UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form
CURRENT REPORT
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Item 1.01. | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement |
Indenture and Notes
On August 13, 2024, WisdomTree, Inc. (the “Company”) issued $345.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2029 (the “Notes”) pursuant to an Indenture (the “Indenture”), dated August 13, 2024, between the Company and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee (the “Trustee”), in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers (the “Notes Offering”) pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The sale of the Notes to an investment bank (the “Initial Purchaser”) pursuant to the Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”), dated August 8, 2024, by and between the Company and the Initial Purchaser, resulted in approximately $337 million in net proceeds to the Company. The Notes issued on August 13, 2024 include $45.0 million principal amount of Notes issued pursuant to the full exercise by the Initial Purchaser of its option to purchase additional Notes.
The Notes are the Company’s senior unsecured obligations and rank equal in right of payment to the Company’s 3.25% convertible senior notes due 2026 and the Company’s 5.75% convertible senior notes due 2028. The Notes bear interest at a rate of 3.25% per year, payable semiannually in arrears on February 15 and August 15 of each year, beginning on February 15, 2025. The Notes will mature on August 15, 2029, unless earlier converted, repurchased or redeemed. Upon conversion, the Company will pay cash up to the aggregate principal amount of the Notes to be converted. At its election, the Company will also settle its conversion obligation in excess of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes being converted in either cash, shares of its common stock or a combination of cash and shares of its common stock.
Holders may convert their Notes at their option at any time prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding May 15, 2029 only under the following circumstances: (1) during any calendar quarter commencing after the calendar quarter ending on December 31, 2024 (and only during such calendar quarter), if the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive) during a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter is greater than or equal to 130% of the conversion price on each applicable trading day; (2) during the five business day period after any ten consecutive trading day period (the “measurement period”) in which the trading price per $1,000 principal amount of Notes for each trading day of the measurement period was less than 98% of the product of the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock and the conversion rate on each such trading day; (3) upon the occurrence of a notice of redemption delivered by the Company in accordance with the terms of the Indenture but only with respect to the Notes called (or deemed called) for redemption; or (4) upon the occurrence of specified corporate events. On or after May 15, 2029 until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, holders may convert their Notes at any time, regardless of the foregoing circumstances.
The Notes will be convertible at an initial conversion rate of 84.5934 shares of the Company’s common stock, per $1,000 principal amount of Notes (equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $11.82 per share), subject to adjustment. In certain circumstances, conversions in connection with a “make-whole fundamental change” (as defined in the Indenture) or conversions of Notes called (or deemed called) for redemption may result in an increase to the conversion rate, provided that the conversion rate will not exceed 103.6269 shares of the Company’s common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Notes, subject to adjustment.
The Company may not redeem the Notes prior to August 20, 2026. The Company may redeem for cash all or any portion of the Notes, at its option, on or after August 20, 2026 and on or prior to the 55th scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, if the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock has been at least 130% of the conversion price then in effect for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive), including the trading day immediately preceding the date on which the Company provides notice of redemption, during any 30 consecutive trading day period ending on, and including, the trading day immediately preceding the date on which the Company provides notice of redemption, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding the redemption date. No sinking fund is provided for the Notes.
If the Company undergoes a “fundamental change” (as defined in the Indenture), subject to certain conditions, holders may require the Company to repurchase for cash all or any portion of their Notes at a fundamental change repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be repurchased, plus any accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the fundamental change repurchase date. The Indenture contains customary terms and covenants, including that upon certain events of default occurring and continuing, either the Trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of the Notes then outstanding may declare the entire principal amount of all the Notes plus accrued special interest, if any, to be immediately due and payable.
A copy of the Indenture and form of Note are filed as Exhibit 4.1 and Exhibit 4.2, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated by reference herein. The foregoing description of the Indenture and Notes does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to such exhibits.
Item 2.03 | Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant |
The information provided in Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is hereby incorporated by reference into this Item 2.03.
Item 3.02 | Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities |
The information set forth under Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporated by reference into this Item 3.02.
The Company offered and sold the Notes to the Initial Purchaser in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act, and for resale by the Initial Purchaser to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to the exemption from registration provided by Rule 144A under the Securities Act. The Company relied on these exemptions from registration based in part on representations made by the Initial Purchaser in the Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which the Company sold the Notes to the Initial Purchaser. The shares of the common stock issuable upon conversion of the Notes, if any, have not been registered under the Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. Initially, a maximum of 35,751,281 shares of the Company’s common stock may be issued upon conversion of the Notes, in each case based on the initial maximum conversion rate of 103.6269 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Notes, which is subject to customary anti-dilution adjustment provisions.
To the extent that any shares of common stock are issued upon conversion of the Notes, they will be issued in transactions anticipated to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act by virtue of Section 3(a)(9) thereof, because no commission or other remuneration is expected to be paid in connection with conversion of the Notes, and any resulting issuance of shares of the common stock.
Item 5.03. | Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year. |
Following the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Repurchase Agreement (as defined below in Item 8.01), on August 13, 2024, the Company filed a Certificate of Elimination to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (the “Charter”), with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, eliminating from the Charter all references to the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the “Series A Preferred Stock”) set forth in the Company’s Certificate of Designations with respect to its Series A Preferred Stock. No shares of Series A Preferred Stock were outstanding at the time the Certification of Elimination was filed. The Certificate of Elimination became effective on August 13, 2024.
The foregoing summary of the Certificate of Elimination is qualified in its entirety by the full text of the Certificate of Elimination, a copy of which is filed herewith as Exhibit 3.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 8.01. | Other Events. |
As previously disclosed, on August 5,
2024, the Company entered into a Stock Repurchase Agreement (the “Repurchase Agreement”) with ETFS Capital Limited (formerly
ETF Securities Limited) (the “Seller”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to repurchase from the Seller all 14,750 issued
and outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, which were convertible into 14,750,000 shares of the Company’s common stock.
In connection with entry into the Repurchase Agreement, the Company and the Seller also entered into a Termination Agreement on August
5, 2024 (the “Termination Agreement”), which provided for the termination of the Investor Rights Agreement by and between
the Company and the Seller dated as of April 11, 2018. On August 13, 2024, the transactions contemplated by the Repurchase Agreement
and Termination Agreement closed, including the cancellation and retirement of the Series A Preferred Stock.
Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits |
(d) Exhibits
Exhibit Number |
Description | |
3.1 |
|
Certificate of Elimination of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock of WisdomTree, Inc. |
4.1 | Indenture, dated as of August 13, 2024, by and between WisdomTree, Inc. and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as Trustee | |
4.2 | Form of Global Note, representing WisdomTree, Inc.’s 3.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2029 (included as Exhibit A to the Indenture filed as Exhibit 4.1) | |
104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL) |
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.
WisdomTree, Inc. | |||
Date: August 13, 2024 | By: | /s/ Bryan Edmiston | |
Bryan Edmiston | |||
Chief Financial Officer |