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6-K 1 ea0209990-6k_bloomz.htm REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 6-K

 

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER

PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16

UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the month of July 2024

 

Commission File Number: 001-42186

 

BloomZ Inc.

 

Toyo Recording 1F, 4-5-19 Akasaka

Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052

Japan

(Address of principal executive office)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:

 

Form 20-F ☒ Form 40-F ☐

 

 

 

 


 

On July 23, 2024, BloomZ Inc. (the “Company”) entered into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc., as the representative of the several underwriters listed on Schedule A to the Underwriting Agreement (the “Representative”), relating to the Company’s initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 1,250,000 ordinary shares, par value $0.00000002 per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), for a price of $4.30 per share, less certain underwriting discounts. The Company also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 187,500 additional Ordinary Shares on the same terms and conditions for the purpose of covering any over-allotments in connection with the IPO. 

 

On July 25, 2024, the Company closed the IPO. The Company completed the IPO pursuant to its registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-275223), which was initially filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on October 31, 2023, as amended, and declared effective by the SEC on July 1, 2024. The IPO was conducted on a firm commitment basis. The Ordinary Shares were approved for listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market and commenced trading under the ticker symbol “BLMZ” on July 24, 2022. On July 25, 2024, the Company also issued warrants to the Representative and its affiliates, which are exercisable for a period of five years after the date of commencement of sales of Ordinary Shares in this offering, entitling the holders of the warrants to purchase an aggregate of up to 125,000 Ordinary Shares at a per share price of $5.16 (the “Representative’s Warrants”).

 

In connection with the IPO, the Company issued a press release on July 23, 2024, announcing the pricing of the IPO and a press release on July 25, 2024, announcing the closing of the IPO, respectively.

 

Copies of the Underwriting Agreement, the form of Representative’s Warrants, and the two press releases, are attached hereto as Exhibits 10.1, 4.1, 99.1, and 99.2, respectively, and are incorporated by reference herein. The foregoing summaries of the terms of the Underwriting Agreement and the Representative’s Warrants do not purport to be a complete description of each of the documents described in this Form 6-K, and are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by, such documents.

 

This report does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

Date: July 25, 2024

 

  BloomZ Inc.
   
  By: /s/ Kazusa Aranami
  Name:  Kazusa Aranami
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

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EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit No.   Description
4.1   Form of Representative’s Warrants
     
10.1   Underwriting Agreement dated July 23, 2024 by and between the Company and the Representative
     
99.1   Press Release on Pricing of the Company’s Initial Public Offering
     
99.2   Press Release on Closing of the Company’s Initial Public Offering

 

 

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EX-4.1 2 ea020999001ex4-1_bloomz.htm FORM OF REPRESENTATIVE'S WARRANTS

Exhibit 4.1

 

Underwriter’s Warrant

 

THE REGISTERED HOLDER OF THIS PURCHASE WARRANT AGREES BY HIS, HER OR ITS ACCEPTANCE HEREOF, THAT SUCH HOLDER WILL NOT FOR A PERIOD OF ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY (180) DAYS BEGINNING ON THE DATE OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF SALES OF THE OFFERING PURSUANT THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT NO: 333-275223 AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION: (A) SELL, TRANSFER, ASSIGN, PLEDGE OR HYPOTHECATE THIS PURCHASE WARRANT TO ANYONE OTHER THAN OFFICERS OR PARTNERS OF NETWORK 1 FINANCIAL SECURITIES, INC., EACH OF WHOM SHALL HAVE AGREED TO THE RESTRICTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN, IN ACCORDANCE WITH FINRA CONDUCT RULE 5110(E)(1), OR (B) CAUSE THIS PURCHASE WARRANT OR THE SECURITIES ISSUABLE HEREUNDER TO BE THE SUBJECT OF ANY HEDGING, SHORT SALE, DERIVATIVE, PUT OR CALL TRANSACTION THAT WOULD RESULT IN THE EFFECTIVE ECONOMIC DISPOSITION OF THIS PURCHASE WARRANT OR THE SECURITIES HEREUNDER, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED FOR IN FINRA RULE 5110(E)(2).

 

ORDINARY SHARES PURCHASE WARRANT

 

For the Purchase of [●] Ordinary Shares

 

of

 

BLOOMZ INC.

 

1.Purchase Warrant. THIS ORDINARY SHARES PURCHASE WARRANT (this “Purchase Warrant”) certifies that, pursuant to that certain Underwriting Agreement by and between BloomZ Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”) and Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc. (“Network 1”), dated July 23, 2024 (the “Underwriting Agreement”), [●] (in such capacity with its permitted successors or assigns, the “Holder”), as registered owner of this Purchase Warrant, is entitled, at any time or from time to time from July 25, 2024 (the “Exercise Date”), and at or before 5:00 p.m., Eastern time, July 23, 2029 (the “Expiration Date”), but not thereafter, to subscribe for, purchase and receive, in whole or in part, up to [●] Ordinary Shares of the Company, par value $0.00000002 per share (the “Shares”), subject to adjustment as provided in Section 5 hereof. If the Expiration Date is a day on which banking institutions are authorized by law or executive order to close, then this Purchase Warrant may be exercised on the next succeeding day which is not such a day in accordance with the terms herein. During the period commencing on the date hereof and ending on the Expiration Date, the Company agrees not to take any action that would terminate this Purchase Warrant. This Purchase Warrant is initially exercisable at $5.16 per Share (120% of the price of the Shares sold in the Offering); provided, however, that upon the occurrence of any of the events specified in Section 5 hereof, the rights granted by this Purchase Warrant, including the exercise price per Share and the number of Shares to be received upon such exercise, shall be adjusted as therein specified. The term “Exercise Price” shall mean the initial exercise price or the adjusted exercise price, depending on the context. Any term not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed thereto in the Underwriting Agreement. The Purchase Warrant is redeemable.

 

2.Exercise.

 

2.1 Exercise Form. In order to exercise this Purchase Warrant, the exercise form attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Exercise Form”) must be duly executed and completed and delivered to the Company, together with this Purchase Warrant and payment of the Exercise Price for the Shares being purchased payable in cash by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Company. If the subscription rights represented hereby shall not be exercised at or before 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the Expiration Date, this Purchase Warrant shall become and be void without further force or effect, and all rights represented hereby shall cease and expire.

 

 


 

2.2 Cashless Exercise. In lieu of exercising this Purchase Warrant by payment of cash pursuant to Section 2.1 above, Holder may elect to receive the number of Shares equal to the value of this Purchase Warrant (or the portion thereof being exercised), by surrender of this Purchase Warrant to the Company, together with the Exercise Form, in which event the Company shall issue to Holder, Shares in accordance with the following formula:

 

X =     Y(A – B)  
A  

 

Where, X = The number of Shares to be issued to Holder;

 

Y = The number of Shares that would be issuable upon exercise of this Purchase Warrant in accordance with the terms of this Purchase Warrant if such exercise were by means of a cash exercise rather than a cashless exercise;

 

A = The fair market value of one Share; and

 

B = The Exercise Price of this Purchase Warrant, as adjusted hereunder.

 

For purposes of this Section 2.2, the fair market value of a Share is defined as follows:

 

(i) if the Company’s Ordinary Shares are traded on a securities exchange, the value shall be deemed to be the closing price on such exchange on the trading day immediately prior to the Exercise Form being submitted in connection with the exercise of this Purchase Warrant; or

 

(ii) if the Company’s Ordinary Shares are traded over-the-counter, the value shall be deemed to be the closing bid price on the trading day immediately prior to the Exercise Form being submitted in connection with the exercise of the Purchase Warrant;

 

(iii) if there is no active public market, the value shall be the fair market value thereof, as determined in good faith by the Company’s Board of Directors.

 

2.3 Legend. Each certificate for the securities purchased under this Purchase Warrant shall bear a legend as follows unless such securities have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”):

 

“(i) “THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), OR APPLICABLE STATE LAW. THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO A LOCK-UP PERIOD OF ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY (180) DAYS FOLLOWING THE COMMENCEMENT OF SALES OF THE OFFERING PURSUANT TO THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT OF THE COMPANY’S SECURITIES (FILE NO. 333-275223)) AND MAY NOT BE (A) SOLD, TRANSFERRED, ASSIGNED, PLEDGED OR HYPOTHECATED TO ANYONE OTHER THAN NETWORK 1 FINANCIAL SERVICES INC. OR BONA FIDE OFFICERS OR PARTNERS OF NETWORK 1 FINANCIAL SECURITIES, INC., OR (B) CAUSED TO BE THE SUBJECT OF ANY HEDGING, SHORT SALE, DERIVATIVE, PUT OR CALL TRANSACTION THAT WOULD RESULT IN THE EFFECTIVE ECONOMIC DISPOSITION OF THIS SECURITIES HEREUNDER, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED FOR IN FINRA RULE 5110(E)(2).””

 

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3.Transfer.

 

3.1 General Restrictions. The registered Holder of this Purchase Warrant agrees by his, her or its acceptance hereof, that such Holder will not for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days following the date of commencement of sales of the offering: (a) sell, transfer, assign, pledge or hypothecate this Purchase Warrant or any of the Shares issuable hereunder to anyone other than: (i) Network 1 or a selected dealer participating in the Offering contemplated by the Underwriting Agreement, or (ii) officers or partners of Network 1, each of whom shall have agreed to the restrictions contained herein, in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), or (b) cause this Purchase Warrant or the securities issuable hereunder to be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the effective economic disposition of this Purchase Warrant or the securities hereunder, except as provided for in FINRA Rule 5110(e)(2). The registered Holder of this Purchase Warrant will have the option to exercise, transfer or assign this Purchase Warrant at any time, provided that underlying securities shall not be transferred during the lock-up period; i.e., the Shares shall remain subject to the 180-day lock-up period. On and after that date that is one hundred eighty (180) days after the commencement of sales of the offering, transfers to others may be made subject to compliance with or exemptions from applicable securities laws. In order to make any permitted assignment, the Holder must deliver to the Company the assignment form attached hereto as Exhibit B duly executed and completed, together with this Purchase Warrant and payment of all transfer taxes, if any, payable in connection therewith. The Company shall within five (5) Business Days transfer this Purchase Warrant on the books of the Company and shall execute and deliver a new Purchase Warrant or Purchase Warrants of like tenor to the appropriate assignee(s) expressly evidencing the right to purchase the aggregate number of Shares purchasable hereunder or such portion of such number as shall be contemplated by any such assignment.

 

3.2 Restrictions Imposed by the Act. The securities evidenced by this Purchase Warrant shall not be transferred unless and until: (i) the Company has received the opinion of counsel for the Holder that the securities may be transferred pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Act and applicable state securities laws, the availability of which is established to the reasonable satisfaction of the Company, (ii) a Registration Statement relating to the offer and sale of such securities that includes a current prospectus has been filed and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) and compliance with applicable state securities law has been established.

 

4.New Purchase Warrants to be Issued.

 

4.1 Partial Exercise or Transfer. Subject to the restrictions in Section 3 hereof, this Purchase Warrant may be exercised or assigned in whole or in part. In the event of the exercise or assignment hereof in part only, upon surrender of this Purchase Warrant for cancellation, together with the duly executed exercise or assignment form and funds sufficient to pay any Exercise Price and/or transfer tax if exercised pursuant to Section 2.1 hereof, the Company shall cause to be delivered to the Holder, without charge, a new Purchase Warrant of like tenor to this Purchase Warrant in the name of the Holder evidencing the right of the Holder to purchase the number of Shares purchasable hereunder as to which this Purchase Warrant has not been exercised or assigned.

 

4.2 Lost Certificate. Upon receipt by the Company of evidence satisfactory to it of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of this Purchase Warrant and of reasonably satisfactory indemnification or the posting of a bond, the Company shall execute and deliver a new Purchase Warrant of like tenor. Any such new Purchase Warrant executed and delivered as a result of such loss, theft, mutilation or destruction shall constitute a substitute contractual obligation on the part of the Company.

 

5.Adjustments.

 

5.1 Adjustments to Exercise Price and Number of Shares. The Exercise Price and the number of Shares underlying this Purchase Warrant shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as hereinafter set forth:

 

5.1.1 Share Dividends; Split Ups. If, after the date hereof, and subject to the provisions of Section 5.3 below, the number of outstanding Shares is increased by a share dividend payable in Shares or by a split up of Shares or other similar event, then, on the effective day thereof, the number of Shares purchasable hereunder shall be increased in proportion to such increase in outstanding shares, and the Exercise Price shall be proportionately decreased.

 

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5.1.2 Aggregation of Shares. If, after the date hereof, and subject to the provisions of Section 5.3 below, the number of outstanding Shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination or reclassification of Shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date thereof, the number of Shares purchasable hereunder shall be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares, and the Exercise Price shall be proportionately increased.

 

5.1.3 Replacement of Shares upon Reorganization, etc. In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Shares other than a change covered by Section 5.1.1 or Section 5.1.2 hereof or that solely affects the par value of such Shares, or in the case of any share reconstruction or amalgamation or consolidation of the Company with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or share reconstruction or amalgamation in which the Company is the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the property of the Company as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which the Company is dissolved, the Holder of this Purchase Warrant shall have the right thereafter (until the expiration of the right of exercise of this Purchase Warrant) to receive upon the exercise hereof, for the same aggregate Exercise Price payable hereunder immediately prior to such event, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, share reconstruction or amalgamation, or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, by a Holder of the number of Shares of the Company obtainable upon exercise of this Purchase Warrant immediately prior to such event; and if any reclassification also results in a change in Shares covered by Section 5.1.1 or Section 5.1.2, then such adjustment shall be made pursuant to Section 5.1.1, Section 5.1.2 and this Section 5.1.3. The provisions of this Section 5.1.3 shall similarly apply to successive reclassifications, reorganizations, share reconstructions or amalgamations, or consolidations, sales or other transfers.

 

5.1.4 Changes in Form of Purchase Warrant. This form of Purchase Warrant need not be changed because of any change pursuant to this Section 5.1, and Purchase Warrants issued after such change may state the same Exercise Price and the same number of Shares as are stated in the Purchase Warrants initially issued pursuant to this Agreement. The acceptance by any Holder of the issuance of new Purchase Warrants reflecting a required or permissive change shall not be deemed to waive any rights to an adjustment occurring after the date hereof or the computation thereof.

 

5.2 Substitute Purchase Warrant. In case of any consolidation of the Company with, or share reconstruction or amalgamation of the Company with or into, another corporation (other than a consolidation or share reconstruction or amalgamation which does not result in any reclassification or change of the outstanding Shares), the corporation formed by such consolidation or share reconstruction or amalgamation shall execute and deliver to the Holder a supplemental Purchase Warrant providing that the holder of each Purchase Warrant then outstanding or to be outstanding shall have the right thereafter (until the stated expiration of such Purchase Warrant) to receive, upon exercise of such Purchase Warrant, the kind and amount of shares of stock and other securities and property receivable upon such consolidation or share reconstruction or amalgamation, by a holder of the number of Shares of the Company for which such Purchase Warrant might have been exercised immediately prior to such consolidation, share reconstruction or amalgamation, sale or transfer. Such supplemental Purchase Warrant shall provide for adjustments which shall be identical to the adjustments provided for in this Section 5. The above provision of this Section 5 shall similarly apply to successive consolidations or share reconstructions or amalgamations.

 

5.3 Elimination of Fractional Interests. The Company shall not be required to issue certificates representing fractions of Shares upon the exercise of the Purchase Warrant, nor shall it be required to issue scrip or pay cash in lieu of any fractional interests, it being the intent of the parties that all fractional interests shall be eliminated by rounding any fraction up or down, as the case may be, to the nearest whole number of Shares or other securities, properties or rights.

 

6. Registration Rights.

 

6.1 Demand Registration.

 

6.1.1 Grant of Right. Unless all of the Registrable Securities (defined as below) are included in an effective registration statement with a current prospectus, the Company, upon written demand (“Demand Notice”) of the Holder(s) of at least 51% of the Purchase Warrants and/or the underlying securities (“Majority Holder(s)”), agrees to register, once at the Company’s expense and once at the Majority Holder’s expense, all or any portion of the remaining Ordinary Shares (collectively, the “Registrable Securities”) as requested by the Majority Holder(s) in the Demand Notice, provided that no such registration will be required unless the Holders request registration of an aggregate of at least 51% of the outstanding Registrable Securities. On such occasion, the Company will file a new registration statement or a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement covering the Registrable Securities within sixty (60) days after receipt of the Demand Notice and use its commercially reasonable efforts to have such registration statement or post-effective amendment declared effective as soon as possible thereafter. The demand for registration may be made at any time after one (1) year from the date of commencement of sales of the offering, but no later than five (5) years from the date of commencement of sales of the offering. The Company covenants and agrees to give written notice of its receipt of any Demand Notice by any Holder(s) to all other registered Holders of the Purchase Warrants and/or the Registrable Securities within ten (10) days from the date of the receipt of any such Demand Notice, who shall have five days from the receipt of such Notice in which to notify the Company of their desire to have their Registrable Securities included in the Registration Statement.

 

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6.1.2 Terms. The Company shall bear all fees and expenses attendant to registering the Registrable Securities upon the first Demand Notice, including the reasonable expenses of any legal counsel selected by the Holders to represent them in connection with the sale of the Registrable Securities, but the Holders shall pay any and all underwriting commissions, if any. The Holders shall bear all fees and expenses attendant to registering the Registrable Securities upon the second Demand Notice. The Company agrees to use its commercially reasonable 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 qualify to do business in such State or execute a general consent to service of process, or would subject the Company to taxation as a foreign corporation doing business in such jurisdiction or (ii) the principal shareholders of the Company to be obligated to escrow their shares of the Company. The Company shall cause any registration statement or post-effective amendment filed pursuant to the demand rights granted under Section 6.1.1 to remain effective for a period of twelve (12) consecutive months from the effective date of such registration statement or post-effective amendment or until the Holders have completed the distribution of the Registrable Securities included in the Registration Statement, whichever occurs first.

 

6.1.3. Deferred Filing. If (i) in the good faith judgment of the Board, filing a registration statement pursuant to Section 6.1 would be seriously detrimental to the Company and the Board concludes, as a result, that it is essential to defer the filing of such registration statement at such time, and (ii) the Company shall furnish to such Holders a certificate signed by a duly authorized officer of the Company stating that in the good faith judgment of the Board it would be seriously detrimental to the Company for such registration statement to be filed in the near future and that it is, therefore, essential to defer the filing of such registration statement, then the Company shall have the right to defer such filing on two occasions for an aggregate of not more than one hundred and twenty (120) days in any twelve-month period.

 

6.1.4. No Cash Settlement Option. The Company is only required to use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause a registration statement covering issuance of the Registrable Securities underlying the Purchase Warrant to be declared effective, and once effective, only to use its commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the effectiveness of the registration statement. The Company will not be obligated to deliver securities, and there are no contractual penalties for failure to deliver securities, if a registration statement is not effective at the time of exercise. Additionally, in no event is the Company obligated to settle any Purchase Warrant, in whole or in part, for cash in the event it is unable to register the Registrable Securities.

 

6.2 “Piggy-Back” Registration.

 

6.2.1 Grant of Right. Unless all of the Registrable Securities are included in an effective registration statement with a current prospectus, the Holders of the Purchase Warrants shall have the right for a period of not more than five (5) years from the commencement of sales of the offering, to include the remaining Registrable Securities as part of any other registration of securities filed by the Company (other than in connection with a transaction contemplated by Rule 145(a) promulgated under the Act or pursuant to Form S-8 or any successor or equivalent form); provided, however, that if, in the written opinion of the Company’s managing underwriter or underwriters, if any, for such offering, the inclusion of the Registrable Securities, when added to the securities being registered by the Company or the selling shareholder(s), will exceed the maximum amount of the Company’s securities which can be marketed (i) at a price reasonably related to their then current market value, and (ii) without materially and adversely affecting the entire offering, then the Company will still be required to include the Registrable Securities, but may require the Holders to agree, in writing, to delay the sale of all or any portion of the Registrable Securities for a period of ninety (90) days from the effective date of the offering, provided, further, that if the sale of any Registrable Securities is so delayed, then the number of securities to be sold by all shareholders in such public offering shall be apportioned pro rata among all such selling shareholders, including all holders of the Registrable Securities, according to the total amount of securities of the Company owned by said selling shareholders, including all holders of the Registrable Securities.

 

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6.2.2 Terms. The Company shall bear all fees and expenses attendant to registering the Registrable Securities, including the expenses of any legal counsel selected by the Holders to represent them in connection with the sale of the Registrable Securities, but the Holders shall pay any and all underwriting commissions. In the event of such a proposed registration, the Company shall furnish the then Holders of outstanding Registrable Securities with not less than ten (10) days written notice prior to the proposed date of filing of such registration statement. Such notice to the Holders shall continue to be given for each applicable registration statement filed (during the period in which the Purchase Warrant is exercisable) by the Company until such time as all of the Registrable Securities have been registered and sold. The holders of the Registrable Securities shall exercise the “piggy back” rights provided for herein by giving written notice, within ten (10) days of the receipt of the Company’s notice of its intention to file a registration statement. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause any registration statement filed pursuant to the above “piggyback” rights that does not relate to a firm commitment underwritten offering to remain effective for at least nine (9) consecutive months from the effective date of such registration statement or until the Holders have completed the distribution of the Registrable Securities in the registration statement, whichever occurs first.

 

7.Reservation and Listing. The Company shall at all times reserve and keep available out of its authorized Shares, solely for the purpose of issuance upon exercise of this Purchase Warrant, such number of Shares or other securities, properties or rights as shall be issuable upon the exercise thereof. The Company covenants and agrees that, upon exercise of this Purchase Warrant and payment of the Exercise Price therefor, in accordance with the terms hereby, all Shares and other securities issuable upon such exercise shall be duly and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and not subject to preemptive rights of any shareholder. The Company further covenants and agrees that upon exercise of this Purchase Warrant and payment of the exercise price therefor, all Shares and other securities issuable upon such exercise shall be duly and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and not subject to preemptive rights of any shareholder. As long as this Purchase Warrant shall be outstanding, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause all Shares issuable upon exercise of this Purchase Warrant to be listed (subject to official notice of issuance) on all national securities exchanges (or, if applicable, on the OTC Bulletin Board or any successor trading market) on which the Shares issued to the public in the Offering may then be listed and/or quoted.

 

8.Certain Notice Requirements.

 

8.1 Holder’s Right to Receive Notice. Nothing herein shall be construed as conferring upon the Holders the right to vote or consent or to receive notice as a shareholder for the election of directors or any other matter, or as having any rights whatsoever as a shareholder of the Company. If, however, at any time prior to the expiration of the Purchase Warrants and their exercise, any of the events described in Section 8.2 shall occur, then, in one or more of said events, the Company shall give written notice of such event at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date fixed as a record date or the date of closing the transfer books (the “Notice Date”) for the determination of the shareholders entitled to such dividend, distribution, conversion or exchange of securities or subscription rights, or entitled to vote on such proposed dissolution, liquidation, winding up or sale. Such notice shall specify such record date or the date of the closing of the transfer books, as the case may be. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall deliver to each Holder a copy of each notice given to the other shareholders of the Company at the same time and in the same manner that such notice is given to the shareholders.

 

8.2 Events Requiring Notice. The Company shall be required to give the notice described in this Section 8 upon one or more of the following events: (i) if the Company shall take a record of the holders of its Shares for the purpose of entitling them to receive a dividend or distribution payable otherwise than in cash, or a cash dividend or distribution payable otherwise than out of retained earnings, as indicated by the accounting treatment of such dividend or distribution on the books of the Company, (ii) the Company shall offer to all the holders of its Shares any additional shares of the Company or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of the Company, or any option, right or warrant to subscribe therefor, or (iii) a dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the Company (other than in connection with a consolidation or share reconstruction or amalgamation) or a sale of all or substantially all of its property, assets and business shall be proposed.

 

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8.3 Notice of Change in Exercise Price. The Company shall, promptly after an event requiring a change in the Exercise Price pursuant to Section 5 hereof, send notice to the Holders of such event and change (“Price Notice”). The Price Notice shall describe the event causing the change and the method of calculating same and shall be certified as being true and accurate by the Company’s Chief Financial Officer.

 

8.4 Transmittal of Notices. All notices, requests, consents and other communications under this Purchase Warrant shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly made (1) when hand delivered, (2) when mailed by express mail or private courier service, (3) if sent by electronic mail, on the day the notice was sent if during regular business hours and, if sent outside of regular business hours, on the following business day, or (4) when the event requiring notice is disclosed in all material respects and filed in a Current Report on Form 6-K prior to the Notice Date: (i) if to the registered Holder of the Purchase Warrant, to the address of such Holder as shown on the books of the Company, or (ii) if to the Company, to following address or to such other address as the Company may designate by notice to the Holders:

 

If to the Holder:

 

Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc.

2 Bridge Ave., Suite 241

Red Bank, NJ 07701

Attention: Adam Pasholk, Managing Director

Email: [*]

 

with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:

 

Loeb & Loeb LLP

2206-19 Jardine House

1 Connaught Place

Central, Hong Kong SAR

Attention: Lawrence Venick, Esq.

Email: [*]

 

If to the Company:

 

BloomZ Inc.

Toyo Recording 1F, 4-5-19 Akasaka

Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052, Japan

Attention: Kazusa Aranami, CEO

Email: [*]

 

with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:

 

Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC

950 Third Avenue, 19th Floor

New York, NY 10022

Attn: Ying Li, Esq. and Lisa Forcht, Esq.

Email: [*] and [*]

 

9.Miscellaneous.

 

9.1 Amendments. The Company and Network 1 may from time to time supplement or amend this Purchase Warrant without the approval of any of the Holders in order to cure any ambiguity, to correct or supplement any provision contained herein that may be defective or inconsistent with any other provisions herein, or to make any other provisions in regard to matters or questions arising hereunder that the Company and Network 1 may deem necessary or desirable and that the Company and Network 1 deem shall not adversely affect the interest of the Holders. All other modifications or amendments shall require the written consent of and be signed by the party against whom enforcement of the modification or amendment is sought.

 

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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 Purchase Warrant.

 

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

 

9.4 Binding Effect. This Purchase Warrant shall inure solely to the benefit of and shall be binding upon, the Holder and the Company and their permitted assignees and respective successors 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 Purchase Warrant or any provisions herein contained.

 

9.5 Governing Law; Submission to Jurisdiction. This Purchase Warrant shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to conflict of laws principles thereof. The Company hereby agrees that any action, proceeding or claim against it arising out of, or relating in any way to this Purchase Warrant shall be brought and enforced in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York (each, a “New York Court”), 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 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 8.4 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 and the Holder agree 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.

 

9.6 Waiver, etc. The failure of the Company or the Holder to at any time enforce any of the provisions of this Purchase Warrant shall not be deemed or construed to be a waiver of any such provision, nor to in any way affect the validity of this Purchase Warrant or any provision hereof or the right of the Company or any Holder to thereafter enforce each and every provision of this Purchase Warrant. No waiver of any breach, non-compliance or non-fulfillment of any of the provisions of this Purchase Warrant 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.

 

9.7 Exchange Agreement. As a condition of the Holder’s receipt and acceptance of this Purchase Warrant, Holder agrees that, at any time prior to the complete exercise of this Purchase Warrant by Holder, if the Company and Network 1 enter into an agreement (“Exchange Agreement”) pursuant to which they agree that all outstanding Purchase Warrants will be exchanged for securities or cash or a combination of both, then Holder shall agree to such exchange and become a party to the Exchange Agreement.

 

9.8 Execution in Counterparts. This Purchase Warrant 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. Such counterparts may be delivered by facsimile transmission or other electronic transmission.

 

9.9 Restrictions. The Holder acknowledges that the Shares acquired upon the exercise of this Purchase Warrant, if not registered, and the Holder does not utilize cashless exercise, will have restrictions upon resale imposed by state and federal securities laws.

 

9.10 Severability. Wherever possible, each provision of this Purchase Warrant shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Purchase Warrant shall be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision shall be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of such provision or the remaining provisions of this Purchase Warrant.

 

[Remainder of page intentionally left blank]

  

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Purchase Warrant to be signed by its duly authorized officer as of the 25th day of July 2024.

 

BLOOMZ INC.  
     
By:      
Name: Kazusa Aranami  
Title: Chief Executive Officer  

 

 


 

EXHIBIT A

EXERCISE FORM

 

Form to be used to exercise Purchase Warrant:

 

Date: __________, 20___

 

The undersigned hereby elects irrevocably to exercise the Purchase Warrant for ______ Shares of Starbox Group Holdings Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”) and hereby makes payment of $____ (at the rate of $____ per Share) in payment of the Exercise Price pursuant thereto. Please issue the Shares as to which this Purchase Warrant is exercised in accordance with the instructions given below and, if applicable, a new Purchase Warrant representing the number of Shares for which this Purchase Warrant has not been exercised.

 

or

 

The undersigned hereby elects irrevocably to convert its right to purchase ___ Shares under the Purchase Warrant for ______ Shares, as determined in accordance with the following formula:

 

  X = Y(A-B)  
      A  

 

Where,

 

X = The number of Shares to be issued to Holder;

 

Y = The number of Shares that would be issuable upon exercise of this Purchase Warrant in accordance with the terms of this Purchase Warrant if such exercise were by means of a cash exercise rather than a cashless exercise;

 

A = The fair market value of one Share; and

 

B = The Exercise Price of this Purchase Warrant, as adjusted hereunder

 

The undersigned agrees and acknowledges that the calculation set forth above is subject to confirmation by the Company and any disagreement with respect to the calculation shall be resolved by the Company in its sole discretion.

 

Please issue the Shares as to which this Purchase Warrant is exercised in accordance with the instructions given below and, if applicable, a new Purchase Warrant representing the number of Shares for which this Purchase Warrant has not been exercised.

 

Signature

 

Signature Guaranteed

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR REGISTRATION OF SECURITIES

 

Name:  
(Print in Block Letters)  
Address:  

 

NOTICE: The signature to this form must correspond with the name as written upon the face of the Purchase Warrant without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever, and must be guaranteed by a bank, other than a savings bank, or by a trust company or by a firm having membership on a registered national securities exchange.

 

 


 

EXHIBIT B

ASSIGNMENT FORM

 

Form to be used to assign Purchase Warrant:

 

(To be executed by the registered Holder to effect a transfer of the within Purchase Warrant):

 

FOR VALUE RECEIVED,            does hereby sell, assign and transfer unto the right to purchase shares of Starbox Group Holdings Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), evidenced by the Purchase Warrant and does hereby authorize the Company to transfer such right on the books of the Company to

 

_______________________________________________ whose address is

 

_______________________________________________________________.

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

Dated: ____________, 20__

 

Holder’s Signature: _____________________________

 

Holder’s Address: _____________________________

 

_____________________________

 

Signature Guaranteed: ___________________________________________

 

NOTICE: The signature to this form must correspond with the name as written upon the face of the within Purchase Warrant without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever, and must be guaranteed by a bank or trust company. Officers of corporations and those acting in a fiduciary or other representative capacity should file proper evidence of authority to assign the foregoing Purchase Warrant.

 

 

  

EX-10.1 3 ea020999001ex10-1_bloomz.htm UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT DATED JULY 23, 2024 BY AND BETWEEN THE COMPANY AND THE REPRESENTATIVE

Exhibit 10.1

 

BLOOMZ INC.

 

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

 

July 23, 2024

 

Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc.

2 Bridge Avenue, Suite 241

Red Bank, NJ 07701

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The undersigned, BloomZ Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), hereby confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc. (the “Underwriter”) to issue and sell to the Underwriter an aggregate of 1,250,000 Ordinary Shares, par value $0.00000002, of the Company (“Shares”). The offering and sale of securities contemplated by this Agreement is referred to herein as the “Offering.”

 

1. Firm Shares; Additional Shares.

 

(a) Purchase of Firm Shares. 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 to the Underwriter an aggregate of 1,250,000 Ordinary Shares (the “Firm Shares”) at a purchase price (net of underwriting discounts) of $3.956 per Share, which represents a 8.0% discount to the public offering price of $4.30 per Firm Share. The Underwriter agrees to purchase from the Company the Firm Shares set forth opposite its name on Schedule A attached hereto and made a part hereof.

 

(b) Delivery of and Payment for Firm Shares. Delivery of and payment for the Firm Shares shall be made at 10:00 A.M., Eastern time, on the first (1st) Business Day following the effective date of the Registration Statement (“Effective Date”), or at such time as shall be agreed upon by the Underwriter and the Company, at the offices of Loeb & Loeb LLP (the “Underwriter’s Counsel”) or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Underwriter and the Company. The hour and date of delivery of and payment for the Firm Shares is called the “Closing Date.” The closing of the payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of the Firm Shares through the facilities of DTC for the account of the Underwriter, is referred to herein as the “Closing.” Payment for the Firm Shares shall be made on the Closing Date by wire transfer in federal (same day) funds upon delivery to the Underwriter of the Firm Shares through the full fast transfer facilities of the Depository Trust Company (the “DTC”) for the account of the Underwriter. The Firm Shares shall be registered in such names and in such denominations as the Underwriter may request in writing at least one (1) Business Day 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 Underwriter for all the Firm Shares.

 

(c) Additional Shares. The Company hereby grants to the Underwriter an option (the “Over-allotment Option”) to purchase up to an additional 187,500 Shares (the “Additional Shares”), representing fifteen percent (15%) of the Firm Shares sold in the offering, in each case only for the purpose of covering over-allotments of such securities, if any.

 

(d) Exercise of Over-allotment Option. The Over-allotment Option granted pursuant to Section 1(c) hereof may be exercised in whole or in part at any time within 45 days after the Effective Date. The purchase price to be paid per Additional Share shall be equal to the price per Firm Share in Section 1(a). The Underwriter shall not be under any obligation to purchase any Additional Shares prior to the exercise of the Over-allotment Option. The Over-allotment Option granted hereby may be exercised upon written notice given at least two full business days prior to the exercise to the Company from the Underwriter setting forth the aggregate number of Additional Shares to be purchased by the Underwriter and the date and time for delivery of and payment for the Additional Shares (the “Option Closing Date”), which Closing Date shall not be later than five (5) full Business Days after the date of such written notice to purchase Additional Shares is given or such other time as shall be agreed upon by the Company and the Underwriter, at the offices of Underwriter’s Counsel or at such other place (including remotely by facsimile or other electronic transmission) as shall be agreed upon by the Company and the Underwriter. If such delivery and payment for the Additional Shares does not occur on the Closing Date, the Option Closing Date will be as set forth in the written notice. Upon exercise of the Over-allotment Option with respect to all or any portion of the Additional Shares, subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, (i) the Company shall become obligated to sell to the Underwriter the number of Additional Shares specified in such notice and (ii) the Underwriter shall purchase from the Company that portion of the total number of Additional Shares then being purchased with the number of Firm Shares set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Firm Shares, subject, in each case, to such adjustment as the Underwriter, in its sole discretion, shall determine.

 

 


 

(e) Delivery of and Payment for Additional Shares. Payment for the Additional Shares shall be made on the Option Closing Date by wire transfer in federal (same day) funds, upon delivery to the Underwriter of the Additional Shares through the facilities of DTC for the account of the Underwriter. The Additional Shares shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denominations as the Underwriter may request in writing at least one (1) full Business Day prior to the Option Closing Date. The Company shall not be obligated to sell or deliver the Additional Shares except upon tender of payment by the Underwriter for the applicable Additional Shares. The Option Closing Date may be simultaneous with, but not earlier than, the Closing Date; and in the event that such time and date are simultaneous with the Closing Date, the term “Closing Date” shall refer to the time and date of delivery of the Firm Shares and Additional Shares.

 

The Firm Shares and the Additional Shares are hereinafter referred to collectively as the “Securities.”

 

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

 

(a) Filing of Registration Statement.

 

(i) Pursuant to the Act.

 

(1) The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement and an amendment or amendments thereto, on Form F-1 (File No. 333-275223), including any related prospectus or prospectuses, for the registration of the Securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), which registration statement and amendment or amendments have been prepared by the Company and conform, in all material respects, 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 and all information deemed to be a part thereof as of the Effective Date pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 430A of the Regulations), is referred to herein as the “Registration Statement.

 

(2) The final prospectus in the form first furnished to the Underwriter for use in the Offering, is hereinafter called the “Prospectus.”

 

(3) The Registration Statement has been declared effective by the Commission on or prior to the date hereof. “Applicable Time” means 4:30 p.m. EDT, on July 1, 2024 or such other time as agreed to by the Company and the Underwriter.

 

(ii) Registration under the Exchange Act. The Securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), and the Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Securities under the Exchange Act nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission is contemplating terminating such registration except as described in the Registration Statement and Prospectus.

 

(iii) Listing on Nasdaq. The Shares will be approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) by the Closing Date, subject to official notice of issuance, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the listing of the Securities on Nasdaq nor has the Company received any notification that Nasdaq is contemplating revoking or withdrawing approval for listing of the Securities.

 

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(b) 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 any preliminary prospectus (“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.

 

(c) Disclosures in Registration Statement.

 

(i) 10b-5 Representation.

 

(1) The Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became effective, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Act and the Regulations.

 

(2) The Registration Statement, when it became effective, and any amendment or supplement thereto, did not contain and, at the Closing Date, will not 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, and the Prospectus when filed with the Commission does not contain and, at the Closing Date, will not 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(c)(i)(2) does not apply to statements made or statements omitted in reliance upon and in conformity with written information with respect to the Underwriter furnished to the Company by the Underwriter expressly for use in the Registration Statement or Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto. The parties acknowledge and agree that such information provided by or on behalf of the Underwriter consists solely of the disclosure contained in the “Underwriting” section of the Prospectus (collectively, the “Underwriter’s Information”).

 

(3) The General Disclosure Package (as defined below), when taken together as a whole with the Prospectus (collectively, the “Disclosure Materials”), does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The preceding sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from the Disclosure Materials based upon and in conformity with the Underwriter’s Information.

 

(ii) Prior Securities Transactions. No securities of the Company have been sold by the Company 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 and the Prospectus.

 

(d) Changes After Dates in Registration Statement.

 

(i) No Material Adverse Change. Since the end of the period covered by the latest audited financial statements included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and except as otherwise specifically stated therein: (i) to the knowledge of the Company, there have been no events that have occurred that would have a Material Adverse Effect (as defined below); and (ii) there have been no material transactions entered into by the Company not in the ordinary course of business, other than as contemplated pursuant to this Agreement.

 

(ii) Recent Securities Transactions, etc. Since the end of the period covered by the latest audited financial statements included 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, other than with respect to options to purchase Ordinary Shares at an exercise price equal to the then fair market price of the Ordinary Shares, as determined by the Company’s board of directors, granted to employees, consultants or service providers: (i) issued any securities or incurred any material liability or obligation, direct or contingent, for borrowed money other than in the ordinary course of business; or (ii) declared or paid any dividend or made any other distribution on or in respect to its share capital.

 

(e) Independent Accountants. To the best of the Company’s knowledge, TAAD LLP (“TAAD”), 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.

 

3


 

(f) Financial Statements, etc. The financial statements, including the notes thereto and supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, 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 United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), consistently applied throughout the periods involved except as disclosed therein; and the supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement present fairly the information required to be stated therein. 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 that may have a material current or future effect on the Company’s financial condition, changes in financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures, capital resources, or significant components of revenues or expenses. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (a) neither the Company nor its operating subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”), has incurred any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent, or entered into any material transactions other than in the ordinary course of business, (b) the Company has not declared or paid any dividends or made any distribution of any kind with respect to its share capital; (c) there has not been any change in the share capital of the Company or the Subsidiary or any grants under any stock compensation plan and, (d) there has not been any material adverse change in the Company’s long-term or short-term debt.

 

(g) Authorized Capital; Options, etc. The Company has the duly authorized, issued and outstanding capitalization as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. Based on the assumptions stated in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company will have on the Closing Date the adjusted capitalization set forth therein. Except as set forth in, or contemplated by, this Agreement, 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 share capital of the Company or any security convertible into share capital of the Company, or any contracts or commitments to issue or sell share capital or any such options, warrants, rights or convertible securities.

 

(h) Valid Issuance of Securities, etc.

 

(i) 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.

 

(ii) Securities Sold Pursuant to this Agreement. The 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 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 foregoing Securities has been duly and validly taken. The Securities conform in all material respects to all statements with respect thereto contained in the Registration Statement.

 

(iii) Issuance of Securities. Upon issuance of Securities, and subject to full payment thereof by the Underwriter in accordance with the terms hereof, such Securities will be duly and validly issued, and the persons in whose names the Securities are registered will be entitled to the rights specified in the Securities, and upon the sale and delivery of these Securities, and payment therefor, pursuant to this Agreement, the persons in whose names the Securities are registered will acquire good, marketable and valid title to such Securities, free and clear of all pledges, liens, security interests, charges, claims or encumbrances of any kind.

 

(i) Registration Rights of Third Parties. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, 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.

 

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(j) Validity and Binding Effect of This Agreement. This Agreement has been duly and validly authorized by the Company, and, when executed and delivered, will constitute, the valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its 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 federal and state securities laws; and (iii) that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefore may be brought.

 

(k) No Conflicts. The execution, delivery, and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the consummation by the Company of the transactions herein and therein contemplated and the compliance by the Company with the terms hereof 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, or result in the creation, modification, termination or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company pursuant to the terms of any agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party; (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (as the same may be amended from time to time, the “Charter”); or (iii) violate 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 as constituted as of the date hereof, except such violation or breach that would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the assets, business, conditions, financial position or results of operations of the Company (a “Material Adverse Effect”).

 

(l) No Defaults; Violations. No 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 material 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 is bound or to which any of the properties or assets of the Company is subject, except for such defaults that would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect to the Company and its Subsidiary, taken as a whole, and that are not otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Materials. The Company is not in violation of any term or provision of its Charter, or in violation in any respect 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, except for such defaults that would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect to the Company and its Subsidiary, taken as a whole, and that are not otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Disclosure Materials.

 

(m) Corporate Power; Licenses; Consents.

 

(i) Conduct of Business. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, 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 Prospectus, except, in each case, as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(ii) 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 thereof, 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 by the Company of the transactions and agreements contemplated by this Agreement and as contemplated by the Prospectus, except with respect to applicable federal and state securities laws and the rules and regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and the Nasdaq.

 

(n) D&O Questionnaires. To the Company’s knowledge, all information contained in the questionnaires (the “Questionnaires”) completed by each of the Company’s directors and officers named in the section “Management” in the Prospectus immediately prior to the Offering (the “Insiders”) and provided to the Underwriter is true and correct in all respects and the Company has not become aware of any information which would cause the information disclosed in the questionnaires completed by each Insider to become inaccurate and incorrect.

 

(o) Litigation; Governmental Proceedings. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, 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 has not been disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or in connection with the Company’s listing application for the listing of the Securities on Nasdaq.

 

5


 

(p) Good Standing. The Company has been duly incorporated, is validly existing and is in good standing under the laws of the Cayman Islands as of the date hereof, and is duly qualified to do business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which the conduct of the Company’s business requires such qualification, except where the failure to qualify would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(q) Transactions Affecting Disclosure to FINRA.

 

(i) Finder’s Fees. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, 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 Insider with respect to the sale of the Securities hereunder or any other arrangements, agreements or understandings of the Company or, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, any of its shareholders that may affect the Underwriter’s compensation, as determined by FINRA.

 

(ii) Payments Within Twelve (12) Months. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, 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 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 the prior payment of US$150,000 to the Underwriter, as provided hereunder in connection with the Offering.

 

(iii) FINRA Affiliation. To the Company’s knowledge, and except as may have been previously disclosed in writing to the Underwriter, no Insider or any beneficial owner of 10% or more of the Company’s outstanding Ordinary Shares has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any FINRA member (as determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of FINRA).

 

(iv) 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 inclusive of any FINRA member or its affiliates in any country or jurisdiction outside of the United States, except as specifically authorized herein.

 

(v) Information. All information provided by the Company in its FINRA Questionnaire to Underwriter Counsel specifically for use by Underwriter Counsel in connection with its Public Offering System filings (and related disclosure) with FINRA is true, correct and complete in all material respects.

 

(r) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of the Insiders or employees of the Company or any other person authorized to act on behalf of the Company has, directly or indirectly, knowingly 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 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 might subject the Company to any damage or penalty in any civil, criminal or governmental litigation or proceeding.

 

(s) Officers’ Certificate. Any certificate signed by any duly authorized officer of the Company and delivered to you or to the Underwriter’s Counsel shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to the Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.

 

6


 

(t) Lock-Up Period.

 

(i) Each Insider (the “Lock-Up Parties”) has agreed, pursuant to an executed Lock-Up Agreement in the form attached hereto as Annex II, that for a period ending 180 days after the Effective Date (the “Lock-Up Period”), each such person and their respective affiliated parties shall not offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, grant, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any Securities or share capital of the Company, including Ordinary Shares, or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for such Securities or share capital, without the consent of the Underwriter, with certain exceptions. The Underwriter may consent to an early release from the applicable Lock-Up period if, in its opinion, the market for the Securities would not be adversely impacted by sales and in cases of financial emergency of a Lock-up Party.

 

(ii) The Company, on behalf of itself and any successor entity, has agreed that, without the prior written consent of the Underwriter, it will not, for a period ending 180 days after the Effective Date, (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of share capital of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of the Company; (ii) file or cause to be filed any registration statement with the Commission relating to the offering of any shares of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of the Company or (iii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of share capital of the Company, whether any such transaction described in clause (i), (ii) or (iii) above is to be settled by delivery of shares of the Company or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The restrictions contained in this Section 2(t)(ii) shall not apply to (i) the Securities to be sold hereunder, (ii) the issuance by the Company of Securities upon the exercise of an option or warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date hereof of, provided that the Underwriter has been advised in writing of such issuance prior to the date hereof, (iii) the issuance by the Company of option to purchase or shares of Securities, share capital or restricted share of the Company under any stock compensation plan of the Company outstanding on the date hereof, (iv) any registration statement on Form S-8, or (v) the issuance of securities in connection with mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing arrangements or any other similar non-capital raising transactions provided such shares are not registered pursuant to a registrations statement. For purposes of subclause (ii) in this paragraph, the Underwriter acknowledges that disclosure in the Registration Statement filed prior to the date hereof of any outstanding option or warrant shall be deemed to constitute prior written notice to the Underwriter.

 

(u) Subsidiary. The Subsidiary is duly organized and in good standing under the laws of the place of organization or incorporation, and the Subsidiary 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 reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company’s ownership and control of the Subsidiary is as described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Materials and the Prospectus. The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or entity, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. Each of the Company and its Subsidiary has full corporate power and authority to own or lease, as the case may be, and to operate its properties and conduct its business as described in the Disclosure Materials and the Prospectus, and is duly qualified to do business under the laws of each jurisdiction which requires such qualification.

 

(v) Related Party Transactions. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, 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.

 

(w) Board of Directors. The Board of Directors of the Company is comprised of the persons set forth under the section 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 Nasdaq. At least one member of the Board of Directors of the Company qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as such term is defined under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules promulgated thereunder and the rules of Nasdaq.

 

(x) Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Materials, and the Prospectus, the Company will be, on the Effective Date, in material compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 applicable to it and has implemented or will implement such programs and taken reasonable steps to ensure the Company’s future compliance (not later than the relevant statutory and regulatory deadlines therefor) with all the material provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

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(y) No Investment Company Status. The Company is not and, after giving effect to the Offering and sale of the Securities and the application of the net proceeds thereof as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, will not be, an “investment company” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

(z) No Material Labor Disputes. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or its Subsidiary exists or, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, is imminent, which would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(aa) Intellectual Property. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiary owns or possesses or has valid rights to use all patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trademark registrations, service mark registrations, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets and similar rights (“Intellectual Property”) necessary for the conduct of the business of the Company and its Subsidiary as currently carried on and as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except for such Intellectual Property, the failure of which to own or possess, as the case may be, would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. To the Company’s knowledge, no action or use by the Company or its Subsidiary will involve or give rise to any infringement of, or material license or similar fees for, any Intellectual Property of others, that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company and the Subsidiary, taken as a whole, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus. Neither the Company nor its Subsidiary has received any notice alleging any such infringement or fee, except such infringement or fee that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company or the Subsidiary, taken as a whole.

 

(bb) Taxes. Each of the Company and its Subsidiary has filed all returns (as hereinafter defined) required to be filed with taxing authorities prior to the date hereof or has duly obtained extensions of time for the filing thereof. Each of the Company and its Subsidiary has paid all taxes (as hereinafter defined) shown as due on such returns that were filed and has paid all material taxes imposed on or assessed against the Company or such subsidiary. The provisions for taxes payable, if any, shown on the financial statements filed with or as part of the Registration Statement are sufficient for all accrued and unpaid taxes, whether or not disputed, for all periods to and including the dates of such consolidated financial statements. Except as disclosed in writing to the Underwriter and to the knowledge of the Company, (i) no material issues have been raised (and are currently pending) by any taxing authority in connection with any of the returns or taxes asserted as due from the Company or its Subsidiary, and (ii) no waivers of statutes of limitation with respect to the returns or collection of taxes have been given by or requested from the Company or its Subsidiary. The term “taxes” mean all federal, state, local, foreign, and other net income, gross income, gross receipts, sales, use, ad valorem, transfer, franchise, profits, license, lease, service, service use, withholding, payroll, employment, excise, severance, stamp, occupation, premium, property, windfall profits, customs, duties or other taxes, fees, assessments, or charges of any kind whatever, together with any interest and any penalties, additions to tax, or additional amounts with respect thereto. The term “returns” means all returns, declarations, reports, statements, and other documents required to be filed with relevant taxing authorities in respect to taxes.

 

(cc) Data. The statistical, industry-related and market-related data included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources which the Company reasonably and in good faith believes are reliable and accurate, and such data agree with the sources from which they are derived. The Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources to the extent necessary.

 

(dd) Board of Directors. The Company’s Board of Directors has validly appointed an audit committee whose composition satisfies the requirements of the rules and regulations of Nasdaq and the Board of Directors and/or audit committee has adopted a charter that satisfies the requirements of the rules and regulations of Nasdaq. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Board of Directors nor the audit committee has been informed, nor is any director of the Company aware, of any significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information.

 

(ee) No Integration. Neither the Company nor the Subsidiary has, prior to the date hereof, made any offer or sale of any securities which are required to be “integrated” pursuant to the Act or the Regulations with the offer and sale of the Underwriter pursuant to the Registration Statement. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, neither the Company nor the Subsidiary has sold or issued any Ordinary Shares or any securities convertible into, exercisable or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares, or other equity securities, or any rights to acquire any Ordinary Shares or other equity securities of the Company, during the six-month period preceding the date of the Prospectus, including but not limited to any sales pursuant to Rule 144A or Regulation D or S under the Act, other than Ordinary Shares issued pursuant to employee benefit plans, qualified stock option plans or the employee compensation plans or pursuant to outstanding options, rights or warrants as described in the Registration Statement.

 

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(ff) Japan Representation and Warranties.

 

(i) Organization. The Subsidiary has been duly organized and is validly existing as a company under the laws of Japan, and its business license is in full force and effect. 100% of the equity interests of the Subsidiary is owned by the Company as described in the Prospectus, and such equity interests are free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims; the bylaws, the business license and other constituent documents of the Subsidiary comply in all material respects with the requirements of applicable laws of Japan and are in full force and effect; and the Subsidiary has full power and authority (corporate and other) and all consents, approvals, authorizations, permits, licenses, orders, registrations, clearances and qualifications of or with any governmental agency having jurisdiction over the Subsidiary or any of its properties required for the ownership or lease of property by it and the conduct of its business in accordance with its registered business scope, except for such that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and have the legal right and authority to own, use, lease and operate its assets and to conduct its business in the manner presently conducted and as described in the Prospectus.

 

The Subsidiary has legal and valid title to all of its properties and assets, free and clear of all liens, charges, encumbrances, equities, claims, options and restrictions; each lease agreement to which it is a party is duly executed and legally binding; its leasehold interests are set forth in and governed by the terms of any lease agreements, and, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, such agreements are valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with their respective terms under Japan law, except where the invalidity of such lease agreements would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company or the Subsidiary, taken as a whole; and, none of the Subsidiary owns, operates, manages or has any other right or interest in any other material real property of any kind, which would reasonably result in a Material Adverse Effect to the Company and the Subsidiary, taken as a whole, except as described in the Prospectus.

 

(ii) Japan Taxes. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Materials and Prospectus, no transaction, stamp, capital or other issuance, registration, transaction, transfer or withholding taxes or duties are payable in Japan or the Cayman Islands to any Japan or Cayman Islands taxing authority in connection with (A) the issuance, sale and delivery of the Securities to or for the account of the purchasers, and (B) the purchase from the Company and the sale and delivery of the Securities to purchasers thereof.

 

(iii) Dividends and Distributions. Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Materials, Registration Statement and the Prospectus, no Subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited or restricted, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such Subsidiary’s share capital, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such Subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such Subsidiary’s property or assets to the Company or any other Subsidiary of the Company.

 

(iv) Money Laundering. The operations of the Company and its Subsidiary are and have been conducted at all times in all material respects in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of money laundering statutes and the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company, its Subsidiary.

 

(v) Office of Foreign Assets Control. Neither to the Company’s, nor to its Subsidiary’s, knowledge, has any director, officer, or employee of the Company, its Subsidiary, conducted or entered into a contract to conduct any transaction with the governments or any subdivision thereof, residents of, or any entity based or resident in the countries that are currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”); none of the Company or its Subsidiary is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC (including but not limited to the designation as a “specially designated national or blocked person” thereunder), the United Nations Security Council, or the European Union or is located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of OFAC-administered sanctions, including, without limitation, Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria; and the Company will not knowingly directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering, 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 subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.

 

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(vi) No Immunity. None of the Company, its Subsidiary or any of its or their properties or assets has any immunity from the jurisdiction of any court or from any legal process (whether through service or notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution or otherwise) under the laws of the Cayman Islands, Japan, New York or United States federal law; and, to the extent that the Company, its Subsidiary or any of their respective properties, assets or revenues may have or may hereafter become entitled to any such right of immunity in any such court in which proceedings may at any time be commenced, each of the Company and its Subsidiary waives or will waive such right to the extent permitted by law and has consented to such relief and enforcement under New York law as provided under this Agreement.

 

(vii) Free Transferability of Dividends or Distributions. Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Materials, Registration Statement and Prospectus all dividends and other distributions declared and payable on the Ordinary Shares may under current Cayman Islands and Japan law and regulations be paid to the holders of Securities in United States dollars and may be converted into foreign currency that may be transferred out of the Cayman Islands, and Japan in accordance with, and all such payments made to holders thereof or therein who are non-residents of the Cayman Islands or Japan, will not be subject to income, withholding or other taxes under, the laws and regulations of the Cayman Islands and Japan, or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein and will otherwise be free and clear of any other tax, duty, withholding or deduction in the Cayman Islands and Japan or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein and without the necessity of obtaining any governmental authorization in the Cayman Islands and Japan or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein.

 

(vi) Not a PFIC. Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Materials, Registration Statement and Prospectus, the Company does not expect that it will be treated as a Passive Foreign Investment Company (“PFIC”) within the meaning of Section 1297 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for its current taxable year. The Company has no plan or intention to operate in such a manner that would reasonably be expected to result in the Company becoming a PFIC in future taxable years.

 

(vii) [intentionally omitted].

 

(viii) [intentionally omitted]

 

(ix) Foreign Private Issuer Status. The Company is a “foreign private issuer” within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Act.

 

(xii) Choice of Law. Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Materials, Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the choice of law provision set forth in this Agreement constitutes a legal and valid choice of law under the laws of the Cayman Islands and Japan and will be honored by courts in the Cayman Islands and Japan, subject to compliance with relevant civil procedural requirements (that do not involve a re-examination of the merits of the claim) in the Cayman Islands and Japan. The Company has the power to submit, and pursuant to Section 15 of this Agreement, has legally, validly, effectively and submitted, to the personal jurisdiction of each of the New York Courts, and the Company has the power to designate, appoint and authorize, and pursuant to Section 15 of this Agreement, has legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably designated, appointed an authorized agent for service of process in any action arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the Securities in any New York Court, and service of process effected on such authorized agent will be effective to confer valid personal jurisdiction over the Company as provided in Section 15 of this Agreement.

 

(xiii) Recognition of Judgments. Any final judgment for a fixed sum of money rendered by a New York Court having jurisdiction under New York law in respect of any suit, action or proceeding against the Company based upon this Agreement would be recognized and enforced against the Company by Cayman Islands courts without re-examining the merits of the case under the common law doctrine of obligation; provided that such judgment is (A) given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction; (B) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given; (C) is final; (D) is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty; and (E) was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands.

 

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(gg) MD&A. The section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Preliminary Prospectus included in the Disclosure Materials and the Prospectus accurately and fully describes in all material respects (A) accounting policies that the Company believes are the most important in the portrayal of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations and that require management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments (“Critical Accounting Policies”); (B) judgments and uncertainties affecting the application of the Critical Accounting Policies; and (C) the likelihood that materially different amounts would be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions and an explanation thereof; and the Company’s management have reviewed and agreed with the selection, application and disclosure of the Critical Accounting Policies as described in the Disclosure Materials and the Prospectus and have consulted with its independent accountants with regard to such disclosure.

 

3. Offering. Upon authorization of the release of the Securities by the Underwriter, the Underwriter intends to offer the Securities for sale to the public upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus.

 

4. Covenants of the Company. The Company acknowledges, covenants and agrees with the Underwriter that:

 

(a) The Registration Statement and any amendments thereto have been declared effective, and if Rule 430A is used or the filing of the Prospectus is otherwise required under Rule 424(b), the Company will file the Prospectus (properly completed if Rule 430A has been used) pursuant to Rule 424(b) within the prescribed time period and will provide evidence satisfactory to the Underwriter of such timely filing.

 

(b) During the period beginning on the date hereof and ending on the later of the Closing Date or such date as, in the reasonable opinion of Underwriter’s Counsel, the Prospectus is no longer required by law to be delivered (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act is no longer required to be provided) in connection with sales by an underwriter or dealer (the “Prospectus Delivery Period”), prior to amending or supplementing the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, the Company shall furnish to the Underwriter and Underwriter’s Counsel for review a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement, and the Company shall not file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which the Underwriter reasonably objects within 36 hours of delivery thereof to Underwriter’s Counsel. The term “General Disclosure Package” means, collectively, the Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (es) (as defined below) issued at or prior to the date hereof, the most recent preliminary prospectus related to this offering, and the information included on Schedule A hereto.

 

(c) After the date of this Agreement, the Company shall promptly advise the Underwriter in writing of: (i) the receipt of any comments of, or requests for additional or supplemental information from, the Commission; (ii) the time and date of any filing of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to any prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus; (iii) the time and date that any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement becomes effective; and (iv) the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto or of any order preventing or suspending its use or the use of any prospectus, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any issuer free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 433 of the Regulations (the “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”), or the initiation of any proceedings to remove, suspend or terminate from listing the Shares from any securities exchange upon which the Shares are listed for trading, or of the threatening of initiation of any proceedings for any of such purposes. If the Commission shall enter any such stop order at any time, the Company will use its reasonable efforts to obtain the lifting of such order at the earliest possible moment. Additionally, the Company agrees that it shall comply with the provisions of Rules 424(b), 430A and 430B, as applicable, under the Act and will use its reasonable efforts to confirm that any filings made by the Company under Rule 424(b) or Rule 433 were received in a timely manner by the Commission (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) or Rule 164(b)).

 

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(d) (i) During the Prospectus Delivery Period, the Company will comply in all material respects with all requirements imposed upon it by the Act as now in effect and as may be hereafter amended, and by the Regulations, as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of or dealings in the Securities as contemplated by the provisions hereof, the General Disclosure Package, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. If during such period any event or development occurs as a result of which the Prospectus (or if the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers, the General Disclosure Package) would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary or appropriate in the opinion of the Company or its counsel or the Underwriter or Underwriter’s Counsel to amend the Registration Statement or supplement the Prospectus (or if the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers, the General Disclosure Package) to comply with the Act, the Company will promptly notify the Underwriter and will promptly amend the Registration Statement or supplement the Prospectus (or if the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers, the General Disclosure Package) or file such document (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance.

 

(ii) If at any time following the issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances there existing, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Underwriter and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.

 

(e) The Company will deliver to the Underwriter and Underwriter’s Counsel a copy of the Registration Statement, as initially filed, and all amendments thereto, including all consents and exhibits filed therewith, and will maintain in the Company’s files manually signed copies of such documents for at least five (5) years after the date of filing thereof. The Company will promptly deliver to the Underwriter such number of copies of any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, the Registration Statement, and all amendments of and supplements to such documents, if any, and all documents which are exhibits to the Registration Statement and any Preliminary Prospectus or Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, as the Underwriter may reasonably request. On the Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement, and from time to time thereafter, the Company will furnish to the Underwriter copies of the Prospectus in such quantities as the Underwriter may reasonably request.

 

(f) The Company consents to the use and delivery of the Preliminary Prospectus by the Underwriter in accordance with Rule 430 and Section 5(b) of the Act.

 

(g) If the Company elects to rely on Rule 462(b) under the Act, the Company shall both file a Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with the Commission in compliance with Rule 462(b) by the earlier of: (i) 10:00 P.M., Eastern time, on the date of this Agreement, and (ii) the time that confirmations are given or sent, as specified by Rule 462(b)(2), and pay the applicable fees in accordance with Rule 111 of the Act.

 

(h) The Company will use its reasonable best efforts, in cooperation with the Underwriter, at or prior to the time of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, to qualify the Securities for offering and sale under the securities laws relating to the offering or sale of the Securities of such jurisdictions as the Underwriter may reasonably designate and to maintain such qualifications in effect for so long as required for the distribution thereof; except that in no event shall the Company be obligated in connection therewith to qualify as a foreign corporation or to execute a general consent to service of process or to subject itself to taxation if it is otherwise not so subject.

 

(i) The Company will make generally available (which includes filings pursuant to the Exchange Act made publicly through the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (“EDGAR”) system) to its security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15 months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter, an earnings statement (which need not be audited) covering a 12-month period that shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Act and Rule 158 of the Regulations.

 

(j) Except with respect to (i) securities of the Company which may be issued in connection with an acquisition of another entity (or the assets thereof), (ii) the issuance of securities of the Company intended to provide the Company with proceeds to acquire another entity (or the assets thereof), or (iii) the issuance of securities under the Company’s stock option plans with exercise or conversion prices at fair market value (as defined in such plans) in effect from time to time, during the three (3) months following the Closing Date, the Company or any successor to the Company shall not undertake any public or private offerings of any equity securities of the Company (including equity-linked securities) without the prior written consent of the Underwriter, which shall not be unreasonably withheld.

 

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(k) Following the Closing Date, any of the entities and individuals listed on Schedule B hereto (the “Lock-Up Parties”), without the prior written consent of the Underwriter, shall not sell or otherwise dispose of any securities of the Company, whether publicly or in a private placement, during the period that their respective lock-up agreements are in effect. The Company will deliver to the Underwriter the agreements of the Lock-Up Parties to the foregoing effect prior to the Closing Date, which agreements shall be substantially in the form attached hereto as Annex II.

 

(l) The Company will not issue press releases or engage in any other publicity without the Underwriter’s prior written consent, for a period ending at 5:00 P.M., Eastern time, on the first Business Day following the twenty-fifth (25th) day following the Closing Date, other than normal and customary releases issued in the ordinary course of the Company’s business, or as required by law.

 

(m) The Company will apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Securities as set forth under the caption “Use of Proceeds” in the Prospectus. Without the prior written consent of the Underwriter, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, no proceeds of the Offering will be used to pay outstanding loans from officers, directors or shareholders or to pay any accrued salaries or bonuses to any employees or former employees.

 

(n) The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to effect and maintain the listing of the Shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market for at least two (2) years after the Effective Date, unless such listing is terminated as a result of a transaction approved by the holders of a majority of the voting securities of the Company. If the Company fails to maintain such listing of its Shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market or other Trading Market, for a period of two (2) years from the Effective Date, the Company, at its expense, shall obtain and keep current a listing of such securities in the Standard & Poor’s Corporation Records Services or Mergent’s Industrial Manual; provided that Mergent’s OTC Industrial Manual is not sufficient for these purposes. “Trading Market” means any of the following markets or exchanges on which the Ordinary Shares is listed or quoted for trading on the date in question: the NYSE American, the Nasdaq Stock Market, the Nasdaq Global Market, the Nasdaq Global Select Market or the New York Stock Exchange (or any successors to any of the foregoing).

 

(o) The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to do and perform all things required to be done or performed under this Agreement by the Company prior to the Closing Date, and to satisfy all conditions precedent to the delivery of the Securities.

 

(p) The Company will not take, and will cause its affiliates not to take, directly or indirectly, any action which constitutes or is designed to cause or result in, or which could reasonably be expected to constitute, cause or result in, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Securities.

 

(q) The Company shall cause to be prepared and delivered to the Underwriter, at its expense, within two (2) Business Days from the date of this Agreement, an Electronic Prospectus to be used by the Underwriter in connection with the Offering. As used herein, the term “Electronic Prospectus” means a form of prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereto, that meets each of the following conditions: (i) it shall be encoded in an electronic format, satisfactory to the Underwriter, that may be transmitted electronically by the Underwriter to offerees and purchasers of the Securities for at least the period during which a Prospectus relating to the Securities is required to be delivered under the Act or the Exchange Act; (ii) it shall disclose the same information as the paper prospectus and prospectus filed pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent that graphic and image material cannot be disseminated electronically, in which case such graphic and image material shall be replaced in the electronic prospectus with a fair and accurate narrative description or tabular representation of such material, as appropriate; and (iii) it shall be in or convertible into a paper format or an electronic format, satisfactory to the Underwriter, that will allow recipients thereof to store and have continuously ready access to the prospectus at any future time, without charge to such recipients (other than any fee charged for subscription to the Internet as a whole and for online time).

 

(r) In the event that at any time prior to the first anniversary of the Closing Date, the Company, or any of its affiliates or Subsidiary shall enter into any transaction (including, without limitation, any merger, consolidation, acquisition, financing, joint venture or other arrangement) with any party introduced directly to the Company by the Underwriter (each a “Tail Financing”), during such period, the Underwriter will be paid a transaction fee, payable at the closing thereof, equal to one percent (1.0%) of the consideration or value received by the Company and/or its shareholders. In the event that this Offering is terminated for cause, in compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(5)(B), the Company shall not be obligated to pay the Tail Financing fee provided herein.

 

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5. Representations and Warranties of the Underwriter.

 

The Underwriter represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Company, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act, required to be filed with the Commission; provided that the prior written consent of the parties hereto shall be deemed to have been given in respect of the free writing prospectuses included in Schedule C. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Underwriter is herein referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Underwriter represents that it has treated or agrees that it 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 requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely Commission filing where required, legending and record keeping.

 

6. Consideration; Payment of Expenses.

 

(a) In consideration of the services to be provided for hereunder, the Company shall pay to the Underwriter or its designee(s) the following compensation (or pro rata portion thereof, if applicable) with respect to the Securities purchased from the Company in this Offering:

 

(i) an underwriting discount equal to eight percent (8.0%) of the aggregate gross proceeds (inclusive the Over-allotment Option to purchase the Additional Shares) raised in the Offering;

 

(ii) a non-accountable expense allowance of one and a half percent (1.5%) of the gross proceeds of the Offering;

 

(iii) an accountable expense allowance of up to $180,000, of which $150,000 has already been paid to the Underwriter as an advance against accountable expenses; and

 

(iv) the Company shall grant to the Underwriter or its designated affiliates share purchase warrants (the “Underwriter’s Warrants”) covering a number of shares equal to ten percent (10.0%) of the total number of Firm Shares and Additional Shares sold in this offering.

 

(b) In compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), the Underwriter’s Warrants and the underlying securities will be locked up for 180 days beginning on the date of commencement of sales of the Offering and will expire five (5) years from the date of commencement of sales of Offering, subject to certain exceptions as set forth in FINRA Rule 5110(e)(2). The Underwriter’s Warrants will be exercisable at a price equal to one hundred and twenty percent (120%) of the public offering price of the underlying Ordinary Shares in connection with the Offering. The Underwriter’s Warrants shall not be redeemable. The Company will register the Ordinary Shares underlying the Underwriter’s Warrants under the Act and will file all necessary undertakings in connection therewith. The Underwriter’s Warrants and the underlying securities shall not be sold during the Offering, or 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 the securities by any person for a period of 180 days beginning on the date of commencement of sales of the Offering, except that they may be transferred to any member participating in the Offering and the officers or partners thereof, if all securities so transferred remain subject to the lock-up restriction for the remainder of the time period. The Underwriter will have the option to exercise, transfer or assign the Underwriter’s Warrants at any time, provided that the underlying securities shall not be transferred during the lock-up period; i.e., the Shares underlying the Underwriter’s Warrants shall remain subject to the 180-day lock-up period. The Underwriter’s Warrants may be exercised as to all or a lesser number of the underlying Ordinary Shares, will provide for cashless exercise and will contain provisions for one demand registration of the sale of the underlying Ordinary Share at the Company’s expense, an additional demand registration at the Underwriter’s Warrants holder’s expense, and unlimited “piggyback” registration rights at the Company’s expense, each with a duration of no more than five years from the date of commencement of sales of the offering in compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8)(D). The Underwriter’s Warrants shall further provide for adjustment in the number and price of such warrants (and the Ordinary Share underlying such Warrants) in the event of recapitalization, merger or other structural transaction to prevent dilution.

 

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(c) The Underwriter reserves the right to reduce any item of compensation or adjust the terms thereof as specified herein in the event that a determination shall be made by FINRA to the effect that the Underwriter’ aggregate compensation is in excess of FINRA Rules or that the terms thereof require adjustment.

 

(d) Whether or not the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, the Company hereby agrees to pay all costs and expenses incident to the Offering, including the following:

 

(i) all expenses in connection with the preparation, printing, formatting for EDGAR and filing of the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus and any and all amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriter and dealers;

 

(ii) all fees and expenses in connection with filings with FINRA’s Public Offering System;

 

(iii) all fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Securities under the Act and the Offering;

 

(iv) all reasonable expenses in connection with the qualifications of the Securities for offering and sale under state or foreign securities or blue sky laws;

 

(v) all fees and expenses in connection with listing the Securities on a national securities exchange;

 

(vi) all reasonable travel expenses of the Company’s officers, directors and employees and any other expense of the Company incurred in connection with attending or hosting meetings with prospective purchasers of the Securities;

 

(vii) all fees and expenses in connection with any “due diligence” meetings;

 

(viii) all the road show expenses incurred by the Company;

 

(ix) any stock transfer taxes or other taxes incurred in connection with this Agreement or the Offering;

 

(x) the costs associated with book building, prospectus tracking and compliance software and the cost of preparing certificates representing the Securities;

 

(xi) the cost and charges of any transfer agent or registrar for the Securities;

 

(xii) any reasonable costs and expenses incurred in conducting background checks of the Company’s officers and directors by a background search firm acceptable to the Underwriter, not to exceed $15,000;

 

(xiii) the costs associated with bound volumes and mementos in such quantities as the Underwriter may reasonably request, not to exceed $2,500; and

 

(xiv) fees and expenses of the Underwriter’s legal counsel, not to exceed $100,000.

 

(e) It is understood, however, that except as provided in this Section 6, and Sections 8, 9 and 11(d) hereof, the Underwriter will pay all of their own costs and expenses. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 6, in the event that this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 12(b) hereof, or subsequent to a Material Adverse Change, the Company will pay, less any advances previously paid which as of the date hereof is $150,000, including $100,000 as an advance to be applied towards the accountable expenses allowance (the “Advance”) and $50,000 paid at the time the Company files the Registration Statement publicly. On the Closing Date, the Company shall pay the Underwriter $30,000 such that as of the Closing Date the Company shall have paid the Underwriter a total of no more than $180,000 in respect of such accountable expenses pursuant to this Section 6(e). All documented out-of-pocket expenses of the Underwriter (including but not limited to fees and disbursements of Underwriter’s Counsel and reasonable and accountable travel) incurred in connection herewith which shall be limited to expenses which are actually incurred as allowed under FINRA Rule 5110 and in any event, the aggregate amount of such expenses to be reimbursed by the Company shall not exceed $180,000, including the Advances. To the extent that the Underwriter’ out-of-pocket expenses are less than the Advance, the Underwriter will return to the Company that portion of the Advances not offset by actual expenses in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(4)(A).

 

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7. Conditions of Underwriter’ Obligations. The obligations of the Underwriter to purchase and pay for the Firm Shares as provided herein shall be subject to: (i) the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company herein contained, as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date, (ii) the absence from any certificates, opinions, written statements or letters furnished to the Underwriter or to Underwriter’s Counsel pursuant to this Section 7 of any misstatement or omission, (iii) the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, and (iv) each of the following additional conditions. For purposes of this Section 7, the terms “Closing Date” and “Closing” shall refer to the Closing Date for the Firm Shares and each of the foregoing and following conditions must be satisfied as of each Closing.

 

(a) The Registration Statement shall have become effective and all necessary regulatory and listing approvals shall have been received not later than 5:30 P.M., Eastern time, on the date of this Agreement, or at such later time and date as shall have been consented to in writing by the Underwriter. If the Company shall have elected to rely upon Rule 430A under the Act, the Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission in a timely fashion in accordance with the terms thereof and a form of the Prospectus containing information relating to the description of the Securities and the method of distribution and similar matters shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) within the applicable time period; and, at or prior to the Closing Date and the actual time of the Closing, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof, or any amendment thereof, nor suspending or preventing the use of the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been issued; no proceedings for the issuance of such an order shall have been initiated or threatened; all requests of the Commission for additional information (to be included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or otherwise) shall have been complied with to the Underwriter’s satisfaction.

 

(b) The Underwriter shall not have reasonably determined, and advised the Company, that the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, contains an untrue statement of fact which, in the Underwriter’s reasonable opinion, is material, or omits to state a fact which, in the Underwriter’s reasonable opinion, is material and is required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

 

(c) The Underwriter shall have received legal opinions, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriter and Underwriter’s Counsel of (i) by Conyers Dill & Pearman, Cayman Islands counsel to the Company dated as of the Closing Date and addressed to the Underwriter, (ii) Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC, U.S. legal counsel for the Company, dated as of the Closing Date and addressed to the Underwriter; and (iii) COACH Legal Professional Corporation, Japan legal counsel to the Company, dated as of the Closing Date.

 

(d) The Underwriter shall have received a certificate from the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, dated as of the Closing Date, to the effect that: (i) the conditions set forth in subsection (a) of this Section 7 have been satisfied, (ii) as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date, the representations and warranties of the Company set forth in Section 2 hereof are accurate, (iii) as of the Closing Date, all agreements, conditions and obligations of the Company to be performed or complied with hereunder on or prior thereto have been duly performed or complied with, (iv) except as disclosed in the Registration Statement the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, the Company has not sustained any material loss or interference with its businesses, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or any legal or governmental proceeding, (v) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any amendment thereof has been issued and no proceedings therefor have been initiated or threatened by the Commission, (vi) there are no pro forma or as adjusted financial statements that are required to be included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus pursuant to the Regulations which are not so included, and (vii) subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there has not been any Material Adverse Change or any development involving a prospective Material Adverse Change, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business.

 

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(e) At each of the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, the Underwriter shall have received a certificate of the Company signed by a duly authorized executive officer of the Company, dated the Closing Date and Option Closing Date (if such date is other than the Closing Date), certifying: (i) that each of the Charter and Bylaws 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 Offering are in full force and effect and have not been modified; (iii) the good standing of the Company; 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.

 

(f) On the date of this Agreement and on the Closing Date, the Underwriter shall have received a “comfort” letter from TAAD as of each such date, addressed to the Underwriter and in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriter and Underwriter’s Counsel, confirming that they are independent certified public accountants with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Act and all applicable Regulations, and stating, as of such date (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which specified financial information is given in the Prospectus, as of a date not more than five (5) days prior to such date), the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters relating to the Registration Statement covered by such letter.

 

(g) Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement and prior to the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date or, if earlier, the dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement (exclusive of any amendment thereof) and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto), there shall not have been any change in the share capital or long-term debt of the Company or any change or development involving a change, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, in the business, condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, shareholders’ equity, or properties of the Company, taken as a whole, including but not limited to the occurrence of any fire, flood, storm, explosion, accident, act of war or terrorism or other calamity, the effect of which, in any such case described above, is, in the reasonable judgment of the Underwriter, so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the sale of Securities or Offering as contemplated hereby.

 

(h) The Underwriter shall have received a lock-up agreement from each Lock-Up Party, duly executed by the applicable Lock-Up Party, in each case substantially in the form attached as Annex II.

 

(i) The Shares are registered under the Exchange Act and, as of the Closing Date, the Shares shall be listed and admitted and authorized for trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market and satisfactory evidence of such action shall have been provided to the Underwriter. The Company shall have taken no action designed to terminate, or likely to have the effect of terminating, the registration of the Shares under the Exchange Act or delisting or suspending the Shares from trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market, nor will the Company have received any information suggesting that the Commission or the NASDAQ Capital Market is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. The Firm Shares and the Additional Shares shall be DTC eligible.

 

(j) FINRA shall have confirmed that it has not raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements.

 

(k) No action shall have been taken and no statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any federal, state or foreign governmental or regulatory authority that would, as of the Closing Date, prevent the issuance or sale of the Securities; and no injunction or order of any federal, state or foreign court shall have been issued that would, as of the Closing Date, prevent the issuance or sale of the Securities or materially and adversely affect or potentially materially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company.

 

(l) The Company shall have furnished the Underwriter and Underwriter’ Counsel with such other certificates, opinions or documents as they may have reasonably requested.

 

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8. Indemnification.

 

(a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriter and each Person, if any, who controls the Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, against any losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses whatsoever, as incurred (including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees and any and all reasonable expenses whatsoever, incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever, and any and all amounts paid in settlement of any claim or litigation), joint or several, to which they or any of them may become subject under the Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation if such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company), insofar as such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon: (i) an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in (A) the Registration Statement, including the information deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement at the time of effectiveness and at any subsequent time pursuant to Rules 430A and 430B of the Regulations, any Preliminary Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement to any of them or (B) any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or 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 Securities (“Marketing Materials”), including any road show or investor presentations made to investors by the Company (whether in person or electronically), or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and will reimburse such indemnified party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by it in connection with investigations or defending against such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses (or actions in respect thereof); or (ii) in whole or in part upon any inaccuracy in the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein; or (iii) in whole or in part upon any failure of the Company to perform its obligations hereunder; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, liability, claim, damage or expense (or action in respect thereof) arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any such amendment or supplement to any of them, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Marketing Materials in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter’s Information.

 

(b) The Underwriter agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of the directors of the Company, each of the officers of the Company who shall have signed the Registration Statement, and each other Person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, against any losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses whatsoever, as incurred (including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees and any and all reasonable expenses whatsoever, incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever, and any and all amounts paid in settlement of any claim or litigation), joint or several, to which they or any of them may become subject under the Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation if such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Underwriter), insofar as such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, at the time of effectiveness and at any subsequent time pursuant to Rules 430A and 430B of the Regulations, any Preliminary Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any amendment or supplement to any of them or any Marketing Materials, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse such indemnified party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by it in connection with investigating or defending against such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses (or actions in respect thereof), in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that any such loss, liability, claim, damage or expense (or action in respect thereof) arises out of or is based upon any such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Underwriter’s Information.

 

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(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above of notice of any claim or the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify each party against whom indemnification is to be sought in writing thereof (but the failure so to notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve the indemnifying party from any liability which it may have under this Section 8 to the extent that it is not materially prejudiced as a result thereof and in any event shall not relieve it from any liability that such indemnifying party may have otherwise than on account of the indemnity agreement hereunder). In case any such claim or action is brought against any indemnified party, and it so notifies an indemnifying party thereof, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate at its own expense in the defense of such action, and to the extent it may elect by written notice delivered to the indemnified party promptly after receiving the aforesaid notice from such indemnified party, to assume the defense thereof with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party; provided however, that counsel to the indemnifying party shall not (except with the written consent of the indemnified party) also be counsel to the indemnified party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the indemnified party or parties 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 indemnified party or parties unless: (i) the employment of such counsel shall have been authorized in writing by one of the indemnifying parties in connection with the defense of such action; (ii) the indemnifying parties shall not have employed counsel to have charge of the defense of such action within a reasonable time after notice of the claim or the commencement of the action; (iii) the indemnifying party does not diligently defend the action after assumption of the defense; or (iv) such indemnified party or parties shall have reasonably concluded that a conflict may arise between the positions of the indemnifying party and the indemnified party, or any of them, in conducting the defense of any such action or there may be legal defenses available to it or them which are different from or additional to those available to any of the indemnifying parties (in which case the indemnifying parties 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 such fees and expenses shall be borne by the indemnifying parties and shall be paid as incurred. It is understood that the indemnifying party shall not, in respect of the legal expenses of any indemnified party in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any local counsel) of the indemnified party or parties unless such separate representations are required under applicable ethics rules that govern the representations of the indemnified party or parties by such legal counsel. In the case of any separate firm for the Underwriter and such control persons and affiliates of any Underwriter, such firm shall be designated in writing by the Underwriter. In the case of more than one separate firm (in addition to any local counsel) for the Company, and such directors, officers and control persons of the Company, such firm shall be designated in writing by the Company. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, effect any settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened claim, investigation, action or proceeding in respect of which indemnity or contribution may be or could have been sought by an indemnified party under this Section 8 or Section 9 hereof (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party thereto), unless (x) such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such claim, investigation, action or proceeding and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or any failure to act, by or on behalf of the indemnified party, and (y) the indemnifying party confirms in writing its indemnification obligations hereunder with respect to such settlement, compromise or judgment.

 

9. Contribution. In order to provide for contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in Section 8 is for any reason held to be unavailable from any indemnifying party or is insufficient to hold harmless a party indemnified thereunder, the Company and the Underwriter shall contribute to the aggregate losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses of the nature contemplated by such indemnification provision (including any investigation, legal and other expenses incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claims asserted, but after deducting in the case of losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses suffered by the Company, any contribution received by the Company from Persons, other than the Underwriter, who may also be liable for contribution, including Persons who control the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, officers of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and directors of the Company), as incurred, to which the Company and one or more of the Underwriter may be subject, in such proportions as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other hand from the Offering and sale of the Securities or, if such allocation is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportions as are appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to above but also the relative fault of the Company and the Underwriter in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company and the Underwriter shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as (x) the total proceeds from the Offering (net of underwriting discount and commission but before deducting expenses) received by the Company bears to (y) the underwriting discount and commissions received by the Underwriter, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault of the Company and the Underwriter shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Underwriter and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Underwriter agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 9 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriter were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this Section 9. The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified party and referred to above in this Section 9 shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any judicial, regulatory or other legal or governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 9: (i) no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the underwriting discounts applicable to the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public and (ii) no Person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 12(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any Person who was not guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 12(f) of the Act). For purposes of this Section 9, each Person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, and each Person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, each officer of the Company who shall have signed the Registration Statement and each director of the Company shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to clauses (i) and (ii) of the immediately preceding sentence. Any party entitled to contribution will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action, suit or proceeding against such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made against another party or parties, notify each party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission to so notify such party or parties shall not relieve the party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any obligation it or they may have under this Section 9 or otherwise. As used herein, a “Person” refers to an individual or entity.

 

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10. Survival of Representations and Agreements. All representations, warranties, covenants and agreements of the Company and the Underwriter contained in this Agreement or in certificates of officers of the Company submitted pursuant hereto, including, without limitation, the agreements contained in Sections 6, 14 and 15, the indemnity agreements contained in Section 8 and the contribution agreements contained in Section 9, shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Underwriter or any controlling Person thereof or by or on behalf of the Company, any of its officers or directors or any controlling Person thereof, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Securities to and by the Underwriter. The representations and warranties contained in Section 2 and Section 5 and the covenants and agreements contained in Sections 4, 6, 8, 9, 14 and 15 shall survive any termination of this Agreement, including termination pursuant to Sections 11. For the avoidance of doubt, in the event of termination the Underwriter will receive only out-of-pocket accountable expenses actually incurred subject to the limit in Section 12(d) below, in compliance with FINRA Rules 5110.

 

11. Right of First Negotiation. The Company hereby grants the Underwriter a right of first negotiation (“Right of First Negotiation”) for one (1) year from the Closing Date to co-manage any public future public or private equity or debt offering, including all equity linked financings (excluding (i) shares issued under any compensation or stock option plan approved by the Company’s shareholders, (ii) shares issued as consideration of an acquisition or as part of a strategic partnership or transaction and (iii) conventional banking arrangements and commercial debt financing) (collectively, “Future Services”); provided, however, that the Underwriter shall not be entitled to have such Right of First Negotiation if no Offering is consummated. The Company shall notify the Underwriter in writing of its intention to pursue an activity that would enable the Underwriter to exercise its Right of First Negotiation to provide Future Services. In such event, the Underwriter shall notify the Company of its election to provide such Future Services, including notification of the compensation and other terms to which the Underwriter claims to be entitled, within ten (10) days of written notice by the Company. In the event the Company engages the Underwriter to provide such Future Services, the Underwriter will be compensated consistent with that certain engagement letter between the Company and the Underwriter, dated January 24, 2023 (the “Engagement Letter”), unless mutually agreed otherwise by the Company and the Underwriter.

 

12. Effective Date of Agreement; Termination.

 

(a) This Agreement shall become effective upon the later of: (i) receipt by the Underwriter and the Company of notification of the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or (ii) the execution of this Agreement. Notwithstanding any termination of this Agreement, the provisions of this Section 12 and of Sections 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14 and 15 shall remain in full force and effect at all times after the execution hereof to the extent they are in compliance with FINRA Rule 5110.

 

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(b) The Underwriter shall have the right to terminate this Agreement at any time prior to the consummation of the Closing if: (i) any domestic or international event or act or occurrence has materially disrupted, or in the reasonable opinion of the Underwriter will in the immediate future materially disrupt, the market for the Company’s securities or securities in general; or (ii) trading on the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ Stock Market has been suspended or made subject to material limitations, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices for securities have been required, on the NYSE Euronext or the NASDAQ Stock Market or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any other governmental authority having jurisdiction; or (iii) a banking moratorium has been declared by any state or federal authority or any material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services has occurred; or (iv) (A) there has occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities or acts of terrorism involving the United States, Japan or there is a declaration of a national emergency or war by the United States or Japan, or (B) there has been any other calamity or crisis or any change in political, financial or economic conditions, if the effect of any such event in (A) or (B), in the reasonable judgment of the Underwriter, is so material and adverse that such event makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering, sale and delivery of the Firm Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated by the Prospectus.

 

(c) Any notice of termination pursuant to this Section 12 shall be in writing and delivered in accordance with Section 13.

 

(d) If this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to any of the provisions hereof (other than pursuant to Section 11(b) hereof), or if the sale of the Securities provided for herein is not consummated because any condition to the obligations of the Underwriter set forth herein is not satisfied or because of any refusal, inability or failure on the part of the Company to perform any agreement herein or comply with any provision hereof, the Company will, subject to demand by the Underwriter, reimburse the Underwriter for only those documented out-of-pocket expenses (including the reasonable fees and expenses of their counsel), actually incurred by the Underwriter in connection herewith as allowed under FINRA Rule 5110 less any amounts previously paid by the Company); provided, however, that all such expenses, including the costs and expenses set forth in Section 6(d) which were actually paid, shall not exceed $180,000 in the aggregate, including any advances.

 

13. Notices. All communications hereunder, except as may be otherwise specifically provided herein, shall be in writing, and:

 

(a) if sent to the Underwriter, shall be mailed, delivered, or emailed, to:

 

Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc.

2 Bridge Avenue, Suite 241

Red Bank, NJ 07701

Attention: Adam Pasholk, Managing Director

Email: adampasholk@netw1.com

 

with a copy to Underwriter’s Counsel at:

 

Loeb & Loeb LLP

2206-19 Jardine House

1 Connaught Place

Central, Hong Kong SAR

Attention: Lawrence Venick, Esq.

Email: lvenick@loeb.com

 

(b) if sent to the Company, shall be mailed, delivered, or emailed, to the Company with a copy to its counsel, at the addresses set forth in the Registration Statement.

 

14 Parties; Limitation of Relationship. This Agreement shall inure solely to the benefit of, and shall be binding upon, the Underwriter, the Company and the controlling Persons, directors, officers, employees and agents referred to in Sections 8 and 9 hereof, and their respective successors 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 provision herein contained. This Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the parties hereto and such Persons and their respective successors and assigns, and not for the benefit of any other Person. The term “successors and assigns” shall not include a purchaser, in its capacity as such, of Securities from the Underwriter.

 

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15. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of New York without regard to the conflict of laws principles thereof. Each of the parties hereto hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal and state courts in the State of New York (each, a “New York Court”) in any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby. Each of the parties hereto irrevocably waives any objection to the laying of venue of any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby in the New York Courts, and irrevocably waives and agrees not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit or proceeding in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. The Company irrevocably appoints Cogency Global Inc., 122 East 42nd St 18th Floor, New York, NY 10168 as its authorized agent (the “Authorized Agent”) in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York upon which process may be served in any such suit or proceeding, and agrees that service of process in any manner permitted by applicable law upon such agent shall be deemed in every respect effective service of process in any manner permitted by applicable law upon the Company in any such suit or proceeding. The Company further agrees to take any and all actions as may be necessary to maintain such designation and appointment of such agent in full force and effect for a period of three years from the date of this Agreement.

 

16. Entire Agreement. This Agreement, together with the schedules and annexes attached hereto and as the same may be amended from time to time in accordance with the terms hereof, contains the entire agreement among the parties hereto relating to the subject matter hereof and there are no other or further agreements outstanding not specifically mentioned herein. This Agreement supersedes any prior agreements or understandings among or between the parties hereto.

 

17. Severability. If any term or provision of this Agreement or the performance thereof shall be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect or render invalid or unenforceable any other provision of this Agreement and this Agreement shall be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.

 

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

 

19. 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 affect 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 may be 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.

 

22


 

20. No Fiduciary Relationship. The Company hereby acknowledges that the Underwriter is acting solely as Underwriter in connection with the offering of the Company’s Securities. The Company further acknowledges that the Underwriter is acting pursuant to a contractual relationship created solely by this Agreement entered into on an arm’s-length basis and in no event do the parties intend that the Underwriter act or be responsible as a fiduciary to the Company, its management, shareholders, creditors or any other person in connection with any activity that the Underwriter may undertake or have undertaken in furtherance of the offering of the Company’s Securities, either before or after the date hereof. The Underwriter hereby expressly disclaims any fiduciary or similar obligations to the Company, either in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any matters leading up to such transactions, and the Company hereby confirms its understanding and agreement to that effect. The Company hereby further confirms its understanding that the Underwriter has not assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the Offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto, including, without limitation, any negotiation related to the pricing of the Securities; and the Company has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate in connection with this Agreement and the Offering. The Company and the Underwriter agree that they are each responsible for making their own independent judgments with respect to any such transactions, and that any opinions or views expressed by the Underwriter to the Company regarding such transactions, including but not limited to any opinions or views with respect to the price or market for the Company’s securities, do not constitute advice or recommendations to the Company. The Company hereby waives and releases, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims that the Company may have against the Underwriter with respect to any breach or alleged breach of any fiduciary or similar duty to the Company in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any matters leading up to such transactions.

 

21. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of a signed counterpart of this Agreement by facsimile or other electronic transmission shall constitute valid and sufficient delivery thereof.

 

22. Headings. The headings herein are inserted for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of, or to affect the meaning or interpretation of, this Agreement.

 

23. Time is of the Essence. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term “Business Day” shall mean any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or any day on which any of the major U.S. stock exchanges are not open for business.

 

[Signature Page Follows]

 

23


 

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

 

Very truly yours,  
   
BloomZ Inc.  
     
By:  /s/Kazusa Aranami  
Name:  Kazusa Aranami  
Title: Chief Executive Officer  

 

Accepted by the Underwriter,

as of the date first written above:

 

Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc.  

 

By:  /s/ Adam Pasholk  
Name:  Adam Pasholk  
Title: Managing Director Investment Banking  

 

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]

 

 


 

SCHEDULE A

 

Underwriters   Closing
Securities
    Closing
Purchase
Price (net of
underwriting
discounts)
 
Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc.     1,250,000     $ 3.956  
                 
Total     1,250,000     $ 3.956  

 

 


 

SCHEDULE B

 

Lock-Up Parties

 

Kazusa Aranami

Yuhi Mimura

Hideki Sawai

Akira Sugimoto

CyberStep, Inc.

Lode Runner, Inc.  

 

 


 

SCHEDULE C

 

Free Writing Prospectuses

 

 

 

 

 


  

Annex II

 

Lock-Up Agreement

 

[      ], 202_

 

Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc.

2 Bridge Avenue, Suite 241

Red Bank, NJ 07701

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The undersigned understands that Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc. (the “Underwriter”) proposes to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with BloomZ Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), providing for the initial public offering in the United States (the “Initial Public Offering”) of a certain number of the Company’s Ordinary Shares, par value $0.00000002 per share (the “Securities”). For purposes of this letter agreement, “Shares” shall mean shares of the Company’s Ordinary Shares.

 

To induce the Underwriter to continue its efforts in connection with the Public Offering, the undersigned hereby agrees that, without the prior written consent of the Underwriter, the undersigned will not, during the period commencing on the date hereof and ending one hundred and eighty (180) days after the date of the final prospectus (the “Prospectus”) relating to the Initial Public Offering (the “Lock-Up Period”), (1) offer, pledge, announce the intention to sell, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, make any short sale, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any Shares or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for or represent the right to receive Shares, whether now owned or hereafter acquired by the undersigned (collectively, the “Lock-Up Securities”); (2) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Lock-Up Securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) above or this clause (2) is to be settled by delivery of Shares or such other securities, in cash or otherwise; (3) make any written demand for or exercise any right with respect to the registration of any Shares or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Shares; or (4) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, and subject to the conditions below, the undersigned may transfer Lock-Up Securities without the prior written consent of the Underwriter in connection with (a) transactions relating to Lock-Up Securities acquired in open market transactions after the completion of the Initial Public Offering; (b) transfers of Lock-Up Securities as a bona fide gift, by will or intestacy or to a family member or trust for the benefit of the undersigned and/or one or more family members (for purposes of this lock-up agreement, “family member” means any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin); (c) transfers of Lock-Up Securities to a charity or educational institution or other not-for-profit organization; (d) if the undersigned, directly or indirectly, controls a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business entity, any transfers of Lock-Up Securities to any such corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business entity, or any shareholder, partner or member of, or owner of similar equity interests in, the same, as the case may be; (e) a sale or surrender to the Company of any options or Shares of the Company underlying options in order to pay the exercise price or taxes associated with the exercise of options or (f) transfers or distributions pursuant to any bona fide third-party tender offer, merger, acquisition, consolidation or other similar transaction made to all holders of the Company’s Shares involving a Change of Control of the Company, provided that in the event that such tender offer, merger, acquisition, consolidation or other such transaction is not completed, the Lock-Up Securities held by the undersigned shall remain subject to the provisions of this lock-up agreement; provided that in the case of any transfer pursuant to the foregoing clauses (b), (c) or (d), (i) any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, (ii) each transferee shall sign and deliver to the Underwriter a lock-up agreement substantially in the form of this lock-up agreement and (iii) no filing under Section 16(a) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended shall be required or shall be voluntarily made (collectively, “Permitted Transfers”). For purposes of this paragraph, the term “Change of Control” shall mean any transaction or series of related transactions pursuant to which any “person” or “group” (as such terms are used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act) becomes the “beneficial owner” (as such term is defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the total voting power of the Shares of the Company on a fully diluted basis. The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the undersigned’s Lock-Up Securities except in compliance with this lock-up agreement.

 

 


 

The undersigned agrees that, prior to engaging in any transaction or taking any other action that is subject to the terms of this lock-up agreement (for the avoidance of doubt, excluding any transaction or other action in connection with a Permitted Transfer) during the period from the date hereof to the expiration of the initial Lock-Up Period, the undersigned will give notice thereof to the Company and will not consummate any such transaction or take any such action unless it has received written confirmation from the Company that the Lock-Up Period has expired.

 

The undersigned agrees that (i) the foregoing restrictions shall be equally applicable to any issuer-directed or “friends and family” Shares that the undersigned may purchase in the Initial Public Offering, (ii) at least three (3) business days before the effective date of any release or waiver of the foregoing restrictions in connection with a transfer of Lock-Up Securities, the Underwriter will notify the Company of the impending release or waiver. Any release or waiver granted by the Underwriter hereunder to any such officer or director shall only be effective two (2) business days after the publication date of such press release. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if (a) the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer of Lock-Up Securities not for consideration or in connection with any other Permitted Transfer and (b) the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by a lock-up agreement substantially in the form of this lock-up agreement.

 

No provision in this agreement shall be deemed to restrict or prohibit the exercise, exchange or conversion by the undersigned of any securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into Shares, as applicable; provided that the undersigned does not transfer the Shares acquired on such exercise, exchange or conversion during the Lock-Up Period, unless in connection with a Permitted Transfer or in a transfer otherwise permitted pursuant to the terms of this lock-up agreement. In addition, no provision herein shall be deemed to restrict or prohibit the entry into or modification of a so-called “10b5-1” plan at any time (other than the entry into or modification of such a plan in such a manner as to cause the sale of any Lock-Up Securities within the Lock-Up Period).

 

The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriter are relying upon this lock-up agreement in proceeding toward consummation of the Initial Public Offering. The undersigned further understands that this lock-up agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned’s heirs, successors and assigns.

 

The undersigned understands that, if the Underwriting Agreement does not become effective, or if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Shares to be sold thereunder, then this lock-up agreement shall be void and of no further force or effect.

 

Whether or not the Initial Public Offering actually occurs depends on a number of factors, including market conditions. The Initial Public Offering will only be made pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, the terms of which are subject to negotiation between the Company and the Underwriter.

 

This lock-up agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, without regard to the conflict of laws principles thereof. Delivery of a signed copy of this lock-up agreement by facsimile or e-mail/.pdf transmission shall be effective as the delivery of the original hereof.

 

[SIGNATURE PAGE TO FOLLOW]

 

 


 

Very truly yours,  
     
   
(Signature)    
     
Address:    
     
     
     
     

 

 

 

 

 

EX-99.1 4 ea020999001ex99-1_bloomz.htm PRESS RELEASE ON PRICING OF THE COMPANY'S INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

Exhibit 99.1

 

 

BloomZ Inc. Announces Pricing of $5.38 Million Initial Public Offering

 

TOKYO, July 23, 2024 -- BloomZ Inc. (“BloomZ” or the “Company”), today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 1,250,000 ordinary shares (the “Ordinary Shares”) at a public offering price of $4.30 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $5.38 million, prior to deducting underwriting discounts and other offering expenses.

 

In addition, the Company has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 187,500 Ordinary Shares at the public offering price per share, less the underwriting discount, to cover over-allotments, if any. The offering is expected to close on or about July 25, 2024, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

 

All of the Ordinary Shares are being offered by the Company. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the offering primarily for: (i) investment in the animation production business and acquisition of overseas copyrights, (ii) expenses for capital and business alliances and mergers and acquisitions to expand business performance, (iii) strengthening the VTuber management business system and capital investments, and (iv) working capital and general corporate purposes.

 

The Company has received approval to list its Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market, with its Ordinary Shares trading under the symbol “BLMZ”, with trading expected to begin on July 24, 2024.

 

Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc. (“Network 1”), a full-service broker/dealer, acted as the sole book-running manager for the offering. HeartCore Enterprises, Inc. and Spirit Advisors LLC served as financial advisors and IPO consultants for the Company. Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC is acting as U.S. legal counsel to BloomZ and Loeb & Loeb LLP is acting as U.S. legal counsel to Network 1 for the offering.

 

A registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-275223), relating to the Ordinary Shares was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and was declared effective on July 1, 2024. This offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. A final prospectus relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus related to the Offering may be obtained, when available, from Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc., 2 Bridge Avenue, Suite 241, Red Bank, NJ 07701, by phone at 732-758-9001 or by email at BLMZIPO@netw1.com.

 

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

 

About BloomZ Inc.

 

BloomZ is a Cayman Islands holding company with an operating subsidiary, Kabushiki Kaisha BloomZ (“BloomZ Japan”), in Japan. BloomZ Japan is a Japanese audio producing and voice actor and VTuber managing company. BloomZ Japan has experienced staff who have worked on audio production for animations and video games for more than 10 years. BloomZ Japan also manages, cultivates and promotes voice actors and VTubers.

  

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act and other securities laws. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, the Company is using forward-looking statements when it discusses the expected gross proceeds and the closing of the offering. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based upon management’s current expectations, beliefs and projections, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain. Such expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith. However, there can be no assurance that management’s expectations, beliefs and projections will be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from what is expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. For a more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties affecting the Company, reference is made to the Company’s reports filed from time to time with the SEC, including, but not limited to, the risks detailed in the Company’s preliminary prospectus (Registration No. 333-275223), initially filed with the SEC on October 31, 2023. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, subsequent events or circumstances, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that the Company will make additional updates with respect thereto or with respect to other forward-looking statements. References and links to websites have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release.

 

BloomZ Investor Contact

 

John Yi and Steven Shinmachi

Gateway Group, Inc.

949-574-3860

Email: bloomz@gateway-grp.com

EX-99.2 5 ea020999001ex99-2_bloomz.htm PRESS RELEASE ON CLOSING OF THE COMPANY'S INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

Exhibit 99.2

 

 

BloomZ Inc. Announces Closing of $5.38 Million Initial Public Offering

 

TOKYO, July 25, 2024 -- BloomZ Inc. (“BloomZ” or the “Company”), today announced the closing of its initial public offering of 1,250,000 ordinary shares (the “Ordinary Shares”) at a public offering price of $4.30 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $5.38 million, prior to deducting underwriting discounts and other offering expenses. The Company’s Ordinary Shares began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on July 24, 2024, under the symbol “BLMZ”.

 

In addition, the Company has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 187,500 Ordinary Shares at the public offering price per share, less the underwriting discount, to cover over-allotments, if any.

 

Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc. (“Network 1”), a full-service broker/dealer, acted as the sole book-running manager for the offering. HeartCore Enterprises, Inc. and Spirit Advisors LLC served as financial advisors and IPO consultants for the Company. Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC is acting as U.S. legal counsel to BloomZ and Loeb & Loeb LLP is acting as U.S. legal counsel to Network 1 for the offering.

 

The offering is being conducted pursuant to the Company’s registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-275223), relating to the Ordinary Shares initially filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on October 31, 2023, and was declared effective on July 1, 2024. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus. A final prospectus relating to the offering has been filed with the SEC on July 23, 2024, and is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus related to the Offering may be obtained from Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc., 2 Bridge Avenue, Suite 241, Red Bank, NJ 07701, by phone at 732-758-9001 or by email at BLMZIPO@netw1.com.

 

Before you invest, you should read the prospectus and other documents the Company has filed or will file with the SEC for more information about the Company and the offering. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

  

About BloomZ Inc.

 

BloomZ is a Cayman Islands holding company with an operating subsidiary, Kabushiki Kaisha BloomZ (“BloomZ Japan”), in Japan. BloomZ Japan is a Japanese audio producing and voice actor and VTuber managing company. BloomZ Japan has experienced staff who have worked on audio production for animations and video games for more than 10 years. BloomZ Japan also manages, cultivates and promotes voice actors and VTubers.

 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act and other securities laws. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, the Company is using forward-looking statements when it discusses the expected gross proceeds and the closing of the offering. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based upon management’s current expectations, beliefs and projections, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain. Such expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith. However, there can be no assurance that management’s expectations, beliefs and projections will be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from what is expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. For a more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties affecting the Company, reference is made to the Company’s reports filed from time to time with the SEC, including, but not limited to, the risks detailed in the Company’s preliminary prospectus (Registration No. 333-275223), initially filed with the SEC on October 31, 2023. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, subsequent events or circumstances, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that the Company will make additional updates with respect thereto or with respect to other forward-looking statements. References and links to websites have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release.

 

BloomZ Investor Contact

 

John Yi and Steven Shinmachi

Gateway Group, Inc.

949-574-3860

Email: bloomz@gateway-grp.com