OPNW 8-K
OpenWorld, Inc. (OPNW)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
| Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): | |
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) | ||||
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| Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: | | |||||
_____________________
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
| The Capital Market | ||||
| The |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
| 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 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨
| Item 1.01 | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
On March 6, 2025, VerifyMe, Inc. (the "Company") entered into a Sales Agreement (the "Agreement") with Roth Capital Partners, LLC ("Roth"), as sales agent, pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time through Roth, shares of the Company's common stock, par value $0.001, having an aggregate offering price of up to $15,803,511 (the "Offering"). The issuance and sale of shares in the Offering, if any, by the Company under the Agreement will be pursuant to a prospectus supplement, dated March 6, 2025, and an accompanying base prospectus, dated February 3, 2025, contained therein, which together form a part of the Company’s “shelf” registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-284562) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on January 28, 2025 (the "Registration Statement") and declared effective by the SEC on February 3, 2025. No sales may occur pursuant to the Offering until all closing deliverables have been received by Roth as set forth in the Agreement.
The Company has agreed to pay Roth a commission for its services in acting as agent in the Offering in the amount of 3.0% of gross proceeds from the sale of the shares pursuant to the Agreement and will reimburse Roth for the documented fees and costs of its legal counsel reasonably incurred in connection with entering into the transactions contemplated by the Agreement in an amount not to exceed $50,000 in the aggregate in addition to $5,000 per quarter in connection with the filing of the Company’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Form 10-K. The Company has also agreed to provide Roth with customary indemnification and contribution rights.
Subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement, Roth will use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell the shares from time to time, based upon the Company's instructions, by methods deemed to be an "at the market offering" as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The Company or Roth may suspend or terminate the Offering upon notice to the other party and subject to other conditions.
The Company is not obligated to make any sales of common stock under the Agreement. The Offering of shares of common stock pursuant to the Agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (i) the sale of all shares of common stock subject to the Agreement or (ii) termination of the Agreement in accordance with its terms.
The foregoing description of the Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 1.1 hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
This Current Report on Form 8-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities discussed herein, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation, or sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.
The opinion of Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, the Company's legal counsel, regarding the validity of the shares of common stock to be offered and sold under the Agreement is filed as Exhibit 5.1 hereto. This opinion is also filed with reference to, and is hereby incorporated by reference into, the Registration Statement.
| Item 2.02 | Results of Operations and Financial Condition. |
On March 6, 2025, the Company issued a press release announcing its financial results for its three months and year ended December 31, 2024. A copy of the Company’s press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
The information furnished pursuant to this Item 2.02, including Exhibit 99.1, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities under such section and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the Company under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.
| Item 7.01 | Regulation FD Disclosure. |
The disclosure contained in Item 2.02 is incorporated herein by reference. Also on March 6, 2025, the Company posted slides to the Investor section of its website that will accompany the Company’s earnings conference call and webcast at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on March 6, 2025. The slides are attached to this Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.2.
The information furnished pursuant to this Item 7.01, including Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities under such section and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the Company under the Securities Act, or the Exchange Act.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
| (d) | Exhibits |
| Exhibit No. | Description | |
| 1.1 | Sales Agreement, dated as of March 6, 2025, between VerifyMe, Inc. and Roth Capital Partners, LLC. | |
| 5.1 | Opinion of Harter Secrest & Emery LLP. | |
| 23.1 | Consent of Harter Secrest & Emery LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1). | |
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99.1 |
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| 99.2 | Slides for the March 6, 2025, Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document). |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| VerifyMe, Inc. | |||||
| Date: March 6, 2025 |
/s/ Adam Stedham |
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| Name: | Adam Stedham | ||||
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer and President | ||||
Exhibit 1.1
VerifyMe, Inc.
$15,803,511
Common Stock
($0.001 par value per share)
Sales Agreement
March 6, 2025
Roth Capital Partners, LLC
888 San Clemente Drive, Suite 400
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Ladies and Gentlemen:
VerifyMe, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with Roth Capital Partners, LLC (the “Agent”), as follows:
1. Issuance and Sale of Shares. The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell through or to the Agent, shares (the “Placement Shares”) of common stock of the Company, $0.001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”) having an aggregate offering price of up to $15,803,511, provided, however, that in no event shall the Company issue or sell through Agent such number of Placement Shares that (a) exceeds the number or dollar amount of shares of Common Stock that may be sold pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below), (b) exceeds the number of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock of the Company, or (c) would cause the Company or the offering of the Placement Shares not to satisfy the eligibility and transaction requirements for use of Form S-3 (including, if applicable, General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3) (the lesser of (a), (b) and (c), the “Maximum Amount”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitations set forth in this Section 1 on the amount of Placement Shares issued and sold under this Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Company and that Agent shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The issuance and sale of Placement Shares through or to Agent will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement filed by the Company and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”).
The Company has filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “Securities Act”), with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-284562), including a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the Placement Shares to be issued from time to time by the Company, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “Exchange Act”). The Company has prepared a prospectus supplement specifically relating to the Placement Shares (the “Prospectus Supplement”) to the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement. The Company will furnish to the Agent, for use by the Agent, copies of the prospectus included as part of such registration statement, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, relating to the Placement Shares. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, including all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in a Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act or deemed to be a part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B of the Securities Act, or any subsequent registration statement on Form S-3 filed pursuant to Rule 415(a)(6) under the Securities Act by the Company to cover any Placement Shares, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The base prospectus, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it may be supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form in which such prospectus and/or Prospectus Supplement have most recently been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, together with any then issued Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (defined below), is herein called the “Prospectus.” Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein, and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing after the execution hereof of any document with the Commission deemed to be incorporated by reference therein (the “Incorporated Documents”). For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include any copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System, or if applicable, the Interactive Data Electronic Application system when used by the Commission (collectively, “EDGAR”).
2. Placements. Each time that the Company wishes to issue and sell Placement Shares hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify the Agent by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) of the number or dollar value of Placement Shares, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number of Placement Shares that may be sold in any one day and any minimum price below which sales may not be made (a “Placement Notice”), the form of which is attached hereto as Schedule 1. The Placement Notice shall originate from any of the individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 3 (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such schedule), and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from the Agent set forth on Schedule 3, as such Schedule 3 may be amended from time to time. The Placement Notice shall be effective unless and until (i) the Agent declines to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion, (ii) the entire amount of the Placement Shares thereunder have been sold, (iii) the Company suspends or terminates the Placement Notice, or (iv) the Agreement has been terminated under the provisions of Section 12. The amount of any discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to Agent in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares shall be calculated in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 2. It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor the Agent will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Shares unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to the Agent and the Agent does not decline such Placement Notice pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified therein and herein. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice, the terms of the Placement Notice will control. Unless the exceptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the Exchange Act are satisfied with respect to the Placement Shares, the Company shall give the Agent at least one business day’s prior notice of its intent to sell any Placement Shares in order to allow the Agent time to comply with Regulation M.
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3. Sale of Placement Shares by Agent. Subject to the provisions of Section 5(a), the Agent, for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of The Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Exchange”), to sell the Placement Shares up to the amount specified, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice. The Agent will provide written confirmation to the Company no later than the opening of the Trading Day (as defined below) immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Placement Shares hereunder setting forth the number of Placement Shares sold on such day, the compensation payable by the Company to the Agent pursuant to Section 2 with respect to such sales, and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company, with an itemization of the deductions made by the Agent (as set forth in Section 5(b)) from the gross proceeds that it receives from such sales. Subject to the terms of the Placement Notice and compliance with Regulation M, the Agent may sell Placement Shares by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 of the Securities Act.
4. Suspension of Sales.
(a) The Company or the Agent may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 3, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) or by telephone (confirmed immediately by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 3), suspend any sale of Placement Shares; provided, however, that such suspension shall not affect or impair any party’s obligations with respect to any Placement Shares sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice. Each party agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective against any other party unless it is made to one of the individuals named on Schedule 3 hereto, as such Schedule may be amended from time to time.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, during any period in which the Company is in possession of material non-public information, the Company and the Agent agree that (i) no sale of Placement Shares will take place, (ii) the Company shall not request the sale of any Placement Shares, and (iii) the Agent shall not be obligated to sell or offer to sell any Placement Shares.
5. Sale and Delivery to the Agent; Settlement.
(a) Sale of Placement Shares. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, upon the Agent’s acceptance of the terms of a Placement Notice, and unless the sale of the Placement Shares described therein has been declined, suspended, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, the Agent, for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such Placement Shares up to the amount specified in such Placement Notice, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that the Agent will be successful in selling Placement Shares, (ii) the Agent will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Placement Shares for any reason other than a failure by the Agent to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable law and regulations to sell such Placement Shares as required under this Agreement, and (iii) the Agent shall be under no obligation to purchase Placement Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement, except as otherwise agreed by the Agent and the Company and subject to Regulation M.
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(b) Settlement of Placement Shares. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice, settlement for sales of Placement Shares will occur on the first (1st) Trading Day (or such earlier day as is industry practice for regular-way trading) following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Settlement Date”). The amount of proceeds to be delivered to the Company on a Settlement Date against receipt of the Placement Shares sold (the “Net Proceeds”) will be equal to the aggregate sales price received by the Agent, after deduction for (i) the Agent’s commission, discount or other compensation for such sales payable by the Company pursuant to Section 2 hereof, and (ii) any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales.
(c) Delivery of Placement Shares. On each Settlement Date, against payment of the Net Proceeds, the Company will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Placement Shares being sold by crediting the Agent’s or its designee’s account (provided the Agent shall have given the Company written notice of such designee prior to the Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto which in all cases shall be freely tradable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form. On each Settlement Date, the Agent will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on, or prior to, the Settlement Date. The Company agrees that if the Company, or its transfer agent (if applicable), defaults in its obligation to deliver Placement Shares on a Settlement Date, the Company agrees that in addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 10(a) hereto, it will (i) hold the Agent harmless against any loss, claim, damage, or expense (including reasonable legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company or its transfer agent (if applicable), and (ii) pay to the Agent any commission, discount, or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.
(d) Limitations on Offering Size. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares if, after giving effect to the sale of such Placement Shares, the aggregate gross sales proceeds of Placement Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement would exceed the lesser of (A) together with all sales of Placement Shares under this Agreement, the Maximum Amount, (B) the amount available for offer and sale under the Registration Statement, and (C) the amount authorized from time to time to be issued and sold under this Agreement by the Company’s board of directors, a duly authorized committee thereof or a duly authorized executive committee, and notified to the Agent in writing. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement at a price lower than the minimum price authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors, duly authorized committee thereof or a duly authorized executive committee, and notified to the Agent in writing. Further, under no circumstances shall the Company cause or permit the aggregate offering amount of Placement Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement to exceed the Maximum Amount.
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6. Representations and Warranties of the Company. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or Prospectus (including the Incorporated Documents), the Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with the Agent that as of the date of this Agreement and as of each Applicable Time (as defined below), unless such representation, warranty or agreement specifies a different date or time:
(a) Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement meet the requirements for and comply with the conditions for the use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act. The Registration Statement has been filed with the Commission and declared effective under the Securities Act. The Prospectus Supplement will name the Agent as the agent in the section entitled “Plan of Distribution.” The Company has not received, and has no notice of, any order of the Commission preventing or suspending the use of the Registration Statement, or threatening or instituting proceedings for that purpose. The Registration Statement and the offer and sale of Placement Shares as contemplated hereby meet the requirements of Rule 415 under the Securities Act and comply in all material respects with said Rule. Any statutes, regulations, contracts or other documents that are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement have been so described or filed. Copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, and any such amendments or supplements and all documents incorporated by reference therein that were filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement have been delivered, or are available through EDGAR, to Agent and its counsel. The Company has not distributed and, prior to the later to occur of each Settlement Date and completion of the distribution of the Placement Shares, will not distribute any offering material in connection with the offering or sale of the Placement Shares other than the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to which Agent has consented. The Company has not, in the 12 months preceding the date hereof, received notice from the Exchange to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance requirements. The Company has no reason to believe that it will not in the foreseeable future continue to be in compliance with all such listing and maintenance requirements.
(b) No Misstatement or Omission. The Registration Statement, when it became or becomes effective, and the Prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereto, on the date of such Prospectus or amendment or supplement, conformed and will conform in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act. At each Settlement Date, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as of such date, will conform in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act. The Registration Statement, when it became or becomes effective, did not, and will not, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, on the date thereof and at each Applicable Time, did not and will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Incorporated Documents did not, and any further documents filed and incorporated by reference therein will not, when filed with the Commission, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated in such document or necessary to make the statements in such document, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The foregoing shall not apply to statements in, or omissions from, any such document made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Company by Agent specifically for use in the preparation thereof.
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(c) Conformity with Securities Act and Exchange Act. The Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, and the Incorporated Documents, when such documents were or are filed with the Commission under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or became or become effective under the Securities Act, as the case may be, conformed and will conform in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable.
(d) Financial Information. The financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, together with the related notes and schedules, present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of the dates indicated and the results of operations, cash flows and changes in stockholders’ equity of the Company for the periods specified and have been prepared in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Act and Exchange Act and in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis (except for (i) such adjustments to accounting standards and practices as are noted therein, (ii) in the case of unaudited interim financial statements, to the extent such financial statements may not include footnotes required by GAAP or may be condensed or summary statements, and (iii) such adjustments which will not be material, either individually or in the aggregate) during the periods involved; the other financial and statistical data with respect to the Company contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, are accurately and fairly presented and prepared on a basis consistent with the financial statements and books and records of the Company; there are no financial statements (historical or pro forma) that are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, or the Prospectus that are not included or incorporated by reference as required; the Company does not have any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), not described in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), and the Prospectus; and all disclosures contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply in all material respects with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, to the extent applicable.
(e) Conformity with EDGAR Filing. The Prospectus delivered to the Agent for use in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement will be identical to the versions of the Prospectus created to be transmitted to the Commission for filing via EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
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(f) Organization. The Company is duly organized, validly existing as a corporation and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization. The Company is, and will be, duly licensed or qualified as a foreign corporation for transaction of business and in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its business requires such license or qualification, and has all corporate power and authority necessary to own or hold its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing or have such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on or affect the assets, business, operations, earnings, properties, condition (financial or otherwise), prospects, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company or prevent or materially interfere with consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby (a “Material Adverse Effect”).
(g) Subsidiaries. The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than the subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21.1 to the Company’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Company owns directly or indirectly, all of the equity interests of its subsidiaries free and clear of any lien, charge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first refusal or other restriction, and all the equity interests of its subsidiaries are validly issued and are fully paid, non-assessable and free of preemptive and similar rights.
(h) No Violation or Default. The Company is not (i) in violation of its charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents; (ii) in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company is subject; or (iii) in violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such violation or default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. To the Company’s knowledge, no other party under any material contract or other agreement to which it is a party is in default in any respect thereunder where such default would have a Material Adverse Effect.
(i) No Material Adverse Effect. Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, (including any document deemed incorporated by reference therein), there has not been (i) any Material Adverse Effect, (ii) any transaction which is material to the Company, (iii) any obligation or liability, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), incurred by the Company which is material to the Company, (iv) any material change in the capital stock or outstanding long-term indebtedness (other than (A) the grant of additional awards under equity incentive plans, (B) changes in the number of outstanding Common Stock due to the issuance of shares upon exercise or conversion of securities exercisable for or convertible into Common Stock outstanding on the date hereof, (C) any repurchase of capital stock of the Company, (D) as a result of the sale of Placement Shares, or (E) other than as publicly reported or announced), or (v) any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the Company other than in each case above in the ordinary course of business or as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement or Prospectus (including any document deemed incorporated by reference therein).
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(j) Capitalization. The issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and, other than as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, are not subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or similar rights. The Company has an authorized, issued and outstanding capitalization as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as of the dates referred to therein (other than the grant of additional options, restricted stock awards and restricted stock units under the Company’s existing equity compensation plans, or changes in the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock of the Company due to the issuance of shares upon the exercise or conversion of securities exercisable for, or convertible into, Common Stock outstanding on the date hereof) and such authorized capital stock conforms to the description thereof set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The description of the securities of the Company in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus is complete and accurate in all material respects. Except as disclosed therein, the Company does not have outstanding any options to purchase, or any rights or warrants to subscribe for, or any securities or obligations convertible into, or exchangeable for, or any contracts or commitments to issue or sell, any shares of capital stock or other securities.
(k) Authorization; Enforceability. The Company has full legal right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and perform the transactions contemplated hereby. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the Company enforceable in accordance with its terms, except (i) to the extent that enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles, and (ii) the indemnification and contribution provisions of Section 10 hereof may be limited by federal or state securities laws and public policy considered in respect thereof.
(l) Authorization of Placement Shares. The Placement Shares, when issued and delivered pursuant to the terms approved by the board of directors of the Company or a duly authorized committee thereof, against payment therefor as provided herein, will be duly and validly authorized and issued and fully paid and non-assessable, free and clear of any pledge, lien, encumbrance, security interest or other claim, including any statutory or contractual preemptive rights, resale rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights, and will be registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act. The Placement Shares, when issued, will conform in all material respects to the description thereof set forth in or incorporated into the Prospectus.
(m) No Consents Required. No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority is required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company this Agreement, the issuance and sale by the Company of the Placement Shares, except for such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders and registrations or qualifications as may be required under applicable state securities laws or by the by-laws and rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or the Exchange in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares by the Agent.
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(n) No Preferential Rights. (i) No person, as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities Act (each, a “Person”), has the right, contractual or otherwise, to cause the Company to issue or sell to such Person any Common Stock or shares of any other capital stock or other securities of the Company, (ii) no Person has any preemptive rights, resale rights, rights of first refusal, or any other rights (whether pursuant to a “poison pill” provision or otherwise) to purchase any Common Stock or shares of any other capital stock or other securities of the Company, (iii) no Person has the right to act as an underwriter or as a financial advisor to the Company in connection with the offer and sale of Common Stock, and (iv) no Person has the right, contractual or otherwise, to require the Company to register under the Securities Act any Common Stock or shares of any other capital stock or other securities of the Company, or to include any such shares or other securities in the Registration Statement or the offering contemplated thereby, whether as a result of the filing or effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the sale of the Placement Shares as contemplated thereby or otherwise.
(o) Independent Public Accountant. MaloneBailey, LLP (the “Accountant”), whose report on the financial statements of the Company is filed with the Commission as part of the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Commission and incorporated into the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, are and, during the periods covered by their report, were an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). To the Company’s knowledge, the Accountant is not in violation of the auditor independence requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) with respect to the Company.
(p) Enforceability of Agreements. All agreements between the Company and third parties expressly referenced in the Prospectus are legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance with their respective terms, except to the extent that (i) enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles, and (ii) the indemnification provisions of certain agreements may be limited by federal or state securities laws or public policy considerations in respect thereof, and except for any unenforceability that, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(q) No Litigation. There are no legal, governmental or regulatory actions, suits or proceedings pending, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, to which the Company is a party or to which any property of the Company is the subject that, individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company would have a Material Adverse Effect or materially and adversely affect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement; to the Company’s knowledge, no such actions, suits or proceedings are threatened or contemplated by any governmental or regulatory authority or threatened by others; and (i) there are no current or pending legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, actions, suits or proceedings that are required under the Securities Act to be described in the Prospectus that are not so described, and (ii) there are no contracts or other documents that are required under the Securities Act to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement that are not so filed.
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(r) Licenses and Permits. The Company possesses or has obtained, all licenses, certificates, consents, orders, approvals, permits and other authorizations issued by, and has made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of its properties or the conduct of its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (the “Permits”), except where the failure to possess, obtain or make the same would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not received written notice of any proceeding relating to revocation or modification of any such Permit or has any reason to believe that such Permit will not be renewed in the ordinary course, except where the failure to obtain any such renewal would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(s) No Material Defaults. The Company has not defaulted on any installment on indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental on one or more long-term leases, which defaults, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not filed a report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the filing of its last Annual Report on Form 10-K, indicating that it (i) has failed to pay any dividend or sinking fund installment on preferred stock, or (ii) has defaulted on any installment on indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental on one or more long-term leases, which defaults, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(t) S-3 Eligibility. At the time the Registration Statement was declared effective, and at the time the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K was filed with the Commission, the Company met the then applicable requirements for the use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act, including, but not limited to, General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3, if applicable. As of the close of trading on the Exchange on January 16, 2025, the aggregate market value of the outstanding voting and non-voting common equity (as defined in Rule 405) of the Company held by persons other than affiliates of the Company (pursuant to Rule 144 of the Securities Act, those that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, control, or are controlled by, or are under common control with, the Company) (the “Non-Affiliate Shares”), was approximately $46.9 million (calculated by multiplying (x) the price at which the common equity of the Company was last sold on the Exchange on January 16, 2025 times (y) the number of Non-Affiliate Shares). The Company is not a shell company (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) and has not been a shell company for at least 12 calendar months previously and if it has been a shell company at any time previously, has filed current Form 10 information (as defined in General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3) with the Commission at least 12 calendar months previously reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.
(u) Certain Market Activities. Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its directors, officers or controlling persons has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed, or that has constituted or would reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares.
(v) Broker/Dealer Relationships. Neither the Company nor any related entities (i) is required to register as a “broker” or “dealer” in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Act, or (ii) directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is a “person associated with a member” or “associated person of a member” (within the meaning set forth in the FINRA Manual).
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(w) No Reliance. The Company has not relied upon the Agent or legal counsel for the Agent for any legal, tax or accounting advice in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares.
(x) Taxes. The Company has filed all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns which have been required to be filed and paid all taxes shown thereon through the date hereof, to the extent that such taxes have become due and are not being contested in good faith. Except as otherwise disclosed in or contemplated by the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, no tax deficiency has been determined adversely to the Company which has had, or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has no knowledge of any federal, state or other governmental tax deficiency, penalty or assessment which has been or might be asserted or threatened against it which reasonably would be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(y) Title to Real and Personal Property. The Company has good and valid title in fee simple to all items of real property and good and valid title to all personal property described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus as being owned by it that are material to the business of the Company, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and claims, except those that (i) do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company, or (ii) would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect. Any real property described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus as being leased by the Company is held by it under valid, existing and enforceable leases, except those that (A) do not materially interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property by the Company, or (B) would not be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(z) Intellectual Property. The Company owns or possesses adequate enforceable rights to use all patents, patent applications, trademarks (both registered and unregistered), service marks, trade names, trademark registrations, service mark registrations, copyrights, licenses and know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures) (collectively, the “Intellectual Property”), necessary for the conduct of its business as conducted as of the date hereof, except to the extent that the failure to own or possess adequate rights to use such Intellectual Property would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; the Company has not received any written notice of any claim of infringement or conflict which asserted Intellectual Property rights of others, which infringement or conflict, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, would result in a Material Adverse Effect; there are no pending, or to the Company’s knowledge, threatened judicial proceedings or interference proceedings against the Company challenging the Company’s rights in or to or the validity of the scope of any of the Company’s patents, patent applications or proprietary information.
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(aa) Environmental Laws. The Company (i) is in compliance with any and all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules, regulations, decisions and orders relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (collectively, “Environmental Laws”); (ii) has received and is in compliance with all permits, licenses or other approvals required of it under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct its businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; and (iii) has not received notice of any actual or potential liability for the investigation or remediation of any disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, except, in the case of any of clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) above, for any such failure to comply or failure to receive required permits, licenses, other approvals or liability as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(bb) Disclosure Controls. The Company maintains systems of internal controls designed to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting (other than as set forth in the Prospectus). Since the date of the latest audited financial statements of the Company included in the Prospectus, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (other than as set forth in the Prospectus). The Company has established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15) for the Company and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material information relating to the Company is made known to the certifying officers by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as the case may be, is being prepared. The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of the Company’s most recently filed Form 10-K (such date, the “Evaluation Date”). The Company presented in its most recently filed Form 10-K the conclusions of the certifying officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on their evaluations as of the Evaluation Date. Since the Evaluation Date, there have been no significant changes in the Company’s internal controls (as such term is defined in Item 307(b) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act) or, to the Company’s knowledge, in other factors that could significantly affect the Company’s internal controls. To the knowledge of the Company, the Company’s “internal controls over financial reporting” and “disclosure controls and procedures” are effective.
(cc) Sarbanes-Oxley. The Company is not aware of any failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with any applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder in all material respects. Each of the principal executive officer and the principal financial officer of the Company (or each former principal executive officer of the Company and each former principal financial officer of the Company as applicable) has made all certifications required by Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act with respect to all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by it or furnished by it to the Commission during the past 12 months. For purposes of the preceding sentence, “principal executive officer” and “principal financial officer” shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
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(dd) Finder’s Fees. The Company has not incurred any liability for any finder’s fees, brokerage commissions or similar payments in connection with the transactions herein contemplated, except as may otherwise exist with respect to Agent pursuant to this Agreement.
(ee) Labor Disputes. No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Company exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened which would be reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(ff) Investment Company Act. The Company is not or after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Placement Shares, will not be an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company,” as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).
(gg) Operations. The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions to which the Company is subject, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), except as would not have a Material Adverse Effect; and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(hh) Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements. There are no transactions, arrangements and other relationships between and/or among the Company, and/or, to the knowledge of the Company, any of its affiliates and any unconsolidated entity, including, but not limited to, any structured finance, special purpose or limited purpose entity (each, an “Off Balance Sheet Transaction”) that could reasonably be expected to affect materially the Company’s liquidity or the availability of or requirements for its capital resources, including those Off Balance Sheet Transactions described in the Commission’s Statement about Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations (Release Nos. 33-8056; 34-45321; FR-61), required to be described in the Prospectus which have not been described as required.
(ii) Underwriter Agreements. Other than with respect to this Agreement, the Company is not a party to any agreement with an agent or underwriter for any other “at the market” or continuous equity transaction.
(jj) ERISA. To the knowledge of the Company, each material employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), that is maintained, administered or contributed to by the Company or any of its affiliates for employees or former employees of the Company has been maintained in material compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”); no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred which would result in a material liability to the Company with respect to any such plan excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; and for each such plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no “accumulated funding deficiency” as defined in Section 412 of the Code has been incurred, whether or not waived, and the fair market value of the assets of each such plan (excluding for these purposes accrued but unpaid contributions) exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such plan determined using reasonable actuarial assumptions.
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(kk) Forward Looking Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) (a “Forward Looking Statement”) contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith. The Forward Looking Statements incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year most recently ended (i) are within the coverage of the safe harbor for forward looking statements set forth in Section 27A of the Securities Act, Rule 175(b) under the Securities Act or Rule 3b-6 under the Exchange Act, as applicable, (ii) were made by the Company with a reasonable basis and in good faith and reflect the Company’s good faith commercially reasonable best estimate of the matters described therein, and (iii) have been prepared in accordance with Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act.
(ll) Agent Purchases. The Company acknowledges and agrees that Agent has informed the Company that the Agent may, to the extent permitted under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and subject to Regulation M, purchase and sell Common Stock for its own account while this Agreement is in effect, provided, that (i) no such purchase or sales shall take place while a Placement Notice is in effect (except to the extent each Agent may engage in sales of Placement Shares purchased or deemed purchased from the Company as a “riskless principal” or in a similar capacity), and (ii) the Company shall not be deemed to have authorized or consented to any such purchases or sales by the Agent.
(mm) Insurance. The Company carries, or is covered by, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as the Company reasonably believes is adequate for the conduct of its business and as is customary for companies engaged in similar businesses in similar industries.
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(nn) No Improper Practices. (i) Neither the Company, nor to the Company’s knowledge, any of its executive officers has, in the past five years, made any unlawful contributions to any candidate for any political office (or failed fully to disclose any contribution in violation of law) or made any contribution or other payment to any official of, or candidate for, any federal, state, municipal, or foreign office or other person charged with similar public or quasi-public duty in violation of any law or of the character required to be disclosed in the Prospectus; (ii) no relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any affiliate of the Company, on the one hand, and the directors, officers and stockholders of the Company, that is required by the Securities Act to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus that is not so described; (iii) no relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company, or any affiliate of the Company, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, stockholders or directors of the Company that is required by the rules of FINRA to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus that is not so described; (iv) there are no material outstanding loans or advances or material guarantees of indebtedness by the Company to or for the benefit of any of its officers or directors or any of the members of the families of any of them; (v) the Company has not offered, or caused any placement agent to offer, Common Stock to any person with the intent to influence unlawfully (A) a customer or supplier of the Company to alter the customer’s or supplier’s level or type of business with the Company, or (B) a trade journalist or publication to write or publish favorable information about the Company or any of its products or services; and (vi) neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any employee or agent of the Company has made any payment of funds of the Company or received or retained any funds in violation of any law, rule or regulation (including, without limitation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, which payment, receipt or retention of funds is of a character required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus).
(oo) Compliance with Applicable Laws. The Company has not been advised, and has no reason to believe, that it and each of its subsidiaries are not conducting business in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations of the jurisdictions in which it is conducting business, except where failure to be so in compliance would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(pp) Status Under the Securities Act. The Company was not and is not an ineligible issuer as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act at the times specified in Rules 164 and 433 under the Securities Act in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares.
(qq) No Misstatement or Omission in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus. Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and as of each Applicable Time, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any incorporated document deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified. The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus based upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent specifically for use therein.
(rr) No Conflicts. Neither the execution of this Agreement, nor the issuance, offering or sale of the Placement Shares, nor the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated herein and therein, nor the compliance by the Company with the terms and provisions hereof and thereof will conflict with, or will result in a breach of, any of the terms and provisions of, or has constituted or will constitute a default under, or has resulted in or will result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company pursuant to the terms of any contract or other agreement to which the Company may be bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company is subject, except (i) such conflicts, breaches or defaults as may have been waived, and (ii) such conflicts, breaches and defaults that would not have a Material Adverse Effect; nor will such action result (x) in any violation of the provisions of the organizational or governing documents of the Company, or (y) in any material violation of the provisions of any statute or any order, rule or regulation applicable to the Company or of any court or of any federal, state or other regulatory authority or other government body having jurisdiction over the Company.
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(ss) OFAC. Neither the Company nor any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or representative of the Company is a government, individual or entity (in this paragraph (tt), “Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by a Person that is, currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”), the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union (“EU”), Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions; provided however, that for the purposes of this paragraph (tt), no person shall be an affiliate of the Company solely by reason of owning less than a majority of any class of voting securities of the Company. The Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Placement Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC. The Company represents and covenants that, except as detailed in the Prospectus, for the past 5 years, the Company has not knowingly engaged in, is not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions.
(tt) Stock Transfer Taxes. On each Settlement Date, all stock transfer or other taxes (other than income taxes) which are required to be paid in connection with the sale and transfer of the Placement Shares to be sold hereunder will be, or will have been, fully paid or provided for by the Company and all laws imposing such taxes will be or will have been fully complied with.
Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to the Agent or to counsel for the Agent pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company, as applicable, to the Agent as to the matters set forth therein.
7. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees with Agent that:
(a) Registration Statement Amendments. After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which a Prospectus relating to any Placement Shares is required to be delivered by Agent under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act) (the “Prospectus Delivery Period”) (i) the Company will notify the Agent promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than documents incorporated by reference, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus or for additional information; (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon the Agent’s request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in such Agent’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Placement Shares by the Agent (provided, however, that the failure of the Agent to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect the Agent’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that the only remedy the Agent shall have with respect to the failure to make such filing shall be to cease making sales under this Agreement until such amendment or supplement is filed); (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares or a security convertible into the Placement Shares unless a copy thereof has been submitted to Agent within a reasonable period of time before the filing and the Agent has not objected thereto (provided, however, that (A) the failure of the Agent to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect the Agent’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement, and (B) the Company has no obligation to provide the Agent any advance copy of such filing or to provide the Agent an opportunity to object to such filing if the filing does not name the Agent or does not relate to the transaction herein provided; and provided, further, that the only remedy Agent shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to obtain such consent shall be to cease making sales under this Agreement) and the Company will furnish to the Agent at the time of filing thereof a copy of any document that upon filing is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement or Prospectus, except for those documents available via EDGAR; and (iv) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act or, in the case of any document to be incorporated therein by reference, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the Exchange Act, within the time period prescribed (the determination to file or not file any amendment or supplement with the Commission under this Section 7(a), based on the Company’s reasonable opinion or reasonable objections, shall be made exclusively by the Company).
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(b) Notice of Commission Stop Orders. The Company will advise the Agent, promptly after it receives notice or obtains knowledge thereof, of the issuance or threatened issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, of the suspension of the qualification of the Placement Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose; and it will promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such a stop order should be issued. The Company will advise the Agent promptly after it receives any request by the Commission for any amendments to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplements to the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or for additional information related to the offering of the Placement Shares or for additional information related to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.
(c) Delivery of Prospectus; Subsequent Changes. During the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as from time to time in force, and to file on or before their respective due dates all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, 15(d) or any other provision of or under the Exchange Act. If the Company has omitted any information from the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430A under the Securities Act, it will use its best efforts to comply with the provisions of and make all requisite filings with the Commission pursuant to said Rule 430A and to notify the Agent promptly of all such filings. If during the Prospectus Delivery Period any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during the Prospectus Delivery Period it is necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act, the Company will promptly notify Agent to suspend the offering of Placement Shares during such period and the Company will promptly amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; provided, however, that the Company may delay the filing of any amendment or supplement, if in the judgment of the Company, it is in the best interests of the Company.
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(d) Listing of Placement Shares. During the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Placement Shares to be listed on the Exchange and to qualify the Placement Shares for sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as Agent reasonably designates and to continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required in connection therewith to qualify as a foreign corporation or dealer in securities or file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction.
(e) Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company will furnish to the Agent and its counsel (at the expense of the Company) copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (including all documents incorporated by reference therein) and all amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that are filed with the Commission during the Prospectus Delivery Period (including all documents filed with the Commission during such period that are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein), in each case as soon as reasonably practicable and in such quantities as the Agent may from time to time reasonably request and, at Agent’s request, will also furnish copies of the Prospectus to each exchange or market on which sales of the Placement Shares may be made; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus) to the Agent to the extent such document is available on EDGAR.
(f) Earnings Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15 months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter, an earnings statement covering a 12-month period that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) and Rule 158 of the Securities Act.
(g) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the Net Proceeds as described in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.”
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(h) Notice of Other Sales. Without the prior written consent of Agent, the Company will not, directly or indirectly, offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Common Stock (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, Common Stock during the period beginning on the date on which any Placement Notice is delivered to Agent hereunder and ending on the second (2nd) Trading Day immediately following the final Settlement Date with respect to Placement Shares sold pursuant to such Placement Notice (or, if the Placement Notice has been terminated or suspended prior to the sale of all Placement Shares covered by a Placement Notice, the date of such suspension or termination); and will not directly or indirectly in any other “at the market” or continuous equity transaction offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Common Stock (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, Common Stock prior to the termination of this Agreement; provided, however, that such restrictions will not be required in connection with the Company’s issuance or sale of (i) Common Stock, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, options to purchase Common Stock or Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of options, pursuant to any employee or director stock option or benefits plan, stock ownership plan or dividend reinvestment plan (but not Common Stock subject to a waiver to exceed plan limits in its dividend reinvestment plan) of the Company whether now in effect or hereafter implemented, (ii) Common Stock issuable upon conversion of securities or the exercise of warrants, options or other rights in effect or outstanding, and (iii) Common Stock, or securities convertible into or exercisable for Common Stock, offered and sold in a negotiated transaction to vendors, customers, strategic partners or potential strategic partners, acquisition candidates or other investors conducted in a manner so as not to be integrated with the offering of Common Stock hereby.
(i) Change of Circumstances. The Company will, at any time during the pendency of a Placement Notice advise the Agent promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge thereof, of any information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document required to be provided to the Agent pursuant to this Agreement.
(j) Due Diligence Cooperation. The Company will cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by the Agent or its representatives in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as the Agent may reasonably request.
(k) Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement Shares. The Company agrees that it will disclose in its annual report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and, if required by any subsequent change in Commission policy or request, more frequently by means of a Current Report on Form 8-K or a further prospectus supplement to be filed with the Commission under the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, which will set forth, within the relevant period, the amount of Placement Shares sold through the Agent, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to the Agent with respect to such Placement Shares. For all prospectus supplements filed pursuant to this Section 7(k), the Company agrees to deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus supplement to each exchange or market on which such sales were effected as may be required by the rules or regulations of such exchange or market.
(l) Representation Dates; Certificate. On the Closing Date and within five (5) Trading Days of each time the Company:
(i) files the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares or amends or supplements (other than a prospectus supplement relating solely to an offering of securities other than the Placement Shares), the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker, or supplement but not by means of incorporation of documents by reference into the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares;
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(ii) files an annual report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act (including any Form 10-K/A containing amended financial information or a material amendment to the previously filed Form 10-K);
(iii) files a quarterly report on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act; or
(iv) files a current report on Form 8-K containing amended financial information (other than information “furnished” pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K or to provide disclosure pursuant to Item 8.01 of Form 8-K relating to the reclassification of certain properties as discontinued operations in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144) under the Exchange Act; (Each date of filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) shall be a “Representation Date”)
the Company shall furnish the Agent (but in the case of clause (iv) above only if the Agent reasonably determines that the information contained in such Form 8-K is material) with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(l) (the “Representation Date Certificate”); provided however, if no Placement Notice is pending at such Representation Date, then before the Company delivers a Placement Notice or the Agent sells any Placement Shares, the Company shall provide the Agent with a Representation Date Certificate. The requirement to provide a Representation Date Certificate shall be waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice is pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date) and the next occurring Representation Date; provided, however, that such waiver shall not apply for any Representation Date on which the Company files its annual report on Form 10-K. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Shares following a Representation Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide the Agent with a Representation Date Certificate, then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or the Agent sells any Placement Shares, the Company shall provide the Agent with a Representation Date Certificate, dated the date of the Placement Notice.
(m) Legal Opinion. On the Closing Date, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent a written opinion and negative assurance letter of Harter Secrest & Emery LLP (“Company Counsel”), or other counsel satisfactory to the Agent, in form and substance satisfactory to Agent and its counsel. Thereafter, within five (5) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a Representation Date Certificate for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent a negative assurance letter of Company Counsel in form and substance satisfactory to Agent and its counsel; provided however, if no Placement Notice is pending at such Representation Date, then before the Company delivers a Placement Notice or the Agent sells any Placement Shares, the Company shall provide the Agent with such negative assurance letter; provided, further, that in lieu of such negative assurance letter for subsequent periodic filings under the Exchange Act, counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter (a “Reliance Letter”) to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior negative assurance letter delivered under this Section 7(m) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior negative assurance letter shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented as of the date of the Reliance Letter).
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(n) Comfort Letter. (1) On the Closing Date and (2) within five (5) Trading Days of each Representation Date, with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(l) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause its independent accountants to furnish the Agent letters (the “Comfort Letters”), dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, which shall meet the requirements set forth in this Section 7(n); provided however, if no Placement Notice is pending at such Representation Date, then before the Company delivers a Placement Notice or the Agent sells any Placement Shares, the Company shall provide the Agent with the Comfort Letter; provided, further, that if requested by the Agent, the Company shall cause a Comfort Letter to be furnished to the Agent within ten (10) Trading Days of the date of occurrence of any material transaction or event, including the restatement of the Company’s financial statements. The Comfort Letter from the Company’s independent accountants shall be in a form and substance satisfactory to the Agent, (i) confirming that they are an independent public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”), (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”), and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter with any information that would have been included in the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter.
(o) Market Activities. The Company will not, directly or indirectly, (i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of Common Stock, or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase Common Stock, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Placement Shares other than the Agent.
(p) Investment Company Act. The Company will conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that it will not become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act.
(q) No Offer to Sell. Other than an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus approved in advance by the Company and the Agent in its capacity as agent hereunder, neither the Agent nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than Agent in their capacity as such) will make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to any written communication (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act), required to be filed with the Commission, that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy Placement Shares hereunder.
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(r) Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company will maintain and keep accurate books and records reflecting its assets and maintain internal accounting controls in a manner designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP and including those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company, (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP, (iii) that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with management’s and the Company’s directors’ authorization, and (iv) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on its financial statements. The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain such controls and other procedures, including, without limitation, those required by Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the applicable regulations thereunder that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and to ensure that material information relating to the Company is made known to it by others within the Company, particularly during the period in which such periodic reports are being prepared.
8. Payment of Expenses. The Company will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation, filing, including any fees required by the Commission, and printing of the Registration Statement (including financial statements and exhibits) as originally filed and of each amendment and supplement thereto, in such number as the Agent shall deem necessary, (ii) the printing and delivery to the Agent of this Agreement and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Placement Shares, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates, if any, for the Placement Shares to the Agent, including any stock or other transfer taxes and any capital duties, stamp duties or other duties or taxes payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Placement Shares to the Agent, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the counsel, accountants and other advisors to the Company, (v) the reasonable out-of-pocket expenses of Agent, including fees and disbursements of counsel to the Agent up to $50,000 (which amount shall include all fees and disbursements of such counsel described in clause (ix) below) and quarterly disbursements of counsel to the Agent up to $5,000 per calendar quarter, (vi) the printing and delivery to the Agent of copies of any Permitted Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (defined below) and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto in such number as the Agent shall deem necessary, (vii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Agent of copies of the blue sky survey and any Canadian “wrapper” and any supplements thereto, in such number as the Agent shall deem necessary, (viii) the fees and expenses of the transfer agent and registrar for the Common Stock, (ix) the fees and expenses incident to any review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Placement Shares, including fees and expenses of counsel to the Agent, and (x) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the Placement Shares on the Exchange.
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9. Conditions to Agent’s Obligations. The obligations of the Agent hereunder with respect to a Placement will be subject to the continuing accuracy and completeness of the representations and warranties made by the Company herein, to the due performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, to the completion by the Agent of a due diligence review satisfactory to it in its reasonable judgment, and to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by the Agent in its sole discretion) of the following additional conditions:
(a) Registration Statement Effective. The Registration Statement shall have become effective and shall be available for the sale of all Placement Shares contemplated to be issued by any Placement Notice.
(b) No Material Notices. None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing: (i) receipt by the Company of any request for additional information from the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority during the period of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the response to which would require any post-effective amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; (ii) the issuance by the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose; (iii) receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification or exemption from qualification of any of the Placement Shares for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; or (iv) the occurrence of any event that makes any material statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any material document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and, that in the case of the Prospectus, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(c) No Misstatement or Material Omission. Agent shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in the Agent’s reasonable opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in the Agent’s opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
(d) Material Changes. Except as contemplated in the Prospectus, or disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the Commission, there shall not have been any material adverse change, on a consolidated basis, in the authorized capital stock of the Company or any Material Adverse Effect, or any development that could reasonably be expected to cause a Material Adverse Effect, or a downgrading in or withdrawal of the rating assigned to any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities) by any rating organization or a public announcement by any rating organization that it has under surveillance or review its rating of any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities), the effect of which, in the case of any such action by a rating organization described above, in the reasonable judgment of the Agent (without relieving the Company of any obligation or liability it may otherwise have), is so material as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering of the Placement Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.
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(e) Legal Opinion. The Agent shall have received the opinion and negative assurance letter of Company Counsel required to be delivered pursuant Section 7(m) on or before the date on which such delivery of such opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(m).
(f) Comfort Letter. The Agent shall have received the Comfort Letter required to be delivered pursuant Section 7(n) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letter is required pursuant to Section 7(n).
(g) Representation Certificate. The Agent shall have received the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(l) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 7(l).
(h) Secretary’s Certificate. On the Closing Date, the Agent shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by its corporate Secretary, in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel.
(i) No Suspension. Trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended on the Exchange, and the Common Stock shall not have been delisted from the Exchange.
(j) Other Materials. On each date on which the Company is required to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(l), the Company shall have furnished to the Agent such appropriate further information, certificates and documents as the Agent may reasonably request. All such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents will be in compliance with the provisions hereof. The Company will furnish the Agent with such conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as the Agent shall reasonably request.
(k) Securities Act Filings Made. All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424 under the Securities Act to have been filed prior to the issuance of any Placement Notice hereunder shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424.
(l) Approval for Listing. The Placement Shares shall either have been approved for listing quotation on the Exchange, subject only to notice of issuance, or the Company shall have filed an application for listing quotation of the Placement Shares on the Exchange at, or prior to, the issuance of any Placement Notice.
(m) No Termination Event. There shall not have occurred any event that would permit the Agent to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 12(a).
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10. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) Company Indemnification. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Agent, its partners, members, directors, officers, employees and agents and each person, if any, who controls the Agent within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act as follows:
(i) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, joint or several, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any related Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
(ii) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, joint or several, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that (subject to Section 10(d) below) any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Agent, which consent shall not unreasonably be delayed or withheld; and
(iii) against any and all expense whatsoever (including the fees and disbursements of counsel), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under (i) or (ii) above, provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made solely in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or in any related Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto).
(b) Agent Indemnification. Agent agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors and each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with the Company against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in Section 10(a), as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendments thereto) or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to the Agent and furnished to the Company in writing by the Agent expressly for use therein.
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(c) Procedure. Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section 10 will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against an indemnifying party or parties under this Section 10, notify each such indemnifying party of the commencement of such action, enclosing a copy of all papers served, but the omission so to notify such indemnifying party will not relieve the indemnifying party from (i) any liability that it might have to any indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 10, and (ii) any liability that it may have to any indemnified party under the foregoing provision of this Section 10 unless, and only to the extent that, such omission results in the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses by the indemnifying party. If any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the indemnifying party of its commencement, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in and, to the extent that it elects by delivering written notice to the indemnified party promptly after receiving notice of the commencement of the action from the indemnified party, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense of the action, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense, the indemnifying party will not be liable to the indemnified party for any legal or other expenses except as provided below and except for the reasonable costs of investigation subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense. The indemnified party will have the right to employ its own counsel in any such action, but the fees, expenses and other charges of such counsel will be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (1) the employment of counsel by the indemnified party has been authorized in writing by the indemnifying party, (2) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded (based on written advice of counsel) that there may be legal defenses available to it or other indemnified parties that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party, (3) a conflict or potential conflict exists (based on written advice of counsel to the indemnified party) between the indemnified party and the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying party will not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party), or (4) the indemnifying party has not in fact employed counsel to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the commencement of the action, in each of which cases the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel will be at the expense of the indemnifying party or parties. It is understood that the indemnifying party or parties shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of more than one separate firm admitted to practice in such jurisdiction at any one time for all such indemnified party or parties. All such fees, disbursements and other charges will be reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly after the indemnifying party receives a written invoice relating to fees, disbursements and other charges in reasonable detail. An indemnifying party will not, in any event, be liable for any settlement of any action or claim effected without its written consent. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of each indemnified party, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any pending or threatened claim, action or proceeding relating to the matters contemplated by this Section 10 (whether or not any indemnified party is a party thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (1) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or claim, and (2) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
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(d) Contribution. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in the foregoing paragraphs of this Section 10 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable from the Company or the Agent, the Company and the Agent will contribute to the total losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by the Company from persons other than the Agent, such as persons who control the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act, officers of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and directors of the Company, who also may be liable for contribution) to which the Company and the Agent may be subject in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Agent on the other hand. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Agent on the other hand shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total compensation received by the Agent (before deducting expenses) from the sale of Placement Shares on behalf of the Company. If, but only if, the allocation provided by the foregoing sentence is not permitted by applicable law, the allocation of contribution shall be made in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in the foregoing sentence but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, with respect to the statements or omission that resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations with respect to such offering. Such relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Agent, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 10(d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, liability, expense, or damage, or action in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 10(d) shall be deemed to include, for the purpose of this Section 10(d), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim to the extent consistent with Section 10(c) hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 10(d), the Agent shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the commissions received by it under this Agreement and no person found guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) will be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 10(d), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any officers, directors, partners, employees or agents of the Agent, will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement will have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the provisions hereof. Any party entitled to contribution, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made under this Section 10(d), will notify any such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission to so notify will not relieve that party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have under this Section 10(d) except to the extent that the failure to so notify such other party materially prejudiced the substantive rights or defenses of the party from whom contribution is sought. Except for a settlement entered into pursuant to the last sentence of Section 10(c) hereof, no party will be liable for contribution with respect to any action or claim settled without its written consent if such consent is required pursuant to Section 10(c) hereof.
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11. Additional Covenants.
(a) Representations and Covenants of the Agent. The Agent represents and warrants that it is duly registered as a broker-dealer under FINRA, the Exchange Act and the applicable statutes and regulations of each state in which the Placement Shares will be offered and sold, except such states in which the Agent is exempt from registration or such registration is not otherwise required. The Agent shall continue, for the term of this Agreement, to be duly registered as a broker-dealer under FINRA, the Exchange Act and the applicable statutes and regulations of each state in which the Placement Shares will be offered and sold, except such states in which the Agent is exempt from registration or such registration is not otherwise required, during the term of this Agreement. The Agent shall comply with all applicable law and regulations in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the issuance and sale through the Agent of the Placement Shares.
(b) Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery. The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 10 of this Agreement and all representations and warranties of the parties herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto shall survive, as of their respective dates, regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of the Agent, any controlling persons, or the Company (or any of their respective officers, directors or controlling persons), (ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement Shares and payment therefor, or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.
12. Termination.
(a) The Agent may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, as hereinafter specified at any time (1) if there has been, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the date as of which information is given in the Prospectus, any Material Adverse Effect, or any development that is reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect or, in the sole judgment of the Agent, is material and adverse and makes it impractical or inadvisable to market the Placement Shares or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Placement Shares, (2) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Agent, impracticable or inadvisable to market the Placement Shares or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Placement Shares, (3) if trading in the Common Stock has been suspended or limited by the Commission or the Exchange, or if trading generally on the Exchange has been suspended or limited, or minimum prices for trading have been fixed on the Exchange, (4) if any suspension of trading of any securities of the Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market shall have occurred and be continuing, (5) if a major disruption of securities settlements or clearance services in the United States shall have occurred and be continuing, or (6) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either U.S. Federal or New York authorities. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 8 (Payment of Expenses), Section 10 (Indemnification and Contribution), Section 11(b) (Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery), Section 17 (Governing Law and Time; Waiver of Jury Trial) and Section 18 (Consent to Jurisdiction) hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination. If the Agent elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 12(a), the Agent shall provide the required notice as specified in Section 13 (Notices).
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(b) The Company shall have the right, by giving five (5) days’ written notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 8, Section 10, Section 11(b), Section 17 and Section 18 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(c) The Agent shall have the right, by giving five (5) days’ written notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 8, Section 10, Section 11(b), Section 17 and Section 18 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(d) Unless earlier terminated pursuant to this Section 12, this Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the issuance and sale of all of the Placement Shares through the Agent on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein; provided that the provisions of Section 8, Section 10, Section 11(b), Section 17 and Section 18 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(e) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 12(a), (b), (c), or (d) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided, however, that any such termination by mutual agreement shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 8, Section 10, Section 11(b), Section 17 and Section 18 shall remain in full force and effect.
(f) Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided, however, that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by the Agent or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Placement Shares, such Placement Shares shall settle in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
(g) Subject to the additional limitations set forth in Section 8 of this Agreement, in the event of termination of this Agreement prior to the sale of any Placement Shares, the Agent shall be entitled only to reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses actually incurred.
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13. Notices. All notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by any party to any other party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be in writing, unless otherwise specified, and if sent to the Agent, shall be delivered to:
Roth Capital Partners, LLC
888 San Clemente
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Fax No.: (949) 720-7227
Attention: Managing Director
with a copy to:
Maynard Nexsen PC
1901 Sixth Avenue North, Suite 1700
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
Attn: Lori B. Metrock, Esq.
Fax: (205) 254-1999
Email: ###
and if to the Company, shall be delivered to:
VerifyMe, Inc.
801 International Parkway, Fifth Floor
Lake Mary, FL 32746
Attn: Adam Stedham
E-mail: ###
with a copy to:
Harter Secrest & Emery LLP
1600 Bausch & Lomb Place
Rochester, New York 14604
Attn: Alexander R. McClean
E-mail: ###
Each party to this Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the parties to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose. Each such notice or other communication shall be deemed given (i) when delivered personally or by verifiable facsimile transmission (with an original to follow) on or before 4:30 p.m., New York City time, on a Business Day or, if such day is not a Business Day, on the next succeeding Business Day, (ii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a nationally-recognized overnight courier, and (iii) on the Business Day actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid).
An electronic communication (“Electronic Notice”) shall be deemed written notice for purposes of this Section 13 if sent to the electronic mail address specified by the receiving party under separate cover. Electronic Notice shall be deemed received at the time the party sending Electronic Notice receives verification of receipt by the receiving party. Any party receiving Electronic Notice may request and shall be entitled to receive the notice on paper, in a nonelectronic form (“Nonelectronic Notice”) which shall be sent to the requesting party within ten (10) days of receipt of the written request for Nonelectronic Notice.
14. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and the Agent and their respective successors and the affiliates, controlling persons, officers and directors referred to in Section 10 hereof. References to any of the parties contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the successors and permitted assigns of such party. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto or their respective successors and permitted assigns any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party; provided, however, that the Agent may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliate thereof without obtaining the Company’s consent.
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15. Adjustments for Stock Splits. The parties acknowledge and agree that all share-related numbers contained in this Agreement shall be adjusted to take into account any stock split, stock dividend or similar event effected with respect to the Placement Shares.
16. Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability. This Agreement (including all schedules and exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. Neither this Agreement nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company and the Agent. In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable as written by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be given full force and effect to the fullest possible extent that it is valid, legal and enforceable, and the remainder of the terms and provisions herein shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision was not contained herein, but only to the extent that giving effect to such provision and the remainder of the terms and provisions hereof shall be in accordance with the intent of the parties as reflected in this Agreement.
17. GOVERNING LAW AND TIME; WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO THE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAWS. SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME. THE COMPANY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
18. CONSENT TO JURISDICTION. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY SUBMITS TO THE NON-EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS SITTING IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN, FOR THE ADJUDICATION OF ANY DISPUTE HEREUNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREBY, AND HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, AND AGREES NOT TO ASSERT IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING, ANY CLAIM THAT IT IS NOT PERSONALLY SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION OF ANY SUCH COURT, THAT SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING IS BROUGHT IN AN INCONVENIENT FORUM OR THAT THE VENUE OF SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING IS IMPROPER. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES PERSONAL SERVICE OF PROCESS AND CONSENTS TO PROCESS BEING SERVED IN ANY SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING BY MAILING A COPY THEREOF (CERTIFIED OR REGISTERED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED) TO SUCH PARTY AT THE ADDRESS IN EFFECT FOR NOTICES TO IT UNDER THIS AGREEMENT AND AGREES THAT SUCH SERVICE SHALL CONSTITUTE GOOD AND SUFFICIENT SERVICE OF PROCESS AND NOTICE THEREOF. NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHALL BE DEEMED TO LIMIT IN ANY WAY ANY RIGHT TO SERVE PROCESS IN ANY MANNER PERMITTED BY LAW.
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19. Use of Information. The Agent may not use any information gained in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including due diligence, to advise any party with respect to transactions not expressly approved by the Company.
20. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed Agreement by one party to the other may be made by facsimile transmission.
21. Effect of Headings. The section and Exhibit headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.
22. Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses.
The Company represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Agent, and the Agent represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Company, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Placement Shares that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Agent or by the Company, as the case may be, is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents and warrants that it has treated and agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping.
23. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship.
The Company acknowledges and agrees that:
(a) The Agent is acting solely as agent in connection with the public offering of the Placement Shares and in connection with each transaction contemplated by this Agreement and the process leading to such transactions, and no fiduciary or advisory relationship between the Company or any of its respective affiliates, stockholders (or other equity holders), creditors or employees or any other party, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, has been or will be created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether or not the Agent has advised or is advising the Company on other matters, and the Agent has no obligation to the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement;
(b) it is capable of evaluating and understanding, and understands and accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
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(c) the Agent has not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and it has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate;
(d) it is aware that the Agent and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and the Agent has no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship or otherwise; and
(e) it waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against the Agent for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the sale of Placement Shares under this Agreement and agrees that the Agent shall not have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract, tort or otherwise) to it in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on its behalf or in right of it or the Company, employees or creditors of Company, other than in respect of the Agent’s obligations under this Agreement and to keep information provided by the Company to the Agent and the Agent’s counsel confidential to the extent not otherwise publicly-available.
24. Definitions.
As used in this Agreement, the following terms have the respective meanings set forth below:
“Applicable Time” means (i) each Representation Date, (ii) the time of each sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement, (iii) each Settlement Date, and (iv) the Closing Date.
“Business Day” shall mean any day on which the Exchange and commercial banks in the City of New York are open for business.
“Closing Date” shall mean the date mutually agreed to by the Company and the Agent to commence the offering of the Placement Shares under this Agreement.
“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, relating to the Placement Shares that (1) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (2) is a “road show” that is a “written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i) whether or not required to be filed with the Commission, or (3) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Placement Shares or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g) under the Securities Act.
“Rule 172,” “Rule 405,” “Rule 415,” “Rule 424,” “Rule 424(b),” “Rule 430B,” and “Rule 433” refer to such rules under the Securities Act.
“Trading Day” means any day on which shares of Common Stock are purchased and sold on the Exchange.
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All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information that is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as the case may be.
All references in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR; all references in this Agreement to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (other than any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses that, pursuant to Rule 433, are not required to be filed with the Commission) shall be deemed to include the copy thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR; and all references in this Agreement to “supplements” to the Prospectus shall include, without limitation, any supplements, “wrappers” or similar materials prepared in connection with any offering, sale or private placement of any Placement Shares by the Agent outside of the United States.
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If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and the Agent, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and the Agent.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| VERIFYME, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Adam Stedham | |
| Name: | Adam Stedham | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer and President | |
| ACCEPTED as of the date first-above written: | ||
| ROTH CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC | ||
| By: | /s/ Matthew Day | |
| Name: | Matthew Day | |
| Title: | Managing Director | |
| 35 |
SCHEDULE 1
________________________
FORM OF PLACEMENT NOTICE
__________________________
| From: | VERIFYME, INC. | |
| To: | ROTH CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC | |
| Attention: | ||
| Subject: | Placement Notice | |
| Date: | ||
Gentlemen:
Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Sales Agreement between, VerifyMe, Inc. (the “Company”) and Roth Capital Partners, LLC (“Agent”), dated March 6, 2025, the Company hereby requests that the Agent sell up to ____________ of the Company’s Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share, at a minimum market price of $_______ per share, during the time period beginning [month, day, time] and ending [month, day, time].
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SCHEDULE 2
__________________________
Compensation
__________________________
The Company shall pay to the Agent in cash, upon each sale of Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement, an amount equal to 3% of the gross proceeds from each sale of Placement Shares.
| 37 |
SCHEDULE 3
__________________________
Notice Parties
__________________________
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EXHIBIT 7(l)
Form of Representation Date Certificate
____________________, 20__
This Representation Date Certificate (this “Certificate”) is executed and delivered in connection with Section 7(l) of the Sales Agreement (the “Agreement”), dated March 6, 2025, and entered into between VerifyMe, Inc. (the “Company”) and Roth Capital Partners, LLC. All capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Agreement.
The undersigned, a duly appointed and authorized officer of the Company, having made all necessary inquiries to establish the accuracy of the statements below and having been authorized by the Company to execute this Certificate, hereby certifies as follows:
| 1. | As of the date of this Certificate, (i) the Registration Statement does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) neither the Registration Statement nor the Prospectus contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and (iii) no event has occurred as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein not untrue or misleading. |
| 2. | Each of the representations and warranties of the Company contained in the Agreement were, when originally made, and are, as of the date of this Certificate, true and correct in all material respects. |
| 3. | Each of the covenants required to be performed by the Company in the Agreement on or prior to the date of the Agreement, this Representation Date, and each such other date as set forth in the Agreement, has been duly, timely and fully performed in all material respects and each condition required to be complied with by the Company on or prior to the date of the Agreement, this Representation Date, and each such other date as set forth in the Agreement or in the waivers referred to in Section 7(l) of the Agreement has been duly, timely and fully complied with in all material respects. |
| 4. | Subsequent to the date of the most recent financial statements in the Prospectus, there has been no Material Adverse Effect. |
| 5. | No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any part thereof has been issued, and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or threatened by any securities or other governmental authority (including, without limitation, the Commission). |
| 39 |
The undersigned has executed this Representation Date Certificate as of the date first written above.
| VerifyMe, Inc. | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
40
Exhibit 5.1
March 6, 2025
VerifyMe, Inc.
801 International Parkway, Fifth Floor
Lake Mary, FL 32746
| Re: | Shelf Takedown Off of Registration Statement on Form S-3 |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to VerifyMe Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the Sales Agreement, dated March 6, 2025 (the “Sales Agreement”), between the Company and Roth Capital Partners, LLC, as sales agent, which provides for, among other things, the issuance and sale of up to $15,803,511 of shares (the “Shares”) of common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Company, from time to time and at various prices in an “at-the-market offering.”
As such counsel, we have assisted in the preparation and filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) of a prospectus supplement, dated March 6, 2025, which supplemented that certain prospectus, dated February 3, 2025 that was part of a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-284562) that became effective with the Commission on February 3, 2025.
In connection with the foregoing, we have examined the Sales Agreement, the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws, as amended (the “Bylaws”), the Company’s Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, as amended (the “Articles of Incorporation”), originals or copies of such corporate records of the Company, certificates and other communications of public officials, certificates of officers of the Company and such other documents as we have deemed relevant or necessary for the purpose of rendering the opinions expressed herein. As to questions of fact material to those opinions, we have, to the extent we deemed appropriate, relied on certificates of officers of the Company and on certificates and other communications of public officials. We have assumed the genuineness of all signatures on, and the authenticity of, all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to authentic original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies thereof, the due authorization, execution and delivery by the parties thereto other than the Company of all documents examined by us, and the legal capacity of each individual who signed any of those documents.
| 1600 BAUSCH & LOMB PLACE ROCHESTER, NY 14604-2711 PHONE: 585.232.6500 FAX: 585.232.2152 |
| rochester, ny • buffalo, ny • albany, ny • corning, ny • new york, ny |
VerifyMe, Inc.
March 6, 2025
Page 2
Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the additional qualifications set forth below, we are of the opinion that the Shares have been authorized for issuance and, when the Shares are issued, delivered and paid for in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Sales Agreement, the Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.
For the purposes of this opinion letter, we have assumed that, at the time of the issuance, sale and delivery of Shares: (i) the authorization thereof by the Company will not have been modified or rescinded, and there will not have occurred any change in law affecting the validity thereof; (ii) the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws, as currently in effect, will not have been modified or amended and will be in full force and effect; (iii) the Company will have sufficient authorized and unissued shares of Common Stock to issue as the Shares; and (iv) the Company is validly existing and in good standing at the time of issuance.
We express no opinion as to the law of any jurisdiction other than the law of the State of New York, and the applicable provisions of the Nevada Revised Statutes as currently in effect.
This opinion letter has been prepared in accordance with the customary practice of lawyers who regularly give, and lawyers who regularly advise opinion recipients concerning, opinions of the type contained herein.
This opinion letter deals only with the specified legal issues expressly addressed herein, and you should not infer any opinion that is not explicitly addressed herein from any matter stated in this letter.
We consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed in connection with the Offering and the reference to this firm under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus Supplement. In giving such consent, we do not hereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder.
This opinion is rendered to you as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to advise you or any other person hereafter with regard to any change after the date hereof in the circumstances or the law that may bear on the matters set forth herein even though the changes may affect the legal analysis or legal conclusion or other matters in this letter.
| Very truly yours, | |
| /s/ Harter Secrest & Emery LLP |
Exhibit 99.1
VerifyMe Reports Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Results and Improved Liquidity in the First Quarter of 2025
| · | Cash flow provided by operations of $0.6 million in Q4 2024 and $0.9 million in the year ended December 31, 2024 |
| · | 2024 annual revenue of $24.2 million, compared to $25.3 million in 2023; with fourth quarter revenue of $7.7 million, compared to $8.7 million in Q4 2023 (1) |
| · | 2024 annual gross profit of $8.7 million or 36%, compared to $8.0 million or 32% in 2023; Gross Profit of $2.4 million or 32% in Q4 2024, compared to $2.9 million or 33% in Q4 2023 |
| · | 2024 annual net loss of $3.8 million (including $1.6 million of one-time adjustments), compared to a net loss of $3.4 million in 2023; Net loss of $0.5 million in Q4 2024, compared to net income of less than $0.1 million in Q4 2023(1) |
| · | 2024 annual adjusted EBITDA(2) of $0.9 million, compared to $0.4 million in 2023; Adjusted EBITDA of $0.5 million in Q4 2024, compared to $1.1 million in Q4 2023(1) |
| · | Cash of $5.7 million as of February 28, 2025 or $0.46 per share, senior long-term debt of $0.9 million repaid in 2025 |
Lake Mary, FL – March 6, 2025 – PRNewswire — VerifyMe, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRME) (“VerifyMe,” “we,” “our,” or the “Company”) provides brand owners time and temperature sensitive logistics, and brand protection and enhancement solutions, announced today the Company’s financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024 (“Q4 2024”).
Adam Stedham, VerifyMe’s CEO and President stated, “2024 and the start of 2025 was key. The company increased our gross profit by 8% year over year and more than doubled our annual adjusted EBITDA, compared to 2023. We also made the critical business decision to divest of an unprofitable operation and focus our capital in areas that are more likely to provide shareholder returns. This decision should benefit cashflow from operations in 2025. Thus far, in 2025, we have retired all company debt, besides $0.8 million of convertible notes held by company affiliates and Board members. As of February 28, 2025 the company has $5.7 million of cash, plus the availability of the recently announced ATM. With our improved liquidity, and strengthened financial condition, we are finalizing our strategy to maximize shareholder returns and we look forward with enthusiasm to announcing our strategy.”
(1) Including $0.6 million from loss of previously disclosed Premium services customer
(2) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. See "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for information about this non-GAAP measure. A reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, net loss, is included as a schedule to this release.
| 1 |
Key Financial Highlights for Q4 2024:
| · | Cash flow from operations was $0.6 million in Q4 2024 |
| · | Quarterly consolidated revenue of $7.7 million in Q4 2024, compared to $8.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2023 (“Q4 2023”), approximately 56% of reduction is attributable to previously disclosed discontinued contract with one customer in our Premium services |
| · | Gross profit of $2.4 million or 32% in Q4 2024, compared to $2.9 million or 33% in Q4 2023 |
| · | Net loss of ($0.5) million or ($0.05) per diluted share in Q4 2024, compared to net income of less than $0.1 million or ($0.00) per diluted share in Q4 2023(1) |
| · | Adjusted EBITDA(2) of $0.5 million in Q4 2024, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 million in Q4 2023(1) |
| · | Cash of $2.8 million as of December 31, 2024 |
Recent Business Highlights
| · | Entered into an Inducement Letter Agreement with an institutional investor that exercised 1,461,896 warrants at a price of $3.215 per share for $4.7 million. In consideration for the investor exercising their warrants, a new unregistered warrant for 1,461,896 shares at an exercise price of $4.00 per share was issued. |
| · | Paid in full all outstanding principal and interest under the Term Note. |
| · | Convertible notes for all non-affiliates converted to shares. |
Financial Results for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2024:
Revenue in Q4 2024 was $7.7 million, compared to $8.7 million in Q4 2023. Revenue for the quarter decreased by $1.0 million. The decrease in our Precision Logistics segment primarily relates to a discontinued contract with one customer in our Premium services. In addition, with Thanksgiving arriving later than usual this year, there were fewer days from Black Friday to December 31, making this the shortest peak season since 2019. The growth in the Authentication segment did not materialize in 2024 and we divested of the Trust Codes Global business on December, 8, 2024. The Precision Logistics segment accounted for 99% of our revenue for the quarter.
Gross profit in Q4 2024 was $2.4 million, compared to $2.9 million in Q4 2023. The resulting gross margin percentage was 32% for the three months ended December 31, 2024, compared to 33% for the three months ended December 31, 2023. The decrease in gross margin was principally due to the discontinued contract in Premium services in the Precision Logistics segment which has higher margins. The Proactive services revenue gross margin percentage improved in Q4 2024 compared to Q4 2023.
Operating loss in Q4 2024 was ($0.3) million, compared to operating income of $0.1 million in Q4 2023. The increased loss primarily relates to a reduction in gross profit from previously disclosed Premium services customer.
Our net loss in Q4 2024 was ($0.5) million, compared to net income of less than $0.1 million in Q4 2024. The resulting loss per diluted share in Q4 2024 was ($0.05), compared to income per diluted share of $0.00 in Q4 2023. The increased loss primarily relates to the loss of one Premium customer previously disclosed.
(1) Including $0.6 million from loss of previously disclosed Premium services customer
(2) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. See "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for information about this non-GAAP measure. A reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, net loss, is included as a schedule to this release.
| 2 |
Adjusted EBITDA in Q4 2024 was $0.5 million, compared to $1.1 million in Q4 2023. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. Please see “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for a discussion of this non-GAAP measure. A reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, net loss is included as a schedule to this release.
Adam Stedham, VerifyMe’s CEO and President stated, “During the fourth quarter of 2024 overall parcel shipment activity was below that of the fourth quarter of 2023, mirroring industry trends. However, we are pleased with the annual growth in gross profit and adjusted EBITDA in 2024. We are still working with bankers and advisors to evaluate various alternatives and we continue to be encouraged by our options. The strength of our balance sheet, with $5.7 million cash as of February 28, 2025 and access to additional low-cost capital adds to our optimism for VerifyMe going forward.”
At December 31, 2024, VerifyMe had a $2.8 million cash balance and $2.1 million in working capital.
At December 31, 2024, VerifyMe had 10,829,908 shares issued and 10,539,441 shares outstanding.
Earnings Call
The Company has scheduled an earnings conference call and webcast for 11:00 a.m. ET on Thursday March 6, 2025. Prepared remarks regarding the company's financial and operational results will be followed by a question and answer period with VerifyMe's executive team. The conference call may be accessed via webcast at: https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=RhDUgKad or by calling +1 (844) 763-8274 within the US, or +1 (412) 717-9224 internationally, and requesting the “VerifyMe Call.” The presentation slides broadcast via the webcast will also be available on the Investors section of the VerifyMe website the morning of the call. Participants must be logged in via telephone to submit a question to management during the call. Participants may optionally pre-register for the conference call and webcast at: https://dpregister.com/sreg/10197182/fe93e64dcc.
The webcast and presentation will be archived on the Investors section of VerifyMe’s website and will remain available for 90 days.
About VerifyMe, Inc.
VerifyMe, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRME), provides specialized logistics for time and temperature sensitive products, as well as brand protection and enhancement solutions. To learn more, visit www.verifyme.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “believe,” “continue,” “may,” “should,” "will," and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements include our engagement in future acquisitions or strategic partnerships that increase our capital requirements or cause us to incur debt or assume contingent liabilities, our reliance on one key strategic partner for shipping services in our Precision Logistics segment, competition including by our key strategic partner, seasonal trends in our business, severe climate conditions, the highly competitive nature of the industry in which we operate, our brand image and corporate reputation, impairments related to our goodwill and other intangible assets, economic and other factors such as recessions, downturns in the economy, inflation, global uncertainty and instability, the effects of pandemics, changes in United States social, political, and regulatory conditions and/or a disruption of financial markets, reduced freight volumes due to economic conditions, reduced discretionary spending in a recessionary environment, global supply-chain delays or shortages, fluctuations in labor costs, raw materials, and changes in the availability of key suppliers, our history of losses, our ability to use our net operating losses to offset future taxable income, the confusion of our name brand with other brands, the ability of our technology to work as anticipated and to successfully provide analytics logistics management, our ability to continue to invest in the development and commercialization of our Authentication segment, the ability of our strategic partners to integrate our solutions into their product offerings, our ability to manage our growth effectively, our ability to successfully develop and expand our sales and marketing capabilities, risks related to doing business outside of the U.S., intellectual property litigation, our ability to successfully develop, implement, maintain, upgrade, enhance, and protect our information technology systems, our reliance on third-party information technology service providers, our ability to respond to evolving laws related to information technology such as privacy laws, our ability to attract, retain and develop successors for management, our ability to work with partners in selling our technologies to businesses, production difficulties, our inability to enter into contracts and arrangements with future partners, our ability to acquire new customers, issues which may affect the reluctance of large companies to change their purchasing of products, acceptance of our technologies and the efficiency of our authenticators in the field, our ability to comply with the continued listing standards of the Nasdaq Capital Market, and our ability to timely pay amounts due and comply with the covenants under our debt facilities. These risk factors and uncertainties include those more fully described in VerifyMe’s Annual Report and Quarterly Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the heading entitled “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those currently anticipated. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
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Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release includes both financial measures in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), as well as non-GAAP financial measures. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company’s performance, financial position or cash flows that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally included or excluded in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed as supplemental to and should not be considered as alternatives to any other GAAP financial measures. They may not be indicative of the historical operating results of VerifyMe nor are they intended to be predictive of potential future results. Investors should not consider non-GAAP financial measures in isolation or as substitutes for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.
VerifyMe’s management uses and relies on EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, which are non-GAAP financial measures. The Company believes that both management and shareholders benefit from referring to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA in planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods. Additionally, the Company believes Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors to evaluate its results because it excludes certain items that are not directly related to the Company’s core operating performance. In particular, with regard to our comparison of Adjusted EBITDA for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, to the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, we believe is useful to investors in understanding the results of operations. The Company’s management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in evaluating its financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparison. The Company’s management recognizes that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, as non-GAAP financial measures, have inherent limitations because of the described excluded items.
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The Company defines EBITDA as net income (loss) before interest expense, income tax expense (benefit), and depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA plus non-cash stock compensation expense, severance expense, unrealized gain on equity investment, loss on equity investment, impairments, change in fair value of contingent consideration, loss on sale of business and one-time professional expenses for acquisitions. VerifyMe believes EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are important measures of VerifyMe’s operating performance because they allow management, investors and analysts to evaluate and assess VerifyMe’s core operating results from period-to-period after removing the impact of items of a non-operational nature that affect comparability.
A reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to the most comparable financial measure, net loss, calculated in accordance with GAAP is included in a schedule to this press release. The Company believes that providing the non-GAAP financial measure, together with the reconciliation to GAAP, helps investors make comparisons between VerifyMe and other companies. In making any comparisons to other companies, investors need to be aware that companies use different non-GAAP measures to evaluate their financial performance. Investors should pay close attention to the specific definition being used and to the reconciliation between such measure and the corresponding GAAP measure provided by each company under applicable SEC rules as the presentation here may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.
For Other Information Contact:
Company: VerifyMe, Inc.
Email: [email protected]
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VerifyMe, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except share data)
| December 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| CURRENT ASSETS | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents including restricted cash | $ | 2,823 | $ | 3,095 | ||||
| Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit loss reserve, $71 and $165 as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively | 2,636 | 3,017 | ||||||
| Unbilled revenue | 733 | 1,282 | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 131 | 254 | ||||||
| Inventory | 39 | 38 | ||||||
| TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS | 6,362 | 7,686 | ||||||
| PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET | $ | 116 | $ | 240 | ||||
| RIGHT OF USE ASSET | 236 | 468 | ||||||
| INTANGIBLE ASSETS, NET | 5,365 | 6,927 | ||||||
| GOODWILL | 3,988 | 5,384 | ||||||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | 16,067 | $ | 20,705 | ||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | ||||||||
| CURRENT LIABILITIES | ||||||||
| Term note, current | $ | 500 | $ | 500 | ||||
| Accounts payable | 2,971 | 3,310 | ||||||
| Other accrued expense | 660 | 988 | ||||||
| Lease liability- current | 108 | 170 | ||||||
| Contingent liability-current | - | 173 | ||||||
| TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES | 4,239 | 5,141 | ||||||
| LONG-TERM LIABILITIES | ||||||||
| Contingent liability, non-current | $ | - | $ | 751 | ||||
| Long-term lease liability | 139 | 307 | ||||||
| Term note | 375 | 875 | ||||||
| Convertible note – related party | 450 | 475 | ||||||
| Convertible note | 650 | 625 | ||||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES | $ | 5,853 | $ | 8,174 | ||||
| STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | ||||||||
| Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, $0.001 par value, 37,564,767 shares authorized; 0 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively | - | - | ||||||
| Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, $0.001 par value; 85 shares authorized; 0.85 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively | - | - | ||||||
| Common stock, $0.001 par value; 675,000,000 shares authorized;10,829,908 and 10,453,315 shares issued, 10,539,441 and 10,123,964 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively | 11 | 10 | ||||||
| Additional paid in capital | 96,344 | 95,031 | ||||||
| Treasury stock as cost; 290,467 and 329,351 shares at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively | (480 | ) | (659 | ) | ||||
| Accumulated deficit | (85,673 | ) | (81,849 | ) | ||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | 12 | (2 | ) | |||||
| STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | 10,214 | 12,531 | ||||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | $ | 16,067 | $ | 20,705 | ||||
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VerifyMe, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
(In thousands, except share data)
| Three Months Ended | Year Ended | |||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | December 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | |||||||||||||
| NET REVENUE | $ | 7,661 | $ | 8,713 | $ | 24,207 | $ | 25,313 | ||||||||
| COST OF REVENUE(a) | 5,244 | 5,840 | 15,545 | 17,287 | ||||||||||||
| GROSS PROFIT | 2,417 | 2,873 | 8,662 | 8,026 | ||||||||||||
| OPERATING EXPENSES | ||||||||||||||||
| Segment management and Technology(a) | 1,265 | 1,400 | 5,454 | 5,097 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative (a) | 1,072 | 1,023 | 3,852 | 4,416 | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | 5 | 84 | 70 | 107 | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing (a) | 362 | 241 | 1,361 | 1,644 | ||||||||||||
| Goodwill and Intangible asset impairment | 50 | 56 | 2,315 | 90 | ||||||||||||
| Total Operating expenses | 2,754 | 2,804 | 13,052 | 11,354 | ||||||||||||
| LOSS BEFORE OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE) | (337 | ) | 69 | (4,390 | ) | (3,328 | ) | |||||||||
| OTHER (EXPENSE) INCOME | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest expenses, net | (21 | ) | (34 | ) | (130 | ) | (161 | ) | ||||||||
| Change in fair value of contingent consideration | 5 | 65 | 844 | 201 | ||||||||||||
| Loss on equity investment | - | (100 | ) | - | (100 | ) | ||||||||||
| Unrealized gain on equity investment | - | 2 | - | - | ||||||||||||
| Loss on sale of business | (146 | ) | - | (146 | ) | - | ||||||||||
| Other expense, net | (2 | ) | - | (2 | ) | (2 | ) | |||||||||
| TOTAL OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE), NET | (164 | ) | (67 | ) | 566 | (62 | ) | |||||||||
| NET LOSS | ||||||||||||||||
| $ | (501 | ) | $ | 2 | $ | (3,824 | ) | $ | (3,390 | ) | ||||||
| LOSS PER SHARE | ||||||||||||||||
| BASIC | (0.05 | ) | (0.00 | ) | (0.37 | ) | (0.35 | ) | ||||||||
| DILUTED | (0.05 | ) | (0.00 | ) | (0.37 | ) | (0.35 | ) | ||||||||
| WEIGHTED AVERAGE COMMON SHARE OUTSTANDING | ||||||||||||||||
| BASIC | 10,471,185 | 9,912,505 | 10,402,508 | 9,766,469 | ||||||||||||
| DILUTED | 10,471,185 | 9,912,505 | 10,402,508 | 9,766,469 | ||||||||||||
| (a) | Includes share-based compensation of $372 thousand and $1,555 thousand for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, respectively, and $576 thousand and $1,675 thousand for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, respectively. |
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VerifyMe, Inc.
Consolidated EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation
Table (Unaudited)
(In thousands)
| Three Months Ended December 31, | Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Net (Loss) Income (GAAP) | $ | (501 | ) | $ | 2 | $ | (3,824 | ) | $ | (3,390 | ) | |||||
| Interest expense, net | 21 | 34 | 130 | 161 | ||||||||||||
| Amortization and depreciation | 307 | 299 | 1,212 | 1,134 | ||||||||||||
| Total EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | (173 | ) | 335 | (2,482 | ) | (2,095 | ) | |||||||||
| Adjustments: | ||||||||||||||||
| Stock based compensation | 81 | 154 | 255 | 200 | ||||||||||||
| Fair value of restricted stock and restricted stock units issued in exchange for services | 291 | 422 | 1,300 | 1,354 | ||||||||||||
| Severance | 53 | 11 | 194 | 590 | ||||||||||||
| Unrealized gain on equity investment | - | (2 | ) | - | - | |||||||||||
| Loss on equity investment | - | 100 | - | 100 | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of contingent consideration | (5 | ) | (65 | ) | (844 | ) | (201 | ) | ||||||||
| Loss on sale of business | 146 | - | 146 | - | ||||||||||||
| Impairments | 50 | 156 | 2,315 | 190 | ||||||||||||
| One-time professional expenses for acquisitions/Divestiture | 66 | - | 66 | 278 | ||||||||||||
| Total Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) | $ | 509 | $ | 1,111 | $ | 950 | $ | 416 | ||||||||
8
Exhibit 99.2
Protect your brand. Grow your business. Fourth Quarter 2024 Investor Conference Call March 6, 2025 www.VerifyMe.com NASDAQ:VRME 1
Agenda NASDAQ:VRME 01 Welcome & Introductions Operations and Strategic Update Financial Review Q&A Closing Remarks 02 03 www.VerifyMe.com 04 05 2
Forward Looking Statements In addition to historical information, this presentation contains statements relating to revenue opportunities, anticipated revenue, profitability of the combined company, future business, financial performance, future catalysts and future events or developments, strategy, projected costs, prospects, plans, objectives of management and future operations, future revenue, and expected market growth of VerifyMe, Inc . together with its wholly owned subsidiary PeriShip Global LLC, (“VerifyMe,” the “Company,” “we,” or “us”) that may constitute “forward - looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 . The words “believe,” “continue,” “may,” “should,” "will," and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward - looking statements . We have based these forward - looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs . Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward - looking statements include our engagement in future acquisitions or strategic partnerships that increase our capital requirements or cause us to incur debt or assume contingent liabilities, our reliance on one key strategic partner for shipping services in our Precision Logistics segment, competition including by our key strategic partner, seasonal trends in our business, severe climate conditions, the highly competitive nature of the industry in which we operate, our brand image and corporate reputation, impairments related to our goodwill and other intangible assets, economic and other factors such as recessions, downturns in the economy, inflation, global uncertainty and instability, the effects of pandemics, changes in United States social, political, and regulatory conditions and/or a disruption of financial markets, reduced freight volumes due to economic conditions, reduced discretionary spending in a recessionary environment, global supply - chain delays or shortages, fluctuations in labor costs, raw materials, and changes in the availability of key suppliers, our history of losses, our ability to use our net operating losses to offset future taxable income, the confusion of our name brand with other brands, the ability of our technology to work as anticipated and to successfully provide analytics logistics management, the ability of our strategic partners to integrate our solutions into their product offerings, our ability to manage our growth effectively, our ability to successfully develop and expand our sales and marketing capabilities, risks related to doing business outside of the U . S . , intellectual property litigation, our ability to successfully develop, implement, maintain, upgrade, enhance, and protect our information technology systems, our reliance on third - party information technology service providers, our ability to respond to evolving laws related to information technology such as privacy laws, our ability to retain key management personnel, our ability to work with partners in selling our technologies to businesses, production difficulties, our inability to enter into contracts and arrangements with future partners, our ability to acquire new customers, issues which may affect the reluctance of large companies to change their purchasing of products, acceptance of our technologies and the efficiency of our authenticators in the field, our ability to comply with the continued listing standards of the Nasdaq Capital Market, and our ability to timely pay amounts due and comply with the covenants under our debt facilities . More detailed information about these factors may be found in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10 - K for the year ended December 31 , 2024 , and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10 - Q . The statements made herein speak only as of the date of this presentation . The Company’s actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from the results expressed in, or implied by, these forward - looking statements . The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise its forward - looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this presentation, except as required by law . Market data and industry information used herein are based on our management's knowledge of the industry and the good faith estimates of management . We also relied, to the extent available, upon managements review of independent industry surveys, forecasts and publications and other publicly available information prepared by a number of third - party sources . All of the market data and industry information used herein involves a number of assumptions and limitations which we believe to be reasonable, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates . Although we believe that these sources are reliable, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information, and we have not independently verified this information . Projections, assumptions and estimates of our future performance and the future performance of the industry in which we operate are subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described, above . These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in our estimates and beliefs and in the estimates prepared by independent parties . Non - GAAP Financial Measures This presentation includes non - GAAP financial information . This non - GAAP information is in addition to, not a substitute for or superior to, measures of financial performance or liquidity determined in accordance with GAAP . The Securities and Exchange Commission‘s Regulation G applies to any public disclosure or release of material information that includes a non - GAAP financial measure and requires : (i) the presentation of the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP and (ii) a reconciliation of the differences between the non - GAAP financial measure presented and the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP . The required presentations and reconciliations are contained in this presentation and can also be found at our website at www . verifyme . com 3 NASDAQ:VRME www.VerifyMe.com
Welcome Adam Stedham Chief Executive Officer and President www.VerifyMe.com NASDAQ:VRME 4
Overall Performance 1 • YoY 2024 revenue 4% below 2023 • YoY 2024 gross profit increased 8% and gross margin increased 4% • YoY 2024 adjusted EBITDA (1) significant increase from 2023 • Q4 2024 is 6 th consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA Capital • Total cash net of debt end of December 2024 $0.9M vs $0.6M end of December 2023 • January 2025 $4.7M warrant inducement raise, retired all bank debt • Reduced convertible debt from $1.1M to $0.8M, remaining is affiliates and board members • Established a $15.8M at - the - market sales offering to commence after 10 - K filing Precision Logistics Segment • Increased customers in proactive business line by 6% full year 2024 vs 2023 • Shipments to existing customer in proactive business line down 6% full year 2024 vs 2023 • Continued focus on optimizing sales strategy 3 2 Strategic Snapshot 5 4 Authentication Segment • Divested Trust Codes Global December 8, 2024 • 2024 operating loss of $1.2M (excluding impairments) • Continuing to review ink strategy, which is less than 1% of total Company revenue (1) The term Adjusted EBITDA is a non - GAAP financial measure that the Company believes is useful to investors in evaluating its resu lts. Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA (net income (loss) before interest expense, income tax expense (benefit), depreciation and amortization) plus non - cash stock compensation expense, severance expense, unreal ized gain on equity investment, loss on equity investment, impairments, change in fair value of contingent consideration, loss on sale of business and one - time professional expenses for acquisitions. For a reco nciliation of this non - GAAP financial measure to the most comparable GAAP equivalent, net loss, see the Non - GAAP Reconciliation along with related footnotes, in the Appendix to this presentation. www.VerifyMe.com
Financials www.VerifyMe.com NASDAQ:VRME – Q4 2024 Financial Highlights – Balance Sheet 6
Q4 Financial Highlights Revenue • Decline largely related to previously announced discontinued contract in Premium services, and lack of Authentication segment growth • Proactive revenue decline primarily due to lower seasonal shipping volumes and shipping days in 2024 vs 2023 $7.7M Net Loss ($0.4M) $3.1M Gross Profit • Continue to show improvements in Proactive Services margin % • Improvement more than offset by decline from previously announced discontinued higher margin premium contract $2.4M 32% compared to 33% in Q4 2023 (1) The term Adjusted EBITDA is a non - GAAP financial measure that the Company believes is useful to investors in evaluating its results. Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA (net income (loss) before interest expense, income tax expense (benefit), depreciation and amortization) plus non - cash stock compensation expense, severance expense, unreal ized gain on equity investment, loss on equity investment, impairments, change in fair value of contingent consideration, loss on sale of business and one - time professional expenses for acquisitions. For a reconcili ation of this non - GAAP financial measure to the most comparable GAAP equivalent, net loss, see the Non - GAAP Reconciliation along with related footnotes, in the Appendix to this presentation. 7 ($0.5M) $0.5M Adjusted EBITDA (1) Improvement of $0.5M 2024 vs 2023 www.VerifyMe.com
December 31, 2023 December 31, 2024 Assets $3,095 $2,823 Cash and cash equivalents 4,299 12,311 3,369 9,353 Accounts receivable and unbilled revenue Intangible assets & Goodwill 1,000 522 Other assets $20,705 $16,067 Total Assets $4,641 500 $3,739 500 Current Liabilities Accounts payable, accrued exp, current lease exp and contingent consideration Current portion of debt 1,975 1,058 1,475 139 Non - Current Liabilities Long term portion of debt & Convertible Note Other long - term liabilities $8,174 $5,853 Total Liabilities $12,531 $10,214 Total Stockholders’ Equity $20,705 $16,067 Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Balance Sheet ($ in thousan ds ) 8 www.VerifyMe.com
9 www.VerifyMe.com Closing Remarks The Company has a cashflow positive business that provides a needed service, and we will continue to identify avenues for potential expansion The Company has a strong balance sheet and $0.46 cents per share of cash on hand as of February 28, 2025 The Company has access to low cost capital to pursue avenues for meaningful shareholder value creation
10 Q & A 10 NASDAQ:VRME Confidential Property of VerifyMe www.VerifyMe.com
11 Confidential Property of VerifyMe NASDAQ:VRME Appendix www.VerifyMe.com
12 Non - GAAP Reconciliation This presentation includes both financial measures in accordance with U . S . generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), as well as non - GAAP financial measures . Generally, a non - GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company’s performance, financial position or cash flows that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally included or excluded in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP . Non - GAAP financial measures should be viewed as supplemental to and should not be considered as alternatives to any other GAAP financial measures . They may not be indicative of the historical operating results of VerifyMe nor are they intended to be predictive of potential future results . Investors should not consider non - GAAP financial measures in isolation or as substitutes for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP . VerifyMe’s management uses and relies on EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, which are non - GAAP financial measures . The Company believes that both management and shareholders benefit from referring to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA in planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods . Additionally, the Company believes Adjusted EBIDTA is useful to investors to evaluate its results because it excludes certain items that are not directly related to the Company’s core operating performance . In particular, with regard to our comparison of Adjusted EBITDA for the three and twelve months ended December 31 , 2024 , to the three and twelve months ended December 31 , 2023 , we believe that certain charges make a comparison of net loss less useful to investors than a comparison of Adjusted EBITDA in understanding the results of operations . The Company’s management uses these non - GAAP financial measures in evaluating its financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate period - to - period comparison . The Company’s management recognizes that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, as non - GAAP financial measures, have inherent limitations because of the described excluded items . The Company defines EBITDA as net income (loss) before interest expense, income tax expense (benefit), and depreciation and amortization . Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA plus non - cash stock compensation expense, severance expense, unrealized gain on equity investment, loss on equity investment, impairments, change in fair value of contingent consideration, loss on sale of business and one - time professional expenses for acquisitions . VerifyMe believes EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are important measures of VerifyMe’s operating performance because they allow management, investors and analysts to evaluate and assess VerifyMe’s core operating results from period - to - period after removing the impact of items of a non - operational nature that affect comparability . A reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to the most comparable financial measure, net loss, calculated in accordance with GAAP is included in the table on the next slide . The Company believes that providing the non - GAAP financial measure, together with the reconciliation to GAAP, helps investors make comparisons between VerifyMe and other companies . In making any comparisons to other companies, investors need to be aware that companies use different non - GAAP measures to evaluate their financial performance . Investors should pay close attention to the specific definition being used and to the reconciliation between such measure and the corresponding GAAP measure provided by each company under applicable SEC rules as the presentation here may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies . www.VerifyMe.com
13 Non - GAAP Reconciliation – EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (In Thousands) www.VerifyMe.com
Protect your brand. Grow your business. US Headquarters 801 International Parkway Fifth Floor Lake Mary, FL 32746 +1 585 736 9400 info@ verifyme.com 14