As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 15, 2023

Registration No. 333-            

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

 

Assertio Holdings, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

Delaware

100 South Saunders Road, Suite 300

Lake Forest, Illinois 60045 

85-0598378

(State or Other Jurisdiction of

Incorporation or Organization) 

(Address of Principal Executive Offices Including Zip Code)

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.) 

 

 

 

Assertio Holdings, Inc. Amended and Restated 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan

Assertio Therapeutics, Inc. Inducement Award Program

(Full Title of the Plans)

 

 

 

Daniel A. Peisert

100 South Saunders Road, Suite 300

Lake Forest, Illinois 60045

Copies to:

Ryan A. Murr, Esq.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

555 Mission Street, Suite 3000

San Francisco, California 94105

(Name and Address of Agent For Service)

 

 

(224) 419-7106

(Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent For Service)

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer ¨ Accelerated filer þ
       
Non-accelerated filer ¨    Smaller reporting company þ
       
Emerging growth company  ¨      
           

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ¨

 

 

 

 

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

 

This Registration Statement on Form S-8 is being filed by Assertio Holdings, Inc. (the “Company” or the “Registrant”) relating to up to (i) 4,150,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”) issuable under the Assertio Holdings, Inc. Amended and Restated 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2014 Plan”), (ii) 58,572 shares of Company Common Stock issuable pursuant to stock option awards granted to newly-hired employees of the Registrant as inducement awards in connection with their commencement of employment with the Company and (iii) 500,000 shares of Company Common Stock issuable pursuant to future equity awards that may be granted to newly-hired employees of the Registrant as inducement awards in connection with their commencement of employment with the Company.

 

PART I

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

 

The information required in Part I of this Registration Statement is included in one or more prospectuses that are not filed as part of this Registration Statement in accordance with Rule 428 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and the Note to Part I of Form S-8.

 

PART II

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

Item 3.Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

 

The following documents, previously filed by the Registrant (or its predecessor issuer pursuant to Rule 12g-3 of the Exchange Act) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), are incorporated by reference herein and shall be deemed to be a part hereof:

 

·the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed on March 8, 2023;

 

·the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended on March 31, 2023, filed on May 9, 2023;

 

·the Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on February 23, 2023, April 25, 2023, and May 15, 2023; and

 

·The description of the Registrant’s Common Stock contained in Exhibit 4.5 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 10, 2020.

 

In addition, all documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, excluding any information furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K and corresponding information furnished under Item 9.01 or included as an exhibit, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all such securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents. Any statement contained in a document incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this registration statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

 

 

 

 

Item 4.Description of Securities.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 5.Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 6.Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

 

Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or the DGCL, permits a corporation to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that he is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with such action.

 

In an action brought to obtain a judgment in the corporation’s favor, whether by the corporation itself or derivatively by a stockholder, the corporation may only indemnify for expenses, including attorneys’ fees, actually and reasonably incurred in connection with the defense or settlement of such action, and the corporation may not indemnify for amounts paid in satisfaction of a judgment or in settlement of the claim. In any such action, no indemnification may be paid in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged liable to the corporation except as otherwise approved by the Delaware Court of Chancery or the court in which the claim was brought. In any other type of proceeding, the indemnification may extend to judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement, actually and reasonably incurred in connection with such other proceeding, as well as to expenses (including attorneys’ fees).

 

The statute does not permit indemnification unless the person seeking indemnification has acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation and, in the case of criminal actions or proceedings, the person had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. There are additional limitations applicable to criminal actions and to actions brought by or in the name of the corporation. The determination as to whether a person seeking indemnification has met the required standard of conduct is to be made (i) by a majority vote of a quorum of disinterested members of the board of directors, (ii) by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, if such a quorum does not exist or if the disinterested directors so direct, or (iii) by the stockholders.

 

Section 145 of the DGCL permits indemnification of officers and directors under certain circumstances in connection with liabilities (including reimbursement for expenses incurred) arising under the Securities Act.

 

Registrant is authorized by its Charter and Bylaws to indemnify its directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law.  Registrant has entered into indemnification agreements with each of its directors and executive officers. These agreements provide that the Registrant will indemnify each of its directors and such officers to the fullest extent permitted by law and by the Charter or Bylaws.

 

Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL provides that a corporation’s certificate of incorporation may contain a provision eliminating or limiting the personal liability of a director to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, provided that such provision shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a director (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the DGCL or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

 

The Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant provides for the elimination of personal monetary liability of directors to the fullest extent permissible under Delaware law.

 

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Item 7.Exemption from Registration Claimed.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 8. Exhibits.

 

Exhibit
No.
  Description  
     
4.1   Certificate of Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, dated May 13, 2021 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 17, 2021).
     
4.2   Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, dated May 19, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K12B filed on May 19, 2020).
     
4.3   Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company, dated November 2, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 8, 2022).
     
5.1*   Opinion of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
     
23.1*   Consent of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP (contained in Exhibit 5.1).
     
23.2*   Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
     
24.1*   Power of Attorney (contained on signature page).
     
99.1   Amended and Restated 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 15, 2023).
     
99.2   Form of Equity Award Documents for Inducement Grants (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 8, 2023).
     
107.1*   Filing Fee Table.

 

*Filed herewith.

 

Item 9. Undertakings.

 

1.The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

 

(a) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

 

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

 

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

 

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(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement;

 

providedhowever, that paragraphs (1)(a)(i) and (1)(a)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement;

 

(b) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; and

 

(c) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

2.             The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

3.             Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement on Form S-8 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Lake Forest, State of Illinois, on May 15, 2023.

 

  Assertio Holdings, Inc.
     
  By: /s/ Daniel A. Peisert
  Name: Daniel A. Peisert
  Title: President and Chief Executive Officer  

 

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POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Daniel A. Peisert and Paul Schwichtenberg, and each of them acting individually, as his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, each with full power of substitution, for him in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement on Form S-8 and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of each to act alone, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully for all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or his or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signature   Title   Date
         
/s/ Daniel A. Peisert   President and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)   May 15, 2023
Daniel A. Peisert        
         
/s/ Paul Schwichtenberg   Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)   May 15, 2023
Paul Schwichtenberg        
         
/s/ Ajay Patel   Chief Accounting Officer (Principal Accounting Officer)   May 15, 2023
Ajay Patel        
         
/s/ Peter D. Staple   Chairman of the Board of Directors   May 15, 2023
Peter D. Staple        
         
/s/ William T. McKee   Director   May 15, 2023
William T. McKee        
         
/s/ Heather L. Mason   Director   May 15, 2023
Heather L. Mason        
         
/s/ James L. Tyree   Director   May 15, 2023
James L. Tyree        

 

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