SEC Form S-8 filed by Aurora Cannabis Inc.

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 20, 2024

Registration No. 333-    

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

AURORA CANNABIS INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

British Columbia, Canada		Not Applicable
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)

2207 90B St. SW

Edmonton, Alberta

T6X 1V8

Canada

Tel: (855) 279-4652

(Address, including zip code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

Share Option Plan

Non-Employee Directors Deferred Share Unit Plan

Performance Share Unit Plan

Restricted Share Unit Plan

(Full title of the plans)

PUGLISI & ASSOCIATES

850 Library Avenue

Suite 204

Newark, DE 19711

(302) 738-6680

(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

COPIES TO:

 

Nathalie Clark Aurora Cannabis Inc. 2207 90B St. SW Edmonton, Alberta T6X 1V8 Canada Tel: (855) 279-4652		Adam M. Givertz Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP 1285 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019 Tel: (212) 373-3000

 

 

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

 

Item 1.

Plan Information.

The documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be sent or given to participants in each of the Share Option Plan, Non-Employee Directors Deferred Share Unit Plan, Performance Share Unit Plan and Restricted Share Unit Plan of Aurora Cannabis Inc. (the “Registrant”), as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In accordance with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) and the instructions to Form S-8, such documents are not being filed with the Commission, but each such document constitutes, along with the documents incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement, a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

 

Item 2.

Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information.

The Registrant will furnish without charge to each person to whom a prospectus is delivered, upon the written or oral request of such person, a copy of any and all of the documents incorporated by reference in Item 3 of Part II of this Registration Statement, other than exhibits to such documents (unless such exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference to the information that is incorporated). Those documents are incorporated by reference in each Section 10(a) prospectus. The Registrant will also furnish without charge to any person to whom a prospectus is delivered, upon written or oral request, all other documents required to be delivered pursuant to Rule 428(b) under the Securities Act. Requests should be directed to the General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Aurora Cannabis Inc. at 2207 90B St. SW, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6X 1V8, telephone: (855) 279-4652.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

Item 3.

Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The following documents filed with or furnished to the Commission are incorporated herein by reference:

1. The Registrant’s annual report on Form 40-F filed with the Commission on June 20, 2024 (Commission File No. 001-38691).

2. The Registrant’s reports on Form 6-K furnished to the Commission on July 5, 2024, July 9, 2024, July  26, 2024, August 6, 2024, August 7, 2024, August 12, 2024, August  26, 2024, September 17, 2024 and September 20, 2024.

3. The description of the common shares of the Registrant contained under the section captioned “Item 1. Description of Registrant’s Securities to be Registered” in the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the Commission on May 24, 2021 (Commission File No. 001-38691), including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of amending such description.

All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part thereof from the date of filing of such documents. Also, the Registrant may incorporate by reference its future reports on Form 6-K by stating in those Form 6-Ks that they are being incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement.

Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained in this Registration Statement, 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 such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

 

Item 4.

Description of Securities.

Not Applicable.

 

Item 5.

Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

Not Applicable.

 

Item 6.

Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. (“we”, “us” or “our company”) is subject to the provisions of Part 5, Division 5 of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the “Act”).

Under Section 160 of the Act, we may, subject to Section 163 of the Act:

(a) indemnify an individual who:

(i) is or was a director or officer of our company,

(ii) is or was a director or officer of another corporation (A) at a time when such corporation is or was an affiliate of our company; or (B) at our request, or

(iii) at our request, is or was, or holds or held a position equivalent to that of, a director or officer of a partnership, trust, joint venture or other unincorporated entity,

including, subject to certain limited exceptions, the heirs and personal or other legal representatives of that individual (collectively, an “eligible party”), against all eligible penalties, defined below, to which the eligible party is or may be liable; and

(b) after final disposition of an eligible proceeding, pay the expenses actually and reasonably incurred by an eligible party in respect of that proceeding, where:

(i) “eligible penalty” means a judgment, penalty or fine awarded or imposed in, or an amount paid in settlement of, an eligible proceeding,

(ii) “eligible proceeding” means a proceeding in which an eligible party or any of the heirs and personal or other legal representatives of the eligible party, by reason of the eligible party being or having been a director or officer of, or holding or having held a position equivalent to that of a director or officer of, our company or an associated corporation (A) is or may be joined as a party, or (B) is or may be liable for or in respect of a judgment, penalty or fine in, or expenses related to, the proceeding,

(iii) “expenses” includes costs, charges and expenses, including legal and other fees, but does not include judgments, penalties, fines or amounts paid in settlement of a proceeding, and

(iv) “proceeding” includes any legal proceeding or investigative action, whether current, threatened, pending or completed.

Under Section 161 of the Act, and subject to Section 163 of the Act, we must, after the final disposition of an eligible proceeding, pay the expenses actually and reasonably incurred by an eligible party in respect of that proceeding if the eligible party (a) has not been reimbursed for those expenses, and (b) is wholly successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the outcome of the proceeding or is substantially successful on the merits in the outcome of the proceeding.

Under Section 162 of the Act, and subject to Section 163 of the Act, we may pay, as they are incurred in advance of the final disposition of an eligible proceeding, the expenses actually and reasonably incurred by an eligible party in respect of the proceeding, provided that we must not make such payments unless we first receive from the eligible party a written undertaking that, if it is ultimately determined that the payment of expenses is prohibited under Section 163 of the Act, the eligible party will repay the amounts advanced.

Under Section 163 of the Act, we must not indemnify an eligible party against eligible penalties to which the eligible party is or may be liable or pay the expenses of an eligible party in respect of that proceeding under Sections 160, 161 or 162 of the Act, as the case may be, if any of the following circumstances apply:

(a) if the indemnity or payment is made under an earlier agreement to indemnify or pay expenses and, at the time that the agreement to indemnify or pay expenses was made, we were prohibited from giving the indemnity or paying the expenses by our memorandum or articles;

(b) if the indemnity or payment is made otherwise than under an earlier agreement to indemnify or pay expenses and, at the time that the indemnity or payment is made, we are prohibited from giving the indemnity or paying the expenses by our memorandum or articles;

(c) if, in relation to the subject matter of the eligible proceeding, the eligible party did not act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of our company or the associated corporation, as the case may be; or

(d) in the case of an eligible proceeding other than a civil proceeding, if the eligible party did not have reasonable grounds for believing that the eligible party’s conduct in respect of which the proceeding was brought was lawful.

If an eligible proceeding is brought against an eligible party by or on behalf of our company or by or on behalf of an associated corporation, we must not either indemnify the eligible party against eligible penalties to which the eligible party is or may be liable, or pay the expenses of the eligible party under Sections 160, 161 or 162 of the Act, as the case may be, in respect of the proceeding.

Under Section 164 of the Act, and despite any other provision of Part 5, Division 5 of the Act and whether or not payment of expenses or indemnification has been sought, authorized or declined under Part 5, Division 5 of the Act, on application of our company or an eligible party, the court may do one or more of the following:

(a) order us to indemnify an eligible party against any liability incurred by the eligible party in respect of an eligible proceeding;

(b) order us to pay some or all of the expenses incurred by an eligible party in respect of an eligible proceeding;

(c) order the enforcement of, or any payment under, an agreement of indemnification entered into by us;

(d) order us to pay some or all of the expenses actually and reasonably incurred by any person in obtaining an order under Section 164 of the Act; or

(e) make any other order the court considers appropriate.

Section 165 of the Act provides that we may purchase and maintain insurance for the benefit of an eligible party or the heirs and personal or other legal representatives of the eligible party against any liability that may be incurred by reason of the eligible party being or having been a director or officer of, or holding or having held a position equivalent to that of a director or officer of, our company or an associated corporation.

Under Part 21.2 of our articles, and subject to the Act, we must indemnify an eligible party and his or her heirs and legal personal representatives against all eligible penalties to which such person is or may be liable, and we must, after the final disposition of an eligible proceeding, pay the expenses actually and reasonably incurred by such person in respect of that proceeding. Each eligible party is deemed to have contracted with our company on the terms of the indemnity contained in our articles.

Under Part 21.3 of our articles, and subject to the Act, we may agree to indemnify and may indemnify any person (including an eligible party) against eligible penalties and pay expenses incurred in connection with the performance of services by that person for our company. We have entered into indemnity agreements with certain of our directors and officers.

Under Part 21.4 of our articles, we may advance expenses to an eligible party to the extent permitted by and in accordance with the Act.

Pursuant to Part 21.5 of our articles, the failure of an eligible party of our company to comply with the Act, our articles or, if applicable, any former Companies Act or former articles does not, of itself, invalidate any indemnity to which he or she is entitled under our articles.

Under Part 21.6 of our articles, we may purchase and maintain insurance for the benefit of any eligible party (or his or her heirs or legal personal representatives of any eligible party) against any liability incurred by any eligible party.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling our company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is therefore unenforceable.

 

Item 7.

Exemption from Registration Claimed.

Not Applicable.

 

Item 8.

Exhibits.

The exhibits listed under the caption “Exhibits Index” of this Registration Statement are incorporated by reference herein.

Item 9.

Undertakings.

The Registrant hereby undertakes:

(a)(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% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;

(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 the 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 hereby which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

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

(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.

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

4.1		Articles of the Registrant, as Amended.
4.2		Share Option Plan.
4.3		Non-Employee Directors Deferred Share Unit Plan.
4.4		Performance Share Unit Plan.
4.5		Restricted Share Unit Plan.
5.1		Opinion of Stikeman Elliott LLP.
23.1		Consent of KPMG LLP.
23.2		Consent of Stikeman Elliott LLP (included in Exhibit  5.1 to this Registration Statement).
24.1		Powers of Attorney (included on signature pages of this Part II).
107		Filing Fee Table.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets 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 the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on the 20th day of September, 2024.

 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Miguel Martin, Simona King and Nathalie Clark, or any of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, each of whom may act alone, with full powers of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments to this Registration Statement, including post-effective amendments to this Registration Statement and registration statements filed pursuant to Rule 429 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents and in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, and hereby ratifies and confirms all his or her said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them or his or her substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

This Power of Attorney may be executed in multiple counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but which taken together shall constitute one instrument.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated.

 

Signature		Title		Date
/s/ Miguel Martin Miguel Martin		Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman (Principal Executive Officer)		September 20, 2024
/s/ Simona King Simona King		Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)		September 20, 2024
/s/ Ronald Funk Ronald Funk		Lead Independent Director		September 20, 2024
/s/ Norma Beauchamp Norma Beauchamp		Director		September 20, 2024
/s/ Theresa Firestone Theresa Firestone		Director		September 20, 2024
/s/ Chitwant Kohli Chitwant Kohli		Director		September 20, 2024
/s/ Michael Singer Michael Singer		Director		September 20, 2024
/s/ Rajesh Uttamchandani Rajesh Uttamchandani		Director		September 20, 2024

AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 6(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the undersigned has signed this Registration Statement, solely in the capacity of the duly authorized representative of Aurora Cannabis Inc. in the United States, on the 20th day of September, 2024.