Renalytix (2O9) Risk Analysis

Sales of a substantial number of our ordinary shares or ADSs in the public market could occur at any time. If our shareholders sell, or the market perceives that our shareholders intend to sell, substantial amounts of our ordinary shares or ADSs in the public market, the market price of our ADSs and ordinary shares could decline significantly. We had 154,368,191 ordinary shares outstanding as of June 30, 2024. Sales of a substantial number of such ADSs or ordinary shares or the perception that such sales may occur could cause the market price of our ADSs and/or ordinary shares to fall or make it more difficult for purchasers of ADSs to sell their ADSs at a time and price that they deem appropriate.

Our ordinary shares trade on AIM and, as previously disclosed, we intend to delist our ADSs from Nasdaq effective on or about October 7, 2024, and intend for our ADSs to become quoted on the OTC Markets' OTCQX tier effective on or about October 8, 2024. Trading of our ordinary shares on AIM and our ADSs on Nasdaq, as of the date hereof, and OTCQX, in the future, will likely continue to generate additional costs, including increased legal, accounting, investor relations and other expenses, in addition to the costs associated with the additional reporting requirements described elsewhere in this annual report. We cannot predict the effect of this dual listing on the value of our ADSs and our ordinary shares. However, the dual listing of ADSs and ordinary shares may dilute the liquidity of these securities in one or both markets and may adversely affect the development of an active trading market for our ADSs. The price of our ADSs could also be adversely affected by trading in ordinary shares on AIM.

We are an "emerging growth company" as defined in the SEC's rules and regulations and we will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier to occur of (a) June 30, 2026, (b) the last day of the fiscal year (1) in which we have total annual gross revenues of at least $1.235 billion or (2) in which we are deemed to be a "large accelerated filer" under the rules of the SEC, which means the market value of our ordinary shares and ADSs that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0 million as of the prior December 31, or (c) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we are permitted and intend to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. These exemptions include: - not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act ("Section 404");- not being required to comply with any requirement that has or may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, ("PCAOB"), regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor's report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements;- reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation; and - an exemption from the requirement to seek nonbinding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements. We may choose to take advantage of some, but not all, of the available exemptions. We have taken advantage of reduced reporting burdens in this annual report. In particular, we have not included all of the executive compensation information that would be required if we were not an emerging growth company. We cannot predict whether investors will find our ADSs less attractive if we rely on certain or all of these exemptions. If some investors find our ADSs less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our ADSs and our ADS price may be more volatile. In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company may take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards and, as a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates. Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still qualify as a "smaller reporting company" if the market value of our ordinary shares and ADSs held by non-affiliates is below $250 million (or $700 million if our annual revenue is less than $100 million) as of December 31 in any given year, which would allow us to take advantage of many of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements, including reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and, when required, our proxy statements.

Our ordinary shares are currently traded on AIM. Investment in equities traded on AIM is sometimes perceived to carry a higher risk than an investment in equities quoted on exchanges with more stringent listing requirements, such as the main market of the London Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. This is because AIM is less heavily regulated, imposes less stringent corporate governance and ongoing reporting requirements than those other exchanges. In addition, AIM requires only half-yearly, rather than quarterly, financial reporting. You should be aware that the value of our ordinary shares may be influenced by many factors, some of which may be specific to us and some of which may affect AIM companies generally, including the depth and liquidity of the market, our performance, a large or small volume of trading in our ordinary shares, legislative changes and general economic, political or regulatory conditions, and that the prices may be volatile and subject to extensive fluctuations. Therefore, the market price of our ordinary shares, the ADSs, or the ordinary shares underlying the ADSs, may not reflect the underlying value of our company.

We expect that significant additional capital may be needed in the future to continue our planned operations, including conducting verification studies, commercialization efforts, expanded research and development activities and costs associated with operating a public company. For example, on September 30, 2024, we announced our intention to raise approximately £11 million gross proceeds through a placing, a subscription and a retail offer of new ordinary shares of the Company at an issue price of £0.09 per new ordinary share to new and existing institutional and other investors. Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenues, we expect to finance our cash needs through any or a combination of securities offerings, debt financings, collaborations, agreements, strategic alliances and marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties. If we raise capital through securities offerings, such sales may also result in material dilution to our existing shareholders, and new investors could gain rights, preferences and privileges senior to the holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a holder of ADSs or ordinary shares. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, could result in fixed payment obligations, and we may be required to accept terms that restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness, force us to maintain specified liquidity or other ratios or restrict our ability to pay dividends or make acquisitions. Raising additional capital through any of these or other means could adversely affect our business and the holdings or rights of our security holders, and may cause the market price of our ADSs or ordinary shares to decline.

Holders of our ADSs do not have the same rights as shareholders who hold our ordinary shares directly and may only exercise their voting rights with respect to the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Holders of the ADSs will appoint the depositary or its nominee as their representative to exercise the voting rights attaching to the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs. When a general meeting is convened, if you hold ADSs, you may not receive sufficient notice of a shareholders' meeting to permit you to withdraw the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs to allow you to vote with respect to any specific matter. We will make all commercially reasonable efforts to cause the depositary to extend voting rights to holders of ADSs in a timely manner, but we cannot assure purchasers of ADSs that they will receive voting materials in time to instruct the depositary to vote, and it is possible that they, or persons who hold their ADSs through brokers, dealers or other third parties, will not have the opportunity to exercise a right to vote. Furthermore, the depositary will not be liable for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. As a result, purchasers of ADSs may not be able to exercise their right to vote and they may lack recourse if their ADSs are not voted as they request. In addition, in their capacity as ADS holders, they will not be able to call a shareholders' meeting.

The trading market for our ADSs and ordinary shares is influenced in part by the research and reports that equity research analysts publish about us and our business. If no or few equity research analysts cover our company, the trading price for our ADSs and ordinary shares would be negatively impacted. We do not have any control over the analysts or the content and opinions included in their reports. The price of our ADSs and ordinary shares could decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our ADSs or ordinary shares or issue other unfavorable commentary or research about us. If one or more equity research analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our ADSs and ordinary shares could decrease, which in turn could cause the trading price or trading volume of our ADSs and ordinary shares to decline.

The deposit agreement governing our ADSs provides that owners and holders of ADSs irrevocably waive the right to a trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including claims under U.S. federal securities laws, against us or the depositary to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. If this jury trial waiver provision is prohibited by applicable law, an action could nevertheless proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. Although we are not aware of a specific federal decision that addresses the enforceability of a jury trial waiver in the context of U.S. federal securities laws, it is our understanding that jury trial waivers are generally enforceable. Moreover, insofar as the deposit agreement is governed by the laws of the State of New York, New York laws similarly recognize the validity of jury trial waivers in appropriate circumstances. In determining whether to enforce a jury trial waiver provision, New York courts and federal courts will consider whether the visibility of the jury trial waiver provision within the agreement is sufficiently prominent such that a party has knowingly waived any right to trial by jury. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. In addition, New York courts will not enforce a jury trial waiver provision in order to bar a viable setoff or counterclaim of fraud or one which is based upon a creditor's negligence in failing to liquidate collateral upon a guarantor's demand, or in the case of an intentional tort claim (as opposed to a contract dispute). No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or ADSs serves as a waiver by any holder or beneficial owner of ADSs or by us or the depositary of compliance with any provision of U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. If any owner or holder of our ADSs brings a claim against us or the depositary in connection with matters arising under the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including claims under U.S. federal securities laws, such owner or holder may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may have the effect of limiting and discouraging lawsuits against us or the depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against us or the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may result in different results than a trial by jury would have had, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiff(s) in any such action, depending on, among other things, the nature of the claims, the judge or justice hearing such claims, and the venue of the hearing.

Our executive officers, directors and current beneficial owners of 5% or more of our ordinary shares and their respective affiliates, in the aggregate, beneficially owned approximately 47.6% of our outstanding ordinary shares, based on the number of ordinary shares outstanding as of June 30, 2024. As a result, depending on the level of attendance at our general meetings of shareholders, these persons, acting together, would be able to significantly influence all matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including the election, re-election and removal of directors, any merger, scheme of arrangement, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or other significant corporate transactions, and amendments to our articles of association. In addition, these persons, acting together, may have the ability to control the management and affairs of our company. Accordingly, this concentration of ownership may harm the market price of our ADSs and ordinary shares by: - delaying, deferring, or preventing a change in control;- entrenching our management and/or the Board of Directors;- impeding a merger, scheme of arrangement, takeover, or other business combination involving us; or - discouraging a potential acquirer from making a takeover offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us. In addition, some of these persons or entities may have interests different than yours. For example, because some of these shareholders may have purchased their shares at prices substantially below the price at which you purchased your shares and may have held their shares for a longer period, they may be more interested in selling our company to an acquirer than other investors, or they may want us to pursue strategies that deviate from the interests of other shareholders.

Although we do not have any present plans to declare or pay any dividends, in the event we declare and pay any dividend, the depositary for the ADSs has agreed to pay to ADS holders the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. Purchasers of ADSs will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of our ordinary shares their ADSs represent. However, in accordance with the limitations set forth in the deposit agreement, it may be unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to holders of ADSs. We have no obligation to register under U.S. securities laws any offering of ADSs, ordinary shares or other securities received through such distributions. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit distribution on the ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of the ADSs. This means that purchasers of ADSs may not receive the distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value from them if it is unlawful or impractical to make them available to them. These restrictions may have an adverse effect on the value of your ADSs.

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, if a United States person is treated as owning (directly, indirectly or constructively) 10% or more of our stock by vote or value, such United States person will be treated as a "United States shareholder" with respect to each "controlled foreign corporation" in our group (if any). Because our group includes at least one U.S. subsidiary, any non-U.S. subsidiaries we were to form or acquire in the future will be treated as controlled foreign corporations. A United States shareholder of a controlled foreign corporation will be required to annually report and include in its U.S. federal taxable income its pro rata share (if any) of "subpart F income," "global intangible low-taxed income" and investments in U.S. property by the controlled foreign corporation, regardless of whether such corporation makes any distributions of such income. Special rules, however, apply to United States persons that are partnerships or other pass-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Certain deductions and credits for foreign income taxes paid or accrued by the controlled foreign corporation may be claimed by a corporate United States shareholder, but may not be claimed by an individual United States shareholder. We cannot provide any assurance that we will furnish to any United States shareholder the information required to comply with the reporting and tax-paying obligations discussed applicable to a United States shareholder in respect of controlled foreign corporations. Failure to comply with such reporting obligations may subject a holder of our ordinary shares that is a United States shareholder to significant monetary penalties and may prevent the statute of limitations with respect to its U.S. federal income tax return for the year for which reporting was due from starting. Holders of our ordinary shares that are United States persons should consult their tax advisors regarding the potential application of these rules to their investment in our ordinary shares.

We are incorporated under English law. The rights of holders of ordinary shares and, therefore, certain of the rights of holders of our ADSs, are governed by English law, including the provisions of the U.K. Companies Act 2006 (the "Companies Act"), and by our articles of association. These rights differ in certain respects from the rights of shareholders in typical U.S. corporations.

Our articles of association provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum in the United States of America, the U.S. federal district courts are the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provision, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies' constitutive documents has been challenged in legal proceedings. If a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our articles of association to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. This choice of forum provision may limit a shareholder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits.