AERWINS Technologies (AWIN) Risk Analysis
Risk Overview Q1, 2024
Source: the company's latest filing for the period ended Mar 31, 2024, filed May 28, 2024
Risk Change Over Time
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1Anti-takeover provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation Amended Charter and bylaws, Amended Bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.
The Company's Amended Charter and Amended Bylaws contain provisions that could have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in control or changes in our management without the consent of our board of directors. These provisions include: - no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates; - the exclusive right of our board of directors to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the resignation, death, or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our board of directors; - the ability of our board of directors to determine whether to issue shares of our preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer; - limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, our directors and officers; - providing that a special meeting of the stockholders may only be called by a majority of the board of directors; - providing that directors may be removed prior to the expiration of their terms by the affirmative vote of the holders of not less than 2/3 of the voting power of the issued and outstanding stock entitled to vote; and - advance notice procedures that stockholders must comply with in order to nominate candidates to our board of directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders' meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer's own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the Company. These provisions, alone or together, could delay hostile takeovers and changes in control of the Company or changes in our board of directors and management. Any provision of our Amended Charter or Amended Bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our security holders to receive a premium for their securities and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our securities.
- Debt & Financing - Risk 2We may be are unable to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy the our significant debt service obligations of our subsidiaries, obligations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition results of operations, and cash flows.
Our ability to make principal and interest payments on and to refinance the indebtedness of our subsidiaries will depend on our ability to raise funds from debt and/or equity financing as we no longer believe we will be able to generate a sufficient amount of cash flow from operations prior to the due dates for our outstanding indebtedness in light to our discontinuance of A.L.I.'s business, the inability to achieve the projected revenues from A.L.I and its bankruptcy filing in December 2023. Consequently, we need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness and the indebtedness of our subsidiaries on or before maturity, sell assets, delay capital expenditures or seek additional equity. The terms of our existing or future debt agreements may also restrict us from affecting any of these alternatives. Any refinancing of our debt could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations. Further, changes in the credit and capital markets, including market disruptions and interest rate fluctuations, may increase the cost of financing, make it more difficult to obtain favorable terms, or restrict our access to these sources of future liquidity. In addition, any failure to make scheduled payments of interest and principal on our outstanding indebtedness would likely result in a reduction of our credit rating, which could harm our ability to incur additional indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Our inability to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy our debt service obligations, or to refinance or restructure our obligations on commercially reasonable terms or at all, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, as well as on our ability to satisfy our obligations in respect of our indebtedness.
- Debt & Financing - Risk 3Despite our level of indebtedness, we and our subsidiaries operating subsidiary may still be able to incur substantially more debt, including off-balance sheet financing, contractual obligations and general and commercial liabilities. This could further exacerbate the risks to our financial condition described above.
We and our subsidiary Aerwin Development, may be able to incur significant additional indebtedness in the future, including off-balance sheet financings, contractual obligations and general and commercial liabilities. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we now face could intensify.
- Debt & Financing - Risk 4Our wholly owned subsidiary's substantial indebtedness could have important adverse consequences and adversely affect our financial condition.
We have a significant amount of indebtedness. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, we had total liabilities of $19,547,304 and $9,870,442, respectively. In addition, A.L.I.'s December 27, 2023 bankruptcy filing constituted an event of default pursuant to the secured convertible notes in the aggregate principal amount of $4,200,000 issued by us to Lind Global on April 12, 2023 and May 23, 2023 and as amended on August 25, 2023 (the "Lind Notes"). Pursuant to the terms of the January Note Amendments and the SPA Amendment, if we complete a Public Offering of our securities and make the Mandatory Prepayment no later than April 15, 2024, as provided for in the January Note Amendments, Lind Global has agreed to forbear enforcement of its rights due to the event of default. If, however, we are unable to fulfill these obligations, Lind Global may, at its option, (1) demand payment of an amount equal to 120% of the outstanding principal amount of the Notes and (2) exercise all other rights and remedies available to it under the Notes and other agreements entered into among the Company and Lind in connection with the issuance of the Notes (collectively, the "Transaction Documents"), subject to the Floor Price and cash payment as discussed elsewhere in this Form 10-K. Our level of debt could have important consequences, including making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our debt, limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital, capital expenditures, investments or acquisitions, or other general corporate requirements, requiring a substantial portion of our cash flows to be dedicated to debt service payments instead of other purposes, thereby reducing the amount of cash flows available for working capital, capital expenditures, investments or acquisitions and other general corporate purposes, increasing our vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions, exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates, limiting our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in the industries in which we compete, placing us at a disadvantage compared to other, less leveraged competitors, increasing our cost of borrowing and hampering our ability to execute on our growth strategy.
- Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 5We are a holding company and depend upon our subsidiary AERWINS, Inc. and its operating subsidiary, A.L.I. Technologies, Inc. AERWIN Development CA LLC for our cash flows.
We are a holding company. Following the discontinuance of ALI's business, all of our operations are conducted, by our operating subsidiary, Aerwin Development CA LLC, a California limited liability company. Furthermore, we don't expect to launch sales until the end of 2027. Consequently, our cash flows and our ability to meet our obligations depend upon the cash flows of our operating subsidiary and the payment of funds by this operating subsidiary to us in the form of dividends, distributions or otherwise. The ability of our subsidiary to make any payments to us depends on their earnings, the terms of their indebtedness, including the terms of any credit facilities and legal restrictions. Any failure to receive dividends or distributions from our subsidiary when needed could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
- Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 6We are a relatively young company with a short operating history, and we may not be able to sustain our rapid achieve growth, effectively manage our growth or implement our business strategies.
Although our subsidiary, ALI had been providing air mobility solutions since September 2016, we discontinued all of its operations as of December 27, 2023 when we filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition with the Tokyo District Court. Consequently, our historical performance will not be indicative of our future performance due to our limited operating history related to the development and commercialization of our MAV business. Furthermore, our short history of accepting orders for the MAVs developed by ALI and delivering them to customers for testing, training and demonstration purposes is no longer indicative of our future performance relative to the MAV that is being redesigned by us in the United States. There is only a limited historical basis for making judgments on the demand for our planned MAV currently under development or our ability to produce and deliver MAVs, or to become profitable in the future. You should consider our business and future prospects in light of the risks and challenges we face as a new entrant to a nascent industry, including risks and challenges associated with our ability to: - Design, develop and manufacture a safe product; - maintain reliable, secure, high-performance and scalable infrastructure; - identify suitable facilities to commence manufacturing; - navigate the evolving and complex regulatory environment across all the markets in which we plan to operate; - anticipate and adapt to changing market conditions, including technological developments and changes in the competitive landscape, and adjust, manage and execute our marketing and sales activities to cater to local economic and demographic conditions, cultural differences and customer preferences across all markets we enter into; - successfully market our MAV business; - improve and maintain our operational efficiency; and - attract, retain and motivate talented employees. If we fail to address any or all of these risks and challenges, our business may be materially and adversely affected. As our business grows, we or our subsidiaries may adjust our product offerings. These adjustments may not bring about expected results and may instead have a material and adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. Our revenue structure may continue to evolve in response to market demand. In particular, we expect the revenue from sales of MAVs to begin in 2027. Our growth is dependent on the development of a redesigned MAV. We may not accurately identify market needs before we invest in the development of our planned MAV. In addition, we might face difficulties or delays in the development process, which may result in continued losses. In pursuit of our growth strategy, we or our subsidiaries may enter into new strategic relationships to further penetrate our targeted markets. Should these relationships fail to materialize and develop into demand or orders for our products, or should we fail to work effectively with these companies, we may lose opportunities to generate sales growth and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
- Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 7We incur significant costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management is required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives. initiatives and our management has limited experience in operating a public company.
As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not previously incur as a private company. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has imposed various requirements on public companies, including requiring establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls. Our management and other personnel need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have increased and will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we will incur as a public company or the timing of such costs. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. In particular, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In addition, we will be required to have our independent registered public accounting firm attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting the later of our second annual report on Form 10-K or the first annual report on Form 10-K following the date on which we are no longer an emerging growth company or a smaller reporting company. Our compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will require that we incur substantial expense and expend significant management efforts. We currently do not have an internal audit group, and we will need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge. If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner, or if we or our independent registered public accounting firm identify deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the value of our securities could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources. Our ability to successfully implement our business plan and comply with Section 404 requires us to be able to prepare timely and accurate financial statements. We expect that we will need to continue to improve existing, and implement new operational and financial systems, procedures and controls to manage our business effectively. Any delay in the implementation of, or disruption in the transition to, new or enhanced systems, procedures or controls, may cause our operations to suffer and we may be unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective and to obtain an unqualified report on internal controls from our auditors as required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This, in turn, could have an adverse impact on value of our securities, and could adversely affect our ability to access the capital markets. Further, our executive officers have limited experience in the management of a publicly traded company. Their limited experience in dealing with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies could be a significant disadvantage in that it is likely that an increasing amount of their time may be devoted to these activities, which will result in less time being devoted to the management and growth of the post-combination company. We may not have adequate personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience and training in the accounting policies, practices or internal control over financial reporting required of public companies. Our management will need to continually assess our staffing and training procedures to improve our internal control over financial reporting. For example, we did not timely file our Form 10-Qs for the quarters ended March 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023 and unless the matters discussed in this risk factor and elsewhere in this Form 10-K are mitigated, the risk exists that we may not be able to file timely in the future. Further, the development, implementation, documentation and assessment of appropriate processes, in addition to the need to remediate any potential deficiencies, will require substantial time and attention from management. The development and implementation of the standards and controls necessary for us to achieve the level of accounting standards required of a public company may require costs greater than expected. It is possible that we will be required to expand our employee base and hire additional employees to support our operations as a public company which will increase our operating costs in future periods.
- Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 8We believe our success depends on continuing to invest investing in the growth of our worldwide operations by entering new geographic markets. plans to expand sales to markets outside the United States. If our investments in these markets are greater than anticipated, or if our customer growth or sales in these markets do not meet our expectations, our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
We believe our success depends on expanding our business into new geographic markets and attracting customers in countries other than the United States. We anticipate continuing to expand our sales operations worldwide by establishing locally owned, independent dealers and distributors once we begin to commercialize the MAVs in 2027. This includes entering into distribution agreements with companies who have existing operations in these markets. We currently do not have any dealer or distributor agreements in place. If we are unable to enter into dealer or distributor agreements in these markets or if our customer growth or sales in these markets do not meet our expectations or justify the cost of the initial investments, our results of operations and financial condition may be adverse affected.
Risk Highlights Q1, 2024
Risk Word Cloud
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 70
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1Nasdaq may delist the Company's securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors' ability to make transactions in our securities and subject the Company to additional trading restrictions.
Our securities are currently listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. However, we cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market in the future. In order to continue listing its securities on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels and minimum market value of listed securities. Generally, we must maintain a minimum number of holders of its securities (generally 400 public holders). As previously disclosed in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed on April 21, 2023 by the Company, on April 20, 2023, Nasdaq Listing Qualifications staff ("Staff") notified the Company that it no longer complied with the minimum bid price requirement under Listing Rule 5450(a)(1). In accordance with Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the Company was provided 180 calendar days, or until October 17, 2023, to regain compliance with Rule 5450(a)(1) (the "Bid Price Rule"). As previously disclosed on a Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 23, 2023, on October 18, 2023, Staff notified the Company that it had determined to delist the Company as it did not comply with the requirements for continued listing on the Exchange. As previously disclosed in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 28, 2023, the Company appealed Nasdaq's determination in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Nasdaq Listing Rules and requested a hearing (the "Hearing Request") before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the "Panel"). As previously disclosed on a Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 28, 2023, on November 21, 2023, Staff issued an additional delist determination letter after the Company failed to file its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2023 (the "Delinquent Report"), as required by Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) (the "Periodic Filing Rule"). On November 28, 2023, the Company filed its Delinquent Report and, thus, regained compliance with the Periodic Filing Rule. As previously disclosed on a Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 12, 2023, on December 6, 2023, Staff issued an additional delist determination letter as the Company's no longer complied with the $50,000,000 minimum market value of listed securities requirement set forth in Listing Rule 5450(b)(2)(A) (the "MVLS Rule"), which served as an additional and separate basis for delisting. A hearing before the Panel was conducted on January 4, 2024. The Panel conditionally granted the Company's request to transfer its shares from The Nasdaq Global Market to The Nasdaq Capital Market, effective at the open of trading on January 18, 2024 and the Company's request for an exception to the Exchange's listing rules until April 15, 2024, to demonstrate compliance, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in the Panel Decision. The Panel Decision indicates that the Company may request that the Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council (the "Council") review the Panel Decision, in which case a written request for review would need to be received within 15 days from the date of the Panel Decision. The Council may also on its own motion determine to review the Panel Decision. The Panel Decision has no immediate effect on the listing of the Company's common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market. The Company plans to fulfil each of the conditions as stated in the Panel Decision; however, no assurance can be given as to the definitive date on which such conditions will be achieved. Following a request submitted by the Company on April 12, 2024, the Panel granted a further extension to the exception granted on January 16, 2024, to the Company, as amended on January 17, 2024 (the "Decision"), to extend the Company's deadline to regain compliance with Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) (the "Equity Requirement"). In granting the extension, the Panel noted that as of April 15, 2024, the Company has regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1). Based on the information presented, the Panel determined to grant the Company's request for an exception extension to regain compliance with the Equity Requirement until May 31, 2024, subject to the Company demonstrating compliance with all applicable continued listing requirements for The Nasdaq Capital Market under Rule 5550. On April 17, 2024, the Company received an Additional Staff Delisting Determination (the "Additional Staff Determination") from Nasdaq. The Additional Staff Determination noted that the Company is now delinquent in filing its Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2023 (the "Form 10-K"), which additional delinquency may serve as a separate basis for the delisting of the Company's securities from Nasdaq. The Additional Staff Determination notified the Company that the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the "Panel") will consider this matter in their decision regarding the Company's continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market and that it should present its views with respect to this additional deficiency to the Panel in writing no later than April 24, 2024. On April 30, 2024, the Company filed its delinquent Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2023. If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market and we are not able to list our securities another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, the Company could face significant material adverse consequences, including: - a limited availability of market quotations for its securities; - reduced liquidity for its securities; - a determination that the Company's common stock is a "penny stock" which will require brokers trading in the common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for the Company's securities; - a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and - a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. In the event of a delisting, we anticipate that we would take actions to restore our compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange's listing requirements, but we can provide no assurance that any such action taken by us would allow our common stock to remain listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market or the Nasdaq Capital Market, stabilize our market price, improve the liquidity of our common stock, prevent our common stock from dropping below the Nasdaq Capital Market's minimum bid price requirement, or prevent future non-compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange's listing requirements.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2A large number of shares of our common stock issuable upon conversion of the Convertible Notes may be sold in the market, which may depress the market price of our common stock and substantially dilute stockholders' voting power.
Lind Global is obligated to convert at least an aggregate of $1,750,000 of the principal amount of the Closing Notes at an exercise price of $18.176 per share resulting in the issuance of a total of 96,281 shares of common stock, subject to the limitation that the holder may not convert those securities to the extent that the holder would own more than 4.99% of our outstanding common stock immediately after conversion. However, this limitation does not prevent the holder from selling shares of our common stock and then receive additional shares of our common stock through a subsequent conversion. In this way, Lind Global could acquire and sell more than 4.99% of the outstanding common stock in a relatively short time frame while never holding more than 4.99% at one time. Further since the exercise price under the Convertible Notes is based on market prices of our common stock during the ten trading days prior to each conversion, declines in the market price of our common stock down to the conversion floor price ($18.176 per share) result in, subject to the floor price, higher conversion rates and consequently higher rates of dilution to stockholders for each dollar of principal of a Convertible Debenture being converted during such declines. As of January 22, 2024 there were 626,890 shares of common stock outstanding and 396,244 shares of common stock owned by non-affiliates. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public markets could depress the market price of our common stock, cause substantial dilution to stockholders' voting power and impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. If all 96,281 shares of common stock that could potentially be issued underlying the Convertible Notes that Lind Global is obligated to convert are issued, the percentage of our common stock held by the existing non-affiliate stockholders would be reduced from approximately 63.2% to approximately 54.8%. We cannot predict the effect that future sales of our common stock by the holders or others would have on the market price of our common stock.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3The Company's stockholders may experience dilution in the future.
The percentage of shares of the Company's common stock owned by current stockholders may be diluted in the future because of equity issuances for acquisitions, capital market transactions or otherwise, including, without limitation, equity awards that the Company may grant to its directors, officers and employees, exercise of the Company's warrants. Such issuances may have a dilutive effect on the Company's earnings per share, which could adversely affect the market price of the Company's common stock. We have no committed source of financing. Wherever possible, we may attempt to use non-cash consideration to satisfy obligations or obtain financing. Our board of directors has authority, without action or vote of the stockholders, to issue all or part of the authorized but unissued. In addition, if a trading market develops for our common stock, we may attempt to raise capital by selling shares of our common stock, possibly at a discount to market. These actions would result in dilution of the ownership interests of existing stockholders and may further dilute the common stock book value, and that dilution may be material.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or they publish negative reports about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business, our market, and our competitors. We do not have any control over these analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our shares or publish negative views on us or our shares, our share price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5As an "emerging growth company" under the JOBS Act, we are permitted to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements.
We qualify as an "emerging growth company" under the JOBS Act. As a result, we are permitted to, and intend to, rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements. For so long as we are an emerging growth company, we will not be required to: - have an auditor report on our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;- comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditors' report providing additional information about the audit and the consolidated financial statements (i.e., an auditor discussion and analysis); - submit certain executive compensation matters to stockholder advisory votes, such as "say-on-pay" and "say-on-frequency"; and - disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the chief executive officer's compensation to median employee compensation. In addition, Section 102 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period. Our consolidated financial statements may therefore not be comparable to those of companies that comply with such new or revised accounting standards. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest to occur of: (i) the end of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenue is $1.235 billion or more; (ii) the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt; and (iii) the end of the fiscal year during which the fifth anniversary of our initial public offering (which closed on August 13, 2021) occurs. Until such time, however, we cannot predict if investors will find our securities less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the price of our securities may be more volatile.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6The company may redeem unexpired public warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous for the Company's warrant holders.
The company will have the ability to redeem outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of the Company's common stock equals or exceeds $1,800 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. If and when the public warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right if there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the shares of the Company's common stock underlying such warrants. Redemption of the outstanding public warrants could force you to: (i) exercise your warrants and pay the related exercise price at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding public warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7Our securities holders may face significant restrictions on the resale of our securities due to state "Blue Sky" laws.
Each state has its own securities laws, often called "blue sky" laws, which (i) limit sales of securities to a state's residents unless the securities are registered in that state or qualify for an exemption from registration, and (ii) govern the reporting requirements for broker-dealers doing business directly or indirectly in the state. Before a security is sold in a state, there must be a registration in place to cover the transaction, or the transaction must be exempt from registration. The applicable broker must be registered in that state. We do not know whether our common stock will be registered or exempt from registration under the laws of any state. There may be significant state blue sky law restrictions on the ability of investors to sell, and on purchasers to buy, our common stock. You should therefore consider the resale market for our common stock to be limited, as you may be unable to resell your common stock without the significant expense of state registration or qualification.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 8Substantial future sales of shares of our common stock could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
The market price of shares of our common stock could decline as a result of substantial sales of our common stock, particularly sales by Lind Global, our directors, executive officers and significant stockholders, a large number of shares of our common stock becoming available for sale or the perception in the market that holders of a large number of shares intend to sell their shares.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 9The market price of our common stock may be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
The trading price of our common stock is likely to be volatile. The stock market recently has experienced extreme volatility. This volatility often has been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies. You may not be able to resell your shares of common stock at an attractive price due to a number of factors such as those listed in this Risk Factors section and the following: - results of operations that vary from the expectations of securities analysts and investors; - results of operations that vary from those of the Company's competitors; - changes in expectations as to the Company's future financial performance, including financial estimates and investment recommendations by securities analysts and investors; - declines in the market prices of stocks generally; - strategic actions by the Company or its competitors; - announcements by the Company or its competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions, joint ventures, other strategic relationships or capital commitments; - announcements of estimates by third parties of actual or anticipated changes in the size of the Company's customer base or the level of customer engagement; - any significant change in the Company's management; - changes in general economic or market conditions or trends in the Company's industry or markets; - changes in business or regulatory conditions, including new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to the Company's business; - additional shares of the Company's securities being sold or issued into the market by the Company or any of the existing stockholders or the anticipation of such sales, including if the Company issues shares to satisfy conversions under the Convertible Notes, exercises of Warrants or restricted stock unit related tax obligations or if existing stockholders sell shares into the market when applicable "lock-up" periods end; - investor perceptions of the investment opportunity associated with the Company's common stock relative to other investment alternatives; - the public's response to press releases or other public announcements by the Company or third parties, including the Company's filings with the SEC; - litigation involving the Company, the Company's industry, or both, or investigations by regulators into the Company's operations or those of the Company's competitors; - guidance, if any, that the Company provides to the public, any changes in this guidance or the Company's failure to meet this guidance; - the development and sustainability of an active trading market for the Company's common stock; - actions by institutional or activist stockholders; - developments in new legislation and pending lawsuits or regulatory actions, including interim or final rulings by judicial or regulatory bodies; - changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations or principles; and - other events or factors, including those resulting from pandemics, natural disasters, war, acts of terrorism or responses to these events. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of the Company's common stock, regardless of the Company's actual operating performance. In addition, price volatility may be greater if the public float and trading volume of the Company's common stock is low. In the past, following periods of market volatility, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation. If the Company was involved in securities litigation, it could have a substantial cost and divert resources and the attention of executive management from the Company's business regardless of the outcome of such litigation.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 10Our common stock may be subject to the "penny stock" rules in the future. It may be more difficult to resell securities classified as "penny stock."
Our common stock may be subject to "penny stock" rules (generally defined as non-exchange traded stock with a per-share price below $5.00) in the future. While our common stock is not currently considered "penny stock" since it is listed on Nasdaq, if we are unable to maintain that listing and our common stock is no longer listed on Nasdaq, unless we maintain a per-share price above $5.00, our common stock will become "penny stock." These rules impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that recommend the purchase or sale of penny stocks to persons other than those who qualify as "established customers" or "accredited investors." For example, broker-dealers must determine the appropriateness for non-qualifying persons of investments in penny stocks. Broker-dealers must also provide, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, a standardized risk disclosure document that provides information about penny stocks and the risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, disclose the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction, furnish monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer's account, provide a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser, and receive the purchaser's written agreement to the transaction. Legal remedies available to an investor in "penny stocks" may include the following: - If a "penny stock" is sold to the investor in violation of the requirements listed above, or other federal or states securities laws, the investor may be able to cancel the purchase and receive a refund of the investment. - If a "penny stock" is sold to the investor in a fraudulent manner, the investor may be able to sue the persons and firms that committed the fraud for damages. These requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity, if any, in the secondary market for a security that becomes subject to the penny stock rules. The additional burdens imposed upon broker-dealers by such requirements may discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our securities, which could severely limit the market price and liquidity of our securities. These requirements may restrict the ability of broker-dealers to sell our common stock and may affect your ability to resell our common stock. Many brokerage firms will discourage or refrain from recommending investments in penny stocks. Most institutional investors will not invest in penny stocks. In addition, many individual investors will not invest in penny stocks due, among other reasons, to the increased financial risk generally associated with these investments. For these reasons, penny stocks may have a limited market and, consequently, limited liquidity. We can give no assurance at what time, if ever, our common stock will not be classified as a "penny stock" in the future.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 11We believe we will be considered a smaller reporting company and will be exempt from certain disclosure requirements, which could make our common stock less attractive to potential investors.
Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act defines a "smaller reporting company" as an issuer that is not an investment company, an asset-backed issuer, or a majority-owned subsidiary of a parent that is not a smaller reporting company and that: - had a public float of less than $250 million as of the last business day of its most recently completed second fiscal quarter, computed by multiplying the aggregate worldwide number of shares of its voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates by the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average of the bid and asked prices of common equity, in the principal market for the common equity; or - in the case of an initial registration statement under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act for shares of its common equity, had a public float of less than $250 million as of a date within 30 days of the date of the filing of the registration statement, computed by multiplying the aggregate worldwide number of such shares held by non-affiliates before the registration plus, in the case of a Securities Act registration statement, the number of such shares included in the registration statement by the estimated public offering price of the shares; or - in the case of an issuer whose public float as calculated under paragraph (1) or (2) of this definition was zero or whose public float was less than $700 million, had annual revenues of less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year for which audited financial statements are available. As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to, and may not, include a Compensation Discussion and Analysis section in our proxy statements; we will provide only two years of financial statements; and we need not provide the table of selected financial data. We also will have other "scaled" disclosure requirements that are less comprehensive than issuers that are not smaller reporting companies which could make our common stock less attractive to potential investors, which could make it more difficult for our stockholders to sell their shares.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 12Anti-takeover provisions contained in our Amended Charter and Amended Bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.
The Company's Amended Charter and Amended Bylaws contain provisions that could have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in control or changes in our management without the consent of our board of directors. These provisions include: - no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates; - the exclusive right of our board of directors to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the resignation, death, or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our board of directors; - the ability of our board of directors to determine whether to issue shares of our preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer; - limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, our directors and officers; - providing that a special meeting of the stockholders may only be called by a majority of the board of directors; - providing that directors may be removed prior to the expiration of their terms by the affirmative vote of the holders of not less than 2/3 of the voting power of the issued and outstanding stock entitled to vote; and - advance notice procedures that stockholders must comply with in order to nominate candidates to our board of directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders' meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer's own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the Company. These provisions, alone or together, could delay hostile takeovers and changes in control of the Company or changes in our board of directors and management. Any provision of our Amended Charter or Amended Bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our security holders to receive a premium for their securities and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our securities.
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