As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 28, 2022
Registration No. 333-258355
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
PRE-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 3
TO
FORM F-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
BIT BROTHER LIMITED
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| British Virgin Islands | Not Applicable | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of | (I.R.S. Employer | |
| incorporation or organization) | Identification No.) |
15/F, Block A, Kineer Business Centre
53 Binjiang Road, Floor 21, Gaoxin Xiangrikui Lanshan Building
Yuelu District, Changsha, Hunan Province, China 410023
Tel: +86-0731-82290658
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number,
including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)
Puglisi & Associates
850 Library Avenue
Suite 204
Newark, Delaware 19711
((Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copy To:
Joan Wu, Esq.
Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li, LLP
48 Wall Street, Suite 1100
New York, New York 10005
(212) 530-2208
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.
If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. ☐
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. ☒
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to general Instruction I.C. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.C. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, 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.
The Registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Bit Brother Limited is filing this Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 (“Amendment No. 3”) to its Registration Statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-258355), originally filed on August 2, 2021, and as amended by the Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 filed on January 6, 2022 and the Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 filed on December 23, 2022 (the “Registration Statement”), as an exhibit-only filing solely to file the BVI counsel’s opinion as Exhibit 5.1. This Amendment No. 3 consists only of the facing page, this explanatory note, Part II of the Registration Statement, the signature page to the Registration Statement, the exhibit index and the exhibit being filed with this Amendment No. 3. Part I of the Registration Statement is unchanged and has been omitted.
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 8. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
British Virgin Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s 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.
Under our Memorandum and Articles of Association, we may indemnify and secure harmless our directors, secretary, other officers, auditors, liquidators and agents against expenses (including legal fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such persons in connection with legal, administrative or investigative proceedings to which they are a party or are threatened to be made a party by reason of their acting as our directors, secretary, officers, auditors, liquidators or agents. To be entitled to indemnification, these persons must not have acted with actual fraud or willful default in any matter on the part of any said persons, and, in the case of criminal proceedings, they must have had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful.
Item 9. Exhibits
| * | Filed herewith. |
| † | Previously filed |
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Item 10. 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 ordinary shares offered (if the total dollar value of ordinary shares offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high and of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC 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; 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), (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 SEC by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 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) that is part of the registration statement.
(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 ordinary shares offered therein, and the offering of such Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(4) To file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to include any financial statements required by Item 8.A. of Form 20-F at the start of any delayed offering or throughout a continuous offering. Financial statements and information otherwise required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 need not be furnished, provided that the Registrant includes in the prospectus, by means of a post-effective amendment, financial statements required pursuant to this paragraph (a)(4) and other information necessary to ensure that all other information in the prospectus is at least as current as the date of those financial statements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a post-effective amendment need not be filed to include financial statements and information required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 or Rule 3-19 of Regulation S-X if such financial statements and information are contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.
(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:
(i) If the Registrant is relying on Rule 430B:
(A) 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
(B) 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 Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares 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; or
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(ii) If the Registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. 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 first use, 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 date of first use
(6) 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 Class A ordinary shares, the undersigned Registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of Class A ordinary shares of the undersigned Registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the Class A ordinary shares to the purchaser, if the Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares 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) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes 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 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 Class A ordinary shares offered therein, and the offering of such Class A ordinary shares 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 Securities Act of 1933 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 Class A ordinary shares 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 of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(d) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act of 1933 will be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus will be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the Class A shares offered therein, and the offering of such Class A ordinary shares at that time will be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-3 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Hunan, the People’s Republic of China, on this 28th day of December, 2022.
| BIT BROTHER LIMITED | ||
| By: | /s/ Xianlong Wu | |
| Xianlong Wu | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Xianlong Wu and Diyu Jiang and each of them, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, 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 any and all amendments (including, without limitation, post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement, 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, 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 each of them might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or their or his 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 date indicated.
| Signature | Title | Date | ||
| /s/ Xianlong Wu | Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors | December 28, 2022 | ||
| Xianlong Wu | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
| /s/ Diyu Jiang | Chief Financial Officer and Director | December 28, 2022 | ||
| Diyu Jiang | (Principal Accounting and Financial Officer) | |||
| /s/ Jing Yi | Independent Director | December 28, 2022 | ||
| Jing Yi | ||||
| /s/ Anatoly Danilitskiy | Independent Director | December 28, 2022 | ||
| Anatoly Danilitskiy | ||||
| /s/ Yunfei Song | Independent Director | December 28, 2022 | ||
| Yunfei Song | ||||
| /s/ Ralph Leslie Jones | Director | December 28, 2022 | ||
| Ralph Leslie Jones |
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SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES
Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of the Company has signed this Registration Statement or amendment thereto in Newark, Delaware on December 28, 2022.
| Authorized U.S. Representative | ||
| By: | /s/ Donald J. Puglisi | |
| Name: | Donald J. Puglisi | |
| Title: | Managing Director | |
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