As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 26, 2021
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM F-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
LIZHI INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Cayman Islands | Not Applicable | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
Yangcheng Creative Industry Zone,
No. 309 Middle Huangpu Avenue,
Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510655,
The People’s Republic of China
+86 20 8381-8791
(Address and telephone number of Registrant’s principal executive offices)
Cogency Global Inc.
122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10168
+1 800 221-0102
(Name, address, and telephone number of agent for service)
With a Copy to:
Ying Li, Esq.
Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC
800 Third Avenue, Suite 2800
New York, NY 10022
212-530-2206
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of the registration statement.
If 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, 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 term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
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| Title of Each Class of Securities to be Registered | Amount to be Registered(1) | Proposed Maximum Aggregate Price Per Share | Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(2) | Amount of Registration Fee | ||||
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value(3) | ||||||||
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value , represented by American Depositary Shares(3)(4) | ||||||||
Preferred shares(3) | ||||||||
Debt securities(3) | ||||||||
Warrants(3) | ||||||||
Rights(3) | ||||||||
Units(3) | ||||||||
Total | $200,000,000(5) | $21,820.00 | ||||||
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| (1) | The registrant is registering an indeterminate number of securities for offer and sale from time to time at indeterminate prices, which shall have an aggregate offering price not to exceed US$200,000,000. In addition, pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement shall be deemed to cover any additional number of securities that may be issued from time to time to prevent dilution as a result of a distribution, split, combination or similar transaction. Securities registered hereunder may be sold separately, or together with other securities registered hereunder. |
| (2) | Includes consideration to be received by the Registrant, if applicable, for registered securities that are issuable upon exercise, conversion, or exchange of other registered securities. |
| (3) | Pursuant to General Instruction II.C. of Form F-3, the table lists each of the classes of securities being registered and the aggregate proceeds to be raised, but does not specify by each class information as to the amount to be registered, proposed maximum offering price per unit, and proposed maximum aggregate offering price. |
| (4) | Represented by American depositary shares, or ADSs. The ADSs issuable upon deposit of the Class A ordinary shares registered hereby have been registered under a separate registration statement on Form F-6 (File No. 333-235857). Each ADS represents 20 Class A ordinary shares.. |
| (5) | Estimated solely for the purpose of computing the amount of the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. |
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 that specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act, or until this registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell the securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting any offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where such offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED MARCH 26, 2021
PROSPECTUS
Up to US$200,000,000 of
Class A Ordinary Shares
Class A Ordinary Shares in the Form of American Depositary Shares
Preferred Shares
Debt Securities
Warrants
Rights
and
Units
LIZHI INC.
We may, from time to time, in one or more offerings, offer and sell up to US$200,000,000 of any combination, together or separately, of our Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, Class A ordinary shares in the form of American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, preferred shares, debt securities, warrants, rights, and units, or any combination thereof as described in this prospectus. Each ADS represents 20 Class A ordinary shares. In this prospectus, references to the term “securities” refers collectively to our Class A ordinary shares, Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs, preferred shares, debt securities, warrants, rights, and units. The prospectus supplement for each offering of securities will describe in detail the plan of distribution for that offering. For general information about the distribution of the securities offered, please see “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus.
This prospectus provides a general description of the securities we may offer. We will provide the specific terms of the securities offered in one or more supplements to this prospectus. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you in connection with these offerings. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus may add, update, or change information contained in this prospectus. You should read carefully this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement, and any related free writing prospectus, as well as the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference, before you invest in any of our securities. This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell any securities unless accompanied by the applicable prospectus supplement.
Our ADSs are listed on The Nasdaq Global Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “LIZI.” On March 25, 2021, the last reported sale price of the ADSs on NASDAQ was US$8.00 per ADS. On December 31, 2020, the last reported sale price of our ADSs was US$3.88 per ADS, and during the year ended December 31, 2020, the high and low closing prices were US$11.63 and US$1.96 per ADS, respectively. We have recently experienced price volatility in our stock. See related risk factors in our most recent annual report on Form 20-F.
The aggregate market value of our outstanding ordinary shares held by non-affiliates, or public float, as of March 26, 2021, was approximately US$269 million, which was calculated based on 671,840,030 Class A ordinary shares and 0 Class B ordinary shares held by non-affiliates and the per ADS price of US$8.00 (which equals US$0.40 per Class A ordinary share), which was the closing price of our ADS on Nasdaq on March 25, 2021. During the 12 calendar months prior to and including the date of this prospectus, we have not offered or sold any securities pursuant to General Instruction I.B.5 of Form F-3.
Investing in our securities involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 5 of this prospectus and risk factors set forth in our most recent annual report on Form 20-F, in other reports incorporated herein by reference, and in an applicable prospectus supplement under the heading “Risk Factors.”
We may offer and sell the securities from time to time at fixed prices, at market prices, or at negotiated prices, to or through underwriters, to other purchasers, through agents, or through a combination of these methods. If any underwriters are involved in the sale of any securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of such underwriters and any applicable commissions or discounts will be set forth in a prospectus supplement. The offering price of such securities and the net proceeds we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement. See “Plan of Distribution” elsewhere in this prospectus for a more complete description of the ways in which the securities may be sold.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is [ ], 2021
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This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may, from time to time, sell the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings, up to a total offering amount of US$200,000,000.
This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement do not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. We have omitted parts of the registration statement in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. Statements contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement about the provisions or contents of any agreement or other documents are not necessarily complete. If the SEC rules and regulations require that an agreement or other document be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, please see that agreement or document for a complete description of these matters. This prospectus may be supplemented by a prospectus supplement that may add, update, or change information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement or other offering materials together with additional information described under the headings “Where You Can Find Additional Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference.”
Each time we sell securities under this shelf registration, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain certain specific information about the terms of that offering, including a description of any risks related to the offering. A prospectus supplement may also add, update, or change information contained in this prospectus (including documents incorporated herein by reference). If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement. The registration statement we filed with the SEC includes exhibits that provide more details on the matters discussed in this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and the related exhibits filed with the SEC and the accompanying prospectus supplement together with additional information described under the headings “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” before investing in any of the securities offered.
The information in this prospectus is accurate as of the date on the front cover. Information incorporated by reference into this prospectus is accurate as of the date of the document from which the information is incorporated. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any other date.
You should rely only on the information provided or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or in the prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different information. This document may only be used where it is legal to sell these securities.
As permitted by SEC rules and regulations, the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part includes additional information not contained in this prospectus. You may read the registration statement and the other reports we file with the SEC at its website or at its offices described below under “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Unless otherwise indicated or the context requires otherwise, references in this prospectus or in a prospectus supplement to:
| • | “ACG” refers to animation, comics, and games; |
| • | “AI” refers to artificial intelligence; |
| • | “active users” or “users” is used interchangeably in this prospectus and refers to users who visited our platforms at least once in a given period, measured by the number of mobile devices that launched our |
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mobile apps in a given period. The number of active users is calculated by treating each distinguishable mobile device as a separate user even though some individuals may access our platforms using more than one mobile device and multiple individuals may access our services using the same mobile device. An active user is not necessarily a registered user, since one does not have to register with our apps in order to access our audio content; |
| • | “ADSs” refers to the American depositary shares, each representing 20 of our Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share; |
| • | “average monthly active hosts” refers to the monthly average number of active hosts in a given period, calculated by dividing (i) the total number of users who accessed our app as hosts in a given month, or who historically accessed our app as hosts and remained active users in a given month, in each month of such period by (ii) the number of months in the same period; |
| • | “China” or “PRC” refers to the People’s Republic of China, excluding, for the purpose of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement only, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau; |
| • | “Class A ordinary shares” refers to our Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share; |
| • | “Class B ordinary shares” refers to our Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share; |
| • | “Founders” refers to Mr. Jinnan (Marco) Lai, Mr. Ning Ding and the entities that hold shares on behalf of and are controlled by Mr. Jinnan (Marco) Lai and Mr. Ning Ding, as Mr. Jinnan (Marco) Lai and Mr. Ning Ding so designate; |
| • | “host” and “content creator” refer to a user who has posted a podcast or hosted an audio entertainment program on our apps; |
| • | “LIZHI App” refers to our flagship platform, an online UGC audio community, interactive audio entertainment platform, and online audio platform in China |
| • | “MENA” refers to the Middle East and North Africa; |
| • | “ordinary shares” refers to our Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share; |
| • | “RMB” or “Renminbi” refers to the legal currency of the PRC; |
| • | “Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association” refers to the second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of our company adopted on October 23, 2019 and which became effective upon our initial public offering; |
| • | “total mobile MAUs” refers to the number of active users across our platforms and apps in a given month; |
| • | “UGC” refers to user-generated content; |
| • | “US$,” “dollars,” or “U.S. dollars” refers to the legal currency of the United States; |
| • | “VIE” refers to variable interest entity; and |
| • | “We,” “us,” “our company,” and “our” refer to LIZHI INC., a Cayman Islands company, its subsidiaries, VIEs and the subsidiaries of its VIEs. |
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus, an applicable prospectus supplement, and our SEC filings that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus contain or incorporate by reference forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “expect,” “should,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” and “potential,” among others.
Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this prospectus, an applicable prospectus supplement, and our SEC filings that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our intent, belief, or current expectations. Forward-looking statements are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to of various factors, including, but not limited to, those identified under the section entitled “Item 3. Key Information—3.D. Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. These risks and uncertainties include factors relating to:
| • | our goals and growth strategies; |
| • | our future business development, results of operations, and financial condition; |
| • | relevant government policies and regulations relating to our business and industry; |
| • | our expectation regarding the use of proceeds from our initial public offering in January 2020; |
| • | general economic and business condition in China and overseas countries and regions where we operate; |
| • | assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing; |
| • | the length and severity of the recent COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on our business and industry; |
| • | legislative and regulatory developments related to U.S.-listed China-based companies due to lack of PCAOB inspection; |
| • | other factors that may affect our financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations; and |
| • | other risk factors discussed under “Item 3. Key Information—3.D. Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. |
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information or future developments or to release publicly any revisions to these statements in order to reflect later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Business Overview
We have built an audio ecosystem with a global presence consisting of audio-based social networks, podcast content portfolios, and audio communities.
LIZHI App is a leading online UGC audio community, interactive audio entertainment platform, and online audio platform in China. We launched our LIZHI App in 2013 to allow users to record and share their lives with voices on mobile devices with the help of intuitive recording and to reach their audience through various discovery tools. We have amassed extensive and growing user-generated audio content since then. Through our extensive podcast library, we attract a growing and engaging user base, which we believe presents attractive monetization opportunities.
With user interaction features built into every podcast, live streaming, and social audio entertainment product, our users not only listen to audio contents on our platforms, but also create, store, discover, and share audio
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contents and interact with each other through different channels. We launched audio live streaming as our first audio entertainment product feature in 2016, making it possible for our users to enjoy a multi-dimensional, interactive audio experience. Through LIZHI App, users can follow their favorite hosts and channels, become hosts and create their own podcasts, perform in live streaming, and interact with others through various interactive features.
Since our launch, we have also introduced a wide range of interactive audio products to drive user interactions, such as Friends Hall, which is an online chat room, and Voice ID Card, which is a function that analyzes and provides a report on users’ voice features, on LIZHI App.
Starting in July 2019, we launched the local customized version of our audio entertainment product in MENA. In October 2020, we launched our Tiya App, an audio-based social networking product, in the United States. Shortly after its launch, Tiya ranked among the top four social networking apps in the United States in November 2020 according to the ranking published by App Annie, a mobile data and analytics platform. Currently, Tiya App is operated in and has users from more than 200 countries. We have not launched Tiya App in China mainland.
Since December 2020, we have entered into collaboration agreements with a number of major automobile manufacturers in China, including Xpeng Motors, GAC AION New Energy Automobile, and GAC Motor, as well as automobile intelligent platforms, including BYD DiLink, a network linked automobiles intelligent system, and Huawei Mobile Services for Car, a smart in-car cloud service solution built by Huawei Terminal Cloud Services, to explore business opportunities in the in-car audio market.
In January 2021, we launched LIZHI Podcast (LIZHI BOKE in Chinese), a new podcast app, to provide curated podcast content drawn from our extensive content library built over the years as well as new podcasts to be provided by selected content creators.
Today, our vibrant platforms foster a thriving community with the following elements:
| • | Users—We cultivated a highly engaged user community of approximately 58.4 million average total mobile MAUs in the fourth quarter of 2020, representing an increase of 12.6% from approximately 51.9 million average total mobile MAUs in the fourth quarter of 2019. Our users are young and highly engaged, with a strong demand for self-expression and social interactions. We foster natural conversion of users to hosts through simple and intuitive audio tools. As a result, our users are not only listeners, but also content creators. The number of monthly active hosts on our app increased by 4.7% from approximately 5.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 to approximately 6.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, representing 10.6% of our average total mobile MAUs in the same period. |
| • | Content—We have built a leading online UGC audio community in China. Our platform offers a variety of tools to enable our users to create, edit, store, and share audio content to express their vocal talent. We offer a broad range of podcasts such as life and relationships, parenting, language learning, talk shows, music radio, and ACG, catering to the evolving and diversified interests of our user base. For audio entertainment, we offer a number of categories covering content such as social, music, talk show, ACG, and audio books. During the fourth quarter of 2020, approximately 90% of the audio content on our platform was produced by our users using our audio-making tools. |
| • | Interactions—We have developed innovative products for our users to interact with our hosts and other users. Features such as following, chatting, sharing, commenting, liking, on-air dialogues and virtual gifting have been deeply integrated into the audio content offered on our platforms, enhancing our user experience and engagement. Our audio-based social networking product offering, including Tiya App, caters to users’ evolving interest in social interactions in real time online and enables users to connect with friends having similar interests, entertain, chat online, and share their daily lives through voices. |
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| • | Audio and AI technologies—Through our industry-leading audio technologies, we simplify the audio creation process for our users, improve sound quality and effects, and ensure a consistently high-quality live streaming experience. Our proprietary voice engineering features include 3D recording, noise reduction, and voice beautification and synthesis. Machine learning and data analytics help us find patterns in users’ vocal and behavior data. Our AI technologies enable us to recommend relevant audio content to our users based on their interests through a fully automated process. Meanwhile, we also apply AI technologies to increase the efficiency of the matching systems on our apps. For instance, we have adopted AI technologies on Tiya App to match users with similar interests within a matter of seconds. |
We currently strategically offer most of our podcasts for free to attract a large user base. We primarily generate net revenues through sales of virtual gifts to users in relation to audio entertainment. Through virtual gifting, our users are able to reward their favorite hosts to drive interactions and content creation in our audio community. This also allows us to attract more users and motivate more content creation. We will continue to seek to diversify monetization channels as our user and content bases continue to grow.
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at Yangcheng Creative Industry Zone, No. 309 Middle Huangpu Avenue, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510655, People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86 20 8381-8791. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at the offices of Osiris International Cayman Limited, Suite #4-210, Governors Square, 23 Lime Tree Bay Avenue, PO Box 32311, Grand Cayman KY1-1209, Cayman Islands. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc. located at 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10168. Our corporate website is www.lizhi.fm. The information contained in our website is not a part of this prospectus.
Investing in our securities involves risks. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks described under “Risk Factors” in the applicable prospectus supplement and under the heading “Item 3. Key Information—3.D. Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which is incorporated in this prospectus by reference, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act that are incorporated herein by reference, together with all of the other information appearing in this prospectus or incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, in light of your particular investment objectives and financial circumstances. In addition to those risk factors, there may be additional risks and uncertainties of which management is not aware or focused on or that management deems immaterial. Our business, financial condition, or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks. The trading price of our securities could decline due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
We may from time to time, offer and sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus up to a total dollar amount of US$200,000,000 in one or more offerings. The securities offered under this prospectus may be offered separately, together, or in separate series, and in amounts, at prices, and on terms to be determined at the time of sale. We will keep the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part effective until such time as all of the securities covered by this prospectus have been disposed of pursuant to and in accordance with such registration statement.
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CAPITALIZATION AND INDEBTEDNESS
Our capitalization will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement or in a report on Form 6-K subsequently furnished to the SEC and specifically incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
If required, we will set forth in a prospectus supplement the following information regarding any material dilution of the equity interests of investors purchasing securities in an offering under this prospectus:
| • | the net tangible book value per share of our equity securities before and after the offering; |
| • | the amount of the increase in such net tangible book value per share attributable to the cash payments made by purchasers in the offering; and |
| • | the amount of the immediate dilution from the public offering price which will be absorbed by such purchasers. |
We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of securities we offer as indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and our affairs are governed by our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, as amended and restated from time to time, and Companies Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the “Companies Act”), and the common law of the Cayman Islands.
Our authorized share capital is US$150,000 divided into 1,500,000,000 shares of par value of US$0.0001 each, comprising of (a) 855,080,113 Class A ordinary shares of par value of US$0.0001 each, (b) 231,215,000 Class B ordinary shares of par value of US$0.0001 each, and (c) 413,704,887 shares of US$0.0001 each of such Class or Classes (however designated) as the Board of Directors may determine in accordance with our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association. As of the date of this prospectus, there are (i) 725,252,180 Class A ordinary shares issued, among which 694,485,230 Class A ordinary shares are outstanding, 15,320,620 Class A ordinary shares are treasury shares, and 15,446,330 Class A ordinary shares are held by Kastle Limited in trust for the benefit of certain of our senior management and directors before the corresponding share awards granted to such senior management and directors are vested pursuant to our Amended and Restated 2019 Share Incentive Plan and (ii) 231,215,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding.
Our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
The following are summaries of material provisions of our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Companies Act insofar as they relate to the material terms of our ordinary shares.
Ordinary Shares
General. Holders of our ordinary shares will have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. All of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares are fully paid and non-assessable. Certificates representing the ordinary shares are issued in registered form. We may not issue share to bearer. Our shareholders who are non-residents of the Cayman Islands may freely hold and transfer their ordinary shares.
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Dividends. The holders of our ordinary shares are entitled to such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors subject to our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Companies Act. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our directors. Our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provides that dividends may be declared and paid out of our profits, realized or unrealized, or out of the share premium account or as otherwise permitted by the Companies Act. No dividend may be declared and paid unless our directors determine that, immediately after the payment, we will be able to pay our debts as they become due in the ordinary course of business and we have funds lawfully available for such purpose.
Conversion. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any sale, transfer, assignment, or disposition of any Class B ordinary shares by a holder thereof to any person who is not a Founder or an affiliate of a Founder, or upon a change of beneficial ownership of any Class B ordinary shares as a result of which any person who is not a Founder or an affiliate of a Founder becomes a beneficial owner of such Class B ordinary shares, each of such Class B ordinary shares will be automatically and immediately converted into one Class A ordinary share. For the purpose of the foregoing sentence, an “affiliate” of a Founder also includes the estates and trusts of such Founder. In addition, in the event that a beneficial owner of Class B ordinary shares is one of our directors or executive officers, where such person ceases to be a director or an executive officer of our company, the Class B ordinary shares such person holds do not automatically convert to Class A ordinary shares as a result of termination of such person’s directorship or employment of an executive officer of our company.
Voting Rights. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares shall, at all times, vote together as one single class on all matters submitted to a vote by the members. Each Class A ordinary share shall be entitled to one vote on all matters subject to vote at general and special meetings of our company and each Class B ordinary share shall be entitled to 10 votes on all matters subject to vote at general and special meetings of our company.
A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of one or more shareholders holding the majority of the votes attaching to the issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at general meetings, which shall include the Founders present in person or by proxy or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative. As a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability, we are not obliged by the Companies Act to call shareholders’ annual general meetings. Our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provides that we may (but are not obliged to) in each year hold a general meeting as our annual general meeting in which case we will specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it, and the annual general meeting will be held at such time and place as may be determined by our board of directors. We, however, will hold an annual shareholders’ meeting during each fiscal year, as required by the Listing Rules at the Nasdaq. Each general meeting, other than an annual general meeting, shall be an extraordinary general meeting. Shareholders’ annual general meetings and any other general meetings of our shareholders may be called by a majority of our board of directors or our chairman or upon a requisition of shareholders holding at the date of deposit of the requisition not less than one-third of the votes attaching to the issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at general meetings, in which case the directors are obliged to call such meeting and to put the resolutions so requisitioned to a vote at such meeting; however, our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association does not provide our shareholders with any right to put any proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings not called by such shareholders. Advance notice of at least seven days is required for the convening of our annual general meeting and other general meetings unless such notice is waived in accordance with our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.
An ordinary resolution to be passed at a meeting by the shareholders requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes attaching to the ordinary shares cast by those shareholders entitled to vote who are present
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in person or by proxy at a general meeting, while a special resolution also requires the affirmative vote of no less than two-thirds of the votes attaching to the ordinary shares cast by those shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person or by proxy at a general meeting. A special resolution will be required for important matters such as a change of name or making changes to our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Transfer of Ordinary Shares. Subject to the restrictions in our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association as set out below, any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of his or her ordinary shares by an instrument of transfer in the usual or common form or any other form approved by our board of directors.
Our board of directors may, in its absolute discretion, decline to register any transfer of any ordinary share which is not fully paid up or on which we have a lien. Our board of directors may also decline to register any transfer of any ordinary share unless:
| • | the instrument of transfer is lodged with us, accompanied by the certificate for the ordinary shares to which it relates and such other evidence as our board of directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer; |
| • | the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one class of shares; |
| • | the instrument of transfer is properly stamped, if required; |
| • | in the case of a transfer to joint holders, the number of joint holders to whom the ordinary share is to be transferred does not exceed four; and |
| • | a fee of such maximum sum as the Nasdaq may determine to be payable or such lesser sum as our directors may from time to time require is paid to us in respect thereof. |
If our directors refuse to register a transfer they shall, within two calendar months after the date on which the instrument of transfer was lodged, send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of such refusal.
The registration of transfers may, after compliance with any notice required of the Nasdaq, be suspended and the register closed at such times and for such periods as our board of directors may from time to time determine, provided, however, that the registration of transfers shall not be suspended nor the register closed for more than 30 calendar days in any year as our board may determine.
Liquidation. On a return of capital on winding up or otherwise (other than on conversion, redemption or purchase of ordinary shares), if the assets available for distribution amongst our shareholders shall be more than sufficient to repay the whole of the share capital at the commencement of the winding up, the surplus shall be distributed amongst our shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares held by them at the commencement of the winding up, subject to a deduction from those shares in respect of which there are monies due, of all monies payable to our company for unpaid calls or otherwise. If our assets available for distribution are insufficient to repay all of the paid-up capital, the assets will be distributed so that the losses are borne by our shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares held by them. Any distribution of assets or capital to a holder of ordinary share will be the same in any liquidation event.
Calls on Ordinary Shares and Forfeiture of Ordinary Shares. Our board of directors may from time to time make calls upon shareholders for any amounts unpaid on their ordinary shares in a notice served to such shareholders at least 14 calendar days prior to the specified time of payment. The ordinary shares that have been called upon and remain unpaid are subject to forfeiture.
Redemption, Repurchase, and Surrender of Ordinary Shares. We may issue shares on terms that such shares are subject to redemption, at our option or at the option of the holders thereof, on such terms and in such manner
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as may be determined, before the issue of such shares, by our board of directors or by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders. Our company may also repurchase any of our shares provided that the manner and terms of such purchase have been approved by our board of directors or by ordinary resolution of our shareholders, or are otherwise authorized by our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association. Under the Companies Act, the redemption or repurchase of any share may be paid out of our company’s profits or out of the proceeds of a fresh issue of shares made for the purpose of such redemption or repurchase, or out of capital (including share premium account and capital redemption reserve) if the company can, immediately following such payment, pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, under the Companies Act no such share may be redeemed or repurchased (a) unless it is fully paid up, (b) if such redemption or repurchase would result in there being no shares outstanding other than shares held as treasury shares, or (c) if we have commenced liquidation. In addition, our company may accept the surrender of any fully paid share for no consideration.
Variations of Rights of Shares. If at any time our share capital is divided into different classes or series of shares, the rights attached to any class or series of shares (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class or series), whether or not our company is being wound-up, may be varied with the consent in writing of holders of not less than two-thirds of the issued shares of that class or series or with the sanction of a resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of the class or series by two-thirds of the votes cast at such a meeting. The rights conferred upon the holders of the shares of any class issued with preferred or other rights shall not, unless otherwise expressly provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class, be deemed to be varied by the creation or issue of further shares ranking pari passu with such existing class of shares.
Inspection of Books and Records. Holders of our ordinary shares have no general right under Cayman Islands law to inspect or obtain copies of our list of shareholders or our corporate records. However, we will provide our shareholders with annual audited financial statements.
Issuance of Additional Shares. Our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association authorizes our board of directors to issue additional ordinary shares from time to time as our board of directors shall determine, to the extent authorized but unissued.
Anti-Takeover Provisions. Some provisions of our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association may discourage, delay, or prevent a change of control of our company or management that shareholders may consider favorable, including provisions that authorize our board of directors to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to designate the price, rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions of such preferred shares without any further vote or action by our shareholders.
Exempted Company. We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except that an exempted company:
| • | does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies; |
| • | is not required to open its register of members for inspection; |
| • | does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
| • | may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings can be given for up to 30 years); |
| • | may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; |
| • | may register as a limited duration company; and |
| • | may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
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“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on that shareholder’s shares of the company.
Preferred Shares
Our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association also authorizes our board of directors to establish from time to time one or more series of preferred shares and to determine, with respect to any series of preferred shares, the terms and rights of that series, including:
| • | the designation of the series; |
| • | the number of shares of the series; |
| • | the dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, and voting rights; and |
| • | the rights and terms of redemption and liquidation preferences. |
Our board of directors may issue preferred shares without action by our shareholders to the extent authorized but unissued. Issuance of these shares may dilute the voting power of holders of ordinary shares.
You should refer to the prospectus supplement relating to the series of preferred shares being offered for the specific terms of that series, including:
| • | title of the series and the number of shares in the series; |
| • | the price at which the preferred shares will be offered; |
| • | the dividend rate or rates or method of calculating the rates, the dates on which the dividends will be payable, whether or not dividends will be cumulative or noncumulative, and, if cumulative, the dates from which dividends on the preferred shares being offered will cumulate; |
| • | the voting rights, if any, of the holders of preferred shares being offered; |
| • | the provisions for a sinking fund, if any, and the provisions for redemption, if applicable, of the preferred shares being offered, including any restrictions on the foregoing as a result of arrearage in the payment of dividends or sinking fund installments; |
| • | the liquidation preference per share; |
| • | the terms and conditions, if applicable, upon which the preferred shares being offered will be convertible into our ordinary shares, including the conversion price, or the manner of calculating the conversion price, and the conversion period; |
| • | the terms and conditions, if applicable, upon which the preferred shares being offered will be exchangeable for debt securities, including the exchange price, or the manner of calculating the exchange price, and the exchange period; |
| • | any listing of the preferred shares being offered on any securities exchange; |
| • | a discussion of any material federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred shares being offered; |
| • | any preemptive rights; |
| • | the relative ranking and preferences of the preferred shares being offered as to dividend rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution, or the winding up of our affairs; |
| • | any limitations on the issuance of any class or series of preferred shares ranking senior or equal to the series of preferred shares being offered as to dividend rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution, or the winding up of our affairs; and |
| • | any additional rights, preferences, qualifications, limitations, and restrictions of the series. |
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Upon issuance, the preferred shares will be fully paid and non-assessable, which means that its holders will have paid their purchase price in full and we may not require them to pay additional funds.
Issuance of preferred shares may dilute the voting power of holders of ordinary shares.
Register of Members
Under the Companies Act, we must keep a register of members and there should be entered therein:
| • | the names and addresses of our members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member; |
| • | the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and |
| • | the date on which any person ceased to be a member. |
Under the Companies Act, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (that is, the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members is deemed as a matter of Companies Act to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon completion of this offering, we will perform the procedure necessary to immediately update the register of members to record and give effect to the issuance of shares by us to the depositary (or its nominee) as the depositary. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name.
If the name of any person is incorrectly entered in or omitted from our register of members, or if there is any default or unnecessary delay in entering on the register the fact of any person having ceased to be a member of our company, the person or member aggrieved (or any member of our company or our company itself) may apply to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for an order that the register be rectified, and the Court may either refuse such application or it may, if satisfied of the justice of the case, make an order for the rectification of the register.
Differences in Corporate Law
The Companies Act is derived, to a large extent, from the older Companies Acts of England, but does not follow many recent English law statutory enactments. In addition, the Companies Act differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the State of Delaware. This discussion does not purport to be a complete statement of the rights of our shareholders under applicable law in the Cayman Islands and our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association nor the rights of holders of the common stock of a typical corporation under applicable Delaware law and a typical certificate of incorporation and bylaws.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. The Companies Act permits mergers and consolidations between Cayman Islands companies and between Cayman Islands companies and non-Cayman Islands companies. For these purposes, (a) “merger” means the merging of two or more constituent companies and the vesting of their undertaking, property and liabilities in one of such companies as the surviving company, and (b) a “consolidation” means the combination of two or more constituent companies into a consolidated company and the vesting of the undertaking, property and liabilities of such companies to the consolidated company. In order to effect such a merger or consolidation, the directors of each constituent company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation, which must then be authorized by (a) a special resolution of the shareholders of each constituent company, and (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. The written plan of merger or consolidation must be filed with the Registrar of Companies
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of the Cayman Islands together with a declaration as to the solvency of the consolidated or surviving company, a declaration as to the assets and liabilities of each constituent company and an undertaking that a copy of the certificate of merger or consolidation will be given to the members and creditors of each constituent company and that notification of the merger or consolidation will be published in the Cayman Islands Gazette. Court approval is not required for a merger or consolidation which is effected in compliance with these statutory procedures.
A merger between a Cayman parent company and its Cayman subsidiary or subsidiaries does not require authorization by a resolution of shareholders of that Cayman subsidiary if a copy of the plan of merger is given to every member of that Cayman subsidiary to be merged unless that member agrees otherwise. For this purpose, a company is a “parent” of a subsidiary if it holds issued shares that together represent at least ninety percent (90%) of the votes at a general meeting of the subsidiary.
The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest over a constituent company is required unless this requirement is waived by a court in the Cayman Islands.
Save in certain limited circumstances, a shareholder of a Cayman constituent company who dissents from the merger or consolidation is entitled to payment of the fair value of his shares (which, if not agreed between the parties, will be determined by the Cayman Islands court) upon dissenting to the merger or consolidation, provide the dissenting shareholder complies strictly with the procedures set out in the Companies Act. The exercise of dissenter rights will preclude the exercise by the dissenting shareholder of any other rights to which he or she might otherwise be entitled by virtue of holding shares, save for the right to seek relief on the grounds that the merger or consolidation is void or unlawful.
Separate from the statutory provisions relating to mergers and consolidations, the Companies Act also contains statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction and amalgamation of companies by way of schemes of arrangement, provided that the arrangement is approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made, and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meetings, convened for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands.
The Companies Act also contains a statutory power of compulsory acquisition which may facilitate the “squeeze out” of a dissenting minority shareholder upon a tender offer. When a tender offer is made and accepted by holders of 90.0% of the shares affected within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period commencing on the expiration of such four-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares to the offeror on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands but this is unlikely to succeed in the case of an offer which has been so approved unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith or collusion.
If an arrangement and reconstruction is thus approved, or if a tender offer is made and accepted, a dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of Delaware corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.
Shareholders’ Suits. In principle, we will normally be the proper plaintiff to sue for a wrong done to us as a company, and as a general rule a derivative action may not be brought by a minority shareholder. However, based on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands court can be expected to follow and apply the common law principles (namely the rule in Foss v. Harbottle and the exceptions thereto) which permit a minority shareholder to commence a class action against or derivative actions in the name of the company to challenge actions where:
| • | a company acts or proposes to act illegally or ultra vires; |
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| • | the act complained of, although not ultra vires, could only be effected duly if authorized by more than a simple majority vote that has not been obtained; and |
| • | those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.” |
Indemnification of Directors and Executive Officers and Limitation of Liability. Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s 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 Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provides that we shall indemnify our officers and directors against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages, or liabilities incurred or sustained by such directors or officer, other than by reason of such person’s dishonesty, willful default or fraud, in or about the conduct of our company’s business or affairs (including as a result of any mistake of judgment) or in the execution or discharge of his duties, powers, authorities, or discretions, including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by such director or officer in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning our company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere. This standard of conduct is generally the same as permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law for a Delaware corporation.
In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers that provide such persons with additional indemnification beyond that provided in our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers, or persons controlling us under 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.
Directors’ Fiduciary Duties. Under Delaware corporate law, a director of a Delaware corporation has a fiduciary duty to the corporation and its shareholders. This duty has two components: the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. The duty of care requires that a director act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. Under this duty, a director must inform himself of, and disclose to shareholders, all material information reasonably available regarding a significant transaction. The duty of loyalty requires that a director acts in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. He must not use his corporate position for personal gain or advantage. This duty prohibits self-dealing by a director and mandates that the best interest of the corporation and its shareholders take precedence over any interest possessed by a director, officer or controlling shareholder and not shared by the shareholders generally. In general, actions of a director are presumed to have been made on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the corporation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of a breach of one of the fiduciary duties. Should such evidence be presented concerning a transaction by a director, the director must prove the procedural fairness of the transaction, and that the transaction was of fair value to the corporation.
As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a director of a Cayman Islands company is in the position of a fiduciary with respect to the company and therefore it is considered that he owes the following duties to the company—a duty to act bona fide in the best interests of the company, a duty not to make a profit based on his position as director (unless the company permits him to do so), a duty not to put himself in a position where the interests of the company conflict with his personal interest or his duty to a third party, and a duty to exercise powers for the purpose for which such powers were intended. A director of a Cayman Islands company owes to the company a duty to act with skill and care. It was previously considered that a director need not exhibit in the performance of his duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his knowledge and
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experience. However, English and Commonwealth courts have moved towards an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands.
Shareholder Action by Written Consent. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may eliminate the right of shareholders to act by written consent by amendment to its certificate of incorporation. The Companies Act and our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provide that our shareholders may approve corporate matters by way of a unanimous written resolution signed by or on behalf of each shareholder who would have been entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting without a meeting being held.
Shareholder Proposals. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a shareholder has the right to put any proposal before the annual meeting of shareholders, provided it complies with the notice provisions in the governing documents. A special meeting may be called by the board of directors or any other person authorized to do so in the governing documents, but shareholders may be precluded from calling special meetings.
The Companies Act provides shareholders with only limited rights to requisition a general meeting, and does not provide shareholders with any right to put any proposal before a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in a company’s articles of association. Our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association allows our shareholders holding in aggregate not less than one-third of all votes attaching to the issued and outstanding shares of our company entitled to vote at general meetings to requisition an extraordinary general meeting of our shareholders, in which case our board is obliged to convene an extraordinary general meeting and to put the resolutions so requisitioned to a vote at such meeting. Other than this right to requisition a shareholders’ meeting, our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association does not provide our shareholders with any other right to put proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings not called by such shareholders. As an exempted Cayman Islands company, we are not obliged by law to call shareholders’ annual general meetings.
Cumulative Voting. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, cumulative voting for elections of directors is not permitted unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation specifically provides for it. Cumulative voting potentially facilitates the representation of minority shareholders on a board of directors since it permits the minority shareholder to cast all the votes to which the shareholder is entitled on a single director, which increases the shareholder’s voting power with respect to electing such director. There are no prohibitions in relation to cumulative voting under the laws of the Cayman Islands but our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association does not provide for cumulative voting. As a result, our shareholders are not afforded any less protections or rights on this issue than shareholders of a Delaware corporation.
Removal of Directors. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a director of a corporation with a classified board may be removed only for cause with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, directors may be removed with or without cause, by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders. A director shall hold office until the expiration of his or her term or his or her successor shall have been elected and qualified, or until his or her office is otherwise vacated. In addition, a director’s office shall be vacated if the director (i) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; (ii) is found to be or becomes of unsound mind or dies; (iii) resigns his office by notice in writing to the company; (iv) without special leave of absence from our board of directors, is absent from three consecutive meetings of the board and the board resolves that his office be vacated; (v) is prohibited by law from being a director; or (vi) is removed from office pursuant to any other provisions of our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Transactions with Interested Shareholders. The Delaware General Corporation Law contains a business combination statute applicable to Delaware corporations whereby, unless the corporation has specifically elected not to be governed by such statute by amendment to its certificate of incorporation, it is prohibited from engaging
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in certain business combinations with an “interested shareholder” for three years following the date that such person becomes an interested shareholder. An interested shareholder generally is a person or a group who or which owns or owned 15% or more of the target’s outstanding voting share within the past three years. This has the effect of limiting the ability of a potential acquirer to make a two-tiered bid for the target in which all shareholders would not be treated equally. The statute does not apply if, among other things, prior to the date on which such shareholder becomes an interested shareholder, the board of directors approves either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the person becoming an interested shareholder. This encourages any potential acquirer of a Delaware corporation to negotiate the terms of any acquisition transaction with the target’s board of directors.
Cayman Islands law has no comparable statute. As a result, we cannot avail ourselves of the types of protections afforded by the Delaware business combination statute. However, although Cayman Islands law does not regulate transactions between a company and its significant shareholders, the directors of the Company are required to comply with fiduciary duties which they owe to the Company under Cayman Islands laws, including the duty to ensure that, in their opinion, any such transactions must be entered into bona fide in the best interests of the company, and are entered into for a proper corporate purpose and not with the effect of constituting a fraud on the minority shareholders.
Dissolution; Winding up. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, unless the board of directors approves the proposal to dissolve, dissolution must be approved by shareholders holding 100% of the total voting power of the corporation. Only if the dissolution is initiated by the board of directors may it be approved by a simple majority of the corporation’s outstanding shares. Delaware law allows a Delaware corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a supermajority voting requirement in connection with dissolutions initiated by the board.
Under Cayman Islands law, a company may be wound up by either an order of the courts of the Cayman Islands or by a special resolution of its members or, if the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due, by an ordinary resolution of its members. The court has authority to order winding up in a number of specified circumstances including where it is, in the opinion of the court, just and equitable to do so. Under the Companies Act and our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, our company may be dissolved, liquidated or wound up by a special resolution of our shareholders.
Variation of Rights of Shares. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may vary the rights of a class of shares with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of such class, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under Cayman Islands law and our post-offering amended and restated articles of association, if our share capital is divided into more than one class of shares, we may vary the rights attached to any class with the written consent of the holders of not less than two-thirds of the issued shares of that class or with the sanction of a resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of that class by the holders of two-thirds of the issued shares of that class.
Amendment of Governing Documents. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation’s governing documents may be amended with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under the Companies Act and our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association may only be amended by a special resolution of our shareholders.
Rights of Nonresident or Foreign Shareholders. There are no limitations imposed by our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association on the rights of nonresident or foreign shareholders to hold or exercise voting rights on our shares. In addition, there are no provisions in our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association governing the ownership threshold above which shareholder ownership must be disclosed.
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Anti-money Laundering—Cayman Islands
In order to comply with legislation or regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering, we may be required to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering procedures and may require subscribers to provide evidence to verify their identity. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, we may also delegate the maintenance of our anti-money laundering procedures (including the acquisition of due diligence information) to a suitable person.
We reserve the right to request such information as is necessary to verify the identity of a subscriber. In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information required for verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited.
We also reserve the right to refuse to make any redemption payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment of redemption proceeds to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
If any person resident in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reason for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or is involved with terrorism or terrorist property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of their business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) a nominated officer (appointed in accordance with the Proceeds of Crime Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands) or the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (Revised), if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering or (ii) to a police constable or a nominated officer (pursuant to the Terrorism Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands) or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (Revised), if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and terrorist property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
Data Protection in the Cayman Islands—Privacy Notice
This privacy notice explains the manner in which we collect, process, and maintain personal data about investors of the Company pursuant to the Data Protection Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, as amended from time to time and any regulations, codes of practice, or orders promulgated pursuant thereto (the “DPA”).
We are committed to processing personal data in accordance with the DPA. In our use of personal data, we will be characterized under the DPA as a “data controller,” whilst certain of our service providers, affiliates, and delegates may act as “data processors” under the DPA. These service providers may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us.
By virtue of your investment in the Company, we and certain of our service providers may collect, record, store, transfer, and otherwise process personal data by which individuals may be directly or indirectly identified.
Your personal data will be processed fairly and for lawful purposes, including (a) where the processing is necessary for us to perform a contract to which you are a party or for taking pre-contractual steps at your request, (b) where the processing is necessary for compliance with any legal, tax, or regulatory obligation to which we are subject (such as compliance with anti-money laundering requirements, sanctions screening, maintaining statutory registers, and compliance with statutory information sharing requirements), or (c) where the processing is for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by us or by a service provider to whom the data are disclosed. As a data controller, we will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it. If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will contact you.
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We anticipate that we will share your personal data with our service providers for the purposes set out in this privacy notice. We may also share relevant personal data where it is lawful to do so and necessary to comply with our contractual obligations or your instructions or where it is necessary or desirable to do so in connection with any regulatory reporting obligations. In exceptional circumstances, we will share your personal data with regulatory, prosecuting, and other governmental agencies or departments, and parties to litigation (whether pending or threatened), in any country or territory including to any other person where we have a public or legal duty to do so (e.g. to assist with detecting and preventing fraud, tax evasion, and financial crime or compliance with a court order).
Your personal data shall not be held by the Company for longer than necessary with regard to the purposes of the data processing.
We will not sell your personal data. Any transfer of personal data outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the DPA. Where necessary, we will ensure that separate and appropriate legal agreements are put in place with the recipient of that data.
We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPA, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction, or damage to the personal data.
If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation to your investment into the Company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should inform such individuals of the content.
You have certain rights under the DPA, including (a) the right to be informed as to how we collect and use your personal data (and this privacy notice fulfils our obligation in this respect), (b) the right to obtain a copy of your personal data, (c) the right to require us to stop direct marketing, (d) the right to have inaccurate or incomplete personal data corrected, (e) the right to withdraw your consent and require us to stop processing or restrict the processing, or not begin the processing of your personal data, (f) the right to be notified of a data breach (unless the breach is unlikely to be prejudicial), (g) the right to obtain information as to any countries or territories outside the Cayman Islands to which we, whether directly or indirectly, transfer, intend to transfer, or wish to transfer your personal data, general measures we take to ensure the security of personal data, and any information available to us as to the source of your personal data, (h) the right to complain to the Office of the Ombudsman of the Cayman Islands, and (i) the right to require us to delete your personal data in some limited circumstances.
If you consider that your personal data has not been handled correctly, or you are not satisfied with our responses to any requests you have made regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to complain to the Cayman Islands’ Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can be contacted by calling +1 (345) 946-6283 or by email at info@ombudsman.ky.
History of Share Capital
The following is a summary of our share capital for the three years preceding the date of this prospectus.
Issuances of Ordinary Shares
Upon our incorporation in the Cayman Islands in January 2019, we issued one ordinary share at par value of US$0.0001 per share, to Osiris International Cayman Limited, which was shortly after transferred to VOICE WORLD Ltd. On the same day, we issued one ordinary share at par value of US$0.0001 per share to AI VOICE Ltd.
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In March 2019, as part of the restructuring transactions in contemplation of our initial public offering, we issued a total of 220,999,999 ordinary shares at par value of US$0.0001 per share to VOICE WORLD Ltd and 38,999,999 ordinary shares at par value of US$0.0001 per share to AI VOICE Ltd, in exchange for 221,000,000 ordinary shares at par value of US$0.0001 per share and 39,000,000 ordinary shares at par value of US$0.0001 per share of LIZHI INC., or Lizhi BVI, a company incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands, held by them, respectively.
In September 2019, VOICE WORLD Ltd transferred all of our ordinary shares it held to Voice Future Ltd for the purpose of establishing a trust for the benefit of persons designated by Mr. Jinnan (Marco) Lai.
In September 2019, AI VOICE Ltd transferred all of our ordinary shares it held to Voice Intelligence Ltd for the purpose of establishing a trust for the benefit of persons designated by Mr. Ning Ding.
In September 2019, we issued a total of 25,428,430 ordinary shares at par value of US$0.0001 per share to Kastle Limited which holds such ordinary shares in trust for the benefit of certain members of management and directors of our company.
In January 2020, we completed an initial public offering and issued 4,100,000 ADSs, each representing 20 of our Class A ordinary shares.
Issuances of Preferred Shares
In March 2019, as part of the restructuring transactions in contemplation of our initial public offering, we issued preferred shares at par value of US$0.0001 per share to the following shareholders in exchange for the corresponding number of issued preferred shares at par value of US$0.0001 per share of Lizhi BVI held by them immediately prior to such issuances.
| • | 100,000,000 Series A Preferred Shares, 16,666,660 Series B Preferred Shares, and 64,583,330 Series C Preferred Shares to Matrix Partners China I Hong Kong Limited, in exchange for 100,000,000 series A preferred shares, 16,666,660 series B preferred shares, and 64,583,330 series C preferred shares of Lizhi BVI held by it, respectively; |
| • | 99,999,990 Series B Preferred Shares and 12,662,470 Series C Preferred Shares to Morningside China TMT Fund II, L.P., in exchange for 99,999,990 series B preferred shares and 12,662,470 series C preferred shares of Lizhi BVI held by it, respectively; |
| • | 65,337,530 Series C Preferred Shares to Morningside China TMT Top Up Fund, L.P., in exchange for 65,337,530 series C preferred shares of Lizhi BVI held by it; |
| • | 17,348,680 Series C1 Preferred Shares to People Better Limited, in exchange for 17,348,680 series C1 preferred shares of Lizhi BVI held by it; |
| • | 17,348,680 Series C1 Preferred Shares to Shunwei Internet Limited, in exchange for 17,348,680 series C1 preferred shares of Lizhi BVI held by it; |
| • | 26,912,090 Series C1+ Preferred Shares to VOICE WORLD Ltd, in exchange for 26,912,090 series C1+ preferred shares of Lizhi BVI held by it; |
| • | 128,152,790 Series D Preferred Shares to CYBER DREAMER LIMITED, in exchange for 128,52,790 series D preferred shares of Lizhi BVI held by it; and |
| • | 20,023,870 Series D1 Preferred Shares to Evolution Media China L.P., in exchange for 20,023,870 series D1 preferred shares of Lizhi BVI held by it. |
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DESCRIPTION OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES
American Depositary Shares
Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as depositary, will register and deliver the ADSs. Each ADS will represent ownership of 20 Class A ordinary shares, deposited with Deutsche Bank AG, Hong Kong Branch, as custodian for the depositary. Each ADS will also represent ownership of any other securities, cash, or other property which may be held by the depositary. The depositary’s corporate trust office at which the ADSs will be administered is located at 60 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005, USA. The principal executive office of the depositary is located at 60 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005, USA.
The Direct Registration System, or DRS, is a system administered by The Depository Trust Company, or DTC, pursuant to which the depositary may register the ownership of uncertificated ADSs, which ownership shall be evidenced by periodic statements issued by the depositary to the ADS holders entitled thereto.
We will not treat ADS holders as our shareholders and accordingly, you, as an ADS holder, will not have shareholder rights. Cayman Islands law governs shareholder rights. The depositary will be the holder of the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs. As a holder of ADSs, you will have ADS holder rights. A deposit agreement among us, the depositary, and you, as an ADS holder, and the beneficial owners of ADSs sets out ADS holder rights as well as the rights and obligations of the depositary. The laws of the State of New York govern the deposit agreement and the ADSs.
The following is a summary of the material provisions of the deposit agreement. For more complete information, you should read the entire deposit agreement and the form of American Depositary Receipt. For directions on how to obtain copies of those documents, see “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Holding the ADSs
How will you hold your ADSs?
You may hold ADSs either (1) directly (a) by having an American Depositary Receipt, or ADR, which is a certificate evidencing a specific number of ADSs, registered in your name, or (b) by holding ADSs in DRS, or (2) indirectly through your broker or other financial institution. If you hold ADSs directly, you are an ADS holder. This description assumes you hold your ADSs directly. ADSs will be issued through DRS, unless you specifically request certificated ADRs. If you hold the ADSs indirectly, you must rely on the procedures of your broker or other financial institution to assert the rights of ADS holders described in this section. You should consult with your broker or financial institution to find out what those procedures are.
Dividends and Other Distributions
How will you receive dividends and other distributions on the shares?
The depositary has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities, after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of Class A ordinary shares your ADSs represent as of the record date (which will be as close as practicable to the record date for our ordinary shares) set by the depositary with respect to the ADSs.
| • | Cash. The depositary will convert or cause to be converted any cash dividend or other cash distribution we pay on the Class A ordinary shares or any net proceeds from the sale of any Class A ordinary shares, rights, securities, or other entitlements under the terms of the deposit agreement into U.S. dollars if it can do so on a practicable basis, and can transfer the U.S. dollars to the United States and will distribute promptly the amount thus received. If the depositary shall determine in its judgment that such conversions or transfers are not practical or lawful or if any government approval or license is |
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needed and cannot be obtained at a reasonable cost within a reasonable period or otherwise sought, the deposit agreement allows the depositary to distribute the foreign currency only to those ADS holders to whom it is possible to do so. It will hold or cause the custodian to hold the foreign currency it cannot convert for the account of the ADS holders who have not been paid and such funds will be held for the respective accounts of the ADS holders. It will not invest the foreign currency and it will not be liable for any interest for the respective accounts of the ADS holders. |
| • | Before making a distribution, any taxes or other governmental charges, together with fees and expenses of the depositary, that must be paid, will be deducted. It will distribute only whole U.S. dollars and cents and will round down fractional cents to the nearest whole cent. If the exchange rates fluctuate during a time when the depositary cannot convert the foreign currency, you may lose some or all of the value of the distribution. |
| • | Shares. For any Class A ordinary shares we distribute as a dividend or free distribution, either (1) the depositary will distribute additional ADSs representing such Class A ordinary shares or (2) existing ADSs as of the applicable record date will represent rights and interests in the additional Class A ordinary shares distributed, to the extent reasonably practicable and permissible under law, in either case, net of applicable fees, charges and expenses incurred by the depositary and taxes and/or other governmental charges. The depositary will only distribute whole ADSs. It will try to sell Class A ordinary shares which would require it to deliver a fractional ADS and distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash. The depositary may sell a portion of the distributed Class A ordinary shares sufficient to pay its fees and expenses, and any taxes and governmental charges, in connection with that distribution. |
| • | Elective Distributions in Cash or Shares. If we offer holders of our Class A ordinary shares the option to receive dividends in either cash or shares, the depositary, after consultation with us and having received timely notice as described in the deposit agreement of such elective distribution by us, has discretion to determine to what extent such elective distribution will be made available to you as a holder of the ADSs. We must timely first instruct the depositary to make such elective distribution available to you and furnish it with satisfactory evidence that it is legal to do so. The depositary could decide it is not legal or reasonably practicable to make such elective distribution available to you. In such case, the depositary shall, on the basis of the same determination as is made in respect of the Class A ordinary shares for which no election is made, distribute either cash in the same way as it does in a cash distribution, or additional ADSs representing Class A ordinary shares in the same way as it does in a share distribution. The depositary is not obligated to make available to you a method to receive the elective dividend in shares rather than in ADSs. There can be no assurance that you will be given the opportunity to receive elective distributions on the same terms and conditions as the holders of Class A ordinary shares. |
| • | Rights to Purchase Additional Shares. If we offer holders of our Class A ordinary shares any rights to subscribe for additional shares, the depositary shall having received timely notice as described in the deposit agreement of such distribution by us, consult with us, and we must determine whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to make these rights available to you. We must first instruct the depositary to make such rights available to you and furnish the depositary with satisfactory evidence that it is legal to do so. If the depositary decides it is not legal or reasonably practicable to make the rights available but that it is lawful and reasonably practicable to sell the rights, the depositary will endeavor to sell the rights and in a riskless principal capacity or otherwise, at such place and upon such terms (including public or private sale) as it may deem proper distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash. The depositary will allow rights that are not distributed or sold to lapse. In that case, you will receive no value for them. |
If the depositary makes rights available to you, it will establish procedures to distribute such rights and enable you to exercise the rights upon your payment of applicable fees, charges and expenses incurred by the depositary and taxes and/or other governmental charges. The depositary shall not be obliged to
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make available to you a method to exercise such rights to subscribe for Class A ordinary shares (rather than ADSs).
U.S. securities laws may restrict transfers and cancellation of the ADSs represented by shares purchased upon exercise of rights. For example, you may not be able to trade these ADSs freely in the United States. In this case, the depositary may deliver restricted depositary shares that have the same terms as the ADSs described in this section except for changes needed to put the necessary restrictions in place.
There can be no assurance that you will be given the opportunity to exercise rights on the same terms and conditions as the holders of Class A ordinary shares or be able to exercise such rights.
| • | Other Distributions. Subject to receipt of timely notice, as described in the deposit agreement, from us with the request to make any such distribution available to you, and provided the depositary has determined such distribution is lawful and reasonably practicable and feasible and in accordance with the terms of the deposit agreement, the depositary will distribute to you anything else we distribute on deposited securities by any means it may deem practicable, upon your payment of applicable fees, charges, and expenses incurred by the depositary and taxes and/or other governmental charges. If any of the conditions above are not met, the depositary will endeavor to sell, or cause to be sold, what we distributed and distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash; or, if it is unable to sell such property, the depositary may dispose of such property in any way it deems reasonably practicable under the circumstances for nominal or no consideration, such that you may have no rights to or arising from such property. |
The depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any ADS holders. We have no obligation to register ADSs, shares, rights, or other securities under the Securities Act. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, shares, rights, or anything else to ADS holders. This means that you may not receive the distributions we make on our shares or any value for them if we and/or the depositary determines that it is illegal or not practicable for us or the depositary to make them available to you.
Deposit, Withdrawal, and Cancellation
How are ADSs issued?
The depositary will deliver ADSs if you or your broker deposit Class A ordinary shares or evidence of rights to receive Class A ordinary shares with the custodian. Upon payment of its fees and expenses and of any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or stock transfer taxes or fees, the depositary will register the appropriate number of ADSs in the names you request and will deliver the ADSs to or upon the order of the person or persons entitled thereto.
How do ADS holders cancel an American Depositary Share?
You may turn in your ADSs at the depositary’s corporate trust office or by providing appropriate instructions to your broker. Upon payment of its fees and expenses and of any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or stock transfer taxes or fees, the depositary will deliver the Class A ordinary shares and any other deposited securities underlying the ADSs to you or a person you designate at the office of the custodian. Or, at your request, risk and expense, the depositary will deliver the deposited securities at its corporate trust office, to the extent permitted by law.
How do ADS holders interchange between Certificated ADSs and Uncertificated ADSs?
You may surrender your ADR to the depositary for the purpose of exchanging your ADR for uncertificated ADSs. The depositary will cancel that ADR and will send you a statement confirming that you are the owner of
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uncertificated ADSs. Alternatively, upon receipt by the depositary of a proper instruction from a holder of uncertificated ADSs requesting the exchange of uncertificated ADSs for certificated ADSs, the depositary will execute and deliver to you an ADR evidencing those ADSs.
Voting Rights
How do you vote?
You may instruct the depositary to vote the Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities underlying your ADSs at any meeting at which you are entitled to vote pursuant to any applicable law, and the provisions of our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association. Otherwise, you could exercise your right to vote directly if you withdraw the Class A ordinary shares. However, you may not know about the meeting sufficiently enough in advance to withdraw the Class A ordinary shares.
If we ask for your instructions and upon timely notice from us by regular, ordinary mail delivery, or by electronic transmission, as described in the deposit agreement, the depositary will notify you of the upcoming meeting at which you are entitled to vote pursuant to any applicable law and the provisions of our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. The materials will include or reproduce (a) such notice of meeting or solicitation of consents or proxies; (b) a statement that the ADS holders at the close of business on the ADS record date will be entitled, subject to any applicable law, and the provisions of our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights, if any, pertaining to the Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities represented by such holder’s ADSs; and (c) a brief statement as to the manner in which such instructions may be given to the depositary. Voting instructions may be given only in respect of a number of ADSs representing an integral number of Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities. For instructions to be valid, the depositary must receive them in writing on or before the date specified. The depositary will try, as far as practical, subject to applicable law and the provisions of our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, to vote or to have its agents vote the Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities (in person or by proxy) as you instruct. The depositary will only vote or attempt to vote as you instruct.
We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs. In addition, there can be no assurance that ADS holders and beneficial owners generally, or any holder or beneficial owner in particular, will be given the opportunity to vote or cause the custodian to vote on the same terms and conditions as the holders of our Class A ordinary shares.
The depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and you may have no recourse if the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs are not voted as you requested.
In order to give you a reasonable opportunity to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of voting rights relating to deposited securities, if we request the depositary to act, we will give the depositary notice of any such meeting and details concerning the matters to be voted at least 30 business days in advance of the meeting date.
Compliance with Regulations
Information Requests
Each ADS holder and beneficial owner shall (a) provide such information as we or the depositary may request pursuant to law, including, without limitation, relevant Cayman Islands law, any applicable law of the United States of America, our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, any resolutions of our board of directors adopted pursuant to such Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of
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Association, the requirements of any markets or exchanges upon which the Class A ordinary shares, ADSs, or ADRs are listed or traded, or to any requirements of any electronic book-entry system by which the ADSs or ADRs may be transferred, regarding the capacity in which they own or owned ADRs, the identity of any other persons then or previously interested in such ADRs and the nature of such interest, and any other applicable matters, and (b) be bound by and subject to applicable provisions of the laws of the Cayman Islands, our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, and the requirements of any markets or exchanges upon which the ADSs, ADRs, or Class A ordinary shares are listed or traded, or pursuant to any requirements of any electronic book-entry system by which the ADSs, ADRs, or Class A ordinary shares may be transferred, to the same extent as if such ADS holder or beneficial owner held Class A ordinary shares directly, in each case irrespective of whether or not they are ADS holders or beneficial owners at the time such request is made.
Disclosure of Interests
Each ADS holder and beneficial owner shall comply with our requests pursuant to Cayman Islands law, the rules and requirements of the Nasdaq Global Market and any other stock exchange on which the Class A ordinary shares are, or will be, registered, traded, or listed or our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, which requests are made to provide information, inter alia, as to the capacity in which such ADS holder or beneficial owner owns ADS and regarding the identity of any other person interested in such ADS and the nature of such interest and various other matters, whether or not they are ADS holders or beneficial owners at the time of such requests.
Fees and Expenses
Pursuant to the terms of the deposit agreement, as an ADS holder, you will be required to pay the following service fees to the depositary bank and certain taxes and governmental charges (in addition to any applicable fees, expenses, taxes, and other governmental charges payable on the deposited securities represented by any of your ADSs):
Service | Fees | |
• To any person to which ADSs are issued or to any person to which a distribution is made in respect of ADS distributions pursuant to stock dividends or other free distributions of stock, bonus distributions, stock splits, or other distributions (except where converted to cash) | Up to US$0.05 per ADS issued | |
• Cancellation of ADSs, including the case of termination of the deposit agreement | Up to US$0.05 per ADS cancelled | |
• Distribution of cash dividends | Up to US$0.05 per ADS held | |
• Distribution of cash entitlements (other than cash dividends) and/or cash proceeds from the sale of rights, securities and other entitlements | Up to US$0.05 per ADS held | |
• Distribution of ADSs pursuant to exercise of rights | Up to US$0.05 per ADS held | |
• Distribution of securities other than ADSs or rights to purchase additional ADSs | Up to US$0.05 per ADS held | |
• Depositary services | Up to US$0.05 per ADS held on the applicable record date(s) established by the depositary bank | |
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As an ADS holder, you will also be responsible to pay certain fees and expenses incurred by the depositary bank and certain taxes and governmental charges (in addition to any applicable fees, expenses, taxes, and other governmental charges payable on the deposited securities represented by any of your ADSs) such as:
| • | Fees for the transfer and registration of Class A ordinary shares charged by the registrar and transfer agent for the Class A ordinary shares in the Cayman Islands (i.e., upon deposit and withdrawal of Class A ordinary shares); |
| • | Expenses incurred for converting foreign currency into U.S. dollars; |
| • | Expenses for cable, telex, and fax transmissions and for delivery of securities; |
| • | Taxes and duties upon the transfer of securities, including any applicable stamp duties, any stock transfer charges or withholding taxes (i.e., when Class A ordinary shares are deposited or withdrawn from deposit); |
| • | Fees and expenses incurred in connection with the delivery or servicing of Class A ordinary shares on deposit; |
| • | Fees and expenses incurred in connection with complying with exchange control regulations and other regulatory requirements applicable to Class A ordinary shares, deposited securities, ADSs, and ADRs; and |
| • | Any applicable fees and penalties thereon. |
The depositary fees payable upon the issuance and cancellation of ADSs are typically paid to the depositary bank by the brokers (on behalf of their clients) receiving the newly issued ADSs from the depositary bank and by the brokers (on behalf of their clients) delivering the ADSs to the depositary bank for cancellation. The brokers in turn charge these fees to their clients. Depositary fees payable in connection with distributions of cash or securities to ADS holders and the depositary services fee are charged by the depositary bank to the holders of record of ADSs as of the applicable ADS record date.
The depositary fees payable for cash distributions are generally deducted from the cash being distributed or by selling a portion of distributable property to pay the fees. In the case of distributions other than cash (i.e., share dividends, rights), the depositary bank charges the applicable fee to the ADS record date holders concurrent with the distribution. In the case of ADSs registered in the name of the investor (whether certificated or uncertificated in direct registration), the depositary bank sends invoices to the applicable record date ADS holders. In the case of ADSs held in brokerage and custodian accounts (via DTC), the depositary bank generally collects its fees through the systems provided by DTC (whose nominee is the registered holder of the ADSs held in DTC) from the brokers and custodians holding ADSs in their DTC accounts. The brokers and custodians who hold their clients’ ADSs in DTC accounts in turn charge their clients’ accounts the amount of the fees paid to the depositary banks.
In the event of refusal to pay the depositary fees, the depositary bank may, under the terms of the deposit agreement, refuse the requested service until payment is received or may set off the amount of the depositary fees from any distribution to be made to the ADS holder.
The depositary may make payments to us or reimburse us for certain costs and expenses, by making available a portion of the ADS fees collected in respect of the ADR program or otherwise, upon such terms and conditions as we and the depositary bank agree from time to time.
Payment of Taxes
You will be responsible for any taxes or other governmental charges payable, or which become payable, on your ADSs or on the deposited securities represented by any of your ADSs. The depositary may refuse to register or
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transfer your ADSs or allow you to withdraw the deposited securities represented by your ADSs until such taxes or other charges are paid. It may apply payments owed to you or sell deposited securities represented by your ADSs to pay any taxes owed and you will remain liable for any deficiency. If the depositary sells deposited securities, it will, if appropriate, reduce the number of ADSs to reflect the sale and pay to you any net proceeds, or send to you any property, remaining after it has paid the taxes. You agree to indemnify us, the depositary, the custodian and each of our and their respective agents, directors, employees and affiliates for, and hold each of them harmless from, any claims with respect to taxes (including applicable interest and penalties thereon) arising from any refund of taxes, reduced rate of withholding at source or other tax benefit obtained for you. Your obligations under this paragraph shall survive any transfer of ADRs, any surrender of ADRs and withdrawal of deposited securities, or the termination of the deposit agreement.
Reclassifications, Recapitalizations and Mergers
If we: | Then: | |
| Change the nominal or par value of our Class A ordinary shares | The cash, shares or other securities received by the depositary will become deposited securities. | |
| Reclassify, split up or consolidate any of the deposited securities | Each ADS will automatically represent its equal share of the new deposited securities. | |
| Distribute securities on the Class A ordinary shares that are not distributed to you, or recapitalize, reorganize, merge, liquidate, sell all or substantially all of our assets, or take any similar action | The depositary may distribute some or all of the cash, shares or other securities it received. It may also deliver new ADSs or ask you to surrender your outstanding ADRs in exchange for new ADRs identifying the new deposited securities. | |
Amendment and Termination
How may the deposit agreement be amended?
We may agree with the depositary to amend the deposit agreement and the form of ADR without your consent for any reason. If an amendment adds or increases fees or charges, except for taxes and other governmental charges or expenses of the depositary for registration fees, facsimile costs, delivery charges, or similar items, including expenses incurred in connection with foreign exchange control regulations and other charges specifically payable by ADS holders under the deposit agreement, or materially prejudices a substantial existing right of ADS holders, it will not become effective for outstanding ADSs until 30 days after the depositary notifies ADS holders of the amendment. At the time an amendment becomes effective, you are considered, by continuing to hold your ADSs, to agree to the amendment and to be bound by the ADRs and the deposit agreement as amended. If any new laws are adopted which would require the deposit agreement to be amended in order to comply therewith, we and the depositary may amend the deposit agreement in accordance with such laws and such amendment may become effective before notice thereof is given to ADS holders.
How may the deposit agreement be terminated?
The depositary will terminate the deposit agreement if we ask it to do so, in which case the depositary will give notice to you at least 90 days prior to termination. The depositary may also terminate the deposit agreement if the depositary has told us that it would like to resign, or if we have removed the depositary, and in either case we have not appointed a new depositary within 90 days. In either such case, the depositary must notify you at least 30 days before termination.
After termination, the depositary and its agents will do the following under the deposit agreement but nothing else: collect distributions on the deposited securities, sell rights and other property, and deliver Class A ordinary shares and other deposited securities upon cancellation of ADSs after payment of any fees, charges, taxes, or
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other governmental charges. Six months or more after the date of termination, the depositary may sell any remaining deposited securities by public or private sale. After that, the depositary will hold the money it received on the sale, as well as any other cash it is holding under the deposit agreement, for the pro rata benefit of the ADS holders that have not surrendered their ADSs. It will not invest the money and has no liability for interest. After such sale, the depositary’s only obligations will be to account for the money and other cash. After termination, we shall be discharged from all obligations under the deposit agreement except for our obligations to the depositary thereunder.
Books of Depositary
The depositary will maintain ADS holder records at its depositary office. You may inspect such records at such office during regular business hours but solely for the purpose of communicating with other holders in the interest of business matters relating to the Company, the ADRs, and the deposit agreement.
The depositary will maintain facilities in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York to record and process the issuance, cancellation, combination, split-up, and transfer of ADRs.
These facilities may be closed at any time or from time to time when such action is deemed necessary or advisable by the depositary in connection with the performance of its duties under the deposit agreement or at our reasonable written request.
Limitations on Obligations and Liability
Limits on our Obligations and the Obligations of the Depositary and the Custodian; Limits on Liability to Holders of ADSs
The deposit agreement expressly limits our obligations and the obligations of the depositary and the custodian. It also limits our liability and the liability of the depositary. The depositary and the custodian:
| • | are only obligated to take the actions specifically set forth in the deposit agreement without gross negligence or willful misconduct; |
| • | are not liable if any of us or our respective controlling persons or agents are prevented or forbidden from, or subjected to any civil or criminal penalty or restraint on account of, or delayed in, doing or performing any act or thing required by the terms of the deposit agreement and any ADR, by reason of any provision of any present or future law or regulation of the United States or any state thereof, the Cayman Islands, or any other country, or of any other governmental authority or regulatory authority or stock exchange, or on account of the possible criminal or civil penalties or restraint, or by reason of any provision, present or future, of our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association or any provision of or governing any deposited securities, or by reason of any act of God or war or other circumstances beyond its control (including, without limitation, nationalization, expropriation, currency restrictions, work stoppage, strikes, civil unrest, revolutions, rebellions, explosions, and computer failure); |
| • | are not liable by reason of any exercise of, or failure to exercise, any discretion provided for in the deposit agreement or in our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association or provisions of or governing deposited securities; |
| • | are not liable for any action or inaction of the depositary, the custodian, or us or their or our respective controlling persons or agents in reliance upon the advice of or information from legal counsel, any person presenting Class A ordinary shares for deposit or any other person believed by it in good faith to be competent to give such advice or information; |
| • | are not liable for the inability of any holder of ADSs to benefit from any distribution on deposited securities that is not made available to holders of ADSs under the terms of the deposit agreement; |
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| • | are not liable for any special, consequential, indirect, or punitive damages for any breach of the terms of the deposit agreement, or otherwise; |
| • | may rely upon any documents we believe in good faith to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party; |
| • | disclaim any liability for any action or inaction or inaction of any of us or our respective controlling persons or agents in reliance upon the advice of or information from legal counsel, accountants, any person presenting Class A ordinary shares for deposit, holders and beneficial owners (or authorized representatives) of ADSs, or any person believed in good faith to be competent to give such advice or information; and |
| • | disclaim any liability for inability of any holder to benefit from any distribution, offering, right, or other benefit made available to holders of deposited securities but not made available to holders of ADS. |
The depositary and any of its agents also disclaim any liability (i) for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, the manner in which any vote is cast or the effect of any vote or failure to determine that any distribution or action may be lawful or reasonably practicable or for allowing any rights to lapse in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement, (ii) the failure or timeliness of any notice from us, the content of any information submitted to it by us for distribution to you or for any inaccuracy of any translation thereof, (iii) any investment risk associated with the acquisition of an interest in the deposited securities, the validity or worth of the deposited securities, the credit-worthiness of any third party, (iv) for any tax consequences that may result from ownership of ADSs, Class A ordinary shares or deposited securities, or (v) for any acts or omissions made by a successor depositary whether in connection with a previous act or omission of the depositary or in connection with any matter arising wholly after the removal or resignation of the depositary, provided that in connection with the issue out of which such potential liability arises the depositary performed its obligations without gross negligence or willful misconduct while it acted as depositary.
In the deposit agreement, we agree to indemnify the depositary under certain circumstances.
Jurisdiction and Arbitration
The laws of the State of New York govern the deposit agreement and the ADSs and we have agreed with the depositary that the federal or state courts in the City of New York shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine any dispute arising from or in connection with the deposit agreement and that the depositary will have the right to refer any claim or dispute arising from the relationship created by the deposit agreement to arbitration in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitration provisions of the deposit agreement do not preclude you from pursuing claims under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act in federal courts.
Jury Trial Waiver
The deposit agreement provides that each party to the deposit agreement (including each holder, beneficial owner, and holder of interests in the ADRs) irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any right it may have to a trial by jury in any lawsuit or proceeding against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our shares, the ADSs, or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws. If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable based on the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with the applicable law.
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Requirements for Depositary Actions
Before the depositary will issue, deliver, or register a transfer of an ADS, split-up, subdivide, or combine ADSs, make a distribution on an ADS, or permit withdrawal of Class A ordinary shares, the depositary may require:
| • | payment of stock transfer or other taxes or other governmental charges and transfer or registration fees charged by third parties for the transfer of any Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities and payment of the applicable fees, expenses and charges of the depositary; |
| • | satisfactory proof of the identity and genuineness of any signature or any other matters contemplated in the deposit agreement; and |
| • | compliance with (A) any laws or governmental regulations relating to the execution and delivery of ADRs or ADSs or to the withdrawal or delivery of deposited securities and (B) such reasonable regulations and procedures as the depositary may establish, from time to time, consistent with the deposit agreement and applicable laws, including presentation of transfer documents. |
The depositary may refuse to issue and deliver ADSs or register transfers of ADSs generally when the register of the depositary or our transfer books are closed or at any time if the depositary or we determine that it is necessary or advisable to do so.
Your Right to Receive the Shares Underlying Your ADSs
You have the right to cancel your ADSs and withdraw the underlying Class A ordinary shares at any time except:
| • | when temporary delays arise because: (1) the depositary has closed its transfer books or we have closed our transfer books; (2) the transfer of Class A ordinary shares is blocked to permit voting at a shareholders’ meeting; or (3) we are paying a dividend on our Class A ordinary shares; |
| • | when you owe money to pay fees, taxes, and similar charges; |
| • | when it is necessary to prohibit withdrawals in order to comply with any laws or governmental regulations that apply to ADSs or to the withdrawal of Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities; |
| • | other circumstances specifically contemplated by Section I.A.(l) of the General Instructions to Form F-6 (as such General Instructions may be amended from time to time); or |
| • | for any other reason if the depositary or we determine, in good faith, that it is necessary or advisable to prohibit withdrawals. |
The depositary shall not knowingly accept for deposit under the deposit agreement any Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities required to be registered under the provisions of the Securities Act, unless a registration statement is in effect as to such Class A ordinary shares.
This right of withdrawal may not be limited by any other provision of the deposit agreement.
Direct Registration System
In the deposit agreement, all parties to the deposit agreement acknowledge that the DRS and Profile Modification System, or Profile, will apply to uncertificated ADSs upon acceptance thereof to DRS by DTC. DRS is the system administered by DTC pursuant to which the depositary may register the ownership of uncertificated ADSs, which ownership shall be evidenced by periodic statements issued by the depositary to the ADS holders entitled thereto. Profile is a required feature of DRS which allows a DTC participant, claiming to act on behalf of an ADS holder, to direct the depositary to register a transfer of those ADSs to DTC or its nominee and to deliver those ADSs to the DTC account of that DTC participant without receipt by the depositary of prior authorization from the ADS holder to register such transfer.
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
General
We may issue debt securities which may or may not be converted into our ordinary shares or preferred shares. We may issue the debt securities independently or together with any underlying securities, and debt securities may be attached or separate from the underlying securities. In connection with the issuance of any debt securities, we do not intend to issue them pursuant to a trust indenture upon reliance of Section 304(a)(8) of the Trust Indenture Act and Rule 4a-1 promulgated thereunder.
The following description is a summary of selected provisions relating to the debt securities that we may issue. The summary is not complete. When debt securities are offered in the future, a prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or a free writing prospectus, as applicable, will explain the particular terms of those securities and the extent to which these general provisions may apply. The specific terms of the debt securities as described in a prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus will supplement and, if applicable, may modify or replace the general terms described in this section.
This summary and any description of debt securities in the applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus is subject to and is qualified in its entirety by reference to all the provisions of any specific debt securities document or agreement. We will file each of these documents, as applicable, with the SEC and incorporate them by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part on or before the time we issue a series of warrants. See “Where You Can Find Additional Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” below for information on how to obtain a copy of a debt securities document when it is filed.
When we refer to a series of debt securities, we mean all debt securities issued as part of the same series under the applicable indenture.
Terms
The applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus, may describe the terms of any debt securities that we may offer, including, but not limited to, the following:
| • | the title of the debt securities; |
| • | the total amount of the debt securities; |
| • | the amount or amounts of the debt securities will be issued and interest rate; |
| • | the conversion price at which the debt securities may be converted; |
| • | the date on which the right to convert the debt securities will commence and the date on which the right will expire; |
| • | if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of debt securities that may be converted at any one time; |
| • | if applicable, a discussion of material federal income tax consideration; |
| • | if applicable, the terms of the payoff of the debt securities; |
| • | the identity of the indenture agent, if any; |
| • | the procedures and conditions relating to the conversion of the debt securities; and |
| • | any other terms of the debt securities, including terms, procedure and limitation relating to the exchange or conversion of the debt securities. |
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Form, Exchange, and Transfer
We may issue the debt securities in registered form or bearer form. Debt securities issued in registered form, i.e., book-entry form, will be represented by a global security registered in the name of a depository, which will be the holder of all the debt securities represented by the global security. Those investors who own beneficial interests in global debt securities will do so through participants in the depository’s system, and the rights of these indirect owners will be governed solely by the applicable procedures of the depository and its participants. In addition, we may issue debt securities in non-global form, i.e., bearer form. If any debt securities are issued in non-global form, debt securities certificates may be exchanged for new debt securities certificates of different denominations, and holders may exchange, transfer, or convert their debt securities at the debt securities agent’s office or any other office indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference or free writing prospectus.
Prior to the conversion of their debt securities, holders of debt securities convertible for ordinary shares or preferred shares will not have any rights of holders of ordinary shares or preferred shares, and will not be entitled to dividend payments, if any, or voting rights of the ordinary shares or preferred shares.
Conversion of Debt Securities
A debt security may entitle the holder to purchase, in exchange for the extinguishment of debt, an amount of securities at a conversion price that will be stated in the debt security. Debt securities may be converted at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date set forth in the terms of such debt security. After the close of business on the expiration date, debt securities not exercised will be paid in accordance with their terms.
Debt securities may be converted as set forth in the applicable offering material. Upon receipt of a notice of conversion properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the indenture agent, if any, or to us, we will forward, as soon as practicable, the securities purchasable upon such exercise. If less than all of the debt security represented by such security is converted, a new debt security will be issued for the remaining debt security.
General
We may issue warrants to purchase our securities. We may issue the warrants independently or together with any underlying securities, and the warrants may be attached or separate from the underlying securities. We may also issue a series of warrants under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and a warrant agent. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants of such series and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency for or with holders or beneficial owners of warrants.
The following description is a summary of selected provisions relating to the warrants that we may issue. The summary is not complete. When warrants are offered in the future, a prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or a free writing prospectus, as applicable, will explain the particular terms of those securities and the extent to which these general provisions may apply. The specific terms of the warrants as described in a prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus will supplement and, if applicable, may modify or replace the general terms described in this section.
This summary and any description of warrants in the applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus is subject to and is qualified in its entirety by reference to all the provisions of any specific warrant document or agreement, if applicable. We will file each of these documents, as applicable, with the SEC and incorporate them by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part on or before the time we issue a series of warrants. See “Where You Can Find Additional Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” below for information on how to obtain a copy of a warrant document when it is filed.
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When we refer to a series of warrants, we mean all warrants issued as part of the same series under the applicable warrant agreement.
Terms
The applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus, may describe the terms of any warrants that we may offer, including, but not limited to, the following:
| • | the title of the warrants; |
| • | the total number of warrants; |
| • | the price or prices at which the warrants will be issued; |
| • | the price or prices at which the warrants may be exercised; |
| • | the currency or currencies that investors may use to pay for the warrants; |
| • | the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and the date on which the right will expire; |
| • | whether the warrants will be issued in registered form or bearer form; |
| • | information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any; |
| • | if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of warrants that may be exercised at any one time; |
| • | if applicable, the designation and terms of the underlying securities with which the warrants are issued and the number of warrants issued with each underlying security; |
| • | if applicable, the date on and after which the warrants and the related underlying securities will be separately transferable; |
| • | if applicable, a discussion of material federal income tax considerations; |
| • | if applicable, the terms of redemption of the warrants; |
| • | the identity of the warrant agent, if any; |
| • | the procedures and conditions relating to the exercise of the warrants; and |
| • | any other terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures, and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the warrants. |
Warrant Agreement
We may issue the warrants in one or more series under one or more warrant agreements, each to be entered into between us and a bank, trust company, or other financial institution as warrant agent. We may add, replace, or terminate warrant agents from time to time. We may also choose to act as our own warrant agent or may choose one of our subsidiaries to do so.
The warrant agent under a warrant agreement will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants issued under that agreement. Any holder of warrants may, without the consent of any other person, enforce by appropriate legal action, on its own behalf, its right to exercise those warrants in accordance with their terms.
Form, Exchange, and Transfer
We may issue the warrants in registered form or bearer form. Warrants issued in registered form, i.e., book-entry form, will be represented by a global security registered in the name of a depository, which will be the holder of all the warrants represented by the global security. Those investors who own beneficial interests in a global
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warrant will do so through participants in the depository’s system, and the rights of these indirect owners will be governed solely by the applicable procedures of the depository and its participants. In addition, we may issue warrants in non-global form, i.e., bearer form. If any warrants are issued in non-global form, warrant certificates may be exchanged for new warrant certificates of different denominations, and holders may exchange, transfer, or exercise their warrants at the warrant agent’s office or any other office indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus.
Prior to the exercise of their warrants, holders of warrants exercisable for ordinary shares or preferred shares will not have any rights of holders of ordinary shares or preferred shares and will not be entitled to dividend payments, if any, or voting rights of the ordinary shares or preferred shares.
Exercise of Warrants
A warrant will entitle the holder to purchase for cash an amount of securities at an exercise price that will be stated in, or that will be determinable as described in, the applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus. Warrants may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date set forth in the applicable offering material. After the close of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will become void. Warrants may be redeemed as set forth in the applicable offering material.
Warrants may be exercised as set forth in the applicable offering material. Upon receipt of payment and the warrant certificate properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the applicable offering material, we will forward, as soon as practicable, the securities purchasable upon such exercise. If less than all of the warrants represented by such warrant certificate are exercised, a new warrant certificate will be issued for the remaining warrants.
We may issue rights to purchase our securities. The rights may or may not be transferable by the persons purchasing or receiving the rights. In connection with any rights offering, we may enter into a standby underwriting or other arrangement with one or more underwriters or other persons pursuant to which such underwriters or other persons would purchase any offered securities remaining unsubscribed for after such rights offering. Each series of rights will be issued under a separate rights agent agreement to be entered into between us and one or more banks, trust companies, or other financial institutions, as rights agent, that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement. The rights agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the rights and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders of rights certificates or beneficial owners of rights.
The prospectus supplement relating to any rights that we offer will include specific terms relating to the offering, including, among other matters:
| • | the date of determining the security holders entitled to the rights distribution; |
| • | the aggregate number of rights issued and the aggregate amount of securities purchasable upon exercise of the rights; |
| • | the exercise price; |
| • | the conditions to completion of the rights offering; |
| • | the date on which the right to exercise the rights will commence and the date on which the rights will expire; and |
| • | any applicable federal income tax considerations. |
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Each right would entitle the holder of the rights to purchase for cash the principal amount of securities at the exercise price set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Rights may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date for the rights provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, all unexercised rights will become void.
If less than all of the rights issued in any rights offering are exercised, we may offer any unsubscribed securities directly to persons other than our security holders, to or through agents, underwriters, or dealers, or through a combination of such methods, including pursuant to standby arrangements, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
We may issue units composed of any combination of our securities. We will issue each unit so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit. As a result, the holder of a unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each included security. The unit agreement under which a unit is issued may provide that the securities included in the unit may not be held or transferred separately, at any time or at any time before a specified date.
The following description is a summary of selected provisions relating to units that we may offer. The summary is not complete. When units are offered in the future, a prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or a free writing prospectus, as applicable, will explain the particular terms of those securities and the extent to which these general provisions may apply. The specific terms of the units as described in a prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus will supplement and, if applicable, may modify or replace the general terms described in this section.
This summary and any description of units in the applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus is subject to and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the unit agreement, collateral arrangements, and depositary arrangements, if applicable. We will file each of these documents, as applicable, with the SEC and incorporate them by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part on or before the time we issue a series of units. See “Where You Can Find Additional Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” below for information on how to obtain a copy of a document when it is filed.
The applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus may describe:
| • | The designation and terms of the units and of the securities comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances those securities may be held or transferred separately; |
| • | Any provisions for the issuance, payment, settlement, transfer, or exchange of the units or of the securities composing the units; |
| • | Whether the units will be issued in fully registered or global form; and |
| • | Any other terms of the units. |
The applicable provisions described in this section, as well as those described under “Description of Share Capital,” “Description of American Depositary Shares,” “Description of Debt Securities,” “Description of Warrants,” and “Description of Rights” above, will apply to each unit and to each security included in each unit, respectively.
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We may sell the securities offered by this prospectus from time to time in one or more transactions, including, without limitation:
| • | through agents; |
| • | to or through underwriters; |
| • | through broker-dealers (acting as agent or principal); |
| • | directly by us to purchasers (including our affiliates and shareholders), through a specific bidding or auction process, a rights offering, or other method; |
| • | through a combination of any such methods of sale; or |
| • | through any other methods described in a prospectus supplement. |
The distribution of securities may be effected, from time to time, in one or more transactions, including:
| • | block transactions (which may involve crosses) and transactions on Nasdaq or any other organized market where the securities may be traded; |
| • | purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its own account pursuant to a prospectus supplement; |
| • | ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which a broker-dealer solicits purchasers; |
| • | sales “at the market” to or through a market maker or into an existing trading market, on an exchange or otherwise; and |
| • | sales in other ways not involving market makers or established trading markets, including direct sales to purchasers. |
The securities may be sold at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, or at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices relating to the prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. The consideration may be cash, extinguishment of debt, or another form negotiated by the parties. Agents, underwriters, or broker-dealers may be paid compensation for offering and selling the securities. That compensation may be in the form of discounts, concessions, or commissions to be received from us or from the purchasers of the securities. Dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters, and compensation received by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act. If such dealers or agents were deemed to be underwriters, they may be subject to statutory liabilities under the Securities Act.
We may also make direct sales through subscription rights distributed to our existing shareholders on a pro rata basis, which may or may not be transferable. In any distribution of subscription rights to our shareholders, if all of the underlying securities are not subscribed for, we may then sell the unsubscribed securities directly to third parties or may engage the services of one or more underwriters, dealers, or agents, including standby underwriters, to sell the unsubscribed securities to third parties.
Some or all of the securities that we offer through this prospectus may be new issues of securities with no established trading market. Any underwriters to whom we sell our securities for public offering and sale may make a market in those securities, but they will not be obligated to do so and they may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. Accordingly, we cannot assure you of the liquidity of, or continued trading markets for, any securities that we offer.
Agents may, from time to time, solicit offers to purchase the securities. If required, we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement, document incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus, as applicable,
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any agent involved in the offer or sale of the securities and set forth any compensation payable to the agent. Unless otherwise indicated, any agent will be acting on a best efforts basis for the period of its appointment. Any agent selling the securities covered by this prospectus may be deemed to be an underwriter of the securities.
If underwriters are used in an offering, securities will be acquired by the underwriters for their own account and may be resold, from time to time, in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or under delayed delivery contracts or other contractual commitments. Securities may be offered to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more firms acting as underwriters. If an underwriter or underwriters are used in the sale of securities, an underwriting agreement will be executed with the underwriter or underwriters at the time an agreement for the sale is reached. The applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the managing underwriter or underwriters, as well as any other underwriter or underwriters, with respect to a particular underwritten offering of securities, and will set forth the terms of the transactions, including compensation of the underwriters and dealers and the public offering price, if applicable. This prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any applicable free writing prospectus will be used by the underwriters to resell the securities.
If a dealer is used in the sale of the securities, we, or an underwriter, will sell the securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale. To the extent required, we will set forth in the prospectus supplement, document incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus, as applicable, the name of the dealer and the terms of the transactions.
We may directly solicit offers to purchase the securities and may make sales of securities directly to institutional investors or others. These persons may be deemed to be underwriters with respect to any resale of the securities. To the extent required, the prospectus supplement, document incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus, as applicable, will describe the terms of any such sales, including the terms of any bidding or auction process, if used.
Agents, underwriters, and dealers may be entitled under agreements which may be entered into with us to indemnification by us against specified liabilities, including liabilities incurred under the Securities Act, or to contribution by us to payments they may be required to make in respect of such liabilities. If required, the prospectus supplement, document incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus, as applicable, will describe the terms and conditions of such indemnification or contribution. Some of the agents, underwriters, or dealers, or their affiliates may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us or our subsidiaries or affiliates in the ordinary course of business.
Under the securities laws of some states, the securities offered by this prospectus may be sold in those states only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers.
Any person participating in the distribution of securities registered under the registration statement that includes this prospectus will be subject to applicable provisions of the Exchange Act, and the applicable SEC rules and regulations, including, among others, Regulation M, which may limit the timing of purchases and sales of any of our securities by any such person. Furthermore, Regulation M may restrict the ability of any person engaged in the distribution of our securities to engage in market-making activities with respect to our securities.
These restrictions may affect the marketability of our securities and the ability of any person or entity to engage in market-making activities with respect to our securities.
Certain persons participating in an offering may engage in over-allotment, stabilizing transactions, short-covering transactions, and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act that stabilize, maintain, or otherwise affect the price of the offered securities. If any such activities will occur, they will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
To the extent required, this prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time to time to describe a specific plan of distribution.
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Material income tax consequences relating to the purchase, ownership, and disposition of the securities offered by this prospectus are set forth in “Item 10. Additional Information—10.E. Taxation” in our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference and, if applicable, in any accompanying prospectus supplement or relevant free writing prospectus.
The following table sets forth the aggregate expenses in connection with this offering, all of which will be paid by us. All amounts shown are estimates, except for the SEC registration fee.
SEC registration fee | US$ | 21,820 | ||
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fees | US$ | 30,500 | ||
Legal fees and expenses | US$ | * | ||
Accounting fees and expenses | US$ | * | ||
Printing and postage expenses | US$ | * | ||
Miscellaneous expenses | US$ | * | ||
|
| |||
Total | US$ | * |
| * | To be provided by a prospectus supplement or as an exhibit to a report of foreign private issuer on Form 6-K that is incorporated by reference into this registration statement. Estimated solely for this item. Actual expenses may vary. |
Our material contracts are described in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus. See “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” below.
Except as otherwise described in our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, in our reports of foreign private issuer on Form 6-K filed or submitted under the Exchange Act and incorporated by reference herein, and as disclosed in this prospectus or the applicable prospectus supplement, no reportable material changes have occurred since December 31, 2020.
We are being represented by Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC with respect to certain legal matters of U.S. federal securities and New York State law. The validity of the securities offered in this offering and certain other legal matters as to Cayman Islands law will be passed upon for us by Walkers (Hong Kong). Legal matters as to PRC law will be passed upon for us by JunHe LLP. Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC may rely upon Walkers (Hong Kong) with respect to matters governed by Cayman Islands law and JunHe LLP with respect to matters governed by PRC law.
If legal matters in connection with offerings made pursuant to this prospectus are passed upon by counsel to underwriters, dealers, or agents, such counsel will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to any such offering.
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The financial statements incorporated in this Prospectus by reference to the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
The registered business address of PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP is 6/F DBS Bank Tower, 1318, Lu Jia Zui Ring Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China.
INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” into this prospectus certain information that we file with the SEC. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. Any statement contained in a document incorporated by reference in this prospectus shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained herein, or in any subsequently filed document, which also is incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes such earlier statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.
We hereby incorporate by reference into this prospectus the following documents:
| (1) | our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 26, 2021; |
| (2) | the description of our ordinary shares contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC on January 8, 2020, and any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description; |
| (3) | any future annual reports on Form 20-F filed with the SEC after the date of this prospectus and prior to the termination of the offering of the securities offered by this prospectus; and |
| (4) | any future reports of foreign private issuer on Form 6-K that we furnish to the SEC after the date of this prospectus that are identified in such reports as being incorporated by reference into the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. |
Our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the SEC on March 26, 2021 contains a description of our business and audited consolidated financial statements with a report by our independent auditors. These statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Unless expressly incorporated by reference, nothing in this prospectus shall be deemed to incorporate by reference information furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC. Copies of all documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, other than exhibits to those documents unless such exhibits are specially incorporated by reference in this prospectus, will be provided at no cost to each person, including any beneficial owner, who receives a copy of this prospectus on the written or oral request of that person made to:
LIZHI INC.
Yangcheng Creative Industry Zone
No. 309 Middle Huangpu Avenue
Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510655
People’s Republic of China
Tel: +86 20 8381-8791
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You should rely only on the information that we incorporate by reference or provide in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We are not making any offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained or incorporated in this prospectus by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the document containing the information.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
As permitted by SEC rules, this prospectus omits certain information and exhibits that are included in the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Since this prospectus may not contain all of the information that you may find important, you should review the full text of these documents. If we have filed a contract, agreement, or other document as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, you should read the exhibit for a more complete understanding of the document or matter involved. Each statement in this prospectus, including statements incorporated by reference as discussed above, regarding a contract, agreement, or other document is qualified in its entirety by reference to the actual document.
We are subject to periodic reporting and other informational requirements of the Exchange Act as applicable to foreign private issuers. Accordingly, we are required to file reports, including annual reports on Form 20-F, and other information with the SEC. All information filed with the SEC can be inspected over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can request copies of these documents, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by writing to the SEC.
As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt under the Exchange Act from, among other things, the rules prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will not be required under the Exchange Act to file periodic or current reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act.
ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES
We were incorporated in the Cayman Islands, as an exempted company, in order to enjoy the following benefits:
| • | political and economic stability; |
| • | an effective judicial system; |
| • | a favorable tax system; |
| • | the absence of exchange control or currency restrictions; and |
| • | the availability of professional and support services. |
However, certain disadvantages accompany incorporation in the Cayman Islands. These disadvantages include, but are not limited to, the following:
| • | the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States and these securities laws provide significantly less protection to investors as compared to the United States; and |
| • | Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States. |
Our constitutional documents do not contain provisions requiring that disputes, including those arising under the securities laws of the United States, between us, our officers, directors, and shareholders, be arbitrated.
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All of our operations are conducted outside the United States, and all of our assets are located outside the United States. A majority of our directors and officers are nationals or residents of jurisdictions other than the United States and a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for a shareholder to effect service of process within the United States upon these persons, or to enforce against us or them judgments obtained in U.S. courts, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.
We have appointed Cogency Global Inc. as our agent upon whom process may be served in any action brought against us under the securities laws of the United States.
Cayman Islands
Walkers (Hong Kong), our counsel as to Cayman Islands law, has advised us that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands, would:
| • | recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature; or |
| • | entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. |
Our counsel with respect to the laws of the Cayman Islands has advised us that it is uncertain whether the courts of the Cayman Islands will allow shareholders of our company to originate actions in the Cayman Islands based upon securities laws of the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty with regard to Cayman Islands law related to whether a judgment obtained from the U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws will be determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands as penal or punitive in nature. If such a determination is made, the courts of the Cayman Islands will not recognize or enforce the judgment against a Cayman Islands company, such as our company. As the courts of the Cayman Islands have yet to rule on making such a determination in relation to judgments obtained from U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws, it is uncertain whether such judgments would be enforceable in the Cayman Islands. Our counsel has further advised us that although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the federal or state courts of the United States (and the Cayman Islands are not a party to any treaties for the reciprocal enforcement or recognition of such judgments), a judgment obtained in such jurisdiction will be recognized and enforced in the courts of the Cayman Islands at common law, without any reexamination of the merits of the underlying dispute, by an action commenced on the foreign judgment debt in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, provided such judgment (a) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction, (b) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given, (c) is final, (d) is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty, and (e) was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands.
China
JunHe LLP, our counsel as to PRC law, has advised us that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of China, would:
| • | recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature; or |
| • | entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. |
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We have been advised by our PRC legal counsel, that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the PRC would enforce judgments of U.S. courts or Cayman courts obtained against us or these persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal and state securities laws or Cayman Island laws. JunHe LLP has further advised us that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other form of reciprocity with the United States or the Cayman Islands that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in the PRC will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC law or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States or in the Cayman Islands.
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PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 8. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s 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 Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our Second Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provides that we shall indemnify our officers and directors against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages, or liabilities incurred or sustained by such directors or officer, other than by reason of such person’s dishonesty, willful default, or fraud, in or about the conduct of our company’s business or affairs (including as a result of any mistake of judgment) or in the execution or discharge of his duties, powers, authorities, or discretions, including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses, losses, or liabilities incurred by such director or officer in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning our company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere.
In addition, we have entered into an indemnification agreement with each of our directors and executive officers. Under these agreements, we agree to indemnify our directors and executive officers against certain liabilities and expenses incurred by such persons in connection with claims made by reason of their being a director or officer of our company.
Item 9. Exhibits
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| * | To be filed, if applicable, by amendment or as an exhibit to a report filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and incorporated herein by reference. |
| ** | Filed herewith. |
| 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 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 Securities and Exchange 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) | 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 (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, with respect to registration statements on Form F-3, 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-K 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 Form F-3. |
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| (5) | 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. |
| (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 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, |
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| 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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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 the City of Guangzhou, China, on March 26, 2021.
| LIZHI INC. | ||||
| By: | /s/ Jinnan (Marco) Lai | |||
| Name: | Jinnan (Marco) Lai | |||
| Title: | Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Director (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Mr. Jinnan (Marco) Lai and Ms. Chengfang Lu, as his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and re-substitution, in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities (including his capacity as a director and/or officer of the registrant), to sign any and all amendments and post-effective amendments and supplements to this registration statement, and including any registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, 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 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, 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.
Name | Title | Date | ||
/s/ Jinnan (Marco) Lai | Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Director | March 26, 2021 | ||
Jinnan (Marco) Lai | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
/s/ Ning Ding | Co-founder, Chief Technology Officer, and Director | March 26, 2021 | ||
Ning Ding | ||||
/s/ Zelong Li | Chief Operating Officer and Director | March 26, 2021 | ||
Zelong Li | ||||
/s/ Chengfang Lu | Acting Chief Financial Officer | March 26, 2021 | ||
Chengfang Lu | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
/s/ Junan Ren | Vice President and Director | March 26, 2021 | ||
Juan Ren | ||||
/s/ Xi (Catherine) Chen | Director | March 26, 2021 | ||
Xi (Catherine) Chen | ||||
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Name | Title | Date | ||
/s/ Yipeng Li | Independent Director | March 26, 2021 | ||
Yipeng Li | ||||
/s/ Yinquan Li | Independent Director | March 26, 2021 | ||
Yinquan Li | ||||
/s/ Ming Zhang | Independent Director | March 26, 2021 | ||
Ming Zhang | ||||
/s/ Xiang Wang | Independent Director | March 26, 2021 | ||
Xiang Wang | ||||
/s/ Yike Guo | Independent Director | March 26, 2021 | ||
Yike Guo | ||||
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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 of LIZHI INC., has signed this registration statement thereto in New York, NY on March 26, 2021.
Cogency Global Inc. | ||
Authorized U.S. Representative | ||
| By: | /s/ Colleen A. De Vries | |
| Name: Colleen A. De Vries | ||
| Title: Senior Vice President | ||
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