EX-4.2 2 honestcoq4-21exhibit42.htm EX-4.2 Document

EXHIBIT 4.2

DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
General
The following description of the capital stock and certain provisions of the amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws of The Honest Company, Inc. (“we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company”) are summaries and are qualified by reference to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the amended and restated bylaws. Copies of these documents are filed with the SEC as exhibits to our Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our authorized capital stock consists of 1,020,000,000 shares, all with a par value of $0.0001 per share, of which:
•1,000,000,000 shares are designated common stock; and
•20,000,000 shares are designated preferred stock.
Common Stock
Voting Rights
The common stock is entitled to one vote per share on any matter that is submitted to a vote of our stockholders. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation establishes a classified board of directors that is divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. Only the directors in one class are subject to election by a plurality of the votes cast at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the directors in the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms. The affirmative vote of holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock, voting as a single class, is required to amend certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, including provisions relating to amending our amended and restated bylaws, the classified structure of our board of directors, the size of our board of directors, removal of directors, director liability, vacancies on our board of directors, special meetings, stockholder notices, actions by written consent and exclusive jurisdiction.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting for the election of directors.
Dividends and Distributions
Subject to preferences that may apply to any shares of preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of common stock are entitled to share equally, identically and ratably, on a per share basis, with respect to any dividend or distribution of cash or property paid or distributed by us. See the section titled “Dividend Policy” for additional information.
Liquidation Rights
On our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, the holders of common stock are entitled to share equally, identically and ratably in all assets remaining after the payment of any liabilities, liquidation preferences and accrued or declared but unpaid dividends, if any, with respect to any outstanding preferred stock, unless a different treatment is approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of such affected class, voting separately as a class.
No Preemptive or Similar Rights
Our common stock is not entitled to preemptive rights, and is not subject to conversion, redemption or sinking fund provisions.
Preferred Stock
Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors may, without further action by our stockholders, fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of up to an aggregate of 20,000,000 shares of preferred or more series and authorize their issuance. These rights, preferences and privileges could include dividend


rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of such series, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of our common stock. Any issuance of our preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of our common stock, and the likelihood that such holders would receive dividend payments and payments on liquidation. In addition, the issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control or other corporate action. No shares of preferred stock are outstanding, and we have no present plan to issue any shares of preferred stock.
Registration Rights
We are party to an amended and restated investors’ rights agreement that provides that certain holders of our capital stock have certain registration rights, as set forth below. This amended and restated investors’ rights agreement was entered into as of June 11, 2018. The registration of shares of our common stock by the exercise of registration rights described below would enable the holders to sell these shares without restriction under the Securities Act when the applicable registration statement is declared effective. We will pay the registration expenses, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, of the shares registered by the demand, piggyback and Form S-3 registrations described below.
Generally, in an underwritten offering, the managing underwriter, if any, has the right, subject to specified conditions, to limit the number of shares such holders may include. The demand, piggyback and Form S-3 registration rights described below will expire upon the earliest to occur of: (1) five years after the completion of our initial public offering; or (2) with respect to any particular stockholder, such time as such stockholder can sell all of its shares under Rule 144 of the Securities Act or another similar exemption during any 90-day period and such stockholder holds less than one percent of our outstanding capital stock.
Demand Registration Rights
Certain holders of our capital stock are entitled to certain demand registration rights. These holders may request that we register all or a portion of the registrable shares, subject to certain limitations, including that the request relate to shares with an anticipated aggregate offering price of at least $10 million.
Piggyback Registration Rights
In the event that we propose to register any of our securities under the Securities Act, either for our own account or for the account of other security holders, certain holders will be entitled to certain piggyback registration rights allowing such holders to include their shares in such registration, subject to certain marketing and other limitations. As a result, whenever we propose to file a registration statement under the Securities Act, subject to certain exceptions, the holders of these shares are entitled to notice of the registration and have the right to include their shares in the registration, subject to limitations that the underwriters may impose on the number of shares included in the offering.

Form S-3 Registration Rights
Certain holders of our capital stock are entitled to certain Form S-3 registration rights. If we are eligible to file a registration statement on Form S-3, these holders have the right, upon written request from such holders, to have such shares registered by us if the anticipated aggregate offering price of such shares is at least $1 million, subject to exceptions set forth in the amended and restated investors’ rights agreement.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Because our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights, stockholders holding a majority of the voting power of our shares of common stock are able to elect all of our directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws require that any action to be taken by our stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders and not be taken by written consent or electronic transmission. A special meeting of stockholders may be called by a majority of our board of directors, the chair of our board of directors, our chief executive officer or our lead independent director. Our amended and restated bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our board of directors.


In accordance with our amended and restated certificate of incorporation , our board of directors is divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms.
The foregoing provisions make it more difficult for another party to obtain control of us by replacing our board of directors. Since our board of directors has the power to retain and discharge our officers, these provisions could also make it more difficult for existing stockholders or another party to effect a change in management. In addition, the authorization of undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change our control.
These provisions are intended to preserve our existing control structure after completion of this offering, facilitate our continued product innovation and the risk-taking that it requires, permit us to continue to prioritize our long-term goals rather than short-term results, enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of our board of directors and its policies and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened acquisition of us. These provisions are also designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal and to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in our control or management. As a consequence, these provisions may also inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our stock that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, subject to certain exceptions.
Choice of Forum
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) and any appellate court therefrom shall be the sole and exclusive forum for the following claims or causes of action under Delaware statutory or common law: (A) any derivative claim or cause of action brought on our behalf; (B) any claim or cause of action for breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders; (C) any claim or cause of action against us or any of our current or former directors, officers or other employees arising out of or pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws (as each may be amended from time to time); (D) any claim or cause of action seeking to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws (as each may be amended from time to time, including any right, obligation, or remedy thereunder); (E) any claim or cause of action as to which the Delaware General Corporation Law confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; and (F) any claim or cause of action against us or any of our current or former directors, officers or other employees governed by the internal-affairs doctrine or otherwise related to our internal affairs, in all cases to the fullest extent permitted by law and subject to the court having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants; provided, that, this Delaware forum provision set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation shall not apply to claims or causes of action brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
Further, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act, including all causes of action asserted against any defendant named in such complaint. For the avoidance of doubt, this provision is intended to benefit and may be enforced by us, our officers and directors, the underwriters for any offering giving rise to such complaint, and any other professional entity whose profession gives authority to a statement made by that person or entity and who has prepared or certified any part of the documents underlying the offering.
Additionally, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any person or entity holding, owning or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to these provisions.


Limitations of Liability and Indemnification
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that limit the liability of our current and former directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Delaware law provides that directors of a corporation will not be personally liable for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for:
•any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its 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; or
•any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.
Such limitation of liability does not apply to liabilities arising under federal securities laws and does not affect the availability of equitable remedies such as injunctive relief or rescission.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to indemnify our directors, officers, employees and other agents to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Our amended and restated bylaws provide that we are required to indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law and may indemnify our other employees and agents. Our amended and restated bylaws also provide that, on satisfaction of certain conditions, we will advance expenses incurred by a director or officer in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding, and permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions in that capacity regardless of whether we would otherwise be permitted to indemnify him or her under the provisions of Delaware law. We have entered and expect to continue to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors, executive officers and other employees as determined by our board of directors. With certain exceptions, these agreements provide for indemnification for related expenses including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by any of these individuals in any action or proceeding. We believe these provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and these indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and officers. We also maintain customary directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.
The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and other stockholders. Further, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent that we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers as required by these indemnification provisions.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted for directors, executive officers or persons controlling us, 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.
Exchange Listing
Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “HNST.”
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A. The transfer agent’s address is 250 Royall Street, Canton, Massachusetts 02021.