8-A12B: Form for the registration / listing of a class of securities on a national securities exchange pursuant to Section 12(b)
Published on May 23, 2008
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
8-A
FOR
REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN CLASSES OF SECURITIES
PURSUANT
TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
REXAHN
PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
11-3516358
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of
incorporation)
|
(IRS
Employer Identification
No.)
|
9620
Medical Center Drive
|
|
Rockville,
Maryland
|
20850
|
(Address
of principal executive offices)
|
(Zip
Code)
|
Securities
to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Common
Stock, par value $0.0001
|
American
Stock Exchange
|
(Title
of Class)
|
(Name
of Exchange)
|
If
this form relates to the registration of a class of securities pursuant to
Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and is effective pursuant to General
Instruction A.(c), check the following box. þ
|
In
this form relates to the registration of a class of securities pursuant to
Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act and is effective pursuant to General
Instruction A.(d), check the following box. o
|
Securities
Act registration statement file number to which this form
relates: Not
applicable
Securities
to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Item
1. Description of Registrant's Securities to be Registered
|
1
|
|
Item 2.
Exhibits
|
4
|
|
SIGNATURE
|
5
|
|
EXHIBIT
INDEX
|
6
|
INFORMATION
REQUIRED IN REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item
1. Description of Registrant’s Securities to be Registered.
This Form
8-A is being filed in connection with the listing of the common stock on the
American Stock Exchange.
The
following is a summary of our common stock and preferred stock and certain
provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the
"Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation") and amended and restated
bylaws (the "Amended and Restated Bylaws"). As
summaries, they do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their
entirety by reference to our articles of incorporation and bylaws.
The
securities to be registered are shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 (the
“Common Stock”), of Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”). The authorized
capital stock of the Company currently consists of 600,000,000 shares:
500,000,000 shares of which are Common Stock and 100,000,000 of which are
preferred stock (the “Preferred Stock”). The Company currently does
not have any issued and outstanding shares of preferred stock.
Common
Stock
Holders
of Common Stock are entitled to receive such dividends and distributions in
equal amounts per share, payable in cash or otherwise, as may be declared
thereon by the Board of Directors from time to time out of assets or funds of
the Corporation legally available therefor, whenever the full dividends upon any
outstanding Preferred Stock for all past dividend periods shall have been paid
and the full dividends thereon for the then current respective dividend periods
shall have been paid, or declared and a sum sufficient for the respective
payments thereof set apart. In the event of any liquidation,
dissolution or winding-up of the Company, whether voluntary or involuntary,
after the payment or setting apart for payment to the holders of any outstanding
Preferred Stock of the full preferential amounts to which such holders are
entitled as herein provided or referred to, all of the remaining assets of the
Company belong to and are distributable in equal amounts per share to the
holders of the Common Stock. For purposes of the immediately preceding sentence,
a consolidation or merger of the Company with any other corporation, or the
sale, transfer or lease of all or substantially all its assets will not
constitute or be deemed a liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the
Company. Holders of Common Stock do not have cumulative voting
rights, and, therefore, holders of a majority of the shares voting for the
election of directors can elect all of the directors. In such event, the holders
of the remaining shares will not be able to elect any directors.
Preferred
Stock
Shares of
Preferred Stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. The Board
of Directors is authorized to provide for the issuance of shares of Preferred
Stock in series and, by filing a certificate pursuant to the applicable law of
the State of Delaware (a "Preferred Stock Designation"), to establish the number
of shares to be included in each such series, and to fix the designation,
powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each such series and the
qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof. The authority of the Board
of Directors with respect to each series includes, but is not limited to,
determination of the designation of the series, which may be by distinguishing
number, letter or title; the number of shares of the series, which number the
Board of Directors may thereafter (except where otherwise provided in the
Preferred Stock Designation) increase or decrease (but not below the number of
shares thereof then outstanding); whether dividends, if any, shall be cumulative
or noncumulative and the dividend rate of the series; the dates at which
dividends, if any, shall be payable; the redemption rights and price
or prices, if any, for shares of the series; the terms and amount of any sinking
fund provided for the purchase or redemption of shares of the series; the
amounts payable on shares of the series in the event of any voluntary or
involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the
Company; whether the shares of the series shall be convertible into
shares of any other class or series, or any other security, of the Company or
any other corporation, and, if so, the specification of such other class or
series or such other security, the conversion price or prices or rate or rates,
any adjustments thereof, the date or dates as of which such shares shall be
convertible and all other terms and conditions upon which such conversion may be
made; restrictions on the issuance of shares of he same series or of any other
class or series; and the voting rights, if any, of the holders of shares of the
series.
1
The
issuance of Preferred Stock, while providing desirable flexibility in connection
with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could decrease the
amount of earnings and assets available for distribution to holders of Common
Stock or adversely affect the rights and powers, including voting rights, of the
holders of Common Stock, and may have the effect of delaying, deferring or
preventing a change in control without further action by the
stockholders.
Warrants
As of May
23, 2008, warrants to purchase an aggregate of 1,207,151 shares of our
Common Stock at a weighted average exercise price per share of $1.80 were
issued and outstanding.
Antitakeover
Effects of Provisions of Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
and Amended and Restated Bylaws and Delaware Law
Certain
provisions of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended
and Restated Bylaws could make the following more difficult:
o acquisition
of us by means of a tender offer;
o acquisition
of us by means of a proxy contest or otherwise; and
o the
removal of our incumbent officers and directors.
These
provisions, 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. We believe that the benefits of increased protection
resulting from our potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an
unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure us outweigh the
disadvantages of discouraging such proposals because we believe that the
negotiation of such proposals could result in an improvement of their
terms.
Stockholder Meetings. Our
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provide that only the board of
directors or the Chairman of the Board may call special meetings of
stockholders.
Elimination of Cumulative
Voting. Our charter documents do not provide for cumulative voting in the
election of directors.
Undesignated Preferred Stock.
The ability to authorize undesignated Preferred Stock makes it possible for the
board of directors to issue Preferred Stock with voting or other rights or
preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change control of
us. These and other provisions may have the effect of
deferring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control or management of
us.
We are
also subject to certain provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law
("DGCL") that may have anti-takeover effects. These provisions are described
below.
Business Combinations.
Special vote requirements may apply to certain business combinations with
interested stockholders. Section 203(a) of the DGCL generally prohibits an
"interested stockholder" from entering into certain types of business
combinations with a Delaware corporation for three years after becoming an
"interested stockholder" unless:
o before
the stockholder became an "interested stockholder", the Board of Directors
approved the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the
stockholder becoming an "interested stockholder";
2
o after
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 commenced,
subject to technical calculation rules; or
o on
or after the time the "interested stockholder" became an "interested
stockholder", the board of directors approved the business combination, and at
least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the
"interested stockholder" also ratified the business combination at a
stockholders' meeting.
An
"interested stockholder" under the DGCL is any person – other than the
corporation and its majority-owned subsidiaries -- who owns at least 15% of the
outstanding voting stock or is an affiliate or associate of a corporation that
owned at least 15% of the outstanding stock within the preceding three years,
and this definition includes affiliates of the corporation. The prohibited
combinations include:
o mergers
or consolidations;
o sales,
leases, exchanges, mortgages, pledges, transfers or other dispositions of 10% or
more of: (a) the aggregate market value of all assets of the corporation; or (b)
the aggregate market value of all the outstanding stock of the
corporation;
o any
transactions resulting in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of stock
in the corporation to the "interested stockholder" except in limited
instances;
o receipt
by the "interested stockholder" of the benefit of loans, advances, guarantees,
pledges or other financial benefits provided by the corporation;
and
o any
other transaction, with certain exceptions, that increases the proportionate
share of the stock owned by the "interested stockholder".
The DGCL
permits a corporation to elect not to be governed by the provisions of Section
203; however, the Company has not made such election in its Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation. While the DGCL does not provide for a
"fair price" provision, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
does include a "fair price" provision.
These
provisions of Delaware law and our Amended and Restated Certificate of
Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws could have the effect of
discouraging others from attempting unsolicited 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 unsolicited takeover attempts.
Such provisions may also have the effect of preventing changes in our
management. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to
accomplish transactions, which stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their
best interests.
Voting
Except as
otherwise provided by law, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
or the Amended and Restated Bylaws, each shareholder at every meeting of the
shareholders is entitled to one vote for each share of stock held by such
shareholder. Any vote on stock may be given by the shareholder entitled thereto
in person or by proxy appointed by an instrument in writing, subscribed (or
transmitted by electronic means and authenticated as provided by law) by such
shareholder or by the shareholder's attorney thereunto authorized, and delivered
to the Secretary; provided, however, that no proxy may be voted after three
years from its date unless the proxy provides for a longer period. Except as
otherwise provided by law, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
or the Amended and Restated Bylaws, at all meetings of the shareholders, all
matters are decided by the vote (which need not be by ballot) of a majority in
interest of the shareholders present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote
on the subject matter, a quorum being present.
3
Except as
otherwise provided in our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or
in a Preferred Stock Designation, holders of Common Stock have the exclusive
right to vote for the election of directors and for all other purposes, and
holders of Preferred Stock are not entitled to receive notice of any meeting of
stockholders at which they are not entitled to vote. The number of authorized
shares of Preferred Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the
number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the
holders of a majority of the outstanding Common Stock, without a vote of the
holders of the Preferred Stock, or of any series thereof, unless a vote of any
such holders is required pursuant to our Amended and Restated Certificate of
Incorporation or any Preferred Stock Designation.
Election
of Directors
Subject
to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock to elect
additional directors under specified circumstances, the number of directors of
the Company is fixed exclusively by the Board of Directors pursuant to a
resolution adopted by a majority of the whole Board. The directors shall hold
office until the expiration of their terms and their successors are duly elected
and qualified. At each annual meeting of the stockholders of the Company, the
successors of directors whose terms expire at that meeting are elected by a
plurality vote of all votes cast for the election of directors at such meeting
to hold office for a term expiring at the next annual meeting of
stockholders. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of
Preferred Stock, and unless the Board of Directors otherwise determines, newly
created directorships resulting from any increase in the authorized number of
directors or any vacancies on the Board of Directors resulting from death,
resignation, retirement, disqualification, removal from office or other cause
may be filled only by a majority vote of the directors then in office, though
less than a quorum, and directors so chosen shall hold office for a term
expiring at the next annual meeting of stockholders and until such director's
successor shall have been duly elected and qualified. No decrease in the number
of authorized directors constituting the whole Board of Directors shall shorten
the term of any incumbent director. Subject to the rights of the
holders of any series of Preferred Stock or any other series or class of stock,
as provided herein or in any Preferred Stock Designation, to elect additional
directors under specific circumstances, any director may be removed from office
at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders
of at least a majority of the voting power of the then outstanding capital stock
of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting
together as a single class.
Preemptive
Rights
Unless
otherwise determined by the Board of Directors, no holder of stock of the
Company has any right to purchase or subscribe for any stock of any class which
the Company may issue or sell, whether or not exchangeable for any stock of the
Company of any class or classes and whether out of unissued shares authorized by
the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company as
originally filed or by any amendment thereof or out of shares of stock of the
Company acquired by it after the issue thereof.
Item 2. Exhibits.
Exhibit
|
||
No.
|
Description
|
|
3.1
|
Amended
and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, filed as Exhibit A to Appendix
G to the Company's Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A (File No.
000-50590) dated April 29, 2005, is incorporated herein by
reference.
|
|
3.2
|
Amended
and Restated Bylaws, filed as Appendix H to the Company's Definitive Proxy
Statement on Schedule 14A (File No. 000-50590) dated April 29, 2005, is
incorporated herein by
reference.
|
4
SIGNATURE
Pursuant
to the requirements of Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized.
REXAHN
PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
|
|||
Dated:
May 23, 2008
|
By:
|
/s/
Tae Heum Jeong
|
|
Tae
Heum Jeong
|
|||
Chief
Financial Officer, Secretary and Director
|
5
EXHIBIT
INDEX
Exhibit
|
||
No.
|
Description
|
|
3.1
|
Amended
and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, filed as Exhibit A to Appendix
G to the Company's Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A (File No.
000-50590) dated April 29, 2005, is incorporated herein by
reference.
|
|
3.2
|
Amended
and Restated Bylaws, filed as Appendix H to the Company's Definitive Proxy
Statement on Schedule 14A (File No. 000-50590) dated April 29, 2005, is
incorporated herein by
reference.
|
6