UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14D-9
Solicitation/Recommendation Statement
Under Section 14(d)(4) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. )
Kinnate Biopharma Inc.
(Name of Subject Company)
Kinnate Biopharma Inc.
(Name of Persons Filing Statement)
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share
(Title of Class of Securities)
49705R105
(CUSIP Number of Class of Securities)
Nima Farzan
Chief Financial Officer and President
Address Not Applicable1
(858) 299-4699
(Name, address, and telephone number of person authorized to receive notices and communications
on behalf of the persons filing statement)
With a copy to:
Tony Jeffries, Esq.
Robert T. Ishii, Esq.
Brendan Ripley Mahan, Esq.
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati P.C.
650 Page Mill Road
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1050
(650) 493-9300
☒ Check the box if the filing relates solely to preliminary communications made before the commencement of a tender offer.
1 Kinnate Biopharma Inc. (the “Registrant”) terminated its lease agreements for office space. Accordingly, the Registrant does not maintain a headquarters. For purposes of compliance with applicable requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, any stockholder communication required to be sent to the Registrant’s principal executive offices may be directed to the Registrant’s agent for service of process at The Corporation Trust Company, 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, DE 19801.
This Schedule 14D-9C consists of the following document related to the proposed acquisition of Kinnate Biopharma Inc. (the “Company” or “Kinnate”), pursuant to the terms of an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of February 16, 2024 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company, XOMA Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“XOMA”), and XRA 1 Corp., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of XOMA:
(1) | Press release, dated February 16, 2024, issued by the Company, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference. |
The item listed above was first used or made available on February 16, 2024.
Important Additional Information and Where to Find It
In connection with the proposed acquisition of Kinnate, XOMA or its affiliates will commence a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Kinnate (the “Offer”) pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement. The Offer has not yet commenced, and this communication is neither a recommendation, nor an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell any shares of the common stock of the Company or any other securities. On the commencement date of the Offer, a tender offer statement on Schedule TO, including an offer to purchase, a letter of transmittal and related documents, will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) by XOMA and its acquisition subsidiary, and a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 will be filed with the SEC by the Company. The Offer to purchase the outstanding shares of Common Stock will only be made pursuant to the offer to purchase, the letter of transmittal and related documents filed as a part of the Schedule TO. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE TENDER OFFER MATERIALS (INCLUDING THE OFFER TO PURCHASE, A LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND RELATED DOCUMENTS) AND THE SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT ON SCHEDULE 14D-9 REGARDING THE OFFER, AS THEY MAY BE AMENDED OR SUPPLEMENTED FROM TIME TO TIME, WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE MAKING ANY DECISION REGARDING TENDERING THEIR SHARES, INCLUDING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE OFFER. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of these statements (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC at the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov or by directing such requests to the information agent for the Offer, which will be named in the tender offer statement. Investors and security holders may also obtain, at no charge, the documents filed or furnished to the SEC by the Company under the “SEC Filings” subsection of the “Financial Information” section of the Company’s website at https://investors.kinnate.com/.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s beliefs and expectations and statements about the Offer, the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement and the Contingent Value Rights Agreement to be entered into in connection with the proposed acquisition (the “CVR Agreement”) (collectively, the “Transactions”), including the timing of and closing conditions to the Transactions; the potential effects of the proposed Transactions on the Company; and the potential payment of proceeds to the Company’s stockholders, if any, pursuant to the CVR Agreement. These statements may be identified by their use of forward-looking terminology including, but not limited to, “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” and “would,” and similar words expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the possibility that various closing conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement may not be satisfied or waived, including uncertainties as to the percentage of the Company’s stockholders tendering their shares in the Offer; the possibility that competing offers will be made; the Company’s ability to retain key personnel; the risk that the Transactions may not be completed in a timely manner, or at all, which may adversely affect the Company’s business and the price of its common stock; significant costs associated with the proposed Transactions; the risk that any stockholder litigation in connection with the Transactions may result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability; the risk that activities related to the CVR Agreement may not result in any value to the Company’s stockholders; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in the Company’s most recent annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC as well as in the Company’s subsequent filings with the SEC. As a result of such risks and uncertainties, the Company’s actual results may differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements discussed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. There can be no assurance that the proposed Transactions will in fact be consummated. The Company cautions investors not to unduly rely on any forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements contained in this communication are made as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise, except as expressly required by law. All forward-looking statements in this document are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
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| Press release, dated February 16, 2024, issued by Kinnate Biopharma Inc. |