VBI Vaccines Inc. New filed SEC Form 8-K: Bankruptcy or Receivership, Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing, Other Events, Financial Statements and Exhibits
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date
of report (Date of earliest event reported):
VBI VACCINES INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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| Item 1.03 | Bankruptcy or Receivership |
On August 2, 2024, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware granted provisional relief under Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and scheduled a further hearing to consider the recognition of the July 30, 2024, Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) order, which granted VBI Vaccines Inc. (the “Company”) protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36, as amended.
| Item 3.01 | Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing |
On July 30, 2024, the Company received a letter (the “Delisting Notice”) from the listing qualifications department staff (the “Staff”) of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rules 5101, 5110(b), and IM-5101-1, the Staff has determined that the Company’s common shares, no par value per share (the “Common Shares”), will be delisted from Nasdaq. The Company does not intend to appeal the Staff’s delisting determination. As a result of the Delisting Notice, trading of the Common Shares will be suspended at the opening of business on August 8, 2024, and Nasdaq will file a Form 25-NSE with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which will remove the Common Shares from listing and registration on Nasdaq. Nasdaq has not specified a date on which the Form 25-NSE will be filed.
In the Delisting Notice, the Staff stated that its determination is based on several factors, including (i) the Company’s intention to commence a case under Chapter 15 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) to seek recognition of the initial order granting the company protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36, as amended (the “CCAA”) and the public concerns raised by such filing, (ii) concerns regarding the residual equity interest of the existing listed securities holders, and (iii) concerns about the Company’s ability to sustain compliance with all requirements for continued listing on Nasdaq, including the Company’s ongoing noncompliance with the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) and the minimum bid price requirement pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). As previously disclosed, on May 24, 2024, the Company received a notification from the Staff indicating that the Company no longer satisfies Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1), and on November 1, 2023, the Company received a notification from the Staff indicating that the Company no longer satisfies Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2).
As previously disclosed, on July 30, 2024, after considering all strategic alternatives following consultation with its legal and financial advisors, the Company and its subsidiaries commenced voluntary restructuring under the jurisdiction of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) pursuant to the CCAA. In connection with these proceedings, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries commenced a case under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and intend to do so as well under the relevant provisions of the Israeli Insolvency and Economic Rehabilitation Law, 2018 (“Israeli Insolvency Law”).
The Company expects to cease reporting as a public reporting company. The Company has not arranged for listing or registration, and does not currently intend to arrange for listing or registration, of its Common Shares on another national securities exchange or for quotation in a quotation medium.
| Item 8.01 | Other Events |
On August 2, 2024, the Company issued a press release announcing the U.S. Order and the receipt of the Delisting Notice. A copy of the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated by reference herein.
Cautionary Information Regarding Trading in the Company’s Securities
The Company cautions that trading in the Company’s securities during the pendency of the restructuring proceedings is highly speculative and poses substantial risks. Trading prices for the Company’s securities may bear little or no relationship to the actual value realized, if any, by holders of the Company’s securities in the restructuring proceedings. Accordingly, the Company urges extreme caution with respect to existing and future investments in its securities.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical facts and often contain words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “estimate,” “seek,” “could,” “should,” “intend,” “potential,” or words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations, beliefs, assumptions and estimates regarding the company, industry, economic conditions, government regulations and other factors. Forward-looking statements may include, for example, statements regarding the timing, manner, outcome and impact of the restructuring proceedings, and other statements regarding the Company’s plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning the Company’s business, operating results, financial condition, liquidity and other matters that do not relate strictly to historical facts. These statements are subject to significant risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including risks and uncertainties regarding the Company’s ability to successfully complete a sale process under Chapter 15 and/or the CCAA and/or Israeli Insolvency Law; potential adverse effects of the restructuring proceedings on the Company’s liquidity and results of operations; the Company’s ability to obtain timely approval by the applicable courts with respect to the motions filed in the restructuring proceedings; objections to the Company’s sale process, the Debtor-In-Possession facility (“DIP Facility”) Facility, or other pleadings filed that could protract the restructuring proceedings; employee attrition and the Company’s ability to retain senior management and other key personnel due to the distractions and uncertainties, including the Company’s ability to provide adequate compensation and benefits during restructuring proceedings; the Company’s ability to comply with the restrictions imposed by the DIP Facility and other financing arrangements; the Company’s ability to maintain relationships with suppliers, customers, employees and other third parties and regulatory authorities as a result of the Chapter 15, CCAA filings, and proceedings under the Israeli Insolvency Law; the applicable rulings in the restructuring proceedings, including the approval of the DIP Facility, and the outcome of the restructuring proceedings generally; the length of time that the Company will operate under Chapter 15, CCAA protection, and protection under Israeli Insolvency Law and the continued availability of operating capital during the pendency of the proceedings; risks associated with third party motions in the restructuring proceedings, which may interfere with the Company’s ability to consummate a sale; and increased administrative and legal costs related to the Chapter 15, the CCAA proceedings, proceedings under Israeli Insolvency Law, and other litigation and inherent risks involved in a bankruptcy process. Forward-looking statements are also subject to the risk factors and cautionary language described from time to time in the reports the Company files with the SEC, including those in “Item 1A - Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any updates thereto in the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Additional factors, events, or uncertainties that may emerge from time to time, or those that the Company currently deems to be immaterial, could cause the Company’s actual results to differ, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of them. The Company makes forward-looking statements based on currently available information, and the Company assumes no obligation to, and expressly disclaim any obligation to, update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements made in this Current Report on Form 8-K, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits
| Exhibit No. | Description | |
| 99.1 | Press Release, dated August 2, 2024 | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document) |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| VBI Vaccines Inc. | ||
| Date: August 2, 2024 | By: | /s/ Jeffrey R. Baxter |
| Jeffrey R. Baxter | ||
| President and Chief Executive Officer | ||