| Item 1.01 |
Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
On January 27, 2023, Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (the “Company”) entered into a Sales Agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with SVB Securities LLC (“SVB Securities”) with respect to an at-the-market offering program, under which the Company may, from time to time in its sole discretion, issue and sell through SVB Securities, acting as the Company’s sales agent, up to $125 million of the Company’s American Depositary Shares (the “Placement Shares”), each representing one ordinary share of the Company, nominal value £0.002 per share. The issuance and sale, if any, of the Placement Shares by the Company under the Sales Agreement will be made pursuant to a prospectus supplement to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-3, including the prospectus contained therein, originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on July 1, 2022 and declared effective by the SEC on July 12, 2022 (Registration No. 333-265978).
Pursuant to the Sales Agreement, SVB Securities may sell the Placement Shares by any method deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). SVB Securities will use commercially reasonable efforts consistent with normal trading and sales practices to sell the Placement Shares from time to time, based upon instructions from the Company (including any price, time or size limits or other customary parameters or conditions the Company may impose).
The Company will pay SVB Securities a commission up to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from each sale of the Placement Shares sold under the Sales Agreement. In addition, the Company has agreed to reimburse SVB Securities for the reasonable fees and expenses of their legal counsel incurred in connection with entering into the transactions contemplated by the Sales Agreement in an amount not to exceed $150,000.
The Company is not obligated to make any sales of Placement Shares under the Sales Agreement. No assurance can be given that the Company will sell any Placement Shares under the Sales Agreement, or, if it does, as to the price or amount of Placement Shares that it sells or the dates when such sales will take place. The offering of Placement Shares pursuant to the Sales Agreement will terminate upon the earlier to occur of (i) the issuance and sale of all Placement Shares subject to the Sales Agreement and (ii) termination of the Sales Agreement in accordance with its terms.
Because there is no minimum offering amount required pursuant to the Sales Agreement, the total number of shares to be sold under the Sales Agreement, if any, and proceeds to the Company, if any, are not determinable at this time. The Company expects to use any net proceeds for working capital, capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes.
The Sales Agreement contains representations, warranties and covenants that are customary for transactions of this type. In addition, the Company has agreed to indemnify SVB Securities against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
The foregoing description of the Sales Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Sales Agreement, a copy of which is filed herewith as Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
The legal opinion of Goodwin Procter (UK) LLP as to the validity of the issuance of the Placement Shares is being filed as Exhibit 5.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
This Current Report on Form 8-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities discussed herein, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.