Exhibit 1.1
PLACEMENT AGENCY AGREEMENT
Dawson James Securities, Inc.
1 North Federal Highway
Boca Raton, Florida 33432
April 9, 2024
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This letter (this “Agreement”) constitutes the agreement between Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) and Dawson James Securities, Inc. (“Dawson”) pursuant to which Dawson shall serve as the placement agent (the “Placement Agent”) (the “Services”), for the Company, on a reasonable “best efforts” basis, in connection with the proposed offer and placement (the “Offering”) by the Company of its Securities (as defined Section 3 of this Agreement). The Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that Dawson’s obligations hereunder are on a reasonable “best efforts” basis only and that the execution of this Agreement does not constitute a commitment by Dawson to purchase the Securities and does not ensure the successful placement of the Securities or any portion thereof or the success of Dawson placing the Securities.
On the basis of the representations, warranties, covenants and agreements of the Company herein contained, and subject to all the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Company hereby appoints the Placement Agent as its exclusive placement agent in connection with a distribution of its Securities to be offered and sold by the Company pursuant to a registration statement filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) on Form S-1 (File No. 333-277070), and Dawson agrees to act as the Company’s exclusive Placement Agent. Pursuant to this appointment, the Placement Agent will solicit offers for the purchase of or attempt to place all or part of the Securities of the Company in the proposed Offering. Until the final closing or earlier upon termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 5 hereof, the Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the Placement Agent, solicit or accept offers to purchase the Securities other than through the Placement Agent. The Company acknowledges that the Placement Agent will act as an agent of the Company and use its reasonable “best efforts” to solicit offers to purchase the Securities from the Company on the terms, and subject to the conditions, set forth in the Prospectus (as defined below). The Placement Agent shall use commercially reasonable efforts to assist the Company in obtaining performance by each Purchaser whose offer to purchase Securities has been solicited by the Placement Agent, but the Placement Agent shall not, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, be obligated to disclose the identity of any potential purchaser or have any liability to the Company in the event any such purchase is not consummated for any reason. Under no circumstances will the Placement Agent be obligated to underwrite or purchase any Securities for its own account and, in soliciting purchases of the Securities, the Placement Agent shall act solely as an agent of the Company. The Services provided pursuant to this Agreement shall be on an “agency” basis and not on a “principal” basis.
The Placement Agent will solicit offers for the purchase of the Securities in the Offering at such times and in such amounts as the Placement Agent deems advisable. The Company shall have the sole right to accept offers to purchase Securities and may reject any such offer, in whole or in part. The Placement Agent may retain other brokers or dealers to act as sub-agents on its behalf in connection with the Offering and may pay any sub-agent a solicitation fee with respect to any Securities placed by it. The Company and Placement Agent shall negotiate the timing and terms of the Offering and acknowledge that the Offering and the provision of Placement Agent services related to the Offering are subject to market conditions and the receipt of all required related clearances and approvals.
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The Securities to be offered directly to various investors (each, an “Investor” or “Purchaser” and, collectively, the “Investors” or the “Purchasers”) in the Offering shall consist of shares of the Company’s common stock (“Common Stock” or “Shares”) and pre-funded warrants (each, in lieu of one share of common stock) to purchase a share of Common Stock (“Pre-Funded Warrants”) (together, the “Securities”). The purchase price for one Share shall be $0.14 per Share and the purchase price for one Pre-Funded Warrant shall be $0.1399 (each, the “Purchase Price”). If the Company shall default in its obligations to deliver Securities to a Purchaser whose offer it has accepted and who has tendered payment, the Company shall indemnify and hold the Placement Agent harmless against any loss, claim, damage or expense arising from or as a result of such default by the Company under this Agreement.
Settlement of the Securities purchased by an Investor shall be made by 5:00 p.m. on the Closing Date by wire transfer from the Placement Agent in federal (same day) funds, payable to the order of the Company after electronic
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delivery of the Shares via the DWAC system (or such other method agreed to by the parties) in accordance with the Placement Agent’s instructions as requested in writing prior to the Closing Date. The term “Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday or a day on which banking institutions are authorized or obligated by law to close in New York, New York.
The Closing shall occur at such place as shall be agreed upon by the Placement Agent and the Company. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, each Closing shall take place at the offices of ArentFox Schiff LLP, 1717 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006. Deliveries of the documents with respect to the purchase of the Securities, if any, shall be made at the offices of ArentFox Schiff LLP, 1717 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 on the Closing Date. All actions taken at a Closing shall be deemed to have occurred simultaneously.
The term of this Agreement will commence upon the execution of this Agreement and will terminate at the earlier of the Closing of the Offering or 11:59 p.m. (New York Time) on the fifth Business Day after the date hereof. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, any provision in this Agreement concerning or relating to confidentiality, indemnification, contribution, advancement, the Company’s representations and warranties and the Company’s obligations to pay fees and reimburse expenses will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement. If any condition specified in Section 8 is not satisfied when and as required to be satisfied, this Agreement may be terminated by the Placement Agent by notice to the Company at any time on or prior to a Closing Date, which termination shall be without liability on the part of any party to any other party, except that those portions of this Agreement specified in Section 19 shall at all times be effective and shall survive such termination. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, in the event that this Agreement shall not be carried out for any reason whatsoever, within the time specified herein or any extensions thereof pursuant to the terms herein, the Company shall be obligated to pay to the Placement Agent the expenses provided for in Section 2.B. above and upon demand the Company shall pay the full amount thereof to the Placement Agent.
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to limit the ability of the Placement Agent, its officers, directors, employees, agents, associated persons and any individual or entity “controlling,” controlled by,” or “under common control” with the Placement Agent (as those terms are defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) to conduct its business including without limitation the ability to pursue, investigate, analyze, invest in, or engage in investment banking, financial advisory or any other business relationship with any individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind.
As of the date and time of the execution of this Agreement, the Closing Date and the Initial Sale Time (as defined herein), the Company represents, warrants and covenants to the Placement Agent, other than as disclosed in any of its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), that:
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The obligations of the Placement Agent hereunder shall be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company set forth in Section 7 hereof, in each case as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date as though then made, to the timely performance by each of the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder on and as of such dates, and to each of the following additional conditions:
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(i) Lock-Up Agreements. On or before the date of this Agreement, the Company shall have delivered to the Placement Agent executed copies of the Lock-Up Agreements from each of the Company’s officers and directors.
(ii) Placement Agent Warrant. On the Closing Date, the Company shall have delivered to the Placement Agent an executed copy of the Placement Agent Warrant(s) in such designations as requested by the Placement Agent.
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Dawson and the Company further agree that neither Dawson nor any of its affiliates or any of their respective officers, directors, controlling persons (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act), employees or agents shall have any liability to the Company, its security holders or creditors, or any person asserting claims on behalf of or in the right of the Company (whether direct or indirect, in contract or tort, for an act of negligence or otherwise) for any losses, fees, damages, liabilities, costs, expenses or equitable relief arising
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out of or relating to this Agreement or the Services rendered hereunder, except for losses, fees, damages, liabilities, costs or expenses that arise out of or are based on any action of or failure to act by Dawson and that are finally judicially determined to have resulted solely from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Dawson.
The Company acknowledges that Dawson has been retained only by the Company, that Dawson is providing services hereunder as an independent contractor (and not in any fiduciary or agency capacity) and that the Company’s engagement of Dawson is not deemed to be on behalf of, and is not intended to confer rights upon, any shareholder, owner or partner of the Company or any other person not a party hereto as against Dawson or any of its affiliates, or any of its or their respective officers, directors, controlling persons (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act), employees or agents. Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing by Dawson, no one other than the Company is authorized to rely upon any statement or conduct of Dawson in connection with this Agreement. The Company acknowledges that any recommendation or advice, written or oral, given by Dawson to the Company in connection with Dawson’s engagement is intended solely for the benefit and use of the Company’s management and directors in considering a possible Offering, and any such recommendation or advice is not on behalf of, and shall not confer any rights or remedies upon, any other person or be used or relied upon for any other purpose. Dawson shall not have the authority to make any commitment binding on the Company. The Company, in its sole discretion, shall have the right to reject any investor introduced to it by Dawson. If any purchase agreement and/or related transaction documents are entered into between the Company and the investors in the Offering, Dawson will be entitled to rely on the representations, warranties, agreements and covenants of the Company contained in any such purchase agreement and related transaction documents as if such representations, warranties, agreements and covenants were made directly to Dawson by the Company.
No supplement, modification or waiver of this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by the party to be bound thereby. The failure of a party to exercise any right or remedy shall not be deemed or constitute a waiver of such right or remedy in the future. No waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provision hereof (regardless of whether similar), nor shall any such waiver be deemed or constitute a continuing waiver unless otherwise expressly provided.
In the event of the consummation or public announcement of any Offering, Dawson shall have the right to disclose its participation in such Offering, including, without limitation, the placement at its cost of “tombstone” advertisements in financial and other newspapers and journals. Dawson agrees not to use any confidential information concerning the Company provided to Dawson by the Company for any purposes other than those contemplated under this Agreement.
The headings of the various sections of this Agreement have been inserted for convenience of reference only and will not be deemed to be part of this Agreement.
This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts and, if executed in more than one counterpart, the executed counterparts shall each be deemed to be an original and all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.
In case any provision contained in this Agreement should be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions contained herein will not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
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The Company will furnish Dawson such written information as Dawson reasonably requests in connection with the performance of its services hereunder. The Company understands, acknowledges and agrees that, in performing its services hereunder, Dawson will use and rely entirely upon such information as well as publicly available information regarding the Company and other potential parties to an Offering and that Dawson does not assume responsibility for independent verification of the accuracy or completeness of any information, whether publicly available or otherwise furnished to it, concerning the Company or otherwise relevant to an Offering, including, without limitation, any financial information, forecasts or projections considered by Dawson in connection with the provision of its services.
The Company acknowledges and agrees that: (a) the Placement Agent has been retained solely to act as Placement Agent in connection with the sale of the Securities and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and the Placement Agent has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether the Placement Agent has advised or is advising the Company on other matters; (b) the Purchase Price and other terms of the Securities set forth in this Agreement were established by the Company following discussions and arms-length negotiations with the Placement Agent and the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; (c) it has been advised that the Placement Agent and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions that may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that the Placement Agent has no obligation to disclose such interest and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and (d) it has been advised that the Placement Agent is acting, in respect of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, solely for the benefit of the Placement Agent, and not on behalf of the Company and that the Placement Agents may have interests that differ from those of the Company. The Company waives to the full extent permitted by applicable law any claims it may have against the Placement Agent arising from an alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the Offering.
The respective indemnities, covenants, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company and Placement Agent, as set forth in this Agreement or made by them respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Placement Agent, the Company, the Purchasers or any person controlling any of them and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Securities. Notwithstanding any termination of this Agreement, including without limitation any termination pursuant to Section 5, the payment, reimbursement, indemnity, contribution and advancement agreements contained in Sections 2, 9, 10, and 11, respectively, and the Company’s covenants, representations, and warranties set forth in this Agreement shall not terminate and shall remain in full force and effect at all times. The indemnity and contribution provisions contained in Section 9 and the covenants, warranties and representations of the Company contained in this Agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any termination of this Agreement, (ii) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Placement Agent, any person who controls any Placement Agent within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or any affiliate of any Placement Agent, or by or on behalf of the Company, its directors or officers or any person who controls the Company within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and (iii) the issuance and delivery of the Securities.
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be fully performed therein. Any disputes that arise under this Agreement, even after the termination of this Agreement, will be heard only in the state or federal courts located in the City of New York, State of New York. The parties hereto expressly agree to submit themselves to the jurisdiction of the foregoing courts in the City of New York, State of New York. The parties hereto expressly waive any rights they may have to contest the jurisdiction, venue or authority of any court sitting in the City and State of New York.
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All communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be mailed or hand delivered and confirmed to the parties hereto as follows:
If to the Company:
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc.
12300 Grant Street
Thornton, CO 80241
Attention: Chief Executive Officer
If to the Placement Agent:
Dawson James Securities, Inc.
101 North Federal Highway, Suite 600
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Attention: Chief Executive Officer
Any party hereto may change the address for receipt of communications by giving written notice to the others.
This Agreement shall not be modified or amended except in writing signed by Dawson and the Company. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of Dawson and the Company, and supersedes any prior agreements, with respect to the subject matter hereof. If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable in any respect, such determination will not affect such provision in any other respect, and the remainder of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (including facsimile or .pdf counterparts), each of which shall be deemed an original but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto, and to the benefit of the employees, officers and directors and controlling persons referred to in Section 9 hereof, and to their respective successors, and personal representative, and, except as set forth in Section 9 of this Agreement, no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder.
The invalidity or unenforceability of any section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other section, paragraph or provision hereof. If any Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and enforceable.
[SIGNATURE PAGE TO FOLLOW]
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In acknowledgment that the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding reached by Dawson and the Company, and intending to be legally bound, please sign in the space provided below, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding Agreement as of the date executed.
Very truly yours,
ASCENT SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
By:__________________________
Name:
Title:
Confirmed as of the date first written above:
DAWSON JAMES SECURITIES, INC.
By:___________________________
Name: Robert D. Keyser, Jr.
Title: Chief Executive Officer
SCHEDULE I
Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectuses
None.