation provides that vacancies on our board of directors resulting from death, resignation, disqualification, removal or other causes may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors in office, even if less than a quorum, and that newly created directorships shall be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, unless our board of directors determines otherwise. Our Bylaws provide that all stockholder action must be effected at a duly called meeting of stockholders and not by consent in writing, and that only the chairman of our board, our president, our secretary or a majority of the authorized number of directors may call a special meeting of stockholders. Our Certificate of Incorporation requires a 66-2/3% stockholder vote for the amendment, repeal or modification of certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation relating to, among other things, the classification of our board of directors and filling of vacancies on our board of directors. Our Bylaws 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 any meeting of stockholders. Our Bylaws also specify certain requirements regarding the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. These provisions may preclude our stockholders from bringing matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our meetings of stockholders. Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws also require a 66-2/3% stockholder vote for the stockholders to adopt, amend or repeal certain provisions of our Bylaws relating to stockholder proposals at annual meetings, director nominees and the number and term of office of directors. 
The combination of the classification of our board of directors, the lack of cumulative voting and the 66-2/3% stockholder voting requirements will make 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. Since 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 effect a change of our control. 
These provisions may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in our control or in our management. These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of 








our board of directors and in the policies they implement, and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened change of our control. 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, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and, as a consequence, they also may inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our shares that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts. 
Exclusive Forum
Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws provide that the Delaware Court of Chancery (or, if the Delaware Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, any state court located in Delaware or if all the state courts lack jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) and any appellate court therefrom will be the exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law: 
												
				
	•	any derivative action, suit or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company;

	•	any action, suit or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer, other employee or stockholder of the Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders or any action asserting a claim for aiding and abetting any such breach of fiduciary duty;

	•	any action, suit or proceeding asserting a claim against the Company or any current or former director, officer, or other employee of the Company arising out of or pursuant to, or seeking to enforce any right, obligation or remedy under, or to interpret, apply, or determine the validity of, any provision of the DGCL, the amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or the amended and restated bylaws (as each may be amended from time to time);

	•	any action, suit, or proceeding as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Delaware Court of Chancery; and
	•	any action, suit or proceeding asserting a claim against the Company or any current or former director, officer, or other employee of the Company governed by the internal-affairs doctrine.




This provision would not apply to actions, suits or proceedings brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, our Bylaws provide that, unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of a alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any claims arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. 


Section 203 of Delaware Law 
We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“Section 203”), 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, with the following exceptions: 												
				
	•	before such date, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that 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 at the time the transaction began, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) those shares owned (i) by persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) 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 after such date, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66-2/3% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.










In general, Section 203 defines business combination to include the following: 												
				
	•	any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder;
	•	any sale, lease, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation to or with the interested stockholder;
	•	subject to certain 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 or any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or
	•	the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loss, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits by or through the corporation.


In general, Section 203 defines interested stockholder as an entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation or any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or controlled by such entity or person. 
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.