Vertical Aerospace Ltd F-3, filed May 13, 2025
Vertical Aerospace Ltd. (EVTL)
F-3
2025-05-13
View Original
Added on
October 16, 2026
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 13, 2025.
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM F-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Vertical Aerospace Ltd.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Cayman Islands
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) |
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Not Applicable
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number) |
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Vertical Aerospace Ltd.
Unit 1 Camwal Court, Chapel Street,
Bristol BS2 0UW
United Kingdom
+44 117 471-0150
Unit 1 Camwal Court, Chapel Street,
Bristol BS2 0UW
United Kingdom
+44 117 471-0150
(Address and telephone number of Registrant’s principal executive offices)
Cogency Global Inc.
122 East 42nd Street,
18th Floor
New York, New York 10168
+1 (800) 221-0102
122 East 42nd Street,
18th Floor
New York, New York 10168
+1 (800) 221-0102
(Name, address and telephone number of agent for service)
Copies to:
| |
Robbie McLaren, Esq.
Jennifer Gascoyne, Esq. Latham & Watkins (London) LLP 99 Bishopsgate London EC2M 3XF United Kingdom +44 20 7710-1000 |
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Sanjay Verma
Vertical Aerospace Ltd. Unit 1 Camwal Court, Chapel Street, Bristol BS2 0UW United Kingdom +44 117 471-0150 |
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Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effectiveness of this registration statement.
If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. ☐
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☒
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.C. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.C. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act or until this registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
†
The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form F-3 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process for the delayed offering and sale of securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). By using a shelf registration statement, we may sell securities from time to time and in one or more offerings up to a total dollar amount of $200,000,000 as described in this prospectus. Each time that we offer and sell securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the securities being offered and sold and the specific terms of that offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings. The prospectus supplement or any document incorporated by reference herein or therein may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus with respect to that offering. If there is any inconsistency between the information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, you should rely on the prospectus supplement. This prospectus does not contain all of the information provided in the registration statement that we filed with the SEC. Before purchasing any securities, you should carefully read both this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement (and any applicable free writing prospectuses), together with the additional information described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference.”
You should rely only on this prospectus, the information incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any free writing prospectus prepared by us or on our behalf. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any information or to make any representations other than those contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectuses prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We will not make an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement to this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on its respective cover, that the information appearing in any applicable free writing prospectus is accurate only as of the date of that free writing prospectus, and that any information incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, unless we indicate otherwise. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. This prospectus incorporates by reference, and any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus may contain and/or incorporate by reference, market data and industry statistics and forecasts that are based on independent industry publications and other publicly available information. Although we believe these sources are reliable, we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information and we have not independently verified this information. In addition, the market and industry data and forecasts that may be included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any applicable free writing prospectus may involve estimates, assumptions and other risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any applicable free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on this information.
This prospectus and the information incorporated herein by reference include trademarks, service marks and trade names owned by us or other companies. All trademarks, service marks and trade names included or incorporated by reference into this prospectus are the property of their respective owners.
Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute part of this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus.
As used in this prospectus, unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “registrant,” “Company” and “Vertical” mean Vertical Aerospace Ltd. and its subsidiaries. When we refer to “you,” we mean the potential holders of the applicable series of securities.
We are both an “emerging growth company” and a “foreign private issuer” as defined under the U.S. federal securities laws and, as such, may elect to comply with certain reduced public company disclosure and reporting requirements.
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No action is being taken in any in any jurisdiction outside the United States to permit a public offering of the securities or possession or distribution of this prospectus in that jurisdiction. Persons who come into possession of this prospectus in jurisdictions outside the United States are required to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions as to an offering pursuant to and the distribution of this prospectus applicable to that jurisdiction.
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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus (including information incorporated by reference) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements.
In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “believe,” “may,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “should,” “plan,” “expect,” “predict,” “potential” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, our expectations concerning the outlook for our business, productivity, plans and goals for future operational improvements and capital investments, operational performance, future market conditions or economic performance and developments in the capital and credit markets and expected future financial performance, as well as any information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations.
Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and actual results or events may differ materially from those projected or implied in those statements. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to:
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Our limited operating history and that we have not yet manufactured any non-prototype aircraft or sold any aircraft to electric vertical takeoff and landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft customers;
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Our business plans require a significant amount of capital and we may not be able to raise additional funds when we need or want them, or at all, to fund our operations, which could force us to curtail or even cease our planned operations and the pursuit of our growth strategy;
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Our limited cash and cash equivalents, recurring losses from operations and dependency on raising additional capital indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt (or substantial doubt as contemplated by PCAOB standards) regarding our ability to continue as a going concern;
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If we are unable to produce, certify or launch aircraft in the volumes or timelines projected;
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Our aircraft may not perform at the level we expect and may potentially have defects;
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Our dependence on our partners and suppliers for the components in our aircraft and for our operational needs;
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Being an early-stage company with a history of losses, we expect to incur significant expenses and continuing losses in the foreseeable future;
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Our markets are still in relatively early stages of growth, and such markets may not continue to grow, grow more slowly than we expect or fail to grow as large as we expect;
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Any accidents or incidents involving eVTOL aircraft developed by us or our competitors could harm our business;
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Our eVTOL aircraft may not be certified by transportation authorities for production and operation within any projected timeline, or at all;
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All of the pre-orders we have received for our aircraft are conditional and may be terminated at any time by either party and any pre-delivery payments may be fully refundable upon certain circumstances;
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Our business has grown rapidly and expects to continue to grow significantly, and any failure to manage that growth effectively could harm our business;
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Our dependence on recruiting and retaining our senior management team and other highly skilled personnel;
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We previously identified material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting, which if we fail to properly remediate, could adversely affect our results of operations, investor confidence in us and the market price of our ordinary shares; and
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other risks and uncertainties described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
Many important factors, in addition to the factors described above and in other sections of this prospectus, could adversely impact our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for our management to predict all risks and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from estimates or forward-looking statements. We qualify all of our estimates and forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
The estimates and forward-looking statements made in this prospectus relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this prospectus. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any estimate or forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. We caution you against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect current beliefs and are based on information currently available as of the date a forward-looking statement is made. In evaluating our forward-looking statements, you should specifically consider the risks and uncertainties described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
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OUR COMPANY
Company Overview
Our vision is to transform how the world moves. We are a global aerospace and technology company that is pioneering electric aviation, focused on designing, manufacturing and selling a zero operating emission eVTOL aircraft for use in the advanced air mobility market, using the most cutting-edge technology from the aerospace, automotive and energy industries.
Founded in 2016, we come from a deep aerospace and automotive mindset and have designed, built and flown two sub-scale prototype eVTOL aircraft in 2018 and 2019. We are currently developing, and are progressing towards the certification of, our flagship eVTOL, the VX4 in 2028. Our first full-scale VX4 prototype commenced flight testing in July 2023 and successfully progressed through its thrustborne flight-test program. Our second, more advanced, full-scale VX4 prototype commenced flight tests in July 2024, achieving the milestone of piloted thrustborne flight manoeuvres in January 2025. The assembly of our third full-scale VX4 prototype, identical to the second, is underway. Both our second, and soon to be third, prototypes include much of our strategic partners’ technology that we plan to incorporate into our final certification aircraft.
In March 2023, the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority (“CAA”) issued an eVTOL Design Organisation Approval (“DOA”) to our wholly-owned subsidiary, Vertical Aerospace Group Limited (“VAGL”). UK and European aerospace companies cannot hold a type certificate without being granted a DOA. The DOA authorises VAGL to conduct design activities and issue design approvals within the DOA’s scope of approval. In July 2024, the CAA expanded the scope of our DOA and agreed its certification cooperation with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (“EASA”) on certification activities for the VX4.
We are targeting the VX4 to be capable of transporting a pilot and up to four passengers at entry into service, traveling distances of up to 100 miles, and achieving cruise speeds of 150 miles per hour, while producing minimal noise and zero operating emissions.
In November 2024, we launched Flightpath 2030, our strategy for market leadership before the end of the decade through embedding a pioneering culture, redefining aerospace best practice, intelligent partnering and being safety obsessed.
Company Information
The mailing address of our principal executive office is Unit 1 Camwal Court, Chapel Street, Bristol BS2 0UW, United Kingdom, and our telephone number is +44-177 471 0150. Our website address is https://www.vertical-aerospace.com. Information contained on our website or connected thereto does not constitute part of, and is not incorporated by reference into, this prospectus or the registration statement of which it forms a part. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely for informational purposes. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc.
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RISK FACTORS
Investing in any securities offered pursuant to this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement involves risks. You should carefully consider the risk factors set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F incorporated by reference into this prospectus and in our updates, if any, to those risk factors in our reports on Form 6-K incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and all other information contained or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act of 1934, and the risk factors and other information contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any applicable free writing prospectus before acquiring any of such securities. The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the offered securities.
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement(s).
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DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
The following summary of the material terms of our share capital is not intended to be a complete summary of the rights and preferences of such securities, and should be read together with the Company’s fourth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association dated effective on December 23, 2024 (the “Articles”). We urge to you read the Articles in its entirety for a complete description of the rights and preferences of our share capital.
General
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability (company number 376116). Our affairs are governed by our Articles as amended and restated from time to time and the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the “Companies Act”).
Our objects are unrestricted, and Section 3 of our Articles provides that we shall have full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by the laws of the Cayman Islands.
Our register of members is maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
Ordinary Shares
General
The authorized share capital of the Company is $210,000 divided into 200,000,000 ordinary shares, par value $0.001 per share, and 10,000,000 preferred shares, par value $0.001 per share. As of March 31, 2025, there were 84,602,721 ordinary shares issued and outstanding. All of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares are fully paid and non-assessable. Certificates representing our issued and outstanding ordinary shares are generally not issued and legal title to our issued shares is recorded in registered form in the register of members. Other than as described below under the heading “Shareholder Participation Rights,” holders of ordinary shares do not have any conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights and there are no sinking fund or redemption provisions applicable to the ordinary shares.
We currently have only one class of issued ordinary shares, which have identical rights in all respects and rank equally with one another. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors at a general meeting, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect the directors, subject to the director nomination rights held by Mudrick Capital and Stephen Fitzpatrick’s right to serve as a General Director, as described below under the heading “— Directors.”
Our Board may provide for other classes of shares, including classes of preferred shares, out of our authorized but unissued share capital, which could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise capital for corporate purposes or for use in employee benefit plans. Such additional classes of shares shall have such rights, restrictions, preferences, privileges and payment obligations as determined by our Board. If we issue any preferred shares, the rights, preferences and privileges of holders of our ordinary shares will be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of such preferred shares. See “— Variations of Rights of Shares.”
As of March 31, 2025, there were 84,602,721 ordinary shares issued and outstanding. In addition, as of March 31, 2025, we had 22,188,993 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants, and 37,198,531 ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of the Convertible Senior Secured Notes.
Dividends
The holders of our ordinary shares are entitled to such dividends as may be declared by our Board subject to the Companies Act and our Articles. Dividends and other distributions on issued and outstanding ordinary shares may be paid out of the funds of the Company lawfully available for such purpose, subject to any preference of any outstanding preferred shares. Dividends and other distributions will be distributed among the holders of our ordinary shares on a pro rata basis. Subject to the foregoing, the payment of cash dividends in the future, if any, will be at the discretion of our Board and will depend upon such factors
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as earnings levels, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, our overall financial condition, available distributable reserves and any other factors deemed relevant by our Board.
Voting Rights
Holders of ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of members holding at least a simple majority of all voting share capital in issue at any such general meeting of the Company. Voting at any meeting of shareholders is by poll and not on a show of hands.
A special resolution will be required for important matters such as a merger or consolidation of the Company, change of name or making changes to our Articles or the voluntary winding up of the Company.
The adoption of any ordinary resolution by our shareholders requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes permitted to be cast by persons present (in person or by proxy) and voting at a general meeting at which a quorum is present, while a special resolution requires the affirmative vote of no less than two-thirds of the votes permitted to be cast by persons present (in person or by proxy) and voting at any such meeting, or, in each case, a unanimous resolution in writing.
Shareholder Meetings
Our Articles provide that notice of any general meeting shall be provided to each shareholder entitled to vote at such meeting not less than seven calendar days but not more than sixty calendar days before the date of the meeting. The notice shall specify the place, if any, date and time of the meeting, the means of remote communication, if any, by which shareholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such meeting, and, in the case of an extraordinary general meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called. No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum of shareholders is present at the time when the meeting proceeds to business. A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of members holding at least a simple majority of all voting share capital in issue at any such general meeting of the Company.
Under our Articles, all general meetings of the Company other than annual general meetings are called extraordinary general meetings. No business may be transacted at any general meeting other than business properly brought before the meeting.
Annual General Meetings
Our Articles provide that the Company shall hold an annual general meeting in each fiscal year of the Company, to be held at such time and place as our directors approve. To be properly brought before an annual general meeting, business must be (i) specified in a notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the Board, (ii) otherwise brought before the meeting by the Board or the chairman of the Board, or (iii) notified to the Company in writing not later than the seventh day after the delivery of notice of such meeting by shareholders holding greater than an aggregate of 10.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares.
Extraordinary General Meetings
Our Articles provide that extraordinary general meetings for any purpose or purposes may be called at any time (i) by a resolution adopted by the majority of our directors or (ii) by the Board upon a valid request by shareholders holding an aggregate of 10.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares. To be properly brought before an extraordinary general meeting, business must be specified in a notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the person calling the meeting, which may include any such business as the requesting shareholders may propose, subject to applicable law.
The Board can, in good faith, refuse the calling of an extraordinary general meeting at the request of shareholders holding greater than an aggregate of 10.0% of the ordinary shares issued and outstanding, but only if the resolution proposed to be dealt with at the extraordinary general meeting cannot be properly moved because it would be contrary to applicable law. If the Board does not convene an extraordinary general meeting within twenty-one days from the date on which a valid request is received, other than in the limited circumstances in which the Board would have a right to refuse the calling of an extraordinary
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general meeting, the requesting shareholders may convene an extraordinary general meeting, which shall be convened in the same manner as nearly as possible as that in which extraordinary general meetings are convened by the Board.
Variations of Rights of Shares
Under the Articles, if our share capital is divided into more than one class of shares, the rights attached to any such class may, whether or not the Company is being wound up, be varied without the consent of the holders of the issued shares of that class where such variation is considered by our directors not to have a material adverse effect upon such rights; otherwise, any such variation shall be made only with the consent in writing of the holders of not less than two thirds of the issued shares of that class or with the approval of a resolution passed by a majority of not less than two thirds of the votes cast at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of that class.
Options
Our board of directors is empowered to grant options with or without preferred, deferred, or other rights or restrictions. We currently have in place two employee incentive plans under which options in our ordinary shares can be granted to eligible employees.
Transfer of Ordinary Shares
Any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of their ordinary shares by an instrument of transfer in the usual or common form or any other form prescribed by the stock exchange, the SEC and/or any other competent regulatory authority or otherwise under applicable law, or approved by our Board, subject to the applicable restrictions of our Articles, such as the determination by the directors that a proposed transfer is not eligible.
Ownership Threshold
There are no provisions under Cayman Islands law applicable to us, or under the Articles, that require us to disclose shareholder ownership above any particular ownership threshold.
Rights of Non-Resident or Foreign Shareholders
There are no limitations imposed by the Articles on the rights of non-resident or foreign shareholders to hold or exercise voting rights on our shares. In addition, there are no provisions in the Articles governing the ownership threshold above which shareholder ownership must be disclosed.
Anti-Takeover Provisions in the Articles
Some provisions of the Articles may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of Vertical or our management that shareholders may consider favorable, including director nomination rights granted to Mudrick Capital for a number of directors proportionate in number to its share ownership percentage so long as Mudrick Capital beneficially owns greater than 10.0% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, and a provision that authorizes our Board to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to designate the price, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of such preferred shares without any further vote or action by our shareholders.
Liquidation
On a winding-up or other return of capital, subject to any special rights attaching to any other class of shares, holders of ordinary shares will be entitled to participate in any surplus assets in proportion to their shareholdings.
Calls on Shares and Forfeiture of Shares
Our Board may from time to time make calls upon shareholders for any amounts unpaid on their shares in a notice served to such shareholders at least 14 days prior to the specified time of payment. The shares that have been called upon and remain unpaid are subject to forfeiture.
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Shareholder Participation Rights
Pursuant to a Shareholder Letter Agreement, dated as of December 23, 2024, by and among the Company, Mudrick Capital, Stephen Fitzpatrick and Imagination Aero Investments Limited (“Imagination Aero”), a wholly owned entity of Mr. Fitzpatrick, so long as (i) Mudrick Capital directly or indirectly beneficially owns at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or (ii) Mr. Fitzpatrick and Imagination Aero, together with any other fund, entity or account that is affiliated with Mr. Fitzpatrick (the “SF Parties”), directly or indirectly beneficially owns at least 3% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, Mudrick Capital and/or the SF Parties may elect to participate in our offering of newly issued ordinary shares and any other securities (including any equity securities or debt securities that are convertible into ordinary shares or the other equity securities of Vertical or our subsidiaries) (the “New Securities”) at a price and on the terms specified in the relevant offer notice, up to such number of New Securities proportionate to Mudrick Capital and/or the SF Parties’ beneficial ownership of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares relative to the number of New Securities to be offered by us.
Directors
Our management is vested in our Board. Our Articles provide that questions arising at any meeting of directors shall be decided by the votes of a majority of the directors presented at a duly held meeting at which a quorum is present, or by unanimous written resolution of the Board. The quorum necessary for any Board meeting shall consist of at least a majority of the members of our Board.
Our Articles provide that the Board shall consist of up to seven directors (but not less than one director), unless increased or decreased from time to time by the directors or the Company in a general meeting, and the Board shall consist of a majority of independent directors.
Pursuant to our Articles, so long as Mudrick Capital beneficially owns at least 10.0% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, Mudrick Capital shall be entitled to nominate for election a number of individuals to serve as directors on the Board proportionate in number (rounded to the nearest whole number), on the basis of a Board consisting of seven directors, to Mudrick Capital’s percentage of beneficial ownership of the our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (each, upon the effectiveness of their appointment, an “Appointed Director”). Such nomination rights shall terminate on the first date on which Mudrick Capital beneficially owns less than 10.0% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares on a fully diluted basis (assuming the exercise or exchange of all Vertical warrants, options and other similar instruments that are able to be exercised or exchanged as at the relevant date, and the full conversion of the outstanding Convertible Senior Secured Notes issued under the Indenture that are held by Mudrick Capital as at the relevant date), and the maximum number of Appointed Directors shall be capped as six so long as the SF Entitlement (as defined below) is applicable. Any casual vacancy on the Board in respect of an Appointed Director position shall be subject to Mudrick Capital’s nomination rights.
Our Articles provide that the nominating and corporate governance committee of the Board (the “Nominating and Governance Committee”) shall review each candidate nominated by Mudrick Capital to be an independent director for fitness and, if deemed fit for service, the Nominating and Governance Committee will recommend the individuals for election by a majority vote of the Board. The Nominating and Governance Committee shall recommend for election by a majority vote of the Board each candidate deemed fit for service by Mudrick and nominated by Mudrick Capital to be a non-independent Appointed Director.
Director positions other than for an Appointed Director (each such director, a “General Director”) may be filled by the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the remaining directors present and voting at a Board meeting, or by ordinary resolution (or, in the event that there is more than one individual proposed in respect of a single General Director position, by a plurality of votes) at a general meeting of the Company’s shareholders. So long as the SF Parties beneficially own at least 3% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, Mr. Fitzpatrick shall be entitled to serve as a General Director on the Board (the “SF Entitlement”).
A director may be removed from office by an ordinary resolution of the shareholders with cause, and any director other than Mr. Fitzpatrick may be removed from office by an ordinary resolution of the
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shareholders without cause, in each case at any time before the expiration of their term. Other than in respect of an independent Appointed Director, Mudrick Capital may remove any Appointed Director by delivering notice to the Company.
Each director shall hold office until the expiration of his or her term, until his or her successor shall have been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal.
There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors.
Under our Articles, directors who are in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract or proposed contract with our company must declare the nature of their interest at a meeting of the board of directors. Following such declaration, a director may vote in respect of any contract or proposed contract notwithstanding their interest; provided that, in exercising any such vote, such director complies with their fiduciary duties and any other applicable duties.
Our directors are entitled to such remuneration as the directors may from time to time determine.
Indemnity of Directors and Officers
Our Articles provide that our Board and officers shall be indemnified from and against all liability which they incur in execution of their duty in their respective offices to the fullest extent permitted under the laws of the Cayman Islands.
Differences in Company Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modeled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements
In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that it is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the company incorporated in another jurisdiction and facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan of merger or consolidation must then be authorized by (a) a special resolution (usually the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the issued ordinary shares of the company that are present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote thereon and who vote at the general meeting) of the shareholders of each company; and (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. Unless required by its articles of association, no shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the issued shares of each class in a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company if a copy of the plan of merger or consolidation is given to every member of the subsidiary company unless that member agrees otherwise.
The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the Cayman Islands court waives such requirement or makes such order as the Cayman Islands court otherwise considers reasonable. If the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands will register the plan of merger or consolidation.
After obtaining the relevant authorizations and consents, a director of each Cayman Islands company must sign the plan of merger or consolidation on behalf of their company and file the plan with the Registrar
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of Companies together with prescribed documents such as certificates of good standing, director’s declarations that, among other things: (a) the constituent company is, and the consolidated or surviving company will be, immediately after merger or consolidation, able to pay its debts as they fall due; (b) that the merger or consolidation is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the constituent companies; and that (c)(i) no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up the company in any jurisdiction; (iii) no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the constituent company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; and (iv) no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of any constituent company are and continue to be suspended or restricted.
Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company and the surviving company is the foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is existing; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; and (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted.
Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, in addition to the above declarations, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidation is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (iv) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of their shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows: (a) the shareholder must give their written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for their shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice of such approval to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of their intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of their shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (c) above or within seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase their shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30 day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30 day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder may) shall file a
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petition with the Cayman Islands courts to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the Cayman Islands court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date where the consideration for such shares are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
Moreover, Cayman Islands law has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, that will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies. Such transactions, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement,” may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures for which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by (i) in respect a scheme of arrangement proposed between a company and its shareholders (or any class of shareholder), three fourths in value of the shareholders (or each class of shareholder) who attend and vote, either in person or by proxy, at a meeting (or meetings) convened for that purpose; or (ii) in respect of a scheme of arrangement proposed between a company and its creditors (or any class of creditors), a majority in number representing three fourths in value of the creditors (or each class of creditors) who attend and vote, either in person or by proxy, at a meeting (or meetings) convened for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Cayman Islands court. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the Cayman Islands court the view that the scheme of arrangement should not be sanctioned, the Cayman Islands court may be expected to sanction the scheme of arrangement if it satisfies itself that:
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the company is not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of its corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with;
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the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question;
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the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and
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the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.”
If a scheme of arrangement is sanctioned by the Cayman Islands court, the scheme of arrangement will be binding on all of the shareholders (or each class of shareholder) or creditors (or each class of creditor).
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is sanctioned by the Cayman Islands court, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights (providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares), which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations.
Squeeze-out Provisions
When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of not less than 90% of the shares to whom the offer relates within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Cayman Islands courts, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through means other than these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, or through contractual arrangements of an operating business.
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Shareholders’ Suits
Walkers (Cayman) LLP, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:
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a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority;
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the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or
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those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.”
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities
The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.
We have been advised by Walkers (Cayman) LLP, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
Special Considerations for Exempted Companies
We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary resident company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
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an exempted company does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands;
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an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection;
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an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting;
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an exempted company may issue shares with no par value;
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an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 30 years in the first instance);
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an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands;
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an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and
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an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company.
“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
Indemnification of Directors and Executive Officers and Limitation of Liability
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, actual fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our Articles permit indemnification of officers and directors, to the fullest extent permitted under the laws of the Cayman Islands, for any liability and loss suffered and expenses, including legal expenses, incurred in their capacities as such in connection with any action, suit or proceeding, where civil, administrative or investigative. This standard of conduct is generally the same as permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law for a Delaware corporation. In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors that will provide such persons with additional indemnification beyond that provided in our Articles.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers or persons controlling us under the foregoing provisions, 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.
Directors’ Fiduciary Duties
Under Delaware corporate law, a director of a Delaware corporation has a fiduciary duty to the corporation and its shareholders. This duty has two components: the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. The duty of care requires that a director act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. Under this duty, a director must inform himself or herself of, and disclose to shareholders, all material information reasonably available regarding a significant transaction. The duty of loyalty requires that a director act in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. A director must not use his or her corporate position for personal gain or advantage. This duty prohibits self-dealing by a director and mandates that the best interest of the corporation and its shareholders take precedence over any interest possessed by a director, officer or controlling shareholder and not shared by the shareholders generally. In general, actions of a director are presumed to have been made on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the corporation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of a breach of one of the fiduciary duties. Should such evidence be presented concerning a transaction by a director, a director must prove the procedural fairness of the transaction, and that the transaction was of fair value to the corporation.
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
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duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole;
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duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose;
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directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion;
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duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders;
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duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and
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duty to exercise independent judgment.
In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge skill and experience of that director.
As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the Articles or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
Shareholder Action by Written Consent
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may eliminate the right of shareholders to act by written consent by amendment to its certificate of incorporation. The Articles provide that shareholders may approve corporate matters by way of a unanimous written resolution signed by or on behalf of each shareholder who would have been entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting without a meeting being held.
Shareholder Proposals
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a shareholder has the right to put any proposal before the annual meeting of shareholders, provided it complies with the notice provisions in the governing documents. A special meeting may be called by the board of directors or any other person authorized to do so in the governing documents, but shareholders may be precluded from calling special meetings.
The Companies Act provides shareholders with only limited rights to requisition a general meeting, and does not provide shareholders with any right to put any proposal before a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in a company’s articles of association. The Articles provide that shareholders holding greater than an aggregate of 10.0% of the ordinary shares issued and outstanding of the Company (i) may call an extraordinary general meeting and put forth proposals at such extraordinary general meeting, and (ii) may put forth proposals at an annual general meeting, in each case subject to compliance with the relevant notice provisions in the Articles.
Cumulative Voting
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, cumulative voting for elections of directors is not permitted unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation specifically provides for it. Cumulative voting potentially facilitates the representation of minority shareholders on a board of directors since it permits the minority shareholder to cast all the votes to which the shareholder is entitled on a single director, which increases the shareholder’s voting power with respect to electing such director. As permitted under Cayman Islands law, the Articles do not provide for cumulative voting. As a result, our shareholders are not afforded any less protections or rights on this issue than shareholders of a Delaware corporation.
Removal of Directors
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a director of a corporation may be removed for cause with the approval of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under the Articles, directors may be removed by the shareholders for “cause” (i.e., a conviction of a felony, the willful misconduct in the performance of director’s duties to the Company in a matter of substantial importance, or mental incompetency that directly affects such director’s
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ability to perform his or her obligations as a director) by an ordinary resolution. Directors other than Mr. Fitzpatrick may be removed by the shareholders without cause by an ordinary resolution. A director will also cease to be a director if he or she (i) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; (ii) dies or is found to be or becomes of unsound mind; (iii) resigns his office by notice in writing; (iv) is prohibited by applicable law from being a director; or (v) the director absents himself or herself (for the avoidance of doubt, without being represented by proxy) from meetings of the Board for six consecutive months without special leave of absence from the directors, and the directors pass a resolution that he or she has by reason of such absence vacated office.
Transactions with Interested Shareholders
The Delaware General Corporation Law contains a business combination statute applicable to Delaware corporations whereby, unless the corporation has specifically elected not to be governed by such statute under its certificate of incorporation, it is prohibited from engaging in certain business combinations with an “interested shareholder” for three years following the date that such person becomes an interested shareholder. An interested shareholder generally is a person or a group who or which owns or owned 15% or more of the target’s outstanding voting stock within the past three years. This has the effect of limiting the ability of a potential acquirer to make a two-tiered bid for the target in which all shareholders would not be treated equally. The statute does not apply if, among other things, prior to the date on which such shareholder becomes an interested shareholder, the board of directors approves either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the person becoming an interested shareholder. This encourages any potential acquirer of a Delaware corporation to negotiate the terms of any acquisition transaction with the target’s board of directors.
Cayman Islands law has no comparable statute. As a result, we cannot avail ourselves of the types of protections afforded by the Delaware business combination statute. However, although Cayman Islands law does not regulate transactions between a company and its significant shareholders, it does provide that such transactions must be entered into bona fide in the best interests of the company and for a proper corporate purpose and not with the effect of constituting a fraud on the minority shareholders.
Dissolution; Winding Up
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, unless the board of directors approves the proposal to dissolve, dissolution must be approved by shareholders holding 100% of the total voting power of the corporation. Only if the dissolution is initiated by the board of directors may it be approved by a simple majority of the corporation’s outstanding shares. Delaware law allows a Delaware corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a supermajority voting requirement in connection with dissolutions initiated by the board.
Under Cayman Islands law, a company may be wound up by either an order of the courts of the Cayman Islands or by a special resolution of its members or, if the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due, by an ordinary resolution of its members. The court has authority to order winding up in a number of specified circumstances including where it is, in the opinion of the court, just and equitable to do so.
Under the Articles, if the Company is wound up, the liquidator of our company may distribute the assets with the sanction of a special resolution of the shareholders and any other sanction required by law.
Variation of Rights of Shares
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may vary the rights of a class of shares with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of such class, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise.
Under the Articles, if our share capital is divided into more than one class of shares, the rights attached to any such class may, whether or not the Company is being wound up, be varied without the consent of the holders of the issued shares of that class where such variation is considered by our directors not to have a material adverse effect upon such rights; otherwise, any such variation shall be made only with
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the consent in writing of the holders of not less than two thirds of the issued shares of that class or with the approval of a resolution passed by a majority of not less than two thirds of the votes cast at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of that class.
Amendment of Governing Documents
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation’s governing documents may be amended with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the matter, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. As permitted by Cayman Islands law, the Articles may only be amended by a special resolution of the shareholders.
Directors’ Power to Issue Shares
Subject to applicable law, our board of directors is empowered to issue or allot shares or grant options and warrants with or without preferred, deferred, or other rights or restrictions.
Inspection of Books and Records
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, any shareholder of a corporation may for any proper purpose inspect or make copies of the corporation’s stock ledger, list of shareholders and other books and records.
Holders of our shares have no general right under Cayman Islands law to inspect or obtain copies of our register of members or our corporate records.
Waiver of Certain Corporate Opportunities
Under the Articles, the Company has renounced any interest or expectancy of the Company in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, certain opportunities where such opportunities come into the possession of one of our directors other than in his or her capacity as a director (as more particularly described in the Articles). This is subject to applicable law and may be waived by the relevant director.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our ordinary shares is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
Listing
Our ordinary shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “EVTL.”
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DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED SHARES
Our authorized share capital is $210,000 divided into 200,000,000 ordinary shares of a par value of $0.001 each and 10,000,000 preferred shares of a par value of $0.001 each. Our Articles provide that our Board may issue one or more series or preferred shares, with each of such series having such voting powers (full or limited or without voting powers), designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and qualifications, limitations or restrictions as are stated and expressed in any resolution or resolutions of the Board providing for the issue of such series.
The particular terms of any issue of preferred shares will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to the issue. Those terms may include:
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the title and number of preferred shares;
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the issue price per preferred share (or if applicable, the calculation formula of the issue price per preferred share);
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the dividend rate on the preferred shares, the dividend payment dates, the periods in respect of which dividends are payable, whether such dividends shall be cumulative and, if cumulative, the date or dates from which dividends shall accumulate;
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whether the preferred shares shall be convertible into, or exchangeable for, ordinary shares or preferred shares of another category, and, if applicable, conditions of an automatic conversion into ordinary shares, if any, the conversion period, the conversion price, or how such price will be calculated, and under what circumstances it may be adjusted;
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the liquidation preference per preferred share, if any;
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voting rights, if any, of the preferred shares;
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other restrictions on transfer, sale or assignment, if any;
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a discussion of the material Cayman Islands or United States federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred shares; and
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any other specific terms, rights, preferences, privileges, qualifications or restrictions of the preferred shares.
When we issue preferred shares under this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, the preferred shares will be fully paid and non-assessable and will not have, or be subject to, any pre-emptive or similar rights.
The issuance of preferred shares could adversely affect the voting power of holders of our ordinary shares and reduce the likelihood that holders of our ordinary shares will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation. The issuance could have the effect of decreasing the market price of our ordinary shares. The issuance of preferred shares also could delay, deter or prevent a change in control of the Company, or make removal of management more difficult. As of the date of this prospectus, there are no issued and outstanding preferred shares of any series.
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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS
Issuable Warrants
We may issue warrants for the purchase of our ordinary shares. We may issue warrants independently or together with other securities, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from any offered securities. Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and the investors or a warrant agent. The following summary of material provisions of the warrants and warrant agreements are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the warrant agreement and warrant certificate applicable to a particular series of warrants. The terms of any warrants offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, as well as the complete warrant agreements and warrant certificates that contain the terms of the warrants.
The particular terms of any issue of warrants will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to the issue. Those terms may include:
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the number of ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of warrants to purchase such shares and the price at which such number of shares may be purchased upon such exercise;
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the date, if any, on and after which the warrants and the related ordinary shares will be separately transferable;
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the terms of any rights to redeem or call the warrants;
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the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and the date on which the right will expire;
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a discussion of the material Cayman Islands and United States federal income tax consequences applicable to the warrants; and
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any additional terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures, and limitations relating to the exchange, exercise and settlement of the warrants.
Holders of equity warrants will not be entitled:
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to vote, consent or receive dividends;
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receive notice as shareholders with respect to any meeting of shareholders for the election of our directors or any other matter; or
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exercise any rights as shareholders of Vertical.
Each warrant will entitle its holder to purchase the number of ordinary shares at the exercise price set forth in, or calculable as set forth in, the applicable prospectus supplement. Unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may exercise the warrants at any time up to the specified time on the expiration date that we set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will become void.
A holder of warrant certificates may exchange them for new warrant certificates of different denominations, present them for registration of transfer and exercise them at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement. Until any warrants to purchase ordinary shares are exercised, the holders of the warrants will not have any rights of holders of the underlying ordinary shares, including any rights to receive dividends on the ordinary shares or payments upon any winding up, liquidation or dissolution of the Company, if any.
The warrants will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, excluding choice of law provisions.
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DESCRIPTION OF RIGHTS
The following summary description of the rights to subscribe for ordinary shares (the “Rights”), and any description of rights in the applicable prospectus supplement, does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, the applicable rights agreement and provisions of the certificate evidencing the Rights that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the offering of such Rights.
The Company may issue Rights that the Company may offer to its securityholders from time to time. The Rights may or may not be transferable by the persons purchasing or receiving the Rights. In connection with any Rights offering, the Company may enter into a standby underwriting or other arrangement with one or more underwriters or other persons pursuant to which such underwriters or other persons would purchase any offered securities remaining unsubscribed for after such Rights offering.
Each series of Rights will be issued under a separate rights agent agreement to be entered into between the Company and a bank or trust company, as rights agent, that the Company will name in the applicable prospectus supplement. The rights agent will act solely as the Company’s agent in connection with the Rights and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders of rights certificates or beneficial owners of Rights.
The prospectus supplement relating to any Rights that the Company may offer from time to time will describe specific terms relating to the offering, including, among other matters:
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the title of the Rights;
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the date of determining the securityholders entitled to the Rights distribution;
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the aggregate number of Rights issued and the aggregate number of ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of the Rights;
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the exercise price;
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the date on which the Rights become exercisable and the date on which the Rights will expire;
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the extent to which the Rights include an over-subscription privilege with respect to unsubscribed Securities;
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if applicable, a discussion of the material Cayman Islands and/or United States federal income tax considerations applicable to the issuance or exercise of such Rights;
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if applicable, the material terms of any standby underwriting or other purchase arrangement that the Company may enter into in connection with the Rights offering; and
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the material terms of the Rights, including terms, transferability, conditions to completion of the Rights offering, procedures and limitation relating to the exchange and exercise of such Rights.
Each Right would entitle the holder of the Rights to subscribe for cash the principal amount of ordinary shares at the exercise price set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Rights may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date for the Rights provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, all unexercised Rights will become void (unless subject to subscription by another third party pursuant to the terms of such rights offering as described in the relevant prospectus supplement).
If less than all of the Rights issued in any Rights offering are exercised, the Company may offer any unsubscribed Securities directly to persons other than the Company’s securityholders, to or through agents, underwriters or dealers or through a combination of such methods, including pursuant to standby arrangements, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
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DESCRIPTION OF UNITS
We may issue units consisting of any combination of the other types of securities offered under this prospectus in one or more series. We may evidence each series of units by unit certificates that we will issue under a separate agreement. We may enter into unit agreements with a unit agent. Each unit agent will be a bank or trust company that we select. We will indicate the name and address of the unit agent in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of units.
The following description, together with the additional information included in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes the general features of the units that we may offer under this prospectus. You should read any prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you related to the series of units being offered, as well as the complete unit agreements that contain the terms of the units. Specific unit agreements will contain additional important terms and provisions and we will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from another report that we file with the SEC, the form of each unit agreement relating to units offered under this prospectus.
If we offer any units, certain terms of that series of units will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, the following, as applicable:
•
the title of the series of units;
•
identification and description of the separate constituent securities comprising the units;
•
the price or prices at which the units will be issued;
•
the date, if any, on and after which the constituent securities comprising the units will be separately transferable;
•
a discussion of the material Cayman Islands and United States federal income tax considerations applicable to the units; and
•
any other terms of the units and their constituent securities.
The units will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, excluding choice of law provisions.
23
TAXATION
Material tax consequences relating to the purchase, ownership and disposition of any of the securities registered by this prospectus will be set forth in any applicable prospectus supplement relating to the offering of such securities.
24
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We may offer and sell the securities being offered hereby in one or more of the following ways from time to time:
•
through agents;
•
to or through underwriters;
•
on any national securities exchange or quotation service on which the securities may be listed or quoted at the time of sale;
•
in the over-the-counter market;
•
in transactions other than on these exchanges or systems or in the over-the-counter market;
•
in “at the market offerings,” within the meaning of Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act, to or through a market maker or into an existing trading market, on an exchange or otherwise;
•
through the writing or settlement of options or other hedging transactions, whether through an options exchange or otherwise;
•
ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits purchasers;
•
block trades in which the broker-dealer will attempt to sell the shares as agent but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction;
•
purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its account;
•
an exchange distribution in accordance with the rules of the applicable exchange;
•
directly by us or by selling securityholders to purchasers, including through a specific bidding, auction or other process;
•
privately negotiated transactions;
•
a combination of any of the above methods of sale; and
•
through any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law and described in a prospectus supplement.
We may also offer and sell, or agree to deliver, securities pursuant to, or in connection with, any option agreement or other contractual arrangement. The securities may be distributed from time to time in one or more transactions:
•
at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed;
•
at market prices prevailing at the time of sale;
•
at prices related to such prevailing market prices; or
•
at negotiated prices.
Each time that we sell securities covered by this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement or supplements that will describe the method of distribution and set forth the terms and conditions of the offering of such securities, including the offering price of the securities and the proceeds to us, if applicable.
Offers to purchase the securities being offered by this prospectus may be solicited directly. Agents may also be designated to solicit offers to purchase the securities from time to time. Any agent involved in the offer or sale of our securities will be identified in a prospectus supplement.
If a dealer is utilized in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, the securities will be sold to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale.
If an underwriter is utilized in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, an underwriting agreement will be executed with the underwriter at the time of sale and the name of any underwriter will be
25
provided in the prospectus supplement that the underwriter will use to make resales of the securities to the public. In connection with the sale of the securities, we or the purchasers of securities for whom the underwriter may act as agent, may compensate the underwriter in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions. The underwriter may sell the securities to or through dealers, and those dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for which they may act as agent. Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement, an agent will be acting on a best efforts basis and a dealer will purchase securities as a principal, and may then resell the securities at varying prices to be determined by the dealer.
One or more firms, referred to as “remarketing firms,” may also offer or sell the securities, if a prospectus supplement so indicates, in connection with a remarketing arrangement upon their purchase. Remarketing firms will act as principals for their own accounts or as our agents. These remarketing firms will offer or sell the securities in accordance with the terms of the securities. Each prospectus supplement will identify and describe any remarketing firm and the terms of its agreement, if any, with us and will describe the remarketing firm’s compensation. Remarketing firms may be deemed to be underwriters in connection with the securities they remarket. Remarketing firms may be entitled under agreements that may be entered into with us to indemnification by us against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.
Any compensation paid to underwriters, dealers or agents in connection with the offering of the securities, and any discounts, concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers will be provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. Underwriters, dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act and any discounts and commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions. We may enter into agreements to indemnify underwriters, dealers and agents against civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments they may be required to make in respect thereof and to reimburse those persons for certain expenses.
Any ordinary shares will be listed on NYSE, but any other securities may or may not be listed on a national securities exchange. To facilitate the offering of securities, certain persons participating in the offering may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the securities. This may include over-allotments or short sales of the securities, which involve the sale by persons participating in the offering of more securities than were sold to them. In these circumstances, these persons would cover such over-allotments or short positions by making purchases in the open market or by exercising their over-allotment option, if any. In addition, these persons may stabilize or maintain the price of the securities by bidding for or purchasing securities in the open market or by imposing penalty bids, whereby selling concessions allowed to dealers participating in the offering may be reclaimed if securities sold by them are repurchased in connection with stabilization transactions. The effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. These transactions may be discontinued at any time.
We may engage in at the market offerings into an existing trading market in accordance with Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act. In addition, we may enter into derivative transactions with third parties, or sell securities not covered by this prospectus to third parties in privately negotiated transactions. If the applicable prospectus supplement so indicates, in connection with those derivatives, the third parties may sell securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, including in short sale transactions. If so, the third party may use securities pledged by us or borrowed from us or others to settle those sales or to close out any related open borrowings of shares, and may use securities received from us in settlement of those derivatives to close out any related open borrowings of shares. The third party in such sale transactions will be an underwriter and, if not identified in this prospectus, will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement (or a post-effective amendment). In addition, we may otherwise loan or pledge securities to a financial institution or other third party that in turn may sell the securities short using this prospectus and an applicable prospectus supplement. Such financial institution or other third party may transfer its economic short position to investors in our securities or in connection with a concurrent offering of other securities.
26
We may effect sales of securities in connection with forward sale, option or other types of agreements with third parties. Any distribution of securities pursuant to any forward sale agreement may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions that may take place through a stock exchange, including block trades or ordinary broker’s transactions, or through broker-dealers acting either as principal or agent, or through privately negotiated transactions, or through an underwritten public offering, or through a combination of any such methods of sale, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, prices relating to such prevailing market prices or at negotiated or fixed prices.
The specific terms of any lock-up provisions in respect of any given offering will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
The expenses of any offering of our securities will be detailed in the applicable prospectus supplement. The underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in transactions with us, or perform services for us, in the ordinary course of business for which they receive compensation.
We will identify the specific plan of distribution, including any agents, underwriters, dealers, remarketing firms or other third parties and their compensation in a prospectus supplement.
27
LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the ordinary shares and the preferred shares being registered hereby and certain other matters of Cayman Islands law will be passed upon for us by Walkers (Cayman) LLP. The validity of the warrants, rights and units being registered hereby and certain other matters of New York state law will be passed upon for us by Latham & Watkins LLP. Additional legal matters may be passed upon for us, any underwriters, dealers or agents by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.
EXPERTS
The financial statements incorporated in this prospectus by reference to the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern as described in Note 2 to the financial statements) of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
The registered address of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is 1 Embankment Place, London WC2N 6RH, United Kingdom.
28
ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES
We are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Service of process upon us and upon our directors and officers and the Cayman Islands experts named in this prospectus, substantially all of whom reside outside the United States, may be difficult to obtain within the United States. Furthermore, because substantially all of our assets and substantially all of our directors and officers are located outside the United States, any judgment obtained in the United States against us or any of our directors and officers may not be collectible within the United States.
We have irrevocably appointed Cogency Global Inc. as our agent to receive service of process in any action against us in any U.S. federal or state court arising out of this offering or any purchase or sale of securities in connection with this offering. The address of our agent is 122 E 42nd St., 18th Floor, New York, New York 10168.
We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel, Walkers (Cayman) LLP, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any State; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any State, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
29
EXPENSES
The following is a statement of expenses in connection with the distribution of the securities registered.
|
Expenses
|
| |
Amount
|
| |||
|
SEC registration fee
|
| | | $ | 30,620 | | |
|
FINRA filing fee
|
| | | | * | | |
|
Legal and accounting fees and expenses
|
| | | | * | | |
|
Trustee and transfer agent fees and expenses
|
| | | | * | | |
|
Miscellaneous costs
|
| | | | * | | |
|
Total
|
| | | $ | * | | |
*
Estimated fees and expenses are not presently known. If required, to be provided by a prospectus supplement or as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 6-K that is incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
30
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC’s rules allow us to “incorporate by reference” the information we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to other documents filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus. Any information that we file later with the SEC and that is deemed incorporated by reference will automatically update and supersede the information in this prospectus. Any statement contained in this prospectus or a previously filed document incorporated by reference will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or a subsequently filed document incorporated by reference modifies or replaces that statement.
This prospectus will be deemed to incorporate by reference the following documents, except that we do not incorporate any document or portion of a document that was furnished and deemed by the rules of the SEC not to have been filed:
•
Our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 11, 2025;
•
Our Current Reports on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on March 11, 2025 (including Exhibit 99.1); May 6, 2025 (excluding Exhibit 99.1); May 8, 2025 (excluding Exhibit 99.1); May 12, 2025 (including Exhibit 99.1), and May 13, 2025 (excluding Exhibit 99.1 but including Exhibits 99.2 and 99.3);
•
the description of our securities contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on December 15, 2021 and any amendment or report filed with the SEC for the purpose of updating the description.
We also incorporate by reference any future annual reports on Form 20-F we file with the SEC under the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus and prior to the termination of any offering contemplated in this prospectus, and any future reports on Form 6-K we furnish to the SEC during such period that are identified in such reports as being incorporated by reference in this prospectus. In all cases, you should rely on the later information over different information included in this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement.
Unless expressly incorporated by reference, nothing in this prospectus shall be deemed to incorporate by reference information furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC. We will provide without charge to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this prospectus is delivered, upon his or her written or oral request, a copy of any or all documents referred to above which have been or may be incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You may obtain a copy of these documents by writing to or telephoning us at the following address: Vertical Aerospace Ltd., Unit 1 Camwal Court, Chapel Street, Bristol BS2 0UW, United Kingdom and our telephone number at that address is +44 117 471-0150. Alternatively, copies of these documents are available via our website (http://investor.vertical-aerospace.com), or as described under “Where You Can Find More Information” below. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
31
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
This prospectus is part of the registration statement on Form F-3 we filed with the SEC under the Securities Act, and does not contain all the information set forth in the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules to the registration statement. For further information, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed as part of the registration statement. If a document has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, we refer you to the copy of the document that has been filed. Each statement in this prospectus relating to a document filed as an exhibit is qualified in all respects by the filed exhibit.
We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act that are applicable to foreign private issuers. Accordingly, we are required to file or furnish reports and other information with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 20-F and current reports on Form 6-K. The SEC maintains an internet website at http://www.sec.gov, from which you can electronically access the registration statement and its materials.
Our website is www.vertical-aerospace.com. The information on our website, however, is not, and should not be deemed to be, a part of this prospectus.
As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain of the requirements under the Exchange Act including, among other things, the rules prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will not be required under the Exchange Act to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act.
32
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 8. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except where any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, actual fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our memorandum and articles of association permit indemnification of officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers or persons controlling us under the foregoing provisions, 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.
Item 9. Exhibits
The following documents are filed as part of this registration statement on Form F-3.
| | | | | | | |
Incorporation by Reference
|
| ||||||||||||
| |
Exhibit
No. |
| |
Description
|
| |
Form
|
| |
File No.
|
| |
Exhibit
No. |
| |
Filing Date
|
| |
Filed /
Furnished |
|
| | 1.1* | | | Form of Underwriting Agreement. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 3.1 | | | | |
6-K
|
| |
001-41169
|
| |
3.1
|
| |
December 23,
2024 |
| | | | |
| | 4.1 | | | | |
F-4
|
| |
333-257785
|
| |
4.6
|
| |
November 1,
2021 |
| | | | |
| | 4.2* | | |
Form of Preferred Share Certificate.
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 4.3* | | | Form of Warrant Agreement. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 4.4* | | | Form of Rights Agreement. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 4.5* | | | Form of Unit Agreement. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 5.1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Filed
|
| |
| | 5.2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Filed
|
| |
| | 23.1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Filed
|
| |
| | 23.2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Filed
|
| |
| | 23.3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Filed
|
| |
| | 24.1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Filed
|
| |
| |
107
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Filed
|
| |
*
To be filed by amendment or incorporated by reference in connection with the offering of the securities.
II-1
Item 10. Undertakings
(a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and
(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(4) To file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to include any financial statements required by Item 8.A. of Form 20-F at the start of any delayed offering or throughout a continuous offering. Financial statements and information otherwise required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 need not be furnished, provided, that the Registrant includes in the prospectus, by means of a post-effective amendment, financial statements required pursuant to this paragraph (a)(4) and other information necessary to ensure that all other information in the prospectus is at least as current as the date of those financial statements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to registration statements on Form F-3, a post-effective amendment need not be filed to include financial statements and information required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act or Item 8.A of Form 20-F if such financial statements and information are contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in this Form F-3.
(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:
(A) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and
(B) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to
II-2
Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.
(6) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities: The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(i) any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(ii) any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;
(iii) the portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
(iv) any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
(b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
II-3
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in London, United Kingdom, on the 13th day of May, 2025.
VERTICAL AEROSPACE LTD.
By:
/s/ Stuart Simpson
Name: Stuart Simpson
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Title: Chief Executive Officer
II-4
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the undersigned constitutes and appoints each of Stuart Simpson and Dómhnal Slattery, each acting alone, his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this Registration Statement on Form F-3, or other appropriate form, and all amendments thereto, including post-effective amendments, of Vertical Aerospace Ltd., and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, each acting alone, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming that any such attorney-in-fact and agent, or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement on Form F-3 has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| |
Name
|
| |
Title
|
| |
Date
|
|
| |
/s/ Stuart Simpson
Stuart Simpson
|
| |
Chief Executive Officer (Principal
Executive Officer) and Director |
| |
May 13, 2025
|
|
| |
/s/ John Maloney
John Maloney
|
| |
Finance Director (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)
|
| |
May 13, 2025
|
|
| |
/s/ Dómhnal Slattery
Dómhnal Slattery
|
| |
Chairman
|
| |
May 13, 2025
|
|
| |
/s/ Stephen Welch
Stephen Welch
|
| |
Director
|
| |
May 13, 2025
|
|
| |
/s/ Benjamin Story
Benjamin Story
|
| |
Director
|
| |
May 13, 2025
|
|
| |
/s/ Kris Haber
Kris Haber
|
| |
Director
|
| |
May 13, 2025
|
|
| |
/s/ Kathy Cassidy
Kathy Cassidy
|
| |
Director
|
| |
May 13, 2025
|
|
II-5
SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED U.S. REPRESENTATIVE OF REGISTRANT
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of Vertical Aerospace Ltd. has signed this Registration Statement on Form F-3 in the City of New York, State of New York, on May 13, 2025.
COGENCY GLOBAL INC.
By:
/s/ Colleen De Vries
Name:
Colleen De Vries
Title:
Sr. Vice President on behalf of Cogency Global Inc.
II-6
Exhibit 5.1
| 13 May 2025 | Our Ref: AB/slh/ V1410-175594 |
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Vertical Aerospace Ltd. c/o Walkers Corporate Limited 190 Elgin Avenue George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9008 Cayman Islands |
VERTICAL AEROSPACE LTD.
We have been asked to provide this legal opinion to you with regard to the laws of the Cayman Islands in connection with registration for the issue and sale of certain securities in the capital of Vertical Aerospace Ltd. (the "Company") including:
| (a) | ordinary shares of par value $0.001 per share in the capital of the Company (an "Ordinary Share"); |
| (b) | preferred shares of par value $0.001 per share in the capital of the Company (a "Preferred Share"); |
| (c) | warrants to subscribe for Ordinary Shares (a "Warrant"), which may be issued under one or more warrant agreements to be entered into between the Company and the warrant agent to be named therein (a "Warrant Agreement"); |
| (d) | rights to subscribe for Ordinary Shares (a "Right"), which may be issued under one or more rights agreements (a "Rights Agreement"); and |
| (e) | units consisting of any combination of the other types of securities offered under the Registration Statement (a "Unit"), which may be issued under one or more unit agreements (a "Unit Agreement"), from time to time in one or more offerings, |
in each case under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and pursuant to the terms of the Registration Statement, plus any additional Ordinary Shares, Preferred Shares, Warrants, Rights and Units that may be registered pursuant to any subsequent registration statement that the Company may hereafter file with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act in connection with the offering by the Company contemplated by the Registration Statement. The Warrants, Rights and Units are referred to herein collectively as the "Securities".
For the purposes of giving this opinion, we have examined and relied solely upon the originals or copies of the documents listed in Schedule 1.
Walkers
190 Elgin Avenue, George Town
Grand Cayman KY1-9001, Cayman Islands
T +1 345 949 0100 F +1 345 949 7886 www.walkersglobal.com
Bermuda | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Dubai | Guernsey | Hong Kong | Ireland | Jersey | London | Singapore
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We are Cayman Islands Attorneys at Law and express no opinion as to any laws other than the laws of the Cayman Islands in force and as interpreted at the date of this opinion. We have not, for the purposes of this opinion, made any investigation of the laws, rules or regulations of any other jurisdiction. Except as explicitly stated herein, we express no opinion in relation to any representation or warranty contained in the Documents (defined below) nor upon matters of fact or the commercial terms of the transactions contemplated by the Documents.
Based upon the foregoing examinations and the assumptions and qualifications set out below and having regard to legal considerations which we consider relevant, and under the laws of the Cayman Islands, as at the date hereof, we give the following opinions in relation to the matters set out below.
| 1. | The Company is an exempted company duly incorporated with limited liability, validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands and in good standing with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands (the "Registrar"). |
| 2. | With respect to the Ordinary Shares and the Preferred Shares: when (a) the board of directors of the Company (the "Board") has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the issuance thereof, the terms of the offering thereof and related matters; (b) the provisions of the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement approved by the Board have been satisfied and payment of the consideration specified therein (being not less than their par value) has been made; and (c) the name of the registered owner thereof has been entered in the Register of Members of the Company confirming that such shares have been issued credited as fully paid, then the Ordinary Shares and/or the Preferred Shares (as applicable) will have been duly authorised and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable (meaning that no additional sums may be levied on the holder thereof in respect of the shares by the Company). |
| 3. | When the applicable Warrant Agreement has been duly authorised, executed and delivered by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and when the specific terms of a particular issuance of Warrants have been duly established in accordance with the terms of the applicable Warrant Agreement and authorised by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and such Warrants have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the applicable Warrant Agreement and in the manner contemplated by the Registration Statement and by such corporate action (assuming the securities issuable upon exercise of such Warrants have been duly authorised and reserved for issuance by all necessary corporate action), such Warrants will be the legally valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms. |
| 4. | When the applicable Rights Agreement has been duly authorised, executed and delivered by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and when the specific terms of a particular issuance of Rights have been duly established in accordance with the terms of the applicable Rights Agreement and authorised by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and such Rights have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the applicable Rights Agreement and in the manner contemplated by the Registration Statement and by such corporate action (assuming the securities issuable upon exercise of such Rights have been duly authorised and reserved for issuance by all necessary corporate action), such Rights will be the legally valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms. |
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| 5. | When the applicable Unit Agreement has been duly authorised, executed and delivered by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and when the specific terms of a particular issuance of Units have been duly authorised in accordance with the terms of the applicable Unit Agreement and authorised by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and such Units have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the applicable Unit Agreement and in the manner contemplated by the Registration Statement and by such corporate action (assuming the securities underlying such Units have been duly authorised and reserved for issuance by all necessary corporate action), such Units will be the legally valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms. |
The foregoing opinions are given based on the following assumptions.
| 1. | The originals of all documents examined in connection with this opinion are authentic. The signatures, initials and seals on any Warrant Agreement, Rights Agreement or Unit Agreement and any documents entered into in connection with the issue or delivery of Ordinary Shares, Preferred Shares or Securities (collectively, the "Documents") will be genuine and those of a person or persons given power to execute the Documents under the Resolutions (as defined below) or any power of attorney given by the Company to execute the Documents. All copies are complete and conform to their originals. |
| 2. | The Memorandum and Articles will be the memorandum and articles of association of the Company in effect at the time of the issue of the Ordinary Shares and the Preferred Shares. |
| 3. | Information contained in the Registration Statement and all other documents reviewed by us is true and correct. |
| 4. | At the time of the issuance of the Ordinary Shares and/or Preferred Shares, the Company will have sufficient authorised and unissued share capital available in order to issue the Ordinary Shares and/or Preferred Shares required to be issued under or pursuant to any Rights Agreement, Warrant Agreement or Unit Agreement (as applicable) or other Documents under the terms of which the Company has agreed to issue Ordinary Shares or Preferred Shares. |
| 5. | Each prospectus and the Documents will be duly authorised, executed and delivered by or on behalf of all relevant parties prior to the issue and sale of Ordinary Shares, Preferred Shares, Rights, Warrants and Units and will be legal, valid, binding and enforceable against all relevant parties in accordance with their terms. |
| 6. | The Company will offer, issue and sell the Ordinary Shares, Preferred Shares and Securities in the manner contemplated by the relevant prospectus and the Documents or agreements referred to therein and otherwise in compliance with all applicable laws. |
| 7. | There are no records of the Company (other than the records referred to in Schedule 1), agreements, documents or arrangements other than the documents expressly referred to herein which restrict the powers and authority of the directors of the Company in any way or which would affect any opinion given herein. |
| 8. | The Company will receive consideration in money or money’s worth for each Ordinary Share or Preferred Share issued by the Company when issued at the agreed issue price in accordance with the terms of the applicable Document, such price in any event not being less than the stated par or nominal value of each Ordinary Share or Preferred Share. |
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| 9. | Any corporate authorisation or power of attorney given by the Company to execute a Document or agreement will remain in force and effect and will not have been revoked or varied. |
| 10. | There are no provisions of the laws of any jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands which would be contravened by the issuance and allotment of the Ordinary Shares, Preferred Shares, Rights, Warrants or Units and, insofar as any obligation expressed to be incurred under any Document or agreement under the terms of which the Company has agreed to issue Ordinary Shares, Preferred Shares or Securities is to be performed in or is otherwise subject to the laws of any jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, its performance will not be illegal by virtue of the laws of that jurisdiction. |
| 11. | The Company on the date hereof, on the date of entry into any Document and on the issuance of the Ordinary Shares, Preferred Shares and Securities will be able to pay its debts as they become due from its own moneys. |
| 12. | There is nothing under any law (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands) which would or might affect the opinions set out herein. |
The opinions expressed above are subject to the following qualifications:
| 1. | The term "enforceable" and its cognates as used in this opinion means that the obligations assumed by any party under a document or agreement are of a type which the courts of the Cayman Islands (the "Courts" and each a "Court") enforce. This does not mean that those obligations will necessarily be enforced in all circumstances in accordance with their terms. In particular: |
| (a) | enforcement of obligations and the priority of obligations may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, restructuring, reorganisation, readjustment of debts or moratorium and other laws of general application relating to or affecting the rights of creditors or by prescription or lapse of time; |
| (b) | enforcement may be limited by general principles of equity and, in particular, the availability of certain equitable remedies such as injunction or specific performance of an obligation may be limited where a Court considers damages to be an adequate remedy; |
| (c) | claims may become barred under statutes of limitation or may be or become subject to defences of set-off, counterclaim, estoppel and similar defences; |
| (d) | where obligations are to be performed in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, they may not be enforceable in the Cayman Islands to the extent that performance would be illegal under the laws of, or contrary to the public policy of, that jurisdiction; |
| (e) | a judgment of a Court may be required to be made in Cayman Islands dollars; |
| (f) | to the extent that any provision of a document or agreement is adjudicated to be penal in nature, it will not be enforceable in the Courts; in particular, the enforceability of any provision of a document or agreement that is adjudicated to constitute a secondary obligation which imposes a detriment on the contract-breaker out of all proportion to any legitimate interest of the innocent party in the enforcement of the primary obligation may be limited; |
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| (g) | to the extent that the performance of any obligation arising under a document or agreement would be fraudulent or contrary to public policy, it will not be enforceable in the Courts; |
| (h) | in the case of an insolvent liquidation of the Company, its liabilities are required to be translated into the functional currency of the Company (being the currency of the primary economic environment in which it operated as at the commencement of the liquidation) at the exchange rates prevailing on the date of commencement of the voluntary liquidation or the day on which the winding up order is made (as the case may be); |
| (i) | a Court will not necessarily award costs in litigation in accordance with contractual provisions in this regard; and |
| (j) | the effectiveness of terms a document or agreement excusing any party from a liability or duty otherwise owed or indemnifying that party from the consequences of incurring such liability or breaching such duty shall be construed in accordance with, and shall be limited by, applicable law, including generally applicable rules and principles of common law and equity. |
| 2. | Our opinion as to good standing is based solely upon receipt of the Certificate of Good Standing issued by the Registrar. The Company shall be deemed to be in good standing under section 200A of the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands (the "Companies Act") on the date of issue of the certificate if all fees and penalties under the Companies Act have been paid and the Registrar has no knowledge that the Company is in default under the Companies Act. |
This opinion is limited to the matters referred to herein and shall not be construed as extending to any other matter or document not referred to herein. This opinion is given solely for your benefit and the benefit of your legal advisers acting in that capacity in relation to this transaction and may not be relied upon by any other person, other than persons entitled to rely upon it pursuant to the provisions of the Securities Act, without our prior written consent.
This opinion shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the references to our firm, as Cayman Islands counsel to the Company, in the Registration Statement. We further consent to the incorporation by reference of this letter and consent into any registration statement or post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act with respect to the Securities.
Yours faithfully
/s/ Walkers (Cayman) LLP
WalkerS (CAYMAN) LLP
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Schedule 1
LIST OF DOCUMENTS EXAMINED
| 1. | The Certificate of Incorporation dated 21 May 2021, Register of Directors and Register of Officers, in each case, of the Company, copies of which have been provided to us by its registered office in the Cayman Islands, the Register of Members of the Company provided to us by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Fourth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association as adopted on 23 December 2024 (the "Memorandum and Articles"). |
| 2. | The Cayman Online Registry Information System (CORIS), the Cayman Islands' General Registry's online database, searched on 12 May 2025. |
| 3. | The Register of Writs and other Originating Process of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands kept at the Clerk of Court's Office, George Town, Grand Cayman, examined at 9.00 am on 12 May 2025. |
| 4. | A copy of a Certificate of Good Standing dated 12 May 2025 in respect of the Company issued by the Registrar (the "Certificate of Good Standing"). |
| 5. | The Registration Statement on Form F-3 and preliminary prospectus filed on 13 May 2025 by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission registering up to $200,000,000 in the aggregate of the Company's Ordinary Shares, Preferred Shares, Warrants, Rights and Units under the Securities Act (as filed, the "Registration Statement"). |
Exhibit 5.2
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99 Bishopsgate London EC2M 3XF United Kingdom Tel: +44(0)20.7710.1000 Fax: +44(0)20.7374.4460 www.lw.com
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| May 13, 2025 | FIRM / AFFILIATE OFFICES | |
| Austin | Milan | |
| Beijing | Munich | |
| Boston | New York | |
| Brussels | Orange County | |
| Century City | Paris | |
| Chicago | Riyadh | |
| Dubai | San Diego | |
| Düsseldorf | San Francisco | |
| Frankfurt | Seoul | |
| Hamburg | Silicon Valley | |
| Hong Kong | Singapore | |
| Houston | Tel Aviv | |
| London | Tokyo | |
| Los Angeles | Washington, D.C. | |
| Madrid |
Vertical Aerospace Ltd.
Unit 1 Camwal Court
Chapel Street
Bristol
BS2 0UW
United Kingdom
| Re: | Registration Statement on Form F-3 |
To the addressee set forth above:
We have acted as special United States counsel to Vertical Aerospace Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), in connection with its filing on the date hereof with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) of a registration statement on Form F-3 (as amended, the “Registration Statement”), including a base prospectus (the “Base Prospectus”), which provides that it will be supplemented by one or more prospectus supplements (each such prospectus supplement, together with the Base Prospectus, a “Prospectus”), under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), relating to the registration for issue and sale by the Company of (i) the Company’s ordinary shares, par value $0.001 per share (“Ordinary Shares”), (ii) the Company’s preferred shares, par value $0.001 per preferred share (the “Preferred Shares”), (iii) warrants to subscribe for Ordinary Shares (“Warrants”), which may be issued under one or more warrant agreements to be entered into between the Company and the warrant agent to be named therein, (iv) rights to subscribe for Ordinary Shares (“Rights”), which may be issued under one or more rights agreements, or (v) units consisting of any combination of the other types of securities offered under the Registration Statement and Prospectus, which may be issued under one or more unit agreements (the “Units”). The Warrants and Units, plus any additional Warrants and Units that may be registered pursuant to any subsequent registration statement that the Company may hereafter file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Act in connection with the offering by the Company contemplated by the Registration Statement, are referred to herein collectively as the “Securities.”
This opinion is being furnished in connection with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Act, and no opinion is expressed herein as to any matter pertaining to the contents of the Registration Statement or related applicable Prospectus, other than as expressly stated herein with respect to the issue of the Securities.
As such counsel, we have examined such matters of fact and questions of law as we have considered appropriate for purposes of this letter. With your consent, we have relied upon certificates and other assurances of officers of the Company and others as to factual matters without having independently verified such factual matters. We are opining herein as to the internal laws of the State of New York, and we express no opinion with respect to the applicability thereto, or the effect thereon, of the laws of any other jurisdiction or as to any matters of municipal law or the laws of any local agencies within any state. Various matters concerning the laws of the Cayman Islands with respect to the Ordinary Shares, the Preferred Shares and the Rights are addressed in the opinion of Walkers (Cayman) LLP, which has been separately provided to you. We express no opinion with respect to those matters herein, and, to the extent such matters are necessary to the conclusions expressed herein, we have, with your consent, assumed such matters.
Latham & Watkins is the business name of Latham & Watkins (London) LLP, a registered limited liability partnership organised under the laws of New York and authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA No. 203820). A list of the names of the partners of Latham & Watkins (London) LLP is open to inspection at its principal place of business, 99 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3XF, and such persons are either solicitors, registered foreign lawyers, or managers authorised by the SRA. We are affiliated with the firm Latham & Watkins LLP, a limited liability partnership organised under the laws of Delaware.
May 13, 2025 Page 2 |
Subject to the foregoing and the other matters set forth herein, it is our opinion that, as of the date hereof:
1. When the applicable warrant agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and when the specific terms of a particular issuance of Warrants have been duly established in accordance with the terms of the applicable warrant agreement and authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and such Warrants have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the applicable warrant agreement and in the manner contemplated by the applicable Prospectus and by such corporate action (assuming the securities issuable upon exercise of such Warrants have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance by all necessary corporate action), such Warrants will be the legally valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.
2. When the applicable unit agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and when the specific terms of a particular issuance of Units have been duly authorized in accordance with the terms of the applicable unit agreement and authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and such Units have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the applicable unit agreement and in the manner contemplated by the applicable Prospectus and by such corporate action (assuming the securities issuable upon exercise of such Units have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance by all necessary corporate action), such Units will be the legally valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.
Our opinions are subject to: (i) the effect of bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, preference, fraudulent transfer, moratorium or other similar laws relating to or affecting the rights and remedies of creditors; (ii) (a) the effect of general principles of equity, whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law (including the possible unavailability of specific performance or injunctive relief), (b) concepts of materiality, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing, and (c) the discretion of the court before which a proceeding is brought; and (iii) the invalidity under certain circumstances under law or court decisions of provisions providing for the indemnification of or contribution to a party with respect to a liability where such indemnification or contribution is contrary to public policy. We express no opinion as to (a) any provision for liquidated damages, default interest, late charges, monetary penalties, make-whole premiums or other economic remedies to the extent such provisions are deemed to constitute a penalty, (b) consents to, or restrictions upon, governing law, jurisdiction, venue, arbitration, remedies, or judicial relief, (c) waivers of rights or defenses, (d) any provision requiring the payment of attorneys’ fees, where such payment is contrary to law or public policy, (e) the creation, validity, attachment, perfection, or priority of any lien or security interest, (f) advance waivers of claims, defenses, rights granted by law, or notice, opportunity for hearing, evidentiary requirements, statutes of limitation, trial by jury or at law, or other procedural rights, (g) waivers of broadly or vaguely stated rights, (h) provisions for exclusivity, election or cumulation of rights or remedies, (i) provisions authorizing or validating conclusive or discretionary determinations, (j) grants of setoff rights, (k) proxies, powers and trusts, (l) provisions prohibiting, restricting, or requiring consent to assignment or transfer of any right or property, (m) any provision to the extent it requires that a claim with respect to a security denominated in other than U.S. dollars (or a judgment in respect of such a claim) be converted into U.S. dollars at a rate of exchange at a particular date, to the extent applicable law otherwise provides, and (n) the severability, if invalid, of provisions to the foregoing effect.
2
May 13, 2025 Page 3 |
With your consent, we have assumed (a) that each of the Warrants and the warrant agreements governing the Warrants and each of the Units and the unit agreements governing the Units (collectively, the “Documents”) will be governed by the internal laws of the State of New York, (b) that each of the Documents has been or will be duly authorized, executed and delivered by the parties thereto, (c) that each of the Documents constitutes or will constitute legally valid and binding obligations of the parties thereto other than the Company, enforceable against each of them in accordance with their respective terms, and (d) that the status of each of the Documents as legally valid and binding obligations of the parties will not be affected by any (i) breaches of, or defaults under, agreements or instruments, (ii) violations of statutes, rules, regulations or court or governmental orders, or (iii) failures to obtain required consents, approvals or authorizations from, or to make required registrations, declarations or filings with, governmental authorities.
This opinion is for your benefit in connection with the Registration Statement and may be relied upon by you and by persons entitled to rely upon it pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Act. We consent to your filing this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the reference to our firm contained in the Prospectus under the heading “Legal Matters.” We further consent to the incorporation by reference of this letter and consent into any registration statement or post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Act with respect to the Securities. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
| Sincerely, | |
| /s/ Latham & Watkins LLP |
3
Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form F-3 of Vertical Aerospace Ltd. of our report dated March 11, 2025 relating to the financial statements, which appears in Vertical Aerospace Ltd.'s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in such Registration Statement.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Bristol, United Kingdom
May 13, 2025