Document:

Exhibit 4.16

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES 

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF
THE 

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED

 

As of December 31, 2019, Synthetic Biologics,
Inc. (the “Registrant,” “we,” “us,” and “our”) had one class of securities registered
under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which is our common
stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”).

 

General

 

The following description of the Common
Stock is a summary and does not purport to be complete. It is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the Registrant’s
Articles of Incorporation, as amended (the “Articles of Incorporation”), and Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”),
each of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.16 is a part.
We encourage you to read our Articles of Incorporation, our Bylaws and the applicable provisions of Nevada Revised Statute (the
 “NRS”), for additional information.

 

Description of Common Stock

 

Authorized Shares of Common Stock

 

We currently have authorized 200,000,000
million shares of Common Stock. As of December 31. 2019, we had 16,808,758 issued and 16,806,430 outstanding shares of Common Stock.

  

Voting Rights

 

The holders of the Common Stock are entitled
to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders, including the election of directors,
and do not have cumulative voting rights. Accordingly, the holders of a majority of the shares of the Common Stock entitled to
vote in any election of directors can elect all of the directors standing for election.

 

Dividend Rights

 

Subject to preferences that may be applicable
to any then outstanding preferred stock, the holders of Common Stock are entitled to receive dividends, if any, as may be declared
from time to time by our board of directors out of legally available funds.

 

Liquidation Rights

 

In the event of our liquidation, dissolution
or winding up, holders of the 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, subject to the satisfaction of any liquidation preference
granted to the holders of any then outstanding shares of preferred stock.

 

Other Rights and Preferences

 

The holders of the 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 the Common Stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected
by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of our preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.

 

Fully Paid and Nonassessable

 

All of our outstanding shares of Common
Stock are fully paid and nonassessable.

 

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Transfer Agent and Registrar

 

The transfer agent and registrar for the
Common Stock is Corporate Stock Transfer, Inc. The transfer agent’s address is 3200 Cherry Creek South Drive, Suite 430,
Denver, Colorado 80209.

 

Listing on the NYSE American

 

The Common Stock is listed on the NYSE American under the symbol
 “SYN.”

 

Stockholder Registration Rights

 

Pursuant to the terms of the registration
rights agreement that we entered into with Intrexon and an affiliated entity, we were required to file a registration statement
with respect to securities issued and are required to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement. The failure to
do so could result in the payment of damages by us. The registration statement was declared effective on April 29, 2013.

 

Anti-Takeover Effects of Certain Provisions
of our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws

 

Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
contain certain provisions that may have anti-takeover effects, making it more difficult for or preventing a third party from acquiring
control of the Registrant or changing our board of directors and management. According to our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws,
the holders of the Common Stock do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of our directors. The lack of cumulative voting
makes it more difficult for other stockholders to replace our board of directors or for a third party to obtain control of our
company by replacing its board of directors.

 

Authorized but Unissued Shares

 

Our authorized but unissued shares of Common
Stock will be available for future issuance without stockholder approval. We may use additional shares of Common Stock for a variety
of purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, to fund acquisitions and as employee compensation.
The existence of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain
control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

 

Anti-Takeover Effects of Nevada Law

 

Business Combinations

 

The “business combination”
provisions of Sections 78.411 to 78.444, inclusive, of the NRS generally prohibit a Nevada corporation with at least 200 stockholders
from engaging in various “combination” transactions with any interested stockholder for a period of two years after
the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the transaction is approved by the board
of directors prior to the date the interested stockholder obtained such status or the combination is approved by the board of directors
and thereafter is approved at a meeting of the stockholders by the affirmative vote of stockholders representing at least 60% of
the outstanding voting power held by disinterested stockholders, and extends beyond the expiration of the two-year period, unless:

 

		·	the combination was approved by the board of directors prior to the person becoming an interested
stockholder or the transaction by which the person first became an interested stockholder was approved by the board of directors
before the person became an interested stockholder or the combination is later approved by a majority of the voting power held
by disinterested stockholders; or

 

		·	if the consideration to be paid by the interested stockholder is at least equal to the highest
of: (a) the highest price per share paid by the interested stockholder within the two years immediately preceding the date of the
announcement of the combination or in the transaction in which it became an interested stockholder, whichever is higher, (b) the
market value per share of Common Stock on the date of announcement of the combination and the date the interested stockholder acquired
the shares, whichever is higher, or (c) for holders of preferred stock, the highest liquidation value of the preferred stock, if
it is higher.

 

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A “combination” is generally
defined to include mergers or consolidations or any sale, lease exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer, or other disposition, in
one transaction or a series of transactions, with an “interested stockholder” having: (a) an aggregate market value
equal to 5% or more of the aggregate market value of the assets of the corporation, (b) an aggregate market value equal to 5% or
more of the aggregate market value of all outstanding shares of the corporation, (c) 10% or more of the earning power or net income
of the corporation, and (d) certain other transactions with an interested stockholder or an affiliate or associate of an interested
stockholder.

 

In general, an “interested stockholder”
is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns (or within two years, did own) 10% or more of a corporation’s
voting stock. The statute could prohibit or delay mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts and, accordingly, may
discourage attempts to acquire our company even though such a transaction may offer our stockholders the opportunity to sell their
stock at a price above the prevailing market price.

 

Control Share Acquisitions

 

The “control share” provisions
of Sections 78.378 to 78.3793, inclusive, of the NRS apply to “issuing corporations” that are Nevada corporations with
at least 200 stockholders, including at least 100 stockholders of record who are Nevada residents, and that conduct business directly
or indirectly in Nevada. The control share statute prohibits an acquirer, under certain circumstances, from voting its shares of
a target corporation’s stock after crossing certain ownership threshold percentages, unless the acquirer obtains approval
of the target corporation’s disinterested stockholders. The statute specifies three thresholds: one-fifth or more but less
than one-third, one-third but less than a majority, and a majority or more, of the outstanding voting power. Generally, once an
acquirer crosses one of the above thresholds, those shares in an offer or acquisition and acquired within 90 days thereof become
 “control shares” and such control shares are deprived of the right to vote until disinterested stockholders restore
the right. These provisions also provide that if control shares are accorded full voting rights and the acquiring person has acquired
a majority or more of all voting power, all other stockholders who do not vote in favor of authorizing voting rights to the control
shares are entitled to demand payment for the fair value of their shares in accordance with statutory procedures established for
dissenters’ rights.

 

A corporation may elect to not be governed
by, or “opt out” of, the control share provisions by making an election in its articles of incorporation or bylaws,
provided that the opt-out election must be in place on the 10th day following the date an acquiring person has acquired a controlling
interest, that is, crossing any of the three thresholds described above. We have not opted out of the control share statutes, and
will be subject to these statutes if we are an “issuing corporation” as defined in such statutes.

 

The effect of the Nevada control share
statutes is that the acquiring person, and those acting in association with the acquiring person, will obtain only such voting
rights in the control shares as are conferred by a resolution of the stockholders at an annual or special meeting. The Nevada control
share law, if applicable, could have the effect of discouraging takeovers of our company.

 

    3Exhibit

EXHIBIT 4.1

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
The following summary of Ducommun’s common stock is based on and qualified by the Company’s Amended Certificate of Incorporation. For a complete description of the terms and provisions of the Company’s equity securities, including its common stock, please refer to the Company’s Amended Certificate of Incorporation (the “Charter”) and Amended Bylaws (the “Bylaws”), which are filed as Exhibits 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, of which this Exhibit 4.1 is a part. References to “Ducommun” or the “Company” herein are only to Ducommun Incorporated and not to any of its subsidiaries.

Description of Capital Stock

Our authorized capital stock consists of 35,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $.01 per share, and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $.01 per share. As of February 7, 2020, 11,606,827 shares of common stock and no shares of preferred stock were outstanding. 

Common Stock 

Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. The vote of the holders of a majority of the stock represented at a meeting at which a quorum is present is generally required to take stockholder action, unless a greater vote is required by law. The holders are entitled to cumulative voting in the election of directors. Directors are elected by plurality vote. The existence of a classified board along with cumulative voting may make it more difficult for a stockholder owning a significant amount of the Company’s common stock to effect a change in the majority of the board than would be the case if cumulative voting did not exist. 
Holders of common stock have no preemptive rights. They are entitled to such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available for such purpose. The common stock is not entitled to any sinking fund, redemption or conversion provisions. On our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of common stock are entitled to share ratably in our net assets remaining after the payment of all creditors and liquidation preferences of preferred stock, if any. The outstanding shares of common stock are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.  
The transfer agent and registrar for the common stock is Computershare Limited. 
The following provisions in our charter or bylaws may make a takeover of our Company more difficult: 
		
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	a provision in our Charter that our Bylaws may not be amended by our stockholders except by the affirmative vote of at least 75% of the total voting power of all outstanding shares of our voting stock; 

		
	•
	a provision in our Charter that requires the affirmative vote of at least 75% of the total voting power of all outstanding shares of our voting stock to amend the provisions of our charter relating to our classified board, stockholders’ ability to only act at a meeting, cumulative voting and the approval of certain transactions; 

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	•
	a provision in our Charter that our board of directors will be a classified board pursuant to which one-third of our directors will be elected each year to serve for a three-year term; 

		
	•
	a provision in our Charter prohibiting stockholder action by written consent; 

		
	•
	a provision in our Charter requiring that any proposal for (i) the merger or consolidation of our Company and another company that owns (together with its affiliates), directly or indirectly, 10% of more of our outstanding shares of common stock (a “significant stockholder”), or (ii) our sale to a significant stockholder of substantially all of our assets or business, be approved by the affirmative vote of at least 75% of the total voting power of all outstanding shares of our stock, unless (a) our board of directors approved the merger, consolidation or sale prior to the other company’s acquisition of 10% of our outstanding shares or (b) we own 50% or more of the other company; 

		
	•
	a provision in our Bylaws limiting the persons who may call special meetings of stockholders to our board of directors; and 

		
	•
	provisions in our Bylaws establishing an advance written notice procedure for stockholders seeking to nominate candidates for election to the board of directors or for proposing matters which can be acted upon at stockholders’ meetings. 

These provisions may delay stockholder actions with respect to business combinations and the election of new members to our board of directors. As such, the provisions could discourage open market purchases of our common stock because a stockholder who desires to participate in a business combination or elect a new director may consider them disadvantageous. Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock could delay or prevent a change of control or other corporate action. 
Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute. As a Delaware corporation, we are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. In general, Section 203 prevents an “interested stockholder” from engaging in a “business combination” with us for three years following the date that person became an interested stockholder, unless: 
		
	•
	before that person became an interested stockholder, our board of directors approved the transaction in which the interested stockholder became an interested stockholder or approved the business combination; 

		
	•
	upon completion of the transaction that resulted in the interested stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding stock held by persons who are both directors and officers of our corporation and by certain employee stock plans; or 

		
	•
	on or following the date on which that person became an interested stockholder, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at a meeting of stockholders by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of our outstanding voting stock excluding shares held by the interested stockholder. 

An “interested stockholder” is generally a person owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. A “business combination” includes mergers, asset sales and other transactions resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. 
Preferred Stock 
We may issue preferred stock in series with any rights and preferences that may be authorized by our board of directors. In such event, we would distribute a prospectus supplement with regard to each particular series of preferred stock. Each prospectus supplement would describe, as to the series of preferred stock to which it relates: 
		
	•
	the title of the series of preferred stock; 

		
	•
	any limit upon the number of shares of the series of preferred stock that may be issued; 

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	•
	the preference, if any, to which holders of the series of preferred stock would be entitled upon our liquidation; 

		
	•
	the date or dates on which we will be required or permitted to redeem the preferred stock; 

		
	•
	the terms, if any, on which we or holders of the preferred stock would have the option to cause the preferred stock to be redeemed or purchased; 

		
	•
	the voting rights, if any, of the holders of the preferred stock; 

		
	•
	the dividends, if any, that would be payable with regard to the series of preferred stock, which could be fixed dividends or participating dividends and could be cumulative or non-cumulative; 

		
	•
	the right, if any, of holders of the preferred stock to convert it into another class of our stock or securities, including provisions intended to prevent dilution of those conversion rights; 

		
	•
	any provisions by which we would be required or permitted to make payments to a sinking fund to be used to redeem preferred stock or a purchase fund to be used to purchase preferred stock; and 

		
	•
	any other material terms of the preferred stock. 

Holders of shares of preferred stock would not have preemptive rights. 

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