As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 23, 2022
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Sunnova Energy International Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 30-1192746 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) | |
20 East Greenway Plaza, Suite 540 Houston, Texas | 77046 | |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip code) | |
SUNNOVA ENERGY INTERNATIONAL INC.
EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
(Full title of the plan)
Walter A. Baker
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
20 East Greenway Plaza Suite 540
Houston, Texas 77046
Tel: (281) 892-1588
(Name, Address and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)
Copies to:
Travis J. Wofford
Baker Botts L.L.P.
910 Louisiana Street
Houston, Texas 77002
Tel: (713) 229-1234
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. ☐
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT
Sunnova Energy International Inc. (the “Registrant” or the “Company”) is filing this Registration Statement on Form S-8 relating to its common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), issuable pursuant to the terms of the Sunnova Energy International Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “Plan”).
PART I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS
Note: The document(s) containing the information concerning the Plan required by Item 1 of Form S-8 and the statement of availability of registrant information and any other information required by Item 2 of Form S-8 will be sent or given to participants as specified by Rule 428 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In accordance with Rule 428 and the requirements of Part I of Form S-8, such documents are not being filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) either as part of this registration statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. The Registrant shall maintain a file of such documents in accordance with the provisions of Rule 428. Upon request, the Registrant shall furnish to the Commission or its staff a copy or copies of all of the documents included in such file.
PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
ITEM 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
The following documents have been filed with the Commission by the Company (File No. 001-38995) pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and are hereby incorporated in this registration statement by reference:
| (1) | our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed on February 24, 2022; |
| (2) | our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A for our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, filed on April 7, 2022, to the extent incorporated by reference into our Form 10-K; |
| (3) | our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, filed on April 28, 2022; |
| (4) | our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on February 17, 2022, February 25, 2022, March 1, 2022 and May 18, 2022 (in each case, excluding any information “furnished” but not “filed” as set forth therein); and |
| (5) | the description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed on July 22, 2019, as updated by the description of our common stock included in Exhibit 4.1 to our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed on February 25, 2021, together with any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description. |
All documents filed with the Commission by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (excluding information deemed to be furnished and not filed with the Commission) subsequent to the date hereof and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this registration statement which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold, or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents.
Any statement contained herein or 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 subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this registration statement.
ITEM 4. Description of Securities.
Not applicable.
ITEM 5. Interests of Named Expert and Counsel.
Not applicable.
ITEM 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
The Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) provides that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party, or is threatened to be made a party, to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation by reason of the fact that he is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise), against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. A similar standard is applicable in the case of derivative actions (i.e., actions by or in the right of the corporation), except that indemnification extends only to expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred in connection with the defense or settlement of such action and the statute requires court approval before there can be any indemnification where the person seeking indemnification has been found liable to the corporation.
Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our second amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that limit the liability of our directors and officers for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL. Consequently, our directors are not personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except liability:
| • | for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to our company or our stockholders; |
| • | for any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or knowing violation of the law; |
| • | under Section 174 of the DGCL regarding unlawful dividends and stock purchases; or |
| • | for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. |
Any amendment to, or repeal of, these provisions will not eliminate or reduce the effect of these provisions in respect of any act, omission or claim that occurred or arose prior to that amendment or repeal. If the DGCL is amended to provide for further limitations on the personal liability of directors of corporations, then the personal liability of our directors will be further limited to the greatest extent permitted by the DGCL. We have entered into and intend to continue to enter into separate indemnification agreements with each of our directors and officers that provide the maximum indemnity allowed to directors and executive officers by Section 145 of the DGCL and also to provide for certain additional procedural protections. We believe that these agreements and insurance policies are necessary to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve as directors and executive officers.
These indemnification provisions and the indemnification agreements entered into between us and our officers and directors may be sufficiently broad to permit indemnification of our officers and directors for liabilities (including reimbursement of expenses incurred) arising under the Securities Act. 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 SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
We maintain liability insurance policies that indemnify our directors and officers against various liabilities, including certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, which may be incurred by them in their capacity as such.
ITEM 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.
Not applicable.
ITEM 8. Exhibits.
The following documents are filed as part of this Registration Statement or incorporated by reference herein:
| * | Incorporated herein by reference as indicated. |
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) of the Securities Act 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 the undertakings set forth in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) 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 this 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 which remain unsold at the termination of the offering. |
| (b) | The undersigned 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 thereof. |
| (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. |
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 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 Houston, State of Texas, on May 23, 2022.
| SUNNOVA ENERGY INTERNATIONAL INC. | ||||
| By: | /s/ William J. Berger | |||
| William J. Berger | ||||
| President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints William J. Berger, Walter A. Baker and Robert L. Lane, and each one of them, as his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in their name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Registration Statement on Form S-8 (including post-effective amendments), 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 connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, 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 dates indicated.
Signature | Title | Date | ||
/s/ William J. Berger William J. Berger | President and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | May 23, 2022 | ||
/s/ Robert L. Lane Robert L. Lane | Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | May 23, 2022 | ||
/s/ Anne Slaughter Andrew Anne Slaughter Andrew | Director | May 23, 2022 | ||
/s/ Nora Brownell Nora Brownell | Director | May 23, 2022 | ||
/s/ Rahman D’Argenio Rahman D’Argenio | Director | May 23, 2022 | ||
/s/ Mark Longstreth Mark Longstreth | Director | May 23, 2022 | ||
/s/ Akbar Mohamed Akbar Mohamed | Director | May 23, 2022 | ||
/s/ Michael C. Morgan Michael C. Morgan | Director | May 23, 2022 | ||
/s/ C. Park Shaper C. Park Shaper | Director | May 23, 2022 | ||
/s/ Mary Yang Mary Yang | Director | May 23, 2022 | ||
