As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 7, 2024
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Aeries Technology, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Cayman Islands | 98-1587626 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
60 Paya Lebar Road, #08-13
Paya Lebar Square
Singapore
(Address of principal executive offices)
Aeries Technology, Inc. 2023 Equity Incentive Plan
(Full title of the plan)
Sudhir Appukuttan Panikassery
Chief Executive Officer
c/o Aeries Technology, Inc.
P.O. Box 309
Ugland House, South Church Street,
George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-1104
(Name and address of agent for service)
(919) 228-6404
(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Rajiv Khanna
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
1301 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10019-6022
Tel: (212) 318-3000
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 | ☐ |
Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ |
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. ☐
PART I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS
The documents containing the information specified by Part I, Items 1 and 2, of Form S-8 have been or will be delivered to participants in the plan covered by this Registration Statement, as specified in Rule 428(b)(1) promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and the instructions to Form S-8. In accordance with the rules and regulations of the Commission and the instructions to Form S-8, such documents are not being filed with the Commission either as part of the Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of Form S-8, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.
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PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3. | Incorporation of Documents by Reference. |
Aeries Technology, Inc. (the “Registrant”) hereby incorporates by reference in this Registration Statement the following documents previously filed with the Commission:
(a) | The Registrant’s prospectus contained in the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-276173) filed with the Commission on May 3, 2024, which contains audited financial statements for the latest fiscal year for which such statements have been filed; |
(b) | The Registrant’s audited financial statements included in the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the Commission on March 31, 2023; |
(c) | The Registrant’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2023, June 30, 2023, and September 30, 2023, and December 31, 2023, filed with the Commission on May 22, 2023, August 15, 2023, November 14, 2023, and February 20, 2024, respectively; |
(d) | The Registrant’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on March 13, 2023 (excluding Item 7.01 and the related exhibits), April 3, 2023, April 12, 2023, April 19, 2023, May 18, 2023, June 6, 2023 (excluding Item 7.01 and the related exhibit), July 5, 2023, July 14, 2023 (excluding Item 7.01 and the related exhibit), October 10, 2023, October 11, 2023, October 13, 2023, October 18, 2023, October 25, 2023, October 30, 2023, November 3, 2023, November 3, 2023, November 6, 2023, November 13, 2023 (excluding Item 7.01 and the related exhibit), November 30, 2023, November 30, 2023 (excluding Item 2.02 and the related exhibit), December 13, 2023, December 13, 2023, February 7, 2024, February 21, 2024, April 9, 2024 and April 12, 2024 (excluding Item 7.01 and the related exhibit); |
(e) | The description of the Registrant’s Class A ordinary shares contained in the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-276173) filed with the Commission on May 3, 2024, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description. |
All documents filed by the Registrant with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) (excluding any documents or portions of such documents that are furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of a Current Report on Form 8-K and any exhibits included with such Items), on or after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part hereof from the date of the filing of such documents; provided, however, that documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with the rules of the Commission shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement.
Any statement contained in this Registration Statement or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement will be deemed to be modified or superseded 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 in this Registration Statement modifies or supersedes that statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will 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.
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Item 6. | Indemnification of Directors and Officers. |
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of directors and officers, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. The Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Registrant provide for indemnification of our directors and officers to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful neglect or willful default. We have entered into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association. We have also purchased a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our directors and officers against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our directors and officers.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
Item 7. | Exemption from Registration Claimed. |
Not applicable.
Item 8. | Exhibits. |
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Item 9. | Undertakings. |
a) | The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes: |
1) | 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 the 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 the 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 |
iii) | to include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement; |
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement;
2) | 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. |
3) | 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. |
b) | 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 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this 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. |
c) | 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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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 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Singapore, on May 7, 2024.
Aeries Technology, Inc. | ||
By: | /s/ Sudhir Appukuttan Panikassery | |
Sudhir Appukuttan Panikassery | ||
Chief Executive Officer and Director |
POWER OF ATTORNEY AND SIGNATURES
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Sudhir Appukuttan Panikassery, Rajeev Gopala Krishna Nair, and Venu Raman Kumar, and each of them, as his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign the Registration Statement on Form S-8 of Aeries Technology, Inc., and any or all amendments (including post-effective amendments), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite or necessary to be done in connection therewith and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement on Form S-8 has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature | Title | Date | ||
/s/ Sudhir Appukuttan Panikassery | Chief Executive Officer and Director | May 7, 2024 | ||
Sudhir Appukuttan Panikassery | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
/s/ Rajeev Gopala Krishna Nair | Chief Financial Officer | May 7, 2024 | ||
Rajeev Gopala Krishna Nair | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
/s/ Venu Raman Kumar | Director and Chairman of the Board | May 7, 2024 | ||
Venu Raman Kumar | ||||
/s/ Daniel S. Webb | Director | May 7, 2024 | ||
Daniel S. Webb | ||||
/s/ Alok Kochhar | Director | May 7, 2024 | ||
Alok Kochhar | ||||
/s/ Biswajit Dasgupta | Director | May 7, 2024 | ||
Biswajit Dasgupta | ||||
/s/ Nina B. Shapiro | Director | May 7, 2024 | ||
Nina B. Shapiro | ||||
/s/ Ramesh Venkataraman | Director | May 7, 2024 | ||
Ramesh Venkataraman |
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