Soundhound Ai, Inc S-3, filed Jan 28, 2025
Soundhound Ai, Inc. (SOUN)
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 27, 2025
Registration No. 333-__________
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
SOUNDHOUND AI, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 7372 | 86-1286799 | ||
| (State or other jurisdiction of | (Primary Standard Industrial | (I.R.S. Employer | ||
| incorporation or organization) | Classification Code Number) | Identification Number) |
5400
Betsy Ross Drive
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Telephone: (408) 441-3200
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Dr. Keyvan
Mohajer
SoundHound AI, Inc.
5400 Betsy Ross Drive
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Telephone: (408) 441-3200
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Please send a copy of all communications to:
Douglas
Ellenoff, Esq.
Matthew Bernstein, Esq.
Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP
1345 Avenue of the Americas, 11th Floor
New York, New York 10105
Telephone: (212) 370-1300
Fax: (212) 370-7889
Approximate date of commencement proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this Registration Statement.
If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. ☐
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. ☒
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.:
| Large accelerated filer ☒ | Accelerated filer ☐ | |
| Non-accelerated filer ☐ | Smaller reporting company ☐ | |
| Emerging growth company ☐ | ||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of Securities Act. ☐ | ||
The Registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment that 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 Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This registration statement contains two prospectuses, a base prospectus for the purpose of implementing a “shelf” registration process and a sales agreement prospectus for the purpose of implementing a $250,000,000 million “at-the-market” offering program under the shelf registration statement.
The base prospectus covers the offering, issuance and sale by us of up to $500,000,000 of our Class A common stock (including the $250,000,000 "at-the-market" offering program), preferred stock, purchase contracts, warrants, subscriptions rights, depositary shares, debt securities and/or units. The sales agreement prospectus covers our offering, issuance and sale of up to $250,000,000 of our Class A common stock under a sales agreement with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Wedbush Securities Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Northland Securities, Inc.
The base prospectus immediately follows this explanatory note. The specific terms of any securities to be offered pursuant to the base prospectus will be specified in one or more prospectus supplements to the base prospectus.
The sales agreement prospectus immediately follows the base prospectus. The $250,000,000 of Class A common stock that may be offered, issued and sold by us under the sales agreement prospectus is included in the $500,000,000 of securities that may be offered, issued and sold by us under the base prospectus. Upon termination of the sales agreement, any portion of the $250,000,000 included in the sales agreement prospectus that is not sold pursuant to the sales agreement will be available for sale in other offerings pursuant to the base prospectus and corresponding prospectus supplements, and if no shares are sold under the sales agreement, the full $500,000,000 of securities may be sold in other offerings pursuant to the base prospectus and any corresponding prospectus supplements.
The sales agreement prospectus includes the base prospectus, except that the sales agreement prospectus contains a different front and back cover page, and sets forth additional information in the sections titled “About this Prospectus,” “The Offering,” “Risk Factors,” “Use of Proceeds,” “Dilution,” “Plan of Distribution” and “Legal Matters.” The cover pages and such additional information contained in the sales agreement prospectus are set forth in the pages following the base prospectus included herein.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell the securities until the Registration Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, of which this prospectus is a part, is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JANUARY 27, 2025
Prospectus
SOUNDHOUND AI, INC.
$500,000,000
CLASS A COMMON STOCK
PREFERRED STOCK
PURCHASE CONTRACTS
WARRANTS
SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS
DEPOSITARY SHARES
DEBT SECURITIES
UNITS
We may offer and sell from time to time, in one or more series, any one of the following securities of SoundHound AI, Inc. (“SoundHound AI,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”), for total gross proceeds of up to $500,000,000:
| ● | Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A Shares,” the “Class A Common Stock” or the “Common Stock”); | |
| ● | preferred stock; | |
| ● | purchase contracts; | |
| ● | warrants to purchase our securities; | |
| ● | subscription rights to purchase any of the foregoing securities; | |
| ● | depositary shares; | |
| ● | secured or unsecured debt securities consisting of notes, debentures or other evidences of indebtedness which may be senior debt securities, senior subordinated debt securities or subordinated debt securities, each of which may be convertible into equity securities; or | |
| ● | units comprised of, or other combinations of, the foregoing securities. |
We may offer and sell these securities separately or together, in one or more series or classes and in amounts, at prices and on terms described in one or more offerings. We may offer securities through underwriting syndicates managed or co-managed by one or more underwriters or dealers, through agents or directly to purchasers, or through a combination of these methods, on a continuous or delayed basis. If any agents, underwriters or dealers are involved in the sale of any securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of such agents, underwriters or dealers and any applicable fees, commissions, discounts and options to purchase additional shares will be set forth in a prospectus supplement. The prospectus supplement for each offering of securities will describe in detail the plan of distribution for that offering. The price to the public of such securities and the net proceeds we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement. For general information about the distribution of securities offered, please see “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus.
Each time our securities are offered, we will provide a prospectus supplement containing more specific information about the particular offering and attach it to this prospectus. The prospectus supplements may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, as well as the documents incorporated by reference, before buying any of the securities being offered.
This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell securities without a prospectus supplement which includes a description of the method and terms of the offering.
Our Class A Common Stock is listed on the Global Market of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “SOUN.” The last reported sale price of our Class A Common Stock on January 24, 2025 was $15.84 per share. Our listed redeemable warrants are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “SOUNW.”
If we decide to seek a listing of any preferred stock, purchase contracts, warrants, subscriptions rights, depositary shares, debt securities or units offered by this prospectus, the related prospectus supplement will disclose the exchange or market on which the securities will be listed, if any, or where we have made an application for listing, if any.
Investing in our securities involves certain risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 6 and the risk factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated by reference herein, as well as in any other recently filed quarterly or current reports and in the relevant prospectus supplement. We urge you to carefully read this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, together with the documents we incorporate by reference, describing the terms of these securities before investing.
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.
The date of this Prospectus is _____________, 2025.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may offer and sell, either individually or in combination, in one or more offerings, any of the securities described in this prospectus, for total gross proceeds of up to $500,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement to this prospectus that will contain more specific information about the terms of that offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you may also add, update or change any of the information contained in this prospectus or in the documents that we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
We urge you to read carefully this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectuses we have authorized for use in connection with a specific offering, together with the information incorporated herein by reference as described under the heading “Incorporation of Documents by Reference,” before investing in any of the securities being offered. You should rely only on the information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, along with the information contained in any free writing prospectuses we have authorized for use in connection with a specific offering. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different or additional information. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so.
The information appearing in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front of the document and any information we have incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus, or any sale of a security. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
This prospectus contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under the section entitled “Where You Can Find Additional Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference.”
This prospectus contains, or incorporates by reference, trademarks, tradenames, service marks and service names of SoundHound AI and its subsidiaries.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein contain or may contain “forward looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “Exchange Act”), and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For all forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein, including statements regarding future events, our future financial performance, business strategy, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including “anticipates,” “believes,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “should,” or “will” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. The following factors among others, could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those set forth or contemplated in the forward-looking statements:
| ● | our ability to execute our business strategy, including launching new product offerings and expanding information and technology capabilities; |
| ● | our market opportunity and our ability to acquire new customers and retain existing customers; |
| ● | the timing and impact of our growth initiatives on our future financial performance; |
| ● | our ability to integrate the businesses and operations from our recent acquisitions with our current operations to realize the expected benefits of those acquisitions; | |
| ● | our ability to protect intellectual property and trade secrets; |
| ● | the ability to obtain additional capital, as necessary, including equity or debt financing, on terms that are acceptable to us, if at all; |
| ● | changes in applicable laws or regulations and extensive and evolving government regulations that impact our operations and business; |
| ● | the ability to attract or maintain a qualified workforce; |
| ● | level of product service failures that could lead our customers to use competitors’ services; |
| ● | investigations, claims, disputes, enforcement actions, litigation and/or other regulatory or legal proceedings, including with respect to our AI technology; |
| ● | risks relating to uncertainty of our estimates of market opportunity and forecasts of market growth; |
| ● | the possibility that we may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and |
| ● | other risks and uncertainties described under the section titled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein. |
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Although we do not make forward looking statements unless we believe we have a reasonable basis for doing so, we cannot guarantee their accuracy. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the risks outlined under “Risk Factors” or elsewhere in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, which may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to vary materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in a highly regulated, very competitive, and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all risk factors, nor can we address the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short term and long term business operations, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein, and in particular, the risks discussed below and under the heading “Risk Factors” in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and in other documents we file with the SEC, as well as any amendments thereto. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2024, June 30, 2024 and September 30, 2024 and notes to such financial statements incorporated by reference herein. We undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this prospectus may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statement.
You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement, each of which applies only as of the date of this prospectus. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this prospectus to conform our statements to actual results or changed expectations.
Any forward-looking statement you read in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any document incorporated by reference reflects our current views at the time the forward-looking statement was made with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, operating results, growth strategy and liquidity. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as to the date when made. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future, except as otherwise required by applicable law. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports on Forms 10-Q, 8-K and 10-K filed with the SEC. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all risk factors. Consequently, you should not consider any such list to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.
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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary does not contain all the information that you should consider before investing in our Company. You should carefully read the entire prospectus, including all documents incorporated by reference herein. In particular, attention should be directed to our “Risk Factors,” “Information With Respect to the Company,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the financial statements and related notes thereto contained herein or otherwise incorporated by reference hereto, before making an investment decision.
As used herein, and any amendment or supplement hereto, unless otherwise indicated, “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company,” or “SoundHound AI” means SoundHound AI, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Unless otherwise indicated, all references in this prospectus to “dollars” or “$” refer to US dollars.
Company Overview
We are a global leader in conversational intelligence, offering independent Voice AI solutions that enable businesses to deliver high-quality conversational experiences to their customers. Built on proprietary technology, SoundHound’s voice AI delivers best-in-class speed and accuracy in numerous languages to product creators across automotive, TV, and IoT, and to customer service industries via groundbreaking AI-driven products like Smart Answering, Smart Ordering, and Dynamic Interaction™, a real-time, multimodal customer service interface. Along with SoundHound Chat AI, a powerful voice assistant with integrated Generative AI, SoundHound powers millions of products and services, and processes billions of interactions each year for world class businesses.
We believe voice-enabled conversational user interface is a more natural interface for nearly all use cases, and product creators should have the ability to design, customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize the interface to their own product, as opposed to outsourcing it to a third-party assistant. For example, using SoundHound, businesses can voice-enable their products so consumers can say things like, “Turn off the air conditioning and lower the windows,” while in their cars, “Find romantic comedies released in the last year,” while streaming on their TV and even place food orders before arriving at a restaurant by talking to their cars, TVs or other IoT devices. Additionally, SoundHound’s technology can address complex user queries such as, “Show me all restaurants within half a mile of the Space Needle that are open past 9 pm on Wednesdays and have outdoor seating,” and follow-on qualifications such as “Okay, don’t show me anything with less than 3 stars or fast food.”
The SoundHound developer platform, Houndify, is an open-access platform that allows developers to leverage SoundHound’s Voice AI technology and a library of over 100 content domains, including commonly used domains for points of interest, weather, flight status, sports and more. SoundHound’s Collective AI is an architecture for connecting domain knowledge that encourages collaboration and contribution among developers. The architecture is based on proprietary software engineering technology, CaiLAN (Conversational AI Language), and machine learning technology, CaiNET (Conversational AI Network) to ensure fast, accurate and appropriate responses.
Our market position is strengthened by the technical barriers to entry in the Voice AI space, which tend to discourage new market participants. Furthermore, our technology is backed by significant investments in intellectual property, with over 155 patents granted and over 115 patents pending, spanning multiple fields including speech recognition, natural language understanding, machine learning, monetization and more. We have achieved this critical momentum in part thanks to a long-tenured leadership team with deep expertise and proven ability to attract and retain talent. We believe that SoundHound has extensive technical expertise and a proven track record of innovation and value creation for us to continue to attract customers in the growing market for Voice AI transactions.
We believe that SoundHound is well-positioned to fill the growing void and demand for an independent Voice AI platform. The Voice AI offerings from big tech companies are primarily an extension of their more core services and offerings. Rather than strengthening a customer’s product, it can take over the entire experience, thus disintermediating the company’s brand, users and data. As a result, brands relying on big tech may lose their ability to innovate, differentiate and customize. In some cases, these providers even compete with the products they support, making them increasingly less attractive as a choice for a voice interface.
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The alternative options are generally legacy vendors tending to use what we consider to be dated technologies at a high price. Furthermore, many of these technologies still require significant effort by the product creators to turn them into solutions that can compete with the quality of the big tech offering, which in many cases is not practical. Due to the high barrier to entry in Voice AI, there are not many independent players.
This creates a great opportunity for SoundHound: we believe that we provide disruptive technologies that are superior to the alternatives, with better terms, allowing customers to maintain their brand, control the user experience, get access to the data and define their own privacy policies, while being able to customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize.
When it comes to criteria for adoption, our goal is to win on every dimension. We believe that the first two criteria customers typically consider are technology and brand control. We strive to provide our customers with the best technology, and we provide a white label solution giving our customers control of their brands. In some industries you may have to choose between technology and brand control. In our case, we offer our customers the best of both, enabling them to offer disruptive technologies to their users while maintaining control of their brand and user experience.
With our disruptive monetization strategy, we also aim to provide an additional path to monetization for our customer base. By choosing our platform, product creators can generate additional revenue while making their product better using Voice AI, providing further incentive to choose our platform.
We believe that we offer a superior ecosystem, benefiting from our Collective AI product architecture along with offering customers definable privacy controls, which are becoming increasingly important in the industry of Voice AI. Additionally, there is no conflict of interest between us and our partners and customers as we do not compete with them (as some other Voice AI vendors do). We also offer edge and hybrid solutions. This means our technology can optionally run without a cloud connection for increased flexibility and privacy. Our focus is on delivering the most advanced Voice AI in the world and thus allowing our partners to differentiate and innovate their overall experiences for their brands.
We strongly believe that product creators know their product and users best. The idea of a single third-party assistant taking over their product is not reflective of our anticipated future. We envision that every product will have its own identity, and will have Voice AI customized in different ways. Product creators can each tap into a single Collective AI to access the ever-growing set of domains, but the product creators can innovate on top of Collective AI and create value for the end users in their own way. This is the future that we are focusing on enabling.
When a product is voice enabled, we see three stages of integration and value propositions. The first stage is to enable the core use cases of the product. For example, the product could be a TV, a coffee machine, a car, a wearable device, a robot, a smart speaker or an appliance, and with your voice you can control the functionality of the device and the product. On a TV, you can ask it to change the channel, increase the volume, rewind by 30 seconds, search for movies and even add personalization by adding a TV show to your favorites. Note that this is different from adding a third-party voice assistant to the product. Our view is that every product needs to have an interface, and voice-AI is a natural and compelling interface that unlocks new use cases and potential. Consider just the simple example of rewinding or fast forwarding by a specific duration. That is a command that can be done with voice within a few seconds, but it can take many steps to do using alternative interfaces such as a remote control or a companion app.
Once the core features of a product are voice-enabled, it can be further enhanced in the second stage of integration: the addition of third-party content and domains. SoundHound has extensive partnerships with content providers and, through these partnerships, can fulfill many needs of our customers. For example, your TV, car or even a coffee machine can answer questions about weather, sports scores, stock prices or flight status, and even search for local businesses. The addition of these public domains further enhances the value proposition of the product.
Finally, as the third step, you enter the world of monetization where you can add features that deliver value to the end user, and also generate revenues that we share with the product creators. To summarize with an example, imagine walking up to your coffee machine and asking for a triple shot extra hot latte. While you are waiting for your drink, you can ask for weather and sports scores, and if you desire, you can even order bagels from your favorite nearby bakery.
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Recent Developments
November 2024 ATM Program
On November 12, 2024, the Company entered into an equity distribution agreement (the “Equity Distribution Agreement”) with Barclays Capital Inc., Piper Sandler & Co., D.A. Davidson & Co., H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, and Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC, (the “Agents”) with respect to a $120.0 million at-the-market equity program (the “November ATM”). As of December 31, 2024, the Company sold a total of 16,224,989 shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock under the Equity Distribution Agreement, at a weighted-average price of $7.40 per share, and raised $120.0 million of gross proceeds. After deducting $3.0 million of commissions and offering costs incurred by the Company, the net proceeds from sales of Class A Common Stock were $117.0 million. The Company used the net proceeds of the November ATM to prepay the Amelia Debt (as defined below), and for general corporate purposes and working capital, which may include investing in or acquiring synergistic or complementary businesses, assets or technologies.
Amelia Debt Repayment
In connection with the acquisition of Amelia Holdings, Inc. (“Amelia” or the “Target”), the Company assumed an amended senior secured term loan facility from Amelia in an aggregate principal amount of $109.7 million (“Amelia Debt”), which was issued pursuant to the existing Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) of Amelia with Monroe Capital Management Advisors, LLC (“Monroe”), as administrative and collateral agent for certain affiliated funds of Monroe, as lenders. In accordance with the amended terms, on August 7, 2024, the Company paid $70.0 million in cash to pay down a portion of the outstanding principal balance and issued 2,943,917 shares of Class A Common Stock to settle certain fees associated with the Amelia Debt. The remaining outstanding balance of $39.7 million had a maturity date of June 30, 2026 (the “Maturity Date”) and provided, at the Company’s election, for payment of a portion of interest in cash or in kind (“PIK”), in which case interest will be capitalized and added to the outstanding principal amount, with principal and accrued interest due at the Maturity Date. The Amelia Debt was permitted to be prepaid at any time and had to be prepaid, along with the applicable prepayment premium and exit fee, upon the occurrence of certain future events. The Amelia Debt accrued interest at an annual rate equal to the sum of (a) Adjusted Term SOFR and (b)(i) an applicable margin of 9.00% for the portion of interest paid in cash, and (ii) an additional 1.00% for the portion of interest paid in kind. Upon an event of default, the interest rate have automatically increased by an additional 2.00% per annum, and could have resulted in the declaration that all outstanding principal and interest under the Amelia Debt be immediately due and payable in whole or in part. On December 3, 2024, the Company entered into a letter agreement (the “Payoff Letter”) to prepay in full all remaining indebtedness and other amounts outstanding of the Amelia Debt. On December 4, 2024, the Company paid (i) the remaining principal amount outstanding of $39.6 million, (ii) accrued interest of $0.1 million, and (iii) transaction expenses of less than $0.1 million, resulting in a loss on debt extinguishment of less than $0.1 million.
Our Products and Technology
Houndify platform, SoundHound AI’s Voice AI platform, combines advanced AI with engineering expertise to help brands build conversational voice assistants. From proprietary components to customizable and scalable solutions, we offer tools to build a highly accurate and responsive voice user interface. The suite of Houndify tools includes Application Programming Interfaces (“API”) for text and voice queries, support for custom commands, extensive library of content domains, inclusive Software Development Kit platforms, collaboration capabilities, diagnostic tools, and built-in analytics. Houndify provides a web API that takes in text queries or audio and returns actionable JavaScript Object Notation to anyone with an internet connection wanting to add Voice AI to any product or application.
CaiNET and CaiLAN Expert Domain Selections. SoundHound’s CaiNET software uses machine learning to enhance how domains work together to better handle complex queries including natural language processing, predictive analytics, and building language models, or translation of speech. SoundHound’s proprietary CaiLAN software expertly arbitrates responses so users get better answers from the right domain such as for use with natural language processing, predictive analytics, and building language models, or translation of speech.
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Automatic Speech Recognition, our highly optimized, tunable, and scalable ASR engine, supports vocabulary sizes containing millions of words. Houndify’s machine learning infrastructure allows us to tune the engine to achieve optimal Computer Processing Unit (“CPU”) performance while delivering high accuracy rates. Houndify’s language and acoustic modelling architecture also uses machine learning to increase word recognition accuracy. Rapid iteration is possible due to our accelerated training pipeline and architecture that improves as data is collected. Highly accurate transcriptions result from advanced acoustic models trained to perform in a variety of scenarios — including in severely noisy environments and when accented language is spoken.
Natural Language Understanding (“NLU”), our proprietary Speech-to-Meaning technology, tracks speech in real-time and understands the context, even before the user has finished speaking. Instead of the typical two-step process of transcribing speech into text and then passing the text into an NLU model, Houndify can accomplish both of these tasks in one step, delivering faster and more accurate results. Houndify’s ability to process and understand speech the instant a user stops speaking gives voice assistants the ability to respond faster. Understanding speech in real-time without requiring additional processing or waiting for the user to finish speaking creates responsive and natural conversations between people and products. By understanding context, Houndify responds accurately to users by distinguishing between similar words and names. Our NLU can discern the difference between words that sound the same, but have different spellings and meanings. For example, if users want to navigate to 272 Hoch Street in Dayton, Ohio, it won’t look for Hawk Street. Using our proprietary Deep Meaning Understanding technology, a custom voice assistant can handle complex queries with compound criteria including conversational follow up, address multiple questions and filter results simultaneously — accurately and quickly answering users’ most complex questions.
These technologies are anchored by three important innovations: Speech-to-Meaning, Deep Meaning Understanding and Collective AI.
Speech-to-Meaning refers to SoundHound’s ability to convert speech to meaning simultaneously and in real time. Most traditional approaches first convert speech to text, and then convert text to meaning. This approach can be both slower and less accurate. It’s slower because the two steps are done in sequence, and the additional processing time of the second step can be noticeable by the end user. It can also be less accurate because if the first step of speech to text makes a mistake, the resulting incorrect text is then sent to the second step, and the error further propagates. Our development of Speech to Meaning technology was inspired by the human brain. As we listen to someone speaking, our brain does not convert speech to text, and then text to meaning. Instead, our brain converts speech to meaning simultaneously and in real time. With Speech-to-Meaning, as you speak to SoundHound’s technology, it performs both speech recognition and language understanding simultaneously, which results in faster response time and higher accuracy, because real-time language understanding can feed into the real-time speech recognizer as additional information to reduce errors.
Deep Meaning Understanding is our innovative approach to language understanding that allows our Voice AI platform to understand highly complex conversation. For example, it can understand: “Show me hotels in San Francisco that are less than $600, but not less than $300, are pet friendly, have a gym and a pool with at least three stars staying for two nights, and don’t include anything that doesn’t have Wi-Fi.” A complex search like this will take many minutes to perform on a website with complex forms, but it can be done within a few seconds using SoundHound technology, which we believe to be unique in its ability to handle complex queries of this nature at scale.
Collective AI is an architecture that gives potential to SoundHound to improve the understanding capability of its platform exponentially based on linear contributions. Most other platforms add skills or domains that are separate and don’t interact with each other. For them, linear contribution results in linear growth in understanding, which is less scalable. With the Collective AI architecture, SoundHound domains can be interconnected and learn from each other. As developers contribute to the platform, the platform’s understanding capability can grow exponentially.
Smart Ordering offers an easy-to-understand voice assistant for restaurants that takes phone orders and automatically processes them by seamlessly integrating with multiple POS systems. For enterprises, we also offer a flexible Gateway to integrate with custom POSs.
Dynamic Interaction is a category-level breakthrough in conversational AI that we believe raises the bar for human-computer interaction by not only recognizing and understanding speech, but also responding and acting in real-time. Where existing voice technology requires wake words and relies on turn-taking with awkward pauses to process requests, Dynamic Interaction uses the twin technologies of fragment parsing – which breaks speech down to partial-utterances and processes them in real-time – and full-duplex audio-visual integration to create an instantaneous, next-generation experience in human-computer interaction.
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SoundHound Chat AI. We launched SoundHound Chat AI, which we believe will usher in a new phase of voice-enabled, conversational AI by combining the power of software engineering and machine learning generative AI. SoundHound Chat AI integrates with dozens of knowledge domains, pulling real-time data like weather, sports, stocks, flight status, restaurants and many more. We combine this with the most cutting-edge large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT to deliver the most accurate, timely and comprehensive responses. There is no need for awkward search queries since you can speak to SoundHound Chat AI naturally, like another person. You can also follow-up questions and commands without awkward pauses to filter, sort or add more information to the original request.
Smart Answering is built to offer all customer establishments, including restaurants, the option to build an easy to use, custom AI-powered voice assistant that can handle 100% of phone calls including, greetings, hours, menu, location, delivery, wait time, policies, promotions, including SMS functionality for reservations and appointments, and many more standard and custom options.
Wake Words are the entry point into branded voice experiences, allowing users to invoke the assistant by literally speaking the company’s name. Examples range from “Hey Pandora” in a mobile app to “Hey Peugeot” within a vehicle. Rigorous development and testing enable our wake words to perform in noisy environments and minimize false-positives or false-negatives. We use advanced machine learning algorithms and Deep Neural Networks to provide broad robustness to our high-volume training data, resulting in high accuracy.
Custom Domains. Our library of over 100 public domains is available to give developers instant access to a broad range of content to fit their unique use cases. This includes multi-category content intended to appeal to broad range of audiences, including, for instance, sports scores, weather, podcasts, travel information, recipes and stock prices, among many others. Companies can enhance product functionality or proprietary operations with Houndify Private Domains, allowing customization and development of more specific content. Customers who subscribe for this service have full access to their private domains securely on our platform while retaining the ability to iterate and update content. For example, an automotive manufacturer can make helpful updates about the car’s user manual over time. In this way, SoundHound becomes a long-term “partner” to its customers, helping companies create the domains that they need in order to improve brand value for their own customers or end users.
Text-to-speech (“TTS”). A high quality TTS helps companies create a unique voice that differentiates them from the competition. Brands can fully express their personality by choosing the gender, tone and personality that will become their vocal identity. Our machine learning algorithms transform recorded voices into large databases of spoken sounds to form entire vocabularies of natural language — adapted to the user’s environment. We can transform any voice to generate a high-quality TTS with a small CPU footprint.
Edge and Cloud Connectivity. With edge (embedded) we offer a fully-embedded voice solution for brands seeking the convenience of a voice user interface without the privacy or connectivity concerns of the internet. Includes full access to custom commands and the ability to instantly update commands during development. With Cloud we equip your voice assistant with real-time data from the cloud, deliver the most relevant responses with no CPU or memory restrictions, and retain ownership of customer relationships with access to data and analytics. To harness the capabilities of full cloud connectivity with the reliability of embedded edge voice technology. Houndify Edge Hybrid solutions are designed to ensure that devices are always-on and responsive to commands. Allows for over-the-air product updates and a broader voice experience with the level of cloud-connectivity that best matches the product and its users.
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 5400 Betsy Ross Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054, and our telephone number is (408) 441-3200. Our corporate website address is www.soundhound.com. The information contained on or accessible through our website is not a part of, and is not incorporated by reference into, this prospectus.
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Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should carefully consider the risk factors we describe in any prospectus supplement and in any related free writing prospectus for a specific offering of securities, as well as those described in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any prospectus supplement. You should also carefully consider other information contained and incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, including our financial statements and the related notes thereto incorporated by reference in this prospectus. The risks and uncertainties described in the applicable prospectus supplement and our other filings with the SEC incorporated by reference herein are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial may also adversely affect us. If any of the described risks occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially harmed. In such case, the value of our securities could decline and you may lose all or part of your investment. Please also carefully read the section titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
6
Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Financial Information
The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information of SoundHound AI, Inc. has been prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X, as amended, and presents the combination of the historical financial information of SoundHound and Amelia Holdings, Inc., adjusted to give effect to the Acquisition (as hereinafter defined). The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information of SoundHound also gives effect to other financing events completed by SoundHound that have occurred but are not yet reflected in the historical financial information of SoundHound and is considered a material transaction separate from the Acquisition, as defined below.
Description of the Acquisition
On August 6, 2024 (the “Acquisition Date”), SoundHound completed its acquisition (the “Acquisition”) of Amelia, pursuant to the terms of the Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) entered into by and among SoundHound, Firehorse Merger Sub, LLC (“Purchaser Sub”), IPSoft Global Holdings, Inc., and BuildGroup, LLC (each of IPSoft Global Holdings, Inc. and BuildGroup LLC, a “Seller” and collectively, the “Sellers”). The Company issued a total of 5,959,050 shares of the SoundHound Class A Common Stock to the Sellers (the “Upfront Consideration”). Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the Company deposited 2,149,530 shares of the Upfront Consideration into an escrow account in order to partially secure the indemnification obligations of the Sellers under the Purchase Agreement (the “Escrow Consideration”). The Company also paid $8.4 million of cash for seller transaction expenses in connection with the closing of the Acquisition. At the effective time of the Acquisition, each outstanding Target stock option expired and was cancelled and extinguished without any right to receive any consideration and each outstanding Target warrant to purchase capital stock of Target expired and was cancelled and extinguished without any right to receive any consideration. In addition to the Upfront Consideration, the Company has agreed to issue up to 16,822,429 shares to the Sellers based on achievement of certain revenue targets in fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
Other Financing Events
In connection with the Acquisition, the Company assumed the Amelia Debt. In accordance with the amended terms, on August 7, 2024, the Company paid $70.0 million in cash and issued 2,943,917 shares to pay down a portion of the outstanding principal balance and settle certain fees associated with the Amelia Debt (the “Initial Amelia Debt Paydown”). The remaining outstanding balance of $39.7 million had a maturity date of June 30, 2026 and provided, at the Company’s election, for payment of a portion of interest in cash or any interest in respect of the loan hereunder that is paid in kind will be capitalized and added to the outstanding principal amount during the term of the loan with principal and accrued interest due at the Maturity Date. On December 3, 2024, the Company entered into the Payoff Letter to prepay in full all remaining indebtedness and other amounts outstanding of Amelia Debt (the “Final Amelia Debt Paydown” and together with the Initial Amelia Debt Paydown, the “Amelia Debt Paydown”). On December 4, 2024, the Company paid (i) the remaining principal amount outstanding of $39.6 million, (ii) accrued interest of $0.1 million, (iii) and transaction expenses of less than $0.1 million, resulting in a loss on debt extinguishment of less than $0.1 million.
November 2024 ATM Program
On November 12, 2024, the Company entered into the Equity Distribution Agreement with Barclays Capital Inc., Piper Sandler & Co., D.A. Davidson & Co., H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, and Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC, (each, an “Agent,” and, collectively, the “Agents”) with respect to an at-the-market equity program under which the Company may offer and sell up to $120.0 million of shares of its Class A Common Stock from time to time through the Agents (the “Initial Equity Financing”). As of December 31, 2024, the Company sold a total of 16,224,989 shares of its Class A Common Stock under the Equity Distribution Agreement, at a weighted-average price of $7.40 per share, and raised $120 million of gross proceeds. After deducting $3.0 million of commissions and offering costs incurred by the Company, the net proceeds from sales of common stock were $117.0 million.
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January 2025 ATM Program
On January 27, 2025, the Company entered into an equity distribution agreement (the “Agreement”) with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Wedbush Securities Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Northland Securities, Inc. (each, an “Agent,” and, collectively, the “Agents”) with respect to an at-the-market equity program under which the Company may offer and sell up to $250.0 million of shares of its Class A Common Stock from time to time through the Agents (the “Second Equity Financing and together with the Initial Equity Financing, the “Equity Financing”). Sales of our Class A Common Stock, if any, under the Agreement may be made in negotiated transactions, including block trades, or transactions that are deemed to be “at the market offerings” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act, including sales made by means of ordinary brokers’ transactions, including directly on Nasdaq or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange at prevailing market prices, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices or by any other method permitted by law. The Agents will be entitled to commission at a fixed rate of 2.0% of the gross sales price of the shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock sold through them pursuant to the Agreement.
Other Information
The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet assumes that the Other Financing Events occurred on September 30, 2024, and adjusts the historical consolidated balance sheet of SoundHound giving pro forma effect as of such date. The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet combining the Acquisition has not been presented as the historical consolidated balance sheet of SoundHound as of September 30, 2024 already reflects the Acquisition. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 and nine months ended September 30, 2024, assumes that the Equity Financing, Amelia Debt Paydown, and the Acquisition occurred as of January 1, 2023 and combines the historical results of SoundHound and Amelia giving pro forma effect for the periods then ended (the Equity Financing, together with the Amelia Debt Paydown, the “Other Financing Events” and together with the Acquisition, the “Transactions”).
The adjustments in the unaudited pro forma condensed financial information have been identified and presented to provide relevant information in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) necessary for an illustrative understanding of the Transactions. The unaudited pro forma adjustments are believed by management to be necessary for a fair statement of SoundHound’s unaudited pro forma condensed financial information.
The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information is derived from the historical financial statements of SoundHound and Amelia, and should be read in conjunction with the following financial statement and accompanying notes:
| ● | the historical audited consolidated financial statements of SoundHound for the year ended December 31, 2023, included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 1, 2024, |
| ● | the historical unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of SoundHound for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, included in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 12, 2024, |
| ● | the historical audited consolidated and combined financial statements of Amelia for the year ended December 31, 2023 and as of December 31, 2022 (Successor), and the periods from December 21, 2022 through December 31, 2022 (Successor), and January 1, 2022 through December 20, 2022 (Predecessor), that are included as Exhibit 99.1 in the Company’s Report on Form 8-K/A filed with the SEC on October 22, 2024, and |
| ● | the historical unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Amelia for the six months ended June 30, 2024, that are included as Exhibit 99.2 in the Company’s Report on Form 8-K/A filed with the SEC on October 22, 2024. |
Assumptions underlying the pro forma adjustments are described in the accompanying notes, which should be read in conjunction with the unaudited pro forma condensed financial information. The transaction accounting adjustments are based on available information and assumptions that the Company’s management believes are reasonable. Such adjustments are estimates and actual experience may differ from expectations.
The Acquisition is subject to closing adjustments that have not yet been finalized. Accordingly, the pro forma adjustments are preliminary and have been made solely for the purpose of providing unaudited pro forma condensed financial information as required by SEC rules. Differences between these preliminary estimates and the final acquisition accounting may be material.
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SOUNDHOUND
AI, INC.
Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet
As of September 30, 2024
(In thousands)
| SoundHound | Transaction Accounting Adjustments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Historical (As Reported) | Initial Equity Financing | Amelia Debt Paydown | Pro Forma | Second Equity Financing | Pro Forma as Adjusted | Note Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ASSETS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 135,606 | $ | 117,000 | $ | (39,694 | ) | $ | 212,912 | $ | 244,500 | $ | 457,412 | 3(a), 4(a), 4(b) | |||||||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 13,570 | — | — | 13,570 | — | 13,570 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contract assets and unbilled receivable, net | 24,639 | — | — | 24,639 | — | 24,639 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other current assets | 7,394 | — | — | 7,394 | — | 7,394 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total current assets | 181,209 | 117,000 | (39,694 | ) | 258,515 | 244,500 | 503,015 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Restricted cash equivalents, non-current | 811 | — | — | 811 | — | 811 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Right-of-use assets | 3,860 | — | — | 3,860 | — | 3,860 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Property and equipment, net | 1,541 | — | — | 1,541 | — | 1,541 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Goodwill | 111,730 | — | — | 111,730 | — | 111,730 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Intangible assets, net | 182,579 | — | — | 182,579 | — | 182,579 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred tax asset | 30 | — | — | 30 | — | 30 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contract assets and unbilled receivable, non-current, net | 14,596 | — | — | 14,596 | — | 14,596 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other non-current assets | 3,298 | — | — | 3,298 | — | 3,298 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | 499,654 | $ | 117,000 | $ | (39,694 | ) | $ | 576,960 | $ | 244,500 | $ | 821,460 | ||||||||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 17,758 | $ | — | $ | — | 17,758 | $ | — | 17,758 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| Accrued liabilities | 22,599 | — | — | 22,599 | — | 22,599 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities | 1,832 | — | — | 1,832 | — | 1,832 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Finance lease liabilities | 74 | — | — | 74 | — | 74 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Income tax liability | 2,677 | — | — | 2,677 | — | 2,677 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred revenue | 20,096 | — | — | 20,096 | — | 20,096 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other current liabilities | 5,142 | — | — | 5,142 | — | 5,142 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 70,178 | — | — | 70,178 | — | 70,178 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion | 2,241 | — | — | 2,241 | — | 2,241 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred revenue, net of current portion | 7,570 | — | — | 7,570 | — | 7,570 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent acquisition liabilities | 74,450 | — | — | 74,450 | — | 74,450 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Income tax liability, net of current portion | 5,004 | — | — | 5,004 | — | 5,004 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Long-term debt | 39,694 | — | (39,694 | ) | — | — | — | 3(a) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Other non-current liabilities | 4,530 | — | — | 4,530 | — | 4,530 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | 203,667 | — | (39,694 | ) | 163,973 | — | 163,973 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stockholders’ equity: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock | — | — | — | — | — | — | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Class A Common Stock | 33 | 2 | — | 35 | 2 | 37 | 4(a), 4(b) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Class B Common Stock | 3 | — | — | 3 | — | 3 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 980,150 | 116,998 | — | 1,097,148 | 244,498 | 1,341,646 | 4(a), 4(b) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (684,461 | ) | — | — | (684,461 | ) | — | (684,461 | ) | - | |||||||||||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | 262 | — | — | 262 | — | 262 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total stockholders’ equity | 295,987 | 117,000 | — | 412,987 | 244,500 | 657,487 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | 499,654 | $ | 117,000 | $ | (39,694 | ) | $ | 576,960 | $ | 244,500 | $ | 821,460 | ||||||||||||||
See Notes to the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Financial Statements.
9
SOUNDHOUND
AI, INC.
Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statement of Operations
For the Year Ended December 31, 2023
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
| Amelia
Holdings Historical – After | Transaction Accounting Adjustments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SoundHound Historical | Reclassification Adjustments (Note 2) | Amelia Acquisition | Initial Equity Financing | Amelia Debt Paydown | Pro Forma Combined | Second Equity Financing | Pro Forma Combined as Adjusted | Note Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 45,873 | $ | 93,274 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 139,147 | $ | — | $ | 139,147 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | 11,307 | 65,691 | 5,329 | — | — | 82,327 | — | 82,327 | 5(a) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 18,893 | 25,060 | (388 | ) | — | — | 43,565 | — | 43,565 | 5(b) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 51,439 | 13,582 | — | — | — | 65,021 | — | 65,021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 28,285 | 29,129 | 1,428 | — | — | 58,842 | — | 58,842 | 5(c) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | — | 3,205 | 7,995 | — | — | 11,200 | — | 11,200 | 5(a) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restructuring | 4,557 | — | — | — | — | 4,557 | — | 4,557 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 114,481 | 136,667 | 14,364 | — | — | 265,512 | — | 265,512 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (68,608 | ) | (43,393 | ) | (14,364 | ) | — | — | (126,365 | ) | — | (126,365 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other expense, net: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (17,570 | ) | (16,782 | ) | 13,059 | — | 5,742 | (15,551 | ) | — | (15,551 | ) | 3(b), 5(d) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 1,155 | (5,759 | ) | — | — | — | (4,604 | ) | — | (4,604 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total other expense, net | (16,415 | ) | (22,541 | ) | 13,059 | — | 5,742 | (20,155 | ) | — | (20,155 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss before provision for income taxes | (85,023 | ) | (65,934 | ) | (1,304 | ) | — | 5,742 | (146,519 | ) | — | (146,519 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 3,914 | 495 | — | — | — | 4,409 | — | 4,409 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (88,937 | ) | $ | (66,429 | ) | $ | (1,304 | ) | $ | — | $ | 5,742 | $ | (150,928 | ) | $ | — | $ | (150,928 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Cumulative dividends attributable to Series A Preferred Stock | (2,774 | ) | — | — | — | — | (2,774 | ) | — | (2,774 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to SoundHound common shareholders | $ | (91,711 | ) | $ | (66,429 | ) | $ | (1,304 | ) | $ | — | $ | 5,742 | $ | (153,702 | ) | $ | — | $ | (153,702 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Weighted-average common shares outstanding (basic & diluted) | 229,264,904 | 3,809,520 | 16,224,989 | 2,943,917 | 252,243,330 | 15,133,172 | 267,376,502 | 5(e) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Loss per share (basic & diluted) | $ | (0.40 | ) | $ | (0.61 | ) | $ | (0.57 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See Notes to the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Financial Statements.
10
SOUNDHOUND
AI, INC.
Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statement of Operations
For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2024
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
| Amelia Holdings (for the period from January 1, | Transaction Accounting Adjustments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SoundHound (As Reported) | 2024
to | Amelia Acquisition | Initial Equity Financing | Amelia Debt Paydown | Pro Forma Combined | Second Equity Financing | Pro Forma Combined as Adjusted | Note Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 50,150 | $ | 54,579 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 104,729 | $ | — | $ | 104,729 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | 22,550 | 31,144 | 3,181 | — | — | 56,875 | — | 56,875 | 5(f) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 19,560 | 12,858 | (574 | ) | — | — | 31,844 | — | 31,844 | 5(g) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 50,161 | 6,905 | — | — | — | 57,066 | — | 57,066 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 36,833 | 14,979 | — | — | — | 51,812 | — | 51,812 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities | 1,724 | — | — | — | — | 1,724 | — | 1,724 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 3,603 | 7,110 | 4,812 | — | — | 15,525 | — | 15,525 | 5(f) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 134,431 | 72,996 | 7,419 | — | — | 214,846 | — | 214,846 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (84,281 | ) | (18,417 | ) | (7,419 | ) | — | — | (110,117 | ) | — | (110,117 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other expense, net: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss on early extinguishment of debt | (15,587 | ) | — | — | — | — | (15,587 | ) | — | (15,587 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (10,859 | ) | (12,256 | ) | 9,000 | — | 4,307 | (9,808 | ) | — | (9,808 | ) | 3(c), 5(h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 9,087 | (472 | ) | — | — | — | 8,615 | — | 8,615 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total other expense, net | (17,359 | ) | (12,728 | ) | 9,000 | — | 4,307 | (16,780 | ) | — | (16,780 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss before provision for income taxes | (101,640 | ) | (31,145 | ) | 1,581 | — | 4,307 | (126,897 | ) | — | (126,897 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | (9,558 | ) | 88 | — | — | — | (9,470 | ) | (9,470 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (92,082 | ) | $ | (31,233 | ) | $ | 1,581 | $ | — | $ | 4,307 | $ | (117,427 | ) | $ | — | $ | (117,427 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Cumulative dividends attributable to Series A Preferred Stock | (416 | ) | — | — | — | — | (416 | ) | — | (416 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to SoundHound common shareholders | $ | (92,498 | ) | $ | (31,233 | ) | $ | 1,581 | $ | — | $ | 4,307 | $ | (117,843 | ) | $ | — | $ | (117,843 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Weighted-average common shares outstanding (basic & diluted) | 326,166,633 | 3,044,835 | 16,224,989 | 2,352,985 | 347,789,442 | 15,133,172 | 362,922,614 | 5(i) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss per share (basic & diluted) | $ | (0.28 | ) | $ | (0.34 | ) | $ | (0.32 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See Notes to the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Financial Statements.
11
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
Note 1: Basis of Presentation
The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information has been prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X, as amended. The historical financial information of SoundHound and Amelia has been adjusted in the unaudited pro forma condensed financial information to reflect transaction accounting adjustments related to the Transactions in accordance with GAAP, based on the assumptions and adjustments that are described in the accompanying notes.
The Acquisition is accounted for as a business combination in accordance with the acquisition method of accounting under GAAP. Under this method of accounting, SoundHound has been determined to be the accounting acquirer and Amelia to be the accounting acquiree. The acquisition method of accounting requires, among other things, that the assets acquired, and liabilities assumed in a business combination are measured and recognized at fair value as of the Acquisition Date. The excess of the purchase consideration over the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed is allocated to goodwill. The final purchase price allocation could differ materially from the preliminary allocation used in the transaction accounting adjustments as the final allocation may include changes in allocations to intangible assets as well as goodwill.
The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information includes certain reclassifications to conform Amelia historical accounting presentation to SoundHound’s accounting presentation. The actual results of operations of the combined company will likely differ, perhaps materially, from the pro forma amounts reflected herein due to a variety of factors. The Company believes that its assumptions and methodologies provide a reasonable basis for presenting all of the significant effects of the Transactions based on information available to management at this time, and that the pro forma transaction accounting adjustments give effect to those assumptions and are properly applied in the unaudited pro forma condensed financial information.
The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information does not give effect to any anticipated synergies, operating efficiencies, tax savings, or cost savings that may be associated with the Acquisition and the related transactions. Both companies continue to experience losses and are in a historical cumulative loss position and both companies have established valuation allowances against net deferred tax assets. The income tax effects of the pro forma adjustments would be fully offset by corresponding adjustments to the valuation allowances, resulting in no net effect on the pro forma condensed combined statements of operations. The effective tax rate of the combined company could be significantly different than what is presented in these unaudited pro forma financial statements depending on post-business combination activities, including legal entity restructuring, repatriation decisions, and the geographical mix of taxable income.
Note 2: Reclassification Adjustments
The accounting policies used in the preparation of the unaudited pro forma condensed financial information are those set out in SoundHound’s audited annual financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023. Certain reclassifications are reflected in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations to conform presentation between SoundHound and Amelia. These reclassifications have no effect on previously reported net income of SoundHound or Amelia.
12
Refer to the table below for a summary of identified reclassification adjustments made to present Amelia’s consolidated statement of operations for the year ended of December 31, 2023, to conform presentation to that of SoundHound (in thousands):
| Amelia Consolidated Statement of Operations Line Items | SoundHound
Consolidated Statement of Operations Line Items | Amelia Historical Consolidated Statement of Operations | Reclassification | Note 2 | Amelia Historical After Reclassification | |||||||||||
| Revenue | Revenues | $ | 93,274 | $ | — | $ | 93,274 | |||||||||
| Cost of revenues (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) | Cost of revenues | 56,891 | 8,800 | (a) | 65,691 | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | Sales and marketing | 25,060 | — | 25,060 | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | Research and development | 13,582 | — | 13,582 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | General and administrative | 29,039 | 90 | (a) | 29,129 | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | - | 12,095 | (12,095 | ) | (a) | — | ||||||||||
| - | Amortization of intangible assets | — | 3,205 | (a) | 3,205 | |||||||||||
| - | Restructuring | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense, net | Interest expense | (16,782 | ) | — | (16,782 | ) | ||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | Other income (expense), net | (5,759 | ) | — | (5,759 | ) | ||||||||||
| Income tax expense | Provision for income taxes | 495 | — | 495 | ||||||||||||
| - | Cumulative dividends attributable to Series A Preferred Stock | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| (a) | Reflects the reclassification of amortization of intangible assets to a separate line item, amortization of technology intangible assets to cost of revenues, and depreciation expense for property and equipment to general and administrative. |
Note 3: Transaction Accounting Adjustments to Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet and Combined Statement of Operations – Amelia Debt Paydown
The adjustments related to the Debt Paydown included in the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2024 and unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 and for the nine months period ended September 30, 2024 are as follows:
| (a) | Reflects the repayment of Amelia Debt of $39.6 million on December 4, 2024 by the Company. |
| (b) | Reflects the reduction of $5.7 million in interest expense due to the Final Amelia Debt Paydown. |
| (c) | Reflects the reduction of $4.3 million in interest expense due to the Final Amelia Debt Paydown. |
Note 4: Transaction Accounting Adjustments to Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet and Combined Statement of Operations – Equity Financing
The adjustments related to the Equity Financing included in the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2024 are as follows:
| (a) | Reflects the sale of the Company’s 16,224,989 shares of common stock under the Initial Equity Financing and the net cash proceeds of $117.0 million and addition to paid-in capital of $117.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, after deducting $3.0 million of commissions and offering costs incurred by the Company related to the offering. |
| (b) | Reflects the estimated sale of the Company’s 15,133,172 shares of common stock under the Second Equity Financing assuming the Company’s closing stock price is $16.52 per share and the estimated net cash proceeds of $244.5 million under the Second Equity Financing, after deducting $5.5 million of estimated commissions and offering costs incurred by the Company related to the offering. |
Note 5: Transaction Accounting Adjustments to the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statements of Operations – Amelia Acquisition
The adjustments related to the acquisition of Amelia included in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 are as follows:
| (a) | Reflects the elimination of Amelia historical amortization expense and the recognition of new amortization expense related to the acquired identifiable intangible assets based on their estimated fair value on the Acquisition Date. Amortization expense is calculated based on the estimated fair value of each of the identifiable intangible asset and the associated estimated useful lives. |
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SoundHound determined a preliminary fair value estimate of intangible assets based on a valuation conducted by a third-party valuation specialist. The acquired intangible assets have been amortized using a straight-line method based on their estimated useful lives.
| Fair value | Estimated useful life | |||||||
| (in thousands) | (in years) | |||||||
| Proprietary technology | $ | 98,900 | 7 | |||||
| Customer relationships | 68,600 | 7 | ||||||
| Trade names | 7,000 | 5 | ||||||
| Total | $ | 174,500 | ||||||
| For
the year ended December 31, 2023 | ||||
| (in thousands) | ||||
| Amortization expense for acquired intangible assets (proprietary technology) | $ | 14,129 | ||
| Eliminate historical Amelia intangible asset amortization expense | (8,800 | ) | ||
| Net adjustment to cost of revenues | $ | 5,329 | ||
| For
the year ended December 31, 2023 | ||||
| (in thousands) | ||||
| Amortization expense for acquired intangible assets (customer relationships and trade names) | $ | 11,200 | ||
| Eliminate historical Amelia intangible asset amortization expense | (3,205 | ) | ||
| Net adjustment to amortization of intangible assets | $ | 7,995 | ||
| (b) | Reflects the elimination of Amelia’s deferred commission amortization expense of deferred costs that were not assets as defined by ASC 805. |
| (c) | Reflects the incremental $1.4 million of transaction costs incurred by SoundHound after September 30, 2024, which are not yet reflected in the historical financial statements. |
| (d) | Reflects the reduction of $13.1 million in historical Amelia interest expense related to the terms of the Amelia Debt in connection with the Acquisition and the Initial Amelia Debt Paydown. |
| (e) | Reflects the pro forma basic and diluted net income per share attributable to the combined entity’s common stockholders presented in conformity with the two-class method required for participating securities as a result of the pro forma adjustments. The two-class method requires income available to common stockholders for the period to be allocated between shares of common stock and participating securities based on their respective rights to receive earnings as if all earnings for the period had been distributed. The shares issued and held in escrow are participating securities that contractually entitle the holders of such shares to participate in the combined entity’s earnings but do not contractually require the holders of such shares to participate in the combined entity’s losses. |
14
The pro forma basic net income per share attributable to the combined entity’s common stockholders is calculated using the historical basic weighted average shares of SoundHound common stock outstanding, adjusted for the additional new shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock issued to consummate the Transactions, assuming the shares were issued and outstanding as of January 1, 2023. Pro forma diluted net income per share attributable to the combined entity’s common stockholders is calculated using the historical diluted weighted average shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock outstanding, adjusted for the additional new shares of SoundHound common stock issued to consummate the Transactions.
The pro forma weighted average shares outstanding used to calculate pro forma basic and diluted net income per share attributable to common stockholders excludes the 2,149,530 shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock held in escrow in connection with the Acquisition as they are considered contingently returnable shares until the indemnifications subject to escrow have been resolved.
| For the year ended December 31, 2023 | ||||
| (in thousands, except share and per share data) | ||||
| Pro forma as adjusted net loss attributable to stockholders, December 31, 2023 | $ | (153,702 | ) | |
| Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted | 267,376,502 | |||
| Pro forma as adjusted net loss per share - basic and diluted | $ | (0.57 | ) | |
| Pro forma weighted average shares outstanding – Basic and diluted | ||||
| SoundHound historical, December 31, 2023 | 229,264,904 | |||
| Amelia Acquisition share consideration transferred (1) | 3,809,520 | |||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock for Amelia Debt Paydown | 2,943,917 | |||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock under Initial Equity Financing | 16,224,989 | |||
| Pro forma weighted average shares outstanding | 252,243,330 | |||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock under Second Equity Financing | 15,133,172 | |||
| Pro forma as adjusted weighted average shares outstanding | 267,376,502 | |||
| (1) | Amount excludes the 2,149,530 shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock held in escrow as they are considered contingently returnable shares. |
The adjustments related to the acquisition of Amelia included in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 are as follows:
| (f) | Reflects the elimination of Amelia’s historical amortization expense and the recognition of new amortization expense related to the acquired identifiable intangible assets based on the estimated fair value as of the Acquisition Date. Amortization expense is calculated based on the estimated fair value of each of the identifiable intangible asset and the associated estimated useful lives. |
The Company determined a preliminary fair value estimate of intangible assets based on a valuation conducted by a third-party valuation specialist. The acquired intangible assets have been amortized using a straight-line method based on their estimated useful lives as if the Acquisition had been completed on January 1, 2024.
| Fair value | Estimated useful life | |||||||
| (in thousands) | (in years) | |||||||
| Proprietary technology | $ | 98,900 | 7 | |||||
| Customer relationships | 68,600 | 7 | ||||||
| Trade names | 7,000 | 5 | ||||||
| Total | $ | 174,500 | ||||||
15
| For
the period from January 1, 2024 to August 5, 2024 | ||||
| (in thousands) | ||||
| Amortization expense for acquired intangible assets (proprietary technology) | $ | 8,438 | ||
| Eliminate historical Amelia intangible asset amortization expense | (5,257 | ) | ||
| Net adjustment to cost of revenues | $ | 3,181 | ||
| For the period from January 1, 2024 to August 5, 2024 | ||||
| (in thousands) | ||||
| Amortization expense for acquired intangible assets (customer relationships and trade names) | $ | 6,689 | ||
| Eliminate historical Amelia intangible asset amortization expense | $ | (1,877 | ) | |
| Net adjustment to amortization of intangible assets | $ | 4,812 | ||
| (g) | Reflects the elimination of Amelia’s deferred commission amortization expense of deferred costs that were not assets as defined by ASC 805. |
| (h) | Reflects the reduction of $9.0 million in historical Amelia interest expense related to the terms of the Amelia Debt in connection with the Acquisition and the Initial Amelia Debt Paydown. |
| (i) | Reflects the pro forma basic and diluted net income per share attributable to the combined entity’s common stockholders presented in conformity with the two-class method required for participating securities as a result of the pro forma adjustments. The two-class method requires income available to common stockholders for the period to be allocated between shares of common stock and participating securities based on their respective rights to receive earnings as if all earnings for the period had been distributed. The shares issued and held in escrow are participating securities that contractually entitle the holders of such shares to participate in the combined entity’s earnings but do not contractually require the holders of such shares to participate in the combined entity’s losses. |
The pro forma basic net income per share attributable to the combined entity’s common stockholders is calculated using the historical basic weighted average shares of SoundHound common stock outstanding, adjusted for the additional new shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock issued to consummate the Transactions, assuming the shares were issued and outstanding as of January 1, 2024. Pro forma diluted net income per share attributable to the combined entity’s common stockholders is calculated using the historical diluted weighted average shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock outstanding, adjusted for the additional new shares of SoundHound common stock issued to consummate the Transactions.
16
The pro forma weighted average shares outstanding used to calculate pro forma basic and diluted net income per share attributable to common stockholders excludes the 2,149,530 shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock held in escrow in connection with the Acquisition as they are considered contingently returnable shares until the indemnifications subject to escrow have been resolved.
| For the nine months ended September 30, 2024 | ||||
| (in thousands, except share and per share data) | ||||
| Pro forma as adjusted net loss attributable to stockholders, September 30, 2024 | $ | (117,843 | ) | |
| Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted | 362,922,614 | |||
| Pro forma as adjusted net loss per share - basic and diluted | $ | (0.32 | ) | |
| Pro forma weighted average shares outstanding – Basic and diluted | ||||
| SoundHound historical, September 30, 2024 (1)(2) | 326,166,633 | |||
| Amelia Acquisition share consideration transferred (1) | 3,044,835 | |||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock for Amelia Debt Paydown | 2,352,985 | |||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock under Initial Equity Financing | 16,224,989 | |||
| Pro forma weighted average shares outstanding | 347,789,442 | |||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock under Second Equity Financing | 15,133,172 | |||
| Pro forma as adjusted weighted average shares outstanding | 362,922,614 | |||
| (1) | Amount excludes the 2,149,530 shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock held in escrow as they are considered contingently returnable shares. |
| (2) | Amount includes the actual weighted average shares outstanding for the shares issued in connection with the Acquisition and the Initial Amelia Debt Paydown, both of which occurred during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024. |
17
Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from these sales for general corporate purposes, which may include, without limitation, investing in or acquiring companies that are synergistic with or complementary to our business and working capital. The amounts and timing of these expenditures will depend on numerous factors, including the development of our current business initiatives. We have no specific acquisition contemplated as of the date of this prospectus. Pending use of the net proceeds, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing, investment-grade securities or in cash or money market funds.
18
We may sell the securities from time to time to or through underwriters or dealers, through agents, or directly to one or more purchasers. A distribution of the securities offered by this prospectus may also be effected through the issuance of derivative securities, including without limitation, warrants, rights to purchase and subscriptions. In addition, the manner in which we may sell some or all of the securities covered by this prospectus includes, without limitation, through:
| ● | a block trade in which a broker-dealer will attempt to sell as agent, but may position or resell a portion of the block, as principal, in order to facilitate the transaction; | |
| ● | purchases by a broker-dealer, as principal, and resale by the broker-dealer for its account; or | |
| ● | ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which a broker solicits purchasers. |
A prospectus supplement or supplements with respect to each series of securities will describe the terms of the offering, including, to the extent applicable:
| ● | the terms of the offering; | |
| ● | the name or names of the underwriters or agents and the amounts of securities underwritten or purchased by each of them, if any; | |
| ● | the public offering price or purchase price of the securities or other consideration therefor, and the proceeds to be received by us from the sale; | |
| ● | any delayed delivery requirements; | |
| ● | any over-allotment options under which underwriters may purchase additional securities from us; | |
| ● | any underwriting discounts or agency fees and other items constituting underwriters’ or agents’ compensation | |
| ● | any discounts or concessions allowed or re-allowed or paid to dealers; and | |
| ● | any securities exchange or market on which the securities may be listed. |
The offer and sale of the securities described in this prospectus by us, the underwriters or the third parties described above may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions, including privately negotiated transactions, either:
| ● | at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed; | |
| ● | in an “at the market” offering within the meaning of Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act; | |
| ● | at prices related to such prevailing market prices; or | |
| ● | at negotiated prices. |
Only underwriters named in the prospectus supplement will be underwriters of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement.
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Underwriters and Agents; Direct Sales
If underwriters are used in a sale, they will acquire the offered securities for their own account and may resell the offered securities from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. We may offer the securities to the public through underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or by underwriters without a syndicate.
Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to the conditions set forth in the applicable underwriting agreement. Subject to certain conditions, the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement, other than securities covered by any over-allotment option. Any public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or re-allowed or paid to dealers may change from time to time. We may use underwriters with whom we have a material relationship. We will describe in the prospectus supplement, naming the underwriter, the nature of any such relationship.
We may sell securities directly or through agents we designate from time to time. We will name any agent involved in the offering and sale of securities, and we will describe any commissions we will pay the agent in the prospectus supplement. Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, our agent will act on a best-efforts basis for the period of its appointment.
We may authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers by certain types of institutional investors to purchase securities from us at the public offering price set forth in the prospectus supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. We will describe the conditions to these contracts and the commissions we must pay for solicitation of these contracts in the prospectus supplement.
Dealers
We may sell the offered securities to dealers as principals. The dealer may then resell such securities to the public either at varying prices to be determined by the dealer or at a fixed offering price agreed to with us at the time of resale.
Institutional Purchasers
We may authorize agents, dealers or underwriters to solicit certain institutional investors to purchase offered securities on a delayed delivery basis pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified future date. The applicable prospectus supplement or other offering materials, as the case may be, will provide the details of any such arrangement, including the offering price and commissions payable on the solicitations.
We will enter into such delayed contracts only with institutional purchasers that we approve. These institutions may include commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies and educational and charitable institutions.
Indemnification; Other Relationships
We may provide agents, underwriters, dealers and remarketing firms with indemnification against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribution with respect to payments that the agents or underwriters may make with respect to these liabilities. Agents, underwriters, dealers and remarketing firms, and their affiliates, may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us in the ordinary course of business. This includes commercial banking and investment banking transactions.
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Market-Making; Stabilization and Other Transactions
There is currently no market for any of the offered securities, other than our Class A Common Stock and redeemable listed warrants, which are quoted on the Nasdaq Global Market. If the offered securities are traded after their initial issuance, they may trade at a discount from their initial offering price, depending upon prevailing interest rates, the market for similar securities and other factors. While it is possible that an underwriter could inform us that it intends to make a market in the offered securities, such underwriter would not be obligated to do so, and any such market-making could be discontinued at any time without notice. Therefore, no assurance can be given as to whether an active trading market will develop for the offered securities. We have no current plans for listing of the debt securities, preferred stock, warrants or subscription rights on any securities exchange or quotation system; any such listing with respect to any particular debt securities, preferred stock, warrants or subscription rights will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement or other offering materials, as the case may be.
Any underwriter may engage in over-allotment, stabilizing transactions, short-covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Over-allotment involves sales in excess of the offering size, which create a short position. Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum price. Syndicate-covering or other short-covering transactions involve purchases of the securities, either through exercise of the over-allotment option or in the open market after the distribution is completed, to cover short positions. Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a dealer when the securities originally sold by the dealer are purchased in a stabilizing or covering transaction to cover short positions. Those activities may cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would otherwise be. If commenced, the underwriters may discontinue any of the activities at any time.
Any underwriters or agents that are qualified market makers on the Nasdaq Global Market may engage in passive market making transactions in our Class A Common Stock or redeemable listed warrants on the Nasdaq Global Market in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act, during the business day prior to the pricing of the offering, before the commencement of offers or sales of our Class A Common Stock or redeemable listed warrants. Passive market makers must comply with applicable volume and price limitations and must be identified as passive market makers. In general, a passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid for such security; if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, however, the passive market maker’s bid must then be lowered when certain purchase limits are exceeded. Passive market making may stabilize 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.
Fees and Commissions
If 5% or more of the net proceeds of any offering of securities made under this prospectus will be received by a FINRA member participating in the offering or affiliates or associated persons of such FINRA member, the offering will be conducted in accordance with FINRA Rule 5121.
21
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES WE MAY OFFER
General
This prospectus describes the general terms of our capital stock. The following description is not complete and may not contain all the information you should consider before investing in our capital stock. For a more detailed description of these securities, you should read the applicable provisions of Delaware law and our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation, referred to herein as our charter, and our amended and restated bylaws, referred to herein as our bylaws. When we offer to sell a particular series of these securities, we will describe the specific terms of the series in a supplement to this prospectus. Accordingly, for a description of the terms of any series of securities, you must refer to both the prospectus supplement relating to that series and the description of the securities described in this prospectus. To the extent the information contained in the prospectus supplement differs from this summary description, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement.
Our authorized capital stock consists of 500,000,000 shares, par value $0.0001 per share, consisting of: 499,000,000 shares of common stock, of which, 455,000,000 shares are designated as Class A Common Stock and 44,000,000 shares are designated as Class B common stock (“Class B Common Stock”); and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, all of which are currently undesignated. Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock are available for issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless such action is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our securities may be listed or traded in the future.
We, directly or through agents, dealers or underwriters designated from time to time, may offer, issue and sell, together or separately, up to $500,000,000 in the aggregate of:
| ● | Class A Common Stock; | |
| ● | preferred stock; | |
| ● | purchase contracts; | |
| ● | warrants to purchase our securities; | |
| ● | subscription rights to purchase our securities; | |
| ● | depositary shares; | |
| ● | secured or unsecured debt securities consisting of notes, debentures or other evidences of indebtedness which may be senior debt securities, senior subordinated debt securities or subordinated debt securities, each of which may be convertible into equity securities; or | |
| ● | units comprised of, or other combinations of, the foregoing securities. |
We may issue the debt securities exchangeable for or convertible into shares of common stock, preferred stock or other securities that may be sold by us pursuant to this prospectus or any combination of the foregoing. The preferred stock may also be exchangeable for and/or convertible into shares of common stock, another series of preferred stock or other securities that may be sold by us pursuant to this prospectus or any combination of the foregoing. When a particular series of securities is offered, a supplement to this prospectus will be delivered with this prospectus, which will set forth the terms of the offering and sale of the offered securities.
22
Common Stock
As of December 31, 2024, there were 360,765,630 shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock and 32,535,408 shares of the Company’s Class B Common Stock issued and outstanding. In addition, there were 3,663,955 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding warrants, 5,925,911 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, and 21,782,248 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon vesting of restricted stock units.
Our charter provides for two classes of common stock, and provides that, subject to the rights of any holders of any series of preferred stock, each holder of Class A Common Stock shall have the right to one (1) vote per share of Class A Common Stock held of record by such holder as of the applicable record date on all matters submitted to a vote at any meeting of stockholders and each holder of Class B Common Stock shall have the right to ten votes per share of Class B Common Stock held of record by such holder as of the applicable record date on all matters properly submitted to stockholders entitled to vote thereon. Our charter provides for mandatory or optional conversion of the Class B Common Stock upon the occurrence of circumstances described in the charter. The holders of outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock are entitled to receive dividends out of assets or funds legally available for the payment of dividends of such times and in such amounts as our board of directors from time to time may determine. Our Class A Common Stock and Class B are not entitled to pre-emptive rights and are not subject to redemption. Upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company, the assets legally available for distribution to stockholders are distributable ratably among the holders of our Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock after payment of liquidation preferences, if any, on any outstanding payment of other claims of creditors. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock are subject to and may be adversely affected by the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock, including any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future. Our Class A Common Stock are listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the trading symbol “SOUN.” The transfer agent and registrar for our Class A Common Stock is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. The Transfer Agent’s address is 1 State Street, 30th Floor, New York, New York 10004.
Preferred Stock
As of December 31, 2024, we have 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock authorized, all of which are currently undesignated. Pursuant to our charter, our undesignated shares of preferred stock are “blank check” preferred stock which means that our board of directors are authorized, without further action by the stockholders, to establish one or more class or series, and fix the relative rights and preferences of the Company’s undesignated preferred stock.
In connection with any offering of undesignated preferred stock, we will fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of the preferred stock of each series in the certificate of designation relating to that series. We will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from a current report on Form 8-K that we file with the SEC, the form of any certificate of designation that describes the terms of the series of preferred stock we are offering before the issuance of the related series of preferred stock. This description will include any or all of the following, as required:
| ● | the title and stated value; |
| ● | the number of shares we are offering; |
| ● | the liquidation preference per share; |
| ● | the purchase price; |
| ● | the dividend rate, period and payment date and method of calculation for dividends; |
| ● | whether dividends will be cumulative or non-cumulative and, if cumulative, the date from which dividends will accumulate; |
| ● | any contractual limitations on our ability to declare, set aside or pay any dividends; |
| ● | the procedures for any auction and remarketing, if any; |
| ● | the provisions for a sinking fund, if any; |
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| ● | the provisions for redemption or repurchase, if applicable, and any restrictions on our ability to exercise those redemption and repurchase rights; |
| ● | any listing of the preferred stock on any securities exchange or market; |
| ● | whether the preferred stock will be convertible into our common stock, and, if applicable, the conversion price, or how it will be calculated, and the conversion period; |
| ● | whether the preferred stock will be exchangeable into debt securities, and, if applicable, the exchange price, or how it will be calculated, and the exchange period; |
| ● | voting rights, if any, of the preferred stock; |
| ● | preemptive rights, if any; |
| ● | restrictions on transfer, sale or other assignment, if any; |
| ● | whether interests in the preferred stock will be represented by depositary shares; |
| ● | a discussion of any material or special United States federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred stock; |
| ● | the relative ranking and preferences of the preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs; |
| ● | any limitations on issuance of any class or series of preferred stock ranking senior to or on a parity with the series of preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs; and |
| ● | any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of, or restrictions on, the preferred stock. |
If we issue shares of preferred stock under this prospectus, after receipt of payment therefor, the shares will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The Delaware General Corporation Law provides that the holders of preferred stock will have the right to vote separately as a class on any proposal involving fundamental changes in the rights of holders of that preferred stock. This right is in addition to any voting rights provided for in the applicable certificate of designation.
Our board of directors may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of our common stock. Preferred stock could be issued quickly with terms designed to delay or prevent a change in control of our Company or make removal of management more difficult. Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of decreasing the market price of our common stock.
Purchase Contracts
We may issue purchase contracts, representing contracts obligating holders to purchase from us, and us to sell to the holders, a specific or varying number of Class A Common Stock, preferred stock, warrants, depositary shares, debt securities, or any combination of the above, at a future date or dates. Alternatively, the purchase contracts may obligate us to purchase from holders, and obligate holders to sell to us, a specific or varying number of Class A Common Stock, preferred stock, warrants, depositary shares, debt securities, or any combination of the above. The price of the securities and other property subject to the purchase contracts may be fixed at the time the purchase contracts are issued or may be determined by reference to a specific formula set forth in the purchase contracts. The purchase contracts may be issued separately or as a part of a unit that consists of (a) a purchase contract and (b) one or more of the other securities that may be sold by us pursuant to this prospectus or any combination of the foregoing, which may secure the holders’ obligations to purchase the securities under the purchase contract. The purchase contracts may require us to make periodic payments to the holders or require the holders to make periodic payments to us. These payments may be unsecured or prefunded and may be paid on a current or on a deferred basis. The purchase contracts may require holders to secure their obligations under the contracts in a manner specified in the applicable prospectus supplement.
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We will file as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from a current report on Form 8-K that we file with the SEC, forms of the purchase contracts and purchase contract agreement, if any. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the terms of any purchase contracts in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered, including, to the extent applicable, the following:
| ● | whether the purchase contracts obligate the holder or us to purchase or sell, or both purchase and sell, the securities subject to purchase under the purchase contract, and the nature and amount of each of those securities, or the method of determining those amounts; |
| ● | whether the purchase contracts are to be prepaid or not; | |
| ● | whether the purchase contracts are to be settled by delivery, or by reference or linkage to the value, performance or level of the securities subject to purchase under the purchase contract; | |
| ● | any acceleration, cancellation, termination or other provisions relating to the settlement of the purchase contracts; and | |
| ● | whether the purchase contracts will be issued in fully registered or global form. |
Warrants
We may issue warrants to purchase our securities or other rights, including rights to receive payment in cash or securities based on the value, rate or price of one or more specified commodities, currencies, securities or indices, or any combination of the foregoing. Warrants may be issued independently or together with any other securities that may be sold by us pursuant to this prospectus or any combination of the foregoing and may be attached to, or separate from, such securities. To the extent warrants that we issue are to be publicly-traded, each series of such warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and a warrant agent.
We will file as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from a current report on Form 8-K that we file with the SEC, forms of the warrant and warrant agreement, if any. The prospectus supplement relating to any warrants that we may offer will contain the specific terms of the warrants and a description of the material provisions of the applicable warrant agreement, if any. These terms may include the following:
| ● | the title of the warrants; |
| ● | the price or prices at which the warrants will be issued; |
| ● | the designation, amount and terms of the securities or other rights for which the warrants are exercisable; |
| ● | the designation and terms of the other securities, if any, with which the warrants are to be issued and the number of warrants issued with each other security; |
| ● | the aggregate number of warrants; |
| ● | any provisions for adjustment of the number or amount of securities receivable upon exercise of the warrants or the exercise price of the warrants; |
| ● | the price or prices at which the securities or other rights purchasable upon exercise of the warrants may be purchased; |
| ● | if applicable, the date on and after which the warrants and the securities or other rights purchasable upon exercise of the warrants will be separately transferable; |
| ● | a discussion of any material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the exercise of the warrants; |
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| ● | the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence, and the date on which the right will expire; |
| ● | the maximum or minimum number of warrants that may be exercised at any time; |
| ● | information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any; and |
| ● | any other terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the warrants. |
Exercise of Warrants. Each warrant will entitle the holder of warrants to purchase the amount of securities or other rights, at the exercise price stated or determinable in the prospectus supplement for the warrants. Warrants may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date shown in the applicable prospectus supplement, unless otherwise specified in such prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, if applicable, unexercised warrants will become void. Warrants may be exercised in the manner described in the applicable prospectus supplement. When the warrant holder makes the payment and properly completes and signs the warrant certificate at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent, if any, or any other office indicated in the prospectus supplement, we will, as soon as possible, forward the securities or other rights that the warrant holder has purchased. If the warrant holder exercises less than all of the warrants represented by the warrant certificate, we will issue a new warrant certificate for the remaining warrants.
Currently Outstanding Warrants
As of December 31, 2024, there were 3,455,955 public warrants and 3,509,536 warrants that were issued in private placement transactions outstanding, including 208,000 warrants issued in connection with our Business Combination (as hereinafter defined) (the “private warrants”). The terms of our private warrants and the terms of our public warrants are identical. Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing 30 days after the completion of our business combination with Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co. on April 26, 2022 (the “Business Combination”). However, no warrants will be exercisable for cash unless we have an effective and current registration statement covering the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such shares of Class A Common Stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the public warrants is not effective within 90 days following the consummation of the Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise the warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A Common Stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A Common Stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the Warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” for this purpose will mean the average reported last sale price of the shares of the Class A Common Stock for the 5 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date of exercise. The warrants will expire on April 26, 2027, which is the fifth anniversary of our completion of the Business Combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The right to exercise will be forfeited unless the warrants are exercised prior to the date specified in the notice of redemption. On and after the redemption date, a record holder of a warrant will have no further rights except to receive the redemption price for such holder’s warrant upon surrender of such warrant.
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The redemption criteria for our warrants have been established at a price which is intended to provide warrant holders a reasonable premium to the initial exercise price and provide a sufficient differential between the then-prevailing share price and the warrant exercise price so that if the share price declines as a result of our redemption call, the redemption will not cause the share price to drop below the exercise price of the warrants.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A Common Stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A Common Stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” for this purpose shall mean the average reported last sale price of the shares of the Class A Common Stock for the 5 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants.
The warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the Warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval, by written consent or vote, of the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants, in order to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders.
The exercise price and number of shares of Class A Common Stock issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, extraordinary dividend or our recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of shares of Class A Common Stock at a price below their respective exercise prices.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price, by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of shares of Class A Common Stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of Class A Common Stock. After the issuance of shares of Class A Common Stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
Warrant holders may elect to be subject to a restriction on the exercise of their warrants such that an electing warrant holder would not be able to exercise their warrants to the extent that, after giving effect to such exercise, such holder would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% of the shares of Class A Common Stock outstanding.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round up to the nearest whole number the number of shares of Class A Common Stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
Subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. This provision applies to claims under the Securities Act but does not apply to claims under the Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.
Our public warrants are listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the trading symbol “SOUNW.” The warrant agent is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
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Subscription Rights
We may issue rights to purchase our securities. The rights may or may not be transferable by the persons purchasing or receiving the rights. In connection with any rights offering, we may enter into a standby underwriting or other arrangement with one or more underwriters or other persons pursuant to which such underwriters or other persons would purchase any offered securities remaining unsubscribed for after such rights offering. In connection with a rights offering to holders of our capital stock a prospectus supplement will be distributed to such holders on the record date for receiving rights in the rights offering set by us.
We will file as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from a current report on Form 8-K that we file with the SEC, forms of the subscription rights, standby underwriting agreement or other agreements, if any. The prospectus supplement relating to any rights that we offer will include specific terms relating to the offering, including, among other matters:
| ● | the date of determining the security holders entitled to the rights distribution; | |
| ● | the aggregate number of rights issued and the aggregate amount of securities purchasable upon exercise of the rights; | |
| ● | the exercise price; | |
| ● | the conditions to completion of the rights offering; | |
| ● | the date on which the right to exercise the rights will commence and the date on which the rights will expire; and | |
| ● | any applicable federal income tax considerations. |
Each right would entitle the holder of the rights to purchase the principal amount of securities at the exercise price set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Rights may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date for the rights provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, all unexercised rights will become void.
Holders may exercise rights as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Upon receipt of payment and the rights certificate properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the rights agent, if any, or any other office indicated in the prospectus supplement, we will, as soon as practicable, forward the securities purchasable upon exercise of the rights. If less than all of the rights issued in any rights offering are exercised, we may offer any unsubscribed securities directly to persons other than stockholders, to or through agents, underwriters or dealers or through a combination of such methods, including pursuant to standby underwriting arrangements, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Depositary Shares
General. We may offer fractional shares of preferred stock, rather than full shares of preferred stock. If we decide to offer fractional shares of our preferred stock, we will issue receipts for depositary shares. Each depositary share will represent a fraction of a share of a particular series of our preferred stock, and the applicable prospectus supplement will indicate that fraction. The shares of preferred stock represented by depositary shares will be deposited under a deposit agreement between us and a depositary that is a bank or trust company that meets certain requirements and is selected by us. The depositary will be specified in the applicable prospectus supplement. Each owner of a depositary share will be entitled to all of the rights and preferences of the preferred stock represented by the depositary share. The depositary shares will be evidenced by depositary receipts issued pursuant to the deposit agreement. Depositary receipts will be distributed to those persons purchasing the fractional shares of our preferred stock in accordance with the terms of the offering. We will file as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from a current report on Form 8-K that we file with the SEC, forms of the deposit agreement, form of certificate of designation of underlying preferred stock, form of depositary receipts and any other related agreements.
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Dividends and Other Distributions. The depositary will distribute all cash dividends or other cash distributions received by it in respect of the preferred stock to the record holders of depositary shares relating to such preferred shares in proportion to the numbers of depositary shares held on the relevant record date.
In the event of a distribution other than in cash, the depositary will distribute securities or property received by it to the record holders of depositary shares in proportion to the numbers of depositary shares held on the relevant record date, unless the depositary determines that it is not feasible to make such distribution. In that case, the depositary may make the distribution by such method as it deems equitable and practicable. One such possible method is for the depositary to sell the securities or property and then distribute the net proceeds from the sale as provided in the case of a cash distribution.
Redemption of Depositary Shares. Whenever we redeem the preferred stock, the depositary will redeem a number of depositary shares representing the same number of shares of preferred stock so redeemed. If fewer than all of the depositary shares are to be redeemed, the depositary shares to be redeemed will be selected by lot, pro rata or by any other equitable method as the depositary may determine.
Voting of Underlying Shares. Upon receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of our preferred stock of any series are entitled to vote, the depositary will mail the information contained in the notice of the meeting to the record holders of the depositary shares relating to that series of preferred stock. Each record holder of the depositary shares on the record date will be entitled to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights represented by the number of shares of preferred stock underlying the holder’s depositary shares. The depositary will endeavor, to the extent it is practical to do so, to vote the number of whole shares of preferred stock underlying such depositary shares in accordance with such instructions. We will agree to take all action that the depositary may deem reasonably necessary in order to enable the depositary to do so. To the extent the depositary does not receive specific instructions from the holders of depositary shares relating to such preferred shares, it will abstain from voting such shares of preferred stock.
Withdrawal of Shares. Upon surrender of depositary receipts representing any number of whole shares at the depositary’s office, unless the related depositary shares previously have been called for redemption, the holder of the depositary shares evidenced by the depositary receipts will be entitled to delivery of the number of whole shares of the related series of preferred stock and all money and other property, if any, underlying such depositary shares. However, once such an exchange is made, the preferred stock cannot thereafter be re-deposited in exchange for depositary shares. Holders of depositary shares will be entitled to receive whole shares of the related series of preferred stock on the basis set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. If the depositary receipts delivered by the holder evidence a number of depositary shares representing more than the number of whole shares of preferred stock of the related series to be withdrawn, the depositary will deliver to the holder at the same time a new depositary receipt evidencing the excess number of depositary shares.
Amendment and Termination of Depositary Agreement. The form of depositary receipt evidencing the depositary shares and any provision of the applicable depositary agreement may at any time be amended by agreement between us and the depositary. We may, with the consent of the depositary, amend the depositary agreement from time to time in any manner that we desire. However, if the amendment would materially and adversely alter the rights of the existing holders of depositary shares, the amendment would need to be approved by the holders of at least a majority of the depositary shares then outstanding.
The depositary agreement may be terminated by us or the depositary if:
| ● | all outstanding depositary shares have been redeemed; or | |
| ● | there has been a final distribution in respect of the shares of preferred stock of the applicable series in connection with our liquidation, dissolution or winding up and such distribution has been made to the holders of depositary receipts. |
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Resignation and Removal of Depositary. The depositary may resign at any time by delivering to us notice of its election to do so. We may remove a depositary at any time. Any resignation or removal will take effect upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of appointment.
Charges of Depositary. We will pay all transfer and other taxes and governmental charges arising solely from the existence of any depositary arrangements. We will pay all charges of each depositary in connection with the initial deposit of the preferred shares of any series, the initial issuance of the depositary shares, any redemption of such preferred shares and any withdrawals of such preferred shares by holders of depositary shares. Holders of depositary shares will be required to pay any other transfer taxes.
Notices. Each depositary will forward to the holders of the applicable depositary shares all notices, reports and communications from us which are delivered to such depositary and which we are required to furnish the holders of the preferred stock represented by such depositary shares.
Miscellaneous. The depositary agreement may contain provisions that limit our liability and the liability of the depositary to the holders of depositary shares. Both the depositary and we are also entitled to an indemnity from the holders of the depositary shares prior to bringing, or defending against, any legal proceeding. We or any depositary may rely upon written advice of counsel or accountants, or information provided by persons presenting preferred shares for deposit, holders of depositary shares or other persons believed by us to be competent and on documents believed by us or them to be genuine.
Debt Securities
As used in this prospectus, the term “debt securities” means the debentures, notes, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness that we may issue from time to time. The debt securities will either be senior debt securities, senior subordinated debt or subordinated debt securities. We may also issue convertible debt securities. Debt securities may be issued under an indenture (which we refer to herein as an Indenture), which are contracts entered into between us and a trustee to be named therein. The Indenture has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. We may issue debt securities and incur additional indebtedness other than through the offering of debt securities pursuant to this prospectus. It is likely that convertible debt securities will not be issued under an Indenture.
The debt securities may be fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a secured or unsecured senior or subordinated basis by one or more guarantors, if any. The obligations of any guarantor under its guarantee will be limited as necessary to prevent that guarantee from constituting a fraudulent conveyance under applicable law. In the event that any series of debt securities will be subordinated to other indebtedness that we have outstanding or may incur, the terms of the subordination will be set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to the subordinated debt securities.
We may issue debt securities from time to time in one or more series, in each case with the same or various maturities, at par or at a discount. Unless indicated in a prospectus supplement, we may issue additional debt securities of a particular series without the consent of the holders of the debt securities of such series outstanding at the time of the issuance. Any such additional debt securities, together with all other outstanding debt securities of that series, will constitute a single series of debt securities under the applicable Indenture and will be equal in ranking.
Should an Indenture relate to unsecured indebtedness, in the event of a bankruptcy or other liquidation event involving a distribution of assets to satisfy our outstanding indebtedness or an event of default under a loan agreement relating to secured indebtedness of our company or its subsidiaries, the holders of such secured indebtedness, if any, would be entitled to receive payment of principal and interest prior to payments on the unsecured indebtedness issued under an Indenture.
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Each prospectus supplement will describe the terms relating to the specific series of debt securities. These terms will include some or all of the following:
| ● | the title of debt securities and whether the debt securities are senior or subordinated; | |
| ● | any limit on the aggregate principal amount of debt securities of such series; | |
| ● | the percentage of the principal amount at which the debt securities of any series will be issued; | |
| ● | the ability to issue additional debt securities of the same series; | |
| ● | the purchase price for the debt securities and the denominations of the debt securities; | |
| ● | the specific designation of the series of debt securities being offered; | |
| ● | the maturity date or dates of the debt securities and the date or dates upon which the debt securities are payable and the rate or rates at which the debt securities of the series shall bear interest, if any, which may be fixed or variable, or the method by which such rate shall be determined; | |
| ● | the basis for calculating interest; | |
| ● | the date or dates from which any interest will accrue or the method by which such date or dates will be determined; | |
| ● | the duration of any deferral period, including the period during which interest payment periods may be extended; | |
| ● | whether the amount of payments of principal of (and premium, if any) or interest on the debt securities may be determined with reference to any index, formula or other method, such as one or more currencies, commodities, equity indices or other indices, and the manner of determining the amount of such payments; |
| ● | the dates on which we will pay interest on the debt securities and the regular record date for determining who is entitled to the interest payable on any interest payment date; | |
| ● | the place or places where the principal of (and premium, if any) and interest on the debt securities will be payable, where any securities may be surrendered for registration of transfer, exchange or conversion, as applicable, and notices and demands may be delivered to or upon us pursuant to the applicable Indenture; |
| ● | the rate or rates of amortization of the debt securities; | |
| ● | any terms for the attachment to the debt securities of warrants, options or other rights to purchase or sell our securities; | |
| ● | if the debt securities will be secured by any collateral and, if so, a general description of the collateral and the terms and provisions of such collateral security, pledge or other agreements; | |
| ● | if we possess the option to do so, the periods within which and the prices at which we may redeem the debt securities, in whole or in part, pursuant to optional redemption provisions, and the other terms and conditions of any such provisions; | |
| ● | our obligation or discretion, if any, to redeem, repay or purchase debt securities by making periodic payments to a sinking fund or through an analogous provision or at the option of holders of the debt securities, and the period or periods within which and the price or prices at which we will redeem, repay or purchase the debt securities, in whole or in part, pursuant to such obligation, and the other terms and conditions of such obligation; | |
| ● | the terms and conditions, if any, regarding the option or mandatory conversion or exchange of debt securities; | |
| ● | the period or periods within which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which any debt securities of the series may be redeemed, in whole or in part at our option and, if other than by a board resolution, the manner in which any election by us to redeem the debt securities shall be evidenced; | |
| ● | any restriction or condition on the transferability of the debt securities of a particular series; |
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| ● | the portion, or methods of determining the portion, of the principal amount of the debt securities which we must pay upon the acceleration of the maturity of the debt securities in connection with any event of default; | |
| ● | the currency or currencies in which the debt securities will be denominated and in which principal, any premium and any interest will or may be payable or a description of any units based on or relating to a currency or currencies in which the debt securities will be denominated; | |
| ● | provisions, if any, granting special rights to holders of the debt securities upon the occurrence of specified events; | |
| ● | any deletions from, modifications of or additions to the events of default or our covenants with respect to the applicable series of debt securities, and whether or not such events of default or covenants are consistent with those contained in the applicable Indenture; | |
| ● | any limitation on our ability to incur debt, redeem stock, sell our assets or other restrictions; | |
| ● | the application, if any, of the terms of the applicable Indenture relating to defeasance and covenant defeasance (which terms are described below) to the debt securities; | |
| ● | what subordination provisions will apply to the debt securities; |
| ● | the terms, if any, upon which the holders may convert or exchange the debt securities into or for our securities or property; | |
| ● | whether we are issuing the debt securities in whole or in part in global form; | |
| ● | any change in the right of the trustee or the requisite holders of debt securities to declare the principal amount thereof due and payable because of an event of default; | |
| ● | the depositary for global or certificated debt securities, if any; | |
| ● | any material federal income tax consequences applicable to the debt securities, including any debt securities denominated and made payable, as described in the prospectus supplements, in foreign currencies, or units based on or related to foreign currencies; | |
| ● | any right we may have to satisfy, discharge and defease our obligations under the debt securities, or terminate or eliminate restrictive covenants or events of default in the Indentures, by depositing money or U.S. government obligations with the trustee of the Indentures; | |
| ● | the names of any trustees, depositories, authenticating or paying agents, transfer agents or registrars or other agents with respect to the debt securities; |
| ● | to whom any interest on any debt security shall be payable, if other than the person in whose name the security is registered, on the record date for such interest, the extent to which, or the manner in which, any interest payable on a temporary global debt security will be paid; | |
| ● | if the principal of or any premium or interest on any debt securities is to be payable in one or more currencies or currency units other than as stated, the currency, currencies or currency units in which it shall be paid and the periods within and terms and conditions upon which such election is to be made and the amounts payable (or the manner in which such amount shall be determined); | |
| ● | the portion of the principal amount of any debt securities which shall be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity of the debt securities pursuant to the applicable Indenture; |
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| ● | if the principal amount payable at the stated maturity of any debt security of the series will not be determinable as of any one or more dates prior to the stated maturity, the amount which shall be deemed to be the principal amount of such debt securities as of any such date for any purpose, including the principal amount thereof which shall be due and payable upon any maturity other than the stated maturity or which shall be deemed to be outstanding as of any date prior to the stated maturity (or, in any such case, the manner in which such amount deemed to be the principal amount shall be determined); and | |
| ● | any other specific terms of the debt securities, including any modifications to the events of default under the debt securities and any other terms which may be required by or advisable under applicable laws or regulations. |
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, we do not anticipate the debt securities will be listed on any securities exchange. Holders of the debt securities may present registered debt securities for exchange or transfer in the manner described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Except as limited by the applicable Indenture, we will provide these services without charge, other than any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection with the exchange or transfer.
Debt securities may bear interest at a fixed rate or a variable rate as specified in the prospectus supplement. In addition, if specified in the prospectus supplement, we may sell debt securities bearing no interest or interest at a rate that at the time of issuance is below the prevailing market rate, or at a discount below their stated principal amount. We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement any special federal income tax considerations applicable to these discounted debt securities.
We may issue debt securities with the principal amount payable on any principal payment date, or the amount of interest payable on any interest payment date, to be determined by referring to one or more currency exchange rates, commodity prices, equity indices or other factors. Holders of such debt securities may receive a principal amount on any principal payment date, or interest payments on any interest payment date, that are greater or less than the amount of principal or interest otherwise payable on such dates, depending upon the value on such dates of applicable currency, commodity, equity index or other factors. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information as to how we will determine the amount of principal or interest payable on any date, as well as the currencies, commodities, equity indices or other factors to which the amount payable on that date relates and certain additional tax considerations.
Units
We may issue units consisting of any combination of the other types of securities offered under this prospectus in one or more series. We may evidence each series of units by unit certificates that we may issue under a separate agreement. We may enter into unit agreements with a unit agent. Each unit agent, if any, may be a bank or trust company that we select. We will indicate the name and address of the unit agent, if any, in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of units. Specific unit agreements, if any, will contain additional important terms and provisions. We will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from a current report that we file with the SEC, the form of unit and the form of each unit agreement, if any, relating to units offered under this prospectus.
If we offer any units, certain terms of that series of units will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, the following, as applicable:
| ● | the title of the series of units; | |
| ● | identification and description of the separate constituent securities comprising the units; | |
| ● | the price or prices at which the units will be issued; | |
| ● | the date, if any, on and after which the constituent securities comprising the units will be separately transferable; | |
| ● | a discussion of certain United States federal income tax considerations applicable to the units; and | |
| ● | any other material terms of the units and their constituent securities. |
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Each security may be represented either by a certificate issued in definitive form to a particular investor or by one or more global securities representing the entire issuance of securities. Certificated securities in definitive form and global securities will be issued in registered form. Definitive securities name you or your nominee as the owner of the security, and in order to transfer or exchange these securities or to receive payments other than interest or other interim payments, you or your nominee must physically deliver the securities to the trustee, registrar, paying agent or other agent, as applicable. Global securities name a depositary or its nominee as the owner of the debt securities, warrants or units represented by these global securities. The depositary maintains a computerized system that will reflect each investor’s beneficial ownership of the securities through an account maintained by the investor with its broker/dealer, bank, trust company or other representative, as we explain more fully below.
Registered Global Securities
We may issue the securities in the form of one or more fully registered global securities that will be deposited with a depositary or its nominee identified in the applicable prospectus supplement and registered in the name of that depositary or nominee. In those cases, one or more registered global securities will be issued in a denomination or aggregate denominations equal to the portion of the aggregate principal or face amount of the securities to be represented by registered global securities. Unless and until it is exchanged in whole for securities in definitive registered form, a registered global security may not be transferred except as a whole by and among the depositary for the registered global security, the nominees of the depositary or any successors of the depositary or those nominees.
The specific terms of the depositary arrangement with respect to any securities to be represented by a registered global security will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to those securities. We anticipate that the following provisions will apply to all depositary arrangements.
Ownership of beneficial interests in a registered global security will be limited to persons, called participants, that have accounts with the depositary or persons that may hold interests through participants. Upon the issuance of a registered global security, the depositary will credit, on its book-entry registration and transfer system, the participants’ accounts with the respective principal or face amounts of the securities beneficially owned by the participants. Any dealers, underwriters or agents participating in the distribution of the securities will designate the accounts to be credited. Ownership of beneficial interests in a registered global security will be shown on, and the transfer of ownership interests will be effected only through, records maintained by the depositary, with respect to interests of participants, and on the records of participants, with respect to interests of persons holding through participants. The laws of some states may require that some purchasers of securities take physical delivery of these securities in definitive form. These laws may impair your ability to own, transfer or pledge beneficial interests in registered global securities.
So long as the depositary, or its nominee, is the registered owner of a registered global security, that depositary or its nominee, as the case may be, will be considered the sole owner or holder of the securities represented by the registered global security for all purposes under the applicable indenture, warrant agreement or unit agreement.
34
Except as described below, owners of beneficial interests in a registered global security will not be entitled to have the securities represented by the registered global security registered in their names, will not receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of the securities in definitive form and will not be considered the owners or holders of the securities under the applicable indenture, warrant agreement or unit agreement. Accordingly, each person owning a beneficial interest in a registered global security must rely on the procedures of the depositary for that registered global security and, if that person is not a participant, on the procedures of the participant through which the person owns its interest, to exercise any rights of a holder under the applicable indenture, warrant agreement or unit agreement. We understand that under existing industry practices, if we request any action of holders or if an owner of a beneficial interest in a registered global security desires to give or take any action that a holder is entitled to give or take under the applicable indenture, warrant agreement or unit agreement, the depositary for the registered global security would authorize the participants holding the relevant beneficial interests to give or take that action, and the participants would authorize beneficial owners owning through them to give or take that action or would otherwise act upon the instructions of beneficial owners holding through them.
Payments to holders with respect to securities represented by a registered global security registered in the name of a depositary or its nominee will be made to the depositary or its nominee, as the case may be, as the registered owner of the registered global security. None of the Company, the trustees, the warrant agents, the unit agents or any other agent of the Company, agent of the trustees, the warrant agents or unit agents will have any responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in the registered global security or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to those beneficial ownership interests.
We expect that the depositary for any of the securities represented by a registered global security, upon receipt of any payment of principal, premium, interest or other payment or distribution to holders of that registered global security, will immediately credit participants’ accounts in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in that registered global security as shown on the records of the depositary. We also expect that payments by participants to owners of beneficial interests in a registered global security held through participants will be governed by standing customer instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with the securities held for the accounts of customers or registered in “street name,” and will be the responsibility of those participants.
If the depositary for any of these securities represented by a registered global security is at any time unwilling or unable to continue as depositary or ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act and a successor depositary registered as a clearing agency under the Exchange Act is not appointed by us within 90 days, we will issue securities in definitive form in exchange for the registered global security that had been held by the depositary. Any securities issued in definitive form in exchange for a registered global security will be registered in the name or names that the depositary gives to the relevant trustee, warrant agent, unit agent or other relevant agent of ours or theirs. It is expected that the depositary’s instructions will be based upon directions received by the depositary from participants with respect to ownership of beneficial interests in the registered global security that had been held by the depositary.
35
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, the validity of the securities offered by this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, New York, New York. If legal matters in connection with offerings made by this prospectus are passed on by counsel for the underwriters, dealers or agents, if any, that counsel will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement.
The financial statements of SoundHound AI, Inc. as of December 31, 2023 and for the year ended December 31, 2023 and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting (which is included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting which contains an adverse opinion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting) as of December 31, 2023 incorporated in this prospectus by reference to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
The financial statements of SoundHound AI, Inc. as of and for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, incorporated by reference in this prospectus have been audited by Armanino LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report incorporated by reference herein, and are included in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in auditing and accounting in giving said report.
The consolidated and combined financial statements of Amelia Holdings, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023 and as of December 31, 2022 (Successor), and the periods from December 21, 2022 through December 31, 2022 (Successor), and January 1, 2022 through December 20, 2022 (Predecessor), included in the Current Report on Form 8-K/A of SoundHound AI, Inc., filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22, 2024 have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent auditors, as set forth in their report thereon (which contains an explanatory paragraph describing conditions that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern as described in Note 2 to the consolidated and combined financial statements), included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated and combined financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
This prospectus is part of the registration statement on Form S-3 we filed with the SEC under the Securities Act and does not contain all the information set forth or incorporated by reference in the registration statement. Whenever a reference is made in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the reference may not be complete and you should refer to the exhibits that are a part of the registration statement or the exhibits to the reports or other documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus for a copy of such contract, agreement or other document. We file annual, quarter and periodic reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC using its EDGAR system. The SEC maintains a web site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the SEC. The address of such site is http//www.sec.gov.
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INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
We are “incorporating by reference” in this prospectus certain documents we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information in the documents incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus. Statements contained in documents that we file with the SEC and that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus will automatically update and supersede information contained in this prospectus, including information in previously filed documents or reports that have been incorporated by reference in this prospectus, to the extent the new information differs from or is inconsistent with the old information. We have filed or may file the following documents with the SEC and they are incorporated herein by reference as of their respective dates of filing.
1. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on March 1, 2024;
2. Our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2024, June 30, 2024 and September 30, 2024, filed with the SEC on May 10, 2024, August 9, 2024 and November 12, 2024, respectively;
3. Our Revised Definitive Proxy Statement filed with the SEC on April 30, 2024;
4. Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 3, 2024, April 10, 2024, June 10, 2024, June 14, 2024, June 27, 2024, August 8, 2024 (as amended on October 22, 2024) (for the avoidance of doubt, our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 8, 2024 that includes the information furnished pursuant to Items 2.02 and 9.01 is not incorporated by reference herein) and November 8, 2024; and
5. The description of our common stock and warrants contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on March 10, 2021 and the Description of Securities filed as Exhibit 4.5 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such information.
All documents that we filed with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, and 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of this registration statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this registration statement that indicates that all securities offered under this prospectus have been sold, or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, will be deemed to be incorporated in this registration statement by reference and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents.
Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus shall be deemed modified, superseded or replaced for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus, or in any subsequently filed document that also is deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus, modifies, supersedes or replaces such statement. Any statement so modified, superseded or replaced shall not be deemed, except as so modified, superseded or replaced, to constitute a part of this prospectus. None of the information that we disclose under Items 2.02 or 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K or any corresponding information, either furnished under Item 9.01 or included as an exhibit therein, that we may from time to time furnish to the SEC will be incorporated by reference into, or otherwise included in, this prospectus, except as otherwise expressly set forth in the relevant document. Subject to the foregoing, all information appearing in this prospectus is qualified in its entirety by the information appearing in the documents incorporated by reference.
You may request, orally or in writing, a copy of these documents, which will be provided to you at no cost (other than exhibits, unless such exhibits are specifically incorporate by reference), by contacting General Counsel, c/o SoundHound AI, Inc., at 5400 Betsy Ross Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054. Our telephone number is (408) 441-3200. Information about us is also available at our website at www.soundhound.com. However, the information in our website is not a part of this prospectus and is not incorporated by reference.
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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell the securities until the Registration Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, of which this prospectus is a part, is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JANUARY 27, 2025
PROSPECTUS
SOUNDHOUND AI, INC.
Up to $250,000,000 of Shares of Class A Common Stock
SoundHound AI, Inc. (“SoundHound AI,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) has entered into an equity distribution agreement (the “Agreement”) by and among Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Wedbush Securities Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Northland Securities, Inc. (each a “Manager” and collectively, the “Managers”) relating to the sale of shares of our Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “common stock” or the “Class A Common Stock”), offered by this prospectus (including the base prospectus contained within the Registration Statement on Form S-3 that this prospectus forms a part, referred to herein as the “prospectus”). In accordance with the terms of the Agreement, we may offer and sell up to $250,000,000 of shares of our common stock from time to time through or to the Managers acting as agent or principal.
Our Class A Common Stock is listed on the Global Market of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “SOUN.” The last reported sale price of our Class A Common Stock on January 24, 2025 was $15.84 per share.
Sales of our common stock, if any, under this prospectus may be made in negotiated transactions, including block trades, or transactions that are deemed to be “at the market’’ offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, including sales made by means of ordinary brokers’ transactions, including directly on Nasdaq or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange at prevailing market prices, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices or by any other method permitted by law. The Managers are not required to sell any specific dollar amount of shares but will use commercially reasonable efforts to sell on our behalf all of the shares of common stock requested to be sold by us, consistent with their normal trading and sales practices, on mutually agreed terms between us and the Managers. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in any escrow, trust or similar arrangement. The Managers may also purchase shares of our common stock as principal.
The Managers will be entitled to aggregate compensation at a fixed commission rate of 2.0% of the gross sales price per share sold. In connection with the sale of our common stock on our behalf, the Managers may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act and the compensation of the Managers may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page S-23 for additional information regarding underwriting compensation. We have also agreed to provide indemnification and contribution to the Managers with respect to certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should review carefully the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-7 of this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
| Cantor | Guggenheim Securities | Oppenheimer & Co. |
| Wedbush Securities | Ladenburg Thalmann | Northland Capital Markets |
The date of this prospectus is , 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Page | ||
| PROSPECTUS | ||
| About This Prospectus | S-ii | |
| Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements | S-iii | |
| Prospectus Summary | S-1 | |
| The Offering | S-6 | |
| Risk Factors | S-7 | |
| Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Financial Information | S-9 | |
| Use of Proceeds | S-20 | |
| Dilution | S-21 | |
| Description of Securities We Are Offering | S-22 | |
| Plan of Distribution | S-23 | |
| Legal Matters | S-24 | |
| Experts | S-24 | |
| Where You Can Find More Information | S-24 | |
| Incorporation of Certain Information By Reference | S-25 |
We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any information or to make any representations other than those contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus.
This prospectus and any later prospectus supplement is an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so.
You should assume that the information contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of those respective documents.
S-i
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, utilizing a shelf registration process. Under this prospectus, we may offer and sell shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $250,000,000 from time to time at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions at the time of offering.
To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus, on the one hand, and the information contained in any document incorporated by reference into this prospectus that was filed with the SEC before the date of this prospectus, on the other hand, you should rely on the information in this prospectus. If any statement in one of these documents is inconsistent with a statement in another document having a later date — for example, a document incorporated by reference into this prospectus — the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement.
You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of those respective documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. You should read this prospectus, as well as the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus in their entirety before making an investment decision. You should also read and consider the information in the sections of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference.”
We have not, and the Managers have not, authorized any other person to provide you with information that is in addition to or different from the information included or incorporated by reference into this prospectus. We are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, shares of common stock only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The distribution of this prospectus and the offering of the common stock in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. 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 common stock and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States. This prospectus does not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities offered by this prospectus by any person in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful for such person to make such an offer or solicitation.
We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is filed as an exhibit to any document that is incorporated by reference into the prospectus 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 agreement, 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.
This prospectus contains, or incorporates by reference, trademarks, tradenames, service marks and service names of SoundHound AI, Inc. and its subsidiaries. This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus may also contain trademarks and trade names that are the property of their respective owners.
S-ii
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein contain or may contain “forward looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “Exchange Act”), and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For all forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein, including statements regarding future events, our future financial performance, business strategy, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including “anticipates,” “believes,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “should,” or “will” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. The following factors among others, could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those set forth or contemplated in the forward-looking statements:
| ● | our ability to execute our business strategy, including launching new product offerings and expanding information and technology capabilities; |
| ● | our market opportunity and our ability to acquire new customers and retain existing customers; |
| ● | the timing and impact of our growth initiatives on our future financial performance; |
| ● | our ability to integrate the businesses and operations from our recent acquisitions with our current operations to realize the expected benefits of those acquisitions; | |
| ● | our ability to protect intellectual property and trade secrets; |
| ● | the ability to obtain additional capital, as necessary, including equity or debt financing, on terms that are acceptable to us, if at all; |
| ● | changes in applicable laws or regulations and extensive and evolving government regulations that impact our operations and business; |
| ● | the ability to attract or maintain a qualified workforce; |
| ● | level of product service failures that could lead our customers to use competitors’ services; |
| ● | investigations, claims, disputes, enforcement actions, litigation and/or other regulatory or legal proceedings, including with respect to our AI technology; |
| ● | risks relating to uncertainty of our estimates of market opportunity and forecasts of market growth; |
| ● | the possibility that we may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and |
| ● | other risks and uncertainties described under the section titled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein. |
Although we do not make forward looking statements unless we believe we have a reasonable basis for doing so, we cannot guarantee their accuracy. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the risks outlined under “Risk Factors” or elsewhere in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, which may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to vary materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in a highly regulated, very competitive, and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all risk factors, nor can we address the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
S-iii
We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short term and long term business operations, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein,, and in particular, the risks discussed below and under the heading “Risk Factors” in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and in other documents we file with the SEC, as well as any amendments thereto. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2024, June 30, 2024 and September 30, 2024 and notes to such financial statements incorporated by reference herein. We undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this prospectus may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statement.
You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement, each of which applies only as of the date of this prospectus. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this prospectus to conform our statements to actual results or changed expectations.
Any forward-looking statement you read in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any document incorporated by reference reflects our current views at the time the forward-looking statement was made with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, operating results, growth strategy and liquidity. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as to the date when made. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future, except as otherwise required by applicable law. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports on Forms 10-Q, 8-K and 10-K filed with the SEC. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all risk factors. Consequently, you should not consider any such list to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.
S-iv
This summary highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary does not contain all the information that you should consider before investing in our Company. You should carefully read the entire prospectus, including all documents incorporated by reference herein. In particular, attention should be directed to our “Risk Factors,” “Information With Respect to the Company,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the financial statements and related notes thereto contained herein or otherwise incorporated by reference hereto, before making an investment decision.
As used herein, and any amendment or supplement hereto, unless otherwise indicated, “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company,” or “SoundHound AI” means SoundHound AI, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Unless otherwise indicated, all references in this prospectus to “dollars” or “$” refer to US dollars.
Company Overview
We are a global leader in conversational intelligence, offering independent Voice AI solutions that enable businesses to deliver high-quality conversational experiences to their customers. Built on proprietary technology, SoundHound’s voice AI delivers best-in-class speed and accuracy in numerous languages to product creators across automotive, TV, and IoT, and to customer service industries via groundbreaking AI-driven products like Smart Answering, Smart Ordering, and Dynamic Interaction™, a real-time, multimodal customer service interface. Along with SoundHound Chat AI, a powerful voice assistant with integrated Generative AI, SoundHound powers millions of products and services, and processes billions of interactions each year for world class businesses.
We believe voice-enabled conversational user interface is a more natural interface for nearly all use cases, and product creators should have the ability to design, customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize the interface to their own product, as opposed to outsourcing it to a third-party assistant. For example, using SoundHound, businesses can voice-enable their products so consumers can say things like, “Turn off the air conditioning and lower the windows,” while in their cars, “Find romantic comedies released in the last year,” while streaming on their TV and even place food orders before arriving at a restaurant by talking to their cars, TVs or other IoT devices. Additionally, SoundHound’s technology can address complex user queries such as, “Show me all restaurants within half a mile of the Space Needle that are open past 9 pm on Wednesdays and have outdoor seating,” and follow-on qualifications such as “Okay, don’t show me anything with less than 3 stars or fast food.”
The SoundHound developer platform, Houndify, is an open-access platform that allows developers to leverage SoundHound’s Voice AI technology and a library of over 100 content domains, including commonly used domains for points of interest, weather, flight status, sports and more. SoundHound’s Collective AI is an architecture for connecting domain knowledge that encourages collaboration and contribution among developers. The architecture is based on proprietary software engineering technology, CaiLAN (Conversational AI Language), and machine learning technology, CaiNET (Conversational AI Network) to ensure fast, accurate and appropriate responses.
Our market position is strengthened by the technical barriers to entry in the Voice AI space, which tend to discourage new market participants. Furthermore, our technology is backed by significant investments in intellectual property, with over 155 patents granted and over 115 patents pending, spanning multiple fields including speech recognition, natural language understanding, machine learning, monetization and more. We have achieved this critical momentum in part thanks to a long-tenured leadership team with deep expertise and proven ability to attract and retain talent. We believe that SoundHound has extensive technical expertise and a proven track record of innovation and value creation for us to continue to attract customers in the growing market for Voice AI transactions.
We believe that SoundHound is well-positioned to fill the growing void and demand for an independent Voice AI platform. The Voice AI offerings from big tech companies are primarily an extension of their more core services and offerings. Rather than strengthening a customer’s product, it can take over the entire experience, thus disintermediating the company’s brand, users and data. As a result, brands relying on big tech may lose their ability to innovate, differentiate and customize. In some cases, these providers even compete with the products they support, making them increasingly less attractive as a choice for a voice interface.
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The alternative options are generally legacy vendors tending to use what we consider to be dated technologies at a high price. Furthermore, many of these technologies still require significant effort by the product creators to turn them into solutions that can compete with the quality of the big tech offering, which in many cases is not practical. Due to the high barrier to entry in Voice AI, there are not many independent players.
This creates a great opportunity for SoundHound: we believe that we provide disruptive technologies that are superior to the alternatives, with better terms, allowing customers to maintain their brand, control the user experience, get access to the data and define their own privacy policies, while being able to customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize.
When it comes to criteria for adoption, our goal is to win on every dimension. We believe that the first two criteria customers typically consider are technology and brand control. We strive to provide our customers with the best technology, and we provide a white label solution giving our customers control of their brands. In some industries you may have to choose between technology and brand control. In our case, we offer our customers the best of both, enabling them to offer disruptive technologies to their users while maintaining control of their brand and user experience.
With our disruptive monetization strategy, we also aim to provide an additional path to monetization for our customer base. By choosing our platform, product creators can generate additional revenue while making their product better using Voice AI, providing further incentive to choose our platform.
We believe that we offer a superior ecosystem, benefiting from our Collective AI product architecture along with offering customers definable privacy controls, which are becoming increasingly important in the industry of Voice AI. Additionally, there is no conflict of interest between us and our partners and customers as we do not compete with them (as some other Voice AI vendors do). We also offer edge and hybrid solutions. This means our technology can optionally run without a cloud connection for increased flexibility and privacy. Our focus is on delivering the most advanced Voice AI in the world and thus allowing our partners to differentiate and innovate their overall experiences for their brands.
We strongly believe that product creators know their product and users best. The idea of a single third-party assistant taking over their product is not reflective of our anticipated future. We envision that every product will have its own identity, and will have Voice AI customized in different ways. Product creators can each tap into a single Collective AI to access the ever-growing set of domains, but the product creators can innovate on top of Collective AI and create value for the end users in their own way. This is the future that we are focusing on enabling.
When a product is voice enabled, we see three stages of integration and value propositions. The first stage is to enable the core use cases of the product. For example, the product could be a TV, a coffee machine, a car, a wearable device, a robot, a smart speaker or an appliance, and with your voice you can control the functionality of the device and the product. On a TV, you can ask it to change the channel, increase the volume, rewind by 30 seconds, search for movies and even add personalization by adding a TV show to your favorites. Note that this is different from adding a third-party voice assistant to the product. Our view is that every product needs to have an interface, and voice-AI is a natural and compelling interface that unlocks new use cases and potential. Consider just the simple example of rewinding or fast forwarding by a specific duration. That is a command that can be done with voice within a few seconds, but it can take many steps to do using alternative interfaces such as a remote control or a companion app.
Once the core features of a product are voice-enabled, it can be further enhanced in the second stage of integration: the addition of third-party content and domains. SoundHound has extensive partnerships with content providers and, through these partnerships, can fulfill many needs of our customers. For example, your TV, car or even a coffee machine can answer questions about weather, sports scores, stock prices or flight status, and even search for local businesses. The addition of these public domains further enhances the value proposition of the product.
Finally, as the third step, you enter the world of monetization where you can add features that deliver value to the end user, and also generate revenues that we share with the product creators. To summarize with an example, imagine walking up to your coffee machine and asking for a triple shot extra hot latte. While you are waiting for your drink, you can ask for weather and sports scores, and if you desire, you can even order bagels from your favorite nearby bakery.
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Recent Developments
November 2024 ATM Program
On November 12, 2024, the Company entered into an equity distribution agreement (the “Equity Distribution Agreement”) with Barclays Capital Inc., Piper Sandler & Co., D.A. Davidson & Co., H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, and Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC, (the “Agents”) with respect to a $120.0 million at-the-market equity program (the “November ATM”). As of December 31, 2024, the Company sold a total of 16,224,989 shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock under the Equity Distribution Agreement, at a weighted-average price of $7.40 per share, and raised $120 million of gross proceeds. After deducting $3.0 million of commissions and offering costs incurred by the Company, the net proceeds from sales of Class A Common Stock were $117.0 million. The Company used the net proceeds of the November ATM to prepay the Amelia Debt (as defined below), for general corporate purposes and working capital, which may include investing in or acquiring synergistic or complementary businesses, assets or technologies.
Amelia Debt Repayment
In connection with the acquisition of Amelia Holdings, Inc. (“Amelia”), the Company assumed an amended senior secured term loan facility from Amelia in an aggregate principal amount of $109.7 million (“Amelia Debt”), which was issued pursuant to the existing Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) of Amelia with Monroe Capital Management Advisors, LLC (“Monroe”), as administrative and collateral agent for certain affiliated funds of Monroe, as lenders. In accordance with the amended terms, on August 7, 2024, the Company paid $70.0 million in cash to pay down a portion of the outstanding principal balance and issued 2,943,917 shares of Class A Common Stock to settle certain fees associated with the Amelia Debt. The remaining outstanding balance of $39.7 million had a maturity date of June 30, 2026 (the “Maturity Date”) and provided, at the Company’s election, for payment of a portion of interest in cash or in kind (“PIK”), in which case interest will be capitalized and added to the outstanding principal amount, with principal and accrued interest due at the Maturity Date. The Amelia Debt was permitted to be prepaid at any time and had to be prepaid, along with the applicable prepayment premium and exit fee, upon the occurrence of certain future events. The Amelia Debt accrued interest at an annual rate equal to the sum of (a) Adjusted Term SOFR and (b)(i) an applicable margin of 9.00% for the portion of interest paid in cash, and (ii) an additional 1.00% for the portion of interest paid in kind. Upon an event of default, the interest rate would have automatically increased by an additional 2.00% per annum, and could have resulted in the declaration that all outstanding principal and interest under the Amelia Debt be immediately due and payable in whole or in part. On December 3, 2024, the Company entered into a letter agreement (the “Payoff Letter”) to prepay in full all remaining indebtedness and other amounts outstanding of the Amelia Debt. On December 4, 2024, the Company paid (i) the remaining principal amount outstanding of $39.6 million, (ii) accrued interest of $0.1 million, and (iii) transaction expenses of less than $0.1 million, resulting in a loss on debt extinguishment of less than $0.1 million.
Our Products and Technology
Houndify platform, SoundHound AI’s Voice AI platform, combines advanced AI with engineering expertise to help brands build conversational voice assistants. From proprietary components to customizable and scalable solutions, we offer tools to build a highly accurate and responsive voice user interface. The suite of Houndify tools includes Application Programming Interfaces (“API”) for text and voice queries, support for custom commands, extensive library of content domains, inclusive Software Development Kit platforms, collaboration capabilities, diagnostic tools, and built-in analytics. Houndify provides a web API that takes in text queries or audio and returns actionable JavaScript Object Notation to anyone with an internet connection wanting to add Voice AI to any product or application.
CaiNET and CaiLAN Expert Domain Selections. SoundHound’s CaiNET software uses machine learning to enhance how domains work together to better handle complex queries including natural language processing, predictive analytics, and building language models, or translation of speech. SoundHound’s proprietary CaiLAN software expertly arbitrates responses so users get better answers from the right domain such as for use with natural language processing, predictive analytics, and building language models, or translation of speech.
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Automatic Speech Recognition, our highly optimized, tunable, and scalable ASR engine, supports vocabulary sizes containing millions of words. Houndify’s machine learning infrastructure allows us to tune the engine to achieve optimal Computer Processing Unit (“CPU”) performance while delivering high accuracy rates. Houndify’s language and acoustic modelling architecture also uses machine learning to increase word recognition accuracy. Rapid iteration is possible due to our accelerated training pipeline and architecture that improves as data is collected. Highly accurate transcriptions result from advanced acoustic models trained to perform in a variety of scenarios — including in severely noisy environments and when accented language is spoken.
Natural Language Understanding (“NLU”), our proprietary Speech-to-Meaning technology, tracks speech in real-time and understands the context, even before the user has finished speaking. Instead of the typical two-step process of transcribing speech into text and then passing the text into an NLU model, Houndify can accomplish both of these tasks in one step, delivering faster and more accurate results. Houndify’s ability to process and understand speech the instant a user stops speaking gives voice assistants the ability to respond faster. Understanding speech in real-time without requiring additional processing or waiting for the user to finish speaking creates responsive and natural conversations between people and products. By understanding context, Houndify responds accurately to users by distinguishing between similar words and names. Our NLU can discern the difference between words that sound the same, but have different spellings and meanings. For example, if users want to navigate to 272 Hoch Street in Dayton, Ohio, it won’t look for Hawk Street. Using our proprietary Deep Meaning Understanding technology, a custom voice assistant can handle complex queries with compound criteria including conversational follow up, address multiple questions and filter results simultaneously — accurately and quickly answering users’ most complex questions.
These technologies are anchored by three important innovations: Speech-to-Meaning, Deep Meaning Understanding and Collective AI.
Speech-to-Meaning refers to SoundHound’s ability to convert speech to meaning simultaneously and in real time. Most traditional approaches first convert speech to text, and then convert text to meaning. This approach can be both slower and less accurate. It’s slower because the two steps are done in sequence, and the additional processing time of the second step can be noticeable by the end user. It can also be less accurate because if the first step of speech to text makes a mistake, the resulting incorrect text is then sent to the second step, and the error further propagates. Our development of Speech to Meaning technology was inspired by the human brain. As we listen to someone speaking, our brain does not convert speech to text, and then text to meaning. Instead, our brain converts speech to meaning simultaneously and in real time. With Speech-to-Meaning, as you speak to SoundHound’s technology, it performs both speech recognition and language understanding simultaneously, which results in faster response time and higher accuracy, because real-time language understanding can feed into the real-time speech recognizer as additional information to reduce errors.
Deep Meaning Understanding is our innovative approach to language understanding that allows our Voice AI platform to understand highly complex conversation. For example, it can understand: “Show me hotels in San Francisco that are less than $600, but not less than $300, are pet friendly, have a gym and a pool with at least three stars staying for two nights, and don’t include anything that doesn’t have Wi-Fi.” A complex search like this will take many minutes to perform on a website with complex forms, but it can be done within a few seconds using SoundHound technology, which we believe to be unique in its ability to handle complex queries of this nature at scale.
Collective AI is an architecture that gives potential to SoundHound to improve the understanding capability of its platform exponentially based on linear contributions. Most other platforms add skills or domains that are separate and don’t interact with each other. For them, linear contribution results in linear growth in understanding, which is less scalable. With the Collective AI architecture, SoundHound domains can be interconnected and learn from each other. As developers contribute to the platform, the platform’s understanding capability can grow exponentially.
Smart Ordering offers an easy-to-understand voice assistant for restaurants that takes phone orders and automatically processes them by seamlessly integrating with multiple POS systems. For enterprises, we also offer a flexible Gateway to integrate with custom POSs.
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Dynamic Interaction is a category-level breakthrough in conversational AI that we believe raises the bar for human-computer interaction by not only recognizing and understanding speech, but also responding and acting in real-time. Where existing voice technology requires wake words and relies on turn-taking with awkward pauses to process requests, Dynamic Interaction uses the twin technologies of fragment parsing – which breaks speech down to partial-utterances and processes them in real-time – and full-duplex audio-visual integration to create an instantaneous, next-generation experience in human-computer interaction.
SoundHound Chat AI. We launched SoundHound Chat AI, which we believe will usher in a new phase of voice-enabled, conversational AI by combining the power of software engineering and machine learning generative AI. SoundHound Chat AI integrates with dozens of knowledge domains, pulling real-time data like weather, sports, stocks, flight status, restaurants and many more. We combine this with the most cutting-edge large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT to deliver the most accurate, timely and comprehensive responses. There is no need for awkward search queries since you can speak to SoundHound Chat AI naturally, like another person. You can also follow-up questions and commands without awkward pauses to filter, sort or add more information to the original request.
Smart Answering is built to offer all customer establishments, including restaurants, the option to build an easy to use, custom AI-powered voice assistant that can handle 100% of phone calls including, greetings, hours, menu, location, delivery, wait time, policies, promotions, including SMS functionality for reservations and appointments, and many more standard and custom options.
Wake Words are the entry point into branded voice experiences, allowing users to invoke the assistant by literally speaking the company’s name. Examples range from “Hey Pandora” in a mobile app to “Hey Peugeot” within a vehicle. Rigorous development and testing enable our wake words to perform in noisy environments and minimize false-positives or false-negatives. We use advanced machine learning algorithms and Deep Neural Networks to provide broad robustness to our high-volume training data, resulting in high accuracy.
Custom Domains. Our library of over 100 public domains is available to give developers instant access to a broad range of content to fit their unique use cases. This includes multi-category content intended to appeal to broad range of audiences, including, for instance, sports scores, weather, podcasts, travel information, recipes and stock prices, among many others. Companies can enhance product functionality or proprietary operations with Houndify Private Domains, allowing customization and development of more specific content. Customers who subscribe for this service have full access to their private domains securely on our platform while retaining the ability to iterate and update content. For example, an automotive manufacturer can make helpful updates about the car’s user manual over time. In this way, SoundHound becomes a long-term “partner” to its customers, helping companies create the domains that they need in order to improve brand value for their own customers or end users.
Text-to-speech (“TTS”). A high quality TTS helps companies create a unique voice that differentiates them from the competition. Brands can fully express their personality by choosing the gender, tone and personality that will become their vocal identity. Our machine learning algorithms transform recorded voices into large databases of spoken sounds to form entire vocabularies of natural language — adapted to the user’s environment. We can transform any voice to generate a high-quality TTS with a small CPU footprint.
Edge and Cloud Connectivity. With edge (embedded) we offer a fully-embedded voice solution for brands seeking the convenience of a voice user interface without the privacy or connectivity concerns of the internet. Includes full access to custom commands and the ability to instantly update commands during development. With Cloud we equip your voice assistant with real-time data from the cloud, deliver the most relevant responses with no CPU or memory restrictions, and retain ownership of customer relationships with access to data and analytics. To harness the capabilities of full cloud connectivity with the reliability of embedded edge voice technology. Houndify Edge Hybrid solutions are designed to ensure that devices are always-on and responsive to commands. Allows for over-the-air product updates and a broader voice experience with the level of cloud-connectivity that best matches the product and its users.
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 5400 Betsy Ross Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054, and our telephone number is (408) 441-3200. Our corporate website address is www.soundhound.com. The information contained on or accessible through our website is not a part of, and is not incorporated by reference into, this prospectus.
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| Common stock offered by us: | Shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $250,000,000. |
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| Manner of offering | “At the market offering” that may be made from time to time through our Managers. See “Plan of Distribution” on page S-23 of this prospectus. | |
| Use of proceeds | We intend to use the net proceeds from these sales, if any, for general corporate purposes and working capital, which may include investing in or acquiring synergistic or complementary businesses, assets or technologies. See “Use of Proceeds” on page S-20 of this prospectus. | |
| Risk factors | Your investment in our securities involves substantial risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-7 of this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein for a discussion of factors you should consider carefully before deciding to invest in our common stock. | |
| Nasdaq Global Market symbol | “SOUN” |
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Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should carefully consider the risk factors we describe in this prospectus in addition to the risks and uncertainties discussed above under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” together with the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, or any Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, that is incorporated by reference into this after the date of this prospectus. Although we discuss key risks in those risk factor descriptions, additional risks not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business or financial condition.
Risks Related to This Offering
It is not possible to predict the actual number of shares we will sell under the Agreement, nor the gross proceeds resulting from those sales.
Subject to certain limitations in the Agreement and compliance with applicable law, we have the discretion to deliver a placement notice to the Managers at any time throughout the term of the Agreement. The number of shares that are sold through the Managers after delivering a placement notice will fluctuate based on a number of factors, including the market price of the common stock during the sales period, the limits we set with the Selling Manager (as defined below) in any applicable placement notice and the demand for our common stock during the sales period. Because the price per share of each share sold will fluctuate during the sales period, it is not currently possible to predict the number of shares that will be sold or the gross proceeds to be raised in connection with those sales, if any.
The common stock offered hereby will be sold in “at the market offerings,” and investors who buy shares at different times will likely pay different prices.
Investors who purchase shares in this offering at different times will likely pay different prices, and so they may experience different levels of dilution and different outcomes in their investment results. We will have discretion, subject to market demand, to vary the timing, prices and numbers of shares sold in this offering. In addition, there is no minimum or maximum sales price for shares to be sold in this offering. Investors may experience a decline in the value of the shares they purchase in this offering as a result of sales made at prices lower than the prices they paid.
We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds from this offering and our existing cash and may invest or spend the proceeds in ways with which you do not agree and in ways that may not yield a return on your investment.
Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering, including for any of the purposes described in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds,” and you will be relying on the judgment of our management regarding such application. You will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether the net proceeds are being used appropriately. Our management might not apply the net proceeds or our existing cash in ways that ultimately increase the value of your investment. If we do not invest or apply the net proceeds from this offering or our existing cash and cash equivalents in ways that enhance stockholder value, we may fail to achieve expected business and financial results, which could cause our stock price to decline. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities. These investments may not yield a favorable return to our stockholders.
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If you purchase our common stock in this offering, you may experience immediate and substantial dilution.
The offering price per share in this offering may exceed the net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock outstanding prior to this offering. Assuming that an aggregate of $250,000,000 of shares of our common stock are sold in this offering at a price of $16.52 per share, the last reported sale price of our common stock on Nasdaq on January 21, 2025, for aggregate net proceeds of approximately $244.5 million after deducting commissions and estimated aggregate offering expenses payable by us, and after giving effect to our sales in the Prior ATM Program (as defined below), you will experience immediate dilution of $15.61 per share. The actual amount of dilution to investors in this offering will depend on the sales price at which we sell stock and our net tangible book value per share at the of any sale. See the section entitled “Dilution” below for a more detailed illustration of the dilution you may incur if you participate in this offering.
If we issue equity securities in the future, your ownership in us could be diluted.
Any issuance of equity we may undertake in the future to raise additional capital could cause the price of our common stock to decline and result in significant dilution for holders of our common stock. For example, from January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024, we have issued 85,826,406 shares of common stock through at-the-market equity programs, 7,827,343 shares of our common stock related to our acquisition of Synq3, Inc. (“Synq3”), including certain contingent consideration, and 8,902,967 shares of common stock related to our acquisition of Amelia, including the shares issued to settle the obligation from the debt assumed from the acquisition of Amelia. Additionally, we may be required to issue additional shares of common stock related to the Synq3 and Amelia acquisitions as contingent consideration in connection with the achievements of certain milestones. In addition, the vesting of restricted stock units and the exercise of outstanding stock options and warrants may result in further dilution of your investment.
We do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends on our common stock which may adversely impact the market price of our stock.
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not plan to pay any cash dividends in the near future. Our current policy is to retain all funds and any earnings for use in the operation and expansion of our business. If we do not pay dividends, our stock may be less valuable to you because a return on your investment will only occur if our stock price appreciates.
Sales of a significant number of shares of our common stock in the public markets, or the perception that such sales could occur, could depress the market price of our common stock.
Sales of a significant number of shares of our common stock in the public markets, or the perception that such sales could occur as a result of our utilization of a universal shelf registration statement, our Agreement with the Managers or otherwise could depress the market price of our common stock and impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We cannot predict the effect that future sales of our common stock or the market perception that we are permitted to sell a significant number of our securities would have on the market price of our common stock.
We have a limited number of authorized shares of our common stock available for issuance which may limit our ability to issue securities in connection with capital raises, including this offering, for acquisitions or strategic partnerships or as compensation to our employees and directors in the future, unless we obtain stockholder approval to amend our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. Our inability to issue shares of our common stock could materially impact our business and strategy.
We have historically utilized our shares of common stock to raise capital, consummate acquisitions and compensate our employees and directors. We are currently authorized to issue 455,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and 44,000,000 shares of Class B common stock. As of the December 31, 2024, 360,765,630 shares of Class A common stock and 32,535,408 shares of Class B common stock were outstanding. Additionally, as of December 31, 2024, there were 3,663,955 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding warrants, 5,925,911 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, 21,782,248 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon vesting of restricted stock units and 18,257,365 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon the achievement of certain milestones. While we have agreed with certain security holders that we may unreserve shares of common stock underlying their securities, we may not able to offer and sell the total amount under the Agreement and this prospectus supplement, nor be able to continue issuing securities to meet our business objectives, unless we increase the number of shares we are authorized to issue. There can be no assurance that we will elect to seek stockholder approval to increase our authorized shares of common stock under our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or, if we do, that we will be able to secure the necessary stockholder approval to increase our authorized shares of common stock under our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. Our inability to issue shares of our common stock could materially impact our business and strategy.
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Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Financial Information
The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information of SoundHound AI, Inc. has been prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X, as amended, and presents the combination of the historical financial information of SoundHound and Amelia Holdings, Inc., adjusted to give effect to the Acquisition (as hereinafter defined). The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information of SoundHound also gives effect to other financing events completed by SoundHound that have occurred but are not yet reflected in the historical financial information of SoundHound and is considered a material transaction separate from the Acquisition, as defined below.
Description of the Acquisition
On August 6, 2024 (the “Acquisition Date”), SoundHound completed its acquisition (the “Acquisition”) of Amelia, pursuant to the terms of the Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) entered into by and among SoundHound, Firehorse Merger Sub, LLC (“Purchaser Sub”), IPSoft Global Holdings, Inc., and BuildGroup, LLC (each of IPSoft Global Holdings, Inc. and BuildGroup LLC, a “Seller” and collectively, the “Sellers”). The Company issued a total of 5,959,050 shares of the SoundHound Class A Common Stock to the Sellers (the “Upfront Consideration”). Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the Company deposited 2,149,530 shares of the Upfront Consideration into an escrow account in order to partially secure the indemnification obligations of the Sellers under the Purchase Agreement (the “Escrow Consideration”). The Company also paid $8.4 million of cash for seller transaction expenses in connection with the closing of the Acquisition. At the effective time of the Acquisition, each outstanding Target stock option expired and was cancelled and extinguished without any right to receive any consideration and each outstanding Target warrant to purchase capital stock of Target expired and was cancelled and extinguished without any right to receive any consideration. In addition to the Upfront Consideration, the Company has agreed to issue up to 16,822,429 shares to the Sellers based on achievement of certain revenue targets in fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
Other Financing Events
In connection with the Acquisition, the Company assumed the Amelia Debt. In accordance with the amended terms, on August 7, 2024, the Company paid $70.0 million in cash and issued 2,943,917 shares to pay down a portion of the outstanding principal balance and settle certain fees associated with the Amelia Debt (the “Initial Amelia Debt Paydown”). The remaining outstanding balance of $39.7 million had a maturity date of June 30, 2026 and provided, at the Company’s election, for payment of a portion of interest in cash or any interest in respect of the loan hereunder that is paid in kind will be capitalized and added to the outstanding principal amount during the term of the loan with principal and accrued interest due at the Maturity Date. On December 3, 2024, the Company entered into the Payoff Letter to prepay in full all remaining indebtedness and other amounts outstanding of Amelia Debt (the “Final Amelia Debt Paydown” and together with the Initial Amelia Debt Paydown, the “Amelia Debt Paydown”). On December 4, 2024, the Company paid (i) the remaining principal amount outstanding of $39.6 million, (ii) accrued interest of $0.1 million, (iii) and transaction expenses of less than $0.1 million, resulting in a loss on debt extinguishment of less than $0.1 million.
November 2024 ATM Program
On November 12, 2024, the Company entered into the Equity Distribution Agreement with Barclays Capital Inc., Piper Sandler & Co., D.A. Davidson & Co., H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, and Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC, (each, an “Agent,” and, collectively, the “Agents”) with respect to an at-the-market equity program under which the Company may offer and sell up to $120.0 million of shares of its Class A Common Stock from time to time through the Agents (the “Initial Equity Financing”). As of December 31, 2024, the Company sold a total of 16,224,989 shares of its Class A Common Stock under the Equity Distribution Agreement, at a weighted-average price of $7.40 per share, and raised $120.0 million of gross proceeds. After deducting $3.0 million of commissions and offering costs incurred by the Company, the net proceeds from sales of common stock were $117.0 million.
January 2025 ATM Program
On January 27, 2025, the Company entered into the Agreement with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Wedbush Securities Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Northland Securities, Inc. (each, an “Agent,” and, collectively, the “Agents”) with respect to an at-the-market equity program under which the Company may offer and sell up to $250.0 million of shares of its Class A Common Stock from time to time through the Agents (the “Second Equity Financing and together with the Initial Equity Financing, the “Equity Financing”). Sales of our Class A Common Stock, if any, under the Agreement may be made in negotiated transactions, including block trades, or transactions that are deemed to be “at the market offerings” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act, including sales made by means of ordinary brokers' transactions, including directly on Nasdaq or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange at prevailing market prices, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices or by any other method permitted by law. The Agents will be entitled to commission at a fixed rate of 2.0% of the gross sales price of the shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock sold through them pursuant to the Agreement.
S-9
Other Information
The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet assumes that the Other Financing Events occurred on September 30, 2024, and adjusts the historical consolidated balance sheet of SoundHound giving pro forma effect as of such date. The unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet combining the Acquisition has not been presented as the historical consolidated balance sheet of SoundHound as of September 30, 2024 already reflects the Acquisition. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 and nine months ended September 30, 2024, assumes that the Equity Financing, Amelia Debt Paydown, and the Acquisition occurred as of January 1, 2023 and combines the historical results of SoundHound and Amelia giving pro forma effect for the periods then ended (the Equity Financing, together with the Amelia Debt Paydown, the “Other Financing Events” and together with the Acquisition, the “Transactions”).
The adjustments in the unaudited pro forma condensed financial information have been identified and presented to provide relevant information in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) necessary for an illustrative understanding of the Transactions. The unaudited pro forma adjustments are believed by management to be necessary for a fair statement of SoundHound’s unaudited pro forma condensed financial information.
The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information is derived from the historical financial statements of SoundHound and Amelia, and should be read in conjunction with the following financial statement and accompanying notes:
| ● | the historical audited consolidated financial statements of SoundHound for the year ended December 31, 2023, included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 1, 2024, |
| ● | the historical unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of SoundHound for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, included in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 12, 2024, |
| ● | the historical audited consolidated and combined financial statements of Amelia for the year ended December 31, 2023 and as of December 31, 2022 (Successor), and the periods from December 21, 2022 through December 31, 2022 (Successor), and January 1, 2022 through December 20, 2022 (Predecessor), that are included as Exhibit 99.1 in the Company’s Report on Form 8-K/A filed with the SEC on October 22, 2024, and |
| ● | the historical unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Amelia for the six months ended June 30, 2024, that are included as Exhibit 99.2 in the Company’s Report on Form 8-K/A filed with the SEC on October 22, 2024. |
Assumptions underlying the pro forma adjustments are described in the accompanying notes, which should be read in conjunction with the unaudited pro forma condensed financial information. The transaction accounting adjustments are based on available information and assumptions that the Company’s management believes are reasonable. Such adjustments are estimates and actual experience may differ from expectations.
The Acquisition is subject to closing adjustments that have not yet been finalized. Accordingly, the pro forma adjustments are preliminary and have been made solely for the purpose of providing unaudited pro forma condensed financial information as required by SEC rules. Differences between these preliminary estimates and the final acquisition accounting may be material.
S-10
SOUNDHOUND AI, INC.
Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet
As of September 30, 2024
(In thousands)
| SoundHound | Transaction Accounting Adjustments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Historical (As Reported) | Initial Equity Financing | Amelia Debt Paydown | Pro Forma | Second Equity Financing | Pro Forma as Adjusted | Note Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ASSETS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 135,606 | $ | 117,000 | $ | (39,694 | ) | $ | 212,912 | $ | 244,500 | $ | 457,412 | 3(a), 4(a), 4(b) | |||||||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 13,570 | — | — | 13,570 | — | 13,570 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contract assets and unbilled receivable, net | 24,639 | — | — | 24,639 | — | 24,639 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other current assets | 7,394 | — | — | 7,394 | — | 7,394 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total current assets | 181,209 | 117,000 | (39,694 | ) | 258,515 | 244,500 | 503,015 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Restricted cash equivalents, non-current | 811 | — | — | 811 | — | 811 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Right-of-use assets | 3,860 | — | — | 3,860 | — | 3,860 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Property and equipment, net | 1,541 | — | — | 1,541 | — | 1,541 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Goodwill | 111,730 | — | — | 111,730 | — | 111,730 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Intangible assets, net | 182,579 | — | — | 182,579 | — | 182,579 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred tax asset | 30 | — | — | 30 | — | 30 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contract assets and unbilled receivable, non-current, net | 14,596 | — | — | 14,596 | — | 14,596 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other non-current assets | 3,298 | — | — | 3,298 | — | 3,298 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | 499,654 | $ | 117,000 | $ | (39,694 | ) | $ | 576,960 | $ | 244,500 | $ | 821,460 | ||||||||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 17,758 | $ | — | $ | — | 17,758 | $ | — | 17,758 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| Accrued liabilities | 22,599 | — | — | 22,599 | — | 22,599 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities | 1,832 | — | — | 1,832 | — | 1,832 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Finance lease liabilities | 74 | — | — | 74 | — | 74 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Income tax liability | 2,677 | — | — | 2,677 | — | 2,677 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred revenue | 20,096 | — | — | 20,096 | — | 20,096 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other current liabilities | 5,142 | — | — | 5,142 | — | 5,142 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 70,178 | — | — | 70,178 | — | 70,178 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion | 2,241 | — | — | 2,241 | — | 2,241 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred revenue, net of current portion | 7,570 | — | — | 7,570 | — | 7,570 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent acquisition liabilities | 74,450 | — | — | 74,450 | — | 74,450 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Income tax liability, net of current portion | 5,004 | — | — | 5,004 | — | 5,004 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Long-term debt | 39,694 | — | (39,694 | ) | — | — | — | 3(a) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Other non-current liabilities | 4,530 | — | — | 4,530 | — | 4,530 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | 203,667 | — | (39,694 | ) | 163,973 | — | 163,973 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stockholders’ equity: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series A Preferred Stock | — | — | — | — | — | — | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Class A Common Stock | 33 | 2 | — | 35 | 2 | 37 | 4(a), 4(b) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Class B Common Stock | 3 | — | — | 3 | — | 3 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 980,150 | 116,998 | — | 1,097,148 | 244,498 | 1,341,646 | 4(a), 4(b) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (684,461 | ) | — | — | (684,461 | ) | — | (684,461 | ) | - | |||||||||||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | 262 | — | — | 262 | — | 262 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total stockholders’ equity | 295,987 | 117,000 | — | 412,987 | 244,500 | 657,487 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | 499,654 | $ | 117,000 | $ | (39,694 | ) | $ | 576,960 | $ | 244,500 | $ | 821,460 | ||||||||||||||
See Notes to the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Financial Statements.
S-11
SOUNDHOUND AI, INC.
Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statement of Operations
For the Year Ended December 31, 2023
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
| Amelia
Holdings Historical – After | Transaction Accounting Adjustments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SoundHound Historical | Reclassification Adjustments (Note 2) | Amelia Acquisition | Initial Equity Financing | Amelia Debt Paydown | Pro Forma Combined | Second Equity Financing | Pro Forma Combined as Adjusted | Note Reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 45,873 | $ | 93,274 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 139,147 | $ | — | $ | 139,147 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | 11,307 | 65,691 | 5,329 | — | — | 82,327 | — | 82,327 | 5 | (a) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 18,893 | 25,060 | (388 | ) | — | — | 43,565 | — | 43,565 | 5 | (b) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 51,439 | 13,582 | — | — | — | 65,021 | — | 65,021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 28,285 | 29,129 | 1,428 | — | — | 58,842 | — | 58,842 | 5 | (c) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | — | 3,205 | 7,995 | — | — | 11,200 | — | 11,200 | 5 | (a) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restructuring | 4,557 | — | — | — | — | 4,557 | — | 4,557 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 114,481 | 136,667 | 14,364 | — | — | 265,512 | — | 265,512 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (68,608 | ) | (43,393 | ) | (14,364 | ) | — | — | (126,365 | ) | — | (126,365 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other expense, net: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (17,570 | ) | (16,782 | ) | 13,059 | — | 5,742 | (15,551 | ) | — | (15,551 | ) | 3(b), 5(d) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 1,155 | (5,759 | ) | — | — | — | (4,604 | ) | — | (4,604 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total other expense, net | (16,415 | ) | (22,541 | ) | 13,059 | — | 5,742 | (20,155 | ) | — | (20,155 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss before provision for income taxes | (85,023 | ) | (65,934 | ) | (1,304 | ) | — | 5,742 | (146,519 | ) | — | (146,519 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 3,914 | 495 | — | — | — | 4,409 | — | 4,409 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (88,937 | ) | $ | (66,429 | ) | $ | (1,304 | ) | $ | — | $ | 5,742 | $ | (150,928 | ) | $ | — | $ | (150,928 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Cumulative dividends attributable to Series A Preferred Stock | (2,774 | ) | — | — | — | — | (2,774 | ) | — | (2,774 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to SoundHound common shareholders | $ | (91,711 | ) | $ | (66,429 | ) | $ | (1,304 | ) | $ | — | $ | 5,742 | $ | (153,702 | ) | $ | — | $ | (153,702 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Weighted-average common shares outstanding (basic & diluted) | 229,264,904 | 3,809,520 | 16,224,989 | 2,943,917 | 252,243,330 | 15,133,172 | 267,376,502 | 5 | (e) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Loss per share (basic & diluted) | $ | (0.40 | ) | $ | (0.61 | ) | $ | (0.57 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See Notes to the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Financial Statements.
S-12
SOUNDHOUND AI, INC.
Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statement of Operations
For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2024
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
| Amelia Holdings (for the period from January 1, | Transaction Accounting Adjustments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SoundHound (As Reported) |
2024
to August 5, 2024) |
Amelia Acquisition | Initial Equity Financing | Amelia Debt Paydown | Pro Forma Combined | Second Equity Financing | Pro Forma Combined as Adjusted | Note Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 50,150 | $ | 54,579 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 104,729 | $ | — | $ | 104,729 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | 22,550 | 31,144 | 3,181 | — | — | 56,875 | — | 56,875 | 5(f) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 19,560 | 12,858 | (574 | ) | — | — | 31,844 | — | 31,844 | 5(g) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 50,161 | 6,905 | — | — | — | 57,066 | — | 57,066 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 36,833 | 14,979 | — | — | — | 51,812 | — | 51,812 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities | 1,724 | — | — | — | — | 1,724 | — | 1,724 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 3,603 | 7,110 | 4,812 | — | — | 15,525 | — | 15,525 | 5(f) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 134,431 | 72,996 | 7,419 | — | — | 214,846 | — | 214,846 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (84,281 | ) | (18,417 | ) | (7,419 | ) | — | — | (110,117 | ) | — | (110,117 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other expense, net: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss on early extinguishment of debt | (15,587 | ) | — | — | — | — | (15,587 | ) | — | (15,587 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (10,859 | ) | (12,256 | ) | 9,000 | — | 4,307 | (9,808 | ) | — | (9,808 | ) | 3(c), 5(h) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 9,087 | (472 | ) | — | — | — | 8,615 | — | 8,615 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total other expense, net | (17,359 | ) | (12,728 | ) | 9,000 | — | 4,307 | (16,780 | ) | — | (16,780 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss before provision for income taxes | (101,640 | ) | (31,145 | ) | 1,581 | — | 4,307 | (126,897 | ) | — | (126,897 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | (9,558 | ) | 88 | — | — | — | (9,470 | ) | (9,470 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (92,082 | ) | $ | (31,233 | ) | $ | 1,581 | $ | — | $ | 4,307 | $ | (117,427 | ) | $ | — | $ | (117,427 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Cumulative dividends attributable to Series A Preferred Stock | (416 | ) | — | — | — | — | (416 | ) | — | (416 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to SoundHound common shareholders | $ | (92,498 | ) | $ | (31,233 | ) | $ | 1,581 | $ | — | $ | 4,307 | $ | (117,843 | ) | $ | — | $ | (117,843 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Weighted-average common shares outstanding (basic & diluted) | 326,166,633 | 3,044,835 | 16,224,989 | 2,352,985 | 347,789,442 | 15,133,172 | 362,922,614 |
5(i) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss per share (basic & diluted) | $ | (0.28 | ) | $ | (0.34 | ) | $ | (0.32 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See Notes to the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Financial Statements.
S-13
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
Note 1: Basis of Presentation
The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information has been prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X, as amended. The historical financial information of SoundHound and Amelia has been adjusted in the unaudited pro forma condensed financial information to reflect transaction accounting adjustments related to the Transactions in accordance with GAAP, based on the assumptions and adjustments that are described in the accompanying notes.
The Acquisition is accounted for as a business combination in accordance with the acquisition method of accounting under GAAP. Under this method of accounting, SoundHound has been determined to be the accounting acquirer and Amelia to be the accounting acquiree. The acquisition method of accounting requires, among other things, that the assets acquired, and liabilities assumed in a business combination are measured and recognized at fair value as of the Acquisition Date. The excess of the purchase consideration over the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed is allocated to goodwill. The final purchase price allocation could differ materially from the preliminary allocation used in the transaction accounting adjustments as the final allocation may include changes in allocations to intangible assets as well as goodwill.
The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information includes certain reclassifications to conform Amelia historical accounting presentation to SoundHound’s accounting presentation. The actual results of operations of the combined company will likely differ, perhaps materially, from the pro forma amounts reflected herein due to a variety of factors. The Company believes that its assumptions and methodologies provide a reasonable basis for presenting all of the significant effects of the Transactions based on information available to management at this time, and that the pro forma transaction accounting adjustments give effect to those assumptions and are properly applied in the unaudited pro forma condensed financial information.
The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information does not give effect to any anticipated synergies, operating efficiencies, tax savings, or cost savings that may be associated with the Acquisition and the related transactions. Both companies continue to experience losses and are in a historical cumulative loss position and both companies have established valuation allowances against net deferred tax assets. The income tax effects of the pro forma adjustments would be fully offset by corresponding adjustments to the valuation allowances, resulting in no net effect on the pro forma condensed combined statements of operations. The effective tax rate of the combined company could be significantly different than what is presented in these unaudited pro forma financial statements depending on post-business combination activities, including legal entity restructuring, repatriation decisions, and the geographical mix of taxable income.
S-14
Note 2: Reclassification Adjustments
The accounting policies used in the preparation of the unaudited pro forma condensed financial information are those set out in SoundHound’s audited annual financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023. Certain reclassifications are reflected in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations to conform presentation between SoundHound and Amelia. These reclassifications have no effect on previously reported net income of SoundHound or Amelia.
Refer to the table below for a summary of identified reclassification adjustments made to present Amelia’s consolidated statement of operations for the year ended of December 31, 2023, to conform presentation to that of SoundHound (in thousands):
| Amelia Consolidated Statement of Operations Line Items | SoundHound Consolidated Statement of Operations Line Items | Amelia Historical Consolidated Statement of Operations | Reclassification | Note 2 | Amelia Historical After Reclassification | |||||||||||
| Revenue | Revenues | $ | 93,274 | $ | — | $ | 93,274 | |||||||||
| Cost of revenues (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) | Cost of revenues | 56,891 | 8,800 | (a) | 65,691 | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | Sales and marketing | 25,060 | — | 25,060 | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | Research and development | 13,582 | — | 13,582 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative | General and administrative | 29,039 | 90 | (a) | 29,129 | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | - | 12,095 | (12,095 | ) | (a) | — | ||||||||||
| - | Amortization of intangible assets | — | 3,205 | (a) | 3,205 | |||||||||||
| - | Restructuring | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense, net | Interest expense | (16,782 | ) | — | (16,782 | ) | ||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | Other income (expense), net | (5,759 | ) | — | (5,759 | ) | ||||||||||
| Income tax expense | Provision for income taxes | 495 | — | 495 | ||||||||||||
| - | Cumulative dividends attributable to Series A Preferred Stock | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| (a) | Reflects the reclassification of amortization of intangible assets to a separate line item, amortization of technology intangible assets to cost of revenues, and depreciation expense for property and equipment to general and administrative. |
Note 3: Transaction Accounting Adjustments to Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet and Combined Statement of Operations – Amelia Debt Paydown
The adjustments related to the Debt Paydown included in the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2024 and unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 and for the nine months period ended September 30, 2024 are as follows:
| (a) | Reflects the repayment of Amelia Debt of $39.6 million on December 4, 2024 by the Company. |
| (b) | Reflects the reduction of $5.7 million in interest expense due to the Final Amelia Debt Paydown. |
| (c) | Reflects the reduction of $4.3 million in interest expense due to the Final Amelia Debt Paydown. |
S-15
Note 4: Transaction Accounting Adjustments to Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet and Combined Statement of Operations – Equity Financing
The adjustments related to the Equity Financing included in the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2024 are as follows:
| (a) | Reflects the sale of the Company’s 16,224,989 shares of common stock under the Initial Equity Financing and the net cash proceeds of $117.0 million and addition to paid-in capital of $117.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, after deducting $3.0 million of commissions and offering costs incurred by the Company related to the offering. |
| (b) | Reflects the estimated sale of the Company’s 15,133,172 shares of common stock under the Second Equity Financing assuming the Company’s closing stock price is $16.52 per share and the estimated net cash proceeds of $244.5 million under the Second Equity Financing, after deducting $5.5 million of estimated commissions and offering costs incurred by the Company related to the offering. |
Note 5: Transaction Accounting Adjustments to the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statements of Operations – Amelia Acquisition
The adjustments related to the acquisition of Amelia included in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 are as follows:
| (a) | Reflects the elimination of Amelia historical amortization expense and the recognition of new amortization expense related to the acquired identifiable intangible assets based on their estimated fair value on the Acquisition Date. Amortization expense is calculated based on the estimated fair value of each of the identifiable intangible asset and the associated estimated useful lives. |
SoundHound determined a preliminary fair value estimate of intangible assets based on a valuation conducted by a third-party valuation specialist. The acquired intangible assets have been amortized using a straight-line method based on their estimated useful lives.
| Fair value | Estimated useful life | |||||||
| (in thousands) | (in years) | |||||||
| Proprietary technology | $ | 98,900 | 7 | |||||
| Customer relationships | 68,600 | 7 | ||||||
| Trade names | 7,000 | 5 | ||||||
| Total | $ | 174,500 | ||||||
| For the year ended December 31, 2023 | ||||
| (in thousands) | ||||
| Amortization expense for acquired intangible assets (proprietary technology) | $ | 14,129 | ||
| Eliminate historical Amelia intangible asset amortization expense | (8,800 | ) | ||
| Net adjustment to cost of revenues | $ | 5,329 | ||
| For the year ended December 31, 2023 | ||||
| (in thousands) | ||||
| Amortization expense for acquired intangible assets (customer relationships and trade names) | $ | 11,200 | ||
| Eliminate historical Amelia intangible asset amortization expense | (3,205 | ) | ||
| Net adjustment to amortization of intangible assets | $ | 7,995 | ||
| (b) | Reflects the elimination of Amelia’s deferred commission amortization expense of deferred costs that were not assets as defined by ASC 805. |
S-16
| (c) | Reflects the incremental $1.4 million of transaction costs incurred by SoundHound after September 30, 2024, which are not yet reflected in the historical financial statements. |
| (d) | Reflects the reduction of $13.1 million in historical Amelia interest expense related to the terms of the Amelia Debt in connection with the Acquisition and the Initial Amelia Debt Paydown. |
| (e) | Reflects the pro forma basic and diluted net income per share attributable to the combined entity’s common stockholders presented in conformity with the two-class method required for participating securities as a result of the pro forma adjustments. The two-class method requires income available to common stockholders for the period to be allocated between shares of common stock and participating securities based on their respective rights to receive earnings as if all earnings for the period had been distributed. The shares issued and held in escrow are participating securities that contractually entitle the holders of such shares to participate in the combined entity’s earnings but do not contractually require the holders of such shares to participate in the combined entity’s losses. |
The pro forma basic net income per share attributable to the combined entity’s common stockholders is calculated using the historical basic weighted average shares of SoundHound common stock outstanding, adjusted for the additional new shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock issued to consummate the Transactions, assuming the shares were issued and outstanding as of January 1, 2023. Pro forma diluted net income per share attributable to the combined entity’s common stockholders is calculated using the historical diluted weighted average shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock outstanding, adjusted for the additional new shares of SoundHound common stock issued to consummate the Transactions.
The pro forma weighted average shares outstanding used to calculate pro forma basic and diluted net income per share attributable to common stockholders excludes the 2,149,530 shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock held in escrow in connection with the Acquisition as they are considered contingently returnable shares until the indemnifications subject to escrow have been resolved.
| For the year ended December 31, 2023 | ||||
| (in thousands, except share and per share data) | ||||
| Pro forma as adjusted net loss attributable to stockholders, December 31, 2023 | $ | (153,702 | ) | |
| Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted | 267,376,502 | |||
| Pro forma as adjusted net loss per share - basic and diluted | $ | (0.57 | ) | |
| Pro forma weighted average shares outstanding – Basic and diluted | ||||
| SoundHound historical, December 31, 2023 | 229,264,904 | |||
| Amelia Acquisition share consideration transferred (1) | 3,809,520 | |||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock for Amelia Debt Paydown | 2,943,917 | |||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock under Initial Equity Financing | 16,224,989 | |||
| Pro forma weighted average shares outstanding | 252,243,330 | |||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock under Second Equity Financing | 15,133,172 | |||
| Pro forma as adjusted weighted average shares outstanding | 267,376,502 | |||
| (1) | Amount excludes the 2,149,530 shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock held in escrow as they are considered contingently returnable shares. |
S-17
The adjustments related to the acquisition of Amelia included in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 are as follows:
| (f) | Reflects the elimination of Amelia’s historical amortization expense and the recognition of new amortization expense related to the acquired identifiable intangible assets based on the estimated fair value as of the Acquisition Date. Amortization expense is calculated based on the estimated fair value of each of the identifiable intangible asset and the associated estimated useful lives. |
The Company determined a preliminary fair value estimate of intangible assets based on a valuation conducted by a third-party valuation specialist. The acquired intangible assets have been amortized using a straight-line method based on their estimated useful lives as if the Acquisition had been completed on January 1, 2024.
| Fair value | Estimated useful life | |||||||
| (in thousands) | (in years) | |||||||
| Proprietary technology | $ | 98,900 | 7 | |||||
| Customer relationships | 68,600 | 7 | ||||||
| Trade names | 7,000 | 5 | ||||||
| Total | $ | 174,500 | ||||||
| For the period from January 1, 2024 to August 5, 2024 | ||||
| (in thousands) | ||||
| Amortization expense for acquired intangible assets (proprietary technology) | $ | 8,438 | ||
| Eliminate historical Amelia intangible asset amortization expense | (5,257 | ) | ||
| Net adjustment to cost of revenues | $ | 3,181 | ||
| For the period from January 1, 2024 to August 5, 2024 | ||||
| (in thousands) | ||||
| Amortization expense for acquired intangible assets (customer relationships and trade names) | $ | 6,689 | ||
| Eliminate historical Amelia intangible asset amortization expense | $ | (1,877 | ) | |
| Net adjustment to amortization of intangible assets | $ | 4,812 | ||
| (g) | Reflects the elimination of Amelia’s deferred commission amortization expense of deferred costs that were not assets as defined by ASC 805. |
S-18
| (h) | Reflects the reduction of $9.0 million in historical Amelia interest expense related to the terms of the Amelia Debt in connection with the Acquisition and the Initial Amelia Debt Paydown. |
| (i) | Reflects the pro forma basic and diluted net income per share attributable to the combined entity’s common stockholders presented in conformity with the two-class method required for participating securities as a result of the pro forma adjustments. The two-class method requires income available to common stockholders for the period to be allocated between shares of common stock and participating securities based on their respective rights to receive earnings as if all earnings for the period had been distributed. The shares issued and held in escrow are participating securities that contractually entitle the holders of such shares to participate in the combined entity’s earnings but do not contractually require the holders of such shares to participate in the combined entity’s losses. |
The pro forma basic net income per share attributable to the combined entity’s common stockholders is calculated using the historical basic weighted average shares of SoundHound common stock outstanding, adjusted for the additional new shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock issued to consummate the Transactions, assuming the shares were issued and outstanding as of January 1, 2024. Pro forma diluted net income per share attributable to the combined entity’s common stockholders is calculated using the historical diluted weighted average shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock outstanding, adjusted for the additional new shares of SoundHound common stock issued to consummate the Transactions.
The pro forma weighted average shares outstanding used to calculate pro forma basic and diluted net income per share attributable to common stockholders excludes the 2,149,530 shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock held in escrow in connection with the Acquisition as they are considered contingently returnable shares until the indemnifications subject to escrow have been resolved.
| For the nine months ended September 30, 2024 | ||||
| (in thousands, except share and per share data) | ||||
| Pro forma as adjusted net loss attributable to stockholders, September 30, 2024 | $ | (117,843 | ) | |
| Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted | 362,922,614 | |||
| Pro forma as adjusted net loss per share - basic and diluted | $ | (0.32 | ) | |
| Pro forma weighted average shares outstanding – Basic and diluted | ||||
| SoundHound historical, September 30, 2024 (1)(2) | 326,166,633 | |||
| Amelia Acquisition share consideration transferred (1) | 3,044,835 | |||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock for Amelia Debt Paydown | 2,352,985 | |||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock under Initial Equity Financing | 16,224,989 | |||
| Pro forma weighted average shares outstanding | 347,789,442 | |||
| Issuance of Class A Common Stock under Second Equity Financing | 15,133,172 | |||
| Pro forma as adjusted weighted average shares outstanding | 362,922,614 | |||
| (1) | Amount excludes the 2,149,530 shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock held in escrow as they are considered contingently returnable shares. |
| (2) | Amount includes the actual weighted average shares outstanding for the shares issued in connection with the Acquisition and the Initial Amelia Debt Paydown, both of which occurred during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024. |
S-19
The amount of proceeds from this offering will depend on the number of shares of our common stock sold in this offering and the price at which they are sold. There can be no assurance that we will be able to sell any shares under or fully utilize the Agreement with the Managers as a source of financing. We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering, if any, for general corporate purposes and working capital, which may include investing in or acquiring synergistic or complementary businesses, assets or technologies. We have no specific acquisition contemplated as of the date of this prospectus. Pending use of the net proceeds, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing, investment-grade securities or in cash or money market funds.
S-20
If you invest in our Class A common stock, your interest will be diluted immediately to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per share and the adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock (inclusive of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock) after this offering. “Net tangible book value” is total assets minus the sum of liabilities and intangible assets. “Net tangible book value per share” is net tangible book value divided by the total number of shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock outstanding.
Our net tangible book value on September 30, 2024 was approximately $1.7 million, or $0.00 per share. After giving effect to the issuance of 16,224,989 shares of our Class A common stock for net proceeds of approximately $117 million in our recently completed at-the-market offering program from the period beginning on November 12, 2024 through December 31, 2024 (the “Prior ATM Program”), our pro forma net tangible book value as of September 30, 2024 was $118.7 million, or $0.31 per share.
After giving effect to the sale of shares of our common stock in the aggregate amount of $250,000,000 in this offering at an assumed offering price of $16.52 per share, which was the last reported sale price of our common stock on Nasdaq on January 21, 2025, and after deducting estimated offering commissions and expenses payable by us, our net tangible book value as of September 30, 2024 would have been approximately $363.2 million or $0.91 per shares of our common stock. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $0.91 per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $15.61 per share to investors participating in this offering. The following table illustrates this dilution per share to investors participating in this offering:
| Assumed offering price per share | $ | 16.52 | |||||
| Net tangible book value per share as of September 30, 2024 | $ | 0.00 | |||||
| Pro forma increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to the Prior ATM Program | $ | 0.31 | |||||
| Increase in pro forma net tangible book value per share attributable to new investors | $ | 0.60 | |||||
| Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering | $ | 0.91 | |||||
| Dilution per share to new investors | $ | 15.61 |
The table above assumes, for illustrative purposes, that an aggregate of 15,133,172 shares of our Class A common stock are sold at a price of $16.52 per share, the last reported sale price of our common stock on Nasdaq on January 21, 2025, for aggregate gross proceeds of $250,000,000. The shares sold in this offering, if any, will be sold from time to time at various prices.
The number of shares of our common stock that will be outstanding immediately after this offering as shown above is based on an aggregate of 369,216,809 shares outstanding as of September 30, 2024, consisting of 336,481,401 shares of Class A common stock and 32,735,408 shares of Class B common stock. The number of shares outstanding excludes the following as of September 30, 2024:
| ● | 24,111,355 shares of our common stock issuable upon vesting of restricted stock units outstanding under our stock incentive plans; | |
| ● |
11,599,044 shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of stock options outstanding under our stock incentive plans, 10,905,165 of which are currently exercisable, which have a weighted average exercise price of $3.65 per share; and | |
| ● | 3,665,996 shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of our outstanding warrants which have an exercise price of $11.50. |
The dilution table above also excludes any securities, other than the securities issued in the Prior ATM Program, issued after September 30, 2024, including any shares issued upon vesting of any restricted stock units, including as or exercise of any stock options.
To the extent that any of our outstanding options or warrants are exercised or restricted stock units vest, we grant additional options or other awards under our stock incentive plan or issue additional warrants or we issue additional shares of common stock in the future, including as contingent consideration for any of our prior acquisitions, investors may experience further dilution.
S-21
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES WE ARE OFFERING
General
The following description is not complete and may not contain all the information you should consider before investing in our common stock. For a more detailed description of these securities, you should read the applicable provisions of Delaware law and our certificate of incorporation, as amended, referred to herein as our certificate of incorporation, and our bylaws.
Our authorized capital stock consists of 500,000,000 shares, par value $0.0001 per share, consisting of: 499,000,000 shares of common stock, of which, 455,000,000 shares are designated as Class A Common Stock and 44,000,000 shares are designated as Class B common stock (“Class B Common Stock”), and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, all of which are currently undesignated. Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock are available for issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless such action is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our securities may be listed or traded in the future.
Common Stock
As of December 31, 2024, there were 360,765,630 shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock and 32,535,408 shares of the Company’s Class B Common Stock issued and outstanding. In addition, there were 3,663,955 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding warrants, 5,925,911 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, and 21,782,248 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon vesting of restricted stock units.
Our charter provides for two classes of common stock, and provides that, subject to the rights of any holders of any series of preferred stock, each holder of Class A Common Stock shall have the right to one (1) vote per share of Class A Common Stock held of record by such holder as of the applicable record date on all matters submitted to a vote at any meeting of stockholders and each holder of Class B Common Stock shall have the right to ten votes per share of Class B Common Stock held of record by such holder as of the applicable record date on all matters properly submitted to stockholders entitled to vote thereon. Our charter provides for mandatory or optional conversion of the Class B Common Stock upon the occurrence of circumstances described in the charter. The holders of outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock are entitled to receive dividends out of assets or funds legally available for the payment of dividends of such times and in such amounts as our board of directors from time to time may determine. Our Class A Common Stock and Class B are not entitled to pre-emptive rights and are not subject to redemption. Upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company, the assets legally available for distribution to stockholders are distributable ratably among the holders of our Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock after payment of liquidation preferences, if any, on any outstanding payment of other claims of creditors. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock are subject to and may be adversely affected by the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock, including any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future. Our Class A Common Stock are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the trading symbol “SOUN”. The transfer agent and registrar for our Class A Common Stock is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. The Transfer Agent’s address is 1 State Street, 30th Floor, New York, New York 10004.
S-22
We have entered into the Equity Distribution Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Wedbush Securities Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Northland Securities, Inc. (the “Managers”), under which we are permitted to offer and sell shares of our Class A common stock (the “common stock”) having an aggregate gross sales price of up to $250,000,000 from time to time through the Managers, or directly to the Managers acting as principal, in each case severally and not jointly.
Sales of our common stock, if any, under this prospectus may be made in negotiated transactions, including block trades, or transactions that are deemed to be “at the market’’ offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act, including sales made by means of ordinary brokers’ transactions, including directly on Nasdaq or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange at prevailing market prices, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices or by any other method permitted by law. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement, the Managers will act as our sales agents using their commercially reasonable efforts consistent with their normal trading and sales practices. The Managers are not required to sell any specific amount. As our agents, the Managers will not engage in any transactions that stabilize the price of our common stock.
We will designate the maximum amount of common stock to be sold through the applicable Manager (in the case of each sale, the “Selling Manager”) on a daily basis or otherwise as we and the Managers agree and the minimum price per share at which such common stock may be sold. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement, the Selling Manager will use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell on our behalf all of the designated common stock on such day. We or the Managers may suspend the offering of our common stock at any time and from time to time by notifying the other party.
The Selling Manager will provide to us written confirmation following the close of trading on Nasdaq each day in which shares of our common stock are sold under the Agreement. Each confirmation will include (i) the amount of shares sold on such day, (ii) the aggregate gross offering proceeds received from such sale and the net proceeds to the Company and (iii) the compensation payable by us to the Selling Manager with respect to such sales. Such compensation shall be set forth and invoiced in periodic statements from each Manager to the Company, with payment to be made by the Company promptly after its receipt thereof. We will report at least quarterly the number of shares of common stock sold through the Managers under the Agreement, the net proceeds to us (before expenses) and the compensation paid by us with respect to sales of the common stock.
We will pay the Managers compensation for sales of our common stock at a fixed commission rate of 2.0% of the gross sales price of the shares sold under the Agreement. We have also agreed to provide indemnification and contribution to the Managers with respect to certain liabilities, including civil liabilities under the Securities Act. Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to close this offering, the actual total public offering amount, commissions and proceeds to us, if any, are not determinable at this time. Except as we and the Managers otherwise agree, we will reimburse the Managers for the fees and disbursements of its counsel, in an amount not to exceed $75,000. We estimate that the total expenses for the offering, excluding any commissions or expense reimbursement payable to the Managers under the terms of the Agreement, will be approximately $500,000. The remaining proceeds, after deducting any other transaction fees, will equal our net proceeds from the sale of our shares in this offering.
Under the terms of the Agreement, we may, if agreed to by the Managers, also sell shares of our common stock to each of the Managers, as principal for its own account, at a price per share and such other terms to be agreed upon at the time of sale. However, the Managers have no obligation to agree to purchase shares of our common stock as principal. If we sell to any Manager as principal, we will enter into a separate terms agreement with such Manager.
In connection with the sale of shares of common stock on our behalf, each of the Managers may be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act and the compensation of the Managers may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts.
Settlement for sales of common stock will occur, unless the Company and the Managers agree otherwise, on the first business day that is also a trading day following the date on which such sales are made.
The Agreement may be terminated by any Manager or us at any time upon notice to the other party, or by any Manager at any time in certain circumstances set forth in the Agreement.
The Managers and/or their affiliates of the Managers have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and commercial and investment banking services for us and our affiliates, for which they have received and in the future will receive customary fees.
Our shares of common stock are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market and trade under the symbol “SOUN.” The transfer agent of our common stock is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
S-23
The validity of the issuance of the common stock offered by this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, New York, New York. The Sales Agents are being represented in connection with this offering by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Redwood City, California.
The financial statements of SoundHound AI, Inc. as of December 31, 2023 and for the year ended December 31, 2023 and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting (which is included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting which contains an adverse opinion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting) as of December 31, 2023 incorporated in this prospectus by reference to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
The financial statements of SoundHound AI, Inc. as of and for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, incorporated by reference in this prospectus have been audited by Armanino LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report incorporated by reference herein, and are included in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in auditing and accounting in giving said report.
The consolidated and combined financial statements of Amelia Holdings, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023 and as of December 31, 2022 (Successor), and the periods from December 21, 2022 through December 31, 2022 (Successor), and January 1, 2022 through December 20, 2022 (Predecessor), included in the Current Report on Form 8-K/A of SoundHound AI, Inc., filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22, 2024 have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent auditors, as set forth in their report thereon (which contains an explanatory paragraph describing conditions that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern as described in Note 2 to the consolidated and combined financial statements), included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated and combined financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-3 under the Securities Act with respect to the offer and sale of our securities. This prospectus, which constitutes part of that registration statement, does not include all of the information contained in the registration statement and the accompanying exhibits. Whenever a reference is made in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements, or other documents, the reference may not be complete, and you should refer to the exhibits or to the reports or other documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus for a copy of such contract, agreement or other document. Because we are subject to the information and reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, we file annual, quarterly and other reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The SEC website referenced above also contains reports, proxy statements and other information about issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC.
S-24
INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
We are “incorporating by reference” in this prospectus certain documents we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information in the documents incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus. Statements contained in documents that we file with the SEC and that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus will automatically update and supersede information contained herein and therein, including information in previously filed documents or reports that have been incorporated by reference in this prospectus, to the extent the new information differs from or is inconsistent with the old information. We are incorporating by reference the filings listed below and any additional documents that we may file with the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act on or after the date hereof and prior to the termination of any offering (other than documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with SEC rules):
1. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on March 1, 2024;
2. Our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2024, June 30, 2024 and September 30, 2024, filed with the SEC on May 10, 2024, August 9, 2024 and November 12, 2024, respectively;
3. Our Revised Definitive Proxy Statement filed with the SEC on April 30, 2024;
4. Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 3, 2024, April 10, 2024, June 10, 2024, June 14, 2024, June 27, 2024, August 8, 2024 (as amended on October 22, 2024) (for the avoidance of doubt, our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 8, 2024 that includes the information furnished pursuant to Items 2.02 and 9.01 is not incorporated by reference herein) and November 8, 2024; and
5. The description of our common stock and warrants contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on March 10, 2021 and the Description of Securities filed as Exhibit 4.5 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such information.
Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus shall be deemed modified, superseded or replaced for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus, or in any subsequently filed document that also is deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus, modifies, supersedes or replaces such statement. Any statement so modified, superseded or replaced shall not be deemed, except as so modified, superseded or replaced, to constitute a part of this prospectus. None of the information that we disclose under Items 2.02 or 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K or any corresponding information, either furnished under Item 9.01 or included as an exhibit therein, that we may from time to time furnish to the SEC will be incorporated by reference into, or otherwise included in, this prospectus, except as otherwise expressly set forth in the relevant document. Subject to the foregoing, all information appearing in this prospectus is qualified in its entirety by the information appearing in the documents incorporated by reference.
The SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov, from which you can inspect these documents and other information we have filed electronically with the SEC. You may also request, orally or in writing, a copy of these documents, which will be provided to you at no cost (other than exhibits, unless such exhibits are specifically incorporate by reference), by contacting General Counsel, c/o SoundHound AI, Inc., at 5400 Betsy Ross Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054. Our telephone number is (408) 441-3200. Through our website, we make available, free of charge, our following documents as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC: Annual Reports on Form 10-K; proxy statements for our annual and special shareholder meetings; Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q; Current Reports on Form 8-K; Forms 3, 4 and 5 and Schedules 13D; and amendments to those documents. These filings will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of this prospectus and is not incorporated by reference herein, and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus is an inactive textual reference only.
S-25
SOUNDHOUND AI, INC.
Up to $250,000,000 of Shares of Class A Common Stock
PROSPECTUS
| Cantor | Guggenheim Securities | Oppenheimer & Co. |
| Wedbush Securities | Ladenburg Thalmann | Northland Capital Markets |
, 2025
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The Company is paying all expenses of the offering. The following table sets forth all expenses to be paid by the registrant. All amounts shown are estimates except for the registration fee.
| SEC registration fee | $ | 76,550 |
||
| Printing | * | |||
| Legal and accounting fees and expenses | $ | 500,000 | ||
| Trustees’ Fees and Expenses | * | |||
| Warrant Agent Fees and Expenses | * | |||
| Miscellaneous | * | |||
| Total | $ | 576,550 |
| * | These fees are calculated based on the securities offered and the number of issuances and accordingly cannot be estimated at this time. The applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the estimated amount of expenses of any offering of securities. |
Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
As permitted by Section 102 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, we have adopted provisions in our charter and our bylaws that limit or eliminate the personal liability of our directors for a breach of their fiduciary duty of care as a director. The duty of care generally requires that, when acting on behalf of the corporation, directors exercise an informed business judgment based on all material information reasonably available to them. Consequently, a director will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability for:
| ● | any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders; |
| ● | any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; |
| ● | any act related to unlawful stock repurchases, redemptions or other distributions or payment of dividends; or |
| ● | any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. |
These limitations of liability do not affect the availability of equitable remedies such as injunctive relief or rescission. Our charter also authorizes us to indemnify our officers, directors and other agents to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law.
As permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our bylaws provide that:
| ● | we may indemnify our directors, officers and employees to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, subject to limited exceptions; |
| ● | we may advance expenses to our directors, officers and employees in connection with a legal proceeding to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, subject to limited exceptions; and |
| ● | the rights provided in our bylaws are not exclusive. |
II-1
Our charter and our bylaws provide for the indemnification provisions described above and elsewhere herein. We have entered or will enter into, and intend to continue to enter into, separate indemnification agreements with our directors and certain of our officers that may be broader than the specific indemnification provisions contained in the Delaware General Corporation Law. These indemnification agreements generally require us, among other things, to indemnify our officers and directors against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers, other than liabilities arising from willful misconduct. These indemnification agreements also generally require us to advance any expenses incurred by the directors or officers as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified. These indemnification provisions and the indemnification agreements may be sufficiently broad to permit indemnification of our officers and directors for liabilities, including reimbursement of expenses incurred, arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act.
The Company has purchased and currently intends to maintain insurance on behalf of each and every person who is or was a director or officer of the Company against any loss arising from any claim asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, subject to certain exclusions.
Item 16. Exhibits.
The following exhibits are filed with this Registration Statement.
The agreements included or incorporated by reference as exhibits to this registration statement contain representations and warranties by each of the parties to the applicable agreement. These representations and warranties were made solely for the benefit of the other parties to the applicable agreement and (i) were not intended to be treated as categorical statements of fact, but rather as a way of allocating the risk to one of the parties if those statements prove to be inaccurate; (ii) may have been qualified in such agreement by disclosures that were made to the other party in connection with the negotiation of the applicable agreement; (iii) may apply contract standards of “materiality” that are different from “materiality” under the applicable securities laws; and (iv) were made only as of the date of the applicable agreement or such other date or dates as may be specified in the agreement.
The undersigned registrant acknowledges that, notwithstanding the inclusion of the foregoing cautionary statements, it is responsible for considering whether additional specific disclosures of material information regarding material contractual provisions are required to make the statements in this registration statement not misleading.
| Exhibit | ||
| Number | Description of Document | |
| 1.1 | Form of Underwriting Agreement** | |
| 4.1 | Form of Certificate of Designation of Preferred Stock** | |
| 4.2 | Form of Stock Purchase Contract** | |
| 4.3 | Form of Warrant Agreement and Form of Warrant Certificate** | |
| 4.4 | Form of Subscription Rights Agreement and Form Subscription Rights Certificate** | |
| 4.5 | Form of Indenture* | |
| 4.6 | Form of Note** | |
| 4.7 | Form of Debt Securities** | |
| 5.1 | Opinion of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP* | |
| 10.1 | ||
| 23.1 | Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP* | |
| 23.2 | Consent of Armanino LLP* | |
| 23.3 | Consent of Ernst & Young LLP* | |
| 23.4 | Consent of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)* | |
| 24.1 | Power of Attorney (included in Part II of this Registration Statement)* | |
| 25.1 | Statement of Eligibility of trustee on Form T-1**+ | |
| 107 | Calculation of Filing Fee Table* |
| * | Filed herewith. |
| ** | If applicable, to be filed by an amendment or as an exhibit to a report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act and incorporated by reference |
| + | To be filed pursuant to Rule 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act. |
II-2
Item 17. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
(i) to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
(ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and
(iii) to include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;
provided , however , that paragraphs (1)(i), (1)(ii) and (1)(iii) 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 SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:
(i) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and
(ii) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.
II-3
(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;
(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933, 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, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(d) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file an application for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of Section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the SEC under Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act.
II-4
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Santa Clara, State of California, on this 27th day of January, 2025.
| SOUNDHOUND AI, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Dr. Keyvan Mohajer | |
| Dr. Keyvan Mohajer | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS that each individual whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Dr. Keyvan Mohajer as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent with full power of substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments, including post-effective amendments, to this registration statement, and to sign any registration statement for the same offering covered by this registration statement that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933 increasing the number of shares for which registration is sought, and all post-effective amendments thereto, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and all documents in connection therewith, making such changes in this registration statement as such attorney-in-fact and agent so acting deem appropriate, with the SEC, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done with respect to the offering of securities contemplated by this registration statement, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or his, her or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done or by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Name | Position | Date | ||
| /s/ Dr. Keyvan Mohajer | Chief Executive Officer and Director | January 27, 2025 | ||
| Dr. Keyvan Mohajer | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
| /s/ Nitesh Sharan | Chief Financial Officer | January 27, 2025 | ||
| Nitesh Sharan | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
| /s/ James Hom | Director | January 27, 2025 | ||
| James Hom | ||||
| /s/ Dr. Eric Ball | Director | January 27, 2025 | ||
| Dr. Eric Ball | ||||
| /s/ Larry Marcus | Director | January 27, 2025 | ||
| Larry Marcus | ||||
| /s/ Diana Sroka | Director | January 27, 2025 | ||
| Diana Sroka |
II-5
Exhibit 4.5
SOUNDHOUND AI., INC., as
ISSUER
and
[ ], as
INDENTURE TRUSTEE
INDENTURE
Dated as of [ ]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Page | |||
| ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE | 1 | ||
| Section 1.01 | Definitions | 1 | |
| Section 1.02 | Other Definitions | 4 | |
| Section 1.03 | Incorporation by Reference of Trust Indenture Act | 4 | |
| Section 1.04 | Rules of Construction | 5 | |
| ARTICLE II THE SECURITIES | 5 | ||
| Section 2.01 | Issuable in Series | 5 | |
| Section 2.02 | Establishment of Terms of Series of Securities | 5 | |
| Section 2.03 | Execution and Authentication | 7 | |
| Section 2.04 | Registrar and Paying Agent | 8 | |
| Section 2.05 | Paying Agent to Hold Money in Trust | 8 | |
| Section 2.06 | Holder Lists | 8 | |
| Section 2.07 | Transfer and Exchange | 8 | |
| Section 2.08 | Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost and Stolen Securities | 9 | |
| Section 2.09 | Outstanding Securities | 9 | |
| Section 2.10 | Treasury Securities | 9 | |
| Section 2.11 | Temporary Securities | 10 | |
| Section 2.12 | Cancellation | 10 | |
| Section 2.13 | Defaulted Interest | 10 | |
| Section 2.14 | Global Securities | 10 | |
| Section 2.15 | CUSIP Numbers | 11 | |
| ARTICLE III REDEMPTION | 12 | ||
| Section 3.01 | Notice to Trustee | 12 | |
| Section 3.02 | Selection of Securities to be Redeemed | 12 | |
| Section 3.03 | Notice of Redemption | 12 | |
| Section 3.04 | Effect of Notice of Redemption | 13 | |
| Section 3.05 | Deposit of Redemption Price | 13 | |
| Section 3.06 | Securities Redeemed in Part | 13 | |
| ARTICLE IV COVENANTS | 13 | ||
| Section 4.01 | Payment of Principal and Interest | 13 | |
| Section 4.02 | SEC Reports | 13 | |
| Section 4.03 | Compliance Certificate | 13 | |
| Section 4.04 | Stay, Extension and Usury Laws | 13 | |
| ARTICLE V SUCCESSORS | 14 | ||
| Section 5.01 | When Company May Merge, Etc | 14 | |
| Section 5.02 | Successor Corporation Substituted | 14 | |
i
| ARTICLE VI DEFAULTS AND REMEDIES | 14 | ||
| Section 6.01 | Events of Default | 14 | |
| Section 6.02 | Acceleration of Maturity; Rescission and Annulment | 15 | |
| Section 6.03 | Collection of Indebtedness and Suits for Enforcement by Trustee | 16 | |
| Section 6.04 | Trustee May File Proofs of Claim | 16 | |
| Section 6.05 | Trustee May Enforce Claims Without Possession of Securities | 17 | |
| Section 6.06 | Application of Money Collected | 17 | |
| Section 6.07 | Limitation on Suits | 17 | |
| Section 6.08 | Unconditional Right of Holders to Receive Principal and Interest | 18 | |
| Section 6.09 | Restoration of Rights and Remedies | 18 | |
| Section 6.10 | Rights and Remedies Cumulative | 18 | |
| Section 6.11 | Delay or Omission Not Waiver | 18 | |
| Section 6.12 | Control by Holders | 18 | |
| Section 6.13 | Waiver of Past Defaults | 18 | |
| Section 6.14 | Undertaking for Costs | 19 | |
| ARTICLE VII TRUSTEE | 19 | ||
| Section 7.01 | Duties of Trustee | 19 | |
| Section 7.02 | Rights of Trustee | 20 | |
| Section 7.03 | Individual Rights of Trustee | 21 | |
| Section 7.04 | Trustee’s Disclaimer | 21 | |
| Section 7.05 | Notice of Defaults | 22 | |
| Section 7.06 | Reports by Trustee to Holders | 22 | |
| Section 7.07 | Compensation and Indemnity | 22 | |
| Section 7.08 | Replacement of Trustee | 22 | |
| Section 7.09 | Successor Trustee by Merger, etc | 23 | |
| Section 7.10 | Eligibility; Disqualification | 23 | |
| Section 7.11 | Preferential Collection of Claims Against Company | 23 | |
| ARTICLE VIII SATISFACTION AND DISCHARGE; DEFEASANCE | 23 | ||
| Section 8.01 | Satisfaction and Discharge of Indenture | 23 | |
| Section 8.02 | Application of Trust Funds; Indemnification | 24 | |
| Section 8.03 | Legal Defeasance of Securities of any Series | 25 | |
| Section 8.04 | Covenant Defeasance | 26 | |
| Section 8.05 | Repayment to Company | 27 | |
| Section 8.06 | Reinstatement | 27 | |
ii
| ARTICLE IX AMENDMENTS AND WAIVERS | 27 | ||
| Section 9.01 | Without Consent of Holders | 27 | |
| Section 9.02 | With Consent of Holders | 28 | |
| Section 9.03 | Limitations | 28 | |
| Section 9.04 | Compliance with Trust Indenture Act | 29 | |
| Section 9.05 | Revocation and Effect of Consents | 29 | |
| Section 9.06 | Notation on or Exchange of Securities | 29 | |
| Section 9.07 | Trustee Protected | 29 | |
|
|
|||
| ARTICLE X MISCELLANEOUS | 30 | ||
| Section 10.01 | Trust Indenture Act Controls | 30 | |
| Section 10.02 | Notices | 30 | |
| Section 10.03 | Communication by Holders with Other Holders | 30 | |
| Section 10.04 | Certificate and Opinion as to Conditions Precedent | 30 | |
| Section 10.05 | Statements Required in Certificate or Opinion | 31 | |
| Section 10.06 | Rules by Trustee and Agents | 31 | |
| Section 10.07 | Legal Holidays | 31 | |
| Section 10.08 | No Recourse Against Others | 31 | |
| Section 10.09 | Counterparts | 31 | |
| Section 10.10 | Governing Laws | 31 | |
| Section 10.11 | No Adverse Interpretation of Other Agreements | 32 | |
| Section 10.12 | Successors | 32 | |
| Section 10.13 | Severability | 32 | |
| Section 10.14 | Table of Contents, Headings, Etc | 32 | |
| Section 10.15 | Securities in a Foreign Currency | 32 | |
| Section 10.16 | U.S.A. Patriot Act | 32 | |
| Section 10.17 | Waiver of Jury Trial | 32 | |
| ARTICLE XI SINKING FUNDS | 33 | ||
| Section 11.01 | Applicability of Article | 33 | |
| Section 11.02 | Satisfaction of Sinking Fund Payments with Securities | 33 | |
| Section 11.03 | Redemption of Securities for Sinking Fund | 33 | |
iii
SOUNDHOUND AI., INC.
Reconciliation and tie between Trust Indenture Act of 1939 and
Indenture, dated as of .
| Section 310 (a)(1) | 7.10 | ||
| (a)(2) | 7.10 | ||
| (a)(3) | NOT APPLICABLE | ||
| (a)(4) | NOT APPLICABLE | ||
| (a)(5) | 7.10 | ||
| (b) | 7.10 | ||
| Section 311 (a) | 7.11 | ||
| (b) | 7.11 | ||
| (c) | NOT APPLICABLE | ||
| Section 312 (a) | 2.06 | ||
| (b) | 10.03 | ||
| (c) | 10.03 | ||
| Section 313 (a) | 7.06 | ||
| (b)(1) | 7.06 | ||
| (b)(2) | 7.06 | ||
| (c)(1) | 7.06 | ||
| (d) | 7.06 | ||
| Section 314 (a) | 4.02, 10.05 | ||
| (b) | NOT APPLICABLE | ||
| (c)(1) | 10.04 | ||
| (c)(2) | 10.04 | ||
| (c)(3) | NOT APPLICABLE | ||
| (d) | NOT APPLICABLE | ||
| (e) | 10.05 | ||
| (f) | NOT APPLICABLE | ||
| Section 315 (a) | 7.01 | ||
| (b) | 7.05 | ||
| (c) | 7.01 | ||
| (d) | 7.01 | ||
| (e) | 6.14 | ||
| Section 316 (a) | 2.10 | ||
| (a)(1)(a) | 6.12 | ||
| (a)(1)(b) | 6.13 | ||
| (b) | 6.08 | ||
| Section 317 (a)(1) | 6.03 | ||
| (a)(2) | 6.04 | ||
| (b) | 2.05 | ||
| Section 318 (a) | 10.01 |
iv
INDENTURE,dated as of [ ], between SoundHound AI., Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Company”), and [ ], as trustee (“Trustee”).
Each party agrees as follows for the benefit of the other party and for the equal and ratable benefit of the Holders of the Securities issued under this Indenture.
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
Section 1.01 Definitions.
“Additional Amounts” means any additional amounts which are required hereby or by any Security, under circumstances specified herein or therein, to be paid by the Company in respect of certain taxes imposed on Holders specified herein or therein and which are owing to such Holders, as calculated by the Company.
“Affiliate” of any specified person means any other person directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by or under direct or indirect common control with such specified person. For the purposes of this definition, “control” (including, with correlative meanings, the terms “controlled by” and “under common control with”), as used with respect to any person, shall mean the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of such person, whether through the ownership of voting securities or by agreement or otherwise.
“Agent” means any Registrar or Paying Agent.
“Applicable Procedures” means, with respect to any transfer or transaction involving a Global Security or beneficial interest therein, the rules and procedures of DTC or any successor Depositary, in each case to the extent applicable to such transaction and as in effect from time to time.
“Board of Directors” means the Board of Directors of the Company or any duly authorized committee thereof.
“Board Resolution” means a copy of a resolution certified by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Company to have been adopted by the Board of Directors or pursuant to authorization by the Board of Directors and to be in full force and effect on the date of the certificate and delivered to the Trustee.
“Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which banking institutions are authorized or required by law, regulation or executive order to close or be closed in the State of New York.
“Capital Interests” means any and all shares, interests, participations, rights or other equivalents (however designated) of capital stock, including, without limitation, with respect to partnerships, partnership interests (whether general or limited) and any other interest or participation that confers on a person the right to receive a share of the profits and losses of, or distributions of assets of, such partnership.
“Company” means the party named as such above until a successor replaces it and thereafter means the successor.
1
“Company Order” means a written order signed in the name of the Company by two Officers, one of whom must be the Company’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer or principal accounting officer.
“Company Request” means a written request signed in the name of the Company by its Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer and delivered to the Trustee.
“Corporate Trust Office” means the address of the Trustee specified in Section 10.02, or such other address as to which the Trustee may give notice to the Holders and the Company.
“Default” means any event which is, or after notice or passage of time or both would be, an Event of Default.
“Depositary” means, with respect to the Securities of any Series issuable or issued in whole or part in the form of one or more Global Securities, the person designated as Depositary for such Series by the Company, which Depositary shall be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act; and if at any time there is more than one such person, “Depositary” as used with respect to the Securities of any Series shall mean the Depositary with respect to the Securities of such Series.
“Discount Security” means any Security that provides for an amount less than the stated principal amount thereof to be due and payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof pursuant to Section 6.02.
“Dollars” and “$” means the currency of The United States of America.
“DTC” means the Depository Trust Company, a New York corporation.
“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
“Foreign Currency” means any currency or currency unit issued by a government other than the government of The United States of America.
“Foreign Government Obligations” means, with respect to Securities of any Series that are denominated in a Foreign Currency, (i) direct obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency for the payment of which obligations its full faith and credit is pledged or (ii) obligations of a person controlled or supervised by or acting as an agency or instrumentality of such government the timely payment of which is unconditionally guaranteed as a full faith and credit obligation by such government, which, in either case under clauses (i) or (ii), are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof.
“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles set forth in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board of the American Standards Board or in such other statements by such other entity as have been approved by a significant segment of the accounting profession.
“Global Security” or “Global Securities” means a Security or Securities, as the case may be, in the form established pursuant to Section 2.02 evidencing all or part of a Series of Securities, issued to the Depositary for such Series or its nominee, and registered in the name of such Depositary or nominee.
“Holder” means a person in whose name a Security is registered.
2
“Indenture” means this Indenture as amended or supplemented from time to time and shall include the form and terms of particular Series of Securities established as contemplated hereunder.
“interest” with respect to any Discount Security which by its terms bears interest only after Maturity means interest payable after Maturity.
“Maturity,” when used with respect to any Security or installment of principal thereof, means the date on which the principal of such Security or such installment of principal becomes due and payable as therein or herein provided, whether at the Stated Maturity or by declaration of acceleration, call for redemption or otherwise.
“Officer” means the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, any Vice-President, the Treasurer, the Secretary, any Assistant Treasurer or any Assistant Secretary of the Company.
“Officers’ Certificate” means a certificate signed by two Officers, one of whom must be the Company’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer or principal accounting officer.
“Opinion of Counsel” means a written opinion of legal counsel who is reasonably acceptable to the Trustee. The counsel may be an employee of or counsel to the Company.
“person” means any individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, limited liability company, joint-stock company, trust, unincorporated organization or government or any agency or political subdivision thereof.
“principal” of a Security means the principal of the Security plus, when appropriate, the premium, if any, on, and any Additional Amounts in respect of, the Security.
“Responsible Officer” means any officer of the Trustee in its Corporate Trust Office with direct responsibility for the administration of this Indenture and also means, with respect to a particular corporate trust matter, any other officer to whom any corporate trust matter is referred because of his or her knowledge of and familiarity with a particular subject.
“SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Securities” means the debentures, notes or other debt instruments of the Company of any Series authenticated and delivered under this Indenture.
“Series” or “Series of Securities” means each series of debentures, notes or other debt instruments of the Company created pursuant to Sections 2.01 and 2.02 hereof.
“Stated Maturity” means when used with respect to any Security or any installment of principal thereof or interest thereon, the date specified in such Security as the fixed date on which the principal of such Security or such installment of principal or interest is due and payable.
“Subsidiary” means, with respect to any person, any corporation, association or other business entity of which more than 50% of the total voting power of shares of Capital Interests entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors, managers or trustees thereof or, in the case of a partnership, more than 50% of the partners’ Capital Interests (considering all partners’ Capital Interests as a single class), is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by such person or one or more of the other Subsidiaries of such person or combination thereof.
3
“TIA” means the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 (15 U.S. Code Sections 77aaa-77bbbb) as in effect on the date of this Indenture and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; provided, however, that in the event the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 is amended after such date, “TIA” means, to the extent required by any such amendment, the Trust Indenture Act as so amended.
“Trustee” means the person named as the “Trustee” in the first paragraph of this instrument until a successor Trustee shall have become such pursuant to the applicable provisions of this Indenture, and thereafter “Trustee” shall mean each person who is then a Trustee hereunder, and if at any time there is more than one such person, “Trustee” as used with respect to the Securities of any Series shall mean the Trustee with respect to Securities of that Series.
“U.S. Government Obligations” means securities which are (i) direct obligations of The United States of America for the payment of which its full faith and credit is pledged or (ii) obligations of a person controlled or supervised by and acting as an agency or instrumentality of The United States of America the payment of which is unconditionally guaranteed as a full faith and credit obligation by The United States of America, and which are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof, and shall also include a depository receipt issued by a bank or trust company as custodian with respect to any such U.S. Government Obligation or a specific payment of interest on or principal of any such U.S. Government Obligation held by such custodian for the account of the holder of a depository receipt, provided that (except as required by law) such custodian is not authorized to make any deduction from the amount payable to the holder of such depository receipt from any amount received by the custodian in respect of the U.S. Government Obligation evidenced by such depository receipt.
Section 1.02 Other Definitions.
| TERM | Defined in Section | |||
| Bankruptcy Law | 6.01 | |||
| Custodian | 6.01 | |||
| Event of Default | 6.01 | |||
| Legal Holiday | 10.07 | |||
| mandatory sinking fund payment | 11.01 | |||
| Market Exchange Rate | 10.15 | |||
| optional sinking fund payment | 11.01 | |||
| Paying Agent | 2.04 | |||
| Registrar | 2.04 | |||
| Successor Person | 5.01 | |||
Section 1.03 Incorporation by Reference of Trust Indenture Act.
Whenever this Indenture refers to a provision of the TIA, the provision is incorporated by reference in and made a part of this Indenture. The following TIA terms used in this Indenture have the following meanings:
“Commission” means the SEC.
“indenture securities” means the Securities.
“indenture security holder” means a Holder.
“indenture to be qualified” means this Indenture.
4
“indenture trustee” or “institutional trustee” means the Trustee.
“obligor” on the indenture securities means the Company and any successor obligor upon the Securities.
All other terms used in this Indenture that are defined by the TIA, defined by TIA reference to another statute or defined by SEC rule under the TIA and not otherwise defined herein are used herein as so defined.
Section 1.04 Rules of Construction.
Unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) a term has the meaning assigned to it;
(b) an accounting term not otherwise defined has the meaning assigned to it in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
(c) references to “generally accepted accounting principles” and “GAAP” shall mean generally accepted accounting principles in effect as of the time when and for the period as to which such accounting principles are to be applied;
(d) “or” is not exclusive;
(e) words in the singular include the plural, and in the plural include the singular; and
(f) provisions apply to successive events and transactions.
ARTICLE II
THE SECURITIES
Section 2.01 Issuable in Series. The aggregate principal amount of Securities that may be authenticated and delivered under this Indenture is unlimited. The Securities may be issued in one or more Series. All Securities of a Series shall be identical except as may be set forth or determined in the manner provided in a Board Resolution, supplemental indenture or Officers’ Certificate detailing the adoption of the terms thereof pursuant to authority granted under a Board Resolution. In the case of Securities of a Series to be issued from time to time, the Board Resolution, Officers’ Certificate or supplemental indenture detailing the adoption of the terms thereof pursuant to authority granted under a Board Resolution may provide for the method by which specified terms (such as interest rate, maturity date, record date or date from which interest shall accrue) are to be determined. Securities may differ between Series in respect of any matters, provided that all Series of Securities shall be equally and ratably entitled to the benefits of the Indenture.
Section 2.02 Establishment of Terms of Series of Securities. At or prior to the issuance of any Securities within a Series, the following shall be established (as to the Series generally, in the case of Subsection 2.02(a) and either as to such Securities within the Series or as to the Series generally in the case of Subsections 2.02(b) through 2.02(s)) by or pursuant to a Board Resolution, and set forth or determined in the manner provided in a Board Resolution, supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate:
(a) the form and title of the Series (which shall distinguish the Securities of that particular Series from the Securities of any other Series);
5
(b) the price or prices (expressed as a percentage of the principal amount thereof) at which the Securities of the Series will be issued;
(c) any limit upon the aggregate principal amount of the Securities of the Series which may be authenticated and delivered under this Indenture (except for Securities authenticated and delivered upon registration of transfer of, or in exchange for, or in lieu of, other Securities of the Series pursuant to Sections 2.07, 2.08, 2.11, 3.06 or 9.06);
(d) the date or dates on which the principal of the Securities of the Series is payable;
(e) the rate or rates (which may be fixed or variable) per annum or, if applicable, the method used to determine such rate or rates (including, but not limited to, any commodity, commodity index, stock exchange index or financial index) at which the Securities of the Series shall bear interest, if any, the date or dates from which such interest, if any, shall accrue, the date or dates on which such interest, if any, shall commence and be payable and any regular record date for the interest payable on any interest payment date;
(f) the place or places where the principal of and interest, if any, on the Securities of the Series shall be payable, where the Securities of such Series may be surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange and where notices and demands to or upon the Company in respect of the Securities of such Series and this Indenture may be served, and the method of such payment, if by wire transfer, mail or other means;
(g) if applicable, the period or periods within which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which the Securities of the Series may be redeemed, in whole or in part, at the option of the Company;
(h) the obligation, if any, of the Company to redeem or purchase the Securities of the Series pursuant to any sinking fund or analogous provisions or at the option of a Holder thereof and the period or periods within which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which Securities of the Series shall be redeemed or purchased, in whole or in part, pursuant to such obligation;
(i) the dates, if any, on which and the price or prices at which the Securities of the Series will be repurchased by the Company at the option of the Holders thereof and other detailed terms and provisions of such repurchase obligations;
(j) if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof, the denominations in which the Securities of the Series shall be issuable;
(k) if other than the principal amount thereof, the portion of the principal amount of the Securities of the Series that shall be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof pursuant to Section 6.02;
(l) the currency of denomination of the Securities of the Series, which may be Dollars or any Foreign Currency, and the agency or organization, if any, responsible for overseeing such composite currency;
(m) the provisions, if any, relating to any security provided for the Securities of the Series;
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(n) any addition to or change in the Events of Default which applies to any Securities of the Series and any change in the right of the Trustee or the requisite Holders of such Securities to declare the principal amount thereof due and payable pursuant to Section 6.02;
(o) any addition to or change in the covenants set forth in Articles IV or V which applies to Securities of the Series;
(p) the provisions, if any, relating to conversion of any Securities of such Series, including, if applicable, the securities into which the Securities are convertible, the conversion price, the conversion period, provisions as to whether conversion will be mandatory, at the option of the Holders or at the option of the Company, the events requiring an adjustment of the conversion price and provisions affecting conversion if such Series of Securities are redeemed;
(q) whether the Securities of such Series will be senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities and, if applicable, a description of the subordination terms thereof;
(r) any depositaries, interest rate calculation agents, exchange rate calculation agents or other agents with respect to Securities of such Series if other than those appointed herein; and
(s) any other terms of the Securities of the Series (which may modify or delete any provision of this Indenture insofar as it applies to such Series).
All Securities of any one Series need not be issued at the same time and may be issued from time to time, consistent with the terms of this Indenture, if so provided by or pursuant to the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture hereto or Officers’ Certificate referred to above, and, unless otherwise provided in such Board Resolution, a Series may be reopened, without the consent of the Holders, for increases in the aggregate principal amount of such Series and issuances of additional Securities of such Series.
Section 2.03 Execution and Authentication. At least one Officer shall sign the Securities for the Company by manual or facsimile signature. If an Officer whose signature is on a Security no longer holds that office at the time the Security is authenticated, the Security shall nevertheless be valid. A Security shall not be valid until authenticated by the manual signature of the Trustee or an authenticating agent. The signature shall be conclusive evidence that the Security has been authenticated under this Indenture. The Trustee shall at any time, and from time to time, authenticate Securities for original issue in the principal amount provided in the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture hereto or Officers’ Certificate, upon receipt by the Trustee of a Company Order. Such Company Order may authorize authentication and delivery pursuant to electronic instructions in PDF from the Company or its duly authorized agent or agents. Each Security shall be dated the date of its authentication unless otherwise provided by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture hereto or an Officers’ Certificate. The aggregate principal amount of Securities of any Series outstanding at any time may not exceed any limit upon the maximum principal amount for such Series set forth in the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture hereto or Officers’ Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 2.02, except as provided in Section 2.02 or 2.08. Prior to the issuance of Securities of any Series, the Trustee shall have received and (subject to Section 7.02) shall be fully protected in relying on: (a) the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture hereto or Officers’ Certificate establishing the form of the Securities of that Series or of Securities within that Series and the terms of the Securities of that Series or of Securities within that Series, (b) an Officers’ Certificate complying with Section 10.04 and (c)(1) an Opinion of Counsel complying with Section 10.04 or (2) an Opinion of Counsel (or reliance letter with respect to an Opinion of Counsel) that the Securities have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and such Securities will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms. The Trustee may appoint an authenticating agent acceptable to the Company to authenticate Securities. An authenticating agent may authenticate Securities whenever the Trustee may do so. Each reference in this Indenture to authentication by the Trustee includes authentication by such agent. An authenticating agent has the same rights as an Agent to deal with the Company or an Affiliate of the Company.
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Section 2.04 Registrar and Paying Agent. The Company shall maintain, with respect to each Series of Securities, at the place or places specified with respect to such Series pursuant to Section 2.02, an office or agency where Securities of such Series may be presented or surrendered for payment (“Paying Agent”), and where Securities of such Series may be surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange (“Registrar”). The Registrar shall keep a register with respect to each Series of Securities and of their transfer and exchange. The Company hereby appoints the Trustee as Paying Agent and Registrar. The Company will give prompt written notice to the Trustee of the name and address, and any change in the name or address, of each Registrar or Paying Agent. The Company may also from time to time designate one or more co-registrars or additional paying agents and may from time to time rescind such designations; provided, however, that no such designation or rescission shall in any manner relieve the Company of its obligations to maintain a Registrar and a Paying Agent in each place so specified pursuant to Section 2.02 for Securities of any Series for such purposes. The Company will give prompt written notice to the Trustee of any such designation or rescission and of any change in the name or address of any such co-registrar or additional paying agent. The term “Registrar” includes any co-registrar; and the term “Paying Agent” includes any additional paying agent. The Company hereby appoints the Trustee as the initial Registrar and Paying Agent for each Series unless another Registrar or Paying Agent, as the case may be, is appointed prior to the time Securities of that Series are first issued.
Section 2.05 Paying Agent to Hold Money in Trust. The Company shall require each Paying Agent other than the Trustee to agree in writing that the Paying Agent will hold in trust, for the benefit of Holders of any Series of Securities, or the Trustee, all money held by the Paying Agent for the payment of principal of or interest on the Series of Securities, and will notify the Trustee of any default by the Company in making any such payment. While any such default continues, the Trustee may require a Paying Agent to pay all money held by it to the Trustee. The Company at any time may require a Paying Agent to pay all money held by it to the Trustee. Upon payment over to the Trustee, the Paying Agent (if other than the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company) shall have no further liability for the money. If the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company acts as Paying Agent, it shall segregate and hold in a separate trust fund for the benefit of Holders of any Series of Securities all money held by it as Paying Agent. Upon an Event of Default under Section 6.01(d) or (e), the Trustee shall be the Paying Agent.
Section 2.06 Holder Lists. The Trustee shall preserve in as current a form as is reasonably practicable the most recent list available to it of the names and addresses of Holders of each Series of Securities and shall otherwise comply with TIA Section 312(a). If the Trustee is not the Registrar, the Company shall furnish to the Trustee at least ten (10) days before each interest payment date and at such other times as the Trustee may request in writing a list, in such form and as of such date as the Trustee may reasonably require, of the names and addresses of Holders of each Series of Securities.
Section 2.07 Transfer and Exchange. Where Securities of a Series are presented to the Registrar or a co-registrar with a request to register a transfer or to exchange them for an equal principal amount of Securities of the same Series, the Registrar shall register the transfer or make the exchange if its requirements for such transactions are met. To permit registrations of transfers and exchanges, the Trustee shall authenticate Securities at the Registrar’s request. No service charge shall be made for any registration of transfer or exchange (except as otherwise expressly permitted herein), but the Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any transfer tax or similar governmental charge payable in connection therewith (other than any such transfer tax or similar governmental charge payable upon exchanges pursuant to Sections 2.11, 3.06 or 9.06). Neither the Company nor the Registrar shall be required (a) to issue, register the transfer of, or exchange Securities of any Series for the period beginning at the opening of business fifteen days immediately preceding the delivery of a notice of redemption of Securities of that Series selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of such delivery, or (b) to register the transfer of or exchange Securities of any Series selected, called or being called for redemption as a whole or the portion being redeemed of any such Securities selected, called or being called for redemption in part.
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Section 2.08 Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost and Stolen Securities.
(a) If any mutilated Security is surrendered to the Trustee, the Company shall execute and the Trustee shall authenticate and make available for delivery in exchange therefor a new Security of the same Series and of like tenor and principal amount and bearing a number not contemporaneously outstanding. If there shall be delivered to the Company and the Trustee (i) evidence to their satisfaction of the destruction, loss or theft of any Security and (ii) such security or indemnity as may be required by them to save each of them and any agent of either of them harmless, then, in the absence of notice to the Company or the Trustee that such Security has been acquired by a protected purchaser, the Company shall execute and upon its request the Trustee shall authenticate and make available for delivery, in lieu of any such destroyed, lost or stolen Security, a new Security of the same Series and of like tenor and principal amount and bearing a number not contemporaneously outstanding. In case any such mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Security has become due and payable, the Company in its discretion may, instead of issuing a new Security, pay such Security.
(b) Upon the issuance of any new Security under this Section, the Company may require the payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed in relation thereto and any other expenses (including the fees and expenses of the Trustee) connected therewith. Every new Security of any Series issued pursuant to this Section in lieu of any destroyed, lost or stolen Security shall constitute an original additional contractual obligation of the Company, whether or not the destroyed, lost or stolen Security shall be at any time enforceable by anyone, and shall be entitled to all the benefits of this Indenture equally and proportionately with any and all other Securities of that Series duly issued hereunder. The provisions of this Section are exclusive and shall preclude (to the extent lawful) all other rights and remedies with respect to the replacement or payment of mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Securities.
Section 2.09 Outstanding Securities. The Securities outstanding at any time are all the Securities authenticated by the Trustee except for those canceled by it, those delivered to it for cancellation, those reductions in the interest on a Global Security effected by the Trustee in accordance with the provisions hereof and those described in this Section as not outstanding. If a Security is replaced pursuant to Section 2.08, it ceases to be outstanding until the Trustee receives proof satisfactory to it that the replaced Security is held by a protected purchaser. If the Paying Agent (other than the Company, a Subsidiary of the Company or an Affiliate of the Company) holds on the Maturity of Securities of a Series money sufficient to pay such Securities payable on that date, then on and after that date such Securities of the Series cease to be outstanding and interest on them ceases to accrue. A Security does not cease to be outstanding because the Company or an Affiliate of the Company holds the Security. In determining whether the Holders of the requisite principal amount of outstanding Securities have given any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent or waiver hereunder, the principal amount of a Discount Security that shall be deemed to be outstanding for such purposes shall be the amount of the principal thereof that would be due and payable as of the date of such determination upon a declaration of acceleration of the Maturity thereof pursuant to Section 6.02.
Section 2.10 Treasury Securities. In determining whether the Holders of the required principal amount of Securities of a Series have concurred in any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent or waiver, Securities of a Series owned by the Company shall be disregarded, except that for the purposes of determining whether the Trustee shall be protected in relying on any such request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent or waiver, only Securities of a Series that a Responsible Officer of the Trustee knows are so owned shall be so disregarded.
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Section 2.11 Temporary Securities. Until definitive Securities are ready for delivery, the Company may prepare and the Trustee shall authenticate temporary Securities upon a Company Order. Temporary Securities shall be substantially in the form of definitive Securities but may have variations that the Company considers appropriate for temporary Securities. Without unreasonable delay, the Company shall prepare and the Trustee upon request shall authenticate definitive Securities of the same Series and date of maturity in exchange for temporary Securities. Until so exchanged, temporary securities shall have the same rights under this Indenture as the definitive Securities.
Section 2.12 Cancellation. The Company at any time may deliver Securities to the Trustee for cancellation. The Registrar and the Paying Agent shall forward to the Trustee any Securities surrendered to them for registration of transfer, exchange or payment. The Trustee shall cancel all Securities surrendered for registration of transfer, exchange, payment, replacement or cancellation in accordance with its customary procedures. The Company may not issue new Securities to replace Securities that it has paid or delivered to the Trustee for cancellation.
Section 2.13 Defaulted Interest. If the Company defaults in a payment of interest on a Series of Securities, it shall pay the defaulted interest at the rate established for the particular Series, if any, plus, to the extent permitted by law, any interest payable on the defaulted interest, to the persons who are Holders of the Series on a subsequent special record date. The Company shall fix the special record date and payment date; provided that if no rate for defaulted interest is specified for any Series of Securities, then the defaulted interest rate shall be the interest rate specified for such Series of Securities. At least ten (10) days before the special record date, the Company shall deliver to the Trustee and to each Holder of the Series a notice that states the record date, the related payment date and the amount of interest to be paid. The Company may also pay defaulted interest in any other lawful manner.
Section 2.14 Global Securities
(a) Terms of Securities. A Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture hereto or an Officers’ Certificate shall establish whether the Securities of a Series shall be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more Global Securities and the Depositary for such Global Security or Securities.
(b) Transfer and Exchange. Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary contained in Section 2.07 of the Indenture and in addition thereto, any Global Security shall be exchangeable pursuant to Section 2.07 of the Indenture for Securities registered in the names of Holders other than the Depositary for such Security or its nominee only if (i) such Depositary notifies the Company that it is unwilling or unable to continue as Depositary for such Global Security or if at any time such Depositary ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act, and, in either case, the Company fails to appoint a successor Depositary registered as a clearing agency under the Exchange Act within 90 days of such event, (ii) the Company executes and delivers to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate to the effect that such Global Security shall be so exchangeable or (iii) an Event of Default with respect to the Securities represented by such Global Security shall have happened and be continuing. Any Global Security that is exchangeable pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be exchangeable for Securities registered in such names as the Depositary shall direct in writing in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal amount of the Global Security with like tenor and terms.
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(c) Except as provided in this Section 2.14(c), a Global Security may not be transferred except as a whole by the Depositary with respect to such Global Security to a nominee of such Depositary, by a nominee of such Depositary to such Depositary or another nominee of such Depositary or by the Depositary or any such nominee to a successor Depositary or a nominee of such a successor Depositary.
(d) Legend. Any Global Security issued hereunder shall bear a legend in substantially the following form:
“This Security is a Global Security within the meaning of the Indenture hereinafter referred to and is registered in the name of the Depositary or a nominee of the Depositary. This Security is exchangeable for Securities registered in the name of a person other than the Depositary or its nominee only in the limited circumstances described in the Indenture, and may not be transferred except as a whole by the Depositary to a nominee of the Depositary, by a nominee of the Depositary to the Depositary or another nominee of the Depositary or by the Depositary or any such nominee to a successor Depositary or a nominee of such a successor Depositary.”
(e) Acts of Holders. The Depositary, as a Holder, may appoint agents and otherwise authorize participants to give or take any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent, waiver or other action which a Holder is entitled to give or take under the Indenture.
(f) Payments. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Indenture, unless otherwise specified as contemplated by Section 2.02, payment of the principal of and interest, if any, on any Global Security shall be made to the Holder thereof.
(g) Consents, Declaration and Directions. Except as provided in Section 2.14(g), the Company, the Trustee and any Agent shall treat a person as the Holder of such principal amount of outstanding Securities of such Series represented by a Global Security as shall be specified in a written statement of the Depositary with respect to such Global Security, for purposes of obtaining any consents, declarations, waivers or directions required to be given by the Holders pursuant to this Indenture.
(h) The Depositary or its nominee, as registered owner of a Global Security, shall be the Holder of such Global Security for all purposes under the Indenture and the Securities, and owners of beneficial interests in a Global Security shall hold such interests pursuant to the Applicable Procedures. Accordingly, any such owner’s beneficial interest in a Global Security will be shown only on, and the transfer of such interest shall be effected only through, records maintained by the Depositary or its nominee and such owners of beneficial interests in a Global Security will not be considered the owners or holders thereof. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Indenture or any Security, where this Indenture or any Global Security provides for notice of any event (including any notice of redemption or repurchase) to a Holder of a Global Security (whether by mail or otherwise), such notice shall be sufficiently given if given to the Depositary (or its designee) pursuant to the standing instructions from the Depositary or its designee, including by electronic mail in accordance with applicable Depositary procedures.
Section 2.15 CUSIP Numbers. The Company in issuing the Securities may use “CUSIP” numbers (if then generally in use), and, if so, the Trustee shall use “CUSIP” numbers in notices of redemption as a convenience to Holders; provided that any such notice may state that no representation is made as to the correctness of such numbers either as printed on the Securities or as contained in any notice of a redemption and that reliance may be placed only on the other elements of identification printed on the Securities, and any such redemption shall not be affected by any defect in or omission of such numbers. The Company shall promptly notify the Trustee of any change in “CUSIP” numbers of which the Company becomes aware.
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ARTICLE III
REDEMPTION
Section 3.01 Notice to Trustee. The Company may, with respect to any Series of Securities, reserve the right to redeem and pay the Series of Securities or may covenant to redeem and pay the Series of Securities or any part thereof prior to the Stated Maturity thereof at such time and on such terms as provided for in such Securities. If a Series of Securities is redeemable and the Company wants or is obligated to redeem prior to the Stated Maturity thereof all or part of the Series of Securities pursuant to the terms of such Securities, it shall notify the Trustee of the redemption date and the principal amount of the Series of Securities to be redeemed.
Section 3.02 Selection of Securities to be Redeemed. Unless otherwise indicated for a particular Series by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate, if less than all the Securities of a Series are to be redeemed, the Trustee shall select the Securities of the Series to be redeemed in any manner that the Trustee deems fair and appropriate. The Trustee shall make the selection from Securities of the Series outstanding not previously called for redemption. Securities of a Series and portions selected for redemption shall be in amounts of $1,000 or whole multiples of $1,000 or, with respect to Securities of any Series issuable in other denominations pursuant to Section 2.02(j), the minimum principal denomination for each Series and integral multiples thereof. Provisions of this Indenture that apply to Securities of a Series called for redemption also apply to portions of Securities of that Series called for redemption. The Trustee shall not be liable for the selection made in accordance with this Section 3.02.
Section 3.03 Notice of Redemption.
(a) Unless otherwise specified for a particular Series by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate, at least 30 days but not more than 60 days before a redemption date, the Company shall deliver notice of redemption to each Holder whose Securities are to be redeemed. The notice shall identify the Securities of the Series to be redeemed and shall state:
(i) the redemption date;
(ii) the redemption price or the manner of the calculation of the redemption price;
(iii) the name and address of the Paying Agent;
(iv) that Securities of the Series called for redemption must be surrendered to the Paying Agent to collect the redemption price;
(v) that interest on Securities of the Series called for redemption ceases to accrue on and after the redemption date;
(vi) the CUSIP number, if any; and
(vii) any other information as may be required by the terms of the particular Series or the Securities of a Series being redeemed.
At the Company’s request, the Trustee shall give the notice of redemption in the Company’s name and at its expense; provided that the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee, at least five Business Days (or such shorter period as the Trustee may consent to in writing) before notice of redemption is required to be delivered or caused to be delivered to Holders pursuant to this Section 3.03, an Officers’ Certificate of the Company requesting that the Trustee give such notice and setting forth the information to be stated in such notice as provided in the preceding paragraph.
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Section 3.04 Effect of Notice of Redemption. Once notice of redemption is delivered as provided in Section 3.03, Securities of a Series called for redemption become due and payable on the redemption date and at the redemption price. A notice of redemption may not be conditional. Upon surrender to the Paying Agent, such Securities shall be paid at the redemption price plus accrued interest to the redemption date; provided that installments of interest whose Stated Maturity is on or prior to the redemption date shall be payable to the Holders of such Securities (or one or more predecessor Securities) registered at the close of business on the relevant record date therefor according to their terms and the terms of this Indenture.
Section 3.05 Deposit of Redemption Price. Unless otherwise indicated for a particular Series by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate, on or before 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the redemption date, the Company shall deposit with the Paying Agent money sufficient to pay the redemption price of and accrued interest, if any, on all Securities to be redeemed on that date.
Section 3.06 Securities Redeemed in Part. Upon surrender of a Security that is redeemed in part, the Company shall issue and the Trustee shall authenticate for the Holder a new Security of the same Series and the same maturity equal in principal amount to the unredeemed portion of the Security surrendered.
ARTICLE IV
COVENANTS
Section 4.01 Payment of Principal and Interest. The Company covenants and agrees for the benefit of the Holders of each Series of Securities that it will duly and punctually pay the principal of and interest, if any, on the Securities of that Series in accordance with the terms of such Securities and this Indenture.
Section 4.02 SEC Reports. Any information, documents or other reports that the Company shall file with the Commission pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act shall be filed with the Trustee within 15 days after the same is filed with the Commission; provided that any such information, documents or reports filed or furnished with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (or EDGAR) system shall be deemed filed with the Trustee as of the time such information, documents or reports are filed or furnished via EDGAR.
Section 4.03 Compliance Certificate. The Company shall, so long as any of the Securities are outstanding, deliver to the Trustee, within 120 days after the end of each fiscal year of the Company, an Officers’ Certificate stating whether or not to the knowledge of the signers thereof the Company is in default in the performance and observance of any of the terms, provisions and conditions hereof (without regard to any period of grace or requirement of notice provided hereunder), and if a Default or Event of Default shall have occurred, specifying all such Defaults or Events of Default and the nature and status thereof of which they may have knowledge.
Section 4.04 Stay, Extension and Usury Laws. The Company covenants (to the extent that it may lawfully do so) that it will not at any time insist upon, plead or in any manner whatsoever claim or take the benefit or advantage of, any stay, extension or usury law wherever enacted, now or at any time hereafter in force, which may affect the covenants or the performance of this Indenture or the Securities or any other law that would prohibit or forgive the Company from paying all or any portion of the principal of, or interest on, the Securities as contemplated in the Indenture, any indenture supplemental thereto relating to the Securities or the Securities and the Company (to the extent it may lawfully do so) hereby expressly waives all benefit or advantage of any such law and covenants that it will not, by resort to any such law, hinder, delay or impede the execution of any power herein granted to the Trustee, but will suffer and permit the execution of every such power as though no such law has been enacted.
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ARTICLE V
SUCCESSORS
Section 5.01 When Company May Merge, Etc. The Company shall not consolidate with or merge with or into, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of its properties and assets to, another person (a “Successor Person”) unless:
(a) the Company is the surviving corporation or the Successor Person (if other than the Company) is organized and validly existing under the laws of any U.S. domestic jurisdiction and expressly assumes the Company’s obligations on the Securities and under this Indenture; and
(b) immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing.
The Company shall deliver to the Trustee prior to the consummation of the proposed transaction an Officers’ Certificate to the foregoing effect and an Opinion of Counsel stating that the proposed transaction and any supplemental indenture comply with this Indenture.
Section 5.02 Successor Corporation Substituted. Upon any consolidation or merger, or any sale, lease, conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company in accordance with Section 5.01, the successor corporation formed by such consolidation or into or with which the Company is merged or to which such sale, lease, conveyance or other disposition is made shall succeed to, and be substituted for, and may exercise every right and power of, the Company under this Indenture with the same effect as if such Successor Person has been named as the Company herein; provided, however, that the predecessor Company in the case of a sale, conveyance or other disposition (other than a lease) shall be released from all obligations and covenants under this Indenture and the Securities.
ARTICLE VI
DEFAULTS AND REMEDIES
Section 6.01 Events of Default.
“Event of Default,” wherever used herein with respect to Securities of any Series, means any one of the following events, unless in the establishing Board Resolution, supplemental indenture or Officers’ Certificate, it is provided that such Series shall not have the benefit of said Event of Default or the terms of such Event of Default have been modified or superceded as set forth in the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture or Officers’ Certificate for such Securities of any Series:
(a) default in the payment of any interest on any Security of that Series when it becomes due and payable, and continuance of such default for a period of 30 days (unless the entire amount of such payment is deposited by the Company with the Trustee or with a Paying Agent prior to the expiration of such period of 30 days); or
(b) default in the payment of principal of any Security of that Series at its Maturity; or
(c) default in the performance or breach of any covenant or warranty of the Company in this Indenture (other than a covenant or warranty for which the consequences of nonperformance or breach are addressed elsewhere in this Section 6.01 and other than a covenant or warranty that has been included in this Indenture solely for the benefit of a Series of Securities other than that Series), which default continues uncured for a period of 60 days after there has been given, by registered or certified mail, to the Company by the Trustee or to the Company and the Trustee by the Holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series a written notice specifying such default or breach and requiring it to be remedied and stating that such notice is a “Notice of Default” hereunder; or
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(d) the Company pursuant to or within the meaning of any Bankruptcy Law:
(i) commences a voluntary case or proceeding;
(ii) consents to the entry of an order for relief against it in an involuntary case,
(iii) consents to the appointment of a Custodian of it or for all or substantially all of its property,
(iv) makes a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors, or
(v) makes an admission in writing that it is generally unable to pay its debts as the same become due; or
(e) a court of competent jurisdiction enters an order or decree under any Bankruptcy Law that:
(i) is for relief against the Company in an involuntary case,
(ii) appoints a Custodian of the Company or for all or substantially all of its property, or
(iii) orders the liquidation of the Company, and the order or decree remains unstayed and in effect for 90 days; or
(f) any other Event of Default provided with respect to Securities of that Series, which is specified in a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture hereto or an Officers’ Certificate, in accordance with Section 2.02(n).
The term “Bankruptcy Law” means Title 11 of the U.S. Code or any similar federal or state law for the relief of debtors. The term “Custodian” means any receiver, trustee, assignee, liquidator or similar official under any Bankruptcy Law.
Section 6.02 Acceleration of Maturity; Rescission and Annulment. If an Event of Default with respect to Securities of any Series at the time outstanding occurs and is continuing (other than an Event of Default referred to in Section 6.01(d) or (e)), then in every such case the Trustee or the Holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series may declare the principal amount (or, if any Securities of that Series are Discount Securities, such portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of such Securities) of and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all of the Securities of that Series to be due and payable immediately, by a notice in writing to the Company (and to the Trustee if given by Holders), and upon any such declaration such principal amount (or specified amount) and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, shall become immediately due and payable. If an Event of Default specified in Section 6.01(d) or (e) shall occur, the principal amount (or specified amount) of and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all outstanding Securities shall be immediately due and payable without any declaration or other act on the part of the Trustee or any Holder. At any time after such a declaration of acceleration with respect to any Series has been made and before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained by the Trustee as hereinafter in this Article; provided that the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series, by written notice to the Company and the Trustee, may rescind and annul such declaration and its consequences if all Events of Default with respect to Securities of that Series, other than the non-payment of the principal and interest, if any, of Securities of that Series which have become due solely by such declaration of acceleration, have been cured or waived as provided in Section 6.13. No such rescission shall affect any subsequent Default or impair any right consequent thereon.
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Section 6.03 Collection of Indebtedness and Suits for Enforcement by Trustee.
The Company covenants that if:
(a) default is made in the payment of any interest on any Security when such interest becomes due and payable and such default continues for a period of 30 days, or
(b) default is made in the payment of principal of any Security at the Maturity thereof,
then the Company will, upon demand of the Trustee, pay to it, for the benefit of the Holders of such Securities, the whole amount then due and payable on such Securities for principal and interest and, to the extent that payment of such interest shall be legally enforceable, interest on any overdue principal and any overdue interest at the rate or rates prescribed therefor in such Securities and, in addition thereto, such further amount as shall be sufficient to cover the costs and expenses of collection, including the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel.
If the Company fails to pay such amounts forthwith upon such demand, the Trustee, in its own name and as trustee of an express trust, may institute a judicial proceeding for the collection of the sums so due and unpaid, may prosecute such proceeding to judgment or final decree and may enforce the same against the Company or any other obligor upon such Securities and collect the moneys adjudged or deemed to be payable in the manner provided by law out of the property of the Company or any other obligor upon such Securities, wherever situated.
If an Event of Default with respect to any Securities of any Series occurs and is continuing, the Trustee may in its discretion proceed to protect and enforce its rights and the rights of the Holders of Securities of such Series by such appropriate judicial proceedings as the Trustee shall deem most effectual to protect and enforce any such rights, whether for the specific enforcement of any covenant or agreement in this Indenture or in aid of the exercise of any power granted herein, or to enforce any other proper remedy.
Section 6.04 Trustee May File Proofs of Claim. In case of the pendency of any receivership, insolvency, liquidation, bankruptcy, reorganization, arrangement, adjustment, composition or other judicial proceeding relative to the Company or any other obligor upon the Securities or the property of the Company or of such other obligor or their creditors, the Trustee (irrespective of whether the principal of the Securities shall then be due and payable as therein expressed or by declaration or otherwise and irrespective of whether the Trustee shall have made any demand on the Company for the payment of overdue principal or interest) shall be entitled and empowered, by intervention in such proceeding or otherwise, (a) to file and prove a claim for the whole amount of principal and interest owing and unpaid in respect of the Securities and to file such other papers or documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Trustee (including any claim for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel) and of the Holders allowed in such judicial proceeding, and (b) to collect and receive any moneys or other property payable or deliverable on any such claims and to distribute the same, and any custodian, receiver, assignee, trustee, liquidator, sequestrator or other similar official in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each Holder to make such payments to the Trustee and, in the event that the Trustee shall consent to the making of such payments directly to the Holders, to pay to the Trustee any amount due it for the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel, and any other amounts due the Trustee under Section 7.07. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize the Trustee to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt on behalf of any Holder any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition affecting the Securities or the rights of any Holder thereof or to authorize the Trustee to vote in respect of the claim of any Holder in any such proceeding.
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Section 6.05 Trustee May Enforce Claims Without Possession of Securities. All rights of action and claims under this Indenture or the Securities may be prosecuted and enforced by the Trustee without the possession of any of the Securities or the production thereof in any proceeding relating thereto, and any such proceeding instituted by the Trustee shall be brought in its own name as trustee of an express trust, and any recovery of judgment shall, after provision for the payment of the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel, be for the ratable benefit of the Holders of the Securities in respect of which such judgment has been recovered.
Section 6.06 Application of Money Collected.
Any money collected by the Trustee pursuant to this Article shall be applied in the following order, at the date or dates fixed by the Trustee and, in case of the distribution of such money on account of principal or interest, upon presentation of the Securities and the notation thereon of the payment if only partially paid and upon surrender thereof if fully paid:
First: To the payment of all amounts due the Trustee under Section 7.07; and
Second: To the payment of the amounts then due and unpaid for principal of and interest on the Securities in respect of which or for the benefit of which such money has been collected, ratably, without preference or priority of any kind, according to the amounts due and payable on such Securities for principal and interest, respectively; and
Third: To the Company.
Section 6.07 Limitation on Suits. No Holder of any Security of any Series shall have any right to institute any proceeding, judicial or otherwise, with respect to this Indenture, or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any other remedy hereunder, unless:
(a) such Holder has previously given written notice to the Trustee of a continuing Event of Default with respect to the Securities of that Series;
(b) the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series shall have made written request to the Trustee to institute proceedings in respect of such Event of Default in its own name as Trustee hereunder;
(c) such Holder or Holders shall have offered to the Trustee security or indemnity satisfactory to it against the costs, expenses and liabilities to be incurred in compliance with such request;
(d) the Trustee for 60 days after its receipt of such notice, request and offer of indemnity has failed to institute any such proceeding; and
(e) no direction inconsistent with such written request has been given to the Trustee during such 60-day period by the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series; it being understood and intended that no one or more of such Holders shall have any right in any manner whatever by virtue of, or by availing of, any provision of this Indenture to affect, disturb or prejudice the rights of any other of such Holders, or to obtain or to seek to obtain priority or preference over any other of such Holders or to enforce any right under this Indenture, except in the manner herein provided and for the equal and ratable benefit of all such Holders.
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Section 6.08 Unconditional Right of Holders to Receive Principal and Interest. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Indenture, the Holder of any Security shall have the right, which is absolute and unconditional, to receive payment of the principal of and interest, if any, on such Security on the Stated Maturity or Stated Maturities expressed in such Security (or, in the case of redemption, on the redemption date) and to institute suit for the enforcement of any such payment, and such rights shall not be impaired without the consent of such Holder.
Section 6.09 Restoration of Rights and Remedies. If the Trustee or any Holder has instituted any proceeding to enforce any right or remedy under this Indenture and such proceeding has been discontinued or abandoned for any reason, or has been determined adversely to the Trustee or to such Holder, then and in every such case, subject to any determination in such proceeding, the Company, the Trustee and the Holders shall be restored severally and respectively to their former positions hereunder and thereafter all rights and remedies of the Trustee and the Holders shall continue as though no such proceeding had been instituted.
Section 6.10 Rights and Remedies Cumulative. Except as otherwise provided with respect to the replacement or payment of mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Securities in Section 2.08, no right or remedy herein conferred upon or reserved to the Trustee or to the Holders is intended to be exclusive of any other right or remedy, and every right and remedy shall, to the extent permitted by law, be cumulative and in addition to every other right and remedy given hereunder or now or hereafter existing at law or in equity or otherwise. The assertion or employment of any right or remedy hereunder, or otherwise, shall not, to the extent permitted by law, prevent the concurrent assertion or employment of any other appropriate right or remedy.
Section 6.11 Delay or Omission Not Waiver. No delay or omission of the Trustee or of any Holder of any Securities to exercise any right or remedy accruing upon any Event of Default shall impair any such right or remedy or constitute a waiver of any such Event of Default or an acquiescence therein. Every right and remedy given by this Article or by law to the Trustee or to the Holders may be exercised from time to time, and as often as may be deemed expedient, by the Trustee or by the Holders, as the case may be.
Section 6.12 Control by Holders. Subject to Section 7.02(f), the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any Series shall have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the Trustee, with respect to the Securities of such Series, provided that:
(a) such direction shall not be in conflict with any rule of law or with this Indenture,
(b) the Trustee may take any other action deemed proper by the Trustee which is not inconsistent with such direction, and
(c) subject to the provisions of Section 7.01, the Trustee shall have the right to decline to follow any such direction if the Trustee in good faith shall, by a Responsible Officer of the Trustee, determine that the proceeding so directed would involve the Trustee in personal liability.
Section 6.13 Waiver of Past Defaults. The Holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any Series may on behalf of the Holders of all the Securities of such Series waive any past Default hereunder with respect to such Series and its consequences, except a Default (i) in the payment of the principal of or interest on any Security of such Series (provided, however, that the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any Series may rescind an acceleration and its consequences, including any related payment default that resulted from such acceleration) or (ii) in respect of a covenant or provision hereof which cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the Holder of each outstanding Security of such Series affected. Upon any such waiver, such Default shall cease to exist, and any Event of Default arising therefrom shall be deemed to have been cured, for every purpose of this Indenture; but no such waiver shall extend to any subsequent or other Default or impair any right consequent thereon.
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Section 6.14 Undertaking for Costs. All parties to this Indenture agree, and each Holder of any Security by his acceptance thereof shall be deemed to have agreed, that any court may in its discretion require, in any suit for the enforcement of any right or remedy under this Indenture, or in any suit against the Trustee for any action taken, suffered or omitted by it as Trustee, the filing by any party litigant in such suit of an undertaking to pay the costs of such suit, and that such court may in its discretion assess reasonable costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, against any party litigant in such suit, having due regard to the merits and good faith of the claims or defenses made by such party litigant; but the provisions of this Section shall not apply to any suit instituted by the Company, to any suit instituted by the Trustee, to any suit instituted by any Holder, or group of Holders, holding in the aggregate more than 10% in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any Series, or to any suit instituted by any Holder for the enforcement of the payment of the principal of or interest on any Security on or after the Stated Maturity or Stated Maturities expressed in such Security (or, in the case of redemption, on the redemption date).
ARTICLE VII
TRUSTEE
Section 7.01 Duties of Trustee.
(a) If an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Trustee shall exercise the rights and powers vested in it by this Indenture and use the same degree of care and skill in their exercise as a prudent person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such person’s own affairs.
(b) Except during the continuance of an Event of Default:
(i) The Trustee need perform only those duties that are specifically set forth in this Indenture and no others and no implied covenants or obligations shall be read into this Indenture against the Trustee.
(ii) In the absence of bad faith on its part, the Trustee may conclusively rely and is fully protected, as to the truth of the statements and the correctness of the opinions expressed therein, upon Officers’ Certificates or Opinions of Counsel furnished to the Trustee and conforming to the requirements of this Indenture; however, in the case of any such Officers’ Certificates or Opinions of Counsel which by any provisions hereof are specifically required to be furnished to the Trustee, the Trustee shall examine such Officers’ Certificates and Opinions of Counsel to determine whether or not they conform to the requirements of this Indenture (but need not confirm or investigate the accuracy of mathematical calculations or other facts stated therein) .
(c) The Trustee may not be relieved from liability for its own negligent action, its own negligent failure to act or its own willful misconduct, except that:
(i) This paragraph does not limit the effect of paragraph (b) of this Section.
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(ii) The Trustee shall not be liable for any error of judgment made in good faith by a Responsible Officer, unless it is proved that the Trustee was negligent in ascertaining the pertinent facts.
(iii) The Trustee shall not be liable with respect to any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it with respect to Securities of any Series in good faith in accordance with the direction of the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of such Series relating to the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred upon the Trustee, under this Indenture with respect to the Securities of such Series.
(d) Every provision of this Indenture that in any way relates to the Trustee is subject to paragraph (a), (b) and (c) of this Section.
(e) The Trustee may refuse to perform any duty or exercise any right or power at the request or direction of any Holder unless it receives indemnity reasonably satisfactory to it against any loss, liability or expense.
(f) The Trustee shall not be liable for interest on any money received by it except as the Trustee may agree in writing with the Company. Money held in trust by the Trustee need not be segregated from other funds except to the extent required by law.
(g) No provision of this Indenture shall require the Trustee to risk its own funds or otherwise incur any financial liability in the performance of any of its duties, or in the exercise of any of its rights or powers, if it shall have reasonable grounds for believing that repayment of such funds or adequate indemnity against such risk is not reasonably assured to it.
(h) The rights, privileges, protections, immunities and benefits given to the Trustee, including the right to be indemnified, are extended to, and shall be enforceable by the Trustee in each of its capacities hereunder and to its agents. The provisions set forth in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this Section shall apply to the Trustee in each of its capacities hereunder and its agents.
Section 7.02 Rights of Trustee.
(a) The Trustee may conclusively rely on and shall be protected in acting or refraining from acting upon any document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper person. The Trustee need not investigate any fact or matter stated in the document.
(b) Before the Trustee acts or refrains from acting at the direction of the Company, it may require an Officers’ Certificate. The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good faith in reliance on such Officers’ Certificate.
(c) The Trustee may act through agents and shall not be responsible for the misconduct or negligence of any agent appointed with due care. No Depositary shall be deemed an agent of the Trustee, and the Trustee shall not be responsible for any act or omission by any Depositary.
(d) The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good faith which it believes to be authorized or within its rights or powers, provided that the Trustee’s conduct does not constitute negligence or willful misconduct.
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(e) The Trustee may consult with counsel, and the advice of such counsel or any Opinion of Counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted by it hereunder without negligence and in good faith and in reliance thereon.
(f) The Trustee shall be under no obligation to exercise any of the rights or powers vested in it by this Indenture at the request or direction of any of the Holders of Securities unless such Holders shall have offered to the Trustee security or indemnity satisfactory to it against the costs, expenses and liabilities which might be incurred by it in compliance with such request or direction.
(g) The Trustee shall not be bound to make any investigation into the facts or matters stated in any resolution, certificate, statement, instrument, opinion, report, notice, request, direction, consent, order, bond, debenture, note, other evidence of indebtedness or other paper or document believed by the Trustee to be genuine and to have been signed or delivered by the proper person.
(h) The Trustee shall not be deemed to have notice of any Default or Event of Default, other than a failure by the Company to make any payment hereunder when due if the Trustee is the Paying Agent, unless a Responsible Officer of the Trustee has actual knowledge thereof or unless written notice of any event which is in fact such a default is received by the Trustee at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee, and such notice references the Securities generally or the Securities of a particular Series and this Indenture and states that it is a “notice of default.”
(i) The permissive rights of the Trustee enumerated herein shall not be construed as duties.
(j) In no event shall the Trustee be responsible or liable for any special, indirect, punitive, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever (including, but not limited to, lost profits) irrespective of whether the Trustee has been advised of the likelihood of such loss or damage and regardless of the form of action.
(k) Neither the Trustee nor any Agent shall be responsible or liable for any failure or delay in the performance of its obligation under this Indenture arising out of or caused, directly or indirectly, by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including, without limitation, acts of God; earthquakes; fire; flood; wars; acts of terrorism; civil or military disturbances; sabotage; epidemic; riots; interruptions, loss or malfunctions of utilities, computer (hardware or software) or communications services; accidents; labor disputes; acts of civil or military authority or governmental action; it being understood that each of the Trustee and Agents shall use commercially reasonable efforts which are consistent with accepted practices in the banking industry to resume performance as soon as reasonably practicable under the circumstances.
(l) The Trustee shall not be required to give any bond or surety in respect of the performance of its powers and duties hereunder.
Section 7.03 Individual Rights of Trustee. The Trustee in its individual or any other capacity may become the owner or pledgee of Securities and may otherwise deal with the Company or an Affiliate of the Company with the same rights it would have if it were not Trustee. Any Agent may do the same with like rights. The Trustee is also subject to Sections 7.10 and 7.11.
Section 7.04 Trustee’s Disclaimer. The Trustee makes no representation as to the validity or adequacy of this Indenture or the Securities, it shall not be accountable for the Company’s use of the proceeds from the Securities, and it shall not be responsible for any statement in the Securities other than its authentication.
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Section 7.05 Notice of Defaults. If a Default or Event of Default occurs and is continuing with respect to the Securities of any Series and if it is known to a Responsible Officer of the Trustee, the Trustee shall deliver to each Holder of the Securities of that Series notice of a Default or Event of Default within 90 days after it occurs or, if later, after a Responsible Officer of the Trustee has knowledge of such Default or Event of Default. Except in the case of a Default or Event of Default in payment of principal of or interest on any Security of any Series, the Trustee may withhold the notice if and so long as it in good faith determines that withholding the notice is in the interests of Holders of that Series.
Section 7.06 Reports by Trustee to Holders. Within 60 days after March 15 in each year, the Trustee shall transmit by deliver to all Holders, as their names and addresses appear on the register kept by the Registrar a brief report dated as of such March 15, in accordance with, and to the extent required under, TIA Section 313. A copy of each report at the time of its delivery to Holders of any Series shall be filed with the SEC and each stock exchange on which the Securities of that Series are listed. The Company shall promptly notify the Trustee when Securities of any Series are listed on any stock exchange.
Section 7.07 Compensation and Indemnity. The Company shall pay to the Trustee from time to time compensation for its services as the Company and the Trustee shall from time to time agree upon in writing. The Trustee’s compensation shall not be limited by any law on compensation of a trustee of an express trust. The Company shall reimburse the Trustee upon request for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by it. Such expenses shall include the reasonable compensation and expenses of the Trustee’s agents and counsel. The Company shall indemnify each of the Trustee and any predecessor Trustee (including the cost of defending itself) against any loss, liability or expense, including taxes (other than taxes based upon, measured by or determined by the income of the Trustee) incurred by it except as set forth in this Section 7.07 in the performance of its duties under this Indenture as Trustee or Agent. The Trustee shall notify the Company promptly of any claim for which it may seek indemnity. Failure or delay by the Trustee to so notify the Company of any claim for which it may seek indemnity shall not relieve the Company of its obligations hereunder except to the extent such failure or delay shall have materially prejudiced the Company. The Company shall defend the claim and the Trustee shall cooperate in the defense. The Trustee may have one separate counsel and the Company shall pay the reasonable fees and expenses of such counsel. The Company need not pay for any settlement made without its consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. This indemnification shall apply to officers, directors, employees, shareholders and agents of the Trustee. The Company need not reimburse any expense or indemnify against any loss or liability incurred by the Trustee or by any officer, director, employee, shareholder or agent of the Trustee through the gross negligence or willful misconduct of any such persons as determined by a final order of a court of competent jurisdiction. When the Trustee incurs expenses or renders services after an Event of Default specified in Section 6.01(d) or (e) occurs, the expenses and the compensation for the services are intended to constitute expenses of administration under any insolvency, bankruptcy or similar law. The provisions of this Section shall survive the resignation or removal of the Trustee and the termination or discharge of this Indenture.
Section 7.08 Replacement of Trustee. A resignation or removal of the Trustee and appointment of a successor Trustee shall become effective only upon the successor Trustee’s acceptance of appointment as provided in this Section. The Trustee may resign with respect to the Securities of one or more Series by so notifying the Company at least 30 days prior to the date of the proposed resignation. The Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Securities of any Series may remove the Trustee with respect to that Series by so notifying the Trustee and the Company. The Company may remove the Trustee with respect to Securities of one or more Series if:
(a) the Trustee fails to comply with Section 7.10;
(b) the Trustee is adjudged bankrupt or insolvent or an order for relief is entered with respect to the Trustee under any insolvency, bankruptcy or similar law;
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(c) a custodian or public officer takes charge of the Trustee or its property; or
(d) the Trustee becomes incapable of acting.
If the Trustee resigns or is removed or if a vacancy exists in the office of Trustee for any reason, the Company shall promptly appoint a successor Trustee.
If a successor Trustee with respect to the Securities of any one or more Series does not take office within 60 days after the retiring Trustee resigns or is removed, the retiring Trustee, the Company or the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the Securities of the applicable Series may petition any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a successor Trustee.
A successor Trustee shall deliver a written acceptance of its appointment to the retiring Trustee and to the Company. Immediately after that, the retiring Trustee shall transfer all property held by it as Trustee to the successor Trustee subject to the lien provided for in Section 7.07, the resignation or removal of the retiring Trustee shall become effective, and the successor Trustee shall have all the rights, powers and duties of the Trustee with respect to each Series of Securities for which it is acting as Trustee under this Indenture. A successor Trustee shall deliver a notice of its succession to each Holder of each such Series. Notwithstanding replacement of the Trustee pursuant to this Section 7.08, the Company’s obligations under Section 7.07 hereof shall continue for the benefit of the retiring Trustee with respect to expenses and liabilities incurred by it prior to the date of such replacement.
Section 7.09 Successor Trustee by Merger, etc. If the Trustee consolidates with, merges or converts into, or transfers all or substantially all of its corporate trust business (including administration of this Indenture) to, another corporation, the successor corporation without any further act shall be the successor Trustee.
Section 7.10 Eligibility; Disqualification. This Indenture shall always have a Trustee who satisfies the requirements of TIA Section 310(a)(1), (2) and (5) and has a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000. The Trustee shall comply with TIA Section 310(b).
Section 7.11 Preferential Collection of Claims Against Company. The Trustee is subject to TIA Section 311(a), excluding any creditor relationship listed in TIA Section 311(b). A Trustee who has resigned or been removed shall be subject to TIA Section 311(a) to the extent indicated.
ARTICLE VIII
SATISFACTION AND DISCHARGE; DEFEASANCE
Section 8.01 Satisfaction and Discharge of Indenture.
This Indenture shall upon Company Order cease to be of further effect (except as hereinafter provided in this Section 8.01), and the Trustee, at the expense of the Company, shall execute proper instruments acknowledging satisfaction and discharge of this Indenture, when
(a) any of the following shall have occurred:
(i) no Securities have been issued hereunder;
(ii) all Securities theretofore authenticated and delivered (other than Securities that have been destroyed, lost or stolen and that have been replaced or paid) have been delivered to the Trustee for cancellation; or
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(iii) all such Securities not theretofore delivered to the Trustee for cancellation (1) have become due and payable, or (2) will become due and payable at their Stated Maturity within one year, or (3) are to be called for redemption within one year under arrangements satisfactory to the Trustee for the giving of notice of redemption by the Trustee in the name, and at the expense, of the Company; and the Company has irrevocably deposited or caused to be deposited with the Trustee as trust funds in trust an amount sufficient for the purpose of paying and discharging the entire indebtedness on such Securities not theretofore delivered to the Trustee for cancellation, for principal and interest to the date of such deposit (in the case of Securities which have become due and payable on or prior to the date of such deposit) or to the Stated Maturity or redemption date, as the case may be;
(b) the Company has paid or caused to be paid all other sums payable hereunder by the Company; and
(c) the Company has delivered to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, each stating that all conditions precedent herein provided for relating to the satisfaction and discharge of this Indenture have been complied with.
Notwithstanding the satisfaction and discharge of this Indenture, the obligations of the Company to the Trustee under Section 7.07 and, if money shall have been deposited with the Trustee pursuant to clause (a) of this Section, the provisions of Sections 2.04, 2.05, 2.07, 2.08, 8.01, 8.02 and 8.05 shall survive.
Section 8.02 Application of Trust Funds; Indemnification.
(a) Subject to the provisions of Section 8.05, all money deposited with the Trustee pursuant to Section 8.01, all money and U.S. Government Obligations or Foreign Government Obligations deposited with the Trustee pursuant to Section 8.03 or 8.04 and all money received by the Trustee in respect of U.S. Government Obligations or Foreign Government Obligations deposited with the Trustee pursuant to Section 8.03 or 8.04, shall be held in trust and applied by it, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and this Indenture, to the payment, either directly or through any Paying Agent (other than the Company acting as its own Paying Agent) as the Trustee may determine, to the persons entitled thereto, of the principal and interest for whose payment such money has been deposited with or received by the Trustee or analogous payments as contemplated by Sections 8.03 or 8.04.
(b) The Company shall pay and shall indemnify the Trustee against any tax, fee or other charge imposed on or assessed against U.S. Government Obligations or Foreign Government Obligations deposited pursuant to Sections 8.03 or 8.04 or the interest and principal received in respect of such obligations other than any payable by or on behalf of Holders.
(c) The Trustee shall deliver or pay to the Company from time to time upon Company Request any U.S. Government Obligations or Foreign Government Obligations or money held by it as provided in Sections 8.03 or 8.04 which, in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent certified public accountants expressed in a written certification thereof delivered to the Trustee, are then in excess of the amount thereof which then would have been required to be deposited for the purpose for which such U.S. Government Obligations or Foreign Government Obligations or money were deposited or received. This provision shall not authorize the sale by the Trustee of any U.S. Government Obligations or Foreign Government Obligations held under this Indenture.
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Section 8.03 Legal Defeasance of Securities of any Series. Unless this Section 8.03 is otherwise specified, pursuant to Section 2.02(s), to be inapplicable to Securities of any Series, the Company shall be deemed to have paid and discharged the entire indebtedness on all the outstanding Securities of any Series on the 91st day after the date of the deposit referred to in subparagraph (d) hereof, and the provisions of this Indenture, as it relates to such outstanding Securities of such Series, shall no longer be in effect (and the Trustee, at the expense of the Company, shall, at Company Request, execute such instruments reasonably requested by the Company acknowledging the same), except as to:
(a) the rights of Holders of Securities of such Series to receive, from the trust funds described in subparagraph (d) hereof, (i) payment of the principal of and each installment of principal of and interest on the outstanding Securities of such Series on the Stated Maturity of such principal or installment of principal or interest, and (ii) the benefit of any mandatory sinking fund payments applicable to the Securities of such Series on the day on which such payments are due and payable in accordance with the terms of this Indenture and the Securities of such Series; and
(b) the provisions of Sections 2.04, 2.05, 2.07, 2.08, 8.02, 8.03 and 8.05; and
(c) the rights, powers, trust and immunities of the Trustee hereunder; provided that, the following conditions shall have been satisfied:
(d) with reference to this Section 8.03, the Company shall have deposited or caused to be irrevocably deposited (except as provided in Section 8.02(c)) with the Trustee as trust funds in trust for the purpose of making the following payments, specifically pledged as security for and dedicated solely to the benefit of the Holders of such Securities (i) in the case of Securities of such Series denominated in Dollars, cash in Dollars and/or U.S. Government Obligations, or (ii) in the case of Securities of such Series denominated in a Foreign Currency (other than a composite currency), money and/or Foreign Government Obligations, which through the payment of interest and principal in respect thereof in accordance with their terms, will provide (and without reinvestment and assuming no tax liability will be imposed on such Trustee), not later than one day before the due date of any payment of money, an amount in cash, sufficient, in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants expressed in a written certification thereof delivered to the Trustee, to pay and discharge each installment of principal of and interest, if any, on and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of all the Securities of such Series on the dates such installments of interest or principal and such sinking fund payments are due;
(e) such deposit will not result in a breach or violation of, or constitute a default under, this Indenture or any other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which it is bound;
(f) no Default or Event of Default with respect to the Securities of such Series shall have occurred and be continuing on the date of such deposit or during the period ending on the 91st day after such date;
(g) the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that (i) the Company has received from, or there has been published by, the Internal Revenue Service a ruling, or (ii) since the date of execution of this Indenture, there has been a change in the applicable Federal income tax law, in either case to the effect that, and based thereon such Opinion of Counsel shall confirm that, the Holders of the Securities of such Series will not recognize income, gain or loss for Federal income tax purposes as a result of such deposit, defeasance and discharge and will be subject to Federal income tax on the same amounts and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such deposit, defeasance and discharge had not occurred;
(h) the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate stating that the deposit was not made by the Company with the intent of preferring the Holders of the Securities of such Series over any other creditors of the Company or with the intent of defeating, hindering, delaying or defrauding any other creditors of the Company;
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(i) the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, each stating that all conditions precedent provided for relating to the defeasance contemplated by this Section have been complied with; and
(j) such defeasance shall not result in the trust arising from such deposit constituting an investment company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, unless such trust shall be registered under such Act or exempt from registration thereunder.
Section 8.04 Covenant Defeasance. Unless this Section 8.04 is otherwise specified, pursuant to Section 2.02(s), to be inapplicable to Securities of any Series, on and after the 91st day after the date of the deposit referred to in subparagraph (a) hereof, the Company may omit to comply with respect to the Securities of any Series with any term, provision or condition set forth under Sections 4.02, 4.03, and 5.01 as well as any additional covenants specified in a supplemental indenture for such Series of Securities or a Board Resolution or an Officers’ Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 2.02 (and the failure to comply with any such covenants shall not constitute a Default or Event of Default with respect to such Series under Section 6.01) and the occurrence of any event specified in a supplemental indenture for such Series of Securities or a Board Resolution or an Officers’ Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 2.02 and designated as an Event of Default shall not constitute a Default or Event of Default hereunder, with respect to the Securities of such Series, provided that the following conditions shall have been satisfied:
(a) with reference to this Section 8.04, the Company has deposited or caused to be irrevocably deposited (except as provided in Section 8.02(c)) with the Trustee as trust funds in trust for the purpose of making the following payments specifically pledged as security for, and dedicated solely to, the benefit of the Holders of such Securities (i) in the case of Securities of such Series denominated in Dollars, cash in Dollars and/or U.S. Government Obligations, or (ii) in the case of Securities of such Series denominated in a Foreign Currency (other than a composite currency), money and/or Foreign Government Obligations, which through the payment of interest and principal in respect thereof in accordance with their terms, will provide (and without reinvestment and assuming no tax liability will be imposed on such Trustee), not later than one day before the due date of any payment of money, an amount in cash, sufficient, in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent certified public accountants expressed in a written certification thereof delivered to the Trustee, to pay and discharge each installment of principal of and interest, if any, on and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of the Securities of such Series on the dates such installments of interest or principal and such sinking fund payments are due;
(b) such deposit will not result in a breach or violation of, or constitute a default under, this Indenture or any other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which it is bound;
(c) no Default or Event of Default with respect to the Securities of such Series shall have occurred and be continuing on the date of such deposit or during the period ending on the 91st day after such date;
(d) the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that Holders of the Securities of such Series will not recognize income, gain or loss for federal income tax purposes as a result of such deposit and covenant defeasance and will be subject to federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such deposit and covenant defeasance had not occurred;
(e) the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, each stating that all conditions precedent herein provided for relating to the covenant defeasance contemplated by this Section have been complied with; and
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(f) Such defeasance shall not result in the trust arising from such deposit constituting an investment company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, unless such trust shall be registered under such Act or exempt from registration thereunder.
Section 8.05 Repayment to Company. The Trustee and the Paying Agent shall pay to the Company upon written request any money held by them for the payment of principal and interest that remains unclaimed for two years, and after such time, Holders entitled to the money must look to the Company for payment as general creditors unless an applicable abandoned property law designates another person.
Section 8.06 Reinstatement. If the Trustee or the Paying Agent is unable to apply any money deposited with respect to Securities of any series in accordance with Section 8.01 by reason of any legal proceeding or by reason of any order or judgment of any court or governmental authority enjoining, restraining or otherwise prohibiting such application, the obligations of the Company under this Indenture with respect to the Securities of such series and under the Securities of such series shall be revived and reinstated as though no deposit had occurred pursuant to Section 8.01 until such time as the Trustee or the Paying Agent is permitted to apply all such money in accordance with Section 8.01; provided, however, that if the Company has made any payment of principal of, premium (if any) or interest on any Additional Amounts with respect to any Securities because of the reinstatement of its obligations, the Company shall be subrogated to the rights of the Holders of such Securities to receive such payment from the money held by the Trustee or the Paying Agent.
ARTICLE IX
AMENDMENTS AND WAIVERS
Section 9.01 Without Consent of Holders. Unless otherwise specified for a particular Series by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate, the Company and the Trustee may amend or supplement this Indenture or the Securities of one or more Series without the consent of any Holder:
(a) to evidence the succession of another person to the Company under this Indenture and the Securities and the assumption by any such Successor Person of the obligations of the Company hereunder and under the Securities;
(b) to add covenants of the Company for the benefit of the Holders of all or any series of Securities (and if such covenants are to be for the benefit of less than all series of Securities, stating that such covenants are expressly being included for the benefit of such series) or to surrender any right or power herein conferred upon the Company provided such action does not adversely affect the interests of the Holders;
(c) to add any additional Events of Default;
(d) to add to or change any of the provisions of this Indenture to such extent as shall be necessary to permit or facilitate the issuance of Securities in bearer form, registrable or not registrable as to principal, and with or without interest coupons, or to permit or facilitate the issuance of Securities in uncertificated form;
(e) to add to, change or eliminate any of the provisions of this Indenture in respect of one or more series of Securities, provided that any such addition, change or elimination (A) shall neither (i) apply to any Security of any series created prior to the execution of such supplemental indenture and entitled to the benefit of such provision nor (ii) modify the rights of the Holder of any such Security with respect to such provision or (B) shall become effective only when there is no such Security Outstanding;
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(f) to establish the forms or terms of the Securities of any series issued pursuant to the terms hereof;
(g) to cure any ambiguity or correct any inconsistency in this Indenture;
(h) to evidence and provide for the acceptance of appointment hereunder by a successor Trustee with respect to the Securities of one or more series and to add to or change any of the provisions of this Indenture as shall be necessary to provide for or facilitate the administration of the trusts hereunder by more than one Trustee;
| (i) | to qualify this Indenture under the Trust Indenture Act; |
| (ii) |
(j) to provide for uncertificated securities in addition to certificated securities;
(k) to supplement any provisions of this Indenture necessary to permit or facilitate the defeasance and discharge of any series of Securities, provided that such action does not adversely affect the interests of the Holders of Securities of such series or any other series;
(l) to conform the Indenture to any Description of Securities for a particular Series of Securities; and
(m) to comply with the rules or regulations of any securities exchange or automated quotation system on which any of the Securities may be listed or traded.
Section 9.02 With Consent of Holders. The Company and the Trustee may enter into a supplemental indenture with the written consent of the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of each Series affected by such supplemental indenture (including consents obtained in connection with a tender offer or exchange offer for the Securities of such Series), for the purpose of adding any provisions to or changing in any manner or eliminating any of the provisions of this Indenture or of any supplemental indenture or of modifying in any manner the rights of the Holders of each such Series. Except as provided in Section 6.13, the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any Series by notice to the Trustee (including consents obtained in connection with a tender offer or exchange offer for the Securities of such Series) may waive compliance by the Company with any provision of this Indenture or the Securities with respect to such Series. It shall not be necessary for the consent of the Holders of Securities under this Section 9.02 to approve the particular form of any proposed supplemental indenture or waiver, but it shall be sufficient if such consent approves the substance thereof. After a supplemental indenture or waiver under this section becomes effective, the Company shall deliver to the Holders of Securities affected thereby a notice briefly describing the supplemental indenture or waiver. Any failure by the Company to deliver such notice, or any defect therein, shall not, however, in any way impair or affect the validity of any such supplemental indenture or waiver.
Section 9.03 Limitations. Unless otherwise specified for a particular Series by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officers’ Certificate, without the consent of each Holder affected, an amendment or waiver may not:
(a) reduce the amount of Securities whose Holders must consent to an amendment, supplement or waiver;
(b) reduce the rate of or extend the time for payment of interest (including default interest) on any Security;
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(c) reduce the principal or change the Stated Maturity of any Security or reduce the amount of, or postpone the date fixed for, the payment of any sinking fund or analogous obligation;
(d) reduce the principal amount of Discount Securities payable upon acceleration of the maturity thereof;
(e) waive a Default or Event of Default in the payment of the principal of or interest, if any, on any Security (except a rescission of acceleration of the Securities of any Series by the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of such Series and a waiver of the payment default that resulted from such acceleration);
(f) make the principal of or interest, if any, on any Security payable in any currency other than that stated in the Security;
(g) make any change in Sections 6.08, 6.13, or 9.03; or
(h) waive a redemption payment with respect to any Security.
Section 9.04 Compliance with Trust Indenture Act. Every amendment to this Indenture or the Securities of one or more Series shall be set forth in a supplemental indenture hereto that complies with the TIA as then in effect.
Section 9.05 Revocation and Effect of Consents. Until an amendment is set forth in a supplemental indenture or a waiver becomes effective, a consent to it by a Holder of a Security is a continuing consent by the Holder and every subsequent Holder of a Security or portion of a Security that evidences the same debt as the consenting Holder’s Security, even if notation of the consent is not made on any Security. However, any such Holder or subsequent Holder may revoke the consent as to his Security or portion of a Security if the Trustee receives the notice of revocation before the date of the supplemental indenture or the date the waiver becomes effective. Any amendment or waiver once effective shall bind every Holder of each Series affected by such amendment or waiver unless it is of the type described in any of clauses (a) through (h) of Section 9.03. In that case, the amendment or waiver shall bind each Holder of a Security who has consented to it and every subsequent Holder of a Security or portion of a Security that evidences the same debt as the consenting Holder’s Security.
Section 9.06 Notation on or Exchange of Securities. The Trustee may place an appropriate notation about an amendment or waiver on any Security of any Series thereafter authenticated. The Company in exchange for Securities of that Series may issue and the Trustee shall authenticate upon request new Securities of that Series that reflect the amendment or waiver.
Section 9.07 Trustee Protected. In executing, or accepting the additional trusts created by, any supplemental indenture permitted by this Article or the modifications thereby of the trusts created by this Indenture, the Trustee shall receive, in addition to the documents required by Section 10.04, and (subject to Section 7.01) shall be fully protected in relying upon, an Opinion of Counsel stating that all conditions precedent in this Indenture to the execution of such supplemental indenture, if any, have been complied with, such supplemental indenture is authorized hereunder, and, that such supplemental indenture is the valid and legally binding obligation of the Company. The Trustee shall sign all supplemental indentures, except that the Trustee need not sign any supplemental indenture that adversely affects its rights.
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ARTICLE X
MISCELLANEOUS
Section 10.01 Trust Indenture Act Controls. If any provision of this Indenture limits, qualifies or conflicts with another provision which is required or deemed to be included in this Indenture by the TIA, such required or deemed provision shall control.
Section 10.02 Notices.
(a) Any notice or communication by the Company or the Trustee to the other, or by a Holder to the Company or the Trustee, is duly given if in writing and delivered in person or mailed by first-class mail or sent by telecopier transmission or electronic transmission in PDF addressed as follows:
if to the Company:
SoundHound AI., Inc.
5400 Betsy Ross Drive
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Attention: Dr. Keyvan Mohajer
Telephone: (408) 441-3200
if to the Trustee:
[ ]
(b) The Company or the Trustee by notice to the other may designate additional or different addresses for subsequent notices or communications. Any notice or communication to a Holder shall be delivered to his address shown on the register kept by the Registrar. Failure to deliver a notice or communication to a Holder of any Series or any defect in it shall not affect its sufficiency with respect to other Holders of that or any other Series. If a notice or communication is delivered in the manner provided above, within the time prescribed, it is duly given, whether or not the Holder receives it. If the Company delivers a notice or communication to Holders, it shall deliver a copy to the Trustee and each Agent at the same time.
(c) Any notice or demand that by any provision of this Indenture is required or permitted to be given or served by the Company may, at the Company’s written request received by the Trustee not fewer than five (5) Business Days prior (or such shorter period of time as may be acceptable to the Trustee) to the date on which such notice must be given or served, be given or served by the Trustee in the name of and at the expense of the Company.
Section 10.03 Communication by Holders with Other Holders. Holders of any Series may communicate pursuant to TIA Section 312(b) with other Holders of that Series or any other Series with respect to their rights under this Indenture or the Securities of that Series or all Series. The Company, the Trustee, the Registrar and anyone else shall have the protection of TIA Section 312(c).
Section 10.04 Certificate and Opinion as to Conditions Precedent. Upon any request or application by the Company to the Trustee to take any action under this Indenture, the Company shall furnish to the Trustee:
(a) an Officers’ Certificate stating that, in the opinion of the signers, all conditions precedent, if any, provided for in this Indenture relating to the proposed action have been complied with; and
(b) an Opinion of Counsel stating that, in the opinion of such counsel, all such conditions precedent have been complied with.
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Section 10.05 Statements Required in Certificate or Opinion. Each certificate or opinion with respect to compliance with a condition or covenant provided for in this Indenture (other than a certificate provided pursuant to TIA Section 314(a)(4)) shall comply with the provisions of TIA Section 314(e) and shall include:
(a) a statement that the person making such certificate or opinion has read such covenant or condition;
(b) a brief statement as to the nature and scope of the examination or investigation upon which the statements or opinions contained in such certificate or opinion are based;
(c) a statement that, in the opinion of such person, he has made such examination or investigation as is necessary to enable him to express an informed opinion as to whether or not such covenant or condition has been complied with; and
(d) a statement as to whether or not, in the opinion of such person, such condition or covenant has been complied with.
Section 10.06 Rules by Trustee and Agents. The Trustee may make reasonable rules for action by or a meeting of Holders of one or more Series. Any Agent may make reasonable rules and set reasonable requirements for its functions.
Section 10.07 Legal Holidays. Unless otherwise provided by Board Resolution, Officers’ Certificate or supplemental indenture hereto for a particular Series, a “Legal Holiday” is any day that is not a Business Day. If a payment date is a Legal Holiday at a place of payment, payment may be made at that place on the next succeeding day that is not a Legal Holiday, and no interest shall accrue for the intervening period.
Section 10.08 No Recourse Against Others. A director, officer, employee or stockholder, as such, of the Company shall not have any liability for any obligations of the Company under the Securities or the Indenture or for any claim based on, in respect of or by reason of such obligations or their creation. Each Holder by accepting a Security waives and releases all such liability. The waiver and release are part of the consideration for the issue of the Securities.
Section 10.09 Counterparts. This Indenture may be executed in any number of counterparts and by the parties hereto in separate counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original and all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement. The exchange of copies of this Indenture and of signature pages by facsimile or PDF transmission shall constitute effective execution and delivery of this Indenture as to the parties hereto and may be used in lieu of the original Indenture for all purposes. Signatures of the parties hereto transmitted by facsimile or PDF shall be deemed to be their original signatures for all purposes.
Section 10.10 Governing Laws. This Indenture and the Securities will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of New York.
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Section 10.11 No Adverse Interpretation of Other Agreements. This Indenture may not be used to interpret another indenture, loan or debt agreement of the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company. Any such indenture, loan or debt agreement may not be used to interpret this Indenture.
Section 10.12 Successors. All agreements of the Company in this Indenture and the Securities shall bind its successor. All agreements of the Trustee in this Indenture shall bind its successor.
Section 10.13 Severability. In case any provision in this Indenture or in the Securities 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.
Section 10.14 Table of Contents, Headings, Etc. The Table of Contents, Cross-Reference Table, and headings of the Articles and Sections of this Indenture have been inserted for convenience of reference only, are not to be considered a part hereof, and shall in no way modify or restrict any of the terms or provisions hereof.
Section 10.15 Securities in a Foreign Currency. Unless otherwise specified in a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture hereto or an Officers’ Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 2.02 of this Indenture with respect to a particular Series of Securities, whenever for purposes of this Indenture any action may be taken by the Holders of a specified percentage in aggregate principal amount of Securities of all Series or all Series affected by a particular action at the time outstanding and, at such time, there are outstanding Securities of any Series which are denominated in a coin or currency other than Dollars, then the principal amount of Securities of such Series which shall be deemed to be outstanding for the purpose of taking such action shall be that amount of Dollars that could be obtained for such amount at the Market Exchange Rate at such time. For purposes of this Section 10.15, “Market Exchange Rate” shall mean the noon Dollar buying rate in New York City for cable transfers of that currency as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. If such Market Exchange Rate is not available for any reason with respect to such currency, the Company shall use, in its sole discretion and without liability on its part, such quotation of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as of the most recent available date, or quotations from one or more major banks in The City of New York or in the country of issue of the currency in question or such other quotations as the Company, shall deem appropriate. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply in determining the equivalent principal amount in respect of Securities of a Series denominated in currency other than Dollars in connection with any action taken by Holders of Securities pursuant to the terms of this Indenture. All decisions and determinations of the Company regarding the Market Exchange Rate or any alternative determination provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be in its sole discretion and shall, in the absence of manifest error, to the extent permitted by law, be conclusive for all purposes and irrevocably binding upon the Company, the Trustee and all Holders. The Trustee shall have no duty to calculate or verify the calculations made pursuant to this Section 10.15.
Section 10.16 U.S.A. Patriot Act. The Company acknowledges that in accordance with Section 326 of the U.S.A. Patriot Act, the Trustee, like all financial institutions, and in order to help fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering, is required to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person or legal entity that establishes a relationship or opens an account with the Trustee. The Company agrees that it will provide the Trustee with such information as it may reasonably request as required in order for the Trustee to satisfy the requirements of the U.S.A. Patriot Act.
Section 10.17 Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH OF THE COMPANY AND THE TRUSTEE HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING AS BETWEEN THE COMPANY AND THE TRUSTEE ONLY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS INDENTURE OR THE SECURITIES.
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ARTICLE XI
SINKING FUNDS
Section 11.01 Applicability of Article. The provisions of this Article shall be applicable to any sinking fund for the retirement of the Securities of a Series, except as otherwise permitted or required by any form of Security of such Series issued pursuant to this Indenture. The minimum amount of any sinking fund payment provided for by the terms of the Securities of any Series is herein referred to as a “mandatory sinking fund payment” and any other amount provided for by the terms of Securities of such Series is herein referred to as an “optional sinking fund payment.” If provided for by the terms of Securities of any Series, the cash amount of any sinking fund payment may be subject to reduction as provided in Section 11.02. Each sinking fund payment shall be applied to the redemption of Securities of any Series as provided for by the terms of the Securities of such Series.
Section 11.02 Satisfaction of Sinking Fund Payments with Securities. The Company may, in satisfaction of all or any part of any sinking fund payment with respect to the Securities of any Series to be made pursuant to the terms of such Securities (1) deliver outstanding Securities of such Series to which such sinking fund payment is applicable (other than any of such Securities previously called for mandatory sinking fund redemption) and (2) apply as credit Securities of such Series to which such sinking fund payment is applicable and which have been repurchased by the Company or redeemed either at the election of the Company pursuant to the terms of such Series of Securities (except pursuant to any mandatory sinking fund) or through the application of permitted optional sinking fund payments or other optional redemptions pursuant to the terms of such Securities, provided that such Securities have not been previously so credited. Such Securities shall be received by the Trustee, together with an Officers’ Certificate with respect thereto, not later than 15 days prior to the date on which the Trustee begins the process of selecting Securities for redemption, and shall be credited for such purpose by the Trustee at the price specified in such Securities for redemption through operation of the sinking fund and the amount of such sinking fund payment shall be reduced accordingly. If as a result of the delivery or credit of Securities in lieu of cash payments pursuant to this Section 11.02, the principal amount of Securities of such Series to be redeemed in order to exhaust the aforesaid cash payment shall be less than $100,000, the Trustee need not call Securities of such Series for redemption, except upon receipt of a Company Order that such action be taken, and such cash payment shall be held by the Trustee or a Paying Agent and applied to the next succeeding sinking fund payment, provided, however, that the Trustee or such Paying Agent shall from time to time upon receipt of a Company Order pay over and deliver to the Company any cash payment so being held by the Trustee or such Paying Agent upon delivery by the Company to the Trustee of Securities of that Series purchased by the Company having an unpaid principal amount equal to the cash payment required to be released to the Company.
Section 11.03 Redemption of Securities for Sinking Fund. Not less than 45 days (unless otherwise indicated in the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture or Officers’ Certificate in respect of a particular Series of Securities) prior to each sinking fund payment date for any Series of Securities, the Company will deliver to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate specifying the amount of the next ensuing mandatory sinking fund payment for that Series pursuant to the terms of that Series, the portion thereof, if any, which is to be satisfied by payment of cash and the portion thereof, if any, which is to be satisfied by delivering and crediting of Securities of that Series pursuant to Section 11.02, and the optional amount, if any, to be added in cash to the next ensuing mandatory sinking fund payment, and the Company shall thereupon be obligated to pay the amount therein specified. Not less than 30 days (unless otherwise indicated in the Board Resolution, Officers’ Certificate or supplemental indenture in respect of a particular Series of Securities) before each such sinking fund payment date the Trustee shall select the Securities to be redeemed upon such sinking fund payment date in the manner specified in Section 3.02 and cause notice of the redemption thereof to be given in the name of and at the expense of the Company in the manner provided in Section 3.03. Such notice having been duly given, the redemption of such Securities shall be made upon the terms and in the manner stated in Sections 3.04, 3.05 and 3.06.
[Remainder of page intentionally left blank]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Indenture to be duly executed and attested, all as of the day and year first above written.
| SOUNDHOUND AI., INC. | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | Dr. Keyvan Mohajer | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer and Director | |
[ ]. as Trustee | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: |
[Signature Page to Indenture]
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Exhibit 5.1
ELLENOFF GROSSMAN & SCHOLE LLP
1345 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10105
TELEPHONE: (212) 370-1300
FACSIMILE: (212) 370-7889
www.egsllp.com
January 27, 2025
SoundHound AI, Inc.
5499 Betsy Ross Drive
Santa Clara, CA 95054
| Re: | Registration Statement on Form S-3 |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to SoundHound AI, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the preparation of a registration statement on Form S-3 (the “Registration Statement”), filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), relating to the offer and sale from time to time by the Company of up to a maximum of $500,000,000 aggregate initial offering price of a presently indeterminate amount of the following securities (each a “Company Security” and collectively, or in any combination, the “Company Securities”):
(i) shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”);
(ii) shares of the Company’s preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Preferred Stock”);
(iii) purchase contracts entitling or obligating holders to purchase from or sell to the Company, and for the Company to sell to or purchase from such holders, a specific or varying number of debt or equity securities issued by the Company or by an entity other than the Company at a future date or dates;
(iv) warrants to purchase Common Stock, Preferred Stock, debt securities, other securities or any combination of those securities;
(v) subscription rights to purchase any of the foregoing securities;
(vi) depositary shares;
(vii) secured or unsecured debt securities consisting of notes, debentures or other evidences of indebtedness which may be senior debt securities, senior subordinated debt securities or subordinated debt securities, each of which may be convertible into equity securities; and
(viii) units comprised of, or other combinations of, the foregoing securities.
The Company Securities may be issued and sold by the Company pursuant to applicable provisions of Rule 415 under the Securities Act, in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined in light of market conditions at the time of sale, and as set forth in the Registration Statement, any amendment thereto, the prospectus contained therein (the “Prospectus”) and any supplements to the Prospectus (each, a “Prospectus Supplement”). The Company Securities may be issued from time to time on a delayed or continuous basis, and this opinion is limited to the laws, including the rules and regulations, as in effect on the date hereof, which laws are subject to change with possible retroactive effect.
Additionally, we have acted as counsel to the Company in connection with the sale through Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Wedbush Securities Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc and Northland Securities, Inc. as the sales agents from time to time by the Company of shares of Common Stock (the “Sales Agreement Shares”) having an aggregate offering price of up to $250,000,000 pursuant to the Registration Statement, including the Prospectus and the related prospectus for the sale of Sales Agreement Shares (collectively, the “Sales Agreement Prospectus”).
You have requested our opinion as to the matters set forth below in connection with the Registration Statement. For purposes of rendering the opinions set forth below, we have examined such documents and reviewed such questions of law as we have considered necessary and appropriate for the purposes of our opinion including (i) the Registration Statement, including the exhibits filed therewith, (ii) the Prospectus, (iii) the Sales Agreement Prospectus, (iv) the Company’s second amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), (iv) the Company’s amended and restated bylaws (the “Bylaws”), (v) the corporate resolutions and other actions of the Company that authorize and provide for the filing of the Registration Statement, and we have made such other investigation as we have deemed appropriate. We have not independently established any of the facts so relied on.
For purposes of this opinion letter, we have assumed the accuracy and completeness of each document submitted to us, the genuineness of all signatures on original documents, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as facsimile, electronic, certified, conformed or photostatic copies thereof, and the due execution and delivery of all documents where due execution and delivery are prerequisites to the effectiveness thereof. We have further assumed the legal capacity of natural persons, that persons identified to us as officers of the Company are actually serving in such capacity, that the representations of officers and employees of the Company are correct as to questions of fact, that the board of directors will have taken all action necessary to set the issuance price of the Company Securities to be offered and sold and that each party to the documents we have examined or relied on (other than the Company) has the power, corporate or other, to enter into and perform all obligations thereunder and also have assumed the due authorization by all requisite action, corporate or other, the execution and delivery by such parties of such documents, and the validity and binding effect thereof on such parties. We have not independently verified any of these assumptions.
The opinions expressed in this opinion letter are limited to (i) the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”) and the applicable statutory provisions of the Delaware Constitution and the reported judicial decisions interpreting such statute and provisions and, solely in connection with the opinions given in numbered paragraphs 1, 2, and 9 below and (ii) the laws of the State of New York solely in connection with the other opinions given below. We are not opining on, and we assume no responsibility for, the applicability to or effect on any of the matters covered herein of (a) any other laws; (b) the laws of any other jurisdiction; or (c) the laws of any county, municipality or other political subdivision or local governmental agency or authority.
2
Based on the foregoing and in reliance thereon, and subject to the assumptions, qualifications, limitations and exceptions set forth below, we are of the opinion that:
1. With respect to shares of Common Stock, when (a) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the issuance and terms of the offering thereof and related matters, including without limitation the due reservation of any Common Stock for issuance, and (b) certificates representing the shares of Common Stock have been duly executed, countersigned, registered and delivered, in each case in accordance with the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, either (i) in accordance with the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement approved by the board of directors of the Company upon payment of the consideration therefor (which consideration shall not be less than the par value of the Common Stock) provided for in such definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement, as applicable, or (ii) upon conversion, exchange or exercise of any other Company Security in accordance with the terms of such Company Security or the instrument governing such Company Security providing for the conversion, exchange or exercise as approved by the board of directors of the Company, for the consideration therefor set forth in the applicable agreement and approved by the board of directors of the Company, which consideration shall not be less than the par value of the Common Stock, such shares of Common Stock will be validly issued, fully paid, and non-assessable.
2. With respect to shares of any series of Preferred Stock, when (a) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the issuance and terms of the shares of such series, the terms of the offering thereof and related matters, including the adoption of a certificate of designation or amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation fixing and determining the terms of such Preferred Stock conforming to the DGCL, the filing of a certificate or amendment, as applicable, with the Secretary of State of Delaware, the payment in full of any filing fees attendant thereto, and the due reservation of any Common Stock and Preferred Stock for issuance, and (b) certificates representing the shares of such series of Preferred Stock have been duly executed, countersigned, registered and delivered, in each case in accordance with the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, either (i) in accordance with the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement approved by the board of directors of the Company upon payment of the consideration therefor (which consideration shall not be less than the par value of the Preferred Stock) provided for in such definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement, as applicable, or (ii) upon conversion, exchange or exercise of any other Company Security in accordance with the terms of such Company Security or the instrument governing such Company Security providing for the conversion, exchange or exercise as approved by the board of directors of the Company, for the consideration therefor set forth in the applicable agreement and approved by the board of directors of the Company, which consideration shall not be less than the par value of the Preferred Stock, the shares of such series of Preferred Stock will be validly issued, fully paid, and non-assessable.
3. With respect to the issuance of any purchase contracts, when (a) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the purchase contract agreement to be entered into in connection with the issuance of any purchase contracts and such purchase contract agreement has been validly executed and delivered by the purchase contract agent and Company, (b) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the specific issuance and terms of any purchase contracts duly established in accordance with the applicable purchase contract agreement and (c) such purchase contracts have been duly executed, countersigned, registered, issued and delivered in accordance with the purchase contract agreement and the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement, as applicable, for the consideration therefor set forth in the applicable agreement and approved by the board of directors of the Company, such purchase contracts will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, concepts of reasonableness and equitable principles of general applicability.
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4. With respect to the issuance of any warrants, when (a) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the warrant agreement to be entered into in connection with the issuance of any warrants and such warrant agreement has been validly executed and delivered by the warrant agent and Company, (b) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the specific issuance and terms of any warrants duly established in accordance with the applicable warrant agreement and (c) such warrants have been duly executed, countersigned, registered, issued and delivered in accordance with the warrant agreement and the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement, as applicable, for the consideration therefor set forth in the applicable agreement and approved by the board of directors of the Company (assuming the securities issuable upon exercise of the warrants have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance by all necessary corporate action and in accordance with applicable law), such warrants will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, concepts of reasonableness and equitable principles of general applicability.
5. With respect to the subscription rights, when (a) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to authorize the issuance and the specific terms of such subscription rights, the terms of the offering thereof, and related matters and (b) such subscription rights and agreements relating to the subscription rights have been duly executed and delivered in accordance with the terms thereof, then such subscription rights will be valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.
6. With respect to the depositary shares, when (i) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the issuance and terms of the depositary shares, the terms of the offering thereof and related matters, including the adoption of a certificate of designation relating to the preferred stock underlying the depositary shares as required by applicable law and the filing of the certificate of designation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware as required by applicable law; (ii) the depositary agreement or agreements relating to the depositary shares and the related depositary receipts have been duly authorized and validly executed and delivered by the board of directors of the Company and the depositary appointed by the Company; (iii) the shares of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares have been duly authorized, validly issued and deposited with the depositary under the applicable depositary agreement; and (iv) the depositary receipts representing the depositary shares have been duly executed, countersigned, registered and delivered in accordance with the appropriate depositary agreement approved by the Company, upon payment of the consideration therefor provided for in the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement, the depositary shares will be legally issued and will entitle their holders to the rights specified in the deposit agreement and the depositary receipt.
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7. With respect to any debt securities, when (a) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to approve an applicable indenture, if any, or any amendment or supplement thereto or other agreement in respect thereof, if any, and such indenture, if any, or any amendment or supplement thereto or other agreement in respect thereof, if any, has been validly executed and delivered by the Company, (b) any applicable indenture, if required, has been duly qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, if qualification is required thereunder, (c) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the specific issuance and terms of any series of debt security duly established in accordance with the applicable indenture, if any, and (d) such debt security have been duly executed, countersigned, registered, issued and delivered either (i) in accordance with the indenture, if any, or any amendment or supplement thereto or other agreement in respect thereof, if any, the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement, as applicable, or (ii) upon conversion, exchange or exercise of any other Company Security in accordance with the terms of such Company Security or the instrument governing such Company Security providing for the conversion, exchange or exercise as approved by the board of directors of the Company, for the consideration therefor set forth in the applicable agreement and approved by the board of directors of the Company, such debt securities will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, concepts of reasonableness and equitable principles of general applicability, provided that we express no opinion as to (x) the enforceability of any waiver of rights under any usury or state law, (y) the validity, legally binding effect or enforceability of any provision of the indenture that requires or relates to adjustments to the conversion rate at a rate or in an amount that a court would determine in the circumstances under applicable law to be commercially unreasonable or a penalty or forfeiture or (z) the validity, legally binding effect or enforceability of any provision that permits holders to collect any portion of stated principle amount upon acceleration of the debt securities to the extent determined to constitute unearned interest.
8. With respect to the issuance of any units, when (a) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the unit agreement, if any, to be entered into in connection with the issuance of any units and such unit agreement, if any, has been validly executed and delivered by the unit agent, if any, and Company, (b) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the specific issuance and terms of any units duly established in accordance with the applicable unit agreement, if any, and (c) such units have been duly executed, countersigned, registered, issued and delivered in accordance with the unit agreement, if any, and the applicable definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement, as applicable, for the consideration therefor set forth in the applicable agreement and approved by the board of directors of the Company, such units will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, concepts of reasonableness and equitable principles of general applicability.
9. With respect to the Sales Agreement Shares which are a portion of the Common Stock being registered, when the Sales Agreement Shares have been duly registered on the books of the transfer agent and registrar therefor in the name or on behalf of the purchasers thereof, and have been issued by the Company against payment therefor (not less than par value) in the circumstances contemplated by the Sales Agreement Prospectus, the issuance and sale of the Sales Agreement Shares will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
The opinions set forth above are subject to the following additional assumptions:
(i) the Registration Statement, any amendments thereto (including post-effective amendments), will have been declared effective under the Securities Act and such effectiveness shall not have been terminated, suspended or rescinded;
(ii) all Company Securities will be issued and sold in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws, rules and regulations and solely in the manner provided in the Registration Statement and the appropriate Prospectus Supplement and there will not have occurred any change in law or fact affecting the validity of any of the opinions rendered herein;
(iii) a definitive purchase, underwriting or similar agreement and any other necessary agreements with respect to any Company Securities offered or issued will have been duly authorized and duly executed and delivered by the Company and the other parties thereto;
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(iv) the final terms of any of the Company Securities (including any Company Securities comprising the same or subject thereto), and when issued, the issuance, sale and delivery thereof by the Company, and the incurrence and performance of the Company’s obligations thereunder or respect thereof in accordance with the terms thereof, and any consideration received by the Company for any such issuance, sale and delivery, will comply with, and will not violate, the Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws or any applicable law, rule or regulation, or result in a default under or breach of any agreement or instrument binding upon the Company and will comply with any requirement or restriction imposed by any court or governmental body having jurisdiction over the Company or to which the issuance, sale and delivery of such Company Securities or the incurrence and performance of such obligations may be subject or violate any applicable public policy, or be subject to any defense in law or equity;
(v) the Company shall have taken any action required to be taken by the Company, based on the type of Company Security being offered, to authorize the offer and issuance thereof, and such authorization shall remain in effect and unchanged at all times during which the Company Securities are offered and issued and shall not have been modified or rescinded (subject to the further assumption that the sale of any Company Security takes place in accordance with such authorization), the board of directors of the Company shall have duly established the terms of such Company Security and duly authorized and taken any other necessary corporate action to approve the issuance and sale of such Company Security in conformity with the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws (subject to the further assumption that neither the Certificate of Incorporation nor Bylaws have been amended from the date hereof in a manner that would affect the validity of any of the opinions rendered herein), and such authorization shall remain in effect and unchanged at all times during which the Company Securities are offered and issued and shall not have been modified or rescinded (subject to the further assumption that the sale of any Company Security takes place in accordance with such authorization);
(vi) there will exist, under the Certificate of Incorporation, the requisite number of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock (and securities of any class into which any of the Preferred Stock may be convertible), as the case may be; and
(vii) to the extent they purport to relate to liabilities resulting from or based upon gross negligence, recklessness or other conduct committed or omitted willfully or in bad faith or any violation of federal or state securities or blue sky laws, we express no opinions concerning the enforceability of indemnification provisions.
The opinions above are subject to the effects of (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, receivership, moratorium and other similar laws relating to or affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights or remedies generally, (ii) general principles of equity, whether such principles are considered in a proceeding of law or at equity, and (iii) an implied covenant of good faith, reasonableness and fair dealing and standards of materiality.
This opinion is limited to the Delaware General Corporation Law, including the statutory provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law and all applicable provisions of the Delaware Constitution and reported judicial decisions interpreting these laws. We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the use of our name under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus. In giving our consent, we do not thereby admit that we are experts with respect to any part of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, the Sales Agreement Prospectus or any Prospectus Supplement within the meaning of the term “expert,” as used in Section 11 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Commission, nor do we admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
| Yours truly, | |
| /s/ Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP | |
| Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP |
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Exhibit 10.1
SOUNDHOUND AI, INC.
$250,000,000
Common Stock
($ 0.0001 par value)
Equity Distribution Agreement
January 27, 2025
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
Guggenheim Securities, LLC
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
Wedbush Securities Inc.
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.
Northland Securities, Inc.
c/o Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
110 East 59th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10022
c/o Guggenheim Securities, LLC
330 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10017
c/o Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
85 Broad Street
New York, NY 10004
c/o Wedbush Securities Inc.
1000 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90017
c/o Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.
640 5th Ave, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10019
c/o Northland Securities, Inc.
150 South Fifth Street, Suite 3300
Minneapolis MN 55402
Ladies and Gentlemen:
SoundHound AI, Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of Delaware (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Wedbush Securities Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Northland Securities, Inc., (each, a “Manager,” and, collectively, the “Managers”) as follows:
1. Description of Shares. The Company proposes to issue and sell through or to the Managers, as sales agents and/or principals, shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value (“Common Stock”), having an aggregate gross sales price of up to $250,000,000 (the “Shares”), from time to time during the term of this Agreement and on the terms set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement. For purposes of selling the Shares through the Managers, the Company hereby appoints the Managers as exclusive agents of the Company for the purpose of soliciting purchases of the Shares from the Company pursuant to this Agreement and the Managers agree to use their commercially reasonable efforts to solicit purchases of the Shares on the terms and subject to the conditions stated herein. The Company agrees that whenever it determines to sell the Shares directly to any Manager as principal, it will enter into a separate agreement (each, a “Terms Agreement”) in substantially the form of Annex I hereto, relating to such sale in accordance with Section 3 of this Agreement. Certain terms used herein are defined in Section 19 hereof.
2. Representations and Warranties. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each Manager at the Execution Time and on each such time the following representations and warranties are repeated or deemed to be made pursuant to this Agreement, as set forth below.
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(a) The Company meets the requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act and has prepared and filed or will file with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-3, including a related Base Prospectus, for registration under the Securities Act of the offering and sale of the Shares (the “Registration Statement”). Such Registration Statement, including any amendments thereto and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement filed prior to the Execution Time or prior to any such time this representation is repeated or deemed to be made, will have become effective. The Company will file with the Commission the Prospectus Supplement relating to the Shares in accordance with Rule 424(b). As filed, the Prospectus will contain all information required by the Securities Act and the rules thereunder, and shall be in all substantive respects in the form furnished to the Managers prior to the Execution Time or prior to any such time this representation is repeated or deemed to be made. The Registration Statement, at the Execution Time, each such time this representation is repeated or deemed to be made, and at all times during which a prospectus is required by the Securities Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 or any similar rule) in connection with any offer or sale of Shares, meets the requirements set forth in Rule 415(a)(1)(x). The initial Effective Date of the Registration Statement was not earlier than the date three years before the Execution Time. Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, any Interim Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 which were filed under the Exchange Act on or before the Effective Date of the Registration Statement or the issue date of the Base Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, any Interim Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus, as the case may be; and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, any Interim Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include all documents subsequently filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act that are deemed to be incorporated therein by reference (the “Incorporated Documents”).
(b) To the extent that the Registration Statement is not available for the sales of the Shares as contemplated by this Agreement or the Company is unable to make the representations set forth in Section 2(e) at any time when such representations are required, the Company shall file a new registration statement with respect to any additional shares of Common Stock necessary to complete such sales of the Shares and shall cause such registration statement to become effective as promptly as practicable. After the effectiveness of any such registration statement, all references to “Registration Statement” included in this Agreement shall be deemed to include such new registration statement, including all documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3, and all references to “Base Prospectus” included in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the final form of prospectus, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in any such registration statement at the time such registration statement became effective.
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(c) On each Effective Date, at the Execution Time, at each Applicable Time, at each Settlement Date and at all times during which a prospectus is required by the Securities Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 or any similar rule) in connection with any offer or sale of Shares, the Registration Statement complied and will comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the respective rules thereunder and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading; and on the date of any filing pursuant to Rule 424(b), at the Execution Time, at each Applicable Time, on each Settlement Date and at all times during which a prospectus is required by the Securities Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 or any similar rule) in connection with any offer or sale of Shares, the Prospectus (together with any supplement thereto) complied and will comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the respective rules thereunder and did not and will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to the information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (or any supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by the Managers specifically for inclusion in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (or any supplement thereto).
(d) At the Execution Time, at each Applicable Time and at each Settlement Date, the Disclosure Package does not and will not contain 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 under which they were made, not misleading. The preceding sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from the Disclosure Package based upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Manager specifically for use therein.
(e) No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement will be in effect, and no proceedings for such purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act will be pending before or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened by the Commission.
(f) The Common Stock is an “actively-traded security” exempted from the requirements of Rule 101 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act by subsection (c)(1) of such rule.
(g) The Company is not a party to any other sales agency agreements or other similar arrangements with any agent or any other representative in respect of at the market offerings of the Shares in accordance with Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act.
(h) The Company has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might be reasonably expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares.
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(i) There is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company any brokerage or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except as may otherwise exist with respect to the Managers pursuant to this Agreement.
(j) The interactive data in the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (“XBRL”) included as an exhibit to the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.
(k) Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is chartered or organized with full corporate power and authority to own or lease, as the case may be, and to operate its properties and conduct its business as described in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing under the laws of each jurisdiction which requires such qualification. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries owns or leases all such properties as are necessary to the conduct of its operations as presently conducted.
(l) All the outstanding shares of capital stock of each subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and nonassessable, and, except as otherwise set forth in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, all outstanding shares of capital stock of the subsidiaries are owned by the Company either directly or through wholly owned subsidiaries free and clear of any perfected security interest or any other security interests, claims, liens or encumbrances.
(m) Any statutes, regulations, contracts or other documents that are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement have been so described or filed.
(n) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(o) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, will not be an “investment company” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
(p) No consent, approval, authorization, filing with or order of any court or governmental agency or body is required in connection with the transactions contemplated herein, except such as have been obtained under the Securities Act and such as may be required under the blue sky laws of any jurisdiction, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) or Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) in connection with in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Managers in the manner contemplated herein and in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
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(q) Neither the Company nor any subsidiary is in violation or default of (i) any provision of its charter or bylaws, (ii) the terms of any indenture, contract, lease, mortgage, deed of trust, note agreement, loan agreement or other agreement, obligation, condition, covenant or instrument to which it is a party or bound or to which its property is subject, or (iii) any statute, law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company or such subsidiary or any of its properties, as applicable, except, in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such violation or default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect (as defined below).
(r) Neither the issue and sale of the Shares nor the consummation of any other of the transactions herein contemplated nor the fulfillment of the terms hereof will conflict with, result in a breach or violation of, or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, (i) the charter or by-laws of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) the terms of any indenture, contract, lease, mortgage, deed of trust, note agreement, loan agreement or other agreement, obligation, condition, covenant or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or bound or to which its or their property is subject, or (iii) any statute, law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree applicable to the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of its or their properties, except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), for such conflicts, breach, violations, liens, charges and encumbrances as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect or that have been waived.
(s) As of the Execution Time, no holders of securities of the Company have rights to the registration of such securities under the Registration Statement.
(t) The consolidated historical financial statements and schedules of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries included or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus and the Registration Statement present fairly the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the Company as of the dates and for the periods indicated, comply as to form with the applicable accounting requirements of the Securities Act and have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved (except as otherwise noted therein). The consolidated historical financial statements and schedules of Amelia AI (“Amelia”) included or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus and the Registration Statement present fairly the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of Amelia as of the dates and for the periods indicated, comply as to form with the applicable accounting requirements of the Securities Act and have been prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved (except as otherwise noted therein). The pro forma financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus and the Registration Statement include assumptions that provide a reasonable basis for presenting the significant effects directly attributable to the transactions and events described therein, the related pro forma adjustments give appropriate effect to those assumptions, and the pro forma adjustments reflect the proper application of those adjustments to the historical financial statement amounts in the pro forma financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus and the Registration Statement. The pro forma financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus and the Registration Statement comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable requirements of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act and the pro forma adjustments have been properly applied to the historical amounts in the compilation of those statements.
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(u) No action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries or its or their property is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened that (i) could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the performance of this Agreement or the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated hereby or (ii) could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), prospects, earnings, business or properties of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business (each of (i) and (ii), a “Material Adverse Effect”), except as set forth in or contemplated in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto).
(v) Each of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Armanino LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries and delivered their report with respect to the audited consolidated financial statements and schedules included in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are independent public accountants with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the applicable published rules and regulations thereunder.
(w) Ernst & Young LLP, who has certified certain financial statements of Amelia and delivered its report with respect to the audited consolidated financial statements and schedules included in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, was, as of October 22, 2024 and during the period covered by the financial statements on which it reported, an independent public accountant with respect to Amelia within the meaning of the Securities Act and the applicable published rules and regulations thereunder.
(x) The Company has filed all tax returns that are required to be filed or has requested extensions thereof (except in any case in which the failure so to file would not have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto)) and has paid all taxes required to be paid by it and any other assessment, fine or penalty levied against it, to the extent that any of the foregoing is due and payable, except for any such assessment, fine or penalty that is currently being contested in good faith or as would not have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto).
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(y) No labor problem or dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened or imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or its subsidiaries’ principal suppliers, contractors or customers, that could have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto).
(z) The Company and each of its 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 they are engaged; all policies of insurance insuring the Company or any of its subsidiaries or their respective businesses, assets, employees, officers and directors are in full force and effect; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms of such policies and instruments in all material respects; and there are no claims by the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any such policy or instrument as to which any insurance company is denying liability or defending under a reservation of rights clause; neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has been refused any insurance coverage sought or applied for; and neither the Company nor any such 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 at a cost that would not have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto).
(aa) No subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such subsidiary’s property or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company, except as described in or contemplated by the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(bb) The Company and its subsidiaries possess all licenses, certificates, permits and other authorizations issued by all applicable authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses except for any failure to obtain such licenses, certificates, permits or authorizations would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect or that have been waived, and neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such certificate, authorization or permit which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto).
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(cc) The Company and each of its 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 generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (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; and (v) the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus is in compliance with the Commission’s published rules, regulations and guidelines applicable thereto. Except as disclosed in the Incorporated Documents, the Company and its subsidiaries’ internal controls over financial reporting are effective and the Company and its subsidiaries are not aware of any material weakness in their internal controls over financial reporting.
(dd) The Company and its subsidiaries maintain “disclosure controls and procedures” (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as required by Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act and, except as described in the Incorporated Documents, such disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the Company’s most recently completed fiscal quarter.
(ee) The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would constitute or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares.
(ff) The Company and its subsidiaries are (i) in compliance with any and all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (“Environmental Laws”), (ii) have received and are in compliance with all permits, licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses and (iii) have not received notice of any actual or potential liability under any environmental law, except, in the case of any of clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) above, where such non-compliance with Environmental Laws, failure to receive required permits, licenses or other approvals, or liability would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto). Except as set forth in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, to the knowledge of the Company, neither the Company nor any of the subsidiaries has been named as a “potentially responsible party” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended.
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(gg) To the Company’s knowledge, none of the following events has occurred or exists: (i) a failure to fulfill the obligations, if any, under the minimum funding standards of Section 302 of the United States Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder with respect to a Plan, determined without regard to any waiver of such obligations or extension of any amortization period; (ii) an audit or investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation or any other federal or state governmental agency or any foreign regulatory agency with respect to the employment or compensation of employees by any of the Company or any of its subsidiaries that could have a Material Adverse Effect; (iii) any breach of any contractual obligation, or any violation of law or applicable qualification standards, with respect to the employment or compensation of employees by the Company or any of its subsidiaries that could have a Material Adverse Effect. To the Company’s knowledge, none of the following events has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur: (i) a material increase in the aggregate amount of contributions required to be made to all Plans in the current fiscal year of the Company and its subsidiaries compared to the amount of such contributions made in the most recently completed fiscal year of the Company and its subsidiaries; (ii) a material increase in the “accumulated post-retirement benefit obligations” (within the meaning of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 106) of the Company and its subsidiaries compared to the amount of such obligations in the most recently completed fiscal year of the Company and its subsidiaries; (iii) any event or condition giving rise to a liability under Title IV of ERISA that could have a Material Adverse Effect; or (iv) the filing of a claim by one or more employees or former employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries related to their employment that could have a Material Adverse Effect. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “Plan” means a plan (within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA) subject to Title IV of ERISA with respect to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries may have any liability.
(hh) There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company and any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), including Section 402 relating to loans and Sections 302 and 906 relating to certifications.
(ii) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that could result in a violation or a sanction for violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or similar law of any other relevant jurisdiction, or the rules or regulations thereunder; and the Company and its subsidiaries have instituted and maintain policies and procedures to ensure compliance therewith. No part of the proceeds of the offering will be used, directly or indirectly, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or similar law of any other relevant jurisdiction, or the rules or regulations thereunder.
(jj) The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements and the money laundering statutes and the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
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(kk) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (i) is, or is controlled or 50% or more owned in the aggregate by or is acting on behalf of, one or more individuals or entities that are currently the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the United States (including any administered or enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of State or the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce), the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, a member state of the European Union, His Majesty’s Treasury of the United Kingdom, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions” and such persons, “Sanctioned Persons” and each such person, a “Sanctioned Person”), (ii) is located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions that broadly prohibit dealings with that country or territory (collectively, “Sanctioned Countries” and each, a “Sanctioned Country”) or (iii) will, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of this offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other individual or entity in any manner that would result in a violation of any Sanctions by, or could result in the imposition of Sanctions against, any individual or entity (including any individual or entity participating in the offering, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise).
(ll) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has engaged in any dealings or transactions with or for the benefit of a Sanctioned Person, or with or in a Sanctioned Country, in the preceding 3 years, nor does the Company or any of its subsidiaries have any plans to engage in dealings or transactions with or for the benefit of a Sanctioned Person, or with or in a Sanctioned Country.
(mm) As of the Execution Time, the subsidiaries listed on Annex II attached hereto are the only significant subsidiaries of the Company as defined by Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X (each, a “Subsidiary” and together, the “Subsidiaries”).
(nn) Except as described in the Registration Statement, Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (i) the Company and its subsidiaries own or have a valid license to all patents, inventions, copyrights, know how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names, domain names and other intellectual property, including any and all registrations, applications for registration, and goodwill associated with any of the foregoing (collectively, “Intellectual Property Rights”) currently employed by them in connection with the business as now operated, or as proposed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus to be operated, by them, except where the failure to own, possess, license, have the right to use any of the foregoing would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) the Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company and its subsidiaries and, to the Company’s knowledge, the Intellectual Property Rights exclusively licensed to the Company and its subsidiaries, in each case, which are material to the conduct of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently conducted, are valid, subsisting and enforceable, and there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity, scope or enforceability of any such Intellectual Property Rights; (iii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice alleging any infringement, misappropriation or other violation of Intellectual Property Rights which, individually or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would have a Material Adverse Effect; (iv) all Intellectual Property Rights owned or purported to be owned by the Company or its subsidiaries is owned solely by the Company or its subsidiaries and is owned free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, defects and other restrictions, other than as disclosed in the Prospectus; (v) to the Company’s knowledge, no third party is infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating, or has infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated, any Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company, except to the extent that the infringement, misappropriation or violation, would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (vi) to the Company’s knowledge, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates, or has infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated, any Intellectual Property Rights of a third party; (vii) all employees or contractors engaged in the development of Intellectual Property Rights on behalf of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company have executed an invention assignment agreement whereby such employees or contractors presently assign all of their right, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property Rights to the Company or the applicable subsidiary, and to the Company’s knowledge no such agreement has been breached or violated; and (viii) the Company and its subsidiaries use, and have used, commercially reasonable efforts to appropriately maintain all information intended to be maintained as a material trade secret, except, in the case of any of clauses (ii)-(viii) above, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.
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(oo) Except as would not have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Company and each of its subsidiaries have complied and are presently in compliance with all internal and external privacy policies, contractual obligations, applicable laws, statutes, judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or other governmental or regulatory authority and any other legal obligations, in each case, relating to the collection, use, transfer, import, export, storage, protection, disposal and disclosure by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of personal, personally identifiable, household, sensitive, confidential or regulated data (“Data Security Obligations”, and such data, “Data”); (ii) the Company has not received any notification of or complaint regarding non-compliance with any Data Security Obligation; and (iii) there is no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened alleging non-compliance with any Data Security Obligation.
(pp) The Company and each of its subsidiaries’ information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, the “IT Systems”) are adequate or, and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently conducted, free and clear of all material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants. The Company and each of its subsidiaries have taken reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the IT Systems and Data used in connection with the operation of the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ businesses. Without limiting the foregoing, the Company and its subsidiaries have used reasonable efforts to establish and maintain, and have established, maintained, implemented and complied with, reasonable information technology, information security, cyber security and data protection controls, policies and procedures, including oversight, access controls, encryption, technological and physical safeguards and business continuity/disaster recovery and security plans that are designed to protect against and prevent breach, destruction, loss, unauthorized distribution, use, access, disablement, misappropriation or modification, or other compromise or misuse of or relating to any IT System or Data used in connection with the operation of the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ businesses (“Breach”). To the Company’s knowledge, there has been no such material Breach, and the Company and its subsidiaries have not been notified of and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in, any such material Breach.
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(qq) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company (i) does not have any material lending or other relationship with any bank or lending affiliate of any Manager and (ii) does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Shares hereunder to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of any Manager.
(rr) The authorized, issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (other than for subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant to this Agreement, pursuant to reservations, agreements or employee benefit plans referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or pursuant to the exercise of convertible securities or options referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus). The issued and outstanding shares of capital stock have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and have been issued in compliance with all federal and state securities laws. None of the outstanding shares of capital stock were issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company. There are no authorized or outstanding options, warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase, or equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, any capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries other than those described in or contemplated by the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The descriptions of the Company’s stock option, stock bonus and other stock plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights granted thereunder, set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus accurately and fairly in all material respects present the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements, options and rights.
(ss) The Shares have been duly authorized for issuance and sale through the Agents pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, will be validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable; and the issuance of the Shares is not subject to the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company, except as have been duly and validly waived.
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Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to the Managers or counsel for the Managers in connection with this Agreement or any Terms Agreement shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company, as to matters covered thereby, to each Manager.
3. Sale and Delivery of Shares.
(a) Subject to the terms and conditions and in reliance upon the representations and warranties herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell Shares from time to time through or to the Managers, acting as sales agents, and each Manager agrees to use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell, as sales agent for the Company, the Shares on the terms set forth below. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, any Manager may decline, for any reason in its sole discretion, to act as sales agent for the Company hereunder with respect to one or more sets of Company instructions for the sale of the Shares.
(i) The Shares are to be sold by one of the Managers on a daily basis or otherwise as shall be agreed to by the Company and the Managers on any day that (A) is a trading day (a “Trading Day”) for Nasdaq, (B) the Company has instructed such Manager by telephone or by electronic mail to make such sales and (C) the Company has satisfied its obligations under Section 6 of this Agreement. On a Trading Day that the Company wishes to sell the Shares, the Company may sell the Shares through only one Manager and, if it determines to do so in its discretion, the Company will designate the maximum amount of the Shares to be sold by such Manager daily as agreed to by such Manager (in any event not in excess of the amount available for issuance under the Prospectus and the currently effective Registration Statement) and the minimum price per Share at which such Shares may be sold. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, such Manager shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell on a particular day all of the Shares designated for the sale by the Company on such day. The Manager through whom sales of the Shares as sales agent are then being made through this Section 3(a) is referred to as the “Selling Manager.” The gross sales price of the Shares sold under this Section 3(a) shall be the market price for shares of the Company’s Common Stock sold by the Selling Manager under this Section 3(a) on the Nasdaq at the time of sale of such Shares.
(ii) The Company acknowledges and agrees that (A) there can be no assurance that any Manager will be successful in selling the Shares, (B) no Manager will incur liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Shares for any reason other than a failure by such Manager to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable law and regulations to sell such Shares as required under this Agreement and (C) no Manager shall be under any obligation to purchase Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement, except as otherwise specifically agreed by such Manager and the Company pursuant to a Terms Agreement.
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(iii) The Company shall not authorize the issuance and sale of, and no Manager shall be obligated to use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell, any Share at a price lower than the minimum price therefor designated from time to time by the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), or a duly authorized committee thereof, and notified to the Managers in writing. The Company or any Manager may, upon notice to the other party hereto by telephone (confirmed promptly by electronic mail), suspend the offering of the Shares for any reason and at any time; provided, however, that such suspension or termination shall not affect or impair the parties’ respective obligations with respect to the Shares sold hereunder prior to the giving of such notice. The Managers shall have no responsibility for maintaining records with respect to the Shares available for offer or sale under the Registration Statement or for determining the aggregate gross proceeds, number or minimum price of Shares duly authorized by the Company.
(iv) The Managers may sell shares in negotiated transactions, including block trades, or transactions that are deemed to be ‘‘at the market’’ offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, including sales made by means of ordinary brokers’ transactions, including directly on Nasdaq, or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange at prevailing market prices, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices or by any other method permitted by law. No Manager shall purchase Shares for its own account as principal unless expressly authorized to do so by the Company pursuant to a Terms Agreement.
(v) The compensation to the Selling Manager, as agent of the Company, for sales of the Shares hereunder shall be equal to 2.0% of the gross sales price of the Shares sold pursuant by such Manager to this Section 3(a) and payable as described in the succeeding subsection (vi) below. The foregoing rate of compensation shall not apply when any Manager acts as principal, in which case the Company may sell Shares to such Manager as principal at a price agreed upon at the relevant Applicable Time pursuant to a Terms Agreement. The remaining proceeds, after further deduction for any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales (the “Transaction Fees”), shall constitute the net proceeds to the Company for such Shares (the “Net Proceeds”).
(vi) Each Selling Manager shall provide written confirmation (which may be by facsimile or electronic mail) to the Company following the close of trading on the Nasdaq each day in which the Shares are sold under this Section 3(a) setting forth the number of the Shares sold on such day, the aggregate gross sales proceeds and the Net Proceeds to the Company, and the compensation payable by the Company to such Manager with respect to such sales. Such compensation shall be set forth and invoiced in periodic statements from the applicable Selling Manager to the Company, with payment to be made by the Company promptly after its receipt thereof.
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(vii) Settlement for sales of the Shares pursuant to this Section 3(a) will occur, unless the parties agree otherwise, on the first business day that is also a Trading Day following the date on which any sales were made (each such day, a “Settlement Date”). On each Settlement Date, the Shares sold through a Manager for settlement on such date shall be issued and delivered by the Company to such Manager against payment of the aggregate gross sales proceeds less any Transaction Fees for the sale of such Shares. Settlement for all such Shares shall be effected by free delivery of the Shares to such Manager’s account at The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) in return for payments in same day funds delivered to the account designated by the Company. If the Company or its transfer agent (if applicable) shall default on its obligation to deliver the Shares on any Settlement Date, the Company shall (A) indemnify and hold such Manager harmless against any loss, claim or damage arising from or as a result of such default by the Company and (B) pay such Manager any commission to which it would otherwise be entitled absent such default. If a Manager breaches this Agreement by failing to deliver the aggregate gross sales proceeds less any Transaction Fees to the Company on any Settlement Date for the Shares delivered by the Company, such Manager will pay the Company interest based on the effective overnight federal funds rate on such unpaid amount less any compensation due to such Manager.
(viii) At each Applicable Time, Settlement Date and Representation Date (as defined in Section 4(j))), the Company shall be deemed to have affirmed each representation and warranty contained in this Agreement as if such representation and warranty were made as of such date, modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended as of such date. Any obligation of any Manager to use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell the Shares on behalf of the Company shall be subject to the continuing accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company herein, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and to the continuing satisfaction of the additional conditions specified in Section 6 of this Agreement.
(b) If the Company wishes to issue and sell the Shares pursuant to this Agreement but other than as set forth in Section 3(a) of this Agreement (each, a “Placement”), it will notify a Manager of the proposed terms of such Placement. If such Manager, acting as principal, wishes to accept such proposed terms (which it may decline to do for any reason in its sole discretion) or, following discussions with the Company wishes to accept amended terms, such Manager and the Company will enter into a Terms Agreement setting forth the terms of such Placement. The terms set forth in a Terms Agreement will not be binding on the Company or such Manager unless and until the Company and such Manager have each executed such Terms Agreement accepting all of the terms of such Terms Agreement. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Terms Agreement, the terms of such Terms Agreement will control.
(c) Each sale of the Shares to any Manager shall be made in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and, if applicable, a Terms Agreement, which will provide for the sale of such Shares to, and the purchase thereof by, such Manager. A Terms Agreement may also specify certain provisions relating to the reoffering of such Shares by such Manager. The commitment of the applicable Manager to purchase the Shares pursuant to any Terms Agreement shall be deemed to have been made on the basis of the representations and warranties of the Company herein contained and shall be subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth. Each Terms Agreement shall specify the number of the Shares to be purchased by the applicable Manager pursuant thereto, the price to be paid to the Company for such Shares, any provisions relating to rights of, and default by, underwriters acting together with such Manager in the reoffering of the Shares, and the time and date (each such time and date being referred to herein as a “Time of Delivery”) and place of delivery of and payment for such Shares. Such Terms Agreement shall also specify any requirements for opinions of counsel, accountants’ letters and officers’ certificates pursuant to Section 6 of this Agreement and any other information or documents required by the applicable Manager.
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(d) Under no circumstances shall the number and aggregate amount of the Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement and any Terms Agreement exceed (i) the aggregate amount set forth in Section 1, (ii) the number of shares of the Common Stock available for issuance under the currently effective Registration Statement, (iii) the number and aggregate amount of the Shares authorized from time to time to be issued and sold under this Agreement by the Board, or a duly authorized committee thereof, and notified to the Managers in writing or (iv) the number of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock (less shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise, conversion or exchange of any outstanding securities of the Company or otherwise reserved from the Company’s authorized capital stock).
(e) If any party has reason to believe that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the Exchange Act are not satisfied with respect to the Shares, it shall promptly notify the other party and sales of the Shares under this Agreement and any Terms Agreement shall be suspended until that or other exemptive provisions have been satisfied in the judgment of each party.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement the Company shall not request the sale of any Shares that would be sold, and no Manager shall be obligated to sell, during any period in which the Company is, or could be deemed to be, in possession of material non-public information.
4. Agreements. The Company agrees with the Managers that:
(a) During any period when the Company has delivered an effective instruction to sell Shares pursuant to Section 3(a)(i) of this Agreement or when the delivery of a prospectus relating to the Shares is required (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172) to be delivered under the Securities Act, the Company will not file any amendment of the Registration Statement or supplement (including the Prospectus Supplement or any Interim Prospectus Supplement) to the Base Prospectus or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement unless the Company has furnished to the Managers a copy for its review prior to filing and will not file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which any Manager reasonably objects. The Company has properly completed the Prospectus, in a form approved by the Managers, and filed such Prospectus, as amended at the Execution Time, with the Commission pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) by the Execution Time and will cause any supplement to the Prospectus to be properly completed, in a form approved by the Managers, and will file such supplement with the Commission pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) within the time period prescribed thereby and will provide evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Managers of such timely filing. The Company will promptly advise the Managers (i) when the Prospectus, and any supplement thereto, shall have been filed (if required) with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) or when any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement shall have been filed with the Commission, (ii) when, during any period when the delivery of a prospectus (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 or any similar rule) is required under the Securities Act in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares, any amendment to the Registration Statement shall have been filed or become effective (other than any annual report of the Company filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act), (iii) of any request by the Commission or its staff for any amendment of the Registration Statement or for any supplement to the Prospectus or for any additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any notice objecting to its use or the institution or threatening of any proceeding for that purpose and (v) of the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for sale in any jurisdiction or the institution or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any such stop order or the occurrence of any such suspension or objection to the use of the Registration Statement or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and, upon such issuance, occurrence or notice of objection, to obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal of such stop order or relief from such occurrence or objection, including, if necessary, by filing an amendment to the Registration Statement or a new registration statement and using its commercially reasonable efforts to have such amendment or new registration statement declared effective as soon as practicable.
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(b) If, at any time on or after an Applicable Time but prior to the related Settlement Date or Time of Delivery, any event occurs as a result of which the Disclosure Package 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 under which they were made or the circumstances then prevailing not misleading, the Company will (i) notify promptly the Managers so that any use of the Disclosure Package may cease until it is amended or supplemented; (ii) amend or supplement the Disclosure Package to correct such statement or omission; and (iii) supply any amendment or supplement to the Managers in such quantities as the Managers may reasonably request.
(c) During any period when the delivery of a prospectus relating to the Shares is required (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172) to be delivered under the Securities Act, any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then 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 under which they were made at such time not misleading, or if it shall be necessary to amend the Registration Statement, file a new registration statement or supplement the Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or the respective rules thereunder, including in connection with use or delivery of the Prospectus, the Company promptly will (i) notify the Managers of any such event, (ii) prepare and file with the Commission, subject to the second sentence of paragraph (a) of this Section 4, an amendment or supplement or new registration statement which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance, (iii) use its commercially reasonable efforts to have any amendment to the Registration Statement or new registration statement declared effective as soon as practicable in order to avoid any disruption in use of the Prospectus and (iv) supply any supplemented Prospectus to each Manager in such quantities as such Manager may reasonably request.
(d) As soon as practicable, the Company will make generally available to its security holders and to the Managers an earnings statement or statements of the Company and its subsidiaries which will satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158. For the avoidance of doubt, the Company’s compliance with the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of this Section 4(d).
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(e) The Company will furnish to each Manager and counsel for the Managers, without charge, signed copies of the Registration Statement (including exhibits thereto) and, so long as delivery of a prospectus by the Managers or dealer may be required by the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172), as many copies of the Prospectus and any supplement thereto as such Manager may reasonably request. The Company will pay the expenses of printing or other production of all documents relating to the offering.
(f) The Company will arrange, if necessary, for the qualification of the Shares for sale under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Managers may designate and will maintain such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Shares; provided that in no event shall the Company be obligated to qualify to do business in any jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified or to take any action that would subject it to service of process in suits, other than those arising out of the offering or sale of the Shares, in any jurisdiction where it is not now so subject.
(g) The Company will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, or otherwise dispose of, (or enter into any transaction which is designed to, or might reasonably be expected to, result in the disposition of (whether by actual disposition or effective economic disposition due to cash settlement or otherwise) by the Company or any affiliate of the Company or any person in privity with the Company or any affiliate of the Company) directly or indirectly, including the filing (or participation in the filing) of a registration statement with the Commission in respect of, or establish or increase a put equivalent position or liquidate or decrease a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, any other shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, shares of Common Stock; or publicly announce an intention to effect any such transaction without (i) giving the Managers at least five Business Days’ prior written notice specifying the nature of the proposed transaction and the date of such proposed transaction and (ii) the Managers suspending acting under this Agreement for such period of time requested by the Company or as deemed appropriate by the Managers in light of the proposed transaction; provided, however, that the Company may issue and sell Common Stock pursuant to this Agreement or any Terms Agreement, any employee stock incentive plan or employee stock purchase plan of the Company in effect at the Execution Time and the Company may issue Common Stock issuable upon the conversion of securities or the exercise of warrants outstanding at the Execution Time.
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(h) The Company will not (i) take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would constitute or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares or (ii) sell, bid for, purchase or pay any person (other than as contemplated by this Agreement or any Terms Agreement) any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Shares.
(i) The Company will, at any time during the term of this Agreement, as supplemented from time to time, advise the Managers immediately after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge thereof, of any information or fact that would materially alter or affect any opinion, certificate, letter and other document provided to the Managers pursuant to Section 6 herein.
(j) Upon commencement of the offering of the Shares under this Agreement (and upon the recommencement of the offering of the Shares under this Agreement following the termination of a suspension of sales hereunder), and, within five (5) Trading Days after each time that (i) the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be amended or supplemented (other than by means of a prospectus supplement relating solely to the offering of securities other than the Shares), (ii) there is filed with the Commission any document incorporated by reference into the Prospectus, (iii) the Company files an Annual Report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act, (iv) the Company files a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act, (v) files a current report on Form 8-K containing amended financial information (other than information “furnished” pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K or to provide disclosure pursuant to Item 8.01 of Form 8-K relating to the reclassification of certain properties as discontinued operations in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144) under the Exchange Act, and only if any Agent reasonably determines that the information contained in such Form 8-K is material, or (vi) the Shares are delivered to any Manager as principal at the Time of Delivery pursuant to a Terms Agreement or (vii) otherwise as the Managers may reasonably request (such commencement or recommencement date and each such date referred to in (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi) and (vii) above, a “Representation Date”), the Company shall furnish or cause to be furnished to the Managers forthwith a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 4(j), dated and delivered on such Representation Date. The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 4(j) shall be waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time when no instruction to a Manager to sell Shares pursuant to this Agreement has been delivered by the Company or is pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers instructions to sell Shares pursuant to Section 3(a)(i) hereunder and the next occurring Representation Date on which the Company files its annual report on Form 10-K. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Shares following a Representation Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide the Managers with a certificate under this Section 4(j), then before the Company delivers the instructions for the sale of Shares or the Selling Manager sells any Shares pursuant to such instructions, the Company shall provide the Managers with a certificate in conformity with this Section 4(j) dated as of the date that the instructions for the sale of Shares are issued and any other deliverables that would otherwise have been required at such Representation Date.
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(k) At each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 4(j) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall furnish or cause to be furnished forthwith to the Managers, the written opinion and negative assurance letter of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, counsel to the Company (“Company Counsel”), or other counsel satisfactory to the Managers, provided, however, the Company shall be required to furnish to the Managers no more than one opinion hereunder per calendar quarter; provided, further, that in lieu of such opinions for subsequent periodic filings under the Exchange Act, counsel may furnish the Managers with a letter (a “Reliance Letter”) to the effect that each Manager may rely on a prior opinion delivered under this Section 4(k) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented as of the date of the Reliance Letter).
(l) At each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 4(j) for which no waiver is applicable, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, counsel to the Managers, shall deliver its written opinion and negative assurance letter, in form and substance satisfactory to the Managers. The Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters.
(m) At each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 4(j) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, or other independent accountants satisfactory to the Managers forthwith, to furnish the Managers a letter, in form satisfactory to the Managers, (i) confirming that they are independent accountants within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the respective applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission thereunder (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter.
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(n) At each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 4(j) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause Armanino LLP, or other independent accountants satisfactory to the Managers forthwith, to furnish the Managers a letter, in form and substance satisfactory to the Managers, (i) confirming that they are independent accountants within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the respective applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission thereunder (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter. Notwithstanding the foregoing, such letter shall not be required to be delivered after such time that the Company’s financial statements audited by Armanino LLP are no longer incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement.
(o) At each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 4(j) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause Ernst & Young LLP, or other independent accountants satisfactory to the Managers forthwith, to furnish the Managers a letter, in form and substance satisfactory to the Managers, (i) confirming that they were, October 22, 2024 and during the period covered by the financial statements on which they reported, independent public accountants with respect to Amelia within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the respective applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission thereunder (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter. Notwithstanding the foregoing, such letter shall not be required to be delivered after such time that the financial statements of Amelia are no longer incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement.
(p) At each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 4(j) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall deliver a certificate executed by the Chief Financial Officer of the Company (the “CFO Certificate”), dated as of such date, in in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Manager.
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(q) At each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 4(j) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company will conduct a due diligence session, in form and substance satisfactory to the Managers, which shall include representatives of the management and the independent accountants of the Company. The Company shall cooperate timely with any reasonable due diligence request from or review conducted by the Managers or its agents from time to time in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including, without limitation, providing information and available documents and access to appropriate corporate officers and the Company’s agents during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, and timely furnishing or causing to be furnished such certificates, letters and opinions from the Company, its officers and its agents, as the Managers may reasonably request.
(r) The Company consents to the Managers trading in the Common Stock for each of the Managers’ own accounts and for the accounts of its clients at the same time as sales of the Shares occur pursuant to this Agreement or pursuant to a Terms Agreement.
(s) The Company will disclose in its Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as applicable, the number of Shares sold through the Managers under this Agreement, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation paid by the Company with respect to sales of Shares pursuant to this Agreement during the relevant quarter. Additionally, on such dates as the Securities Act shall require, the Company will (i) file a prospectus supplement with the Commission under the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, which prospectus supplement will set forth, within the relevant period, the amount of Shares sold through the Managers pursuant to this Agreement, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to the Managers with respect to such Shares, and (ii) deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus supplement to Nasdaq as may be required by the rules or regulations of Nasdaq.
(t) If to the knowledge of the Company, the conditions set forth in Section 6(a) shall not be true and correct on the applicable Settlement Date, the Company will offer to any person who has agreed to purchase Shares from the Company as the result of an offer to purchase solicited by any Manager the right to refuse to purchase and pay for such Shares.
(u) Each acceptance by the Company of an offer to purchase the Shares hereunder, and each execution and delivery by the Company of a Terms Agreement, shall be deemed to be an affirmation to the Managers that the representations and warranties of the Company contained in or made pursuant to this Agreement are true and correct as of the date of such acceptance or of such Terms Agreement as though made at and as of such date, and an undertaking that such representations and warranties will be true and correct as of the Settlement Date for the Shares relating to such acceptance or as of the Time of Delivery relating to such sale, as the case may be, as though made at and as of such date (except that such representations and warranties shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented relating to such Shares).
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(v) The Company shall ensure that there are at all times sufficient shares of Common Stock to provide for the issuance, free of any preemptive rights, out of its authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock or shares of Common Stock held in treasury, of the maximum aggregate number of Shares authorized for issuance by the Board pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Shares to be listed for trading on Nasdaq and to maintain such listing.
(w) During any period when the delivery of a prospectus relating to the Shares is required (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172) to be delivered under the Securities Act, the Company will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act within the time periods required by the Exchange Act and the regulations thereunder.
(x) The Company shall cooperate with the Managers and use its reasonable efforts to permit the Shares to be eligible for clearance and settlement through the facilities of DTC.
(y) The Company will apply the Net Proceeds from the sale of the Shares in the manner set forth in the Prospectus.
5. Payment of Expenses.
(a) The Company agrees to pay the costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby are consummated, including without limitation: (i) the preparation, printing or reproduction and filing with the Commission of the Registration Statement (including financial statements and exhibits thereto), the Prospectus and each amendment or supplement to any of them; (ii) the printing (or reproduction) and delivery (including postage, air freight charges and charges for counting and packaging) of such copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, and all amendments or supplements to any of them, as may, in each case, be reasonably requested for use in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares; (iii) the preparation, printing, authentication, issuance and delivery of certificates for the Shares, including any stamp or transfer taxes in connection with the original issuance and sale of the Shares; (iv) the printing (or reproduction) and delivery of this Agreement, any blue sky memorandum and all other agreements or documents printed (or reproduced) and delivered in connection with the offering of the Shares; (v) the registration of the Shares under the Exchange Act and the listing of the Shares on Nasdaq; (vi) any registration or qualification of the Shares for offer and sale under the securities or blue sky laws of the several states (including filing fees and the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for the Managers relating to such registration and qualification, subject to the cap set forth in clause (x) below); (vii) any filings required to be made with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) (including filing fees and the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for the Managers relating to such filings, subject to the cap set forth in clause (x) below); (viii) the transportation and other expenses incurred by or on behalf of Company representatives in connection with presentations to prospective purchasers of the Shares; (ix) the fees and expenses of the Company’s accountants and the fees and expenses of counsel (including local and special counsel) for the Company; (x) the reasonable documented out-of-pocket expenses of the Managers, including the reasonable fees, disbursements and expenses of counsel for the Managers in connection with this Agreement and the Registration Statement in an amount not to exceed $75,000 in the aggregate; and (xi) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder.
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6. Conditions to the Obligations of the Managers. The obligations of each Manager under this Agreement and any Terms Agreement shall be subject to (i) the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company contained herein as of the Execution Time, each Representation Date, and as of each Applicable Time, Settlement Date and Time of Delivery, (ii) to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and (iii) the following additional conditions:
(a) The Prospectus, and any supplement thereto, required by Rule 424 to be filed with the Commission have been filed in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) with respect to any sale of Shares; each Interim Prospectus Supplement shall have been filed in the manner required by Rule 424(b) within the time period required by Section 4(s) of this Agreement; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any notice objecting to its use shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been instituted or threatened.
(b) The Managers shall have received the written opinion and negative assurance letter of Company Counsel required pursuant to Section 4(k) on or before the date on which such opinion and negative assurance letters are required pursuant to Section 4(k).
In rendering such opinion, such counsel may rely (A) as to matters involving the application of laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Delaware or the Federal laws of the United States, to the extent they deem proper and specified in such opinion, upon the opinion of other counsel of good standing whom they believe to be reliable and who are satisfactory to counsel for the Managers and (B) as to matters of fact, to the extent they deem proper, on certificates of responsible officers of the Company and public officials. References to the Prospectus in this paragraph (b) shall also include any supplements thereto at the Settlement Date.
(c) The Managers shall have received from Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, counsel for the Managers, its written opinion and negative assurance letter required pursuant to Section 4(l) on or before the date on which such opinion and negative assurance letters are required pursuant to Section 4(l), and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters.
(d) The Managers shall have received from the Company the certificate required pursuant to Section 4(j) on or before the date on which such certificate is required pursuant to Section 4(j).
(e) The Managers shall have received the comfort letter of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC required to be delivered pursuant to Section 4(m) on or before the date on which such delivery of such comfort letters are required pursuant to Section 4(m).
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(f) The Managers shall have received the comfort letter of Armanino LLP required to be delivered pursuant to Section 4(n) on or before the date on which such delivery of such comfort letters are required pursuant to Section 4(n).
(g) The Managers shall have received the comfort letter of Ernst & Young LLP required to be delivered pursuant to Section 4(o) on or before the date on which such delivery of such comfort letters are required pursuant to Section 4(o).
(h) The Managers shall have received the CFO Certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 4(p) on or before the date on which such delivery of such CFO Certificate on or before the date on which such delivery of such comfort letters are required pursuant to Section 4(p).
(i) FINRA shall not have raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the terms and arrangements under this Agreement.
(j) The Shares shall have been listed and admitted and authorized for trading on Nasdaq, and satisfactory evidence of such actions shall have been provided to the Managers.
(k) Prior to each Settlement Date and Time of Delivery, as applicable, the Company shall have furnished to the Managers such further information, certificates and documents as the Managers may reasonably request.
If any of the conditions specified in this Section 6 shall not have been fulfilled when and as provided in this Agreement, or if any of the opinions and certificates mentioned above or elsewhere in this Agreement shall not be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Managers and counsel for the Managers, this Agreement and all obligations of the Managers hereunder may be canceled at, or at any time prior to, any Settlement Date or Time of Delivery, as applicable, by the Managers. Notice of such cancellation shall be given to the Company in writing or by telephone or facsimile confirmed in writing.
The documents required to be delivered by this Section 6 shall be delivered at the office of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, counsel for the Managers, at 900 Middlefield Road, Suite 200, Redwood City, California 94063, on each such date as provided in this Agreement.
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7. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Manager, the directors, officers, employees, affiliates and agents of each Manager and each person who controls such Manager within the meaning of either the Securities Act or the Exchange Act against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which they or any of them may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other Federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the registration statement for the registration of the Shares as originally filed or in any amendment thereof, or in the Base Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, any Interim Prospectus Supplement shall have been filed in the manner required by Rule 424(b) within the time period required by Section 4(s) of this Agreement, the Prospectus or in any amendment thereof or supplement thereto 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 in order to make the statements therein not misleading, and agrees to reimburse each such indemnified party, as incurred, for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with investigating or defending any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action; provided, however, that the Company will not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability 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 and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Manager specifically for inclusion therein. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company may otherwise have. The Company hereby acknowledges that the only information that the Managers have furnished to the Company expressly for use in the Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus or any Interim Prospectus Supplement (or any amendment or supplement thereto) are the statements set forth in the last sentence of the second paragraph, the second sentence of the third paragraph and the first sentence of the fourth paragraph under the caption “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus (the “Manager Information”).
(b) Each Manager, severally but not jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who signs the Registration Statement, and each person who controls the Company within the meaning of either the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, to the same extent as the foregoing indemnity from the Company to each Manager, but only with reference to written information relating to each Manager furnished to the Company by each Manager specifically for inclusion in the documents referred to in the foregoing indemnity. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability which the Managers may otherwise have.
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(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 7 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under this Section 7, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the failure so to notify the indemnifying party (i) will not relieve it from liability under paragraph (a) or (b) above unless and to the extent it did not otherwise learn of such action and such failure results in the forfeiture by the indemnifying party of substantial rights and defenses and (ii) will not, in any event, relieve the indemnifying party from any obligations to any indemnified party other than the indemnification obligation provided in paragraph (a) or (b) above. The indemnifying party shall be entitled to appoint counsel of the indemnifying party’s choice at the indemnifying party’s expense to represent the indemnified party in any action for which indemnification is sought (in which case the indemnifying party shall not thereafter be responsible for the fees and expenses of any separate counsel retained by the indemnified party or parties except as set forth below); provided, however, that such counsel shall be reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party. Notwithstanding the indemnifying party’s election to appoint counsel to represent the indemnified party in an action, the indemnified party shall have the right to employ separate counsel (including local counsel), and the indemnifying party shall bear the reasonable fees, costs and expenses of such separate counsel if (i) the use of counsel chosen by the indemnifying party to represent the indemnified party would present such counsel with a conflict of interest, (ii) the actual or potential defendants in, or targets of, any such action include both the indemnified party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it and/or other indemnified parties which are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, (iii) the indemnifying party shall not have employed counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of the institution of such action or (iv) the indemnifying party shall authorize the indemnified party to employ separate counsel at the expense of the indemnifying party. An indemnifying party will not, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any pending or threatened claim, action, suit or proceeding in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties to such claim or action) unless such settlement, compromise or consent: (i) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such claim, action, suit 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.
(d) In the event that the indemnity provided in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this Section 7 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party for any reason, the Company and the Managers agree to contribute to the aggregate losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with investigating or defending the same) (collectively “Losses”) to which the Company and each Manager may be subject in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the relevant Manager on the other from the offering of the Shares. If the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is unavailable for any reason, the Company and such Manager severally shall contribute in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of such Manager on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such Losses as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. Benefits received by the Company shall be deemed to be equal to the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by it, and benefits received by the relevant Manager shall be deemed to be equal to the total underwriting discounts and commissions, in each case as determined by this Agreement or any applicable Terms Agreement. Relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any untrue or any alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information provided by the Company on the one hand or by the relevant Manager on the other, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement or omission. The Company and each Manager agrees that it would not be just and equitable if contribution were determined by pro rata allocation or any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph (d), in no event shall any Manager be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the underwriting discount or commission, as the case may be, applicable to the Shares purchased by such Manager hereunder exceeds the amount of any damages that any Manager has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 7, each person who controls any Manager within the meaning of either the Securities Act or the Exchange Act and each director, officer, employee, affiliate and agent of any Manager shall have the same rights to contribution as each Manager, and each person who controls the Company within the meaning of either the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, each officer of the Company who shall have signed the Registration Statement and each director of the Company shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the applicable terms and conditions of this paragraph (d).
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8. Termination.
(a) The Company shall have the right, by giving written notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate the provisions of this Agreement relating to the solicitation of offers to purchase the Shares in its sole discretion at any time. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that (i) if Shares have been sold through any Manager for the Company, then Section 4(u) shall remain in full force and effect, (ii) with respect to any pending sale, through any Manager for the Company, the obligations of the Company, including in respect of compensation of such Manager, shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding the termination and (iii) the provisions of Sections 2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13 and 15 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(b) Each Manager shall, as to itself, have the right, by giving written notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate the provisions of this Agreement relating to the solicitation of offers to purchase the Shares in its sole discretion at any time; provided, however, that this Agreement and the obligations hereunder will remain in full force and effect with respect to the Manager that has not so terminated its obligations. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Sections 2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13 and 15 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination. For the avoidance of doubt, the termination by one Manager pursuant to this section 8(b) shall not affect the rights and obligations of the other Manager under this Agreement.
(c) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 8(a) or (b) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided that any such termination by mutual agreement shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Sections 2, 5, 7 and 10 shall remain in full force and effect.
(d) Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by the Managers or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date or Time of Delivery for any sale of the Shares, such sale shall settle in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(a)(vii) of this Agreement.
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(e) In the case of any purchase of Shares by any Manager pursuant to a Terms Agreement, the obligations of such Manager pursuant to such Terms Agreement shall be subject to termination, in the absolute discretion of such Manager, by notice given to the Company prior to the Time of Delivery relating to such Shares, if at any time prior to such delivery and payment (i) trading in the Company’s Common Stock shall have been suspended by the Commission or Nasdaq or trading in securities generally on the NYSE or Nasdaq shall have been suspended or limited or minimum prices shall have been established on either of such exchanges, (ii) a banking moratorium shall have been declared either by Federal or New York State authorities or (iii) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities, declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war, or other calamity or crisis the effect of which on financial markets is such as to make it, in the sole judgment of any Manager, impractical or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or delivery of the Shares as contemplated by the Prospectus (exclusive of any amendment or supplement thereto).
9. Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes.
(a) In the event that any Manager that is a Covered Entity becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from such Manager of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
(b) In the event that any Manager that is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of such Manager becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against such Manager are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
10. Representations and Indemnities to Survive. The respective agreements, representations, warranties, indemnities and other statements of the Company or its officers and of the Managers set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by any Manager or the Company or any of the officers, directors, employees, affiliates, agents or controlling persons referred to in Section 7 hereof, and will survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.
11. Notices. All communications hereunder will be in writing and effective only on receipt, and, if sent to the Managers, will be delivered to:
Cantor Fitzgerald & Company
110 East 59th Street
New York, New York 10022
Attention: Global Head of Investment Banking
Email: notices-IBD@cantor.com
Guggenheim Securities, LLC
330 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Fax: (212) 658-9689
Attention: Hans Toro, Senior Managing Director
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
85 Broad Street
New York, NY 10004
Wedbush Securities Inc.
600 Montgomery Street, Floor 29
San Francisco, CA 94111
Attn: Technology Investment Banking Team
TMT@wedbush.com
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with copy to:
Attn: Legal Department
legalnotices@wedbush.com
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.
640 5th Ave, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10019
Attention: Joseph Giovanniello
Tel: (212) 409-2000
Email: jgiovanniello@ladenburg.com
Northland Securities, Inc.
150 South Fifth Street, Suite 3300
Minneapolis MN 55402
Attention: Jeff Peterson
Email: jpeterson@northlandcapitalmarkets.com
and, if sent to the Company, will be delivered to:
SoundHound AI, Inc.
5400 Betsy Ross Drive
Santa Clara, California 95054
(408) 441-3200
Email: nsharan@soundhound.com
Attention: Nitesh Sharan
12. Successors. This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and the officers, directors, employees, agents and controlling persons referred to in Section 8 hereof, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder.
13. No fiduciary duty. The Company hereby acknowledges that (a) the purchase and sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and each Manager and any affiliate through which it may be acting, on the other, (b) each Manager is acting solely as sales agent and/or principal in connection with the purchase and sale of the Company’s securities and not as a fiduciary of the Company and (c) the Company’s engagement of each Manager in connection with the offering and the process leading up to the offering is as independent contractors and not in any other capacity. Furthermore, the Company agrees that it is solely responsible for making its own judgments in connection with the offering (irrespective of whether any Manager has advised or is currently advising the Company on related or other matters). The Company agrees that it will not claim that any Manager has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owe an agency, fiduciary or similar duty to the Company, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.
14. Integration. This Agreement and any Terms Agreement supersede all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company and the Managers with respect to the subject matter hereof.
15. Applicable Law. This Agreement and any Terms Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts made and to be performed within the State of New York. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan, for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection with any transaction contemplated hereby, and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum or that the venue of such suit, action or proceeding is improper. Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any manner permitted by law.
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16. Waiver of Jury Trial. The Company hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement, any Terms Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby.
17. Counterparts. This Agreement and any Terms Agreement may be signed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement.
18. Headings. The section headings used in this Agreement and any Terms Agreement are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.
19. Definitions. The terms that follow, when used in this Agreement and any Terms Agreement, shall have the meanings indicated.
“Applicable Time” shall mean, with respect to any Shares, the time of sale of such Shares pursuant to this Agreement or any relevant Terms Agreement.
“Base Prospectus” shall mean the base prospectus referred to in Section 2(a) above contained in the Registration Statement at the Execution Time.
“BHC Act Affiliate” shall mean “affiliate” as defined in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k).
“Business Day” shall mean any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday or a day on which banking institutions or trust companies are authorized or obligated by law to close in New York City.
“Commission” shall mean the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Covered Entity” shall mean any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b), (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b) or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b).
“Default Right” shall mean default right as defined and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable.
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“Disclosure Package” shall mean (i) the Base Prospectus, (ii) the Prospectus Supplement, (iii) the most recently filed Interim Prospectus Supplement and (iv) the public offering price of Shares sold at the relevant Applicable Time.
“Effective Date” shall mean each date and time that the Registration Statement, any post-effective amendment or amendments thereto and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement became or becomes effective.
“Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
“Execution Time” shall mean the date and time that this Agreement is executed and delivered by the parties hereto.
“Interim Prospectus Supplement” shall mean the prospectus supplement relating to the Shares prepared and filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) from time to time as provided by Section 4(s) of this Agreement.
“Prospectus” shall mean the Base Prospectus, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement and the most recently filed Interim Prospectus Supplement (if any).
“Prospectus Supplement” shall mean the most recent prospectus supplement relating to the Shares that was first filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) at or prior to the Execution Time.
“Registration Statement” shall mean the registration statement referred to in Section 2(a) above, including exhibits and financial statements and any prospectus supplement relating to the Shares that is filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) and deemed part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B, as amended on each Effective Date and, in the event any post-effective amendment thereto or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement becomes effective, shall also mean such registration statement as so amended or such Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, as the case may be.
“Rule 158”, “Rule 163”, “Rule 164”, “Rule 172”, “Rule 405”, “Rule 415”, “Rule 424”, “Rule 430B” and “Rule 462” refer to such rules under the Securities Act.
“Rule 462(b) Registration Statement” shall mean a registration statement and any amendments thereto filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) relating to the offering covered by the registration statement referred to in Section 1(a) hereof.
“Securities Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
“U.S. Special Resolution Regime” shall mean each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to us the enclosed duplicate hereof, whereupon this letter and your acceptance shall represent a binding agreement among the Company and the Managers.
| Very truly yours, | |||
| SoundHound AI, Inc. | |||
| By: | /s/ Keyvan Mohajer | ||
| Name: | Keyvan Mohajer | ||
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | ||
The foregoing Agreement is
hereby confirmed and accepted
as of the date first written above.
| Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. | |||
| By: | /s/ Sameer Vasudev | ||
| Name: | Sameer Vasudev | ||
| Title: | Managing Director | ||
| Guggenheim Securities, LLC | |||
| By: | /s/ Hans Toro | ||
| Name: | Hans Toro | ||
| Title: | Senior Managing Director | ||
| Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. | |||
| By: | /s/ Peter Bennett | ||
| Name: | Peter Bennett | ||
| Title: | Head of Equity Capital Markets | ||
| Wedbush Securities Inc. | |||
| By: | /s/ Burke Dempsey | ||
| Name: | Burke Dempsey | ||
| Title: | EVP, Head of Investment Banking and Capital Markets | ||
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. |
|||
| By: | /s/ Mark Green | ||
| Name: | Mark Green | ||
| Title: | Managing Director | ||
| Northland Securities, Inc. | |||
| By: | /s/ Jeff Peterson | ||
| Name: | Jeff Peterson | ||
| Title: | Head of Investment Banking | ||
[Signature Page to the Equity Distribution Agreement]
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Exhibit 4(j)
SOUNDHOUND AI, INC.
OFFICER CERTIFICATE
[●], 20[●]
The undersigned, the duly qualified and elected Chief Executive Officer, of SoundHound AI, Inc. (the “Company”), a Delaware corporation, does hereby certify in such capacity and on behalf of the Company, pursuant to Section 4(j) of the Equity Distribution Agreement dated January 27, 2025 (the “Agreement”) among the Company and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Wedbush Securities Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Northland Securities, Inc., that to the knowledge of the undersigned:
| (i) | no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement is in effect, and no proceedings for such purpose pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) are pending before or threatened by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”); |
| (ii) | the Prospectus Supplement and any Interim Prospectus Supplement have been timely filed with the Commission under the Securities Act and in accordance with the Agreement; |
| (iii) | since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there has been no event or development in respect of the business or financial condition of the Company and its subsidiaries that is, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect; |
| (iv) | the representations and warranties of the Company contained in the Agreement are true and correct on and as of the date hereof; and |
| (v) | the Company has complied with all of the agreements and satisfied all of the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied under the Agreement on or prior to the date hereof. |
Capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Agreement.
Each of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP is entitled to rely on this certificate in connection with such firm’s legal opinion to be delivered pursuant to the Agreement.
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| Date:_____________ | ||
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| [Form of Terms Agreement] | ANNEX I |
Soundhound
ai, inc.
Common Stock
Terms Agreement
______, 20__
[Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.]
[Guggenheim Securities, LLC]
[Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.]
[Wedbush Securities Inc.]
[Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.]
[Northland Securities, Inc.]
[c/o Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
110 East 59th Street, 6th Floor
New York, New York 10022]
[c/o Guggenheim Securities, LLC
330 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10017]
[c/o Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
85 Broad Street
New York, NY 10004]
[c/o Wedbush Securities Inc.
1000 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90017]
[c/o Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.
640 5th Ave, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10019]
[c/o Northland Securities, Inc.
150 South Fifth Street, Suite 3300
Minneapolis MN 55402]
Dear Sirs:
SoundHound AI, Inc. (the “Company”) proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein and in the Equity Distribution Agreement, dated January 27, 2025 (the “Equity Distribution Agreement”), by and among the Company, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Wedbush Securities Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Northland Securities, Inc., to issue and sell to [Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.][Guggenheim Securities, LLC][Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.][Wedbush Securities Inc.][Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.][Northland Securities, Inc.], the securities specified in the Schedule I hereto (the “Purchased Shares”).
Each of the provisions of the Equity Distribution Agreement not specifically related to the solicitation by [Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.][Guggenheim Securities, LLC] [Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.][Wedbush Securities Inc.][Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.,][Northland Securities, Inc.], as agent of the Company, of offers to purchase securities is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and shall be deemed to be part of this Terms Agreement to the same extent as if such provisions had been set forth in full herein. Each of the representations and warranties set forth therein shall be deemed to have been made at and as of the date of this Terms Agreement and the Time of Delivery, except that each representation and warranty in Section 2 of the Equity Distribution Agreement which makes reference to the Prospectus (as therein defined) shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty as of the date of the Equity Distribution Agreement in relation to the Prospectus, and also a representation and warranty as of the date of this Terms Agreement and the Time of Delivery in relation to the Prospectus as amended and supplemented to relate to the Purchased Shares.
An amendment to the Registration Statement (as defined in the Equity Distribution Agreement), or a supplement to the Prospectus, as the case may be, relating to the Purchased Shares, in the form heretofore delivered to the Managers is now proposed to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein and in the Equity Distribution Agreement which are incorporated herein by reference, the Company agrees to issue and sell to [Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.][Guggenheim Securities, LLC][Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.][Wedbush Securities Inc.][Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.,][Northland Securities, Inc.] and the latter agrees to purchase from the Company the number of shares of the Purchased Shares at the time and place and at the purchase price set forth in the Schedule I hereto.
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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us a counterpart hereof, whereupon this Terms Agreement, including those provisions of the Equity Distribution Agreement incorporated herein by reference, shall constitute a binding agreement between [Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.][Guggenheim Securities, LLC][Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.][Wedbush Securities Inc.][Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.,][Northland Securities, Inc.] and the Company.
| SOUNDHOUND AI, INC. | |||
| By: | |||
| Name: | |||
| Title: | |||
ACCEPTED as of the date
first written above.
| [CANTOR FITZGERALD & CO.] [GUGGENHEIM SECURITIES, LLC] [OPPENHEIMER & CO., INC.] [WEDBUSH SECURITIES, INC.] [LADENBURG THALMANN & CO. INC.] [NORTHLAND SECURITIES, INC.] | |||
| By: | |||
| Name: | |||
| Title: | |||
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| Title of Purchased Shares [and Additional Shares]: | |
| Common Stock, par value $[__] per share | |
| Number of Shares of Purchased Shares: | |
| [Number of Shares of Additional Shares:] | |
| [Price to Public:] | |
| Purchase Price by [Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.][Guggenheim Securities, LLC][Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.][Wedbush Securities Inc.][Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.][Northland Securities, Inc.]: |
| Method of and Specified Funds for Payment of Purchase Price: | |
| By wire transfer to a bank account specified by the Company in same day funds. | |
| Method of Delivery: | |
| Free delivery of the Shares to the Manager’s account at The Depository Trust Company in return for payment of the purchase price. | |
| Time of Delivery: | |
| Closing Location: | |
| Documents to be Delivered: | |
The following documents referred to in the Equity Distribution Agreement shall be delivered as a condition to the closing at the Time of Delivery [and on any Option Closing Date]:
(1) The opinion referred to in Section 4(k).
(2) The opinion referred to in Section 4(l).
(3) The accountants’ letter referred to in Sections 4(m),
4(n) and 4(o). (4) The chief financial officer’s certificate referred to in Section 4(p).
(5) The officers’ certificate referred to in Section 4(j).
(6) Such other documents as the Managers shall reasonably request. |
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Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-3 of SoundHound AI, Inc. of our report dated March 1, 2024 relating to the financial statements and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, which appears in SoundHound AI, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in such Registration Statement.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
San Francisco, California
January 27, 2025
Exhibit 23.2
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-3 of our audit report dated March 28, 2023, except for the effects of the tables reflecting the impact of the revisions as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022 discussed in Note 20 (not presented herein) to the consolidated financial statements, as to which the date is March 1, 2024, relating to the consolidated financial statements of SoundHound AI, Inc. (the "Company"), for the year ended December 31, 2023, which report appears in the Company's 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in this Registration Statement.
| /s/ ArmaninoLLP | |
| San Jose, California | |
| January 27, 2025 |
Exhibit 23.3
Consent of Independent Auditors
We consent to the reference to our firm under the caption "Experts" in this Registration Statement on Form S-3 and related Prospectus of SoundHound AI, Inc. for the registration of its Class A Common Stock, Preferred Stock, Purchase Contracts, Warrants, Subscription rights, Depository Shares, Debt Securities and Units, and to the incorporation by reference therein of our report dated October 22, 2024, with respect to the consolidated and combined financial statements of Amelia Holdings, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023 and as of December 31, 2022 (Successor), and the periods from December 21, 2022 through December 31, 2022 (Successor), and January 1, 2022 through December 20, 2022 (Predecessor) included in the Current Report on Form 8-K/A of SoundHound AI, Inc., filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22, 2024.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
January 24, 2025
New York, New York