EX-4.3 2 fnch-ex4_3.htm EX-4.3

Exhibit 4.3

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

The following description of our capital stock is a summary and does not purport to be complete. It is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, the applicable provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws and our stockholders agreement entered into in September 2020, which are filed as exhibits to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, of which this Exhibit 4.3 is a part, and are incorporated by reference herein. We encourage you to read our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws, our stockholders agreement and the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law for more information. References herein to the terms “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Finch Therapeutics Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

General

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue up to 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, all of which shares of preferred stock will be undesignated. Our board of directors may establish the rights and preferences of the preferred stock from time to time.

Common Stock

Voting Rights

Each holder of our 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. Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights. The affirmative vote of holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock, voting as a single class, is required to amend certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, including provisions relating to amending our amended and restated bylaws, the classified board, the size of our board, removal of directors, director liability, vacancies on our board, special meetings, stockholder notices, actions by written consent and exclusive jurisdiction.

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 the board of directors out of legally available funds.

Liquidation

In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of 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 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.

Registration Rights

We are party to a stockholders agreement that provides certain holders of our common stock with rights, subject to certain conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering the sale of their shares or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other stockholders. These shares are collectively referred to herein as registrable securities.

The stockholders agreement provides the holders of registrable securities with demand, piggyback and S-3 registration rights as described more fully below. Under the terms of the stockholders agreement, holders of registrable securities will have equivalent registration rights with respect to any additional shares of our common stock acquired by these holders.

Demand Registration Rights

At any time beginning 180 days following the effective date of the registration statement for our initial public offering, the holders of at least 20% of the registrable securities then outstanding have the right to make up to two demands that we file a registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), subject to specified conditions and exceptions. Such request for registration must cover shares with an anticipated aggregate offering price to the public of at least $25 million.

Piggyback Registration Rights

If we register any securities for public sale, the holders of our registrable securities then outstanding will each be entitled to notice of the registration and will have the right to include their shares in the registration statement, subject to specified exceptions. The underwriters of any underwritten offering will have the right to limit the number of shares having registration rights to be included in such registration statement, but not below 25% of the total amount of securities included in such registration.

Registration on Form S-3

If we are eligible to file a registration statement on Form S-3, the holders of at least 20% of the registrable securities then outstanding have the right to demand that we file registration statements on Form S-3, provided that the aggregate amount of securities to be sold under the registration statement is at least $5.0 million, net of underwriting discounts and commissions and specified expenses. We are not obligated to effect a demand for registration on Form S-3 by holders of our registrable securities more than two times during any 12-month period. The right to have such shares registered on Form S-3 is further subject to other specified conditions and limitations.

Expenses of Registration

We will pay all expenses relating to any demand, piggyback or Form S-3 registration, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, subject to specified conditions and limitations.

Termination of Registration Rights

The demand, piggyback and Form S-3 registration rights described above will terminate on the earliest to occur of (1) the closing of a “Deemed Liquidation Event” as defined in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation in effect immediately prior to the completion of our initial public offering, (2) with respect to each stockholder, at such time as Rule 144 under the Securities Act or another similar exemption is available for the sale of all of such holder’s shares without limitation during a three-month period without registration, and (3) March 23, 2026.

Anti-Takeover Provisions

Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Because our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights, stockholders holding a majority of the voting

power of our shares of common stock will be able to elect all of our directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide for stockholder actions at a duly called meeting of stockholders. A special meeting of stockholders may be called by a majority of our board of directors, the chair of our board of directors, or our chief executive officer or president if the chair of our board of directors is unavailable. Our amended and restated bylaws provide an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our board of directors. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws do not allow for the right of stockholders to act by written consent without a meeting.

In accordance with our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors is divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms.

The foregoing provisions make it more difficult 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 change our control.

These provisions are intended to preserve our existing control structure, facilitate our continued product innovation and the risk-taking that it requires, permit us to continue to prioritize our long-term goals rather than short-term results, enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of our board of directors and its policies and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened acquisition of us. These provisions are also designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal and 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 may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in our control or management. As a consequence, these provisions may also inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our stock that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts.

Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law

We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which generally prohibits a publicly held 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:

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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;
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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 (1) by persons who are directors and also officers and (2) 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
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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 a “business combination” to include the following:

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any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder;
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any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder;

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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;
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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
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the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits by or through the corporation.

In general, Section 203 defines an “interested stockholder” as an entity or person who, together with the person’s affiliates and associates, beneficially owns, or within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation.

Choice of Forum

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) is the sole and exclusive forum for the following claims or causes of action under Delaware statutory or common law: (1) any derivative claim or cause of action brought on our behalf; (2) any claim or cause of action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers, or other employees to us or our stockholders; (3) any claim or cause of action against us or any of our current or former directors, officers or other employees arising out of or pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; (4) any claim or cause of action arising under or seeking to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws (including any right, obligation, or remedy thereunder); and (5) any claim or cause of action against us or any of our current or former directors, officers, or other employees that is governed by the internal-affairs doctrine, in all cases to the fullest extent permitted by law and subject to the court having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants. This choice of forum provision would not apply to suits 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, or the Securities Act. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation further provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause or causes of action arising under the Securities Act, including all causes of action asserted against any defendant to such complaint. For the avoidance of doubt, this provision is intended to benefit and may be enforced by us, our officers and directors, the underwriters to any offering giving rise to such complaint, and any other professional entity whose profession gives authority to a statement made by that person or entity and who has prepared or certified any part of the documents underlying the offering. Additionally, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any person or entity holding, owning or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to these provisions.

While the Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions, and there can be no assurance that such provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions. We note that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

Our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC. The transfer agent’s address is 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11219.

Listing

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