Kustom Entertainment, Inc S-3, filed Jun 25, 2020
Kustom Entertainment, Inc. (KUST)
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 24, 2020
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Digital Ally, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Nevada | 20-0064269 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
Digital Ally, Inc.
15612 College Blvd.
Lenexa, KS 66219
(913) 814-7774
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Stanton E. Ross
Chief Executive Officer
Digital Ally, Inc.
15612 College Blvd.,
Lenexa, KS 66219
(913) 814-7774
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
David E. Danovitch, Esq. Scott M. Miller, Esq. Michael DeDonato, Esq. Sullivan & Worcester LLP 1633 Broadway New York, NY 10019 (212) 660-3060 |
Christian J. Hoffmann, III 15612 College Blvd. Lenexa, KS 66219 (913) 814-7774
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Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after this registration statement is declared effective.
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, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. [X]
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please 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.D. 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.D. 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 a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act:
| Large accelerated filer | [ ] | Accelerated filer | [ ] |
| Non-accelerated filer | [X] | Smaller reporting company | [X] |
| Emerging growth company | [ ] |
If an emerging growth company, 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. [ ]
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of Each Class of Securities to be Registered |
Amount to be Registered (1) |
Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Unit |
Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price (2) | Amount of Registration Fee (3) | ||||||||
| Common stock, par value $0.001 per share | — | — | ||||||||||
| Warrants | — | — | ||||||||||
| Debt securities | — | — | ||||||||||
| Convertible debt securities | — | — | ||||||||||
| Rights | — | — | ||||||||||
| Units (4) | — | — | ||||||||||
| Total | N/A | N/A | $ | 125,000,000 | $ | 16,225 | ||||||
| (1) | There are being registered under this registration statement such indeterminate number of shares of the registrant’s common stock; such indeterminate number of the registrant’s warrants to purchase common stock and/or other securities; such indeterminate number of the registrant’s debt securities; such indeterminate number of the registrant’s convertible debt securities; such indeterminate number of the registrant’s rights to purchase common stock and/or other securities; and such indeterminate number of the registrant’s units as may be sold by the registrant from time to time, which together shall have an aggregate initial offering price not to exceed $125,000,000. Any securities registered hereunder may be sold separately or as units with other securities registered hereunder. The securities registered hereunder also include such indeterminate number of shares of common stock as may be issued upon exercise of warrants or rights, the conversion of debt securities, the exchange of units or pursuant to the antidilution provisions of any such securities. Includes consideration to be received by the registrant, if applicable, for registered securities that are issuable upon exercise, conversion or exchange of other registered securities. In addition, pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the shares being registered hereunder include such indeterminate number of shares of the registrant’s common stock as may be issuable with respect to the shares being registered hereunder as a result of stock splits, stock dividends, or similar transactions. |
| (2) | The proposed maximum offering price per unit will be determined from time to time by the registrant in connection with, and at the time of, the issuance of the securities and is not specified as to each class of security pursuant to General Instruction II.D. of Form S-3 under the Securities Act. |
| (3) | Calculated pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act based on the proposed maximum aggregate offering price of all securities listed. |
| (4) | Each unit will represent an interest in two or more other securities, which may or may not be separable from one another. |
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 of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities under this prospectus until the registration statement of which it is a part and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
PROSPECTUS
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JUNE 24, 2020
DIGITAL ALLY, INC.
$125,000,000
Common Stock
Debt Securities
Convertible Debt Securities
Rights
Warrants
Units
Digital Ally, Inc. (the “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”) may offer and sell, from time to time in one or more offerings, any combination of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), debt securities, debt securities convertible into Common Stock or other securities in any combination thereof, rights to purchase shares of Common Stock or other securities in any combination thereof, warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock or other securities in any combination thereof or units consisting of Common Stock or other securities in any combination thereof having an aggregate initial offering price not exceeding $125,000,000. Our warrants, convertible debt securities, rights and units may be convertible or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or other of our securities, and such securities have not been approved for listing on any market or exchange, and we have not made any application for such listing.
Each time we sell a particular class or series of our securities, we will provide specific terms of such securities offered in a supplement to this prospectus. Such prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information in this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, as well as the documents incorporated by reference or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus, carefully before you invest in any securities.
This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell our securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement relating to the offered securities.
Our Common Stock is presently listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “DGLY”. On June 23, 2020, the last reported sale price of our Common Stock was $3.77. Each prospectus supplement will indicate if our securities offered thereby will be listed on any securities exchange.
As of the date of this prospectus, the aggregate market value of our outstanding Common Stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $91,080,425, based on 26,581,600 shares of outstanding Common Stock, of which 2,422,336 shares were held by affiliates, and a per share price of $3.77, which represents the closing sale price of our Common Stock on June 23, 2020. As of the date of this prospectus, we are not subject to the sale limitations described in General Instruction I.B.6 to Form S-3 because the “public float” (the market value of our Common Stock held by non-affiliates) is greater than $75,0000,000. In the event that any time during the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus and any prospectus supplement forms a part, we become subject to such sale limitations, as a result of the public float becoming less that $75,000,000, during any applicable 12-month period, we will not sell securities in a public primary offering with a value exceeding more than one-third of our public float.
Our securities may be sold directly by us, through dealers or agents designated from time to time, to or through underwriters or dealers or through a combination of these methods on a continuous or delayed basis. See “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus. We may also describe the plan of distribution for any particular offering of our securities in a prospectus supplement. If any agents, underwriters or dealers are involved in the sale of any of our securities in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered, we will disclose their names and the nature of our arrangements with them in a prospectus supplement. The net proceeds that we expect to receive from any such sale will also be included in a prospectus supplement.
Investing in our securities involves various risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 11 of this prospectus and in the applicable prospectus supplement, and in the risks discussed in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus and in the applicable prospectus supplement, as they may be amended, updated or modified periodically in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should carefully read and consider these risk factors before you invest in our securities.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
This prospectus is dated __________, 2020
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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This prospectus is part of a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings from time to time having an aggregate initial offering price of $125,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities that we may offer. Each time that we offer securities, we will provide you with a prospectus supplement that describes the specific amounts, prices and terms of the securities that we offer. The prospectus supplement also may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should read carefully both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, together with additional information described below under the caption “Where You Can Find More Information.”
This prospectus does not contain all of the information provided in the registration statement that we filed with the SEC. You should read both this prospectus, including the section titled “Risk Factors,” and the accompanying prospectus supplement, together with the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”
THIS PROSPECTUS MAY NOT BE USED TO CONSUMMATE A SALE OF SECURITIES UNLESS IT IS ACCOMPANIED BY A PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT.
You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or a prospectus supplement. We have not authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus is not an offer to sell securities, and it is not soliciting an offer to buy securities, in any jurisdiction where such offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, as well as information that we have previously filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference, is accurate as of the date on the front of those documents only. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
This prospectus contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under the section entitled “Where You Can Find More Information.”
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Except where the context otherwise requires, the terms, “we,” “us,” “our” or “the Company,” refer to the business of Digital Ally, Inc., a Nevada corporation, and its wholly-owned subsidiaries.
Company Overview
We produce digital video imaging and storage products for use in law enforcement, security and commercial applications. Our current products are an in-car digital video/audio recorder contained in a rear-view mirror for use in law enforcement and commercial fleets; a system that provides its law enforcement customers with audio/video surveillance from multiple vantage points and hands-free automatic activation of body-worn cameras and in-car video systems; a miniature digital video system designed to be worn on an individual’s body; and cloud storage solutions. We have active research and development programs to adapt our technologies to other applications. We can integrate electronic, radio, computer, mechanical, and multi-media technologies to create unique solutions to address needs in a variety of other industries and markets, including mass transit, school bus, taxicab and the military. We sell our products to law enforcement agencies, private security customers and organizations and consumer and commercial fleet operators through direct sales domestically and third-party distributors internationally. Recently, we launched a new line of branded disinfectant and related safety products, which will be marketed to our law enforcement and commercial customers.
COVID-19 Pandemic
The consolidated financial statements incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any prospectus supplement which form a part of this registration statement, as well as the description of our business contained herein and therein, unless otherwise indicated, principally reflect the status of our business and the results of our operations as of March 31, 2020. Since that date, economies throughout the world have continued to be severely disrupted by the effects of the quarantines, business closures and the reluctance of individuals to leave their homes as a result of the outbreak of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”). Although we remain open as an “essential business,” our supply chain has been disrupted and our customers, in particular our commercial customers, have been significantly impacted which has, in turn, reduced our level of operations and activities. In addition, the capital markets have been disrupted and our efforts to raise necessary capital will likely be adversely impacted by the outbreak of the virus and we cannot forecast with any certainty when the disruptions caused by it will cease to impact our business and the results of our operations. In reading this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, which form a part of this registration statement, including the related exhibits, the information incorporated by reference herewith and our discussion of our ability to continue as a going concern set forth in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2020 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on May 20, 2020, and in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 filed with the SEC on April 6, 2020, including the notes to the consolidated financial statements contained therein, in each case, consider the additional uncertainties caused by the outbreak of COVID-19.
Our Products
We supply technology-based products utilizing our portable digital video and audio recording capabilities for the law enforcement and security industries and for the commercial fleet and mass transit markets. We have the ability to integrate electronic, radio, computer, mechanical, and multi-media technologies to create positive solutions to our customers’ requests. Our products include: the DVM-800 and DVM-800 Lite, in-car digital video mirror systems for law enforcement; the FirstVU and the FirstVU HD, body-worn cameras, our patented and revolutionary VuLink product, which integrates our body-worn cameras with our in-car systems by providing hands-free automatic activation for both law enforcement and commercial markets; the DVM-250 and DVM-250 Plus, a commercial line of digital video mirrors that serve as “event recorders” for the commercial fleet and mass transit markets; and FleetVU and VuLink, our cloud-based evidence management systems. We introduced the EVO-HD product in the second quarter of 2019 and began full-scale deliveries in the third quarter of 2019. The EVO-HD is designed and built on a new and highly advanced technology platform that we expect to become the platform for a new family of in-car video solution products for the law enforcement and commercial markets. We believe that the launch of these new products will help to reinvigorate our in-car and body-worn systems revenues while diversifying and broadening the market for our product offerings. Recently, we launched a new line of branded disinfectant and related safety products, which will be marketed to our law enforcement and commercial customers. The following describes our product portfolio:
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In-Car Digital Video Mirror System for Law Enforcement – EVO-HD, DVM-800 and DVM-800 Lite
In-car video systems for patrol cars are now a necessity and have generally become standard. Current systems are primarily digital based systems with cameras mounted on the windshield and the recording device generally in the trunk, headliner, dashboard, console or under the seat of the vehicle. Most manufacturers have already developed and transitioned completely to digital video, and some have offered full high definition (“HD”) level recordings which is currently state-of-art for the industry.
Our digital video rear-view mirror unit is a self-contained video recorder, microphone and digital storage system that is integrated into a rear-view mirror, with a monitor, global positioning system (“GPS”) and 900 megahertz (“MHz”) audio transceiver. Our system is more compact and unobtrusive than certain of our competitors because it requires no recording equipment to be located in other parts of the vehicle.
Our in-car digital video rear-view mirror has the following features:
| ● | wide angle zoom color camera; | |
| ● | standards-based video and audio compression and recording; | |
| ● | system is concealed in the rear-view mirror, replacing factory rear-view mirror; | |
| ● | monitor in rear-view mirror is invisible when not activated; | |
| ● | easily installs in any vehicle; | |
| ● | ability to integrate with body-worn cameras including auto-activation of either system; | |
| ● | archives audio/video data to the cloud, computers (wirelessly) and to compact flash memory, or file servers; | |
| ● | 900 MHz audio transceiver with automatic activation; | |
| ● | marks exact location of incident with integrated GPS; | |
| ● | playback using Windows Media Player; | |
| ● | optional wireless download of stored video evidence; | |
| ● | proprietary software protects the chain of custody; and | |
| ● | records to rugged and durable solid-state memory. |
We have completed development of a new in-car digital video platform under the name EVO-HD which it launched during the second quarter of 2019. The EVO-HD is a next generation system that offers a multiple HD in-car camera solution system with built-in patented VuLink auto-activation technology. The EVO-HD is built on an entirely new and highly advanced technology platform that enables many new and revolutionary features, including auto activation beyond the car and body camera. No other provider can offer built-in patented VuLink auto-activation technology.
The EVO-HD provides law enforcement officers with an easier to use, faster and more advanced system for capturing video evidence and uploading than similar products sold by the Company’s competitors. Additional features include:
| ● | a remote cloud trigger feature that allows dispatchers to remotely start recordings; |
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| ● | simultaneous audio/video play back; | |
| ● | cloud connectivity via cell modem, including the planned deployment of the new 5G network; | |
| ● | near real-time mapping and system health monitoring; | |
| ● | body-camera connectivity with built-in auto activation technology; and | |
| ● | 128 gigabyte internal storage, up to 2 terabyte external solid-state drive storage. |
The EVO-HD is designed and built on a new and highly advanced technology platform that will become the platform for a whole new family of in-car video solution products for the law enforcement. The innovative EVO-HD technology replaces the current in-car mirror-based systems with a miniaturized system that can be custom-mounted in the vehicle while offering numerous hardware configurations to meet the varied needs and requirements of its law enforcement customers. The EVO-HD can support up to four HD cameras, with two cameras having pre-event and evidence capture assurance (“ECA”) capabilities to allow agencies to review entire shifts. An internal cell modem will allow for connectivity to the VuVault.net cloud, powered by Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) and real time metadata when in the field.
In-Car Digital Video “Event Recorder” System – DVM-250 Plus for Commercial Fleets
Digital Ally provides commercial fleets and commercial fleet managers with the digital video tools that they need to increase driver safety and track assets in real-time and minimize the company’s liability risk, all while enabling fleet managers to operate the fleet at an optimal level. We market a product designed to address these commercial fleet markets with our DVM-250 Plus event recorders that provide all types of commercial fleets with features and capabilities which are fully-customizable, consistent with their specific application and inherent risks. The DVM-250 Plus is a rear-view mirror based digital audio and video recording system with many, but not all of, the features of our DVM-800 law enforcement mirror systems, which we sell at a lower price point. The DVM-250 Plus is designed to capture “events,” such as wrecks and erratic driving or other abnormal occurrences, for evidentiary or training purposes. The commercial fleet markets may find our units attractive from both a feature and a cost perspective compared to other providers. We believe that due to our marketing efforts, commercial fleets are adopting this technology, in particular the ambulance and taxi-cab markets.
Digital Ally offers a suite of data management web-based tools to assist fleet managers in the organization, archival, and management of videos and telematics information. Within the suite, there are powerful mapping and reporting tools that are intended to optimize efficiency, serve as excellent training tools for teams on safety and ultimately generate a significant return on investment for the organization.
The EVO-HD described above will also become the platform for a whole new family of in-car video solution products for the commercial markets. The innovative EVO-HD technology will replace the current in-car mirror-based systems with a miniaturized system that can be custom-mounted in the vehicle while offering numerous hardware configurations to meet the varied needs and requirements of its commercial customers. In its commercial market application, the EVO-HD can support up to four HD cameras, with two cameras having pre-event and ECA capabilities to allow customers to review entire shifts. An internal cell modem will allow for connectivity to the FleetVU Manager cloud-based system for commercial fleet tracking and monitoring, powered by AWS and real time metadata when in the field.
Miniature Body-Worn Digital Video System – FirstVU HD for Law Enforcement and Private Security
This system is also a derivative of our in-car video systems, but is much smaller and lighter and more rugged and water-resistant to handle a hostile outdoor environment. These systems can be used in many applications in addition to law enforcement and private security and are designed specifically to be clipped to an individual’s pocket or other outer clothing. The unit is self-contained and requires no external battery or storage devices. Current systems offered by competitors are digital based, but generally require a battery pack and/or storage device to be connected to the camera by wire or other means. We believe that our FirstVU HD product is more desirable for potential users than our competitors’ offerings because of its video quality, small size, shape and lightweight characteristics. Our FirstVU HD integrates with our in-car video systems through our patented VuLink system allowing for automatic activation of both systems.
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Auto-activation and Interconnectivity Between In-Car Video Systems and FirstVU HD Body Worn Camera Products – VuLink for Law Enforcement Applications
Recognizing a critical limitation in law enforcement camera technology, we pioneered the development of our VuLink ecosystem that provides intuitive auto-activation functionality as well as coordination between multiple recording devices. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) has recognized these pioneering efforts by granting us multiple patents with claims covering numerous features, such as automatically activating an officer’s cameras when the light bar is activated or when a data-recording device such as a smart weapon is activated. Additionally, the awarded patent claims cover automatic coordination between multiple recording devices. Prior to this work, officers were forced to manually activate each device while responding to emergency scenarios, a requirement that both decreased the usefulness of the existing camera systems and diverted officers’ attention during critical moments. Our FirstVU HD integrates with our in-car video systems through our patented VuLink system allowing for automatic activation of both systems.
This feature is becoming a standard feature required by many law agencies. Unfortunately, certain of our competitors have chosen to infringe our patent and develop products that provide the same or similar features as our VuLink system. We filed lawsuits against two competitors – Axon Enterprises, Inc. (“Axon,” formerly known as Taser International, Inc.) and Enforcement Video, LLC d/b/a WatchGuard Video (“WatchGuard”) – which challenge Axon’s and WatchGuard’s infringing products. On May 13, 2019, WatchGuard and the Company resolved the dispute and executed a settlement agreement in the form of a Release and License Agreement. The litigation has been dismissed as a result of this settlement.
Axon – On June 17, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas (the “U.S. District Court”) granted Axon’s motion for summary judgment that Axon did not infringe on the Company’s patent and dismissed the case. Importantly, the U.S. District Court’s ruling did not find that the Company’s ‘452 Patent was invalid. It also did not address any other issue, such as whether the Company’s requested damages were appropriate, and it does not impact the Company’s ability to file additional lawsuits to hold other competitors accountable for patent infringement. This ruling solely related to an interpretation of the Company’s claims as they relate to Axon and was unrelated to the supplemental briefing the Company filed on its damages claim and the WatchGuard settlement. Those issues are separate and the U.S. District Court’s ruling on the motion for summary judgment had nothing to do with the Company’s damages request.
We filed an opening appeal brief on August 26, 2019 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (the “Court of Appeals”), appealing the U.S. District Court’s granting of Axon’s motion for summary judgment. Axon responded by filing a responsive brief on November 6, 2019 and we then filed a reply brief responding to Axon on November 27, 2019. The Court of Appeals scheduled oral arguments on our appeal of the U.S. District Court’s summary judgment ruling on April 6, 2020. This appeal was intended to address the Company’s position that the U.S. District Court incorrectly dismissed our claims against Axon. If the Court of Appeals overturns the ruling of the U.S. District Court, the case will be remanded to the U.S District Court before a new judge. On March 12, 2020, the panel of judges for the Court of Appeals issued an order cancelling the oral arguments previously set for April 6, 2020, having determined that the appeal will be decided solely based on the parties’ briefs. On April 22, 2020, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals denied our appeal and affirmed the District Court’s previous decision to grant Axon summary judgment. On May 22, 2020, we filed a petition for panel rehearing requesting that we be granted a rehearing of our appeal of the U.S. District Court’s summary judgment ruling. Furthermore, we requested that we be given an opportunity to make our case through oral argument in front of the three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals, which was also denied. The Company is reviewing its alternatives at this point.
WatchGuard – On May 27, 2016, the Company filed suit against WatchGuard alleging patent infringement based on WatchGuard’s VISTA Wifi and 4RE In-Car product lines. On May 13, 2019, the parties resolved the dispute and executed a settlement agreement in the form of a Release and License Agreement. The litigation has been dismissed as a result of this settlement. The Release and License Agreement contains the following key terms:
| ● | WatchGuard paid Digital Ally a one-time, lump settlement payment of $6,000,000. |
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| ● | Digital Ally has granted WatchGuard a perpetual covenant not to sue if WatchGuard’s products incorporate agreed-upon modified recording functionality. Digital Ally has also granted WatchGuard a license to the ‘292 Patent and the ‘452 Patent (and related patents, now existing and yet-to-issue) through December 31, 2023. The parties have agreed to negotiate in good faith to attempt to resolve any alleged infringement that occurs after the license period expires. | |
| ● | The parties have further agreed to release each other from all claims or liabilities pre-existing the settlement. | |
| ● | As part of the settlement, the parties agreed that WatchGuard is making no admission that it has infringed any of Digital Ally’s patents. |
Upon receipt of the $6,000,000, the parties filed a joint motion to dismiss the lawsuit with the court, which was granted.
We believe that the outcome of the Axon lawsuit will largely define the competitive landscape for the body-worn and in-car video market for the foreseeable future. We expect that our VuLink product and its related patents will be recognized as the revolutionary and pioneering invention by the U.S. courts.
VuVault.net and FleetVU Manager
VuVault.net is a cost-effective, fully expandable, law enforcement cloud storage solution powered by AWS that provides redundant and security-enhanced storage of all uploaded videos that comply with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division requirements.
FleetVU Manager is our web-based software for commercial fleet tracking and monitoring that features and manages video captured by our video event data recorders of incidents requiring attention, such as accidents. This software solution features our cloud-based web portal that utilizes many of the features of our VuVault.net law-enforcement cloud-based storage solution.
Disinfectant Line and Related Safety Products
Effective April 3, 2020, the Company entered into a wholesale distribution agreement (the “Wholesale Agreement”) with Trust Think, LLC (“Trust Think”). Pursuant to the terms of the Wholesale Agreement, the Company has been engaged to service, promote, and sell certain Danolyte® disinfecting products, which are manufactured and distributed by Trust Think to certain first responder and commercial customers with whom the Company has existing relationships. Danolyte® has been listed on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The Company will receive a percentage of the sales sold through the Company’s distribution channels.
The Company will offer the disinfecting products to its first responder customers including police, fire and paramedics. Commercial customers such as cruise lines, taxi-cab and para transit may also be good candidates for the products. The Company is considering enhancing the line of disinfectant products for additional related products including hardware to efficiently and effectively dispense the disinfectants and temperature measuring devices.
On June 2, 2020, the Company announced that it was launching its branded ThermoVu™ product line. ThermoVu is a non-contact temperature-measuring instrument that measures temperature through the wrist. ThermoVu has optional features such as facial recognition to improve facility security by restricting access based on temperature and/or facial recognition parameters. ThermoVu provides an instant pass/fail audible tone with its temperature display and controls access to facilities based on such results. It can be applied in schools, office buildings, subway stations, airports and other public venues.
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On June 2, 2020, the Company also announced the launch of its branded Shield™ Disinfectant/Sanitizer and several related products to fulfill demand by current customers and others for a disinfectant and sanitizer that is less harsh than many of the traditional products now widely distributed. The Shield™ product line contains a cleaner with no harsh chemicals or fumes. Hypochlorous acid (“HOCL”), the active ingredient of the Company’s Shield products, falls under category IV of the EPA’s toxicity categories, the least toxic category. Cleaning crews are not required to wear personal protective equipment when applying and reapplying HOCL.
Other Products
During the last year, we focused our research and development efforts to meet the varying needs of our customers, enhance our existing products and commence development of new products and product categories. Our research and development efforts are intended to maintain and enhance our competitiveness in the market niche we have carved out, as well as positioning us to compete in diverse markets outside of law enforcement. In December 2019, the Company announced a partnership with Pivot International for design and manufacture of a new and innovative Breathalyzer Device utilizing the Company’s recently issued patent. With this new technology, when an officer is conducting a field sobriety test and the breathalyzer is activated, the digital video recording device will automatically start a recording, later embedding the meta-data captured onto the recorded video. The ‘732 Patent was granted by the U.S. Patent Office in August 2019 and is an expansion of Digital Ally’s patented VuLink automatic activation technology.
Corporate Information
We were incorporated in Nevada on December 13, 2000 as Vegas Petra, Inc. From that date until November 30, 2004, when we entered into a Plan of Merger with Digital Ally, Inc., a Nevada corporation, which was formerly known as Trophy Tech Corporation (the “Acquired Company”), we had not conducted any operations and were a closely-held company. In conjunction with the merger, we were renamed Digital Ally, Inc.
The Acquired Company, which was incorporated on May 16, 2003, engaged in the design, development, marketing and sale of bow hunting-related products. Its principal product was a digital video recording system for use in the bow hunting industry. It changed its business plan in 2004 to adapt its digital video recording system for use in the law enforcement and security markets. We began shipments of our in-car digital video rear view mirrors in March 2006.
On January 2, 2008, we commenced trading on Nasdaq under the symbol “DGLY.” We conduct our business from 15612 College Boulevard, Lenexa, Kansas 66219. Our website address is www.digitalallyinc.com. Information contained on our website does not form part of this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, which form a part of this registration statement, and is intended for informational purposes only.
Risks Associated with Our Business and this Offering
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks summarized below. The risks are discussed more fully in the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus immediately following this prospectus summary.
These risks include, but are not limited to:
| ● | we have a history of operating losses and we may continue to realize net losses for at least the next 12 months; | |
| ● | we may not be able to continue as a going concern and may not be able to operate in the future; | |
| ● | our business depends upon our ability to generate sustained sales of our products and technology; | |
| ● | our business depends on our ability to continually develop and commercialize new products and technologies and penetrate new markets; | |
| ● | we need to obtain or maintain patents or other appropriate protection for the intellectual property utilized in our technologies; | |
| ● | our industry is highly competitive and we may not be able to compete with companies with larger resources than we have; | |
| ● | we may require additional capital to develop new products; | |
| ● | new regulations or standards or changes in existing regulations or standards related to our products may result in unanticipated costs or liabilities; |
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| ● | we may fail to meet publicly announced financial guidance or other expectations about our business; | |
| ● | our inability to continue to comply with the continued listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; and | |
| ● | the effects of outbreaks of pandemic or contagious diseases, including the length and severity of the recent worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, including its impact on our business. |
Recent Developments
Nasdaq Continued Listing Rule Compliance
On July 11, 2019, we were officially notified by The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC that, for the previous 30 consecutive business days, the minimum Market Value of Listed Securities (the “MVLS”) for our Common Stock was below the $35 million minimum MVLS requirement for continued listing on Nasdaq under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2) (the “MVLS Rule”). In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(C), we had 180 calendar days, or until January 7, 2020, to regain compliance with the MVLS Rule, or in the alternative, the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement of $2,500,000. To regain compliance with the MVLS Rule, the minimum MVLS for our Common Stock must have been at least $35 million for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days at any time during this 180-day period. If we failed to regain compliance with either the MVLS Rule or the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement by January 7, 2020, we could have been delisted from Nasdaq.
On January 8, 2020, we received a determination letter (the “Letter”) from the staff of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (the “Staff”) stating that we had not regained compliance with the MVLS Standard, since our Common Stock was below the $35 million minimum MVLS requirement for continued listing on Nasdaq under the MLVS Rule and had not been at least $35 million for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days at any time during the 180-day grace period granted to us. Pursuant to the Letter, unless we requested a hearing to appeal this determination by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on January 15, 2020, our Common Stock would have been delisted from Nasdaq, trading of our Common Stock would have been suspended at the opening of business on January 17, 2020, and a Form 25-NSE would have been filed with the SEC, which would have removed our Common Stock from listing and registration on Nasdaq.
On January 13, 2020, we requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”) to appeal the Letter and a hearing was set for February 20, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. In anticipation of such hearing, we were asked to provide the Panel with a plan to regain compliance with the minimum MLVS requirement under the MLVS Rule, which needed to include a discussion of the events that we believe will enable us to timely regain compliance with the minimum MLVS requirement, or in the alternative, the minimum shareholders’ equity requirement. On January 21, 2020, we submitted a compliance plan that we believed was sufficient to permit us to regain compliance with the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement. On February 20, 2020, we appeared before the Panel to discuss our plan to regain compliance, including, but not limited to, complying with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1), which is the minimum stockholders’ equity standard for continued listing, which requires that companies listed on Nasdaq maintain a minimum of $2,500,000 in stockholders’ equity (“Rule 5550(b)(1)”). On March 6, 2020, we received written notice from the Panel indicating that, based on the plan of compliance that we had presented at such hearing, the Panel granted our request for the continued listing of our Common Stock on Nasdaq, subject to, among other things, us keeping the Staff updated on the progress of our compliance plan and ultimately being able to evidence shareholder equity in an amount greater than or equal to $2,500,000 in accordance with Rule 5550(b)(1) no later than June 30, 2020. During this time, our Common Stock remained listed and trading on Nasdaq. On June 4, 2020 and June 10, 2020, we consummated underwritten public offerings, pursuant to underwriting agreements with Aegis Capital Corp. (“Aegis”), as representative of the underwriters for such offerings, and raised aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $11.3 million, before underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated expenses of such offerings. See “Recent Developments — June 2020 Public Offerings”. As a result of such offerings, we are now in compliance with Rule 5550(b)(1) and on June 18, 2020 we received written notice from the Staff stating that the Company has regained compliance with such rule and the matter is now closed.
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On April 22, 2020, we received a written notification from the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC indicating that we were not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2), as the closing bid price for our Common Stock was below $1.00 per share for the last thirty (30) consecutive business days. Pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we were granted a 180-calendar day compliance period to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. Subsequently, the 180-day grace period to regain compliance with such minimum bid price requirement under applicable Nasdaq Stock Market LLC rules was extended due to the global market impact caused by COVID-19. More specifically, the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC has stated that the compliance periods for any company previously notified about non-compliance will be suspended effective April 16, 2020, through June 30, 2020. On July 1, 2020, companies would receive the balance of any pending compliance period exception to come back into compliance with such minimum bid price requirement. As a result of this extension, we had until December 28, 2020, to regain compliance with such minimum bid price requirement. During the compliance period, our Common Stock would still continue to be listed and traded on Nasdaq. To regain compliance, the closing bid price of the Common Stock had to have met or exceeded $1.00 per share for at least ten (10) consecutive business days by December 28, 2020. On June 11, 2020, our Common Stock met such minimum bid price requirement, as the closing sale price of our Common Stock had equaled or exceeded $1.00 per share on Nasdaq at the close of each trading day since May 29, 2020, and we received written notice from the Staff stating that the Company regained compliance with such requirement and the matter is now closed.
Wholesale Agreement
Effective April 3, 2020, we entered into the Wholesale Distribution Agreement with Trust Think. Pursuant to the terms of the Wholesale Agreement, we have been engaged to service, promote, and sell certain Danolyte® disinfecting products, which are manufactured and distributed by Trust Think, to certain first responder and commercial customers with whom we have relationships. The Wholesale Agreement has an initial term beginning on April 3, 2020 and ends one (1) year thereafter. Thereafter, the Wholesale Agreement renews automatically for successive additional terms of one (1) year each unless we or Think Tank provide written notice of non-renewal at least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the then current term. Either party may terminate the Wholesale Agreement at any time, effective immediately upon written notice if it has good cause for termination, as defined in the Wholesale Agreement. On June 2, 2020, we announced the launch of our own branded disinfectant and related safety products and intend to discontinue the Wholesale Distribution Agreement.
Executive Pay Reduction
Our compensation committee of our board of directors (the “Committee”) determined that the cash portion of the annual base salaries of Stanton E. Ross, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, and Thomas J. Heckman, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary, shall be reduced to annual rates of $150,000 each for the balance of 2020, commencing May 1, 2020. The Committee also decided that the balance of the annual salaries of Messrs. Ross and Heckman for 2020, which are $69,230.76 and $55,384.00, respectively, as of May 1, 2020, will be paid through the issuance of shares of restricted Common Stock under the Company’s 2018 Stock Option and Restricted Stock Plan, with the Company paying the applicable federal and state taxes on such amounts. We issued Messrs. Ross and Heckman 75,250 shares of such Common Stock and 60,200 shares of such Common Stock, respectively, effective April 17, 2020, based on a closing price of $0.92 per share on such date.
Promissory Note Under the Paycheck Protection Program
On April 4, 2020, the Company entered into a promissory note which provides for a loan in the amount of $1,418,900 (the “PPP Loan”) pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). The PPP Loan has a two-year term and bears interest at a rate of 1% per annum. Monthly principal and interest payments are deferred for six months after the date of disbursement. The PPP Loan may be prepaid at any time prior to maturity with no prepayment penalties. The promissory note contains events of default and other provisions customary for a loan of this type. The Paycheck Protection Program provides that the PPP Loan may be partially or wholly forgiven if the funds are used for certain qualifying expenses as described in the CARES Act. The Company has been utilizing and intends to continue to use the majority of the PPP Loan amount for qualifying expenses and to apply for forgiveness of the loan in accordance with the terms of the CARES Act.
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April 2020 Registered Offering and Concurrent Private Placement
On April 17, 2020, we entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with certain institutional investors (the “Institutional Investors”), providing for the issuance of (i) our 8% Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Notes due April 16, 2021 with an aggregate principal face amount of $1,666,666 (the “April 2020 Notes”), which April 2020 Notes were, subject to certain conditions, convertible into an aggregate of 1,650,164 shares of the Common Stock (the “Conversion Shares”), at a price per share of $1.01 and (ii) five-year warrants (the “April 2020 Warrants”) to purchase an aggregate of up to 1,237,624 shares of Common Stock (the “April 2020 Warrant Shares”) at an exercise price of $1.31 per share, subject to customary adjustments, which April 2020 Warrants were immediately exercisable upon issuance and on a cashless basis if the April 2020 Warrant Shares were not registered 180 days after the date of issuance (the “April 2020 Offering”). The April 2020 Warrant Shares were registered for resale pursuant to a prospectus, dated May 13, 2020, to our currently effective registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-238035), which was initially filed on May 6, 2020 and declared effective on May 13, 2020 (the “May 2020 Resale Registration Statement”). The closing of the April 2020 Offering occurred simultaneously with the execution and delivery of the Purchase Agreement and related transaction documents, pursuant to which the Institutional Investors purchased the April 2020 Notes and the April 2020 Warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $1,500,000.
On June 1, 2020 and June 8, 2020, the Institutional Investors converted an aggregate of $1,665,666 in principal amount of April 2020 Notes into an aggregate of 1,664,679 shares of Common Stock (including accrued interest) and exercised all of the April 2020 Warrants, resulting in the issuance to the Institutional Investors of an aggregate of 1,567,481 shares of Common Stock.
Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, an aggregate of $500,000 in principal amount of the April 2020 Notes (the “April 2020 Registered Notes”), and the shares of Common Stock underlying the April 2020 Registered Notes, were issued to the Institutional Investors in an offering that was registered pursuant to a prospectus supplement, dated April 20, 2020, to our currently effective registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-225227), which was initially filed with the SEC on May 25, 2018, and was declared effective on June 6, 2018.
Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, we issued to the Institutional Investors in a private placement, the remaining aggregate of $1,166,666 in principal amount of April 2020 Notes, the Conversion Shares, the April 2020 Warrants and the April 2020 Warrant Shares. We also entered into a Registration Rights Side Letter, dated April 17, 2020, with the Institutional Investors agreeing to use our best efforts to file, within 30 days after the closing of the April 2020 Offering, a resale registration statement on Form S-1 to register the applicable Conversion Shares and the April 2020 Warrant Shares, and to use our commercially reasonable efforts to have such registration statement declared effective within 90 days after the closing date of the April 2020 Offering to permit the resale of the Conversion Shares and the April 2020 Warrant Shares by the Institutional Investors. Such remaining aggregate of $1,166,666 in principal amount of April 2020 Notes, the Conversion Shares, the April 2020 Warrants and the April 2020 Warrant Shares were registered under the May Resale Registration Statement.
In connection with the Purchase Agreement, we and our subsidiary entered into a security agreement, dated as of April 17, 2020, with the Institutional Investors (the “Security Agreement”), pursuant to which we and our subsidiary granted to the Institutional Investors a security interest in, among other items, we and our subsidiary’s accounts, chattel paper, documents, equipment, general intangibles, instruments and inventory, and all proceeds, as set forth in the Security Agreement. In addition, pursuant to an intellectual property security agreement, dated as of April 17, 2020, we granted to the Institutional Investors a continuing security interest in all of our right, title and interest in, to and under certain of our trademarks, copyrights and patents. In addition, our subsidiary agreed to guarantee and act as surety for our obligation to repay all of the April 2020 Notes issued in connection with the April 2020 Offering pursuant to a subsidiary guarantee.
June 2020 Public Offerings
On June 4, 2020, we consummated an underwritten public offering (the “June 2, 2020 Offering”) of 3,090,909 shares of Common Stock. The June 2, 2020 Offering was conducted pursuant to an underwriting agreement, dated June 2, 2020 (the “June 2, 2020 Underwriting Agreement”), between the Company and Aegis, as representative of the underwriters (the “June 2, 2020 Underwriters”). The gross proceeds to us from the June 2, 2020 Offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated expenses of such offering, which included the full exercise by the June 2, 2020 Underwriters of their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 463,636 shares of Common Stock, was approximately $5.86 million.
On June 10, 2020, we consummated an underwritten public offering (the “June 8, 2020 Offering”) of 2,325,581 shares of Common Stock. The June 8, 2020 Offering was conducted pursuant to an underwriting agreement, dated June 8, 2020 (the “June 8, 2020 Underwriting Agreement”), between the Company and Aegis, the representative of the underwriters (the “June 8, 2020 Underwriters”). The gross proceeds to us from the June 8, 2020 Offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated expenses of such offering, which included the exercise by the June 8, 2020 Underwriters of their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 213,953 shares of Common Stock, was approximately $5.46 million.
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An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider and read carefully all of the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information contained or incorporated by reference into this prospectus and in any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus or in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein before deciding to invest in such securities. If any of the following risks, or any risk described elsewhere in this prospectus and in any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus or in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, occurs, our business, business prospects, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be materially adversely affected. In any such case, the trading price of our Common Stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risks described below and in any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also adversely affect us. This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements, estimates and projections that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements because of specific factors, including the risks described below and in the documents incorporated by reference herein.
You should carefully consider the following risk factors in evaluating our business and us. The factors listed below and in the prospectus and in any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus represent certain important factors that we believe could cause our business results to differ. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the general or specific risks that may affect us. It should be recognized that other risks may be significant, presently or in the future, and the risks set forth below may affect us to a greater extent than indicated. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. You should also consider the other information included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Form 10-K”) and subsequent quarterly reports filed with the SEC, which are incorporated herein by reference into this registration statement, as well as in any applicable prospectus supplement and contained or to be contained in our filings with the SEC and incorporated by reference in this prospectus, together with all of the other information contained in this prospectus, or any applicable prospectus supplement. For a description of these reports and documents, and information about where you can find them, see “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference.” If any of the risks or uncertainties described in our SEC filings or any prospectus supplement or any additional risks and uncertainties actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Risks Related to our Business
We have incurred losses in recent years.
We have had net losses for several years and had an accumulated deficit of $87,388,619 at December 31, 2019, which includes our net losses of $10,005,713 for the year ended December 31, 2019, as compared to $15,544,551 for the year ended December 31, 2018. As of March 31, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $89,722,729, which includes net losses of $2,334,110 for the three months ended March 31, 2020. We have included disclosure of our liquidity plan and the substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2020. Furthermore, the report of our independent registered public accounting firm in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 included an explanatory paragraph regarding the substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. We have implemented several initiatives intended to improve our revenues and reduce our operating costs with a goal of restoring profitability. If we are unsuccessful in this regard, it will have a material adverse impact on our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.
We do not have any revolving credit facilities and it may be difficult for us to enter into one.
We have no revolving credit facility to fund our operating needs should it become necessary. It will be difficult to obtain an institutional line of credit facility given our recent operating losses and the current banking environment, which may adversely affect our ability to finance our business, grow or be profitable. Further, even if we could obtain a new credit facility, in all likelihood it would not be on terms favorable to us.
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If we are unable to manage our current business activities, our prospects may be limited and our future profitability may be adversely affected.
We experienced a decline in our operating results from 2009 to 2019 and to date in 2020. Our revenues have been unpredictable, which poses significant burdens on us to be proactive in managing production, personnel levels and related costs. We will need to improve our revenues, operations, financial and other systems to manage our business effectively, and any failure to do so may lead to inefficiencies and redundancies which reduce our prospects to return to profitability.
We face risks related to health epidemics and other outbreaks, which could significantly disrupt our operations and could have a material adverse impact on us, and the recent coronavirus outbreak could materially and adversely affect our business.
An outbreak of a new respiratory illness caused by COVID-19 has resulted in millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide, as of the date of filing of this registration statement, and continues to spread across the globe, including throughout the law enforcement and commercial fleets channels in the United States, the major market in which we operate. The outbreak of COVID-19 or by other epidemics could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If COVID-19 worsens in the United States and Asia, or in any other regions in which we have material operations or sales, our business activities originating from affected areas, including sales, manufacturing and supply chain related activities, could be adversely affected. Although we have been deemed by the State of Kansas to be an “essential business”, our supply chain has been disrupted and our customers, in particular our commercial customers, have been significantly impacted, which has in turn reduced our operations and activities. Disruptive activities from COVID-19 could still include the temporary closure of our manufacturing facilities and those used in our supply chain processes, restrictions on the export or shipment of our products, significant cutback of ocean container delivery from Asia, business closures in impacted areas, and restrictions on our employees’ and consultants’ ability to travel and to meet with customers. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the virus and the actions to contain it or treat its impact, among others. COVID-19 could also result in social, economic and labor instability in the countries in which we or our customers and suppliers operate.
If workers at one or more of our offices or the offices of our suppliers or manufacturers become ill or are quarantined and in either or both events are therefore unable to work, our operations could be subject to disruption. Further, if our manufacturers become unable to obtain necessary raw materials or components, we may incur higher supply costs or our manufacturers may be required to reduce production levels, either of which may negatively affect our financial condition or results of operations. In addition, the capital markets have been disrupted and our efforts to raise necessary capital will likely be adversely impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19. As a result, we cannot forecast with any certainty when the disruptions caused by such outbreak will cease to impact our business and the results of our operations. In reviewing our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 and the quarterly period ended March 31, 2020, as well as the notes to such financial statements, including our discussion of our ability to continue as a going concern set forth therein, which financial statements and notes are incorporated by reference to this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, which form a part of this registration statement, consider the additional uncertainties caused by the outbreak of COVID-19. The extent to which COVID-19 affects our results will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including actions to contain COVID-19 or address and treat its effects, among others.
We may not be entitled to forgiveness of our recently received the PPP Loan, and our application for the PPP Loan could in the future be determined to have been impermissible or could result in damage to our reputation.
In April 2020, we received proceeds of approximately $1.4 million from a loan under the CARES Act, a portion of which may be forgiven, which we intend to use to retain employees, maintain payroll and make lease and utility payments. A portion of the PPP Loan may be forgiven by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) upon our application beginning 60 days but not later than 120 days after loan approval and upon documentation of expenditures in accordance with the SBA requirements. Under the CARES Act, loan forgiveness is available for the sum of documented payroll costs, covered rent payments, covered mortgage interest and covered utilities during the eight week period beginning on the date of loan approval. Not more than 25% of the forgiven amount may be for non-payroll costs. We will be required to repay any portion of the outstanding principal that is not forgiven, along with accrued interest, and we cannot provide any assurance that we will be eligible for loan forgiveness or that any amount of the PPP Loan will ultimately be forgiven by the SBA.
In order to apply for the PPP Loan, we were required to certify, among other things, that the current economic uncertainty made the PPP Loan request necessary to support our ongoing operations. We made this certification in good faith after analyzing, among other things, our financial situation and access to alternative forms of capital, and believe that we satisfied all eligibility criteria for the PPP Loan, and that our receipt of the PPP Loan was consistent with the broad objectives of the CARES Act. At the time that we had made such certification, we could not predict with any certainty whether we would be able to obtain the necessary financing to support our operations. Our situation has subsequently improved, as a result of, among other things, our closing of two registered direct offerings in June 2020, and as a result of the funds that we received from the PPP Loan. The certification described above that we were required to provide in connection with our application for the PPP Loan did not contain any objective criteria and was subject to interpretation. However, on April 23, 2020, the SBA issued guidance stating that it is unlikely that a public company with substantial market value and access to capital markets will be able to make the required certification in good faith. The lack of clarity regarding loan eligibility under the CARES Act has resulted in significant media coverage and controversy with respect to public companies applying for and receiving loans. If, despite our good-faith belief that we satisfied all eligible requirements for the PPP Loan, we are later determined to have violated any of the laws or governmental regulations that apply to us in connection with the PPP Loan, such as the False Claims Act, or it is otherwise determined that we were ineligible to receive the PPP Loan, we may be subject to penalties, including significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, and could be required to repay the PPP Loan in its entirety. In addition, our receipt of the PPP Loan may result in adverse publicity and damage to our reputation, and a review or audit by the SBA or other government entity or claims under the False Claims Act could consume significant financial and management resources.
There are risks related to dealing with domestic governmental entities as customers.
One of the principal target markets for our products is the law enforcement community. In this market, the sale of products will be subject to budget constraints of governmental agencies purchasing these products, which could result in a significant reduction in our anticipated revenues. Such governmental agencies have experienced budgetary pressures because of the recent recession and its impact on local sales, property and income taxes that provide funding for purchasing our products. These agencies also may experience political pressure that dictates the way they spend money. Thus, even if an agency wants to acquire our products, it may be unable to purchase them due to budgetary or political constraints, even if such agencies have the necessary funds, we may experience delays and relatively long sales cycles due to their internal decision-making policies and procedures.
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There are risks related to dealing with foreign governmental entities as customers.
We target the law enforcement community in foreign countries for the sale of many of our products. While foreign countries vary, generally the sale of our products will be subject to political and budgetary constraints of foreign governments and agencies purchasing these products, which could result in a significant reduction in our anticipated revenues. Some foreign governments are experiencing budgetary pressures because of various reasons specific to them and their impact on taxes and tariffs that in many cases provide funding for purchasing our products. Law enforcement agencies within these countries also may experience political pressure that dictates the way they spend money. Thus, even if a foreign country or its law enforcement agencies want to acquire our products, it may be unable to purchase them due to budgetary or political constraints. We cannot assure investors that such governmental agencies will have the necessary funds to purchase our products even though they may want to do so. Further, even if such agencies have the necessary funds, we may experience delays and relatively long sales cycles due to their internal decision-making policies and procedures.
International law enforcement and other agencies that may consider using our products must analyze a wide range of issues before committing to purchase products like ours, including training costs, product reliability and budgetary constraints. The length of our sales cycle may range from a few months to a year or more. We may incur substantial selling costs and expend significant effort in connection with the evaluation of our products by potential customers before they place an order. Initial orders by foreign governments and agencies typically are for a small number of units that are used to evaluate the products. If these potential customers do not purchase our products, we will have expended significant resources and receive no revenue in return. In addition, we may be selected as the vendor of choice by these foreign customers but never receive the funding necessary to purchase our product due to political or economic reasons.
We are marketing our DVM-250, DVM-250 Plus event recorder and FirstVU HD products to commercial customers, which is a relatively new sales channel for us and we may experience problems in gaining acceptance.
The principal target commercial market for our event recorder products is commercial fleet operators, such as taxi cabs, limousine services, transit buses, ambulance services and a variety of delivery services. In addition, we are marketing our FirstVU HD to commercial customers. These are relatively new sales channels for us and we may experience difficulty gaining acceptance of our other products by the targeted customers. Our sales of such products will be subject to budget constraints of both the large and small prospective customers, which could result in a significant reduction in our anticipated revenues. Certain of such companies have experienced budgetary and financial pressures for various reasons specific to them or the industry in which they operate, which may negatively impact their ability to purchase our products. Thus, even if prospective customers want to acquire our products, they may be unable to do so because of such factors. Further, even if such companies have the necessary funds, we may experience delays and relatively long sales cycles due to their internal decision-making policies and procedures.
We are operating in a developing market and there is uncertainty as to market acceptance of our technology and products.
The markets for our new and enhanced products and technology are developing and rapidly evolving. They are characterized by an increasing number of market entrants who have developed or are developing a wide variety of products and technologies, a number of which offer certain of the features that our products offer. Because of these factors, demand and market acceptance for new products are subject to a high level of uncertainty. There can be no assurance that our technology and products will become widely accepted. It is also difficult to predict with any assurance the future growth rate, if any, and size of the market. If a substantial market fails to develop, develops more slowly than expected or becomes saturated with competitors or if our products do not achieve or continue to achieve market acceptance, our business, operating results and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.
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Our technology may also be marketed and licensed to device manufacturers for inclusion in the products and equipment they market and sell as an embedded solution. As with other new products and technologies designed to enhance or replace existing products or technologies or change product designs, these potential partners may be reluctant to integrate our digital video recording technology into their systems unless the technology and products are proven to be both reliable and available at a competitive price. Even assuming product acceptance, our potential partners may be required to redesign their systems to effectively use our digital video recording technology. The time and costs necessary for such redesign could delay or prevent market acceptance of our technology and products. A lack of, or delay in, market acceptance of our digital video recording technology and products would adversely affect our operations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to market our technology and products successfully or that any of our technology or products will be accepted in the marketplace.
We expend significant resources in anticipation of a sale due to our lengthy sales cycle and may receive no revenue in return.
Generally, law enforcement and other agencies and commercial fleet and mass transit operators that may consider using our products must analyze a wide range of issues before committing to purchase products like ours, including training costs, product reliability and budgetary constraints. The length of our sales cycle may range from several months to a year or more. We may incur substantial selling costs and expend significant effort in connection with the evaluation of our products by potential customers before they place an order. Initial orders by agencies typically are for a small number of units that are used to evaluate the products. If these potential customers do not purchase our products, we will have expended significant resources and have received no revenue in return.
Our market is characterized by new products and rapid technological change.
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology and frequent new product introductions. Our future success will depend in part on our ability to enhance our existing technologies and products and to introduce new products and technologies to meet changing customer requirements. We are currently devoting, and intend to continue to devote, significant resources toward the development of new digital video recording technology and products both as stand-alone products and embedded solutions in third party products and systems. There can be no assurance that we will successfully complete the development of these technologies and related products in a timely fashion or that our current or future products will satisfy the needs of the digital video recording market. There can also be no assurance that digital video recording products and technologies developed by others will not adversely affect our competitive position or render our products or technologies non-competitive or obsolete.
We depend on sales from our in-car video products and body-worn cameras and if these products become obsolete or not widely accepted, our growth prospects will be diminished.
We derived our revenues in 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020 predominantly from sales of our in-car video systems, including the DVM-800, our largest selling product, and the FirstVU HD body-worn camera, our second largest selling product. We expect to continue to depend on sales of these products during 2020, although we do expect our newly launched EVO-HD in-car system to gain traction in 2020. A decrease in the prices of, or the demand for our in-car video products, or the failure to achieve broad market acceptance of our new product offerings, would significantly harm our growth prospects, operating results and financial condition.
We substantially depend on our research and development activities to design new products and upgrades to existing products and if these products are not widely accepted, or we encounter difficulties and delays in launching these new products, our growth prospects will be diminished.
We have a number of active research and development projects underway that are intended to launch new products or upgrades to existing products. We may incur substantial costs and/or delays in completion of these activities that may not result in viable products or may not be received well by our potential customers. We incurred $485,748 and $462,171 in research and development expenses during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, which represent a substantial expense in relation to our total revenues and net losses. If we are unsuccessful in bringing these products from the engineering prototype phase to commercial production, we could incur additional expenses (in addition to those already spent) without receiving revenues from the new products. Also, these new products may fail to achieve broad market acceptance and may not generate revenue to cover expenses incurred to design, develop, produce and market the new product offerings. Substantial delays in the launch of one or more products could negatively impact our revenues and increase our costs, which could significantly harm our growth prospects, operating results and financial condition.
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If we are unable to compete in our market, you may lose all or part of your investment in our securities.
The law enforcement and security surveillance markets are extremely competitive. Competitive factors in these industries include ease of use, quality, portability, versatility, reliability, accuracy and cost. There are companies with direct competitive technology and products in the law enforcement and surveillance markets for all our products and those we have in development. Many of these competitors have significant advantages over us, including greater financial, technical, marketing and manufacturing resources, more extensive distribution channels, larger customer bases and faster response times to adapt new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements. Our primary competitors include L-3 Mobile-Vision, Inc., Coban Technologies, Inc., WatchGuard, Kustom Signals, Panasonic System Communications Company, International Police Technologies, Inc. and a number of other competitors who sell or may in the future sell in-car video systems to law enforcement agencies. Our primary competitors in the body-worn camera market include Axon, Reveal Media and WatchGuard. We face similar and intense competitive factors for our event recorders in the mass transit markets as we do in the law enforcement and security surveillance markets. We will also compete with any company making surveillance devices for commercial use. Many of our competitors have greater financial, technical marketing, and manufacturing resources than we do. Our primary competitors in the commercial fleet sector include Lytx, Inc. (previously DriveCam, Inc.) and SmartDrive Systems.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully in these markets. Further, there can be no assurance that new and existing companies will not enter the law enforcement and security surveillance markets in the future.
Although we believe that our products will be distinguishable from those of our competitors based on their technological features and functionality at an attractive value proposition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to penetrate any of our anticipated competitors’ portions of the market. Many of our anticipated competitors may have existing relationships with equipment or device manufacturers that may impede our ability to market our technology to those potential customers and build market share. There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors or that competitive pressures will not have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. If we are not successful in competing against our current and future competitors, you could lose your entire investment in our securities. See “Business – Competition” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 that we filed with the SEC on April 6, 2020 for additional information.
Defects in our products could impair our ability to sell our products or could result in litigation and other significant costs.
Any significant defects in our products may result in, among other things, delay in time-to-market, loss of market acceptance and sales of our products, diversion of development resources, and injury to our reputation, or increased warranty costs. Because our products are technologically complex, they may contain defects that cannot be detected prior to shipment. These defects could harm our reputation and impair our ability to sell our products. The costs we may incur in correcting any product defects may be substantial and could decrease our profit margins. In 2018 and 2017, we had certain product quality issues with the DVM-800 and FirstVU HD, which adversely affected our revenues and operating results however, these issues have been successfully mitigated at this time.
In addition, errors, defects or other performance problems could result in financial or other damages to our customers, which could result in litigation. Product liability litigation, even if we prevail, would be time consuming and costly to defend. Our product liability insurance may not be adequate to cover claims. Our product liability insurance coverage per occurrence is $1,000,000, with a $2,000,000 aggregate for our general business liability coverage and an additional $1,000,000 per occurrence. Our excess or umbrella liability coverage per occurrence and in aggregate is $5,000,000.
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Product defects can be caused by design errors, programming bugs, or defects in component parts or raw materials. This is common to every product manufactured which is based on modern electronic and computer technology. Because of the extreme complexity of digital in-car video systems, one of the key concerns is operating software robustness. Some of the software modules are provided to us by outside vendors under license agreements, while other portions are developed by our own software engineers. As with any software-dependent product, “bugs” can occur, even with rigorous testing before release of the product. The software included in our digital video rear view mirror products is designed to be “field upgradeable” so that changes or fixes can be made by the end user by downloading new software through the internet. We intend to incorporate this technology into any future products as well, providing a quick resolution to potential software issues that may arise over time.
As with all electronic devices, hardware issues can arise from many sources. The component electronic parts that we utilize come from many sources around the world. We attempt to mitigate the possibility of shipping defective products by fully testing sub-assemblies and thoroughly testing assembled units before they are shipped out to our customers. Because of the nature and complexity of some of the electronic components used, such as microprocessor chips, memory systems, and zoom video camera modules, it is not technically or financially realistic to attempt to test every single aspect of every single component and their potential interactions. By using components from reputable and reliable sources, and by using professional engineering, assembly, and testing methods, we seek to limit the possibility of defects slipping through. In addition to internal testing, we now have thousands of units in the hands of law enforcement departments and in use every day. Over the past years of field use, we have addressed a number of subtle issues and made refinements requested by the end-user.
We are dependent on key personnel.
Our success will be largely dependent upon the efforts of our executive officers, Stanton E. Ross and Thomas J. Heckman. We do not have employment agreements with Messrs. Ross or Heckman, although we entered into retention agreements with such officers on December 23, 2008, which were amended in April 2018. The loss of the services of either of these individuals could have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects. There can be no assurance that we will be able to retain the services of such individuals in the future. We have not obtained key-man life insurance policies on these individuals. We are also dependent to a substantial degree on our technical, research and development staff. Our success will be dependent upon our ability to hire and retain additional qualified technical, research, management, marketing and financial personnel. We will compete with other companies with greater financial and other resources for such personnel. Although we have not had trouble in attracting qualified personnel to date, there can be no assurance that we will be able to retain our present personnel or acquire additional qualified personnel as and when needed.
We are dependent on manufacturers and suppliers.
We purchase, and intend to continue to purchase, substantially all the components for our products and some entire products, from a limited number of manufacturers and suppliers, most of whom are located outside the United States. Our internal process is principally to assemble the various components and subassemblies manufactured by our suppliers and test the assembled product prior to shipping to our customers. We do not intend to directly manufacture any of the equipment or parts to be used in our products. Our reliance upon outside manufacturers and suppliers, including foreign suppliers, is expected to continue, increase in scope and involves several risks, including limited control over the availability of components, and products themselves and related delivery schedules, pricing and product quality. We may be subject to political and social risks associated with specific regions of the world including those that may be subject to changes in tariffs that may have substantial effects on our product costs and supply chain reliability and availability. We may experience delays, additional expenses and lost sales if we are required to locate and qualify alternative manufacturers and suppliers.
A few of the semiconductor chip components for our products are produced by a very small number of specialized manufacturers. Currently, we purchase one essential semiconductor chip from a single manufacturer who currently sources such chipsets from the Philippines, China, Taiwan and South Korea, among other countries. While we believe that there are alternative sources of supply, if, for any reason, we are precluded from obtaining such a semiconductor chip from this manufacturer, we may experience long delays in product delivery due to the difficulty and complexity involved in producing the required component and we may also be required to pay higher costs for our components.
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While we do the final assembly, testing, packaging, and shipment of certain of our products in-house, a number of our component parts are manufactured by subcontractors. These subcontractors include: raw circuit board manufacturers; circuit board assembly houses; injection plastic molders; metal parts fabricators; and other custom component providers. While we are dependent upon these subcontractors to the extent that they are producing custom subassemblies and components necessary for manufacturing our products, we still own the designs and intellectual property involved. This means that the failure of any one contractor to perform may cause delays in production. However, we can mitigate potential interruptions by maintaining “buffer stocks” of critical parts and subassemblies and by using multiple sources for critical components. We also can move our subcontracting to alternate providers. Being forced to use a different subcontractor could cause production interruptions ranging from negligible, such as a few weeks, to very costly, such as four to six months. Further, the failure of a foreign manufacturer to deliver products to us timely, in sufficient quantities and with the requisite quality would have a material adverse impact on our business, operations and financial condition.
The only components that would require a complete redesign of our digital video electronics package are the chips manufactured by Texas Instruments Incorporated (“Texas Instruments”). While there are competitive products available, each chip has unique characteristics that would require extensive tailoring of product designs to use it. The Texas Instruments chip is the heart of our video processing system. If Texas Instruments became unwilling or unable to provide us with these chips, we would be forced to redesign our digital video encoder and decoder systems. Such a complete redesign could take substantial time (over six months) to complete. We attempt to mitigate the potential for interruption by maintaining continuous stocks of these chips to support several months’ worth of production. In addition, we regularly check on the end-of-life status of these parts to make sure that we will know well in advance of any decisions by Texas Instruments to discontinue these parts. There are other semiconductors that are integral to our product design and which could cause delays if discontinued, but not to the same scale as the Texas Instruments chips.
Although we have not historically had significant supply chain issues with these manufacturers, suppliers, and subcontractors, there can be no assurance that we will be able to retain our present relationships and should we lose these manufacturers, suppliers, and subcontractors, our business would be adversely affected.
The requirements of being a U.S. public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.
As a U.S. public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming, or costly, and increase demand on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual and current reports with respect to our business and operating results.
As a result of disclosure of information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, which form a part of this registration statement, and in the documents that we incorporate by reference herein and therein, as well as in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition is more visible, which we believe may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert resources of our management and harm our business and operating results.
If we are not able to comply with the applicable continued listing requirements or standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, our Common Stock could be delisted from Nasdaq.
Our Common Stock is currently listed on Nasdaq. In order to maintain that listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other continued listing requirements and standards, including those regarding director independence and independent committee requirements, minimum stockholders’ equity, minimum share price, and certain corporate governance requirements. There can be no assurances that we will be able to comply with the applicable listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.
In the event that our Common Stock is delisted from Nasdaq and is not eligible for quotation on another market or exchange, trading of our Common Stock could be conducted in the over-the-counter market or on an electronic bulletin board established for unlisted securities such as the Pink Sheets or the OTC Bulletin Board. In such event, it could become more difficult to dispose of, or obtain accurate price quotations for, our Common Stock, and there would likely also be a reduction in our coverage by securities analysts and the news media, which could cause the price of our Common Stock to decline further. Also, it may be difficult for us to raise additional capital if we are not listed on a major exchange.
In the event that our Common Stock is delisted from Nasdaq, U.S. broker-dealers may be discouraged from effecting transactions in shares of our Common Stock because they may be considered penny stocks and thus be subject to the penny stock rules.
The SEC has adopted a number of rules to regulate a “penny stock” that restricts transactions involving stock which is deemed to be a penny stock. Such rules include Rules 3a51-1, 15g-1, 15g-2, 15g-3, 15g-4, 15g-5, 15g-6, 15g-7, and 15g-9 under the Exchange Act. These rules may have the effect of reducing the liquidity of penny stocks. “Penny stocks” generally are equity securities with a price of less than $5.00 per share (other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or traded on Nasdaq if current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system). Our shares of Common Stock have in the past constituted, and may again in the future constitute, a “penny stock” within the meaning of the rules. The additional sales practice and disclosure requirements imposed upon U.S. broker-dealers may discourage such broker-dealers from effecting transactions in shares of our Common Stock, which could severely limit the market liquidity of such shares of Common Stock and impede their sale in the secondary market.
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A U.S. broker-dealer selling a penny stock to anyone other than an established customer or “accredited investor” (generally, an individual with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or an annual income exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with his or her spouse) must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and must receive the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. In addition, the “penny stock” regulations require the U.S. broker-dealer to deliver, prior to any transaction involving a “penny stock”, a disclosure schedule prepared in accordance with SEC standards relating to the “penny stock” market, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. A U.S. broker-dealer is also required to disclose commissions payable to the U.S. broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, a U.S. broker-dealer is required to submit monthly statements disclosing recent price information with respect to any “penny stock” held in a customer’s account and information with respect to the limited market in “penny stocks”.
You should be aware that, according to the SEC, the market for “penny stocks” has suffered in recent years from patterns of fraud and abuse. Such patterns include (i) control of the market for the security by one or a few broker-dealers that are often related to the promoter or issuer; (ii) manipulation of prices through prearranged matching of purchases and sales and false and misleading press releases; (iii) “boiler room” practices involving high-pressure sales tactics and unrealistic price projections by inexperienced sales persons; (iv) excessive and undisclosed bid-ask differentials and markups by selling broker-dealers; and (v) the wholesale dumping of the same securities by promoters and broker-dealers after prices have been manipulated to a desired level, resulting in investor losses. Our management is aware of the abuses that have occurred historically in the penny stock market. Although we do not expect to be in a position to dictate the behavior of the market or of broker-dealers who participate in the market, management will strive within the confines of practical limitations to prevent the described patterns from being established with respect to our securities.
Our charter documents and Nevada law could prevent a takeover that stockholders consider favorable and could also reduce the market price of our Common Stock.
Provisions of the anti-takeover law of the Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”) (NRS 78.378 et seq.) could have the effect of delaying or preventing a third-party from acquiring us, even if the acquisition arguably could benefit our stockholders. Various provisions of our amended and restated bylaws (“Bylaws”) may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt of us that a stockholder might consider in his or her best interest. Our Bylaws may be adopted, amended or repealed by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of our outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote for the election of directors, and except as provided by Nevada law, our board of directors shall have the power to adopt, amend or repeal the Bylaws by a vote of not less than a majority of our directors. The interests of these stockholders and directors may not be consistent with your interests, and they may make changes to the Bylaws that are not in line with your concerns.
Subject to applicable rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC regarding the issuance of 20% or more of our Common Stock, our authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock are available for our Board or Directors to issue without stockholder approval. We may use these additional shares for a variety of corporate purposes, however, faced with an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy context, tender offer, merger or other transaction our board of directors acting alone and without approval of our stockholders can issue large amounts of capital stock as part of a defense to a take-over challenge.
The existence of the foregoing provisions and other potential anti-takeover measures could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our Common Stock. They could also deter potential acquirers of our company, thereby reducing the likelihood that you could receive a premium for your Common Stock in an acquisition.
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If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our Common Stock adversely, our Common Stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our shares of Common Stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If any of the analysts who may cover us change their recommendation regarding our Common Stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, our share price would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our Common Stock price or trading volume to decline.
Our ability to use our net operating loss carry-forwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
Under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change” (generally defined as a greater than 50% change (by value) in its equity ownership over a three-year period), the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carry-forwards and other pre-change tax attributes (such as research tax credits) to offset its post-change income may be limited. We may experience ownership changes in the future as a result of subsequent shifts in our stock ownership, including as a result of the completion of this offering when it is taken together with other transactions we may consummate in the succeeding three-year period. As a result, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change net operating loss carry-forwards to offset U.S. federal taxable income may be subject to limitations, which potentially could result in increased future tax liability to us.
We are uncertain of our ability to protect technology through patents.
Our ability to compete effectively will depend on our success in protecting our proprietary technology, both in the United States and abroad. We have filed for at least 37 patents for protection in the United States and certain other countries to cover certain design aspects of our products.
We have been issued at least 22 patents to date by the USPTO. In addition, we have at least 15 patent applications that are still under review by the U.S. Patent Office and, therefore, we have not yet been issued all the patents that we applied for in the United States. No assurance can be given that any patents relating to our existing technology will be issued from the United States or any foreign patent offices, that we will receive any patents in the future based on our continued development of our technology, or that our patent protection within and/or outside of the United States will be sufficient to deter others, legally or otherwise, from developing or marketing competitive products utilizing our technologies.
If our patents were to be denied as filed, we would seek to obtain different patents for other parts of our technology. If our main patent, which relates to the placement of the in-car video system in a rear-view mirror, were to be challenged and denied, it could potentially allow our competitors to build very similar devices. Currently, this patent is not being challenged. However, we believe that very few of our competitors would be capable of this because of the level of technical sophistication and level of miniaturization required. Even if we obtain patents, there can be no assurance that they will be enforceable to prevent others from developing and marketing competitive products or methods. If we bring an infringement action relating to any future patents, it may require the diversion of substantial funds from our operations and may require management to expend efforts that might otherwise be devoted to our operations. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in enforcing our patent rights.
Further, if any patents are issued there can be no assurance that patent infringement claims in the United States or in other countries will not be asserted against us by a competitor or others, or if asserted, that we will be successful in defending against such claims. If one of our products is adjudged to infringe patents of others with the likely consequence of a damage award, we may be enjoined from using and selling such product or be required to obtain a royalty-bearing license, if available on acceptable terms. Alternatively, if a license is not offered, we might be required, if possible, to redesign those aspects of the product held to infringe to avoid infringement liability. Any redesign efforts we undertake might be expensive, could delay the introduction or the re-introduction of our products into certain markets, or may be so significant as to be impractical.
We are involved in litigation relating to our intellectual property.
We are subject to various legal proceedings arising from normal business operations. Although there can be no assurances, based on the information currently available, management believes that it is probable that the ultimate outcome of each of the actions will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements. However, an adverse outcome in certain of the actions could have a material adverse effect on our financial results in the period in which it is recorded.
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Axon Enterprises, Inc. (Formerly Taser International, Inc.). The Company owns U.S. Patent No. 9,253,452 (the “452 Patent”), which generally covers the automatic activation and coordination of multiple recording devices in response to a triggering event, such as a law enforcement officer activating the light bar on the vehicle.
The Company filed suit on January 15, 2016 with the U.S. District Court (Case No: 2:16-cv-02032) against Axon, alleging willful patent infringement against Axon’s body camera product line and signal auto-activation product. The Company is seeking both monetary damages and a permanent injunction against Axon for infringement of the ‘452 Patent. See “Our Business — Our Products.”
Enforcement Video, LLC d/b/a WatchGuard Video. On May 27, 2016, the Company filed suit against WatchGuard, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas (Case No. 2:16-cv-02349-JTM-JPO) alleging patent infringement based on WatchGuard’s VISTA Wifi and 4RE In-Car product lines. See “Our Business — Our Products.”
PGA Tour, Inc. On January 22, 2019 the PGA Tour, Inc. (the “PGA”) filed suit against the Company in the Federal District Court for the District of Kansas (Case No. 2:19-cv-0033-CM-KGG) alleging breach of contract and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing relating to the Web.com Tour Title Sponsor Agreement (the “Agreement”). The contract was executed on April 16, 2015 by and between the parties. Under the Agreement, the Company would be a title sponsor of and receive certain naming and other rights and benefits associated with the Web.com Tour for 2015 through 2019 in exchange for the Company’s payment to the PGA of annual sponsorship fees. The suit has been resolved and the case has been dismissed with prejudice on April 17, 2019.
The Company is also involved as a plaintiff and defendant in ordinary, routine litigation and administrative proceedings incidental to its business from time to time, including customer collections, vendor and employment-related matters. The Company believes the likely outcome of any other pending cases and proceedings will not be material to its business or its financial condition.
We are uncertain of our ability to protect our proprietary technology and information.
In addition to seeking patent protection, we rely on trade secrets, know-how and continuing technological advancement to seek to achieve and thereafter maintain a competitive advantage. Although we have entered into or intend to enter into confidentiality and invention agreements with our employees, consultants and advisors, no assurance can be given that such agreements will be honored or that we will be able to effectively protect our rights to our unpatented trade secrets and know-how. Moreover, no assurance can be given that others will not independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and techniques or otherwise gain access to our trade secrets and know-how.
Foreign currency fluctuations may affect our competitiveness and sales in foreign markets.
The relative change in currency values creates fluctuations in our product pricing for potential international customers. These changes in foreign end-user costs may result in lost orders and reduce the competitiveness of our products in certain foreign markets. These changes may also negatively affect the financial condition of some existing or potential foreign customers and reduce or eliminate their future orders of our products. We also import selected components which are used in the manufacturing of some of our products. Although our purchase orders are in the United States dollar, weakness in the United States dollar could lead to price increases for the components.
Our revenues and operating results may fluctuate unexpectedly from quarter to quarter, which may cause our stock price to decline.
Our revenues and operating results have varied significantly in the past and may continue to fluctuate significantly in the future due to various factors that are both in and outside our control. Thus, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful in the short-term, and our performance in a particular period may not be indicative of our performance in any future period.
We are a party to several lawsuits both as a plaintiff and as a defendant in which we may ultimately not prevail, resulting in losses and which may cause our stock price to decline.
We are involved as a plaintiff and defendant in routine litigation and administrative proceedings incidental to our business from time to time, including customer collections, vendor and employment-related matters. See “Our Business — Our Products” for additional information. We believe that the likely outcome of any other pending cases and proceedings will not be material to our business or financial condition. However, there can be no assurance that we will prevail in the litigation or proceedings or that we may not have to pay damages or other awards to the other party.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement, and the documents that we reference herein and therein and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors”, contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21(E) of the Exchange Act and Section 27A of the Securities Act. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation: statements regarding proposed new products or services; statements concerning litigation or other matters; statements concerning projections, predictions, expectations, estimates or forecasts for our business, financial and operating results and future economic performance; statements of management’s goals and objectives; statements concerning our competitive environment, availability of resources and regulation; trends affecting our financial condition, results of operations or future prospects; our financing plans or growth strategies; and other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Words such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would”, “predicts”, “potential”, “continue”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “future”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes” and “estimates,” and variations of such terms or similar expressions, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by which, that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from what is expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. The section in this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” and the sections in our periodic reports, including the sections entitled “Business” in our recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports filed with the SEC, as well as other sections in this prospectus and the documents or reports incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents that we reference herein and therein and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, discuss some of the factors that could contribute to these differences.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If we do update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. Investors should review our subsequent reports filed with the SEC described in the sections entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference” of this prospectus and incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents that we reference herein and therein and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, all of which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
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Except as otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered by this prospectus for working capital and general corporate purposes.
The intended application of the proceeds from the sale of any particular offering of securities using this prospectus will be described in the accompanying prospectus supplement relating to such offering. The precise amount and timing of the application of these proceeds will depend on our funding requirements and the availability and costs of other funds.
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THE SECURITIES THAT WE MAY OFFER
The descriptions of our securities contained in this prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplements, summarize all of the material terms and provisions of the various types of securities that we may offer. We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to any securities the particular terms of such securities offered by that prospectus supplement. If we indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, the terms of such securities may differ from the terms that we have summarized below. We will also include in the prospectus supplement information, where applicable, about material United States federal income tax considerations relating to such securities, and the securities exchange, if any, on which such securities will be listed.
We may sell from time to time, in one or more offerings, either individually or in any combination:
| ● | shares of our Common Stock; | |
| ● | warrants to purchase shares of our Common Stock and/or other securities described in this prospectus; | |
| ● | debt securities consisting of notes, debentures or other evidences of indebtedness; | |
| ● | convertible debt securities consisting of notes, debentures or other evidences of indebtedness; | |
| ● | rights to purchase shares of our Common Stock and/or other securities described in this prospectus; and/or | |
| ● | units consisting of a combination of the foregoing. |
The terms of any securities that we offer will be determined at the time of sale. We may issue securities that are exercisable, exchangeable for or convertible into Common Stock. When particular securities are offered, a supplement to this prospectus will be filed with the SEC, which will describe the terms of the offering and sale of the offered securities.
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The following description of our Common Stock and certain provisions of our articles of incorporation, as amended (“Articles of Incorporation”), and our Bylaws are summaries and are qualified by reference to our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. Such summaries do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to Nevada law, including the NRS, as well as copies of our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, which have been filed as exhibits to prior reports filed by us with the SEC and are incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”
Common Stock
Our authorized Common Stock consists of 50,000,000 shares of Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share. As of June 23, 2020, we had 26,581,600 shares of our Common Stock issued and outstanding, which excludes 63,518 shares held in treasury.
Voting Rights
Each share of our Common Stock entitles the owner to one vote. There is no cumulative voting. A simple majority can elect all of the directors at a given meeting, and the minority would not be able to elect any director at that meeting.
Dividends
Each share of our Common Stock is entitled to receive an equal dividend, if one is declared. We cannot provide any assurance that we will declare or pay cash dividends on our Common Stock in the future. Any future determination to declare cash dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to applicable laws, and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, general business conditions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. Our board of directors may determine it to be necessary to retain future earnings (if any) to finance our growth. See “Risk Factors” and “Dividend Policy.”
Liquidation
If the Company is liquidated, then assets that remain (if any) after the creditors are paid and the owners of any securities with liquidation preferences senior to the Common Stock are paid will be distributed to the owners of our Common Stock pro rata.
Preemptive Rights
Owners of our Common Stock have no preemptive rights. We may sell shares of our Common Stock to third parties without first offering such shares to current stockholders.
Redemption Rights
We do not have the right to buy back shares of our Common Stock except in extraordinary transactions, such as mergers and court approved bankruptcy reorganizations. Owners of our Common Stock do not ordinarily have the right to require us to buy their Common Stock. We do not have a sinking fund to provide assets for any buy back.
Conversion Rights
Shares of our Common Stock cannot be converted into any other kind of stock except in extraordinary transactions, such as mergers and court approved bankruptcy reorganizations.
Nonassessability
All outstanding shares of our Common Stock are fully paid and nonassessable.
Listing
Our Common Stock trades on Nasdaq under the symbol “DGLY.”
Transfer Agent and Registrar
Our transfer agent and registrar for our Common Stock in the United States is Action Stock Transfer Corporation, located at 2469 E. Fort Union Blvd., Salt Lake City, UT 84122. Its telephone number is (801) 274-1088.
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The following description, together with the additional information that we may include in any applicable prospectus supplements, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer under this prospectus and the related warrant agreements and warrant certificates. While the terms summarized below will apply generally to any warrants that we may offer, we will describe the particular terms of any series of warrants in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. If we indicate in the prospectus supplement, the terms of any warrants offered under that prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. If there are differences between that prospectus supplement and this prospectus, the prospectus supplement will control. Thus, the statements we make in this section may not apply to a particular series of warrants. Specific warrant agreements will contain additional important terms and provisions and will be incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement which includes this prospectus.
General
We may issue warrants for the purchase of Common Stock and/or other securities described in this prospectus. We may issue warrants independently or together with Common Stock and/or such other securities, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from any such offered securities.
We will evidence each series of warrants by warrant certificates that we may issue under a separate agreement. We may enter into the warrant agreement with a warrant agent. Each warrant agent may be a bank that we select which has its principal office in the United States and a combined capital and surplus of at least $125,000,000. We may also choose to act as our own warrant agent. We will indicate the name and address of any such warrant agent in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of warrants.
We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of the series of warrants, including:
| ● | the offering price and aggregate number of warrants offered; | |
| ● | the currency for which the warrants may be purchased; | |
| ● | if applicable, the designation and terms of the securities with which the warrants are issued and the number of warrants issued with each such security or each principal amount of such security; | |
| ● | if applicable, the date on and after which the warrants and the related securities will be separately transferable; | |
| ● | the number of shares of Common Stock or other securities purchasable upon the exercise of one warrant and the price at which such shares or other securities may be purchased upon such exercise; | |
| ● | the warrant agreement under which the warrants will be issued; | |
| ● | the effect of any merger, consolidation, sale or other disposition of our business on the warrant agreement and the warrants; | |
| ● | anti-dilution provisions of the warrants, if any; | |
| ● | the terms of any rights to redeem or call the warrants; | |
| ● | any provisions for changes to or adjustments in the exercise price or number of securities issuable upon exercising the warrants; | |
| ● | the manner in which the warrant agreement and warrants may be modified; | |
| ● | the identities of the warrant agent and any calculation or other agent for the warrants; |
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| ● | federal income tax consequences of holding or exercising the warrants; | |
| ● | the terms of the securities issuable upon exercise of the warrants; | |
| ● | any securities exchange or quotation system on which the warrants or any securities deliverable upon exercise of the warrants may be listed; and | |
| ● | any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of or restrictions on the warrants. |
Before exercising their warrants, holders of warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of Common Stock purchasable upon such exercise, including the right to receive dividends, if any, or, payments upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up or to exercise voting rights, if any.
Exercise of Warrants
Each warrant will entitle the holder to purchase the securities that we specify in the applicable prospectus supplement at the exercise price that we describe 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 5:00 p.m. Eastern 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.
Holders of the warrants may exercise the warrants by delivering the warrant certificate representing the warrants to be exercised together with specified information, and paying the required amount to the warrant agent in immediately available funds, as provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. We will set forth on the reverse side of the warrant certificate, and in the applicable prospectus supplement, the information that the holder of the warrant will be required to deliver to the warrant agent.
Until the warrant is properly exercised, no holder of any warrant will be entitled to any rights of a holder of the securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrant.
Upon receipt of the required payment and the warrant certificate properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will issue and deliver the securities purchasable upon such exercise. If fewer than all of the warrants represented by the warrant certificate are exercised, then we will issue a new warrant certificate for the remaining amount of warrants. If we so indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may surrender securities as all or part of the exercise price for warrants.
Enforceability of Rights By Holders of Warrants
Any warrant agent will act solely as our agent under the applicable warrant agreement and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust with any holder of any warrant. A single bank or trust company may act as warrant agent for more than one issue of warrants. A warrant agent will have no duty or responsibility in case of any default by us under the applicable warrant agreement or warrant, including any duty or responsibility to initiate any proceedings at law or otherwise, or to make any demand upon us. Any holder of a warrant may, without the consent of the related warrant agent or the holder of any other warrant, enforce by appropriate legal action its right to exercise, and receive the securities purchasable upon exercise of, its warrants in accordance with their terms.
Calculation Agent
Calculations relating to warrants may be made by a calculation agent, an institution that we appoint as our agent for this purpose. The prospectus supplement for a particular warrant will name the institution that we have appointed to act as the calculation agent for that warrant as of the original issue date for that warrant. We may appoint a different institution to serve as calculation agent from time to time after the original issue date without the consent or notification of the holders.
The calculation agent’s determination of any amount of money payable or securities deliverable with respect to a warrant will be final and binding in the absence of manifest error.
Governing Law
Unless we provide otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the warrants and warrant agreements, and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to the warrants or warrant agreements, will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES AND CONVERTIBLE DEBT SECURITIES
The following description, together with the additional information that we include in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the debt securities that may be offered from time to time under this prospectus. We may issue debt securities, in one or more series, as either senior or subordinated debt or as senior or subordinated convertible debt. While the terms we have summarized below will generally apply to any future debt securities that may be offered under this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any debt securities that may be offered in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any debt securities offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms we describe below.
We may issue secured or unsecured debt securities offered under this prospectus, which may be senior, subordinated or junior subordinated, and/or convertible and which may be issued in one or more series. We will issue any new senior debt securities under a senior indenture that we will enter into with a trustee named in such senior indenture. We will issue any subordinated debt securities under a subordinated indenture that we will enter into with a trustee named in such subordinated indenture. We will have filed forms of these documents as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part. The terms of the debt securities will include those set forth in the applicable indenture, any related supplemental indenture and any related securities documents that are made a part of the indenture by the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “Trust Indenture Act”). You should read the summary below, the applicable prospectus supplement and the provisions of the applicable indenture, any supplemental indenture and any related security documents, if any, in their entirety before investing in our debt securities. We use the term “indentures” to refer to both the senior indentures and the subordinated indentures.
The indentures will be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act. We use the term “trustee” to refer to either a trustee under the senior indenture or a trustee under the subordinated indenture, as applicable.
The following summaries of material provisions of any senior debt securities, any subordinated debt securities and the related indentures are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the indentures and any supplemental indenture or related document applicable to a particular series of debt securities. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplements related to the debt securities that are offered under this prospectus, as well as the complete indentures, that contains the terms of the debt securities. See the information under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information” for information on how to obtain a copy of the appropriate indenture. Except as we may otherwise indicate, the terms of any senior indenture and any subordinated indenture will be identical.
In addition, the material specific financial, legal and other terms as well as any material U.S. federal income tax consequences particular to securities of each series will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to the securities of that series. The prospectus supplement may or may not modify the general terms found in this prospectus and will be filed with the SEC. For a complete description of the terms of a particular series of debt securities, you should read both this prospectus and the prospectus supplement relating to that particular series.
We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms relating to a series of debt securities, including:
| ● | title; | |
| ● | principal amount being offered, and, if a series, the total amount authorized and the total amount outstanding; | |
| ● | any limit on the amount that may be issued; | |
| ● | whether or not we will issue the series of debt securities in global form and, if so, the terms and who the depositary will be; | |
| ● | the maturity date; | |
| ● | the principal amount due at maturity, and whether the debt securities will be issued with any original issue discount; |
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| ● | whether and under what circumstances, if any, we will pay additional amounts on any debt securities held by a person who is not a United States person for tax purposes, and whether we can redeem the debt securities if we have to pay such additional amounts; | |
| ● | the annual interest rate, which may be fixed or variable, or the method for determining the rate, the date interest will begin to accrue, the dates interest will be payable and the regular record dates for interest payment dates or the method for determining such dates; | |
| ● | whether or not the debt securities will be secured or unsecured, and the terms of any secured debt; | |
| ● | the terms of the subordination of any series of subordinated debt; | |
| ● | the place where payments will be payable; | |
| ● | restrictions on transfer, sale or other assignment, if any; | |
| ● | our right, if any, to defer payment of interest and the maximum length of any such deferral period; | |
| ● | the date, if any, after which, the conditions upon which, and the price at which we may, at our option, redeem the series of debt securities pursuant to any optional or provisional redemption provisions, and any other applicable terms of those redemption provisions; | |
| ● | provisions for a sinking fund, purchase or other analogous fund, if any; | |
| ● | the date, if any, on which, and the price at which we are obligated, pursuant to any mandatory sinking fund or analogous fund provisions or otherwise, to redeem, or at the holder’s option to purchase, the series of debt securities; | |
| ● | whether the indenture will restrict our ability and/or the ability of our subsidiaries to: |
| ○ | incur additional indebtedness; | |
| ○ | issue additional securities; | |
| ○ | issue guarantees; | |
| ○ | create liens; | |
| ○ | pay dividends and make distributions in respect of our capital stock and the capital stock of our subsidiaries; | |
| ○ | redeem capital stock; | |
| ○ | place restrictions on our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends, make distributions or transfer assets; | |
| ○ | make investments or other restricted payments; | |
| ○ | sell or otherwise dispose of assets; | |
| ○ | enter into sale-leaseback transactions; | |
| ○ | engage in transactions with stockholders and affiliates; | |
| ○ | issue or sell stock of or sell assets of our subsidiaries; or | |
| ○ | effect a consolidation or merger; |
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| ● | whether the indenture will require us to maintain any interest coverage, fixed charge, cash flow-based, asset-based or other financial ratios; | |
| ● | a discussion of any material or special United States federal income tax considerations applicable to the debt securities; | |
| ● | information describing any book-entry features; | |
| ● | the procedures for any auction and remarketing, if any; | |
| ● | the denominations in which we will issue the series of debt securities, if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof; | |
| ● | if other than U.S. dollars, the currency in which the series of debt securities will be denominated and the currency in which principal, premium, if any, and interest will be paid; and | |
| ● | any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of, or restrictions on, the debt securities, including any events of default that are in addition to or different than those described in this prospectus or any covenants provided with respect to the debt securities that are in addition to those described above, and any terms which may be required by us or advisable under applicable laws or regulations or advisable in connection with the marketing of the debt securities. |
In addition to the debt securities that may be offered pursuant to this prospectus, we may issue other debt securities in public or private offerings from time to time. These other debt securities may be issued under other indentures or documentation that are not described in this prospectus, and those debt securities may contain provisions materially different from the provisions applicable to one or more issues of debt securities offered pursuant to this prospectus.
Original Issue Discount
One or more series of debt securities offered under this prospectus may be sold at a substantial discount below their stated principal amount, bearing no interest or interest at a rate that at the time of issuance is below market rates. The federal income tax consequences and special considerations applicable to any series of debt securities generally will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Senior Debt Securities
Payment of the principal or premium, if any, and interest on senior debt securities will rank on a parity with all of our other indebtedness that is not subordinated.
Subordination of Subordinated Debt Securities
The subordinated debt securities will be subordinate and junior in priority of payment to certain of our other indebtedness to the extent described in a prospectus supplement. The indentures in the forms initially filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part do not limit the amount of indebtedness which we may incur, including senior indebtedness or subordinated indebtedness, and do not limit us from issuing any other debt, including secured debt or unsecured debt.
Conversion or Exchange Rights
We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms on which a series of debt securities may be convertible into or exchangeable for our Common Stock or other securities, including the conversion or exchange rate, as applicable, or how it will be calculated, and the applicable conversion or exchange period. We will include provisions as to whether conversion or exchange is mandatory, at the option of the holder or at our option. We may include provisions pursuant to which the number of securities that the holders of the series of debt securities receive upon conversion or exchange would, under the circumstance described in those provisions, be subject to adjustment, or pursuant to which those holders would, under those circumstances, receive other property upon conversion or exchange, for example in the event of our merger or consolidation with another entity.
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Consolidation, Merger or Sale
The indentures in the forms initially filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part do not contain any covenant that restricts our ability to merge or consolidate, or sell, convey, transfer or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets. However, any successor of ours or acquirer of such assets must assume all of our obligations under the indentures and the debt securities.
If the debt securities are convertible for our other securities, the person with whom we consolidate or merge or to whom we sell all of our property must make provisions for the conversion of the debt securities into securities which the holders of the debt securities would have received if they had converted the debt securities before the consolidation, merger or sale.
Events of Default under the Indentures
Except as otherwise set forth in an applicable prospectus supplement, the following are events of default under the indentures with respect to any series of debt securities that we may issue:
| ● | if we fail to pay interest when due and payable and our failure continues for 30 days and the time for payment has not been extended or deferred; | |
| ● | if we fail to pay the principal, or premium, if any, when due and payable and the time for payment has not been extended or delayed; | |
| ● | if we fail to observe or perform any other covenant contained in the debt securities or the indentures, other than a covenant solely for the benefit of another series of debt securities, and our failure continues for 90 days after we receive notice from the trustee or holders of a to-be-determined percentage in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series; and | |
| ● | if specified events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occur. |
If an event of default with respect to debt securities of any series occurs and is continuing, other than an event of default specified in the last bullet point above under “— Events of Default Under the Indentures,” the trustee or the holders of a to-be-determined percentage in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series, by notice to us in writing, and to the trustee if notice is given by such holders, may declare the unpaid principal of, premium, if any, and accrued interest, if any, due and payable immediately. If an event of default specified in the last bullet point above “— Events of Default Under the Indentures” occurs with respect to us, the principal amount of and accrued interest, if any, of each series of debt securities then outstanding shall be due and payable without any notice or other action on the part of the trustee or any holder.
The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of an affected series may waive any default or event of default with respect to the series and its consequences (other than bankruptcy defaults), except there may be no waiver of defaults or events of default regarding payment of principal, premium, if any, or interest, unless we have cured the default or event of default in accordance with the applicable indenture.
Subject to the terms of the indentures, if an event of default under an indenture shall occur and be continuing, the trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under such indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders of the applicable series of debt securities, unless such holders have offered the trustee indemnity satisfactory to it. The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee, with respect to the debt securities of that series, provided that:
| ● | the direction so given by the holder is not in conflict with any law or the applicable indenture; and | |
| ● | subject to its duties under the Trust Indenture Act, the trustee need not take any action that might involve it in personal liability or might be unduly prejudicial to the holders not involved in the proceeding. |
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A holder of the debt securities of any series will only have the right to institute a proceeding under the indentures or to appoint a receiver or trustee, or to seek other remedies if:
| ● | the holder has given written notice to the trustee of a continuing event of default with respect to that series; | |
| ● | the holders of a to-be-determined percentage in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made written request to the trustee, and such holders have offered indemnity satisfactory to the trustee, to institute the proceeding as trustee; and | |
| ● | the trustee does not institute the proceeding, and does not receive from the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series other conflicting directions, within 90 days after the notice, request and offer. |
These limitations do not apply to a suit instituted by a holder of debt securities if we default in the payment of the principal, premium, if any, or interest on, the debt securities.
We will periodically file statements with the trustee regarding our compliance with the covenants in the indentures.
Modification of Indenture; Waiver
We and the trustee may modify an indenture or enter into or modify any supplemental indenture without the consent of any holders of the debt securities with respect to specific matters, including:
| ● | to fix any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency in the indenture; | |
| ● | to comply with the provisions described above under “—Consolidation, Merger or Sale;” | |
| ● | to comply with any requirements of the SEC in connection with the qualification of any indenture under the Trust Indenture Act; | |
| ● | to evidence and provide for the acceptance of appointment hereunder by a successor trustee; | |
| ● | to provide for uncertificated debt securities and to make any appropriate changes for such purpose; | |
| ● | to add to, delete from, or revise the conditions, limitations and restrictions on the authorized amount, terms or purposes of issuance, authorization and delivery of debt securities of any unissued series; | |
| ● | to add to our covenants such new covenants, restrictions, conditions or provisions for the protection of the holders, to make the occurrence, or the occurrence and the continuance, of a default in any such additional covenants, restrictions, conditions or provisions an event of default, or to surrender any of our rights or powers under the indenture; or | |
| ● | to change anything that does not materially adversely affect the legal rights of any holder of debt securities of any series. |
In addition, under the indentures, the rights of holders of a series of debt securities may be changed by us and the trustee with the written consent of the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series that is affected. However, we and the trustee may only make the following changes with the consent of each holder of any outstanding debt securities affected:
| ● | extending the fixed maturity of the series of debt securities; |
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| ● | reducing the principal amount, reducing the rate of or extending the time of payment of interest, or reducing any premium payable upon the redemption of any debt securities; or | |
| ● | reducing the percentage of debt securities, the holders of which are required to consent to any supplemental indenture. |
Discharge
Each indenture provides that, subject to the terms of the indenture and any limitation otherwise provided in the prospectus supplement applicable to a particular series of debt securities, we can elect to be discharged from our obligations with respect to one or more series of debt securities, except for specified obligations, including obligations to:
| ● | register the transfer or exchange of debt securities of the series; | |
| ● | replace stolen, lost or mutilated debt securities of the series; | |
| ● | maintain paying agents and agencies for payment, registration of transfer and exchange and service of notices and demands; | |
| ● | recover excess money held by the trustee; | |
| ● | compensate and indemnify the trustee; and | |
| ● | appoint any successor trustee. |
In order to exercise our rights to be discharged, we must deposit with the trustee money or government obligations sufficient to pay all the principal of, any premium and interest on, the debt securities of the series on the date payments are due.
“Street Name” and Other Indirect Holders
Investors who hold securities in accounts at banks or brokers generally will not be recognized by us as legal holders of debt securities. This manner of holding securities is called holding in “street name.” Instead, we would recognize only the bank or broker, or the financial institution that the bank or broker uses to hold its securities. These intermediary banks, brokers and other financial institutions pass along principal, interest and other payments on the debt securities, either because they agree to do so in their customer agreements or because they are legally required to do so. If you hold debt securities in “street name,” you should check with your own institution to find out, among other things:
| ● | how it handles payments and notices; | |
| ● | whether it imposes fees or charges; | |
| ● | how it would handle voting if applicable; | |
| ● | whether and how you can instruct it to send you debt securities registered in your own name so you can be a direct holder as described below; and | |
| ● | if applicable, how it would pursue rights under your debt securities if there were a default or other event triggering the need for holders to act to protect their interests. |
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Our obligations, as well as the obligations of the trustee under the indentures and those of any third parties employed by us or the trustee under either of the indentures, run only to persons who are registered as holders of debt securities issued under the applicable indenture. As noted above, we do not have obligations to you if you hold in “street name” or other indirect means, either because you choose to hold debt securities in that manner or because the debt securities are issued in the form of global securities as described below. For example, once we make payment to the registered holder, we have no further responsibility for the payment even if that holder is legally required to pass the payment along to you as a “street name” customer but does not do so.
Form, Exchange and Transfer
We may issue debt securities of each series only in fully registered form without coupons and, unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, in denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof. The indentures will provide that we may issue debt securities of a series in temporary or permanent global form and as book-entry securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company or another depositary named by us and identified in a prospectus supplement with respect to that series (the “Depository”). See “Book-Entry” below for a further description of the terms relating to any book-entry securities.
At the option of the holder, subject to the terms of the indentures and the limitations applicable to global securities described below or in the applicable prospectus supplement, the holder of the debt securities of any series can exchange the debt securities for other debt securities of the same series, in any authorized denomination and of like tenor and aggregate principal amount.
Subject to the terms of the indentures and the limitations applicable to global securities set forth below in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the debt securities may present the debt securities for exchange or for registration of transfer, duly endorsed or with the form of transfer endorsed thereon duly executed if so required by us or the security registrar, at the office of the security registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us for this purpose. Unless otherwise provided in the debt securities that the holder presents for transfer or exchange, we will make no service charge for any registration of transfer or exchange, but we may require payment of any taxes or other governmental charges.
We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement the security registrar, and any transfer agent in addition to the security registrar, that we initially designate for any debt securities. We may at any time designate additional transfer agents or rescind the designation of any transfer agent or approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts, except that we will be required to maintain a transfer agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of each series.
If we elect to redeem the debt securities of any series, we will not be required to:
| ● | issue, register the transfer of, or exchange any debt securities of any series being redeemed in part during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption of any debt securities that may be selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of the mailing; or | |
| ● | register the transfer of or exchange any debt securities so selected for redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of any debt securities we are redeeming in part. |
Book-Entry Securities
The following description of book-entry securities will apply to any series of debt securities issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more global securities, except as otherwise described in a related prospectus supplement.
Book-entry securities of like tenor and having the same date will be represented by one or more global securities deposited with and registered in the name of a depositary that is a clearing agent registered under the Exchange Act. Beneficial interests in book-entry securities will be limited to institutions that have accounts with the depositary, or “participants,” or persons that may hold interests through participants.
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Ownership of beneficial interests by participants will only be evidenced by, and the transfer of that ownership interest will only be effected through, records maintained by the depositary. Ownership of beneficial interests by persons that hold through participants will only be evidenced by, and the transfer of that ownership interest within such participant will only be effected through, records maintained by the participants. The laws of some jurisdictions require that certain purchasers of securities take physical delivery of such securities in definitive form. Such laws may impair the ability to transfer beneficial interests in a global security.
Payment of principal of and any premium and interest on book-entry securities represented by a global security registered in the name of or held by a depositary will be made to the depositary, as the registered owner of the global security. Neither we, the trustee nor any agent of ours or the trustee will have any responsibility or liability for any aspect of the depositary’s records or any participant’s records relating to or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in a global security or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any of the depositary’s records or any participant’s records relating to the beneficial ownership interests. Payments by participants to owners of beneficial interests in a global security held through such participants will be governed by the depositary’s procedures, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers registered in “street name,” and will be the sole responsibility of such participants.
A global security representing a book-entry security is exchangeable for definitive debt securities in registered form, of like tenor and of an equal aggregate principal amount registered in the name of, or is transferable in whole or in part to, a person other than the depositary for that global security, only if (i) the depositary notifies us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as depositary for that global security or the depositary ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act, (ii) there shall have occurred and be continuing an event of default with respect to the debt securities of that series or (iii) other circumstances exist that have been specified in the terms of the debt securities of that series. Any global security that is exchangeable pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be registered in the name or names of such person or persons as the depositary shall instruct the trustee. It is expected that such instructions may be based upon directions received by the depositary from its participants with respect to ownership of beneficial interests in such global security.
Except as provided above, owners of beneficial interests in a global security will not be entitled to receive physical delivery of debt securities in definitive form and will not be considered the holders thereof for any purpose under the indentures, and no global security shall be exchangeable, except for a security registered in the name of the depositary. This means each person owning a beneficial interest in such global security must rely on the procedures of the depositary and, if such person is not a participant, on the procedures of the participant through which such person owns its interest, to exercise any rights of a holder under the indentures. We understand that under existing industry practices, if we request any action of holders or an owner of a beneficial interest in such global security desires to give or take any action that a holder is entitled to give or take under the indentures, the depositary would authorize the participants holding the relevant beneficial interests to give or take such action, and such participants would authorize beneficial owners owning through such participant to give or take such action or would otherwise act upon the instructions of beneficial owners owning through them.
Information Concerning the Trustee
The trustee, other than during the occurrence and continuance of an event of default under an indenture, undertakes to perform only those duties as are specifically set forth in the applicable indenture and is under no obligation to exercise any of the powers given it by the indentures at the request of any holder of debt securities unless it is offered reasonable security and indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities that it might incur. However, upon an event of default under an indenture, the trustee must use the same degree of care as a prudent person would exercise or use in the conduct of his or her own affairs.
Payment and Paying Agents
Unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will make payment of the interest on any debt securities on any interest payment date to the person in whose name the debt securities, or one or more predecessor securities, are registered at the close of business on the regular record date for the interest.
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We will pay principal of and any premium and interest on the debt securities of a particular series at the office of the paying agents designated by us, except that, unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may make interest payments by check which we will mail to the holder or by wire transfer to certain holders. Unless we otherwise indicate in a prospectus supplement, we will designate an office or agency of the trustee in the City of New York as our paying agent for payments with respect to debt securities of each series. We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement any other paying agents that we initially designate for the debt securities of a particular series. We will maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of a particular series.
All money we pay to a paying agent or the trustee for the payment of the principal of or any premium or interest on any debt securities which remains unclaimed at the end of two years after such principal, premium or interest has become due and payable will be repaid to us, and the holder of the debt security thereafter may look only to us for payment thereof.
Governing Law
Except as otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the indentures and the debt securities will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, except to the extent that the Trust Indenture Act is applicable.
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General
We may issue rights to our stockholders to purchase shares of our Common Stock or other securities as described in this prospectus. We may offer rights separately or together with one or more additional rights, Common Stock, other securities described in this prospectus or any combination of such securities in the form of units, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Each series of rights will be issued under a separate rights agreement to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as rights agent. The rights agent for any rights we offer will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. The rights agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the certificates relating to the rights of the series of certificates 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 following description sets forth certain general terms and provisions of the rights to which any prospectus supplement may relate. The particular terms of the rights to which any prospectus supplement may relate and the extent, if any, to which the general provisions may apply to the rights so offered will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. To the extent that any particular terms of the rights, rights agreement or rights certificates described in a prospectus supplement differ from any of the terms described below, then the terms described below will be deemed to have been superseded by that prospectus supplement. We encourage you to read the applicable rights agreement and rights certificate for additional information before you decide whether to purchase any of our rights.
The prospectus supplement relating to any rights that we offer will include specific terms relating to the offering, including, among other matters:
| ● | the date of determining the stockholders entitled to the rights distribution; | |
| ● | the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock or other securities purchasable upon exercise of the rights; | |
| ● | the exercise price; | |
| ● | the aggregate number of rights issued; | |
| ● | whether the rights are transferrable and the date, if any, on and after which the rights may be separately transferred; | |
| ● | the date on which the right to exercise the rights will commence, and the date on which the right to exercise the rights will expire; | |
| ● | the method by which holders of rights will be entitled to exercise; | |
| ● | the conditions to the completion of the offering; | |
| ● | the withdrawal, termination and cancellation rights; | |
| ● | whether there are any backstop or standby purchaser or purchasers and the terms of their commitment; | |
| ● | whether stockholders are entitled to oversubscription rights; | |
| ● | any U.S. federal income tax considerations; and | |
| ● | any other terms of the rights, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the distribution, exchange and exercise of the rights. |
If less than all of the rights issued in any rights offering are exercised, we may offer any unsubscribed securities directly to persons other than stockholders, 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. In connection with any rights offering, we 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.
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We may issue units comprising one or more of the other securities described in this prospectus in any combination. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each included security. The unit agreement under which a unit is issued may provide that the securities included in such unit may not be held or transferred separately, at any time or at any time before a specified date.
The applicable prospectus supplement will describe:
| ● | the designation and terms of the units and of the securities comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances those securities may be held or transferred separately; | |
| ● | any unit agreement under which the units will be issued; | |
| ● | any provisions for the issuance, payment, settlement, transfer or exchange of the units or of the securities comprising the units; and | |
| ● | whether the units will be issued in fully registered or global form. |
The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the terms of any units. The preceding description and any description of units in the applicable prospectus supplement does not purport to be complete and is subject to and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the unit agreement and, if applicable, collateral arrangements and depositary arrangements relating to such units.
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We may sell the securities being offered pursuant to this prospectus through underwriters or dealers, through agents, or directly to one or more purchasers or through a combination of these methods. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the terms of the offering of the securities, including:
| ● | the name or names of any underwriters, if any, and if required, any dealers or agents; | |
| ● | the purchase price of the securities and the proceeds that we will receive from the sale; | |
| ● | any underwriting discounts and other items constituting underwriters’ compensation; | |
| ● | any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and | |
| ● | any securities exchange or market on which the securities may be listed. |
We may distribute the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at:
| ● | a fixed price or prices, which may be changed; | |
| ● | market prices prevailing at the time of sale; | |
| ● | prices related to such prevailing market prices; or | |
| ● | negotiated prices. |
Only underwriters named in the prospectus supplement are underwriters of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement.
If underwriters are used in an offering, we will execute an underwriting agreement with such underwriters and will specify the name of each underwriter and the terms of the transaction (including any underwriting discounts and other terms constituting compensation of the underwriters and any dealers) in a prospectus supplement. The securities may be offered to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or directly by one or more investment banking firms or others, as designated. If an underwriting syndicate is used, the managing underwriter(s) will be specified on the cover of the prospectus supplement. If underwriters are used in the sale, the offered securities will be acquired by the underwriters for their own accounts and may be resold from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. Any public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers may be changed from time to time. Unless otherwise set forth in the prospectus supplement, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the offered securities will be subject to conditions precedent and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the offered securities if any are purchased.
We may grant to the underwriters options to purchase additional securities to cover over-allotments, if any, at the public offering price, with additional underwriting commissions or discounts, as may be set forth in a related prospectus supplement. The terms of any over-allotment option will be set forth in the prospectus supplement for those securities.
If we use a dealer in the sale of the securities being offered pursuant to this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, we will sell the securities 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. The names of the dealers and the terms of the transaction will be specified in a prospectus supplement.
We may sell the securities directly or through agents we designate from time to time. We will name any agent involved in the offering and sale of securities and we will describe any commissions we will pay the agent in the prospectus supplement. Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, any agent will act on a best-efforts basis for the period of its appointment.
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We may authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers by institutional investors to purchase securities from us at the public offering price set forth in the prospectus supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. We will describe the conditions to these contracts and the commissions we must pay for solicitation of these contracts in the prospectus supplement.
We may also sell equity securities covered by this registration statement in an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act. Such offering may be made into an existing trading market for such securities in transactions at other than a fixed price on or through the facilities of Nasdaq or any other securities exchange or quotation or trading service on which such securities may be listed, quoted or traded at the time of sale.
Such at the market offerings, if any, may be conducted by underwriters acting as principal or agent.
In connection with the sale of the securities, underwriters, dealers or agents may receive compensation from us or from purchasers of the securities for whom they act as agents in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions. Underwriters 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 or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agents. Underwriters, dealers and agents that participate in the distribution of the securities, and any institutional investors or others that purchase securities directly and then resell the securities, may be deemed to be underwriters, and any discounts or commissions received by them from us and any profit on the resale of the securities by them may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act.
We may provide agents and underwriters with indemnification against particular civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribution with respect to payments that the agents or underwriters may make with respect to such liabilities. Agents and underwriters may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us in the ordinary course of business.
In addition, we may enter into derivative transactions with third parties (including the writing of options) in privately negotiated transactions. If the applicable prospectus supplement indicates, in connection with such a transaction, the third parties may, pursuant to this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, sell securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement. If so, the third party may use securities borrowed from us or others to settle such sales and may use securities received from us to close out any related short positions. We may also loan or pledge securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement to third parties, who may sell the loaned securities or, in an event of default in the case of a pledge, sell the pledged securities pursuant to this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement. The third party in such sale transactions will be an underwriter and will be identified in the applicable prospectus supplement or in a post-effective amendment.
To facilitate an offering of a series of securities, persons participating in the offering may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain, or otherwise affect the market price of the securities. This may include over-allotments or short sales of the securities, which involves the sale by persons participating in the offering of more securities than have been sold to them by us. In those circumstances, such persons would cover such over-allotments or short positions by purchasing in the open market or by exercising the over-allotment option granted to those persons. In addition, those 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 underwriters or dealers participating in any such 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. Such transactions, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time. We make no representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above, if implemented, may have on the price of our securities.
All securities we may offer, other than Common Stock, will be new issues of securities with no established trading market. Any agents or underwriters may make a market in these securities, but will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. We cannot guarantee the liquidity of the trading markets for any securities. There is currently no market for any of the offered securities, other than our Common Stock which is listed on Nasdaq. We have no current plans for listing of warrants, units or subscription rights on any securities exchange or quotation system; any such listing with respect to any particular warrants, units or subscription rights will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement or other offering materials, as the case may be. Any underwriters to whom securities are sold by us for public offering and sale may make a market in the securities, but such underwriters will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice.
In order to comply with the securities laws of some states, if applicable, the securities offered pursuant to this prospectus will be sold in those states only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers. In addition, in some states securities may not be sold unless they have been registered or qualified for sale in the applicable state or an exemption from the registration or qualification requirement is available and complied with.
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The validity of the issuance of the securities offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Sullivan &Worcester LLP, New York, New York.
The consolidated financial statements of Digital Ally, Inc. as of December 31, 2019 and for the year ended December 31, 2019 incorporated in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, which form a part of the registration statement, by reference from the Digital Ally, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 have been audited by RBSM LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report thereon, incorporated herein by reference, and have been incorporated in this registration statement of which this prospectus and any prospectus supplement that forms a part in reliance upon such report and upon the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
The consolidated financial statements of Digital Ally, Inc. as of December 31, 2018 and for the year then ended incorporated in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, which form a part of the registration statement by reference from the Digital Ally, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 have been audited by RSM US LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report thereon, incorporated herein by reference, and have been incorporated in this registration statement of which this prospectus and any prospectus supplement that forms a part in reliance upon such report and upon the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
This prospectus constitutes a part of a registration statement on Form S-3 filed under the Securities Act. As permitted by the SEC’s rules, this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, which form a part of the registration statement, do not contain all of the information that is included in the registration statement. You will find additional information about us in the registration statement. Any statements made in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement concerning legal documents are not necessarily complete and you should read the documents that are filed as exhibits to the registration statement or otherwise filed with the SEC for a more complete understanding of the document or matter.
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public at no cost from the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Our corporate website is www.digitalallyinc.com. The information on our corporate website is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, which form a part of the registration statement, and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, and you should not consider it a part of this prospectus and any prospectus supplement or such documents.
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INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
We have filed a registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC under the Securities Act. This prospectus is part of the registration statement, but the registration statement includes and incorporates by reference additional information and exhibits. The SEC permits us to “incorporate by reference” the information contained in documents that we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents rather than by including them in this prospectus. Information that is incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus and you should read it with the same care that you read this prospectus. Information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede the information that is either contained, or incorporated by reference, in this prospectus, and will be considered to be a part of this prospectus from the date those documents are filed. We have filed with the SEC, and incorporate by reference in this prospectus:
| ● | our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and its amendment on Form 10-K/A, filed with the SEC on April 6, 2020 and April 29, 2020, respectively; | |
| ● | our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on May 20, 2020; | |
| ● | our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 9, 2020, January 14, 2020, March 3, 2020, March 9, 2020, April 8, 2020, April 20, 2020, April 21, 2020, April 24, 2020, June 4, 2020, June 9, 2020 and June 16, 2020; and | |
| ● | the description of our Common Stock contained in our Registration Statement on 8-A filed with the SEC on December 28, 2007, including all amendments and reports filed for the purpose of updating such description. |
We also incorporate by reference all additional documents that we file with the SEC under the terms of Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are made after the initial filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and prior to effectiveness of the registration statement and after the initial filing date of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part until the offering of the particular securities covered by a prospectus supplement or term sheet has been completed. We are not, however, incorporating, in each case, any documents or information that we are deemed to furnish and not file in accordance with SEC rules.
We will provide, without charge, to each person to whom a copy of this prospectus any prospectus supplement forming a part of the registration statement is delivered, including any beneficial owner, upon the written or oral request of such person, a copy of any or all of the documents incorporated by reference herein, including exhibits. Requests should be directed to:
Digital Ally, Inc.
15612 College Blvd.
Lenexa, KS 66219
(913) 814-7774
corporate@digitalallyinc.com
Copies of these filings are also available on our website at www.digitalallyinc.com. For other ways to obtain a copy of these filings, please refer to “Where You Can Find More Information” above.
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PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
ITEM 14. OTHER EXPENSES OF ISSUANCE AND DISTRIBUTION.
The expenses in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities being registered, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, are estimated below:
| SEC registration fee | $ | 16,225.00 | ||
| FINRA filing fee | * | |||
| Nasdaq listing fee | * | |||
| Legal fees and expenses | * | |||
| Accounting fees and expenses | * | |||
| Transfer agent fees and expense | * | |||
| Printing and engraving expenses | * | |||
| Miscellaneous expenses | * | |||
| Total | * |
*Estimated expenses are presently not known and cannot be estimated.
ITEM 15. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.
Under Nevada law, a corporation may include in its articles of incorporation a provision that eliminates or limits the personal liability of a director to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duties as a director, but no such provision may eliminate or limit the liability of a director (a) for any breach of his or her fiduciary duty as a director, (b) for acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of law, (c) for conduct violating the Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”), or (d) for any transaction from which the director will personally receive a benefit in money, property or services to which the director is not legally entitled.
Section 78.7502 of the NRS provides, in general, that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, except an action by or in the right of the corporation, by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner which he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the conduct was unlawful.
NRS Section 78.4502 also provides, in general, that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses, including amounts paid in settlement and attorneys’ fees actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of the action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner which he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation; provided, however, that indemnification may not be made for any claim, issue or matter as to which such a person has been adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction, after exhaustion of all appeals therefrom, to be liable to the corporation or for amounts paid in settlement to the corporation, unless and only to the extent that the court in which the action or suit was brought or other court of competent jurisdiction determines upon application that in view of all the circumstances of the case, the person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses as the court deems proper.
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Any indemnification pursuant to the above provisions may be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances. The determination must be made: (a) by the stockholders; (b) by the Board of Directors by majority vote of a quorum consisting of directors who were not parties to the action, suit or proceeding; (c) if a majority vote of a quorum consisting of directors who were not parties to the action, suit or proceeding so orders, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion; or (d) if a quorum consisting of directors who were not parties to the action, suit or proceeding cannot be obtained, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion.
Our articles of incorporation, as amended, and amended and restated bylaws provide, among other things, that a director or officer of the corporation may be indemnified against expenses, liability, and loss (including attorneys’ fees inclusive of any appeal), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement reasonably incurred by such person in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, or investigative, to the fullest extent permitted under the NGCL, unless it is ultimately determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that he is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation. Directors and officers of the corporation cannot be personally liable for damages for breach of fiduciary duty, except (a) for acts of omissions involving intentional misconduct, fraud, or knowing violation of law, or (b) the payment of dividends in violation of Section 78.300 of the NRS.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be provided for directors, officers, employees, agents or persons controlling an issuer pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) is that such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act, and is therefore unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification by such director, officer or controlling person of us 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 offered, we will, unless in the opinion of our counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by us is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
At the present time, there is no pending litigation or proceeding involving a director, officer, employee or other agent of ours in which indemnification would be required or permitted. We are not aware of any threatened litigation or proceeding, which may result in a claim for such indemnification.
ITEM 16. EXHIBITS
(a) The following exhibits are filed as part of this registration statement.
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*Filed herewith.
** To be filed by amendment or as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference, if applicable.
| (1) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form SB-2, filed October 16, 2006, No. 333-138025. | |
| (2) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10KSB for the Year ending December 31, 2007. | |
| (3) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated November 20, 2009. | |
| (4) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10K for the Year ending December 31, 2009. | |
| (5) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed August 30, 2012. | |
| (6) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s October 2006 Form SB-2. | |
| (7) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed July 17, 2015. | |
| (8) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Amendment No. 1 to Form SB-2, filed January 31, 2007, No. 333-138025. | |
| (9) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form S-8, filed October 23, 2007, No. 333-146874. | |
| (10) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10K for the Year ending December 31, 2008. | |
| (11) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10K for the Year ending December 31, 2009. | |
| (12) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10K for the Year ending December 31, 2010. | |
| (13) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed June 1, 2011. | |
| (14) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed June 3, 2011. | |
| (15) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed November 10, 2011. | |
| (16) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed July 30, 2012. | |
| (17) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed December 9, 2013. | |
| (18) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed March 21, 2014. |
| II-5 |
| (19) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed August 25, 2014. | |
| (20) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed May 28, 2015. | |
| (21) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed July 15, 2015. | |
| (22) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed July 17, 2015. | |
| (23) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form S-8 filed May 23, 2016. | |
| (24) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed November 16, 2016. | |
| (25) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed January 3, 2017. | |
| (26) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed August 25, 2017. | |
| (27) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed April 4, 2018. | |
| (28) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed August 2, 2018. | |
| (29) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed September 26, 2018. | |
| (30) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed August 5, 2019. | |
| (31) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed December 10, 2007. | |
| (32) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed April 20, 2020. | |
| (33) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Amendment No. 1 to Form S-1 filed February 7, 2020, No. 333-235998. | |
| (34) | Filed as an exhibit to the Company’s to Form S-1 filed May 6, 2020, No. 333-238035. |
| (b) | No financial statement schedules have been provided because the information is not required or is shown either in the financial statements or the notes thereto. |
ITEM 17. 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;
(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this 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 this registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in the volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of the 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 a 20% 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 this registration statement or any material change to such information in this registration statement;
provided, however, that the undertakings set forth in paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) above 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, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) that are incorporated by reference in this registration statement or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of this registration statement;
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, 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.
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(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) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser:
(i) If the registrant is relying on Rule 430B;
(A) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of this 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 Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii) or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date of the Securities Act 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; or
(ii) If the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. 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 first use, 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 date of first use.
(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act 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 any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) 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 Securities and Exchange Commission 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-7 |
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 of the Registration Statement on Form S-3 and has duly caused this Form S-3 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Lenexa, State of Kansas, on the 24th day of June, 2020.
| DIGITAL ALLY, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Stanton E. Ross | |
Stanton E. Ross Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that we, the undersigned officers and directors of Digital Ally, Inc., a Nevada company, do hereby constitute and appoint Stanton E. Ross and Thomas J. Heckman as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and re-substitution, for him and in his name, place, and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments, exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith) to this Registration Statement and any subsequent registration statement filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which relates to this Registration Statement, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates stated.
| Signature and Title | Date | |
| /s/ Stanton E. Ross | June 24, 2020 | |
| Stanton E. Ross, Director and Chief Executive Officer | ||
| /s/ Leroy C. Richie | June 24, 2020 | |
| Leroy C. Richie, Director | ||
| /s/ Michael J. Caulfield | June 24, 2020 | |
| Michael J. Caulfield, Director | ||
| /s/ Daniel F. Hutchins | June 24, 2020 | |
| Daniel F. Hutchins, Director | ||
| /s/ Thomas J. Heckman | June 24, 2020 | |
| Thomas J. Heckman, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, Treasurer and Principal Accounting Officer | ||
| II-8 |
Exhibit 5.1
June 24, 2020
Digital Ally, Inc.
15612 College Blvd.
Lenexa, KS 66219
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This opinion is furnished to you in connection with a Registration Statement on Form S-3, as amended from time to time (the “Registration Statement”), filed by Digital Ally, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), on June 24, 2020, which Registration Statement including the base prospectus contained therein (the “Prospectus”) relating to the registration for offering and sale from time to time by the Company of an indeterminate number of the following securities of the Company, with an initial aggregate offering price of up to $125,000,000: (A) shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), (B) warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock or other securities offered pursuant to and described in the Prospectus (the “Warrants”) issued pursuant to one or more warrant agreements in the forms to filed as exhibits to a post-effective amendment or in a Prospectus Supplement (as defined below) (each, a “Warrant Agreement”); (C) debt securities, which may be offered as senior or subordinated and may be convertible (the “Debt Securities”), which may be issued pursuant to a note purchase agreement or an indenture to be dated on or about the date of the first issuance of the Debt Securities thereunder, by and between a trustee to be selected by the Company (the “Trustee”) and the Company, in the form filed as an exhibit to a post-effective amendment or a Prospectus Supplement, as such note purchase agreement may be supplemented from time to time (the “Note Purchase Agreement”) or as such indenture may be supplemented from time to time (the “Indenture”); (D) rights to purchase shares of Common Stock or other securities offered pursuant to and described in the Prospectus (the “Rights”), which such rights may be offered separately or together with one or more additional rights, or such other securities, or in any combination of such securities in the form of Units (as defined below); and (E) units comprising shares of Common Stock and/or one or more of the other securities described above (the “Units” and together with the Shares, the Warrants, the Debt Securities and the Rights, the “Securities”) issued pursuant to one or more unit agreements in the forms to filed as exhibits to a post-effective amendment or in a Prospectus Supplement (each, a “Unit Agreement”). The Prospectus may be amended from time to time in connection with one or more post-effective amendments to the Registration Statement, and the Prospectus provides that it will be supplemented in the future by one or more prospectus supplements (each, a “Prospectus Supplement”).
We are acting as special counsel for the Company in connection with the Registration Statement, and the Prospectus. In connection with this opinion, we have examined and relied upon the originals or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction of (i) the Company’s amended and restated articles of incorporation, as amended (the “Articles of Incorporation”), (ii) the Company’s amended and restated bylaws, as amended (the “Bylaws”), and (iii) the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, including all exhibits filed therewith, and have also examined and relied upon minutes of meetings and/or resolutions of the board of directors of the Company as provided to us by the Company, and such other documents as we have deemed necessary for purposes of rendering the opinion hereinafter set forth.
In addition to the foregoing, we have relied as to matters of fact upon the representations made by the Company and its representatives. In our examination of the foregoing documents, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies, the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents, the legal competence of all signatories to such documents and that each signatory to such document has or will have sufficient legal capacity to execute such document. Other than our examination of the documents indicated above, we have made no other examination in connection with this opinion.
With respect to our opinion as to the Common Stock, we have assumed that, at the time of issuance and sale, a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock are authorized and available for issuance and that the consideration for the issuance and sale of the Common Stock (or other Securities convertible into, or exercisable for, Common Stock, as applicable) is in an amount that is not less than the par value of the Common Stock. We have also assumed that any Warrants offered under the Registration Statement, and the related Warrant Agreement, will be executed in the forms filed as exhibits to a Prospectus Supplement. We have also assumed that with respect to any Securities being issued upon conversion of any other Securities or upon exercise of any Warrants, the applicable convertible Securities or Warrants will be valid and legally binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as enforcement may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, arrangement, moratorium or other similar laws affecting creditors’ rights, and subject to general equity principles and to limitations on availability of equitable relief, including specific performance.
With respect to our opinion as to the Rights and the Units, we have assumed that, at the time of issuance and sale, there are a sufficient number of Securities available for issuance and that the consideration for the issuance of the particular Securities underlying the sale of the Rights and the Units is in an amount that is not less than the par value of such underlying Securities.
Our opinions set forth below with respect to the validity or binding effect of any security or obligation may be limited by (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance, marshaling, moratorium or other similar laws affecting the enforcement generally of the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties or the obligations of debtors, (ii) general principles of equity (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law), including but not limited to principles limiting the availability of specific performance or injunctive relief, and concepts of materiality, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing, (iii) the possible unenforceability under certain circumstances of provisions providing for indemnification, contribution, exculpation, release or waiver that may be contrary to public policy or violative of federal or state securities laws, rules or regulations, and (iv) the effect of course of dealing, course of performance, oral agreements or the like that would modify the terms of an agreement or the respective rights or obligations of the parties under an agreement.
| 2 |
We are members of the Bar of the State of New York. We do not hold ourselves out as being conversant with, or expressing any opinion with respect to, the laws of any jurisdiction other than the laws of the State of New York and the corporate laws of the State of Nevada. Accordingly, the opinions expressed herein are expressly limited to the laws of the State of New York and the corporate laws of the State of Nevada. Our opinion is based on these laws as in effect on the date hereof. We express no opinion as to whether the laws of any other jurisdiction are applicable to the subject matter hereof. We are not rendering any opinion as to compliance with any federal or state law, rule or regulation relating to securities, or to the sale or issuance thereof.
On the basis of the foregoing and in reliance thereon, and subject to the qualifications herein stated, we are of the opinion that:
1. With respect to the Common Stock offered under the Registration Statement, provided that (i) the Registration Statement and any required post-effective amendment thereto have all become effective under the Securities Act and the Prospectus and any and all Prospectus Supplement(s) thereto required by applicable laws have been delivered and filed as required by such laws; (ii) the issuance of the Common Stock has been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company; (iii) the issuance and sale of the Common Stock do not violate any applicable law, are in conformity with the Articles of Incorporation, including, without limitation the authorization thereunder of a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock, and the Bylaws, do not result in a default under or breach of any agreement or instrument binding upon the Company and comply with any applicable requirements and restrictions imposed by any court or governmental body having jurisdiction over the Company; and (iv) the certificates for the Common Stock have been duly executed by the Company, countersigned by the transfer agent therefor and duly delivered to the purchasers thereof against payment therefor, then the Common Stock, when issued and sold as contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the related Prospectus Supplement(s) and in accordance with any applicable duly authorized, executed and delivered purchase, underwriting or similar agreement, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
2. With respect to the Warrants to be issued under the Warrant Agreements and offered under the Registration Statement, provided that (i) the Registration Statement and any required post-effective amendment thereto have all become effective under the Securities Act and the Prospectus and any and all Prospectus Supplement(s) required by applicable laws have been delivered and filed as required by such laws; (ii) any applicable Warrant Agreement has been duly authorized by the Company and the applicable warrant agent by all necessary corporate action; (iii) any applicable Warrant Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Company and the applicable warrant agent and the terms of the Warrant Agreement have been established in accordance with applicable law; (iv) the issuance and terms of the Warrants have been duly authorized by the Company by all necessary corporate action; (v) the terms of the Warrants and of their issuance and sale have been duly established in conformity with any applicable Warrant Agreement and as described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the related Prospectus Supplement(s), so as not to violate any applicable law or result in a default under or breach of any agreement or instrument binding upon the Company, so as to be in conformity with the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, and so as to comply with any applicable requirements and restrictions imposed by any court or governmental body having jurisdiction over the Company; and (vi) the Warrants have been duly executed and delivered by the Company and authenticated by the applicable warrant agent pursuant to any applicable Warrant Agreement and delivered against payment therefor, then the Warrants, when issued and sold in accordance with the applicable Warrant Agreement and a duly authorized, executed and delivered purchase, underwriting or similar agreement, will be valid and legally binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.
| 3 |
3. With respect to any series of the Debt Securities issued under the Note Purchase Agreement or Indenture, and offered under the Registration Statement, provided that (i) the Registration Statement and any required post-effective amendment thereto have all become effective under the Securities Act and the Prospectus and any and all Prospectus Supplement(s) required by applicable laws have been delivered and filed as required by such laws; (ii) the Note Purchase Agreement or Indenture has been duly authorized by the Company and the Trustee by all necessary corporate action; (iii) the Note Purchase Agreement or Indenture in substantially the form filed as an exhibit to post-effective amendment or a Prospectus Supplement, has been duly executed and delivered by the Company and the Trustee; (iv) the issuance and terms of the Debt Securities have been duly authorized by the Company by all necessary corporate action; (v) the terms of the Debt Securities and of their issuance and sale have been duly established in conformity with the Indenture so as not to violate any applicable law or result in a default under or breach of any agreement or instrument binding upon the Company, so as to be in conformity with the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, and so as to comply with any requirements and restrictions imposed by any court or governmental body having jurisdiction over the Company; and (vi) the Debt Securities have been duly executed and delivered by the Company and authenticated by the Trustee pursuant to the Note Purchase Agreement or the Indenture and delivered against payment therefor, then the Debt Securities, when issued and sold in accordance with the Note Purchase Agreement or the Indenture and a duly authorized, executed and delivered purchase, underwriting or similar agreement, will be valid and legally binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.
4. With respect to the Rights offered under the Registration Statement, provided that (i) the Registration Statement and any required post-effective amendment thereto have all become effective under the Securities Act and the Prospectus and any and all Prospectus Supplement(s) required by applicable laws have been delivered and filed as required by such laws; (ii) the terms and issuance of the Rights have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company; (iii) the terms of the Rights and their issuance and sale do not violate any applicable law, are in conformity with the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, do not result in a default under or breach of any agreement or instrument binding upon the Company and comply with any applicable requirements and restrictions imposed by any court or governmental body having jurisdiction over the Company; (iv) the issuance and terms of the Rights have been duly authorized by the Company by all necessary corporate action; (v) the terms of the Rights and of their issuance and sale have been duly established in conformity with the applicable agreement(s) so as not to violate any applicable law or result in a default under or breach of any agreement or instrument binding upon the Company, so as to be in conformity with the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, and so as to comply with any applicable requirements and restrictions imposed by any court or governmental body having jurisdiction over the Company; and (vi) the Rights have been duly executed and delivered by the Company and delivered against payment therefor, then the Rights, when issued and sold in accordance with the applicable agreement and a duly authorized, executed and delivered purchase, underwriting or similar agreement, will be valid and legally binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.
5. With respect to the Units offered under the Registration Statement, provided that (i) the Registration Statement and any required post-effective amendment thereto have all become effective under the Securities Act and the Prospectus and any and all Prospectus Supplement(s) required by applicable laws have been delivered and filed as required by such laws; (ii) the terms and issuance of the Units have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company; (iii) the terms of Units and their issuance and sale do not violate any applicable law, are in conformity with the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, do not result in a default under or breach of any agreement or instrument binding upon the Company and comply with any applicable requirements and restrictions imposed by any court or governmental body having jurisdiction over the Company; (iv) the issuance and terms of the Units have been duly authorized by the Company by all necessary corporate action; (v) the terms of the Units and of their issuance and sale have been duly established in conformity with the applicable agreement(s) so as not to violate any applicable law or result in a default under or breach of any agreement or instrument binding upon the Company, so as to be in conformity with the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, and so as to comply with any requirement or restriction imposed by any court or governmental body having jurisdiction over the Company; and (vi) the Units have been duly executed and delivered by the Company and delivered against payment therefor, then the Units, when issued and sold in accordance with the applicable agreement(s) and a duly authorized, executed and delivered purchase, underwriting or similar agreement, will be valid and legally binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.
| 4 |
This opinion letter speaks only as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update or supplement this opinion letter if any applicable laws change after the date of this opinion letter or if we become aware after the date of this opinion letter of any facts, whether existing before or arising after the date hereof, that might change the opinions expressed above.
This opinion is furnished in connection with the filing of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and may not be relied upon for any other purpose without our prior written consent in each instance. Further, no portion of this opinion may be quoted, circulated or referred to in any other document for any other purpose without our prior written consent.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement and to the reference to this firm under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus. In giving such consent, we do not admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission.
| Very truly yours, | |
| /s/ Sullivan & Worcester LLP |
| 5 |
EXHIBIT 21.1
DIGITAL ALLY, INC.
SUBSIDIARIES OF REGISTRANT
| Legal Name | Status | State of Organization | Type of Organization | Entity Organizational ID | Percentage owned | |||||||
| Digital Ally International, Inc. | Subsidiary | Nevada | Corporation | NV20091423731 | 100 | % | ||||||
| Shield Products, LLC | Subsidiary | Kansas | Limited Liability Company | 9656117 | 100 | % | ||||||
EXHIBIT 23.1
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-3 of Digital Ally, Inc. of our report dated April 6, 2020, relating to the consolidated financial statements of Digital Ally, Inc. as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019, appearing in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Digital Ally, Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2019.
We also consent to the reference to our firm under the heading of “experts” in such Prospectus.
| /s/ RBSM LLP | |
| Larkspur, California | |
| June 24, 2020 |
EXHIBIT 23.2
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-3 of Digital Ally, Inc. of our report dated March 29, 2019, relating to the consolidated financial statements of Digital Ally, Inc. as of and for the year ended December 31, 2018, appearing in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Digital Ally, Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2019.
We also consent to the reference to our firm under the heading of “experts” in such Prospectus.
| /s/ RSM US LLP | |
| Kansas City, Missouri | |
| June 24, 2020 |