UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): October 9, 2024
CERO THERAPEUTICS HOLDINGS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | | 001-40877 | | 87-1088814 |
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) | | (Commission File Number) | | (I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number) |
| 201 Haskins Way, Suite 230, South San Francisco, CA | | 94080 |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | | (Zip Code) |
(650) 407-2376
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code
Not Applicable
(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, par value $0.0001 per share | | CERO | | NASDAQ Global Market |
| Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of common stock | | CEROW | | NASDAQ Capital Market |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
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 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition.
On October 11, 2024, CERo Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) announced that its preliminary unaudited cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2024 were approximately $3.3 million.
The Company has not yet completed its quarter-end financial close process for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. This estimate of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2024 is preliminary, has not been audited and is subject to change upon completion of the Company’s financial statement closing procedures. Additional information and disclosure would be required for a more complete understanding of the Company’s financial position and results of operations as of September 30, 2024. The Company’s independent registered public accounting firm has not audited, reviewed or performed any procedures with respect to this preliminary result and, accordingly, does not express an opinion or any other form of assurance about it.
The information contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K under Item 2.02 is being furnished and shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section and will not be incorporated by reference into any filing by the Company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, unless specifically identified as being incorporated therein by reference.
Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On October 9, 2024, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of the Company appointed Shami Patel to the Board as a Class III director, effective October 11, 2024, to fill the vacancy created by Dr. Corey’s resignation, which was previously announced on October 2, 2024.
Shami Patel, age 55, is a Managing Director at Launchpad Capital. He has over 25 years of global experience in financial services and capital markets as an executive, board member and investor. Mr. Patel is also an advisor to Launch One Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: LPAA), a blank check company which raised $230 million in its initial public offering in July 2024 and is currently searching for a business combination target in the healthcare or healthcare related industries and, in particular, life sciences. He was formerly a Managing Director at Cohen Circle from January 2015 to August 2024. His SPAC experience includes being the Chief Operating Officer of FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp. from July 2020 to August 2020, which merged with Payoneer Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYO) in June 2021, as an advisor to Phoenix Biotech Acquisition Corp., which merged with CERo Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CERO) in February 2024, as an advisor to Newcourt Acquisition Corp. which merged with Psyence Biomedical Ltd. (NASDAQ: PBM) in January 2024, and as an advisor to LWAC, which merged with eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: EFTR) in August 2021. Mr. Patel was also active in origination, due diligence and execution of SPACs as a member of the Board of FinTech Acquisition Corp. which merged with CardConnect LLC (NASDAQ: CCN) in August 2016 and FinTech Acquisition Corp. II which merged with Intermex Holdings II, Inc. in July 2018, and the merged company was renamed International Money Express, Inc. (NASDAQ: IMXI); Mr. Patel served as a board observer of IMXI following its business combination, until March 2020. He also served as an advisor to FinTech Acquisition Corp. III which merged with Paya Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYA) in October 2020 and FinTech Acquisition Corp. IV which merged with Perella Weinberg Partners (NASDAQ: PWP) in June 2021. Aside from his experience with special purpose acquisition companies, from 2010 to 2015 Mr. Patel served as the Vice Chairman of the board of directors and Chair of the compliance committee of Golden Pacific Bancorp, Inc., which was acquired by SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI). From 2012 to 2014, he served at Clean Pacific Ventures Management, LLC, a venture capital firm specializing in early stage investments, as a venture partner. Mr. Patel was a partner at, and served on the executive committee of, Hexagon Securities, LLC, a credit focused investment bank and securities firm from 2010 to 2012. From 2001 to August 2009, he served as Managing Director and Senior Partner at Cohen & Company, where he helped launch Alesco Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AFN), where he served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Investment Officer from 2006 to 2009. From 1999 to 2000, he served as Chief Financial Officer for TRM Corporation (NASDAQ: TRMM), a consumer and financial services company. In 2000, Mr. Patel co-founded iATMglobal.net, a middleware software business where he served as Chief Executive Officer and which was sold to NCR Corporation in 2001. He served as Vice President of the West Coast Region for Sirrom Capital Corporation, a mezzanine finance fund, from 1998 to 1999. Prior to this he was in the business services group at Robertson Stephens, an investment banking firm, from 1997 to 1998 and served as a strategy consultant in the energy group at Andersen Consulting (now known as Accenture plc) from 1991 to 1993. Mr. Patel served on the Board of Visitors of Duke University School of Law from 2011 to 2023 where he was a Senior Lecturing Fellow. Mr. Patel received a J.D. with honors and M.B.A. from Duke University and Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Economics from Trinity University.
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
The information set forth in Item 2.02 of this report is incorporated herein by reference.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K contains statements that are forward-looking and as such are not historical facts. This includes, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s preliminary financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements, and are not guarantees of performance. Such statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. When used in this communication, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “strive,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. When the Company discusses its strategies or plans, it is making projections, forecasts or forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the beliefs of, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to, the Company’s management.
Actual results could differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K. Certain risks that could cause actual results to differ are set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on April 2, 2024, and the documents incorporated by reference therein. The risks described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are not exhaustive. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all such risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all such risk factors on its business, or the extent to which any factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. You should not put undue reliance on these statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All forward-looking statements made by the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Date: October 11, 2024 | CERO THERAPEUTICS HOLDINGS, INC. |
| | | |
| | By: | /s/ Chris Ehrlich |
| | Name: | Chris Ehrlich |
| | Title: | Interim Chief Executive Officer |
