Exhibit 4.1
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
The following description is intended as a summary of our Charter and our Bylaws, each of which will become effective prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, and which will be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, and to the applicable provisions of the DGCL. Because the following is only a summary, it does not contain all of the information that may be important to you. For a complete description, you should refer to our Charter and Bylaws.
Authorized Capital Stock
Our Charter authorizes us to issue up to 42,803,774 shares consisting of 30,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of US$0.0001 per share, 2,803,774 shares of non-voting common stock with a par value of US$0.0001 per share and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of US$0.0001 per share.
Common Stock
Our shares of our common stock have the following rights, preferences and privileges:
Voting Rights
Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Any action at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be decided by a majority of the voting power present in person or represented by proxy, except in the case of any election of directors, which will be decided by a plurality of votes cast. There is no cumulative voting.
Dividends Rights
Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends when, as and if declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available for payment, subject to the rights of holders, if any, of any class of stock having preference over the common stock. Any decision to pay dividends on our common stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may or may not determine to declare dividends in the future. See “Dividend Policy.” The board’s determination to issue dividends will depend upon our profitability and financial condition any contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and the SEC, and other factors that our board of directors deems relevant.
Liquidation Rights
In the event of a voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, the holders of our common stock will be entitled to share ratably on the basis of the number of shares held in any of the assets available for distribution after we have paid in full, or provided for payment of, all of our debts and after the holders of all outstanding series of any class of stock have preference over the common stock, if any, have received their liquidation preferences in full.
Other Rights and Preferences
Holders of our common stock will have no pre-emptive, 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. Shares of our common stock are not convertible into shares of any other class of capital stock, nor are they subject to any redemption or sinking fund provisions.
Fully paid and nonassessable
All of our outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and nonassessable.
We are authorized to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock. Our Charter authorizes the board to issue these shares in one or more series, to determine the designations and the powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, including the dividend rights, conversion or exchange rights, voting rights (including the number of votes per share), redemption rights and terms, liquidation preferences, sinking fund provisions and the number of shares constituting the series. Our board of directors could, without stockholder approval, issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of common stock and which could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or of discouraging a third party from attempting to acquire, a majority of our outstanding voting stock. No shares of preferred stock will be outstanding.
Charter and Bylaw Provisions
Charter and Bylaw Provisions
Our Charter and our Bylaws include a number of provisions that could deter hostile takeovers or delay or prevent changes in control of our management team, including the following:
| ● | Board of Directors vacancies. Our Charter provides that vacancies on the board of directors may be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office, irrespective of whether there is a quorum, or by a sole remaining director. Additionally, the number of directors to serve on our board of directors is fixed solely and exclusively by resolution duly adopted by our board of directors. This would prevent a stockholder from increasing the size of our board of directors and then gaining control of our board of directors by filling the resulting vacancies with its own nominees. This makes it more difficult to change the composition of our board of directors but promotes continuity of management. |
| ● | Classified Board of Directors. In accordance with our Charter, as it will be in effect following the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our board of directors will be divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. At each annual general meeting of stockholders, the successors to directors whose terms then expire will be elected to serve from the time of election and qualification until the third annual meeting following election. Our directors will be divided among the three classes. We expect that any additional directorships resulting from an increase in the number of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class will consist of one-third of the directors. The division of our board of directors into three classes with staggered three-year terms may delay or prevent a change of our management or a change in control. |
| ● | Special Meetings of Stockholders. Our Bylaws provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called by the board of directors acting pursuant to a resolution approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office, and special meetings of stockholders may not be called by any other person or persons. |
| ● | No Cumulative Voting. The DGCL provides that stockholders are not entitled to the right to cumulate votes in the election of directors unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Our Charter does not provide for cumulative voting. |
| ● | Amendment of Charter and Bylaw Provisions. Any amendment of our Charter requires the affirmative vote of the majority of the outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote on such amendment, and the affirmative vote of the majority of the outstanding shares of each class entitled to vote thereon as a class, except that the provision in the Charter regarding the staggered board may not be repealed or amended without the vote of the holders of not less than 80% of the Company’s voting stock, voting as a single class. Amendments to our Bylaws may be executed pursuant to a resolution by the Board of Directors pursuant to an affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office, or by the affirmative vote of at least 75% of the outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote. |
2
| ● | Delaware Business Combination Statute. The Company is subject to the “business combination” provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date such person becomes an interested stockholder, unless the business combination or the transaction in which such person becomes an interested stockholder is approved in a prescribed manner. Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. Generally, an “interested stockholder” is a person that, 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. The existence of this provision may have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by our Board of Directors, and the anti-takeover effect includes discouraging attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares of our common stock. |
| ● | Exclusive Forum. Unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers, stockholder or other employees to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any current or former director, officer, stockholder, employee or agent of the Corporation arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our Charter or our Bylaws, (iv) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Company’s Charter or Bylaws, (v) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine or (vi) any action asserting an “internal corporate claim” as that term is defined in Section 115 of the General Corporation Law. The federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint, claim or proceeding asserting a cause of action arising under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Stockholders cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provision in our Charter. 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 our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. |
Anti-Takeover Provisions
The provisions of the DGCL, our Charter and our Bylaws may have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another person from acquiring control of our company. These provisions, which are summarized below, may have the effect of discouraging takeover bids. They are also designed, in part, to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to negotiate first with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with an unfriendly or unsolicited acquirer outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging a proposal to acquire us because negotiation of these proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.
Our Charter established a classified board of directors, divided in three classes with staggered three-year terms. Under the classified board of directors structure, only one class of directors would be elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder for their respective three-year terms. Under the classified board of directors structure: (i) directors in Class I, consisting of Noemi Schmayer, are to stand for election at the Annual Meeting to be held in 2023; (ii) directors in Class II, consisting of Joseph Moscovitz and Naama Halevi-Davidov, are to stand for election at the annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2024; and (iii) directors in Class III, consisting of Israel Niv and Tuvia Barlev, are to stand for election at the annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2025.
Limitations on Liability, Indemnification of officers and directors and Insurance
Our Charter and Bylaws contain provisions that limit the liability of our directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL. Consequently, our directors will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for:
| ● | any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders; |
| ● | any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; |
| ● | unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases, or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the DGCL; or |
| ● | any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. |
3
Listing
We have applied to list our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ASNS”.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock will be VStock Transfer, LLC. The transfer agent and registrar’s address is 18 Lafayette Place, Woodmere, NY 11598.
Exclusive Forum
Our Charter provides 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 sole and exclusive forum for any stockholder for (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by, or other wrongdoing by, any current or former director, officer, stockholder, employee or agent of the Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders, (c) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any current or former director, officer, stockholder, employee or agent of the Corporation arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, (d) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, or (e) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine or (f) any action asserting an “internal corporate claim” as that term is defined in Section 115 of the General Corporation Law. The federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint, claim or proceeding asserting a cause of action arising under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
Stockholders cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provision in our Charter.
The 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 the Company or its directors, officers or other employees, and may result in increased costs to a stockholder who has to bring a claim in a forum that is not convenient to the stockholder, which may discourage such lawsuits. Although under Section 115 of the DGCL, exclusive forum provisions may be included in a company’s certificate of incorporation, the enforceability of similar forum provisions in other companies’ certificates or incorporation or bylaws has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that a court could find these types of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable. If a court were to find the exclusive forum provision of our Charter inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
Anti-Takeover Provisions of the DGCL and Charter Provisions
Certain provisions of the DGCL and certain provisions included in our Charter and Bylaws summarized below may be deemed to have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, deter, or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider to be in its best interests, including attempts that might result in a premium being paid over the market price for the shares held by stockholders.
4
Removal of Directors
Our Bylaws provide that stockholders may only remove a director with or without 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, voting together as a single class.
Amendments to Certificate of Incorporation
Certain sections of our Certificate of Incorporation require the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the then outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote, voting together as a single class, except that the provision in the Charter regarding the staggered board may not be repealed or amended without the vote of the holders of not less than 80% of the Company’s voting stock, voting as a single class.
Staggered Board
The board of directors is divided into three classes, with regular three-year staggered terms. This classification system increases the difficulty of replacing a majority of the directors and may tend to discourage a third-party from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to gain control of the Company. In addition, under Delaware law, the Certificate and the By-Laws, the Company’s directors may be removed from office by the stockholders only for cause and only in the manner provided for in the Certificate. These factors may maintain the incumbency of the board of directors.
Amendments to Bylaws
Our Charter limits the abilities of the directors and stockholders to amend our Bylaws in certain circumstances. In particular, the Bylaws may be amended only by the vote of a majority of all of the directors then in office, or by the affirmative vote of the stockholders holding at least 75% of the outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote in accordance with the provisions of the Charter, Bylaws, and the DGCL.
No Cumulative Voting
Our Charter does not provide for cumulative voting.
Special Meetings of Stockholders
Our Bylaws provide 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 our Chief Executive Officer or President or by the holders of not less than 25% of the holders of stock entitled to vote at the meeting.
5