Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
On February 7, 2023, AEHR Test Systems (the “Company”) entered into an equity distribution agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with William Blair & Company, L.L.C. and Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC (the “Agents”), in connection with the offer and sale of up to $25,000,000 of shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“ATM Shares”). The ATM Shares to be offered and sold under the Sales Agreement will be issued and sold pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-259317), dated September 3, 2021 that was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on September 17, 2021. A prospectus supplement relating to the offering of the ATM Shares was filed with the Commission on February 7, 2023 (the “Prospectus Supplement”). The Company issued a press release announcing entry into the Sales Agreement on February 7, 2023. A copy of this press release is filed as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
Subject to the terms and conditions of the Sales Agreement, the Agents will use commercially reasonable efforts, consistent with their normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal law, rules and regulations and the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC (“Nasdaq”), to sell ATM Shares from time to time based upon the Company’s instructions, including any price, time or size limits or other customary parameters or conditions the Company may impose.
The Company is not obligated to make any sales of ATM Shares, and the Agents are not required to sell any specific number or dollar amount of shares of the ATM Shares under the Sales Agreement. The Company or the Agents may suspend or terminate the offering of ATM Shares upon notice to the other party and subject to other conditions.
Under the Sales Agreement, the Agents may sell ATM Shares by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the rules and regulations thereunder, including, without limitation, sales made directly on or through Nasdaq, on or through any other existing trading market for the Company’s shares of common stock or to or through a market maker. If expressly authorized by the Company, the Agents may also sell ATM Shares in privately negotiated transactions. The Company agreed to pay the Agents a commission of 2.75% of the gross proceeds from the sales of ATM Shares pursuant to the Sales Agreement.
The Sales Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and agreements by the Company, customary conditions to closing, indemnification obligations of the Company and the Agents against certain liabilities, including for liabilities under the Securities Act, and termination provisions. The provisions of the Sales Agreement, including the representations and warranties contained therein, are not for the benefit of any party other than the parties to such agreement and are not intended as a document for investors and the public to obtain factual information about the current state of affairs of the Company. Rather, investors and the public should look to other disclosures contained in the Company’s filings with the Commission.
The foregoing description of the Sales Agreement is a summary of its material terms, does not purport to be complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Sales Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
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 sale of such 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.