SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT

EX-10.1 2 v411944_ex10-1.htm EXHIBIT 10.1

 

Exhibit 10.1

 

SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT

 

SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) made as of the last date set forth on the signature page hereof between Protea Biosciences Group, Inc., (the “Company”), and the undersigned (the “Subscriber”).

 

WITNESSETH:

 

WHEREAS, the Company is conducting a private offering (the “Offering”) for which Laidlaw & Company (UK) Ltd. is acting as placement agent on a “best efforts” basis (the “Placement Agent”), consisting of up to a maximum of $2,000,000 (the “Maximum Offering”) of 20% original issue discount unsecured convertible debentures (the “Debentures”)¹, initially convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”) at a conversion price equal to $0.25 , subject to adjustment (the “Conversion Price”), pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and/or Rule 506 promulgated thereunder; and

 

WHEREAS, in connection with the purchase of the Debentures, each Subscriber will receive a three-year warrant (the “Warrant”, and together with the Debentures, collectively, the “Securities”) to purchase such number of shares of Common Stock of the Company equal to 75% of the number of shares of Common Stock initially issuable upon conversion of the Debentures in this Offering at an exercise price equal 30% (thirty) percent premium to conversion price, subject to adjustment thereunder (the “Exercise Price”); and

 

WHEREAS, the Subscriber desires to purchase such number of shares of Common Stock as set forth on the signature page hereof on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual representations and covenants hereinafter set forth, the parties hereto do hereby agree as follows:

 

I.           SUBSCRIPTION FOR SECURITIES AND REPRESENTATIONS BY SUBSCRIBER

 

1.1      Subject to the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth, the Subscriber hereby subscribes for and agrees to purchase from the Company, and the Company subject to its rights to accept or reject this subscription, agrees to sell to the Subscriber, such aggregate face amount of Debentures for the aggregate purchase price as is set forth on the signature page hereof. The purchase price is payable by wire transfer, to be held in escrow until the conditions to closing are achieved, to Signature Bank, the escrow agent (the “Escrow Agent”).

 

1.2      The Securities will be offered for sale until the earlier of June 30, 2015, subject to the right of the Company and the Placement Agent to mutually extend the Termination Date to August 31, 2015 without notice to prospective investors (the “Termination Date”). The Offering is being conducted on a “best-efforts” basis.

 

 

1 The total face amount is $2,500,000.

 

 

1.3      The Company may hold an initial closing (“Initial Closing”) at any time after a sum equal to or greater than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) (the “Minimum Offering Amount”) has been raised and will continue until such time as no less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) has been raised at which time the Company and Laidlaw may elect to terminate the Offering. After the Initial Closing, subsequent closings with respect to additional Securities may take place at any time prior to the Termination Date as determined by the Company, with respect to subscriptions accepted prior to the Termination Date (each such closing, together with the Initial Closing, being referred to as a “Closing”). The last Closing of the Offering, occurring on or prior to the Termination Date, shall be referred to as the “Final Closing”. Any subscription documents or funds received after the Final Closing will be returned, without interest or deduction. In the event that the any Closing does not occur prior to the Termination Date, all amounts paid by the Subscriber shall be returned to the Subscriber, without interest or deduction.

 

1.4      The Subscriber recognizes that the purchase of the Securities involves a high degree of risk including, but not limited to, the following: (a) the Company has a limited operating history and requires substantial funds in addition to the proceeds of the Offering; (b) an investment in the Company is highly speculative, and only investors who can afford the loss of their entire investment should consider investing in the Company and the Securities; (c) the Subscriber may not be able to liquidate its investment; (d) transferability of the Securities is extremely limited; (e) in the event of a disposition, the Subscriber could sustain the loss of its entire investment; (f) the Company has not paid any dividends since its inception and does not anticipate paying any dividends; and (g) the other risks associated with the Company’s business, financial situation and the Offering set forth on Exhibit A annexed hereto.

 

1.5      At the time such Subscriber was offered the Securities, it was, and as of the date hereof it is, and on each date on which it converts the Debentures and/or exercises any Warrants it will be an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501(a) under the Securities Act, as indicated by the Subscriber’s responses to the questions contained in Article VII hereof, and that the Subscriber is able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the Securities.

 

1.6      The Subscriber hereby acknowledges and represents that (a) the Subscriber has knowledge and experience in business and financial matters, prior investment experience, including investment in securities that are non-listed, unregistered and/or not traded on a national securities exchange or the Subscriber has employed the services of a “purchaser representative” (as defined in Rule 501 of Regulation D), attorney and/or accountant to read all of the documents furnished or made available by the Company both to the Subscriber and to all other prospective investors in the Securities to evaluate the merits and risks of such an investment on the Subscriber’s behalf; (b) the Subscriber recognizes the highly speculative nature of this investment; and (c) the Subscriber is able to bear the economic risk that the Subscriber hereby assumes.

 

1.7      The Subscriber hereby acknowledges receipt and careful review of this Agreement, the Warrant, the Debenture and all other exhibits thereto (collectively referred to as the “Transaction Documents”) and has had access to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and the exhibits thereto for the year ended December 31, 2014 (the “Form 10-K”) as publicly filed with and available at the website of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and has received any additional information that the Subscriber has requested from the Company, and has been afforded the opportunity to ask questions of and receive answers from duly authorized officers or other representatives of the Company concerning the Company and the terms and conditions of the Offering; provided, however that no investigation performed by or on behalf of the Subscriber shall limit or otherwise affect its right to rely on the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein.

 

 

1.8     (a)          In making the decision to invest in the Securities the Subscriber has relied solely upon the information provided by the Company in the Transaction Documents and upon the information set forth in the Form 10-K. To the extent necessary, the Subscriber has retained, at its own expense, and relied upon appropriate professional advice regarding the investment, tax and legal merits and consequences of this Agreement and the purchase of the Securities hereunder. The Subscriber disclaims reliance on any statements made or information provided by any person or entity in the course of Subscriber’s consideration of an investment in the Securities other than the Transaction Documents.

 

 (b)         The Subscriber represents that (i) the Subscriber was contacted regarding the sale of the Securities by the Placement Agent with whom the Subscriber had a prior substantial pre-existing relationship and (ii) it did not learn of the offering of the Securities by means of any form of general solicitation or general advertising, and in connection therewith, the Subscriber did not (A) receive or review any advertisement, article, notice or other communication published in a newspaper or magazine or similar media or broadcast over television or radio, whether closed circuit, or generally available; or (B) attend any seminar meeting or industry investor conference whose attendees were invited by any general solicitation or general advertising.

 

1.9      The Subscriber hereby acknowledges that the Offering has not been reviewed by the SEC nor any state regulatory authority since the Offering is intended to be exempt from the registration requirements of Section 5 of the Securities Act, pursuant to Regulation D. The Subscriber understands that the Securities have not been registered under the Securities Act or under any state securities or “blue sky” laws and agrees not to sell, pledge, assign or otherwise transfer or dispose of the Securities unless they are registered under the Securities Act and under any applicable state securities or “blue sky” laws or unless an exemption from such registration is available.

 

1.10    The Subscriber understands that the Securities have not been registered under the Securities Act by reason of a claimed exemption under the provisions of the Securities Act that depends, in part, upon the Subscriber’s investment intention and investment qualification. In this connection, the Subscriber hereby represents that the Subscriber is purchasing the Securities for the Subscriber’s own account for investment and not with a view toward the resale or distribution to others; provided, however, that nothing contained herein shall constitute an agreement by the Subscriber to hold the Securities for any particular length of time and the Company acknowledges that the Subscriber shall at all times retain the right to dispose of its property as it may determine in its sole discretion, subject to any restrictions imposed by applicable law. The Subscriber, if an entity, further represents that it was not formed for the purpose of purchasing the Securities.

 

1.11    The Subscriber consents to the placement of a legend on any certificate or other document evidencing the Securities and, when issued, the shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Debentures (the “Conversion Shares”) and exercise of the Warrant (the “Warrant Shares” and collectively with the Conversion Shares, the “Shares”) that such securities have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state securities or “blue sky” laws and setting forth or referring to the restrictions on transferability and sale thereof contained in this Agreement. The Subscriber is aware that the Company will make a notation in its appropriate records with respect to the restrictions on the transferability of such Securities or the Shares.

 

1.12    The Subscriber hereby represents that the address of the Subscriber furnished by Subscriber on the signature page hereof is the Subscriber’s principal residence if Subscriber is an individual or its principal business address if it is a corporation or other entity.

 

 

1.13    Such Subscriber understands that the Securities are “restricted securities” and have not been registered under the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law and is acquiring the Securities as principal for its own account and not with a view to or for distributing or reselling such Securities or any part thereof in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law, has no present intention of distributing any of such Securities in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law and has no direct or indirect arrangement or understandings with any other persons to distribute or regarding the distribution of such Securities in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law. Furthermore, such Subscriber is not purchasing the Securities as a result of any advertisement, article, notice or other communication regarding the Securities published in any newspaper, magazine or similar media or broadcast over television or radio or presented at any seminar or any other general solicitation or general advertisement.

 

1.14    The Subscriber represents that the Subscriber has full power and authority (corporate, statutory and otherwise) to execute and deliver this Agreement and to purchase the Securities. This Agreement constitutes the legal, valid and binding obligation of the Subscriber, enforceable against the Subscriber in accordance with its terms.

 

1.15    If the Subscriber is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust, employee benefit plan, individual retirement account, Keogh Plan, or other tax-exempt entity, it is authorized and qualified to invest in the Company and the person signing this Agreement on behalf of such entity has been duly authorized by such entity to do so.

 

1.16    The Subscriber acknowledges that if he or she is a Registered Representative of a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) member firm, he or she must give such firm the notice required by the FINRA’s Rules of Fair Practice, receipt of which must be acknowledged by such firm in Section 7.4 below.

 

1.17    To effectuate the terms and provisions hereof, the Subscriber hereby appoints the Placement Agent as its attorney-in-fact (and the Placement Agent hereby accepts such appointment) for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the Escrow Agreement by and between the Company, the Placement Agent and Escrow Agent (the “Escrow Agreement”) including, without limitation, taking any action on behalf of, or at the instruction of, the Subscriber and executing any release notices required under the Escrow Agreement and taking any action and executing any instrument that the Placement Agent may deem necessary or advisable (and lawful) to accomplish the purposes hereof. All acts done under the foregoing authorization are hereby ratified and approved and neither the Placement Agent nor any designee nor agent thereof shall be liable for any acts of commission or omission, for any error of judgment, for any mistake of fact or law except for acts of gross negligence or willful misconduct. This power of attorney, being coupled with an interest, is irrevocable while the Escrow Agreement remains in effect.

 

1.18    The Subscriber agrees not to issue any public statement with respect to the Subscriber’s investment or proposed investment in the Company or the terms of any agreement or covenant between them and the Company without the Company’s prior written consent, except such disclosures as may be required under applicable law or under any applicable order, rule or regulation.

 

1.19    The Subscriber understands, acknowledges and agrees with the Company that this subscription may be rejected, in whole or in part, by the Company, in the sole and absolute discretion of the Company, at any time before any Closing notwithstanding prior receipt by the Subscriber of notice of acceptance of the Subscriber’s subscription.

 

 

1.20    The Subscriber acknowledges that the information contained in the Transaction Documents or otherwise made available to the Subscriber is confidential and non-public and agrees that all such information shall be kept in confidence by the Subscriber and neither used by the Subscriber for the Subscriber’s personal benefit (other than in connection with this subscription) nor disclosed to any third party for any reason, notwithstanding that a Subscriber’s subscription may not be accepted by the Company; provided, however, that (a) the Subscriber may disclose such information to its affiliates and advisors who may have a need for such information in connection with providing advice to the Subscriber with respect to its investment in the Company so long as such affiliates and advisors have an obligation of confidentiality, and (b) this obligation shall not apply to any such information that (i) is part of the public knowledge or literature and readily accessible at the date hereof, (ii) becomes part of the public knowledge or literature and readily accessible by publication (except as a result of a breach of this provision) or (iii) is received from third parties without an obligation of confidentiality (except third parties who disclose such information in violation of any confidentiality agreements or obligations, including, without limitation, any subscription or other similar agreement entered into with the Company).

 

1.21    The Subscriber will indemnify and hold harmless the Company and the Placement Agent and, where applicable, their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, advisors, affiliates and shareholders, and each other person, if any, who controls any of the foregoing from and against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever (including, but not limited to, any and all fees, costs and expenses whatsoever reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any claim, lawsuit, administrative proceeding or investigation whether commenced or threatened) (a “Loss”) arising out of or based upon any representation or warranty of the Subscriber contained herein or in any document furnished by the Subscriber to the Company and/or the Placement Agent in connection herewith being untrue in any material respect or any breach or failure by the Subscriber to comply with any covenant or agreement made by the Subscriber herein or therein; provided, however, that the Subscriber shall not be liable for any Loss that in the aggregate exceeds the Subscriber’s aggregate purchase price tendered hereunder.

 

II.          REPRESENTATIONS BY AND COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY

 

The Company hereby represents and warrants to the Subscriber that:

 

2.1      Organization, Good Standing and Qualification. The Company is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has full corporate power and authority to own and use its properties and its assets and conduct its business as currently conducted. Each of the Company’s subsidiaries identified on Schedule 2.1 hereto (the “Subsidiaries”) is an entity duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation with the requisite corporate power and authority to own and use its properties and assets and to conduct its business as currently conducted. Neither the Company, nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of any of the provisions of their respective articles of incorporation, by-laws or other organizational or charter documents, including, but not limited to the Charter Documents (as defined below). Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the case may be, would not result in a direct and/or indirect (i) material adverse effect on the legality, validity or enforceability of any of the Securities and/or this Agreement, (ii) material adverse effect on the results of operations, assets, business, condition (financial and other) or prospects of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (iii) material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to perform in any material respect on a timely basis its obligations under the Transaction Documents (any of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “Material Adverse Effect”).

 

 

2.2      Capitalization and Voting Rights. The authorized, issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company is as set forth in Schedule 2.2 hereto and all issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. Except as set forth in Schedule 2.2 hereto, (i) there are no outstanding securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries which contain any preemptive, redemption or similar provisions, nor is any holder of securities of the Company or any Subsidiary entitled to preemptive or similar rights arising out of any agreement or understanding with the Company or any Subsidiary by virtue of any of the Transaction Documents, and there are no contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is or may become bound to redeem a security of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (ii) neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has any stock appreciation rights or "phantom stock" plans or agreements or any similar plan or agreement; and (iii) except as set forth in Schedule 2.2 there are no outstanding options, warrants, agreements, convertible securities, preemptive rights or other rights to subscribe for or to purchase or acquire, any shares of capital stock of the Company or any Subsidiary or contracts, commitments, understandings, or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to issue any shares of capital stock of the Company or any Subsidiary, or securities or rights convertible or exchangeable into shares of capital stock of the Company or any Subsidiary. Except as set forth in Schedule 2.2 and as otherwise required by law, there are no restrictions upon the voting or transfer of any of the shares of capital stock of the Company pursuant to the Company’s Charter Documents (as defined below) or other governing documents or any agreement or other instruments to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound. All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and the shares of capital stock of the Subsidiaries are owned by the Company, free and clear of any mortgages, pledges, liens, claims, charges, encumbrances or other restrictions (collectively, “Encumbrances”). All of such outstanding capital stock has been issued in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws. The issuance and sale of the Securities and, upon issuance, the Shares, as contemplated hereby will not obligate the Company to issue shares of Common Stock or other securities to any other person (other than the Subscriber) and except as set forth in Schedule 2.2 will not result in the adjustment of the exercise, conversion, exchange or reset price of any outstanding security. The Company does not have outstanding stockholder purchase rights or “poison pill” or any similar arrangement in effect giving any person the right to purchase any equity interest in the Company upon the occurrence of certain events.

 

2.3      Authorization; Enforceability. The Company has all corporate right, power and authority to enter into, execute and deliver this Agreement and each other agreement, document, instrument and certificate to be executed by the Company in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, including, but not limited to Transaction Documents and to perform fully its obligations hereunder and thereunder. All corporate action on the part of the Company, its directors and stockholders necessary for the (a) authorization execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Transaction Documents by the Company; and (b) authorization, sale, issuance and delivery of the Securities and upon issuance, the Shares contemplated hereby and the performance of the Company’s obligations under this Agreement and the Transaction Documents has been taken. This Agreement and the Transaction Documents have been duly executed and delivered by the Company and each constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its respective terms, subject to laws of general application relating to bankruptcy, insolvency and the relief of debtors and rules of law governing specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies, and to limitations of public policy. The Securities are duly authorized and, when issued and paid for in accordance with the applicable Transaction Documents, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Encumbrances other than restrictions on transfer provided for in the Transaction Documents. The Shares, when issued and paid for in accordance with the terms of the Transaction Documents, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Encumbrances imposed by the Company other than restrictions on transfer provided for in the Transaction Documents. The Company has reserved a sufficient number of Conversion Shares and Warrant Shares for issuance upon the conversion of the Debentures and exercise of the Warrants, respectively, free and clear of all Encumbrances, except for restrictions on transfer set forth in the Transaction Documents or imposed by applicable securities laws. Except as set forth on Schedule 2.3 hereto, the issuance and sale of the Securities (including the Shares) contemplated hereby will not give rise to any preemptive rights or rights of first refusal on behalf of any person other than the Subscribers.

 

 

2.4     No Conflict; Governmental Consents.

 

(a)          The execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement and the Transaction Documents, the issuance and sale of the Securities (including, when issued, the Shares) and the consummation of the other transactions contemplated hereby or thereby do not and will not (i) result in the violation of any law, statute, rule, regulation, order, writ, injunction, judgment or decree of any court or governmental authority to or by which the Company is bound including without limitation all foreign, federal, state and local laws applicable to its business and all such laws that affect the environment, except in each case as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) conflict with or violate any provision of the Company’s Articles of Incorporation (the “Articles”), as amended or the Bylaws, (and collectively with the Articles, the “Charter Documents”) of the Company, and (iii) conflict with, or result in a material breach or violation of, any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute (with or without due notice or lapse of time or both) a default or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation (with or without due notice, lapse of time or both) under any agreement, credit facility, lease, loan agreement, mortgage, security agreement, trust indenture or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which any of them is bound or to which any of their respective properties or assets is subject, nor result in the creation or imposition of any Encumbrances upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary.

 

(b)          No approval by the holders of Common Stock, or other equity securities of the Company is required to be obtained by the Company in connection with the authorization, execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents or in connection with the authorization, issue and sale of the Securities and, upon issuance, the Shares, except as has been previously obtained.

 

(c)          No consent, approval, authorization or other order of any governmental authority or any other person is required to be obtained by the Company in connection with the authorization, execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents or in connection with the authorization, issue and sale of the Securities and, upon issuance, the Shares, except such post-sale filings as may be required to be made with the SEC, FINRA and with any state or foreign blue sky or securities regulatory authority, all of which shall be made when required.

 

2.5     Consents of Third Parties. No vote, approval or consent of any holder of capital stock of the Company or any other third parties is required or necessary to be obtained by the Company in connection with the authorization, execution, deliver and performance of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents or in connection with the authorization, issue and sale of the Securities and, upon issuance, the Shares, except as previously obtained, each of which is in full force and effect.

 

 

2.6     SEC Reports; Financial Statements. The Company has (a) for the twenty-four (24) months preceding the filing of the Form 10-K (or such shorter period as the Company was required by law to file such reports) (i) disclosed all material information required to be publicly disclosed by it on Form 8-K, (ii) filed all reports on Form 10-Q and Form 10-K and (iii) filed all other reports (other than any Form 8-K) required to be filed by it under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) thereof, and (b) since the filing of the Form 10-K, the Company has filed all reports required to be filed by it under the Securities Act and Exchange Act (the foregoing materials being collectively referred to herein as the "SEC Reports" and, together with the Schedules to this Agreement (if any), the "Disclosure Materials") on a timely basis or has timely filed a valid extension of such time of filing and has filed any such SEC Reports prior to the expiration of any such extension. As of their respective dates, the SEC Reports complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder, and none of the SEC Reports, when filed, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Reports comply in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the rules and regulations of the SEC with respect thereto as in effect at the time of filing. Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved, except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the footnotes thereto, and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, immaterial, year-end audit adjustments.

 

2.7     Licenses. Except as otherwise set forth on the Schedule 2.7, the Company and its Subsidiaries have sufficient licenses, permits and other governmental authorizations currently required for the conduct of their respective businesses or ownership of properties and is in all material respects in compliance therewith.

 

2.8     Litigation. Except as set forth on the Schedule 2.8, the Company knows of no pending or threatened legal or governmental proceedings against the Company or any Subsidiary which could materially adversely affect the business, property, financial condition or operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or which materially and adversely questions the validity of this Agreement or the other Transaction Documents or the right of the Company to enter into this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents, or to perform its obligations hereunder and thereunder. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is a party or subject to the provisions of any order, writ, injunction, judgment or decree of any court or government agency or instrumentality which could materially adversely affect the business, property, financial condition or operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole. There is no action, suit, proceeding or investigation by the Company or any Subsidiary currently pending in any court or before any arbitrator or that the Company or any Subsidiary intends to initiate. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor any director or officer thereof, is or since the Form 10-K has been the subject of any action involving a claim of violation of or liability under federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary duty. There has not been, and to the Company’s knowledge, there is not pending or contemplated, any investigation by the SEC involving the Company or any current or former director or officer of the Company.

 

 

2.9     Compliance. Except as set forth on Schedule 2.9, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary: (i) is in default under or in violation of (and no event has occurred that has not been waived that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would result in a default by the Company or any Subsidiary under), nor has the Company or any Subsidiary received notice of a claim that it is in default under or that it is in violation of, any indenture, loan or credit agreement or any other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties is bound (whether or not such default or violation has been waived), (ii) is in violation of any judgment, decree or order of any court, arbitrator or other governmental authority or (iii) is or has been in violation of any statute, rule, ordinance or regulation of any governmental authority, including without limitation all foreign, federal, state and local laws relating to taxes, environmental protection, occupational health and safety, product quality and safety and employment and labor matters, except in each case as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

2.10   Regulatory Permits. The Company and the Subsidiaries possess all certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses, except where the failure to possess such permits could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (“Material Permits”), and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Material Permit.

 

2.11   Disclosure. The information set forth in the Transaction Documents as of the date hereof and as of the date of each Closing contains no untrue statement of a material fact nor omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements contained therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

2.12   Investment Company. The Company is not an “investment company” within the meaning of such term under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder.

 

2.13   Brokers. Except for the Placement Agent and as set forth on Schedule 2.13, neither the Company nor any of the Company's officers, directors, employees or stockholders has employed or engaged any broker or finder in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and no fee or other compensation is or will be due and owing to any broker, finder, underwriter, placement agent or similar person in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. The Company is not party to any agreement, arrangement or understanding whereby any person has an exclusive right to raise funds and/or place or purchase any debt or equity securities for or on behalf of the Company.

 

2.14   Intellectual Property; Employees.

 

(a)          The Company owns or possesses sufficient legal rights to all patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights, trade secrets, licenses, information and other proprietary rights and processes necessary for its business as now conducted and as presently proposed to be conducted, without any known infringement of the rights of others as set forth on Schedule 2.14 and which the failure to so have could have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, the “Intellectual Property Rights”). Except as disclosed on Schedule 2.14 or the SEC Reports, there are no material outstanding options, licenses or agreements of any kind relating to the Intellectual Property Rights, nor is the Company bound by or a party to any material options, licenses or agreements of any kind with respect to the patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights, trade secrets, licenses, information and other proprietary rights and processes of any other person or entity other than such licenses or agreements arising from the purchase of “off the shelf” or standard products. The Company has not received any written communications alleging that the Company has violated or, by conducting its business as presently proposed to be conducted, would violate any Intellectual Property Rights of any other person or entity. The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken reasonable security measures to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value of all of their intellectual properties, except where failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect

 

 

(b)          Except as set forth on Schedule 2.14, the Company is not aware that any of its employees is obligated under any contract (including licenses, covenants or commitments of any nature) or other agreement, or subject to any judgment, decree or order of any court or administrative agency, that would interfere with their duties to the Company or that would conflict with the Company’s business as presently conducted.

 

(c)          Neither the execution nor delivery of this Agreement, nor the carrying on of the Company’s business by the employees of the Company, nor the conduct of the Company’s business as presently conducted, will, to the Company’s knowledge, conflict with or result in a breach of the terms, conditions or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any contract, covenant or instrument under which any employee is now obligated.

 

(d)          To the Company’s knowledge, no employee of the Company, nor any consultant with whom the Company has contracted, is in violation of any term of any employment contract, proprietary information agreement or any other agreement and to the Company’s knowledge the continued employment by the Company of its present employees, and the performance of the Company’s contracts with its independent contractors, will not result in any such violation. The Company has not received any written notice alleging that any such violation has occurred. Except as set forth on Schedule 2.14, no employee of the Company has been granted the right to continued employment by the Company or to any compensation following termination of employment with the Company except for any of the same which would not have a Material Adverse Effect on the business of the Company. The Company is not aware that any officer, key employee or group of employees intends to terminate his, her or their employment with the Company, nor does the Company have a present intention to terminate the employment of any officer, key employee or group of employees.

 

2.15    Title to Properties and Assets; Liens, Etc. Except as set forth on Schedule 2.15, the Company has good and marketable title to its properties and assets, including the properties and assets reflected in the most recent balance sheet included in the Company’s financial statements, and good title to its leasehold estates, in each case subject to no Encumbrances, other than (a) those resulting from taxes which have not yet become delinquent; and (b) Encumbrances which do not materially detract from the value of the property subject thereto or materially impair the operations of the Company; and (c) those that have otherwise arisen in the ordinary course of business, none of which are material. Except as set forth in Schedule 2.15, the Company is in compliance with all material terms of each lease to which it is a party or is otherwise bound.

 

2.16    Obligations to Related Parties. Except as set forth on Schedule 2.15, there are no obligations of the Company to officers, directors, stockholders, or employees of the Company other than (a) for payment of salary or other compensation for services rendered, (b) reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred on behalf of the Company and (c) for other standard employee benefits made generally available to all employees (including stock option agreements outstanding under any stock option plan approved by the Board of Directors of the Company). Except as set forth on Schedule 2.16, none of the officers or directors of the Company and, to the Company’s knowledge, none of the employees of the Company is presently a party to any transaction with the Company or any Subsidiary (other than as holders of stock options and/or warrants, and for services as employees, officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from, or otherwise requiring payments to or from any officer, director or such employee or, to the Company’s knowledge, any entity in which any officer, director, or any such employee has a substantial interest or is an officer, director, trustee or partner.

 

 

2.17    Material Changes. Except as set forth in Schedule 2.17, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports (i) there has been no event, occurrence or development that has had or that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) the Company has not incurred any liabilities (contingent or otherwise) other than (A) trade payables, accrued expenses and other liabilities incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (B) liabilities not required to be reflected in the Company's financial statements pursuant to generally accepted accounting principles or required to be disclosed in filings made with the SEC, (iii) the Company has not altered its method of accounting or the identity of its auditors, (iv) the Company has not declared or made any dividend or distribution of cash or other property to its stockholders or purchased, redeemed or made any agreements to purchase or redeem any shares of its capital stock, and (v) the Company has not issued any equity securities to any officer, director or affiliate, except pursuant to existing Company stock option plans. The Company does not have pending before the SEC any request for confidential treatment of information.

 

2.18    Sarbanes-Oxley. The Company is in compliance with all effective requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder, that are applicable to it, except where such noncompliance could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

2.19    No General Solicitation. None of the Company, its Subsidiaries, any of their affiliates, and any person acting on their behalf, has engaged in any form of general solicitation or general advertising (within the meaning of Regulation D under the Securities Act) in connection with the offer or sale of the Securities.

 

2.20    No Integrated Offering. Assuming the accuracy of the Subscriber representations and warranties set forth in Article I hereunder, none of the Company, its Subsidiaries, any of their affiliates, and any person acting on their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would require registration of any of the Securities under the Securities Act or that is likely to cause this offering of the Securities to be integrated with prior offerings by the Company for purposes of the Securities Act or any applicable stockholder approval provisions, including without limitation, under the rules and regulations of any exchange or automated quotation system on which any of the securities of the Company are listed or designated. Except as set forth on Schedule 2.15, none of the Company, its Subsidiaries, their affiliates and any person acting on their behalf, have taken any action or steps referred to in the preceding sentence that would require registration of any of the Securities under the Securities Act or cause the offering of the Securities to be integrated with other offerings.

 

2.21    Application of Takeover Protections. The Company has taken all necessary action, if any, in order to render inapplicable any control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or other similar anti-takeover provision under the Company's Charter Documents or the laws of its state of incorporation that is or could become applicable to the Subscriber as a result of the Subscriber and the Company fulfilling their obligations or exercising their rights under this Agreement, including, without limitation, the Company's issuance of the Securities and the Subscriber' ownership of the Securities.

 

 

2.22    Taxes. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has filed all U.S. federal, state, local and foreign tax returns which are required to be filed by each of them and all such returns are true and correct in all material respects. The Company and each subsidiary has paid all taxes whether or not shown on such returns or pursuant to any assessments received by any of them or by which any of them are obligated to withhold from amounts owing to any employee, creditor or third party. The Company and each subsidiary has properly accrued all taxes required to be accrued and/or paid, except where the failure to accrue would not have a Material Adverse Effect. To the knowledge of the Company, none of the tax returns of the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is currently being audited by any state, local or federal authorities. Neither the Company nor any subsidiary has waived any statute of limitations with respect to taxes or agreed to any extension of time with respect to any tax assessment or deficiency. The Company has set aside on its books adequate provision for the payment of any unpaid taxes.

 

2.23    Registration Rights. Except as set forth on Schedule 2.23, no person has any right to cause the Company to effect the registration under the Securities Act of any securities of the Company.

 

2.24    Listing and Maintenance Requirements. The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or which to its knowledge is likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act nor has the Company received any notification that the SEC is contemplating terminating such registration. The Company has not, in the 12 months preceding the date hereof, received notice from any trading market on which the Common Stock is or has been listed or quoted to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance requirements of such trading market. The Company is, and has no reason to believe that it will not in the foreseeable future continue to be, in compliance with all such listing and maintenance requirements

 

2.25     Disclosure. All disclosure furnished by or on behalf of the Company to the Subscriber in the Transaction Documents regarding the Company, its business and the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Disclosure Schedules to this Agreement, is true and correct and does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

2.26    Seniority. No indebtedness or other claim against the Company is senior to the Debentures in right of payment, whether with respect to interest or upon liquidation or dissolution, or otherwise, other than indebtedness secured by purchase money security interests.

 

2.27    (which is senior only as to underlying assets covered thereby) and capital lease obligations (which is senior only as to the property covered thereby).

 

2.28    Private Placement. Assuming the accuracy of the Subscribers’ representations and warranties set forth in Section 1, no registration under the Securities Act is required for the offer and sale of the Securities by the Company to the Subscriber as contemplated hereby.

 

III.         TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION

 

3.1      The minimum purchase that may be made by any prospective investor shall be $50,000. Subscriptions for investment below the minimum investment may be accepted at the discretion of the Placement Agent and the Company. The Company and the Placement Agent each reserve the right to reject any subscription made hereby, in whole or in part, in its sole discretion. The Company’s agreement with each Subscriber is a separate agreement and the sale of the Securities to each Subscriber is a separate sale.

 

 

3.2     All funds shall be deposited in the account identified in Section 1.1 hereof.

 

3.3     Certificates representing the Debentures and the Warrants purchased by the Subscriber pursuant to this Agreement will be prepared for delivery to the Subscriber as soon as practicable (but in no event more than five (5) Trading Days) following the Closing at which such purchase takes place. The Subscriber hereby authorizes and directs the Company to deliver the certificates representing the Debentures and the Warrants purchased by the Subscriber pursuant to this Agreement directly to the Placement Agent unless otherwise indicated on the signature page hereto.

 

IV.          CONDITIONS TO OBLIGATIONS OF THE SUBSCRIBER

 

4.1     The Subscriber’s obligation to purchase the Securities at the Closing at which such purchase is to be consummated is subject to the fulfillment on or prior to such Closing of the following conditions, which conditions may be waived at the option of each Subscriber to the extent permitted by law:

 

(a)          Representations and Warranties; Covenants. The representations and warranties made by the Company in Section 2 hereof qualified as to materiality shall be true and correct as of the Initial Closing at all times prior to and on the Closing Date, except (i) to the extent any such representation or warranty expressly speaks as of an earlier date, in which case such representation or warranty shall be true and correct as of such earlier date, and, (ii) the representations and warranties made by the Company in Section 2 hereof not qualified as to materiality shall be true and correct in all material respects at all times prior to and on the Closing Date, except to the extent any such representation or warranty expressly speaks as of an earlier date, in which case such representation or warranty shall be true and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date; provided however, that notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall only be required to update the Disclosure Schedules by the delivery to the Subscribers by the Company of an amended Disclosure Schedule with respect to any information that is of a material nature as of such proposed Closing Date. All covenants, agreements and conditions contained in this Agreement to be performed by the Company on or prior to the date of such Closing shall have been performed or complied with in all material respects.

 

(b)          No Legal Order Pending. There shall not then be in effect any legal or other order enjoining or restraining the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

(c)          No Law Prohibiting or Restricting Such Sale. There shall not be in effect any law, rule or regulation prohibiting or restricting such sale or requiring any consent or approval of any person, which shall not have been obtained, to issue the Securities (except as otherwise provided in this Agreement).

 

(d)          Required Consents. The Company shall have obtained any and all consents, permits, approvals, registrations and waivers necessary or appropriate for consummation of the purchase and sale of the Securities and the consummation of the other transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, all of which shall be in full force and effect.

 

(e)          Adverse Changes. Since the date of execution of this Agreement, no event or series of events shall have occurred that reasonably could have or result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

 

(f)          No Suspensions of Trading in Common Stock; Listing. Trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended by the SEC or any trading market (except for any suspensions of trading of not more than one trading day solely to permit dissemination of material information regarding the Company) at any time since the date of execution of this Agreement, and the Common Stock shall have been at all times since such date listed for trading on a trading market.

 

(g)          Blue Sky. The Company shall have completed qualification for the Securities and the Shares under applicable Blue Sky laws.

 

(h)          Legal Opinion. The Company’s corporate counsel shall have delivered a legal opinion addressed to the Subscribers in a form reasonably acceptable to the Placement Agent.

 

(i)          Disclosure Schedules. The Company shall have delivered to the Subscriber a copy of its Disclosure Schedules (or amended Disclosure Schedules) qualifying any of the representations and warranties contained in Section 2 as of the applicable Closing.

 

V.

COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY

 

5.1     Transfer Restrictions.

 

(a)          The Securities may only be disposed of in compliance with state and federal securities laws. In connection with any transfer of Securities other than pursuant to an effective registration statement or Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act, to the Company or to an affiliate of a Subscriber or in connection with, the Company may require the transferor thereof to provide to the Company an opinion of counsel selected by the transferor and reasonably acceptable to the Company, the form and substance of which opinion shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Company, to the effect that such transfer does not require registration of such transferred Securities under the Securities Act. As a condition of transfer, any such transferee shall agree in writing to be bound by the terms of this Agreement, and shall have the rights of a Subscriber under this Agreement.

 

(b)          The Subscriber agrees to the imprinting, so long as is required by this Section 5.1, of a legend on any of the Securities, including the Shares, in the following form:

 

[NEITHER] THIS SECURITY [NOR THE SECURITIES INTO WHICH THIS SECURITY IS [EXERCISABLE] [CONVERTIBLE]] HAS [NOT] BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OR THE SECURITIES COMMISSION OF ANY STATE IN RELIANCE UPON AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), AND, ACCORDINGLY, MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR PURSUANT TO AN AVAILABLE EXEMPTION FROM, OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT TO, THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS AS EVIDENCED BY A LEGAL OPINION OF COUNSEL TO THE TRANSFEROR TO SUCH EFFECT, THE SUBSTANCE OF WHICH SHALL BE REASONABLY ACCEPTABLE TO THE COMPANY. THIS SECURITY [AND THE SECURITIES ISSUABLE UPON [EXERCISE] [CONVERSION] OF THIS SECURITY] MAY BE PLEDGED IN CONNECTION WITH A BONA FIDE MARGIN ACCOUNT OR OTHER LOAN SECURED BY SUCH SECURITIES.

 

 

(c)          The Subscriber understands that prior to September 2, 2011, the Company was a “shell company” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “Exchange Act”). Pursuant to Rule 144(i), securities issued by a current or former shell company (that is, the Securities and the Shares) that otherwise meet the holding period and other requirements of Rule 144 nevertheless cannot be sold in reliance on Rule 144 unless at the time of a proposed sale pursuant to Rule 144 the Company is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act and has filed all reports and other materials required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Form 8-K reports. As a result, the restrictive legends on certificates for the Securities or the Shares cannot be removed except in connection with an actual sale meeting the foregoing requirements or pursuant to an effective registration statement.

 

(d)          Certificates evidencing the Shares shall not contain any legend (including the legend set forth in Section 4.1(b) hereof): (i) while a registration statement covering the resale of such security is effective under the Securities Act, or (ii) following any sale of such Shares pursuant to Rule 144, or (iii) [reserved] or (iv) if such legend is not required under applicable requirements of the Securities Act (including judicial interpretations and pronouncements issued by the staff of the SEC). The Company shall cause its counsel, at the Company’s expense, to issue a legal opinion to the Company’s transfer agent promptly (but in no event later than the requisite share delivery date set forth in the Debenture and the Warrants) if required by the Company’s transfer to effect the removal of the legend hereunder.

 

5.2      Listing of Securities. The Company agrees, (i) if the Company applies to have the Common Stock traded on any other trading market, it will include in such application the shares of Common Stock and Shares, and will take such other action as is necessary or desirable to cause the shares of Common Stock and Shares to be listed on such other trading market as promptly as possible, and (ii) it will take all action reasonably necessary to continue the listing and trading of its Common Stock on a trading market and will comply in all material respects with the Company’s reporting, filing and other obligations under the bylaws or rules of the trading market.

 

5.3      Reservation of Shares. The Company shall at all times while the Debenture and Warrants are outstanding maintain a reserve from its duly authorized shares of Common Stock of a number of shares of Common Stock sufficient to allow for the issuance of the Shares.

 

5.4      Replacement of Securities. If any certificate or instrument evidencing any Securities or the Shares is mutilated, lost, stolen or destroyed, the Company shall issue or cause to be issued in exchange and substitution for and upon cancellation thereof, or in lieu of and substitution therefor, a new certificate or instrument, but only upon receipt of evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Company of such loss, theft or destruction and customary and reasonable indemnity, if requested. The applicants for a new certificate or instrument under such circumstances shall also pay any reasonable third-party costs associated with the issuance of such replacement securities. If a replacement certificate or instrument evidencing any securities is requested due to a mutilation thereof, the Company may require delivery of such mutilated certificate or instrument as a condition precedent to any issuance of a replacement.

 

5.5      Furnishing of Information. Until the time that no Subscriber owns Securities, the Company covenants to maintain the registration of the Common Stock under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act and to timely file (or obtain extensions in respect thereof and file within the applicable grace period) all reports required to be filed by the Company after the date hereof pursuant to the Exchange Act. As long as Subscriber owns Securities, if the Company is not required to file reports pursuant to the Exchange Act, it will prepare and furnish to Subscriber and make publicly available in accordance with Rule 144(c) such information as is required for the Subscribers to sell the Securities under Rule 144. The Company further covenants that it will take such further action as any holder of Securities may reasonably request, to the extent required from time to time to enable such person to sell such Securities without registration under the Securities Act within the requirements of the exemption provided by Rule 144.

 

 

5.6      Securities Laws; Publicity. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, the Company shall, by 8:30 a.m. (New York City time) on the second trading day immediately following the first and last Closings hereunder, issue a Current Report on Form 8-K disclosing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby and including the Transaction Documents as exhibits thereto to the extent required by law. The Company shall not publicly disclose the name of Subscriber, or include the name of any Subscriber in any filing with the SEC or any regulatory agency or trading market, without the prior written consent of Subscriber, except: (a) as required by federal securities law in connection with the filing of final Transaction Documents (including signature pages thereto) with the SEC and (b) to the extent such disclosure is required by law, in which case the Company shall provide the Subscriber with prior notice of such disclosure permitted under this clause (b).

 

5.7      Form D; Blue Sky Filings. The Company agrees to timely file a Form D with respect to the Securities as required under Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act and to provide a copy thereof, promptly upon request of the Subscriber. The Company shall take such action as the Company shall reasonably determine is necessary in order to obtain an exemption for, or to qualify the Securities for, sale to the Subscriber at the Closing under applicable securities or “Blue Sky” laws of the states of the United States, and shall provide evidence of such actions promptly upon request of any Subscriber.

 

5.8           Equal Treatment of Subscribers. No consideration (including any modification of any Transaction Document) shall be offered or paid to any person to amend or consent to a waiver or modification of any provision of any of the Transaction Documents unless the same consideration is also offered to all of the parties to the Transaction Documents.

 

5.9           Indemnification. 

 

(a)    The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Subscriber, its affiliates and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents and controlling persons (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) from and against , any and all loss, liability, damage or deficiency suffered or incurred by any Indemnified Party by reason of any misrepresentation or breach of warranty by the Company or, after any applicable notice and/or cure periods, nonfulfillment of any covenant or agreement to be performed or complied with by the Company under this Agreement, the Transaction Documents; and will promptly reimburse the Indemnified Parties for all expenses (including reasonable fees and expenses of legal counsel) as incurred in connection with the investigation of, preparation for or defense of any pending or threatened claim related to or arising in any manner out of any of the foregoing, or any action or proceeding arising therefrom (collectively, “Proceedings”), whether or not such Indemnified Party is a formal party to any such Proceeding.

 

(b)     If for any reason (other than a final non-appealable judgment finding any Indemnified Party liable for losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses for its gross negligence or willful misconduct) the foregoing indemnity is unavailable to an Indemnified Party or insufficient to hold an Indemnified Party harmless, then the Company shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by an Indemnified Party as a result of such loss, claim, damage, liability or expense in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Advisor on the other, but also the relative fault by the Company and the Indemnified Party, as well as any relevant equitable considerations.

 

 

5.10       Non-Public Information. Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, the Company covenants and agrees that neither it, nor any other person acting on its behalf, will provide Subscriber or its agents or counsel with any information that the Company believes constitutes material non-public information, unless prior thereto Subscriber shall have executed a written agreement regarding the confidentiality and use of such information. The Company understands and confirms that Subscriber shall be relying on the foregoing covenant in effecting transactions in securities of the Company.

 

5.11        Use of Proceeds. Except as set forth on Schedule 5.11 attached hereto, the Company shall use the net proceeds from the sale of the Securities hereunder for working capital purposes and shall not use such proceeds for: (a) the satisfaction of any portion of the Company’s debt (other than payment of trade payables in the ordinary course of the Company’s business and prior practices), (b) the redemption of any Common Stock or Common Stock equivalents or (c) the settlement of any outstanding litigation.

 

5.12        Participation in Future Financing.

 

(a)          From the date hereof until the one year anniversary of the Final Closing, upon any issuance by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of Common Stock, Common Stock equivalents (a “Subsequent Financing”), each Subscriber shall have the right to participate in up to an amount of the Subsequent Financing equal to 100% of the Subsequent Financing (the “Participation Maximum”) on the same terms, conditions and price provided for in the Subsequent Financing.

 

(b)          At least 5 trading days prior to the closing of the Subsequent Financing, the Company shall deliver to each Subscriber a written notice of its intention to effect a Subsequent Financing (“Pre-Notice”), which Pre-Notice shall ask such Subscriber if it wants to review the details of such financing (such additional notice, a “Subsequent Financing Notice”). Upon the request of a Subscriber, and only upon a request by such Subscriber, for a Subsequent Financing Notice, the Company shall promptly, but no later than 1 trading day after such request, deliver a Subsequent Financing Notice to such Subscriber. The Subsequent Financing Notice shall describe in reasonable detail the proposed terms of such Subsequent Financing, the amount of proceeds intended to be raised thereunder and the person or persons through or with whom such Subsequent Financing is proposed to be effected and shall include a term sheet or similar document relating thereto as an attachment.

 

(c)          Any Subscriber desiring to participate in such Subsequent Financing must provide written notice to the Company by not later than 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on the 5^th trading day after all of the Subscribers have received the Pre-Notice that the Subscriber is willing to participate in the Subsequent Financing, the amount of the Subscriber’s participation, and that the Subscriber has such funds ready, willing, and available for investment on the terms set forth in the Subsequent Financing Notice. If the Company receives no notice from a Subscriber as of such 5^th trading day, such Subscriber shall be deemed to have notified the Company that it does not elect to participate.

 

(d)          If by 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on the 5^th trading day after all of the Subscribers have received the Pre-Notice, notifications by the Subscribers of their willingness to participate in the Subsequent Financing (or to cause their designees to participate) is, in the aggregate, less than the total amount of the Subsequent Financing, then the Company may effect the remaining portion of such Subsequent Financing on the terms and with the persons set forth in the Subsequent Financing Notice.

 

 

(e)          If by 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on the 5^th trading day after all of the Subscribers have received the Pre-Notice, the Company receives responses to a Subsequent Financing Notice from Subscribers seeking to purchase more than the aggregate amount of the Participation Maximum, each such Subscriber shall have the right to purchase its Pro Rata Portion (as defined below) of the Participation Maximum.  “Pro Rata Portion” means the ratio of (x) the Subscription Amount of Securities purchased on the Closing Date by a Subscriber participating under this Section 5.12 and (y) the sum of the aggregate Subscription Amounts of Securities purchased by all Subscribers participating under this Section 5.12.

 

(f)          The Company must provide the Subscribers with a second Subsequent Financing Notice, and the Subscribers will again have the right of participation set forth above in this Section 5.12, if the Subsequent Financing subject to the initial Subsequent Financing Notice is not consummated for any reason on the terms set forth in such Subsequent Financing Notice within 30 trading days after the date of the initial Subsequent Financing Notice.

 

(g)          Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Section 5.12 shall not apply in respect of (i) an Exempt Issuance (as defined in the Debentures and the Warrants), or (ii) an underwritten public offering of Common Stock.

 

5.13         Most Favored Nation Provision. Until December 31, 2015, if the Company effects a Subsequent Financing, Subscriber may elect, in its sole discretion, to exchange all or some of the Debentures then held by Subscriber for any securities issued in a Subsequent Financing on a $1.00 for $1.00 basis based on the outstanding principal amount of such Debentures, along with any liquidated damages and other amounts owing thereon, and the effective price at which such securities are to be sold in such Subsequent Financing; provided, however, that this Section 5.13 shall not apply with respect to (i) an Exempt Issuance (as defined in the Debentures) or (ii) an underwritten public offering of Common Stock.

 

VI.          MISCELLANEOUS

 

6.1       Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries required or permitted to be provided hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given and effective on the earliest of: (a) the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile or by electronic communication at or prior to 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on a day in which the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading (a “Trading Day”), (b) the next Trading Day after the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile or electronic communication on a day that is not a Trading Day or later than 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any Trading Day, (c) the second (2^nd) Trading Day following the date of mailing, if sent by U.S. nationally recognized overnight courier service or (d) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such notice is required to be given. The address for such notices and communications shall be addressed as follows:

 

if to the Company, to it at:

Protea Biosciences Group, Inc.

955 Hartman Run Road

Morgantown, WV 26507

Attn: Stephen C. Turner, CEO

 

 

With a copy to (which shall not constitute notice):

 

CKR Law

1330 Avenue of the Americas, 35^th Floor

New York, NY 10019

Attn: Barrett S. DiPaolo, Esq.

 

if to the Subscriber, to the Subscriber’s address indicated on the signature page of this Agreement.

 

With a copy to (which shall not constitute notice):

 

Robinson Brog Leinwand Greene Genovese & Gluck P.C.

875 3^rd Avenue, 9^th Floor

New York, NY 10022
Attn: David E. Danovitch, Esq.

 

if to the Escrow Agent, to it at:

 

Signature Bank

261 Madison Ave.

New York, NY 10016

Attn: Cliff Broder, Group Director and Senior Vice President

Fax: 646 ###-###-####

 

6.2      Except as otherwise provided herein, this Agreement shall not be changed, modified or amended except by a writing signed by the parties to be charged, and this Agreement may not be discharged except by performance in accordance with its terms or by a writing signed by the party to be charged. No waiver of any default with respect to any provision, condition or requirement of this Agreement shall be deemed to be a continuing waiver in the future or a waiver of any subsequent default or a waiver of any other provision, condition or requirement hereof, nor shall any delay or omission of any party to exercise any right hereunder in any manner impair the exercise of any such right.

 

6.3      This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and to their respective heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns. The Company may not assign this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of Subscriber (other than by merger). Subscriber may assign any or all of its rights under this Agreement to any person to whom Subscriber assigns or transfers any Securities, provided that such transferee agrees in writing to be bound, with respect to the transferred Securities, by the provisions of the Transaction Documents

 

6.4      The Transaction Documents, together with the exhibits and schedules thereto, contain the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, oral or written, with respect to such matters, which the parties acknowledge have been merged into such documents, exhibits and schedules.

 

 

6.5      Upon the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Subscriber and the Company, this Agreement shall become a binding obligation of the Subscriber with respect to the purchase of Securities as herein provided, subject, however, to the right hereby reserved by the Company to enter into the same agreements with other Subscriber and to reject any subscription, in whole or in part, provided the Company returns to Subscriber any funds paid by Subscriber with respect to such rejected subscription or portion thereof, without interest or deduction.

 

6.6      All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of the Transaction Documents shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law thereof. Each party agrees that all legal proceedings concerning the interpretations, enforcement and defense of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and any other Transaction Documents (whether brought against a party hereto or its respective affiliates, directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents) shall be commenced exclusively in the state and federal courts sitting in the City 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 herewith or with any transaction contemplated hereby or discussed herein (including with respect to the enforcement of any of the Transaction Documents), 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 improper or is an inconvenient venue for such proceeding.

 

6.7      In order to discourage frivolous claims the parties agree that unless a claimant in any proceeding arising out of this Agreement succeeds in establishing his claim and recovering a judgment against another party (regardless of whether such claimant succeeds against one of the other parties to the action), then the other party shall be entitled to recover from such claimant all of its/their reasonable legal costs and expenses relating to such proceeding and/or incurred in preparation therefor.

 

6.8      The holding of any provision of this Agreement to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction shall not affect any other provision of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect. If any provision of this Agreement shall be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced in whole or in part, such provision shall be interpreted so as to remain enforceable to the maximum extent permissible consistent with applicable law and the remaining conditions and provisions or portions thereof shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect and enforceable to the extent they are valid, legal and enforceable, and no provisions shall be deemed dependent upon any other covenant or provision unless so expressed herein.

 

6.9      It is agreed that a waiver by either party of a breach of any provision of this Agreement shall not operate, or be construed, as a waiver of any subsequent breach by that same party.

 

6.10    The Company agrees to execute and deliver all such further documents, agreements and instruments and take such other and further action as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and intent of this Agreement.

 

6.11    This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which shall together constitute one and the same instrument. In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission or by e-mail delivery of a “.pdf” format data file, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such facsimile or “.pdf” signature page were an original thereof.

 

 

6.12    Nothing in this Agreement shall create or be deemed to create any rights in any person or entity not a party to this Agreement.

 

6.13    In addition to being entitled to exercise all rights provided herein or granted by law, including recovery of damages, the Subscriber and the Company will be entitled to specific performance under this Agreement. The parties agree that monetary damages may not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of any breach of obligations described in the foregoing sentence and hereby agrees to waive in any action for specific performance of any such obligation the defense that a remedy at law would be adequate.

 

6.14    Acknowledgment Regarding Subscriber’s Trading Activity. The Company further understands and acknowledges that (a) Subscriber may engage in hedging activities at various times during the period that the Securities are outstanding, including, without limitation, during the periods that the value of the Shares deliverable with respect to Securities are being determined, and (b) such hedging activities (if any) could reduce the value of the existing stockholders' equity interests in the Company at and after the time that the hedging activities are being conducted.  The Company acknowledges that such aforementioned hedging activities do not constitute a breach of any of the Transaction Documents.

 

 

To subscribe for the Debentures and Warrants

to Purchase Shares of Common Stock in the private offering of

 

PROTEA BIOSCIENCES GROUP, INC.

 

1.

Date and Fill the face amount and aggregate purchase price of 20% original issue discount unsecured convertible debentures (the “Debentures”), initially convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”) at a conversion price equal to $0.25, and (b) a three-year warrant (the “Warrant”, and together with the Debentures, collectively, the “Securities”) to purchase such number of shares of Common Stock of the Company equal to 75% of the number of shares of Common Stock initially issuable upon conversion of the Debentures in this Offering at an exercise price equal 30% (thirty) percent premium to conversion price, subject to adjustment thereunder (the “Exercise Price”), the “Securities” being subscribed for and Complete and Sign the Signature Page included in this Subscription Agreement.

2.

Initial the Accredited Investor Certification attached to this Subscription Agreement.

3.

Complete and Sign the Signature Page attached to this Subscription Agreement. NOTICE: Please note that by executing the attached Subscription Agreement, you will be deemed to have executed the Debenture and have agreed to the terms of the Warrant (collectively the “Transaction Documents”), each of which are attached to the Subscription Agreement, and will be treated for all purposes as if you did sign and agree to, as applicable, each such Transaction Document even though you may not have physically signed the signature pages to such documents.

4.

Complete and Return the attached Investor Questionnaire and, if applicable, Wire Transfer Authorization attached to this Subscription Agreement.

5.

Return all forms to your Account Executive and then send all signed original documents with a check (if applicable) to:

Laidlaw & Company (UK) Ltd.

546 Fifth Avenue, 5^th Floor

New York, NY 10036

 

6.

Please make your subscription payment payable to the order of “Signature Bank, as Escrow Agent for Protea Biosciences Group, Inc.” Account No. [                  ]

For wiring funds directly to the escrow account, use the following instructions:

 

 

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING REQUIREMENTS

 

The USA PATRIOT Act		What is money laundering?		How big is the problem and why is it important?
The USA PATRIOT Act is designed to detect, deter, and punish terrorists in the United States and abroad. The Act imposes new anti-money laundering requirements on brokerage firms and financial institutions. Since April 24, 2002 all brokerage firms have been required to have new, comprehensive anti-money laundering programs. To help you understand these efforts, we want to provide you with some information about money laundering and our steps to implement the USA PATRIOT Act.		Money laundering is the process of disguising illegally obtained money so that the funds appear to come from legitimate sources or activities. Money laundering occurs in connection with a wide variety of crimes, including illegal arms sales, drug trafficking, robbery, fraud, racketeering, and terrorism.		The use of the U.S. financial system by criminals to facilitate terrorism or other crimes could well taint our financial markets. According to the U.S. State Department, one recent estimate puts the amount of worldwide money laundering activity at $1 trillion a year.

 

What are we required to do to eliminate money laundering?

 

Under new rules required by the USA PATRIOT Act, our anti-money laundering program must designate a special compliance officer, set up employee training, conduct independent audits, and establish policies and procedures to detect and report suspicious transaction and ensure compliance with the new laws.

As part of our required program, we may ask you to provide various identification documents or other information. Until you provide the information or documents we need, we may not be able to effect any transactions for you.

 

 

PROTEA BIOSCIENCES GROUP, INC.

SIGNATURE PAGE TO

SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT

 

AGGREGATE FACE AMOUNT OF THE DEBENTURE = $_________

 

AGGREGATE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE DEBENTURE = $_________ (the “Purchase Price”, or 80% of the Aggregate Face Amount of the Debenture being purchased) (NOTE: to be completed by the Purchaser)

 

Date (NOTE: To be completed by the Purchaser): __________________, 2015

If the Purchaser is an INDIVIDUAL, and if purchased as JOINT TENANTS, as TENANTS IN COMMON, or as COMMUNITY PROPERTY:

 

	Print Name(s)		Social Security Number(s)
	Print Name(s)		Social Security Number(s)
	Signature of Purchaser		Signature of Co-Purchaser (if applicable):
	Address:
			Date

 

If the Purchaser is a PARTNERSHIP, CORPORATION, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY or TRUST:

 

				Federal Taxpayer
	Name of Partnership,			Identification Number
	Corporation, Limited
	Liability Company or Trust
	By:
		Name:		State of Organization
		Title:
	Address:
				Date

 

AGREED AND ACCEPTED:

 

PROTEA BIOSCIENCES GROUP, INC.

 

By:
	Name:		Date
	Title:

 

 

FORM OF INVESTOR QUESTIONNAIRE

 

PROTEA BIOSCIENCES GROUP, INC.

 

For Individual Investors Only

 

(All individual investors must INITIAL where appropriate. Where there are joint investors both parties must INITIAL):

 

Initial _______		I certify that I have a “net worth” of at least $1 million either individually or through aggregating my individual holdings and those in which I have a joint, community property or other similar shared ownership interest with my spouse. For purposes of calculating net worth under this paragraph, (i) the primary residence shall not be included as an asset, (ii) to the extent that the indebtedness that is secured by the primary residence is in excess of the fair market value of the primary residence, the excess amount shall be included as a liability, and (iii) if the amount of outstanding indebtedness that is secured by the primary residence exceeds the amount outstanding 60 days prior to the execution of this Subscription Agreement, other than as a result of the acquisition of the primary residence, the amount of such excess shall be included as a liability.
Initial _______		I certify that I have had an annual gross income for the past two years of at least $200,000 (or $300,000 jointly with my spouse) and expect my income (or joint income, as appropriate) to reach the same level in the current year.

 

For Non-Individual Investors

 

(all Non-Individual Investors must INITIAL where appropriate):

 

Initial _______		The undersigned certifies that it is a partnership, corporation, limited liability company or business trust that is 100% owned by persons who meet either of the criteria for Individual Investors, above.
Initial _______		The undersigned certifies that it is a partnership, corporation, limited liability company or business trust that has total assets of at least $5 million and was not formed for the purpose of investing in Company.
Initial _______		The undersigned certifies that it is an employee benefit plan whose investment decision is made by a plan fiduciary (as defined in ERISA §3(21)) that is a bank, savings and loan association, insurance company or registered investment adviser.
Initial _______		The undersigned certifies that it is an employee benefit plan whose total assets exceed $5,000,000 as of the date of the Subscription Agreement.
Initial _______		The undersigned certifies that it is a self-directed employee benefit plan whose investment decisions are made solely by persons who meet either of the criteria for Individual Investors, above.
Initial _______		The undersigned certifies that it is a U.S. bank, U.S. savings and loan association or other similar U.S. institution acting in its individual or fiduciary capacity.

 

 

 

Initial _______		The undersigned certifies that it is a broker-dealer registered pursuant to §15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Initial _______		The undersigned certifies that it is an organization described in §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code with total assets exceeding $5,000,000 and not formed for the specific purpose of investing in Company.
Initial _______		The undersigned certifies that it is a trust with total assets of at least $5,000,000, not formed for the specific purpose of investing in Company, and whose purchase is directed by a person with such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters that he is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the prospective investment.
Initial _______		The undersigned certifies that it is a plan established and maintained by a state or its political subdivisions, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, for the benefit of its employees, and which has total assets in excess of $5,000,000.
Initial _______		The undersigned certifies that it is an insurance company as defined in §2(a)(13) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or a registered investment company.

 

PROTEA BIOSCIENCES GROUP, INC.

Investor Questionnaire

(Must be completed by Purchaser)

 

Section A - Individual Purchaser Information

 

EXACT Purchaser Name(s) in which securities are to be issued:

________________________________________________________________________

 

Individual executing Profile or Trustee:

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Social Security Numbers / Federal I.D. Number: ________________________________________________________________________

Date of Birth: _________________   Marital Status: _________________

 

Joint Party Date of Birth:_________________

 

Investment Experience (Years): ___________

 

Annual Income: _________________

 

Liquid Net Worth:_____________

 

Net Worth: ________________

 

Investment Objectives (circle one or more):

Long Term Capital Appreciation, Short Term Trading, Businessman’s Risk, Income, Safety of Principal, Tax Exempt Income or other

 

Home Street Address: ________________________________________________________________________

 

Home City, State & Zip Code: ________________________________________________________________________

 

Home Phone: ________________________ Home Fax: _____________________

 

Home Email: _______________________________

 

Employer: ________________________________________________________________________

 

Employer Street Address: ________________________________________________________________________

 

Employer City, State & Zip Code: ________________________________________________________________________

 

Bus. Phone: __________________________ Bus. Fax: _______________________

 

Bus. Email: ________________________________

 

Type of Business: ________________________________________________________________________

 

LAIDLAW Account Executive / Outside Broker/Dealer: _______________________________________________________

 

Please check if you are a FINRA member or affiliate of a FINRA member firm: _______

 

 

Section B – Entity Purchaser Information

 

EXACT Purchaser Name(s) in which securities are to be issued: ________________________________________________________________________

 

Authorized Individual executing Profile or Trustee: _______________________________________________________________________

 

Social Security Numbers / Federal I.D. Number: ________________________________________________________________________

Investment Experience (Years): ___________

Annual Income: _______________

 

Net Worth: ________________

 

Was the Trust formed for the specific purpose of purchasing the Units?

 

¨ Yes  ¨ No

 

Principal Purpose (Trust)______________________________________

 

Type of Business: ________________________________________________________

 

Investment Objectives (circle one or more):

Long Term Capital Appreciation, Short Term Trading, Businessman’s Risk, Income, Safety of Principal, Tax Exempt Income or other

 

Street Address: ________________________________________________________________________

 

City, State & Zip Code: ________________________________________________________________________

 

Phone: ________________________                    Fax: ________________________

 

Email: __________________________

 

Laidlaw Account Executive / Outside Broker/Dealer:

_______________________________________________________

 

 

Section C – Form of Payment – Check or Wire Transfer

 

____

Check payable to “SIGNATURE BANK, AS ESCROW AGENT FOR PROTEA BIOSCIENCES GROUP, INC.

 

____

Wire funds from my outside account according to the “To subscribe for the Debentures and Warrants to Purchase Shares of Common Stock in the private offering of PROTEA BIOSCIENCES GROUP, INC.”

 

____

Wire funds from my LAIDLAW Account – See following page

 

____

The funds for this investment are rolled over, tax deferred from ____________________ within the Allowed 60-day window

 

Section D – Purchaser Instructions for Payments of any Dividends

 

¨

Please make any dividend and any other payment checks pursuant to the Units to “Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. c/f ____________________[Insert Client Name]” and deliver such checks to Laidlaw so that they may deposit them into my Laidlaw brokerage account

 

¨

Please make out any dividend and any other payment checks pursuant to the Units in the registered name of the Purchaser set forth in the signature page to the Subscription Agreement for the Units and mail such checks to me at the address specified in such signature page.

 

Section E – Securities Delivery Instructions (check one)

 

____

Please deliver my securities to Laidlaw for deposit into my brokerage account.

 

____

Please deliver my securities to the address listed in the above Investor Questionnaire.

 

____

Please deliver my securities to the below address:

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

 

Purchaser Signature(s)

Date

 

Joint Purchaser Signature (if applicable):

Date

 

 

Wire Transfer Authorization

 

TO:

OPERATIONS MANAGER

LAIDLAW & CO. (UK) LTD.

 

RE:

Client Wire Transfer Authorization

PROTEA BIOSCIENCES GROUP, INC.

 

DATE:    ________________

 

 

This memorandum authorizes the transfer of the following listed funds from my LAIDLAW Brokerage Account as follows:

 

LAIDLAW Brokerage Account #        ______________________

 

Wire Amount                                          $______________________

 

	REFERENCE:
	PURCHASER'S LEGAL NAME
	TAX ID NUMBER
	PURCHASER'S ADDRESS
FBO:

 

Signature:
Signature:
	(Joint Signature)

 

 

Exhibit A

 

Portions of the following Exhibit are an excerpt of the information contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Form 10-K”). As such, this Exhibit is qualified in its entirety by the more detailed information regarding the Company’s business and financial conditions as set forth in the Form 10-K. In addition, investors are advised that the information in this Exhibit has not been updated since the filing of the Form 10-K. Investors should review the Company’s financial statements and other information set forth in the Form 10-K and subsequent periodic reports including Forms 10-Q and 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the Disclosure Schedules to the Transaction Documents. You are encouraged to seek the advice of your attorney, tax consultant, and business advisor with respect to the legal, tax, and business aspects of an investment in the Securities.

 

RISK FACTORS

 

Our business is subject to many risks and uncertainties, which may affect our future financial performance. If any of the events or circumstances described below occur, our business and financial performance could be adversely affected, our actual results could differ materially from our expectations, and the price of our stock could decline. The risks and uncertainties discussed below are not the only ones we face. There may be additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently do not believe are material that may adversely affect our business and financial performance. You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all other information included in this prospectus including our financial statements and related notes, before making an investment decision. The statements contained in this prospectus that are not historic facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be harmed. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and investors in our securities may lose all or part of their investment.

 

Risks Related to Our Business

 

We are an emerging growth company with a limited operating history and limited sales to date.

 

The Company is subject to all of the risks inherent in the establishment of an emerging growth company, including the absence of an operating history, and the risk that we may be unable to successfully develop, manufacture and sell our products. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to execute its business plan, including without limitation the Company’s plans to develop, then manufacture, market and sell, its technologies, products and services. The Company has engaged in limited manufacturing operations to date, and although the Company believes that its plans to conduct manufacturing of its products internally will work, there is no assurance that this will be the case. The Company began to sell products and services in the fourth quarter of 2007, and sales to date are limited. There can be no assurance that the Company’s sales projections and marketing plans will be achieved as anticipated and planned. It is likely that losses will be incurred during the early stages of operations. The Company believes that its future success will depend on its ability to develop and introduce its instruments and services for mass spec molecular imaging, to meet a wide range of customer needs and achieve market acceptance. The Company cannot assure prospective investors that it will be able to successfully develop and market its products or that it will recover the initial investment that must be made to develop and market such products.

 

 

We have incurred net losses since inception.

 

We incurred a net loss of $11,474,770 and $11,417,670 for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and net losses of $69,867,118 since inception. The opinion of our independent registered public accountants on our audited financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2014 contains an explanatory paragraph regarding substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon raising capital from financing transactions. To stay in business, we will need to raise additional capital through public or private sales of our securities, debt financing or short-term bank loans, or a combination of the foregoing. We can provide no assurance as to whether our capital raising efforts will be successful or as to when, or if, we will be profitable in the future. Even if the Company achieves profitability, it may not be able to sustain such profitability.

 

Issuance of Common Stock to fund our operations or upon the exercise of outstanding warrants and options may dilute your investment.

 

We have been operating at a loss since inception and our working capital requirements continue to be significant. We have been supporting our business through the sale of debt and equity since inception. We will need additional funding for developing products and services, increasing our sales and marketing capabilities, technologies and assets, as well as for working capital requirements and other operating and general corporate purposes. Our working capital requirements depend and will continue to depend on numerous factors, including the timing of revenues, the expense involved in development of our products, and capital improvements. If we are unable to generate sufficient revenue and cash flow from operations, we will need to seek additional equity or debt financing to provide the capital required to maintain or expand our operations, which may have the effect of diluting our existing stockholders or restricting our ability to run our business.

 

There can be no assurance that we will be able to raise sufficient additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all. If such financing is not available on satisfactory terms, or is not available at all, we may be required to delay, scale back or eliminate the development of business opportunities and our operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected. Debt financing, if obtained, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, could increase our expenses and require that our assets be provided as a security for such debt. Debt financing would also be required to be repaid regardless of our operating results. Equity financing, if obtained, could result in dilution to our then existing stockholders. As of the date of this filing, we have warrants to purchase an aggregate of 53,167,193 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding. The Company also has reserved an aggregate of 4,150,000 shares of Common Stock for issuance under its 2002 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2002 Plan”) and 5,000,000 shares of Common Stock have been reserved for issuance under the Company’s 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2013 Plan”). As of the date of this filing, options to purchase an aggregate of 7,019,750 shares of Common Stock have been granted and are outstanding under the 2002 Plan and the 2013 Plan, collectively. The Company has 3,387,725 shares of the Preferred Stock outstanding which is potentially convertible into 27,525,344 shares of Common Stock.

 

 

We depend on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

 

Over the past several years, some areas of our businesses have grown significantly as a result of an increase in the sales of our bioanalytical instrument platform known as “LAESI®” and the increase in pharmaceutical, academic and clinical research laboratory outsourcing of their clinical drug research support activities. We believe that, due to the significant investment in facilities and personnel required to support drug development, pharmaceutical, academic and clinical research laboratories look to purchase our bioanalytical instrument platforms and solutions technology to meet and administer their drug research requirements. Our revenues depend greatly on the expenditures made by these pharmaceutical and academic/clinical research laboratory companies in research and development. In some instances, companies in these industries are reliant on their ability to raise capital in order to fund their research and development projects. Accordingly, economic factors and industry trends that affect our clients in these industries also affect our business. If companies in these industries were to reduce the number of research and development projects they conduct or outsource, our business could be materially adversely affected.

 

Changes in government regulation or in practices relating to the pharmaceutical industry could change the need for the services we provide.

 

Governmental agencies throughout the world, but particularly in the United States, strictly regulate the drug development process. Changes in regulation, such as regulatory submissions to meet the internal research and development standards of pharmaceutical research, a relaxation in existing regulatory requirements, the introduction of simplified drug approval procedures or an increase in regulatory requirements that we may have difficulty satisfying or that make our services less competitive, could substantially change the demand for our services. Also, if the government increases efforts to contain drug costs and pharmaceutical companies profits from new drugs, our customers may spend less, or reduce their growth in spending on research and development.

 

We may be affected by health care reform.

 

In March 2010, the United States Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) which is intended over time to expand health insurance coverage and impose health industry cost containment measures.  PPACA legislation and the accompanying regulations may significantly impact the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries as it is implemented over the next several years.  In addition, the U.S. Congress, various state legislatures and European and Asian governments may consider various types of health care reform in order to control growing health care costs. We are unable to predict what legislative proposals will be adopted in the future, if any.

 

 

Implementation of health care reform legislation may have certain benefits but also may contain costs that could limit the profits that can be made from the development of new drugs. This could adversely affect research and development expenditures by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, which could in turn decrease the business opportunities available to us both in the United States and abroad. In addition, new laws or regulations may create a risk of liability, increase our costs or limit our service offerings.

 

A reduction in research and development budgets at pharmaceutical companies and clinical research institutions may adversely affect our business.

 

Our customers include researchers at pharmaceutical companies and academic/clinical research laboratory institutions. Our ability to continue to grow and win new business is dependent in large part upon the ability and willingness of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to continue to spend on research and development and to outsource their product equipment and service needs. Fluctuations in the research and development budgets of these researchers and their organizations could have a significant effect on the demand for our products and services. Research and development budgets fluctuate due to changes in available resources, mergers of pharmaceutical companies and spending priorities and institutional budgetary policies of academic/ clinical research organizations. Our business could be adversely affected by any significant decrease in life sciences research and development expenditures by pharmaceutical and academic/ clinical research companies. Similarly, economic factors and industry trends that affect our clients in these industries also affect our business.

 

We rely on a limited number of key customers, the importance of which may vary dramatically from year to year, and a loss of one or more of these key customers may adversely affect our operating results.

 

Five customers accounted for approximately 42% of our gross revenue in fiscal 2014 and five customers accounted for approximately 53% of our gross revenues in fiscal 2013. The loss of a significant amount of business from one of our major customers would materially and adversely affect our results of operations until such time, if ever, as we are able to replace the lost business. Significant clients or projects in any one period may not continue to be significant clients or projects in other periods. In any given year, there is a possibility that a single pharmaceutical or academic/ clinical research laboratory company may account for 5% or more of our gross revenue or that our business may be dependent on one or more large projects. To the extent that we are dependent on any single customer, we are subject to the risks faced by that customer to the extent that such risks impede the customer's ability to stay in business and make timely payments to us.

 

We may bear financial risk if we underprice our contracts or overrun cost estimates.

 

Since some of our contracts are structured as fixed price or fee-for-service, we bear the financial risk if we initially underprice our contracts or otherwise overrun our cost estimates. Such underpricing or significant cost overruns could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

 

 

A default in our credit facility could materially and adversely affect our operating results and our financial condition. 

 

The Company has an outstanding line of credit with United Bank. This credit facility requires us to adhere to certain contractual covenants. If there were an event of default under our credit facility that was not cured or waived, the lenders of the defaulted debt could cause all amounts outstanding with respect to that debt to be due and payable immediately. We cannot assure that our assets or cash flow would be sufficient to fully repay borrowings under the credit facility, either upon maturity or if accelerated, upon an event of default, or that we would be able to refinance or restructure the payments becoming due on the credit facility. Please see Note 4, Bank Line of Credit, for additional detail regarding our credit facility.

 

We might incur expense to develop products that are never successfully commercialized.

 

We have incurred and expect to continue to incur research and development and other expenses in connection with our products business. The potential products to which we devote resources might never be successfully developed or commercialized by us for numerous reasons, including:

 

·

inability to develop products that address our customers’ needs;

·

competitive products with superior performance;

·

patent conflicts or unenforceable intellectual property rights;

·

demand for the particular product; and

·

other factors that could make the product uneconomical; and

·

termination of pre-existing license agreements.

 

Incurring expenses for a potential product that is not successfully developed and/or commercialized could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, prospects and stock price.

 

Our business uses biological and hazardous materials, which could injure people or violate laws, resulting in liability that could adversely impact our financial condition and business.

 

Our activities involve the controlled use of potentially harmful biological materials, as well as hazardous materials and chemicals. We cannot completely eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from the use, storage, handling or disposal of these materials. In the event of contamination or injury, we could be held liable for damages that result, and any liability could exceed our insurance coverage and ability to pay. Any contamination or injury could also damage our reputation, which is critical to getting new business. In addition, we are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, storage, handling and disposal of these materials and specified waste products. The cost of compliance with these laws and regulations is significant and if changes are made to impose additional requirements, these costs could increase and have an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

 

Hardware or software failures, delays in the operations of our computer and communications systems or the failure to implement system enhancements could harm our business.

 

Our success depends on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of our computer and communications systems. A failure of our network or data gathering procedures could impede the processing of data, delivery of databases and services, client orders and day-to-day management of our business and could result in the corruption or loss of data. While all of our operations have disaster recovery plans in place, they might not adequately protect us. Despite any precautions we take, damage from fire, floods, hurricanes, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, break-ins and similar events at our computer facilities could result in interruptions in the flow of data to our servers and from our servers to our clients. In addition, any failure by our computer environment to provide our required data communications capacity could result in interruptions in our service. In the event of a delay in the delivery of data, we could be required to transfer our data collection operations to an alternative provider of server hosting services. Such a transfer could result in delays in our ability to deliver our products and services to our clients. Additionally, significant delays in the planned delivery of system enhancements, improvements and inadequate performance of the systems once they are completed could damage our reputation and harm our business. Finally, long-term disruptions in the infrastructure caused by events such as natural disasters, the outbreak of war, the escalation of hostilities and acts of terrorism, particularly involving cities in which we have offices, could adversely affect our businesses. Although we carry property and business interruption insurance, our coverage might not be adequate to compensate us for all losses that may occur.

 

We rely on third parties for important services.

 

We depend on third parties to provide us with services critical to our business. The failure of any of these third parties to adequately provide the needed services including, without limitation, licensed intellectual property rights, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

We license a significant portion of our Intellectual Property from third parties; if the Company fails to remain in compliance with these agreements the Company’s business may be adversely affected.

 

The Company has entered into a number of technology license agreements with various universities for the exclusive use of a significant portion of the patent-based intellectual property that the Company uses. While the Company is currently in compliance with the respective terms of these agreements, if there be one or more breaches thereunder, such as the failure to pay the applicable royalties, and one or more of these agreements are terminated, the Company will not be able to use such technology and the Company’s business may be adversely affected.

 

We may be unable to obtain or maintain patent or other intellectual property protection for any products or processes that we may develop.

 

The Company faces risks and uncertainties related to intellectual property rights. The Company may be unable to obtain or maintain its patents or other intellectual property protection for any products or processes that it may develop; third parties may obtain patents covering the manufacture, use or sale of these products or processes which may prevent the Company from commercializing its technology; or any patents that the Company may obtain may not prevent other companies from competing with it by designing their products or conducting their activities so as to avoid the coverage of the Company’s patents.

 

 

Since patent applications in the U.S. are maintained in secrecy for at least portions of their pendency periods (published on U.S. patent issuance or, if earlier, 18 months from earliest filing date for most applications) and since other publication of discoveries in the scientific or patent literature often lags behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that we are the first to make the inventions to be covered by our patent applications. The patent position of biopharmaceutical firms generally is highly uncertain and involves complex legal and factual questions. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has not established a consistent policy regarding the breadth of claims that it will allow in biotechnology patents.

 

Proceedings to obtain, enforce or defend patents and to defend against charges of infringement are time consuming and expensive activities, and it is possible that the Company could become involved in such proceedings. Unfavorable outcomes in these proceedings could limit the Company’s activities and any patent rights that the Company may obtain, which could adversely affect its business or financial condition. Even if such proceedings ultimately are determined to be without merit, they can be expensive and distracting for the Company’s operations and personnel.

 

In addition, the Company’s success will depend in part on the ability of the Company to preserve its trade secrets. The Company cannot ensure investors that the obligations to maintain the confidentiality of trade secrets or proprietary information will not wrongfully be breached by employees, consultants, advisors or others or that the Company’s trade secrets or proprietary know how will not otherwise become known or be independently developed by competitors in such a manner that the Company has no legal recourse.

 

We are in a highly competitive market.

 

The Company is engaged in the highly competitive field of biotechnology. Competition from numerous existing biotechnology companies and others entering the proteomics field is intense and expected to increase. Many of these companies are larger, more established and recognized in the marketplace, and/or have substantially greater financial and business resources than the Company. Moreover, competitors who are able to develop and to commence commercial sales of their products before the Company could do so enjoy a significant competitive advantage. Likewise, innovations by competitors could cause the Company’s products or services to become obsolete or less attractive in the marketplace, adversely affecting sales and/or sales projections. The Company cannot assure investors that its technology will enable it to compete successfully in the future.

 

We may expand our business through acquisitions.

 

We occasionally review acquisition candidates. Factors which may affect our ability to grow successfully through acquisitions include: 

·

inability to obtain financing;

 

 

·

difficulties and expenses in connection with integrating the acquired companies and achieving the expected benefits;

·

diversion of management’s attention from current operations;

·

the possibility that we may be adversely affected by risk factors facing the acquired companies;

·

acquisitions could be dilutive to earnings, or in the event of acquisitions made through the issuance of our Common Stock to the shareholders of the acquired company, dilutive to the percentage of ownership of our existing stockholders;

·

potential losses resulting from undiscovered liabilities of acquired companies not covered by the indemnification we may obtain from the seller; and

·

loss of key employees of the acquired companies.

 

We are dependent on certain key personnel.

 

The success of the Company is dependent to a significant degree upon the skill and experience of its founders and other key personnel including Stephen Turner, Matthew Powell, Greg Kilby, Edward Hughes, Steve O’Loughlin and others. The loss of the services of any of these individuals would adversely affect the Company’s business. Although the Company has obtained key man life insurance policies on Mr. Turner, its President and CEO, there is no assurance that policy proceeds would cover all potential costs or operational challenges that would result from the loss of services from Mr. Turner and in any event such policy would not cover the lives or loss of these other individuals. The Company cannot assure prospective investors that it would be able to find adequate replacements for these key individuals. In addition, the Company believes that its future success will depend in large part upon its continued ability to attract and retain highly skilled employees, who are in great demand.

 

We are developing products in a rapidly evolving field and there are no assurances that the results of our research and development efforts will not be rendered obsolete by the research efforts and technological activities of others.

 

The bioanalytics field in which the Company is developing products is rapidly evolving. The Company cannot assure prospective investors that any results of the Company’s research and development efforts will not be rendered obsolete by the research efforts and technological activities of others, including the efforts and activities of governments, major research facilities, and large multinational corporations. While the Company believes that its initial efforts to develop its bioanalytics technology platform have been successful thus far, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully expand its operations in the future, to commercialize, market and sell products and services at projected levels, or to fully develop the technology in a timely and successful manner.

 

There is no assurance that the Company’s manufacturing plans will be successful.

 

The Company employs internal and contract manufacturing. There is no assurance that the Company’s manufacturing plans will be successful. While the Company has a quality assurance program for its products, there nonetheless is inherent in any manufacturing process the risk of product defects or manufacturing problems that could result in potential liability for product liability risks.

 

 

Sale of European Subsidiary

 

As described in greater detail under in the “Business” and “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” section below, on December 12, 2014 the Company completed the sale of 100% of the issued and outstanding capital stock of ProteaBio Europe SAS (“Protea Europe”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Protea Biosciences, Inc., the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, to AzurRx BioPharma, Inc. (the “Buyer”) pursuant to the terms and conditions of a Stock Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “SPA”), dated as of May 21, 2014 (such transaction, the “Sale”). Effective upon the closing of the Sale, Thijs Spoor, a former director of the Company, was appointed to serve as a director and the Executive Chairman of the Buyer. While the Board did not establish a special committee to evaluate the fairness of this related party transaction or obtain a fairness opinion, the Board nevertheless believes that the terms of the transaction are no less favorable to the Company and its shareholders than such terms that would have been obtained from an unaffiliated third party.

 

In connection with the consummation of the Sale, the Company received $300,000, inclusive of the forgiveness of a $100,000 Company note. While the SPA contemplates certain contingent payments to the Company, there can be no assurance that the Company will ever recoup its $4 million investment in Protea Europe.

 

Unfavorable general economic conditions may materially adversely affect our business.

 

While it is difficult for us to predict the impact of general economic conditions on our business, these conditions could reduce customer demand for some of our products or services, which could cause our revenue to decline. Also, our customers that are especially reliant on the credit and capital markets, may not be able to obtain adequate access to credit or equity funding, which could affect their ability to make timely payments to us. Moreover, we rely on obtaining additional capital and/or additional funding to provide working capital to support our operations. We regularly evaluate alternative financing sources. Further changes in the commercial capital markets or in the financial stability of our investors and creditors may impact the ability of our investors and creditors to provide additional financing. In addition, the financial condition of our credit facility providers, which is beyond our control, may adversely change. Any decrease in our access to borrowings under our credit facility, tightening of lending standards and other changes to our sources of liquidity could adversely impact our ability to obtain the financing we need to continue operating the business in our current manner. For these reasons, among others, if the economic conditions stagnate or decline, our operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.

 

 

Risks Relating to Ownership of Our Securities

 

We may not have sufficient authorized shares of Common Stock

 

We are authorized to issue 250,000,000 shares of Common Stock of which shares 66,588,600 are currently issued and outstanding. After giving effect to the issuances of the shares of Common Stock underlying outstanding Preferred Stock, warrants and options (as described herein) and all other Common Stock equivalents, there would be, on a fully diluted basis, approximately 84,834,000 issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock. While we have covenanted to always reserve sufficient shares of Common Stock to meet the Company’s obligations under outstanding warrants and Preferred Stock, there is no assurance the Company will be able to do so. The Company obtained written consent from a majority of the Company’s stockholders to authorize the Company’s Board of Directors to file a certificate of amendment to the Company’s certificate of incorporation with the Secretary of State of Delaware to increase the total authorized number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock from 200,000,000 to 250,000,000 within twelve months of September 4, 2014. Nevertheless, if the Company fails to deliver the requisite number of shares of Common Stock upon conversion of Preferred Stock and/or the exercise of the warrants, it may face substantial monetary penalties.

 

There is no active public trading market for our Common Stock and we cannot assure you that an active trading market will develop in the near future.

 

Our Common Stock is quoted under the symbol “PRGB” in the over-the-counter markets, including the OTC Markets tier of the OTC Markets Group, Inc. ; however it is not listed on any stock, exchange and there is currently very limited trading in our securities. We cannot assure you that an active trading market for our Common Stock will develop in the future due to a number of factors, including the fact that we are a small company that is relatively unknown to stock analysts, stock brokers, institutional investors and others in the investment community that generate or influence sales volume, and that even if we came to the attention of such persons, they tend to be risk-averse and would be reluctant to follow an unproven company such as ours or purchase or recommend the purchase of our shares until such time as we became more seasoned and viable. There may be periods of several days or more when trading activity in our shares is minimal or non-existent, as compared to a seasoned issuer which has a large and steady volume of trading activity that will generally support continuous sales. We cannot give you any assurance that an active public trading market for our Common Stock will develop or be sustained. You may not be able to liquidate your shares quickly or at the market price if trading in our Common Stock is not active.

 

There is limited liquidity on the OTC Markets which may result in stock price volatility and inaccurate quote information.

 

OTC Markets is a significantly more limited trading market than the New York Stock Exchange or The NASDAQ Stock Market, which may result in a less liquid market available for existing and potential stockholders to trade shares of our Common Stock, could depress the trading price of our Common Stock and could have a long-term adverse impact on our ability to raise capital in the future. When fewer shares of a security are being traded on the OTC Markets, volatility of prices may increase and price movement may outpace the ability to deliver accurate quote information. Due to lower trading volumes in shares of our Common Stock, there may be a lower likelihood of one’s orders for shares of our Common Stock being executed, and current prices may differ significantly from the price one was quoted at the time of order entry. Future trading volume may be limited by the fact that many major institutional investment funds, including mutual funds, as well as individual investors follow a policy of not investing in OTC Markets stocks and certain major brokerage firms restrict their brokers from recommending OTC Markets stocks because they are considered speculative, volatile and thinly traded.

 

 

Our share price could be volatile and our trading volume may fluctuate substantially.

 

The market price of our common shares may experience volatility. Many factors could have a significant impact on the future price of our common shares, including:

 

·

our failure to successfully implement our business objectives;

·

compliance with ongoing regulatory requirements;

·

market acceptance of our products;

·

technological innovations, new commercial products or drug discovery efforts and clinical activities by us or our competitors;

·

changes in government regulations;

·

general economic conditions and other external factors;

·

actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly financial and operating results;

·

the degree of trading liquidity in our common shares; and

·

our ability to meet the minimum standards required for remaining listed on the OTC Markets.

 

These factors also include ones beyond our control, such as market conditions within our industry and changes in pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. In addition, in recent years, the stock market has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations. The stock market, and in particular the market for pharmaceutical and biotechnology company stocks, has also experienced significant decreases in value in the past. This volatility and valuation decline has affected the market prices of securities issued by many companies, often for reasons unrelated to their operating performance, and might adversely affect the price of our Common Stock.

 

Our Common Shares are a penny stock. Trading of our Common Shares may be restricted by the SEC’s penny stock regulations and the FINRA’s sales practice requirements, which may limit a shareholder’s ability to buy and sell our common shares.

 

Our common shares are deemed to be a penny stock. The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted Rule 15g-9 which generally defines “penny stock” to be any equity security that has a market price (as defined) less than $5.00 per share subject to certain exceptions. Our securities are covered by the penny stock rules, which impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell to persons other than established customers and “accredited investors”. The term “accredited investor” refers generally to institutions with assets in excess of $5,000,000 or individuals with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000 or $300,000 jointly with their spouse. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document in a form prepared by the SEC which provides information about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock as well as the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction and monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account. The bid and offer quotations, and the broker-dealer and salesperson compensation information, must be given to the customer orally or in writing prior to effecting the transaction and must be given to the customer in writing before or with the customer’s confirmation. In addition, the penny stock rules require that prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from these rules, the broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity in the secondary market for the common shares that are subject to these penny stock rules. Consequently, these penny stock rules may affect the ability of broker-dealers to trade our securities. We believe that the penny stock rules discourage investor interest in, and limit the marketability of, our common shares.

 

 

In addition to the “penny stock” rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has adopted rules that require that in recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for that customer. Prior to recommending speculative low-priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and other information. Under interpretations of these rules, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority believes that there is a high probability that speculative low-priced securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority requirements make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy our common shares, which may limit your ability to buy and sell our shares.

 

We have established Preferred Stock which can be designated by the Company’s board of directors without shareholder approval.

 

The Company has authorized 10,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, of which 3,337,725 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock are issued and outstanding. The shares of Preferred Stock of the Company may be issued from time to time in one or more series, each of which shall have a distinctive designation or title as shall be determined by the board of directors of the Company prior to the issuance of any shares thereof. The Preferred Stock shall have such voting powers, full or limited, or no voting powers, and such preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and such qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof as adopted by the board of directors. In each such case, we will not need any further action or vote by our stockholders. One of the effects of undesignated Preferred Stock may be to enable the board of directors to render more difficult or to discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a tender offer, proxy contest, merger or otherwise, and thereby to protect the continuity of our management. The issuance of shares of Preferred Stock pursuant to the board of director's authority described above may adversely affect the rights of holders of Common Stock. For example, Preferred Stock issued by us may rank prior to the Common Stock as to dividend rights, liquidation preference or both, may have full or limited voting rights and may be convertible into shares of Common Stock. Accordingly, the issuance of shares of Preferred Stock may discourage bids for the Common Stock at a premium or may otherwise adversely affect the market price of the Common Stock.

 

 

Most of our total outstanding shares are subject to a market standoff agreement which provides that the purchaser will not sell, assign or otherwise transfer or dispose of any Common Stock, warrants or other securities of the Company if so requested by an underwriter for a period not to exceed 180 days.  If our securities are locked up at the request of any underwriter, and there are substantial sales of shares of our Common Stock, the price of our Common Stock could decline, particularly sales by our directors, executive officers and significant stockholders, or if there is a large number of shares of our Common Stock available for sale.

 

Most of our total outstanding shares are subject to a market standoff agreement which provides that the purchaser will not, sell, assign or otherwise transfer or dispose of any Common Stock, warrants or other securities of the Company if so requested by an underwriter for a period not to exceed 180 days.  If our securities are locked up at the request of any underwriter, the price of our Common Stock could decline if there are substantial sales of our Common Stock following the “lock-up” period, particularly sales by our directors, executive officers and significant stockholders, or if there is a large number of shares of our Common Stock available for sale.

 

Our Certificate of Incorporation provides our directors with limited liability.

 

Our Certificate of Incorporation states that our directors shall not be personally liable to us or any stockholder for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for any matter in respect of which such director shall be liable under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law or shall be liable because the director (1) shall have breached his duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, (2) shall have acted not in good faith or in a manner involving intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law or, in failing to act, shall have acted not in good faith or in a manner involving intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, or (3) shall have derived an improper personal benefit. Article Seven further states that the liability of our directors shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as it may be amended. These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing suit against a director for breach of fiduciary duty and may reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation brought by stockholders on our behalf against a director.

 

Certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Delaware law make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us and make a takeover more difficult to complete, even if such a transaction were in the stockholders’ interest.

 

Our Certificate of Incorporation and the Delaware General Corporation Law contain provisions that may have the effect of making it more difficult or delaying attempts by others to obtain control of the Company, even when these attempts may be in the best interests of our stockholders.

  

We also are subject to the anti-takeover provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibit us from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner and prohibit the voting of shares held by persons acquiring certain numbers of shares without obtaining requisite approval. This statute has the effect of making it more difficult to effect a change in control of a Delaware company.

 

 

We are subject to the “seasoning” requirements imposed by the NYSE Euronext, NYSE MKT, and the NASDAQ Stock Market which will make us ineligible to list and trade on a national exchange until after trading for at least one year in the over-the-counter markets (or some other national or foreign regulated exchange), unless we are able to complete a firm commitment underwritten public offering with gross proceeds of at least $40 million.

 

Because of our status as a former SEC-reporting shell company, we are subject to SEC rules which require such companies to (1) trade in the over-the-counter markets (or some other national or foreign regulated exchange) for at least one year following the filing with the SEC of all required information about the reverse merger, including audited financial statements for the combined entity and (2) to timely file all required periodic reports with the SEC, including one annual report that includes audited financial statements for a full fiscal year commencing after filing the required information about the reverse merger, before seeking to “uplist” to a national securities exchange like NASDAQ, NYSE MKT or NYSE Euronext. We completed a reverse merger in September of 2011 and our Form 10-K filed for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 includes audited financial statements for a full fiscal year commencing after filing our Current Report on Form 8-K containing Form 10 information following the reverse merger. This means we will not be eligible to apply for listing on such exchanges until a market maker has filed a Form 211 to initiate trading and our securities begin to trade in the over-the-counter markets for at least one year. We may only bypass the requirements set forth above if we can complete a firm commitment underwritten public offering with gross proceeds of at least $40 million. As a result, our stockholders may find it more difficult to dispose of shares or obtain accurate quotations as to the market value of our Common Stock. In addition, we would be subject to an SEC rule that, if we failed to meet the criteria set forth in such rule, imposes various practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell securities governed by the rule to persons other than established customers and accredited investors. Consequently, such rule may deter broker-dealers from recommending or selling our Common Stock, which may further affect its liquidity. This would also make it more difficult for us to raise additional working capital through subsequent financings. In the event we do seek the listing of our Common Stock on a national securities exchange such as NASDAQ, NYSE MKT or NYSE Euronext, we cannot assure you that we will be able to meet the initial listing standards of either of these or any other stock exchange, or that we will be able to maintain a listing of our Common Stock on either of these or any other stock exchange.

 

Our financial controls and procedures may not be sufficient to ensure timely and reliable reporting of financial information, which, as a public company, could materially harm our stock price.

 

As a public reporting company, we require significant financial resources to maintain our public reporting status. We cannot assure you we will be able to maintain adequate resources to ensure that we will not have any future material weakness in our system of internal controls. The effectiveness of our controls and procedures may in the future be limited by a variety of factors, including:

 

faulty human judgment and simple errors, omissions or mistakes;

•

fraudulent action of an individual or collusion of two or more people;

•

inappropriate management override of procedures; and

•

the possibility that any enhancements to controls and procedures may still not be adequate to assure timely and accurate financial information.

 

 

Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

Despite these controls, because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives. Furthermore, smaller reporting companies, like us, face additional limitations. Smaller reporting companies employ fewer individuals and can find it difficult to employ resources for complicated transactions and effective risk management. Additionally, smaller reporting companies tend to utilize general accounting software packages that lack a rigorous set of software controls.

 

Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2014, based on the criteria established in “Internal Control - Integrated Framework” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on that assessment, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2014, our internal controls over financial reporting were ineffective due to a lack of a sufficient complement of personnel commensurate with the Company’s reporting requirements, an inconsistency to establish appropriate authorities and responsibilities in pursuit of the Company’s financial reporting objectives, and insufficient written documentation or training of our internal control policies and procedures which provide staff with guidance or framework for accounting and disclosing financial transactions.

 

If we fail to have effective controls and procedures for financial reporting in place, we could be unable to provide timely and accurate financial information and be subject to SEC investigation and civil or criminal sanctions.

 

We must implement additional and expensive procedures and controls in order to grow our business and organization and to satisfy new reporting requirements, which will increase our costs and require additional management resources.

 

As a public reporting company, we are required to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the related rules and regulations of the SEC, including the requirements that we maintain disclosure controls and procedures and adequate internal control over financial reporting. In the future, if our securities are listed on a national exchange, we may also be required to comply with marketplace rules and the heightened corporate governance standards. Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other SEC and national exchange requirements will increase our costs and require additional management resources. We recently have begun upgrading our procedures and controls and will need to continue to implement additional procedures and controls as we grow our business and organization to satisfy new reporting requirements. If we are unable to complete the required assessment as to the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or if we fail to maintain internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely, accurate and reliable periodic financial statements could be impaired.

 

 

If we do not maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting, investors could lose confidence in the accuracy of our periodic reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Additionally, our ability to obtain additional financing could be impaired or a lack of investor confidence in the reliability and accuracy of our public reporting could cause our stock price to decline.

 

We are an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act of 2012 and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our Common Stock less attractive to investors.

 

We are an “emerging growth company”, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find our Common Stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our Common Stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Common Stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

 

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We are choosing to take advantage of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards.

 

We will remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years following our initial public offering, although we will lose that status sooner if our revenues exceed $1 billion, if we issue more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt in a three year period, or if the market value of our Common Stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

 

 

Our status as an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act may make it more difficult to raise capital as and when we need it.

 

Because of the exemptions from various reporting requirements provided to us as an “emerging growth company” and because we will have an extended transition period for complying with new or revised financial accounting standards, we may be less attractive to investors and it may be difficult for us to raise additional capital as and when we need it. Investors may be unable to compare our business with other companies in our industry if they believe that our financial accounting is not as transparent as other companies in our industry. If we are unable to raise additional capital as and when we need it, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

 

Our directors, officers and principal stockholders have significant voting power and may take actions that may not be in the best interests of our other stockholders.

 

Our officers, directors and principal stockholders collectively beneficially own approximately 45% of our outstanding Common Stock. As a result, these stockholders, if they act together, will be able to control the management and affairs of our company and most matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control and might adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock. This concentration of ownership may not be in the best interests of our other stockholders.

 

We have not paid dividends in the past and do not expect to pay dividends in the future, and any return on investment may be limited to the value of our stock.

 

We have never paid cash dividends on our Common Stock and do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our Common Stock in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain any future earnings to support the development of our business and do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Our payment of any future dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors after taking into account various factors, including, but not limited to, our financial condition, operating results, cash needs, growth plans and the terms of any credit agreements that we may be a party to at the time. In addition, our ability to pay dividends on our Common Stock may be limited by Delaware state law. Accordingly, investors must rely on sales of their Common Stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize a return on their investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our Common Stock.

 

You should consult your own independent tax advisor regarding any tax matters arising with respect to the securities offered in connection with the Resale.

 

Participation in the Resale could result in various tax-related consequences for investors. All prospective purchasers of the resold securities are advised to consult their own independent tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences relevant to the purchase, ownership and disposition of the resold securities in their particular situations.

 

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