EX-4.3 2 imrx-20211231xex4d3.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, AS AMENDED

Immuneering Corporation had one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). References herein to “we,” “us,” “our” and the “Company” refer to Immuneering Corporation and not to any of its subsidiaries.

The following description of our securities and certain provisions of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (“Certificate of Incorporation”) and Amended and Restated Bylaws (“Bylaws”) are summaries and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws, each of which has been publicly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). We encourage you to read our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws and the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) for additional information.

Authorized Capital Stock

Our authorized capital stock consists of 200,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, $0.001 par value per share, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, $0.001 par value per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share.

Common Stock

Class A Common Stock

The holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders. The holders of our Class A common stock do not have any cumulative voting rights. Holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available for that purpose, subject to any preferential dividend rights of any outstanding preferred stock. Our Class A common stock has no preemptive rights, conversion rights or other subscription rights or redemption or sinking fund provisions.

In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our Class A common stock will be entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of all debts and other liabilities and any liquidation preference of any outstanding preferred stock.

Upon our dissolution or liquidation, after payment in full of all amounts required to be paid to creditors and to the holders of preferred stock having liquidation preferences, if any, the holders of shares of our Class A common stock will be entitled to receive pro rata our remaining assets available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all of our debts and other liabilities, subject to the prior rights of any preferred stock then outstanding.

Class B Common Stock

The Class B common stock is identical to our Class A common stock in all respects, except that the holders of our Class B common stock are not be entitled to vote on shareholder matters except as required by law. In addition, holders of our Class B common stock do not have the right to convert each share of Class B common stock into one share of Class A common stock at the holder’s election, unless, as a result of such conversion, the holder and its affiliates would own more than 9.9% of the combined voting power of our outstanding share capital, and subject to certain additional restrictions as more particularly described in our Certificate of Incorporation. Shares of Class B common stock, once converted to shares of Class A common stock, may not be converted back into shares of Class B common stock.

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Preferred Stock

Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions thereof. These rights, preferences and privileges could include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences, sinking fund terms and the number of shares constituting, or the designation of, such series, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of Class A common stock. The issuance of our preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of Class A common stock and the likelihood that such holders will receive payments upon our liquidation. In addition, the issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company or other corporate action.

Choice of Forum

Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or stockholders to us or to our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the DGCL, our Certificate of Incorporation or our Bylaws (as either may be amended from time to time); and (iv) any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. As a result, any action brought by any of our stockholders with regard to any of these matters will need to be filed in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and cannot be filed in any other jurisdiction; provided that, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction; and provided further that, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware dismisses any such action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, such action may be brought in another state or federal court sitting in the State of Delaware. Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws will also provide that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause or causes of action against us or any defendant arising under the Securities Act. Nothing in our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws preclude stockholders that assert claims under the Exchange Act from bringing such claims in state or federal court, subject to applicable law.

If any action the subject matter of which is within the scope described above is filed in a court other than a court located within the State of Delaware, or a Foreign Action, in the name of any stockholder, such stockholder shall be deemed to have consented to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of Delaware in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the applicable provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws and having service of process made upon such stockholder in any such action by service upon such stockholder’s counsel in the Foreign Action as agent for such stockholder. Although our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws will contain the choice of forum provision described above, it is possible that a court could find that such a provision is inapplicable for a particular claim or action or that such provision is unenforceable.

This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims or make such lawsuits more costly for stockholders, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

Dividends

Declaration and payment of any dividend will be subject to the discretion of our board of directors. The time and amount of dividends will be dependent upon our business prospects, results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements and availability, debt repayment obligations, capital expenditure needs, contractual restrictions, covenants in the agreements governing our current and future indebtedness, industry trends, the provisions of Delaware law affecting the payment of distributions to stockholders and any other factors our board of directors may consider relevant. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business and to repay indebtedness, and therefore do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

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Anti-Takeover Provisions

Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws contain provisions that may delay, defer or discourage another party from acquiring control of us. We expect that these provisions, which are summarized below, will discourage coercive takeover practices or 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, which we believe may result in an improvement of the terms of any such acquisition in favor of our stockholders. However, they also give our board of directors the power to discourage acquisitions that some stockholders may favor.

Authorized but Unissued Shares

The authorized but unissued shares of our common stock and our preferred stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval, subject to any limitations imposed by the listing standards of the Nasdaq Global Market. These additional shares may be used for a variety of corporate finance transactions, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could make it more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

Classified Board of Directors

Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that our board of directors is divided into three classes, with the classes as nearly equal in number as possible and each class serving three-year staggered terms. In all other cases and at any other time, directors may only be removed from our board of directors for cause by the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares entitled to vote. These provisions may have the effect of deferring, delaying or discouraging hostile takeovers, or changes in control of us or our management.

Stockholder Action; Special Meeting of Stockholders

Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that our stockholders are not able to take action by written consent for any matter and may only take action at annual or special meetings. As a result, a holder controlling a majority of our capital stock would not be able to amend our Bylaws or remove directors without holding a meeting of our stockholders called in accordance with our Bylaws, unless previously approved by our board of directors. Our Certificate of Incorporation further provides that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by the chairman of our board of directors, our chief executive officer, our president or another officer selected by a majority of our board of directors, thus limiting the ability of a stockholder to call a special meeting. These provisions might delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or for stockholders controlling a majority of our capital stock to take any action, including the removal of directors.

Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations

In addition, our Bylaws establishes an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of stockholders, including proposed nominations of candidates for election to our board of directors. In order for any matter to be “properly brought” before a meeting, a stockholder has to comply with advance notice and duration of ownership requirements and provide us with certain information. 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 qualified 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 stockholder actions that are favored by the holders of a majority of our outstanding voting securities until the next stockholder meeting.

Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws

The DGCL provides generally that the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting power of the shares entitled to vote is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation, unless a corporation’s

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certificate of incorporation requires a greater percentage. Our Bylaws may be amended or repealed by a majority vote of our board of directors or by the affirmative vote of the holders a majority of the votes which all our stockholders would be eligible to cast in an election of directors.

Section 203 of the DGCL

We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which prohibits persons deemed “interested stockholders” from engaging in a “business combination” with a publicly held Delaware corporation for three years following the date these persons become interested stockholders unless the business combination is, or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder was, approved in a prescribed manner or another prescribed exception applies. Generally, 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 voting stock. Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. The existence of this provision may have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by the board of directors, such as discouraging takeover attempts that might result in a premium over the market price of our common stock.

Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

Our Bylaws provide indemnification for our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, along with the right to have expenses incurred in defending proceedings paid in advance of their final disposition. We entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers that may, in some cases, be broader than the specific indemnification and advancement provisions contained under our Bylaws and provided under Delaware law. In addition, as permitted by Delaware law, our Certificate of Incorporation includes provisions that eliminate the personal liability of our directors for monetary damages resulting from breaches of certain fiduciary duties as a director. The effect of this provision is to restrict our rights and the rights of our stockholders to recover monetary damages against a director for breach of fiduciary duties as a director.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling our company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, 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.

Dissenters’ Rights of Appraisal and Payment

Under the DGCL, with certain exceptions, our stockholders have appraisal rights in connection with a merger or consolidation of Immuneering Corporation. Pursuant to the DGCL, stockholders who properly demand and perfect appraisal rights in connection with such mergers or consolidations will have the right to receive payment of the fair value of their shares as determined by the Delaware Court of Chancery, subject to certain limitations.

Stockholders’ Derivative Actions

Under the DGCL, any of our stockholders may bring an action in our name to procure a judgment in our favor, also known as a derivative action, in certain circumstances. Among other things, either the stockholder bringing any such action must be a holder of our shares at the time of the transaction to which the action relates or such stockholder’s stock must have thereafter devolved by operation of law, and such stockholder must continuously hold shares through the resolution of such action.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our Class A common stock is American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, LLC.

Trading Symbol and Market

Our Class A common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “IMRX.”