Hyperdynamics (HDYNQ) Risk Analysis

In the future, we may issue our authorized but previously unissued equity securities, which would result in the dilution of the ownership interests of our present stockholders and the purchasers of our common stock offered hereby. The Company is authorized to issue an aggregate of 87,000,000 shares of common stock and 20,000,000 shares of "blank check" preferred stock. We may issue additional shares of our common stock or other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for our common stock in connection with hiring or retaining employees, future acquisitions, future sales of our securities for capital raising purposes, or for other business purposes. The future issuance of any such additional shares of our common stock may create downward pressure on the trading price of the common stock. We will need to raise additional capital in the near future to meet our working capital needs, and there can be no assurance that we will not be required to issue additional shares, warrants or other convertible securities in the future in conjunction with these capital raising efforts, including at a price (or exercise prices) below the price you paid for your stock.

If the stock purchase agreement with CLNG closes (of which there is no assurance), we will issue to them 40,000,000 shares of common stock, and current shareholders will experience immediate and substantial dilution.  If this purchase is completed, CLNG or its affiliate will own approximately 53% of our then outstanding common stock, and existing stockholders will hold only approximately 47%.  The issuance of these shares, or other factors relating to the transaction, could cause our stock price to decline, perhaps significantly.

If the stock purchase agreement with CLNG is completed, CLNG or its affiliate will own approximately 53% of our outstanding common stock and will have the ability to elect all of our directors as well as to exercise a controlling influence over other matters requiring stockholder approval, including approval of significant corporate transactions and dilutive share issuances, and may have significant control over our management and policies. If the transaction closes, CLNG has informed us that it or its affiliate intends to appoint representatives who will form a majority of our board of directors, but no specific agreement has yet been entered into in this respect, nor have such director candidates been definitively identified.  Such majority of directors would be able to effectively control the Company, by directing its business and controlling its finances, future issuances of stock and other securities, and otherwise.  A new board of directors could decide to change, expand or contract the business plan of the Company in its discretion. While the stock purchase agreement provides that Ray Leonard will remain President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company, and Jason Davis will remain Chief Financial Officer, they may be removed as officers by the board (subject, in the case of Mr. Leonard, to the provisions of his employment agreement), and Mr. Leonard can be removed by, or not re-elected by, the stockholders in accordance with our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law.

If our existing stockholders or warrant or option holders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, the price of our common stock could decline. The perception in the market that these sales may occur could also cause the price of our common stock to decline. Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement we have filed to register for resale certain shares of common stock by our stockholders or we could elect to file with respect to any other outstanding shares of common stock, any sales of those shares or any perception in the market that such sales may occur could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline. As of the date of effectiveness of such registration statement, such shares registered for resale will be freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act of 1933.

Our board of directors is authorized to issue up to 87,000,000 shares of common stock and 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock with powers, rights and preferences designated by it. (A total of 595 shares of Series A Preferred Stock are currently outstanding.) Shares of voting or convertible preferred stock could be issued, or rights to purchase such shares could be issued, to create voting impediments or to frustrate persons seeking to effect a takeover or otherwise gain control of the Company. The ability of the board of directors to issue such additional shares of preferred stock, with rights and preferences it deems advisable, could discourage an attempt by a party to acquire control of the Company by tender offer or other means. Such issuances could therefore deprive stockholders of benefits that could result from such an attempt, such as the realization of a premium over the market price for their shares in a tender offer or the temporary increase in market price that such an attempt could cause. Moreover, the issuance of such additional shares of preferred stock to persons friendly to the board of directors could make it more difficult to remove incumbent managers and directors from office even if such change were to be favorable to stockholders generally.

There is currently only a limited public market for shares of our common stock, and an active trading market may never develop. Our common stock is quoted on the OTC Markets. The OTC Markets is a thinly traded market and lacks the liquidity of certain other public markets with which some investors may have more experience. We may not ever be able to satisfy the listing requirements for our common stock to be listed on a national securities exchange, which is often a more widely-traded and liquid market. Some, but not all, of the factors which may delay or prevent the listing of our common stock on a more widely-traded and liquid market include the following: our stockholders' equity may be insufficient; the market value of our outstanding securities may be too low; our net income from operations may be too low; our common stock may not be sufficiently widely held; we may not be able to secure market makers for our common stock; and we may fail to meet the rules and requirements mandated by the several exchanges and markets to have our common stock listed. Should we fail to satisfy the initial listing standards of the national exchanges, or our common stock is otherwise rejected for listing, and remains listed on the OTC Markets or is suspended from the OTC Markets, the trading price of our common stock could suffer and the trading market for our common stock may be less liquid and our common stock price may be subject to increased volatility. We have not applied, and currently do not intend to apply, for the listing of our common stock on any national securities exchange.  We do not currently meet the listing criteria of any such exchange, and no assurance can be given that we will at any time in the future.

Rule 15g-9 under the Exchange Act establishes the definition of a "penny stock," for the purposes relevant to us, as any equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or with an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require: (a) that a broker or dealer approve a person's account for transactions in penny stocks; and (b) the broker or dealer receive from the investor a written agreement to the transaction, setting forth the identity and quantity of the penny stock to be purchased. In order to approve a person's account for transactions in penny stocks, the broker or dealer must: (a) obtain financial information and investment experience objectives of the person and (b) make a reasonable determination that the transactions in penny stocks are suitable for that person and the person has sufficient knowledge and experience in financial matters to be capable of evaluating the risks of transactions in penny stocks. The broker or dealer must also deliver, prior to any transaction in a penny stock, a disclosure schedule prescribed by the SEC relating to the penny stock market, which, in highlight form: (a) sets forth the basis on which the broker or dealer made the suitability determination; and (b) confirms that the broker or dealer received a signed, written agreement from the investor prior to the transaction. Generally, brokers may be less willing to execute transactions in securities subject to the "penny stock" rules. This may make it more difficult for investors to dispose of our common stock and cause a decline in the market value of our common stock. Disclosure also has to be made about the risks of investing in penny stocks in both public offerings and in secondary trading and about the commissions payable to both the broker or dealer and the registered representative, current quotations for the securities and the rights and remedies available to an investor in cases of fraud in penny stock transactions. Finally, monthly statements have to be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stocks.

Until our common stock is listed on a national securities exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange or The Nasdaq Stock Market, we expect our common stock to remain eligible for quotation on the OTC Markets, or on another over-the-counter quotation system. In those venues, however, the shares of our common stock may trade infrequently and in low volumes, meaning that the number of persons interested in purchasing our common shares at or near bid prices at any given time may be relatively small or non-existent. An investor may find it difficult to obtain accurate quotations as to the market value of our common stock or to sell his or her shares at or near bid prices or at all. In addition, if we fail to meet the criteria set forth in SEC regulations, various requirements would be imposed by law on broker-dealers who sell our securities to persons other than established customers and accredited investors. Consequently, such regulations may deter broker-dealers from recommending or selling our common stock, which may further affect the liquidity of our common stock. This would also make it more difficult for us to raise capital.

On November 2, 2017, we executed an agreement to issue and sell 40 million shares of our common stock at a price of $0.15 per share (for a total purchase price of $6,000,000) to CLNG or its affiliate.  The closing of the sale is subject to substantial conditions, including (i) the completion of satisfactory due diligence by each party of the other, (ii) waiver by holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock of their right of first refusal, (iii) negotiation of reductions in our outstanding current liabilities satisfactory to CLNG, and (iv) satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.  If this purchase is completed, CLNG will own approximately 53% of our outstanding common stock.  There can be no assurance that our due diligence of CLNG will be acceptable to us, that CLNG's due diligence of us will be acceptable to CLNG, that all holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock will waive their right of first refusal, that we will successfully negotiate reductions in our outstanding current liabilities satisfactory to CLNG, or, even if these conditions are satisfied, that the stock purchase agreement will close. The net proceeds of this stock sale, if it occurs, may not be sufficient to pay all of our outstanding liabilities and will not be sufficient to cover current operating expenses or, if the two-year appraisal period in Guinea for which we have applied is granted, to be able to fund operations for the appraisal program.  See the following Risk Factor for additional information.

We qualify as a "smaller reporting company" (meaning that we are not an investment company, an asset-backed issuer, or a majority-owned subsidiary of a parent company that is not a smaller reporting company, and we have a public float of less than $75 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter), which allows us to take advantage of a number of exemptions from SEC disclosure requirements in our periodic reports and proxy statements, including, among other things, simplified executive compensation disclosures, only being required to provide two (rather than three) years of audited financial statements, and not being required to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that our independent registered public accounting firm provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Decreased disclosures in our SEC filings due to our status as a "smaller reporting company" may make it harder for investors to analyze our results of operations and financial prospects and may cause some investors to find our common stock less attractive because we rely on these exemptions, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock, and our stock price may be more volatile.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to include in our annual reports on Form 10-K an assessment by management of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, at such time, if any, as we are no longer a "smaller reporting company," our independent registered public accounting firm will have to attest to and report on management's assessment of the effectiveness of such internal control over financial reporting. Based upon the last evaluation conducted as of June 30, 2017, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of such date to provide reasonable assurance to the Company's management and Board of Directors regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Our management identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during our fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2017 and continued through June 30, 2017 and thereafter through the date of this filing, that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. During the fiscal year 2017, the Company has experienced turnover in its accounting group and as of June 30, 2017, it lacked a sufficient number of competent accounting personnel.   This material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting had a material adverse impact on our quarterly and annual financial close process and reporting. The Company is in the process of remediating this weakness by adding additional competent accounting personnel. If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to prevent or detect fraud or provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements. This could result in a loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which in turn could negatively affect the price of our common stock. In particular, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management and (if required in future) our independent registered public accounting firm to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404(b). Our compliance with Section 404(b) may require that we incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management efforts. We currently do not have an internal audit group. We may need to retain the services of additional accounting and financial staff or consultants with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge to satisfy the ongoing requirements of Section 404(b). We intend to review the effectiveness of our internal controls and procedures and make any changes management determines appropriate, including to achieve compliance with Section 404(b) by the date on which we are required to so comply. ***

Cash dividends have never been declared or paid on our common stock, and we do not anticipate such a declaration or payment for the foreseeable future. We expect to use future earnings, if any, to fund business growth. Therefore, stockholders will not receive any funds absent a sale of their shares of common stock. If we do not pay dividends, our common stock may be less valuable because a return on your investment will only occur if our stock price appreciates. We cannot assure stockholders of a positive return on their investment when they sell their shares, nor can we assure that stockholders will not lose the entire amount of their investment.