Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-197820
To Prospectus dated August 21, 2014
14,000,000 Units, Each Consisting of One Share of Common Stock
and a
Warrant to Purchase One Share of Common Stock
xG TECHNOLOGY, INC.
We are offering up to 14,000,000 Units (the “Units”), each Unit consisting of one share of common stock, par value $0.00001 per share (the “Shares”), and a warrant (the “Warrants”) to purchase one share of our common stock, pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus. The Units are being offered at an offering price of $0.07 per Unit.
The Warrants will be exercisable beginning on November 16, 2016 at an exercise price of $0.1149 per share. The Warrants will expire on the fifth (5th) anniversary of the initial date of issuance.
The Units will not be issued or certificated. Purchasers will receive only the Shares and the Warrants. The Shares and Warrants may be transferred separately immediately upon issuance.
Our common stock is currently traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market (“NASDAQ”) under the symbol “XGTI”. The closing price of our common stock on NASDAQ on May 12, 2016 was $0.10 per share. On July 17, 2015, we effected a 1-for-10 reverse stock split of our outstanding common stock. All share and per share information included in this prospectus supplement have been retroactively adjusted to account for such reverse stock split.
There is no established trading market for the Warrants, and we do not expect an active trading market to develop. We do not intend to list the Warrants on any securities exchange or other trading market. Without an active trading market, the liquidity of the Warrants will be limited.
As of May 12, 2016, the aggregate market value of our outstanding voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates was $10,234,752 based on 70,904,668 shares of outstanding common stock, of which 66,030,657 shares were held by non-affiliates, and the last reported sale price of our common stock of $0.155 per share on May 3, 2016. Pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3, in no event will we sell securities in a public primary offering with a value exceeding more than one-third of our public float in any 12-month period so long as our public float remains below $75,000,000. During the previous 12 calendar months prior to and including the date of this prospectus supplement, we have offered $980,000 of our securities pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3.
We are an “emerging growth company” as the term is used in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”) and, as such, have elected to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements for this and future filings.
You should read carefully this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus before you invest.
Our business and an investment in our securities involve a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 5 of this prospectus supplement, on page 4 of the accompanying base prospectus and the risk factors described in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus for more information.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying base prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
| Per Unit | Total | |||||||
| Public offering price | $ | 0.0700 | $ | 980,000 | ||||
| Placement agent fees (1) | $ | 0.0056 | $ | 78,400 | ||||
| Offering proceeds to us, before expenses | $ | 0.0644 | $ | 901,600 | ||||
| (1) | We have agreed to reimburse the placement agent for certain of its expenses. See “Plan of Distribution” on page 30 of this prospectus supplement. |
Delivery of the Units will be made to the purchasers on or about May 16, 2016, subject to customary closing conditions. The Shares and the Warrants will be delivered in physical form by us to such persons and shall be registered in such name or names and shall be in such denominations as the placement agent may request by written notice to us at least one (1) business day before the closing date.
Roth Capital Partners, LLC is deemed to be an “underwriter” for the offering within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Roth Capital Partners
The date of this prospectus supplement is May 17, 2016.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
This document is in two parts, this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus, both of which are part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) using a “shelf” registration process.
The two parts of this document include: (1) this prospectus supplement, which describes the specific details regarding this offering of Units; and (2) the accompanying base prospectus, which provides a general description of the securities we may offer, some of which may not apply to this offering. Generally, when we refer to this “prospectus,” we are referring to both documents combined. If information in this prospectus supplement is inconsistent with the accompanying base prospectus, you should rely on this prospectus supplement. You should read this prospectus supplement together with the additional information described below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Information Incorporated by Reference.”
Any statement made in this prospectus supplement or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus supplement to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus supplement or in any other subsequently filed document that is also incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement modifies or supersedes that statement. Any statements so modified or superseded will be deemed not to constitute a part of this prospectus supplement except as so modified or superseded.
The registration statement that contains this prospectus supplement, including the exhibits to the registration statement and the information incorporated by reference, contains additional information about the securities offered under this prospectus. That registration statement can be read on the SEC website or at the SEC offices mentioned below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”
We are responsible for the information contained and incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus and any related free writing prospectus we prepare or authorize. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different or additional information, and we take no responsibility for any other information that others may give you. If you receive any other information, you should not rely on it.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than the registered securities to which this prospectus supplement relates, nor do this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction.
You should not assume that the information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus is accurate at any date other than the date indicated on the cover page of this prospectus supplement or that any information we have incorporated by reference is correct on any date subsequent to the date of the document incorporated by reference. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects may have changed since that date.
You should not rely on or assume the accuracy of any representation or warranty in any agreement that we have filed in connection with this offering or that we may otherwise publicly file in the future because any such representation or warranty may be subject to exceptions and qualifications contained in separate disclosure schedules, may represent the parties’ risk allocation in the particular transaction, may be qualified by materiality standards that differ from what may be viewed as material for securities law purposes or may no longer continue to be true as of any given date.
Unless stated otherwise or the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus to the “Company,” “xG,” “xG Technology,” “we,” “us” or “our” refer to xG Technology, Inc.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference herein, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors”, contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21(E) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). These forward-looking statements include, without limitation: statements regarding proposed new products or services; statements concerning litigation or other matters; statements concerning projections, predictions, expectations, estimates or forecasts for our business, financial and operating results and future economic performance; statements of management’s goals and objectives; statements concerning our competitive environment, availability of resources and regulation; trends affecting our financial condition, results of operations or future prospects; our financing plans or growth strategies; and other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Words such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would”, “predicts”, “potential”, “continue”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “future”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes” and “estimates,” and variations of such terms or similar expressions, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by which, that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from what is expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If we do update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. Investors should review our subsequent reports filed with the SEC described in the sections of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Information Incorporated by Reference,” all of which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
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This summary highlights selected information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus. This summary does not contain all the information you should consider before investing in our securities. You should carefully read this entire prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein before making a decision about whether to invest in our securities.
Our Company
We have developed a broad portfolio of innovative intellectual property that we believe will enhance wireless communications. Our intellectual property is embedded in proprietary software algorithms that offer cognitive interference mitigation and spectrum access solutions for countless applications using commercial off the shelf devices.
We were founded on the premise that the wireless communications industry is facing a spectrum crisis because the demand for flexible, affordable voice and data access continues to increase rapidly while the amount of available spectrum remains relatively constant. We have developed frequency-agnostic cognitive radio solutions to address this increasing demand by eliminating the need to acquire scarce and expensive licensed radio spectrum and thus ideally lowering the total cost of ownership for wireless broadband access. With such fast growing demand straining network capacity, our intellectual property is also designed to help wireless broadband network operators make more efficient use of existing spectrum allocations. We are targeting numerous industries world-wide, such as telecommunications, cable, defense, and public safety, as well as municipal governments, critical infrastructure, markets ranging from rural to urban areas and expeditionary deployments.
Our strategy is initially to commercialize our intellectual property portfolio by developing and selling network equipment using our proprietary software algorithms to offer cognitive radio-based interference mitigation and spectrum sharing solutions. In the future, our strategy is for our intellectual property to be embedded by partners in a semiconductor chip that could be sold to third party equipment manufacturers and inserted in their devices and to license our intellectual property to other customers in vertical markets worldwide.
The implementation of our cognitive radio intellectual property is xMax®. We believe the xMax® system, represents the only commercially available cognitive radio network system that includes our interference mitigation and spatial processing technologies. xMax® implements our proprietary interference mitigation software that can increase capacity on already crowded airwaves by improving interference tolerance, enabling the delivery of a comparatively high quality of service where other technologies would not be able to cope with the interference. We believe that the xMax® system will also, when in a future development operating on more than one radio channel, deliver dynamic spectrum access by using our patented self-organizing network techniques.
Our system is frequency agnostic, although currently designed to operate within the 902 – 928 MHz unlicensed band spectrum (the “902-928 MHz Unlicensed Spectrum”). xMax® serves as a mobile voice over internet protocol (“VoIP”) and broadband data system that utilizes an end-to-end Internet Protocol (“IP”) system architecture. The xMax® product and service suite includes a line of access points, fixed and mobile personal hotspots, mobile switching centers, network management systems, deployment tools, and customer support. The xMax® system will allow mobile operators to utilize free 902 – 928 MHz Unlicensed Spectrum (which spectrum is available in all of the Americas except French Guiana) instead of purchasing scarce, expensive licensed spectrum. Our xMax® system will also enable enterprises to set up a mobile communications network in an expeditious and cost-effective manner.
In addition, we believe that our xMax® cognitive radio technology can also be used to provide additional capacity to licensed spectrum by identifying and utilizing unused bandwidth within the licensed spectrum.
On January 29, 2016, we completed the acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of Integrated Microwave Technologies, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“IMT”), pursuant to an asset purchase agreement by and between us and IMT (the “Asset Purchase Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement, we acquired substantially all of the assets and liabilities of IMT in connection with, necessary for or material to IMT’s business of designing, manufacturing and supplying of Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (COFDM) microwave transmitters and receivers serving the broadcast, sports and entertainment, military, aerospace and government markets.
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IMT comprises the leading microwave brands Nucomm, RF Central and IMT, offering customers worldwide complete video solutions. Nucomm is a premium brand of digital broadcast microwave video systems. RF Central is an innovative brand of compact microwave video equipment for licensed and license-free sports and entertainment applications. IMT is a trusted provider of mission-critical wireless video solutions to state, local and federal police departments.
Company Information
We were organized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Delaware on August 26, 2002 under the name JTS Acquisitions, LLC. On March 21, 2003, we changed our name to xG Technology, LLC. Pursuant to a certificate of conversion and a certificate of incorporation filed with the State of Delaware on November 8, 2006, xG Technology, LLC converted to a Delaware corporation under the name xG Technology, Inc.
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. We could remain an emerging growth company for up to five years, or until the earliest of (i) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenue exceeds $1 billion, (ii) the date that we become a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter or (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three-year period. Pursuant to Section 102 of the JOBS Act, we have provided reduced executive compensation disclosure and have omitted a compensation discussion and analysis from this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus. Pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act, we have elected to utilize the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards.
Where You Can Find Us
Our executive offices are located at 240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 701, Sarasota, FL 34236, and our telephone number is (941) 953-9035. Our website address is www.xgtechnology.com. Information contained on our website does not form part of this prospectus supplement and is intended for informational purposes only.
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| Securities Offered | 14,000,000 Units. Each Unit will consist of one share of our common stock and a Warrant to purchase one share of our common stock. | ||
| Common Stock Outstanding after the Offering (including the shares of common stock underlying the Warrants) | 98,904,668. | ||
| Warrants | The Warrants will be exercisable beginning on November 16, 2016 at an initial exercise price of $0.1149 per share, and will expire on the fifth (5th) anniversary of the initial date of issuance. See “Description of Securities — Warrants” for a discussion of the terms of the Warrants. | ||
| Use of Proceeds | We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of the Units will be approximately $817,100, based on the public offering price of $0.07 per Unit, and after deducting placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital, product development, marketing activities, expanding our internal sales organization and further developing sales channels and other capital expenditures. See “Use of Proceeds” on page 25 of this prospectus supplement for a more complete description of the intended use of proceeds from this offering. | ||
| Risk Factors | Investing in our securities involves substantial risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page 5 of this prospectus supplement, the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page 4 of the accompanying base prospectus, and the risk factors described in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus. You should carefully consider these risks before investing in our securities. | ||
| Trading Symbol | Our shares of common stock are traded on NASDAQ under the symbol “XGTI.” | ||
Recent Developments
Warrant Amendments
On April 29, 2016, we entered into amendments with certain holders of our Series A Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated August 19, 2015, and our Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated February 29, 2016. Each of such warrants was amended to reduce the exercise price to $0.07.
April 2016 Financing
On April 15, 2016, we entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”) with certain accredited investors pursuant to which we sold a principal amount of $550,000 of 5% Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Notes for an aggregate purchase price of $500,000. In connection with the Securities Purchase Agreement, we also entered into a security agreement, dated April 15, 2016, pursuant to which we granted the investors a security interest in all of our assets.
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Acquisition of Integrated Microwave Technologies, LLC
On January 29, 2016, we completed the acquisition of Integrated Microwave Technologies, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“IMT”) pursuant to an asset purchase agreement by and between us and IMT (the “Asset Purchase Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement, we acquired substantially all of the assets and liabilities of IMT in connection with, necessary for or material to IMT’s business of designing, manufacturing and supplying Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing microwave transmitters and receivers serving the broadcast, sports and entertainment, military, aerospace and government markets (the “Transaction”). The Asset Purchase Agreement set the purchase price for the Transaction as $3,000,000, which was to be paid through: (i) a promissory note in the principal amount of $1,500,000, due March 31, 2016 (the “Initial Payment Note”); and (ii) a promissory note in the principal amount of $1,500,000 due July 29, 2017 (the “Deferred Payment Note,” and together with the Initial Payment Note, the “Payment Notes”). On March 3, 2016, our Board of Directors approved the issuance of up to $300,000 in shares of common stock to MB Technology Holdings, LLC (“MBTH”) as compensation for financial services in connection with the IMT acquisition. Such shares of common stock were to be issued to MBTH in an initial tranche in the amount of $150,000 on March 15, 2016, which shares of common stock have not yet been issued. Our Board of Directors also approved the issuance to MBTH of up to $150,000 in shares of common stock if IMT achieves certain performance goals by December 31, 2016. MBTH is an affiliate of Roger Branton, our Chief Financial Officer, George Schmitt, our Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Richard Mooers, a member of our Board of Directors. Mr. Branton and Mr. Schmitt are directors of MBTH and Mr. Mooers is the Chief Executive Officer and a director of MBTH.
On April 12, 2016, we entered into an Asset Purchase Modification Agreement (the “Asset Purchase Modification Agreement”) with IMT, which terminated the Payment Notes, cancelling all principal due, or to become due thereunder and in their stead obligated us to: (i) upon execution of the Asset Purchase Modification Agreement, pay to IMT $500,000 plus any interest accumulated on the Payment Notes prior to their being cancelled; and (ii) prior to December 31, 2016, deliver to IMT Series D Convertible Preferred Stock having an aggregate value of cash proceeds (“Cash Proceeds”), upon conversion of such Series D Convertible Preferred Stock (“Series D Preferred Stock”) into shares of common stock underlying such Series D Preferred Stock, of not less than $2,500,000 (the “Series D Shares”), plus interest accrued thereon at 9% per annum, with such Series D Shares to be issued in tranches of $250,000 (the “Tranches”). If IMT does not realize Cash Proceeds of at least $2,500,000 by December 31, 2016, we will be required to either issue additional shares of common stock to IMT, or otherwise raise additional funds to cover the shortfall. Cash Proceeds is determined by the cash or cash equivalents received by IMT upon sale of the Series D Shares issued to IMT upon conversion of any Series D Preferred Stock, net of any transaction costs or expenses. Each time a new Tranche is issued, IMT shall be obligated to provide evidence of its current Cash Proceeds and the remaining amount of the $2,500,000 (plus interest) due. The first Tranche was due within ten days of the execution of the Asset Purchase Modification Agreement, and subsequent Tranches are due upon notice from IMT that IMT has disposed of the Series D Shares of the prior Tranche.
In connection with the Asset Purchase Modification Agreement, we agreed to register the shares underlying each Tranche on a Registration Statement on Form S-1 or Form S-3 within five (5) business days of the issuance of each Tranche.
February 2016 Financing
On February 29, 2016, we closed a public offering (the “February 2016 Offering”) of 3,556,660 Units at a price of $1.00 per Unit, each of which consists of one share of our Series B Convertible Preferred Stock and 0.5 of a warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.21 per share. We received approximately $3,556,660 in gross proceeds from the February 2016 Offering, before deducting placement agent fees and offering expenses payable by us. Roth Capital Partners, LLC acted as sole placement agent for the February 2016 Offering.
January 2016 Financing
On January 29, 2016, we entered into a securities purchase agreement pursuant to which we sold 5% Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Notes (the “5% Convertible Notes’’) to accredited investors for an aggregate purchase price of $500,000 for net proceeds of $500,000. In connection with the February 2016 Offering, all of our obligations under the 5% Convertible Notes were extinguished.
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Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider and evaluate all of the information contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus and in the documents we incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus before you decide to purchase our securities. In particular, you should carefully consider and evaluate the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus. Any of the risks and uncertainties set forth in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus, as updated by annual, quarterly and other reports and documents that we file with the SEC and incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying base prospectus could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, which in turn could materially and adversely affect the value of our securities. As a result, you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business
We have a history of operating losses and we expect to continue to realize net losses for at least the next 12 months.
We have recorded a net loss in each reporting period since our inception. Our net loss for the years ended December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2015 was approximately $18,978,000 and $17,857,000, respectively. Our accumulated deficit at December 31, 2015 was approximately $188,397,000. We began our research and development activities in 2002, and we have had significant net losses and will likely continue to incur net losses until we can successfully commercialize our products and technology. Our independent registered public accounting firm has expressed substantial doubt concerning our ability to continue as a going concern. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to raise additional capital, obtain other financing and/or close on our potential revenue producing opportunities. We expect to continue to have development costs as we develop the next generation of products. In addition, at this stage of our development we are subject to the following risks:
| • | our results of operations may fluctuate significantly, which may adversely affect the value of an investment in our common stock; | |
| • | we may be unable to develop and commercialize our products; and | |
| • | it may be difficult to forecast accurately our key operating and performance metrics because of our limited operating history. |
We are uncertain of our ability to continue as a going concern, indicating the possibility that we may not be able to operate in the future.
To date, we have completed only the initial stages of our business plan and we can provide no assurance that we will be able to generate a sufficient amount of revenue, if at all, from our business in order to achieve profitability. It is not possible for us to predict at this time the potential success of our business. The revenue and income potential of our proposed business and operations are currently unknown. If we cannot continue as a viable entity, you may lose some or all of your investment in our company.
We are an early stage entity and have incurred net losses since inception. Our ability to continue as a going concern is contingent upon, among other factors, our ability to raise additional cash from equity financings, secure debt financing, and/or generate revenue from the sales of our products. We cannot provide any assurance that we will be able to raise additional capital. If we are unable to secure additional capital, we may be required to curtail our research and development initiatives and take additional measures to reduce costs in order to conserve our cash in amounts sufficient to sustain operations and meet our obligations.
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We may require additional capital in the future to develop new products. If we do not obtain any such additional financing, if required, our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.
We may require additional capital in the future to develop new products. We may not be able to secure adequate additional financing when needed on acceptable terms, or at all. To execute our business strategy, we may issue additional equity securities in public or private offerings, potentially at a price lower than the public offering price in this offering or the market price of our common stock at the time of such issuance. If we cannot secure sufficient additional funding we may be forced to forego strategic opportunities or delay, scale back and eliminate future product development.
Defects or errors in our products and services or in products made by our suppliers could harm our brand and relations with our customers and expose us to liability. If we experience product recalls, we may incur significant expenses and experience decreased demand for our products.
Our products are inherently complex and may contain defects and errors that are only detectable when the products are in use. Because our products are used for both personal and business purposes, such defects or errors could have a serious impact on our end customers, which could damage our reputation, harm our customer relationships and expose us to liability. Defects or impurities in our components, materials or software, equipment failures or other difficulties could adversely affect our ability, and that of our customers, to ship products on a timely basis as well as customer or licensee demand for our products. Any such shipment delays or declines in demand could reduce our revenues and harm our ability to achieve or sustain desired levels of profitability. We and our customers may also experience component or software failures or defects that could require significant product recalls, rework and/or repairs that are not covered by warranty reserves.
Our recognition of deferred revenue is subject to future performance obligations and may not be representative of revenues for future periods.
As of December 31, 2015, we had $149,000 of deferred revenue recorded as a liability on our condensed balance sheet. In accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”), and SEC Staff accounting guidance on revenue recognition, we consider revenue earned and realizable when: (a) persuasive evidence of the sales arrangement exists, (b) the arrangement fee is fixed or determinable, (c) service delivery or performance has occurred, (d) customer acceptance has been received, if contractually required, and (e) collectability of the arrangement fee is probable.
Due to potential future changes in customer preferences, or delays in customer development or implementation schedules or budgets, and the need for us to satisfactorily perform product support and other services, deferred revenue and backlog amounts at any particular date may not be representative of actual revenue for any current or future period.
We may not fully realize anticipated benefits from our recent acquisitions.
On January 29, 2016, we completed the acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of IMT. Although we expect to realize strategic, operational and financial benefits as a result of the acquisition, we cannot predict whether and to what extent such benefits will be achieved, or that any operational or financial benefits will be achieved. The success of the acquisition will depend upon, among other things, our ability to integrate acquired personnel, operations, products and technologies into our organization effectively, to retain and motivate key personnel of IMT and to retain their customers. Any acquisition may result in diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns, and may result in unanticipated costs and operational challenges.
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Although certain technical problems experienced by users may not be caused by our products, our business and reputation may be harmed if users perceive our solutions as the cause of a slow or unreliable network connection, or a high profile network failure.
We expect that our products will be in many different locations and user environments and will be capable of providing mobile broadband connectivity and interference mitigation, among other applications. The ability of our products to operate effectively can be negatively impacted by many different elements unrelated to our products. Although certain technical problems experienced by users may not be caused by our products, users often may perceive the underlying cause to be a result of poor performance of our technology. This perception, even if incorrect, could harm our business and reputation. Similarly, a high profile network failure may be caused by improper operation of the network or failure of a network component that we did not supply, but other service providers may perceive that our products were implicated, which, even if incorrect, could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our ability to sell our products will be highly dependent on the quality of our support and services offerings, and our failure to offer high-quality support and services would have a material adverse effect on our sales and results of operations.
Once our products are deployed, our channel partners and end-customers will depend on our support organization to resolve any issues relating to our products. A high level of support will be important for the successful marketing and sale of our products. In many cases, our channel partners will likely provide support directly to our end-customers. We will not have complete control over the level or quality of support provided by our channel partners. These channel partners may also provide support for other third-party products, which may potentially distract resources from support for our products. If we and our channel partners do not effectively assist our end-customers in deploying our products, succeed in helping our end-customers quickly resolve post-deployment issues or provide effective ongoing support, our ability to sell our products to existing end-customers could be adversely affected and our reputation with potential end-customers could be harmed. In some cases, we guarantee a certain level of performance to our channel partners and end-customers, which could prove to be resource-intensive and expensive for us to fulfill if unforeseen technical problems were to arise.
We may fail to recruit and retain qualified personnel.
We expect to rapidly expand our operations and grow our sales, development and administrative operations. This expansion is expected to place a significant strain on our management and will require hiring a significant number of qualified personnel. Accordingly, recruiting and retaining such personnel in the future will be critical to our success. There is intense competition from other companies for qualified personnel in the areas of our activities. If we fail to identify, attract, retain and motivate these highly skilled personnel, we may be unable to continue our marketing and development activities, and this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects.
We rely on key executive officers, and their knowledge of our business and technical expertise would be difficult to replace.
We are highly dependent on our executive officers because of their expertise and experience in the telecommunications industry. We have agreements with our executive officers containing customary non-disclosure, non-compete, confidentiality and assignment of inventions provisions. We do not have “key person” life insurance policies for any of our officers. The loss of the technical knowledge and management and industry expertise of any of our key personnel could result in delays in product development, loss of customers and sales and diversion of management resources, which could adversely affect our operating results.
We purchase some components, subassemblies and products from a limited number of suppliers. The loss of any of these suppliers may substantially disrupt our ability to obtain orders and fulfill sales as we design and qualify new components.
We rely on third party components and technology to build and operate our products, and, until full integration with IMT, we rely on our contract manufacturers to obtain the components, subassemblies and products necessary for the manufacture of our products. Shortages in components that we use in our products are possible, and our ability to predict the availability of such components is limited. While components and supplies are generally available from a variety of sources, we and our contract manufacturers currently depend on a single or limited number of suppliers for several components for our products. If our suppliers of these components or technology were to enter into exclusive relationships with other providers of wireless networking equipment or were to discontinue providing such components and technology to us and we were unable to replace them cost effectively, or at all, our ability to provide our products would be impaired. We and our contract manufacturers generally rely on purchase orders rather than long-term contracts with these suppliers. As a result, even if available, we and our contract manufacturers may not be able to secure sufficient components at reasonable prices or of acceptable quality to build our products in a timely manner. Therefore, we may be unable to meet customer demand for our products, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
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We do not have long-term contracts with our existing contract manufacturers. The loss of any of our existing contract manufacturers could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
We do not have long-term contracts with our existing contract manufacturers. If any of our existing contract manufacturers are unable or unwilling to manufacture our products in the future, the loss of such contract manufacturers could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our intellectual property protections may be insufficient to properly safeguard our technology.
Our success and ability to compete effectively are, in large part, dependent upon proprietary technology that we have developed internally. Given the rapid pace of innovation and technological change within the wireless and broadband industries, the technological and creative skill of our personnel, consultants and contractors and their ability to develop, enhance and market new products and upgrades to existing products are critical to our continued success. We rely primarily on patent laws to protect our proprietary rights. As of May 12, 2016, in the United States, we have 57 patents granted and 1 patent application pending. Internationally, we have 58 patents granted and 33 patent applications pending. There can be no assurance that patents pending or future patent applications will be issued, or that if issued, we would have the resources to protect any such issued patent from infringement. Further, we cannot patent much of the technology that is important to our business. To date, we have relied on copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures, non-compete and/or work for hire invention assignment agreements and licensing arrangements with our employees, consultants, contractors, customers and vendors, to establish and protect our rights to this technology and, to the best extent possible, control the access to and distribution of our technology, software, documentation and other proprietary information. Despite these precautions, it may be possible for a third party to copy or otherwise obtain and use this technology without authorization. Policing unauthorized use of this technology is difficult. There can be no assurance that the steps we take or will take will prevent misappropriation of, or prevent an unauthorized third party from obtaining or using, the technology we rely on. In addition, effective protection may be unavailable or limited in some jurisdictions. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce or protect our rights.
We may be subject to claims of intellectual property infringement or invalidity. Expenses incurred with respect to monitoring, protecting, and defending our intellectual property rights could adversely affect our business.
Competitors and others may infringe on our intellectual property rights, or may allege that we have infringed on theirs. Monitoring infringement and misappropriation of intellectual property can be difficult and expensive, and we may not be able to detect infringement or misappropriation of our proprietary rights. We may also incur significant litigation expenses in protecting our intellectual property or defending our use of intellectual property, reducing our ability to fund product initiatives. These expenses could have an adverse effect on our future cash flows and results of operations. If we are found to infringe on the rights of others we could be required to discontinue offering certain products or systems, to pay damages, or purchase a license to use the intellectual property in question from its owner. Litigation can also distract management from the day-to-day operations of the business.
Enforcement of our intellectual property rights abroad, particularly in China, is limited and it is often difficult to protect and enforce such rights.
Patent protection outside the United States is generally not as comprehensive as in the United States and may not protect our intellectual property in some countries where our products are sold or may be sold in the future. Even if patents are granted outside the United States, effective enforcement in those countries may not be available. Many companies have encountered substantial intellectual property infringement in countries where we sell, or intend to sell, products or have our products manufactured.
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In particular, the legal regime relating to intellectual property rights in China is limited and it is often difficult to protect and enforce such rights. The regulatory scheme for enforcing China’s intellectual property laws may not be as developed as regulatory schemes in other countries. Any advancement of an intellectual property enforcement claim through China’s regulatory scheme may require an extensive amount of time, allowing intellectual property infringers to continue largely unimpeded, to our commercial detriment in the Chinese and other export markets. In addition, rules of evidence may be unclear, inconsistent or difficult to comply with, making it difficult to prove infringement of our intellectual property rights. As a result, enforcement cases involving technology, such as copyright infringement of software code, or unauthorized manufacture or sale of products containing patented inventions, may be difficult or not possible to sustain.
These factors may make it increasingly complicated for us to enforce our intellectual property rights against parties misappropriating or copying our technology or products without our authorization, allowing competing enterprises to harm our business in the Chinese or other export markets by affecting the pricing for our products, reducing our own sales and diluting our brand or product quality reputation.
The intellectual property rights of others may prevent us from developing new products or entering new markets.
The telecommunications industry is characterized by the rapid development of new technologies, which requires us to continuously introduce new products and expand into new markets that may be created. Therefore, our success depends in part on our ability to continually adapt our products and systems to incorporate new technologies and to expand into markets that may be created by new technologies. If technologies are protected by the intellectual property rights of others, including our competitors, we may be prevented from introducing new products or expanding into new markets created by these technologies. If the intellectual property rights of others prevent us from taking advantage of innovative technologies, our financial condition, operating results or prospects may be harmed.
An impairment charge could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We are required to test our finite-lived intangible assets for impairment if events occur or circumstances change that would indicate the remaining net book value of the finite-lived intangible assets might not be recoverable. These events or circumstances could include a significant change in the business climate, including a significant sustained decline in an entity’s market value, legal factors, operating performance indicators, competition, sale or disposition of a significant portion of our business, potential government actions and other factors. If the fair value of our finite-lived intangible assets is less than their book value in the future, we could be required to record impairment charges. The amount of any impairment could be significant and could have a material adverse effect on our reported financial results for the period in which the charge is taken.
We rely on the availability of third-party licenses. If these licenses are available to us only on less favorable terms or not at all in the future, our business and operating results would be harmed.
We have incorporated third-party licensed technology into our products. It may be necessary in the future to renew licenses relating to various aspects of these products or to seek additional licenses for existing or new products. There can be no assurance that the necessary licenses will be available on acceptable terms or at all. The inability to obtain certain licenses or other rights, or to obtain those licenses or rights on favorable terms, or the need to engage in litigation regarding these matters, could result in delays in product releases until such time, if ever, as equivalent technology could be identified, licensed or developed and integrated into our products and might have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. Moreover, the inclusion in our products of intellectual property licensed from third parties on a nonexclusive basis could limit our ability to protect our proprietary rights in our products.
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Our customers could also become the target of litigation relating to the patent and other intellectual property rights of others.
Any litigation relating to the intellectual property rights of others could trigger technical support and indemnification obligations in licenses or customer agreements that we may enter into. These obligations could result in substantial expenses, including the payment by us of costs and damages relating to claims of intellectual property infringement. In addition to the time and expense required for us to provide support or indemnification to our customers, any such litigation could disrupt the businesses of our customers, which in turn could hurt our relationships with such customers and cause the sale of our products to decrease. No assurance can be given that claims for indemnification will not be made, or that if made, such claims would not have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial conditions.
We expect to base our inventory purchasing decisions on our forecasts of customers’ demand, and if our forecasts are inaccurate, our operating results could be materially harmed.
As our customer base increases, we expect to place orders with our contract manufacturers based on our forecasts of our customers’ demand. Our forecasts will be based on multiple assumptions, each of which may cause our estimates to be inaccurate, affecting our ability to provide products to our customers. When demand for our products increases significantly, we may not be able to meet demand on a timely basis, and we may need to expend a significant amount of time working with our customers to allocate limited supply and maintain positive customer relations, or we may incur additional costs in order to rush the manufacture and delivery of additional products. If we underestimate customers’ demand, we may forego revenue opportunities, lose market share and damage our customer relationships. Conversely, if we overestimate customer demand, we may purchase more inventory than we are able to sell at any given time or at all. In addition, we grant our distributors stock rotation rights, which require us to accept stock back from a distributor’s inventory, including obsolete inventory. As a result of our failure to properly estimate demand for our products, we could have excess or obsolete inventory, resulting in a decline in the value of our inventory, which would increase our costs of revenues and reduce our liquidity. Our failure to accurately manage inventory relative to demand would adversely affect our operating results. We have not yet fully integrated IMT into our organization and are therefore not able to determine whether we can meet such demand.
If our technology does not work as well as planned or if we are unsuccessful in developing and selling new products or in penetrating new markets, our business and operating results would suffer.
Our success and ability to compete are dependent on technology which we have developed or may develop in the future. There is a risk that the technology that we have developed or may develop may not work as intended, or that the marketing of the technology may not be as successful as anticipated. Further, the markets in which we and our customers compete or plan to compete are characterized by constantly and rapidly changing technologies and technological obsolescence. Our ability to compete successfully depends on our ability to design, develop, manufacture, assemble, test, market and support new products and enhancements on a timely and cost effective basis to keep pace with market needs and satisfy the demands of customers. A fundamental shift in technologies in any of our target markets could harm our competitive position within these markets. Our failure to anticipate these shifts, to develop new technologies or to react to changes in existing technologies could materially delay our development of new products, which could result in product obsolescence, decreased revenue and a loss of customer wins to our competitors. The development of new technologies and products generally require substantial investment and can require long development and testing periods before they are commercially viable. We intend to continue to make substantial investments in developing new technologies and products and it is possible that that we may not successfully be able to develop or acquire new products or product enhancements that compete effectively within our target markets or differentiate our products based on functionality, performance or cost and that our new technologies and products will not result in meaningful revenue. Any delays in developing and releasing new or enhanced products could cause us to lose revenue opportunities and customers. Any technical flaws in product releases could diminish the innovative impact of our products and have a negative effect on customer adoption and our reputation. If we fail to introduce new products that meet the demands of our customers or target markets or do not achieve market acceptance, or if we fail to penetrate new markets, our revenue will not increase over time and our operating results and competitive position would suffer.
Computer malware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks could harm our business and results of operations.
Computer malware, viruses, and computer hacking and phishing attacks have become more prevalent in our industry and may occur on our systems in the future. Though it is difficult to determine what, if any, harm may directly result from any specific interruption or attack, any failure to maintain performance, reliability, security, and availability of our products and technical infrastructure to the satisfaction of our users may harm our reputation and our ability to attract and retain customers.
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Our operating expenses will increase as we make further expenditures to enhance and expand our operations in order to support additional growth in our business.
Historically, we limited our investment in infrastructure; however, in the future we expect our infrastructure investments to increase substantially to support our anticipated growth. We intend to make additional investments in systems and personnel in order to expand our business and continue to expand our operations to support anticipated growth in our business. In addition, we may determine the need in the future to make changes to our sales model, which changes may result in higher selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of our revenues. As a result of these factors, we expect our operating expenses to increase.
If we do not effectively manage changes in our business, these changes could place a significant strain on our management and operations.
Our ability to grow successfully requires an effective planning and management process. The expansion and growth of our business could place a significant strain on our management systems, infrastructure and other resources. To manage our growth successfully, we must continue to improve and expand our systems and infrastructure in a timely and efficient manner. Our controls, systems, procedures and resources may not be adequate to support a changing and growing company. If our management fails to respond effectively to changes and growth in our business, including acquisitions, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects.
Our sales cycle is unpredictable, and a failure to generate consistent sales of our products could materially affect our financial position and operating results.
To date, we have not yet established a consistent sales cycle for our products. In addition, in our industry it is customary for potential customers to request a trial of products prior to making a purchase. There can be no assurance that such trials of our products will produce sales. If we cannot generate consistent sales of our products, our financial position and operating results could be materially affected.
If we are unable to expand our sales and marketing capabilities or enter into more agreements with third parties to sell and market any products we may develop, we may be unable to generate product revenue.
We are currently building our internal sales organization for the sales, marketing and distribution of our products. Part of the proceeds of this offering is intended to be used to expand our internal sales organization and develop further our channels to market. In order to commercialize xMax® or any of our other products, we must build our sales, marketing, distribution, managerial and other non-technical capabilities or make arrangements with other parties to perform these services. The expansion of our own sales force to market any products we may develop will increase our operating costs and be time consuming. We cannot be certain that we would be able to successfully develop this capacity. If we are unable to expand our sales and marketing capability or any other non-technical capabilities necessary to commercialize any product we may develop, we will need to contract with other parties to market and sell any products we may develop. If we are unable to establish adequate sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, whether independently or with other parties, we may not be able to generate product revenue and may not become profitable. Further, we have not yet fully integrated IMT into our model.
If our estimates relating to our critical accounting policies are based on assumptions or judgments that change or prove to be incorrect, our operating results could fall below expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in our stock price.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires our management to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our operating results may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our operating results to fall below the expectations of financial analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in our stock price. Significant assumptions and estimates used in preparing our financial statements include those related to revenue recognition, inventory, product warranties, allowance for doubtful accounts, stock-based compensation expense, capitalization of intangible assets, impairment of long-lived assets and income taxes.
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Our exposure to the credit risks of our customers may make it difficult to collect accounts receivable and could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
In the course of our sales to customers, we may encounter difficulty collecting accounts receivable and could be exposed to risks associated with uncollectible accounts receivable. Economic conditions may impact some of our customers’ ability to pay their accounts payable. While we will attempt to monitor these situations carefully and attempt to take appropriate measures to collect accounts receivable balances, we have written down accounts receivable and written off doubtful accounts in prior periods and may be unable to avoid accounts receivable write-downs or write-offs of doubtful accounts in the future. Such write-downs or write-offs could negatively affect our operating results for the period in which they occur.
Demand for our defense-related products and products for emergency response services and rural telecommunications depends on government spending.
The U.S. military market is largely dependent upon government budgets, particularly the defense budget. The funding of government programs is subject to Congressional appropriation. Although multi-year contracts may be authorized in connection with major procurements, Congress generally appropriates funds on a fiscal year basis even though a program may be expected to continue for several years. Consequently, programs are often only partially funded and additional funds are committed only as Congress makes further appropriations. No assurance can be given that an increase in defense spending will be allocated to programs that would benefit our business. A decrease in levels of defense spending or the government’s termination of, or failure to fully fund, one or more of the contracts for which our products may be utilized could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.
In addition, the sale of our products to local municipalities for emergency response services and to rural telecommunication companies depends on government spending allocated to such areas. There can be no assurance that government spending will be allocated to emergency response services or to rural telecommunications companies at a level that would benefit our business. A decrease in levels of government spending for emergency response services or rural telecommunications, or the government’s termination of, or failure to fully fund, one or more of the contracts for which our products may be utilized with respect to emergency response services or rural telecommunications, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.
Our failure to obtain and maintain required certifications could impair our ability to bid on defense contracts.
In order for us to participate in certain government programs we could be required to obtain and maintain quality certification and certain standards for Department of Defense wireless security such as certification by the Joint Interoperability and Test Command (JITC) and to meet production standards in order to be eligible to bid on government contracts. If we fail to maintain these certifications or any additional certification which may be required, we will be ineligible to bid for contracts which may impair our financial operations and consequently, our ability to continue in business.
Regulation of the telecommunications industry could harm our operating results and future prospects.
The traditional telecommunications industry is highly regulated, and our business and financial condition could be adversely affected by changes in regulations relating to the Internet telecommunications industry. Currently, there are few laws or regulations that apply directly to access to or commerce on IP networks, but future regulations could include sales taxes and tariffs in previously unregulated areas and provider access charges. We could be adversely affected by regulation of IP networks and commerce in any country where we market equipment and services to service or content providers. Regulations governing the range of services and business models that can be offered by service providers or content providers could adversely affect those customers’ needs for products designed to enable a wide range of such services or business models. For instance, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has issued regulations governing aspects of fixed broadband networks and wireless networks. These regulations might impact service provider and content provider business models and as such, providers’ needs for Internet telecommunications equipment and services. In addition, many jurisdictions are evaluating or implementing regulations relating to cyber security, privacy and data protection, which could affect the market and requirements for networking and security equipment.
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In addition, environmental regulations relevant to electronic equipment manufacturing or operations may impact our business and financial condition adversely. For instance, the European Union has adopted regulations on Electronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or waste electrical and electronic equipment (“WEEE”), Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (“ROHS”) and Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances (“REACH”). Furthermore, some governments have regulations prohibiting government entities from purchasing security products that do not meet specified indigenous certification criteria even though those criteria may be in conflict with accepted international standards. Similar regulations are in effect or under consideration in several jurisdictions where we do business.
The adoption and implementation of such regulations could decrease demand for our products, increase the cost of building and selling our products and impact our ability to ship products into affected areas and recognize revenue in a timely manner. Any of these impacts could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
As an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we will utilize certain modified disclosure requirements, and we cannot be certain if these reduced requirements will make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act. We have in this prospectus utilized, and we plan in future filings with the SEC to continue to utilize, the modified disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, including reduced disclosure about our executive compensation and omission of compensation discussion and analysis, and an exemption from the requirement of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation. In addition, we will not be subject to certain requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including the additional testing of our internal control over financial reporting as may occur when outside auditors attest as to our internal control over financial reporting. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can utilize the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. Thus, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to utilize this extended transition period. Our financial statements may therefore not be comparable to those of companies that comply with such new or revised accounting standards as they become applicable to public companies. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we will 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.
We could remain an emerging growth company for up to five years, or until the earliest of (i) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenue exceeds $1 billion, (ii) the date that we become a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter or (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three-year period.
We have not engaged our independent registered public accounting firm to perform an audit of our internal control over financial reporting as of any balance sheet date or for any period reported in our financial statements. Had our independent registered public accounting firm performed an audit of our internal control over financial reporting, additional material weaknesses may have been identified. For so long as we qualify as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act, which may be up to five years following this offering, we will not have to provide an auditor’s attestation report on our internal controls in future annual reports on Form 10-K as otherwise required by Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. During the course of the evaluation, documentation or attestation, we or our independent registered public accounting firm may identify weaknesses and deficiencies that we may not otherwise identify in a timely manner or at all as a result of the deferred implementation of this additional level of review.
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Risks Relating to Our Industry
Our industry is subject to rapid technological change, and we must make substantial investments in new products, services and technologies to compete successfully.
New technological innovations generally require a substantial investment before they are commercially viable. We intend to continue to make substantial investments in developing new products and technologies, and it is possible that our development efforts will not be successful and that our new technologies will not result in meaningful revenues. Our future success will depend on our ability to continue to develop and introduce new products, technologies and enhancements on a timely basis. Our future success will also depend on our ability to keep pace with technological developments, protect our intellectual property, satisfy customer requirements, meet customer expectations, price our products and services competitively and achieve market acceptance. The introduction of products embodying new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards could render our existing products and technologies, and products and technologies currently under development, obsolete and unmarketable. If we fail to anticipate or respond adequately to technological developments or customer requirements, or experience any significant delays in development, introduction or shipment of our products and technologies in commercial quantities, demand for our products and our customers’ and licensees’ products that use our technologies could decrease, and our competitive position could be damaged.
We may be subject to infringement claims in the future.
We may be unaware of filed patent applications and issued patents that could include claims covering our products. Parties making claims of infringement may be able to obtain injunctive or other equitable relief that could effectively block our ability to sell or supply our products or license our technology and could cause us to pay substantial royalties, licensing fees or damages. The defense of any lawsuit could divert management’s efforts and attention from ordinary business operations and result in time-consuming and expensive litigation, regardless of the merits of such claims. These outcomes may (i) require us to stop selling products or using technology that contains the allegedly infringing intellectual property; (ii) require us to redesign those products that contain the allegedly infringing intellectual property; (iii) require us to pay substantial damages to the party whose intellectual property rights we may be found to be infringing; (iv) result in the loss of existing customers or prohibit the acquisition of new customers; (v) cause us to attempt to obtain a license to the relevant intellectual property from third parties, which may not be available on reasonable terms or at all; (vi) materially and adversely affect our brand in the market place and cause a substantial loss of goodwill; (vii) cause our stock price to decline significantly; (viii) materially and adversely affect our liquidity, including our ability to pay debts and other obligations as they become due; or (ix) lead to our bankruptcy or liquidation.
Our industry is highly competitive and we may not be able to compete effectively.
The communications industry is highly competitive, rapidly evolving, and subject to constant technological change. We expect that new competitors are likely to join existing competitors. Many of our competitors may be larger and have greater financial, technical, operational, marketing and other resources and experience than we do. In the event that a competitor expends significant resources we may not be able to successfully compete. In addition, the pace of technological change makes it impossible for us to predict whether we will face new competitors using different technologies to provide products. If our competitors were to provide better and more cost effective products than our products we may not be able to capture any significant market share.
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Regulation of Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) services is developing and therefore uncertain and future legislative, regulatory or judicial actions could adversely affect our business.
VoIP services have developed in an environment largely free from government regulation. However, the United States and other countries have begun to assert regulatory authority over VoIP and are continuing to evaluate how VoIP will be regulated in the future. Both the application of existing rules to us and our prospective customers and the effects of future regulatory developments are uncertain. Future legislative, judicial or other regulatory actions could have a negative effect on our business. In addition, future regulatory developments could increase our cost of doing business and limit its growth.
Changes in current laws or regulations or the imposition of new laws or regulations could impede the sale of our products or otherwise harm our business.
Although our technology is designed to be frequency agnostic (i.e., capable of operating at any frequency) our current range of products is being designed to be optimized for operation in the 902 – 928 MHz band, which is presently a spectrum that is not licensed in the United States. Changes in current laws or regulations or the imposition of new laws and regulations in the United States or elsewhere regarding the usage of unlicensed spectrum may materially and adversely impact our future prospects, the viability of our current business model, our expectations for future sales of our products and our business, financial condition and results of operations.
New regulations or standards or changes in existing regulations or standards in the United States or internationally related to our products may result in unanticipated costs or liabilities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and future sales, and could place additional burdens on the operations of our business.
Our products may be subject to governmental regulations in a variety of jurisdictions. In order to achieve and maintain market acceptance, our technology and products will have to comply with these regulations as well as a significant number of industry standards. In the United States, our technology and products will have to comply with various regulations defined by the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, and others. We may also have to comply with similar international regulations. For example, our wireless communication products operate through the transmission of radio signals, and radio emissions are subject to regulation in the United States and in other countries in which we intend to do business. In the United States, various federal agencies including the Center for Devices and Radiological Health of the Food and Drug Administration, the FCC, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and various state agencies have promulgated regulations that concern the use of radio/electromagnetic emissions standards. Member countries of the European Union have enacted similar standards concerning electrical safety and electromagnetic compatibility and emissions, and chemical substances and use standards.
As these regulations and standards evolve, and if new regulations or standards are implemented, we may be required to modify our technology or products or develop and support new versions of our technology or products, and our compliance with these regulations and standards may become more burdensome. The failure of technology or our products to comply, or delays in compliance, with the various existing and evolving industry regulations and standards could prevent or delay introduction of our technology or products, which could harm our business. End-customer uncertainty regarding future policies may also affect demand for communications products, including our products. Moreover, channel partners or end-customers may require us, or we may otherwise deem it necessary or advisable, to alter our technology or products to address actual or anticipated changes in the regulatory environment. Our inability to alter our technology or products to address these requirements and any regulatory changes may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
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Compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including new regulations requiring higher standards, may increase our costs, limit our ability to utilize supply chains, and force design changes to our products.
Our operations are subject to a variety of environmental, health and safety laws and regulations and equivalent local, state, and regulatory agencies in each of the jurisdictions in which we currently operate or may operate in the future. The manufacturing of our products uses substances regulated under various federal, state, local laws and regulations governing the environment and worker health and safety. If we, including any contract manufacturers that we may employ, do not comply with these laws including any new regulations, such non-compliance could reduce the net realizable value of our products, which would result in an immediate charge to our income statements. Our non-compliance with such laws could also negatively impact our operations and financial position as a result of fines, penalties that may be imposed on us, and increase the cost of mandated remediation or delays to any contract manufacturers we may utilize, thus we may suffer a loss of revenues, be unable to sell our products in certain markets and/or countries, be subject to penalties and enforced fees and/or suffer a competitive disadvantage. Costs to comply with current laws and regulations and/or similar future laws and regulations, if applicable, could include costs associated with modifying our products, recycling and other waste processing costs, legal and regulatory costs and insurance costs. We cannot assure you that the costs to comply with these new laws or with current and future environmental and worker health and safety laws will not have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Governmental regulations affecting the import or export of products or affecting products containing encryption capabilities could negatively affect our revenues.
The United States and various foreign governments have imposed controls, export license requirements, and restrictions on the import or export of some technologies, especially encryption technology. In addition, from time to time, governmental agencies have proposed additional regulation of encryption technology, such as requiring certification, notifications, review of source code, or the escrow and governmental recovery of private encryption keys. For example, Russia and China recently have implemented new requirements relating to products containing encryption and India has imposed special warranty and other obligations associated with technology deemed critical. Governmental regulation of encryption or IP networking technology and regulation of imports or exports, or our failure to obtain required import or export approval for our products, could harm our international and domestic sales prospects and adversely affect our revenue expectation. In addition, failure to comply with such regulations could result in penalties, costs, and restrictions on import or export privileges or adversely affect sales to government agencies or government funded projects.
If wireless devices pose safety risks, we may be subject to new regulations, and demand for our products and those of our licensees and customers may decrease.
Concerns over the effects of radio frequency emissions, even if unfounded, may have the effect of discouraging the use of wireless devices, which may decrease demand for our products and those of our licensees and customers. In recent years, the FCC and foreign regulatory agencies have updated the guidelines and methods they use for evaluating radio frequency emissions from radio equipment, including wireless phones and other wireless devices. In addition, interest groups have requested that the FCC investigate claims that wireless communication technologies pose health concerns and cause interference with airbags, hearing aids and medical devices. Concerns have also been expressed over the possibility of safety risks due to a lack of attention associated with the use of wireless devices while driving. Any legislation that may be adopted in response to these expressions of concern could reduce demand for our products and those of our licensees and customers in the United States as well as foreign countries.
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Risks Relating to this Offering of Securities
There is no active, public market for the Warrants being sold in this offering.
There is currently no active, public market for the Warrants being sold in this offering. The Warrants are not listed on any national securities exchange, and we do not expect a market to develop. Without an active market, the liquidity of the Warrants will be limited. Further, the existence of the Warrants may act to reduce both the trading volume and the trading price of our common stock.
Holders of the Warrants will not have rights of common stockholders until such Warrants are exercised.
The Warrants being offered do not confer any rights of common stock ownership on their holders, such as voting rights or the right to receive dividends, but rather merely represent the right to acquire shares of common stock at a fixed price for a limited period of time. Specifically, commencing on November 16, 2016, holders of the Warrants may exercise their right to acquire the common stock and pay an exercise price of $0.1149 per share prior to five (5) years from the date of issuance, after which date any unexercised Warrants will expire and have no further value.
Our insiders and affiliated parties beneficially own a significant portion of our common stock.
As of May 12, 2016, our executive officers, directors and affiliated parties beneficially own approximately 7.30% of our outstanding common stock. As a result, our executive officers, directors and affiliated parties will have significant influence to:
| • | elect or defeat the election of our directors; |
| • | amend or prevent amendment of our articles of incorporation or bylaws; and |
| • | effect or prevent a merger, sale of assets or other corporate transaction. |
In addition, sales of significant amounts of shares of common stock held by our directors and executive officers, or the prospect of such sales, could adversely affect the valuation of our company.
Investors will incur immediate and substantial dilution as a result of this offering.
Investors purchasing securities in this offering will incur immediate and substantial dilution in net tangible book value per share of common stock. Assuming the sale of 14,000,000 Units at a public offering price of $0.07 per Unit, purchasers of Units will effectively incur dilution of $0.09 per share in the net tangible book value of their shares of common stock. In addition, you may experience further dilution to the extent that shares of our common stock are issued upon the exercise of outstanding stock options and warrants. See “Dilution” for a discussion of the dilution to the purchasers in this offering.
Exercise of options or warrants or conversion of convertible securities may have a dilutive effect on your percentage ownership and may result in a dilution of your voting power and an increase in the number of shares of common stock eligible for future resale in the public market, which may negatively impact the trading price of our shares of common stock.
The exercise or conversion of some or all of our outstanding options, warrants, or convertible securities could result in significant dilution in the percentage ownership interest of investors in this offering and in the percentage ownership interest of our existing common stockholders and in a significant dilution of voting rights and earnings per share.
As of May 12, 2016, we have outstanding options to purchase an aggregate of up to 21,723 shares of our common stock outside of the incentive plans, including (i) the options to purchase 14,286 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $87.50 per share granted to MBTH; and outstanding warrants to purchase up to 6,950,659 shares of common stock, including the warrants to subscribe up to 4,286 shares of our common stock at a subscription price of $3.50 per share granted to MBTH, (ii) the warrant to purchase 858 shares of our common stock issued to Secure Strategy Group exercisable at $350.00 per share, (iii) 76,924 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants sold to investors as part of our initial public offering completed on July 24, 2013, including those issued as part of the over-allotment, which are exercisable at $68.70 per share, (iv) the warrants to purchase 4,014 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $68.70 per share granted to the underwriters pursuant to our initial public offering, (v) the warrants to purchase 136,364 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $68.70 per share issued pursuant to a onetime agreement approved on September 30, 2013, (vi) the warrants to purchase 109,378 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $68.70 per share granted pursuant to the conversion of the bridge loan and outstanding securities convertible into 5,715 shares of our common stock issuable to Treco at a conversion price of $350.00 per share, (vii) 2,788 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the rights granted to investors as part of the bridge loan, which are exercisable at $3.50 share, (viii) the warrants to purchase 17,145 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $21.875 per share granted to the underwriters pursuant to our public offering completed on November 18, 2013, (ix) the warrants to purchase 37,500 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share granted to the investors in the December 30, 2014 private placement, (x) the warrants to purchase 17,500 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share granted to the investors in the February 11, 2015 private placement, (xi) the warrants to purchase 42,250 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $20.00 per share granted to the investors in the February 23, 2015 private placement, (xii) the warrants to purchase 90,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share granted to the investors in the February 24, 2015 private placement; (xiii) the Series A Warrants to purchase 3,666,651 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.00 per share sold to investors as part of our underwritten public offering completed on August 19, 2015 and repriced with an exercise price of $0.07 on April 29, 2016; (xiv) the warrants to purchase 2,450,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.75 per share issued to certain holders of our pre-funded Series B Warrants to settle certain claims on November 2, 2015; and (xv) the warrants to purchase 275,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.21 per share sold to investors in our public offering completed on February 29, 2016 and repriced with an exercise price of $0.07 on April 29, 2016.
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Additionally, the issuance of up to 242,792 shares of common stock upon exercise of stock options outstanding under our stock incentive plans will further dilute our stockholders’ voting interests. To the extent options and/or warrants and/or conversion rights are exercised, additional shares of common stock will be issued, and such issuance will dilute stockholders.
As of May 12, 2016, 3,150,000 shares of our common stock may be issued upon the conversion of 315,000 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock sold to investors on February 29, 2016, based on a conversion price of $0.10. As of May 12, 2016, 5,500,000 shares of our common stock may also be issued upon the conversion of $550,000 in principal amount of 5% Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Notes sold to investors on April 15, 2016, based on a conversion price of $0.10.
In addition to the dilutive effects described above, the exercise of those securities would lead to an increase in the number of shares of common stock eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares of common stock in the public market could adversely affect the market price of our shares of common stock. Substantial dilution and/or a substantial increase in the number of shares of common stock available for future resale may negatively impact the trading price of our shares of common stock.
Sales of a significant number of shares of our common stock in the public markets or significant short sales of our common stock, or the perception that such sales could occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and impair our ability to raise capital.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock or other equity-related securities in the public markets, including any shares of common stock issued upon exercise of the Warrants, could depress the market price of our common stock. If there are significant short sales of our common stock, the price decline that could result from this activity may cause the share price to decline more so, which, in turn, may cause long holders of our common stock to sell their shares, thereby contributing to further sales of common stock in the market. Such sales also may impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities in the future at a time and price that our management deems acceptable, if at all.
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We may seek to raise additional funds, finance acquisitions or develop strategic relationships by issuing securities that would dilute your ownership. Depending on the terms available to us, if these activities result in significant dilution, it may negatively impact the trading price of our shares of common stock.
We have financed our operations, and we expect to continue to finance our operations, acquisitions, if any, and the development of strategic relationships by issuing equity and/or convertible securities, which could significantly reduce the percentage ownership of our existing stockholders. Further, any additional financing that we secure may require the granting of rights, preferences or privileges senior to, or pari passu with, those of our common stock. Any issuances by us of equity securities may be at or below the prevailing market price of our common stock and in any event may have a dilutive impact on your ownership interest, which could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. We may also raise additional funds through the incurrence of debt or the issuance or sale of other securities or instruments senior to our shares of common stock. The holders of any securities or instruments we may issue may have rights superior to the rights of our common stockholders. If we experience dilution from the issuance of additional securities and we grant superior rights to new securities over common stockholders, it may negatively impact the trading price of our shares of common stock and you may lose all or part of your investment.
The market price of our shares of common stock is particularly volatile given our status as a relatively unknown company with a generally small and thinly traded public float and lack of profits, which could lead to wide fluctuations in our share price. You may be unable to sell your shares of common stock at or above your purchase price, which may result in substantial losses to you.
The market for our shares of common stock is characterized by significant price volatility when compared to the shares of larger, more established companies that trade on a national securities exchange and have large public floats, and we expect that our share price will continue to be more volatile than the shares of such larger, more established companies for the indefinite future. The volatility in our share price is attributable to a number of factors. First, as noted above, our shares of common stock are, compared to the shares of such larger, more established companies, sporadically and thinly traded. The price for our shares of common stock could, for example, decline precipitously in the event that a large number of our shares of common stock are sold on the market without commensurate demand. Second, we are a speculative or “risky” investment due to our lack of profits to date. As a consequence of this enhanced risk, more risk-adverse investors may, under the fear of losing all or most of their investment in the event of negative news or lack of progress, be more inclined to sell their shares of common stock on the market more quickly and at greater discounts than would be the case with the stock of a larger, more established company that trades on a national securities exchange and has a large public float. Many of these factors are beyond our control and may decrease the market price of our shares of common stock, regardless of our operating performance.
An active, liquid trading market for our common stock may not continue, which may cause our common stock to trade at a discount from the initial offering price and make it difficult for you to sell the common stock you purchase.
Our common stock is currently listed on NASDAQ. However, there can be no assurance that an active, liquid trading market for our common stock will continue. If an active, liquid trading market does not continue, you may have difficulty selling any of our common stock that you purchase. The market price of our common stock may decline below the initial offering price, and you may not be able to sell your shares of our common stock at or above the price you paid, or at all.
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If and when a larger trading market for our common stock develops, the market price of our common stock is still likely to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations, and you may be unable to resell your shares of common stock at or above the price at which you acquired them.
The market price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a number of factors that are beyond our control, including, but not limited to:
| • | variations in our revenues and operating expenses; | |
| • | actual or anticipated changes in the estimates of our operating results or changes in stock market analyst recommendations regarding our common stock, other comparable companies or our industry generally; | |
| • | market conditions in our industry, the industries of our customers and the economy as a whole; | |
| • | actual or expected changes in our growth rates or our competitors’ growth rates; | |
| • | developments in the financial markets and worldwide or regional economies; | |
| • | announcements of innovations or new products or services by us or our competitors; | |
| • | announcements by the government relating to regulations that govern our industry; | |
| • | sales of our common stock or other securities by us or in the open market; and | |
| • | changes in the market valuations of other comparable companies. |
In addition, if the market for technology stocks or the stock market in general experiences loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, financial condition or operating results. The trading price of our shares of common stock might also decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry, even if these events do not directly affect us. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against companies. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our charter documents and Delaware law could prevent a takeover that stockholders consider favorable and could also reduce the market price of our common stock.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change in control of our company. These provisions could also make it more difficult for stockholders to elect directors and take other corporate actions. These provisions include:
| • | authorizing the board to issue, without stockholder approval, preferred stock with rights senior to those of our common stock; | |
| • | limiting the persons who may call special meetings of stockholders; and | |
| • | requiring advance notification of stockholder nominations and proposals. |
In addition, the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law govern us. These provisions may prohibit large stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock, from merging or combining with us for a certain period of time without the consent of our board of directors.
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These and other provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws and under Delaware law could discourage potential takeover attempts, reduce the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock and result in the market price of our common stock being lower than it would be without these provisions.
If we are not able to comply with the applicable continued listing requirements or standards of NASDAQ, NASDAQ could delist our common stock.
Our common stock is currently listed on NASDAQ. In order to maintain that listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other continued listing requirements and standards, including those regarding director independence and independent committee requirements, minimum stockholders' equity, minimum share price, and certain corporate governance requirements. There can be no assurances that we will be able to comply with the applicable listing standards.
On September 29, 2015, we received written notice from NASDAQ notifying us that we were not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) for continued listing on NASDAQ, as the closing bid price for our common stock was below $1.00 per share for the last thirty (30) consecutive business days. In accordance with NASDAQ listing rules, we were afforded 180 calendar days, or until March 28, 2016, to regain compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). We were unable to regain compliance with the bid price requirement by March 28, 2016.
On March 29, 2016, we received written notice from NASDAQ that it had granted us an additional 180 calendar days, or until September 26, 2016, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement of $1.00 per share for continued listing on NASDAQ, pursuant to NASDAQ Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A)(ii).
The NASDAQ determination to grant the second compliance period was based on our meeting the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other applicable requirements for initial listing on NASDAQ, with the exception of the bid price requirement, and our written notice of our intention to cure the deficiency during the second compliance period by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary.
To regain compliance, the bid price of our common stock must have a closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of ten (10) consecutive business days at any time during the second 180-day compliance period. We intend to monitor the closing bid price of our common stock and may, if appropriate, consider implementing available options, including submitting a reverse stock split for approval by our stockholders. If a reverse stock split is approved by our stockholders, our Board of Directors will consider whether a reverse stock split is necessary and would facilitate our regaining compliance with the minimum bid price requirement by September 26, 2016. There can be no assurance that we will be able to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement or maintain compliance with the other listing requirements necessary for us to maintain the listing of our common stock on NASDAQ.
If we are not in compliance by September 26, 2016, NASDAQ will provide notice that our shares of common stock will be subject to delisting.
In the event that our common stock is delisted from NASDAQ and is not eligible for quotation on another market or exchange, trading of our common stock could be conducted in the over-the-counter market or on an electronic bulletin board established for unlisted securities such as the Pink Sheet or the OTC Bulletin Board. In such event, it could become more difficult to dispose of, or obtain accurate price quotations for, our common stock, and there would likely also be a reduction in our coverage by securities analysts and the news media, which could cause the price of our common stock to decline further. Also, it may be difficult for us to raise additional capital if we are not listed on a major exchange.
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In the event that our common stock is delisted from NASDAQ, U.S. broker-dealers may be discouraged from effecting transactions in shares of our common stock because they may be considered penny stocks and thus be subject to the penny stock rules.
The SEC has adopted a number of rules to regulate “penny stock” that restricts transactions involving stock which is deemed to be penny stock. Such rules include Rules 3a51-1, 15g-1, 15g-2, 15g-3, 15g-4, 15g-5, 15g-6, 15g-7, and 15g-9 under the Exchange Act. These rules may have the effect of reducing the liquidity of penny stocks. “Penny stocks” generally are equity securities with a price of less than $5.00 per share (other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or quoted on the NASDAQ Stock Market if current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system). Our shares of common stock have in the past constituted, and may again in the future constitute, “penny stock” within the meaning of the rules. The additional sales practice and disclosure requirements imposed upon U.S. broker-dealers may discourage such broker-dealers from effecting transactions in shares of our common stock, which could severely limit the market liquidity of such shares of common stock and impede their sale in the secondary market.
A U.S. broker-dealer selling penny stock to anyone other than an established customer or “accredited investor” (generally, an individual with net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or an annual income exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with his or her spouse) must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and must receive the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. In addition, the “penny stock” regulations require the U.S. broker-dealer to deliver, prior to any transaction involving a “penny stock”, a disclosure schedule prepared in accordance with SEC standards relating to the “penny stock” market, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. A U.S. broker-dealer is also required to disclose commissions payable to the U.S. broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, a U.S. broker-dealer is required to submit monthly statements disclosing recent price information with respect to the “penny stock” held in a customer’s account and information with respect to the limited market in “penny stocks”.
Stockholders should be aware that, according to the SEC, the market for “penny stocks” has suffered in recent years from patterns of fraud and abuse. Such patterns include (i) control of the market for the security by one or a few broker-dealers that are often related to the promoter or issuer; (ii) manipulation of prices through prearranged matching of purchases and sales and false and misleading press releases; (iii) “boiler room” practices involving high-pressure sales tactics and unrealistic price projections by inexperienced sales persons; (iv) excessive and undisclosed bid-ask differentials and markups by selling broker-dealers; and (v) the wholesale dumping of the same securities by promoters and broker-dealers after prices have been manipulated to a desired level, resulting in investor losses. Our management is aware of the abuses that have occurred historically in the penny stock market. Although we do not expect to be in a position to dictate the behavior of the market or of broker-dealers who participate in the market, management will strive within the confines of practical limitations to prevent the described patterns from being established with respect to our securities.
We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively.
Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering, including for any of the purposes described in the section of this prospectus supplement entitled “Use of Proceeds.” The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could harm our business. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities. These investments may not yield a favorable return to our stockholders.
We have not paid dividends in the past and do not expect to pay dividends for the foreseeable future, and any return on investment may be limited to potential future appreciation in the value of our common stock.
We currently intend to retain any future earnings to support the development and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our shares of common stock 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 without limitation, 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. To the extent we do not pay dividends, our shares of common stock may be less valuable because a return on investment will only occur if and to the extent our stock price appreciates, which may never occur. In addition, investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation as the only way to realize their investment, and if the price of our common stock does not appreciate, then there will be no return on investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock.
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Non-U.S. investors may have difficulty effecting service of process against us or enforcing judgments against us in courts of non-U.S. jurisdictions.
We are incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware. All of our directors and officers reside in the United States. It may not be possible for non-U.S. investors to effect service of process within their own jurisdictions upon our company and our directors and officers. In addition, it may not be possible for non-U.S. investors to collect from our company and our directors and officers judgments obtained in courts in such non-U.S. jurisdictions predicated on non-U.S. legislation.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our common stock adversely, our share price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our shares of common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If any of the analysts who may cover us change their recommendation regarding our common stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, our share price would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our common stock price or trading volume to decline.
The requirements of being a U.S. public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.
As a U.S. public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing requirements of NASDAQ, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming, or costly, and increase demand on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual and current reports with respect to our business and operating results.
As a result of disclosure of information in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus and in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition is more visible, which we believe may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert resources of our management and harm our business and operating results.
We acknowledge material weaknesses in the controls and procedures of our financial reporting and may identify additional material weaknesses in the future that may cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations, including timeliness, or result in material misstatements of our financial statements. If we continue to fail to remediate our material weaknesses or if we fail to implement effective controls and procedures for our financial reporting, our ability to accurately and timely report our financial results could be adversely affected, which likely would adversely affect the value of our common stock.
Our management has previously identified a material weakness regarding inadequate accounting resources due to the need to hire accounting personnel with the requisite knowledge of U.S. GAAP. We made progress to remedy this deficiency through the hiring of a financial controller to support the accounting personnel. The financial controller began employment in September 2013 and has now been fully integrated into our control process. However, due to the recent loss of accounting personnel through cost cutting measures and the need to deal with complex accounting transactions, we believe that our disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting are not yet effective.
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A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. Failure of our internal control systems to prevent error or fraud could materially adversely impact us, could lead to restatements of our financial statements and investors not being able to rely on the completeness and accuracy of the financial information contained in our filings with the SEC, and could potentially subject us to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities or stockholder litigation. Any such failure could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information or our ongoing ability to meet SEC filing deadlines, which likely would adversely affect the value of our common stock and severely limit or even eliminate the prospects for our success in obtaining new capital.
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We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of Units offered by us will be approximately $817,100, based on the public offering price of $0.07 per Unit, after deducting placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
The principal purposes of this offering are to increase our capitalization and financial flexibility and to increase our visibility in the marketplace. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, we cannot specify with certainty all of the particular uses for the net proceeds of this offering. However, we currently intend to use the net proceeds to us from this offering primarily for general corporate purposes, including working capital, product development, marketing activities, expanding our internal sales organization and further developing sales channels and other capital expenditures.
We will have broad discretion over the uses of the net proceeds from this offering. Pending these uses, we intend to invest the net proceeds from this offering in short-term, investment-grade interest-bearing securities such as money market funds, certificates of deposit, commercial paper and guaranteed obligations of the U.S. government.
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The following table sets forth our capitalization as of December 31, 2015:
| • | on an actual basis; and | |
| • | on an as adjusted basis to give effect to the sale of 14,000,000 Units we are offering based upon a public offering price of $0.07 per Unit, and after deducting placement agent fees and approximately $84,500 in other estimated offering expenses payable by us. |
The information below is illustrative only and our capitalization following the completion of this offering will be adjusted based on the actual sales price of the Units. You should read this table together with the section entitled “Use of Proceeds,” as well as our financial statements and the related notes, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement.
| As of December 31, 2015 | ||||||||
| ($ in thousands, except share and per share amounts) | Actual | As Adjusted | ||||||
| Long-term debt | ||||||||
| Convertible notes payable | 2,000 | 2,000 | ||||||
| Total long-term debt | 2,000 | 2,000 | ||||||
| Stockholders’ Equity | ||||||||
| Preferred stock – $0.00001 par value per share:10,000,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2015; none issued or outstanding as of December 31, 2015 | — | — | ||||||
| Common stock – $0.00001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 20,227,701 issued and 20,227,472 outstanding as of December 31, 2015 | — | * | — | * | ||||
| Additional paid in capital | 198,710 | 199,527 | ||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (188,397 | ) | (188,397 | ) | ||||
| Treasury stock at cost, 229 shares | (22 | ) | (22 | ) | ||||
| Total stockholders’ equity | 10,291 | 11,108 | ||||||
| Total capitalization | $ | 12,291 | $ | 13,108 | ||||
—* Less than $1
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The net tangible book value of our common stock as of December 31, 2015 was approximately $(1,612,000), or $(0.08) per share of common stock based upon 20,227,472 shares of common stock outstanding on such date. As adjusted net tangible book value per share represents the amount of our total tangible assets reduced by the amount of our total liabilities, divided by the total number of shares of common stock outstanding after giving effect to the sale of 14,000,000 Units we are offering based upon a public offering price of $0.07 per Unit, and after deducting placement agent fees and approximately $84,500 in estimated offering expenses payable by us.
If you invest in our Units in this offering, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the offering price per Unit and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after completion of this offering.
The following table illustrates this dilution on a per share basis to new investors:
| Public offering price per Unit | $ | 0.07 | ||
| Net tangible book value per share as of December 31, 2015 before giving effect to this offering | $ | (0.08 | ) | |
| Increase in net tangible book value per share attributed to existing investors | $ | 0.06 | ||
| As adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering | $ | (0.02 | ) | |
| Dilution to net tangible book value per share to new investors in this offering | $ | 0.09 |
The table below summarizes as of December 31, 2015, on an as adjusted basis as described above, the number of shares of our common stock, the total consideration and the average price per share (i) paid to us by our existing stockholders and (ii) to be paid by new investors purchasing our Units in this offering at a public offering price of $0.07 per Unit, before deducting estimated placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
| Shares or Shares Underlying Units Purchased | Total Consideration | Average Price | ||||||||||||||||||
| Number | Percent | Amount | Percent | Per Share/Unit | ||||||||||||||||
| Existing stockholders | 20,227,472 | 59 | % | $ | 186,672,645 | 99 | % | $ | 9.23 | |||||||||||
| New investors | 14,000,000 | 41 | % | $ | 980,000 | 1 | % | $ | 0.07 | |||||||||||
| Total | 34,227,472 | 100 | % | $ | 187,652,645 | 100 | % | $ | 5.48 | |||||||||||
The total number of shares of our common stock reflected in the discussion and tables above is based on 20,227,472 shares of our common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2015 and excludes:
| • | 229 treasury shares; and | |
| • | exercise of any options, warrants or conversion rights on convertible debt outstanding as of December 31, 2015. |
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To the extent that any convertible debt is converted, outstanding warrants are exercised, outstanding options are exercised, new options are issued under our 2013 Long Term Incentive Plan or we issue additional shares of common stock in the future, there will be further dilution to investors participating in this offering. If all outstanding options under our 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2013 Stock Incentive Plans and 2015 Incentive Compensation Plan and options/warrants issued outside of the stock incentive plans as of May 12, 2016 were exercised, then our existing stockholders, including the holders of these options, would own 68% and the purchasers of our Units pursuant to this prospectus supplement would own 32% of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding upon the closing of this offering. In such event, the total consideration paid by our existing stockholders, including the holders of these options, would be approximately $247,032,062, or 99%, the total consideration paid by the purchasers of our Units under this prospectus supplement would be $980,000, or 1%, the average price per share paid by our existing stockholders would be $8.37 and the average price per share paid by the purchasers of our Units under this prospectus supplement would be $0.07.
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The following is a summary description of our authorized capital stock and the material terms of the Shares and Warrants. This summary is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, our Amended and Restated Bylaws and the Warrants, a form of which has been filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement.
Authorized Capital Stock
Our authorized capital stock consists of 100,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of “blank check” preferred stock, of which 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock were designated as our Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.00001 per share (“Series B Preferred Stock”). On February 5, 2016, we terminated our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.00001 per share, and our Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.00001 per share. As of May 12, 2016, we had 70,904,668 shares of common stock outstanding and 315,000 shares of Series B Preferred Stock outstanding.
On July 17, 2015, we effected a 1-for-10 reverse stock split and every ten (10) shares of outstanding common stock decreased to one (1) share of our common stock. Similarly, the number of shares of our common stock into which each outstanding option, convertible note and warrant to purchase common stock is to be exercisable or convert into decreased on a 1-for-10 basis and the exercise price or conversion price of each outstanding option, convertible note and warrant to purchase common stock increased proportionately.
Shares
For a description of our common stock, see “Description of Capital Stock” in the accompanying base prospectus.
Warrants
The Warrants are exercisable beginning on November 16, 2016 for a period of five (5) years from their issue date. The exercise price with respect to the Warrants is $0.1149, which is subject to adjustment upon certain events, such as stock splits, combinations, dividends, distributions, reclassifications, mergers or other corporate change and dilutive issuances.
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We will enter into a subscription agreement with the purchasers for the purchase of the Units offered in this offering. In connection with this offering, we have engaged Roth Capital Partners, LLC as our placement agent, on a “reasonable best efforts” basis, pursuant to the terms of a placement agent agreement. The placement agent is not purchasing or selling any securities offered by this prospectus supplement, and is not required to arrange for the purchase or sale of any specific number or dollar amount of securities; rather the placement agent has agreed to use its reasonable best efforts to arrange for the sale of all of the securities in this offering and has proposed to arrange for the sale to one or more purchasers of the securities offered pursuant to this prospectus supplement. There is no requirement that any minimum number of Units or dollar amount of Units be sold in this offering and there can be no assurance that we will sell all or any of the Units being offered.
We will pay the placement agent a placement agent fee equal to 8% of the gross cash proceeds of this offering. We will also reimburse the placement agent for legal and other expenses incurred by them in connection with this offering in an aggregate amount not to exceed $50,000. After deducting the fees due to the placement agent and our other estimated offering expenses, the net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $817,100.
We have agreed to indemnify the placement agent against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and liabilities arising from breaches of representations and warranties contained in the placement agent agreement. We have also agreed to contribute to payments the placement agent may be required to make in respect of such liabilities.
The placement agent and/or its affiliates have provided and may in the future provide certain commercial banking, financial advisory or investment banking services for us for which they have received and may in the future receive fees. The placement agent and/or its affiliates may also from time to time in the future engage in transactions with us and perform other services for us in the ordinary course of its business.
We, and each of our directors and executive officers, have agreed to certain restrictions on the ability to sell shares of our common stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our common stock, subject to specified exceptions, for a period of 90 days after the date of this prospectus supplement. The restrictions in these agreements may be waived by the placement agent in its sole discretion. These lock-up periods discussed above are subject to extension such that, if (1) we are not an “emerging growth company”; and (2) in the event that either (i) during the last 17 days of the lock-up period, we issue an earnings or financial results release or material news or a material event relating to us occurs, or (ii) prior to the expiration of the lock-up period, we announce that we will release earnings or financial results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the lock-up period, then in either case the expiration of the lock-up period will be extended until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings or financial results release or the occurrence of the material news or material event, as applicable, unless the placement agent waives, in writing, such an extension. The restrictions described above do not apply to certain transactions by our officers and directors pursuant to any trading plan established pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act.
The placement agent is deemed to be an underwriter for the offering within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act.
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
Copies of the subscription agreement and the placement agent agreement have been filed with the SEC.
We or the placement agent may distribute this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus electronically.
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Robinson Brog Leinwand Greene Genovese& Gluck P.C., New York, New York, will render a legal opinion as to the validity of the securities to be registered hereby. Certain legal matters in connection with this offering will be passed upon for the placement agent by Shearman & Sterling LLP, Menlo Park, California.
Our financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2015 have been incorporated by reference herein and in the registration statement in reliance upon the report of Marcum LLP, independent certified public accounting firm, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting. The audit report included an explanatory paragraph as to our ability to continue as a going concern.
Our financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2014 have been incorporated by reference herein and in the registration statement in reliance upon the report of Friedman, LLP, independent certified public accounting firm, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting. The audit report included an explanatory paragraph as to our ability to continue as a going concern.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
This prospectus supplement constitutes a part of a registration statement on Form S-3 filed under the Securities Act. As permitted by the SEC’s rules, this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus, which form a part of the registration statement, do not contain all the information that is included in the registration statement. You will find additional information about us in the registration statement. Any statements made in this prospectus supplement concerning legal documents are not necessarily complete and you should read the documents that are filed as exhibits to the registration statement or otherwise filed with the SEC for a more complete understanding of the document or matter.
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read, without charge, and copy the documents we file at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, NE, Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. You can request copies of these documents by writing to the SEC and paying a fee for the copying cost. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference room. Our SEC filings are also available to the public at no cost from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Our corporate website is www.xgtechnology.com. The information on our corporate website is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying base prospectus and you should not consider it a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying base prospectus.
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INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement the information that we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus supplement and you should read it with the same care that you read this prospectus supplement. These documents may include periodic reports, such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, as well as Proxy Statements. Any documents that we subsequently file with the SEC will automatically update and supersede the information previously filed with the SEC and will be considered to be a part of this prospectus supplement from the date those documents are filed. Thus, for example, in the case of a conflict or inconsistency between information set forth in this prospectus supplement and information incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information contained in the document that was filed later.
This prospectus supplement incorporates by reference the documents listed below that we previously filed with the SEC and any additional documents that we may file with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act until this offering is completed (other than documents that we are deemed to furnish and not file under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K in accordance with SEC rules).
| • | Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 filed with the SEC on April 14, 2016. | |
| • | Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 15, 2016. | |
| • | Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 18, 2016. | |
| • | Amendment No. 2 to Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 22, 2016. | |
| • | Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 27, 2016. | |
| • | Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 2, 2016. | |
| • | Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 13, 2016. | |
| • | Definitive Proxy Statement filed with the SEC on April 29, 2016. | |
| • | Registration Statement on Form 8-A, as amended by Amendment No. 1 thereto, filed with the SEC on July 18, 2013, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating the description of our common stock therein. |
You can obtain a copy of any or all of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement (other than an exhibit to a document unless that exhibit is specifically incorporated by reference into that document) from the SEC on its website at www.sec.gov. You also can obtain these documents from us without charge by visiting our corporate website at www.xgtechnology.com or by requesting them in writing or by telephoning us at:
xG Technology, Inc.
240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 701
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 953-9035
Attention: Corporate Secretary
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$30,000,000
Common Stock
Preferred Stock
Warrants
Debt Securities
Convertible Debt Securities
Rights
Units
XG TECHNOLOGY, INC.
___________________
We may sell from time to time any combination of common stock, preferred stock, warrants, debt securities, convertible debt securities, rights, and units as described in this prospectus, in one or more offerings. We may also offer common stock upon conversion of the preferred stock, or common stock or preferred stock upon the exercise of convertible debt securities, warrants, rights, or units. The aggregate offering price of all securities sold under this prospectus may not exceed $30,000,000.
This prospectus provides a general description of the securities that we may offer. Each time we sell securities pursuant to this prospectus, we will provide specific terms of the offered securities, including the number of securities offered and the price per security, in one or more prospectus supplements. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement carefully before you invest in our securities. This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of securities unless accompanied by the applicable prospectus supplement.
We may offer and sell these securities through one or more methods described under “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus. If any agents or underwriters are involved in the sale of any of these securities, the applicable prospectus supplement will provide the names of the agents or underwriters and any applicable fees, commissions, discounts, or over-allotment options. The price to the public of such securities and the net proceeds we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement.
Currently, our common stock and warrants are quoted on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbols “XGTI” and “XGTIW”, respectively. The closing price of our shares and warrants on NASDAQ on July 30, 2014 was $2.29 per share and $0.77 per warrant, respectively.
The aggregate market value of our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates is $35,197,288 based on 24,202,164 shares of outstanding common stock, of which 15,171,245 are held by non-affiliates, and a per share price of $2.32 based on the closing sale price of our common stock on July 21, 2014. Pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3, in no event will we sell our common stock in a public primary offering with a value exceeding more than one-third of our public float in any 12-month period so long as our public float remains below $75,000,000. We have not offered any securities pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3 during the prior 12 calendar month period that ends on and includes the date of this prospectus.
We are an “emerging growth company” as the term is used in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”) and, as such, have elected to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements for this and future filings.
Investing in the securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 4 of this prospectus and in the documents to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus before making a decision to purchase our securities.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is August 21, 2014.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using the “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may offer shares of our common stock, preferred stock, warrants, debt securities, convertible debt securities, rights, and/or units, in one or more offerings in any combination, with an aggregate value of up to $30,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer a type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in the documents we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus and, accordingly, to the extent inconsistent, information in this prospectus is superseded by the information in the prospectus supplement. Please read carefully this prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and any prospectus supplement together with additional information described below under “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Information Incorporated by Reference.” You should also carefully consider, among other things, the matters discussed under “Risk Factors.”
You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different or additional information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of securities described in this prospectus. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, as well as information we have previously filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference into this prospectus, is accurate as of the date on the front of those documents only. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of our securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
The xG logo is a trademark of xG Technology, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective holders.
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This summary highlights selected information contained in greater detail elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary does not contain all the information you should consider before investing in our common stock. You should read the entire prospectus carefully before making an investment decision, especially “Risk Factors” and the financial statements and the related notes. Unless the context provides otherwise, all references herein to “xG”, “xG Technology”, the “Company”, “we”, “our” and “us” refer to xG Technology, Inc. For definitions of certain industry terms used throughout this prospectus, please see “Glossary”.
Our Company
We have developed a broad portfolio of innovative intellectual property to enhance wireless communications. Our intellectual property is embedded in proprietary software algorithms that offer cognitive interference mitigation and spectrum access solutions for countless applications using commercial off the shelf devices. We recently released the commercially available version of our software and hardware products using our proprietary xMax® cognitive radio technology.
Our current cognitive radio technology is based on years of product development. In 2008 and 2009, we generated material revenues from sales of our prior BSN250 voice-only products. After the introduction of various smartphones in 2007 and later that could handle both voice and data, we decided to enhance our voice-only products to include data services. In 2011, we delivered our enhanced BSN250 base station and TX70 handset for both voice and SMS services to the U.S. Army. Given the proliferation of smartphones, the U.S. Army subsequently requested that our BSN250 base station should integrate with commercial off the shelf devices. In 2013, we introduced an improved product line that could handle both voice and data services. These new products, the xAP base station and xMod and xVM modems, are able to communicate with any wi-fi enabled commercial off the shelf device. In 2014, we began developing a new product, the xRM modem which we anticipate completing in late 2014. The xRM modem is a module that complements the xMax mobile system and is designed to provide high speed fixed broadband access using frequencies at 2.4 GHz. It offers an end-user solution that seamlessly integrates xMax and wi-fi in a single device, and allows the delivery of both high data rates and reliable high-speed mobility in the same system. We believe that the xRM modem will provide higher performance with dedicated channels for voice (xMax) and data (wi-fi), will maximize user experience via interprotocol smart-routing, and provide greater reliability.
We believe that the wireless communications industry is facing a “spectrum crisis” because the demand for flexible, affordable voice and data access continues to increase rapidly while the amount of available spectrum remains relatively constant. We have developed frequency-agnostic cognitive radio solutions to address this increasing demand by eliminating the need to acquire scarce and expensive licensed radio spectrum, and thus ideally lowering the total cost of ownership for wireless broadband access. With fast-growing demand straining network capacity, our intellectual property is also designed to help wireless broadband network operators make more efficient use of their existing spectrum allocations. We are targeting sales in numerous industries worldwide, such as telecommunications services, public safety and defense, and in markets ranging from rural to urban areas as well as expeditionary deployments.
The initial implementation of our cognitive radio intellectual property is xMax. We believe the xMax system is the only commercially available cognitive radio network system that includes our interference mitigation and spatial processing technologies. xMax implements our proprietary interference mitigation software that can increase capacity on already crowded airwaves by improving interference tolerance, enabling the delivery of higher Quality of Service (“QoS”) than other technologies that would not be able to cope with the interference. We believe that the xMax system will also, when operating on more than one radio channel, deliver dynamic spectrum access by using our patented self-organizing network techniques. Furthermore, the xMax system can be used to provide additional capacity to licensed spectrum by identifying and utilizing unused bandwidth within the licensed spectrum.
Our system is frequency agnostic, although currently designed to operate within the 902 – 928 MHz unlicensed band of spectrum. xMax serves as a mobile voice over internet protocol (“VoIP”) and broadband data system that utilizes an end-to-end Internet Protocol (“IP”) system architecture. The xMax product and service suite includes access points, mobile switching centers, network management systems, deployment tools and proactive customer support. The xMax system will allow mobile operators to utilize free, unlicensed 902 – 928 MHz ISM band spectrum (which spectrum is available in all of the Americas except French Guiana) instead of purchasing scarce and expensive licensed spectrum. Our xMax system will also enable enterprises to set up a mobile communications network in an expeditious and cost-effective manner.
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We have generated significant net losses for the past several years and we expect to continue to realize net losses for the immediate future.
Our Strengths
We believe the following strengths position us for sustainable growth:
| • | Our proprietary xMax® cognitive radio technology. We have developed our xMax cognitive radio technology to create a turnkey network solution. This solution encompasses the key elements of our cognitive technology, including spectrum sensing, spectrum management, spectrum mobility, spectrum sharing and spatial processing. Our software and hardware products and our end-to-end IP architecture implement this solution to provide quality VoIP and data services for countless applications and commercial off the shelf devices. |
| • | Our technology addresses an expanding market need. Our market opportunity has accelerated and expanded due to the spectrum crisis and the stated goals of governmental organizations to increase spectrum access. Our cognitive technology allows mobile wireless networks to provide quality voice and data services using unlicensed spectrum, and our interference mitigation and spatial processing techniques enable these services even in crowded or shared spectrum bands. Rural telecommunication providers, public safety agencies, industrial and enterprise users, and those who use unlicensed spectrum can use our products and services to create wireless networks without the significant capital outlays and delays required to license spectrum. |
| • | Our solutions meet the specific needs of targeted markets. Our cognitive radio technology has been specifically developed to make our entire network infrastructure mobile, so that it can be rapidly deployed in response to public safety or security threats. We believe this feature differentiates our technology from that of our competitors and will address a major capability gap for public safety, defense, homeland security and news agencies. In addition, the expanded range of our network can provide improved voice and data services for underserved rural markets. |
| • | We have a broad patent portfolio and unencumbered use of our intellectual property. We maintain a broad patent portfolio consisting of patents and patent applications in the United States and many international jurisdictions, which include 51 issued U.S. patents and 65 issued international patents. We have solely funded the development of our intellectual property, which is, accordingly, unencumbered by any federal government unlimited use licenses. |
| • | We have an accomplished leadership team. Our management team and board of directors bring a wealth of experience in the telecommunications and military sectors as well as hardware and software development. Our engineering team has a strong track record developing ad-hoc networking domains at Motorola and Mesh Networks. In addition, most of our leadership team has strong ties to our target markets, including public safety organizations, rural telecommunications companies and the military. |
Our Strategy
We are developing a broad portfolio of innovative intellectual property that we believe will enhance wireless communications. Leveraging elements of this intellectual property portfolio, we plan to introduce a range of spectrum agnostic, cognitive radio solutions for numerous industries and applications. We believe that sales of these products and services, together with our ability to leverage our patent portfolio, present us with an attractive revenue model. Our current strategy is to commercialize our intellectual property portfolio by developing and selling network products using our proprietary software algorithms to offer cognitive interference mitigation and spectrum access solutions. Our future strategies are for our intellectual property to be embedded by partners in a semiconductor chip that could be sold to third-party equipment manufacturers and inserted in their devices, and to license our intellectual property to other customers in industry verticals world-wide.
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Company Information
The Company was organized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Delaware on August 26, 2002 under the name JTS Acquisitions, LLC. On March 21, 2003, we changed our name to xG Technology, LLC. Pursuant to a certificate of conversion and a certificate of incorporation filed with the State of Delaware on November 8, 2006, xG Technology, LLC converted to a Delaware corporation under the name xG Technology, Inc.
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. We could remain an emerging growth company for up to five years, or until the earliest of (i) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenue exceeds $1 billion, (ii) the date that we become a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter or (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three-year period. Pursuant to Section 102 of the JOBS Act, we have provided reduced executive compensation disclosure and have omitted a compensation discussion and analysis from this prospectus. Pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act, we have elected to utilize the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards.
Securities We May Offer
The descriptions of the securities contained in this prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplements, summarize all the material terms and provisions of the various types of securities that we may offer. We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to any securities the particular terms of the securities offered by that prospectus supplement. If we indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, the terms of the securities may differ from the terms we have summarized below. We will also include information in the prospectus supplement, where applicable, about material United States federal income tax considerations relating to the securities, and the securities exchange, if any, on which the securities will be listed.
We may sell from time to time, in one or more offerings:
| • | common stock; |
| • | preferred stock; |
| • | warrants; |
| • | debt securities; |
| • | convertible debt securities; |
| • | rights; and/or |
| • | units. |
This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
Where You Can Find Us
Our executive offices are located at 240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 701, Sarasota, FL 34236, and our telephone number is (941) 953-9035. Our website address is www.xgtechnology.com. Information contained in our website does not form part of the prospectus and is intended for informational purposes only.
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Our business faces many risks and an investment in our common stock involves significant risks. Prospective investors are strongly encouraged to consider carefully the risks described below, as well as other information contained herein, before investing. Investors are further advised that the risks described below may not be the only risks we face. Additional risks that we do not yet know of, or that we currently think are immaterial, may also negatively impact our business operations or financial results. If any of the events or circumstances described in this section occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer. Prospective investors in our common stock should consider the following risks before deciding whether to purchase shares.
Risks Related to the Company and Our Business
We have a history of operating losses and we expect to continue to realize net losses for at least the next 12 months.
We have recorded a net loss in each reporting period since our inception. Our net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2014 was approximately $5,153,000. Our accumulated deficit at March 31, 2014 was approximately $156,715,000. The Company began its research and development activities in 2002, and has had significant net losses and will likely continue to incur net losses until we can successfully commercialize our products and technology. Our independent registered public accounting firm has expressed substantial doubt concerning our ability to continue as a going concern. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to raise additional capital, obtain other financing or fulfill our existing backlog. The Company expects to continue to have development costs as it develops the next generation of products. In addition, at this stage of our development we are subject to the following risks:
| • | our results of operations may fluctuate significantly, which may adversely affect the value of an investment in our common stock; |
| • | we may be unable to develop and commercialize our products; and |
| • | it may be difficult to forecast accurately our key operating and performance metrics because of our limited operating history. |
We may require additional capital in the future to develop new products. If we do not obtain any such additional financing, if required, our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.
We may require additional capital in the future to develop new products. We may not be able to secure adequate additional financing when needed on acceptable terms, or at all. To execute our business strategy, we may issue additional equity securities in public or private offerings, potentially at a price lower than the public offering price in this offering or the market price of our common stock at the time of such issuance. If we cannot secure sufficient additional funding we may be forced to forego strategic opportunities or delay, scale back and eliminate future product development.
Defects or errors in our products and services or in products made by our suppliers could harm our brand and relations with our customers and expose us to liability. If we experience product recalls, we may incur significant expenses and experience decreased demand for our products.
Our products are inherently complex and may contain defects and errors that are only detectable when the products are in use. Because our products are used for both personal and business purposes, such defects or errors could have a serious impact on our end customers, which could damage our reputation, harm our customer relationships and expose us to liability. Defects or impurities in our components, materials or software, equipment failures or other difficulties could adversely affect our ability, and that of our customers, to ship products on a timely basis as well as customer or licensee demand for our products. Any such shipment delays or declines in demand could reduce our revenues and harm our ability to achieve or sustain desired levels of profitability. We and our customers may also experience component or software failures or defects that could require significant product recalls, rework and/or repairs that are not covered by warranty reserves.
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Amounts included in our total backlog and order backlog may not result in actual billings or revenue or translate into profits.
Our total backlog represents future product and service billings that we expect to generate pursuant to contracts that we have entered into with our customers. Our total backlog includes our order backlog, which represents future billings for open purchase orders and other firm commitments. We anticipate that our total backlog and order backlog will fluctuate from period to period throughout our fiscal year 2014 and beyond.
As an emerging company our backlog is significant when compared to our historical revenue and the revenue we anticipate in the foreseeable future. We cannot guarantee that our total backlog or order backlog will result in actual billings in the originally anticipated period or at all. In addition, the purchase agreements and contracts reflected in our total backlog and order backlog may not generate margins that we anticipate. Given that we have only recently begun to market our current product and service offerings, we only recently began to track total backlog and order backlog on a consistent basis as performance measures and as a result, we do not have significant experience in determining the level of realization that we will actually achieve on our total backlog and order backlog.
Our customer contracts are typically structured as purchase and service agreements. The deployments called for under our agreements could extend for a number of years but these agreements could expire before all such purchases or services are delivered. Total backlog is an estimate based upon contractual terms, existing purchase orders and other available information regarding the amount and timing of expected future purchase orders to be placed by our customers and distributors, including non-binding forecasts.
No assurance can be made that firm purchase orders will yield revenues in the amounts we estimate, within the time period we expect, or at all. Total backlog is subject to adjustments due to the nature of our customer deployments. Adjustments can result from a variety of factors, including changes in the nature or scope of customer deployments, the impact of contingency provisions related to future delivery or performance, customer cancellations, the inability of customers to secure necessary financing, market conditions, delayed regulatory approvals and customer defaults. If our total backlog or order backlog fails to materialize as expected, we could experience a material reduction in future billings, revenue, and operating results.
Our recognition of deferred revenue is subject to future performance obligations and may not be representative of revenues for future periods.
We currently have $480,000 of deferred revenue recorded as a liability on our balance sheet. This deferred revenue was recorded based on shipments of our hardware products to companies that are owned or controlled by our director, Larry Townes. Currently, we are awaiting payment for the equipment that has been delivered in those transactions as the purchasers have indicated that the equipment does not meet certain technical specifications associated with their networks and that they do not intend to deliver payment until such technical specifications are satisfied. We cannot assure you that we will receive payment for these shipments or that this deferred revenue will be collected.
In accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), GAAP, and SEC Staff accounting guidance on revenue recognition, the Company considers revenue earned and realizable when: (a) persuasive evidence of the sales arrangement exists, (b) the arrangement fee is fixed or determinable, (c) service delivery or performance has occurred, (d) customer acceptance has been received, if contractually required, and (e) collectability of the arrangement fee is probable.
Due to potential future changes in customer preferences, or delays in customer development or implementation schedules or budgets, and the need for us to satisfactorily perform product support and other services, deferred revenue and backlog amounts at any particular date may not be representative of actual revenue for any current or future period.
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Although certain technical problems experienced by users may not be caused by our products, our business and reputation may be harmed if users perceive our solutions as the cause of a slow or unreliable network connection, or a high profile network failure.
We expect that our products will be in many different locations and user environments and will be capable of providing mobile broadband connectivity and interference mitigation, among other applications. The ability of our products to operate effectively can be negatively impacted by many different elements unrelated to our products. Although certain technical problems experienced by users may not be caused by our products, users often may perceive the underlying cause to be a result of poor performance of our technology. This perception, even if incorrect, could harm our business and reputation. Similarly, a high profile network failure may be caused by improper operation of the network or failure of a network component that we did not supply, but other service providers may perceive that our products were implicated, which, even if incorrect, could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our ability to sell our products will be highly dependent on the quality of our support and services offerings, and our failure to offer high-quality support and services would have a material adverse effect on our sales and results of operations.
Once our products are deployed, our channel partners and end-customers will depend on our support organization to resolve any issues relating to our products. A high level of support will be important for the successful marketing and sale of our products. In many cases, our channel partners will likely provide support directly to our end-customers. We will not have complete control over the level or quality of support provided by our channel partners. These channel partners may also provide support for other third-party products, which may potentially distract resources from support for our products. If we and our channel partners do not effectively assist our end-customers in deploying our products, succeed in helping our end-customers quickly resolve post-deployment issues or provide effective ongoing support, our ability to sell our products to existing end-customers could be adversely affected and our reputation with potential end-customers could be harmed. In some cases, we guarantee a certain level of performance to our channel partners and end-customers, which could prove to be resource-intensive and expensive for us to fulfill if unforeseen technical problems were to arise.
We may fail to recruit and retain qualified personnel.
We expect to rapidly expand our operations and grow our sales, development and administrative operations. This expansion is expected to place a significant strain on our management and will require hiring a significant number of qualified personnel. Accordingly, recruiting and retaining such personnel in the future will be critical to our success. There is intense competition from other companies for qualified personnel in the areas of our activities. If we fail to identify, attract, retain and motivate these highly skilled personnel, we may be unable to continue our marketing and development activities, and this could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects.
We rely on key executive officers, and their knowledge of our business and technical expertise would be difficult to replace.
We are highly dependent on our executive officers because of their expertise and experience in the telecommunications industry. We have agreements with our executive officers containing customary non-disclosure, non-compete, confidentiality and assignment of inventions provisions. We do not have “key person” life insurance policies for any of our officers. The loss of the technical knowledge and management and industry expertise of any of our key personnel could result in delays in product development, loss of customers and sales and diversion of management resources, which could adversely affect our operating results.
We and our contract manufacturers purchase some components, subassemblies and products from a limited number of suppliers. The loss of any of these suppliers may substantially disrupt our ability to obtain orders and fulfill sales as we design in and qualify new components.
We rely on third party components and technology to build and operate our products, and we rely on our contract manufacturers to obtain the components, subassemblies and products necessary for the manufacture of our products. Shortages in components that we use in our products are possible, and our ability to predict the availability of such components is limited. While components and supplies are generally available from a variety of sources, we and our contract manufacturers currently depend on a single or limited number of suppliers for several components for our products. If our suppliers of these components or technology were to enter into exclusive relationships with other providers of wireless networking equipment or were to discontinue providing such components and technology to us and we were unable to replace them cost effectively, or at all, our ability to provide our products would be impaired. We and our contract manufacturers generally rely on purchase orders rather than long-term contracts with these suppliers. As a result, even if available, we and our contract manufacturers may not be able to secure sufficient components at reasonable prices or of acceptable quality to build our products in a timely manner. Therefore, we may be unable to meet customer demand for our products, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
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Our intellectual property protections may be insufficient to properly safeguard our technology.
Our success and ability to compete effectively are, in large part, dependent upon proprietary technology that we have developed internally. Given the rapid pace of innovation and technological change within the wireless and broadband industries, the technological and creative skill of our personnel, consultants and contractors and their ability to develop, enhance and market new products and upgrades to existing products are critical to our continued success. We rely primarily on patent laws to protect our proprietary rights. As of July 31, 2014, in the United States, we have 51 patents granted and 9 patent applications pending. Internationally, we have 65 patents granted, 69 patent applications pending, and 6 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications. There can be no assurance that patents pending or future patent applications will be issued, or that if issued, we would have the resources to protect any such issued patent from infringement. Further, we cannot patent much of the technology that is important to our business. To date, we have relied on copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures, non-compete and/or work for hire invention assignment agreements and licensing arrangements with our employees, consultants, contractors, customers and vendors, to establish and protect our rights to this technology and, to the best extent possible, control the access to and distribution of our technology, software, documentation and other proprietary information. Despite these precautions, it may be possible for a third party to copy or otherwise obtain and use this technology without authorization. Policing unauthorized use of this technology is difficult. There can be no assurance that the steps we take or will take will prevent misappropriation of, or prevent an unauthorized third party from obtaining or using, the technology we rely on. In addition, effective protection may be unavailable or limited in some jurisdictions. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce or protect our rights.
We may be subject to claims of intellectual property infringement or invalidity. Expenses incurred with respect to monitoring, protecting, and defending our intellectual property rights could adversely affect our business.
Competitors and others may infringe on our intellectual property rights, or may allege that we have infringed on theirs. Monitoring infringement and misappropriation of intellectual property can be difficult and expensive, and we may not be able to detect infringement or misappropriation of our proprietary rights. We may also incur significant litigation expenses in protecting our intellectual property or defending our use of intellectual property, reducing our ability to fund product initiatives. These expenses could have an adverse effect on our future cash flows and results of operations. If we are found to infringe on the rights of others we could be required to discontinue offering certain products or systems, to pay damages, or purchase a license to use the intellectual property in question from its owner. Litigation can also distract management from the day-to-day operations of the business.
Enforcement of our intellectual property rights abroad, particularly in China, is limited and it is often difficult to protect and enforce such rights.
Patent protection outside the United States is generally not as comprehensive as in the United States and may not protect our intellectual property in some countries where our products are sold or may be sold in the future. Even if patents are granted outside the United States, effective enforcement in those countries may not be available. Many companies have encountered substantial intellectual property infringement in countries where we sell, or intend to sell, products or have our products manufactured.
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In particular, the legal regime relating to intellectual property rights in China is limited and it is often difficult to protect and enforce such rights. The regulatory scheme for enforcing China’s intellectual property laws may not be as developed as regulatory schemes in other countries. Any advancement of an intellectual property enforcement claim through China’s regulatory scheme may require an extensive amount of time, allowing intellectual property infringers to continue largely unimpeded, to our commercial detriment in the Chinese and other export markets. In addition, rules of evidence may be unclear, inconsistent or difficult to comply with, making it difficult to prove infringement of our intellectual property rights. As a result, enforcement cases involving technology, such as copyright infringement of software code, or unauthorized manufacture or sale of products containing patented inventions, may be difficult or not possible to sustain.
These factors may make it increasingly complicated for us to enforce our intellectual property rights against parties misappropriating or copying our technology or products without our authorization, allowing competing enterprises to harm our business in the Chinese or other export markets by affecting the pricing for our products, reducing our own sales and diluting our brand or product quality reputation.
The intellectual property rights of others may prevent us from developing new products or entering new markets.
The telecommunications industry is characterized by the rapid development of new technologies, which requires us to continuously introduce new products and expand into new markets that may be created. Therefore, our success depends in part on our ability to continually adapt our products and systems to incorporate new technologies and to expand into markets that may be created by new technologies. If technologies are protected by the intellectual property rights of others, including our competitors, we may be prevented from introducing new products or expanding into new markets created by these technologies. If the intellectual property rights of others prevent us from taking advantage of innovative technologies, our financial condition, operating results or prospects may be harmed.
We rely on the availability of third-party licenses. If these licenses are available to us only on less favorable terms or not at all in the future, our business and operating results would be harmed.
We have incorporated third-party licensed technology into our products. It may be necessary in the future to renew licenses relating to various aspects of these products or to seek additional licenses for existing or new products. There can be no assurance that the necessary licenses will be available on acceptable terms or at all. The inability to obtain certain licenses or other rights, or to obtain those licenses or rights on favorable terms, or the need to engage in litigation regarding these matters, could result in delays in product releases until such time, if ever, as equivalent technology could be identified, licensed or developed and integrated into our products and might have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. Moreover, the inclusion in our products of intellectual property licensed from third parties on a nonexclusive basis could limit our ability to protect our proprietary rights in our products.
Our customers could also become the target of litigation relating to the patent and other intellectual property rights of others.
Any litigation relating to the intellectual property rights of others could trigger technical support and indemnification obligations in licenses or customer agreements that we may enter into. These obligations could result in substantial expenses, including the payment by us of costs and damages relating to claims of intellectual property infringement. In addition to the time and expense required for us to provide support or indemnification to our customers, any such litigation could disrupt the businesses of our customers, which in turn could hurt our relationships with such customers and cause the sale of our products to decrease. No assurance can be given that claims for indemnification will not be made, or that if made, such claims would not have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial conditions.
We expect to base our inventory purchasing decisions on our forecasts of customers’ demand, and if our forecasts are inaccurate, our operating results could be materially harmed.
As our customer base increases, we expect to place orders with our contract manufacturers based on our forecasts of our customers’ demand. Our forecasts will be based on multiple assumptions, each of which may cause our estimates to be inaccurate, affecting our ability to provide products to our customers. When demand for our products increases significantly, we may not be able to meet demand on a timely basis, and we may need to expend a significant amount of time working with our customers to allocate limited supply and maintain positive customer relations, or we may incur additional costs in order to rush the manufacture and delivery of additional products. If we underestimate customers’ demand, we may forego revenue opportunities, lose market share and damage our customer relationships. Conversely, if we overestimate customer demand, we may purchase more inventory than we are able to sell at any given time or at all. In addition, we grant our distributors stock rotation rights, which require us to accept stock back from a distributor’s inventory, including obsolete inventory. As a result of our failure to properly estimate demand for our products, we could have excess or obsolete inventory, resulting in a decline in the value of our inventory, which would increase our costs of revenues and reduce our liquidity. Our failure to accurately manage inventory relative to demand would adversely affect our operating results.
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If our technology does not work as well as planned or if we are unsuccessful in developing and selling new products or in penetrating new markets, our business and operating results would suffer.
Our success and ability to compete are dependent on technology which we have developed or may develop in the future. There is a risk that the technology that we have developed or may develop may not work as intended, or that the marketing of the technology may not be as successful as anticipated. Further, the markets in which we and our customers compete or plan to compete are characterized by constantly and rapidly changing technologies and technological obsolescence. Our ability to compete successfully depends on our ability to design, develop, manufacture, assemble, test, market and support new products and enhancements on a timely and cost effective basis to keep pace with market needs and satisfy the demands of customers. A fundamental shift in technologies in any of our target markets could harm our competitive position within these markets. Our failure to anticipate these shifts, to develop new technologies or to react to changes in existing technologies could materially delay our development of new products, which could result in product obsolescence, decreased revenue and a loss of customer wins to our competitors. The development of new technologies and products generally require substantial investment and can require long development and testing periods before they are commercially viable. We intend to continue to make substantial investments in developing new technologies and products and it is possible that that we may not successfully be able to develop or acquire new products or product enhancements that compete effectively within our target markets or differentiate our products based on functionality, performance or cost and that our new technologies and products will not result in meaningful revenue. Any delays in developing and releasing new or enhanced products could cause us to lose revenue opportunities and customers. Any technical flaws in product releases could diminish the innovative impact of our products and have a negative effect on customer adoption and our reputation. If we fail to introduce new products that meet the demands of our customers or target markets or do not achieve market acceptance, or if we fail to penetrate new markets, our revenue will not increase over time and our operating results and competitive position would suffer.
Computer malware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks could harm our business and results of operations.
Computer malware, viruses, and computer hacking and phishing attacks have become more prevalent in our industry, and may occur on our systems in the future. Though it is difficult to determine what, if any, harm may directly result from any specific interruption or attack, any failure to maintain performance, reliability, security, and availability of our products and technical infrastructure to the satisfaction of our users may harm our reputation and our ability to attract and retain customers.
Our operating expenses will increase as we make further expenditures to enhance and expand our operations in order to support additional growth in our business.
Historically, we limited our investment in infrastructure; however, in the future we expect our infrastructure investments to increase substantially to support our anticipated growth. We intend to make additional investments in systems and personnel in order to expand our business and continue to expand our operations to support anticipated growth in our business. In addition, we may determine the need in the future to make changes to our sales model, which changes may result in higher selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of our revenues. As a result of these factors, we expect our operating expenses to increase.
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If we do not effectively manage changes in our business, these changes could place a significant strain on our management and operations.
Our ability to grow successfully requires an effective planning and management process. The expansion and growth of our business could place a significant strain on our management systems, infrastructure and other resources. To manage our growth successfully, we must continue to improve and expand our systems and infrastructure in a timely and efficient manner. Our controls, systems, procedures and resources may not be adequate to support a changing and growing company. If our management fails to respond effectively to changes and growth in our business, including acquisitions, this could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects.
If we are unable to expand our sales and marketing capabilities or enter into more agreements with third parties to sell and market any products we may develop, we may be unable to generate product revenue.
We are currently building our internal sales organization for the sales, marketing and distribution of our products. Part of the proceeds of the Offering is intended to be used to expand our internal sales organization and develop further our channels to market. In order to commercialize xMax® or any of our other products, we must build our sales, marketing, distribution, managerial and other non-technical capabilities or make arrangements with other parties to perform these services. The expansion of our own sales force to market any products we may develop will increase our operating costs and be time consuming. We cannot be certain that we would be able to successfully develop this capacity. If we are unable to expand our sales and marketing capability or any other non-technical capabilities necessary to commercialize any product we may develop, we will need to contract with other parties to market and sell any products we may develop. If we are unable to establish adequate sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, whether independently or with other parties, we may not be able to generate product revenue and may not become profitable.
If our estimates relating to our critical accounting policies are based on assumptions or judgments that change or prove to be incorrect, our operating results could fall below expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in our stock price.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires our management to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our operating results may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our operating results to fall below the expectations of financial analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in our stock price. Significant assumptions and estimates used in preparing our financial statements include those related to revenue recognition, inventory, product warranties, allowance for doubtful accounts, stock-based compensation expense, capitalization of intangible assets, impairment of long-lived assets and income taxes.
Our exposure to the credit risks of our customers may make it difficult to collect accounts receivable and could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
In the course of our sales to customers, we may encounter difficulty collecting accounts receivable and could be exposed to risks associated with uncollectible accounts receivable. Economic conditions may impact some of our customers’ ability to pay their accounts payable. While we will attempt to monitor these situations carefully and attempt to take appropriate measures to collect accounts receivable balances, we have written down accounts receivable and written off doubtful accounts in prior periods and may be unable to avoid accounts receivable write-downs or write-offs of doubtful accounts in the future. Such write-downs or write-offs could negatively affect our operating results for the period in which they occur.
Demand for our defense-related products depends on government spending.
The U.S. military market is largely dependent upon government budgets, particularly the defense budget. The funding of government programs is subject to Congressional appropriation. Although multi-year contracts may be authorized in connection with major procurements, Congress generally appropriates funds on a fiscal year basis even though a program may be expected to continue for several years. Consequently, programs are often only partially funded and additional funds are committed only as Congress makes further appropriations. No assurance can be given that an increase in defense spending will be allocated to programs that would benefit our business. A decrease in levels of defense spending or the government’s termination of, or failure to fully fund, one or more of the contracts for which our products may be utilized could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.
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Our failure to obtain and maintain required certifications could impair our ability to bid on defense contracts.
In order for us to participate in certain government programs we could be required to obtain and maintain quality certification and certain standards for Department of Defense wireless security such as certification by the Joint Interoperability and Test Command, (or “JITC”) and to meet production standards in order to be eligible to bid on government contracts. If we fail to maintain these certifications or any additional certification which may be required, we will be ineligible to bid for contracts which may impair our financial operations and consequently, our ability to continue in business.
Regulation of the telecommunications industry could harm our operating results and future prospects.
The traditional telecommunications industry is highly regulated, and our business and financial condition could be adversely affected by changes in regulations relating to the Internet telecommunications industry.
Currently, there are few laws or regulations that apply directly to access to or commerce on IP networks, but future regulations could include sales taxes and tariffs in previously unregulated areas and provider access charges. We could be adversely affected by regulation of IP networks and commerce in any country where we market equipment and services to service or content providers. Regulations governing the range of services and business models that can be offered by service providers or content providers could adversely affect those customers’ needs for products designed to enable a wide range of such services or business models. For instance, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has issued regulations governing aspects of fixed broadband networks and wireless networks. These regulations might impact service provider and content provider business models and as such, providers’ needs for Internet telecommunications equipment and services. In addition, many jurisdictions are evaluating or implementing regulations relating to cyber security, privacy and data protection, which could affect the market and requirements for networking and security equipment.
In addition, environmental regulations relevant to electronic equipment manufacturing or operations may impact our business and financial condition adversely. For instance, the European Union has adopted regulations on Electronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or waste electrical and electronic equipment (“WEEE”), Restriction of the Use of certain Hazardous Substances (“ROHS”) and Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances (“REACH”). In addition, some governments have regulations prohibiting government entities from purchasing security products that do not meet specified indigenous certification criteria even though those criteria may be in conflict with accepted international standards. Similar regulations are in effect or under consideration in several jurisdictions where we do business.
The adoption and implementation of such regulations could decrease demand for our products, increase the cost of building and selling our products and impact our ability to ship products into affected areas and recognize revenue in a timely manner. Any of these impacts could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
To the extent that we subcontract work under our contracts, any failures by our subcontractors could impair our relations with the contracting agencies.
We may use subcontractors to perform work or provide materials for contracts that we may secure and we may become dependent upon the subcontractors to meet the quality and delivery requirements of the contracting agency. To the extent that the products or services provided by the subcontractors do not meet the required specifications or are delivered late, the contract may be terminated by the U.S. government for default. Such a default could result in our disqualification from bidding on contracts, which could adversely affect our financial operations.
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As an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we will utilize certain modified disclosure requirements, and we cannot be certain if these reduced requirements will make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act. We have in this prospectus utilized, and we plan in future filings with the SEC to continue to utilize, the modified disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, including reduced disclosure about our executive compensation and omission of compensation discussion and analysis, and an exemption from the requirement of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation. In addition, we will not be subject to certain requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including the additional testing of our internal control over financial reporting as may occur when outside auditors attest as to our internal control over financial reporting. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can utilize the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. Thus, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to utilize this extended transition period. Our financial statements may therefore not be comparable to those of companies that comply with such new or revised accounting standards as they become applicable to public companies. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we will 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.
We could remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years, or until the earliest of (i) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenue exceeds $1 billion, (ii) the date that we become a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter or (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three-year period.
We have not performed an evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting, such as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, nor have we engaged our independent registered public accounting firm to perform an audit of our internal control over financial reporting as of any balance sheet date or for any period reported in our financial statements. Had we performed such an evaluation or had our independent registered public accounting firm performed an audit of our internal control over financial reporting, material weaknesses may have been identified. For so long as we qualify as an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act, which may be up to five years following this offering, we will not have to provide an auditor’s attestation report on our internal controls in future annual reports on Form 10-K as otherwise required by Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. During the course of the evaluation, documentation or attestation, we or our independent registered public accounting firm may identify weaknesses and deficiencies that we may not otherwise identify in a timely manner or at all as a result of the deferred implementation of this additional level of review.
Risks Relating to Our Industry
Our industry is subject to rapid technological change, and we must make substantial investments in new products, services and technologies to compete successfully.
New technological innovations generally require a substantial investment before they are commercially viable. We intend to continue to make substantial investments in developing new products and technologies, and it is possible that our development efforts will not be successful and that our new technologies will not result in meaningful revenues. Our future success will depend on our ability to continue to develop and introduce new products, technologies and enhancements on a timely basis. Our future success will also depend on our ability to keep pace with technological developments, protect our intellectual property, satisfy customer requirements, meet customer expectations, price our products and services competitively and achieve market acceptance. The introduction of products embodying new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards could render our existing products and technologies, and products and technologies currently under development, obsolete and unmarketable. If we fail to anticipate or respond adequately to technological developments or customer requirements, or experience any significant delays in development, introduction or shipment of our products and technologies in commercial quantities, demand for our products and our customers’ and licensees’ products that use our technologies could decrease, and our competitive position could be damaged.
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We may be subject to infringement claims in the future.
We may be unaware of filed patent applications and issued patents that could include claims covering our products. Parties making claims of infringement may be able to obtain injunctive or other equitable relief that could effectively block our ability to sell or supply our products or license our technology and could cause us to pay substantial royalties, licensing fees or damages. The defense of any lawsuit could divert management’s efforts and attention from ordinary business operations and result in time-consuming and expensive litigation, regardless of the merits of such claims. These outcomes may (i) require us to stop selling products or using technology that contains the allegedly infringing intellectual property; (ii) require us to redesign those products that contain the allegedly infringing intellectual property; (iii) require us to pay substantial damages to the party whose intellectual property rights we may be found to be infringing; (iv) result in the loss of existing customers or prohibit the acquisition of new customers; (v) cause us to attempt to obtain a license to the relevant intellectual property from third parties, which may not be available on reasonable terms or at all; (vi) materially and adversely affect our brand in the market place and cause a substantial loss of goodwill; (vii) cause our stock price to decline significantly; (viii) materially and adversely affect our liquidity, including our ability to pay debts and other obligations as they become due; or (ix) lead to our bankruptcy or liquidation.
Our industry is highly competitive and we may not be able to compete effectively.
The communications industry is highly competitive, rapidly evolving, and subject to constant technological change. We expect that new competitors are likely to join existing competitors. Many of our competitors may be larger and have greater financial, technical, operational, marketing and other resources and experience than we do. In the event that a competitor expends significant resources we may not be able to successfully compete. In addition, the pace of technological change makes it impossible for us to predict whether we will face new competitors using different technologies to provide products. If our competitors were to provide better and more cost effective products than our products we may not be able to capture any significant market share.
Regulation of Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) services is developing and therefore uncertain and future legislative, regulatory or judicial actions could adversely affect our business.
VoIP services have developed in an environment largely free from government regulation. However, the United States and other countries have begun to assert regulatory authority over VoIP and are continuing to evaluate how VoIP will be regulated in the future. Both the application of existing rules to us and our prospective customers and the effects of future regulatory developments are uncertain. Future legislative, judicial or other regulatory actions could have a negative effect on our business. In addition, future regulatory developments could increase our cost of doing business and limit its growth.
Changes in current laws or regulations or the imposition of new laws or regulations could impede the sale of our products or otherwise harm our business.
Although our technology is designed to be frequency agnostic (i.e., capable of operating at any frequency) our current range of products is being designed to be optimized for operation in the 902 – 928 MHz band, which is presently a spectrum that is not licensed in the United States. Changes in current laws or regulations or the imposition of new laws and regulations in the United States or elsewhere regarding the usage of unlicensed spectrum may materially and adversely impact our future prospects, the viability of our current business model, our expectations for future sales of our products and our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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New regulations or standards or changes in existing regulations or standards in the United States or internationally related to our products may result in unanticipated costs or liabilities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and future sales, and could place additional burdens on the operations of our business.
Our products may be subject to governmental regulations in a variety of jurisdictions. In order to achieve and maintain market acceptance, our technology and products will have to comply with these regulations as well as a significant number of industry standards. In the United States, our technology and products will have to comply with various regulations defined by the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, and others. We may also have to comply with similar international regulations. For example, our wireless communication products operate through the transmission of radio signals, and radio emissions are subject to regulation in the United States and in other countries in which we intend to do business. In the United States, various federal agencies including the Center for Devices and Radiological Health of the Food and Drug Administration, the FCC, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and various state agencies have promulgated regulations that concern the use of radio/electromagnetic emissions standards. Member countries of the European Union have enacted similar standards concerning electrical safety and electromagnetic compatibility and emissions, and chemical substances and use standards.
As these regulations and standards evolve, and if new regulations or standards are implemented, we may be required to modify our technology or products or develop and support new versions of our technology or products, and our compliance with these regulations and standards may become more burdensome. The failure of technology or our products to comply, or delays in compliance, with the various existing and evolving industry regulations and standards could prevent or delay introduction of our technology or products, which could harm our business. End-customer uncertainty regarding future policies may also affect demand for communications products, including our products. Moreover, channel partners or end-customers may require us, or we may otherwise deem it necessary or advisable, to alter our technology or products to address actual or anticipated changes in the regulatory environment. Our inability to alter our technology or products to address these requirements and any regulatory changes may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including new regulations requiring higher standards, may increase our costs, limit our ability to utilize supply chains, and force design changes to our products.
Our operations are subject to a variety of environmental, health and safety laws and regulations and equivalent local, state, and regulatory agencies in each of the jurisdictions in which we currently operate or may operate in the future. The manufacturing of our products uses substances regulated under various federal, state, local laws and regulations governing the environment and worker health and safety. If we and our contract manufacturers do not comply with these laws including any new regulations, such non-compliance could reduce the net realizable value of our products, which would result in an immediate charge to our income statements. Our non-compliance with such laws could also negatively impact our operations and financial position as a result of fines, penalties that may be imposed on us, and the cost of mandated remediation or delays to our contract manufacturers, thus we may suffer a loss of revenues, be unable to sell our products in certain markets and/or countries, be subject to penalties and enforced fees and/or suffer a competitive disadvantage. Costs to comply with current laws and regulations and/or similar future laws and regulations, if applicable, could include costs associated with modifying our products, recycling and other waste processing costs, legal and regulatory costs and insurance costs. We cannot assure you that the costs to comply with these new laws or with current and future environmental and worker health and safety laws will not have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Governmental regulations affecting the import or export of products or affecting products containing encryption capabilities could negatively affect our revenues.
The United States and various foreign governments have imposed controls, export license requirements, and restrictions on the import or export of some technologies, especially encryption technology. In addition, from time to time, governmental agencies have proposed additional regulation of encryption technology, such as requiring certification, notifications, review of source code, or the escrow and governmental recovery of private encryption keys. For example, Russia and China recently have implemented new requirements relating to products containing encryption and India has imposed special warranty and other obligations associated with technology deemed critical. Governmental regulation of encryption or IP networking technology and regulation of imports or exports, or our failure to obtain required import or export approval for our products, could harm our international and domestic sales prospects and adversely affect our revenue expectation. In addition, failure to comply with such regulations could result in penalties, costs, and restrictions on import or export privileges or adversely affect sales to government agencies or government funded projects.
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If wireless devices pose safety risks, we may be subject to new regulations, and demand for our products and those of our licensees and customers may decrease.
Concerns over the effects of radio frequency emissions, even if unfounded, may have the effect of discouraging the use of wireless devices, which may decrease demand for our products and those of our licensees and customers. In recent years, the FCC and foreign regulatory agencies have updated the guidelines and methods they use for evaluating radio frequency emissions from radio equipment, including wireless phones and other wireless devices. In addition, interest groups have requested that the FCC investigate claims that wireless communication technologies pose health concerns and cause interference with airbags, hearing aids and medical devices. Concerns have also been expressed over the possibility of safety risks due to a lack of attention associated with the use of wireless devices while driving. Any legislation that may be adopted in response to these expressions of concern could reduce demand for our products and those of our licensees and customers in the United States as well as foreign countries.
Risks Related to Market Conditions
Recent global economic trends could adversely affect our business, liquidity and financial results.
Recent global economic conditions, including a disruption of financial markets, could adversely affect us, primarily through limiting our access to capital. In addition, the continuation or worsening of general market conditions in economies important to our businesses may adversely affect our clients’ level of spending and ability to obtain financing, leading to us being unable to generate the levels of sales that we require. Current and continued disruption of financial markets could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects.
Risks Relating to This Offering and an Investment in Our Securities
Our insiders and affiliated parties beneficially own a significant portion of our stock.
As of July 30, 2014, our executive officers, directors and affiliated parties beneficially own approximately 44.81% of our outstanding common stock. As a result, our executive officers, directors and affiliated parties will have significant influence to:
| • | elect or defeat the election of our directors; |
| • | amend or prevent amendment of our articles of incorporation or bylaws; and |
| • | effect or prevent a merger, sale of assets or other corporate transaction. |
In addition, sales of significant amounts of shares held by our directors and executive officers, or the prospect of these sales, could adversely affect the valuation of our Company.
Exercise of options or warrants or conversion of convertible securities may have a dilutive effect on your percentage ownership, may result in a dilution of your voting power and an increase in the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market which may negatively impact the trading price of our shares of common stock.
The exercise or conversion of some or all of our outstanding options, warrants, or convertible securities could result in significant dilution in the percentage of ownership of investors in this offering and in the percentage ownership interests of our existing common stockholders and in a significant dilution of voting rights and earnings per share.
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As of July 30, 2014, we anticipate having outstanding options to purchase an aggregate of up to 714,285 shares of our common stock, including (i) the options to purchase 571,428 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $5.50 per share granted to MBTH and (ii) the options to purchase 142,857 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $8.75 per share granted to MBTH; and outstanding warrants to purchase up to 3,588,953 shares of common stock, including (i) the warrants to subscribe up to 42,857 shares in our common stock at a subscription price of $0.35 per share granted to MBTH, (ii) the warrant to purchase 8,571 shares of our common stock issued to Secure Strategy Group exercisable at $35.00 per share, (iii) the warrant to purchase 14,285 shares of our common stock exercisable at $7.87 per share granted to Mats Wennberg, (iv) 769,230 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants sold to investors as part of our initial public offering, including those issued as part of the over-allotment, which are exercisable at $6.87 per share, (v) the warrants to purchase 40,134 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $6.87 per share granted pursuant to our initial public offering completed on July 24, 2013, to the Underwriters, (vi) the warrants to purchase 1,363,636 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $6.87 per share issued pursuant to a onetime agreement approved on September 30, 2013; (vii) the warrants to purchase 1,093,778 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $6.87 per share granted pursuant to the conversion of the Bridge Loan and outstanding securities convertible into 57,142 shares of our common stock issuable to Treco at a conversion price of $35.00 per share, (viii) 27,870 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the rights to be granted to investors as part of the Bridge Loan, which are exercisable at $0.35 share; and (ix) the warrants to purchase 171,450 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $2.1875 per share granted pursuant to our public offering completed on November 18, 2013, to the Underwriters.
Additionally, the issuance of up to 914,841 shares of common stock upon exercise of stock options outstanding under our stock incentive plans will further dilute our stockholders’ voting interests. To the extent options and/or warrants and/or conversion rights are exercised, additional shares of common stock will be issued, and such issuance will dilute stockholders.
In addition to the dilutive effects described above, the exercise of those securities would lead to an increase in the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market could adversely affect the market price of our shares. Substantial dilution and/or a substantial increase in the number of common shares available for future resale may negatively impact the trading price of our shares of common stock.
We may seek to raise additional funds, finance acquisitions or develop strategic relationships by issuing securities that would dilute your ownership. Depending on the terms available to us, if these activities result in significant dilution, it may negatively impact the trading price of our shares of common stock.
We have financed our operations, and we expect to continue to finance our operations, acquisitions, if any, and the development of strategic relationships by issuing equity and/or convertible securities, which could significantly reduce the percentage ownership of our existing stockholders. Further, any additional financing that we secure may require the granting of rights, preferences or privileges senior to, or pari passu with, those of our common stock. Any issuances by us of equity securities may be at or below the prevailing market price of our stock and in any event may have a dilutive impact on your ownership interest, which could cause the market price of our stock to decline. We may also raise additional funds through the incurrence of debt or the issuance or sale of other securities or instruments senior to our common shares. The holders of any securities or instruments we may issue may have rights superior to the rights of our common stockholders. If we experience dilution from issuance of additional securities and we grant superior rights to new securities over common stockholders, it may negatively impact the trading price of our shares of common stock and you may lose all or part of your investment.
The market price for our common shares is particularly volatile given our status as a relatively unknown company with a small and thinly traded public float, and lack of profits, which could lead to wide fluctuations in our share price. You may be unable to sell your common shares at or above your purchase price, which may result in substantial losses to you.
The market for our common shares is characterized by significant price volatility when compared to the shares of larger, more established companies that trade on a national securities exchange and have large public floats, and we expect that our share price will continue to be more volatile than the shares of such larger, more established companies for the indefinite future. The volatility in our share price is attributable to a number of factors. First, as noted above, our common shares are, compared to the shares of such larger, more established companies, sporadically and thinly traded. The price for our shares could, for example, decline precipitously in the event that a large number of our common shares are sold on the market without commensurate demand. Secondly, we are a speculative or “risky” investment due to our lack of profits to date. As a consequence of this enhanced risk, more risk-adverse investors may, under the fear of losing all or most of their investment in the event of negative news or lack of progress, be more inclined to sell their shares on the market more quickly and at greater discounts than would be the case with the stock of a larger, more established company that trades on a national securities exchange and has a large public float. Many of these factors are beyond our control and may decrease the market price of our common shares, regardless of our operating performance.
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If and when a larger trading market for our common stock develops, the market price of our common stock is still likely to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations, and you may be unable to resell your shares at or above the price at which you acquired them.
The market price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a number of factors that are beyond our control, including, but not limited to:
| • | variations in our revenues and operating expenses; |
| • | actual or anticipated changes in the estimates of our operating results or changes in stock market analyst recommendations regarding our common stock, other comparable companies or our industry generally; |
| • | market conditions in our industry, the industries of our customers and the economy as a whole; |
| • | actual or expected changes in our growth rates or our competitors’ growth rates; |
| • | developments in the financial markets and worldwide or regional economies; |
| • | announcements of innovations or new products or services by us or our competitors; |
| • | announcements by the government relating to regulations that govern our industry; |
| • | sales of our common stock or other securities by us or in the open market; and |
| • | changes in the market valuations of other comparable companies. |
In addition, if the market for technology stocks or the stock market in general experiences loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, financial condition or operating results. The trading price of our shares might also decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry, even if these events do not directly affect us. Each of these factors, among others, could harm the value of your investment in our common stock. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against companies. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our charter documents and Delaware law could prevent a takeover that stockholders consider favorable and could also reduce the market price of our common stock.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws, contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change in control of our company. These provisions could also make it more difficult for stockholders to elect directors and take other corporate actions. These provisions include:
| • | authorizing the board to issue, without stockholder approval, preferred stock with rights senior to those of our common stock; |
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| • | limiting the persons who may call special meetings of stockholders; and |
| • | requiring advance notification of stockholder nominations and proposals. |
In addition, the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law govern us. These provisions may prohibit large stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock, from merging or combining with us for a certain period of time without the consent of our board of directors.
These and other provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated
bylaws, and under Delaware law, could discourage potential takeover attempts, reduce the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock and result in the market price of our common stock being lower than it would be without these provisions. See the section entitled “Description of Capital Stock.”
If we are not able to comply with the applicable continued listing requirements or standards of the NASDAQ Capital Market, NASDAQ could delist our common stock.
Our common stock is currently listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market. In order to maintain that listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other continued listing requirements and standards, including those regarding director independence and independent committee requirements, minimum stockholders' equity, minimum share price, and certain corporate governance requirements. There can be no assurances that we will be able to comply with the applicable listing standards.
We have a number of related party transactions with companies that are owned or controlled by our independent director, Larry Townes. Currently, we are awaiting full payment in those transactions as we are working with the purchasers to assure that the equipment meets certain technical specifications associated with their networks. Upon receiving additional payment from the purchasers, Mr. Townes may no longer be considered “independent” per the NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605(a)(2)(D), in which case we may not be compliant with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605(b)(1), which requires the Company’s Board of Directors to be comprised of a majority of independent directors. Should we no longer be deemed compliant, NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605 provides a 180-day cure period for the Company to regain compliance with the independent director requirement.
In the event that our common stock is delisted from NASDAQ and is not eligible for quotation on another market or exchange, trading of our common stock could be conducted in the over-the-counter market or on an electronic bulletin board established for unlisted securities such as the Pink Sheets or the OTC Bulletin Board. In such event, it could become more difficult to dispose of, or obtain accurate price quotations for, our common stock, and there would likely also be a reduction in our coverage by securities analysts and the news media, which could cause the price of our common stock to decline further. Also, it may be difficult for us to raise additional capital if we are not listed on a major exchange.
In the event that our common stock is delisted from NASDAQ, U.S. broker-dealers may be discouraged from effecting transactions in shares of our common stock because they may be considered penny stocks and thus be subject to the penny stock rules.
The SEC has adopted a number of rules to regulate “penny stock” that restricts transactions involving stock which is deemed to be penny stock. Such rules include Rules 3a51-1, 15g-1, 15g-2, 15g-3, 15g-4, 15g-5, 15g-6, 15g-7, and 15g-9 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These rules may have the effect of reducing the liquidity of penny stocks. “Penny stocks” generally are equity securities with a price of less than $5.00 per share (other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or quoted on the NASDAQ Stock Market if current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system). Our shares have in the past constituted, and may again in the future constitute, “penny stock” within the meaning of the rules. The additional sales practice and disclosure requirements imposed upon U.S. broker-dealers may discourage such broker-dealers from effecting transactions in shares of our common stock, which could severely limit the market liquidity of such shares and impede their sale in the secondary market.
A U.S. broker-dealer selling penny stock to anyone other than an established customer or “accredited investor” (generally, an individual with net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or an annual income exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with his or her spouse) must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and must receive the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. In addition, the “penny stock” regulations require the U.S. broker-dealer to deliver, prior to any transaction involving a “penny stock”, a disclosure schedule prepared in accordance with SEC standards relating to the “penny stock” market, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. A U.S. broker-dealer is also required to disclose commissions payable to the U.S. broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, a U.S. broker-dealer is required to submit monthly statements disclosing recent price information with respect to the “penny stock” held in a customer’s account and information with respect to the limited market in “penny stocks”.
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Stockholders should be aware that, according to SEC, the market for “penny stocks” has suffered in recent years from patterns of fraud and abuse. Such patterns include (i) control of the market for the security by one or a few broker-dealers that are often related to the promoter or issuer; (ii) manipulation of prices through prearranged matching of purchases and sales and false and misleading press releases; (iii) “boiler room” practices involving high-pressure sales tactics and unrealistic price projections by inexperienced sales persons; (iv) excessive and undisclosed bid-ask differentials and markups by selling broker-dealers; and (v) the wholesale dumping of the same securities by promoters and broker-dealers after prices have been manipulated to a desired level, resulting in investor losses. Our management is aware of the abuses that have occurred historically in the penny stock market. Although we do not expect to be in a position to dictate the behavior of the market or of broker-dealers who participate in the market, management will strive within the confines of practical limitations to prevent the described patterns from being established with respect to our securities.
We have not paid dividends in the past and do not expect to pay dividends for the foreseeable future, and any return on investment may be limited to potential future appreciation on the value of our common stock.
We currently intend to retain any future earnings to support the development and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying cash dividends or the shares 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 without limitation, 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. To the extent we do not pay dividends, our shares may be less valuable because a return on investment will only occur if and to the extent our stock price appreciates, which may never occur. In addition, investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation as the only way to realize their investment, and if the price of our stock does not appreciate, then there will be no return on investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock.
Non-U.S. investors may have difficulty effecting service of process against us or enforcing judgments against us in courts of non-U.S. jurisdictions.
We are a company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware. All of our directors and officers reside in the United States. It may not be possible for non-U.S. investors to effect service of process within their own jurisdictions upon our company and our directors and officers. In addition, it may not be possible for non-U.S. investors to collect from our company, its directors and officers, judgments obtained in courts in such non-U.S. jurisdictions predicated on non-U.S. legislation.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our stock adversely, our shares price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our shares will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If any of the analysts who may cover us change their recommendation regarding our stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, our share price would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.
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The requirements of being a U.S. public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.
As a U.S. public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing requirements of NASDAQ, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming, or costly, and increase demand on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual and current reports with respect to our business and operating results.
As a result of disclosure of information in this prospectus and in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition is more visible, which we believe may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert resources of our management and harm our business and operating results.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors” contains forward-looking statements that include information relating to future events, future financial performance, strategies, expectations, our competitive environment, regulation and availability of resources. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding: proposed new products or services; our statements concerning litigation or other matters; statements concerning projections, predictions, expectations, estimates or forecasts for our business, financial and operating results and future economic performance; statements of management’s goals and objectives; trends affecting our financial condition, results of operations or future prospects; our financing plans or growth strategies; and other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Words such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would”, “predicts”, “potential”, “continue”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “future”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes” and “estimates,” and similar expressions, as well as similar statements in the future tense, identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by which, that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from what is expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If we do update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.
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Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement accompanying this prospectus, we intend to use the net proceeds of this offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes. Such purposes may include research and development expenditures and capital expenditures. As of the date of this prospectus, we cannot specify with certainty all of the particular uses of the proceeds from this offering. We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement our intended use for the net proceeds received from the sale of the related securities. Accordingly, we will retain broad discretion over the use of such proceeds. Pending use of the net proceeds, we intend to invest the net proceeds in interest-bearing, investment-grade securities.
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General
The following description of our capital stock and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws are summaries and are qualified by reference to the amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the amended and restated bylaws. Copies of these documents will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as exhibits to a prospectus supplement and are incorporated by reference herein.
Common Stock
Our authorized capital stock consists of 100,000,000 shares of common stock, with a par value of $0.00001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of “blank check” preferred stock. As of July 30, 2014, we had outstanding 24,202,164 shares of common stock.
Voting Rights
Each Stockholder has one vote for each share of common stock held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. A shareholder may vote in person or by proxy. Elections of directors are determined by a plurality of the votes cast and all other matters are decided by a majority of the votes cast by those Shareholders entitled to vote and present in person or by proxy.
Because our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights, stockholders holding a majority of the voting power of our shares of common stock will be able to elect all of our directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provides that stockholder actions may be effected at a duly called meeting of stockholders or pursuant to written consent of the majority of shareholders. A special meeting of stockholders may be called by the majority of our board of directors or by a committee determined by the board of directors with power to call such meetings.
Dividend Rights
The holders of outstanding shares of common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of funds legally available at the times and in the amounts that our board may determine, provided that required dividends, if any, on preferred stock have been paid or provided for. However, to date we have not paid or declared cash distributions or dividends on our common stock and do not currently intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain all earnings, if and when generated, to finance our operations. The declaration of cash dividends in the future will be determined by the board based upon our earnings, financial condition, capital requirements and other relevant factors.
No Preemptive or Similar Rights
Holders of our common stock do not have preemptive rights, and our common stock is not convertible or redeemable.
Right to Receive Liquidation Distributions
Upon our dissolution, liquidation or winding-up, the assets legally available for distribution to our stockholders and remaining after payment to holders of preferred stock of the amounts, if any, to which they are entitled, are distributable ratably among the holders of our common stock subject to any senior class of securities.
Preferred Stock
The Company has authorized 10,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, none of which is outstanding.
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Options and Other Warrants
As of July 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, we had outstanding options and warrants to purchase 5,160,937 and 5,229,076 shares of common stock as set forth in the table below:
| 2014 Number of options | 2013 Number of options | |||||||
| At January 1 | 5,229,076 | 1,295,189 | ||||||
| Granted | 58,300 | 3,986,829 | ||||||
| Forfeited | (126,439 | ) | (52,084 | ) | ||||
| Exercised | — | (858 | ) | |||||
| Unexercised as at July 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 | 5,160,937 | 5,229,076 | ||||||
The weighted average exercise prices July 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 were $10.28 and $10.57 respectively.
Limitation on Directors’ Liability
The Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, authorizes Delaware corporations to limit or eliminate the personal liability of their directors to them and their stockholders for monetary damages for breach of a director’s fiduciary duty of care. The duty of care requires that, when acting on behalf of the corporation, directors must exercise an informed business judgment based on all material information reasonably available to them. Absent the limitations Delaware law authorizes, directors of Delaware corporations are accountable to those corporations and their stockholders for monetary damages for conduct constituting gross negligence in the exercise of their duty of care. Delaware law enables Delaware corporations to limit available relief to equitable remedies such as injunction or rescission. Our certificate of incorporation limits the liability of our directors to us and our stockholders to the fullest extent Delaware law permits. Specifically, no director will be personally liable for monetary damages for any breach of the director’s fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability:
| • | for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders; |
| • | for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; |
| • | for unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the DGCL; and |
| • | for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. |
This provision could have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and may discourage or deter our stockholders or management from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their duty of care, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise have benefited us and our stockholders. Our bylaws provide indemnification to our officers and directors and other specified persons with respect to their conduct in various capacities. See “Indemnification of Directors and Officers.”
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or person controlling the company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the company has been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
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Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of the DGCL and our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Since our board of directors has the power to retain and discharge our officers, these provisions could make it more difficult for existing stockholders or another party to effect a change in management. In addition, the authorization of undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change our control.
These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of our board of directors and its policies and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened acquisition of us.
These provisions are also designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal and to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in our control or management. As a consequence, these provisions also may inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our stock that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any “business combination” with any interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, with the following exceptions:
| • | before such date, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; |
| • | upon closing of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction began, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) those shares owned (i) by persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or |
| • | on or after such date, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
In general, Section 203 defines business combination to include the following:
| • | any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder; |
| • | any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder; |
| • | subject to certain exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder; |
| • | any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock of any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or |
| • | the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits provided by or through the corporation. |
In general, Section 203 defines an “interested stockholder” as an entity or person who, together with the person’s affiliates and associates, beneficially owns, or within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation.
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Listing
Our common stock and warrants are quoted on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbols “XGTI” and “XGTIW”, respectively.
Transfer Agent
Our transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
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General
We may issue warrants to purchase shares of our common stock and preferred stock in one or more series together with other securities or separately, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Below is a description of certain general terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer. Particular terms of the warrants will be described in the warrant agreements and the prospectus supplement relating to the warrants. Copies of the form agreement for each warrant and the warrant certificate, if any, reflecting the provisions to be included in such agreements that will be entered into with respect to a particular offering of each type of warrant, will be filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You should read the applicable warrant agreement for additional information before you purchase any of our warrants.
The prospectus supplement relating to any warrants we offer will describe the specific terms relating to the offering. These terms may include some or all of the following:
| • | the specific designation and aggregate number of, and the price at which we will issue, the warrants; |
| • | the currency or currency units in which the offering price, if any, and the exercise price are payable; |
| • | the designation, amount and terms of the securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrants; |
| • | if applicable, the exercise price for shares of our common stock and the number of shares of common stock to be received upon exercise of the warrants; |
| • | if applicable, the exercise price for shares of our preferred stock, the number of shares of preferred stock to be received upon exercise, and a description of that series of our preferred stock; |
| • | the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will begin and the date on which that right will expire or, if you may not continuously exercise the warrants throughout that period, the specific date or dates on which you may exercise the warrants; |
| • | whether the warrants will be issued in fully registered form or bearer form, in definitive or global form or in any combination of these forms, although, in any case, the form of a warrant included in a unit will correspond to the form of the unit and of any security included in that unit; |
| • | any applicable material U.S. federal income tax consequences; |
| • | the identity of the warrant agent for the warrants and of any other depositaries, execution or paying agents, transfer agents, registrars or other agents; |
| • | the proposed listing, if any, of the warrants or any securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrants on any securities exchange; |
| • | if applicable, the date from and after which the warrants and the common stock and preferred stock will be separately transferable; |
| • | if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of the warrants that may be exercised at any one time; |
| • | the procedures and conditions relating to the exercise of the warrants; |
| • | information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any; |
| • | the triggering event and the terms upon which the exercise price and the number of underlying securities that the warrants are exercisable into may be adjusted; |
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| • | the anti-dilution provisions of the warrants, if any; |
| • | any redemption or call provisions; |
| • | whether the warrants may be sold separately or with other securities as parts of units; and |
| • | any additional terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the warrants. |
Until the warrants are exercised, holders of the warrants will not have any rights of holders of the underlying securities.
Outstanding Options and Warrants
As of July 30, 2014, we had outstanding options and warrants to purchase 5,160,937 shares of common stock.
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
The following summary of the terms of the debt securities describes general terms that apply to the debt securities. The debt securities offered pursuant to this prospectus will be either senior debt or subordinated debt. The particular terms of any debt securities will be described more specifically in each prospectus supplement relating to those debt securities. Where any provision in an accompanying prospectus supplement is inconsistent with any provision in this summary, the prospectus supplement will control.
Senior debt securities and subordinated debt securities will be issued under either of two debt indentures summarized below. Where we make no distinction in our summary between senior debt securities and subordinated debt securities, the applicable information refers to any debt securities. Since this is only a summary, it does not contain all of the information that may be important to you. A form of senior debt indenture relating to senior debt securities and a form of subordinated debt indenture relating to subordinated debt securities are exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. We encourage you to read those documents.
General
The indentures do not limit the aggregate principal amount of debt securities we may issue and provide that we may issue debt securities thereunder from time to time in one or more series. The indentures do not limit the amount of other indebtedness or debt securities, other than certain secured indebtedness as described below, which we may issue. Under the indentures, the terms of the debt securities of any series may differ and we, without the consent of the holders of the debt securities of any series, may reopen a previous series of debt securities and issue additional debt securities of the series or establish additional terms of the series.
Unless otherwise provided in a prospectus supplement, the senior debt securities will be our unsecured obligations and will rank equally with all of our other unsecured and senior indebtedness, and the subordinated debt securities will be unsecured obligations of ours and, as set forth below under “— Subordinated Debt Securities,” will be subordinated in right of payment to all of our senior indebtedness.
You should refer to the prospectus supplement that accompanies this prospectus for a description of the specific series of debt securities we are offering by that prospectus supplement. The terms may include:
| • | the title and specific designation of the debt securities, including whether they are senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities; |
| • | any limit on the aggregate principal amount of the debt securities or the series of which they are a part; |
| • | whether the debt securities are to be issuable as registered securities, as bearer securities or alternatively as bearer securities and registered securities, and if as bearer securities, whether interest on any portion of a bearer security in global form will be paid to any clearing organizations; |
| • | the currency or currencies, or composite currencies, in which the debt securities will be denominated and in which we will make payments on the debt securities; |
| • | the date or dates on which we must pay principal; |
| • | the rate or rates at which the debt securities will bear interest or the manner in which interest will be determined, if any interest is payable; |
| • | the date or dates from which any interest will accrue, the date or dates on which we must pay interest and the record date for determining who is entitled to any interest payment; |
| • | the place or places where we must pay the debt securities and where any debt securities issued in registered form may be sent for transfer or exchange; |
| • | the terms and conditions on which we may, or may be required to, redeem the debt securities; |
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| • | the terms and conditions of any sinking fund; |
| • | if other than denominations of $1,000, the denominations in which we may issue the debt securities; |
| • | the amount we will pay if the maturity of the debt securities is accelerated; |
| • | whether we will issue the debt securities in the form of one or more global securities and, if so, the identity of the depositary for the global security or securities; |
| • | any addition to or changes in the events of default or covenants that apply to the debt securities; |
| • | whether the debt securities will be defeasible; and |
| • | any other terms of the debt securities and any other deletions from or modifications or additions to the applicable indenture in respect of the debt securities, including those relating to the subordination of any debt securities. |
Unless the accompanying prospectus supplement specifies otherwise, the debt securities will not be listed on any securities exchange.
Unless the accompanying prospectus supplement specifies otherwise, we will issue the debt securities in fully registered form without coupons. If we issue debt securities of any series in bearer form, the accompanying prospectus supplement will describe the special restrictions and considerations, including special offering restrictions and special federal income tax considerations, applicable to those debt securities and to payment on and transfer and exchange of those debt securities. Debt securities issued in bearer form will be transferable by delivery.
Unless otherwise stated in the prospectus supplement, we will pay principal, premium, interest and additional amounts, if any, on the debt securities at the office or agency we maintain for that purpose (initially the corporate trust office of the trustee). We may pay interest on debt securities issued in registered form by check mailed to the address of the persons entitled to the payments or we may pay by transfer to their U.S. bank accounts. Interest on debt securities issued in registered form will be payable on any interest payment date to the registered owners of the debt securities at the close of business on the regular record date for the interest payment. We will name in the prospectus supplement all paying agents we initially designate for the debt securities. We may designate additional paying agents, rescind the designation of any paying agent or approve a change in the office through which any paying agent acts, but we must maintain a paying agent in each place where payments on the debt securities are payable.
Unless otherwise stated in the prospectus supplement, the debt securities may be presented for transfer (duly endorsed or accompanied by a written instrument of transfer, if we or the security registrar so requires) or exchanged for other debt securities of the same series (containing identical terms and provisions, in any authorized denominations, and in the same aggregate principal amount) at the office or agency we maintain for that purpose (initially the corporate trust office of the trustee). There will be no service charge for any transfer or exchange, but we may require payment sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge or expenses payable in connection with the transfer or exchange. We will not be required to:
| • | issue, register the transfer of, or exchange, debt securities during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption of any such debt securities and ending at the close of business on the day of such mailing; or |
| • | register the transfer of or exchange any debt security selected for redemption in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of any debt security being redeemed in part. |
We shall appoint the trustee as security registrar. Any transfer agent (in addition to the security registrar) we initially designate for any debt securities will be named in the related prospectus supplement. We may designate additional transfer agents, rescind the designation of any transfer agent or approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts, but we must maintain a transfer agent in each place where any payments on the debt securities are payable.
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Unless otherwise stated in the prospectus supplement, we will issue the debt securities only in fully registered form, without coupons, in minimum denominations of $1,000 and integral multiples of $1,000. The debt securities may be represented in whole or in part by one or more global debt securities. Each global security will be registered in the name of a depositary or its nominee and the global security will bear a legend regarding the restrictions on exchanges and registration of transfer. Interests in a global security will be shown on records maintained by the depositary and its participants, and transfers of those interests will be made as described below. Provisions relating to the use of global securities are more fully described below in the section entitled “Use of Global Securities.”
We may issue the debt securities as original issue discount securities (bearing no interest or bearing interest at a rate which at the time of issuance is below market rates) to be sold at a substantial discount below their principal amount. We will describe certain special U.S. federal income tax and other considerations applicable to any debt securities that are issued as original issue discount securities in the accompanying prospectus supplement.
If the purchase price of any debt securities is payable in one or more foreign currencies or currency units, or if any debt securities are denominated in one or more foreign currencies or currency units, or if any payments on the debt securities are payable in one or more foreign currencies or currency units, we will describe the restrictions, elections, certain U.S. federal income tax considerations, specific terms and other information about the debt securities and the foreign currency or currency units in the prospectus supplement.
We will comply with Section 14(e) under the Exchange Act, and any other tender offer rules under the Exchange Act that may then be applicable, in connection with any obligation to purchase debt securities at the option of the holders. Any such obligation applicable to a series of debt securities will be described in the related prospectus supplement.
Unless otherwise described in a prospectus supplement relating to any debt securities, the indentures do not limit our ability to incur debt or give holders of debt securities protection in the event of a sudden and significant decline in our credit quality or a takeover, recapitalization or highly leveraged or similar transaction involving us. Accordingly, we could in the future enter into transactions that could increase the amount of indebtedness outstanding at that time or otherwise affect our capital structure or credit rating. You should refer to the prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of debt securities for information regarding any changes in the events of default described below or covenants contained in the indentures, including any addition of a covenant or other provisions providing event risk or similar protection.
Subordinated Debt Securities
Unless otherwise provided in the accompanying prospectus supplement, the following provisions will apply for subordinated debt securities.
Before we pay the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on, the subordinated debt securities, we must be current and not in default on payment in full of all of our senior indebtedness. Senior indebtedness includes all of our indebtedness as described below, except for:
| • | obligations issued or assumed as the deferred purchase price of property; |
| • | conditional sale obligations; |
| • | obligations arising under any title retention agreements; |
| • | indebtedness relating to the applicable subordinated debt securities; |
| • | indebtedness owed to one of our subsidiaries; and |
| • | indebtedness that, by its terms, is subordinate in right of payment to or equal with the applicable subordinated debt securities. |
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Generally indebtedness means:
| • | the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on indebtedness for money borrowed; | |
| • | the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on indebtedness evidenced by notes, debentures, bonds or other similar instruments; |
| • | obligations issued or assumed as the deferred purchase price of property, all conditional sale obligations and all obligations arising under any title retention agreements; |
| • | obligations for the reimbursement of any obligor on any letter of credit, banker’s acceptance or similar credit transaction (other than obligations with respect to certain letters of credit securing obligations entered into in the ordinary course of business); |
| • | obligations of the type referred to in the bullet points above assumed for another party and dividends of another party for the payment of which, in either case, one is responsible or liable as obligor, guarantor or otherwise; |
| • | obligations assumed of the types referred to in the bullet points above for another party secured by any lien on any of one’s property or assets. |
Indebtedness does not include amounts owed pursuant to trade accounts arising in the ordinary course of business.
Generally, we may not pay the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the subordinated debt securities if, at the time of payment (or immediately after giving effect to such payment):
| • | there exists under any senior indebtedness, or any agreement under which any senior indebtedness is issued, any default, which default results in the full amount of the senior indebtedness being declared due and payable; or |
| • | the trustee has received written notice from a holder of senior indebtedness stating that there exists under the senior indebtedness, or any agreement under which the senior indebtedness is issued, a default, which default permits the holders of the senior indebtedness to declare the full amount of the senior indebtedness due and payable; |
unless, among other things, in either case:
| • | the default has been cured or waived; or |
| • | full payment of amounts then due for principal and interest and of all other obligations then due on all senior indebtedness has been made or duly provided for under the terms of any instrument governing senior indebtedness. |
Limited subordination periods apply in the event of non-payment defaults relating to senior indebtedness in situations where there has not been an acceleration of senior indebtedness.
A failure to make any payment on the subordinated debt securities as a result of the foregoing provisions will not affect our obligations to the holders of the subordinated debt securities to pay the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the subordinated debt securities as and when such payment obligations become due.
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The holders of senior indebtedness will be entitled to receive payment in full of all amounts due or to become due on senior indebtedness, or provisions will be made for such payment, before the holders of the subordinated debt securities are entitled to receive any payment or distribution of any kind relating to the subordinated debt securities or on account of any purchase or other acquisition of the subordinated debt securities by us or any of our subsidiaries, in the event of:
| • | insolvency or bankruptcy case or proceeding, or any receivership, liquidation, reorganization or other similar case, relating to us or our assets; |
| • | any liquidation, dissolution or other winding up of the Company, whether voluntary or involuntary and whether or not involving insolvency or bankruptcy; or |
| • | any assignment for the benefit of our creditors or any other marshalling of our assets and liabilities. |
In addition, the rights of the holders of the subordinated debt securities will be subrogated to the rights of the holders of senior indebtedness to receive payments and distributions of cash, property and securities applicable to the senior indebtedness until the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the subordinated debt securities are paid in full.
Because of these subordination provisions, our creditors who hold senior indebtedness or other unsubordinated indebtedness may recover a greater percentage of the debt owed to them than the holders of the subordinated debt securities.
The indenture covering subordinated debt securities will not limit the aggregate amount of senior indebtedness that we may issue. If this prospectus is being delivered in connection with the offering of a series of subordinated debt securities, the accompanying prospectus supplement or the information incorporated in this prospectus by reference will set forth the approximate amount of senior debt outstanding as of a recent date.
Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets
We may not consolidate with or merge into any other person or convey or transfer or lease our properties and assets substantially as an entirety to any person unless:
| • | if we consolidate with or merge into another corporation or convey or transfer our properties and assets substantially as an entirety to any person, the successor is organized under the laws of the United States, or any state, and assumes our obligations under the debt securities; |
| • | immediately after the transaction, no event of default occurs and continues; and |
| • | we meet certain other conditions specified in the indentures. |
Modification and Waiver
We and the trustee may modify and amend the indentures without the consent of the holders of the outstanding debt securities of each affected series, in order to, among other things:
| • | evidence the succession of another corporation to us and the assumption of all of our obligations under the debt securities, any related coupons and our covenants by a successor; |
| • | add to our covenants for the benefit of holders of debt securities or surrender any of our rights or powers; |
| • | add additional events of default for any series; |
| • | add, change or eliminate any provision affecting debt securities that are not yet issued; |
| • | secure certain debt securities; |
| • | establish the form or terms of debt securities not yet issued; |
| • | make provisions with respect to conversion or exchange rights of holders of debt securities; |
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| • | evidence and provide for successor trustees; or |
| • | correct or supplement any inconsistent provisions, cure any ambiguity or mistake, or add any other provisions, on the condition that this action does not adversely affect the interests of any holder of debt securities of any series issued under the indentures in any material respect. |
In addition, we and the trustee may modify and amend the indentures with the consent of the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each affected series. However, without the consent of each holder, we cannot modify or amend the indentures in a way that would:
| • | change the stated maturity of the principal of, or any installment of principal or interest on, any debt security; |
| • | reduce the principal or interest on any debt security; |
| • | change the place or currency of payment of principal or interest on any debt security; |
| • | impair the right to sue to enforce any payment on any debt security after it is due; or |
| • | reduce the percentage in principal amount of outstanding debt securities necessary to modify or amend the indentures, to waive compliance with certain provisions of the indentures or to waive certain defaults. |
The holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of outstanding debt securities may waive our compliance with certain restrictive covenants of the indentures. The holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may waive any past default under the indentures with respect to outstanding debt securities of that series, which will be binding on all holders of debt securities of that series, except a default in the payment of principal or interest on any debt security of that series or in respect of a provision of the indentures that cannot be modified or amended without each holder’s consent.
Events of Default
Each of the following will be an event of default:
| • | default for 30 days in the payment of any interest; |
| • | default in the payment of principal; |
| • | default in the deposit of any sinking fund payment; |
| • | default in the performance of any other covenant in the indentures for 90 days after written notice; and |
| • | certain events in bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization. |
We are required to furnish the trustee annually a statement as to our fulfillment of our obligations under the indentures. The trustee may withhold notice of any default to the holders of debt securities of any series (except for a default on principal or interest payments on debt securities of that series) if it considers it in the interest of the holders to do so.
If an event of default occurs and continues, either the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the series in default may declare the principal amount immediately due and payable by written notice to us (and to the trustee if given by the holders). Upon any such declaration, the principal amount will become immediately due and payable. However, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may, under certain circumstances, rescind and annul the acceleration.
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Except for certain duties in case of an event of default, the trustee is not required to exercise any of its rights or powers at the request or direction of any of the holders, unless the holders offer the trustee reasonable security or indemnity. If the holders provide this security or indemnity, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of a series may direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee, or exercising any trust or powers conferred on the trustee with respect to the debt securities of that series.
No holder of a debt security may bring any lawsuit or other proceeding with respect to the indentures or for any remedy under the indentures, unless:
| • | the holder first gives the trustee written notice of a continuing event of default; |
| • | the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the series in default give the trustee a written request to bring the proceeding and offer the trustee reasonable security or indemnity; and |
| • | the trustee fails to institute the proceeding within 60 days of the written request and has not received from holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the series in default a direction inconsistent with that request. |
However, the holder of any debt security has the absolute right to receive payment of the principal of and any interest on the debt security on or after the stated due dates and to take any action to enforce any such payment.
Discharge, Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance
We may discharge certain obligations to holders of any series of debt securities that have not already been delivered to the trustee for cancellation and that either have become due and payable or will become due and payable within one year (or scheduled for redemption within one year) by depositing with the trustee, in trust, funds in U.S. dollars or in the foreign currency in which such debt securities are payable in an amount sufficient to pay the principal and any premium, interest and additional amounts on such debt securities to the date of deposit (if the debt securities have become due and payable) or to the maturity date, as the case may be.
Unless a prospectus supplement states that the following provisions do not apply to the debt securities of that series, we may elect either:
| • | to defease and be discharged from any and all obligations with respect to such debt securities (except for, among other things, the obligation to pay additional amounts, if any, upon the occurrence of certain events of taxation, assessment or governmental charge with respect to payments on the debt securities and other obligations to register the transfer or exchange of such debt securities, to replace temporary or mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen debt securities, to maintain an office or agency with respect to such debt securities and to hold moneys for payment in trust), such an action a “defeasance”; or |
| • | to be released from our obligations under the applicable indenture as may be further described in any prospectus supplement, and our failure to comply with these obligations will not constitute an event of default with respect to such debt securities, such an action a “covenant defeasance.” |
Defeasance or covenant defeasance is conditioned on our irrevocable deposit with the trustee, in trust, of an amount in cash or government securities, or both, sufficient to pay the principal of, any premium and interest on, and any additional amounts with respect to, the debt securities on the scheduled due dates. Additional conditions to defeasance or covenant defeasance require that:
| • | the applicable defeasance or covenant defeasance does not result in a breach or violation of, or constitute a default under, the applicable indenture or any other material agreement or instrument to which we are a party or by which we are bound; |
| • | no event of default has occurred and continues on the date the trust is established and, with respect to defeasance only, at any time during the period ending on the 123 rd day after that date; and |
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| • | we have delivered to the trustee an opinion of counsel to the effect that the holders of such debt securities will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of the defeasance or covenant defeasance and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax for the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if the defeasance or covenant defeasance had not occurred. This opinion, in the case of defeasance, must refer to and be based upon a letter ruling we have received from the Internal Revenue Service, a Revenue Ruling published by the Internal Revenue Service, or a change in applicable U.S. federal income tax law occurring after the date of the indenture. |
If we accomplish covenant defeasance on debt securities of certain holders, those holders can still look to us for repayment of their debt securities in the event of any shortfall in the trust deposit. If one of the remaining events of default occurred, such as our bankruptcy, and the debt securities became immediately due and payable, there may be a shortfall. Depending on the event causing the default, such holders may not be able to obtain payment of the shortfall.
In the case of subordinated debt securities, the subordination provisions described under “— Subordinated Debt Securities” above are made subject to the provisions for defeasance and covenant defeasance. In other words, if we accomplish defeasance or covenant defeasance on any subordinated debt securities, such securities would cease to be so subordinated.
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DESCRIPTION OF CONVERTIBLE DEBT SECURITIES
The following summary of the terms of the convertible debt securities describes general terms that apply to the convertible debt securities. The convertible debt securities offered pursuant to this prospectus will be either convertible senior debt or convertible subordinated debt. The particular terms of any convertible debt securities will be described more specifically in each prospectus supplement relating to those convertible debt securities. Where any provision in an accompanying prospectus supplement is inconsistent with any provision in this summary, the prospectus supplement will control.
Convertible senior debt securities and convertible subordinated debt securities will be issued under either of two debt indentures summarized below. The indentures are the same as the indentures described above under “Description of Debt Securities”. Where we make no distinction in our summary between convertible senior debt securities and convertible subordinated debt securities, the applicable information refers to any convertible debt securities. Since this is only a summary, it does not contain all of the information that may be important to you. We may issue convertible debt securities under our senior debt indenture and our subordinated debt indenture, and forms of each of these indentures are exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. We encourage you to read those documents.
General
The indentures do not limit the aggregate principal amount of convertible debt securities we may issue and provides that we may issue convertible debt securities thereunder from time to time in one or more series. The indentures do not limit the amount of other indebtedness or convertible debt securities, other than certain secured indebtedness as described below, which we or our subsidiaries may issue. Under the indentures, the terms of the convertible debt securities of any series may differ and we, without the consent of the holders of the convertible debt securities of any series, may reopen a previous series of convertible debt securities and issue additional convertible debt securities of the series or establish additional terms of the series.
Unless otherwise provided in a prospectus supplement, the convertible senior debt securities will be our unsecured obligations and will rank equally with all of our other unsecured and senior indebtedness, and the convertible subordinated debt securities will be unsecured obligations of ours and, as set forth below under “— Convertible Subordinated Debt Securities,” will be subordinated in right of payment to all of our senior indebtedness.
You should refer to the prospectus supplement that accompanies this prospectus for a description of the specific series of convertible debt securities we are offering by that prospectus supplement. The terms may include:
| • | the title and specific designation of the convertible debt securities, including whether they are convertible senior debt securities or convertible subordinated debt securities; |
| • | any limit on the aggregate principal amount of the convertible debt securities or the series of which they are a part; |
| • | whether the convertible debt securities are to be issuable as registered securities, as bearer securities or alternatively as bearer securities and registered securities, and if as bearer securities, whether interest on any portion of a bearer security in global form will be paid to any clearing organizations; |
| • | the currency or currencies, or composite currencies, in which the convertible debt securities will be denominated and in which we will make payments on the convertible debt securities; |
| • | the date or dates on which we must pay principal; |
| • | the rate or rates at which the convertible debt securities will bear interest or the manner in which interest will be determined, if any interest is payable; |
| • | the date or dates from which any interest will accrue, the date or dates on which we must pay interest and the record date for determining who is entitled to any interest payment; |
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| • | the place or places where we must pay the convertible debt securities and where any convertible debt securities issued in registered form may be sent for transfer, conversion or exchange; |
| • | the terms and conditions on which we may, or may be required to, redeem the convertible debt securities; |
| • | the terms and conditions of any sinking fund; |
| • | if other than denominations of $1,000, the denominations in which we may issue the convertible debt securities; |
| • | the terms and conditions upon which conversion of the convertible debt securities may be effected, including the conversion price, the conversion period and other conversion provisions; |
| • | the amount we will pay if the maturity of the convertible debt securities is accelerated; |
| • | whether we will issue the convertible debt securities in the form of one or more global securities and, if so, the identity of the depositary for the global security or securities; |
| • | any addition to or changes in the events of default or covenants that apply to the convertible debt securities; |
| • | whether the convertible debt securities will be defeasible; and |
| • | any other terms of the convertible debt securities and any other deletions from or modifications or additions to the applicable indenture in respect of the convertible debt securities, including those relating to the subordination of any convertible debt securities. |
Unless the accompanying prospectus supplement specifies otherwise, the convertible debt securities will not be listed on any securities exchange.
Unless the accompanying prospectus supplement specifies otherwise, we will issue the convertible debt securities in fully registered form without coupons. If we issue convertible debt securities of any series in bearer form, the accompanying prospectus supplement will describe the special restrictions and considerations, including special offering restrictions and special federal income tax considerations, applicable to those convertible debt securities and to payment on and transfer and exchange of those convertible debt securities. Convertible debt securities issued in bearer form will be transferable by delivery.
Unless otherwise stated in the prospectus supplement, we will pay principal, premium, interest and additional amounts, if any, on the convertible debt securities at the office or agency we maintain for that purpose (initially the corporate trust office of the trustee). We may pay interest on convertible debt securities issued in registered form by check mailed to the address of the persons entitled to the payments or we may pay by transfer to their U.S. bank accounts. Interest on convertible debt securities issued in registered form will be payable on any interest payment date to the registered owners of the convertible debt securities at the close of business on the regular record date for the interest payment. We will name in the prospectus supplement all paying agents we initially designate for the convertible debt securities. We may designate additional paying agents, rescind the designation of any paying agent or approve a change in the office through which any paying agent acts, but we must maintain a paying agent in each place where payments on the convertible debt securities are payable.
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Unless otherwise stated in the prospectus supplement, the convertible debt securities may be presented for transfer (duly endorsed or accompanied by a written instrument of transfer, if we or the security registrar so requires) or exchanged for other convertible debt securities of the same series (containing identical terms and provisions, in any authorized denominations, and in the same aggregate principal amount) at the office or agency we maintain for that purpose (initially the corporate trust office of the trustee). There will be no service charge for any transfer or exchange, but we may require payment sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge or expenses payable in connection with the transfer or exchange. We will not be required to:
| • | issue, register the transfer of, or exchange, convertible debt securities during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption of any such convertible debt securities and ending at the close of business on the day of such mailing; or |
| • | register the transfer of or exchange any debt security selected for redemption in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of any debt security being redeemed in part. |
We shall appoint the trustee as security registrar. Any transfer agent (in addition to the security registrar) we initially designate for any convertible debt securities will be named in the related prospectus supplement. We may designate additional transfer agents, rescind the designation of any transfer agent or approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts, but we must maintain a transfer agent in each place where any payments on the convertible debt securities are payable.
Unless otherwise stated in the prospectus supplement, we will issue the convertible debt securities only in fully registered form, without coupons, in minimum denominations of $1,000 and integral multiples of $1,000. The convertible debt securities may be represented in whole or in part by one or more global debt securities. Each global security will be registered in the name of a depositary or its nominee and the global security will bear a legend regarding the restrictions on exchanges and registration of transfer. Interests in a global security will be shown on records maintained by the depositary and its participants, and transfers of those interests will be made as described below. Provisions relating to the use of global securities are more fully described below in the section entitled “Use of Global Securities.”
We may issue the convertible debt securities as original issue discount securities (bearing no interest or bearing interest at a rate which at the time of issuance is below market rates) to be sold at a substantial discount below their principal amount. We will describe certain special U.S. federal income tax and other considerations applicable to any convertible debt securities that are issued as original issue discount securities in the accompanying prospectus supplement.
If the purchase price of any convertible debt securities is payable in one or more foreign currencies or currency units, or if any convertible debt securities are denominated in one or more foreign currencies or currency units, or if any payments on the convertible debt securities are payable in one or more foreign currencies or currency units, we will describe the restrictions, elections, certain U.S. federal income tax considerations, specific terms and other information about the convertible debt securities and the foreign currency or currency units in the prospectus supplement.
We will comply with Section 14(e) under the Exchange Act, and any other tender offer rules under the Exchange Act that may then be applicable, in connection with any obligation to purchase convertible debt securities at the option of the holders. Any such obligation applicable to a series of convertible debt securities will be described in the related prospectus supplement.
Unless otherwise described in a prospectus supplement relating to any convertible debt securities, the indentures do not limit our ability to incur debt or give holders of convertible debt securities protection in the event of a sudden and significant decline in our credit quality or a takeover, recapitalization or highly leveraged or similar transaction involving us. Accordingly, we could in the future enter into transactions that could increase the amount of indebtedness outstanding at that time or otherwise affect our capital structure or credit rating. You should refer to the prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of convertible debt securities for information regarding any changes in the events of default described below or covenants contained in the indentures, including any addition of a covenant or other provisions providing event risk or similar protection.
Conversion Rights
An accompanying prospectus supplement will set forth the terms on which the convertible debt securities of any series are convertible into common stock or other securities. Those terms will address whether conversion is mandatory, at the option of the holder or at our option. The terms may also provide that the number of shares or interests of our common stock or other securities, as the case may be, to be received by the holders of the convertible debt securities will be calculated according to the market price of our common stock or other securities, as the case may be, as of a time stated in the prospectus supplement or otherwise.
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Convertible Subordinated Debt Securities
Unless otherwise provided in the accompanying prospectus supplement, the following provisions will apply for convertible subordinated debt securities.
Before we pay the principal of, premium, if any and interest on, the convertible subordinated debt securities, we must be current and not in default on payment in full of all of our senior indebtedness. Senior indebtedness includes all of our indebtedness as described below, except for:
| • | obligations issued or assumed as the deferred purchase price of property; |
| • | conditional sale obligations; |
| • | obligations arising under any title retention agreements; |
| • | indebtedness relating to the applicable convertible subordinated debt securities; |
| • | indebtedness owed to one of our subsidiaries; and |
| • | indebtedness that, by its terms, is subordinate in right of payment to or equal with the applicable convertible subordinated debt securities. |
Generally indebtedness means:
| • | the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on indebtedness for money borrowed; |
| • | the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on indebtedness evidenced by notes, debentures, bonds or other similar instruments; |
| • | obligations issued or assumed as the deferred purchase price of property, all conditional sale obligations and all obligations arising under any title retention agreements; |
| • | obligations for the reimbursement of any obligor on any letter of credit, banker’s acceptance or similar credit transaction (other than obligations with respect to certain letters of credit securing obligations entered into in the ordinary course of business); |
| • | obligations of the type referred to in the bullet points above assumed for another party and dividends of another party for the payment of which, in either case, one is responsible or liable as obligor, guarantor or otherwise; and |
| • | obligations assumed of the types referred to in the bullet points above for another party secured by any lien on any of one’s property or assets. |
Indebtedness does not include amounts owed pursuant to trade accounts arising in the ordinary course of business.
Generally, we may not pay the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the convertible subordinated debt securities if, at the time of payment (or immediately after giving effect to such payment):
| • | there exists under any senior indebtedness, or any agreement under which any senior indebtedness is issued, any default, which default results in the full amount of the senior indebtedness being declared due and payable; or |
| • | the trustee has received written notice from a holder of senior indebtedness stating that there exists under the senior indebtedness, or any agreement under which the senior indebtedness is issued, a default, which default permits the holders of the senior indebtedness to declare the full amount of the senior indebtedness due and payable. |
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unless, among other things, in either case:
| • | the default has been cured or waived; or |
| • | full payment of amounts then due for principal and interest and of all other obligations then due on all senior indebtedness has been made or duly provided for under the terms of any instrument governing senior indebtedness. |
Limited subordination periods apply in the event of non-payment defaults relating to senior indebtedness in situations where there has not been an acceleration of senior indebtedness.
A failure to make any payment on the convertible subordinated debt securities as a result of the foregoing provisions will not affect our obligations to the holders of the convertible subordinated debt securities to pay the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the convertible subordinated debt securities as and when such payment obligations become due.
The holders of senior indebtedness will be entitled to receive payment in full of all amounts due or to become due on senior indebtedness, or provisions will be made for such payment, before the holders of the convertible subordinated debt securities are entitled to receive any payment or distribution of any kind relating to the convertible subordinated debt securities or on account of any purchase or other acquisition of the convertible subordinated debt securities by us or any of our subsidiaries, in the event of:
| • | insolvency or bankruptcy case or proceeding, or any receivership, liquidation, reorganization or other similar case, relating to us or our assets; |
| • | any liquidation, dissolution or other winding up of the Company, whether voluntary or involuntary and whether or not involving insolvency or bankruptcy; or |
| • | any assignment for the benefit of our creditors or any other marshalling of our assets and liabilities. |
In addition, the rights of the holders of the convertible subordinated debt securities will be subrogated to the rights of the holders of senior indebtedness to receive payments and distributions of cash, property and securities applicable to the senior indebtedness until the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the convertible subordinated debt securities are paid in full.
Because of these subordination provisions, our creditors who hold senior indebtedness or other unsubordinated indebtedness may recover a greater percentage of the debt owed to them than the holders of the convertible subordinated debt securities.
The convertible indenture covering convertible subordinated debt securities will not limit the aggregate amount of senior indebtedness that we may issue. If this prospectus is being delivered in connection with the offering of a series of convertible subordinated debt securities, the accompanying prospectus supplement or the information incorporated in this prospectus by reference will set forth the approximate amount of senior debt outstanding as of a recent date.
Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets
We may not consolidate with or merge into any other person or convey or transfer or lease our properties and assets substantially as an entirety to any person unless:
| • | if we consolidate with or merge into another corporation or convey or transfer our properties and assets substantially as an entirety to any person, the successor is organized under the laws of the United States, or any state, and assumes our obligations under the convertible debt securities; |
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| • | immediately after the transaction, no event of default occurs and continues; and |
| • | we meet certain other conditions specified in the indentures. |
Modification and Waiver
We and the trustee may modify and amend the indentures without the consent of the holders of the outstanding convertible debt securities of each affected series, in order to, among other things:
| • | evidence the succession of another corporation to us and the assumption of all of our obligations under the convertible debt securities, any related coupons and our covenants by a successor; |
| • | add to our covenants for the benefit of holders of convertible debt securities or surrender any of our rights or powers; |
| • | add additional events of default for any series; |
| • | add, change or eliminate any provision affecting convertible debt securities that are not yet issued; |
| • | secure certain convertible debt securities; |
| • | establish the form or terms of convertible debt securities not yet issued; |
| • | make provisions with respect to conversion or exchange rights of holders of convertible debt securities; |
| • | evidence and provide for successor trustees; |
| • | permit payment in respect of convertible debt securities in bearer form in the United States, if allowed without penalty under applicable laws and regulations; or |
| • | correct or supplement any inconsistent provisions, cure any ambiguity or mistake, or add any other provisions, on the condition that this action does not adversely affect the interests of any holder of convertible debt securities of any series issued under the indentures in any material respect. |
In addition, we and the trustee may modify and amend the indentures with the consent of the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding convertible debt securities of each affected series.
However, without the consent of each holder, we cannot modify or amend the indentures in a way that would:
| • | change the stated maturity of the principal of, or any installment of principal or interest on, any debt security; |
| • | reduce the principal or interest on any debt security; |
| • | change the place or currency of payment of principal or interest on any debt security; |
| • | impair the right to sue to enforce any payment on any debt security after it is due; or |
| • | reduce the percentage in principal amount of outstanding convertible debt securities necessary to modify or amend the indentures, to waive compliance with certain provisions of the indentures or to waive certain defaults. |
The holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of outstanding convertible debt securities may waive our compliance with certain restrictive covenants of the indentures. The holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding convertible debt securities of any series may waive any past default under the indentures with respect to outstanding convertible debt securities of that series, which will be binding on all holders of convertible debt securities of that series, except a default in the payment of principal or interest on any debt security of that series or in respect of a provision of the indentures that cannot be modified or amended without each holder’s consent.
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Events of Default
Each of the following will be an event of default:
| • | default for 30 days in the payment of any interest; |
| • | default in the payment of principal; |
| • | default in the deposit of any sinking fund payment; |
| • | default in the performance of any other covenant in the indentures for 90 days after written notice; and |
| • | certain events in bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization. |
We are required to furnish the trustee annually a statement as to our fulfillment of our obligations under the indentures. The trustee may withhold notice of any default to the holders of convertible debt securities of any series (except for a default on principal or interest payments on convertible debt securities of that series) if it considers it in the interest of the holders to do so.
If an event of default occurs and continues, either the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding convertible debt securities of the series in default may declare the principal amount immediately due and payable by written notice to us (and to the trustee if given by the holders). Upon any such declaration, the principal amount will become immediately due and payable. However, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding convertible debt securities of that series may, under certain circumstances, rescind and annul the acceleration.
Except for certain duties in case of an event of default, the trustee is not required to exercise any of its rights or powers at the request or direction of any of the holders, unless the holders offer the trustee reasonable security or indemnity. If the holders provide this security or indemnity, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding convertible debt securities of a series may direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee, or exercising any trust or powers conferred on the trustee with respect to the convertible debt securities of that series.
No holder of a convertible debt security may bring any lawsuit or other proceeding with respect to the indentures or for any remedy under the indentures, unless:
| • | the holder first gives the trustee written notice of a continuing event of default; |
| • | the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the outstanding convertible debt securities of the series in default give the trustee a written request to bring the proceeding and offer the trustee reasonable security or indemnity; and |
| • | the trustee fails to institute the proceeding within 60 days of the written request and has not received from holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding convertible debt securities of the series in default a direction inconsistent with that request. |
However, the holder of any convertible debt security has the absolute right to receive payment of the principal of and any interest on the convertible debt security on or after the stated due dates and to take any action to enforce any such payment.
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Discharge, Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance
We may discharge certain obligations to holders of any series of convertible debt securities that have not already been delivered to the trustee for cancellation and that either have become due and payable or will become due and payable within one year (or scheduled for redemption within one year) by depositing with the trustee, in trust, funds in U.S. dollars or in the foreign currency in which such convertible debt securities are payable in an amount sufficient to pay the principal and any premium, interest and additional amounts on such convertible debt securities to the date of deposit (if the convertible debt securities have become due and payable) or to the maturity date, as the case may be.
Unless a prospectus supplement states that the following provisions do not apply to the convertible debt securities of that series, we may elect either:
| • | to defease and be discharged from any and all obligations with respect to such convertible debt securities (except for, among other things, the obligation to pay additional amounts, if any, upon the occurrence of certain events of taxation, assessment or governmental charge with respect to payments on the convertible debt securities and other obligations to provide for the conversion rights of the holders of such convertible debt securities, to register the transfer or exchange of such convertible debt securities, to replace temporary or mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen convertible debt securities, to maintain an office or agency with respect to such convertible debt securities and to hold moneys for payment in trust), such an action a “defeasance”; or |
| • | to be released from our obligations under the applicable indenture as may be further described in any prospectus supplement, and our failure to comply with these obligations will not constitute an event of default with respect to such convertible debt securities, such an action a “covenant defeasance”. |
Defeasance or covenant defeasance is conditioned on our irrevocable deposit with the trustee, in trust, of an amount in cash or government securities, or both, sufficient to pay the principal of, any premium and interest on, and any additional amounts with respect to, the convertible debt securities on the scheduled due dates. Additional conditions to defeasance or covenant defeasance require that:
| • | the applicable defeasance or covenant defeasance does not result in a breach or violation of, or constitute a default under, the applicable indenture or any other material agreement or instrument to which we are a party or by which we are bound; |
| • | no event of default has occurred and continues on the date the trust is established and, with respect to defeasance only, at any time during the period ending on the 123 rd day after that date; and |
| • | we have delivered to the trustee an opinion of counsel to the effect that the holders of such convertible debt securities will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of the defeasance or covenant defeasance and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax for the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if the defeasance or covenant defeasance had not occurred. This opinion, in the case of defeasance, must refer to and be based upon a letter ruling we have received from the Internal Revenue Service, a Revenue Ruling published by the Internal Revenue Service, or a change in applicable U.S. federal income tax law occurring after the date of the indenture. |
If we accomplish covenant defeasance on convertible debt securities of certain holders, those holders can still look to us for repayment of their convertible debt securities in the event of any shortfall in the trust deposit. If one of the remaining events of default occurred, such as our bankruptcy, and the convertible debt securities became immediately due and payable, there may be a shortfall. Depending on the event causing the default, such holders may not be able to obtain payment of the shortfall.
In the case of convertible subordinated debt securities, the subordination provisions described under “— Convertible Subordinated Debt Securities” above are made subject to the provisions for defeasance and covenant defeasance. In other words, if we accomplish defeasance or covenant defeasance on any convertible subordinated debt securities, such securities would cease to be so subordinated.
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Governing Law
The indentures and the convertible debt securities will be governed by and interpreted under the laws of the State of Delaware.
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The debt securities of any series may be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more global debt securities that will be deposited with a depositary or its nominee identified in the series prospectus supplement.
The specific terms of the depositary arrangement covering debt securities will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to that series. We anticipate that the following provisions or similar provisions will apply to depositary arrangements relating to debt securities, although to the extent the terms of any arrangement differs from those described in this section, the terms of the arrangement shall supersede those in this section as ultimately described in the applicable indenture and related documents.
Upon the issuance of a global security, the depositary for the global security or its nominee will credit, to accounts in its book-entry registration and transfer system, the principal amounts of the debt securities represented by the global security. These accounts will be designated by the underwriters or agents with respect to such debt securities or by us if such debt securities are offered and sold directly by us. Only institutions that have accounts with the depositary or its nominee, and persons who hold beneficial interests through those participants, may own beneficial interests in a global security. Ownership of beneficial interests in a global security will be shown only on, and the transfer of those ownership interests will be effected only through, records maintained by the depositary, its nominee or any such participants. The laws of some states require that certain purchasers of securities take physical delivery of such securities in definitive form. These laws may prevent you from transferring your beneficial interest in a global security.
As long as the depositary or its nominee is the registered owner of a global security, the depositary or nominee will be considered the sole owner or holder of the debt securities represented by the global security. Except as described below, owners of beneficial interests in a global security will not be entitled to have debt securities registered in their names and will not be entitled to receive physical delivery of the debt securities in definitive form.
We will make all payments of principal of, any premium and interest on, and any additional amounts with respect to, debt securities issued as global securities to the depositary or its nominee. Neither we nor the trustee, any paying agent or the security registrar assumes any responsibility or liability for any aspect of the depositary’s or any participant’s records relating to, or for payments made on account of, beneficial interests in a global security.
We expect that the depositary for a series of debt securities or its nominee, upon receipt of any payment with respect to such debt securities, will credit immediately participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interest in the principal amount of the global security for such debt securities as shown on the records of such depositary or its nominee. We also expect that payments by participants to owners of beneficial interests in such global security held through such participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers registered in “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such participants.
Our indentures provide that if:
| • | the depositary notifies us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as depositary for a series of debt securities, or if the depositary is no longer legally qualified to serve in that capacity, and we have not appointed a successor depositary within 90 days of written notice; |
| • | we determine that a series of debt securities will no longer be represented by global securities and we execute and deliver an order to that effect to the trustee; or |
| • | an event of default with respect to a series of debt securities occurs and continues. |
The global securities for that series will be exchanged for registered debt securities in definitive form. The definitive debt securities will be registered in the name or names the depositary instructs the trustee. We expect that these instructions may be based upon directions the depositary receives from participants with respect to ownership of beneficial interests in global securities.
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General
We may issue rights to our stockholders to purchase shares of our common stock or preferred stock described in this prospectus. We may offer rights separately or together with one or more additional rights, preferred stock, common stock, warrants or any combination of those securities in the form of units, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Each series of rights will be issued under a separate rights agreement to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as rights agent. The rights agent for any rights we offer will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. The rights agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the certificates relating to the rights of the series of certificates and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders of rights certificates or beneficial owners of rights. The following description sets forth certain general terms and provisions of the rights to which any prospectus supplement may relate. The particular terms of the rights to which any prospectus supplement may relate and the extent, if any, to which the general provisions may apply to the rights so offered will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. To the extent that any particular terms of the rights, rights agreement or rights certificates described in a prospectus supplement differ from any of the terms described below, then the terms described below will be deemed to have been superseded by that prospectus supplement. We encourage you to read the applicable rights agreement and rights certificate for additional information before you decide whether to purchase any of our rights.
The prospectus supplement relating to any rights that we offer will include specific terms relating to the offering, including, among other matters:
| • | the date of determining the stockholders entitled to the rights distribution; |
| • | the aggregate number of shares of common stock, preferred stock or other securities purchasable upon exercise of the rights; |
| • | the exercise price; |
| • | the aggregate number of rights issued; |
| • | whether the rights are transferrable and the date, if any, on and after which the rights may be separately transferred; |
| • | the date on which the right to exercise the rights will commence, and the date on which the right to exercise the rights will expire; |
| • | the method by which holders of rights will be entitled to exercise; |
| • | the conditions to the completion of the offering; |
| • | the withdrawal, termination and cancellation rights; |
| • | whether there are any backstop or standby purchaser or purchasers and the terms of their commitment; |
| • | whether stockholders are entitled to oversubscription rights; |
| • | any U.S. federal income tax considerations; and |
| • | any other terms of the rights, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the distribution, exchange and exercise of the rights. |
If less than all of the rights issued in any rights offering are exercised, we may offer any unsubscribed securities directly to persons other than stockholders, to or through agents, underwriters or dealers or through a combination of such methods, including pursuant to standby arrangements, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. In connection with any rights offering, we may enter into a standby underwriting or other arrangement with one or more underwriters or other persons pursuant to which such underwriters or other persons would purchase any offered securities remaining unsubscribed for after such rights offering.
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We may, from time to time, issue units comprised of one or more of the other securities described in this prospectus in any combination. A prospectus supplement will describe the specific terms of the units offered under that prospectus supplement, and any special considerations, including tax considerations, applicable to investing in those units. You must look at the applicable prospectus supplement and any applicable unit agreement for a full understanding of the specific terms of any units. We will incorporate by reference into the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part the form of unit agreement, including a form of unit certificate, if any, that describes the terms of the series of units we are offering before the issuance of the related series of units. While the terms we have summarized below will generally apply to any future units that we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any series of units that we may offer in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement and incorporated documents. The terms of any units offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below.
General
We may issue units consisting of common stock, preferred stock, rights, warrants or any combination thereof. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each included security. The unit agreement under which a unit is issued may provide that the securities included in the unit may not be held or transferred separately, at any time, or at any time before a specified date.
We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement and any incorporated documents the terms of the series of units, including the following:
| • | the designation and terms of the units and of the securities comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances those securities may be held or transferred separately; |
| • | any provisions of the governing unit agreement that differ from those described below; and |
| • | any provisions for the issuance, payment, settlement, transfer, or exchange of the units or of the securities comprising the units. |
The provisions described in this section, as well as those described under “Description of Capital Stock — Common Stock,” “Description of Capital Stock — Preferred Stock,” “Description of Rights,” and “Description of Warrants” will apply to each unit and to any common stock, preferred stock, warrant or right included in each unit, respectively.
Issuance in Series
We may issue units in such amounts and in such numerous distinct series as we determine.
Enforceability of Rights by Holders of Units
Each unit agent will act solely as our agent under the applicable unit agreement and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust with any holder of any unit. A single bank or trust company may act as unit agent for more than one series of units. A unit agent will have no duty or responsibility in case of any default by us under the applicable unit agreement or unit, including any duty or responsibility to initiate any proceedings at law or otherwise, or to make any demand upon us. Any holder of a unit, without the consent of the related unit agent or the holder of any other unit, may enforce by appropriate legal action its rights as holder under any security included in the unit.
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Title
We, the unit agent, and any of their agents may treat the registered holder of any unit certificate as an absolute owner of the units evidenced by that certificate for any purposes and as the person entitled to exercise the rights attaching to the units so requested, despite any notice to the contrary.
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We may sell our securities from time to time through underwriters, dealers or agents or directly to purchasers, in one or more transactions at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, or at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. We may use these methods in any combination.
We will describe the terms of the offering of the securities in a prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference or related free writing prospectus, including:
| • | the name or names of any underwriters, if any; |
| • | the purchase price of the securities and the proceeds we will receive from the sale; |
| • | any underwriting discounts and other items constituting underwriters’ compensation; |
| • | any initial public offering price; |
| • | any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and |
| • | any securities exchange or market on which the securities may be listed. |
Only underwriters that we name in a prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference or related free writing prospectus will be underwriters of the securities offered thereby.
The distribution of securities may be effected, from time to time, in one or more transactions, including:
| • | block transactions (which may involve crosses) and transactions on the NASDAQ Stock Market or any other organized market where the securities may be traded; |
| • | purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its own account pursuant to a prospectus supplement; |
| • | ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which a broker-dealer solicits purchasers; |
| • | sales “at the market” to or through a market maker or into an existing trading market, on an exchange or otherwise; |
| • | sales in other ways not involving market makers or established trading markets, including direct sales to purchasers. |
By Underwriters
We may use an underwriter or underwriters in the offer or sale of our securities.
| • | If we use an underwriter or underwriters, the offered securities will be acquired by the underwriters for their own account. |
| • | We will include the names of the specific managing underwriter or underwriters, as well as any other underwriters, and the terms of the transactions, including the compensation the underwriters and dealers will receive, in the prospectus supplement. |
| • | The underwriters will use this prospectus and any prospectus supplement to sell our securities. |
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We may also sell securities pursuant to one or more standby agreements with one or more underwriters in connection with the call, redemption or exchange of a specified class or series of any of our outstanding securities. In a standby agreement, the underwriter or underwriters would agree either:
| • | to purchase from us up to the number of shares of common stock that would be issuable upon conversion or exchange of all the shares of the class or series of our securities at an agreed price per share of common stock; or |
| • | to purchase from us up to a specified dollar amount of offered securities at an agreed price per offered security, which price may be fixed or may be established by formula or other method and which may or may not relate to market prices of our common stock or any other outstanding security. |
The underwriter or underwriters would also agree, if applicable, to convert or exchange any securities of the class or series held or purchased by the underwriter or underwriters into or for our common stock or other security.
The underwriter or underwriters may assist in the solicitation of conversions or exchanges by holders of the class or series of securities.
By Dealers
We may use a dealer to sell our securities.
| • | If we use a dealer, we, as principal, will sell our securities to the dealer. |
| • | The dealer will then resell our securities to the public at varying prices that the dealer will determine at the time it sells our securities. |
| • | We will include the name of the dealer and the terms of our transactions with the dealer in the prospectus supplement. |
By Agents
We may designate agents to solicit offers to purchase our securities.
| • | We will name any agent involved in offering or selling our securities and any commissions that we will pay to the agent in the prospectus supplement. |
| • | Unless we indicate otherwise in the prospectus supplement, our agents will act on a best efforts basis for the period of their appointment. |
| • | Our agents may be deemed to be underwriters under the Securities Act of any of our securities that they offer or sell. |
By Delayed Delivery Contracts
We may authorize our agents and underwriters to solicit offers by certain institutions to purchase our securities at the public offering price under delayed delivery contracts.
| • | If we use delayed delivery contracts, we will disclose that we are using them in the prospectus supplement and will tell you when we will demand payment and delivery of the securities under the delayed delivery contracts. |
| • | These delayed delivery contracts will be subject only to the conditions that we set forth in the prospectus supplement. |
| • | We will indicate in the prospectus supplement the commission that underwriters and agents soliciting purchases of our securities under delayed delivery contracts will be entitled to receive. |
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Direct Sales
We may directly solicit offers to purchase our securities, and we may directly sell our securities to institutional or other investors, including our affiliates. We will describe the terms of our direct sales in the prospectus supplement. We may also sell our securities upon the exercise of rights which we may issue.
General Information
Underwriters, dealers and agents that participate in the distribution of our securities may be underwriters as defined in the Securities Act, and any discounts or commissions they receive and any profit they make on the resale of the offered securities may be treated as underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act. Any underwriters or agents will be identified and their compensation described in a prospectus supplement. We may indemnify agents, underwriters, and dealers against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or make contributions to payments they may be required to make relating to those liabilities. Our agents, underwriters, and dealers, or their affiliates, may be customers of, engage in transactions with, or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.
Each series of securities offered by this prospectus may be a new issue of securities with no established trading market. Any underwriters to whom securities offered by this prospectus are sold by us for public offering and sale may make a market in the securities offered by this prospectus, but the underwriters will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity of the trading market for any securities offered by this prospectus.
Representatives of the underwriters through whom our securities are sold for public offering and sale may engage in over-allotment, stabilizing transactions, syndicate short covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Over-allotment involves syndicate sales in excess of the offering size, which creates a syndicate short position. Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the offered securities so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.
Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the offered securities in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. Penalty bids permit the representative of the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the offered securities originally sold by such syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. Such stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may cause the price of the offered securities to be higher than it would otherwise be in the absence of such transactions. These transactions may be effected on a national securities exchange and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time. Underwriters, dealers and agents may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for, us and our subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business.
Fees and Commissions
In compliance with the guidelines of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, the aggregate maximum discount, commission or agency fees or other items constituting underwriting compensation to be received by any FINRA member or independent broker-dealer will not exceed 8% of any offering pursuant to this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement or other offering materials; however, it is anticipated that the maximum commission or discount to be received in any particular offering of securities will be less than this amount.
If 5% or more of the net proceeds of any offering of securities made under this prospectus will be received by a FINRA member participating in the offering or affiliates or associated persons of such FINRA member, the offering will be conducted in accordance with FINRA Rule 5121.
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Certain legal matters with respect to the securities will be passed upon for us by Robinson Brog Leinwand Greene Genovese & Gluck P.C., New York, NY.
Our financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013, which are incorporated by reference herein, have been audited by Friedman, LLP, independent certified public accountants, to the extent and for the periods set forth in their report as incorporated by reference herein in reliance on such report given upon the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We have filed with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-3 (including exhibits) under the Securities Act, with respect to the securities to be sold in this offering. This prospectus does not contain all the information set forth in the registration statement. For further information with respect to our Company and the securities offered in this prospectus, reference is made to the registration statement, including the exhibits filed thereto. With respect to each such document filed with the Commission as an exhibit to the registration statement, reference is made to the exhibit for a more complete description of the matter involved.
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. This prospectus, which constitutes part of the registration statement, does not contain all the information set forth in the registration statement or the exhibits and schedules which are part of the registration statement, portions of which are omitted as permitted by the rules and regulations of the SEC. Statements made in this prospectus regarding the contents of any contract or other document are summaries of the material terms of the contract or document. With respect to each contract or document filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, reference is made to the corresponding exhibit. For further information pertaining to us and the common stock offered by this prospectus, reference is made to the registration statement, including the exhibits and schedules thereto, copies of which may be inspected without charge at the Public Reference Room of the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549 on official business days during the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Copies of all or any portion of the registration statement may be obtained from the SEC at prescribed rates. Information on the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The web site can be accessed at http://www.sec.gov. The internet address of xG is www.xgtechnology.com . Information contained on our website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this prospectus, and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus is an inactive textual reference only.
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INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” into this prospectus certain information. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents that contain the information. The information we incorporate by reference is considered a part of this prospectus, and later information we file with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), on or after the date of this prospectus (other than information “furnished” under Items 2.02 or 7.01 (or corresponding information furnished under Item 9.01 or included as an exhibit) of any Current Report on Form 8-K or otherwise “furnished” to the SEC, unless otherwise stated) until this offering is completed, as well as documents filed under such sections after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to effectiveness of the registration statement:
| • | Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, filed with the SEC on March 3, 2014. |
| • | Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2014, filed with the SEC on May 15, 2014. |
| • | Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2014, filed with the SEC on August 14, 2014. |
| • | Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 16, 2014. |
| • | Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 22, 2014. |
| • | Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 13, 2014. |
| • | Our Definitive Proxy Statement filed with the SEC on April 30, 2014. |
In accordance with Rule 402 of Regulation S-T, the XBRL related information in Exhibit 101 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed under the Securities Act, except as will be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
You may obtain any of the documents incorporated by reference through the SEC or the SEC’s website as described above or on our corporate website at www.xgtechnology.com .. You may request copies of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at:
xG Technology, Inc.
240 S. Pineapple Avenue, Suite 701
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 953-9035
Attention: Corporate Secretary
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14,000,000 Units, Each Consisting of One Share of Common Stock
and a
Warrant to Purchase One Share of Common Stock
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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
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Roth Capital Partners
The date of this prospectus supplement is May 17, 2016.