EX-4 2 sclx-ex4_2.htm EX-4.2 EX-4

 

Exhibit 4.2

 

DESCRIPTION OF OUR SECURITIES

 

General

 

The following description summarizes the most important terms of the securities of Scilex Holding Company (the “Company”). The following summary does not purport to be complete and is subject to the Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), the Bylaws of the Company (the “Bylaws”) and the provisions of applicable law. A copy of the Certificate of Incorporation and a copy of the Bylaws are attached as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. The stockholders are encouraged to read the applicable provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as amended (“DGCL”), the Certificate of Incorporation and the Bylaws in their entirety for a complete description of the rights and preferences of our securities.

 

Authorized and Outstanding Stock

 

The Certificate of Incorporation authorizes the issuance of (i) 740,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”) and (ii) 45,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Preferred Stock”), of which 29,057,097 shares have been designated as Series A Preferred Stock (the “Series A Preferred Stock”). As of March 3, 2023, there were 145,800,574 shares of Common Stock and 29,057,097 shares of Series A Preferred Stock issued and outstanding.

 

Our Common Stock

 

The Certificate of Incorporation provides the following with respect to the rights, powers, preferences and privileges of our Common Stock.

 

Dividend Rights

 

The holders of our Common Stock are entitled to receive ratably those dividends, if any, that may be declared from time to time by our Board of Directors (the “Board”) upon the shares of our capital stock, which dividends may be paid either in cash, in property or in shares of our capital stock, subject to preferences that may be applicable to preferred stock, if any, then outstanding. Subject to applicable law and the Certificate of Incorporation, our Board will have full power to determine whether any dividends shall be declared and paid to stockholders.

 

Voting Rights

 

Each holder of our Common Stock will be entitled to one vote for each share of our Common Stock held of record by such holder on all matters on which stockholders generally are entitled to vote, except for any amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation that relates solely to the terms of one or more outstanding classes or series of our Preferred Stock if the holders of such affected classes or series are entitled, either separately or together with the holders of one or more other such classes or series, to vote thereon pursuant to the Certificate of Incorporation or the DGCL. Any action or matter presented to the stockholders at a duly called or convened meeting, at which a quorum is present, will be decided by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the votes cast affirmatively or negatively (excluding abstentions) at the meeting by the holders entitled to vote thereon, except that our directors will be elected by a plurality of the votes cast.

 

Right to Receive Liquidation Distributions

 

In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, the holders of our Common Stock will be entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities, subject to prior distribution rights of our Preferred Stock, if any, then outstanding.

 

 


 

 

No Preemptive or Similar Rights

 

Our Common Stock has no preemptive or conversion rights or other subscription rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our Common Stock.

 


 

Fully Paid and Non-Assessable

 

The outstanding shares of our Common Stock are fully paid and non-assessable.

 

Our Preferred Stock

 

The Certificate of Incorporation authorizes our Board, subject to limitations prescribed by Delaware law, to issue up to 45,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series, to determine and fix from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such series and to fix the designations, powers, rights and preferences of the shares of each such series, and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, including voting rights (if any), dividend rights, dissolution rights, conversion rights, exchange rights and redemption rights, in each case without further vote or action by our stockholders. The number of authorized shares of our Common Stock and our Preferred Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of the shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting power of our outstanding stock entitled to vote thereon.

 

Our Board may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of our Common Stock. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could, among other things, have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control and may adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock and the voting and other rights of the holders of our Common Stock. Other than the Series A Preferred Stock issued to Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (“Sorrento”) in connection with the closing of the Business Combination, there are no other Preferred Stock outstanding and we have no current plans to issue any other shares of preferred stock.

 

Number and Designation

 

We filed the Certificate of Designations of the Company, designating 29,057,097 shares of our preferred stock as “Series A Preferred Stock” (the “Certificate of Designations”). As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, 29,057,097 shares of the Series A Preferred Stock have been issued to Sorrento pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement and such shares have all of the rights, preferences and privileges set forth in the Certificate of Designations as more fully described below.

 

Rank

 

The Series A Preferred Stock shall rank (i) senior to all of our Common Stock, and to all other classes or series of our capital stock, except for any such other class or series, the terms of which expressly provide that it ranks on parity with the Series A Preferred Stock as to dividend rights and rights on liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company (“Junior Securities”); and (ii) on parity with each class or series of our capital stock, created specifically ranking by its terms on parity with the Series A Preferred Stock as to dividend rights and rights on liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company (“Parity Securities”).

 

Dividend Rights

 

Holders of the Series A Preferred Stock shall not be entitled to dividends unless we pay dividends to holders of the Common Stock and shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by our Board, such dividends (whether in cash or other property) as are paid to holders of our Common Stock to the same extent as if such holders of Series A Preferred Stock had been deemed to convert their shares of Series A Preferred Stock into Common Stock and had held such shares of Common Stock on the record date for such dividends and distributions. Such payments will be made concurrently with the dividend or distribution to the holders of the Common Stock.

 

 

 


 

 

Liquidation Preference

 

In the event of a change of control, liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company, whether voluntary or involuntary, before any payment or distribution of our property or assets (whether capital or surplus) shall be made to or set apart for the holders of Junior Securities, the holders of Series A Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive an amount per share of Series A Preferred Stock equal to the greater of (i) the sum of $10.00 (which amount shall be appropriately adjusted in the event of any stock split, stock combination or other similar recapitalization of the Series A Preferred Stock) and all accrued and unpaid dividends and (ii) the amount such share of Series A Preferred Stock would be entitled to receive pursuant to the change of control, liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company assuming that such share had been converted into shares of Common Stock in a Deemed Conversion (as defined below).

 

Conversion and Redemption Rights

 

The shares of Series A Preferred Stock will not be convertible into Common Stock or any of our other securities and will not be redeemable by the Company; provided, however, a number of the rights, preferences and privileges of the Series A Preferred Stock set forth in the Certificate of Designations will be determined based on an as-converted-to- Common Stock basis or otherwise assume that the shares of Series A Preferred Stock are converted into shares of Common Stock. Accordingly, the number of shares of Common Stock that each share of Series A Preferred Stock is deemed to be (or otherwise being treated as) converted into for the purpose of affecting the various rights, preferences and privileges of the Series A Preferred Stock set forth in the Certificate of Designation (a “Deemed Conversion”), whether in connection with a change of control or otherwise, shall be equal to the result obtained by dividing (i) stated value by (ii) $10.00 (subject to anti-dilution adjustments).

 

Voting and Other Preferred Rights

 

Except as otherwise required by law or as set forth in the Certificate of Designations, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to vote, together with the holders of shares of Common Stock and not separately as a class, on all matters upon which holders of shares of Common Stock have the right to vote. The holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to one vote for each share of Common Stock that such share of Series A Preferred Stock would otherwise be convertible into pursuant to a Deemed Conversion on the record date for the determination of the stockholders entitled to vote.

 

As long as any shares of Series A Preferred Stock are outstanding, we shall not, without the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock (a) change the Series A Preferred Stock (whether by merger, consolidation, reclassification or otherwise) into cash, securities or other property except in accordance with the terms of the Certificate of Designations; (b) create, authorize or issue any Parity Security or other equity security the terms of which provide that it ranks senior to the Series A Preferred Stock with respect to dividend rights or rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company, or increase the authorized amount of any such other class or series; or (c) amend the Certificate of Incorporation or the Certificate of Designations in any manner that adversely affects the holders of Series A Preferred Stock.

 

Stockholder Agreement with Sorrento

 

Pursuant to the terms of the Stockholder Agreement, dated as of September 12, 2022, between Vickers Vantage Corp. I (the Company’s predecessor) and Sorrento (the “Stockholder Agreement”), from and after the time in which the Business Combination became effective (the “Effective Time”), and for so long as Sorrento, together with its affiliates, subsidiaries, successors and assigns (other than us and our subsidiaries) (the “Sorrento Group”), beneficially owns any shares of Series A Preferred Stock, among other things, (i) Sorrento shall have the right, but not the obligation, to designate each director to be nominated, elected or appointed to our Board (each, a “Stockholder Designee” and collectively, the “Stockholder Designees”), regardless of whether such Stockholder Designee is to be elected to our Board at a meeting of stockholders called for the purpose of electing directors (or by consent in lieu of meeting) or appointed by the Board in order to fill any vacancy created by the departure of any director or increase in the authorized number of members of the Board, or the size of the Board and (ii) we will be required to take all actions reasonably necessary, and not otherwise prohibited by applicable law, to cause each

 

 


 

Stockholder Designee to be so nominated, elected or appointed to the Board as more fully described in the Stockholder Agreement. Sorrento shall also have the right to designate a replacement director for any Stockholder Designee that has been removed from the Board and the right to appoint a representative of Sorrento to attend all meetings of the committees of the Board. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the parties have agreed to ensure that the Board complies with all applicable requirements of the stock exchange, including independence requirements.

 

The Stockholder Agreement also provides that we will be prohibited from taking certain actions without the consent of Sorrento. Such actions include, among other things, amendments to the Certificate of Designations, increases or decreases in the size of the Board, the incurrence of certain amounts of indebtedness and the payment of dividends on our Common Stock.

 

Registration Rights

 

Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement entered into in connection with the closing of the Business Combination, certain of our stockholders are able to demand that we register their registrable securities under certain circumstances and each also have piggyback registration rights for these securities. In addition, we are required to file and maintain an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) covering the resale of all such registrable securities. We have filed the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part in order to satisfy the foregoing obligations. The registration of these securities will enable the public sale of such securities, subject to certain contractual restrictions imposed by the Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement dated November 10, 2022, entered into in connection with the closing of the Business Combination (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) and the Merger Agreement. The presence of these additional shares of common stock trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities.

 

Anti-Takeover Matters in our Governing Documents and Under Delaware Law

 

Certain provisions of Delaware law, along with the Certificate of Incorporation and the Bylaws, all of which are summarized below, may have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another person from acquiring control of the Company. These provisions are expected to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed, in part, to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of the Company to first negotiate with our Board. However, these provisions could have the effect of delaying, discouraging or preventing attempts to acquire the Company, which could deprive our stockholders of opportunities to sell their shares of our Common Stock at prices higher than prevailing market prices.

 

Authorized but Unissued Capital Stock

 

The authorized but unissued shares of our Common Stock and our Preferred Stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval, subject to any limitations imposed by the rules and listing standards (the “Nasdaq Listing Rules”) of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”). These additional shares may be used for a variety of corporate finance transactions, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved Common Stock and Preferred Stock could make more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of the Company by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

 

Classified Board of Directors

 

The Certificate of Incorporation provides that our Board are divided into three classes, with the classes as nearly equal in number as practical and each class serving three-year staggered terms. The directors in each class serve for a three-year term (except that the term of our current Class I directors shall expire at the first annual meeting of stockholders following the closing of the Business Combination and the term of our current Class II directors shall expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders following the closing of the Business Combination), with one class being elected each year by the stockholders. This system of electing and removing directors may tend to discourage a third party from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the Company, because it generally makes it more difficult for stockholders to replace a majority of the directors. See the section of this prospectus titled “Management” for more information on the classified board.

 

 

 


 

The Certificate of Incorporation also provides that the total number of directors shall be determined from time to time exclusively by our Board; provided that, at any time prior to a time that the Sorrento Group first ceases to beneficially own more than 50% in voting power of the then-outstanding shares of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (“Sorrento Trigger Event”), the stockholders may also fix the number of directors by resolution adopted by the stockholders.

 

Removal of Directors; Vacancies

 

The Certificate of Incorporation provides that, except as otherwise required by law or the Certificate of Incorporation, directors may be removed with or without cause by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting power of the then-outstanding shares of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of such directors; provided, however, that, from and after the Sorrento Trigger Event, any such director or all such directors may be removed only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of our stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, in each case subject to the rights of holders of any series of Preferred Stock.

 

In addition, the Certificate of Incorporation provides that, except as otherwise provided therein or by law, any vacancy resulting from the death, resignation, removal or disqualification of a director or other cause, or any newly created directorship in our Board, may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by our stockholders; provided, however, that from and after the Sorrento Trigger Event, any vacancy resulting from the death, resignation, removal or disqualification of a director or other cause, or any newly created directorship in our Board, shall be filled only by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, and shall not be filled by our stockholders, in each case subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock.

 

These provisions may have the effect of deferring, delaying, or discouraging hostile takeovers, changes in control of the Company or changes in our management.

 

Delaware Anti-Takeover Law

 

The Certificate of Incorporation provides that we will opt out of Section 203 of the DGCL until the occurrence of a Sorrento Trigger Event, at which time we shall immediately and automatically become governed by Section 203 of the DGCL.

 

Section 203 of the DGCL prohibits persons deemed to be “interested stockholders” from engaging in a “business combination” with a publicly held Delaware corporation for three years following the date such persons become interested stockholders, unless the business combination is, or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder was, approved in a prescribed manner or another prescribed exception applies. Generally, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of a corporation’s voting stock. Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. The existence of this provision may have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions that are not approved in advance by our Board, including discouraging attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares of Common Stock held by stockholders.

 

The Certificate of Incorporation provides that the restrictions on business combination of Section 203 of the DGCL will not apply to Sorrento or its current or future Affiliates (as defined in the Certificate of Incorporation) regardless of the percentage of ownership of the total voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors beneficially owned by them.

 

 

No Cumulative Voting

 

Under Delaware law, the right to vote cumulatively does not exist unless the certificate of incorporation specifically authorizes cumulative voting. The Certificate of Incorporation does not authorize cumulative voting. Therefore, stockholders holding a majority of the shares of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors will be able to elect all of our directors.

 

 


 

 

Special Stockholder Meetings

 

The Certificate of Incorporation provides that special meetings of stockholders may only be called by order of the Chairperson of our Board, our Board or the Chief Executive Officer; provided, however, that at any time prior to the Sorrento Trigger Event, special meetings of our stockholders shall also be called by or at the direction of our Board or the Chairperson of our Board at the request of Sorrento, in each case subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock with respect to such series of preferred stock. The Bylaws prohibits the conduct of any business at a special meeting other than as specified in the notice for such meeting. These provisions may have the effect of deferring, delaying, or discouraging hostile takeovers or changes in control or management.

 

Director Nominations and Stockholder Proposals

 

The Bylaws establishes advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of our Board or a committee of our Board. In order for any matter to be “properly brought” before a meeting, a stockholder will have to comply with advance notice requirements and provide us with certain information.

 

Generally, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be delivered to our secretary at our principal executive offices not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day nor later than the close of business on the 90th day prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting (in the case of the first annual meeting of stockholders held after January 1, 2023, the date of the preceding year’s annual meeting of the stockholders shall be deemed to be June 30, 2022); provided, however, that, if the date of the annual meeting is advanced more than 30 days prior to or delayed by more than 60 days after the anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting, or if no annual meeting was held in the preceding year, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so delivered not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the 90th day prior to such annual meeting and the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of such meeting is first made by us. The Bylaws also specifies requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. The Bylaws allows any previously scheduled stockholders meeting to be postponed, adjourned or canceled by resolution of our Board; provided, however, that with respect to any special meeting of stockholders scheduled at the request of Sorrento, our Board is not allowed to postpone, reschedule or cancel without the prior written consent of Sorrento. In addition, the Bylaws allows the chair of a meeting of the stockholders to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of that meeting that may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at that meeting if the rules and regulations are not followed. These provisions may also defer, delay, or discourage a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to influence or obtain control.

 

Stockholder Action by Written Consent

 

Pursuant to Section 228 of the DGCL and the terms of the Certificate of Incorporation , any action required or permitted to be taken by our stockholders must be effected by a duly called annual or special meeting of such stockholders; provided, however, that prior to the Sorrento Trigger Event, any action required or permitted to be taken at any annual or special meeting of our stockholders may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents, setting forth the action so taken, is signed by or on behalf of the holders of record of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted, is delivered to us in accordance with the DGCL, in each case subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock with respect to such series of preferred stock.

 

Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws

 

The DGCL provides generally that the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares entitled to vote on any matter is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, unless a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, as the case may be, requires a greater percentage.

 

 

 


 

The Certificate of Incorporation provides that, upon the occurrence of the Sorrento Trigger Event, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of the then-outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, will be required to alter, amend or repeal the following provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation: Article V (Board of Directors), Article VI (Consent of Stockholders in Lieu of Meeting; Special Meetings of Stockholders), Article VII (Limitation of Liability), Article VIII (Corporate Opportunities and Competition), Article IX (Exclusive Forum), Article X (Section 203 of the DGCL) and Article XI (Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws), and no other provision may be adopted, amended or repealed that would have the effect of modifying or permitting the circumvention of the provisions set forth in any of such Articles.

 

The Certificate of Incorporation and the Bylaws provide that, our Board is authorized to make, alter and repeal the Bylaws, without the consent or vote of the stockholders, by an approval of a majority of the total authorized number of directors. Upon the occurrence of the Sorrento Trigger Event, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of the then-outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, will be required to alter, amend or repeal the Bylaws.

 

The provisions of the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation and the Bylaws could have the effect of discouraging others from attempting hostile takeovers and, as a consequence, they may also inhibit temporary fluctuations in the market price of our Common Stock that often result from actual or rumored hostile takeover attempts. These provisions may also have the effect of preventing changes in the composition of our Board and our management. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.

 

Exclusive Forum

 

The Certificate of Incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) and any appellate court therefrom shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers, employees or stockholders to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our current or former directors, officers, employees or stockholders arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or of the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws, (iv) any claim or cause of action seeking to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws, (v) any action or proceeding asserting a claim against us or any of our current or former directors, officers, employees or stockholders as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or (vi) any action asserting an “internal corporate claim,” as that term is defined in Section 115 of the DGCL. The foregoing exclusive forum provisions will not apply to claims arising under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.

 

 

In addition, the Certificate of Incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act.

 

Although we believe these provisions benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of applicable law in the types of lawsuits to which they apply, the provisions may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers. The enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings and there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions. In addition, investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. It is possible that, in connection with any applicable action brought against us, a court could find the choice of forum provisions contained in the Certificate of Incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in such action. We may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. Any person or entity

 

 


 

purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in the Certificate of Incorporation.

 

Limitation of Liability and Indemnification of Directors and Officers

 

The Certificate of Incorporation and the Bylaws contain provisions that limit the liability of our directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL. Consequently, our directors will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for the following:

 

• any breach of their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;

• acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

• unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions in violation of the DGCL; or

• any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

 

The Certificate of Incorporation also provides that if the DGCL is amended to permit further elimination or limitation of the personal liability of directors, then the liability of our directors will be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as so amended.

 

The Bylaws provide that we shall indemnify any person who is or was a director or officer of the Company or who is or was serving at our request as a director, officer or trustee of another corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, employee benefit plan, trust, nonprofit entity or other enterprise (a “Covered Person”) and who is or was a party to, is threatened to be made a party to, or is otherwise involved (including as a witness) in any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative based on such person’s actions in his or her official capacity as a director or officer of the Company or as a director, officer or trustee of another corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, employee benefit plan, trust, nonprofit entity or other enterprise (to the extent serving in such position at our request), in each case against all liability and loss suffered (including, without limitation, any judgments, fines, excise taxes or penalties arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and amounts paid in settlement consented to in writing by us) and expenses (including attorneys’ fees), actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith, subject to certain conditions. In addition, the Bylaws provide that we may, to the fullest extent permitted by law, (i) advance costs, fees or expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by a Covered Person defending or participating in any proceeding in advance of the final disposition of such proceeding, subject to certain exceptions, and (ii) purchase and maintain insurance, at our expense, to protect us and any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company or is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company serving at our request as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise against any liability, expense or loss, whether or not we would have the power or obligation to indemnify such person against such liability, expense or loss under the DGCL or the provisions of the Bylaws.

 

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors, executive officers and certain other employees as determined by our Board. These agreements, among other things, require us to indemnify our directors and executive officers against liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service. These indemnification agreements also require us to advance all expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the directors and executive officers in connection with any proceeding. Our Board believes that these agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve as directors and executive officers.

 

The above description of the indemnification provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation, the Bylaws and the indemnification agreements is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to these documents, each of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

 

Certain of our non-employee directors may, through their relationships with their employers, be insured or indemnified against certain liabilities incurred in their capacity as members of our Board.

 

The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in the Certificate of Incorporation and the Bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors and officers for breach of their fiduciary

 

 


 

duty. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and our stockholders. In addition, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors or executive officers, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy and is therefore unenforceable.

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

Delaware law permits corporations to adopt provisions renouncing any interest or expectancy in certain opportunities that are presented to the corporation or its officers, directors or stockholders. The Certificate of Incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, no Identified Person (as defined therein) will have any duty to refrain from (i) engaging in a corporate opportunity in the same or similar business activities or lines of business in which we or our affiliates are engaged or that are deemed to be competing with us or any of our affiliates or (ii) otherwise investing in or providing services to any person that is engaged in the same or similar business activities as we or our affiliates or competes with us or our affiliates. In addition, to the fullest extent permitted by law, no Identified Person will have any obligation to offer to us or our subsidiaries or affiliates the right to participate in any corporate opportunity in the same or similar business activities or lines of business in which we or our affiliates are engaged or that are deemed to be competing with us or any of our affiliates. Subject to the preceding sentences and to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, neither we nor any of our subsidiaries shall have any rights in any business interests, activities or ventures of any Identified Person, and we waive and renounce any interest or expectancy therein, except with respect to opportunities offered solely and expressly to our officers in their capacity as such.

 

Rights of Appraisal and Payment

 

Under the DGCL, with certain exceptions, our stockholders will have appraisal rights in connection with a merger or consolidation of the Company. Pursuant to Section 262 of the DGCL, stockholders who properly demand and perfect appraisal rights in connection with such merger or consolidation will have the right to receive payment of the fair value of their shares as determined by the Delaware Court of Chancery. However, appraisal rights are not available in all circumstances.

 

 

Stockholders’ Derivative Actions

 

Under the DGCL, any of our stockholders may bring an action in the Company’s name to procure a judgment in its favor, also known as a derivative action, provided that the stockholder bringing the action is a holder of our capital stock at the time of the transaction to which the action relates.

 

Warrants

 

At the effective time of the Domestication, each warrant to purchase Vickers Ordinary Shares that was issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Domestication and not terminated pursuant to its terms was converted into a warrant to purchase shares of our Common Stock on the same terms and conditions as are in effect with respect to such warrant immediately prior to the effective time of the Domestication. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, there are 6,899,988 outstanding redeemable warrants that were included in the units of Vickers, each of which consisted of one Vickers Ordinary Share and one-half of one redeemable warrant upon the consummation of an initial business combination (“Units”), that entitle the holder of each whole warrant to purchase one Vickers Ordinary Share at a price of $11.50 per share (“Public Warrants”) and 4,104,000 outstanding warrants sold in a private placement to Vickers Venture Fund VI Pte Ltd and Vickers Venture Fund VI (Plan) Pte Ltd (“Private Placement Warrants”).

 

Public Warrants

 

Each Public Warrant entitles the registered holder thereof to purchase one share of our Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. We may, in our sole discretion, lower the warrant exercise price at any time prior to the expiration date for a period of not less than 20 business days

 

 


 

and any such reduction will be applied consistently to all of the warrants, provided that we will provide at least 20 days’ prior written notice to registered holders of the warrants.

 

However, no Public Warrants will be exercisable for cash unless we have an effective and current registration statement covering the issuance of the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such Common Stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the issuance of the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not effective within 90 days from the consummation of the Business Combination, warrantholders may, from the 91st day after the consummation of the Business Combination until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to an available exemption from registration under the Securities Act. If an exemption from registration is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis.

 

The warrants will expire five years from the consummation of the Business Combination (i.e., November 10, 2027) at 5:00 p.m., New York City time or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

 

We may call the warrants for redemption (excluding the Private Placement Warrants), in whole and not in part, at a price of $0.01 per warrant:

 

• at any time while the warrants are exercisable,

• upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrantholder,

• if, and only if, the closing price of the Common Stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations), for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period commencing after the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which notice of redemption is given, and

• if, and only if, there is an effective registration statement covering the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants, and a current prospectus relating thereto, available throughout the 30-day redemption.

 

We may not exercise such redemption right if the issuance of the Common Stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. The right to exercise will be forfeited unless the warrants are exercised prior to the date specified in the notice of redemption. On and after the redemption date, a record holder of a warrant will have no further rights except to receive the redemption price for such holder’s warrant upon surrender of such warrant.

 

The redemption criteria for our warrants have been established at a price which is intended to provide warrantholders a reasonable premium to the initial exercise price and provide a sufficient differential between the then-prevailing per share price of our Common Stock and the warrant exercise price so that if the per share price of our Common Stock declines as a result of our redemption call, the redemption will not cause the per share price of our Common Stock to drop below the exercise price of the warrants.

 

If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders of warrants to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis.” In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Common Stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Common Stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the fair market value by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” for this purpose shall mean the average reported closing price of the shares of our Common Stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. For example, if a holder held 150 warrants to purchase 150 shares of our Common Stock and the fair market value on the trading date prior to exercise was $15.00, that holder would receive 35 shares of our Common Stock without the payment of any additional cash consideration. Whether we will exercise our option to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis” will depend on a variety of factors including the price of our Common Stock at the time the warrants are called for redemption, our cash needs at such time and concerns regarding dilutive share issuances. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares of our Common Stock to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to use if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the Public Warrants.

 

 


 

 

The warrants are issued in registered form under a warrant agreement (the “Warrant Agreement”) between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (“Continental”), as warrant agent, and us. The Warrant Agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval, by written consent or vote, of the registered holders of a majority of the then-outstanding warrants (including the Private Placement Warrants) in order to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders.

 

The exercise price and number of shares of Common Stock issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of (i) a stock dividend or split up, (ii) a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of the Common Stock, (iii) extraordinary dividend or (iv) reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Common Stock or an merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of shares of Common Stock at a price below the par value per share issuable upon exercise of the warrants. Whenever the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying such warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of Common Stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.

 

The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified check or bank draft payable to the order of the warrant agent or wire transfer, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrantholders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of shares of Common Stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of Common Stock. After the issuance of shares of Common Stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share of Common Stock held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.

 

Except as described above, no Public Warrants will be exercisable for cash and we will not be obligated to issue shares of Common Stock upon exercise of a warrant unless the shares of Common Stock issuable upon such warrant exercise have been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. Under the terms of the Warrant Agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to meet these conditions and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so and, if we do not maintain a current prospectus relating to the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, holders will be unable to exercise their warrants and we will not be required to settle any such warrant exercise. If the prospectus relating to the Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants is not current or if the Common Stock is not qualified or exempt from qualification in the jurisdictions in which the holders of the warrants reside, we will not be required to net cash settle or cash settle the warrant exercise, the warrants may have no value, the market for the warrants may be limited and the warrants may expire worthless.

 

Warrantholders may elect to be subject to a restriction on the exercise of their warrants such that an electing warrantholder would not be able to exercise their warrants to the extent that, after giving effect to such exercise, such holder (together with such holder’s affiliates) would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% of the Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.

 

No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round up to the nearest whole number of shares of Common Stock to be issued to the warrantholder.

 

Private Placement Warrants

 

The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants except that such Private Placement Warrants are exercisable for cash (even if a registration statement covering the issuance of the Common Stock

 

 


 

issuable upon exercise of such warrants is not effective) or on a cashless basis, at the holder’s option, and will not be redeemable by us, in each case so long as they are still held by the initial purchasers or their affiliates.

 

The foregoing summary of the terms and conditions of the warrants does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the copy of the Warrant Agreement that is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

 

Transfer Agent and Registrar

 

The transfer agent and registrar for our Common Stock is Continental. The transfer agent’s address is 1 State Street, 30th Floor, New York, New York 10004.

 

Listing

 

Shares of our Common Stock and Public Warrants are listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “SCLX” and “SCLXW” respectively.