Powercompute, Inc S-1/A, filed Aug 12, 2020
Powercompute, Inc. (PWCM)
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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 11, 2020 |
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Registration No. 333-240015 |
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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 205499
Amendment No. 2 to FORM S-1 REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 LM FUNDING AMERICA, INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) |
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Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
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6199 (Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
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47-3844457 (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
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1200 West Platt Street, Suite 100 Tampa, Florida 33606 Telephone No.: (813) 222-8996 (Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices) |
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Richard Russell Chief Financial Officer 1200 West Platt Street, Suite 100 Tampa, Florida 33606 Telephone No.: (813) 222-8996 (Name, address including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service) |
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Copies to: Curt P. Creely, Esq. M. Ali Panjwani, Esq. Foley & Lardner LLP Pryor Cashman LLP 100 North Tampa Street, Suite 2700 7 Times Square Tampa, Florida 33602 New York, New York 10036 Telephone No.: (813) 229-2300 Telephone No.: (212) 421-4100 Facsimile No.: (813) 221-4210 |
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Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement. |
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If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☒ |
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If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐ |
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If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐ |
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If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐ |
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one): |
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Large Accelerated filer |
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Accelerated filer |
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Non-accelerated filer |
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Smaller reporting company |
☒ |
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Emerging growth company |
☒ |
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐ |
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CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
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Title of Each Class of |
Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering |
Amount of Registration |
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Units, each Unit consisting of one share of common stock, par value $0.001 per share and one common warrant to purchase one share of common stock (3) |
$11,500,000 |
$1,492.70 |
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(i) Common stock included in the Units (4) |
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- |
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(ii) Common warrants included in the Units (4) |
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- |
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Pre-funded Units, each Pre-funded Unit consisting of one pre-funded warrant to purchase one share of common stock and one common warrant to purchase one share of common stock (3) |
$11,500,000 |
$1,492.70 |
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(i) Pre-funded warrants included in the Pre-funded Units (4) |
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- |
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(ii) Common warrants included in the Pre-funded Units (4) |
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- |
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Shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of common warrants (3)(5) |
$11,500,000 |
$1,492.70 |
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Shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the pre-funded warrants (3)(5) |
$11,500,000 |
$1,492.70 |
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Total |
$46,000,000 |
$5,970.80(7) |
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(1) |
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Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rules 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). |
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(2) |
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Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act, the securities being registered hereunder include such indeterminate number of additional securities as may be issued after the date hereof as a result of stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions. |
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(3) |
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The proposed maximum aggregate offering price of the Units proposed to be sold in the offering will be reduced on a dollar-for-dollar basis based on the offering price of any Pre-funded Units offered and sold in the offering, and as such the proposed maximum aggregate offering price of the Units and Pre-funded Units (including the common stock issuable upon exercise of the pre-funded warrants included in the Pre-funded Units), if any, is $11,500,000. |
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(4) |
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No additional registration fee is payable pursuant to Rule 457(i) under the Securities Act. |
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(5) |
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Pursuant to Staff Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation 240.06, equals the aggregate exercise price of the warrants. |
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(6) |
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No separate fee is required pursuant to Rule 457(g) under the Securities Act. |
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(7) |
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Previously paid. |
The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED AUGUST 11, 2020
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
Up to 7,142,856 Units (each Unit contains One Share of Common Stock and One
Common Warrant to Purchase One Share of Common Stock)
Up to 7,142,856 Pre-funded Units (each Pre-funded Unit contains One Pre-funded Warrant to Purchase
One Share of Common Stock and One Common Warrant to Purchase One Share of Common Stock)
Shares of Common Stock Underlying the Pre-funded Warrants and
Shares of Common Stock Underlying the Common Warrants
We are offering up to 7,142,856 units, each unit consisting of one share of our common stock and one common warrant to purchase one share of our common stock (together with the shares of common stock underlying such common warrants). Each common warrant contained in a unit will have an exercise price per share equal to $ per share. The common warrants contained in the units will be exercisable immediately and will expire on the five year anniversary of the original issuance date. We are also offering the shares of our common stock that are issuable from time to time upon exercise of the common warrants contained in the units.
We are also offering the opportunity to purchase, if the purchaser so chooses, up to 7,142,856 pre-funded units to purchasers whose purchase of units in this offering would otherwise result in the purchaser, together with its affiliates and certain related parties, beneficially owning more than 4.99% of our outstanding common stock immediately following the consummation of this offering (each pre-funded unit consisting of one pre-funded warrant to purchase one share of our common stock and one common warrant to purchase one share of our common stock) in lieu of units that would otherwise result in a purchaser’s beneficial ownership exceeding 4.99% of our outstanding common stock (or at the election of the purchaser, 9.99%). Each pre-funded warrant contained in a pre-funded unit will be exercisable for one share of our common stock. The purchase price of each pre-funded unit is equal to the price per unit being sold to the public in this offering, minus $0.01, and the exercise price of each pre-funded warrant included in the pre-funded unit is $0.01 per share. The pre-funded warrants expire when exercised in full. This offering also relates to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of any pre-funded warrants contained in the pre-funded units sold in this offering.
For each pre-funded unit we sell, the number of units we are offering will be decreased on a one-for-one basis. Because we will issue a common warrant as part of each unit or pre-funded unit, the number of common warrants sold in this offering will not change as a result of a change in the mix of the units and pre-funded units sold. Each common warrant contained in a pre-funded unit will have an exercise price per share equal to $ per share. The common warrants contained in the pre-funded units will be exercisable immediately and will expire on the five year anniversary of the original issuance date. We are also offering the shares of our common stock that are issuable from time to time upon exercise of the common warrants contained in the pre-funded units.
The units and the pre-funded units will not be issued or certificated. The shares of common stock or pre-funded warrants, as the case may be, and the common warrants can only be purchased together in this offering but the securities contained in the units or pre-funded units will be issued separately.
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “LMFA”. We have assumed a public offering price of $1.40 per unit, which is the last reported sale price for our common stock as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market on August 6, 2020, and $1.39 per pre-funded unit. The public offering price per unit or pre-funded unit, as the case may be, will be determined between us and the underwriter based on market conditions at the time of pricing, and may be at a discount to the current market price of our common stock. There is no established public trading market for the common warrants or the pre-funded warrants, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply for listing of the common warrants or the pre-funded warrants on any national securities exchange or other trading market. Without an active trading market, the liquidity of the warrants will be limited.
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You should read carefully this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, together with the additional information described in this prospectus under the headings “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference” and “Where You Can Find More Information,” before you invest in any of our securities.
Investing in our securities involves risks. You should carefully read and consider the “Risk Factors” beginning on page 8 of this prospectus before investing. You should also consider the risk factors described or referred to in any documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, and in any applicable prospectus supplement, before investing in these securities.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
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Per Unit |
Per Pre-Funded Unit |
Total |
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Public offering price |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Underwriting discount (1) |
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Proceeds, before expenses, to us (2) |
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(1) |
The terms of our arrangement with the underwriter are described under the section entitled “Underwriting” beginning on page 19 |
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(2) |
We estimate the total expenses of this offering payable by us, excluding the underwriting discount, will be approximately $304,470. All costs associated with the registration will be borne by us. |
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Delivery of the securities offered hereby is expected to be made on or about , 2020.
The offering is being underwritten on a firm commitment basis. The underwriter has an option exercisable within 45 days from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to 1,071,428 additional shares of common stock and/or common warrants and/or pre-funded warrants from us at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. If the underwriter exercises this option in full, the total underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us will be $ , and the total proceeds to us, before expenses, will be $ , excluding potential proceeds from the exercise of the common warrants included in such option.
Maxim Group LLC
The date of this prospectus is , 2020.
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Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to “we,” “us,” “our” or similar terms, as well as references to “LM Funding America” or the “Company,” refer to (i) following the date of the Corporate Reorganization (as defined herein), LM Funding America, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries and (ii) prior to the date of the Corporate Reorganization, LM Funding, LLC, a Florida limited liability company, and its consolidated subsidiaries. This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we refer to as the SEC or the Commission.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not, and the underwriter has not, authorized anyone to provide you with any information other than that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or in any applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us to which we have referred you. We are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, the securities covered hereby only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of those documents, or that the information contained in any document incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of a security. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. We are not, and the underwriter is not, making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted.
For investors outside the United States: We have not, and the underwriter has not, taken any action that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the securities covered hereby and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States.
We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is incorporated by reference or filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreements, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.
Information contained in, and that can be accessed through, our web site www.lmfunding.com shall not be deemed to be part of this prospectus or incorporated herein by reference and should not be relied upon by any prospective investors for the purposes of determining whether to purchase the securities offered hereunder.
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This summary highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this prospectus, and does not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in our securities. You should read this summary together with the entire prospectus, including our financial statements, the notes to those financial statements and the additional information described in this prospectus under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information,” before making an investment decision. See the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus beginning on page 8 and in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus for a discussion of the risks involved in investing in our securities.
Overview
We are a specialty finance company that provides funding to nonprofit community associations primarily located in the state of Florida. We offer incorporated nonprofit community associations, which we refer to as “Associations,” a variety of financial products customized to each Association’s financial needs. Our original product offering consists of providing funding to Associations by purchasing their rights under delinquent accounts that are selected by the Associations arising from unpaid Association assessments. Historically, we provided funding against such delinquent accounts, which we refer to as “Accounts,” in exchange for a portion of the proceeds collected by the Associations from the account debtors on the Accounts. In addition to our original product offering, we have started purchasing Accounts on varying terms tailored to suit each Association’s financial needs, including under our New Neighbor Guaranty™ program.
Specialty Finance Company
We purchase an Association’s right to receive a portion of the Association’s collected proceeds from owners that are not paying their assessments. After taking assignment of an Association’s right to receive a portion of the Association’s proceeds from the collection of delinquent assessments, we engage law firms to perform collection work on a deferred billing basis wherein the law firms receive payment upon collection from the account debtors or a predetermined contracted amount if payment from account debtors is less than legal fees and costs owed. Under this business model, we typically fund an amount equal to or less than the statutory minimum an Association could recover on a delinquent account for each Account, which we refer to as the “Super Lien Amount”. Upon collection of an Account, the law firm working on the Account, on behalf of the Association, generally distributes to us the funded amount, interest, and administrative late fees, with the law firm retaining legal fees and costs collected, and the Association retaining the balance of the collection. In connection with this line of business, we have developed proprietary software for servicing Accounts, which we believe enables law firms to service Accounts efficiently and profitably.
Under our New Neighbor Guaranty program, an Association will generally assign substantially all of its outstanding indebtedness and accruals on its delinquent units to us in exchange for payment by us of monthly dues on each delinquent unit. This simultaneously eliminates a substantial portion of the Association’s balance sheet bad debts and assists the Association to meet its budget by receiving guaranteed monthly payments on its delinquent units and relieving the Association from paying legal fees and costs to collect its bad debts. We believe that the combined features of the program enhance the value of the underlying real estate in an Association and the value of an Association’s delinquent receivables. We intend to leverage our proprietary software platform, as well as our industry experience and knowledge gained from our original line of business, to expand the New Neighbor Guaranty program in certain situations and to potentially develop other new products in the future.
Because we acquire and collect on the delinquent receivables of Associations, the Account debtors are third parties about whom we have little or no information. Therefore, we cannot predict when any given Account will be paid off or how much it will yield. In assessing the risk of purchasing Accounts, we review the property values of the underlying units, the governing documents of the relevant Association, and the total number of delinquent receivables held by the Association.
Specialty Finance Products
Original Product
Our original product relies upon Florida statutory provisions that effectively protect the principal amount invested by us in each Account. In particular, Section 718.116(1), Florida Statutes, makes purchasers and sellers of a unit in an Association jointly and severally liable for all past due assessments, interest, late fees, legal fees, and costs payable to the Association. As discussed above, the Florida Statutes grants to Associations a so-called “super lien”, which is a category of lien that is given a statutorily higher priority than all other types of liens other than property tax liens. The amount of the Association’s priority over a first mortgage holder that takes title to a property through foreclosure (or deed in lieu), referred to as the Super Lien Amount, is limited to twelve months’ past due assessments or, if less, one percent (1.0%) of the original mortgage amount. Under our contracts with Associations for our original product, we pay Associations an amount up to the Super Lien Amount for the right to receive all collected interest and late fees on Accounts purchased from the Associations.
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In other states in which we have offered our original product, which are currently only in Washington, Colorado and Illinois, we rely on statutes that we believe are similar to the above-described Florida statutes in relevant respects. A total of approximately 22 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have super lien statutes that give Association assessments super lien status under some circumstances, and of these states, we believe that all of these jurisdictions other than Alaska have a regulatory and business environment that would enable us to offer our original product to Associations in those states on materially the same basis.
New Neighbor Guaranty
In 2012, we developed a new product, the New Neighbor Guaranty, wherein an Association assigns substantially all of its outstanding indebtedness and accruals on its delinquent units to us in exchange for payments in an amount equal to the regular ongoing monthly or quarterly assessments for delinquent units when those amounts would be due to the Association. We assume both the payment and collection obligations for these assigned Accounts under this product. This simultaneously eliminates an Association’s balance sheet bad debts and assists the Association to meet its budget by receiving guaranteed assessment payments on its delinquent units and relieving the Association from paying legal fees and costs to collect its bad debts. We believe that the combined features of the product enhance the value of the underlying real estate in an Association and the value of an Association’s delinquent receivables.
Before we implement the New Neighbor Guaranty program for an Association, an Association typically asks us to conduct a review of its accounts receivable. After we have conducted the review, we inform the Association which Accounts we are willing to purchase and the terms of such purchase. Once we implement the New Neighbor Guaranty program, we begin making scheduled payments to the Association on the Accounts as if the Association had non-delinquent residents occupying the units underlying the Accounts. Our New Neighbor Guaranty contracts typically allow us to retain all collection proceeds on each Account other than special assessments and accelerated assessment balances. Thus, the Association foregoes the potential benefit of a larger future collection in exchange for the certainty of a steady stream of immediate payments on the Account.
For a complete description of our business, financial condition, results of operations and other important information, we refer you to our filings with the SEC that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. For instructions on how to find copies of these documents, see the section of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find More Information.”
Recent Developments
IIU Acquisition and Disposal
On November 2, 2018, the Company invested cash by purchasing a Senior Convertible Promissory Note in the original principal amount of $1,500,000 (the “IIU Note”) from IIU Inc. (“IIU”), a synergistic Virginia based travel insurance brokerage company controlled by Craven House North America, LLC (“Craven”) N.A., (whose ownership excluding unexercised warrants was approximately 20% of the Company’s outstanding stock at the time of the acquisition). The maturity date of the IIU Note was 360 dates after the date of issuance (subject to acceleration upon an event of default). The IIU Note carried a 3.0% interest rate, with accrued but unpaid interest being payable on the IIU Note’s maturity date.
On January 16, 2019, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with Craven (the “IIU SPA”) to purchase all the outstanding capital stock of IIU as a possible synergistic effort to diversify revenue sources that were believed to be accretive to earnings. IIU provides global medical insurance products for international travelers, specializing in policies covering high-risk destinations, emerging markets and foreign travelers coming to the United States. All policies are fully underwritten with no claim risk remaining with IIU.
The Company purchased 100% of the issued and outstanding capital stock of IIU from Craven for $5,089,357 subject to adjustment as set forth in the IIU SPA. IIU was required to have a minimum net working capital of $15,000 and at least $152,000 in cash. The Company paid the purchase price under the IIU SPA at closing as follows:
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The Company cancelled all principal and accrued interest of the IIU Note, which consisted of aggregate principal indebtedness and accrued interest of $1,507,375 as of January 16, 2019. |
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Convertible Note divided by $2.41. On the date of issuance of the Craven Convertible Note, the closing share price of the Company was $1.42. |
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Pursuant to the terms of the IIU SPA, the purchase price was subsequently reduced by $120,200, to $4,969,200. |
On December 20, 2019, the Company loaned $1.5 million to Craven (“Craven Secured Promissory Note”) which had an initial maturity date of April 15, 2020 and carried an interest rate of 0.5% that was to be paid monthly. The Company subsequently extended the due date of the Craven Secured Promissory Note to August 1, 2021. The Craven Secured Promissory Note was secured by, among other things, a pledge of Craven’s 640,000 shares of common stock of the Company and the assignment of the assets of Craven in favor of the Company. On June 29, 2020, the Company received from Craven $1,503,719 as payment in full of all principal and accrued interest due from the Craven Secured Promissory Note.
On January 8, 2020, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (“SPA”) with Craven pursuant to which the Company sold back to Craven all of the issued and outstanding shares of IIU for $3,562,569. The purchase price was paid by Craven through the cancellation of the $3,461,782 Craven Convertible Note plus forgiveness of $100,787 of accrued interest. The Company originally paid $4,969,200 for the purchase of IIU in January 2019, which included a negative $720,386 net fair value of assets and $5,689,586 of goodwill. As a result, goodwill was impaired by $1.65 million. The sale of IIU resulted in a gain of $16,428.
Entry into and Termination of Hanfor Share Exchange Agreement
On March 23, 2020, the Company entered into a Share Exchange Agreement, dated March 23, 2020 (the “Share Exchange Agreement”), with Hanfor (Cayman) Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company (“Hanfor”), and BZ Industrial Limited, a British Virgin Islands business company and the sole stockholder of Hanfor (“Hanfor Owner”). The Share Exchange Agreement contemplated a business combination transaction in which Hanfor Owner would transfer and assign to the Company all of the share capital of Hanfor in exchange for a number of shares of the Company’s common stock that would result in Hanfor Owner owning 86.5% of the outstanding common stock of the Company.
Under the agreement, Hanfor Owner was required to deliver to the Company audited financial statements for Hanfor for the 2019 and 2018 fiscal years, and such audited financial statements were required to be delivered by May 31, 2020 (subject to extension to June 30, 2020 under specified circumstances). In connection with the execution of the Share Exchange Agreement, the Company and Hanfor Owner entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement, dated March 23, 2020, pursuant to which Hanfor Owner purchased from the Company an aggregate of 520,838 shares of the Company’s common stock at a price of $2.40 per share. Hanfor Owner paid $250,000 cash on March 23, 2020 and the Company received an additional $1,000,000 in April 2020 at which time the Company issued the 520,838 shares.
On July 14, 2020, the Company notified Hanfor and Hanfor Owner that the Company had elected to terminate the Share Exchange Agreement due to Hanfor’s inability to provide audited financial statements by June 30, 2020. Although the Company believes that it properly terminated the Share Exchange Agreement, on July 21, 2020, counsel to Hanfor Owner informed the Company that Hanfor Owner believes that the Company’s termination of the Share Exchange Agreement was not effected in accordance with the terms of the Share Exchange Agreement. The Company and Hanfor Owner are engaged in discussions to resolve this disagreement, but there is no assurance that this disagreement will be promptly resolved or resolved on terms favorable to the Company, and there is no assurance that Hanfor Owner will not seek to take legal action.
Nasdaq Listing
On March 27, 2020, the Company received a notification letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) stating that the Company has not regained compliance with Nasdaq Continued Listing Rule 5550(a)(2), which requires the Company’s listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share (the "Minimum Bid Price Rule"). The notification stated that the Company’s securities would be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market on April 7, 2020 unless the Company timely requested a hearing before a Nasdaq Hearing Panel. The Company timely requested a hearing. However, on April 16, 2020, Nasdaq suspended any enforcement actions relating to bid price issues through June 30, 2020. On July 1, 2020, the Company received a letter from Nasdaq that the Company had regained compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Rule because the closing price for the Company’s common stock was $1.00 per share or greater for ten (10) consecutive business days.
Additionally, on January 3, 2020, the Company received a deficiency letter from Nasdaq, indicating that it was in violation of Listing Rules 5620(a) and 5810(c)(2)(G) by virtue of passing the applicable deadline for holding of its annual general meeting of shareholders for the financial year ended December 31, 2018. The Company resolved this issue by having its annual general meeting of shareholders on May 11, 2020.
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On May 11, 2020, our shareholders voted in favor of the approval of an amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation, in the event it is deemed advisable by our Board of Directors, to effect an additional reverse stock split of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock at a ratio within the range of one-for-two (1:2) and one-for-ten (1:10), as determined by the Board of Directors. However, a reverse stock split has not yet been effected pursuant to such approval.
Corporate Information
LM Funding, LLC, our wholly-owned subsidiary, was originally organized in January 2008 as a Florida limited liability company. Historically, all of our business was conducted through LM Funding, LLC and its subsidiaries. Immediately prior to our initial public offering in October 2015, the members of the LM Funding, LLC contributed all of their membership interests to LM Funding America, Inc., a Delaware corporation incorporated on April 20, 2015, in exchange for an aggregate of 210,000 shares of the common stock of LM Funding America, Inc. (the “Corporate Reorganization”). Immediately after such contribution and exchange, the former members of LM Funding, LLC became the holders of 100% of the issued and outstanding common stock of LM Funding America, Inc., thereby making LM Funding, LLC a wholly-owned subsidiary of LM Funding America, Inc.
Our principal executive offices are located at 1200 Platt Street, Suite 1000, Tampa, Florida 33602, and our telephone number is (813) 222-8996. Our website is www.lmfunding.com and all of our filings with the SEC are available free of charge on our website. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and such information should not be considered to be part of this prospectus.
Emerging Growth Company Status
We qualify as an “emerging growth company,” as that term is defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. For as long as we qualify as an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that do not qualify as emerging growth companies, including, without limitation, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, reduced disclosure obligations relating to executive compensation and exemptions from the requirements of holding advisory “say-on-pay,” “say-when-on-pay” and “golden parachute” executive compensation votes.
Under the JOBS Act, we will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of:
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the last day of the fiscal year during which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.0 billion or more; |
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the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, or December 31, 2020; |
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the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt; and |
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the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) (i.e., the first day of the fiscal year after we have (1) more than $700 million in outstanding common equity held by our non-affiliates, measured each year on the last day of our second fiscal quarter, and (2) been public for at least 12 months). |
We have elected to take advantage of certain of the reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this prospectus and may elect to take advantage of other reduced reporting requirements in future filings with the SEC. As a result, the information that we provide to our stockholders may be different than the information you receive from other public reporting companies.
5
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Units offered by us in this offering |
Up to 7,142,856 units, each consisting of one share of our common stock and one common warrant to purchase one share of our common stock. |
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Pre-funded units offered by us in this offering |
We are also offering the opportunity to purchase, if the purchaser so chooses, up to 7,142,856 pre-funded units to purchasers whose purchase of units in this offering would otherwise result in the purchaser, together with its affiliates and certain related parties, beneficially owning more than 4.99% of our outstanding common stock immediately following the consummation of this offering (each pre-funded unit consisting of one pre-funded warrant to purchase one share of our common stock and one common warrant to purchase one share of our common stock) in lieu of units that would otherwise result in the purchaser’s beneficial ownership exceeding 4.99% of our outstanding common stock (or, at the election of the purchaser, 9.99%). The purchase price of each pre-funded unit is equal to the price at which the units are being sold to the public in this offering, minus $0.01, and the exercise price of each pre-funded warrant included in each pre-funded unit is $0.01 per share. For each pre-funded unit we sell, the number of units we are offering will be decreased on a one-for-one basis. Because we will issue a common warrant as part of each unit or pre-funded unit, the number of common warrants sold in this offering will not change as a result of a change in the mix of the units and pre-funded units sold. This offering also relates to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of any pre-funded warrants sold in this offering. |
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Common warrants offered by us in the offering |
Common warrants to purchase an aggregate of 7,142,856 shares of our common stock. Each unit and each pre-funded unit includes a common warrant to purchase one share of our common stock. Each common warrant will have an exercise price per share equal to $ per share, will be immediately separable from the common stock or pre-funded warrant, as the case may be, will be immediately exercisable and will expire on the five year anniversary of the original issuance date. This prospectus also relates to the offering of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the common warrants. |
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Option to purchase additional securities |
The underwriter has an option to purchase up to 1,071,428 additional shares of common stock and/or common warrants and/or prefunded warrants from us at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriter may exercise this option at any time and from time to time within 45 days from the date of this prospectus. |
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Common stock outstanding prior to this offering |
5,068,799 shares of common stock. |
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Common stock outstanding after this offering |
12,211,655 shares of common stock or 13,283,083 shares of common stock if the underwriter exercises in full its option to purchase additional securities in the form of shares of common stock (assuming the sale of all securities offered hereby, at the assumed public offering price of $ 1.40 per unit, the closing sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market on August 6, 2020, and assuming no exercise of any pre-funded warrants included in the pre-funded units sold in this offering and no exercise of the common warrants issued in this offering). |
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Use of proceeds |
We intend to use the net proceeds received from this offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital. See “Use of Proceeds” on page 12 of this prospectus. |
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Risk factors |
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. For a discussion of factors to consider before deciding to invest in our securities, you should carefully review and consider the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus, as well as the risk factors described or referred to in any documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, and in any applicable prospectus supplement. |
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Trading Symbol |
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “LMFA”. There is no established trading market for the pre-funded warrants or common warrants, and we do not expect a trading market to develop. We do not plan on applying to list the common warrants or the pre-funded warrants on the Nasdaq Capital Market, any national securities exchange or any other nationally recognized trading system. Without an active trading market, the liquidity of the common warrants and the pre-funded warrants will be limited. |
6
The number of shares of common stock outstanding after this offering, as reflected above, is based on the actual number of shares outstanding as of June 30, 2020, which was 5,068,799, and does not include, as of that date:
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1,263,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2020, with a weighted average exercise price of $2.40 per share; |
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143,587 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2020, with a weighted average exercise price of $1.84 per share; |
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• |
125,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2020, with a weighted average exercise price of $2.64 per share; |
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• |
120,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2020, with a weighted average exercise price of $125 per share; and |
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60,000 shares of common stock reserved for future grant or issuance as of June 30, 2020 under our 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan. |
Unless otherwise indicated:
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• |
All historical shares and per share information included in this prospectus have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the Company’s 1-for-10 reverse stock split (the “Reverse Stock Split”); |
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• |
all information contained in this prospectus assumes no exercise of the warrants offered hereby; and |
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all information in this prospectus assumes no exercise of the underwriter’s option to purchase additional securities in connection with this offering. |
7
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding to invest in our securities or to maintain or increase your investment, you should carefully consider the risks described below, in addition to the other information contained in this prospectus as well as the risks and uncertainties set forth under the section titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, and in our other filings with the SEC, which are incorporated by reference herein. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones that we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our business and results of operations. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be seriously harmed. In that event, the market price for our common stock could decline and you may lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to This Offering
Management will have broad discretion with respect to the use of the proceeds from this offering.
Our management will have broad discretion as to the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could use them for purposes other than those contemplated at the time of the offering. Our stockholders may not agree with the manner in which our management chooses to allocate and spend the net proceeds. It is possible that our management may use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes that may not improve our financial condition or market value.
You will experience immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book deficit per share of the common stock included in the units or issuable upon exercise of the common warrants or pre-funded warrants in this offering and may experience additional dilution of your investment in the future.
Since the effective price per share of common stock included in the units or issuable upon exercise of the common warrants or the pre-funded warrants being offered is substantially higher than the net tangible book deficit per share of our common stock outstanding prior to this offering, you will suffer immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book deficit of the common stock included in the units or issuable upon the exercise of the common warrants or the pre-funded warrants issued in this offering. See the section titled “Dilution” below for a more detailed discussion of the dilution you will incur if you purchase units in this offering.
Subject to the lock-up provisions described under “Underwriting,” we are generally not restricted from issuing additional securities including shares of common stock, securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive common stock or substantially similar securities. We may conduct one or more additional offerings following this offering.
The issuance of securities in these or any other offerings may cause further dilution to our stockholders, including investors in this offering. We cannot assure you that we will be able to sell shares or other securities in any other offering at a price per share that is equal to or greater than the price per share paid by investors in this offering, and investors purchasing shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing stockholders, including investors who purchase securities in this offering. The exercise of outstanding stock options and warrants may also result in further dilution to your investment.
If our common stock is delisted from Nasdaq, the liquidity and price of our common stock could decrease and our ability to obtain financing could be impaired.
On March 27, 2020, the Company received a notification letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) stating that the Company was not in compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Rule, which requires the Company’s listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share. The notification stated that the Company’s securities would be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market on April 7, 2020 unless the Company timely requested a hearing before a Nasdaq Hearing Panel. The Company timely requested a hearing. However, the delisting of the Company’s securities was stayed due to the Nasdaq’s decision to suspend any enforcement actions relating to bid price issues. On July 1, 2020, the Company received a letter from Nasdaq that the Company has regained compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Rule because the closing price for the Company’s common stock was $1.00 per share or greater for ten (10) consecutive business days.
Additionally, on January 3, 2020, the Company received a deficiency letter from Nasdaq, indicating that it was in violation of Listing Rules 5620(a) and 5810(c)(2)(G) by virtue of passing the applicable deadline for holding of its annual general meeting of shareholders for the financial year ended December 31, 2018. The Company resolved this issue by having its annual general meeting of shareholders on May 11, 2020.
Any delisting of our common stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market could adversely affect our ability to attract new investors, decrease the liquidity of our outstanding shares of common stock, reduce our ability to raise additional capital, reduce the price at which our common stock trades, and increase the transaction costs inherent in trading such shares with overall negative effects for our
8
stockholders. In addition, the delisting of our common stock could deter broker-dealers from making a market in or otherwise seeking or generating interest in our common stock and might deter certain institutions and persons from investing in our securities at all.
The exclusive jurisdiction clause set forth in the common warrants and pre-funded warrants to be issued to investors in this offering may have the effect of limiting an investor’s rights to bring legal action against us and could limit the investor’s ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.
The common warrants and pre-funded warrants to be issued in this offering provides for investors to consent to exclusive jurisdiction to courts located in New York, New York. This exclusive jurisdiction may have the effect of limiting the ability of investors to bring a legal claim against us due to geographic limitations and may limit an investor’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us. Alternatively, if a court were to find this exclusive forum provision inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition.
A decline in the price of our common stock could adversely affect our ability to raise working capital.
Although there is a public market for our common stock, we can give no assurance that an active and liquid public market for the shares of the common stock will continue in the future. In addition, future sales of large amounts of common stock could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to raise capital. The price of our common stock could also drop as a result of the exercise of options for common stock or the perception that such sales or exercise of options could occur. These factors could also have a negative impact on the liquidity of our common stock and our ability to raise working capital through future stock offerings.
We do not pay cash dividends.
We have never paid any cash dividends on our common stock and do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Instead, we intend to apply earnings, if any, to the expansion and development of our business. Thus, the liquidity of your investment is dependent upon your ability to sell stock at an acceptable price. The price may increase or decrease and may limit your ability to realize any value from your investment, including the initial purchase price.
Holders of our warrants will have no rights as a common stockholder until they acquire our common stock.
Until you acquire shares of our common stock upon exercise of your warrants, you will have no rights with respect to shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of your warrants. Upon exercise of your warrants, you will be entitled to exercise the rights of a common stockholder only as to matters for which the record date occurs after the exercise date.
A large number of shares issued in this offering may be sold in the market following this offering, which may depress the market price of our common stock.
A large number of shares issued in this offering may be sold in the market following this offering, which may depress the market price of our common stock. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market following this offering could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. If there are more shares of common stock offered for sale than buyers are willing to purchase, then the market price of our common stock may decline to a market price at which buyers are willing to purchase the offered shares of common stock and sellers remain willing to sell the shares. All of the shares of common stock issued in the offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
The warrants issued in this offering may not have any value.
Each warrant will have an exercise price equal to $ and will expire on the fifth anniversary of the date they first become exercisable. In the event our common stock price does not exceed the exercise price of the warrants during the period when the warrants are exercisable, the warrants may not have any value.
There is no public market for the common warrants or the pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of our common stock included in the units and the pre-funded units being offered by us in this offering.
There is no established public trading market for the common warrants or the pre-funded warrants included in the units and the pre-funded units being offered in this offering, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply to list the common warrants or the pre-funded warrants on any national securities exchange or other nationally recognized trading system, including the Nasdaq Capital Market. Without an active market, the liquidity of the common warrants and the pre-funded warrants will be limited.
9
Risk Relating to Potential Legal Dispute
A potential legal dispute between Hanfor Owner and the Company could have material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
On March 23, 2020, the Company entered into the Share Exchange Agreement with Hanfor and Hanfor Owner. The Share Exchange Agreement contemplated a business combination transaction in which Hanfor Owner would transfer and assign to the Company all of the share capital of Hanfor in exchange for a number of shares of the Company’s common stock that would result in Hanfor Owner owning 86.5% of the outstanding common stock of the Company. Under the agreement, Hanfor Owner was required to deliver to the Company audited financial statements for Hanfor for the 2019 and 2018 fiscal years, and such audited financial statements were required to be delivered by May 31, 2020 (subject to extension to June 30, 2020 under specified circumstances). On July 14, 2020, the Company notified Hanfor and Hanfor Owner that the Company had terminated the Share Exchange Agreement due to Hanfor’s inability to provide audited financial statements by June 30, 2020. Although the Company believes that it properly terminated the Share Exchange Agreement, on July 21, 2020, counsel to Hanfor Owner informed the Company that Hanfor Owner believes that the Company’s termination of the Share Exchange Agreement was not effected in accordance with the terms of the Share Exchange Agreement. The Company and Hanfor Owner are engaged in discussions to resolve this disagreement, but there is no assurance that this disagreement will be promptly resolved or resolved on terms favorable to the Company. If the Company and Hanfor Owner cannot resolve this disagreement, any resulting formal legal dispute could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial conditions, and results of operation.
10
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. We have made these statements in reliance on the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus, including, without limitation, statements regarding our future financial position, business strategy, budgets, projected revenues, projected costs, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “believes,” or the negative thereof or any variation thereon or similar terminology or expressions.
We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors which could materially affect our results and our future performance include, without limitation:
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our ability to purchase defaulted consumer receivables at appropriate prices, |
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competition to acquire such receivables, |
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our dependence upon third party law firms to service our accounts, |
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our ability to obtain funds to purchase receivables, |
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our ability to manage growth or declines in the business, |
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changes in government regulations that affect our ability to collect sufficient amounts on our defaulted consumer receivables, |
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the impact of class action suits and other litigation on our business or operations, |
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our ability to keep our software systems updated to operate our business, |
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our ability to employ and retain qualified employees, |
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our ability to establish and maintain internal accounting controls, |
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changes in the credit or capital markets, |
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changes in interest rates, |
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deterioration in economic conditions, |
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negative press regarding the debt collection industry which may have a negative impact on a debtor’s willingness to pay the debt we acquire, |
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the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), its impact on the economy generally and, more specifically, the specialty finance or specialty health insurance industries, |
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negative press regarding the debt collection industry which may have a negative impact on a debtor’s willingness to pay the debt we acquire, and |
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other factors set forth under “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, as filed with the SEC, as well as our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, as well as any update in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed from time to time with the SEC, that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. |
11
We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering will be approximately $8,895,529 from the sale of our securities in this offering, based on an assumed public offering price of $1.40 per unit, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market on August 6, 2020, and assuming the sale of 7,142,856 units and no sale of any pre-funded units in this offering after deducting the underwriting fees and estimated offering expenses payable by us. If the underwriter exercises its option to purchase additional shares of common stock and/or common warrants and and/or pre-funded warrants, we estimate the net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $10,275,528 from the sale of our securities (assuming that the option is exercised solely with respect to shares of common stock), after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The public offering price per unit or pre-funded unit will be negotiated between us and the underwriter based on market conditions at the time of pricing, and may be at a discount to the current market price of our common stock. This amount excludes the proceeds, if any, from the exercise of common warrants in this offering. If all of the common warrants sold in this offering were to be exercised in cash at an exercise price of $ per share, we would receive additional net proceeds of approximately $ million. We cannot predict when or if these common warrants will be exercised. It is possible that these common warrants may expire and may never be exercised.
We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital.
We have not otherwise determined the amounts we plan to spend on more specific areas or the timing of these expenditures. As a result, our management will have broad discretion to allocate the net proceeds from this offering. Pending application of the net proceeds as described above, we intend to invest the net proceeds of this offering in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities.
A $0.25 increase or decrease in the assumed public offering price of $1.40 per unit, based on the last reported sale price for our common stock as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market on August 6, 2020, would decrease or increase the number of units sold in this offering by approximately 1,082,251 units and 1,552,795 units, respectively, which would decrease or increase the amount of common stock issued by 1,082,251 shares and 1,552,795 shares, respectively, and the number of common warrants issued by 1,082,251 common warrants and 1,552,795 common warrants, respectively, assuming no sale of any pre-funded units.
Similarly, each increase or decrease of 1,00,000 units offered by us would increase or decrease the net proceeds to us by approximately $1,288,000 assuming the assumed public offering price per unit of $ 1.40 remains the same, assuming no sale of any pre-funded units after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
12
The following table sets forth our cash, cash equivalents and capitalization as of June 30, 2020:
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on an actual basis; and |
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on an as adjusted basis to give effect to the assumed sale of our securities in this offering and the receipt of approximately $8,895,529 in net proceeds from the sale of such shares, based on an assumed public offering price of $1.40 per unit, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market on August 6, 2020, and assuming the sale of 7,142,856 units and no sale of any pre-funded units in this offering, after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us. |
You should read this information in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
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Actual |
As Adjusted |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
$ 6,238,678 |
$ 15,134,207 |
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Total liabilities |
709,367 |
709,367 |
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Stockholders’ equity: |
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Common stock, par value $.001; 30,000,000 shares authorized; 5,068,799 shares issued and outstanding on an actual basis, 12,211,655 issued and outstanding on an as adjusted basis |
5,069 |
12,212 |
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Additional paid-in capital |
21,653,342 |
30,541,728 |
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Accumulated deficit |
(15,483,824) |
(15,483,824) |
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Total stockholders’ equity |
$ 6,174,587 |
$ 15,070,116 |
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Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity |
$ 6,883,954 |
$ 15,779,483 |
The table above is based on 5,068,799 shares of our common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2020 and excludes:
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1,263,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2020, with a weighted average exercise price of $2.40 per share; |
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143,587 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2020, with a weighted average exercise price of $1.84 per share; |
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125,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2020, with a weighted average exercise price of $2.64 per share; |
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120,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2020, with a weighted average exercise price of $125 per share; |
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60,000 shares of common stock reserved for future grant or issuance as of June 30, 2020 under our 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan; and |
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7,142,856 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the pre-funded warrants offered hereby by us at an exercise price of $0.01 per share; |
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7,142,856 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the common warrants offered hereby by us at an exercise price of $ per share. |
13
If you purchase our securities in this offering, you will experience dilution in the net tangible book value per share of the common stock you purchase to the extent of the difference between the combined public offering price per share and related warrants and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants.
Net tangible book value per share is equal to the amount of our total tangible assets, less total liabilities, divided by the number of outstanding shares of our common stock. As of June 30, 2020, our historical net tangible book value was approximately $6.2 million, or approximately $1.22 per share of common stock.
As adjusted net tangible book value is our historical net tangible book value, after giving effect to the assumed sale by us of units in this offering at an assumed public offering price of $1.40 per unit, based on the last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market on August 6, 2020, assuming no sale of any pre-funded units in this offering and after deducting estimated underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of June 30, 2020, would have been approximately $15.1 million, or approximately $1.23 per share, which excludes the common warrants to purchase shares of our common stock to be issued to investors in this offering. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of approximately $0.01 per share to existing stockholders and an immediate dilution of approximately $0.17 per share to new investors purchasing shares of our common stock and warrants in this offering. The following table illustrates this per share dilution:
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Assumed combined public offering price per unit |
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$1.40 |
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Historical net tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2020 |
$1.22 |
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Increase in historical net tangible book value per share attributable to this offering |
$0.01 |
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As adjusted net tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2020 after this offering |
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$1.23 |
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Dilution in as adjusted net tangible book value per share to new investors |
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$ 0.17 |
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If the underwriter exercises its option to purchase additional shares of common stock and/or common warrants and/or pre-funded warrants at the public offering price of $1.40 per unit (and only shares of common stock are purchased pursuant to the option), less underwriting discounts and commissions, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value after this offering would be approximately $16.5 million, or approximately $1.24 per share, and have no significant impact on dilution per share to existing shareholders and immediate dilution in pro forma net tangible book value of approximately $0.16 per share to investors purchasing our securities in this offering at the public offering price.
This table does not take into account further dilution to new investors that could occur upon the exercise of the warrants offered hereby or outstanding options and warrants having a per share exercise price less than the public offering price per share in this offering. To the extent that outstanding options or warrants are exercised, or restricted stock units vest and settle, investors purchasing our common stock will experience further dilution. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that additional capital is raised through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our stockholders.
The number of shares of common stock outstanding after this offering as reflected in the table above, is based on the actual number of shares outstanding as of June 30, 2020, which was 5,068,799, and does not include, as of that date:
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1,263,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2020, with a weighted average exercise price of $2.40 per share; |
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143,587 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2020, with a weighted average exercise price of $1.84 per share; |
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125,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2020, with a weighted average exercise price of $2.64 per share; |
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120,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2020, with a weighted average exercise price of $125 per share; |
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60,000 shares of common stock reserved for future grant or issuance as of June 30, 2020 under our 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan; and |
14
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7,142,856 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the pre-funded warrants offered hereby by us at an exercise price of $0.01 per share; |
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7,142,856 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the common warrants offered hereby by us at an exercise price of $ per share. |
15
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES WE ARE OFFERING
We are offering (i) up to 7,142,856 units, each unit consisting of one share of our common stock and one common warrant to purchase one share of our common stock, and (ii) up to 7,142,856 pre-funded units, each pre-funded unit consisting of one pre-funded warrant to purchase one share of our common stock and one common warrant to purchase one share of our common stock. For each pre-funded unit we sell, the number of units we are offering will be decreased on a one-for-one basis. The share of common stock and accompanying common warrant included in each unit will be issued separately, and the pre-funded warrant to purchase one share of common stock and the accompanying common warrant included in each pre-funded unit will be issued separately. Units will not be issued or certificated. We are also registering the shares of common stock included in the units and the shares of common stock issuable from time to time upon exercise of the pre-funded warrants included in pre-funded units and common warrants included in the units and the pre-funded units offered hereby.
Common Stock
Authorized Capital Stock. Under our Certificate of Incorporation, we are authorized to issue 30,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, in one or more series designated by our board of directors (the “Board of Directors”).
Voting Rights. The holders of our Common Stock are entitled to one vote per share. Holders of our common stock are not entitled to cumulate their votes in the election of directors. Generally, all matters to be voted on by stockholders must be approved by a majority (or, in the case of election of directors, by a plurality) of the votes entitled to be cast by all holders of Common Stock present in person or represented by proxy, voting together as a single class. The number of authorized shares of Common Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares then outstanding) by (in addition to any vote of the holders of one or more series of preferred stock that may be required to vote pursuant to the terms of our Certificate of Incorporation) the affirmative vote of holders of shares of capital stock of the Company representing a majority of the votes represented by all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote, irrespective of any of the provisions of the DGCL.
Dividends. Holders of our Common Stock will share ratably (based on the number of shares of Common Stock held) if and when any dividend is declared by the Board of Directors out of funds legally available therefor, subject to any statutory or contractual restrictions on the payment of dividends by us and subject to any restrictions or preferential rights on the payment of dividends imposed by the terms of any outstanding series of preferred stock.
Liquidation Rights. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of our Common Stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets of the Company remaining after the payment of its liabilities, subject to the prior distribution rights of any series of preferred stock then outstanding.
Other Rights. Our Common Stock is not subject to redemption nor do holders of our Common Stock have any preemptive rights to purchase additional shares of Common Stock. Holders of shares of our Common Stock do not have subscription, redemption or conversion rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Common Stock. All of the outstanding shares of Common Stock are validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.
Reverse Stock Split. On October 15, 2018, the Company effected the Reverse Stock Split by means of a one-for-ten (1:10) reverse split of its outstanding Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share. As a result of the Reverse Stock Split, every ten shares of Common Stock were consolidated into one share of Common Stock, effective as of October 16, 2018. On May 11, 2020, our shareholders voted in favor of the approval of an amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation, in the event it is deemed advisable by our Board of Directors, to effect an additional reverse stock split of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock at a ratio within the range of one-for-two (1:2) and one-for-ten (1:10), as determined by the Board of Directors. However, a reverse stock split has not yet been effected pursuant to such approval.
Listing on The Nasdaq Global Market. Our Common Stock is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “LMFA”.
Pre-Funded Warrants
The following summary of certain terms and provisions of pre-funded warrants included in the pre-funded units that are being offered hereby is not complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the pre-funded warrant, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Prospective investors should carefully review the terms and provisions of the form of pre-funded warrant for a complete description of the terms and conditions of the pre-funded warrants.
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Each pre-funded warrant will have an initial exercise price per share equal to $0.01. The pre-funded warrants will be immediately exercisable and may be exercised at any time until the pre-funded warrants are exercised in full. The exercise price and number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise is subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of stock dividends, stock splits, reorganizations or similar events affecting our common stock and the exercise price. The pre-funded warrants will be issued separately from the accompanying common warrants included in the pre-funded units and may be transferred separately immediately thereafter.
Exercisability
The pre-funded warrants will be exercisable, at the option of each holder, in whole or in part, by delivering to us a duly executed exercise notice accompanied by payment in full for the number of shares of our common stock purchased upon such exercise (except in the case of a cashless exercise as discussed below). A holder (together with its affiliates) may not exercise any portion of the pre-funded warrant to the extent that the holder would own more than 4.99% of the outstanding common stock immediately after exercise. However, any holder may increase such percentage to any other percentage not in excess of 9.99%, provided that any increase in such percentage shall not be effective until 61 days after the holder give notice to us of such increase. Purchasers of pre-funded units in this offering may also elect, prior to the issuance of the pre funded warrants, to have the initial exercise limitation set at 9.99% of our outstanding common stock.
Cashless Exercise
If, at the time a holder exercises its pre-funded warrants, a registration statement registering the issuance of the shares of common stock underlying the pre-funded warrants under the Securities Act is not then effective or available for the issuance of such shares, then in lieu of making the cash payment otherwise contemplated to be made to us upon such exercise in payment of the aggregate exercise price, the holder may elect instead to receive upon such exercise (either in whole or in part) the net number of shares of common stock determined according to a formula set forth in the pre-funded warrants.
Transferability
Subject to applicable laws, a pre-funded warrant may be transferred at the option of the holder upon surrender of the pre-funded warrant to us together with the appropriate instruments of transfer.
Fractional Shares
No fractional shares of common stock will be issued upon the exercise of the pre-funded warrants. Rather, the number of shares of common stock to be issued will, at our election, either be rounded up to the nearest whole number or we will pay a cash adjustment in respect of such final fraction in an amount equal to such fraction multiplied by the exercise price.
Trading Market
There is no trading market available for the pre-funded warrants on any securities exchange or nationally recognized trading system.
Rights as a Stockholder
Except as otherwise provided in the pre-funded warrants or by virtue of such holder’s ownership of shares of our common stock, the holders of the pre-funded warrants do not have the rights or privileges of holders of our common stock, including any voting rights, until they exercise their pre-funded warrants.
Common Warrants
The following summary of certain terms and provisions of common warrants included in the units and the pre-funded units that are being offered hereby is not complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the common warrants, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Prospective investors should carefully review the terms and provisions of the form of common warrant for a complete description of the terms and conditions of the common warrants.
Duration and Exercise Price
Each common warrant included in the units and the pre-funded units offered hereby will have an initial exercise price per whole share equal to $ . The common warrants will be immediately exercisable and will expire on the fifth anniversary of the original issuance date. The exercise price and number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise is subject to appropriate adjustment in
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the event of stock dividends, stock splits, reorganizations or similar events affecting our common stock and the exercise price. The common warrants will be issued separately from the common stock included in the units, or the pre-funded warrants included in the pre-funded units, as the case may be, and may be transferred separately immediately thereafter. A common warrant to purchase one share of our common stock will be included in each unit or pre-funded unit purchased in this offering.
Exercisability
The common warrants will be exercisable, at the option of each holder, in whole or in part, by delivering to us a duly executed exercise notice accompanied by payment in full for the number of shares of our common stock purchased upon such exercise (except in the case of a cashless exercise as discussed below). A holder (together with its affiliates) may not exercise any portion of the common warrant to the extent that the holder would own more than 4.99% of the outstanding common stock immediately after exercise, except that upon at least 61 days’ prior notice from the holder to us, the holder may increase the amount of ownership of outstanding stock after exercising the holder’s common warrants up to 9.99% of the number of shares of our common stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the exercise, as such percentage ownership is determined in accordance with the terms of the common warrants.
Cashless Exercise
If, at the time a holder exercises its common warrants, a registration statement registering the issuance of the shares of common stock underlying the common warrants under the Securities Act is not then effective or available for the issuance of such shares, then in lieu of making the cash payment otherwise contemplated to be made to us upon such exercise in payment of the aggregate exercise price, the holder may elect instead to receive upon such exercise (either in whole or in part) the net number of shares of common stock determined according to a formula set forth in the common warrants.
Fractional Shares
No fractional shares of common stock will be issued upon the exercise of the common warrants. Rather, the number of shares of common stock to be issued will, at our election, either be rounded up to the nearest whole number or we will pay a cash adjustment in respect of such final fraction in an amount equal to such fraction multiplied by the exercise price.
Transferability
Subject to applicable laws, a common warrant may be transferred at the option of the holder upon surrender of the common warrant to us together with the appropriate instruments of transfer.
Exchange Listing
We do not intend to list the common warrants on any securities exchange or nationally recognized trading system.
Rights as a Stockholder
Except as otherwise provided in the common warrants or by virtue of such holder’s ownership of shares of our common stock, the holders of the common warrants do not have the rights or privileges of holders of our common stock, including any voting rights, until they exercise their common warrants.
Anti-Dilution
The warrants contain a full-ratchet anti-dilution exercise price adjustment upon the issuance of any common stock, securities convertible into common stock or certain other issuances at a price below the then-existing exercise price of the warrants, with certain exceptions. The terms of the warrants, including these anti-dilution protections, may make it difficult for us to raise additional capital at prevailing market terms in the future.
Fundamental Transactions
If we (i) effect any merger or consolidation with or into another person, (ii) effect any sale of all or substantially all of our assets in one or a series of related transactions, (iii) complete any tender offer or exchange offer pursuant to which holders of common stock are permitted to tender or exchange their shares for other securities, cash or property, (iv) effect any reclassification of our common stock or any compulsory share exchange pursuant to which our common stock is effectively converted into or exchanged for other securities, cash or property, or (v) other similar transactions, then the warrant will become the right thereafter to receive, upon exercise, the number of shares of common stock of the successor or acquiring corporation (or the Company, if it is the survivor) and
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any additional consideration receivable upon such a fundamental transaction by holders of shares of common stock immediately prior to such transaction.
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We currently intend to retain any future earnings to finance the growth and development of our business. Therefore, we do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination as to the declaration and payment of dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on then existing conditions, including our financial condition, operating results, contractual restrictions, capital requirements, business prospects and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant.
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We have entered into an underwriting agreement with Maxim Group LLC, as underwriter, with respect to the securities being offered hereby. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement, we have agreed to sell to the underwriter and the underwriter has agreed to purchase from us, at the public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, a combination of up to 7,142,856 units and/or pre-funded units.
A copy of the form of underwriting agreement has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. The units and pre-funded units we are offering are being offered by the underwriter subject to certain conditions specified in the underwriting agreement.
We have been advised by the underwriter that it proposes to offer the units and pre-funded units, as the case may be, directly to the public at the public offering prices set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. Any units and pre-funded units sold by the underwriter to securities dealers will be sold at the public offering price less a selling concession not in excess of $ per unit or pre-funded unit.
The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriter’s obligation to purchase the securities we are offering is subject to conditions contained in the underwriting agreement. The underwriter is obligated to purchase and pay for all of the units and/or pre-funded units offered by this prospectus, if any of these units and/or pre-funded units are purchased, other than those shares and/or warrants and/or pre-funded warrants covered by the option to purchase additional securities described below.
No action has been taken by us or the underwriter that would permit a public offering of the units or pre-funded units in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. None of the securities included in this offering may be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the offer and sales of any of the securities be distributed or published in any jurisdiction, except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of that jurisdiction. Persons who receive this prospectus are advised to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to this offering of units and pre-funded units and the distribution of this prospectus. This prospectus is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of any offer to buy the units or pre-funded units in any jurisdiction where that would not be permitted or legal.
Underwriting Discounts, Commissions and Expenses
The following table shows the public offering price, underwriting discounts and commissions and proceeds, before expenses to us. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriter’s option to purchase additional shares of common stock and/or warrants and/or pre-funded warrants.
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|
Per Unit |
Per Pre-funded Unit |
Total Without Option |
Total With Option |
|
Public offering price |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Underwriting discounts and commissions |
|
|
|
|
|
Proceeds before expenses |
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|
|
|
We have agreed to pay the underwriters an aggregate fee equal to 8% of the gross proceeds of this offering and expect the net proceeds from this offering to be approximately $8,895,529 after deducting underwriting commissions and other offering expenses. We have agreed to reimburse the underwriter for up to $90,000 of its fees and expenses relating to this offering. We estimate the total expenses payable by us for this offering, excluding the underwriting discounts and commissions, to be approximately $304,470, which includes (i) reimbursement of the accountable expenses of the underwriter equal to $90,000, including the legal fees of the underwriter being paid by us and the costs and expenses of the “road show”, and (ii) other estimated expenses of approximately $214,470, which include legal, accounting, printing costs and various fees associated with the registration and listing of our securities sold in this offering.
We have paid an expense deposit of $15,000 to the underwriter, which will be applied against actual, out-of-pocket accountable expenses that will be paid by us to the underwriter in connection with this offering. Any portion of the $15,000 expense deposit paid to the underwriter will be returned to us to the extent that offering expenses are not actually incurred by the underwriters in compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(C).
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Option to Purchase Additional Securities
We have granted to the underwriter an option, exercisable not later than 45 days after the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to an additional 1,071,428 shares of common stock and/or warrants and/or pre-funded warrants, less the underwriting discounts and commissions, set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. If any additional shares of common stock and/or common warrants and/or pre-funded warrants are purchased pursuant to such option, the underwriter will offer these securities on the same terms as those on which the securities are being offered hereby. The underwriter has informed us that it will decide on whether to exercise its option based on the then-current market conditions relative to our company’s securities. If needed, the underwriter would purchase additional shares of common stock in order to stabilize this offering. Warrants and pre-funded warrants would be sourced by exercise of the underwriter’s option with respect to such warrants or pre-funded warrants, as applicable. Common stock would be sourced either by exercise of the underwriter’s option or in the open market. If common stock is sourced through the open market, we would not receive the proceeds from the sale of such common stock.
Right of First Refusal
We have also granted the underwriter a right of first refusal to act as sole book-running manager, sole underwriter or sole placement agent for certain future public or private equity, offerings by us for the one year period following the closing of the offering.
Lock-up Agreements
Our officers and directors have agreed with the underwriter to be subject to a lock-up period of 90 days following the date of this prospectus. This means that, during the applicable lock-up period, such persons may not offer for sale, contract to sell, sell, distribute, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any of our shares of common stock or any securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, shares of common stock . Certain limited transfers are permitted during the lock-up period if the transferee agrees to these lock-up restrictions. We have also agreed, in the underwriting agreement, to similar lock-up restrictions on the issuance and sale of our shares of common stock for 90 days following the closing of this offering, although we will be permitted to issue stock options or stock awards to directors, officers, employees and consultants under our existing plans. The underwriter may, in its sole discretion and without notice, waive the terms of any of these lock-up agreements.
Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids
The underwriter may engage in syndicate covering transactions, stabilizing transactions and penalty bids or purchases for the purpose of pegging, fixing or maintaining the price of our shares of common stock:
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|
• |
Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of securities in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. Such a naked short position would be closed out by buying securities in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriter is concerned that there could be downward pressure on the price of the securities in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. |
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|
• |
Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specific maximum. |
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• |
Penalty bids permit the underwriter to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the securities originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. |
These syndicate covering transactions, stabilizing transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market prices of our securities or preventing or retarding a decline in the market prices of our securities. As a result, the price of our shares of common stock may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. Neither we nor the underwriter make any representation or prediction as to the effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our shares of common stock. These transactions may be effected on the Nasdaq Capital Market, in the over-the-counter market or on any other trading market and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
In connection with this offering, the underwriter also may engage in passive market making transactions in our shares of common stock in accordance with Regulation M during a period before the commencement of offers or sales of our shares of common stock in this offering and extending through the completion of the distribution. In general, a passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid for that security. However, if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid that bid must then be lowered when specific purchase limits are exceeded. Passive market making may stabilize
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the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
Neither we nor the underwriter make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the prices of our securities. In addition, neither we nor the underwriter make any representation that the underwriter will engage in these transactions or that any transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
Indemnification
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriter against certain liabilities, including certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments that the underwriter may be required to make for these liabilities.
Determination of Offering Price
The actual offering price of the securities we are offering will be negotiated between us and the underwriter based on the trading of our shares of common stock prior to the offering, among other things, and may be at a discount to the current market price.
Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Securities
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by the underwriter, if any, participating in this offering and the underwriter may distribute prospectuses electronically. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on these websites is not part of this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus form a part, has not been approved or endorsed by us or the underwriter, and should not be relied upon by investors.
Other Relationships
The underwriter and its respective affiliates have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates. In January 2020 and March 2020, we issued the underwriter a total of 186,000 shares of our common stock as compensation for certain advisory work performed by the underwriter. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g), such shares may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged, or hypothecated, or be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the effective economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the later of the date of effectiveness or commencement of sales of this offering, other than in accordance with the rule. The underwriter has entered into a lockup reflecting such restriction.
Listing
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “LMFA.” We do not plan to list the warrants or pre-funded warrants on the Nasdaq Capital Market or any other securities exchange or trading market.
Certain legal matters with respect to the securities offered hereby will be passed upon by Foley & Lardner LLP, Tampa, Florida. Certain other legal matters will be passed upon for the underwriter by Pryor Cashman LLP, New York, New York, in connection with this offering.
MaloneBailey, LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, as set forth in its report, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statements. Our financial statements are incorporated by reference in reliance on MaloneBailey LLP’s report, given on its authority as an expert in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of common stock and warrants to purchase shares of common stock being offered by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information in the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and the exhibits to such registration statement. For further information with respect to us and the common stock and warrants offered by this prospectus, we refer you to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and the exhibits to such registration statement. Statements contained in this prospectus as to the contents of any contract or any other document are not necessarily complete, and in each instance, we refer you to the copy of
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the contract or other document incorporated by reference or filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Each of these statements is qualified in all respects by this reference.
The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including LM Funding America, Inc. The SEC’s Internet site can be found at http://www.sec.gov. You may also request a copy of these filings, at no cost, by writing us at 1200 Platt Street, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33602 or telephoning us at (813) 222-8996.
We are subject to the information and reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, and, in accordance with this law, file periodic reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. These periodic reports, proxy statements and other information are available on the website of the SEC referred to above. We maintain a website at www.lmfunding.com. You may access these materials free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Information contained on our website is not a part of this prospectus and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus is an inactive textual reference only.
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we file with it, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below:
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• |
Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on May 18, 2020, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, filed with the SEC on August 10, 2020; |
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• |
Our Current Reports on Form 8-K and Form 8-K/A filed with the SEC on January 2, 2020, January 8, 2020, January 10, 2020, March 23, 2020, March 27, 2020, March 31, 2020, May 13, 2020, July 7, 2020 and July 20, 2020; |
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• |
All documents filed by us with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act on or after the date of this prospectus and before we terminate the offering under this prospectus. |
We also incorporate by reference any future filings (other than current reports furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K and exhibits filed on such form that are related to such items unless such Form 8-K expressly provides to the contrary) made with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, including those made after the date of the initial filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and prior to effectiveness of such registration statement, until we file a post-effective amendment that indicates the termination of the offering of the securities made by this prospectus and will become a part of this prospectus from the respective dates that such documents are filed with the SEC. Any statement contained herein or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes hereof or of the related prospectus supplement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which is also incorporated or deemed to be incorporated herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.
We will provide without charge to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this prospectus is delivered, upon his or her written or oral request, a copy of any or all documents referred to above which have been or may be incorporated by reference into this prospectus but not delivered with this prospectus excluding exhibits to those documents unless they are specifically incorporated by reference into those documents. You can request those documents from us, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at: LM Funding America, Inc., (813) 222-8996, 1200 West Platt Street, Suite 100, Tampa, Florida 33606, Attention: Corporate Secretary. You also may access these documents on our website at https://ir.lmfunding.com/sec-filings. Information contained on our website is not a part of this prospectus and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus is an inactive textual reference only.
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Up to 7,142,856 Units (each Unit contains One Share of Common Stock and One
Common Warrant to Purchase One Share of Common Stock)
Up to 7,142,856 Pre-funded Units (each Pre-funded Unit contains One Pre-funded Warrant to Purchase
One Share of Common Stock and One Common Warrant to Purchase One Share of Common Stock)
Shares of Common Stock Underlying the Pre-funded Warrants and
Shares of Common Stock Underlying the Common Warrants
PROSPECTUS
Maxim Group LLC
, 2020
1
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The following table indicates the expenses to be incurred in connection with the offering described in this registration statement, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, all of which will be paid by us. All amounts are estimated except the Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, filing fee.
|
|
Amount to be Paid |
|
SEC registration fee |
$5,970.80 |
|
FINRA filing fee |
$3,500.00 |
|
Accounting fees and expenses |
$25,000.00 |
|
Legal fees and expenses |
$190,000.00 |
|
Transfer agent and registrar fees |
$5,000.00 |
|
Miscellaneous fees and expenses |
$74,999.20 |
|
Total |
$304,470.00 |
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) enables a corporation in its certificate of incorporation to eliminate or limit the personal liability of a director for violations of the director’s fiduciary duties, except (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) for liability of directors for unlawful payment of dividends or unlawful stock purchases or redemptions pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL or (iv) for any transaction from which a director derived an improper personal benefit. Our certificate of incorporation includes a provision that eliminates the personal liability of directors for monetary damages for actions taken as a director to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL.
Section 145 of the DGCL provides that a corporation has the power to indemnify a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation and certain other persons serving at the request of the corporation for another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise in a similar capacity against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with an action, suit or proceeding to which he was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party by reason of such position, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, in any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful, except that, in the case of actions brought by or in the right of the corporation, no indemnification shall be made with respect to any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or other adjudicating court determines that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all of the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
Our certificate of incorporation and by-laws provide indemnification for our directors, officers and employees to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL. We will indemnify each person who was or is a party or threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she is or was, or has agreed to become, a director, officer or employee of the Company, or, while a director, officer or employee of the Company, is or was serving at our request as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan (all such persons being referred to as an “Indemnitee”), or by reason of any action alleged to have been taken or omitted in such capacity, against all expense, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred by such indemnitee to the broadest extent permitted by the DGCL. Our certificate of incorporation and by-laws provide for advancement of expenses to an Indemnitee, provided that, to the extent that the DGCL requires, an advance of expenses incurred by an Indemnitee may only be made by delivery to the Company by the Indemnitee of an undertaking to repay all amounts so advanced if it is finally determined that such Indemnitee was not entitled to be indemnified by the Company. Our certificate of incorporation and by-laws also permit us to enter into agreements with any person that provide for indemnification greater or different than the indemnification provided in our certificate of incorporation or by-laws.
We have entered into separate indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. Each indemnification agreement provides, among other things, for indemnification to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL against any and all expenses, judgments, fines, penalties, and amounts paid in settlement of any claim. The indemnification agreements provide for the
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advancement or payment of certain expenses to the indemnitee and for reimbursement to us if it is found that such indemnitee is not entitled to such indemnification under applicable law or the indemnification agreement.
We may choose to obtain a general liability insurance policy to protect any director, officer, employee and agent of the Company, any director, officer, employee and agent of a subsidiary of the Company, and any person serving as a director, officer, partner, member, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against liability asserted against such person or incurred by such person in any such capacity or arising out of the person’s status as such.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) may be permitted to directors, officers, or persons controlling the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
In the three years preceding the filing of this Registration Statement, we issued the securities described below that were not registered under the Securities Act (share amounts have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the Registrant’s 1-for-10 reverse stock split effected October 16, 2018).
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(a) |
On December 11, 2017, the Registrant entered into an Exchange Agreement with ESOUSA Holdings, LLC. Prior to entering into the Exchange Agreement, ESOUSA Holdings acquired two of the Company’s term notes having aggregate principal and interest outstanding of $4,720,860. Pursuant to the Exchange Agreement, ESOUSA Holdings exchanged the promissory notes for an aggregate of 295,318 shares of the Registrant’s common stock. |
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(b) |
The Registrant entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement on April 2, 2018, as amended and restated on July 23, 2018, with ESOUSA Holdings, LLC, or ESOUSA Holdings, pursuant to which the Registrant issued to ESOUSA Holdings a Senior Promissory Note in the original principal amount of $500,000 in exchange for a purchase price of $500,000. The maturity date of the Senior Promissory Note is six months after the date of issuance (subject to acceleration upon an event of default). The Note carries a 10.5% interest rate, with accrued but unpaid interest being payable on the Note’s maturity date. ESOUSA Holdings was also issued pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement five- year warrants exercisable at the closing per share bid price on April 2, 2018, to purchase 40,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. |
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(c) |
The Registrant entered into a Common Stock Purchase Agreement on April 2, 2018, as amended and restated on July 23, 2018, with ESOUSA Holdings, which provides that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions and limitations set forth in the agreement, ESOUSA Holdings is committed to purchase up to an aggregate of $5.0 million shares of the Registrant’s common stock over the two-year term of the agreement. |
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(d) |
On March 23, 2020, the Company entered into a Share Exchange Agreement, dated March 23, 2020 (the “Share Exchange Agreement”), with Hanfor (Cayman) Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company (“Hanfor”), and BZ Industrial Limited, a British Virgin Islands business company and the sole stockholder of Hanfor (“Hanfor Owner”). In connection with the execution of the Share Exchange Agreement, the Company and Hanfor Owner entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement, dated March 23, 2020, pursuant to which Hanfor Owner agreed to purchase from Company an aggregate of 520,833 shares of Company common stock at a price of $2.40 per share, of which 104,167 shares were purchased on March 23, 2020 and 416,666 shares were purchased within 14 days of March 23, 2020. |
The offers, sales and issuances of the securities described in each of the paragraphs above were deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance upon Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act as transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering. All of the foregoing securities are deemed restricted securities for purposes of the Securities Act. Appropriate legends were affixed to the securities issued in these transactions. Each of the recipients of securities in these transactions had adequate access, through employment, business or other relationships, to information about the Registrant.
All purchasers of securities in transactions exempt from registration pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act represented to the Registrant that they were accredited investors and were acquiring the shares for investment purposes only and not with a view to, or for sale in connection with, any distribution thereof and that they could bear the risks of the investment and could hold the securities for an indefinite period of time. The purchasers received written disclosures that the securities had not been registered under the Securities Act and that any resale must be made pursuant to a registration statement or an available exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
2
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) Exhibits.
The exhibits to the registration statement are listed in the Exhibit Index below and are either filed herewith or incorporated by reference herein.
EXHIBIT INDEX
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Exhibit Number |
Document Description |
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1.1 |
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2.1 |
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2.2 |
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2.3 |
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3.1 |
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3.2 |
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4.1 |
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4.2 |
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4.3 |
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4.4 |
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4.6 |
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4.6* |
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4.7* |
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4.8* |
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5.1* |
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10.1# |
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10.2# |
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10.3# |
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10.4# |
3
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10.6 |
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|
10.7 |
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10.8# |
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10.9# |
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10.10# |
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|
10.11# |
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10.12# |
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10.13# |
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10.14* |
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10.15* |
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10.16* |
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21.1 |
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|
23.1 |
Consent of MaloneBailey, LLP independent registered public accounting firm. |
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23.2* |
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24.1* |
Power of Attorney (included on signature page of the initial Registration Statement). |
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* |
Previously filed |
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# |
Indicates a management contract or compensatory arrangement. |
(b) Financial Statement Schedules.
All schedules are omitted because they are not required, are not applicable, or the information is included in the financial statements or the related notes to financial statements thereto.
4
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1)To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
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(i) |
To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Act”); |
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(ii) |
To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and |
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(iii) |
To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this registration statement or any material change to such information in this registration statement. |
Provided, however, that Paragraphs (1)(i), (1)(ii) and (1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.
(2)That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3)To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(4)That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Act to any purchaser:
If the registrant is subject to Rule 430C (§230.430C of this chapter), each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A (§230.430A of this chapter), shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.
(5)That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
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(i) |
Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424 (§230.424 of this chapter); |
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(ii) |
Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant; |
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(iii) |
The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and |
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(iv) |
Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser. |
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable,
5
each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
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(1) |
For purposes of determining any liability under the Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b) (1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective. |
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(2) |
For the purpose of determining any liability under the Act, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
6
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Tampa, Florida, on this 11th day of August, 2020.
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LM FUNDING AMERICA, INC. |
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By: |
/s/ Bruce M. Rodgers |
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Bruce M. Rodgers, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
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Signature |
Title |
Date |
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/s/ Bruce M. Rodgers |
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board |
August 11, 2020 |
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Bruce M. Rodgers |
(Principal Executive Officer) |
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/s/ Richard Russell |
Chief Financial Officer |
August 11, 2020 |
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Richard Russell |
(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) |
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* |
Director |
August 11, 2020 |
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Carollin Gould |
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* |
Director |
August 11, 2020 |
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Andrew Graham |
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* |
Director |
August 11, 2020 |
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Martin A. Traber |
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* |
Director |
August 11, 2020 |
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Douglas McCree |
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* |
Director |
August 11, 2020 |
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Joel E. Rodgers, Sr. |
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* |
Director |
August 11, 2020 |
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Frederick Mills |
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*By: /s/ Bruce M. Rodgers____ Bruce M. Rodgers, Attorney-in-Fact
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S-1
Exhibit 1.1
LM FUNDING AMERICA, INC.
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
[], 2020
Maxim Group LLC
405 Lexington Avenue
New York, New York 10174
As Representative of the Underwriters
named on Schedule A hereto
Ladies and Gentlemen:
LM Funding America, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell an aggregate of: (i) [ ] units (the “Units”), with each Unit consisting of one share of the Company’s common stock, $0.001 par value per share (the “Shares”), and one warrant to purchase one Share (the “Warrant”) and (ii) [ ] Pre-funded Units (“Pre-funded Units”), with each Pre-funded Unit consisting of one pre-funded warrant to purchase one Share at an exercise price of $0.01 per share and one Warrant to purchase one Share (“Pre-funded Warrants”) to the several underwriters (such underwriters, for whom Maxim Group LLC (“Maxim” or the “Representative”) is acting as representative, the “Underwriters” and each an “Underwriter”). Such Units and Pre-funded Units are hereinafter collectively called the “Firm Securities.” The Company has also agreed to grant to the Representative on behalf of the Underwriters an option (the “Option”) to purchase up to an additional [ ] Shares (the “Option Shares”) and/or Warrants (the “Option Warrants”) and/or Pre-funded Warrants (the “Option Pre-funded Warrants”, and together with the Units and Option Shares and Option Warrants, the “Offered Units”) on the terms set forth in Section 1(b) hereof. The Option Shares and Option Warrants and Option Pre-funded Warrants are hereinafter collectively called the “Option Securities.” The Offered Units and Pre-funded Units are hereinafter collectively called the “Offered Securities” and the offering of such Offered Securities is hereinafter called the “Offering”. The Shares issuable upon the exercise of the Warrants and Pre-funded Warrants are hereinafter called the “Warrant Shares.” The Offered Securities and all Shares underlying the securities therein (including the Shares and Warrant Shares) are herein collectively called the “Securities.” The Company has paid to the Underwriter an amount of $15,000.00 (the “Advance”).
The Company confirms as follows its agreement with each of the Underwriters:
1.Agreement to Sell and Purchase.
(a)Purchase of Firm Securities. On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company contained herein and subject to all the terms and conditions of this
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Agreement, the Company agrees to sell to the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, and the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, agree to purchase from the Company, the Units and Pre-funded Units, at a purchase price (the “Purchase Price”) (prior to discount and commissions) of $[ ] per Unit and $[ ] per Pre-funded Unit (or $[ ] per Unit and $[ ] per Pre-funded Unit (net of discount and commissions).
(b)Purchase of Option Shares and/or Option Warrants and/or Option Pre-funded Warrants. Subject to all the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Company grants to the Representative on behalf of the Underwriters the Option to purchase, severally and not jointly, all or less than all of the Shares and/or Warrants and/or Pre-funded Warrants included in the Option Securities, which may be purchased in any combination of Shares and/or Warrants and/or Pre-funded Warrants. The purchase price (net of discount and commissions) to be paid for each Share will be the same Purchase Price (net of discount and commissions) allocated to each Firm Unit, minus $0.000001. The purchase price (net of discount and commissions) to be paid for each Warrant shall be $0.000001. The purchase price (net of discount and commissions) to be paid for each Pre-Funded Warrant shall be the same Purchase Price (net of discount and commissions) allocated to each Firm Unit, minus $.010001. The Option may be exercised in whole or in part at any time on or before the 45th day after the date of this Agreement, upon written notice (the “Option Notice”) by the Representative to the Company no later than 12:00 noon, New York City time, at least one and no more than five business days before the date specified for closing in the Option Notice (the “Option Closing Date”) setting forth the aggregate number of Shares and/or Warrants and/or Pre-funded Warrants to be purchased and the time and date for such purchase. Upon exercise of the Option, the Company will become obligated to convey to the Underwriters, and, subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Underwriters will become obligated to purchase, the number of Shares and/or Warrants and/or Pre-funded Warrants specified in the Option Notice. If any Option Shares or Option Warrants or Option Pre-funded Warrants are to be purchased, each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase the number of Option Shares or Option Warrants or Option Pre-funded Warrants, as applicable (as adjusted by the Representative in such manner as it deems advisable to avoid fractional securities) that bears the same proportion to the number of Firm Units to be purchased by it as set forth on Schedule A opposite such Underwriter’s name as the total number of Option Shares to be purchased bears to the total number of Firm Units.
2.Delivery and Payment.
(a)Closing. Delivery of the Firm Securities shall be made to the Representative through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) for the respective accounts of the Underwriters against payment of the Purchase Price by wire transfer of immediately available funds to the order of the Company. Such payment shall be made at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the second business day (the third business day, should the Offering be priced after 4:00 p.m., New York City Time) after the date of this Agreement or at such time on such other date, not later than ten business days after such date, as may be agreed upon by the Company and the Representative (such date is hereinafter referred to as the “Closing Date”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Warrant for which an Exercise Notice (as defined therein) is delivered on or prior to 12:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the Closing Date, which such Exercise Notice may be delivered at any time after the time of execution of this Agreement, the Company agrees to deliver the Warrant Shares subject to such notice(s) by 4:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the Closing Date.
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(b)Option Closing. To the extent the Option is exercised, delivery of the Option Securities against payment by the Underwriters (in the manner and at the location specified above) shall take place at the time and date (which may be the Closing Date, but not earlier than the Closing Date) specified in the Option Notice.
(c)Electronic Transfer. Electronic transfer of the Offered Securities shall be made at the time of purchase in such names and in such denominations as the Representative shall specify.
(d)Tax Stamps. The cost of original issue tax stamps, if any, in connection with the issuance and delivery of the Securities by the Company to the Underwriters shall be borne by the Company. The Company shall pay and hold each Underwriter and any subsequent holder of the Securities harmless from any and all liabilities with respect to or resulting from any failure or delay in paying United States federal and state and foreign stamp and other transfer taxes, if any, which may be payable or determined to be payable in connection with the original issuance, sale and delivery to such Underwriter of the Securities.
3.Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to, and covenants with, each of the Underwriters as follows:
(a)Compliance with Registration Requirements. A registration statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-[ ]) relating to the Offered Securities, Warrants and Warrant Shares, including a preliminary prospectus and such amendments to such registration statement as may have been required prior to the date of this Agreement, has been prepared by the Company under the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), and the rules and regulations (collectively referred to as the “Rules and Regulations”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) thereunder, and has been filed with the Commission. Copies of such registration statement and of each amendment thereto, if any, including the related preliminary prospectuses, heretofore filed by the Company with the Commission have been delivered to the Underwriters. The term “Registration Statement” means such registration statement on Form S-1 as amended at the time it becomes or became effective, including financial statements, all exhibits and any information deemed to be included or incorporated by reference therein, including any information deemed to be included pursuant to Rule 430A or Rule 430B of the Rules and Regulations, as applicable. If the Company files a registration statement to register a portion of the Offered Securities, Warrants or Warrant Shares and relies on Rule 462(b) of the Rules and Regulations for such registration statement to become effective upon filing with the Commission (the “Rule 462 Registration Statement”), then any reference to the “Registration Statement” shall be deemed to include the Rule 462 Registration Statement, as amended from time to time. The term “preliminary prospectus” as used herein means a preliminary prospectus as contemplated by Rule 430 or Rule 430A of the Rules and Regulations included at any time as part of, or deemed to be part of or included in, the Registration Statement. The term “Prospectus” means the final prospectus in connection with this Offering as first filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations or, if no such filing is required, the form of final prospectus included in the Registration Statement at the effective date, except that if any revised prospectus or prospectus supplement shall be provided to the Representative by the Company for use in connection with the Offered Securities which differs from the Prospectus (whether or not such revised prospectus or prospectus supplement is required to be filed by the Company pursuant
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to Rule 424(b)), the term “Prospectus” shall also refer to such revised prospectus or prospectus supplement, as the case may be, from and after the time it is first provided to the Representative for such use. Any reference herein to the terms “amend”, “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include: (i) the filing of any document under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”) after the effective date of the Registration Statement, the date of such preliminary prospectus or the date of the Prospectus, as the case may be, which is incorporated therein by reference, and (ii) any such document so filed.
(b)Effectiveness of Registration. The Registration Statement, any Rule 462 Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto have been declared effective by the Commission under the Act or have become effective pursuant to Rule 462 of the Rules and Regulations. The Company has responded to all requests, if any, of the Commission for additional or supplemental information. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any Rule 462 Registration Statement is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are threatened by the Commission.
(c)Accuracy of Registration Statement. Each of the Registration Statement, any Rule 462 Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became effective, when any document filed under the Exchange Act was or is filed and at all subsequent times, complied and will comply in all material respects with the Act and the Rules and Regulations, and did not and will 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. The Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, as of its date and at all subsequent times when a prospectus is delivered or required (or, but for the provisions of Rule 172, would be required) by applicable law to be delivered in connection with sales of Securities, complied and will comply in all material respects with the Act, the Exchange Act and the Rules and Regulations, and did not or will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made. Each preliminary prospectus (including the preliminary prospectus or prospectuses filed as part of the Registration Statement or any amendment thereto) complied when so filed in all material respects with Act, the Exchange Act and the Rules and Regulations, and each preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus delivered to the Representative for use in connection with this Offering is identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission on EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T. The foregoing representations and warranties in this Section 3(c) do not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance on and in conformity with information relating to the Underwriters furnished in writing to the Company by the Underwriters through the Representative specifically for inclusion in the Registration Statement or Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto. For all purposes of this Agreement, the information set forth in the Prospectus (i) in the third paragraph under the caption "Underwriting" setting forth the amount of the selling concession, and (ii) in the thirteenth paragraph under the caption "Underwriting" regarding stabilization, short positions and penalty bids constitutes the only information (the “Underwriters’ Information”) relating to the Underwriters furnished in writing to the Company by the Underwriters through the Representative specifically for inclusion in the preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.
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(d)Company Not Ineligible Issuer. (i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement relating to the Securities and (ii) as of the date of the execution and delivery of this Agreement (with such date being used as the determination date for purposes of this clause (ii)), the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer” (as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules and Regulations).
(e)Disclosure at the Time of Sale. As of the Applicable Time, neither (i) the Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus(es) (as defined below) issued at or prior to the Applicable Time, the most recent preliminary prospectus related to this Offering, and the information included on Schedule II hereto, all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”), nor (ii) any individual Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The preceding sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from the General Disclosure Package based upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriters through the Representative specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Underwriters consists of the Underwriters’ Information.
As used in this subsection and elsewhere in this Agreement:
“Applicable Time” means 8:15 a.m. (New York City Time) on [ ], 2020 or such other time as agreed by the Company and the Representative.
“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the Rules and Regulations, relating to the Offered Securities that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (ii) is “a written communication that is a road show” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i), whether or not required to be filed with the Commission or (iii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Securities 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).
“Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is intended for general distribution to prospective investors, as evidenced by its being specified in Schedule I hereto.
“Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not an Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus.
(f)Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the Prospectus Delivery Period (as defined below), does not include any information that conflicts with the information contained in the Registration Statement. The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus based upon and in conformity with the Underwriters’ Information. If at any time following the issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus
- 5 -
conflicted with the information contained in the Registration Statement relating to the Securities or included an untrue statement of material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances prevailing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company has promptly notified the Representative and has promptly amended or supplemented, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.
(g)Distribution of Offering Material by the Company. The Company has not distributed and will not distribute, prior to the later of the Closing Date, any Option Closing Date and the completion of the Underwriters’ distribution of the Offered Securities, any offering material in connection with the offering or sale of the Offered Securities, the Registration Statement, the preliminary prospectus, the Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses reviewed and consented to by the Representative and included in Schedule I hereto, and the Prospectus. None of the Marketing Materials, as of their respective issue dates and at all subsequent times through the Prospectus Delivery Period (as defined below), include any information that conflicts with the information contained in the Registration Statement. If at any time following the issuance of any Marketing Material there occurred an event or development as a result of which such Marketing Material conflicted with the information contained in the Registration Statement relating to the Securities or included an untrue statement of material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances prevailing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company has promptly notified the Representative and has promptly amended or supplemented, at its own expense, such Marketing Material to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.
(h)Subsidiaries. All of the direct and indirect material subsidiaries of the Company (each, a “Subsidiary”) are set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. The Company owns, directly or indirectly, all of the capital stock or other equity interests of each Subsidiary free and clear of any lien, charge, pledge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first refusal, preemptive right or other similar restriction (each, a “Lien”), and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Subsidiary are validly issued and are fully paid, non-assessable and free of preemptive and similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities.
(i)Organization and Qualification. The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is an entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, with the requisite power and authority to own and use its properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently conducted. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation nor default of any of the provisions of its respective certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents. Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other entity in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the case may be, would not have or reasonably be expected to result in: (i) a material adverse effect on the legality, validity or enforceability of this Agreement, the Warrant Agreement (as hereinafter defined), the Warrants, or any other agreement, document, certificate or instrument required to be delivered pursuant to this Agreement (collectively, the “Transaction Documents”), (ii) a material adverse effect on the results of
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operations, assets, business, prospects or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (iii) a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to perform in any material respect on a timely basis its obligations under any Transaction Document (any of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “Material Adverse Effect”) and no action, claim, suit or proceeding (including, without limitation, a partial proceeding, such as a deposition), whether commenced or threatened (each, a “Proceeding”) has been instituted in any such jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing or seeking to revoke, limit or curtail such power and authority or qualification.
(j)Authorization; Enforcement. The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents by the Company and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Company and no further action is required by the Company, the Board of Directors or the Company’s stockholders in connection herewith or therewith other than in connection with the Required Approvals (as hereinafter defined in Section 3(l)). This Agreement and each other Transaction Document to which it is a party has been (or upon delivery will have been) duly executed by the Company and, when delivered in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof, assuming due authorization, execution and delivery by the Representative, will constitute the valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.
(k)No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents to which it is a party, the issuance and sale of the Securities and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby do not and will not (i) conflict with or violate any provision of the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents, or (ii) conflict with, or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation (with or without notice, lapse of time or both) of, any agreement, credit facility, debt or other instrument (evidencing a Company or Subsidiary debt or otherwise) or other understanding to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which any property or asset of the Company or any Subsidiary is bound or affected, or (iii) subject to the Required Approvals, conflict with or result in a violation of any law, rule, regulation, order, judgment, injunction, decree or other restriction of any court or governmental authority to which the Company or a Subsidiary is subject (including federal and state securities laws and regulations), or by which any property or asset of the Company or a Subsidiary is bound or affected; except in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), such as would not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(l)Filings, Consents and Approvals. The Company is not required to obtain any consent, waiver, authorization or order of, give any notice to, or make any filing or registration
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with, any court or other federal, state, local or other governmental authority or other Person in connection with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Transaction Documents, other than: (i) the filing with the Commission of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (ii) application(s) to the Nasdaq Capital Market for the listing of the Securities for trading thereon in the time and manner required thereby, (iii) such filings, if any, as are required to be made under applicable state securities laws, (iv) such notices, filings or authorizations as are required to be obtained or made under applicable rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and The Nasdaq Stock Market, and (v) such notices, filings or authorizations as have been obtained, given or made as of the date hereof (collectively, the “Required Approvals”).
(m)[Reserved.]
(n)Issuance of the Securities. The Securities are duly authorized and, when issued and paid for in accordance with the applicable Transaction Documents, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company. The Company has reserved from its duly authorized capital stock the maximum number of Shares issuable pursuant to this Agreement.
(o)Capitalization. The capitalization of the Company as of the date hereof is as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. The Company has not issued any capital stock since its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act, other than pursuant to the Company’s equity incentive plans, the issuance of Shares to employees, directors or consultants pursuant to the Company’s equity incentive plans and pursuant to the conversion and/or exercise of any securities of the Company or the Subsidiaries which would entitle the holder thereof to acquire at any time Shares, including, without limitation, any debt, preferred stock, right, option, warrant or other instrument that is at any time convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or otherwise entitles the holder thereof to receive, Shares (“Common Stock Equivalents”) and is outstanding as of the date of the most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act. No individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind (each, a “Person”) has any right of first refusal, preemptive right, right of participation, or any similar right to participate in the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. Except as a result of the purchase and sale of the Securities or as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no outstanding options, warrants, scrip rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities, rights or obligations convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or giving any Person any right to subscribe for or acquire, any Shares or the capital stock of any Subsidiary, or contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to issue additional Shares or Common Stock Equivalents or capital stock of any Subsidiary. The issuance and sale of the Securities will not obligate the Company or any Subsidiary to issue Shares or other securities to any Person (other than the Underwriters) and will not result in a right of any holder of Company securities to adjust the exercise, conversion, exchange or reset price under any of such securities. There are no securities of the Company or any Subsidiary that have any anti-dilution or similar adjustment rights (other than adjustments for stock splits, recapitalizations, and the like) to the exercise or conversion price, have any exchange rights, or reset rights. Except as set
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forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no outstanding securities or instruments of the Company or any Subsidiary that contain any redemption or similar provisions, and there are no contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to redeem a security of the Company or such Subsidiary. The Company does not have any stock appreciation rights or “phantom stock” plans or agreements or any similar plan or agreement. All of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, have been issued in compliance in all material respects with all federal and state securities laws, and none of such outstanding shares was issued in violation of any preemptive rights or similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities. No further approval or authorization of any stockholder, the Board of Directors or others is required for the issuance and sale of the Securities. There are no stockholders agreements, voting agreements or other similar agreements with respect to the Company’s capital stock to which the Company is a party or, to the knowledge of the Company, between or among any of the Company’s stockholders.
(p)SEC Reports; Financial Statements. The Company has filed all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) thereof, for the two years preceding the date hereof (or such shorter period as the Company was required by law or regulation to file such material) (the foregoing materials, including the exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein, together with the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, being collectively referred to herein as the “SEC Reports”) on a timely basis or has received a valid extension of such time of filing and has filed any such SEC Reports prior to the expiration of any such extension. As of their respective dates, the SEC Reports complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable, and none of the SEC Reports, when filed, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Company has never been an issuer subject to Rule 144(i) under the Securities Act. The financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Reports comply in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the rules and regulations of the Commission with respect thereto as in effect at the time of filing. Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (“GAAP”), except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto and except that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP, and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, immaterial, year-end audit adjustments. The agreements and documents described in the SEC Reports conform to the descriptions thereof contained therein and there are no agreements or other documents required by the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder to be described in the SEC Reports or to be filed with the Commission as exhibits to the Registration Statement, that have not been so described or filed. Each agreement or other instrument (however characterized or described) to which the Company is a party or by which it is or may be bound or affected and (i) that is referred to in the SEC Reports, or (ii) is material to the Company’s business, has been duly authorized and validly executed by the Company, is in full force and effect in all material respects and is enforceable against the Company and, to the Company’s knowledge, the
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other parties thereto, in accordance with its terms, except (x) as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, (y) as enforceability of any indemnification or contribution provision may be limited under the federal and state securities laws, and (z) that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to the equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefore may be brought. Except as disclosed in the SEC Reports, none of such agreements or instruments has been assigned by the Company, and neither the Company nor, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, any other party is in default thereunder and, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, no event has occurred that, with the lapse of time or the giving of notice, or both, would constitute a default thereunder. To the best of the Company’s knowledge, performance by the Company of the material provisions of such agreements or instruments will not result in a violation of any existing applicable law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any governmental agency or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its assets or businesses, including, without limitation, those relating to environmental laws and regulations.
(q)Material Changes; Undisclosed Events, Liabilities or Developments. Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, except as reflected or specifically disclosed in a subsequent SEC Report filed prior to the date hereof, (i) there has been no event, occurrence or development that has had or that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) the Company has not incurred any material liabilities (contingent or otherwise) other than (A) trade payables and accrued expenses incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (B) liabilities not required to be reflected in the Company’s financial statements pursuant to GAAP or disclosed in filings made with the Commission, (iii) the Company has not altered its method of accounting, (iv) the Company has not declared or made any dividend or distribution of cash or other property to its stockholders or purchased, redeemed or made any agreements to purchase or redeem any shares of its capital stock and (v) the Company has not issued any equity securities to any officer, director or Affiliate, except pursuant to existing Company equity incentive plans or as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. The Company does not have pending before the Commission any request for confidential treatment of information. Except for the issuance of the Securities contemplated by this Agreement, no event, liability, fact, circumstance, occurrence or development has occurred or exists or is reasonably expected to occur or exist with respect to the Company or its Subsidiaries or their respective businesses, prospects, properties, operations, assets or financial condition that would be required to be disclosed by the Company under applicable securities laws at the time this representation is made or deemed made that has not been publicly disclosed at least 1 Trading Day prior to the date that this representation is made.
(r)Litigation. There is no action, suit, inquiry, notice of violation or proceeding pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties before or by any court, arbitrator, governmental or administrative agency or regulatory authority (federal, state, county, local or foreign) (collectively, an “Action”) which (i) adversely affects or challenges the legality, validity or enforceability of any of the Transaction Documents or the Securities or (ii) would, if there were an unfavorable decision, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, neither the Company
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nor any Subsidiary, nor any director or officer thereof, is or has been the subject of any Action involving a claim of violation of or liability under federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary duty. There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Company, there is not pending or contemplated, any investigation by the Commission involving the Company or any current or former director or officer of the Company. The Commission has not issued any stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement filed by the Company or any Subsidiary under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act.
(s)Labor Relations. No labor dispute exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent with respect to any of the employees of the Company, which would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. None of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ employees is a member of a union that relates to such employee’s relationship with the Company or such Subsidiary, and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to a collective bargaining agreement, and the Company and its Subsidiaries believe that their relationships with their employees are good. To the knowledge of the Company, no executive officer of the Company or any Subsidiary, is, or is now expected to be, in violation of any material term of any employment contract, confidentiality, disclosure or proprietary information agreement or non-competition agreement, or any other contract or agreement or any restrictive covenant in favor of any third party, and the continued employment of each such executive officer does not subject the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any liability with respect to any of the foregoing matters. The Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, except where the failure to be in compliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(t)Compliance. Except as disclosed in the SEC Reports and except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary: (i) is in default under or in violation of (and no event has occurred that has not been waived that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would result in a default by the Company or any Subsidiary under), nor has the Company or any Subsidiary received notice of a claim that it is in default under or that it is in violation of, any indenture, loan or credit agreement or any other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties is bound (whether or not such default or violation has been waived), (ii) is in violation of any judgment, decree or order of any court, arbitrator or other governmental authority or (iii) is or has been in violation of any statute, rule, ordinance or regulation of any governmental authority, including, without limitation, all foreign, federal, state and local laws relating to taxes, environmental protection, occupational health and safety, product quality and safety and employment and labor matters, except in each case as would not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(u)Environmental Laws. The Company and its Subsidiaries (i) are in compliance in all material respects with all federal, state, local and foreign laws relating to pollution or protection of human health or the environment (including ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata), including laws relating to emissions, discharges, releases or threatened releases of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, or toxic or hazardous substances or wastes (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) into the environment, or otherwise relating to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or
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handling of Hazardous Materials, as well as all authorizations, codes, decrees, demands, or demand letters, injunctions, judgments, licenses, notices or notice letters, orders, permits, plans or regulations, issued, entered, promulgated or approved thereunder (“Environmental Laws”); (ii) have received all permits licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses; and (iii) are in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval where in each clause (i), (ii) and (iii), the failure to so comply would be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.
(v)Regulatory Permits. The Company and the Subsidiaries possess all certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports, except where the failure to possess such permits would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (“Material Permits”), and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received any written notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Material Permit.
(w)Title to Assets. The Company and its Subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all real property owned by them, if any, and good and marketable title in all personal property owned by them, in each case, that is material to the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries, and in such case free and clear of all Liens, except for Liens that (i) are described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (ii) would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, (iii) do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and the Subsidiaries, or (iv) are for the payment of federal, state or other taxes, for which appropriate reserves have been made therefor in accordance with GAAP and, the payment of which is neither delinquent nor subject to penalties. Any real property and facilities held under lease by the Company and the Subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with which the Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects.
(x)Intellectual Property. To the knowledge of the Company, the Company and the Subsidiaries have, or have rights to use, all patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark applications, service marks, trade names, trade secrets, inventions, copyrights, licenses and other intellectual property rights and similar rights necessary or required for use in connection with their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports and which the failure to so have could have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, the “Intellectual Property Rights”). None of, and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received a notice (written or otherwise) that any of, the Intellectual Property Rights has expired, terminated or been abandoned, or is expected to expire or be abandoned, within two (2) years from the date of this Agreement, except where such action would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, a written notice of a claim or otherwise has any knowledge that the Intellectual Property Rights violate or infringe upon the rights of any Person, except as would not have or reasonably be expected to not have a Material Adverse Effect. To the knowledge of the Company, all such Intellectual Property Rights are enforceable and there is no existing infringement by another Person of any of the Intellectual Property Rights. The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken
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reasonable security measures to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value of all of their intellectual properties, except where failure to do so would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has no knowledge that it lacks or will be unable to obtain any rights or licenses to use all Intellectual Property Rights that are necessary to conduct its business.
(y)Insurance. The Company and the Subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the businesses in which the Company and the Subsidiaries are engaged, including, but not limited to, directors and officers insurance coverage at least equal to the aggregate Purchase Price. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business without a significant increase in cost.
(z)Transactions With Affiliates and Employees. Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, none of the officers or directors of the Company or any Subsidiary and, to the knowledge of the Company, none of the employees of the Company or any Subsidiary is presently a party to any transaction with the Company or any Subsidiary (other than for services as employees, officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from, providing for the borrowing of money from or lending of money to or otherwise requiring payments to or from any officer, director or such employee or, to the knowledge of the Company, any entity in which any officer, director, or any such employee has a substantial interest or is an officer, director, trustee, stockholder, member or partner, in each case in excess of $120,000 other than for (i) payment of salary or consulting fees for services rendered, (ii) reimbursement for expenses incurred on behalf of the Company and (iii) other employee benefits, including stock option agreements under any stock option plan of the Company.
(aa)Sarbanes-Oxley; Internal Accounting Controls. The Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance with any and all applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that are effective and applicable to the Company as of the date hereof, and any and all applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder that are effective as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as applicable. Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, the Company and the Subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient 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 and the Subsidiaries have established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the Company and the Subsidiaries and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports 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. The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the disclosure
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controls and procedures of the Company and the Subsidiaries as of the end of the period covered by the most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act (such date, the “Evaluation Date”). The Company presented in its most recently filed periodic report under the Exchange Act 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 changes in the internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in the Exchange Act) of the Company and its Subsidiaries that have materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the internal control over financial reporting of the Company and its Subsidiaries.
(bb)Certain Fees; FINRA Affiliation. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, no brokerage or finder’s fees or commissions are or will be payable by the Company or any Subsidiary to any broker, financial advisor or consultant, finder, placement agent, investment banker, bank or other Person with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. To the Company’s knowledge, there are no other arrangements, agreements or understandings of the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its stockholders that may affect the Underwriters’ compensation, as determined by FINRA. The Company has not made any direct or indirect payments (in cash, securities or otherwise) to (i) any person, as a finder’s fee, investing fee or otherwise, in consideration of such person raising capital for the Company or introducing to the Company persons who provided capital to the Company, (ii) any FINRA member, or (iii) any person or entity that has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any FINRA member within the 12-month period prior to the date on which the Registration Statement was filed with the Commission (the “Filing Date”) or thereafter. To the Company’s knowledge, no (i) officer or director of the Company or its subsidiaries, (ii) owner of 5% or more of the Company’s unregistered securities or that of its subsidiaries or (iii) owner of any amount of the Company’s unregistered securities acquired within the 180-day period prior to the Filing Date, has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any FINRA member. The Company will advise the Underwriters and their respective counsel if it becomes aware that any officer, director or stockholder of the Company or its subsidiaries is or becomes an affiliate or associated person of a FINRA member participating in the Offering.
(cc)Investment Company. The Company is not, and is not an affiliate of, and immediately after receipt of payment for the Offered Securities, will not be or be an affiliate of, an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
(dd)Registration Rights. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, no Person has any right to cause the Company or any Subsidiary to effect the registration under the Securities Act of any securities of the Company or any Subsidiary.
(ee)Listing and Maintenance Requirements. The Shares are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or which to its knowledge is likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Shares under the Exchange Act nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission is contemplating terminating such registration. Except as disclosed in the SEC Reports, the Company has not, in the 12 months preceding the date hereof, received notice from the Nasdaq Capital Market
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to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance requirements of such the Nasdaq Capital Market. Except as disclosed in the SEC Reports, the Company is, and 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. The Shares are currently eligible for electronic transfer through the Depository Trust Company or another established clearing corporation and the Company is current in payment of the fees to the Depository Trust Company (or such other established clearing corporation) in connection with such electronic transfer. The issuance and sale of the Securities hereunder does not contravene the rules and regulations of The Nasdaq Stock Market.
(ff)[Reserved.]
(gg)No Integrated Offering. Neither the Company or any Person acting on its behalf, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with the Company (as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act) (each, an “Affiliate”) or any Person acting on their behalf, has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would cause this offering of the Offered Securities to be integrated with prior offerings by the Company for purposes of any applicable shareholder approval provisions of The Nasdaq Stock Market.
(hh)Solvency. Based on the consolidated financial condition of the Company as of the Closing Date and as of the Option Closing Date, after giving effect to the receipt by the Company of the proceeds from the sale of the Offered Securities hereunder, the current cash flow of the Company, together with the proceeds the Company would receive, were it to liquidate all of its assets, after taking into account all anticipated uses of the cash, may be insufficient to pay all amounts on or in respect of its liabilities when such amounts are required to be paid. The Company does not intend to incur debts beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature (taking into account the timing and amounts of cash to be payable on or in respect of its debt). Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company has no knowledge of any facts or circumstances which lead it to believe that it will file for reorganization or liquidation under the bankruptcy or reorganization laws of any jurisdiction within one year from the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as applicable. The Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus sets forth as of the date hereof all outstanding secured and unsecured Indebtedness of the Company or any Subsidiary, or for which the Company or any Subsidiary has commitments. For the purposes of this Agreement, “Indebtedness” means (x) any liabilities for borrowed money or amounts owed in excess of $50,000 (other than trade accounts payable incurred in the ordinary course of business), (y) all guaranties, endorsements and other contingent obligations in respect of indebtedness of others, whether or not the same are or should be reflected in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet (or the notes thereto), except guaranties by endorsement of negotiable instruments for deposit or collection or similar transactions in the ordinary course of business; and (z) the present value of any lease payments in excess of $50,000 due under leases required to be capitalized in accordance with GAAP. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in default with respect to any Indebtedness.
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(ii)Tax Status. Except for matters that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, each of the Company and its Subsidiaries (i) has made or filed all United States federal, state and local income and all foreign income and franchise tax returns, reports and declarations required by any jurisdiction to which it is subject, (ii) has paid all taxes and other governmental assessments and charges that are material in amount, shown or determined to be due on such returns, reports and declarations and (iii) has set aside on its books provision reasonably adequate for the payment of all material taxes for periods subsequent to the periods to which such returns, reports or declarations apply. There are no unpaid taxes in any material amount claimed to be due by the taxing authority of any jurisdiction, and the officers of the Company or of any Subsidiary know of no basis for any such claim.
(jj)Foreign Corrupt Practices. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, any agent or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary, has (i) directly or indirectly, used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses related to foreign or domestic political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to any foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds, (iii) failed to disclose fully any contribution made by the Company or any Subsidiary (or made by any person acting on its behalf of which the Company is aware) which is in violation of law, or (iv) violated in any material respect any provision of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.
(kk)Accountants. The Company’s accounting firm is MaloneBailey, LLP (the “Accountants”). To the knowledge and belief of the Company, such accounting firm (i) is a registered public accounting firm as required by the Exchange Act and (ii) shall express its opinion with respect to the financial statements to be included in the Company’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020.
(ll)Regulation M Compliance. The Company has not, and to its knowledge no one acting on its behalf has, (i) taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Securities, (ii) sold, bid for, purchased, or, paid any compensation for soliciting purchases of, any of the Securities, or (iii) paid or agreed to pay to any Person any compensation for soliciting another to purchase any other securities of the Company, other than, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), compensation paid to the Underwriters in connection with the Offering.
(mm)[Reserved.]
(nn)Office of Foreign Assets Control. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer, agent, employee or Affiliate of the Company or any Subsidiary is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”).
(oo)U.S. Real Property Holding Corporation. The Company is not and has never been a U.S. real property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897 of the Internal
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Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the Company shall so certify upon the Representative’s request.
(pp)Bank Holding Company Act. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates is subject to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”), and to regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”). Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates owns or controls, directly or indirectly, five percent (5%) or more of the outstanding shares of any class of voting securities or twenty-five percent or more of the total equity of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates exercises a controlling influence over the management or policies of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve.
(qq)Money Laundering. The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries 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, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no Action or Proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any Subsidiary with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, threatened.
(rr)Share Option Plans. Each share option granted by the Company under the Company’s share option plans was granted (i) in accordance with the terms of the Company’s share option plans and (ii) with an exercise price at least equal to the fair market value of the Shares on the date such share option would be considered granted under GAAP and applicable law. No share option granted under the Company’s share option plan has been backdated. The Company has not knowingly granted, and there is no and has been no Company policy or practice to knowingly grant, share options prior to, or otherwise knowingly coordinate the grant of share options with, the release or other public announcement of material information regarding the Company or its Subsidiaries or their financial results or prospects.
(ss)Officer’s Certificates. Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries delivered to the Representative or its counsel shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to the Underwriters as to the matters covered thereby.
4.Agreements of the Company. The Company agrees with the Underwriters as follows:
(a)Amendments and Supplements to Registration Statement. The Company shall not, either prior to any effective date or thereafter during such period as the Prospectus is required by law to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 of the Rules and Regulations or any similar rule) (the “Prospectus Delivery Period”) in connection with sales of the Securities by an Underwriter or dealer, amend or supplement the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, unless a copy of such amendment or supplement thereof shall first have been submitted to the Representative within a reasonable period
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of time prior to the filing or, if no filing is required, the use thereof and the Representative shall not have objected thereto in good faith.
(b)Amendments and Supplements to the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, and the Prospectus and Other Securities Act Matters. During the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as now and hereafter amended, and by the Rules and Regulations, as from time to time in force, and by the Exchange Act so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of or dealings in the Securities as contemplated by the provisions hereof, the General Disclosure Package, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. If, during the Prospectus Delivery Period, any event or development shall occur or condition exist as a result of which the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented, would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing or under which they were made, as the case may be, not misleading, or if it shall be necessary to amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing or under which they were made, as the case may be, not misleading, or if in the opinion of the Representative it is otherwise necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, or to file a new registration statement containing the Prospectus, in order to comply with the Act, the Rules and Regulations, the Exchange Act or the Exchange Act Rules, including in connection with the delivery of the Prospectus, the Company agrees to (i) promptly notify the Representative of any such event or condition and (ii) promptly prepare (subject to Section 4(a) and 4(f) hereof), file with the Commission (and use its best efforts to have any amendment to the Registration Statement or any new registration statement to be declared effective) and furnish at its own expense to the Representative (and, if applicable, to dealers), amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, or any new registration statement, necessary in order to make the statements in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing or under which they were made, as the case may be, not misleading, or so that the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with the Act, the Rules and Regulations, the Exchange Act or the Exchange Act Rules or any other applicable law.
(c)Notifications to the Underwriters. The Company shall use its best efforts to cause the Registration Statement to become effective, and shall notify the Representative promptly, and shall confirm such advice in writing, (i) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement has become effective and when any post-effective amendment thereto becomes effective, (ii) of any request by the Commission for amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information, (iii) of the commencement by the Commission or by any state securities commission of any proceedings for the suspension of the qualification of any of the Offered Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction or of the initiation, or the threatening, of any proceeding for that purpose, including, without limitation, the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose or the threat thereof, (iv) of the happening of any event during the Prospectus Delivery Period that in the judgment of the Company makes any statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus misleading (including by omission) or untrue or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement or
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the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances in which they are made, not misleading (including by omission), and (v) of receipt by the Company or any representative of the Company of any other communication from the Commission relating to the Company, the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus. If at any time the Commission shall issue any order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the Company shall use best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order at the earliest possible moment. The Company shall comply with the provisions of and make all requisite filings with the Commission pursuant to Rules 424(b), 430A, 430B and 462(b) of the Rules and Regulations and to notify the Representative promptly of all such filings.
(d)Executed Registration Statement. The Company shall furnish to the Representative, without charge, one signed copy of the Registration Statement, and of any post-effective amendment thereto, including financial statements and schedules, and all exhibits thereto, and shall furnish to the Representative, without charge, a copy of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, including financial statements and schedules but without exhibits.
(e)Undertakings. The Company shall comply with all the provisions of any undertakings contained and required to be contained in the Registration Statement.
(f)Prospectus. The Company shall prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by the Representative and shall file such Prospectus with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations with a filing date not later than the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement. Promptly after the effective date of the Registration Statement, and thereafter from time to time during the period when the Prospectus is required (or, but for the provisions of Rule 172 under the Act, would be required) to be delivered, the Company shall deliver to the Representative, without charge, as many electronic copies of the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto as the Representative may reasonably request. The Company consents to the use of the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto by the Representative and by all dealers to whom the Offered Securities may be sold, both in connection with the offering or sale of the Offered Securities and for any period of time thereafter during the Prospectus Delivery Period. If, during the Prospectus Delivery Period any event shall occur that in the judgment of the Company or counsel to the Underwriters should be set forth in the Prospectus in order to make any statement therein, in the light of the circumstances under which it was made, not misleading (including by omission), or if it is necessary to supplement or amend the Prospectus to comply with law, the Company shall forthwith prepare and duly file with the Commission an appropriate supplement or amendment thereto, and shall deliver to the Representative, without charge, such number of electronic copies thereof as the Representative may reasonably request.
(g)Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company represents and agrees that it has not made and, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Representative, will not make, any offer relating to the Offered Securities that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules and Regulations, required to be filed with the Commission or retained by the Company under Rule 433 of the Rules and Regulations; provided that the prior written consent of the Representative hereto shall be deemed to have been given in respect of the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses included in Schedule I hereto. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Representative is herein referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.”
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The Company agrees that (i) it has treated and will treat, as the case may be, each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and (ii) has complied and will comply, as the case may be, with the requirements of Rules 164 and 433 of the Act applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including in respect of timely filing with the Commission, legending and record keeping. If at any time following the issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement relating to the Offered Securities or would include an untrue statement of material fact or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances prevailing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representative and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement, or omission. The Company represents that it has satisfied and agrees that it will satisfy the conditions in Rule 433 to avoid a requirement to file with the Commission any electronic road show.
(h)Compliance with Blue Sky Laws. Prior to any public offering of the Securities by the Underwriters, the Company shall cooperate with the Representative and counsel to the Underwriters in connection with the registration or qualification (or the obtaining of exemptions from the application thereof) of the Offered Securities for offer and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions as the Representative may request limitation, provided, however, that in no event shall the Company be obligated to qualify a public offering outside the United States or to do business as a foreign corporation in any jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified, to qualify or register as a dealer in securities, to take any action which would subject it to general service of process in any jurisdiction where it is not now so subject or subject itself to ongoing taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not so subject.
(i)Delivery of Financial Statements. During the period of five years commencing on the effective date of the Registration Statement applicable to the Underwriters, the Company shall furnish to the Representative and each other Underwriter who may so request copies of such financial statements and other periodic and special reports as the Company may from time to time distribute generally to the holders of any class of its capital stock, and will furnish to the Representative and each other Underwriter who may so request a copy of each annual or other report it shall be required to file with the Commission; provided, however, that the availability of electronically transmitted copies filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR shall satisfy the Company’s obligation to furnish copies hereunder.
(j)Availability of Earnings Statements. The Company shall make generally available to holders of its securities as soon as may be practicable but in no event later than the last day of the fifteenth (15th) full calendar month following the calendar quarter in which the most recent effective date occurs in accordance with Rule 158 of the Rules and Regulations, an earnings statement (which need not be audited but shall be in reasonable detail) for a period of twelve (12) months ended commencing after the effective date, and satisfying the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Act (including Rule 158 of the Rules and Regulations).
(k)Consideration; Payment of Expenses. In consideration of the services to be provided for hereunder, the Underwriters or their respective designees their pro rata portion (based on the Securities purchased) of the following aggregate compensation with respect to the Offered
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Securities they are offering less an amount equal to the Advance plus any other funds remitted by the Company to pay costs and expenses that are incurred by the Underwriters (including Underwriters’ counsel’s fees and expenses) (“Additional Advanced Amounts”).
(i)An underwriting discount equal to eight percent (8%) of the aggregate gross proceeds raised in the Offering; and
(ii)Additionally, if the Closing occurs, the Company grants the Representative the right of first refusal for a period of twelve (12) months from the date of commencement of sales pursuant to the Prospectus to act as lead managing underwriter and sole book runner for any and all future public or private equity or equity-linked offerings undertaken by the Company, but excluding any private placement in which the Company does not use an underwriter or placement agent. The Company shall provide written notice to the Representative with the terms of such offering and if the Representative fails to accept in writing any such proposal within ten (10) days after receipt of such written notice, then the Representative will have no claim or right with respect to any such offering(s).
(iii)The Representative reserves the right to reduce any item of compensation or adjust the terms thereof as specified herein in the event that a determination shall be made by FINRA to the effect that the Underwriters’ aggregate compensation is in excess of FINRA rules or that the terms thereof require adjustment.
(iv)Whether or not the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, the Company hereby agrees to pay the following:
(1)all expenses in connection with the preparation, printing, formatting for EDGAR and filing of the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus and any and all exhibits, amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters and dealers;
(2)all filing fees in connection with filings with FINRA’s Public Offering System;
(3)all fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel, accountants and other agents and representatives in connection with the registration of the Securities under the Act and the Offering;
(4)all expenses in connection with the qualifications of the Securities for offering and sale under state or foreign securities or blue sky laws (including, without limitation, all filing and registration fees, and the fees and disbursements of Underwriters’ counsel;
(5)all fees and expenses in connection with listing the Securities on a national securities exchange;
(6)all expenses, including travel and lodging expenses, of the Company’s officers, directors and employees and any other expense of the Company incurred in
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connection with attending or hosting meetings with prospective purchasers of the Securities and any fees and expenses associated with the i-Deal system and NetRoadshow;
(7)any stock transfer taxes or other taxes incurred in connection with this Agreement or the offering, including any stock transfer taxes payable upon the transfer of securities to the Underwriters;
(8)the costs associated with preparing, printing and delivering certificates representing the Securities;
(9)the cost and charges of any transfer agent or registrar for the Securities;
(10)subject to the following proviso, other costs (including Underwriters’ counsel’s fees and expenses) and expenses incident to the Offering that are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section 4(k);
(11)costs relating to background checks of the Company’s officers and directors;
provided, however, that all such costs and expenses (including Underwriters’ counsel’s fees and expenses) that are incurred by the Underwriters shall not exceed $90,000 in the aggregate.
(l)Reimbursement of Expenses upon Termination of Agreement. If this Agreement shall be terminated by the Company pursuant to any of the provisions hereof or if for any reason the Company shall be unable to perform its obligations or to fulfill any conditions hereunder, or if the Underwriters shall terminate this Agreement pursuant to the last paragraph of Section 5, Section 7(a), Section 7(e) or Section 7(f), the Company shall reimburse the Underwriters for all reasonable accountable out-of-pocket expenses (including the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel to the Underwriter) actually incurred by the Underwriters in connection herewith and as allowed under FINRA Rule 5110; provided, however, that the maximum amount of costs and expenses to be reimbursed by Company to the Underwriters pursuant to this Section 4(l) shall not exceed $15,000 (including the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel to the Underwriters). Any amount payable to the Underwriters pursuant to this Section 4(l) shall be deducted from an amount equal to the Advance plus the Additional Advanced Amounts with the balance to be remitted by the Representative to the Company within ten days following the termination of this Agreement.
(m)No Stabilization or Manipulation. The Company shall not at any time, directly or indirectly, take any action intended to cause or result in, or which might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, or which will constitute, stabilization or manipulation, under the Act or otherwise, of the price of the Shares or the Securities to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Securities.
(n)Use of Proceeds. The Company shall apply the net proceeds from the offering and sale of the Securities to be sold by the Company in the manner set forth in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under “Use of Proceeds” and shall file such reports with the
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Commission with respect to the sale of the Securities and the application of the proceeds therefrom as may be required in accordance with Rule 463 under the Act.
(o)Lock-Up Agreements of Company, Management and Affiliates. The Company shall not, for a period of ninety (90) days after the Closing Date (the “Lock-Up Period”), without the prior written consent of Maxim (which consent may be withheld in its sole discretion), (1) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with the Commission a registration statement under the Act to register, any Shares, warrants, or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Shares or (2) enter into any swap or other derivatives transaction that transfers to another, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, any of the economic benefits or risks of ownership of Shares, or Warrants, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Shares, Warrants or other securities, in cash or otherwise, or publicly disclose the intention to enter into any transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Securities to be sold hereunder, (B) any Shares issued pursuant to a trading plan established prior to July 1, 2020 pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act, (C) the issuance of Shares upon the exercise or conversion of options, warrants or other convertible securities outstanding, and as in effect, on the date of this Agreement, and (D) any Shares, dividend equivalent rights or other equity based awards issued, or options to purchase Shares granted, pursuant to existing employee benefit plans of the Company referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (including the filing of a registration statement on Form S-8 relating to such existing employee benefit plans of the Company referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus). The Company has caused each of its officers and directors to enter into agreements with the Representative in the form set forth in Exhibit A.
(p)Lock-Up Releases. If Maxim, in its sole discretion, agrees to release or waive the restrictions set forth in a lock-up letter described in Section 4(o) hereof for an officer or director of the Company and provides the Company with notice of the impending release or waiver at least three business days before the effective date of the release or waiver, the Company agrees to announce the impending release or waiver by a press release substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of such release or waiver, or any other method that satisfies the obligations described in FINRA Rule 5131(d)(2) at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver.
(q)NASDAQ listing.The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to effect and maintain the listing of the Shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market for at least three (3) years after the Closing Date.
(r)The Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to maintain the effectiveness of the Registration Statement and a current Prospectus relating thereto for as long as the Warrants remain outstanding. During any period when the Company fails to have maintained an effective Registration Statement or a current Prospectus relating thereto and a holder of a Warrant desires to exercise such warrant and, in the opinion of counsel to the holder, Rule 144 is not available as an exemption from registration for the resale of the Warrant Shares, the Company
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shall promptly file a registration statement registering the resale of the Warrant Shares and use its reasonable best efforts to have it declared effective by the Commission within thirty (30) days.
(s)Variable Rate Transactions. From the date hereof through and including the one year anniversary of the Closing Date, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary shall enter into, announce the entering into, or proposed entering into, a Variable Rate Transaction. For purposes hereof, a “Variable Rate Transaction” shall mean, collectively, an “Equity Line of Credit” or similar agreement, or a Variable Priced Equity Linked Instrument. For purposes hereof, “Equity Line of Credit” means any transaction involving a written agreement between the Company and an investor or underwriter whereby the Company has the right to “put” its securities to the investor or underwriter over an agreed period of time and at future determined price or price formula (other than customary “preemptive” or “participation” rights or “weighted average” or “full-ratchet” anti-dilution provisions or in connection with fixed-price rights offerings and similar transactions that are not Variable Priced Equity Linked Instruments), and “Variable Priced Equity Linked Instruments” means: (A) any debt or equity securities which are convertible into, exercisable or exchangeable for, or carry the right to receive additional Shares either (1) at any conversion, exercise or exchange rate or other price that is based upon and/or varies with the trading prices of or quotations for Shares at any time after the initial issuance of such debt or equity security, or (2) with a conversion, exercise or exchange price that is subject to being reset on more than one occasion at some future date at any time after the initial issuance of such debt or equity security due to a change in the market price of the Shares since date of initial issuance (other than customary “preemptive” or “participation” rights or “weighted average” or “full-ratchet” anti-dilution provisions or in connection with fixed-price rights offerings and similar transactions), and (B) any amortizing convertible security which amortizes prior to its maturity date, where the Company is required or has the option to (or any investor in such transaction has the option to require the Company to) make such amortization payments in Shares which are valued at a price that is based upon and/or varies with the trading prices of or quotations for Shares at any time after the initial issuance of such debt or equity security (whether or not such payments in stock are subject to certain equity conditions). For the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing shall not prevent the Company from conducting “at-the-market” offerings or similar equity distribution programs.
5.Conditions of the Obligations of the Underwriters. The obligation of the Underwriters to purchase the Firm Securities on the Closing Date or the Option Securities on the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, as provided herein is subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company, the performance by the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions:
(a)Post Effective Amendments and Prospectus Filings. Notification that the Registration Statement has become effective shall be received by the Representative not later than 4:30 p.m., New York City time, on the date of this Agreement or at such later date and time as shall be consented to in writing by the Representative and all filings made pursuant to Rules 424, 430A, or 430B of the Rules and Regulations, as applicable, shall have been made or will be made prior to the Closing Date in accordance with all such applicable rules.
(b)No Stop Orders, Requests for Information and No Amendments. (i) No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose shall be pending or are, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened
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by the Commission, (ii) no order suspending the qualification or registration of the Offered Securities under the securities or Blue Sky laws of any jurisdiction shall be in effect and no proceeding for such purpose shall be pending before or threatened or contemplated by the authorities of any such jurisdiction, (iii) any request for additional information on the part of the staff of the Commission or any such authorities shall have been complied with to the satisfaction of the staff of the Commission or such authorities and (iv) after the date hereof no amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall have been filed unless a copy thereof was first submitted to the Representative and the Representative did not object thereto in good faith, and the Representative shall have received certificates, dated the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date and signed by the Chief Executive Officer or the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Chief Financial Officer of the Company in their capacities as such, and not individually, (who may, as to proceedings threatened, certify to their knowledge), to the effect of clauses (i), (ii) and (iii).
(c)No Material Adverse Changes. Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (i) there shall not have been a Material Adverse Change, (ii) the Company shall not have incurred any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent, (iii) the Company shall not have entered into any material transactions not in the ordinary course of business other than pursuant to this Agreement and the transactions referred to herein, (iv) the Company shall not have issued any securities (other than the Securities or the Shares issued in the ordinary course of business pursuant to existing employee benefit plans of the Company referred to in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus) or declared or paid any dividend or made any distribution in respect of its capital stock of any class or debt (long-term or short-term), and (v) no material amount of the assets of the Company shall have been pledged, mortgaged or otherwise encumbered.
(d)No Actions, Suits or Proceedings. Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there shall have been no actions, suits or proceedings instituted, or to the Company’s knowledge, threatened against or affecting, the Company or its subsidiaries or any of their respective officers in their capacity as such, before or by any federal, state or local court, commission, regulatory body, administrative agency or other governmental body, domestic or foreign.
(e)All Representations True and Correct and All Conditions Fulfilled. Each of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein shall be true and correct as of the date of the Agreement and at the Closing Date as if made at the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, as the case may be, and all covenants and agreements contained herein to be performed by the Company and all conditions contained herein to be fulfilled or complied with by the Company at or prior to the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, shall have been duly performed, fulfilled or complied with.
(f)Opinions of Counsel to the Company. The Underwriters shall have received the opinions and letters, each dated the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, as the case may be, each reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters, from Foley & Lardner LLP, as corporate/securities counsel.
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(g)Opinion of Counsel to the Underwriters. The Representative shall have received an opinion, dated the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, as the case may be, from Pryor Cashman LLP, securities counsel to the Underwriters, with respect to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and this Agreement, which opinions shall be satisfactory in all respects to the Representative.
(h)Accountants’ Comfort Letter. On the date of the Prospectus, the Representative shall have received from the Accountants a letter dated the date of its delivery, addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative and counsel to the Underwriters, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountant’s “comfort letters” to underwriters, delivered according to Statement of Auditing Standards No. 72 (or any successor bulletin), with respect to the audited and unaudited financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. At the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, as the case may be, the Representative shall have received from the Accountants a letter dated such date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative and counsel to the Underwriters, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished by them pursuant to the preceding sentence and have conducted additional procedures with respect to certain financial figures included in the Prospectus, except that the specified date referred to therein for the carrying out of procedures shall be no more than three business days prior to the Closing Date or any Option Closing Date, as the case may be.
(i)Officers’ Certificates. At the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, there shall be furnished to the Representative an accurate certificate, dated the date of its delivery, signed by each of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, in their capacities as such, and not individually, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative and counsel to the Underwriters, to the effect that:
(i)each signer of such certificate has carefully examined the Registration Statement and the Prospectus;
(ii)there has not been a Material Adverse Change; and
(iii)with respect to the matters set forth in Sections 5(b)(i) and 5(e).
(j)Effective Warrant Agreement. The Company and VStock Transfer, LLC, as warrant agent for the Warrants, shall have executed and delivered a warrant agreement (the “Warrant Agreement”) and the Warrant Agreement shall be in full force and effect.
(k)Transfer Agent’s Certificate. The Company’s transfer agent shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to the Representative a certificate satisfactory to the Representative of one of its authorized officers with respect to the issuance of the Shares and Warrants and such other customary matters related thereto as the Representative may reasonably request.
(l)Eligible for DTC Clearance. At or prior to the Closing Date and each Option Closing Date, the Shares and Warrants shall be eligible for clearance and settlement through the facilities of the DTC.
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(m)Lock-Up Agreements. At the date of this Agreement, the Representative shall have received the executed “lock-up” agreements referred to in Section 4(o) hereof from the Company’s officers and directors.
(n)Compliance with Blue Sky Laws. The Securities shall be qualified for sale in such states and jurisdictions as the Representative may reasonably request, including, without limitation, qualification for exemption from registration or prospectus delivery requirements in the provinces and territories of Canada and other jurisdictions outside the United States, and each such qualification shall be in effect and not subject to any stop order or other proceeding on the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date.
(o)Stock Exchange Listing. The Shares shall have been duly authorized for listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market, subject to official notice of issuance.
(p)Exchange Act Registration. One or more registration statements in respect of the Shares and Warrants have been filed on Form 8-A pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, each of which registration statement complies in all material respects with the Exchange Act.
(q)Good Standing. At the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Representative satisfactory evidence of the good standing of the Company and its subsidiary LM Funding, LLC, in their respective jurisdictions of organization (to the extent the concept of “good standing” or such equivalent concept exists under the laws of the applicable jurisdictions) and their good standing as foreign entities in such other jurisdictions as the Representative may reasonably request, in each case in writing or any standard form of telecommunication from the appropriate governmental authorities of such jurisdictions. If the applicable jurisdiction does not have a concept of “good standing,” the Company will furnish evidence in writing or any standard form of telecommunication from the appropriate governmental authorities that the relevant company was duly incorporated and remains duly registered in the jurisdiction of its incorporation.
(r)Company Certificates. The Company shall have furnished to the Representative such certificates, in addition to those specifically mentioned herein, as the Representative may have reasonably requested as to the accuracy and completeness at the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date of any statement in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, as to the accuracy at the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Company herein, as to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, or as to the fulfillment of the conditions concurrent and precedent to the obligations hereunder of the Underwriters.
(s)No Objection. FINRA has confirmed that it has not raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements relating to the offering of the Offered Securities.
If any of the conditions hereinabove provided for in this Section 5 shall not have been fulfilled when and as required by this Agreement to be fulfilled, the obligations of the Underwriters hereunder may be terminated by the Representative by notifying the Company of such termination in writing at or prior to the Closing Date or any Option Closing Date, as the case may be.
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(a)Indemnification of the Underwriters. The Company shall indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates, the directors, officers, employees and agents of such Underwriter and each person, if any, who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act from and against any and all losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any and all investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding between any of the indemnified parties and any indemnifying parties or between any indemnified party and any third party, or otherwise, or any claim asserted), to which they, or any of them, may become subject under the Act, the Exchange Act or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, liabilities, expenses or damages arise out of or are based on (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the information deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement at the time of effectiveness and at any subsequent time pursuant to Rules 430A and 430B of the Rules and Regulations, as applicable, 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 (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any preliminary prospectus, any preliminary prospectus supplement, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing) 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 or (iii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any materials or information provided to investors by, or with the approval of, the Company in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Securities, including any roadshow or investor presentations made to investors by the Company (whether in person or electronically) (collectively, Marketing Materials”) 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 or (iv) in whole or in part any inaccuracy in any material respect in the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable to the extent that such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage is based on any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance on and in conformity with Underwriters’ Information. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company might otherwise have.
(b)Indemnification of the Company. Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its affiliates, the directors, officers, employees and agents of the Company and each other person or entity, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, against any losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses whatsoever, as incurred (including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees and any and all reasonable expenses whatsoever, incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever, and any and all amounts paid in settlement of any claim or litigation), joint or several, to which they or any of them may become subject under the Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement at the time of effectiveness and at any subsequent time pursuant to
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Rules 430A and 430B of the Rules and Regulations, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement to any of them, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that any such loss, liability, claim, damage or expense (or action in respect thereof) arises out of or is based upon any such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made therein in reliance upon the Underwriters’ Information; provided, however, that in no case shall any Underwriter be liable or responsible for any amount in excess of the underwriting discount and commissions applicable to the Securities purchased by such Underwriter hereunder. The parties agree that such information provided by or on behalf of the Underwriters through the Representative consists solely of the material referred to in the last sentence of Section 3(c) hereof.
(c)Indemnification Procedures. Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section 6 shall, 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 6, 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 shall not relieve the indemnifying party from any liability that it may have to any indemnified party under the foregoing provisions of this Section 6 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 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 out-of-pocket 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 (i) the employment of counsel by the indemnified party has been authorized in writing by one of the indemnifying parties in connection with the defense of such action, (ii) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded (based on 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, (iii) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded that a conflict or potential conflict exists (based on advice of counsel to the indemnified party) between the indemnified party and the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying party shall not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party), (iv) the indemnifying party does not diligently defend the action after assumption of the defense, or (v) the indemnifying party has not in fact employed counsel satisfactory to the indemnified party 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 shall 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,
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disbursements and other charges shall be reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly as they are incurred. An indemnifying party shall not be liable for any settlement of any action or claim effected without its written consent (which consent will not be unreasonably withheld or delayed). 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 6 (whether or not any indemnified party is a party thereto), unless (x) such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising or that may arise out of such claim, action or proceeding and (ii) 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, and (y) the indemnifying party confirms in writing its indemnification obligations hereunder with respect to such settlement, compromise or judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 6(a) effected without its written consent if (A) such settlement is entered into more than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (B) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.
(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 6 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable, the Company and the Underwriters shall 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 Underwriters, such as persons who control the Company within the meaning of the Act, officers of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and directors of the Company, who may also be liable for contribution), to which the Company and the Underwriter 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 Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement. The relative benefits received by the Company and the Underwriters shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as (x) the total proceeds from the Offering (net of underwriting discount and commissions but before deducting expenses) received by the Company bears to (y) the underwriting discount and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. 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 Underwriters, on the other, with respect to the statements or omissions which 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 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 Underwriters, 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 Underwriters agree that it would not be
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just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 6(d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) which 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 6(d) shall be deemed to include, for purpose of this Section 6(d), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 6(d), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the underwriting discounts and commissions received by it. No person found guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 6(d), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of the Act 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, and each director, officer, employee, counsel or agent of an Underwriter will have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, 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 6(d), will notify any such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission so to notify will not relieve the party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have under this Section 6(d). The obligations of the Underwriters to contribute pursuant to this Section 6(d) are several in proportion to the respective number of Securities to be purchased by each of the Underwriters hereunder and not joint. No party will be liable for contribution with respect to any action or claim settled without its written consent (which consent will not be unreasonably withheld).
(e)Survival. The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in this Section 6 and the representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any controlling Person thereof, (ii) acceptance of any of the Securities and payment therefor or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.
7.Termination. The obligations of the Underwriters under this Agreement may be terminated at any time prior to the Closing Date (or, with respect to the Option Securities, on or prior to the Option Closing Date), by notice to the Company from the Representative, without liability on the part of the Underwriters to the Company, if, prior to delivery and payment for the Firm Securities (or the Option Securities, as the case may be), in the sole judgment of the Representative, any of the following shall occur:
(a)trading or quotation in any of the equity securities of the Company shall have been suspended or limited by the Commission, The Nasdaq Stock Market or by an exchange or otherwise;
(b)trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange, the NYSE MKT, the NASDAQ Capital Market, the NASDAQ Global Market, the NASDAQ Global Select Market shall have been suspended or limited or minimum or maximum prices shall have been generally established on such exchange, or additional material governmental restrictions, not in
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force on the date of this Agreement, shall have been imposed upon trading in securities generally by such exchange or by order of the Commission or any court or other governmental authority;
(c)a general banking moratorium shall have been declared by any of U.S. federal, New York authorities;
(d)the United States shall have become engaged in new hostilities, there shall have been an escalation in hostilities involving the United States or there shall have been a declaration of a national emergency or war by the United States or there shall have occurred such a material adverse change in general economic, political or financial conditions, including, without limitation, as a result of terrorist activities after the date hereof (or the effect of international conditions on the financial markets in the United States shall be such), or any other calamity or crisis shall have occurred, the effect of any of which is such as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to market the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by the Prospectus;
(e)the Company shall have sustained a loss material or substantial to the Company by reason of flood, fire, accident, hurricane, earthquake, theft, sabotage, or other calamity or malicious act, whether or not such loss shall have been insured, the effect of any of which is such as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to market the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by the Prospectus; or
(f)there shall have been a Material Adverse Change.
8.Underwriter Default.
(a)If any Underwriter or Underwriters shall default in its or their obligation to purchase Firm Securities hereunder, and if the Securities with respect to which such default relates (the “Default Securities”) do not (after giving effect to arrangements, if any, made by the Representative pursuant to subsection (b) below) exceed in the aggregate 10% of the number of the Firm Securities, each non-defaulting Underwriter, acting severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Company that number of Default Securities that bears the same proportion to the total number of Default Securities then being purchased as the number of Firm Securities set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter on Schedule A hereto bears to the aggregate number of Firm Securities set forth opposite the names of the non-defaulting Underwriters; subject, however, to such adjustments to eliminate fractional shares as the Representative in its discretion shall make.
(b)In the event that the aggregate number of Default Securities exceeds 10% of the number of Firm Securities, the Representatives may in their discretion arrange for themselves or for another party or parties (including any non-defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters who so agree) to purchase the Default Securities on the terms contained herein. In the event that within five (5) calendar days after such a default the Representative does not arrange for the purchase of the Default Securities as provided in this Section 8, this Agreement shall thereupon terminate, without liability on the part of the Company with respect thereto (except in each case as provided in Sections 4(k), 6 and 8) or the Underwriters, but nothing in this Agreement
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shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters of its or their liability, if any, to the other Underwriters and the Company for damages occasioned by its or their default hereunder.
(c)In the event that any Default Securities are to be purchased by the non-defaulting Underwriters, or are to be purchased by another party or parties as aforesaid, the Representatives or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Closing Date for a period, not exceeding five (5) Business Days, in order to effect whatever changes may thereby be necessary in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or in any other documents and arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which, in the reasonable opinion of Underwriters’ Counsel, may be necessary or advisable. The term “Underwriter” as used in this Agreement shall include any party substituted under this Section 8 with like effect as if it had originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such Firm Securities.
9.Miscellaneous.
(a)Notices. Notice given pursuant to any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be in writing and, unless otherwise specified, shall be mailed, hand delivered or telecopied (a) if to the Company, at the office of the Company, 1200 West Platt Street, Suite 1000, Tampa, Florida 33606, telephone number: (813) 222-8996, Attention: Chief Executive Officer, or (b) if to the Representative or any Underwriter, to Maxim Group LLC, 405 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 100174, Attention: Legal Department, telecopy number: (212) 895-3555. Any such notice shall be effective only upon receipt. Any notice under Section 6 hereof may be made by telecopy or telephone, but if so made shall be subsequently confirmed in writing.
(b)No Third Party Beneficiaries. This Agreement has been and is made solely for the benefit of the Underwriters, the Company and, with respect to Section 6, the controlling persons, directors, officers, employees, counsel and agents referred to in Section 6 hereof, and their respective successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. The term “successors and assigns” as used in this Agreement shall not include a purchaser of Securities from any Underwriter in his, her or its capacity as such a purchaser, as such purchaser of Securities from such Underwriter.
(c)Survival of Representations and Warranties. All representations, warranties and agreements of the Company contained herein or in certificates or other instruments delivered pursuant hereto shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Underwriters or any of their controlling persons and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Securities hereunder.
(d)Disclaimer of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the public offering price of the Offered Securities and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, (ii) in connection with the Offering contemplated by this Agreement and the process leading to such transaction, the Underwriters are and have been acting pursuant to a contractual relationship created solely by this Agreement and are not agents or fiduciaries of the Company or its securityholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (iii) no
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Underwriter has assumed nor will it assume any advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering of the Securities contemplated by this Agreement or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter or its affiliates has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) and each such Underwriter has no obligation to the Company with respect to the offering of the Securities contemplated by this Agreement except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (iv) the Underwriters and their affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company, and (v) no Underwriter has provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the Offering contemplated by this Agreement and the Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.
(e)Governing Law. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK APPLICABLE TO AGREEMENTS MADE AND TO BE PERFORMED ENTIRELY WITHIN SUCH STATE.
(f)Submission to Jurisdiction. The Company irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of any New York State or United States federal court sitting in The City of New York, Borough of Manhattan, over any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, the Registration Statement, or the offering of the Securities. The Company irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such suit, action or proceeding brought in such a court and any claim that any such suit, action or proceeding brought in such a court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. To the extent that the Company has or hereafter may acquire any immunity (on the grounds of sovereignty or otherwise) from the jurisdiction of any court or from any legal process with respect to itself or its property, the Company irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, such immunity in respect of any such suit, action or proceeding including without limitation, any immunity pursuant to the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, as amended. Each of the Underwriters and the Company further agrees to accept and acknowledge service of any and all process which may be served in any such suit, action or proceeding in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, or in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and agrees that service of process upon the Company mailed by certified mail or delivered by Federal Express via overnight delivery to the Company’s address shall be deemed in every respect effective service of process upon the Company in any such suit, action or proceeding, and service of process upon an Underwriter mailed by certified mail or delivered by Federal Express via overnight delivery to the Underwriters’ address shall be deemed in every respect effective service of process upon such Underwriter in any such suit, action or proceeding.
(g)Judgment Currency. If for the purposes of obtaining judgment in any court it is necessary to convert a sum due hereunder into any currency other than United States dollars, the parties hereto agree, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that the rate of exchange used shall be the rate at which in accordance with normal banking procedures the Underwriters could purchase United States dollars with such other currency in The City of New York on the business day preceding that on which final judgment is given. The obligation of the Company with respect to any sum due from it to an Underwriter or any person controlling such Underwriter shall, notwithstanding any judgment in a currency other than United States dollars, not be discharged
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until the first business day following receipt by such Underwriter or controlling person of any sum in such other currency, and only to the extent that such Underwriter or controlling person may in accordance with normal banking procedures purchase United States dollars with such other currency. If the United States dollars so purchased are less than the sum originally due to such Underwriter or controlling person hereunder, the Company agrees as a separate obligation and notwithstanding any such judgment, to indemnify such Underwriter or controlling person against such loss. If the United States dollars so purchased are greater than the sum originally due to such Underwriter or controlling person hereunder, such Underwriter or controlling person agrees to pay to the Company an amount equal to the excess of the dollars so purchased over the sum originally due to such Underwriter or controlling person hereunder.
(h)Counterparts. This Agreement may be signed in two or more counterparts with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument.
(i)Survival of Provisions Upon Invalidity of Any Single Provision. In case any provision in this Agreement shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
(j)Waiver of Jury Trial. The Company and each Underwriter each hereby irrevocably waive any right they may have to a trial by jury in respect of any claim based upon or arising out of this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
(k)Titles and Subtitles. The titles of the sections and subsections of this Agreement are for convenience and reference only and are not to be considered in construing this Agreement.
(l)Entire Agreement. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement may not be amended or otherwise modified or any provision hereof waived except by an instrument in writing signed by the parties hereto.
[Signature page follows]
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If the foregoing correctly sets forth your understanding, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement among us.
Very truly yours,
LM FUNDING AMERICA, INC.
By:
Name: Bruce M. Rodgers
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Accepted by the Representatives, acting for themselves and as
Representatives of the Underwriters named on Schedule A hereto,
as of the date first written above:
Maxim Group LLC
By:
Name: Clifford A. Teller
Title: Executive Managing Director, Investment Banking
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Name of Underwriter |
Number of Units Being Purchased |
Number of Pre-funded Units Being Purchased |
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Maxim Group LLC |
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Total |
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ISSUER FREE WRITING PROSPECTUSES:
S-I-1
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1. |
The public offering price per Unit and Pre-funded Unit shall be $[ ] and $[ ], respectively. |
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2. |
The Company is selling [ ] Units and [ ] Pre-funded Units. |
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3. |
The Company has granted an option to the Representative, on behalf of the Underwriters, to purchase up to an additional [ ] Shares and/or Warrants and/or Pre-funded Warrants. |
S-III-1
LOCK-UP AGREEMENT
[___], 2020
Maxim Group LLC
405 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10174
Re:LM Funding America, Inc.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
As an inducement to Maxim Group LLC, as representative of the underwriters (the “Representative”), to execute an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) providing for a public offering (the “Offering”) of the common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Shares”), of LM Funding America, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), the undersigned hereby agrees that without, in each case, the prior written consent of the Representative, during the period specified in the second succeeding paragraph (the “Lock-Up Period”), the undersigned will not (1) offer, pledge, announce the intention to sell, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any Shares or any securities convertible into, exercisable or exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive Shares (including, without limitation, Shares which may be deemed to be beneficially owned by the undersigned in accordance with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and securities which may be issued upon exercise of a stock option or warrant) whether now owned or hereafter acquired (the “Undersigned’s Securities”) or (2) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Undersigned’s Securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Shares or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The foregoing restriction is expressly agreed to preclude the undersigned from engaging in any hedging or other transaction which is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in a sale or disposition of the Undersigned’s Securities even if such Undersigned’s Securities would be disposed of by someone other than the undersigned. Such prohibited hedging or other transactions would include, without limitation, any short sale or any purchase, sale or grant of any right (including, without limitation, any put or call option) with respect to any of the Undersigned’s Securities or with respect to any security that includes, relates to, or derives any significant part of its value from such Undersigned’s Securities.
In addition, the undersigned agrees that, without the prior written consent of the Representative, it will not, during the Lock-Up Period, make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any Shares or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Shares other than as contemplated in the registration statement relating to the Offering.
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The Lock-Up Period shall mean the period commencing on the date of this Lock-Up Agreement and continue and include the date ninety (90) days after the date of the final prospectus supplement used to sell Shares in the Offering pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the undersigned may transfer the Undersigned’s Securities (i) to a Permitted Transferee, (ii) as a bona fide gift or gifts, (iii) to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned, (iv) by virtue of the laws of descent and distribution upon death of the undersigned, or (v) pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order. As used in this Agreement, the term “Permitted Transferee” shall mean, if the undersigned is a corporation, company, business trust, association, limited liability company, partnership, limited liability partnership or other entity (collectively, the “Entities” or, individually, the “Entity”), to any person or Entity which controls, is directly or indirectly controlled by, or is under common control with the undersigned and, if the undersigned is a partnership or limited liability company, to its partners, former partners or an affiliated partnership (or members, former members or an affiliated limited liability company) managed by the same manager or managing partner (or managing member, as the case may be) or management company, or managed by an entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with, such manager or managing partner (or managing member) or management company in accordance with partnership (or membership) interests; provided, in the case of clauses (i) through (v), that the transferee agrees in writing with the Representative to be bound by the terms of this Lock-Up Agreement, and provided, further, that in the case of clauses (i) through (iii), that no filing by any party in any public report or filing with the SEC shall be required or shall be made voluntarily in connection with such transfer. For purposes of this Lock-Up Agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin. Furthermore, the undersigned may voluntarily forfeit Shares to pay any withholding tax owed by the undersigned on account of the vesting of such shares, which may be reported on a Form 4 as such.
In addition, the foregoing restrictions shall not apply to (i) the exercise of stock options granted pursuant to the Company’s equity incentive plans; provided, that such restrictions shall apply to any of the Undersigned’s Securities issued upon such exercise, or (ii) the establishment of any contract, instruction or plan (a “Plan”) that satisfies all of the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c)(1)(i)(B) under the Exchange Act; provided, that no sales of the Undersigned’s Securities shall be made pursuant to such a Plan prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, and such a Plan may only be established if no public announcement of the establishment or existence thereof and no filing with the SEC or other regulatory authority in respect thereof or transactions thereunder or contemplated thereby, by the undersigned, the Company or any other person, shall be required, and no such announcement or filing is made voluntarily, by the undersigned, the Company or any other person, prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period.
In furtherance of the foregoing, the Company and its transfer agent and registrar are hereby authorized to decline to make any transfer of Shares if such transfer would constitute a violation or breach of this Lock-Up Agreement.
The undersigned hereby represents and warrants that the undersigned has full power and authority to enter into this Lock-Up Agreement and that, upon request, the undersigned will execute any additional documents necessary in connection with the enforcement hereof. All
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authority herein conferred or agreed to be conferred and any obligations of the undersigned shall be binding upon the successors, assigns, heirs or personal representatives of the undersigned.
The undersigned understands that the undersigned shall be released from all obligations under this Lock-Up Agreement if (i) the Company or the Representative informs the other that it does not intend to proceed with the Offering, (ii) the Underwriting Agreement does not become effective or if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Shares to be sold thereunder, or (iii) the Offering is not completed by [ ].
The undersigned understands that the Representative is entering into the Underwriting Agreement and proceeding with the Offering in reliance upon this Lock-Up Agreement.
This Lock-Up Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.
Whether or not the Offering actually occurs depends on a number of factors, including market conditions. Any Offering will only be made pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, the terms of which are subject to negotiation among the parties thereto.
[Signature page follows]
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Very truly yours, |
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(Name - Please Print) |
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Form of Press Release
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[Date]
LM Funding America, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), announced today that Maxim Group LLC, the lead book-running manager in the Company’s recent public sale of common stock, is [waiving][releasing] a lock-up restriction with respect to [___] of the Company’s Shares held by [certain officers or directors][an officer or director] of the Company. The [waiver][release] will take effect on [___], and the Shares may be sold on or after such date.
This press release is not an offer for sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such offer is prohibited, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
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Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-1/A of our report dated April 14, 2020 with respect to the audited consolidated financial statements of LM Funding America, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. Our report contains an explanatory paragraph regarding the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
We also consent to the references to us under the heading “Experts” in such Registration Statement.
/s/ MaloneBailey, LLP
www.malonebailey.com
Houston, Texas
August 11, 2020
