EX-4.1 2 artl_ex41.htm EX-4.1

EXHIBIT 4.1

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES

EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Artelo Biosciences, Inc. has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), our common stock.

Description of Capital Stock

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 our Articles of Incorporation, as amended (our “Articles of Incorporation”) and our Bylaws, as amended (our “Bylaws”), copies of which are included as exhibits to our Annual Report on Form 10-K. We encourage you to read our Articles of Incorporation, our Bylaws and the applicable provisions of the Nevada Corporate Law, for additional information.

General

Our authorized capital stock consists of 50,416,667 shares of capital stock, par value $0.001 per share, of which 50,000,000 shares are common stock, par value $0.001 per share and 416,667 shares are preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share.

Common Stock

The holders of our common stock (i) have equal ratable rights to dividends from funds legally available, therefore, when, as and if declared by our board of directors (the “Board”); (ii) are entitled to share in all of our assets available for distribution to holders of common stock upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs; (iii) do not have preemptive, subscription or conversion rights and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions or rights; and (iv) are entitled to one non-cumulative vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. 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 preferred stock that we may designate in the future.

Non-cumulative Voting

Our Articles of Incorporation and our Bylaws do not provide for cumulative voting rights. At any meeting of the stockholders at which a quorum is present or represented, the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at such meeting and entitled to vote on the subject matter shall be the act of the stockholders, except as otherwise required by law. The presence in person or by proxy of the holders of at least 35% of the votes entitled to be cast on a matter at a meeting shall constitute a quorum of shareholders for that matter. All directors hold office until the expiration of their term for which they are elected and until their successors have been elected and qualified or until their earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal.

Election of Directors and Vacancies; Board of Directors

Our Bylaws provide the number of members of our Board, unless and until changed by resolution of the Board shall be not less than one nor more than twelve. The Board may increase or decrease this number by resolution. Our Board currently consists of seven directors, which are divided into three classes, designated Class I, Class II and Class III. The election of each director requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at a meeting at which a quorum is present.

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Except as otherwise provided by law, vacancies in the Board, whether caused by resignation, death, retirement, disqualification, removal, increase in the number of directors, or otherwise, may be filled for the remainder of the term by the Board, by the shareholders, or, if the directors in office constitute less than a quorum of the Board, by an affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors. The term of a director elected to fill a vacancy expires at the next shareholders' meeting at which directors are elected. A vacancy that will occur at a specific later date may be filled before the vacancy occurs, but the new director(s) may not take office until the vacancy occurs.

Our Bylaws provide that any director may be removed at any time by a two-thirds shareholder vote at a special meeting called for that purpose.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Nevada Law and our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.

Nevada law, our Articles of Incorporation, and our Bylaws contain certain provisions that may have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of us. These provisions, which are summarized below, are intended 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. We believe that the benefits of the increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure us outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging these proposals because negotiation of these proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.

C lassified Board. 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 will be an equal number of directors, as nearly as possible, consisting of one third of the total number of directors constituting the entire board of directors. The term of Class I directors shall terminate on the date of the 2027 annual meeting, the term of the Class II directors shall terminate on the date of the 2025 annual meeting, and the term of the Class III directors shall terminate on the date of the 2026 annual meeting. 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.

Stockholder Meetings. Our Bylaws provide that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by our president, by all of the directors provided that there are no more than three directors, or if more than three, by any three directors, or by the holder of a majority share of our capital stock.

Stockholder Action by Written Consent. Our Bylaws allow for any action that may be taken at any annual or special meeting of the stockholders to be taken without a meeting and without prior notice, if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, is signed by the holders of outstanding shares having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted.

Stockholders Not Entitled to Cumulative Voting. Our Bylaws do not permit stockholders to cumulate their votes in the election of directors. Accordingly, the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors can elect all of the directors standing for election, if they choose, other than any directors that holders of our preferred stock may be entitled to elect.

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Nevada Business Combination Statutes. The “business combination” provisions of Sections 78.411 to 78.444, inclusive, of the Nevada Revised Statutes, (the “NRS”), generally prohibit a Nevada corporation with at least 200 stockholders of record from engaging in various “combination” transactions with any interested stockholder for a period of two years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the transaction is approved by the Board prior to the date the interested stockholder obtained such status or the combination is approved by the Board and thereafter is approved at a meeting of the stockholders by the affirmative vote of stockholders representing at least 60% of the outstanding voting power held by disinterested stockholders, and extends beyond the expiration of the two-year period, unless:

| · | the combination was approved by the Board prior to the person becoming an interested stockholder or the transaction by which the person first became an interested stockholder was approved by the Board before the person became an interested stockholder or the combination is later approved by a majority of the voting power held by disinterested stockholders; or
| · | if the consideration to be paid by the interested stockholder is at least equal to the highest of: (a) the highest price per share paid by the interested stockholder within the two years immediately preceding the date of the announcement of the combination or in the transaction in which it became an interested stockholder, whichever is higher, (b) the market value per share of common stock on the date of announcement of the combination and the date the interested stockholder acquired the shares, whichever is higher, or (c) for holders of preferred stock, the highest liquidation value of the preferred stock, if it is higher.

A “combination” is generally defined to include mergers or consolidations or any sale, lease exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer, or other disposition, in one transaction or a series of transactions, with an “interested stockholder” having: (a) an aggregate market value equal to 5% or more of the aggregate market value of the assets of the corporation, (b) an aggregate market value equal to 5% or more of the aggregate market value of all outstanding voting shares of the corporation, (c) more than 10% of the earning power or net income of the corporation, and (d) certain other transactions with an interested stockholder or an affiliate or associate of an interested stockholder.

In general, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, beneficially owns (or within two years, did own) 10% or more of the voting power of the outstanding voting shares of a corporation. The statute could prohibit or delay mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts and, accordingly, may discourage attempts to acquire us even though such a transaction may offer our stockholders the opportunity to sell their stock at a price above the prevailing market price.

Nevada Control Share Acquisition Statutes. The “control share” provisions of Sections 78.378 to 78.3793, inclusive, of the NRS apply to “issuing corporations” that are Nevada corporations with at least 200 stockholders of record, including at least 100 stockholders of record who are Nevada residents, and that conduct business in Nevada directly or through an affiliated corporation. The control share statute prohibits an acquirer, under certain circumstances, from voting its shares of a target corporation’s stock after crossing certain ownership threshold percentages, unless the acquirer obtains approval of the target corporation’s disinterested stockholders. The statute specifies three thresholds: one-fifth or more but less than one-third, one-third or more but less than a majority, and a majority or more, of the outstanding voting power. Generally, once an acquirer crosses one of the above thresholds, those shares in an offer or acquisition and acquired within 90 days thereof become “control shares” and such control shares are deprived of the right to vote until disinterested stockholders restore the right. These provisions also provide that if control shares are accorded full voting rights and the acquiring person has acquired a majority or more of all voting power, all other stockholders who do not vote in favor of authorizing voting rights to the control shares are entitled to demand payment for the fair value of their shares in accordance with statutory procedures established for dissenters’ rights.

A corporation may elect to not be governed by, or “opt out” of, the control share provisions by making an election in its articles of incorporation or bylaws, provided that the opt-out election must be in place on the 10th day following the date an acquiring person has acquired a controlling interest, that is, crossing any of the three thresholds described above. We have not opted out of the control share statutes, and will be subject to these statutes if we are an “issuing corporation” as defined in such statutes.

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The effect of the Nevada control share statutes is that the acquiring person, and those acting in association with the acquiring person, will obtain only such voting rights in the control shares as are conferred by a resolution of the stockholders at an annual or special meeting. The Nevada control share law, if applicable, could have the effect of discouraging takeovers of us.

Amendment of Charter and Bylaw Provisions. The amendment of any of the above provisions would require approval by holders of at least a majority of the total voting power of all of our outstanding voting stock, except in certain circumstances.

The provisions of Nevada law, our Articles of Incorporation, and our Bylaws could have the effect of discouraging others from attempting hostile takeovers and, as a consequence, they may also inhibit temporary fluctuations in the market price of our common stock that often result from actual or rumored hostile takeover attempts. These provisions may also have the effect of preventing changes in the composition of our board and management. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.

Listing

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ARTL.”

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Equiniti Trust Company, LLC. The transfer agent and registrar’s address is 48 Wall Street, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10043. The transfer agent’s telephone number is (800) 937-5449.

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