As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 18, 2021
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Under The Securities Act of 1933
AKERO THERAPEUTICS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 81-5266573 |
|
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
601 Gateway Boulevard, Suite 350
South San Francisco, CA 94080
(650) 487-6488
(Address, including zip code and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)
Akero Therapeutics, Inc. 2019 Stock Option and Incentive Plan
Akero Therapeutics, Inc. 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
(Full title of the plans)
Andrew Cheng
President and Chief Executive Officer
601 Gateway Boulevard, Suite 350
South San Francisco, CA 94080
(650) 487-6488
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer ¨ | Accelerated filer ¨ | |
| Non-accelerated filer x |
Smaller reporting company x
Emerging growth company x
|
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 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ¨
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
| Title of securities to be registered | Amount to be registered(1) | Proposed maximum offering price per share | Proposed maximum aggregate offering price | Amount of registration fee | ||||||||||||
| 2019 Stock Option and Incentive Plan Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share | 1,389,665 | (2) | $ | 32.56 | (3) | $ | 45,247,492.40 | (3) | $ | 4,936.51 | ||||||
| 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share | 347,416 | (4) | $ | 27.68 | (5) | $ | 9,616,474.88 | (5) | $ | 1,049.16 | ||||||
| Total | 1,737,081 | $ | 54,863,967.28 | $ | 5,985.67 | |||||||||||
| (1) | In accordance with Rule 416 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement shall be deemed to cover any additional securities that may from time to time be offered or issued to prevent dilution resulting from stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions effected without the receipt of consideration which results in an increase in the number of our outstanding shares of Common Stock. |
| (2) | Consists of 1,389,665 additional shares issuable under the 2019 Stock Option and Incentive Plan (the “2019 Plan”), which represents the automatic annual increase to the number of shares available for issuance under the 2019 Stock Option and Incentive Plan effective as of January 1, 2021. Shares available for issuance under the 2019 Plan were previously registered on the registration statement on Form S-8 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 20, 2019 (File No. 333-232234). |
| (3) | Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rules 457(c) and 457(h) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The price per share and aggregate offering price are calculated on the basis of $32.56, the average of the high and low price of the registrant’s Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on March 12, 2021. |
| (4) | Consists of 347,416 additional shares issuable under the 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2019 ESPP”), which represents the automatic annual increase to the number of shares available for issuance under the 2019 ESPP effective as of January 1, 2021. Shares available for issuance under the 2019 ESPP were previously registered on the registration statement on Form S-8 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 20,2019 (File No. 333-232234). |
| (5) | The price of $27.68 per share, which is 85% of the average of the high and low sale prices of the Common Stock of the Registrant as quoted on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on March 12, 2021, is set forth solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rules 457(c) and (h) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and has been used as these shares are without a fixed price. Pursuant to the 2019 ESPP, the purchase price of the shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance thereunder will be 85% of the fair market value of a share of Common Stock on the first trading day of the offering period or on the exercise date, whichever is less. |
STATEMENT OF INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
This Registration Statement on Form S-8 is filed to register the offer and sale of (i) an additional 1,389,665 shares of the Registrant’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, to be issued under the Registrant’s 2019 Stock Option and Incentive Plan and (ii) an additional 347,416 shares of the Registrant’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, to be issued under the Registrant’s 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan. This Registration Statement incorporates by reference the contents of the registration statement on Form S-8, File No. 333-232234, filed by the Registrant on June 20, 2019, and the registration relating to the Registrant’s 2019 Stock Option and Incentive Plan and 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan pursuant to General Instruction E.
PART II
Information Required in the Registration statement
| Item 8. | Exhibits |
Refer to the Exhibit Index on the next page for a list of exhibits filed as part of this registration statement, which Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference.
EXHIBIT INDEX
* Filed herewith.
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 S-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of San Francisco, State of California, on this 18th day of March, 2021.
| AKERO THERAPEUTICS, INC. | |||
| By: | /s/ Andrew Cheng | ||
| Name: | Andrew Cheng | ||
| Title: | President, Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
POWER OF ATTORNEY AND SIGNATURES
KNOW ALL BY THESE PRESENT, that each individual whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints each of Andrew Cheng and William White as such person’s true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person in such person’s name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement on Form S-8, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission granting unto each said attorney-in-fact and agent 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 such person might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that any said attorney-in-fact and agent, or any substitute or substitutes of any of them, 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 person in the capacities and on the date indicated.
| Name | Title | Date | ||
| /s/ Andrew Cheng | President, Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) | March 18, 2021 | ||
| Andrew Cheng, M.D., Ph.D. | ||||
| /s/ William White | Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Development (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | March 18, 2021 | ||
| William White, J.D. | ||||
| /s/ Kevin Bitterman | Director | March 18, 2021 | ||
| Kevin Bitterman, Ph.D. | ||||
| /s/ Seth L. Harrison | Director | March 18, 2021 | ||
| Seth L. Harrison, M.D. | ||||
| /s/ Jane P. Henderson | Director | March 18, 2021 | ||
| Jane P. Henderson | ||||
| /s/ Tom Heyman | Director | March 18, 2021 | ||
| Tom Heyman | ||||
| /s/ Mark Iwicki | Director | March 18, 2021 | ||
| Mark Iwicki | ||||
| /s/ Graham Walmsley | Director | March 18, 2021 | ||
| Graham Walmsley, M.D., Ph.D. |
Exhibit 5.1
March 18, 2021
Akero Therapeutics, Inc.
601 Gateway Boulevard, Suite 350
South San Francisco, CA, 94080
Re: Securities Being Registered under Registration Statement on Form S-8
We have acted as counsel to you in connection with your filing of a Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), on or about the date hereof relating to an aggregate of 1,737,081 shares (the “Shares”) of Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Common Stock”), of Akero Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), that may be issued pursuant to the Company’s 2019 Stock Option and Incentive Plan and 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (collectively, the “Plans”).
We have reviewed such documents and made such examination of law as we have deemed appropriate to give the opinions set forth below. We have relied, without independent verification, on certificates of public officials and, as to matters of fact material to the opinion set forth below, on certificates of officers of the Company.
The opinion set forth below is limited to the Delaware General Corporation Law.
For purposes of the opinion set forth below, we have assumed that no event occurs that causes the number of authorized shares of Common Stock available for issuance by the Company to be less than the number of then unissued Shares.
Based on the foregoing, we are of the opinion that the Shares have been duly authorized and, upon issuance and delivery against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the Plans, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
We hereby consent to the inclusion of this opinion as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement. In giving our consent, we do not admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
| Very truly yours, | |
| /s/ Goodwin Procter LLP | |
| GOODWIN PROCTER llp |
Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-8 of our report dated March 16, 2021, relating to the financial statements of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. appearing in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2020.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Parsippany, NJ
March 18, 2021