EX-2.1 2 f20f2022ex2-1_mainzbiomed.htm DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES REGISTERED UNDER SECTION 12 OF THE EXCHANGE ACT

Exhibit 2.1

 

Description of rights of each class of securities

registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”)

 

The ordinary shares of our company, Mainz Biomed N.V., are listed and traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market and, in connection therewith, the Class A ordinary shares are registered under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act. This exhibit contains a description of the rights of the holders of those ordinary shares.

 

The following description of our Articles of Association, as amended by our Deed of Amendment on December 15, 2022, is intended as a summary only and does not constitute legal advice regarding those matters and should not be regarded as such. The description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of the Articles of Association.

 

Overview

 

We were incorporated on March 8, 2021 as a private limited liability company (besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid) under Dutch law, and on November 9, 2021 we converted into a Dutch public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap).

 

We are registered in the Commercial Register of the Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel) in the Netherlands under number 82122571. We have our corporate seat is in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and our registered office is at Robert-Koch Strasse 50, 55129 Mainz, Federal Republic of Germany.

 

Our ordinary shares are subject to, and have been created under, Dutch law. Set forth below is a summary of relevant information concerning the material provisions of our articles of association and applicable Dutch law.

 

Board of Directors

 

We have a one-tier board structure. Our board of directors (the “Board of Directors”) consists of two executive directors and five non-executive directors. The Board of Directors shall consist of such number of executive Directors as the Board of Directors may determine.

 

The Board of Directors is charged with our management. In fulfilling their duties, our directors will serve our interest and the business connected by us. The executive directors and the executive committee are charged with our day-to-day management. Supervision of the fulfilment of duties by the executive directors and of the general course of our affairs and the business connected with us will primarily be carried out by the non-executive directors. The executive directors must in due time provide the non-executive directors with the information they need to carry out their duties.

 

Our directors will be elected by the general meeting upon a binding nomination. The Board of Directors will be authorized to nominate one or more director candidates for appointment at the general meeting. The general meeting may at all times overrule the binding nature of each nomination by a resolution adopted by a majority of at least two thirds of the votes cast, representing more than half of the issued share capital.

 

The general meeting may at any time suspend and dismiss a non-executive director or executive director. The general meeting may only adopt a resolution to suspend or dismiss a non-executive director or executive director by a majority of at least two thirds of the votes cast, representing more than half of the issued share capital, unless the resolution is adopted on the basis of a proposal of the Board of Directors.

 

The following summary of the material terms of our securities is not intended to be a complete summary of the rights and preferences of such securities and is qualified by reference to the Certificate of Incorporation, the Bylaws and the warrant-related documents described herein, which are exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. We urge you to read each of the Certificate of Incorporation, the Bylaws and the warrant-related documents described herein in their entirety for a complete description of the rights and preferences of our securities.

 

 

 

 

Our authorized share capital consists of 45,000,000 ordinary shares with a nominal value of EUR 0.01 per share and 5,000,000 preferred shares with a nominal value of EUR 0.01 per share. The preferred shares are divided into five series, each consisting of 1,000,000 preferred shares. Currently there are no preferred shares outstanding.

 

The number of ordinary shares included in the authorized share capital may be decreased and the number of preferred shares included in the authorized share capital may be increased pursuant to a resolution of the Board of Directors by a number not exceeding the number of ordinary shares included in the authorized share capital which have not been issued and which are not subject to any rights to subscribe for ordinary shares.

 

The preferred shares may, at the request of the holder, be converted into ordinary shares. The conditions for conversion and the further terms and conditions related to the preferred shares will be determined by our Board of Directors, subject to the prior approval of our general meeting and the meeting of holders of the series of preferred shares concerned, if such series of preferred shares has been issued and are held by persons other than us. The preceding sentence applies by analogy to any adjustment to the conditions.

 

Issuance of shares

 

Under Dutch law, shares are issued and rights to subscribe for shares are granted pursuant to a resolution of our general meeting. Our articles of association provide that the general meeting may only resolve to issue shares upon the proposal of our Board of Directors. The general meeting may authorize the Board of Directors to issue new ordinary shares or grant rights to subscribe for ordinary shares. The authorization can be granted and extended, in each case for a period not exceeding five years. For as long as, and to the extent, that such authorization is effective, our general meeting will not have the power to issue ordinary shares.

 

A resolution of the general meeting has irrevocably authorized our Board of Directors until November 9, 2026, to issue ordinary shares and preferred shares up to the amount of the authorized share capital (from time to time).

 

Pre-emptive Rights

 

Subject to restrictions in our articles of association, holders of ordinary shares have pre-emptive rights in relation to newly issued ordinary shares under Dutch law.

 

Under our articles of association, the pre-emptive rights in respect of newly issued ordinary shares may be restricted or excluded by a resolution of our general meeting, which resolution requires a two-thirds majority of the votes cast if less than half of the issued share capital is present or represented at the meeting. The general meeting may authorize our Board of Directors to limit or exclude the pre-emptive rights in respect of newly issued ordinary shares. Such authorization for our Board of Directors can be granted and extended, in each case for a period not exceeding five years.

 

A resolution of the general meeting has irrevocably authorized our Board of Directors until November 9, 2026 to limit or exclude pre-emptive rights on ordinary shares.

 

Pre-emptive rights do not exist with respect (a) to the issue of ordinary shares or grant of rights to subscribe for ordinary shares to our employees or a “group” company of ours, (b) the issue of ordinary shares against a contribution other than cash, and (c) preferred shares to be issued. A holder of preferred shares has no pre-emptive right to acquire newly issued ordinary shares.

 

Transfer of Ordinary Shares

 

Under Dutch law, transfers of ordinary shares (other than in book-entry form) require a written deed of transfer and, unless we are a party to the deed of transfer, and acknowledgement by or proper service upon us to be effective.

 

Our articles of association provide that, if one or more ordinary shares or preferred shares are admitted to trading on Nasdaq or any other regulated foreign stock exchange located in the United States the laws of the State of New York will apply to the property law aspects of the ordinary shares and preferred shares included in the part of the register of shareholders kept by the relevant transfer agent.

 

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Form of Ordinary Shares

 

Pursuant to our articles of association, the ordinary shares and preferred shares are in registered form.

 

Purchase and Repurchase of Ordinary Shares

 

Under Dutch law, we may not subscribe for newly issued ordinary shares. We may acquire ordinary shares, subject to applicable provisions and restrictions of Dutch law and our articles of association, to the extent that:

 

  such ordinary shares are fully paid-up;
     
  such repurchase would not cause our shareholders’ equity to fall below an amount equal to the sum of the paid-up and called-up part of the issued share capital and the reserves we are required to maintain pursuant to Dutch law or our articles of association; and
     
  immediately after the acquisition of such ordinary shares, we and our subsidiaries would not hold, or would not hold as pledgees, shares having an aggregate nominal value that exceeds 50% of our issued share capital.

 

Other than ordinary shares acquired for no valuable consideration or under universal title of succession (onder algemene titel) (e.g., through a merger or spin off) under statutory Dutch or other law, we may acquire ordinary shares only if our general meeting has authorized our Board of Directors to do so. An authorization by our general meeting for the acquisition of ordinary shares can be granted for a maximum period of 18 months. Such authorization must specify the number of ordinary shares that may be acquired, the manner in which these shares may be acquired and the price range within which the shares may be acquired. No authorization of our general meeting is required if ordinary shares are acquired by us on Nasdaq with the intention of transferring such ordinary shares to our employees or employees of a group company pursuant to an arrangement applicable to them. For each annual general meeting, we expect that our Board of Directors, will place on the agenda a proposal to re-authorize our Board of Directors to repurchase shares for a period of 18 months from the date of the resolution. We cannot derive any right to any distribution from ordinary shares, or voting rights attached to ordinary shares acquired by it.

 

A resolution of the general meeting, dated June 28, 2022, has irrevocably authorized our Board of Directors for a period of 18 months to resolve for us to acquire fully paid-up ordinary shares up to the maximum number of ordinary shares permitted pursuant to the law and our articles of association from time to time, through privately negotiated repurchases, in self-tender offers, or through accelerated repurchase arrangements, at prices ranging from the nominal value of the ordinary shares up to one hundred and ten percent (110%) of the market price of ordinary shares, provided that (i) for open market or privately negotiated repurchases, the market price will be the last closing price for ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market prior to the transaction, (ii) for self-tender offers, the market price will be the volume weighted average price for the ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market during a period, determined by the Board of Directors, of no less than one and no more than five consecutive trading days immediately prior to the expiration of the tender offer, and (iii) for accelerated repurchase arrangements, the market price will be the volume weighted average price of the ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market over the term of the arrangement. The volume weighted average price for any number of trading days will be calculated as the arithmetic average of the daily volume weighted average price on those trading days.

 

Pursuant to a resolution of the general meeting, dated June 28, 2022, our Board of Directors is furthermore irrevocably authorized for a period of 18 months, commencing on June 28, 2022, to resolve for us to acquire fully paid up preferred shares up to the maximum number of preferred shares permitted pursuant to the law and our articles of association from time to time and that preferred shares may be acquired through privately negotiated repurchases, in self-tender offers, or through accelerated repurchase arrangements, at prices ranging from the nominal value of the preferred shares up to the higher of (i) the amount that would be paid by us upon cancellation of such preferred shares in accordance with the relevant provisions of our articles of association and (ii) one hundred and ten percent (110%) of the market price of the ordinary shares into which the preferred shares may be converted in accordance with the applicable provisions of our articles of association, whereby the market price shall be determined in the manner as set out in our articles of association.

 

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Capital Reduction

 

At a general meeting, our shareholders may resolve on the proposal of our Board of Directors to reduce our issued share capital by (i) cancelling ordinary shares and preferred shares or (ii) reducing the nominal value of the ordinary shares and preferred shares by amending our articles of association. In either case, this reduction would be subject to applicable statutory provisions. A resolution to cancel shares may only relate to (i) shares held by us or in respect of which we hold the depository receipts, or (ii) all preferred shares of a particular series. In order to be approved by our general meeting, a resolution to reduce the capital requires approval of a majority of the votes cast at a general meeting if at least half of the issued share capital is represented at such meeting or at least two thirds of the votes cast, if less than half of the issued share capital is represented at such meeting.

 

Reduction of the nominal value of shares without repayment shall be effected proportionally to all ordinary shares and preferred shares. The requirement of proportionality may be waived by agreement of all shareholders concerned.

 

A resolution that would result in a reduction of capital requires approval by a majority of the votes cast of each group of shareholders of the same class whose rights are prejudiced by the reduction. In addition, a reduction of capital involves a two-month waiting period during which creditors have the right to object to a reduction of capital under specified circumstances.

 

General Meeting

 

General meetings are held in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Arnhem, Utrecht, or in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer (Schiphol Airport), the Netherlands. All of our shareholders and others entitled to attend our general meetings are authorized to address the meeting and, in so far as they have such right, to vote, either in person or by proxy.

 

We will hold at least one general meeting each year, to be held within six months after the end of its financial year. A general meeting will also be held within three months after our Board of Directors has determined it to be likely that our equity has decreased to an amount equal to or lower than half of its paid up and called up capital, in order to discuss the measures to be taken if so required. If our Board of Directors fails to hold such general meeting in a timely manner, each shareholder and other person entitled to attend our general meeting may be authorized by the Dutch court to convene our general meeting.

 

Our Board of Directors may convene additional extraordinary general meetings at its discretion, subject to the notice requirements described below. Pursuant to Dutch law, one or more shareholders and/or others entitled to attend general meetings of shareholders, alone or jointly representing at least 10% of our issued share capital, may on their application be authorized by the Dutch court to convene a general meeting. The Dutch court will disallow the application if (i) the applicants have not previously requested in writing that our Board of Directors convenes a shareholders’ meeting or (ii) our Board of Directors convenes a shareholders’ meeting or (iii) our Board of Directors has not taken the necessary steps so that the shareholders’ meeting could be held within six weeks after such request.

 

The general meeting is convened by a notice, which includes an agenda stating the items to be discussed and the location and time of our general meeting. For the annual general meeting the agenda will include, among other things, the adoption of our annual accounts, the appropriation of its profits or losses and proposals relating to the composition of and filling of any vacancies on Board of Directors. In addition, the agenda for a general meeting includes such additional items as determined by our Board of Directors. Pursuant to Dutch law, one or more shareholders and/or others entitled to attend general meetings of shareholders, alone or jointly representing at least 3% of the issued share capital, have the right to request the inclusion of additional items on the agenda of shareholders’ meetings. Such requests must be made in writing, and may include a proposal for a shareholder resolution, and must be received by us no later than on the 60th day before the day the relevant shareholders’ meeting is held. Under our articles of association, certain items can only be put on the agenda as a voting item by our Board of Directors. Shareholders meeting the relevant requirements may still request the inclusion of such items on the agenda as a discussion item.

 

We will give notice of each general meeting by publication on its website and, to the extent required by applicable law, in a Dutch daily newspaper with national distribution, and in any other manner that we may be required to follow in order to comply with Dutch law and applicable stock exchange and SEC requirements. We will observe the statutory minimum convening notice period for a general meeting. Holders of registered shares may further be provided with notice of the meeting in writing at their addresses as stated in its shareholders’ register.

 

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Pursuant to our articles of association and Dutch law, our Board of Directors may determine a record date (registratiedatum) of 28 calendar days prior to a general meeting to establish which shareholders and others with meeting rights are entitled to attend and, if applicable, vote at our general meeting. The record date, if any, and the manner in which shareholders can register and exercise their rights will be set out in the notice of our general meeting. Our articles of association provide that a shareholder must notify us in writing of his or her intention to attend (or be represented at) our general meeting, such notice to be received by us on the date set by our Board of Directors in accordance with our articles of association and as set forth in the convening notice.

 

Our general meeting will be presided over by the chairman of our Board of Directors, who, nevertheless, may charge another person to preside over the meeting in his place even if he or she is present at the meeting. If the chairman of our Board of Directors is absent and he or she has not charged another person to preside over the meeting in his or her place, the directors present at the meeting will appoint one of them to be chairman. In the absence of all directors, our general meeting will appoint its chairman.

 

Voting Rights and Quorum

 

In accordance with Dutch law and our articles of association, each ordinary share, irrespective of which class it concerns, confers the right on the holder thereof to cast one vote at our general meeting. The voting rights attached to any ordinary shares held by us or our direct or indirect subsidiaries are suspended, unless the ordinary shares were encumbered with a right of usufruct or a pledge in favor of a party other than us or a direct or indirect subsidiary before such ordinary shares were acquired by us or such a subsidiary, in which case, the other party may be entitled to exercise the voting rights on the ordinary shares. We may not exercise voting rights for ordinary shares in respect of which its or a direct or indirect subsidiary has a right of usufruct or a pledge.

 

Voting rights may be exercised by shareholders or by a duly appointed proxy holder (the written proxy being acceptable to the chairman of our general meeting) of a shareholder, which proxy holder need not be a shareholder. The holder of a usufruct or pledge on shares will have the voting rights attached thereto if so provided for when the usufruct or pledge was created.

 

Under our articles of association, blank votes (votes where no choice has been made), abstentions and invalid votes will not be counted as votes cast. However, shares in respect of which a blank vote or invalid vote has been cast and shares in respect of which the person with meeting rights who is present or represented at the meeting has abstained from voting are counted when determining the part of the issued share capital that is present or represented at a general meeting. The chairman of our general meeting will determine the manner of voting and whether voting may take place by acclamation.

 

Resolutions of the shareholders are adopted at a general meeting by an absolute majority of votes cast, except where Dutch law or our articles of association provide for a special majority in relation to specified resolutions. Our articles of association do not provide for a quorum requirement, subject to any provision of mandatory Dutch law.

 

Subject to certain restrictions in our articles of association, the determination during our general meeting made by the chairman of that general meeting with regard to the results of a vote will be decisive. Our Board of Directors will keep a record of the resolutions passed at each general meeting.

 

Amendment of Articles of Association

 

At a general meeting, at the proposal of our Board of Directors, our general meeting may resolve to amend the articles of association. A resolution by the shareholders to amend the articles of association requires an absolute majority of the votes cast.

 

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Dissolution and liquidation

 

Our shareholders may at a general meeting, based on a proposal by our Board of Directors, by means of a resolution passed by an absolute majority of the votes cast resolve that we will be dissolved. In the event of our dissolution, the liquidation will be effected by our executive directors, under the supervision of our non-executive directors, unless our general meeting decides otherwise.

 

Certain Other Major Transactions

 

Our articles of association and Dutch law provide that resolutions of our Board of Directors concerning a material change in our identity, character or business are subject to the approval of our general meeting. Such changes include:

 

  a transfer of all or materially all of its business to a third party;
     
  the entry into or termination of a long-lasting alliance of the company or of a subsidiary either with another entity or company, or as a fully liable partner of a limited partnership or partnership, if this alliance or termination is of significant importance to the company; and
     
  the acquisition or disposition of an interest in the capital of a company by the company or by its subsidiary with a value of at least one third of the value of our assets, according to the balance sheet with explanatory notes or, if the company prepares a consolidated balance sheet, according to the consolidated balance sheet with explanatory notes in our most recently adopted annual accounts.

 

Dividends and Other Distributions

 

We may only make distributions to its shareholders if our equity exceeds the aggregate amount of the issued share capital and the reserves which must be maintained pursuant to Dutch law.

 

Under our articles of association, any profits or distributable reserves must first be applied to pay a dividend on the preferred shares, if outstanding. Any amount remaining out of distributable profits is added to our reserves as our Board of Directors determines. After reservation by our Board of Directors of any distributable profits, our general meeting will be authorized to declare distributions on the proposal of our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors is permitted to declare interim dividends without the approval of the shareholders. Interim dividends may be declared as provided in our articles of association and may be distributed to the extent that the shareholders’ equity, based on interim financial statements, exceeds the paid-up and called-up share capital and the reserves that must be maintained under Dutch law or our articles of association. We may reclaim any distributions, whether interim or not interim, made in contravention of certain restrictions of Dutch law from shareholders that knew or should have known that such distribution was not permissible. In addition, on the basis of Dutch case law, if after a distribution we are not able to pay its due and collectable debts, then our shareholders or directors who at the time of the distribution knew or reasonably should have foreseen that result may be liable to its creditors.

 

The general meeting may determine that distributions will be made in whole or in part in the form of shares or a currency other than the Euro, provided on the proposal of the Board of Directors. We shall announce any proposal for a distribution and the date when and the place where the distribution will be payable to all shareholders by electronic means of communication with due observance of the applicable law and stock exchange rules. Claims for payment of dividends and other distributions not made within five years from the date that such dividends or distributions became payable will lapse, and any such amounts will be considered to have been forfeited to us (verjaring).

 

 

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