UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

  

 

FORM 10-Q

 

x Quarterly Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2016.

or

¨ Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the transition period from __________ to __________

 

Commission file number: 001-37850

 

 

 

ATOMERA INCORPORATED

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware

30-0509586

(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) Identification No.)

 

750 University Avenue, Suite 280
Los Gatos, California 95032

(Address, including zip code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

(408) 442-5248

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ¨ No x

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (check one):

 

Large accelerated filer ¨ Accelerated filer ¨
Non-accelerated filer ¨ Smaller reporting company x

 

Indicate by checkmark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act: Yes ¨ No x

 

The number of outstanding shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock, par value $.001 per share, as of September 14, 2016 was 12,002,331.

 

 

 

 

 

  

Atomera Incorporated

 

Index  

 

    Page
PART I. Financial Information  
     
Item 1. Financial Statements 3
     
  Condensed Balance Sheets – June 30, 2016 (unaudited) and December 31, 2015 3
     
  Unaudited Condensed Statements of Operations – For the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 4
     
  Unaudited Condensed Statements of Cash Flows – For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 5
     
  Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Financial Statements 6
     
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 13
     
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 16
     
Item 4. Controls and Procedures    16
     
PART II. Other Information 17
   
Item 1A. Risk Factors 17
     
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds 17
     
Item 6. Exhibits 18
     
Signatures   19

 

  2  

 

 

Item 1. Financial Statements

 

Atomera Incorporated

Condensed Balance Sheets

(in thousands, except per share data)

 

    June 30,     December 31,  
    2016     2015  
    (Unaudited)        
             
ASSETS                
                 
Current Assets:                
Cash   $ 5,267     $ 3,197  
Restricted Investment     15       15  
Prepaid expenses and other current assets     111       48  
Total current assets     5,393       3,260  
                 
Property and equipment, net     23       15  
Deferred offering costs     234       145  
Security Deposit     37        
                 
Total assets   $ 5,687     $ 3,420  
                 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT                
                 
Current liabilities:                
Accounts payable   $ 420     $ 301  
Accrued expenses     309       145  
Senior secured convertible promissory notes payable, net     22,872       16,095  
                 
Total liabilities     23,601       16,541  
                 
Stockholders’ deficit:                
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, authorized 2,500 shares; none issued and outstanding at June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015            
Common stock, $0.001 par value, authorized 47,500 shares; issued and outstanding 1,617 shares at June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively     2       2  
Additional paid-in capital     70,556       70,452  
Subscription receivable           (188 )
Accumulated deficit     (88,472 )     (83,387 )
Total stockholders’ deficit     (17,914 )     (13,121 )
                 
Total liabilities and stockholders’ deficit   $ 5,687     $ 3,420  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial statements.

 

  3  

 

  

Atomera Incorporated
Condensed Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except per share data)

 

    Three Months ended
June 30,
    Six Months ended
June 30,
 
    2016     2015     2016     2015  
Operating Expenses:                                
Research and development   $ 867     $ 576     $ 1,813     $ 1,096  
General and administrative     893       440       1,754       2,139  
Selling and marketing     91       -       210       11  
Total operating expenses   $ 1,851     $ 1,016     $ 3,777     $ 3,246  
                                 
Loss from operations     (1,851 )     (1,016 )     (3,777 )     (3,246 )
                                 
Other income/(expense):                                
Interest expense, net     (746 )     (561 )     (1,308 )     (792 )
                                 
Net loss:   $ (2,597 )   $ (1,577 )   $ (5,085 )   $ (4,038 )
                                 
Net loss per common share, basic and diluted   $ (1.61 )   $ (1.28 )   $ (3.14 )   $ (3.27 )
                                 
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding, basic and diluted     1,617       1,233       1,617       1,233  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial statements.

 

  4  

 

 

Atomera Incorporated
Condensed Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)

(in thousands)

 

    For the Six Months Ended June 30,  
    2016     2015  
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES                
Net Loss   $ (5,085 )   $ (4,038 )
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:                
Depreciation and amortization     6       5  
Debt issuance cost amortization     429       224  
Stock-based compensation     104       344  
Non-cash warrant fair value for services rendered           1,016  
Non-cash interest expense     881       571  
Compensation in exchange for settlement of subscription receivable     188        
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:                
Prepaid expenses and other current assets     (63 )     (21 )
Security deposit     (37 )      
Accounts payable     119       (419 )
Accrued expenses     164       (57 )
Net cash used in operating activities     (3,294 )     (2,375 )
                 
NET CASH USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES                
Acquisition of property and equipment     (14 )     (2 )
Net cash used in investing activities     (14 )     (2 )
                 
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES                
Proceeds from unsecured convertible promissory notes payable           1,097  
Net proceeds from senior secured convertible promissory notes payable     5,467       6,615  
Payment of offering costs     (89 )      
Net cash provided by financing activities     5,378       7,712  
                 
Net increase in cash   $ 2,070     $ 5,335  
                 
Cash at beginning of period     3,197       21  
                 
Cash at end of period   $ 5,267     $ 5,356  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial statements.

 

  5  

 

 

ATOMERA INCORPORATED
NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Periods Ended June 30, 2016 and 2015

 

1. Nature of Operations

 

Atomera Incorporated (“Atomera” or the “Company”) was incorporated in the state of Delaware in March 2007 under the name MEARS Technologies, Inc. and is engaged in the development, commercialization and licensing of proprietary processes and technologies for the semiconductor industry. On January 12, 2016, the Company changed its name to Atomera Incorporated.

 

The Company is in the development stage, having not yet started planned principal operations, and is devoting substantially all of its efforts toward technology research and development. The Company has primarily financed operations through private placements of equity and debt securities and the Company’s Initial Public Offering (the “IPO”) which was consummated on August 10, 2016 (see Note 10).

 

2. LIQUI DITY AND MANAGEMENT PLANS

 

At June 30, 2016 the Company had cash of approximately $5.3 million, a working capital deficit of approximately $18.2 million and Senior Secured Convertible Notes (the “Secured Notes”) with a principal and interest balance of approximately $22.9 million. The Company has not generated revenues since inception and has incurred recurring operating losses. At June 30, 2016 the Company had an accumulated deficit of approximately $88.5 million. In August 2016 the Company completed its IPO of 3,680,000 shares of common stock, raising net proceeds of approximately $24.7 million. In connection with the completion of the IPO, the Secured Notes automatically converted into 6,264,659 shares of common stock, thus extinguishing the debt associated with the Secured Notes.

 

During the second half of 2016 and in 2017, the Company’s operating plans include increased headcount in research and development and sales and business development. Based on the funds it has available as of the date of the filing of this report, including proceeds of its IPO, the Company believes that it has sufficient capital to fund its current business plans over, at least, 12 months from the date of filing this quarterly report, and to enable one or more customers to license and qualify its technology and start full-scale industrial production of devices that incorporate the Company’s technology. However, as a development stage company the Company is subject to all the risks inherent in the initial organization, financing, expenditures, complications and delays in a new business. Accordingly, the Company may require additional capital, the receipt of which there can be no assurance. In the event the Company requires additional capital, there can be no guarantee that funds will be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.

 

3. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

Basis of presentation

 

The accompanying condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) for interim financial information and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, since they are interim financial statements, the accompanying condensed financial statements do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for annual financial statements, but reflect all adjustments consisting of normal, recurring adjustments, that are necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented. In the opinion of the Company’s management, all adjustments, consisting of only normal and recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s financial position and the results of operations for the periods presented have been included. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year. The condensed financial statements and notes should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes for the year ended December 31, 2015 which are included in the Company’s final IPO prospectus filed with the SEC Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) of the Securities Act of 1933 on August 8, 2016.

 

Deferred offering costs

 

The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340, Other Assets and Deferred Costs . Deferred offering costs of approximately $234,000 consist principally of legal, accounting, and filing fees incurred through the balance sheet date that are related to the proposed offering and that will be charged to capital upon the receipt of the capital raised or charged to expense if the proposed offering is not completed. The offering was completed on August 10, 2016 .

 

  6  

 

 

Stock-based compensation

 

The Company computes stock-based compensation in accordance with authoritative guidance. The Company uses the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model to determine the fair value of its stock options. The Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model includes various assumptions, including the fair market value of the common stock of the Company, expected life of stock options, the expected volatility and the expected risk-free interest rate, among others. These assumptions reflect the Company’s best estimates, but they involve inherent uncertainties based on market conditions generally outside the control of the Company.

 

As a result, if other assumptions had been used, stock-based compensation cost, as determined in accordance with authoritative guidance, could have been materially impacted. Furthermore, if the Company uses different assumptions on future grants, stock-based compensation cost could be materially affected in future periods.

 

The Company accounts for the fair value of equity instruments issued to non-employees using either the fair value of the services received or the fair value of the equity instrument, whichever is considered more reliable . The Company utilizes the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model to measure the fair value of options issued to non-employees.

 

Use of estimates

 

The preparation of condensed financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates include the fair value of stock-based compensation and warrants, valuation allowance against deferred tax assets and related disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

Recent accounting pronouncements

 

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02,  Leases  (“ASU 2016–02”) which replaces the existing guidance in Accounting Standards Codification, (“ASC”) Topic 840,  Leases . The new standard establishes a right-of-use (“ROU”) model that requires a lessee to record a ROU asset and a lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement.   The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years and requires retrospective application. The Company has not yet adopted this update and is currently evaluating the impact it may have an its financial condition and results of operation.

 

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09,  Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718),  (“ASU 2016-09”).  ASU 2016-09 makes several modifications to Topic 718 related to the accounting for forfeitures, employer tax withholding on share-based compensation and the financial statement presentation of excess tax benefits or deficiencies. ASU 2016-09 also clarifies the statement of cash flows presentation for certain components of share-based awards. The standard is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company has not yet adopted this update and is currently evaluating the impact it may have an its financial condition and results of operation .

 

On August 26, 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (a consensus of the Emerging Issues Task Force), (“ASU 2016-15”). The amendments in ASU 2016-15 address eight specific cash flow issues and apply to all entities, including both business entities and not-for-profit entities that are required to present a statement of cash flows under FASB Accounting Standards Codification (FASB ASC) 230, Statement of Cash Flows. The amendments in ASU 2016-15 are effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years.  Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. The Company has not yet adopted this update and is currently evaluating the impact it may have an its financial condition and results of operation .

 

4. BASIC AND DILUTED LOSS PER SHARE

 

Basic net loss per share is calculated by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of shares outstanding for the period. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of shares and dilutive share equivalents outstanding for the period, determined using the treasury-stock and if-converted methods. Since the Company has had net losses for all periods presented, all potentially dilutive securities are anti-dilutive. Accordingly, basic and diluted net loss per share are equal.

 

  7  

 

 

The following potential common stock equivalents were not included in the calculation of diluted net loss per common share because the inclusion thereof would be anti-dilutive (in thousands):

 

    June 30,  
    2016     2015  
Stock Options     538       388  
Warrants     301       905  
Conversion of Notes Payable     6,203       4,180  
      7,042       5,473  

 

5. NOTES PAYABLE

 

From January 9, 2015 through February 5, 2015, the Company issued promissory notes to certain investors in the aggregate principal amount of approximately $1.1 million.

 

On March 17, 2015, the Company issued Senior Secured Convertible Notes (the “Secured Notes”) to certain investors under which the Company borrowed approximately $7.4 million. National Securities Corporation (“NSC”) acted as placement agent and the Company paid brokerage commissions to NSC of approximately $785,700 and issued to NSC a warrant to purchase ten percent of the common shares issuable upon conversion of Secured Notes in the principal amount of $7,372,557 at an exercise price equal to the conversion price of the Secured Notes. The brokerage commissions are being amortized as interest expense over the life of the loan. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, the Company recognized interest expense of approximately $131,000 and $325,000 related to the brokerage commissions which is included in interest expenses in the condensed statements of operations. The Company also issued a warrant to NSC in connection with this financing.

 

In addition, on March 17, 2015, the Company exchanged all of its existing unsecured convertible promissory notes for Secured Notes with an aggregate principal balance of approximately $7.3 million. The total closing represented $14.75 million. The Secured Notes were due on May 31, 2016 and accrue interest at a rate of 10% per annum, except in any event of default in which case the interest rate shall be 12% per annum. During March 2016, the maturity date of the Secured Notes was extended to May 31, 2017. All other terms of the Secured Notes remained the same. The Secured Notes automatically convert to common stock in the event of an IPO of the Company and are optionally convertible upon a subsequent placement of equity other than an IPO or at the discretion of the note holder. Based on the method of conversion, the Secured Notes are converted into common stock at the Conversion Price, as defined in the agreement.

 

During April 2016, the Company issued additional Secured Notes in the aggregate principal amount of approximately $5,958,000. These notes have the same terms as the previous Secured Notes and mature on May 31, 2017. NSC acted as placement agent and the Company paid NSC a brokerage commission in the amount of ten percent of the proceeds from the Secured Notes placed by NSC, or approximately $438,000, and issued to NSC a warrant to purchase ten percent of the common shares issuable upon conversion of Secured Notes in the principal amount of approximately $4.4 million at an exercise price equal to the conversion price of the Secured Notes. In June 2016, and prior to any exercise of the warrant, NSC elected to cancel the warrant in full and for no consideration.

 

During the three months and six months ended June 30, 2016, the interest expense on the Secured Notes was approximately $748,000 and $1.3 million, respectively. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, the interest expense on the Secured Notes was approximately $562,000 and $795,000, respectively. On August 10, 2016, in connection with the Company’s IPO, all Secured Notes were converted into common stock (see Note 10).

 

At June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the Secured Notes payable consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

    June 30, 2016     December, 31, 2015  
Senior Notes   $ 20,708     $ 14,750  
Accrued interest     2,551       1,670  
Debt Discount     (387 )     (325 )
Senior secured convertible promissory notes payable, net   $ 22,872     $ 16,095  

 

  8  

 

 

6. Related Party Transactions

 

On January 14, 2005, the Company executed a Secured Promissory Note (the “Promissory Note”) with an officer of the Company. Under the Promissory Note, the officer borrowed $187,500 from the Company. The Promissory Note bore interest at a fixed rate of 3.76% per annum, with interest-only payments due annually through the maturity date of January 14, 2014. In December 2015, the Company agreed to extend the term of the note to January 14, 2019, subject to acceleration in the event of the sale of the sale or liquidation of the Company, bankruptcy or like event. Effective January 2016 the Company cancelled the outstanding principal of the note in the amount of $187,500. The cancellation of this note was recognized as a bonus to the officer and included in general and administrative expenses in the accompanying condensed statement of operations for the six month period ended June 30, 2016. As of the date of the cancellation of the Promissory Note, there was accrued and unpaid interest under the note in the amount of approximately $7,000, which amount has been repaid by the officer. In return for the cancellation of the note, the officer was required to reimburse the Company for withholding taxes payable by the Company, in the amount of approximately $14,000.

 

During the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2016, a director, who is also a shareholder of the Company, was paid $0 and $3,000, respectively, for his work as a consultant for the Company. The director was also paid $2,000 and $4,000 for similar work during the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, respectively.

 

A director and shareholder of the Company is a partner of a law firm that serves as legal counsel for the Company. During the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, this law firm billed the Company approximately $2,000 and $13,000, respectively. During the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, the Company was billed approximately $2,000 and $32,000, respectively. Included in accounts payable on the accompanying condensed balance sheets at June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, is $0 and approximately $1,000, respectively owed to this law firm. Pursuant to the Company’s agreement with this law firm, the firm will either reimburse the Company or pay on its behalf out-of-pocket costs and expenses associated with a patent infringement lawsuit brought by the Company, including any award for attorney’s fees and costs sought by the defendant in that lawsuit.

 

7. WARRANTS

 

A summary of warrant activity for the six months ended June 30, 2016 is as follows (shares in thousands):

 

    Number of
Shares
    Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Prices
    Weighted-Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term (In Years)
 
Outstanding at January 1, 2016     303     $ 3.41          
Issued                    
Expired     (2 )   $ 33.75          
Outstanding at June 30, 2016     301     $ 2.03       3.7  

 

The warrants outstanding at June 30, 2016 had an intrinsic value of approximately $1.2 million based on a per share stock price of $5.70.

 

  9  

 

 

8. STock Option plan

 

A summary of the activity under the Employee Stock Option Plan and 2007 Equity Incentive Plan for the six months ended June 30, 2016 is as follows (shares in thousands):

 

    Number of
Shares
    Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Prices
    Weighted-Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term (In Years)
    Intrinsic Value  
Outstanding at January 1, 2016     511     $ 7.05                  
Granted     27     $ 5.70                  
Cancelled                            
Outstanding at June 30, 2016     538     $ 6.98       8.96        
Exercisable at June 30, 2016     202     $ 9.11       8.36        
Vested and expected to vest at June 30, 2016     522     $ 7.02       8.95        

 

During the six months ended June 30, 2016, the Company granted options under its Employee Stock Option Plan to purchase 26,776 shares of its common stock to its employees. The fair value of these options was approximately $71,000. No options were issued in the three months ended June 30, 2016.

 

The total number of options available for grant was 75,124 as of June 30, 2016.

 

The following table summarizes the stock-based compensation expense recorded in the Company’s results of operations during the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 (in thousands):

 

    Three Months ended
June 30,
    Six Months ended
June 30,
 
    2016     2015     2016     2015  
Research and development   $ 1     $ 22     $ 10     $ 99  
General and administrative     46       9       94       245  
    $ 47     $ 31     $ 104     $ 344  

 

The Company records compensation expense for employee awards with graded vesting using the straight-line method. The Company records compensation expense for nonemployee awards with graded vesting using the accelerated expense attribution method. The Company recognizes compensation expense over the requisite service period applicable to each individual award, which generally equals the vesting term. Estimated prospective forfeitures are incorporated in the determination of compensation cost to be recognized. The Company applied an expected forfeiture rate of 4.77% to non-vested stock options for which expense was recognized during the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2016 and 2015. The Company estimates the fair value of each option award using the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model.

 

The Company estimated the fair value of employee and non-employee stock options using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The fair value of employee stock options is being amortized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service periods of the respective awards. The weighted-average grant date fair value of options granted during the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $2.64.  The fair value of employee stock options was estimated using the following weighted-average assumptions:

 

Assumptions:        
Expected volatility     46.54 %
Weighted average expected term (in years)     6.12  
Risk-free interest rate     1.62 %
Expected dividend yield     0 %

 

The risk-free interest rate was obtained from U.S. Treasury rates for the applicable periods. The Company’s expected volatility was based upon the historical volatility for industry peers and used an average of those volatilities. The expected life of the Company’s options was determined using the simplified method as a result of limited historical data regarding the Company’s activity. The dividend yield considers that the Company has not historically paid dividends, and does not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future.

 

  10  

 

 

The fair value of the common stock was determined by the board of directors based on a variety of factors, including valuations prepared by third parties, the Company’s financial position, the status of development efforts within the Company, the current climate in the marketplace and the prospects of a liquidity event, among others.

 

As of June 30, 2016, there was approximately $636,000 of total unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested share-based compensation arrangements that are expected to vest. This cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.7 years.

 

9. commitments and contingencies

 

Incentive Bonus

 

During September 2015, the Board of Directors resolved to pay an incentive bonus to certain directors and officers contingent upon the Company being listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange before May 31, 2016 (subsequently extended to May 31, 2017 by the Board of Directors during February 2016) in connection with an initial public offering (IPO) with net proceeds of at least $15 million and a post-IPO valuation of at least $50 million and that the directors and officers continue to be in service with the Company until the IPO is closed. If these circumstances are met, a total bonus of approximately $1.7 million will be paid to employees in the form of common stock, convertible at the greater of the IPO price to the public or $3.681 per share. These incentive agreements also provide that an officer or director may continue to be eligible for the incentive bonus if their service with the Company terminates without cause or the officer or director resigns with good reason.

 

Operating Leases

 

On November 5, 2014, the Company entered into a lease agreement for the use of 1,730 square feet of office space in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts. The lease with monthly payments of $4,613 commenced on December 1, 2014 and expires on November 30, 2016.

 

On January 19, 2016, the Company entered into a real estate lease agreement for a 3,396 square foot office facility in Los Gatos, California as its new corporate headquarters. The lease commenced on February 1, 2016 and expires on January 31, 2018. The lease rate is approximately $12,000 per month, which will increase to approximately $13,000 per month commencing February 1, 2017.

 

Approximate future minimum lease payments required under the operating leases are as follows (in thousands):

 

Years ending December 31,   Amount  
Remaining period in 2016   $ 98  
2017     156  
2018     13  
         
Total   $ 267  

 

Officer Compensation

 

In January 2016, the Company entered into employment agreements with three officers. The agreements call for an annual base salary of $250,000 and a bonus of up to 30% of base salary for one officer and annual base salaries of $220,000 and a bonus of up to 15% of base salary for the other two officers. In the event of involuntary termination, each officer is entitled to six months of severance pay. In June 2016, the Company terminated one of the officers effective as of June 30, 2016. The severance expense related to this termination is included in general and administration expense of the condensed statements of operation for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016.

 

In February 2016, the Company entered into an employment agreement with an officer. The agreement calls for an annual base salary of $225,000 and a bonus of up to 30% of base salary. In the event of involuntary termination, the officer is entitled to six months of severance pay .

 

10. Subsequent Events

 

Initial Public Offering

 

The registration statement on Form S-1 for the Company’s IPO was declared effective by the SEC on August 4, 2016. On August 10, 2016, the Company consummated the IPO of 3,680,000 shares of common stock (which included 480,000 shares issued pursuant to the underwriter’s overallotment option) at a price per share of $7.50 and received from the underwriter net proceeds of approximately $24.7 million (net of underwriter’s discount of approximately $2.3 million and offering expenses of approximately $570,000).

 

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Stock Incentive Plan Amendment and Form S-8 Registration Statement

 

During April 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company resolved that upon the completion of an IPO the 2007 Stock Incentive Plan shall be amended to increase common shares issuable thereunder to 3,199,447 shares of common stock, representing 20% of the total issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock on a fully-diluted basis immediately after the IPO. On August 12, 2016 the Company filed a registration statement on Form S-8 (which became effective upon filing) for the registration of 3,199,447 shares of common stock pursuant to the 2007 Equity Incentive Plan.

 

Incentive Bonus

 

In July 2016, the Company and certain officers and directors with whom the Company had agreed to grant certain incentive share bonuses (Note 9) agreed to cancel the share bonuses in return for the Company’s agreement to grant each recipient, upon the close of the Company’s initial public offering, shares of the Company’s restricted common stock pursuant to restricted stock agreements. The restricted stock agreements provided that the Company will issue to the recipients an aggregate of 440,364 shares of the Company’s common stock and that all shares remain subject to forfeiture, until the prescribed vesting date, in the event the recipient fails to remain in service to the Company for any reason other than the Company’s termination without cause or the recipient’s resignation for good reason. The restricted stock agreements provide that the award shall be fully vested on the one year anniversary of the date of grant. Effective August 10, 2016, coincident with the closing of the IPO, the Company issued the 440,364 shares pursuant to the restricted stock agreements.

 

Conversion of Secured Notes

 

Upon consummation of the IPO, all principal and accrued interest due under the Secured Notes, totaling approximately $23.5 million converted into 6,264,659 shares of common stock of the Company, which was based on a conversion price of $3.75, in accordance with the terms of the Secured Notes.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

The following discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations of Atomera Incorporated should be read in conjunction with our unaudited consolidated condensed financial statements and the accompanying notes that appear elsewhere in this filing. Statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contain “forward-looking statements” under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “intends,” “targets” and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying forward-looking statements in this Quarterly Report. The identification of certain statements as “forward-looking” is not intended to mean that other statements not specifically identified are not forward-looking. All statements other than statements about historical facts are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Those forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. Among those factors are: (1) the fact that Atomera has not yet commenced revenue producing operations; (2) Atomera has not entered into its initial commercial agreement for the licensing or sale of its MST technology; (3) risks related to Atomera’s capitalization and ability to raise additional capital, as and when needed, to develop and commercialize its MST technology; (4) the Company's ability to protect its proprietary technology, trade secrets and know-how and (5) those other risks disclosed in the section "Risk Factors" included in the final prospectus dated August 5, 2016 filed with the SEC on August 8, 2016. Atomera cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to update or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as they occur.

 

Overview

 

We are engaged in the business of developing, commercializing and licensing proprietary processes and technologies for the $350+ billion semiconductor industry. Our lead technology, named Mears Silicon Technology™, or MST®, is a thin film of reengineered silicon, typically 100 to 300 angstroms (or approximately 20 to 60 silicon atomic unit cells) thick. MST® can be applied as a transistor channel enhancement to CMOS-type transistors, the most widely used transistor type in the semiconductor industry. MST® is our proprietary and patent-protected performance enhancement technology that we believe addresses a number of key engineering challenges facing the semiconductor industry. We believe that by incorporating MST®, transistors can be smaller, with increased speed, reliability and energy efficiency. In addition, since MST® is an additive and low cost technology, it can be deployed on an industrial scale, with machines commonly used in semiconductor manufacturing. We believe that MST® can be widely incorporated into the most common types of semiconductor products, including analog, logic, optical and memory integrated circuits.

 

We do not intend to design or manufacture integrated circuits directly. Instead, we intend to develop and license technologies and processes that will offer the designers and manufacturers of integrated circuits a low-cost solution to the industry need for greater performance and lower power consumption. Our customers and partners are expected to include:

 

· foundries, which manufacture integrated circuits on behalf of fabless manufacturers;
· integrated device manufacturers, or IDMs, which are the fully integrated designers and manufacturers of integrated circuits;
· fabless semiconductor manufacturers, which are designers of integrated circuits who outsource the manufacture of their chips to foundries;
· original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, that manufacture the epitaxial, or EPI, machines used to deposit semiconductor layers, such as the MST® onto the base silicon wafer; and
· electronic design automation companies, which make tools used throughout the industry to simulate performance of semiconductor products using different materials, design structures and process technologies.

 

We intend to generate revenue through licensing arrangements whereby foundries and IDMs pay us a license fee for their use of MST® technology in the manufacture of silicon wafers as well as a royalty for each silicon wafer or device that incorporates our MST® technology. We also intend to enter into licensing arrangements with fabless semiconductor manufacturers pursuant to which we will charge them a royalty for each device they sell that incorporates our MST® technology.

 

We were organized as a Delaware limited liability company under the name Nanovis LLC on November 26, 2001. On March 13, 2007, we converted to a Delaware corporation under the name Mears Technologies, Inc. On January 12, 2016, we changed our name to Atomera Incorporated.

 

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On March 17, 2015, we completed the private placement of $14.75 million in senior secured convertible promissory notes and on April 1, 2016 we completed the private placement of an additional $5.96 million in senior secured convertible notes on the same terms as the promissory notes placed in March 2015. We refer to these promissory notes in Quarterly Report as our “Secured Notes.” We issued the March 2015 Secured Notes for cash consideration of $7.4 million and the exchange for previously issued promissory notes that at the time of exchange had principal and accrued interest in the aggregate amount of $7.35 million. As a result, as of June 30, 2016, we had issued and outstanding Secured Notes in the aggregate principal amount of $20.71 million, with accrued and unpaid interest in the amount of $2.55 million.

 

During October 2015, we conducted a recapitalization of our outstanding options and warrants to purchase shares of our common stock. Pursuant to the recapitalization, we offered all holders of our options and warrants as of December 31, 2014 a one-time opportunity to exchange their options and warrants for shares of our common stock at a ratio of two options or warrants for one share of common stock regardless of exercise price. The offer resulted in 166,230 options and 601,861 warrants converting to a total of 384,045 shares of common stock. In connection with the recapitalization, we incurred a one-time non-cash charge of approximately $2.09 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 relating to our loss on the exchange of the options and warrants for the common stock.

 

On December 11, 2015, we effected a 1-for-15 reverse stock split of our common stock. All historical share amounts and share price information presented in this report have been proportionally adjusted to reflect the impact of this reverse stock split.

 

On August 10, 2016, we announced the closing of our initial public offering of 3,680,000 share of common stock at a public offering price of $7.50 per share. The common stock included 480,000 shares sold as a result of the underwriter’s exercise in full of its overallotment option. Gross proceeds to us from this offering were $27,600,000 before deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other offering expenses. In accordance with the terms of the Secured Notes, all principal plus accrued interest (totaling approximately $23.5 million) converted automatically upon consummation of the IPO into 6,264,659 million shares of common stock.

 

Plan of Operations

 

Our plan of operations for the next 12 months will focus on securing one or more foundries, IDMs or fabless semiconductor manufacturers to qualify and license our MST® technology and start full-scale industrial production of a device that incorporates our MST® technology. We will also continue our research into new applications and materials. We intend to develop marketing tools to expand our potential customer base. These tools will include process and product simulation models which will help potential customers understand the benefits of MST® and how to implement it in their factories, as well as more comprehensive data showing the improvements that MST® can bring to specific classes of semiconductor devices. During next 12 months we expect to hire up to six additional employees, including four additional development engineers and two additional business development and sales persons in order to support the increased marketing and qualification of our MST® technology to a wider set of customers and markets. We also intend to expand our patent portfolio through additional patent applications, both US and foreign.

 

Results of Operations

 

Revenues

 

We have not commenced revenue-producing operations.

 

Research and development

 

To date, our operations have focused on the research, development, patent protection, and commercialization of our processes and technologies, including our proprietary and patent-protected MST® performance enhancement technology. Our research and development costs primarily consist of payroll and benefit costs for our engineering staff and costs of outsourced fabrication and metrology of semiconductor wafers incorporating our MST® technology.

 

The timing and amount of our outsourced fabrication and metrology is highly dependent on evaluations by our prospective customers and partners. As a result, the level of our research and development costs can vary significantly among accounting periods.

 

For the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, we incurred $867,370 and $576,124, respectively, of research and development expense, an increase of $291,246 or 51%. The increase was primarily related to increased headcount and increased spending on outsourced fabrication and metrology.

 

For the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, we incurred research and development costs of approximately $1.81 million and $1.10 million, respectively, an increase of $717,684 or 66%. The increase in research and development costs is primarily due to increased engineering headcount as well as increased spending on outsourced fabrication and metrology.

 

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General and administrative

 

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of payroll and benefit costs for administrative personnel, office-related costs and professional fees. General and administrative costs for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 were $893,015 and $440,657, respectively representing an increase of $452,358 or 103%. The increase in costs was due severance costs incurred in the three months ended June 30, 2016 relating to employees who were employed during that period and were terminated prior to June 30, 2016 in connection with the relocation of our headquarters from Wellesley Hills Massachusetts to Los Gatos, California, as well as increased payroll expenses due to the hiring of our Chief Executive Officer in October 2016 and Chief Financial Officer in February 2016.

 

General and administrative costs for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 were approximately $1.75 million and $2.14 million, respectively, representing a decrease $385,304 or 18%. The decrease in costs resulted from recognition in March 2015 of the approximately $1.0 million fair value of a warrant issued to Liquid Patent Advisors for strategic consulting services, offset in part by increased payroll expenses resulting from the hiring of our Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officers and the severance costs described above.

 

Selling and marketing

 

Selling and marketing expenses consist primarily of salary and benefits for our sales and marketing personnel and consulting services. For the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, selling and marketing expenses were $90,603 and $0, respectively. Selling and marketing expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 were $209,618 and $0, respectively. The increases for both the three and six month periods were due to our former Chief Executive Officer moving to the role of Executive Vice President of Business Development effective January 1, 2016 as well as increased marketing consulting expenses resulting from our increased focus on customer-facing efforts to commercialize our MST® technology.

 

Interest expense, net

 

Interest income and interest expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

 

    Three Months ended
June 30,
    Six Months ended
June 30,
 
    2016     2015     2016     2015  
                         
Interest income   $ 2     $ 1     $ 2     $ 3  
Interest expense     (748 )     (562 )     (1,310 )     (795 )
    $ (746 )   $ (561 )   $ (1,308 )   $ (792 )

 

Interest expense consists of interest accrued on our Secured Notes. We made no interest payments in the periods presented. The increases in interest expense in the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2016 compared to the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015 were due to our issuance of approximately $5.96 million principal amount of Secured Notes on April 1, 2016.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

As of June 30, 2016, we had total assets of approximately $5.68 million and a working capital deficit of approximately $18.21 million, including principal and accrued interest on our Secured Notes of $23.26 million. On August 10, 2016 we consummated our IPO of 3,680,000 shares of common stock through which we raised net proceeds of approximately $24.7 million. In connection with the completion of the IPO, our Secured Notes were converted into 6,264,659 shares of common stock, thus extinguishing the debt associated with the Secured Notes. Based on our cash balance as of the date of the filing of this report, including proceeds of our IPO, we believe that we have sufficient capital to fund our current business plans over, at least, 12 months from the date of filing this quarterly report, and to enable one or more customers to license and qualify our MST® technology and start full-scale industrial production of devices that incorporate MST® technology.

 

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, a year-over-year comparison of our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities (dollars in thousands)

 

    Six Months ended
June 30,
    Change  
    2016     2015     $     %  
                         
Operating cash flows   $ (3,294 )   $ (2,375 )   $ (919 )     39 %
Investing cash flows   $ (14 )   $ (2 )   $ (12 )     550 %
Financing cash flows   $ 5,378     $ 7,712     $ (2,334 )     (30 )%

 

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Operating activities . Cash used in operating activities increased during the six months ended June 30, 2016 compared to the same period of 2015 due primarily to increased losses from operations.

 

Investing activities . Cash used in operating activities increased during the six months ended June 30, 2016 compared to the same period of 2015 due primarily increased purchases of property and equipment to support our operations.

 

Financing activities . Cash provided by financing activities in the six months ended June 30, 2016 related primarily to our Secured Notes issued in April 2016. Cash provided by financing activities in the six months ended June 30, 2015 related primarily to the Secured Notes issued in in March 2015. See Note 6 to our unaudited condensed financial statements.

 

We believe that the net proceeds of our IPO and the conversion of approximately $23.49 million of debt to equity concurrent with the close of the IPO, will be sufficient to fund our presently forecasted working capital requirements for, at least, the next 12 months following the date of the filing of this report, including securing one or more foundries, IDMs or fabless semiconductor manufacturers to qualify and license our MST® technology and start full-scale industrial production of a device that incorporates our MST® technology. However, the semiconductor industry is generally slow to adopt new manufacturing process technologies and conducts long testing and qualification processes which we have limited ability to control. Accordingly, we may require additional capital in order to get to full-scale industrial production of a device that incorporates our MST® technology the receipt of which there can be no assurance. In the event we require additional capital over and above the amount raised and on hand, we will endeavor to acquire additional funds through various financing sources, including follow-on equity offerings, debt financing, licensing fees for our technology and joint ventures with industry partners. In addition, we will consider alternatives to our current business plan that may enable to us to achieve revenue producing operations and meaningful commercial success with a smaller amount of capital. However, there can be no guarantees that such funds will be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. If such financing is not available on satisfactory terms, we may be unable to further pursue our business plan and we may be unable to continue operations.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

We have not entered into off-balance sheet arrangements or issued guarantees to third parties.

 

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 4. Controls and Procedures.

 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Rule 13a-15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Based on this evaluation, management concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of June 30, 2016.

 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the three-month period ended June 30, 2016 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal controls over financial reporting.

 

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PART II—OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1A. Risk Factors

 

In addition to the other information included in this report, you should carefully consider the factors discussed under “Risk Factors” in our final IPO prospectus filed with the SEC Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) of the Securities Act of 1933 on August 8, 2016.

 

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equities and Use of Proceeds

 

Initial Public Offering

 

On August 10, 2016, we completed our initial public offering, or IPO, of 3,680,000 shares of our common stock, including 480,000 shares of common stock from the exercise of the option to purchase additional shares granted to the underwriters, at a price to the public of $7.50 per share. The offer and sale of all of the shares in our IPO were registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-212353), which was declared effective by the SEC on August 4, 2016. The offering commenced on August 5, 2015 and the closing took place on August 10, 2015.

 

National Securities Corporation acted as the underwriter for the offering. The aggregate offering price for shares sold in the offering was $27.6 million. We raised approximately $24.7 million in net proceeds from the offering, after deducting underwriter discounts and commissions of $2,29 million and other offering expenses of approximately $570,000, including our reimbursement of the underwriter’s expenses in the amount of $170,000. No payments were made by us to directors, officers or persons owning ten percent or more of our common stock or to their associates, or to our affiliates, other than payments in the ordinary course of business to officers for salaries. Pending the uses described in our definitive prospectus filed with the SEC on August 5, 2016, we have invested the net proceeds from the offering in short-term, investment-grade interest-bearing securities such as money market accounts, certificates of deposit, commercial paper, and guaranteed obligations of the U.S. government.

 

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities

 

On March 17, 2015, we completed the private placement of $14.75 million in senior secured convertible promissory notes, and on April 1, 2016 we completed the private placement of an additional $5.96 million in senior secured convertible notes on the same terms as the promissory notes placed in March 2015. We refer to these promissory notes as our “convertible notes.” Pursuant to the terms of our convertible notes, all principal and interest under the convertible notes automatically converted into shares of our common stock upon the initial closing of our IPO at the conversion price of $3.75 per share. As of the initial close of our IPO on August 10, 2016, all principal and interest, including approximately $20.71 million of principal and $2.78 million of accrued interest, under the convertible notes automatically converted into 6,264,659 shares of our common stock. The common shares were issued pursuant to the exemption from registration at Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506 thereunder.

 

Each of convertible note holders were accredited investors, as such term is defined in Rule 501 under the Securities Act. The note holders represented their intentions to acquire the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof, and appropriate legends were placed upon the stock certificates issued in the note conversions. All note holders had adequate access, through their relationships with us, to information about our Company. The issuance of the common shares was made without any general solicitation or advertising.

 

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Item 6. Exhibits

 

The following is a list of exhibits files as part of this Report on Form 10-Q

 

Exhibit

No.

  Description   Method of Filing
         
1.1   Underwriting Agreement dated August 5, 2016 between the Registrant and National Securities Corporation   Filed electronically herewith
         
3.1   Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant   Incorporated by reference from the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed on June 30, 2016.
         
3.2   Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant   Incorporated by reference from the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed on June 30, 2016.
         
3.3   Certificate of Amendment to Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant   Incorporated by reference from the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed on June 30, 2016.
         
3.4   Certificate of Amendment to Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant   Incorporated by reference from the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed on June 30, 2016.
         
4.1   Underwriter’s Warrant dated August 10, 2016 issued by the Registrant to National Securities Corporation   Filed electronically herewith
         
31.1   Certifications Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.   Filed electronically herewith
         
31.2   Certifications Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.   Filed electronically herewith
         
32.1   Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (18 U.S.C. Section 1350).   Filed electronically herewith
         
101.INS   XBRL Instance Document   Filed electronically herewith  
         
101.SCH   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document   Filed electronically herewith
         
101.CAL   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document   Filed electronically herewith
         
101.LAB   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document   Filed electronically herewith
         
101.PRE   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document     Filed electronically herewith
         
101.DEF   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document     Filed electronically herewith

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and the on the date indicated.

 

Signature

 

Title

 

Date

         
/s/ Scott A. Bibaud   Chief Executive Officer   September 19, 2016
Scott A. Bibaud   (Principal Executive Officer)    
         
/s/ Francis Laurencio   Chief Financial Officer   September 19, 2016
Francis Laurencio   (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)    

 

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Exhibit 1.1

 

ATOMERA INCORPORATED

 

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

 

New York, New York

August 4, 2016

National Securities Corporation,

As Representative of the Several Underwriters
410 Park Avenue, 14th Floor
New York, NY 10022

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The undersigned, Atomera Incorporated (f/k/a Mears Technologies, Inc.), a company formed under the laws of the Delaware (“ Company ”), hereby confirms its agreement with National Securities Corporation (hereinafter referred to as “ you ” (including its correlatives) or the “ Representative ”) and with the other underwriters named on Schedule 1 hereto for which the Representative is acting as representative (the Representative and such other underwriters being collectively called the “ Underwriters ” or, individually, an “ Underwriter ”) as follows:

 

1.           Purchase and Sale of Securities .

 

1.1.           Firm Securities .

 

1.1.1.           Nature and Purchase of Firm Securities .

 

  (i) On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained, but subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell, severally and not jointly, to the several Underwriters, an aggregate of 3,200,000 shares (“ Firm Shares ”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “ Common Stock ”).

 

  (ii) The Underwriters, severally and not jointly, agree to purchase from the Company the number of Firm Shares set forth opposite their respective names on Schedule 1 attached hereto and made a part hereof at a purchase price (net of discounts and commissions) of $6.8775 per Share. The Firm Shares are to be offered initially to the public (the “ Offering ”) at the offering price set forth on the cover page of the Prospectus (as defined in Section 2.1.1 hereof).

 

1.1.2.           Shares Payment and Delivery .

 

  (i)  Delivery and payment for the Firm Shares shall be made at 10:00 a.m., Eastern time, on the third (3 rd ) Business Day following the effective date (the “ Effective Date ”) of the Registration Statement (as defined in Section 2.1.1 below) (or the fourth (4 th ) Business Day following the Effective Date, if the Registration Statement is declared effective on or after 4:30 p.m.) or at such earlier time as shall be agreed upon in writing by the Representative and the Company at the offices of Golenbock Eiseman Assor Bell & Peskoe LLP, counsel to the Underwriters (“ GEAB&P ”), or at such other place (or remotely by facsimile or other electronic transmission) as shall be agreed upon in writing by the Representative and the Company. The hour and date of delivery and payment for the Firm Shares is called the “ Closing Date .”

 

 

 

 

(ii)  Payment for the Firm Shares shall be made on the Closing Date by wire transfer in Federal (same day) funds, payable to the order of the Company upon delivery of the certificates (in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters) representing the Firm Shares (or through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (the “ DTC ”)) for the account of the Underwriters. The Firm Shares shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denominations as the Representative may request in writing at least two (2) full Business Days prior to the Closing Date. The Company shall not be obligated to sell or deliver the Firm Shares except upon tender of payment by the Representative for all the Firm Shares. The term “ Business Day ” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday or a day on which banking institutions are authorized or obligated by law to close in New York City.

 

1.2.           Over-allotment Option .

 

1.2.1.           Option Shares . For the purposes of covering any over-allotments in connection with the distribution and sale of the Firm Shares, the Underwriters are hereby granted, an option to purchase up to 480,000 shares of Common Stock representing fifteen percent (15%) of the Firm Shares sold in the offering from the Company (the “ Over-allotment Option ”). Such additional Over-allotment Option shares of Common Stock, the net proceeds of which will be deposited with the Company’s account, are hereinafter referred to as “ Option Shares .” The purchase price to be paid for the Option Shares will be the same price per Option Share as the price per Firm Shares set forth in Section 1.1.1 hereof. The Firm Shares and the Option Shares are hereinafter referred to collectively as the “ Public Securities .”

 

1.2.2.           Exercise of Option . The Over-allotment Option granted pursuant to Section 1.2.1 hereof may be exercised by the Representative as to all (at any time) or any part (from time to time) of the Option Shares within 45 days after the Effective Date. The Underwriters will not be under any obligation to purchase any Option Shares prior to the exercise of the Over-allotment Option. The Over-allotment Option granted hereby may be exercised by the giving of oral notice to the Company from the Representative, which must be confirmed in writing by overnight mail or facsimile or other electronic transmission setting forth the number of Option Shares to be purchased and the date and time for delivery of and payment for the Option Shares (the “ Option Closing Date ”), which will not be later than five (5) full Business Days after the date of the notice or such other time as shall be agreed upon in writing by the Company and the Representative, at the offices of GEAB&P or at such other place (including remotely by facsimile or other electronic transmission) as shall be agreed upon in writing by the Company and the Representative. If such delivery and payment for the Option Shares does not occur on the Closing Date, the Option Closing Date will be as set forth in the notice. Upon exercise of the Over-allotment Option, the Company will become obligated to convey to the Underwriters, and, subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Underwriters will become obligated to purchase, the number of Option Shares specified in such notice.

 

1.2.3.           Payment and Delivery . Payment for the Option Shares will be made on the Option Closing Date by wire transfer in Federal (same day) funds as follows: $6.8775 per Option Share, payable to the order of the Company upon delivery of certificates (in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters) representing the Option Shares (or through the facilities of DTC) for the account of the Underwriters. The Option Shares shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denominations as the Representative may request in writing at least two (2) full Business Days prior to the Option Closing Date. The Company shall not be obligated to sell or deliver the Option Shares except upon tender of payment by the Representative for applicable Option Shares.

 

1.3.           Underwriters’ Warrants . The Company hereby agrees to issue and sell to the Representative on the Closing Date and Option Closing Date warrants to purchase that number of shares of Common Stock equal to an aggregate of 10% of the amount of Firm Shares and Options Shares, respectively, sold in the Offering (the “ Underwriters’ Warrants ”). The Underwriters’ Warrants as evidenced by the Underwriters’ Warrant Agreement, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A, shall be exercisable, in whole or in part, commencing twelve (12) months after the Effective Date and expiring five (5) years after the Effective Date at an initial exercise price per share of $9.375. The Underwriters’ Warrants and the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise thereof (“ Warrant Shares ”) are sometimes referred to herein collectively as the “ Warrant Securities .” The Representative understands and agrees that there are significant restrictions pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110 against transferring the Warrant Securities and by its acceptance thereof shall agree that it will not, sell, transfer, assign, pledge or hypothecate the Warrant Securities, or any portion thereof, or be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the effective economic disposition of such securities other than in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Warrant Securities may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated prior to the date that is three hundred sixty-five (365) days immediately following the Effective Date.

 

  2  

 

 

2.           Representations and Warranties of the Company . The Company represents and warrants to the Underwriters as of the Applicable Time (as defined below) and as of the Closing Date and as of the Option Closing Date, if any, as follows:

 

2.1.           Filing of Registration Statement .

 

2.1.1.           Pursuant to the Act . The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ Commission ”) a registration statement and an amendment or amendments thereto, on Form S-1 (File No. 333-212353), including any related preliminary prospectus or prospectuses, including those that omitted information pursuant to Rule 430A, for the registration of the Public Securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Act ”), which registration statement and amendment or amendments have been prepared by the Company in all material respects in conformity with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Act (the “ Regulations ”). Except as the context may otherwise require, such registration statement on file with the Commission at the time the registration statement becomes effective (including the prospectus, financial statements, schedules, exhibits and all other documents filed as a part thereof or incorporated therein by reference pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-1 and all information deemed to be a part thereof as of the Effective Date pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 430A of the Regulations and any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b)) is referred to herein as the “ Registration Statement .” As used herein, the term “ Preliminary Prospectus ” shall mean the preliminary prospectus dated July 29, 2016 made part of the Registration Statement. The final prospectus in the form first furnished to the Underwriters for use in the Offering is hereinafter called the “ Prospectus .” The Registration Statement has been declared effective by the Commission on the date hereof. “ Applicable Time ” means 5:00 p.m. on the Effective Date or such other time as agreed to in writing by the Company and the Representative.

 

2.1.2.           Pursuant to the Exchange Act . The Company has filed with the Commission a Form 8-A (File Number 001-37850) providing for the registration under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ Exchange Act ”), of the Firm Shares, and the Option Shares. The registration of the Firm Shares and the Option Shares under the Exchange Act has been declared effective by the Commission on the date hereof.

 

2.2.           No Stop Orders, etc . Neither the Commission nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any state regulatory authority has issued any order preventing or suspending the use of the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or the Registration Statement or has instituted or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened to institute any proceedings with respect to such an order.

 

2.3.           Disclosures in Registration Statement .

 

2.3.1.           10b-5 Representation . At the respective times of use of the Preliminary Prospectus and Prospectus and the effectiveness of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto (and at the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any):

 

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  (i)  The Preliminary Prospectus, Prospectus, Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto did and will contain all material statements that are required to be stated therein in accordance with the Act and the Regulations, and will in all material respects conform to the requirements of the Act and the Regulations;

 

  (ii)  Neither the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus nor the Registration Statement, nor any amendment or supplement thereto, on such dates, do or will contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representation and warranty made in this Section 2.3.1(ii) does not apply to statements made or statements omitted in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company with respect to the Underwriters by the Representative expressly for use in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or the Registration Statement or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto. The parties acknowledge and agree that such information provided by or on behalf of any Underwriter consists solely of the names of the Underwriters appearing in the “Underwriting” section of the Prospectus and the following additional disclosure contained in the “Underwriting” section of the Prospectus: (i) the fourth and sixth paragraphs under “Underwriting,” (ii) the statements in “Underwriting - Determination of Offering Price,” and (iii) the first paragraph under “Underwriting - Short Positions and Penalty Bids.” (the “ Underwriters’ Information ”).

 

2.3.2.           Disclosure of Agreements . The agreements and documents described in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement conform to the descriptions thereof contained therein and there are no agreements or other documents required by the Act and the Regulations to be described therein or to be filed with the Commission as exhibits to the Registration Statement, that have not been so described or filed. Each agreement or other instrument (however characterized or described) to which the Company is a party or by which it is or may be bound or affected and (i) that is referred to in the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, or (ii) is material to the Company’s business, has been duly authorized and validly executed by the Company, is in full force and effect in all material respects and is enforceable against the Company and, to the Company’s knowledge, the other parties thereto, in accordance with its terms, except (x) as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, (y) as enforceability of any indemnification or contribution provision may be limited under the federal or state securities laws, and (z) that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to the equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefore may be brought. None of such agreements or instruments has been assigned by the Company, and neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any other party is in default thereunder and, to the Company’s knowledge, no event has occurred that, with the lapse of time or the giving of notice, or both, would constitute a default thereunder. To the Company’s knowledge, performance by the Company of the material provisions of such agreements or instruments will not result in a violation of any existing applicable law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any governmental agency or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its assets or businesses, including, without limitation, those relating to environmental laws and regulations.

 

2.3.3.           Prior Securities Transactions . No securities of the Company that are required to be “integrated” pursuant to the Act or the regulations thereunder with the offer and sale of the shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Registration Statement have been offered or sold, either prior to the initial filing of the Registration Statement or the Effective Date, by the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its affiliates or by or on behalf of, or for the benefit of, any person or persons controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Company, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement.

 

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2.4.           Changes After Dates in Registration Statement .

 

2.4.1.           No Material Adverse Change . Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except as otherwise specifically stated therein: (i) there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, of the Company taken as a whole; (ii) there have been no material transactions entered into by the Company required to be disclosed in the Prospectus or the Registration Statement, other than as contemplated pursuant to this Agreement; and (iii) no officer or director of the Company has resigned from any position with the Company.

 

2.4.2.           Recent Securities Transactions, etc . Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and except as may otherwise be indicated or contemplated herein or disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company has not: (i) issued any securities or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, for borrowed money; or (ii) declared or paid any dividend or made any other distribution on or in respect to its capital stock.

 

2.5.           Independent Accountants . To the knowledge of the Company, Marcum LLP (“ Marcum ”), whose report is filed with the Commission as part of the Registration Statement, are independent registered public accountants as required by the Act and the Regulations. Marcum has not, during the periods covered by the financial statements included in the Prospectus, provided to the Company any non-audit services, as such term is used in Section 10A(g) of the Exchange Act.

 

2.6.           Financial Statements . The financial statements, including the notes thereto and supporting schedules, if any, included in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement fairly present the financial position and the results of operations of the Company at the dates and for the periods to which they apply; and such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (“ GAAP ”), consistently applied throughout the periods involved; and the supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement, if any, present fairly the information required to be stated therein. The Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement discloses all material off-balance sheet transactions, arrangements, obligations (including contingent obligations), and other relationships of the Company with unconsolidated entities or other persons required to be disclosed under Item 303(a)(4) of Regulation S-K.

 

2.7.           Authorized Capital; Options, etc . The Company had, at the date or dates indicated in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement, the duly authorized, issued and outstanding capitalization as set forth therein. Based on the assumptions stated in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement, the Company will have on the Closing Date the adjusted stock capitalization set forth therein (as such adjusted stock capitalization may be further adjusted for the final determination of the shares of Common Stock to be issued upon conversion of the Company’s Senior Secured Convertible Notes (“ Convertible Notes ”). Except as set forth in, or contemplated by, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, on the Effective Date and on the Closing Date, there will be no options, warrants, or other rights to purchase or otherwise acquire any authorized, but unissued shares of Common Stock of the Company or any security convertible into shares of Common Stock of the Company, or any contracts or commitments on the part of the Company to issue or sell shares of Common Stock or any such options, warrants, rights or convertible securities.

 

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2.8.           Valid Issuance of Securities, etc .

 

2.8.1.           Outstanding Securities . All issued and outstanding securities of the Company issued prior to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; the holders thereof have no rights of rescission with respect thereto, and are not subject to personal liability by reason of being such holders; and none of such securities were issued in violation of the preemptive rights of any holders of any security of the Company or similar contractual rights granted by the Company. The authorized Common Stock of the Company conforms in all material respects to all statements relating thereto contained in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement. The offers and sales of the outstanding shares of Common Stock were at all relevant times either registered under the Act and the applicable state securities or Blue Sky laws or, based in part on the representations and warranties of the purchasers of such shares of Common Stock, exempt from such registration requirements.

 

2.8.2.           Securities Sold Pursuant to this Agreement . The Public Securities have been duly authorized for issuance and sale and, when issued and paid for, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable; the holders thereof are not and will not be subject to personal liability by reason of being such holders; the Public Securities are not and will not be subject to the preemptive rights of any holders of any security of the Company or similar contractual rights granted by the Company; and all corporate action required to be taken for the authorization, issuance and sale of the Public Securities has been duly and validly taken. The Public Securities conform in all material respects to all statements with respect thereto contained in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement. The Warrant Shares issuable upon exercise of the Underwriters’ Warrants have been reserved for issuance upon the exercise thereof and, when issued in accordance with the terms of such securities will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable; the holders thereof are not and will not be subject to personal liability by reason of being such holders; and all corporate action required to be taken for the authorization, issuance and sale of the Warrant Securities has been duly and validly taken. The Warrant Securities conform in all material respects to all statements with respect thereto contained in the Registration Statement.

 

2.9.           Registration Rights of Third Parties . Except as set forth in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement, no holders of any securities of the Company or any rights exercisable for or convertible or exchangeable into securities of the Company have the right to require the Company to register any such securities of the Company under the Act or to include any such securities in a registration statement to be filed by the Company.

 

2.10.          Validity and Binding Effect of Agreements . This Agreement has been duly and validly authorized by the Company, and, when executed and delivered, will constitute, a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its respective terms, except: (i) as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally; (ii) as enforceability of any indemnification or contribution provision may be limited under the federal or state securities laws; and (iii) that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to the equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.

 

2.11.          No Conflicts, etc . The execution, delivery, and performance by the Company of this Agreement and all ancillary documents, the consummation by the Company of the transactions herein and therein contemplated and the compliance by the Company with the terms hereof and thereof do not and will not, with or without the giving of notice or the lapse of time or both: (i) result in a material breach of, or conflict with any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a material default under, any agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party; (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company (as the same may be amended from time to time, the “ Certificate of Incorporation ”); or (iii) result in the Company’s violation of any existing applicable law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any governmental agency or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties or business constituted as of the date hereof.

 

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2.12.          No Defaults; Violations . No material default exists in the due performance and observance of any term, covenant or condition of any material license, contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, note, loan or credit agreement, or any other agreement or instrument evidencing an obligation for borrowed money, or any other material agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company may be bound or to which any of the properties or assets of the Company is subject. The Company is not in violation of any term or provision of its Certificate of Incorporation, or in violation of any franchise, license, permit, applicable law, rule, regulation, judgment or decree of any governmental agency or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties or businesses.

 

2.13.          Corporate Power; Licenses; Consents .

 

2.13.1.         Conduct of Business . Except as described in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement, the Company has all requisite corporate power and authority, and has all necessary authorizations, approvals, orders, licenses, certificates and permits of and from all governmental regulatory officials and bodies that it needs as of the date hereof to conduct its business purpose as described in the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus. The disclosures in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement concerning the effects of Federal, state, local and foreign regulation on this Offering and the Company’s business purpose as currently contemplated are correct in all material respects.

 

2.13.2.         Transactions Contemplated Herein . The Company has all corporate power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to carry out the provisions and conditions hereof, and all consents, authorizations, approvals and orders required in connection therewith have been obtained. No consent, authorization or order of, and no filing with, any court, government agency or other body is required for the valid issuance, sale and delivery of the securities and the consummation of the transactions and agreements contemplated by this Agreement and as contemplated by the disclosures in the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus, except with respect to applicable Federal and state securities laws and regulations and the rules and regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“ FINRA ”).

 

2.14.          D&O Questionnaires . To the Company’s knowledge, all information contained in the questionnaires (the “ Questionnaires ”) completed by each of the Company’s officers and directors immediately prior to the Offering, as well as in the Lock-Up Agreement provided to the Underwriters, is true and correct in all material respects and the Company has not become aware of any information which would cause the information disclosed in the Questionnaires completed by each such officer or director to become inaccurate and incorrect.

 

2.15.          Litigation; Governmental Proceedings . There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry, arbitration, investigation, litigation or governmental proceeding pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened against, or involving the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any executive officer or director that is required to be disclosed in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement which has not been disclosed therein or in connection with the Company’s listing application for the listing of the shares of Common Stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

 

2.16.          Good Standing . The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation and is in good standing under the laws of the Delaware as of the date hereof, and is duly qualified to do business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of business requires such qualification, except where the failure to qualify would not have a Material Adverse Effect (as defined in Section 2.20).

 

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2.17.          Transactions Affecting Disclosure to FINRA .

 

2.17.1.         Finder’s Fees . Except as described in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement, there are no claims, payments, arrangements, agreements or understandings relating to the payment of a finder’s, consulting or origination fee by the Company or any of its officers or directors with respect to the sale of the securities hereunder or any other arrangements, agreements or understandings of the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its shareholders that may affect the Underwriters’ compensation, as determined by FINRA.

 

 

2.17.2.         Payments Within Twelve Months . Except as described in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement, the Company has not made any direct or indirect payments (in cash, securities or otherwise) to: (i) any person, as a finder’s fee, consulting fee or otherwise, in consideration of such person raising capital for the Company or introducing to the Company persons who raised or provided capital to the Company; (ii) to any FINRA member; or (iii) to the Company’s knowledge, to any person or entity that has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any FINRA member, within the twelve months prior to the Effective Date, other than payments to the Underwriters as provided hereunder in connection with the Offering.

 

2.17.3.         Use of Proceeds . None of the net proceeds of the Offering will be paid by the Company to any participating FINRA member or its affiliates, except as specifically authorized herein.

 

2.17.4.         FINRA Affiliation . To the Company’s knowledge, no officer, director or any beneficial owner of the Company’s unregistered securities (other than the record or beneficial holders of the Convertible Notes) has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any FINRA member (as determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of FINRA) except as set forth in the Registration Statement. The Company will advise the Representative if it learns that any officer, director or owner of at least 5% of the Company’s outstanding shares of Common Stock (or securities convertible into shares of Common Stock) is or becomes an affiliate or associated person of a FINRA member participating in the Offering.

 

2.18.          Foreign Corrupt Practices Act . Neither the Company nor any of the directors, employees or officers of the Company or, to its knowledge, any other person acting on behalf of the Company has, directly or indirectly, given or agreed to give any money, gift or similar benefit (other than legal price concessions to customers in the ordinary course of business) to any customer, supplier, employee or agent of a customer or supplier, or official or employee of any governmental agency or instrumentality of any government (domestic or foreign) or any political party or candidate for office (domestic or foreign) or any political party or candidate for office (domestic or foreign) or other person who was, is, or may be in a position to help or hinder the business of the Company (or assist it in connection with any actual or proposed transaction) that (i) might subject the Company to any damage or penalty in any civil, criminal or governmental litigation or proceeding, (ii) if not given in the past, might have had a Material Adverse Effect as reflected in any of the financial statements contained in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or (iii) if not continued in the future, might have a Material Adversely Effect. The Company has taken reasonable steps to ensure that its accounting controls and procedures are sufficient to cause the Company to comply in all material respects with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.

 

2.19.          Officers’ Certificate . Any certificate pursuant to this Agreement signed by any duly authorized officer of the Company and delivered to the Representative shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to the Underwriters as to the matters covered thereby.

 

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2.20.          Possession of Licenses and Permits . The Company (A) possesses the licenses, permits, certificates, authorizations, consents and approvals (collectively, “ Governmental Licenses ”) issued by the appropriate governmental entities necessary to conduct its business as currently conducted as described in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement, and (B) has obtained all necessary Governmental Licenses from other persons necessary to conduct its business, except, in each case of clauses (A) and (B), (i) as described in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement or (ii) to the extent that any failure to possess any Governmental Licenses, provide any notice, make any filing, or obtain any Governmental Licenses would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the assets, business or operations of the Company or its subsidiaries taken as a whole (“ Material Adverse Effect ”); none of the Company and subsidiaries is in violation of, or in default under, any Governmental License, as except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. All of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except when the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Governmental Licenses which, individually or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

2.21.          Title to Property . The Company has legal and valid title to all assets and properties described as owned by it in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement (whether through fee ownership, mineral estates or similar rights of ownership), in each case free and clear of all liens, except for a first priority lien on all of the assets of the Company securing the Company’s obligations under the Convertible Notes or as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, and any real property or personal property held under lease by the Company is held under a lease that is valid, existing and enforceable by the Company with such exceptions as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, and the Company has not received any written notice of any material claim that is adverse to the rights of the Company under any the lease.

 

2.22.          Possession of Intellectual Property . The Company owns or possesses all licenses or other rights to use all patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights, software and design licenses, trade secrets, manufacturing processes, other intangible property rights and know-how as are necessary for the conduct of its business as described in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement (collectively, “ Intellectual Property ”), except where the failure to own or possess such Intellectual Property would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not received written notice of any infringement of or conflict with (and the Company does not know of any such infringement of or conflict with) any asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

2.23.          Company IT Systems . The Company owns or has a valid right to access and use all computer systems, networks, hardware, software, databases, websites and equipment used to process, store, maintain and operate data, information and functions necessary for the conduct of its business (the “ Company IT Systems ”), except where the failure to own or have right to access the Company IT Systems would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company IT Systems are adequate for, and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with, the operation of the business of the Company as currently conducted, except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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2.24.          Environmental Laws . Except as described in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement, (A) the Company is not in violation of any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products, asbestos-containing materials or mold (collectively, “ Hazardous Materials ”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “ Environmental Laws ”), except for those violations that would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, (B) the Company has all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and is in compliance in all material respects with their requirements, (C) there are no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigations or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company, and (D) to the Company’s knowledge, there are no events or circumstances that would reasonably be expected to form the basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or proceeding by any private party or governmental body or agency, against or affecting the Company relating to Hazardous Materials or any Environmental Laws.

 

2.25.          Payment of Taxes . Except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect or where such matters are the result of a pending bona fide dispute with taxing authorities, (A) the Company has accurately prepared and timely filed all federal, state, foreign and other tax returns or other statements that are or were required to be filed by it, if any, and has paid or made provision for the payment of all taxes, assessments, governmental or other similar charges, including without limitation, all sales and use taxes and all taxes which it is obligated to withhold from amounts owing to employees, creditors and third parties, with respect to the periods covered by such tax returns (whether or not such amounts are shown as due on any tax return), (B) no deficiency assessment with respect to a proposed adjustment of the Company’s federal, state, local or foreign taxes is pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened, (C) since the date of the most recent audited financial statements, the Company has not incurred any liability for taxes other than in the ordinary course of its business, and (D) there is no tax lien, whether imposed by any federal, state, foreign or other taxing authority, outstanding against the assets, properties or business of the Company.

 

2.26.          Insurance . The Company carries, or is covered by, insurance (issued by insurers of recognized financial responsibility) in such amounts and covering such risks as is appropriate for the conduct of its entire business and the value of its assets, all of which insurance is in full force and effect in all material respects.

 

2.27.          Investment Company Act . The Company is not, nor upon the sale of the Public Securities as contemplated herein and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement under the caption “Use of Proceeds”, will the Company be, an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company” (as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder).

 

2.28.          Employment Laws Compliance . The Company has not violated, or received any notice of any violation with respect to, any law, rule, regulation, order, decree or judgment applicable to it and its business, including those relating to transactions with affiliates, environmental, safety or similar laws, federal or state laws relating to discrimination in the hiring, promotion or pay of employees, federal or state wages and hours law, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, except for those violations that would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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2.29.          Money Laundering Laws . The Company has not, and, to the Company’s knowledge, none of the officers, directors, employees or agents purporting to act on behalf of the Company or a subsidiary, as applicable, has, made any payment of funds of the Company or a subsidiary or received or retained any funds in violation of any law, rule or regulation relating to the “know your customer” and anti-money laundering laws of any jurisdiction (collectively, the “ Money Laundering Laws ”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any governmental entity involving the Company with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened.

 

2.30.          OFAC . The Company has not, and, to the Company’s knowledge, none of its directors, officers, agents or employees purporting to act on behalf of the Company is currently the target of or reasonably likely to become the target of any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“ OFAC ”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Public Securities hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently the target of any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.

 

2.31.          Lock-up Agreements. Each of the Company’s officers, directors, employees, stockholders and Convertible Note holders (the “ Lock-Up Parties ”) have agreed that (A) with respect to officers and directors, for a period of one year from the Effective Date of the Registration Statement, and (B) with respect to employees, stockholders and Convertible Note holders, for a period of one hundred eighty days from the Effective Date of the Registration Statement (the “ Lock-Up Period ”), such persons and their affiliated parties shall not sell, contract to sell, grant any option for the sale or otherwise dispose of any of our equity securities, or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our equity securities, without the consent of the Representative; provided ; however , that with respect to employees, stockholders and Convertible Note holders only, commencing on the 181st day following the Effective Date and on every subsequent 31st day thereafter, fifteen percent (15%) of the securities held by such Lock-Up Parties shall be released from the restrictions of this Section 2.31 until the 366th day following the Effective Date when all of the securities held by such Lock-Up Parties shall be released from the restrictions of this Section 2.31. The Representative may consent to an early release from the Lock-Up period if, in its opinion, the market for shares of Common Stock would not be adversely impacted by sales and in cases of financial emergency of an officer, director or other stockholder. The Company has caused each of the Lock-Up Parties to deliver to the Representative the agreements of each Lock-Up Parties to the foregoing effect prior to the date that the Company requests that the Commission declare the Registration Statement effective under the Act.

 

2.32.          Subsidiaries . The Company has no subsidiary that is a “significant subsidiary” of the Company within the meaning of Rule 1.01 of Regulation S-X under the Act.

 

2.33.          Related Party Transactions . Except as disclosed in the Prospectus and the Registration Statement, there are no business relationships or related party transactions involving the Company or any other person required to be described in the Prospectus that have not been described as required.

 

2.34.          Board of Directors . The Board of Directors of the Company is comprised of the persons set forth under the heading of the Prospectus captioned “Management”. The qualifications of the persons serving as board members and the overall composition of the board comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules promulgated thereunder applicable to the Company and the rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market. At least one member of the Board of Directors of the Company qualifies as a “financial expert” as such term is defined under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules promulgated thereunder and the rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market. In addition, at least a majority of the persons serving on the Board of Directors shall qualify as “independent” as defined under the rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market within 12 months of the Effective Date.

 

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2.35.          Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance .

 

2.35.1.        Disclosure Controls . The Company has developed and currently maintains disclosure controls and procedures that will comply with Rule 13a-15 or 15d-15 of the Exchange Act, and such controls and procedures are effective to ensure that all material information concerning the Company will be made known on a timely basis to the individuals responsible for the preparation of the Company’s Exchange Act filings and other public disclosure documents.

 

2.35.2.        Compliance . On the Effective Date, the Company was in material compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 applicable to it, and has implemented such programs and taken reasonable steps to ensure the Company’s future compliance (not later than the relevant statutory and regulatory deadlines therefore) with all the material provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

3.           Covenants of the Company . The Company covenants and agrees as follows:

 

3.1.           Amendments to Registration Statement . The Company will deliver to the Representative, prior to filing, any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus proposed to be filed after the Effective Date, and it will not file any such amendment or supplement to which the Representative shall reasonably object in writing.

 

3.2.           Federal Securities Laws .

 

3.2.1.          Compliance . During the time when a Prospectus is required to be delivered under the Act, the Company will use its best efforts to comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Act, the Regulations and the Exchange Act and by the regulations under the Exchange Act, as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of or dealings in the Public Securities in accordance with the provisions hereof and the Prospectus. If at any time when a Prospectus relating to the Public Securities is required to be delivered under the Act, any event shall have occurred as a result of which, in the opinion of counsel for the Company or counsel for the Underwriters, the Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented, includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or if it is necessary at any time to amend the Prospectus to comply with the Act, the Company will notify the Representative promptly and prepare and file with the Commission, subject to Section 3.1 hereof, an appropriate amendment or supplement in accordance with Section 10 of the Act.

 

3.2.2.          Filing of Final Prospectus . The Company will file the Prospectus (in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative) with the Commission pursuant to the requirements of Rule 424 of the Regulations.

 

3.2.3.          Exchange Act Registration . For a period of three years from the Effective Date, the Company will use its best efforts to maintain the registration of the shares of Common Stock under the provisions of the Exchange Act. The Company will not deregister the shares of Common Stock under the Exchange Act without the prior written consent of the Representative. The foregoing requirements shall automatically terminate in the event that the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions, (1) sells, transfers or otherwise disposes of all or substantially all of its assets to any other person, or (2) consummates a stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination (including, without limitation, a merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization, spin-off or scheme of arrangement) with any other person whereby such other person acquires more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Company’s voting stock and the Company is not the surviving entity.

 

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3.2.4.          Free Writing Prospectuses . The Company represents and agrees that it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Public Securities that would constitute an issuer free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 433 of the 1933 Act, without the prior consent of the Representative. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Representative is hereinafter referred to as a “ Permitted Free Writing Prospectus .” The Company represents that its will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the applicable requirements of Rule 433 of the 1933 Act, including timely Commission filing where required, legending and record keeping.

 

3.3.           Delivery to Underwriters of Prospectuses . The Company will deliver to each of the several Underwriters, without charge, from time to time during the period when the Prospectus is required to be delivered under the Act or the Exchange Act such number of copies of each Prospectus as such Underwriters may reasonably request and, as soon as the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto becomes effective, deliver to the Representative two original executed Registration Statements, including exhibits, and all post-effective amendments thereto and copies of all exhibits filed therewith or incorporated therein by reference and all original executed consents of certified experts.

 

3.4.           Effectiveness and Events Requiring Notice to the Representative . The Company will notify the Representative immediately and confirm the notice in writing: (i) of the effectiveness of the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto; (ii) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of the initiation, or the threatening, of any proceeding for that purpose; (iii) of the issuance by any state securities commission of any proceedings for the suspension of the qualification of the Public Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction or of the initiation, or the threatening, of any proceeding for that purpose; (iv) of the mailing and delivery to the Commission for filing of any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus; (v) of the receipt of any comments or request for any additional information from the Commission; and (vi) of the happening of any event during the period described in this Section 3.4 hereof that, in the judgment of the Company, makes any statement of a material fact made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus untrue or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. If the Commission or any state securities commission shall enter a stop order or suspend such qualification at any time, the Company will make every reasonable effort to obtain promptly the lifting of such order.

 

3.5.           [Intentionally Omitted] .

 

3.6.           Reports to the Representative .

 

3.6.1.          Periodic Reports, etc . For a period of three years from the Effective Date, the Company will furnish to the Representative copies of such financial statements and other periodic and special reports as the Company from time to time furnishes generally to holders of any class of its securities and also promptly furnish to the Representative: (i) a copy of each periodic report the Company shall be required to file with the Commission; (ii) a copy of every press release and every news item and article with respect to the Company or its affairs which was released by the Company; (iii) a copy of each Form 8-K prepared and filed by the Company; (iv) five copies of each Registration Statement; (v) such additional documents and information with respect to the Company and the affairs of any future subsidiaries of the Company as the Representative may from time to time reasonably request; provided the Representatives shall sign, if requested by the Company, a Regulation FD compliant confidentiality agreement which is reasonably acceptable to the Representative in connection with the Representative’s receipt of such information. Documents filed with the Commission pursuant to its EDGAR system shall be deemed to have been delivered to the Representative pursuant to this Section.

 

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3.6.2.          Transfer Sheets . For a period of three years from the Effective Date, the Company shall retain a transfer and registrar agent acceptable to the Representative (the “ Transfer Agent ”) and will furnish to the Representatives at the Company’s sole cost and expense such transfer sheets of the Company’s securities as the Representative may reasonably request, including the daily and monthly consolidated transfer sheets of the Transfer Agent and DTC. VStock Transfer, LLC is acceptable to the Underwriters to act as Transfer Agent for the Company’s shares of Common Stock.

 

3.6.3.          Trading Reports . During such time as the Public Securities are listed on Nasdaq Capital Market the Company shall provide to the Representative, at its expense, such reports published by the Nasdaq Capital Market relating to price trading of the Public Securities, as the Representative shall reasonably request.

 

3.7.           Payment of Expenses .

 

3.7.1.           General Expenses Related to the Offering . The Company hereby agrees to pay on each of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any, to the extent not paid at the Closing Date, all expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement, including, but not limited to: (i) all filing fees and communication expenses relating to the registration of the Public Securities to be sold in the Offering with the Commission; (b) all filing fees associated with the review of the Offering by FINRA; (c) all fees and expenses relating to the listing of the shares of Common Stock on NASDAQ and such other stock exchanges as the Company and the Underwriter together determine; (d) all fees, expenses and disbursements relating to the registration or qualification of the Public Securities under the “blue sky” securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions as the Representative may reasonably designate; (e) all fees, expenses and disbursements relating to the registration, qualification or exemption of the Public Securities under the securities laws of such foreign jurisdictions as the Underwriters may reasonably designate; (f) the costs of all mailing and printing of the Registration Statements, Preliminary Prospectuses, Prospectuses and all amendments, supplements and exhibits thereto and as many preliminary and final Prospectuses as the Underwriters may reasonably deem necessary; (g) the costs and expenses of its public relations firm, if any; (h) the costs of preparing, printing and delivering certificates representing the Public Securities and fees and expenses of the Transfer Agent for the shares of Common Stock; (i) stock transfer and/or stamp taxes, if any, payable upon the transfer of securities from the Company to the Underwriters; (j) the fees and expenses of the Company’s accountants; (k) the fees and expenses of the Company’s legal counsel and other agents and representatives; and (l) the Company’s actual “road show” expenses for the Offering. The Representative has the right to deduct from the net proceeds of the Offering any advance made by the Underwriters to pay for the expenses of the Company.

 

3.7.2.           Non-accountable Expenses . The Company further agrees that, in addition to the expenses payable pursuant to Section 3.7.1, on the Closing Date it will pay to the Representative a non-accountable expense allowance equal to $170,000 by deduction from the proceeds of the Offering contemplated herein.

 

3.8.           Application of Net Proceeds . The Company will apply the net proceeds from the Offering received by it in a manner consistent with the application described under the caption “Estimated Use Of Proceeds” in the Prospectus.

 

3.9.           Delivery of Earnings Statements to Security Holders . The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but not later than the first day of the fifteenth full calendar month following the Effective Date, an earnings statement (which need not be certified by independent public or independent certified public accountants unless required by the Act or the Regulations, but which shall satisfy the provisions of Rule 158(a) under Section 11(a) of the Act) covering a period of at least twelve consecutive months beginning after the Effective Date.

 

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3.10.          Stabilization . Neither the Company, nor, to its knowledge, any of its employees, directors or stockholders (without the consent of the Representative) has taken or will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that has constituted or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act, or otherwise, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Common Stock.

 

3.11.          Internal Controls . The Company will maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that: (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary in order to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.

 

3.12.          Accountants . As of the Effective Date, the Company shall retain Marcum or other independent public accountants reasonably acceptable to the Representative, and the Company shall continue to retain a nationally recognized independent certified public accounting firm for a period of at least three years after the Effective Date.

 

3.13.          No Fiduciary Duties . The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters’ responsibility to the Company is solely contractual in nature and that none of the Underwriters or their affiliates or agents shall be deemed to be acting in a fiduciary capacity, or otherwise owes any fiduciary duty to the Company or any of its affiliates in connection with the Offering and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

3.14.          Lock-Up Period . The Company agrees that, without the prior written consent of the Representative, it will not to sell, transfer or pledge, or offer to do any of the same, directly or indirectly, any of its securities for a period of one year from the Effective Date of the Registration Statement, other than securities contemplated for issuance by this Agreement or the Preliminary Prospectus, securities issuable upon exercise or conversion of Company securities outstanding as of the date of this Agreement and securities reserved for issuance under the Company’s 2007 Stock Incentive Plan or any successor plan.

 

4.           Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations . The obligations of the several Underwriters to purchase and pay for the Public Securities, as provided herein, shall be subject to the continuing accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company as of the date hereof and as of each of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any, to the accuracy of the statements of officers of the Company made pursuant to the provisions hereof and to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and to the following conditions:

 

4.1.           Regulatory Matters .

 

4.1.1.          Effectiveness of Registration Statement . The Registration Statement shall have become effective not later than 5:00 P.M., Eastern time, on the date of this Agreement or such later date and time as shall be consented to in writing by you, and, at each of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been instituted or shall be pending or contemplated by the Commission and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Representative.

 

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4.1.2.          FINRA Clearance . By the Effective Date, the Representative shall have received oral clearance from FINRA as to the amount of compensation allowable or payable to the Underwriters as described in the Registration Statement.

 

4.1.3.          Nasdaq Clearance . On the Closing Date, the Company’s shares of Common Stock, including the Public Securities, shall have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

 

4.2.           Company Counsel Matters .

 

4.2.1.          Closing Date Opinion of Counsel . On the Closing Date, the Representative shall have received the favorable opinion of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, counsel to the Company (“ GT ”), dated the Closing Date, addressed to the Representative, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory in all respects to the Representative. The opinion of GT shall include a statement to the effect that such counsel has participated in conferences with officers and other representatives of the Company, the Underwriters and the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company, at which conferences the contents of the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and Registration Statement contained therein and related matters were discussed and, although such counsel is not passing upon and does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the statements contained in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement contained therein, solely on the basis of the foregoing without independent check and verification, no facts have come to the attention of such counsel which lead them to believe that the Registration Statement or any amendment thereto, at the time the Registration Statement or amendment became effective, contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, at the time they were filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) or at the date of such counsel’s opinion, contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statement therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading (except that such counsel need express no view and shall not be deemed to have rendered an opinion with respect to the financial information and statistical data). The Registration Statement and the Prospectus and any post-effective amendments or supplements thereto (other than the financial statements including notes and schedules, financial data and statistical data included therein, as to which no opinion need be rendered) each as of their respective dates complied as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Act and Regulations.  

 

4.2.2.          Option Closing Date Opinion of Counsel . On the Option Closing Date, if any, the Representative shall have received the favorable opinion of GT, dated the Option Closing Date, addressed to the Representative and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative, confirming as of the Option Closing Date, the statements made by such counsel in its opinion delivered on the Closing Date.

 

4.2.3.          Reliance . In rendering its opinion, GT may rely: (i) as to matters involving the application of laws other than the laws of the United States and jurisdictions in which they are admitted, to the extent such counsel deems proper and to the extent specified in such opinion, if at all, upon an opinion or opinions (in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative) of other counsel reasonably acceptable to the Representative, familiar with the applicable laws; and (ii) as to matters of fact, to the extent they deem proper, on certificates or other written statements of officers of the Company and officers of departments of various jurisdictions having custody of documents respecting the corporate existence or good standing of the Company, provided that copies of any such statements or certificates shall be delivered to GEAB&P if requested. The opinion of GT and any opinion relied upon by GT shall include a statement to the effect that it may be relied upon by counsel for the Underwriters in its opinion delivered to the Underwriters.

 

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4.3.           Cold Comfort Letter . At the time this Agreement is executed, and at each of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any, the Representative shall have received a letter in form and substance satisfactory in all respects (including the non-material nature of the changes or decreases, if any, referred to in clause (iii) below) to the Representative and to GEAB&P from Marcum dated, respectively, as of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any:

 

  (i) Confirming that they are independent public accountants with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Act and the applicable Regulations and that they have not, during the periods covered by the financial statements included in the Prospectus, provided to the Company any non-audit services, as such term is used in Section 10A(g) of the Exchange Act;

 

  (ii) Stating that in their opinion the financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement and Prospectus comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Act and the published Regulations thereunder;

 

  (iii) Stating that, on the basis of a limited review which included a reading of the latest available unaudited interim financial statements of the Company (with an indication of the date of the latest available unaudited interim financial statements), a reading of the latest available minutes of the stockholders and board of directors and the various committees of the board of directors, consultations with officers and other employees of the Company responsible for financial and accounting matters and other specified procedures and inquiries, nothing has come to their attention which would lead them to believe that: (a) the unaudited financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement do not comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Act and the Regulations or are not fairly presented in conformity with GAAP applied on a basis substantially consistent with that of the audited financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement; (b) at June 30, 2016, there was any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company, or any decrease in the shareholders’ equity of the Company as compared with amounts shown in the March 31, 2016 balance sheet included in the Registration Statement, other than as set forth in or contemplated by the Registration Statement, or, if there was any decrease, setting forth the amount of such decrease, and (c) during the period from April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016, there was any decrease in revenues, net earnings or net earnings per share, in each case as compared with the corresponding period in the preceding year and as compared with the corresponding period in the preceding quarter, other than as set forth in or contemplated by the Registration Statement, or, if there was any such decrease, setting forth the amount of such decrease;

 

   (iv) Stating that they have compared specific dollar amounts, numbers of shares, percentages of revenues and earnings, statements and other financial information pertaining to the Company set forth in the Prospectus in each case to the extent that such amounts, numbers, percentages, statements and information may be derived from the general accounting records, including work sheets, of the Company and excluding any questions requiring an interpretation by legal counsel, with the results obtained from the application of specified readings, inquiries and other appropriate procedures (which procedures do not constitute an examination in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards) set forth in the letter and found them to be in agreement; and

 

   (v) Statements as to such other matters incident to the transaction contemplated hereby as you may reasonably request.

 

4.4.           Officers’ Certificates .

 

4.4.1.           Officers’ Certificate . At each of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any, the Representative shall have received a certificate of the Company signed by the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, who can be the same person, dated the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, respectively, to the effect that the Company has performed all covenants and complied with all conditions required by this Agreement to be performed or complied with by the Company prior to and as of the Closing Date, or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, and that the conditions set forth in Section 4.5 hereof have been satisfied as of such date and that, as of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, the representations and warranties of the Company set forth in Section 2 hereof are true and correct. In addition, the Representative will have received such other and further certificates of officers of the Company as the Representative may reasonably request.

 

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4.4.2.           Secretary’s Certificate . At each of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any, the Representative shall have received a certificate of the Company signed by the Secretary or Assistant Secretary of the Company, dated the Closing Date or the Option Date, as the case may be, respectively, certifying: (i) that the Certificate of Incorporation is true and complete, has not been modified and is in full force and effect; (ii) that the resolutions of the Company’s Board of Directors relating to the public offering contemplated by this Agreement are in full force and effect and have not been modified; (iii) all correspondence between the Company or its counsel and the Commission; and (iv) as to the incumbency of the officers of the Company. The documents referred to in such certificate shall be attached to such certificate.

 

4.5.           No Material Changes . Prior to and on each of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, if any: (i) there shall have been no material adverse change or development involving a prospective material adverse change in the condition or the business activities, financial or otherwise, of the Company from the latest dates as of which such condition is set forth in the Registration Statement and Prospectus taken as a whole; (ii) no action suit or proceeding, at law or in equity, shall have been pending or threatened against the Company or any officers or directors before or by any court or federal or state commission, board or other administrative agency wherein an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding may materially adversely affect the business, operations, or financial condition or income of the Company, except as set forth in the Registration Statement and Prospectus; (iii) no stop order shall have been issued under the Act and no proceedings therefore shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and (iv) the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto shall contain all material statements which are required to be stated therein in accordance with the Act and the Regulations and shall conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the Regulations, and neither the Registration Statement nor the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto shall contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

4.6.           Delivery of Agreements .

 

4.6.1.          Effective Date Deliveries . On the Effective Date, the Company shall have delivered to the Representative executed copies of this Agreement, the Underwriters’ Warrant Agreement and the Lock-Up Agreement.

 

4.6.2.          Closing Date Deliveries . On the Closing Date, the Company shall have delivered to the Underwriters the Firm Shares, and on the Option Closing Date, if any, the Company shall have delivered to the Underwriters the Option Shares.

 

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5.           Indemnification .

 

5.1.           Indemnification of Underwriters .

 

5.1.1.          General . Subject to the conditions set forth below, the Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each of the Underwriters, and each dealer selected by the Representative that participates in the offer and sale of the Public Securities (each a “ Selected Dealer ”) and each of their respective directors, officers and employees and each person, if any, who controls any such Underwriter (“ Controlling Person ”) within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act, against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever (including but not limited to any and all legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing for or defending against any litigation, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever, whether arising out of any action between any of the Underwriters and the Company or between any of the Underwriters and any third party or otherwise) (collectively, “ Loss ”) to which they or any of them may become subject under the Act, the Exchange Act or any other statute or at common law or otherwise or under the laws of foreign countries, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in (i)  the Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (as from time to time each may be amended and supplemented); (ii) any materials or information provided to investors by, or with the approval of, the Company in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Public Securities, including any “road show” or investor presentations made to investors by the Company (whether in person or electronically); or (iii) any application or other document or written communication (in this Section 5, collectively called “application”) executed by the Company or based upon written information furnished by the Company in any jurisdiction in order to qualify the Public Securities under the securities laws thereof or filed with the Commission, any state securities commission or agency, Nasdaq Capital Market or any securities exchange; or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, unless such statement or omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriters’ Information. The Company agrees promptly to notify the Representative of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against the Company or any of its officers, directors or controlling persons in connection with the issue and sale of the Public Securities or in connection with the Registration Statement or Prospectus.

 

5.1.2.          Procedure . If any action is brought against an Underwriter, a Selected Dealer or a Controlling Person in respect of which indemnity may be sought against the Company pursuant to Section 5.1.1, such Underwriter or such Selected Dealer shall promptly notify the Company in writing of the institution of such action and the Company shall assume the defense of such action, including the employment and fees of counsel (subject to the reasonable approval of such Underwriter or such Selected Dealer, as the case may be) and payment of actual expenses. Such Underwriter, such Selected Dealer or Controlling Person shall have the right to employ its or their own counsel in any such case, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Underwriter, such Selected Dealer or Controlling Person unless (i) counsel for the Representative reasonably determines that it would be inappropriate under the applicable rules of professional responsibility for the same counsel to represent both the Company and the party being indemnified, or (ii) the employment of such counsel at the expense of the Company shall have been authorized in writing by the Company in connection with the defense of such action, or (iii) the Company shall not have employed counsel to have charge of the defense of such action, or (iv) such indemnified party or parties shall have reasonably concluded that there may be defenses available to it or them which are different from or additional to those available to the Company (in which case the Company shall not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party or parties), in any of which events the reasonable fees and expenses of not more than one additional firm of attorneys selected by the Underwriter, Selected Dealer and/or Controlling Person shall be borne by the Company. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if any Underwriter, Selected Dealer or Controlling Person shall assume the defense of such action as provided above, the Company shall have the exclusive right to settle the claim or proceeding provided that the Company will not settle any such claim, action or proceeding without the prior written consent of the Representative, which will not be unreasonably withheld. The Company shall not be liable under this Section 5.1 for any settlements entered into by an Underwriter, Selected Dealer or Controlling Person without the Company’s prior written consent, which shall not be unreasonable withheld, delayed or conditioned.

 

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5.2.           Indemnification of the Company . Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, officers and employees and agents who control the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act against any and all Loss, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions made in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement or Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto or in any application, in reliance upon, and in strict conformity with the Underwriters’ Information. In case any action shall be brought against the Company or any other person so indemnified based on the Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement or Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto or any application, and in respect of which indemnity may be sought against any Underwriter, such Underwriter shall have the rights and duties given to the Company, and the Company and each other person so indemnified shall have the rights and duties given to the several Underwriters by the provisions of Section 5.1.2.

 

5.3.           Contribution .

 

5.3.1.           Contribution Rights . In order to provide for just and equitable contribution under the Act in any case in which (i) any person entitled to indemnification under this Section 5 makes claim for indemnification pursuant hereto but it is judicially determined (by the entry of a final judgment or decree by a court of competent jurisdiction and the expiration of time to appeal or the denial of the last right of appeal) that such indemnification may not be enforced in such case notwithstanding the fact that this Section 5 provides for indemnification in such case, or (ii) contribution under the Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise may be required on the part of any such person in circumstances for which indemnification is provided under this Section 5, then, and in each such case, the Company and the Underwriters shall contribute to the aggregate Losses of the nature contemplated by said indemnity agreement incurred by the Company and the Underwriters, as incurred, in such proportions that the Underwriters are responsible for that portion represented by the percentage that the underwriting discount appearing on the cover page of the Prospectus bears to the initial offering price appearing thereon and the Company is responsible for the balance; provided, that, no person guilty of a fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 5.3.1, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Public Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay in respect of such Losses. For purposes of this Section, each director, officer and employee of an Underwriter or the Company, as applicable, and each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter or the Company, as applicable, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter or the Company, as applicable.

 

5.3.2.           Contribution Procedure . Within fifteen days after receipt by any party to this Agreement (or its representative) of notice of the commencement of any action, suit or proceeding, such party will, if a claim for contribution in respect thereof is to be made against another party (“ contributing party ”), notify the contributing party of the commencement thereof, but the omission to so notify the contributing party will not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any other party other than for contribution hereunder. In case any such action, suit or proceeding is brought against any party, and such party notifies a contributing party or its representative of the commencement thereof within the aforesaid fifteen days, the contributing party will be entitled to participate therein with the notifying party and any other contributing party similarly notified. Any such contributing party shall not be liable to any party seeking contribution on account of any settlement of any claim, action or proceeding affected by such party seeking contribution on account of any settlement of any claim, action or proceeding affected by such party seeking contribution without the written consent of such contributing party. The contribution provisions contained in this Section are intended to supersede, to the extent permitted by law, any right to contribution under the Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise available. Each Underwriter’s obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 5.3 are several and not joint.

 

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6.           Default by an Underwriter .

 

6.1.           Default Not Exceeding 10% of Firm Shares or Option Shares . If any Underwriter or Underwriters shall default in its or their obligations to purchase the Firm Shares or the Option Shares, if the Over-allotment Option is exercised, hereunder, and if the number of the Firm Shares or Option Shares with respect to which such default relates does not exceed in the aggregate 10% of the number of Firm Shares or Option Shares that all Underwriters have agreed to purchase hereunder, then such Firm Shares or Option Shares to which the default relates shall be purchased by the non-defaulting Underwriters in proportion to their respective commitments hereunder.

 

6.2.           Default Exceeding 10% of Firm Shares or Option Shares . In the event that the default addressed in Section 6.1 relates to more than 10% of the Firm Shares or Option Shares, you may in your discretion arrange for yourself or for another party or parties to purchase such Firm Shares or Option Shares to which such default relates on the terms contained herein. If, within one (1) Business Day after such default relating to more than 10% of the Firm Shares or Option Shares, you do not arrange for the purchase of such Firm Shares or Option Shares, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of one (1) Business Day within which to procure another party or parties satisfactory to you to purchase said Firm Shares or Option Shares on such terms. In the event that neither you nor the Company arrange for the purchase of the Firm Shares or Option Shares to which a default relates as provided in this Section 6, this Agreement will automatically be terminated by you or the Company without liability on the part of the Company (except as provided in Sections 3.10 and 5 hereof) or the several Underwriters (except as provided in Section 5 hereof); provided, however , that if such default occurs with respect to the Option Shares, this Agreement will not terminate as to the Firm Shares; and provided further that nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter of its liability, if any, to the other Underwriters and to the Company for damages occasioned by its default hereunder.

 

6.3.           Postponement of Closing Date . In the event that the Firm Shares or Option Shares to which the default relates are to be purchased by the non-defaulting Underwriters, or are to be purchased by another party or parties as aforesaid, you or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Closing Date or Option Closing Date for a reasonable period, but not in any event exceeding five (5) Business Days, in order to effect whatever changes may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or in any other documents and arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendment to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus that in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriter may thereby be made necessary. The term “Underwriter” as used in this Agreement shall include any party substituted under this Section 6 with like effect as if it had originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such securities.

 

7.           Additional Covenants .

 

7.1.           Board Composition and Board Designations . The Company shall ensure that: (i) the qualifications of the persons serving as board members and the overall composition of the board comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules promulgated thereunder and with the listing requirements of the NYSE, the NYSE MKT, NASDAQ or any other national securities exchange or national securities association, as the case may be, in the event the Company seeks to have its Public Securities listed on another exchange or quoted on an automated quotation system, and (ii) if applicable, at least one member of the board of directors qualifies as a “financial expert” as such term is defined under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules promulgated thereunder.

 

7.2.           Prohibition on Press Releases and Public Announcements . The Company will not issue press releases or engage in any other publicity, without the Representative’s prior written consent, for a period ending at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on the first business day following the 25th day following the Closing Date, other than normal and customary releases issued in the ordinary course of the Company’s business.

 

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7.3.           Blue Sky Compliance . The Company shall be responsible for the qualification or registration of the Public Securities for sale under (or obtain exemptions from the application of) the state securities or blue sky laws of those jurisdictions in the United States designated by the Representative, shall comply with such laws and shall continue such qualifications, registrations and exemptions in effect so long as required for the distribution of the shares of Common Stock, if such filings are so required. The Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to take any action that would subject it to general service of process in any such jurisdiction where it is not presently qualified or where it would be subject to taxation as a foreign corporation. The Company will advise the Representative promptly of the suspension of the qualification or registration of (or any such exemption relating to) the Public Securities for offering, sale or trading in any jurisdiction or any initiation or threat of any proceeding for any such purpose, and in the event of the issuance of any order suspending such qualification, registration or exemption, the Company shall use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal thereof at the earliest possible moment. The Company, at its expense, will cause its counsel to provide to the Representative a Preliminary Blue Sky Memorandum no later than the date first public version of the Registration Statement is filed with the Commission and a Final Blue Sky Memorandum at the Effective Date, in such quantities as the Underwriter reasonably request, for its use and the use of the selling members in connection with the offer and sale of the Public Securities. The Company will, from time to time, prepare and file such statements, reports, certificates, notices and other forms and documents as are or may be required to continue such qualifications in effect for so long as the Representative may request for the distribution of the Public Securities.

 

7.4.           Free Writing Prospectuses . Each Underwriter severally covenants with the Company not to take any action that would result in the Company being required to file with the Commission under Rule 433(d) a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of such Underwriter that otherwise would not be required to be filed by the Company thereunder, but for the action of the Underwriter. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Company is hereinafter referred to as an “ Underwriter Free Writing Prospectus .”

 

8.           Effective Date of this Agreement and Termination Thereof .

 

8.1.           Effective Date . This Agreement shall become effective when both the Company and the Representative have executed the same and delivered counterparts of such signatures to the other party.

 

8.2.           Termination . You shall have the right to terminate this Agreement at any time prior to any Closing Date, (i) if any domestic or international event or act or occurrence has materially disrupted, or in your opinion will in the immediate future materially disrupt, general securities markets in the United States; or (ii) if trading on the NYSE Euronext, the NASDAQ Global Market or the NASDAQ Capital Market shall have been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading shall have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices for securities shall have been required by FINRA or by order of the Commission or any other government authority having jurisdiction, or (iii) if the United States shall have become involved in a new war or an increase in major hostilities, or (iv) if a banking moratorium has been declared by a New York State or federal authority, or (v) if a moratorium on foreign exchange trading has been declared which materially adversely impacts the United States securities markets, or (vi) if the Company shall have sustained a material loss by fire, flood, accident, hurricane, earthquake, theft, sabotage or other calamity or malicious act which, whether or not such loss shall have been insured, will, in your opinion, make it inadvisable to proceed with the delivery of the Firm Shares or Option Shares, or (vii) if the Company is in material breach of any of its representations, warranties or covenants hereunder, or (viii) if the Representative shall have become aware after the date hereof of such a material adverse change in the conditions or prospects of the Company, or such adverse material change in general market conditions as in the Representative’s reasonable judgment would make it impracticable to proceed with the offering, sale and/or delivery of the securities or to enforce contracts made by the Underwriters for the sale of the securities.

 

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8.3.           Expenses . Except in the case of a default by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 6.2 above, in the event that this Agreement shall not be carried out for any reason whatsoever, within the time specified herein or any extensions thereof pursuant to the terms herein, the Company shall be obligated to pay to the Underwriters their actual and accountable out of pocket expenses related to the transactions contemplated herein up to a maximum of $170,000 for all such expenses.

 

8.4.           Indemnification . Notwithstanding any contrary provision contained in this Agreement, any election hereunder or any termination of this Agreement, and whether or not this Agreement is otherwise carried out, the provisions of Section 5 shall not be in any way effected by, such election or termination or failure to carry out the terms of this Agreement or any part hereof.

 

9.           Miscellaneous .

 

9.1.           Notices . All communications hereunder, except as herein otherwise specifically provided, shall be in writing and shall be mailed (registered or certified mail, return receipt requested), personally delivered or sent by either facsimile transmission or electronic mail and in either case confirmed and shall be deemed given when so delivered or faxed or emailed and confirmed or if mailed, two days after such mailing.

 

If to the Representative:

 

National Securities Corporation

410 Park Avenue, 14th Floor

New York, NY 10022

Attn: Jonathan Rich

Fax No.:

Email: jrich@nationalsecuritiesib.com

 

Copy to (which shall not constitute notice):

 

Golenbock Eiseman Assor Bell & Peskoe LLP

437 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10022

Attn: Andrew D. Hudders, Esq.

Fax: (212) 754-0330

Email: ahudders@golenbock.com

 

If to the Company:

 

Atomera Incorporated

750 University Avenue, Suite 280

Los Gatos, CA 95032

Attn: Scott Bibaud

Fax: (408) 560-9556

Email: sbibaud@atomera.com

 

Copy to (which shall not constitute notice):

 

Greenberg Traurig, LLP

3161 Michelson Drive, Suite 1000

Irvine, CA 92612

Attn: Daniel K. Donahue, Esq.

Fax: (949) 732-6501

Email: donahued@gtlaw.com

 

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9.2.           Headings . The headings contained herein are for the sole purpose of convenience of reference, and shall not in any way limit or affect the meaning or interpretation of any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement.

 

9.3.           Amendment . This Agreement may only be amended by a written instrument executed by each of the parties hereto.

 

9.4.           Entire Agreement . This Agreement (together with the other agreements and documents being delivered pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement) constitutes the entire agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings of the parties, oral and written, with respect to the subject matter hereof.

 

9.5.           Binding Effect . This Agreement shall inure solely to the benefit of and shall be binding upon the Representative, the Underwriters, the Company and the controlling persons, directors and officers referred to in Section 5 hereof, and their respective successors, legal representatives and assigns, and no other person shall have or be construed to have any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of or by virtue of this Agreement or any provisions herein contained. The term “successors and assigns” shall not include a purchaser, in its capacity as such, of securities from any of the Underwriters.

 

9.6.           Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to conflict of laws. The Company hereby agrees that any action, proceeding or claim against it arising out of, or relating in any way to this Agreement shall be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York of the United States of America for the Southern District of New York, and irrevocably submits to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be exclusive. The Company hereby waives any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. Any such process or summons to be served upon the Company may be served by transmitting a copy thereof by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, addressed to it at the address set forth in Section 9.1 hereof. Such mailing shall be deemed personal service and shall be legal and binding upon the Company in any action, proceeding or claim. The Company agrees that the prevailing party(ies) in any such action shall be entitled to recover from the other party(ies) all of its reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses relating to such action or proceeding and/or incurred in connection with the preparation therefor.

 

9.7.           Execution in Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, and by the different parties hereto in separate counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement, and shall become effective when one or more counterparts has been signed by each of the parties hereto and delivered to each of the other parties hereto. Delivery of a signed counterpart of this Agreement by facsimile or email/pdf transmission shall constitute valid and sufficient delivery thereof.

 

9.8.           Waiver, etc . The failure of any of the parties hereto to at any time enforce any of the provisions of this Agreement shall not be deemed or construed to be a waiver of any such provision, nor to in any way effect the validity of this Agreement or any provision hereof or the right of any of the parties hereto to thereafter enforce each and every provision of this Agreement. No waiver of any breach, non-compliance or non-fulfillment of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be effective unless set forth in a written instrument executed by the party or parties against whom or which enforcement of such waiver is sought; and no waiver of any such breach, non-compliance or non-fulfillment shall be construed or deemed to be a waiver of any other or subsequent breach, non-compliance or non-fulfillment.

 

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If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Underwriters and the Company, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between us.

 

  Very truly yours,
   
  ATOMERA INCORPORATED
     
  By:   /s/ Scott A. Bibaud
  Name:   Scott A. Bibaud,
  Title:   Chief Executive Officer

 

Accepted on the date first above written.
 
NATIONAL SECURITIES CORPORATION,
as Representative of the several Underwriters

 

By:   /s/ Jonathan C. Rich  
  Name: Jonathan C. Rich  
  Title: EVP – Head of Investment Banking  

 

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SCHEDULE 1

 

Name of Underwriter   Number of Firm
Shares
 
National Securities Corporation   3,200,000  

 

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Exhibit 4.1

 

THIS WARRANT AND THE SECURITIES ISSUABLE UPON EXERCISE HEREOF HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), OR ANY OTHER SECURITIES LAWS AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED FOR SALE, SOLD, TRANSFERRED, PLEDGED OR HYPOTHECATED IN THE ABSENCE OF (1) AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT COVERING SUCH SECURITIES UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT AND ANY OTHER APPLICABLE SECURITIES LAWS, OR (2) AN OPINION OF COUNSEL REASONABLY SATISFACTORY TO THE COMPANY THAT SUCH REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED .

 

IN ADDITION, THIS WARRANT AND THE SECURITIES ISSUABLE UPON EXERCISE HEREOF MAY NOT BE SOLD, TRANSFERRED, ASSIGNED, PLEDGED, OR HYPOTHECATED, OR BE THE SUBJECT OF ANY HEDGING, SHORT SALE, DERIVATIVE, PUT, OR CALL TRANSACTION THAT WOULD RESULT IN THE EFFECTIVE ECONOMIC DISPOSITION OF SUCH SECURITIES BY ANY PERSON FOR A PERIOD OF THREE HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE (365) DAYS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE DATE OF EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE COMPANY’S SECURITIES PURSUANT TO REGISTRATION STATEMENT NO.: 333-212353 AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, EXCEPT IN ACCORDANCE WITH FINRA RULE 5110(G)(2).

 

ATOMERA INCORPORATED

UNDERWRITER WARRANT

368,000 shares of Common Stock

August 10, 2016

 

This UNDERWRITER WARRANT (this “ Warrant”) of Atomera Incorporated (f/k/a Mears Technologies, Inc.), a corporation, duly organized and validly existing under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “ Company”), is being issued pursuant to that certain Underwriting Agreement, dated August 4, 2016 (the “ Underwriting Agreement”), between the Company and National Securities Corporation (the “ Underwriter”) relating to a firm commitment public offering (the “ Offering”) of shares of common stock, $0.001 par value, of the Company (the “ Common Stock”) underwritten by the Underwriter.

 

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the Company hereby grants to National Securities Corporation and its permitted successors and assigns (collectively, the “ Holder”) the right to purchase from the Company up to 368,000 shares of Common Stock (such shares underlying this Warrant, the “ Warrant Shares ”), at a per share purchase price equal to $9.375 (the “ Exercise Price ”) , subject to the terms, conditions and adjustments set forth below in this Warrant.

 

1.             Date of Warrant Exercise . This Warrant shall become exercisable three hundred sixty-five (365) days after the Base Date (the “ Exercise Date ”). As used in this Warrant, the term “ Base Date” shall mean August 4, 2016 (the effective date of the registration statement). Except as permitted by applicable rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“ FINRA ”), this Warrant and the underlying Warrant Shares shall not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated prior to the date that is three hundred sixty-five (365) days immediately following the Base Date pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(1), except as permitted under FINRA Rule 5110(g)(2).

 

2.             Expiration of Warrant . This Warrant shall expire on the five (5) year anniversary of the Base Date (the “ Expiration Date ”).

 

 

 

 

3.              Exercise of Warrant . This Warrant shall be exercisable pursuant to the terms of this Section 3.

 

3.1            Manner of Exercise .

 

(a)          This Warrant may only be exercised by the Holder hereof on or after the Exercise Date and on or prior to the Expiration Date, in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof, in whole or in part (but not as to fractional shares) with respect to any portion of this Warrant, during the Company’s normal business hours on any day other than a Saturday or a Sunday or a day on which commercial banking institutions in New York, New York are authorized by law to be closed (a “ Business Day” ), by surrender of this Warrant to the Company at its office maintained pursuant to Section 10.2(a) hereof, accompanied by a written exercise notice in the form attached as Exhibit A to this Warrant (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) duly executed by the Holder, together with the payment of the aggregate Exercise Price for the number of Warrant Shares purchased upon exercise of this Warrant. Upon surrender of this Warrant, the Company shall cancel this Warrant document and shall, in the event of partial exercise, replace it with a new Warrant document in accordance with Section 3.3.

 

(b)          Except as provided for in Section 3.1(c) below, each exercise of this Warrant must be accompanied by payment in full of the aggregate Exercise Price in cash by check or wire transfer in immediately available funds for the number of Warrant Shares being purchased by the Holder upon such exercise.

 

(c)          The aggregate Exercise Price for the number of Warrant Shares being purchased may also, in the sole discretion of the Holder, be paid in full or in part on a “cashless basis” at the election of the Holder:

 

(i) in the form of Common Stock owned by the Holder (based on the Fair Market Value (as defined below) of such Common Stock on the date of exercise);

 

(ii) in the form of Warrant Shares withheld by the Company from the Warrant Shares otherwise to be received upon exercise of this Warrant having an aggregate Fair Market Value on the date of exercise equal to the aggregate Exercise Price of the Warrant Shares being purchased by the Holder; or

 

(iii) by a combination of the foregoing, provided that the combined value of all cash and the Fair Market Value of any shares surrendered to the Company is at least equal to the aggregate Exercise Price for the number of Warrant Shares being purchased by the Holder.

 

For purposes of this Warrant, the term “ Fair Market Value” means with respect to a particular date, the average closing price of the Common Stock for the five (5) trading days immediately preceding the applicable exercise herein as officially reported by the principal securities exchange on which the Common Stock is then listed or admitted to trading, or, if the Common Stock is not listed or admitted to trading on any securities exchange as determined in good faith by resolution of the Board of Directors of the Company, based on the best information available to it.

 

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To illustrate a cashless exercise of this Warrant under Section 3.1 (c)(ii) (or for a portion thereof for which cashless exercise treatment is requested as contemplated by Section 3.1(c)(iii) hereof), the calculation of such exercise shall be as follows:

 

X = Y (A-B)/A

 

where:

 

X = the number of Warrant Shares to be issued to the Holder (rounded to the nearest whole share).

 

Y = the number of Warrant Shares with respect to which this Warrant is being exercised.

 

A = the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock.

 

B = the Exercise Price.

 

(d)          For purposes of Rule 144 and sub-section (d)(3)(ii) thereof, it is intended, understood, and acknowledged that the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of this Warrant in a cashless exercise transaction as described in Section 3.1(c) above shall be deemed to have been acquired at the time this Warrant was issued. Moreover, it is intended, understood, and acknowledged that the holding period for the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of this Warrant in a cashless exercise transaction as described in Section 3.1(c) above shall be deemed to have commenced on the date this Warrant was issued.

 

3.2            When Exercise Effective . Each exercise of this Warrant shall be deemed to have been effected immediately prior to the close of business on the Business Day on which this Warrant shall have been duly surrendered to the Company as provided in Sections 3.1 and 12 hereof, and, at such time, the Holder in whose name any certificate or certificates for Warrant Shares shall be issuable upon exercise as provided in Section 3.3 hereof shall be deemed to have become the holder or holders of record thereof of the number of Warrant Shares purchased upon exercise of this Warrant.

 

3.3            Delivery of Common Stock Certificates and New Warrant . As soon as reasonably practicable after each exercise of this Warrant, in whole or in part, and in any event within three (3) Business Days thereafter, the Company, at its expense (including the payment by it of any applicable issue taxes), will cause to be issued in the name of and delivered to the Holder hereof or, subject to Sections 9 and 10 hereof, as the Holder (upon payment by the Holder of any applicable transfer taxes) may direct:

 

(a)          a certificate or certificates (with appropriate restrictive legends, as applicable) for the number of duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable Warrant Shares to which the Holder shall be entitled upon exercise; and

 

(b)          in case exercise is in part only, a new Warrant document of like tenor, dated the date hereof, for the remaining number of Warrant Shares issuable upon exercise of this Warrant after giving effect to the partial exercise of this Warrant (including the delivery of any Warrant Shares as payment of the Exercise Price for such partial exercise of this Warrant).

 

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4.             Certain Adjustments . For so long as this Warrant is outstanding:

 

4.1            Mergers or Consolidations . If at any time after the date hereof there shall be a capital reorganization (other than a combination or subdivision of Common Stock otherwise provided for herein) resulting in a reclassification to or change in the terms of securities issuable upon exercise of this Warrant (a “ Reorganization” ), or a merger or consolidation of the Company with another corporation, association, partnership, organization, business, individual, government or political subdivision thereof or a governmental agency (a “ Person” or the “ Persons” ) (other than a merger with another Person in which the Company is a continuing corporation and which does not result in any reclassification or change in the terms of securities issuable upon exercise of this Warrant or a merger effected exclusively for the purpose of changing the domicile of the Company) (a “ Merger” ), then, as a part of such Reorganization or Merger, lawful provision and adjustment shall be made so that the Holder shall thereafter be entitled to receive, upon exercise of this Warrant, the number of shares of stock or any other equity or debt securities or property receivable upon such Reorganization or Merger by a holder of the number of shares of Common Stock which might have been purchased upon exercise of this Warrant immediately prior to such Reorganization or Merger. In any such case, appropriate adjustment shall be made in the application of the provisions of this Warrant with respect to the rights and interests of the Holder after the Reorganization or Merger to the end that the provisions of this Warrant (including adjustment of the Exercise Price then in effect and the number of Warrant Shares) shall be applicable after that event, as near as reasonably may be, in relation to any shares of stock, securities, property or other assets thereafter deliverable upon exercise of this Warrant. The provisions of this Section 4.1 shall similarly apply to successive Reorganizations and/or Mergers.

 

4.2            Splits and Subdivisions; Dividends . In the event the Company should at any time or from time to time effectuate a split or subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock or pay a dividend in or make a distribution payable in additional shares of Common Stock or other securities, or rights convertible into, or entitling the holder thereof to receive, directly or indirectly, additional shares of Common Stock (hereinafter referred to as “ Common Stock Equivalents ”) without payment of any consideration by such holder for the additional shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents (including the additional shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion or exercise thereof), then, as of the applicable record date (or the date of such distribution, split or subdivision if no record date is fixed), the per share Exercise Price shall be appropriately decreased and the number of Warrant Shares shall be appropriately increased in proportion to such increase (or potential increase) of outstanding shares; provided, however, that no adjustment shall be made in the event the split, subdivision, dividend or distribution is not effectuated.

 

4.3            Combination of Shares . If the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding at any time after the date hereof is decreased by a combination of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, the per share Exercise Price shall be appropriately increased and the number of shares of Warrant Shares shall be appropriately decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares.

 

4.4            Adjustments for Other Distributions . In the event the Company shall declare a distribution payable in securities of other Persons, evidences of indebtedness issued by the Company or other Persons, assets (excluding cash dividends or distributions to the holders of Common Stock paid out of current or retained earnings and declared by the Company’s Board of Directors) or options or rights not referred to in Sections 4.2 or 4.3 then, in each such case for the purpose of this Section 4.4, upon exercise of this Warrant, the Holder shall be entitled to a proportionate share of any such distribution as though the Holder was the actual record holder of the number of Warrant Shares as of the record date fixed for the determination of the holders of Common Stock of the Company entitled to receive such distribution.

 

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5.             No Impairment . The Company will not, by amendment of its certificate of incorporation or by-laws or through any consolidation, merger, reorganization, transfer of assets, dissolution, issue or sale of securities or any other voluntary action, avoid or seek to avoid the observance or performance of any of the terms of this Warrant, but will at all times in good faith assist in the carrying out of all of the terms and in the taking of all actions necessary or appropriate in order to protect the rights of the Holder against impairment.

 

6.             Notice as to Adjustments . With respect to each adjustment pursuant to Section 4 of this Warrant, the Company, at its expense, will promptly compute the adjustment or re-adjustment in accordance with the terms of this Warrant and furnish the Holder with a certificate certified and confirmed by the Secretary or Chief Financial Officer of the Company setting forth, in reasonable detail, the event requiring the adjustment or re-adjustment and the amount of such adjustment or re-adjustment, the method of calculation thereof and the facts upon which the adjustment or re-adjustment is based, and the Exercise Price and the number of Warrant Shares or other securities purchasable hereunder after giving effect to such adjustment or re-adjustment, which report shall be mailed by first class mail, postage prepaid to the Holder.

 

7.             Reservation of Shares . The Company shall, solely for the purpose of effecting the exercise of this Warrant, at all times during the term of this Warrant, reserve and keep available out of its authorized shares of Common Stock, free from all taxes, liens and charges with respect to the issue thereof and not subject to preemptive rights of shareholders of the Company, such number of its shares of Common Stock as shall from time to time be sufficient to effect in full the exercise of this Warrant. If at any time the number of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock shall not be sufficient to effect in full the exercise of this Warrant, in addition to such other remedies as shall be available to Holder, the Company will promptly take such corporate action as may, in the opinion of its counsel, be necessary to increase the number of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock to such number of shares as shall be sufficient for such purposes, including without limitation, using its Reasonable Commercial Efforts (as defined in Section 14 hereof) to obtain the requisite shareholder approval necessary to increase the number of authorized shares of Common Stock. The Company hereby represents and warrants that all shares of Common Stock issuable upon proper exercise of this Warrant shall be duly authorized and, when issued and paid for upon proper exercise, shall be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

 

8.             Registration and Listing .

 

8.1            Definition of Registrable Securities; Majority . As used herein, the term “ Registrable Securities ” means any shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of this Warrant until the date (if any) on which such shares shall have been transferred or exchanged and new certificates for them not bearing a legend restricting further transfer shall have been delivered by the Company and subsequent disposition of the shares shall not require registration or qualification under the Securities Act or any similar state law then in force. For purposes of this Warrant, the term “ Majority Holders ” shall mean in excess of fifty percent (50%) of the then outstanding Warrant Shares.

 

8.2            Demand Registration Rights .

 

(a)          The Company, upon written demand (“ Demand Notice ”) of the Majority Holders, agrees to register on one occasion all of the Registrable Securities (a “ Demand Right ”). On such occasion, the Company will file a registration statement or a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement covering the Registrable Securities within forty-five (45) days after receipt of a Demand Notice and use its Reasonable Commercial Efforts to have such registration statement or post-effective amendment declared effective as soon as possible thereafter; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to comply with a Demand Notice if the Company has filed a registration statement with respect to which the Holder is entitled to piggyback registration rights pursuant to Section 8.3 hereof and either: (i) the Holder has elected to participate in the offering covered by such registration statement or (ii) if such registration statement relates to an underwritten primary offering of securities of the Company, until the offering covered by such registration statement has been withdrawn or until thirty (30) days after such offering is consummated. The demand for registration may be made at any time during a period of four years beginning one (1) year from the Base Date. The Company covenants and agrees to give written notice of its receipt of any Demand Notice to all other registered Holders of the Warrants and/or the Registrable Securities within ten days from the date of the receipt of any such Demand Notice.

 

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(b)          The Company shall bear all fees and expenses attendant to registering the Registrable Securities pursuant to Section 8.2(a), but the Holders shall pay any and all underwriting commissions and the expenses of any legal counsel selected by the Holders to represent them in connection with the sale of the Registrable Securities. The Company agrees to use its Reasonable Commercial Efforts to qualify or register the Registrable Securities in such states as are reasonably requested by the Majority Holder(s); provided, however, that in no event shall the Company be required to register the Registrable Securities in a state in which such registration would cause (i) the Company to be obligated to register, license or qualify to do business in such state, submit to general service of process in such state or would subject the Company to taxation as a foreign corporation doing business in such jurisdiction or (ii) the principal stockholders of the Company to be obligated to escrow their shares of capital stock of the Company. The Company shall cause any registration statement or post-effective amendment filed pursuant to the Demand Right granted under Section 8.2(a) to remain effective for a period of nine consecutive months from the effective date of such registration statement or post-effective amendment. The Holders shall only use the prospectuses provided by the Company to sell the Registrable Securities covered by such registration statement, and will immediately cease to use any prospectus furnished by the Company if the Company advises the Holder that such prospectus may no longer be used due to a material misstatement or omission.

 

8.3            Incidental Registration Rights .

 

(a)          If the Company, for a period of six (6) years commencing one (1) year after the Base Date, proposes to register any of its securities under the Securities Act (other than in connection with a transaction contemplated by Rule 145(a) promulgated under the Securities Act or pursuant to registration on Form S-4 or S-8 or any successor forms) whether for its own account or for the account of any holder or holders of its shares other than Registrable Securities (any shares of such holder or holders (but not those of the Company and not Registrable Securities) with respect to any registration are referred to herein as, “ Other Shares ”), the Company shall at each such time give prompt (but not less than thirty (30) days prior to the anticipated effectiveness thereof) written notice to the holders of Registrable Securities of its intention to do so. The holders of Registrable Securities shall exercise the “piggy-back” rights provided herein by giving written notice within ten (10) days after the receipt of any such notice (which request shall specify the Registrable Securities intended to be disposed of by such holder). Except as set forth in Section 8.3(b), the Company will use its Reasonable Commercial Efforts to effect the registration under the Securities Act of all of the Registrable Securities which the Company has been so requested to register by such holder, to the extent required to permit the disposition of the Registrable Securities so to be registered, by inclusion of such Registrable Securities in the registration statement which covers the securities which the Company proposes to register. The Company will pay all Registration Expenses in connection with each registration of Registrable Securities pursuant to this Section 8.3.

 

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(b)          If the Company at any time proposes to register any of its securities under the Securities Act as contemplated by this Section 8.3 and such securities are to be distributed by or through one or more underwriters, the Company will, if requested by a holder of Registrable Securities, use its Reasonable Commercial Efforts to arrange for such underwriters to include all the Registrable Securities to be offered and sold by such holder among the securities to be distributed by such underwriters, provided that if the managing underwriter of such underwritten offering shall inform the Company by letter of its belief that inclusion in such registration statement and/or distribution of all or a specified number of such securities proposed to be distributed by such underwriters would interfere with the successful marketing of the securities being distributed by such underwriters (such letter to state the basis of such belief and the approximate number of such Registrable Securities, such Other Shares and shares held by the Company proposed so to be registered which may be distributed without such effect), then the Company may, upon written notice to such holder, the other holders of Registrable Securities, and holders of such Other Shares, reduce pro rata in accordance with the number of shares of Common Stock desired to be included in such registration statement and/or distribution (if and to the extent stated by such managing underwriter to be necessary to eliminate such effect) the number of such Registrable Securities and Other Shares the registration and/or distribution of which shall have been requested by each holder thereof so that the resulting aggregate number of such Registrable Securities and Other Shares so included in such registration and/or distribution, together with the number of securities to be included in such registration and/or distribution for the account of the Company, shall be equal to the number of shares stated in such managing underwriter’s letter.

 

8.4            Registration Procedures . Whenever the holders of Registrable Securities have properly requested that any Registrable Securities be registered pursuant to the terms of this Warrant, the Company shall use its Reasonable Commercial Efforts to effect the registration for the sale of such Registrable Securities in accordance with the intended method of disposition thereof, and pursuant thereto the Company shall as expeditiously as possible:

 

(a)          prepare and file with the SEC a registration statement with respect to such Registrable Securities and use its Reasonable Commercial Efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective;

 

(b)          notify such holders of the effectiveness of each registration statement filed hereunder and prepare and file with the SEC such amendments and supplements to such registration statement and the prospectus used in connection therewith as may be necessary to (i) keep such registration statement effective and the prospectus included therein usable for a period commencing on the date that such registration statement is initially declared effective by the SEC and ending on the earlier of (A) the date when all Registrable Securities covered by such registration statement have been sold pursuant to the registration statement or cease to be Registrable Securities, or (B) nine months from the effective date of the registration statement; and (ii) comply with the provisions of the Securities Act with respect to the disposition of all securities covered by such registration statement during such period in accordance with the intended methods of disposition by the sellers thereof set forth in such registration statement;

 

(c)          furnish to such holders such number of copies of such registration statement, each amendment and supplement thereto, the prospectus included in such registration statement (including each preliminary prospectus) and such other documents as such seller may reasonably request in order to facilitate the disposition of the Registrable Securities owned by such holders;

 

(d)          use its Reasonable Commercial Efforts to register or qualify such Registrable Securities under such other securities or blue sky laws of such jurisdictions as such holders reasonably request and do any and all other acts and things which may be reasonably necessary or advisable to enable such holders to consummate the disposition in such jurisdictions of the Registrable Securities owned by such holders; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to: (i) qualify generally to do business in any jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to qualify but for this subparagraph; (ii) subject itself to taxation in any such jurisdiction; or (iii) consent to general service of process in any such jurisdiction;

 

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(e)          notify such holders, at any time when a prospectus relating thereto is required to be delivered under the Securities Act, of the happening of any event as a result of which the prospectus included in such registration statement contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omits any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances in which they are made, not materially misleading, and, at the reasonable request of such holders, the Company shall prepare a supplement or amendment to such prospectus so that, as thereafter delivered to the purchasers of such Registrable Securities, such prospectus shall not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances in which they are made, not materially misleading;

 

(f)          provide a transfer agent and registrar for all such Registrable Securities not later than the effective date of such registration statement;

 

(g)          make available for inspection by any underwriter participating in any disposition pursuant to such registration statement, and any attorney, accountant or other agent retained by any such underwriter, all financial and other records, pertinent corporate documents and properties of the Company, and cause the Company’s officers, directors, managers, employees and independent accountants to supply all information reasonably requested by any such underwriter, attorney, accountant or agent in connection with such registration statement;

 

(h)          otherwise use its Reasonable Commercial Efforts to comply with all applicable rules and regulations of the SEC, and make available to its security holders, as soon as reasonably practicable, an earnings statement of the Company, which earnings statement shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and, at the option of the Company, Rule 158 thereunder;

 

(i)          in the event of the issuance of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of a registration statement, or of any order suspending or preventing the use of any related prospectus or suspending the qualification of any Registrable Securities included in such registration statement for sale in any jurisdiction, the Company shall use its Reasonable Commercial Efforts promptly to obtain the withdrawal of such order; and

 

(j)          if the offering is underwritten, use its Reasonable Commercial Efforts to furnish on the date that Registrable Securities are delivered to the underwriters for sale pursuant to such registration, an opinion dated such date of counsel representing the Company for the purposes of such registration, addressed to the underwriters covering such issues as are reasonably required by such underwriters.

 

8.5            Listing . The Company shall secure the listing of the Common Stock underlying this Warrant upon each national securities exchange or automated quotation system upon which shares of Common Stock are then listed or quoted (subject to official notice of issuance) and shall maintain such listing of shares of Common Stock. The Company shall at all times comply in all material respects with the Company’s reporting, filing and other obligations under the by-laws or rules of The NASDAQ Stock Market (or such other national securities exchange or market on which the Common Stock may then be listed, as applicable).

 

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8.6            Expenses . The Company shall pay all Registration Expenses relating to the registration and listing obligations set forth in this Section 8. For purposes of this Warrant, the term “ Registration Expenses ” means: (a) all registration, filing and FINRA fees, (b) all reasonable fees and expenses of complying with securities or blue sky laws, (c) all word processing, duplicating and printing expenses, (d) the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company and of its independent public accountants, including the expenses of any special audits or “cold comfort” letters required by or incident to such performance and compliance, (e) premiums and other costs of policies of insurance (if any) against liabilities arising out of the public offering of the Registrable Securities being registered if the Company desires such insurance, if any, and (f) fees and disbursements of one counsel for the selling holders of Registrable Securities; provided however, that, in any case where Registration Expenses are not to be borne by the Company, such expenses shall not include (and such expenses shall be borne by the Company): (i) salaries of Company personnel or general overhead expenses of the Company, (ii) auditing fees, or (iii) other expenses for the preparation of financial statements or other data, to the extent that any of the foregoing either is normally prepared by the Company in the ordinary course of its business or would have been incurred by the Company had no public offering taken place. Registration Expenses shall not include any underwriting discounts and commissions which may be incurred in the sale of any Registrable Securities and transfer taxes of the selling holders of Registrable Securities.

 

8.7            Information Provided by Holders . Any holder of Registrable Securities included in any registration shall furnish to the Company such information as the Company may reasonably request in writing, including, but not limited to, a completed and executed questionnaire requesting information customarily sought of selling security holders, to enable the Company to comply with the provisions hereof in connection with any registration referred to in this Warrant. The Holder agrees to suspend all sales of Registrable Securities pursuant to a registration statement filed under Section 8.3 in the event the Company notifies Holder pursuant to Section 8.4(e) that the prospectus relating thereto is no longer current and will not resume sales under such registration statement until advised by the Company that the prospectus has been appropriately supplemented or amended.

 

8.8            FINRA Public Offering System Filings . In the event that a registration statement covering the Registrable Securities is filed, within one (1) Business Day of the filing of such registration statement, the Company will prepare and file the selling stockholder resale offering described in such registration statement for review by FINRA via the FINRA’s Public Offering System filing system (“ Public Offering System Filing ”) for the purpose of having the prospectus contained within such registration statement treated as a “base prospectus” in connection with such resale offering. The Company will use its Reasonable Commercial Efforts to have the Public Offering System Filing approved by FINRA within thirty (30) days of such filing date. The Company shall bear all expenses of the Public Offering System Filing, including fees and expenses of one counsel or other advisor to the Holder. In all circumstances, the Company shall pay for all FINRA filing fees associated with the Public Offering System Filing.

 

8.9            Effectiveness Period . The Company shall use its Reasonable Commercial Efforts to keep each registration statement contemplated hereunder continuously effective under the Securities Act until the date which is the earlier date of when (i) all Registrable Securities covered by such Registration Statement have been sold, (ii) all Registrable Securities covered by such Registration Statement may be sold immediately without registration under the Securities Act and without volume restrictions pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act, as determined by the counsel to the Company pursuant to a written opinion letter to such effect, addressed and reasonably acceptable to the Company’s transfer agent and the affected holders of Registrable Securities, or (iii) nine months from the effective date of such registration statement.

 

8.10          Net Cash Settlement . Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in no event will the Holder hereof be entitled to receive a net-cash settlement as liquidated damages in lieu of physical settlement in shares of Common Stock, regardless of whether the Common Stock underlying this Warrant is registered pursuant to an effective registration statement; provided, however, that the foregoing will not preclude the Holder from seeking other remedies at law or equity for breaches by the Company of its registration obligations hereunder.

 

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9.             Restrictions on Transfer .

 

9.1            Restrictive Legends . This Warrant and each Warrant issued upon transfer or in substitution for this Warrant pursuant to Section 10 hereof, each certificate for Common Stock issued upon the exercise of the Warrant and each certificate issued upon the transfer of any such Common Stock shall be transferable only upon satisfaction of the conditions specified in this Section 9. Each of the foregoing securities shall be stamped or otherwise imprinted with a legend reflecting the restrictions on transfer set forth herein and any restrictions required under the Securities Act or other applicable securities laws.

 

9.2            Notice of Proposed Transfer . Prior to any transfer of any securities which are not registered under an effective registration statement under the Securities Act ( Restricted Securities”), which transfer may only occur if there is an exemption from the registration provisions of the Securities Act and all other applicable securities laws, the Holder will give written notice to the Company of the Holder’s intention to effect a transfer (and shall describe the manner and circumstances of the proposed transfer). The following provisions shall apply to any proposed transfer of Restricted Securities:

 

(i)           If in the opinion of counsel for the Holder reasonably satisfactory to the Company the proposed transfer may be effected without registration of the Restricted Securities under the Securities Act (which opinion shall state in detail the basis of the legal conclusions reached therein), the Holder shall thereupon be entitled to transfer the Restricted Securities in accordance with the terms of the notice delivered by the Holder to the Company. Each certificate representing the Restricted Securities issued upon or in connection with any transfer shall bear the restrictive legends required by Section 9.1 hereof.

 

(ii)          If the opinion called for in (i) above is not delivered, the Holder shall not be entitled to transfer the Restricted Securities until either: (x) receipt by the Company of a further notice from such Holder pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this Section 9.2 and fulfillment of the provisions of clause (i) above, or (y) such Restricted Securities have been effectively registered under the Securities Act.

 

9.3            Certain Other Transfer Restrictions . Notwithstanding any other provision of this Warrant: (i) prior to the Exercise Date, this Warrant or the Restricted Securities thereunder may only be transferred or assigned to the persons permitted under FINRA Rule 5110(g), and (ii) subject at all times to FINRA Rule 5110(g), no opinion of counsel shall be necessary for a transfer of Restricted Securities by the holder thereof to any Person employed by or owning equity in the Holder, if the transferee agrees in writing to be subject to the terms hereof to the same extent as if the transferee were the original purchaser hereof and such transfer is permitted under applicable securities laws.

 

9.4            Termination of Restrictions . Except as set forth in Section 9.3 hereof and subject at all times to FINRA Rule 5110(g), the restrictions imposed by this Section 9 upon the transferability of Restricted Securities shall cease and terminate as to any particular Restricted Securities: (a) which shall have been effectively registered under the Securities Act, or (b) when, in the opinion of counsel for the Company, such restrictions are no longer required in order to insure compliance with the Securities Act or Section 10 hereof. Whenever such restrictions shall cease and terminate as to any Restricted Securities, the Holder thereof shall be entitled to receive from the Company, without expense (other than applicable transfer taxes, if any), new securities of like tenor not bearing the applicable legends required by Section 9.1 hereof.

 

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10.            Ownership, Transfer, Sale and Substitution of Warrant .

 

10.1          Ownership of Warrant . The Company may treat any Person in whose name this Warrant is registered in the Warrant Register maintained pursuant to Section 10.2(b) hereof as the owner and holder thereof for all purposes, notwithstanding any notice to the contrary, except that, if and when any Warrant is properly assigned in blank, the Company may (but shall not be obligated to) treat the bearer thereof as the owner of such Warrant for all purposes, notwithstanding any notice to the contrary. Subject to Sections 9 and 10 hereof, this Warrant, if properly assigned, may be exercised by a new holder without a new Warrant first having been issued.

 

10.2          Office; Exchange of Warrant .

 

(a)          The Company will maintain its principal office at the location identified in the prospectus relating to the Offering or at such other offices as set forth in the Company’s most current filing (as of the date notice is to be given) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or as the Company otherwise notifies the Holder.

 

(b)          The Company shall cause to be kept at its office maintained pursuant to Section 10.2(a) hereof a Warrant Register for the registration and transfer of the Warrant. The name and address of the holder of the Warrant, the transfers thereof and the name and address of the transferee of the Warrant shall be registered in such Warrant Register. The Person in whose name the Warrant shall be so registered shall be deemed and treated as the owner and holder thereof for all purposes of this Warrant, and the Company shall not be affected by any notice or knowledge to the contrary.

 

(c)          Upon the surrender of this Warrant, properly endorsed, for registration of transfer or for exchange at the office of the Company maintained pursuant to Section 10.2(a) hereof, the Company at its expense will (subject to compliance with Section 9 hereof, if applicable) execute and deliver to or upon the order of the Holder thereof a new Warrant of like tenor, in the name of such holder or as such holder (upon payment by such holder of any applicable transfer taxes) may direct, calling in the aggregate on the face thereof for the number of shares of Common Stock called for on the face of the Warrant so surrendered (after giving effect to any previous adjustment(s) to the number of Warrant Shares).

 

10.3          Replacement of Warrant . Upon receipt of evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Company of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of this Warrant and, in the case of any such loss, theft or destruction of this Warrant, upon delivery of indemnity reasonably satisfactory to the Company in form and amount or, in the case of any mutilation, upon surrender of this Warrant for cancellation at the office of the Company maintained pursuant to Section 10.2(a) hereof, the Company will execute and deliver, in lieu thereof, a new Warrant of like tenor and dated the date hereof.

 

10.4          Opinions . In connection with the sale of the Warrant Shares by Holder, the Company agrees to cooperate with the Holder, and at the Company’s expense, to have its counsel provide any legal opinions required to remove the restrictive legends from the Warrant Shares in connection with a sale, transfer or legend removal request of Holder.

 

11.           No Rights or Liabilities as Stockholder . No Holder shall be entitled to vote or be deemed the holder of any equity securities which may at any time be issuable on the exercise hereof, nor shall anything contained herein be construed to confer upon the Holder, as such, any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action (whether upon any recapitalization, issuance of stock, reclassification of stock, change of par value, consolidation, merger, conveyance, or otherwise) or to receive notice of meetings until the Warrant shall have been exercised and the shares of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise hereof shall have become deliverable, as provided herein.

 

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12.           Notices . Any notice or other communication in connection with this Warrant shall be given in writing and directed to the parties hereto as follows: (a) if to the Holder, at the address of the holder in the warrant register maintained pursuant to Section 10 hereof, or (b) if to the Company, to the attention of its Chief Executive Officer at its office maintained pursuant to Section 10.2(a) hereof; provided, that the exercise of the Warrant shall also be effected in the manner provided in Section 3 hereof. Notices shall be deemed properly delivered and received when delivered to the notice party (i) if personally delivered, upon receipt or refusal to accept delivery, (ii) if sent via facsimile, upon mechanical confirmation of successful transmission thereof generated by the sending telecopy machine, (iii) if sent by a commercial overnight courier for delivery on the next Business Day, on the first Business Day after deposit with such courier service, or (iv) if sent by registered or certified mail, five (5) Business Days after deposit thereof in the U.S. mail.

 

13.           Payment of Taxes . The Company will pay all documentary stamp taxes attributable to the issuance of shares of Common Stock underlying this Warrant upon exercise of this Warrant; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to pay any tax which may be payable in respect of any transfer involved in the transfer or registration of this Warrant or any certificate for shares of Common Stock underlying this Warrant in a name other that of the Holder. The Holder is responsible for all other tax liability that may arise as a result of holding or transferring this Warrant or receiving shares of Common Stock underlying this Warrant upon exercise hereof.

 

14.           Miscellaneous . This Warrant and any term hereof may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought. This Warrant shall be construed and enforced in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of New York. Each of the parties consents to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal or state courts whose districts encompass any part of the County of New York located in the City of New York, New York in connection with any dispute arising under this Agreement and hereby waives, to the maximum extent permitted by law, any objection, including any objection based on forum non conveniens, to the bringing of any such proceeding in such jurisdictions. Each party to this Agreement irrevocably consents to the service of process in any such proceeding by any manner permitted by law. The section headings in this Warrant are for purposes of convenience only and shall not constitute a part hereof. When used herein, the term “ Reasonable Commercial Efforts” means, with respect to the applicable obligation of the Company, reasonable commercial efforts for similarly situated, publicly-traded companies.

 

(Signature on Following Page)

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Underwriter Warrant to be duly executed as of the date first above written.

 

  ATOMERA INCORPORATED
     
  By : /s/ Scott A. Bibaud
    Scott A. Bibaud,
    Chief Executive Officer

 

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EXHIBIT A
FORM OF EXERCISE NOTICE
[To be executed only upon exercise of Warrant]

 

To ATOMERA INCORPORATED:

 

The undersigned registered holder of the within Warrant hereby irrevocably exercises the Warrant pursuant to Section 3.1 of the Warrant with respect to [_____] Warrant Shares, at an exercise price of $[____] per share, and requests that the certificates for such Warrant Shares be issued, subject to Sections 9 and 10, in the name of and delivered to:

 

 
 
 
 

 

The undersigned is hereby making payment for the Warrant Shares in the following manner:

[check one]

 

¨ by cash in accordance with Section 3.1(b) of the Warrant

 

¨ via cashless exercise in accordance with Section 3.1(c) of the Warrant in the following manner:

 

 
 
 

 

The undersigned hereby represents and warrants that it is, and has been since its acquisition of the Warrant, the record and beneficial owner of the Warrant.

 

Dated:    

 

     
Print or Type Name    
     
     
(Signature must conform in all respects to name of holder as specified on the face of Warrant)
     
     
(Street Address)    
     
     
(City)                   (State)                    (Zip Code)    

 

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EXHIBIT B
FORM OF ASSIGNMENT
[To be executed only upon transfer of Warrant]

 

For value received, the undersigned registered holder of the within Warrant hereby sells, assigns and transfers unto                                 [include name and addresses] the rights represented by the Warrant to purchase             shares of Common Stock of ATOMERA INCORPORATED to which the Warrant relates, and appoints Attorney to make such transfer on the books of ATOMERA INCORPORATED maintained for the purpose, with full power of substitution in the premises.

 

Dated:    
  (Signature must conform in all respects to name of holder as specified on the face of Warrant)  
     
     
  (Street Address)  
     
         
  (City) (State) (Zip Code)  
     
Signed in the presence of:    
     
  (Signature of Transferee)  
     
     
  (Street Address)  
     
         
  (City) (State) (Zip Code)  
     
Signed in the presence of:    

 

15

 

Exhibit 31.1

 

CERTIFICATIONS

 

I, Scott A. Bibaud, certify that:

 

1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Atomera Incorporated;

 

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

 

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Dated:  September 19, 2016  
   
/s/ Scott A. Bibaud  
Scott A. Bibaud  
Chief Executive Officer and director  

 

 

  

 

Exhibit 31.2

 

CERTIFICATIONS

 

I, Francis Laurencio, certify that:

 

1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Atomera Incorporated;

 

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

 

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Dated:  September 19, 2016  
   
/s/ Francis Laurencio  
Francis Laurencio  
Chief Financial Officer  

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 32.1

 

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

 

In connection with the Quarterly Report of Atomera Incorporated (the “Company”) on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2016, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), we, Scott A. Bibaud, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Francis Laurencio, Chief Financial Officer, of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:

 

1. The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

 

2. The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and result of operations of the Company.

 

By:   /s/ Scott A. Bibaud   Dated: September 19, 2016
    Scott A. Bibaud      
Title:   President and Chief Executive Officer      
           
By:   /s/ Francis Laurencio   Dated: September 19, 2016
    Francis Laurencio      
Title:   Chief Financial Officer