EX-4.4 2 exhibit44q42024description.htm EX-4.4
Exhibit 4.4
D ESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
The following summary describes our common stock and preferred stock, as well as certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws. This summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, copies of which have been filed as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as to the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Authorized Capital Stock
Our authorized capital stock consists of 400,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and 40,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share. All outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and non-assessable.
Common Stock
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “DNLI.” The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. The transfer agent and registrar’s address is 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717.
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.
Dividends
Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any then-outstanding preferred stock, holders of our 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
In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our 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 our common stock have no preemptive, conversion, subscription or other rights, and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of our 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 in the future.
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Preferred Stock
Under the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors is authorized to issue, without any further vote or action by the stockholders, shares of preferred stock in one or more series and, with respect to each such series, to fix the designations, powers, preferences and rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of any wholly unissued series of Preferred Stock, including, without limitation, authority to fix by resolution or resolutions the dividend rights, dividend rate, conversion rights, voting rights, rights and terms of redemption (including sinking fund provisions), redemption price or prices, and liquidation preferences of any such series, and the number of shares constituting any such series and the designation thereof, or any of the foregoing.
The issuance of shares of preferred stock will affect, and may adversely affect, the rights of holders of common stock. It is not possible to state the actual effect of the issuance of any shares of preferred stock on the rights of holders of common stock until our board of directors determines the specific rights attached to that preferred stock. The effects of issuing additional preferred stock could include one or more of the following:
•restricting dividends on the common stock;
•diluting the voting power of the common stock;
•impairing the liquidation rights of the common stock; or
•delaying or preventing changes in control or management of our Company.
Preferred stock will be fully paid and nonassessable upon issuance.
Registration Rights of Certain Stockholders
Certain of our stockholders have registration rights under the investors’ rights agreement, as amended (the “Investors’ Rights Agreement”), by and among us and such stockholders. Two of our other stockholders, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (“Takeda”) and Biogen MA, Inc. (“BIMA”), and Biogen International GmbH, (“BIG”, together with BIMA, collectively, “Biogen”), also have registration rights under the standstill and stock restriction agreement between us and Takeda (the “Takeda Standstill Agreement”) and the standstill and stock restriction agreement between us and Biogen (the “Biogen Standstill Agreement”), respectively. These stockholders (and certain of their permitted transferees) may request that we file registration statements under the Securities Act of 1933 and, upon such request and subject to certain conditions, the Company will be required to use its commercially reasonable efforts to effect any such registration. The Company is generally obligated to bear the expenses, other than underwriting discounts and sales commissions, of all of these registrations. This summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the provisions of the Investors’ Rights Agreement, the Takeda Standstill Agreement and the Biogen Standstill Agreement, copies of which have been filed as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Effect of Certain Provisions of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws and the Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute
Some provisions of Delaware law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and 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
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•removal of our incumbent officers and directors.
Those provisions, summarized below, are expected to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to promote stability in our management. These provisions are also designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors.
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws
Classified Board of Directors
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors is divided into three classes, designated Class I, Class II, and Class III. Each class is an equal number of directors, as nearly as possible, consisting of one-third of the total number of directors constituting our entire board of directors. The directors in each class are elected to serve for a three-year term, one class being elected each year by our stockholders. At each annual meeting of stockholders, successors to the class of directors whose term expires at that annual meeting will be elected for a three-year term.
Removal of Directors
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that stockholders may only remove a director for cause by a vote of no less than a majority of the shares present in person or by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote.
Director Vacancies
Vacancies and newly created directorships on our board of directors may be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors then in office, even though less than a quorum of the board of directors.
No Cumulative Voting
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that stockholders do not have the right to cumulate votes in the election of directors.
Special Meetings of Stockholders
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provides that, except as otherwise required by law, special meetings of the stockholders may be called only by an officer at the request of a majority of our board of directors, by the chairperson of our board of directors, or by our Chief Executive Officer.
Amending our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended or altered in any manner provided by the Delaware General Corporation Law . Our amended and restated bylaws may be adopted, amended, altered, or repealed by stockholders only upon approval of at least majority of the voting power of all the then outstanding shares of the common stock, except for any amendment of certain provisions, including those listed above, which would require the approval of a two-thirds majority of our then outstanding common stock. Additionally, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our bylaws may be amended, altered, or repealed by our board of directors.
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Authorized but Unissued Shares
Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuances without stockholder approval, except as required by the listing standards of Nasdaq, and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of our Company by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute
We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law regulating corporate takeovers. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly-held Delaware corporation from engaging, under certain circumstances, in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder unless:
•prior to the date of the transaction, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction which 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 commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding, but not for determining the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder, (i) shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers, and (ii) shares owned by 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
•at or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business combination is approved by the board of directors of the corporation and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66-2/3% of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder.
Generally, a business combination includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. 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 outstanding voting stock.
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