Exhibit 4.17
DESCRIPTION
OF SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED
The capital stock of Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“we,” “us,” and “our”) registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) consists of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share(the “Common Stock”).
Description of 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 our Certificate of Incorporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”) and 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 is a part. We encourage you to read our Certificate of Incorporation, our Bylaws and the applicable provisions of Delaware General Corporation Law, for additional information.
Authorized Shares of Common Stock
We currently have authorized 100,000,000 shares of Common Stock.
Voting Rights
The holders of Common Stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters to be voted upon by the stockholders, except on matters relating solely to terms of preferred stock.
Dividend Rights
Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any outstanding preferred stock, the holders of Common Stock are entitled to receive ratably such dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Liquidation Rights
In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of Common Stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities, subject to prior distribution rights of preferred stock, if any, then outstanding.
Other Rights and Preferences
The holders of our Common Stock have no preemptive or conversion rights or other subscription rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our Common Stock.
Fully Paid and Nonassessable
All of our issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock are fully paid and nonassessable.
Listing.
Our Common Stock is listed for trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ADIL.”
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our Common Stock is VStock Transfer, LLC.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law
The provisions of Delaware law, our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws described below may have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of us.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, 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 sixty-six and two-thirds percent (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, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder; |
2
| ● | 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. |
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws provide that:
| ● | our board of directors is divided into three classes, one class of which is elected each year by our stockholders with the directors in each class to serve for a three-year term; |
| ● | the authorized number of directors can be changed only by resolution of our board of directors; |
| ● | directors may be removed only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 60% of our voting stock, whether for cause or without cause; |
| ● | our Bylaws may be amended or repealed by our board of directors or by the affirmative vote of sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 2/3%) of our stockholders; |
| ● | stockholders may not call special meetings of the stockholders or fill vacancies on the board of directors; |
| ● | 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 the 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 our 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; and |
| ● | our stockholders must comply with advance notice provisions to bring business before or nominate directors for election at a stockholder meeting. |
Potential Effects of Authorized but Unissued Stock
We have shares of Common Stock 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.
3
The existence of unissued and unreserved Common Stock may enable our board of directors to issue shares to persons friendly to current management.
Limitations of Director Liability and Indemnification of Directors, Officers and Employees
Our Certificate of Incorporation limits the liability of directors to the maximum extent permitted by Delaware law. Delaware law provides that directors of a corporation will not be personally liable for monetary damages for breach of their fiduciary duties as directors, except for liability for any:
| ● | breach of their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders; |
| ● | act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; |
| ● | unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law; or |
| ● | transaction from which the directors derived an improper personal benefit. |
These limitations of liability do not apply to liabilities arising under the federal or state securities laws and do not affect the availability of equitable remedies such as injunctive relief or rescission.
Our Bylaws provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by law and may indemnify employees and other agents. Our Bylaws also provide that we are obligated to advance expenses incurred by a director or officer in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding.
We have obtained a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.
We have entered into separate indemnification agreements with our directors and officers. These agreements, among other things, require us to indemnify our directors and officers for any and all expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees, retainers, court costs, transcript costs, fees of experts, witness fees, travel expenses, duplicating costs, printing and binding costs, telephone charges, postage, delivery service fees) judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such directors or officers or on his or her behalf in connection with any action or proceeding arising out of their services as one of our directors or officers, or any of our subsidiaries or any other company or enterprise to which the person provides services at our request provided that such person follows the procedures for determining entitlement to indemnification and advancement of expenses set forth in the indemnification agreement. We believe that these bylaw provisions and indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and officers.
The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against directors for breach of their fiduciary duties. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might provide a benefit to us and our stockholders. Our results of operations and financial condition may be harmed to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us, 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.
At present, there is no pending litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors or officers as to which indemnification is required or permitted, and we are not aware of any threatened litigation or proceeding that may result in a claim for indemnification.
4