UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): September 10, 2024
Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
| Delaware | 001-39926 | 98-1448275 | ||
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) |
| 1065 East Hillsdale Blvd. | ||||
| Suite 100 | ||||
| Foster City, California | 94404 | |||
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (650) 525-5535
N/A
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| ☐ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
| Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share | TERN | Nasdaq Global Select Market |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 8.01 | Other Events. |
Underwritten Public Offering
On September 10, 2024, Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with Jefferies LLC and TD Securities (USA) LLC, as representatives of the several underwriters named in Schedule 1 thereto (collectively, the “Underwriters”), relating to the underwritten public offering (the “Offering”) of 11,919,048 shares (the “Underwritten Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), and, in lieu of Common Stock to certain investors, pre-funded warrants (the “Pre-Funded Warrants”) to purchase 2,380,952 shares of Common Stock (the “Warrant Shares”). Under the terms of the Underwriting Agreement, the Company granted the Underwriters an option, exercisable within 30 days from the date of the Underwriting Agreement, to purchase up to 2,145,000 additional shares of Common Stock (the “Option Shares” and together with the Underwritten Shares, the “Shares”), which the Underwriters exercised in full on September 11, 2024. The closing of the Offering is expected to take place on September 12, 2024. All of the Shares and Pre-Funded Warrants are being sold by the Company. The offering price of the Shares to the public is $10.50 per share, and the offering price of the Pre-Funded Warrants to the public is $10.4999 per share underlying each Pre-Funded Warrant. The Underwriters have agreed to purchase the Shares from the Company pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement at a price of $9.87 per share and the Pre-Funded Warrants from the Company pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement at a price of $9.869906 per share underlying each Pre-Funded Warrant.
Each Pre-Funded Warrant has an exercise price per share of Common Stock equal to $0.0001 per share. The exercise price and the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of each Pre-Funded Warrant is subject to appropriate adjustments in the event of certain stock dividends and distributions, stock splits, stock combinations, reclassifications or similar events affecting the Common Stock. Each Pre-Funded Warrant is exercisable from the date of issuance by means of a cashless exercise. Under the Pre-Funded Warrants, the Company may not effect the exercise of any Pre-Funded Warrant, and a holder will not be entitled to exercise any portion of any Pre-Funded Warrant that, upon giving effect to such exercise, would cause: (i) the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by such holder (together with its affiliates) to exceed 4.99% of the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the exercise; or (ii) the combined voting power of the Company’s securities beneficially owned by such holder (together with its affiliates) to exceed 4.99% of the combined voting power of all of the Company’s securities outstanding immediately after giving effect to the exercise, as such percentage ownership is determined in accordance with the terms of the Pre-Funded Warrant, which percentage may be changed at the holder’s election to a higher or lower percentage not in excess of 19.99% upon 61 days’ notice to the Company.
In addition, in certain circumstances, upon a fundamental transaction, a holder of Pre-Funded Warrants will be entitled to receive, upon exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants, the kind and amount of securities, cash or other property that such holder would have received had they exercised the Pre-Funded Warrants immediately prior to the fundamental transaction; provided, however, that in the event of a fundamental transaction where the consideration consists solely of cash, solely of marketable securities or a combination thereof, each Pre-Funded Warrant will be deemed to be exercised in full in a cashless exercise effective immediately prior to and contingent upon the consummation of such fundamental transaction.
The foregoing is only a brief description of the terms of the form of Pre-Funded Warrant, does not purport to be a complete statement of the rights and obligations of the parties thereto and the transactions contemplated thereby, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the form of Pre-Funded Warrant, which is filed as Exhibit 4.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
The Company estimates that the net proceeds from the Offering will be approximately $161.9 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company, and including the full exercise of the Underwriters’ option to purchase the Option Shares.
The Offering was made pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-269508) that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 1, 2023 and declared effective by the SEC on February 10, 2023. A prospectus supplement relating to the offering has been filed with the SEC.
The Underwriting Agreement contains customary representations, warranties, covenants, indemnification obligations of the Company and the Underwriters, including for liabilities under the Securities Act, and other obligations of the parties. The representations, warranties and covenants contained in the Underwriting Agreement were made only for purposes of such agreement and as of specific dates, were solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, and may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the contracting parties. The foregoing is only a brief description of the terms of the Underwriting Agreement, does not purport to be a complete statement of the rights and obligations of the parties under the Underwriting Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Underwriting Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
A copy of the legal opinion of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP relating to the Shares and the Pre-Funded Warrants is filed as Exhibit 5.1 hereto.
Pricing of Public Offering
The full text of the press release announcing the pricing of the Offering on September 10, 2024 is attached as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and is incorporated herein by reference.
Cash Runway
Based on current plans, the Company estimates that its existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, together with the estimated net proceeds from the Offering, will be sufficient to enable the Company to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into 2028. The Company has based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and the Company could use its available capital resources sooner than it currently expects.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits
| Exhibit No. | Description | |
| 1.1 | Underwriting Agreement, dated September 10, 2024, between Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Jefferies LLC and TD Securities (USA) LLC, as representatives of the several underwriters named therein. | |
| 4.1 | Form of Pre-Funded Warrant. | |
| 5.1 | Opinion of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. | |
| 23.1 | Consent of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1). | |
| 99.1 | Press Release dated September 10, 2024. | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the inline XBRL document). | |
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements about the Company within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the anticipated net proceeds from the Offering, the anticipated closing of the Offering and the sufficiency of the Company’s cash resources, constitute forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “design,” “due,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “predict,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and other similar expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements largely on its current
expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events and financial trends that it believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results and the implementation of the Company’s plans to vary materially, including the risks associated with the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the Offering and the initiation, cost, timing, progress, results and utility of the Company’s current and future research and development activities and preclinical studies and clinical trials. These risks are not exhaustive. For a detailed discussion of the risk factors that could affect the Company and the offering, please refer to the risk factors identified in the Company’s SEC reports, including but not limited to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and its preliminary prospectus supplement. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| TERNS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. | ||||||
| Date: September 12, 2024 | By: | /s/ Elona Kogan | ||||
| Elona Kogan | ||||||
| Chief Legal Officer | ||||||