As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2011

Registration No. 333-174405

 

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

 

Amendment No. 9

to

Form S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

 

 

CERES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

 

 

1535 Rancho Conejo Boulevard
Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
(805) 376-6500
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

 

 

Richard Hamilton
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ceres, Inc.
1535 Rancho Conejo Boulevard
Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
Telephone: (805) 376-6500
Facsimile: (805) 498-1002
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

 

 

Copies to:

 

 

 

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:  As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Registration Statement.

 

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.  o

 

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.  o

 

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.  o

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) 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.  o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

 

 

 

 

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 which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

 

This Amendment No. 9 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-174405) is solely to file Exhibits 10.34 and 10.35 and to refile Exhibits 10.12, 10.13, 10.16, 10.20 and 10.21. Accordingly, a preliminary prospectus has been omitted.

 

PART II

 

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

 

The actual and estimated expenses in connection with this offering are as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, provides that a corporation may, in its original certificate of incorporation or an amendment thereto, eliminate or limit the personal liability of a director for violations of the director’s fiduciary duty, except (1) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (2) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (3) pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, which provides for liability of directors for unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock purchases or redemptions or (4) for any transaction from which a director derived an improper personal benefit.

 

Section 145 of the DGCL provides that a corporation may indemnify any person, including an officer or director, who is, or is threatened to be made, party to any threatened, pending or completed legal action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, other than an action by or in the right of such corporation, by reason of the fact that such person was an officer, director, employee or agent of such corporation or is or was serving at the request of such corporation as an officer, director, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise. The indemnity may include expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, provided such officer, director, employee or agent acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the corporation’s best interest and, for criminal proceedings, had no reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful. A Delaware corporation may indemnify any officer or director in an action by or in the right of the corporation under the same conditions, except that no indemnification is permitted without judicial approval if the officer or director is adjudged to be liable to the corporation. Where an officer or director is successful on the merits or otherwise in the defense of any action referred to above, the corporation must indemnify him against the expenses that such officer or director actually and reasonably incurred.

 

Our bylaws provide for indemnification of the officers and directors to the full extent permitted by the DGCL.

 

The proposed form of Underwriting Agreement to be filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this registration statement provides for indemnification by the underwriters of the registrant and its directors and certain officers for certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act.

 

Since April 1, 2008, we have issued the following securities that were not registered under the Securities Act:

 

(1) In August 2011, we completed the sale of $11,425,232 aggregate principal amount of non-interest bearing convertible subordinated notes, or the Convertible Notes, to nine existing investors in the Company in a private placement. The Convertible Notes are convertible, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, into shares of our common stock upon the consummation of a qualified initial public offering of our common stock at a price per share equal to a 20% discount from the public offering price. In the event that we do not consummate a qualified public offering on or prior to the six month anniversary of the issuance date of the Convertible Notes, (i) the Convertible Notes will automatically convert, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, into shares of our Series G Convertible Preferred Stock, at a conversion price per share equal to $6.50 and (ii) the holders will receive warrants exercisable for that number of shares of our common stock, at an initial exercise price of $6.50 per share, equal to the number of shares of Series G Convertible Preferred Stock into which such holder’s Convertible Notes convert. Purchasers of the Convertible Notes included holders of more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock and affiliates of certain of our directors. The purchasers of the Convertible Notes were accredited investors under Regulation D.

 

(2) In June 2010, we sold an aggregate of 3,076,923 shares of Series G convertible preferred stock to five existing stockholders at a per share purchase price of $6.50 pursuant to a stock purchase agreement. Purchasers of the Series G convertible preferred stock also received, for each share purchased, a warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at an exercise price of $6.50 per share. The purchasers of the Series G convertible preferred stock were accredited investors under Regulation D.

 

(3) In February 2010, we issued warrants to purchase 43,076 shares of our Series F convertible preferred stock to Silicon Valley Bank at a price of $6.50 per share.

 

(4) Since April 1, 2008, we have granted options to employees and directors to purchase an aggregate of 3,674,599 shares of our common stock under our equity incentive plans at exercise prices ranging from $2.25 to $5.72. During this period, options to purchase 678,005 shares of our common stock were exercised with an average per share exercise price of $0.48 for cash consideration to us in the aggregate amount of $328,405.16.

 

The issuances of preferred stock and warrants described in items (1), (2) and (3) above were deemed exempt from registration under Section 4(2) or Regulation D of the Securities Act. The issuances of options and shares in item (4) above was deemed exempt from registration in reliance on Rule 701 promulgated under the Securities Act as transactions pursuant to compensatory benefit plans and contracts relating to compensation. All of the foregoing securities are deemed restricted securities for purposes of the Securities Act. The recipients of securities in the transactions exempt under Section 4(2) or Regulation D of the Securities Act represented their intention to acquire the securities for investment purposes only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof and appropriate legends were affixed to the stock certificates and instruments issued in such transactions.

 

 

(A) Exhibits

 

 

 

 

(B) Financial Statement Schedules

 

All schedules have been omitted because the information required to be presented in them is not applicable or is shown in the consolidated financial statements or related notes.

 

 

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

 

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

 

1. For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this Registration Statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this Registration Statement as of the time it was declared effective.

 

2. For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus 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.

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this amendment to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Thousand Oaks, State of California, on December 19, 2011.

 

CERES, INC.

 

Paul M. Kuc

Chief Financial Officer

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this amendment to the Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on dates indicated.

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

 

 

 

(B) Financial Statement Schedules

 

All schedules have been omitted because the information required to be presented in them is not applicable or is shown in the consolidated financial statements or related notes.