EX-4.1 2 exhibit41descriptionofregi.htm KADANT 2024 10-K EXHIBIT 4.1 DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES REGISTERED
Exhibit 4.1
Description of Registrant’s Securities
The following description of our capital stock is intended as a summary only and therefore is not a complete description of our capital stock. This description is based upon, and is qualified by reference to, our restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated by-laws and applicable provisions of Delaware corporate law. You should read our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws, which are filed as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the provisions that are important to you.
Our authorized capital stock consists of 150,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share.
Common Stock
Annual Meeting. Annual meetings of our stockholders are held on the date designated in accordance with our amended and restated by-laws. Written notice must be mailed to each stockholder entitled to vote not less than ten nor more than 60 days before the date of the meeting. The holders of record of a majority of our issued and outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote at such meeting present in person, by means of remote communications in a manner, if any, authorized by the Board of Directors in its sole discretion, or represented by proxy constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business at meetings of the stockholders. Special meetings of the stockholders may be called for any purpose, and may be called only by the board of directors, the chairman of the board, or the president, and business to be transacted at any special meeting is limited to matters related to the purpose or purposes stated in the notice of the meeting. Except as may be otherwise provided by applicable law, our restated certificate of incorporation, or our amended and restated by-laws, all matters other than the election of directors to be voted on by the stockholders shall be decided by a majority of the votes cast by stockholders present or represented and voting on such matter at a duly held meeting of stockholders at which a quorum is present.
Other than in a Contested Election Meeting (as defined below), when a quorum is present at any meeting of the stockholders, a nominee for election as a director at such meeting shall be elected to the Board of Directors if the votes cast “for” such nominee’s election exceed the votes cast “against” such nominee’s election, with abstentions and broker non-votes not counted as a vote “for” or “against” such nominee’s election. In a Contested Election Meeting, when a quorum is present at the meeting of the Stockholders, directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast by the stockholders entitled to vote on the election at such Contested Election Meeting. If directors are to be elected by a plurality of the votes cast, stockholders shall not be permitted to vote against a nominee. A meeting of stockholders shall be a “Contested Election Meeting” if the number of nominees for election as directors exceeds the number of directors to be elected at such meeting, as of the tenth day preceding the date of the Corporation’s first notice to stockholders of such meeting, or such other date as determined in accordance with our amended and restated by-laws.
Voting Rights. Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share of stock entitled to vote held of record on all matters to be voted upon by stockholders.
Dividends. Subject to the rights, powers and preferences of any outstanding preferred stock, and except as provided by law or in our restated certificate of incorporation, dividends may be declared and paid or set aside for payment on the common stock out of legally available assets or funds when and as determined by the board of directors.
Liquidation, Dissolution and Winding Up. Subject to the rights, powers and preferences of any outstanding preferred stock, in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, our net assets will be distributed pro rata to the holders of our common stock.
Other Rights. Holders of the common stock have no right to:

• convert the stock into any other security;
• have the stock redeemed;
• purchase additional stock: or;
• maintain their proportionate ownership interest.
The common stock does not have cumulative voting rights. Holders of shares of the common stock are not required to make additional capital contributions.
Preferred Stock
We are authorized to issue “blank check” preferred stock, which may be issued in one or more series upon authorization of our board of directors. Our board of directors is authorized to fix the designation of the series, the number of authorized shares of the series, dividend rights and terms, conversion rights, voting rights, redemption rights and terms, liquidation preferences and any other rights, powers, preferences and limitations applicable to each series of preferred stock. The authorized shares of our preferred stock are available for issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless such action is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange on which our securities may be listed. If the approval of our stockholders is not required for the issuance of shares of our preferred stock, our board may determine not to seek stockholder approval.
A series of our preferred stock could, depending on the terms of such series, impede the completion of a merger, tender offer or other takeover attempt.
Provisions of Our Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws and Delaware Law That May Have Anti-Takeover Effects
Delaware law, our Restated Certificate of Incorporation, and our Amended and Restated By-laws contain provisions that could have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of us. These provisions, which are summarized below, are expected to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors.
Staggered Board; Removal of Directors. Our Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated By-laws divide our board of directors into three classes with staggered three-year terms. In addition, a director may be removed only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of the votes that all of our stockholders would be entitled to cast in an annual election of directors. Any vacancy on our board of directors, however occurring, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of our board of directors, may be filled only by vote of a majority of our directors then in office. The classification of our board of directors and the limitations on the removal of directors and filling of vacancies could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or discourage a third party from seeking to acquire, control of our company.
No Stockholder Action by Written Consent; Special Meetings. Our Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that any action required or permitted to be taken by our stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of such stockholders, only if properly brought before the meeting, and may not be effected by any consent in writing by such holders. Our Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated By-laws also provide that, except as otherwise required by law, special meetings of our stockholders can only be called by the chairman of our board of directors, our Chief Executive Officer, or our board of directors.
Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals. Our Amended and Restated By-laws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our board of directors. Stockholders at an annual meeting may only consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of our board of directors or by a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has delivered timely written notice in proper form to our secretary of the

stockholder’s intention to bring such business before the meeting. These provisions could have the effect of delaying until the next stockholder meeting stockholder actions that are favored by the holders of a majority of our outstanding voting securities.
Delaware Business Combination Statute. We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL (“Section 203”), which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in business combinations with an interested stockholder. An interested stockholder is generally defined 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 (“interested stockholder”). Section 203 provides that an interested stockholder may not engage in business combinations with the corporation 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 combinations 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.
Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws. The General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware provides generally that the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares entitled to vote on any matter is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or by-laws, unless a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or by-laws, as the case may be, requires a greater percentage. Our Restated Certificate of Incorporation requires the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of the votes that all of our stockholders would be entitled to cast in any annual election of directors to amend or repeal or to adopt any provisions inconsistent with any of the provisions of our Restated Certificate of Incorporation described above under “—Staggered Board; Removal of Directors” and “—No Stockholder Action by Written Consent; Special Meetings.” The 75% stockholder vote is in addition to any separate class vote that might be required pursuant to the terms of any series of preferred stock that might be then outstanding.
Undesignated Preferred Stock. Our Restated Certificate of Incorporation authorizes up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock for issuance by our board of directors without further shareholder approval. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock may enable our board of directors to render more difficult or to discourage an attempt to obtain control of our company by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest, or

otherwise. For example, if in the due exercise of its fiduciary obligations, our board of directors were to determine that a takeover proposal is not in the best interests of our company, our board of directors could cause shares of preferred stock to be issued without stockholder approval in one or more private offerings or other transactions that might dilute the voting or other rights of the proposed acquiror or insurgent shareholder or shareholder group. In this regard, our Restated Certificate of Incorporation grants our board of directors broad power to establish the rights and preferences of authorized and unissued shares of preferred stock. The issuance of shares of preferred stock could decrease the amount of earnings and assets available for distribution to holders of shares of common stock. The issuance may also adversely affect the rights and powers, including voting rights, of such holders and may have the effect of delaying, deterring, or preventing a change in control of the company. Our board of directors currently does not intend to seek shareholder approval prior to any issuance of shares of preferred stock, unless otherwise required by law.