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TABLE OF CONTENTS
S&W SEED COMPANY INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)
Registration No. 333-164588

         PROSPECTUS

1,400,000 UNITS

Each unit consisting of two shares of common stock,
one Class A warrant and one Class B warrant

LOGO

        This is an initial public offering of units of S&W Seed Company. Each unit consists of two shares of common stock, one redeemable Class A warrant and one redeemable Class B warrant. Each Class A warrant entitles its holder to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $7.15. Each Class B warrant entitles its holder to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $11.00. The Class A warrants and Class B warrants are exercisable at any time after they become separately tradable until their expiration on the fifth anniversary of the date of this prospectus. The Class A warrants and Class B warrants will be redeemable at our option for $0.25 upon 30 days' prior written notice beginning six months after the offering, provided certain conditions are met. The Class A warrants will be redeemable provided that our common stock has closed at a price at least equal to $8.80 for at least five consecutive trading days. The Class B warrants will be redeemable on the same terms, provided our common stock has closed at a price at least equal to $13.75 for five consecutive trading days. The common stock, Class A warrants and Class B warrants will trade only as part of a unit for a minimum of 30 days and, in the discretion of the representative of the underwriters, up to 45 days following the date of this prospectus, after which the common stock and the warrants will trade separately, and we will delist the units.

        Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our units, common stock, Class A warrants or Class B warrants. The initial public offering price of our units is $11.00 per unit. Our units, common stock, Class A warrants and Class B warrants have been approved for listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbols "SANWU," "SANW," "SANWW" and "SANWZ," respectively.

         Investing in these units involves significant risks. See "Risk Factors" beginning on page 11 for factors you should consider before buying our securities.

         NEITHER THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ("SEC") NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THESE SECURITIES OR PASSED UPON THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

       
 
 
  Per Unit
  Total
 

Initial public offering price

  $11.00   $15,400,000
 

Underwriting discount(1)

  $0.6875   $962,500
 

Proceeds to us, before expenses

  $10.3125   $14,437,500

 

(1)
For a description of the compensation to be received by the underwriters in addition to the underwriting discount, see "Underwriting," beginning on page 79.

        To the extent the underwriters sell more than 1,400,000 units, the underwriters have the option to purchase up to an additional 210,000 units at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discount, for up to 45 days from the date of this prospectus.

        We have also agreed to pay Paulson Investment Company, Inc., the representative of the underwriters of this offering, a non-accountable expense allowance equal to 3% of the total public offering price for the units offered by this prospectus and to issue to Paulson a warrant to purchase 140,000 units identical to the units offered by this prospectus, having an exercise price per unit equal to 120% of the unit public offering price.

Paulson Investment Company, Inc.   Feltl and Company



The date of this Prospectus is May 3, 2010.


GRAPHIC


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         Through and including May 28, 2010 (25 days after the commencement of this offering), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our units, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This delivery requirement is in addition to the obligation of dealers to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.

        No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained in this prospectus. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representations. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the units offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. No action is being taken in any jurisdiction outside the United States to permit a public offering of our securities or the possession or distribution of this prospectus in any such jurisdiction. Persons who come into possession of this prospectus in jurisdictions outside of the United States are required to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions as to this offering and the distribution of this prospectus applicable in that jurisdiction.

        The information in this prospectus may only be accurate as of the date appearing on the cover page of this prospectus, regardless of the time this prospectus is delivered or our units are sold.


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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

         This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. It does not contain all of the information you should consider before purchasing our units. Therefore, you should read the prospectus in its entirety, including the risk factors and the financial statements and related footnotes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. References to "we," "us," "our," "S&W Seed" or "the company" generally refer to S&W Seed Company, a Delaware corporation, our predecessor entity, S&W Seed Company, a California general partnership, and our wholly owned subsidiaries, Seed Holding, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, and Stevia California, LLC, a California limited liability company.


Our Company

        Since beginning operations in 1980, we have been principally engaged in breeding, contracting to grow, processing and selling agricultural commodities, which primarily include alfalfa seed and, to a lesser extent, wheat. We own a 40-acre seed cleaning and processing facility in Five Points, California that we have operated since our inception. Our products are grown for us by farmers in the San Joaquin Valley of California, most of whom have grown for us for multiple generations. Although sale of our proprietary alfalfa seed varieties has been a mainstay of our business for decades, we have in the past derived material revenue from processing wheat and other small grains, which business we continue to pursue on a limited scale. In fiscal 2010, we also implemented the first steps of a pilot program to produce and sell stevia leaf, the source of an all natural, non-caloric sweetener.

        Our Five Points property encompasses a total of 40 acres, of which 35 acres are in reserve for future development and five acres are paved concrete on which is situated a large complex of permanent structures and three seed-processing lines. We estimate that the replacement cost of our facility would be approximately $12 million. This centrally located facility currently operates at a small percentage of its rated capacity, providing significant growth potential at minimal additional cost. Additionally, we plan to capitalize on our facilities and location by more aggressively marketing our seed cleaning and processing services for producers of alfalfa seed, wheat and barley and, potentially, for processing of stevia leaf.

        We have contracted for approximately 3,280 acres of farmland for alfalfa seed production to provide the seed we will process and sell in the summer and fall of 2010. Several of our growers have indicated their willingness to increase the acreage they devote to alfalfa seed production, or possibly the production of other crops as we expand our business. Because of our reputation and long-standing presence in the San Joaquin Valley community, we regularly receive inquiries from potential growers, and we believe we could add more farmers to our base, as needed.

    Alfalfa Seed Production

        One of the biggest challenges of the 21st century will be to expand agricultural production to meet the food and nutritional demands of the world's growing population in the face of a worldwide decline in arable land and fresh water resources. We address this need by breeding high-yielding alfalfa seed that is tolerant to inferior, saline soils, thereby allowing farmers to farm marginal soils with inferior water quality as productively as they do superior soils.

        Alfalfa seed is used for growing animal feed, known as "forage," which is essential for dairy and beef cattle, horses and other livestock. We specialize in developing proprietary alfalfa seed varieties that are suited to warmer climates and produce high yields of superior quality alfalfa hay. Although our non-dormant seed varieties are not well suited to colder environments where freezing conditions are common, because of the highly advantageous characteristics of our varieties for hot climates, approximately 50% of our alfalfa seed is sold to end users in Saudi Arabia, Morocco and countries in Latin America.

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        Our "flagship" salt tolerant variety, SW 9720, was rated No. 1 out of 44 top alfalfa varieties as of the end of the 2008 season in yield per acre tests conducted by the University of California at Davis ("UC Davis"). During the fall of 2009, we entered into agreements with certain of our growers to produce our recently introduced seed variety, SW 9215, in quantity. SW 9215, a seed variety that evolved from our popular SW 9720, is more salt tolerant than SW 9720 while producing equal or better yields. Also in the fall of 2009, we arranged to produce a new, high-yielding, highly-salt tolerant alfalfa seed that is an "8" dormancy variety. We are not aware of any other "8" dormancy salt tolerant alfalfa seed on the market. If certified by the California Crop Improvement Association at U.C. Davis on the time schedule we currently anticipate, this variety will be available for sale for the first time during the 2010 sales season, which falls primarily during our first and second fiscal quarters (the summer and fall of 2010).

        Many years are needed to create, test and build a market for seed products, and we have used the past almost 30 years to breed and build awareness of the seed varieties we market and sell. Accordingly, we believe we enjoy barriers to entry because of the long length of time required to develop competitive alfalfa seed varieties. Historically, we have not employed genetic engineering in the development of our seed varieties, which permits us to sell our products throughout the world. Europe, the Middle East, the U.S. and certain other parts of the world do not permit the use of genetically modified organism ("GMO") alfalfa, although we believe this position may change in the U.S. in the near future. Therefore, we are investigating what actions we would be required to take if we were to decide to add GMO alfalfa varieties to our product offerings when it becomes legal to do so in the U.S.

        In fiscal 2009, we earned revenue of $4,947,105 and income from operations of $491,647. Because of the highly seasonal nature of our business, a large percentage of our sales take place in the first and second fiscal quarters. Our revenue and income from operations for the first two quarters of fiscal 2010 were $4,661,198 and $986,082, respectively.

    Stevia California, LLC

        Our wholly-owned subsidiary, Stevia California, LLC, was formed in October 2009 to capitalize on the recent deregulation by the Food & Drug Administration (the "FDA") of certain stevia plant derivatives. Stevia is the source of a completely natural, non-caloric sweetener with a long history of use in Japan and other countries. Until recently, stevia was categorized as a dietary supplement in the U.S. and therefore could not be used as a food or beverage additive. However, a "no objections" GRAS (generally recognized as safe) determination by the FDA articulated in two letters released in December 2008 opened up the commercial marketplace in the U.S. to the use of Rebaudioside A ("Reb A"), a high-purity stevia glycoside (a sugar molecule bound to a small, non-carbohydrate molecule) in food and beverages. In recent years, stevia has been grown commercially in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, parts of Central America, Thailand, China and the U.S.

        With the approval of Reb A for use in food and beverages in the U.S., stevia is a newcomer in the estimated $50 billion global sweetener market. Given the early stage of new product launches, the level of interest among major food and beverage companies, and the appeal of natural products, we believe stevia products could, in some instances, displace artificial sweeteners, which constitute an estimated $5 billion market worldwide, providing a substantial untapped opportunity for stevia growers and processors and companies that incorporate stevia derivatives into food and beverages.

        We intend to produce stevia leaf for sale to processors. In that regard, we are working with our agronomist to research and breed varieties of the stevia plant that will be optimal for growing conditions in California's San Joaquin Valley. In connection with our breeding program, we are also in discussions with stevia processors, who are potential stevia customers. Although we have no contracts in place for our entry into the stevia production business, in the future we expect to contract with growers

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to produce stevia leaf, which we will dry and bundle in our Five Points facility. We will then sell to customers as the raw material needed to extract Reb-A or other stevia extracts in accordance with FDA GRAS determinations for incorporation in food and beverages. We are beginning this program through an arrangement with one of our largest alfalfa seed growers to plant up to 30 acres of stevia test varieties during the spring 2010 stevia planting season for which we have agreed to reimburse its direct and indirect costs. Although we believe that the stevia opportunity on which we are embarking is potentially very large, our stevia operations will not contribute materially to revenue in the 2010 fiscal year. In future years, however, we anticipate that our stevia business could potentially become a significant portion of our operations.


Company History and Corporate Information

        We began our operations as S&W Seed Company, a California general partnership (the "Partnership") in 1980. We incorporated in Delaware in October 2009 as S&W Seed Company for the purpose of assuming the business operations of the Partnership. Upon completion of this offering, the Partnership will no longer exist, and we will operate its business through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Seed Holding, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company ("Seed Holding"). The evolution from partnership to corporation between June 2008 and January 2010 occurred as follows:

    In June 2008, Seed Holding was formed by Yellowjacket, LP with an initial capital investment of $2.4 million for the purpose of entering into a purchase agreement with the general partners of the Partnership for the purchase of up to 90% of the Partnership in three transactions over a two-year period (the "partnership purchase transaction");

    The first partnership purchase transaction closed in June 2008, when Seed Holding purchased 60% of the partnership; despite having legally purchased only 60% of the partnership, due to the accounting rules governing the purchase agreement, we have accounted for the acquisition of 90% of the partnership as of this first closing;

    In December 2009, the purchase agreement was amended twice to provide for Seed Holding to acquire the entire Partnership upon the earlier of the closing of this offering or June 30, 2010;

    Amendment Number 1 resulted in Seed Holding acquiring an additional 15% of the Partnership in exchange for $600,000 in promissory notes;

    Amendment Number 2 resulted in Seed Holding acquiring the 10% Partnership interest that was originally not subject to sale under the original purchase agreement, which was purchased by a combination of payments in cash, a $130,000 promissory note and 560 membership units in Seed Holding; as a result of the above transactions between Seed Holding and the partners, as of December 31, 2009, Seed Holding legally owned 85% of the Partnership; however, due to the accounting rules governing the purchase agreement, we have accounted for the acquisition of 100% of the partnership as of December 31, 2009;

    In January 2010, the members of Seed Holding exchanged their membership units for 3,000,000 shares of the corporation's common stock, resulting in the corporation being the sole member of Seed Holding and Seed Holding becoming the wholly-owned subsidiary of the corporation; and

    Pursuant to the purchase agreement, as amended, Seed Holding is obligated to purchase the remaining 15% of the Partnership for a final payment of $600,000 on the earlier of the closing of this offering or June 30, 2010.

        As a result of the final closing of the partnership purchase transaction, as amended, the Partnership will cease to exist, and the business of the Partnership will be owned and operated by our wholly-owned subsidiary, Seed Holding.

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        Our principal place of business is 25552 South Butte Avenue, Five Points, California 93624. Our telephone number is (559) 884-2535. Our web address is www.swseedco.com . Information contained in or accessible through our website is not part of this prospectus. The S&W Seed logo and other trademarks or service marks of S&W Seed Company appearing in this prospectus are the property of S&W Seed Company. All other brand names or trademarks appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective owners.


Industry and Market Data

        We have obtained the industry, market and competitive position data used throughout this prospectus from industry journals and publications, data on websites maintained by private and public entities, including independent industry associations, general publications and other publicly available information. We believe that all of these sources are reliable, but we have not independently verified any of this information and cannot guarantee its accuracy or completeness. In particular, we have based much of our discussion of the sweetener industry, the market for alternative sweeteners such as stevia and forecasted growth and demand, on information published by industry sources.

        Industry publications and surveys generally state that they have obtained information from sources believed to be reliable, but do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of such information. Further, because certain of these organizations are trade organizations, they may present information in a manner that is more favorable to the industry than would be presented by an independent source. In addition, forecasts are particularly likely to be inaccurate, especially over long periods of time.

        References in this prospectus to research reports or articles should not be construed as depicting the complete findings of the entire referenced report or article. The information in each report or article is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

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The Offering

Securities offered

  1,400,000 units. Each unit consists of two shares of common stock, one redeemable Class A warrant to purchase one share of common stock and one redeemable Class B warrant to purchase one share of common stock.

 

The common stock and the Class A warrants and Class B warrants (collectively, the "public warrants") will trade only as a unit for a minimum of 30 days and, in the discretion of the representative, up to 45 days following the date of this prospectus, after which the common stock and the public warrants will each trade separately, and the units will no longer trade.

Class A Warrants

 

The Class A warrants included in the units will be exercisable at any time after they become separately tradable until they either are redeemed or they expire in accordance with their terms on the fifth anniversary of the date of this prospectus. The exercise price of a Class A warrant is $7.15. Beginning six months after the date of this offering, the Class A warrants will be redeemable at our option for $0.25 upon 30 days' prior written notice, at any time after the common stock has closed at a price equal to or greater than $8.80 for at least five consecutive trading days, provided that we have a current and effective registration statement available covering the exercise of the warrants.

Class B Warrants

 

The Class B warrants included in the units will be exercisable at any time after they become separately tradable until they either are redeemed or they expire in accordance with their terms on the fifth anniversary of the date of this prospectus. The exercise price of a Class B warrant is $11.00. Beginning six months after the date of this prospectus, the Class B warrants will be redeemable at our option for $0.25 upon 30 days' prior written notice, at any time after the common stock has closed at a price equal to or greater than $13.75 for at least five consecutive trading days, provided that we have a current and effective registration statement available covering the exercise of the warrants.

Common stock outstanding after this offering

 

5,800,000 shares

Use of proceeds

 

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay outstanding indebtedness, fund our stevia pilot program, finance and warehouse inventory in Saudi Arabia, buy out the remaining minority partnership interests in S&W Seed Company, expand research and development, upgrade our mill facilities, initiate a proactive sales and marketing program and for general corporate and working capital purposes.

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NASDAQ Capital Market symbols

 

Units

 

SANWU

  Common stock   SANW

  Class A warrants included in the units   SANWW

  Class B warrants included in the units   SANWZ

        The number of shares of common stock outstanding after this offering is based on 3,000,000 shares outstanding as of the date of this prospectus. The number of shares of common stock outstanding after this offering assumes no exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment option and does not include an aggregate of 3,735,000 shares of common stock that may become outstanding as follows:

    375,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of stock options outstanding as of the date of this prospectus at an exercise price of $4.00;

    2,800,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the public warrants; and

    280,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the representative's warrants and 280,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the public warrants underlying the representative's warrants.

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Summary Financial Information

        In the tables below, we provide you with the following summary financial information, derived from our audited and unaudited financial statements, included elsewhere in this prospectus:

    Summary Statement of Operations Data of S&W Seed Company, a California general partnership (the "Partnership"), for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, derived from its audited financial statements;

    Summary Consolidated Statements of Operations Data of Seed Holding, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009, derived from its audited financial statements and for the six-month periods ended December 31, 2008 and 2009, derived from its unaudited financial statements; and

    Summary Pro Forma Consolidated Balance Sheet Data for S&W Seed at December 31, 2009, reflecting the conversion from a limited liability company to a corporation resulting from a tax-free exchange pursuant to Internal Revenue Code section 351 (the "exchange transaction") as though it had occurred at December 31, 2009 and "as adjusted" to reflect the sale of 1,400,000 units in this offering by us at an initial public offering price of $11.00 per unit, after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by us and the application of the net proceeds therefrom.

        We are presenting the financial information of the Partnership for informational purposes only because it was the operating entity from inception of the business until Seed Holding began acquiring its general partnership interests in June 2008. By virtue of its percentage ownership in the Partnership, Seed Holding became the operating entity as of the June 2008 acquisition and is required to consolidate its financial statements with those of the Partnership. Following the exchange transaction in January 2010, the Delaware corporation became the operating entity and is the registrant that filed the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Its financial position is presented on a pro forma basis only because it was incorporated in October 2009 and is beginning operations as of the date of the exchange transaction.

        Historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period. Note in particular that limited liability company and partnership accounting vary in certain material respects from corporation accounting under U.S. GAAP, including, in particular, accounting for the treatment of owners' equity compared to stockholders' equity, accounting for income taxes and the accounting and reporting of earnings per share. When you read this historical summary financial information, you should also consider the historical financial statements and related notes and the section entitled Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

S&W Seed Company, a California general partnership
Summary Statements of Operations Data:

 
  Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2008  

Revenue

  $ 5,098,626  

Gross profit

    1,581,765  

Operating expenses

    498,108  

Income from operations

    1,083,657  

Net income

    1,084,658  

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