EX-4.2 2 ex42-descriptionofcapitals.htm EX-4.2 Document
Exhibit 4.2
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
As of December 31, 2023, Editas Medicine, Inc. (“we” or “us”) had one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended: our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share.
Description of Capital Stock
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 our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our authorized capital stock consists of 195,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 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 presence in person or by proxy of the holders of record of a majority of our issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at such meeting 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 chief executive officer, 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, when a quorum is present at any meeting, any matter other than the election of directors to be voted upon by the stockholders at such meeting shall be decided by the vote of the holders of shares of stock having a majority in voting power of the votes cast by the holders of all of the shares of stock present or represented at the meeting and voting affirmatively or negatively on such matter, and any election by stockholders of directors shall be determined by a plurality of the votes cast by the stockholders entitled to vote on the election.
Voting Rights. Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted upon by stockholders.
Dividends. The holders of common stock, after any preferences of holders of any preferred stock, are entitled to proportionately receive dividends when and if declared by the board of directors out of legally available funds, subject to any preferential dividend or other rights of any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.
Liquidation and Dissolution. If we are liquidated or dissolved, the holders of the common stock will be entitled to share in our assets available for distribution to stockholders in proportion to the amount of common stock they own. The amount available for common stockholders is calculated after payment of all debts and other liabilities. Holders of any preferred stock will receive a preferential share of our assets before the holders of the common stock receive any assets.
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. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of 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 and issue in the future.
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 bylaws 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 bylaws 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, 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.
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 holders and may not be effected by any consent in writing by such holders. Our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws 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 bylaws 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 Bylaws. 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 bylaws, unless a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, as the case may be, requires a greater percentage. Our amended and restated bylaws may be amended or repealed by a majority vote of our board of directors or 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 any annual election of directors. In addition, 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 is required 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 “—Stockholder Action by Written Consent; Special Meetings.”
Exclusive Forum Selection. Our restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our company, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, or other employees to our company or our stockholders, (3) any action asserting a claim against our company arising pursuant to any provision of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or our restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws, or (4) any action asserting a claim against our company governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Although our restated certificate of incorporation contains the choice of forum provision described above, it is possible that a court could rule that such a provision is inapplicable for a particular claim or action or that such provision is unenforceable.
Blank Check Preferred Stock. Our restated certificate of incorporation provides for 5,000,000 authorized shares of preferred stock. 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.
Authorized But Unissued Shares. Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval, subject to any limitations imposed by the listing standards of the Nasdaq Global Select 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 more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger, or otherwise.