As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 24, 2023
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
BIT BROTHER LIMITED
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| British Virgin Islands | N/A | |
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
15/F, Block A, Kineer Business Centre
53 Binjiang Road, Yuelu District
Changsha, Hunan Province, China 410023
(Address, Including Zip Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)
2023 Equity Incentive Plan
(Full Title of the Plan)
Puglisi & Associates
850 Library Avenue
Suite 204
Newark, Delaware 19711
Tel: (302) 738-6680
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Joan Wu Esq.
Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li, LLC
48 Wall Street, Suite 1100
New York, NY 10005
Tel: (212) 530-2208
Facsimile: (212) 202-6380
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “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. ☐
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Registration Statement is being filed by the Registrant in accordance with the requirements of Form S-8 under the Securities Act in order to register 58,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares issuable pursuant to the Bit Brother Limited 2023 Equity Incentive Plan, (the “2023 Plan”) adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company.
PART I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS
Item 1. Plan Information.*
Item 2. Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information.*
| * | The documents containing the information specified in this Part I of Form S-8 (Plan Information and Registration Information and Employee Plan Annual Information) will be sent or given to recipients of the grants under the 2023 Plan as specified by the Commission pursuant to Rule 428(b)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Such documents are not required to be and are not filed with the Commission either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II hereof, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act. The Registrant will provide a written statement to participants advising them of the availability without charge, upon written or oral request, of the documents incorporated by reference in Item 3 of Part II hereof and including the statement in the preceding sentence. The written statement to all participants will indicate the availability without charge, upon written or oral request, of other documents required to be delivered pursuant to Rule 428(b), and will include the address and telephone number to which the request is to be directed. |
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PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
Bit Brother Limited (the “Company”) is subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”) and, accordingly, files periodic reports and other information with the Commission. Reports and other information concerning the Company filed with the Commission may be inspected and copies may be obtained (at prescribed rates) at the Commission’s Public Reference Section, Room 1024, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. The Commission also maintains a Web site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the Commission, including the Company. The address for the Commission’s Web site is “http://www.sec.gov”. The following documents are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement:
(a) The Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 filed with the Commission on October 12, 2023.
(b) The Company’s Current Reports on Form 6-K furnished to the Commission on July 21, 2023, August 2, 2023, and October 31, 2023; and
(c) The description of our ordinary shares incorporated by reference in our registration statement on Form 8-A, as amended (File No. 001-35755) filed with the SEC on June 1, 2015, including any amendment and report subsequently filed for the purpose of updating that description.
Except to the extent such information is deemed furnished and not filed pursuant to securities laws and regulations, all documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and, to the extent specifically designated therein, reports on Form 6-K furnished by the Company to the Commission, in each case, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement indicating that all securities offered under this Registration Statement have been sold, or deregistering all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing or furnishing of such documents.
Any statement contained herein or in a document all or a portion of which is 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 herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.
Item 4. Description of Securities.
Not applicable.
Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
None.
Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
British Virgin Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the British Virgin Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our Articles of Association provides for indemnification of our officers and directors for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own fraud or dishonesty.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is theretofore unenforceable.
Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.
Not applicable.
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Item 8. Exhibits.
EXHIBIT INDEX
| * | Filed herewith |
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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 of 1933; |
| (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 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 20 percent 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), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) of this section 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 Securities and Exchange Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b).
| (2) | That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, 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. |
| (4) | That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser: |
| (i) | Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and |
| (ii) | Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date. |
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| (5) | That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities: The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser: |
| (i) | Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424; |
| (ii) | Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant; |
| (iii) | The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and |
| (iv) | Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser. |
| (b) | That, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
| (c) | Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 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 Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 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 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. |
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Signatures
The Registrant. 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 Hunan, China, on November 24, 2023.
| BIT BROTHER LIMITED | ||
| By: | /s/ Xianlong Wu | |
| Xianlong Wu | ||
| Chief Executive Officer, | ||
| Chairman of the Board of Directors | ||
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
| By: | /s/ Lingyin Li | |
| Lingyin Li | ||
| Chief Financial Officer, Director | ||
| (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | ||
The Plan. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the trustees (or other persons who administer the employee benefit plan) have duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Hunan China, on November 24, 2023.
|
BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF | ||
| By: | /s/ Xianlong Wu | |
| Xianlong Wu | ||
| Chief Executive Officer, | ||
| Chairman of the Board of Directors | ||
Each person whose signature appears below hereby appoints Xianlong Wu and Lingyin Li, and each of them severally, acting alone and without the other, his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact with full power of substitution or re-substitution, for such person and in such person’s name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign on such person’s behalf, individually and in each capacity stated below, any and all amendments, including post-effective amendments to this Registration Statement, and to sign any and all additional registration statements relating to the same offering of securities of the Registration Statement that are filed pursuant to Rule 462 of the Securities Act of 1933, 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, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite or necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as such person might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact, 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, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Signature | Title | Date | ||
| /s/ Xianlong Wu | Chief Executive Officer | November 24, 2023 | ||
| Name: Xianlong Wu | (principal executive officer) and Executive Director | |||
| /s/ Lingyin Li | Chief Financial Officer | November 24, 2023 | ||
| Name: Lingyin Li | (principal financial officer and principal accounting officer) and Executive Director | |||
| /s/ Diyu Jiang | Director | November 24, 2023 | ||
| Name: Diyu Jiang | ||||
| /s/ Zhihua Liao | Director | November 24, 2023 | ||
| Name: Zhihua Liao | ||||
| /s/ Anatoly Danilitskiy | Director | November 24, 2023 | ||
| Name: Anatoly Danilitskiy |
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SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES
Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 as amended, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of America, has signed this registration statement thereto in Newark, DE on November 24, 2023.
| Puglisi & Associates | ||
| By: | /s/ Donald J. Puglisi | |
| Name: | Donald J. Puglisi | |
| Title: | Managing Director | |
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