[425] Strive, Inc. Business Combination Communication
Filing Impact
Filing Sentiment
Form Type
425
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Strive, Inc. completed an upsized underwritten offering of 2,000,000 shares of its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock (SATA) at $80 per share, generating approximately $149.3 million in net proceeds. The company used the proceeds to purchase bitcoin and for general corporate purposes, including working capital. Barclays and Cantor served as joint bookrunners under an effective Form S‑3ASR shelf.
The SATA preferred pays cumulative monthly cash dividends at a variable rate, initially 12.00% per annum on a $100 stated amount, with Strive able to adjust the rate subject to defined limits tied to one‑month term SOFR and trading conditions. Unpaid dividends compound monthly and can step up by 25 basis points per month to a maximum of 20% per annum.
At closing, Strive funded a dividend reserve equal to the first 12 months of dividends at 12% ($12.00 per share). The shares carry an initial $100 liquidation preference that adjusts daily under a pricing formula. Strive may redeem after a national exchange listing at $110 per share plus accrued dividends, and holders have a repurchase right upon a Fundamental Change at the stated amount plus accrued dividends.
Positive
- None.
Negative
- None.
Insights
Strive raised
Strive issued 2,000,000 SATA preferred shares at
Dividend protection features include compounding of unpaid amounts with a step‑up of 25 bps per month to a cap of
Use of proceeds includes bitcoin purchases and general corporate purposes, which introduces exposure to digital asset price movements. Subsequent filings may detail dividend rate adjustments and any exercise of redemption or holder repurchase rights.
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): November 10, 2025
|
STRIVE, INC.
|
|
(Exact name of Company as specified in its charter)
|
|
Nevada
|
001-41612
|
88-1293236
|
||
|
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)
|
(Commission File Number)
|
(IRS Employer Identification No.)
|
|
200 Crescent Ct, Suite 1400, Dallas, TX
|
75201
|
|
|
(Address of principal executive offices)
|
(Zip Code)
|
|
(855) 427-7360
|
|
(Company’s telephone number, including area code)
|
|
(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 Company 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
|
||
|
Class A Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share
|
ASST
|
The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
|
||
|
Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, $0.001 par value per share
|
SATA
|
The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
|
Indicate by check mark whether the Company 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 Company 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 1.01 |
Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement
|
On November 5, 2025, Strive, Inc. (“Strive” or the “Company”) entered into an underwriting agreement (the
“Underwriting Agreement”) with Barclays Capital Inc. and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., as the joint book-running managers and representatives of the several underwriters (the “Underwriters”), relating to the issuance and sale in an underwritten
offering (the “Offering”) registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), of 2,000,000 shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, $0.001 par value per share (the “SATA
Stock”), an upsize of 750,000 shares over the amount previously announced, at a public offering price of $80 per share. Certain terms of the SATA Stock are described in more detail in this Current Report
under Item 3.03 and is incorporated by reference into this Item 1.01.
The issuance and sale of the SATA Stock settled on November 10, 2025. The net proceeds from the Offering were approximately $149.3 million, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions
and the Company’s estimated offering expenses. The Company utilized the net proceeds from the Offering to purchase bitcoin and for general corporate purposes, including, among other things, for working capital.
The Underwriting Agreement contained customary representations, warranties, and agreements by the Company, customary conditions to closing, indemnification obligations of the Company and the
Underwriters, including for liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, other obligations of the parties, and termination provisions.
The Offering was made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3ASR (Registration No. 333-290252) on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Offering
was made only by means of a prospectus supplement and an accompanying prospectus.
The foregoing description of the Underwriting Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the Underwriting Agreement, which is filed herewith as
Exhibit 1.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
| Item 3.03. |
Material Modifications to Rights of Security Holders.
|
In connection with the issuance of the SATA Stock, Strive filed a Certificate of Designation (the “Certificate of Designation”) with the Nevada Secretary of State (which became effective on November
10, 2025) designating 2,000,000 shares, and establishing the terms, of the SATA Stock.
The SATA Stock accumulates cumulative dividends (“regular dividends”) at a variable rate (as described below) per annum on the stated amount of $100 per share (the “stated amount”) thereof. Regular
dividends will be payable when, as and if declared by Strive’s board of directors (“Board”) or any duly authorized committee thereof, out of funds legally available for their payment, monthly in arrears on the 15th calendar day of each calendar month, beginning on December 15, 2025 (or beginning on such other date specified in the certificate representing such share(s)). The initial monthly regular
dividend rate per annum is 12.00%. However, Strive has the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to adjust the monthly regular dividend rate per annum applicable to subsequent regular dividend periods. Strive’s right to adjust the monthly
regular dividend rate per annum is subject to certain restrictions. For example, Strive is not permitted to reduce the monthly regular dividend rate per annum that will apply to any regular dividend period (i) by more than the following amount
from the monthly regular dividend rate per annum applicable to the prior regular dividend period: the sum of (1) 25 basis points; and (2) the excess, if any, of (x) the one-month term SOFR rate on the first business day of such prior regular
dividend period, over (y) the minimum of the one-month term SOFR rates that occur on the business days during the period from, and including, the first business day of such prior regular dividend period to, and including, the last business day of
such prior regular dividend period; or (ii) to a rate per annum that is less than the one-month term SOFR rate in effect on the business day before Strive provides notice of the next monthly regular dividend rate per annum. In addition, Strive is
not entitled to elect to reduce the monthly regular dividend rate per annum unless and until (x) three (3) months following the initial issue date, or such earlier time as the arithmetic average of the last reported sale prices per share of SATA
Stock for each trading day of twenty (20) consecutive trading days at any time during the three (3) months following the initial issuance date exceeds $100, (y) all accumulated regular dividends, if any, on the SATA Stock then outstanding for all
prior completed regular dividend periods, if any, have been paid in full and (z) the arithmetic average of the last reported sale prices per share of SATA Stock for each trading day during the immediately preceding regular dividend period is not
less than $99 per share. Strive’s current intention (which is subject to change in Strive’s sole and absolute discretion) is to adjust the monthly regular dividend rate per annum in such manner as Strive believes will maintain the SATA Stock’s
trading price within its stated long-term range of $95 and $105 per share. Declared regular dividends on the SATA Stock will be payable solely in cash. In the event that any accumulated regular dividend on the SATA Stock is not paid on the
applicable regular dividend payment date, then additional regular dividends (“compounded dividends”) will accumulate on the amount of such unpaid regular dividend, compounded monthly. The compounded dividend rate applicable to any unpaid regular
dividend that was due on a regular dividend payment date will initially be a rate per annum equal to 12% plus 25 basis points; provided, however, that, until such regular dividend, together with compounded dividends thereon, is paid in full, such
compounded dividend rate will increase by 25 basis points per month for each subsequent regular dividend period, up to a maximum dividend rate of 20% per annum.
At the closing of the Offering, Strive established a dividend reserve in an amount equal to the first 12 months of dividend payments (assuming dividend payments are made at a rate of 12.00% per
annum) calculated as of the date of the Offering and deposited $12.00 per share of SATA Stock into a separate account funded by the Company with existing cash on hand.
The SATA Stock has a par value of $0.001 per share and initially has a liquidation preference of $100 per share, subject to adjustment as set forth below (the “Liquidation Preference”). The SATA
Stock ranks senior to Strive’s Class A common stock, $0.001 par value per share (the “Class A Common Stock”) and Class B common stock, $0.001 par value per share (the “Class B Common Stock”), with respect to the payment of dividends and the
distribution of assets upon Strive’s liquidation, dissolution or winding up. If Strive liquidates, dissolves or winds up, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, then the holders of SATA Stock will be entitled to receive payment for the Liquidation
Preference of, and all accumulated and unpaid regular dividends and any compounded dividends on, their shares of SATA Stock out of Strive’s assets or funds legally available for distribution to its stockholders, before any such assets or funds
are distributed to, or set aside for the benefit of, holders of the Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock or other junior stock. The SATA Stock is junior to Strive’s existing and future indebtedness and structurally junior to the
liabilities of Strive’s subsidiaries.
The Liquidation Preference of the SATA Stock is initially $100 per share. Effective immediately after the close of business on each business day after the initial issue date (and, if applicable,
during the course of a business day on which any sale transaction to be settled by the issuance of the SATA Stock is executed, from the exact time of the first such sale transaction during such business day until the close of business of such
business day), the Liquidation Preference per share of SATA Stock will be adjusted to be the greatest of (i) the stated amount per share of SATA Stock; (ii) in the case of any business day with respect to which Strive has, on such business day,
executed any sale transaction to be settled by the issuance of SATA Stock, an amount equal to the last reported sale price per share of SATA Stock on the trading day immediately before such business day; and (iii) the arithmetic average of the
last reported sale prices per share of SATA Stock for each trading day of the ten consecutive trading days (or, if applicable, the lesser number of trading days as have elapsed during the period from, and including, the initial issue date to, but
excluding, such business day) immediately preceding such business day.
Strive has the right, at its election, to redeem all, or any whole number of shares, of the issued and outstanding SATA Stock, at any time, and from time to time, on a redemption date on or after
the first date on which the SATA Stock is listed on any of The Nasdaq Global Market, The Nasdaq Global Select Market or The New York Stock Exchange (or any of their respective successors), at a cash redemption price per share of SATA Stock to be
redeemed equal to $110 (or such higher amount as may be chosen in Strive’s sole discretion, it being understood that such higher amount (or the formula to determine such higher amount) will be announced by prior public notice and/or set forth in
the applicable relevant notice of redemption), plus accumulated and unpaid regular dividends, if any, thereon to, and including the redemption date. However, Strive may not redeem less than all of the outstanding SATA Stock unless at least $50.0
million aggregate stated amount of the SATA Stock is outstanding and not called for redemption as of the time Strive provides the related redemption notice. Strive also has the right, at its election, to redeem all, but not less than all, of the
SATA Stock, at any time, for cash if the total number of shares of all SATA Stock then outstanding is less than 25% of the total number of shares of SATA Stock originally issued in the Offering and in any future offering, taken together (such
redemption, a “clean-up redemption”). In addition, Strive has the right to redeem all, but not less than all, of the SATA Stock if certain tax events occur (such redemption, a “tax redemption”). The redemption price for any SATA Stock to be
redeemed pursuant to a clean-up redemption or a tax redemption will be a cash amount equal to the liquidation preference of the SATA Stock to be redeemed as of the business day before the date on which Strive provides the related redemption
notice, plus accumulated and unpaid regular dividends, if any, thereon to, and including, the redemption date.
If an event that constitutes a “Fundamental Change” under the Certificate of Designation governing the SATA Stock occurs, then, subject to certain limitations, holders of the SATA Stock will have
the right to require Strive to repurchase some or all of their shares of SATA Stock at a cash repurchase price equal to the stated amount of the SATA Stock to be repurchased, plus accumulated and unpaid regular dividends, if any, to, and
including, the Fundamental Change repurchase date.
The SATA Stock has voting rights with respect to certain amendments to Strive’s articles of incorporation or the Certificate of Designation, certain business combination transactions and certain
other matters. However, holders of the SATA Stock will not always be entitled to vote with holders of Class A Common Stock on matters on which holders of Class A Common Stock are entitled to vote.
If (in each case, subject to the Certificate of Designation) less than the full amount of accumulated and unpaid regular dividends on the outstanding SATA Stock have been declared and paid within 60
days of the following regular dividend payment date in respect of each of (i) 12 or more consecutive regular dividend payment dates; and (ii) 24 or more consecutive regular dividend payment dates, then, in each case, subject to certain
limitations, if then required under Strive’s articles of incorporation or bylaws in order to increase the size of the Board, Strive will obtain board and/or shareholder approval to amend its articles of incorporation to increase the authorized
number of its directors by one (or, to the fullest extent permitted under the Nevada Revised Statutes and Strive's articles of incorporation, Strive will cause the office of one director to be vacated) and the holders of the SATA Stock, voting
together as a single class with the holders of each class or series of “Voting Parity Stock” (as defined in the Certificate of Designation) with similar voting rights regarding the election of directors upon a failure to pay dividends, which
similar voting rights are then exercisable, will have the right to elect one director (a “Preferred Stock Director”) to fill such vacant directorship at Strive’s next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if earlier, at a special meeting of
Strive’s stockholders called for such purpose). If, thereafter, all accumulated and unpaid dividends on the outstanding SATA Stock have been paid in full, then the right of the holders of the SATA Stock to elect any Preferred Stock Directors will
terminate. Upon the termination of such right with respect to the SATA Stock and all other outstanding Voting Parity Stock, if any, the term of office of each person then serving as a Preferred Stock Director will immediately and automatically
terminate (and, if the authorized number of Strive’s directors was increased by one or two, as applicable, in connection with such election, then the authorized number of Strive’s directors will automatically decrease by one or two, as
applicable).
The above description of the Certificate of Designation and the terms of the SATA Stock is a summary and is not complete. A copy of the Certificate of Designation and the form of the certificate
representing the SATA Stock are filed as Exhibits 3.1 and 4.1, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K, and the above summary is qualified by reference to the terms of the Certificate of Designation and the SATA Stock set forth in such
exhibits.
| Item 5.03. |
Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws.
|
The information set forth above in this Current Report under Item 3.03 is incorporated by reference into this Item 5.03.
| Item 8.01. |
Other Events.
|
On November 10, 2025, the Company issued a press release relating to the closing of the Offering. A copy of
the press release is filed as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated by reference.
Neither this Current Report on Form 8-K nor the press release attached hereto constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements herein and the press release attached hereto may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Rule 175 promulgated thereunder, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and Rule 3b-6 promulgated thereunder, which statements
involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the outlook and expectations of Strive and Semler Scientific, Inc. (“Semler Scientific”), respectively, with
respect to the proposed transaction (the “proposed transaction”), the strategic benefits and financial benefits of the proposed transaction, including the expected impact of the proposed transaction on the combined company’s future financial
performance, the timing of the closing of the proposed transaction, the ability to successfully integrate the combined businesses, the estimated net proceeds of the Offering, the terms of the securities being offered and the Company’s intentions
with respect to adjusting the SATA Stock’s monthly regular dividend rate per annum. Such statements are often characterized by the use of qualified words (and their derivatives) such as “may,” “will,” “anticipate,” “could,” “should,” “would,”
“believe,” “contemplate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plan,” “project,” “predict,” “potential,” “assume,” “forecast,” “target,” “budget,” “outlook,” “trend,” “guidance,” “objective,” “goal,” “strategy,” “opportunity,” and “intend,” as well
as words of similar meaning or other statements concerning opinions or judgments of Strive, Semler Scientific and/or their respective management teams about future events. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as of the time they are
made and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict with regard to timing, extent, likelihood and degree of occurrence, which could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors. Other risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, among others, the following:
| • |
the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or both of Strive and Semler Scientific to terminate the merger agreement between Strive and Semler Scientific;
|
| • |
the possibility that the proposed transaction does not close when expected or at all because the conditions to closing are not received or satisfied on a timely basis or at all;
|
| • |
the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Strive or Semler Scientific or the combined company;
|
| • |
the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction, including anticipated cost savings and strategic gains, are not realized when expected or at all, including as a result of changes in, or
problems arising from, implementation of Bitcoin treasury strategies and risks associated with Bitcoin and other digital assets, general economic and market conditions, interest and exchange rates, monetary policy, and laws and regulations
and their enforcement;
|
| • |
the possibility that the integration of the two companies may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected;
|
| • |
the possibility that the proposed transaction may be more expensive or take longer to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events;
|
| • |
the diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities;
|
| • |
dilution caused by Strive’s issuance of additional shares of its Class A common stock in connection with the proposed transaction;
|
| • |
potential adverse reactions of Strive’s or Semler Scientific’s customers or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed transaction;
|
| • |
changes in Strive’s or Semler Scientific’s share price before closing; and
|
| • |
other factors that may affect future results of Strive, Semler Scientific or the combined company.
|
These factors are not necessarily all of the factors that could cause Strive’s, Semler Scientific’s or the combined company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from
those expressed in or implied by any of the forward-looking statements. Other factors, including unknown or unpredictable factors, also could harm Strive, Semler Scientific or the combined company’s results.
Although each of Strive and Semler Scientific believes that its expectations with respect to forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its existing
knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurance that the actual results of Strive or Semler Scientific will not differ materially from any projected future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in Strive’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Strive’s Form S-4 filed on August 6, 2025 and October 10, 2025, under the “Supplementary Risk Factors”
filed as an exhibit to Strive’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 24, 2025, Semler Scientific’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and
other documents subsequently filed by Strive and Semler Scientific with the SEC.
The actual results anticipated may not be realized or, even if substantially realized, they may not have the expected consequences to or effects on Strive, Semler Scientific or their respective
businesses or operations. Investors are cautioned not to rely too heavily on any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained herein and the press release attached hereto speak only as of the date hereof, and Strive and
Semler Scientific undertake no obligation to update or clarify these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
In connection with the proposed transaction, Strive has filed with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) to register the Class A common stock to be issued by
Strive in connection with the proposed transaction and that will include an information statement of Strive, proxy statement of Semler Scientific and a prospectus of Strive (the “Information Statement/Proxy Statement/Prospectus”), and each of
Strive and Semler Scientific may file with the SEC any other relevant documents concerning the proposed transaction. A definitive Information Statement/Proxy Statement/Prospectus will be sent to the stockholders of Semler Scientific to seek their
approval of the proposed transaction. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION, INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS OF SEMLER SCIENTIFIC ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND INFORMATION STATEMENT/PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE
PROPOSED TRANSACTION WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT STRIVE, SEMLER SCIENTIFIC AND
THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS.
A copy of the Registration Statement, Information Statement/Proxy Statement/Prospectus, as well as other filings containing information about Strive and Semler Scientific, may be obtained, free of
charge, at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov). You will also be able to obtain these documents, when they are filed, free of charge, from Strive by accessing Strive’s website at https://investors.strive.com/. Copies of the Registration
Statement, the Information Statement/Proxy Statement/Prospectus and the filings with the SEC that will be incorporated by reference therein can also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Strive’s Investor Relations department at
200 Crescent Court, Suite 1400, Dallas, Texas 75201 or by calling (855) 427-7360 or by submitting an inquiry at https://investors.strive.com/ir-resources/contact-ir. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Semler Scientific will be available
free of charge on Semler Scientific’s website at https://ir.semlerscientific.com/. The information on Strive’s or Semler Scientific’s respective websites is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this communication or incorporated into other
filings either company makes with the SEC.
Participants in the Solicitation
Strive, Semler Scientific and certain of their respective directors, executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of Semler
Scientific in connection with the proposed transaction. Information about the interests of the directors and executive officers of Strive and Semler Scientific and other persons who may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of
stockholders of Semler Scientific in connection with the proposed transaction and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be included in the Information Statement/Proxy Statement/Prospectus
related to the proposed transaction, which will be filed with the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of Semler Scientific, their ownership of Semler Scientific common stock, and Semler Scientific’s transactions with
related persons is set forth in the section entitled “INFORMATION REGARDING OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE,” “EXECUTIVE OFFICERS,” “SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT,” “DIRECTOR COMPENSATION,” and
“TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PERSONS” included in Semler Scientific’s definitive proxy statement in connection with its 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, as filed with the SEC on July 17, 2025. Additional information regarding ownership of Semler
Scientific’s securities by its directors and executive officers is included in such persons’ SEC filings on Forms 3 or 4, which are available at https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/own-disp?action=getissuer&CIK=0001554859. Information about the
directors and executive officers of Strive is contained in Strive’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 15, 2025, Strive’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 12, 2025, Strive’s Current Report on Form
8-K filed with the SEC on October 6, 2025 and under “Meet the Leadership Team” accessed through the “About Us” link on Strive’s website at https://strive.com/team. Additional information regarding ownership of Strive’s securities by its directors
and executive officers is included in such persons’ SEC filings on Forms 3 or 4 which are available at https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/own-disp?action=getissuer&CIK=1920406. These documents and the other SEC filings described in this paragraph may
be obtained free of charge as described above under the heading “Additional Information and Where to Find It.”
No Offer or Solicitation
Neither this Current Report on Form 8-K nor the press release attached hereto is intended to and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an
offer to buy any securities or the solicitation of any vote of approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the
securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act, or pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, such
registration requirements.
| Item 9.01 |
Financial Statements and Exhibits.
|
(d) Exhibits
|
Exhibit No.
|
Description
|
|
|
1.1
|
Underwriting Agreement, dated November 5, 2025, by and between the Company, Barclays Capital Inc. and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., as the representatives of the several underwriters with respect to the Offering.
|
|
|
3.1
|
Certificate of Designation relating to the SATA Stock (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Registrant’s Form 8-A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 7, 2025 (File No. 001-41612)).
|
|
|
4.1
|
Form of certificate representing the SATA Stock (included as Exhibit A to Exhibit 3.1).
|
|
|
5.1
|
Opinion of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
|
|
|
23.1
|
Consent of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP (include in Exhibit 5.1).
|
|
|
99.1
|
Press Release of Strive, Inc. dated November 10, 2025.
|
|
|
104
|
Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)
|
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Company has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly
authorized.
|
Date: November 10, 2025
|
Strive, Inc.
|
|
/s/ Matthew Cole
|
|
|
Name: Matthew Cole
|
|
|
Title: Chief Executive Officer
|
Exhibit 1.1
Execution Version
2,000,000 SHARES OF
VARIABLE RATE SERIES A PERPETUAL PREFERRED STOCK
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
November 5, 2025
Barclays Capital Inc.
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.,
As Representatives of the several
Underwriters named in Schedule I attached hereto,
c/o Barclays Capital Inc.
745 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10019
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Strive, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), proposes to sell an aggregate of 2,000,000 shares (the “Securities”) of the Company’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share with a stated amount of $100.00 per share (the “Preferred Stock”), in the respective amounts set forth in Schedule I attached to this agreement (this “Agreement”).
1. Representations, Warranties and Agreements of the Company. The Company represents, warrants and agrees that:
(a) A registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-290252), including a base prospectus, relating to the offer and sale of certain securities of the Company,
including the Securities, has (i) been prepared by the Company in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the rules and
regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) thereunder; (ii) been filed with the Commission under the Securities Act; and (iii) become effective under
the Securities Act. Copies of such registration statement and any amendment thereto have been delivered by the Company (or made available through the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering Analysis Retrieval System (“EDGAR”)) to you upon request as the representatives (the “Representatives”) of the underwriters named in Schedule I (the “Underwriters”). As used in this Agreement:
(i) “Applicable Time” means 3:55 PM, New York City time, on November 5, 2025;
(ii) “Effective Date” means the date and time as of which such registration statement, or the most
recent post-effective amendment thereto, if any, became, or is deemed to have become, effective by the Commission in accordance with the rules and regulations under the Securities Act;
2
(iii) “Governmental Authority” means (i) any federal, provincial, state, local, municipal, national or
international government or governmental authority, regulatory or administrative agency, governmental commission, department, board, bureau, agency or instrumentality, court, tribunal, arbitrator or arbitral body (public or private); (ii) any
self-regulatory organization; or (iii) any political subdivision of any of the foregoing.
(iv) “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means each “issuer free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule
433 under the Securities Act) relating to the Securities;
(v) “Preliminary Prospectus” means any preliminary prospectus relating to the Securities included in
such registration statement or filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act;
(vi) “Pricing Disclosure Package” means, as of the Applicable Time, the most recent Preliminary
Prospectus, together with the information included in Schedule II hereto, if any, and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus filed or used by the Company at or before the Applicable Time, other than a road show, that is an Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus but is not required to be filed under Rule 433 under the Securities Act;
(vii) “Prospectus” means the final prospectus relating to the Securities, including any prospectus
supplement thereto related to the Securities, as filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act; and
(viii) “Registration Statement” means, collectively, the various parts of such registration statement,
each as amended as of the Effective Date for such part, including any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, all exhibits to such registration statement and including the information deemed by virtue of Rule 430A or Rule 403B under the
Securities Act to be part of such registration statement as of the Effective Date; and
(ix) “Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any oral or written communication with potential
investors undertaken in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Securities Act or Rule 163B under the Securities Act; and
(x) “Written Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written
communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
3
Any reference to any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Form S-3 under the Securities
Act as of the date of such Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be. Any reference to the “most recent Preliminary Prospectus” shall be deemed to refer to the latest Preliminary Prospectus included in the Registration
Statement or filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act prior to or on the date hereof. Any reference to any amendment or supplement to any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any
document filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), after the date of such Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be, and
before the date of such amendment or supplement and incorporated by reference in such Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be; and any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to include
any document filed with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the Effective Date and before the date of such amendment that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement. The Commission
has not issued any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, and no proceeding or examination for such purpose or pursuant to Section
8A of the Securities Act has been instituted or threatened by the Commission. The Commission has not notified the Company of any objection to the use of the form of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto.
(b) The Company and each of the Subsidiaries (as defined below) are duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of their respective jurisdictions of
organization. The Company and each of the Subsidiaries (as defined below) are duly licensed or qualified as a foreign corporation for transaction of business and in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which their
respective ownership or lease of property or the conduct of their respective businesses requires such license or qualification, and have all corporate power and authority necessary to own or hold their respective properties and to conduct
their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing or have such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a
material adverse effect or would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on or affecting the assets, business, operations, earnings, properties, condition (financial or otherwise), prospects, stockholders’ equity or results
of operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries (as defined below) taken as a whole, or prevent or materially interfere with consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby (a “Material
Adverse Effect”).
(c) The subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21.1 to Company’s S-4 filed on August 5, 2025 and Annual Report on Form 10-K after such date, as applicable for the most recent fiscal year
(collectively, the “Subsidiaries”), are the Company’s only significant subsidiaries (as such term is defined in Rule 1‑02 of Regulation S‑X promulgated by the Commission). Except as
set forth in the Registration Statement and in the Prospectus, the Company owns, directly or indirectly, all of the equity interests of the Subsidiaries free and clear of any lien, charge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first
refusal or other restriction, and all the equity interests of the Subsidiaries are validly issued and are fully paid, nonassessable and free of preemptive and similar rights. No Subsidiary is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly,
from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such Subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such Subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such
Subsidiary’s property or assets to the Company or any other Subsidiary of the Company.
4
(d) From the time of initial filing of the Registration Statement to the Commission (or, if earlier, the first date on which the Company engaged directly or through any person
authorized to act on its behalf in any Testing-the-Waters Communication) through the date hereof, the Company has been and will be an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”).
(e) As of the time of filing of the Registration Statement, the Company was a “smaller reporting company,” as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
(f) The Company (i) has not engaged in any Testing-the-Waters Communication other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with, the consent of the Representatives, with entities that
are reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Securities Act, or with institutions that are accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 501 under the Securities Act and (ii) has not
authorized anyone other than the Representatives to engage in Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company reconfirms that the Representatives have been authorized to act on its behalf in undertaking Testing-the-Waters Communications. The
Company has not distributed or approved for distribution any Written Testing-the-Waters Communications other than those listed on Schedule II hereto.
(g) The Company was not at the time of the initial filing of the Registration Statement and at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Securities Act) of the Securities, is not on the date hereof and will not be on the Closing Date (as defined below), an “ineligible issuer”
(as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act).
(h) Since the time of initial filing of the Registration Statement, the Company has been, and continues to be, a “well-known seasoned issuer” (as defined in Rule 405) eligible to use
Form S-3 for the offering of the Securities. The Company was not an “ineligible issuer” (as defined in Rule 405) at any such time or date. The Registration Statement is an “automatic shelf registration statement” (as defined in Rule 405) and was filed not earlier than the date that is three years prior to the Closing Date (as defined below).
(i) The Registration Statement conformed and will conform in all material respects on the Effective Date and on the Closing Date (as defined below), and any amendment to the
Registration Statement filed after the date hereof will conform in all material respects when filed, to the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder. The most recent Preliminary Prospectus conformed, and
the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects when filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act and on Closing Date (as defined below) to the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and
regulations thereunder. The documents incorporated by reference in any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus conformed, and any further documents so incorporated will conform, when filed with the Commission, in all material respects to
the requirements of the Exchange Act or the Securities Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
5
(j) The Registration Statement did not, as of the Effective Date, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided that no representation or warranty is made as to information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement in reliance upon
and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is specified in Section 8(e) hereof.
(k) The Prospectus will not, as of its date or as of Closing Date (as defined below), contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in
order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that no representation or warranty is made as to information contained in
or omitted from the Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is
specified in Section 8(e) hereof.
(l) The documents incorporated by reference in any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus did not, and any further documents filed and incorporated by reference therein will not,
when filed with the Commission, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(m) The Pricing Disclosure Package did not, as of the Applicable Time, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the
statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that no representation or warranty is made as to information contained in or omitted from the
Pricing Disclosure Package made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is
specified in Section 8(e) hereof.
(n) Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed in Schedule II hereto, when taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package, did not, as of the Applicable Time, contain an untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided
that no representation or warranty is made as to information contained in or omitted from such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed in Schedule II hereto in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company
through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information is specified in Section 8(e) hereof.
(o) Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conformed or will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder on the
date of first use, and the Company has complied with all prospectus delivery and any filing requirements applicable to such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus pursuant to the Securities Act and rules and regulations thereunder. The Company has
not made any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus without the prior written consent of the Representatives, except as set forth on Schedule II hereto. The Company has retained in accordance
with the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder all Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses that were not required to be filed pursuant to the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.
6
(p) The authorized capital stock of the Company, the Preferred Stock and the Certificate of Designation relating to the Preferred Stock designating the “Variable Rate Series A
Perpetual Preferred Stock” and establishing the rights, powers, preferences, limitations and entitlements thereof (the “Certificate of Designation”), in each case conform as to legal
matters to the descriptions thereof contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(q) The execution and filing of the Certificate of Designation has been duly authorized by the Company and, as of the Closing Date (as defined below), the Certificate of Designation
will have been duly executed and filed with the Nevada Secretary of State.
(r) The Securities to be issued and sold by the Company to the Underwriters hereunder have been duly authorized and, upon the effectiveness of the Certificate of Designation and
payment and delivery in accordance with this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, will conform to the description thereof contained in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, will be issued in compliance with
federal and state securities laws and will be free of statutory and contractual preemptive rights, rights of first refusal and similar rights.
(s) The Company has all requisite corporate power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under this Agreement. This Agreement has been duly and validly
authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(t) The issuance and sale of the Securities by the Company, the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company, the Certificate of Designation and the Securities
and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and the application of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described under “Use of Proceeds” in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus will not (i) conflict with or
result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, impose any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of
trust, loan agreement, license, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries is subject; (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the articles of incorporation or bylaws (or similar organizational documents) of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; or (iii) result in any
violation of any statute or any judgment, order, decree, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any of their properties or assets, except, with respect
to clauses (i) and (iii), conflicts or violations that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(u) No consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing, registration or qualification with, any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries or any of their properties or assets is required for the issue and sale of the Securities by the Company, the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of its obligations under, this Agreement, the Certificate
of Designation and the Securities and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, the application of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described under “Use of Proceeds” in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus,
except for the registration of the Securities under the Securities Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, filings, registrations or qualifications as may be required under the Exchange Act, and applicable state securities
laws and/or the bylaws and rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (the “FINRA”) in connection with the purchase and sale of the Securities by the Underwriters.
7
(v) The consolidated financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses,
if any, together with the related notes and schedules, present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company and the Subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the consolidated results of operations,
cash flows and changes in stockholders’ equity of the Company for the periods specified and have been prepared in all material respects in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Act and Exchange Act and in conformity with U.S.
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved; the other financial and statistical data with respect to the Company and
the Subsidiaries contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, are accurately and fairly presented in all material respects and prepared on a basis
consistent, in all material respects, with the financial statements and books and records of the Company; there are no financial statements (historical or pro forma) that are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement, or the Prospectus that are not included or incorporated by reference as required; the Company and the Subsidiaries do not have any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent (including any off-balance
sheet obligations), not described in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto) and the Prospectus or in a document incorporated by reference therein; and all disclosures contained or incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply in all material respects with
Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, to the extent applicable. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.
(w) The pro forma financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus include assumptions that provide a reasonable basis for
presenting the significant effects directly attributable to the transactions and events described therein, the related pro forma adjustments give appropriate effect to those assumptions, and the pro forma adjustments reflect the proper
application of those adjustments to the historical financial statement amounts in the pro forma financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus. The pro forma financial statements included
or incorporated by reference in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable requirements of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act.
8
(x) KPMG LLC (“KPMG”), who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries,
whose report appears in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus or is incorporated by reference therein and who have delivered the initial letter referred to in Section 7(g) hereof, are independent public accountants as required by the
Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder; WWC, P.C. (“WWC”), whose report appears in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus or is incorporated by reference and who has
delivered the initial letter referred to in Section 7(g) hereof; and BDO USA, P.C. (“BDO” and, together with KPMG and WWC, the “Accountants”),
who have certified financial statements (including financial statements of acquired properties or business) that appear in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus or are incorporated by reference therein and who have delivered the initial
letter referred to in Section 7(g) hereof, were independent public accountants as required by the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder during the periods covered by the financial statements on which they reported contained
or incorporated by reference in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus.
(y) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its articles of incorporation or bylaws or similar organizational documents; (ii) in
default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan
or credit agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries are subject; or (iii) in violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any Governmental Authority, except, in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such violation or default
that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. To the Company’s knowledge, no other party under any material contract or other agreement to which it or any of its Subsidiaries is a
party is in default in any respect thereunder where such default would have a Material Adverse Effect.
(z) Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any (including any
document deemed incorporated by reference therein), there has not been (i) any Material Adverse Effect or the occurrence of any development that the Company reasonably expects will result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) any transaction
which is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (iii) any obligation or liability, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), incurred by the Company or any Subsidiary, which is material to the
Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (iv) any material change in the capital stock or outstanding long-term indebtedness of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (other than (a) as a result of the sale of Securities, (b) the
issuance of equity awards under the Company’s existing equity incentive plans or (c) changes in the number of outstanding shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”) due to the issuance of shares upon the exercise or conversion of securities exercisable for, or convertible into, shares of Common Stock (including warrants) outstanding on the date hereof, or the
vesting of restricted stock units outstanding on the date hereof) or (v) any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the Company or any Subsidiary, other than in each case above in the ordinary
course of business or as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement or Prospectus (including any document deemed incorporated by reference therein).
9
(aa) The issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and, other than as disclosed in the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus, are not subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or similar rights that have not been duly waived or satisfied. The Company has an authorized, issued and outstanding capitalization as set forth
in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as of the dates referred to therein (other than the grant of additional options or other equity awards under the Company’s existing stock option plans, or changes in the number of outstanding
shares of Common Stock of the Company due to the issuance of shares upon the exercise or conversion of securities exercisable for, or convertible into, Common Stock outstanding on the date hereof, or the vesting of restricted stock units
outstanding on the date hereof) and such authorized capital stock conforms in all material respects to the description thereof set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The description of the securities of the Company in
the Registration Statement and the Prospectus is complete and accurate in all material respects. Except as disclosed in or contemplated by the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as of the date referred to therein, the Company does not
have outstanding any options to purchase, or any rights or warrants to subscribe for, or any securities or obligations convertible into, or exchangeable for, or any contracts or commitments to issue or sell, any shares of capital stock or
other securities.
(bb) The Company has full legal right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement, the Certificate of Designation and the Securities or to consummate the transactions contemplated
by each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the Company enforceable in accordance with its terms,
except to the extent that enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles.
(cc) All agreements between the Company and third parties expressly referenced in the Prospectus are legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance with
their respective terms, except to the extent that (i) enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles and (ii) the
indemnification provisions of certain agreements may be limited by federal or state securities laws or public policy considerations in respect thereof, except for any unenforceability that, individually or in the aggregate, would not have a
Material Adverse Effect.
(dd) Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, there are no actions, suits or proceedings by or before any Governmental Authority pending, nor, to the
Company’s knowledge, any audits or investigations by or before any Governmental Authority to which the Company or a Subsidiary is a party or to which any property of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is the subject that, individually or
in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company or such Subsidiary, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect and, to the Company’s knowledge, no such actions, suits, proceedings, audits or investigations are
threatened or contemplated by any Governmental Authority or threatened by others that, individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, would have a Material Adverse Effect; and (i) there
are no current or pending audits, actions, suits or proceedings, or to the Company’s knowledge, investigations by or before any Governmental Authority that are required under the Securities Act to be described in the Prospectus that are not
so described; and (ii) there are no contracts or other documents that are required under the Securities Act to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement that are not so filed.
10
(ee) The Company and each Subsidiary possess such valid and current certificates, authorizations or permits issued by the appropriate state, federal or foreign regulatory agencies or
bodies necessary to conduct their respective businesses, and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received, or has any reason to believe that it will receive, any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of, or
non-compliance with, any such certificate, authorization or permit which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(ff) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries own, possess, license or have other rights to use all foreign and domestic
patents, patent applications, trade and service marks, trade and service mark registrations, trade names, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets, technology, Internet domain names, know-how and other intellectual property
(collectively, the “Intellectual Property”), necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as now conducted, except to the extent that the failure to own, possess, license
or otherwise hold rights to use such Intellectual Property would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (i) to the Company’s knowledge,
there is no infringement by third parties of any such Intellectual Property that is owned by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (ii) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by
others challenging the Company’s and its Subsidiaries’ rights in or to any such Intellectual Property that is owned by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (iii) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit,
proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity or scope of any such Intellectual Property that is owned by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (iv) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit,
proceeding or claim by others that the Company and its Subsidiaries infringe or otherwise violate any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights of others; (v) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no third-party
U.S. patent or published U.S. patent application which contains claims for which an Interference Proceeding (as defined in 35 U.S.C. § 135) has been commenced against any patent or patent application described in the Prospectus as being owned
by the Company; and (vi) the Company and its Subsidiaries have complied with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Intellectual Property has been licensed to the Company or such Subsidiary, and all such agreements are in full force
and effect, except, in the case of each of clauses (i)-(vi) above, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(gg) At the time the Registration Statement was or will be originally declared effective, and at the time the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K was filed with the
Commission, the Company met or will meet the then applicable requirements for the use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act, including, but not limited to, General Instruction I.B.1 of Form S-3. The Securities have been and remain eligible for
inclusion by the Company on such Registration Statement. The Company is not a shell company (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) and has not been a shell company for at least 12 calendar months previously and if it has been a
shell company at any time previously, has filed current Form 10 information (as defined in Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3) with the Commission at least 12 calendar months previously reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell
company.
(hh) The information provided to the Underwriters by the Company, its counsel, and its officers and directors for purposes of the Underwriters’ compliance with applicable FINRA rules in
connection with the offering of the Securities is true, complete, and correct and compliant with FINRA’s rules.
11
(ii) Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has defaulted on any installment on indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental on one or more long-term leases, which
defaults, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not filed a report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the filing of its last Annual Report
on Form 10‑K, indicating that it (i) has failed to pay any dividend or sinking fund installment on preferred stock or (ii) has defaulted on any installment on indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental on one or more long-term leases,
which defaults, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(jj) Neither the Company, nor any of the Subsidiaries, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any of their respective directors, officers or controlling persons has taken, directly or
indirectly, any action designed, or that has constituted or would reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate
the sale or resale of the Securities.
(kk) Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries (i) is required to register as a “broker” or “dealer” in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Act or (ii) directly or
indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is a “person associated with a member” or “associated person of a member” (within the meaning set forth in the FINRA Manual).
(ll) The Company has not relied upon the Underwriters or legal counsel for the Underwriters for any legal, tax or accounting advice in connection with the offering and sale of the
Securities.
(mm) The Company and each of its Subsidiaries have filed all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns which have been required to be filed and paid all taxes shown thereon through
the date hereof, to the extent that such taxes have become due and are not being contested in good faith, except where the failure to so file or pay would not have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as otherwise disclosed in or contemplated
by the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, no tax deficiency has been determined adversely to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries which has had, or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material
Adverse Effect. The Company has no knowledge of any federal, state or other governmental tax deficiency, penalty or assessment which has been or might be asserted or threatened against it which would have a Material Adverse Effect.
(nn) The Company has made reasonable best efforts to comply and believes that it has complied with the written guidelines agreed to by the Company and the Underwriters with respect to
“fast-pay stock” (for the avoidance of doubt, the Company may take into account written or oral representations from the financial institutions participating in this offering in determining that it has fulfilled the written guidelines) (the “Tax Guidelines”) and does not believe that the Securities being issued in this offering are structured in a manner that causes the Securities to be treated as “fast-pay stock” within the
meaning of Section 1.7701(l)-3(b)(2) of the United States Treasury Regulations.
12
(oo) Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple or other comparable valid title
to all items of real property owned by them, good and valid title to all personal property described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus as being owned by them that are material to the ordinary course of business of the Company or the
Subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and claims, except those matters that (i) do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and any of its Subsidiaries
or (ii) would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect. Any real or personal property described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus as being leased by the Company and any of its
Subsidiaries is held by them under valid, existing and enforceable leases, except those that (A) do not materially interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or (B) would not
be reasonably expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect. To the best of the Company’s knowledge, each of the properties of the Company and its Subsidiaries complies with all applicable codes, laws and
regulations (including, without limitation, building and zoning codes, laws and regulations and laws relating to access to such properties), except if and to the extent disclosed in the Registration Statement or Prospectus or except for such
failures to comply that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to interfere in any material respect with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its Subsidiaries or otherwise have
a Material Adverse Effect. None of the Company or its Subsidiaries has received from any Governmental Authorities any notice of any condemnation of, or zoning change affecting, the properties of the Company and its Subsidiaries, and the
Company knows of no such condemnation or zoning change which is threatened, except for such that would not reasonably be expected to interfere in any material respect with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company
and its Subsidiaries or otherwise have a Material Adverse Effect, individually or in the aggregate.
(pp) Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries (i) are in compliance with any and all applicable federal, state, local and
foreign laws, rules, regulations, decisions and orders relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (collectively, “Environmental Laws”); (ii) have received and are in compliance with all permits, licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses as
described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; and (iii) have not received notice of any actual or potential liability for the investigation or remediation of any disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes,
pollutants or contaminants, except, in the case of any of clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) above, for any such failure to comply or failure to receive required permits, licenses, other approvals or liability as would not, individually or in the
aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
13
(qq) The Company and each of its Subsidiaries maintain systems of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in
accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is
permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any
differences. As of the end of the Company’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective and as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal year, the Company is not aware of
any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting (other than as set forth in the Prospectus). Since the date of the latest audited financial statements of the Company included in the Prospectus, there has been no
change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (other than as set forth in the
Prospectus). The Company has established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a‑15 and 15d‑15) for the Company and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material information
relating to the Company and each of its Subsidiaries is made known to the certifying officers by others within those entities, including during the period in which the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10‑K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as
the case may be, is being prepared. The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of the Annual Report on Form 10‑K
for the fiscal year most recently ended (such date, the “Evaluation Date”). The Company presented in its Annual Report on Form 10‑K for the
fiscal year most recently ended the conclusions of the certifying officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on their evaluations as of the Evaluation Date and the disclosure controls and procedures were
effective. Since the Evaluation Date, there have been no significant changes in the Company’s internal controls (as such term is defined in Item 307(b) of Regulation S‑K under the Securities Act) or, to the Company’s knowledge, in other
factors that could significantly affect the Company’s internal controls.
(rr) The section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations For Strive Enterprises, Inc. – Critical Accounting Policies” set forth
or incorporated by reference in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus accurately and fully describes (i) the accounting policies that the Company believes are the most important in the portrayal of the Company’s financial condition and
results of operations and that require management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments (“Critical Accounting Policies”); (ii) the judgments and uncertainties affecting
the application of Critical Accounting Policies; and (iii) the likelihood that materially different amounts would be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions and an explanation thereof.
(ss) Except as described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the most recent
Preliminary Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has (i) sustained any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute
or court or governmental action, order or decree (whether domestic or foreign), (ii) issued or granted any securities, (iii) incurred any material liability or obligation, direct or contingent, other than liabilities and obligations that were
incurred in the ordinary course of business, (iv) entered into any material transaction not in the ordinary course of business, or (v) declared or paid any dividend on its capital stock, and since such date, there has not been any change in
the capital stock, or long-term debt of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any material adverse change, in or affecting the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, stockholders’ equity, properties, management,
business or prospects of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole, in each case except as could not, in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
14
(tt) There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any
applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Each of the principal executive officer and the principal financial officer of the Company (or each former principal executive officer of
the Company and each former principal financial officer of the Company as applicable) has made all certifications required by Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2022 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley
Act”) with respect to all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by it or furnished by it to the Commission. For purposes of the preceding sentence, “principal executive officer” and
“principal financial officer” shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
(uu) Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has incurred any liability for any finder’s fees, brokerage commissions or similar payments in connection with the transactions
herein contemplated, except as may otherwise exist with respect to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement.
(vv) No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened which would reasonably be
expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(ww) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof, will not be an “investment company” as such term
is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). The Company shall conduct its business in a manner so that it will not become required to
register as an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act.
(xx) The statements set forth in each of the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus under the captions “Description of Perpetual Preferred Stock”, “Material U.S. Federal
Income Tax Considerations”, and “Underwriting”, insofar as they purport to summarize the provisions of the laws, regulations or legal conclusions with respect thereto and the documents referred to therein, are accurate summaries in all
material respects.
(yy) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, any of the Company’s directors or officers, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any of the Company’s controlled affiliates, any
employee, agent or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, has, in the course of its actions for, or on behalf of, the Company or any of its Subsidiaries: (i) made any unlawful contribution,
gift, or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made any direct or indirect bribe, kickback, rebate, payoff, influence payment, or otherwise unlawfully provided anything of value, to any “foreign official” (as defined in
the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended (collectively, the “FCPA”)) or domestic government official; or (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the
FCPA, the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom, as amended (the “Bribery Act 2010”), or any other applicable anti-corruption or anti-bribery statute or regulation. The Company and
its Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of the Company, the Company’s affiliates, have conducted their respective businesses in compliance with the FCPA, Bribery Act 2010 and all other applicable anti-corruption and anti-bribery statutes or
regulations, and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to ensure, continued compliance therewith and with the representations and warranties contained herein. Neither the
Company nor any of its Subsidiaries will use, directly or indirectly, the proceeds of the offering in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment or giving of money, or anything else of value, to any
person in violation of any applicable anti-corruption or anti-bribery laws.
15
(zz) The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance in all material respects with applicable financial record keeping and
reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all applicable jurisdictions to which the Company or its Subsidiaries are subject, the applicable rules and
regulations thereunder and any applicable related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Authority (collectively, the “Money
Laundering Laws”); and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any Governmental Authority involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company,
threatened.
(aaa) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, any of the Company’s directors or officers, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any agent, employee or controlled affiliate of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries is: (i) currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department, the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations
Security Council, the European Union, His Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority having jurisdiction over the Company or its Subsidiaries (collectively, “Sanctions”);
or (ii) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject or target of comprehensive territorial Sanctions (including, without limitation, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, the so-called Luhansk People’s
Republic, or any other Covered Region of Ukraine identified pursuant to Executive Order 14065, the Crimea Region of Ukraine, Cuba, Iran and North Korea); and the Company will not directly or to its knowledge indirectly use the proceeds of the
offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing or facilitating the activities or business of any person, or in any
country or territory, that at the time of such financing or facilitation and currently is the subject or target of Sanctions or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the
transaction whether as an underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in for the past five years, are not now knowingly engaged in any dealings or
transactions with any individual or entity, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction, is or was the subject or target of Sanctions.
(bbb) There are no transactions, arrangements and other relationships between and/or among the Company, and/or, to the knowledge of the Company, any of its affiliates and any
unconsolidated entity, including, but not limited to, any structured finance, special purpose or limited purpose entity (each, an “Off-Balance Sheet Transaction”) that could
reasonably be expected to affect materially the Company’s liquidity or the availability of or requirements for its capital resources, including those Off-Balance Sheet Transactions described in the Commission’s Statement about Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations (Release Nos. 33‑8056; 34‑45321; FR‑61), required to be described in the Prospectus which have not been described as required.
16
(ccc) To the knowledge of the Company, each material employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), that is maintained, administered or contributed to by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries for employees or former employees of the Company and any of its Subsidiaries has
been maintained in material compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”); no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred which would result in a material liability to the Company with
respect to any such plan excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; and for each such plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no “accumulated
funding deficiency” as defined in Section 412 of the Code has been incurred, whether or not waived, and the fair market value of the assets of each such plan (excluding for these purposes accrued but unpaid contributions) exceeds the present
value of all benefits accrued under such plan determined using reasonable actuarial assumptions.
(ddd) No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) (a “Forward-Looking
Statement”) contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.
(eee) Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and each of its Subsidiaries carry, or are covered by, insurance in such amounts and
covering such risks as the Company and each of its Subsidiaries reasonably believe are adequate for the conduct of their properties and as is customary for companies engaged in similar businesses in similar industries.
(fff) No stamp or other issuance or transfer taxes or duties are payable by the Underwriters in the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein in
connection with the execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement by the Company or the sale and delivery by the Company of the Securities.
(ggg) The Company and each of its Subsidiaries are in material compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and statutes (including all Environmental Laws and regulations) in the
jurisdictions in which it carries on business; the Company has not, to the Company’s knowledge, received a notice of non-compliance, nor knows of, nor has reasonable grounds to know of, any facts that could give rise to a notice of
non-compliance with any such laws, regulations and statutes, and is not aware of any pending change or contemplated change to any such applicable law or regulation or statutes; in each case that would reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect on the business of the Company or the business or legal environment under which the Company operates.
17
(hhh) The statistical, demographic and market-related data included in the Registration Statement and Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be
reliable and accurate or represent the Company’s good faith estimates that are made on the basis of data derived from such sources.
(iii) There are no securities or preferred stock of or guaranteed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that are rated by a “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,”
as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act.
(jjj) There are (and prior to the Closing Date, will be) no debt securities or convertible securities issued or guaranteed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that are rated by a
“nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) under the Exchange Act.
(kkk) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or Prospectus, and except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Company and its
Subsidiaries’ information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, “IT Systems”) are
adequate for, and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with the operation of the business of the Company as currently conducted, free and clear of all material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time
bombs, malware and other corruptants; (ii) the Company and its Subsidiaries have implemented and maintained commercially reasonable physical, technical and administrative controls, policies, procedures, and safeguards to maintain and protect
their material confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and data, including all “Personal Data” (as defined below) and all sensitive, confidential or regulated data (“Confidential Data”) used in connection with their businesses; and (iii) there have been no breaches, violations, outages or unauthorized uses of or accesses to the same, except for those
that have been remedied without material cost or liability or the duty to notify any other person, nor are any incidents under internal review or investigation by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries relating to the same. “Personal Data” means (A) a natural person’s name, street address, telephone number, e-mail address, photograph, social security number or tax identification number, driver’s license
number, passport number, credit card number, bank information, or customer or account number; (B) any information which qualifies as “personally identifying information” under the Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended; (iii) “personal
data” as defined by the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) (EU 2016/679); (iv) any information which qualifies as “protected health information” under the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (collectively, “HIPAA”); (v) any
“personal information” as defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”); and (vi) any other piece of information that allows the identification of such natural person.
18
(lll) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or Prospectus, and except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Company and
its Subsidiaries are in material compliance with all applicable state and federal data privacy and security laws and regulations, including, without limitation, to the extent applicable, HIPAA, CCPA, and the GDPR (collectively, the “Privacy Laws”); (ii) the Company has in place, complies with, and takes appropriate steps to ensure compliance in all material respects with, its policies and procedures relating to data
privacy and security and the collection, storage, use, processing, disclosure, handling, and analysis of Personal Data and Confidential Data (the “Policies”); (iii) the Company has
made all disclosures to users or customers required by Privacy Laws, and none of such disclosures made or contained in any Policy have been inaccurate or in violation of any Privacy Laws in any material respect; and (iv) neither the Company
nor any Subsidiary of the Company has received written notice of any actual or potential liability under or relating to, or actual or potential violation of, any of the Privacy Laws.
(mmm) Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation of or has received notice of any violation with respect to any federal or state law relating to discrimination in the hiring,
promotion or pay of employees, nor any applicable federal or state wage and hour laws, the violation of any of which could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters in
connection with the offering of the Securities shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company, as applicable, as to matters covered thereby, to each Underwriter.
2. Purchase of the Securities by the Underwriters. On the basis of the representations, warranties and covenants contained in, and subject
to the terms and conditions of, this Agreement, the Company agrees to sell 2,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock to the several Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase the number of shares of
the Preferred Stock set forth opposite that Underwriter’s name in Schedule I hereto at the purchase price of $74.95 per share of Preferred Stock (the “Purchase Price”). The
respective purchase obligations of the Underwriters with respect to the Preferred Stock shall be rounded among the Underwriters to avoid fractional shares, as the Representatives may determine.
The Company is not obligated to deliver any of the Securities to be delivered on the Closing Date (as defined below), except upon payment for all such Securities to be purchased on such
Closing Date (as defined below) as provided herein.
3. Offering of Securities by the Underwriters. The Company is advised by the Representatives that the Underwriters propose to make a
public offering of their respective portions of the Securities as soon after the Registration Statement and this Agreement have become effective as in the Representatives’ judgment is advisable. The Company is further advised by the
Representatives that the Securities are to be offered to the public upon the terms set forth in the Prospectus.
4. Delivery of and Payment for the Securities. Delivery of and payment for the Securities shall be made at 10:00 A.M., New York City time,
on November 10, 2025 or at such other date or place as shall be determined by agreement between the Representatives and the Company. This date and time are sometimes referred to as the “Closing
Date”. Time shall be of the essence, and delivery at the time and place specified pursuant to this Agreement is a further condition of the obligation of each Underwriter hereunder.
19
The Preferred Stock shall be in global form and registered in such names and in such denominations as the Representatives shall request in writing not later than one full business day prior
to the Closing Date, for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters, with any transfer taxes payable in connection with the transfer of the Securities to the Underwriters duly paid, against payment of the Purchase Price therefor.
5. Further Agreements of the Company and the Underwriters. (a) The Company agrees:
(i) To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by the Representatives and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act not later than
the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus prior to the Closing Date
except as provided herein; to advise the Representatives, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish the
Representatives with copies thereof upon reasonable written request; to advise the Representatives, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the
use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding or examination for any such
purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act, or any notice from the Commission objecting to the use of the form of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto or of any request by the Commission for the
amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use
of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or suspending any such qualification, to use promptly its reasonable best efforts to obtain its withdrawal of such order.
(ii) Upon written request, to furnish promptly to each of the Representatives and to counsel for the Underwriters a signed copy of the Registration Statement as
originally filed with the Commission, and each amendment thereto filed with the Commission, including conformed copies of all consents and exhibits filed therewith.
(iii) To deliver, upon written request, promptly to the Representatives such number of the following documents as the Representatives shall reasonably request: (A)
conformed copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed with the Commission and each amendment thereto (in each case excluding exhibits other than this Agreement and the computation of per share earnings), (B) each Preliminary
Prospectus, the Prospectus and any amended or supplemented Prospectus, and (C) each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and (D) any document incorporated by reference in any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus; and, if the delivery of a
prospectus is required at any time after the date hereof in connection with the offering or sale of the Securities or any other securities relating thereto and if at such time any events shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus
as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such
Prospectus is delivered, not misleading, or, if in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters, for any other reason it shall be necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act
any document incorporated by reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the Securities Act, to notify the Representatives and, upon their request, to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter
and to any dealer in securities (whose name and address the Representative shall furnish to the Company) as many copies as the Representatives may from time to time reasonably request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus that will correct
such statement or omission or effect such compliance.
20
(iv) To file as promptly as practicable with the Commission any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus that may, in the judgment of
the Company or the Representatives, be required by the Securities Act or requested by the Commission in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities.
(v) Prior to filing with the Commission any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, any document incorporated by reference in the
Prospectus or any amendment to any document incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, to furnish a copy thereof to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters and obtain the consent of the Representatives to the filing (such
consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed).
(vi) Not to make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus without the prior written consent of the
Representatives (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed).
(vii) To comply with all applicable requirements of Rule 433 under the Securities Act with respect to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus. If at any time after the
date hereof any events shall have occurred as a result of which any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented, would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the most recent Preliminary Prospectus or
the Prospectus or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or, if
for any other reason it shall be necessary to amend or supplement any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, to notify the Representatives and, upon their request, to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter
(whose name and address the Representative shall furnish to the Company) as many copies as the Representatives may from time to time reasonably request of an amended or supplemented Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that will correct such
conflict, statement or omission or effect such compliance.
(viii) If requested by the Representatives, to prepare a final term sheet relating to the offering of the Securities, containing only information that describes the
final terms of the offering in a form consented to by the Representatives, and to file such final term sheet within the period required by Rule 433(d)(5)(ii) under the Securities Act following the date the final terms have been established
for the offering of the Securities.
21
(ix) As soon as practicable after the Effective Date (it being understood that the Company shall have until at least 410 days or, if the fourth quarter following the
fiscal quarter that includes the Effective Date is the last fiscal quarter of the Company’s fiscal year, 455 days after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter), to make generally available to the Company’s security holders and to
deliver to the Representatives an earnings statement of the Company and its Subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder (including, at the option of the
Company, Rule 158), which may be satisfied by filing on EDGAR.
(x) Promptly from time to time to take such action as the Representatives may reasonably request to qualify the Securities for offering and sale in such
jurisdictions as the Representatives may reasonably request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the
Securities; provided, that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to (A) qualify as a foreign corporation in any jurisdiction in which it would not otherwise be required to so
qualify, (B) file a general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction, or (C) subject itself to taxation in any jurisdiction in which it would not otherwise be subject.
(xi) In connection with any future offerings of Preferred Stock (for this purpose, including (i) each sale of the Preferred Stock pursuant to any at-the-market sales
program and (ii) any Preferred Stock acquired and then resold by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries) (each, a “Future Offering”), the Company will use its reasonable best efforts
(which shall include obtaining advice from a qualified external tax advisor) to cause the Preferred Stock to be structured in a manner that is intended to cause the Preferred Stock not to be treated as “fast-pay stock” within the meaning of
Section 1.7701(l)-3(b)(2) of the United States Treasury Regulations. For the avoidance of doubt, fulfilling the Tax Guidelines with respect to such Future Offerings (as such Tax Guidelines may be updated by the Company and the Underwriters
(and any other financial institutions that are parties to any Future Offering) from time to time) will be deemed sufficient to meet the Company’s obligations under this provision. The Company and the Underwriters further agree and acknowledge
that the Company may take into account written or oral representations from one or more nationally recognized financial institutions participating in such offering in determining that it has fulfilled the Tax Guidelines.
If the Company makes any filing (including a protective filing) (the “Filing”) pursuant to Section 1.6011-4 of the United States
Treasury Regulations (or any successor or similar or related regulation, including similar state or local tax regulations) to the effect that it has (or may have, in the case of a protective Filing) issued “fast-pay stock” with respect to the
Securities or any Preferred Stock sold by the Company in Future Offerings, the Company shall (A) announce such Filing by, at the Company’s option, (i) a press release through a major news service, (ii) publication on the Company’s investor
relations website, or (iii) filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (or provide similar notice to holders of the Securities), in each case, within four business days of the Filing and (B) use reasonable
best efforts to promptly provide written advance notice (and in any event no later than 10 business days in advance of the Filing) to any potential “material advisors” (within the meaning of Section 6111 of the Code) in connection with the
Filing. The Company further agrees and covenants that if the Company receives any notice of any governmental audit, assessment, claim, examination or other governmental inquiry relating to the tax treatment of the Securities or any Preferred
Stock sold by the Company in Future Offerings being “fast-pay stock” (a “Tax Claim”) it shall use reasonable best efforts to promptly provide written notice to the Underwriters and
any potential “material advisors” (within the meaning of Section 6111 of the Code) in connection with such Tax Claim.
22
The foregoing obligations shall survive the sale and delivery of the Securities by the Company.
(xii) The Company will execute and file the Certificate of Designation with the Nevada Secretary of State, accompanied by all fees required to be paid therewith,
designating the “Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock” and establishing the rights, powers, preferences, limitations and entitlements thereof, which shall conform in all material respects to the description thereof in the
Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus.
(xiii) The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to effect the listing of the Securities on the Nasdaq Global Market.
(xiv) The Company will not take any action prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act in connection with the distribution of the Securities contemplated hereby.
(xv) For a period commencing on the date hereof and ending on the earlier of (i) the first date on which the Preferred Stock is listed
for trading on the Nasdaq Global Market and (ii) 15 days from the date of the Prospectus (the “Lock-Up Period”), not to, and not to publicly disclose an intention to, directly or
indirectly, (A) offer for sale, sell, pledge, or otherwise dispose of (or enter into any transaction or device that is designed to, or could reasonably be expected to, result in the disposition by any person at any time in the future of) any
additional shares of Preferred Stock, (B) enter into any swap or other derivatives transaction that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic benefits or risks of ownership of such shares of Preferred Stock, whether any
such transaction described in clause (A) or (B) above is to be settled by delivery of Preferred Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise, (C) file, confidentially submit or cause to be confidentially submitted or filed a registration
statement, including any amendments thereto, with respect to the registration of any shares of the Preferred Stock, or (D) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing, in each case without the prior written consent of Barclays
Capital Inc., on behalf of the Underwriters.
(xvi) To apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Securities being sold by the Company substantially in accordance with the description as set forth in the
Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds.”
(xvii) To file with the Commission such information on Form 10-Q or Form 10-K as may be required by Rule 463 under the Securities Act.
23
(xviii) If the Company elects to rely upon Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, the Company shall file a Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with the Commission in
compliance with Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act by 10:00 P.M., New York City time, on the date of this Agreement, and the Company shall at the time of filing pay the Commission the filing fee for the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement.
(xix) If at any time following the distribution of any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which
such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representatives and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication to eliminate or
correct such untrue statement or omission. The Company will promptly notify the Representatives of (A) any distribution by the Company of Written Testing-the-Waters Communications and (B) any request by the Commission for information
concerning the Written Testing-the-Waters Communications.
(xx) The Company and its controlled affiliates will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that has constituted or that reasonably would be
expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company in connection with the offering of the Securities.
(xxi) The Company will do and perform all things required or necessary to be done and performed under this Agreement by it prior to the Closing Date, and to satisfy
all conditions precedent to the Underwriters’ obligations hereunder to purchase the Securities.
(xxii) The Company will deliver to each Underwriter (or its agent), on or prior to the date of execution of this Agreement, a properly completed and executed
Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers or applicable exemption certificate (the “FinCEN Certification”), together with copies of identifying
documentation, of the Company and the Company undertakes to provide such additional supporting documentation as each Underwriter may reasonably request in connection with the verification of the FinCEN Certification.
(xxiii) The Underwriters shall have received, prior to the Closing Date, satisfactory evidence of the filing of the Certificate of Designation, as provided for in
Section 5(xiii) of this Agreement.
(b) Each Underwriter severally agrees that such Underwriter shall not include any “issuer information” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) in any “free writing
prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) used or referred to by such Underwriter without the prior consent of the Company (any such issuer information with respect to whose use the Company has given its consent, “Permitted Issuer Information”); provided that (i) no such consent shall be required with respect to any such issuer information contained in any
document filed by the Company with the Commission prior to the use of such free writing prospectus, and (ii) “issuer information”, as used in this Section 5(b), shall not be deemed to include information prepared by or on behalf of such
Underwriter on the basis of or derived from issuer information.
24
6. Expenses. The Company agrees, whether or not the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is
terminated, to pay all expenses, costs, fees and taxes incident to and in connection with (a) the authorization, issuance, sale and delivery of the Securities and any stamp duties or other taxes payable in that connection, and the preparation
and printing of certificates for the Securities; (b) the preparation, printing and filing under the Securities Act of the Registration Statement (including any exhibits thereto), any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, the Certificate of Designation and any amendment or supplement thereto; (c) the distribution of the Registration Statement (including any exhibits thereto), any Preliminary
Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, and any amendment or supplement thereto, or any document incorporated by reference therein, all as provided in this Agreement; (d)
the production and distribution of this Agreement, any supplemental agreement among Underwriters, and any other related documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Securities; (e) any required review by FINRA
of the terms of sale of the Securities and the qualification of the Securities under the securities laws of the several jurisdictions as provided in Section 5(a)(x) and the preparation, printing and distribution of a Blue Sky Memorandum
(including related reasonable and documented fees and expenses of counsel to the Underwriters in an amount that is not greater than $35,000); (f) the listing of the Securities on The Nasdaq Global Market and/or any other exchange; (g) the
preparation, printing and distribution of one or more versions of the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus for distribution in Canada; (h) the investor presentations on any “road show” or any Testing-the-Waters Communication, undertaken
in connection with the marketing of the Securities, including, without limitation, expenses associated with any electronic road show, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and 50% of the cost of any
aircraft chartered in connection with the road show (the remaining half of the cost to be borne by the Underwriters); and (i) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement; provided, however, that, except as provided in this Section 6 and in Section 11, the Underwriters shall pay their own costs and expenses, including the costs and expenses of their counsel, any transfer
taxes on the Securities which they may sell and the expenses of advertising any offering of the Securities made by the Underwriters and travel (provided that the Underwriters are responsible for 50% of the cost of any aircraft chartered in
connection with the road show), lodging and other expenses of the Underwriters or any of their employees or representatives incurred by them in connection with any “road show.”
7. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The respective obligations of the Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy, when made
and on the Closing Date, of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder in all material respects, and to each of the following additional terms and
conditions:
(a) The Prospectus shall have been timely filed with the Commission in accordance with Section 5(a)(i). The Company shall have complied with all filing
requirements applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus used or referred to after the date hereof; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus or any
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been issued and no proceeding or examination for such purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act shall have been initiated or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the
Commission; and any request of the Commission for inclusion of additional information in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or otherwise shall have been complied with to the Representatives’ reasonable satisfaction. If the Company
has elected to rely upon Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement shall have become effective by 10:00 P.M., New York City time, on the date of this Agreement.
25
(b) [Reserved].
(c) All corporate proceedings and other legal matters incident to the authorization, form and validity of this Agreement, the Securities, the Registration
Statement, the Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and all other legal matters relating to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall be reasonably satisfactory in all material respects to counsel for the
Underwriters, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel all documents and information that they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters.
(d) Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, as counsel to the Company shall have furnished to the Representatives its written opinion and negative assurance letter, as
counsel to the Company, addressed to the Underwriters and dated as of the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.
(e) Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP, as Nevada counsel to the Company, shall have furnished to the Representatives its written opinion, as counsel to the
Company, addressed to the Underwriters and dated the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.
(f) The Representatives shall have received from DLA Piper LLP (US), counsel for the Underwriters, such opinion and negative assurance letter, dated the Closing
Date, with respect to the issuance and sale of the Securities, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Pricing Disclosure Package and other related matters as the Representatives may reasonably require, and the Company shall have
furnished to such counsel such documents as they reasonably request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters.
(g) At the time of execution of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have received from the Accountants letters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory
to the Representatives, addressed to the Underwriters and dated the date hereof (i) confirming that they are independent public accountants within the meaning of the Securities Act and are in compliance with the applicable requirements
relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S‑X of the Commission, and (ii) stating, as of the date hereof (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which
specified financial information is given in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, as of a date not more than three business days prior to the date hereof), the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information
and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings.
26
(h) With respect to the letters of the Accountants referred to in the preceding paragraph and delivered to the Representatives concurrently with the execution of
this Agreement (the “initial letter”), the Company shall have furnished to the Representatives a letter (the “bring-down letter”)
of such accountants, addressed to the Underwriters and dated the Closing Date (i) confirming that they are independent public accountants within the meaning of the Securities Act and are in compliance with the applicable requirements relating
to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X of the Commission, (ii) stating, as of the date of the bring-down letter (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of
which specified financial information is given in the Prospectus, as of a date not more than three business days prior to the date of the bring-down letter), the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information
and other matters covered by the initial letter, and (iii) confirming in all material respects the conclusions and findings set forth in the initial letter.
(i) The Company shall have furnished to the Representatives a certificate, dated the Closing Date, of its Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer
as to such matters as the Representatives may reasonably request, including, without limitation, a statement:
(i) That the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company in Section 1 (A) to the extent such representations and warranties are
subject to qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, are true and correct on and as of the Closing Date with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date
hereof, except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date, and (B) to the extent such representations and warranties are not subject to any qualifications
or exceptions, are true and correct in all material respects on and as of the Closing Date as if made on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof, except for those
representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date; provided, however, that in the case of
clauses (A) and (B) such representations and warranties also shall be qualified by the disclosure included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, and the Company has complied with all its agreements
contained herein and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to the Closing Date;
(ii) That no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued; and no proceedings or examination for that purpose or pursuant
to Section 8A of the Securities Act have been instituted or, to the knowledge of such officers, threatened; and the Commission shall not have notified the Company of any objection to the use of the form of the Registration Statement or any
post-effective amendment thereto;
27
(iii) That they have examined the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Pricing Disclosure Package, and, in their opinion, (A) (1) the Registration
Statement, as of the Effective Date, (2) the Prospectus, as of its date and on the Closing Date, and (3) the Pricing Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, did not and do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact and did not
and do not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (except in the case of the Registration Statement, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made) not
misleading, and (B) since the Effective Date, no event has occurred that should have been set forth in a supplement or amendment to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that has not been so set
forth; and
(iv) To the effect of Section 7(j).
(j) Except as described in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, (i) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries shall have sustained, since the date of the
latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus, any loss or interference with its business, taken as a whole, from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not
covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, or (ii) since such date there shall not have been any change in the capital stock (other than as a result of the exercise or settlement
(including any “net” or “cashless” exercises or settlements), if any, of share options or restricted share units or the award, if any, of share options, restricted share units or restricted shares, pursuant to the Company’s equity plans
described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus) or long-term debt of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any material adverse change, in or affecting the condition (financial or otherwise),
results of operations, stockholders’ equity, properties, management, business or prospects of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii), is, individually or in the
aggregate, in the judgment of the Representatives, so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Securities being delivered on the Closing Date on the terms and
in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.
28
(k) Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) (A) trading in securities generally on any
securities exchange that has registered with the Commission under Section 6 of the Exchange Act (including the New York Stock Exchange, The Nasdaq Global Select Market, The Nasdaq Global Market or The Nasdaq Capital Market), or (B) trading in
any securities of the Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market, shall have been suspended or materially limited or the settlement of such trading generally shall have been materially disrupted or minimum prices shall have
been established on any such exchange or such market by the Commission, by such exchange or by any other regulatory body or governmental authority having jurisdiction, (ii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities shall have been
declared by federal or state authorities, (iii) the United States shall have become engaged in hostilities, there shall have been an escalation in hostilities involving the United States or there shall have been a declaration of a national
emergency or war by the United States, or (iv) there shall have occurred such a material adverse change in general economic, political or financial conditions, including, without limitation, as a result of terrorist activities after the date
hereof (or the effect of international conditions on the financial markets in the United States shall be such) or any other calamity or crisis, either within or outside the United States, in each case as to make it, in the reasonable judgment
of the Representatives, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or delivery of the Securities being delivered on the Closing Date on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.
(l) On or prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Underwriters such further certificates and documents as the Representatives may
reasonably request.
(m) FINRA shall not have raised any objection with respect to the fairness or reasonableness of the underwriting, or other arrangements of the transactions,
contemplated hereby.
All opinions, letters, evidence and certificates mentioned above or elsewhere in this Agreement shall be deemed to be in compliance with the provisions hereof only if they are in form and
substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters.
29
8. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) The Company hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates, directors, officers and employees and each person, if any, who
controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any loss, claim, damage or liability, joint or several, or any action in respect thereof (including, but not
limited to, any loss, claim, damage, liability or action relating to purchases and sales of the Securities), to which that Underwriter, affiliate, director, officer, employee or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act
or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of, or is based upon, (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in (A) any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration
Statement, the Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto, (B) any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto, (C) any Permitted Issuer Information used or referred to in any “free writing prospectus”
(as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) used or referred to by any Underwriter, (D) any materials or information provided to investors by, or with the approval of, the Company in connection with the marketing of the offering of the
Securities, including any “road show” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) not constituting an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication (“Marketing
Materials”), or (E) any Blue Sky application or other document prepared or executed by the Company (or based upon any written information furnished by the Company for use therein) specifically for the purpose of qualifying any or all
of the Securities under the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction (any such application, document or information being hereinafter called a “Blue Sky Application”) or
(ii) the omission or alleged omission to state in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto or in any Permitted Issuer Information, any
Marketing Materials or any Blue Sky Application, any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and shall reimburse each Underwriter and each such affiliate, director, officer,
employee or controlling person promptly upon demand for any legal or other documented out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred by that Underwriter, affiliate, director, officer, employee or controlling person in connection with
investigating or defending or preparing to defend against any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action as such expenses are incurred; provided, however,
that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of, or is based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made
in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any such amendment or supplement thereto or in any Permitted Issuer Information, any Marketing Materials or any Blue Sky
Application, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information concerning such Underwriter furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information
consists solely of the information specified in Section 8(e) hereof. The foregoing indemnity agreement is in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have to any Underwriter or to any affiliate, director, officer, employee
or controlling person of that Underwriter.
(b) Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its respective directors, officers and employees, and each person,
if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any loss, claim, damage or liability, joint or several, or any action in respect thereof, to which the
Company or any such affiliate, director, officer, employee or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or action arises out of, or is based upon, (i) any
untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto or in any
Marketing Materials or Blue Sky Application, or (ii) the omission or alleged omission to state in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement
thereto or in any Marketing Materials or Blue Sky Application, any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, but in each case only to the extent that the untrue statement or
alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information concerning such Underwriter furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of that Underwriter
specifically for inclusion therein, which information is limited to the information set forth in Section 8(e) hereof. The foregoing indemnity agreement is in addition to any liability that any Underwriter may otherwise have to the Company or
any such affiliate, director, officer, employee or controlling person.
30
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 8 of notice of any claim or the commencement of any action, the indemnified party shall, if a
claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under this Section 8, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the claim or the commencement of that action; provided, however, that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have under this Section 8 except to the extent it has been materially prejudiced (through
the forfeiture of substantive rights and defenses) by such failure and, provided, further, that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve
it from any liability which it may have to an indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 8. If any such claim or action shall be brought against an indemnified party, and it shall notify the indemnifying party thereof, the
indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it wishes, jointly with any other similarly notified indemnifying party, to assume the defense thereof with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified
party. After notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense of such claim or action, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to the indemnified party under this Section 8 for any legal or
other expenses subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs of investigation; provided, however, that
the indemnified party shall have the right to employ counsel to represent jointly the indemnified party and those other indemnified parties and their respective directors, officers, employees and controlling persons who may be subject to
liability arising out of any claim in respect of which indemnity may be sought under this Section 8 if (i) the indemnified party and the indemnifying party shall have so mutually agreed; (ii) the indemnifying party has failed within a
reasonable time to retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party; (iii) the indemnified party and its directors, officers, employees and controlling persons shall have reasonably concluded based on the advice of counsel that
there may be legal defenses available to them that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party; or (iv) the named parties in any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the indemnified
parties or their respective directors, officers, employees or controlling persons, on the one hand, and the indemnifying party, on the other hand, and, based on the advice of counsel, representation of both sets of parties by the same counsel
would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between them, and in any such event the reasonable and documented fees and expenses of such separate counsel shall be paid by the indemnifying party. No indemnifying party
shall (x) without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any pending or threatened claim, action,
suit or proceeding in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties to such claim or action) unless such settlement, compromise or consent
includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such claim, action, suit or proceeding and does not include a statement as to, or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on
behalf of any indemnified party, or (y) be liable for any settlement of any such action effected without its written consent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), but if settled with the consent of the indemnifying party or if
there be a final judgment for the plaintiff in any such action, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify and hold harmless any indemnified party from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment.
Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by Section 8(a) or (b) hereof, the
indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid
request and (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such request or disputed in good faith the indemnified party’s entitlement to such reimbursement prior to the date of such settlement.
31
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 8 shall for any reason be unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under
Section 8(a) or 8(b) in respect of any loss, claim, damage or liability, or any action in respect thereof, referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party, contribute to the amount
paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such loss, claim, damage or liability, or action in respect thereof, (i) in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the
one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, from the offering of the Securities, or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only
the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, with respect to the statements or omissions that resulted in such loss, claim,
damage or liability, or action in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, with respect to such
offering shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Securities purchased under this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company, as set forth in the table on the cover
page of the Prospectus, on the one hand, and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters with respect to the Securities purchased under this Agreement, as set forth in the table on the cover page of the
Prospectus, on the other hand. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information
supplied by the Company or the Underwriters, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it
would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 8(d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that
does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, damage or liability, or action in respect thereof, referred to above in this
Section 8(d) shall be deemed to include, for purposes of this Section 8(d), any documented out-of-pocket legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action
or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8(d), in no event shall an Underwriter be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by such
Underwriter with respect to the offering of the Securities exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.
No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’
obligations to contribute as provided in this Section 8(d) are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.
32
(e) The Underwriters severally confirm and the Company acknowledges and agrees that the statements regarding delivery of the Securities by the Underwriters set
forth on the cover page of, and the concession and reallowance figures and the paragraph relating to stabilization by the Underwriters appearing under the caption “Underwriting” in, the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and the
Prospectus are correct and constitute the only information concerning such Underwriters furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of the Underwriters specifically for inclusion in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration
Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto or in any Marketing Materials.
9. Defaulting Underwriters.
(a) If, on the Closing Date, any Underwriter defaults in its obligations to purchase the Securities that it has agreed to purchase under this Agreement, the
remaining non-defaulting Underwriters may in their discretion arrange for the purchase of such Securities by the non-defaulting Underwriters or other persons satisfactory to the Company on the terms contained in this Agreement. If,
within 36 hours after any such default by any Underwriter, the non-defaulting Underwriters do not arrange for the purchase of such Securities, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of 36 hours within which to procure
other persons satisfactory to the non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase such Securities on such terms. In the event that within the respective prescribed periods, the non-defaulting Underwriters notify the Company that they have so
arranged for the purchase of such Securities, or the Company notifies the non-defaulting Underwriters that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Securities, either the non-defaulting Underwriters or the Company may postpone such
Closing Date for up to seven full business days in order to effect any changes that in the opinion of counsel for the Company or counsel for the Underwriters may be necessary in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or in any other
document or arrangement, and the Company agrees to promptly prepare any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or in any such other document or arrangement that effects any such changes. As used in this
Agreement, the term “Underwriter,” unless the context requires otherwise, includes any party not listed in Schedule I hereto that, pursuant to this Section 9, purchases Securities that a defaulting Underwriter agreed but failed to
purchase.
33
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting
Underwriters and the Company as provided in paragraph (a) above, the total number of Securities that remain unpurchased does not exceed one-eleventh of the total number of Securities, then the Company shall have the right to require each
non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the total number of Securities that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder plus such Underwriter's pro rata share (based on the total number of Securities that such Underwriter
agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Securities of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; provided that the non-defaulting Underwriters shall
not be obligated to purchase more than 110% of the total Securities that it agreed to purchase on the Closing Date pursuant to the terms of Section 2.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Securities of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting
Underwriters and the Company as provided in paragraph (a) above, the total number of Securities that remain unpurchased exceeds one-eleventh of the total number of all the Securities, or if the Company shall not exercise the right
described in paragraph (b) above, then this Agreement shall terminate without liability on the part of the non-defaulting Underwriters. Any termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 9 shall be without liability on the part
of the Company, except that the Company will continue to be liable for the payment of expenses as set forth in Sections 6 and 11 and except that the provisions of Section 8 shall not terminate and shall remain in effect.
(d) Nothing contained herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter of any liability it may have to the Company or any non-defaulting Underwriter for damages
caused by its default.
10. Termination. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder may be terminated by the Representatives by notice given to and received by
the Company prior to delivery of and payment for the Securities if, prior to that time, any of the events described in Sections 7(j) shall have occurred or if the Underwriters shall decline to purchase the Securities for any reason
permitted under this Agreement.
11. Reimbursement of Underwriters’ Expenses. If (a) the Company shall fail to tender the Securities for delivery to the Underwriters for
any reason, or (b) the Underwriters shall decline to purchase the Securities for any reason permitted under this Agreement, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters for all reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses (including
the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters) incurred by the Underwriters in connection with this Agreement and the proposed purchase of the Securities, and upon demand the Company shall pay the
full amount thereof to the Representatives. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 9 by reason of the default of one or more Underwriters, the Company shall not be obligated to reimburse any defaulting Underwriter on account
of those expenses.
34
12. Research Analyst Independence. The Company acknowledges that the Underwriters’ research analysts and research departments are
required to be independent from their respective investment banking divisions and are subject to certain regulations and internal policies, and that such Underwriters’ research analysts may hold views and make statements or investment
recommendations and/or publish research reports with respect to the Company and/or the offering that differ from the views of their respective investment banking divisions. The Company hereby waives and releases, to the fullest extent
permitted by law, any claims that the Company may have against the Underwriters with respect to any conflict of interest that may arise from the fact that the views expressed by their independent research analysts and research departments
may be different from or inconsistent with the views or advice communicated to the Company by such Underwriters’ investment banking divisions. The Company acknowledges that each of the Underwriters is a full service securities firm and
as such from time to time, subject to applicable securities laws, may effect transactions for its own account or the account of its customers and hold long or short positions in debt or equity securities of the companies that may be the
subject of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
13. No Fiduciary Duty. The Company acknowledges and agrees that in connection with this offering, sale of the
Securities or any other services the Underwriters may be deemed to be providing hereunder, notwithstanding any preexisting relationship, advisory or otherwise, between the parties or any oral
representations or assurances previously or subsequently made by the Underwriters: (a) no fiduciary or agency relationship between the Company and any other person, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other
hand, exists; (b) the Underwriters are not acting as advisors, expert or otherwise and are not providing a recommendation or investment advice, to the Company, including, without limitation,
with respect to the determination of the public offering price of the Securities, and such relationship between the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, is entirely and solely commercial, based on arms-length negotiations and, as such, not intended for use by any individual for personal, family or household purposes; (c) any duties and obligations that the Underwriters may have
to the Company shall be limited to those duties and obligations specifically stated herein; (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may have interests that
differ from those of the Company; and (e) does not constitute a solicitation of any action by the Underwriters. The Company hereby (x) waives any claims that the Company may have against the Underwriters with
respect to any breach of fiduciary duty in connection with this offering and (y) agree that none of the activities of the Underwriters in connection with the transactions contemplated herein constitutes a recommendation, investment advice
or solicitation of any action by the Underwriters with respect to any entity or natural person. The Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, financial, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent deemed appropriate.
14. Notices, etc. All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and:
(a) if to the Underwriters, shall be delivered or sent by mail or facsimile transmission to Barclays Capital Inc., 745 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York
10019, Attention: Syndicate Registration (Fax: (646) 834-8133), with a copy, in the case of any notice pursuant to Section 8(c), to the Director of Litigation, Office of the General Counsel, Barclays Capital Inc., 745 Seventh Avenue, New
York, New York 10019; and
(b) if to the Company, shall be delivered or sent by mail or facsimile transmission to the address of the Company set forth in the Registration Statement,
Attention: Logan Beirne (E-mail: [* * *]).
35
Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect at the time of receipt thereof. The Company shall be entitled to act and rely upon any request, consent, notice or agreement given or
made on behalf of the Underwriters by Barclays Capital Inc. on behalf of the Representatives.
15. Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters, the
Company, and their respective successors. This Agreement and the terms and provisions hereof are for the sole benefit of only those persons, except that (a) the representations, warranties, indemnities and agreements of the Company
contained in this Agreement shall also be deemed to be for the benefit of the affiliates, directors, officers and employees of the Underwriters and each person or persons, if any, who control any Underwriter within the meaning of Section
15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and (b) the indemnity agreement of the Underwriters contained in Section 8(b) of this Agreement shall be deemed to be for the benefit of the affiliates, directors of the Company,
the officers of the Company who have signed the Registration Statement and any person controlling the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act. Nothing in this Agreement is intended
or shall be construed to give any person, other than the persons referred to in this Section 15, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision contained herein.
16. Survival. The respective indemnities, rights of contributions, representations, warranties and agreements of the Company and the
Underwriters contained in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall survive the delivery of and payment for the Securities and shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any
investigation made by or on behalf of any of them or any person controlling any of them.
17. Definition of the Terms “Business Day,” “Affiliate” and “Subsidiary”. For purposes of this Agreement, (a) “business day” means each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday that is not a day on which banking institutions in New York are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to
close, and (b) “affiliate” and “subsidiary” have the meanings set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
18. Governing Law. This Agreement and any transaction contemplated by this Agreement shall be governed
by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to conflict of laws principles that would result in the application of any other law than the laws of the State of New York (other than Section 5-1401
of the General Obligations Law).
19. Waiver of Jury Trial. The Company and the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waive, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law,
any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
20. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts and, if executed in more than one counterpart, the executed
counterparts shall each be deemed to be an original but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed Agreement by one party to any other party may be made by facsimile, electronic
mail (including any electronic signature complying with the New York Electronic Signatures and Records Act (N.Y. State Tech. §§ 301-309), as amended from time to time, or other applicable law) or other transmission method, and the parties
hereto agree that any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.
21. Headings. The headings herein are inserted for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of, or to affect the
meaning or interpretation of, this Agreement.
36
If the foregoing correctly sets forth the agreement between the Company and the Underwriters, please indicate your acceptance in the space provided for that purpose below.
|
Very truly yours,
|
|||
|
STRIVE, INC.
|
|||
|
By:
|
/s/ Matt Cole
|
||
|
Name: Matthew Cole
|
|||
|
Title: Chief Executive Officer
|
|||
37
Accepted:
Barclays Capital Inc.
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
For themselves and as Representatives
of the several Underwriters named
in Schedule I hereto
|
By BARCLAYS CAPITAL INC.
|
||
|
By:
|
/s/ Matt Gannon
|
|
|
Name: Matt Gannon
|
||
|
Title: Managing Director
|
||
|
By CANTOR FITZGERALD & CO.
|
||
|
By:
|
/s/ Sage Kelly
|
|
|
Authorized Representative
|
||
SCHEDULE I
|
Underwriters
|
Number of Securities To
Be Purchased
|
|||
|
Barclays Capital Inc.
|
1,098,948
|
|||
|
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
|
855,789
|
|||
|
Clear Street LLC
|
45,263
|
|||
|
Total
|
2,000,000
|
|||
SCHEDULE II
Pricing Disclosure Package
1. Prospectus dated November 5, 2025 related to the Securities.
2. Preliminary prospectus supplement dated November 3, 2025 relating to the Securities.
3. Pricing Term Sheet dated November 5, 2025 relating to the Securities (attached as Exhibit A hereto).
Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses
1. Investor Presentation, dated November 3, 2025, filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433 on November 3, 2025 (the “Investor Presentation”).
2. Pricing Term Sheet dated November 5, 2025 relating to the Securities, filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433 on November 5, 2025.
Written Testing-The-Waters Communications
1. Slides 5 and 34 of the Investor Presentation.
Exhibit A
Pricing Term Sheet
[Attached.]
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus
Filed Pursuant to Rule 433
Registration File No. 333-290252
Relating to the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement
Dated November 5, 2025
(To Prospectus Dated September 15, 2025)
PRICING TERM SHEET
November 5, 2025
STRIVE, INC.
Offering of
2,000,000 Shares of
Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock
The information in this pricing term sheet supplements Strive, Inc.’s preliminary prospectus supplement, dated November 3, 2025 (the “Preliminary Prospectus Supplement”), and supersedes
the information in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement to the extent inconsistent with the information in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement. In all other respects, this pricing term sheet is qualified in its entirety by reference to
the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement, including all documents incorporated by reference therein. Terms used, but not defined, in this pricing term sheet have the respective meanings set forth in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement. The
size of the offering was increased from the previously announced offering of 1,250,000 shares of Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock as described below. The final prospectus supplement relating to the offering of the Variable
Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock will reflect conforming changes relating to such increase in the size of the offering. As used in this pricing term sheet, “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Strive, Inc. and not to its subsidiaries.
|
Issuer
|
Strive, Inc. (the “Company”)
|
|
Securities Offered
|
Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, $0.001 par value per share, of the Issuer (the “SATA Stock”).
|
|
Amount Offered
|
2,000,000 shares of SATA Stock.
|
|
Public Offering Price
|
$80.00 per share of SATA Stock.
|
|
Trade Date
|
November 5, 2025.
|
|
Settlement Date
|
November 10, 2025, which will be the third business day after the Trade Date (this settlement cycle being referred to as “T+3”). Under Rule 15c6-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the “Exchange Act”), trades in the secondary market generally must settle in one business day, unless the parties to the trade expressly agree otherwise. Accordingly, purchasers who wish to trade SATA Stock before the
business day before the Settlement Date must, because the SATA Stock initially will settle T+3, specify an alternate settlement cycle at the time of such trade to prevent a failed settlement. Those purchasers should consult their
advisors.
|
|
Stated Amount
|
$100 per share of SATA Stock.
|
|
Ranking
|
The SATA Stock will rank as follows:
• senior to (i) Dividend Junior Stock (as defined in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement, and which includes the Company’s Class A common stock, par
value $0.001 per share (the “Class A Common Stock”) and the Company’s Class B common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Class B Common Stock”)) with respect to the payment of dividends; and (ii) Liquidation Junior Stock (as
defined in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement, and which includes Class A Common Stock and the Class B Common Stock) with respect to the distribution of assets upon the Company’s liquidation, dissolution or winding up;
• equally with (i) Dividend Parity Stock (as defined in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement) with respect to the payment of dividends; and (ii)
Liquidation Parity Stock (as defined in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement) with respect to the distribution of assets upon the Company’s liquidation, dissolution or winding up;
• junior to the Company’s existing and future indebtedness; and
• structurally junior to all existing and future indebtedness and other liabilities, including trade payables, and (to the extent the Company is not a
holder thereof) capital stock of the Company’s subsidiaries.
SATA Stock will be the most senior preferred stock in the Company’s capital structure. The terms of the SATA Stock will not restrict the Company from issuing Dividend Parity Stock or Liquidation
Parity Stock. However, the Company cannot issue Dividend Senior Stock (as defined in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement) or Liquidation Senior Stock (as defined in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement) without the consent of
holders of at least a majority of the combined outstanding voting power of the SATA Stock and any voting parity stockholders.
|
|
Liquidation Preference
|
Initially, $100 per share of SATA Stock. The Liquidation Preference will be subject to adjustment in the manner described in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement. However, the Liquidation
Preference will not be adjusted to an amount that is less than $100 per share of SATA Stock or more than $110 per share of SATA Stock.
|
|
Regular Dividends
|
The SATA Stock will accumulate cumulative dividends (“Regular Dividends”) at a variable rate per annum, calculated in the manner described below, on the Stated Amount thereof, regardless of whether
or not declared or funds are legally available for their payment. Subject to the other provisions described in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement, Regular Dividends will be payable when, as and if declared by our board of
directors or any duly authorized committee thereof, out of funds legally available for their payment, monthly in arrears on each Regular Dividend Payment Date (as defined in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement) to the preferred
stockholders of record as of the close of business on the Regular Record Date immediately preceding the applicable Regular Dividend Payment Date.
|
|
The rate per annum (the “Monthly Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum”) at which Regular Dividends accumulate on the SATA Stock for any Regular Dividend Period will initially be 12.00%. However, as
described more fully below, we will have the right, in our sole and absolute discretion, to adjust the Monthly Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum that applies to each Regular Dividend Period after the first Regular Dividend Period.
To make such election, we must provide notice of the adjusted Monthly Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum to preferred stockholders before the first business day of the Regular Dividend Period in which such adjusted Monthly Regular
Dividend Rate Per Annum applies. We will be permitted to provide such notice in the manner described in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement under the caption “Description of Perpetual Preferred Stock—Notices,” or in a press
release issued through such national newswire service as we then use, or by publishing the same through such other widely disseminated public medium as we then use, including our website. If we do not timely provide such notice,
then the Monthly Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum that applies to such Regular Dividend Period will be the Monthly Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum that applies to the immediately preceding Regular Dividend Period.
If we elect to adjust the Monthly Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum in the manner described above, then the adjusted Monthly Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum will be a
rate that we will choose in our sole and absolute discretion. However, we will not be permitted to reduce the Monthly Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum that will apply to any Regular Dividend Period (i) by more than the following
amount from the Monthly Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum applicable to the prior Regular Dividend Period: the sum of (1) 25 basis points; and (2) the excess, if any, of (x) the monthly SOFR per annum on the first business day of
such prior Regular Dividend Period, over (y) the minimum of the monthly SOFR per annum rates that occur on the business days during the period from, and including, the first business day of such prior Regular Dividend Period to,
and including, the last business day of such prior Regular Dividend Period; or (ii) to a rate per annum that is less than the monthly SOFR per annum in effect on the business day before we provide notice of the next Monthly
Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, but subject to the more detailed provisions described in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement, we will not be entitled to elect to reduce the Monthly
Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum as described above unless and until (x) three (3) months following the initial issue date, or such earlier time as the arithmetic average of the last reported sale prices per share of SATA Stock for
each trading day of twenty (20) consecutive trading days at any time during the three (3) months following the initial issuance date exceeds $100, (y) at the time we provide the related notice referred to above, all accumulated
Regular Dividends, if any, on the SATA Stock then outstanding for all prior completed Regular Dividend Periods, if any, have been paid in full (or have been declared in full and consideration in kind and amount that is sufficient,
in accordance with the certificate of designation, to pay such accumulated Regular Dividends, is set aside for the benefit of the preferred stockholders entitled thereto), and (z) the arithmetic average of the last reported sale
prices per share of SATA Stock for each trading day during the immediately preceding regular dividend period is not less than $99 per share.
|
|
Our current intention, which is subject to change in our sole and absolute discretion, is to adjust the Monthly Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum in such a manner as we believe will maintain SATA
Stock’s trading price within its stated long-term range of $95 and $105 per share. For example, if the trading price of SATA Stock exceeds $105, our current intention would be to reduce the Monthly Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum
with the goal of causing the trading price of SATA Stock to decrease. Similarly, if the trading price of SATA Stock is less than $95, our current intention would be to increase the Monthly Regular Dividend Rate Per Annum with the
goal of causing the trading price of SATA Stock to appreciate. We will take any such actions at our sole discretion based on our subjective assessment of market conditions and the measures we believe are necessary to achieve our
intended objectives.
Declared Regular Dividends on the SATA Stock will be payable solely in cash, in the manner, and subject to the provisions, described in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement.
If declared in full, the first scheduled Regular Dividend on the SATA Stock payable on December 15, 2025 will be $1.1333 per share, assuming that the closing of this offering occurs on November 10,
2025.
If any accumulated Regular Dividend (or any portion thereof) on the SATA Stock is not paid on the applicable Regular Dividend Payment Date (or, if such Regular Dividend Payment Date is not a
business day, the next business day), then additional Regular Dividends (“Compounded Dividends”) will accumulate on the amount of such unpaid Regular Dividend, compounded monthly at the monthly “Compounded Dividend Rate” per annum
applicable to the relevant Regular Dividend Period from, and including, the calendar day after such Regular Dividend Payment Date to, but excluding, the date the same, including all Compounded Dividends thereon, is paid in full.
The Compounded Dividend Rate applicable to any unpaid Regular Dividend that was due on a Regular Dividend Payment Date (or, if such Regular Dividend Payment Date is not a business day, the next business day) will initially be a
rate per annum equal to the Regular Dividend Rate plus 25 basis points; provided, however, that until such Regular Dividend, together with
Compounded Dividends thereon, is paid in full, such Compounded Dividend Rate will increase by 25 basis points per month for each subsequent Regular Dividend Period, up to a maximum rate of 20% per annum.
|
|
Regular Dividend Payment Dates
|
The 15th calendar day of each calendar month, beginning on December 15, 2025.
|
|
Regular Record Dates
|
With respect to any Regular Dividend Payment Date, the 1st calendar day of the month in which such Regular Dividend
Payment Date occurs.
|
|
Regular Dividend Period
|
Each period from, and including, the calendar day after a Regular Dividend Payment Date (or, in the case of the first Regular Dividend Period, from, and including, the calendar day after the initial
issue date) to, and including, the next Regular Dividend Payment Date.
|
|
Directed Share Program
|
At our request, the underwriters have reserved up to 100,000 shares of the SATA Stock, or 5% of the shares offered, for sale at the public offering price through a directed share program to certain
of our employees, officers and directors based in the United States and their friends and family members, and certain other individuals identified by management. The number of shares of the SATA Stock available for sale to the
general public will be reduced to the extent that such persons purchase such reserved shares. Any reserved shares not so purchased will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same basis as the other shares
offered in this offering. Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC and Fidelity Capital Markets, a division of National Financial Services LLC, a selling group member in this offering, will administer our
directed share program. See “Underwriting—Directed Share Program” in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement.
|
|
Dividend Payment Account
|
At the closing of this offering, we intend to establish a dividend reserve in an amount equal to the first 12 months of dividend payments (assuming dividend payments are made at a rate of 12.00% per
annum) calculated as of the date of this offering (the “Dividend Reserve”) by depositing $12.00 per share of SATA Stock into a separate account (the “Dividend Payment Account”) funded by us with existing cash on hand. Subject to
compliance with Nevada law and any other applicable requirements, we may make dividend distributions from the Dividend Payment Account or from any other account maintained by us to the holders of the then-outstanding SATA Stock on
a monthly basis following the closing of this offering.
We intend to invest the proceeds of the Dividend Payment Account in various capital preservation instruments, including short-term investment grade, interest-bearing securities, and money-market
funds. Any investment income earned from the Dividend Payment Account will be remitted to us to use for working capital or general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of additional bitcoin.
|
|
Listing
|
No public market currently exists for the SATA Stock. We have applied to list the SATA Stock on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “SATA.” If the listing is approved, we expect trading in the
SATA Stock to commence within 30 days after the Settlement Date.
|
|
Use of Proceeds
|
We estimate that the gross proceeds to us from this offering will be approximately $160 million, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and our estimated offering expenses. We
may use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including, among other things, the acquisition of bitcoin and bitcoin-related products and for working capital, the purchase of income generating assets to grow our
business, other capital expenditures, repurchases of shares of our Class A common stock, $0.001 par value, and/or repayment of debt. We may also use such proceeds to fund acquisitions of businesses, assets or technologies that
complement our current business.
|
|
Joint Book-Running Managers
|
Barclays Capital Inc.
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
|
|
Co-Manager
|
Clear Street LLC
|
|
CUSIP / ISIN Numbers for The SATA Stock
|
862945 201 / US8629452017
|
* * *
The second sentence of the definition of “Monthly regular dividend rate per annum” in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement under the caption “Description of
Perpetual Preferred Stock—Definition” is amended as follows (with underlined changes representing additional language and strikethrough
language representing deletions):
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, we will not be entitled to elect to reduce the monthly regular dividend rate per annum pursuant to clause (ii) of the preceding sentence unless and until (x) three
(3) months following the initial issue date, or such earlier time as the arithmetic average of the last reported sale prices per share of SATA Stock for each trading day of twenty (20) consecutive trading days at any time during the three
(3) months following the initial issue date exceeds $100, and (y) at the time we provide the notice referred to in such
clause, all accumulated regular dividends, if any, on the SATA Stock then outstanding for all prior completed regular dividend periods, if any, have been paid in full (or have been declared in full and consideration in kind and amount
that is sufficient, in accordance with the certificate of designation, to pay such accumulated regular dividends, is set aside for the benefit of the preferred stockholders entitled thereto) and
(z) the arithmetic average of the last reported sale prices per share of SATA Stock for each trading day during the immediately preceding regular dividend period is not less than $99 per share.
* * *
We have filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) and the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you
invest, you should read the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement and the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents we have filed with the SEC for more complete information about us and this offering. You may get these
documents free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, we, any underwriter or any dealer participating in the offering will arrange to send you the Preliminary
Prospectus Supplement (or, when available, the final prospectus supplement) and the accompanying prospectus upon request to: Barclays Capital Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, by
email at barclaysprospectus@broadridge.com or telephone at 1-888-603-5847; or Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Capital Markets, 110 East 59th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022, or by email at prospectus@cantor.com.
The information in this pricing term sheet is not a complete description of the SATA Stock or the offering. You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference
in the Preliminary Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as supplemented by this pricing term sheet, in making an investment decision with respect to the SATA Stock.
ANY DISCLAIMERS OR OTHER NOTICES THAT MAY APPEAR BELOW ARE NOT APPLICABLE TO THIS COMMUNICATION AND SHOULD BE DISREGARDED. SUCH DISCLAIMERS OR OTHER NOTICES WERE AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED
AS A RESULT OF THIS COMMUNICATION BEING SENT VIA BLOOMBERG OR ANOTHER EMAIL SYSTEM.
Exhibit 5.1
 |
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
702.382.2101 main
100 North City Parkway, Suite 1600
Las Vegas, Nevada 89106 |
November 10, 2025
Strive, Inc.
200 Crescent Court, Suite 1400
Dallas, Texas 75201
To the addressee set forth above:
We have acted as local Nevada counsel to Strive, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the transactions contemplated by that certain Underwriting Agreement, dated as of November 5,
2025 (the “Underwriting Agreement”), by and between the Company and Barclays Capital Inc. and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., for themselves and as representatives of the underwriters named in Schedule I thereto, relating to the
issuance, offering and sale by the Company of up to 2,000,000 shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “SATA Stock”), as described in the Company’s
Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-290252) (the “Registration Statement”), including the base prospectus, dated September 15, 2025, contained therein (the “Base Prospectus”), as supplemented by the preliminary
prospectus supplement, dated November 3, 2025 and the final prospectus supplement, dated November 5, 2025 (together with the Base Prospectus, the “Prospectus”), each as filed with Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”)
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”). This opinion letter is being delivered at your request pursuant to the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Act.
In our capacity as such counsel, we are familiar with the proceedings taken and proposed to be taken by the Company in connection with the authorization, issuance, offering and sale of the Shares as contemplated by
the Underwriting Agreement and as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. For purposes of this opinion letter, and except to the extent set forth in the opinion expressed below, we have assumed that all such proceedings
have been or will be timely completed in the manner presently proposed in the Underwriting Agreement, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
For purposes of issuing this opinion letter, (a) we have made such legal and factual examinations and inquiries, including an examination of originals or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction
as being true copies of (i) the Underwriting Agreement, (ii) the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (iii) the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the Company, each as amended to date, and (iv) such agreements, instruments,
resolutions of the board of directors of the Company and committees thereof and other corporate records, and other documents, as we have deemed necessary or appropriate for the purpose of issuing this opinion letter, and (b) we have obtained
from officers and other representatives and agents of the Company and from public officials, and have relied upon, such certificates, representations and assurances, and public filings, as we have deemed necessary or appropriate.
|
www.bhfs.com
|
|
Strive, Inc.
November 10, 2025
Page 2
|
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, in our examination, we have, with your permission, assumed without independent verification, that (i) the statements of fact and all representations and warranties
set forth in the documents we have reviewed are and will be true and correct as to factual matters, in each case as of the date or dates of such documents and as of the date hereof; (ii) each natural person executing a document has, or at all
relevant times had, sufficient legal capacity to do so; (iii) all documents submitted to us as originals are authentic, the signatures on all documents that we have examined are genuine and all documents submitted to us as certified, conformed,
photostatic, facsimile or electronic copies conform to the original document; (iv) all corporate records made available to us by the Company, and all public records we have reviewed, are accurate and complete; (v) the obligations of each party
set forth in the Underwriting Agreement are such party’s valid and binding obligations, enforceable against such party in accordance with their respective terms; and (vi) after any issuance of Shares, the total number of issued and outstanding
shares of SATA Stock, together with the total number of shares of SATA Stock then reserved for issuance or obligated to be issued by the Company pursuant to any agreement, arrangement, plan or otherwise, will not exceed the total number of
shares of SATA Stock then authorized under the Company’s articles of incorporation, including the certificate of designation establishing the SATA Stock.
We are qualified to practice law in the State of Nevada. The opinion set forth herein is expressly limited to and based exclusively on the general corporate laws of the State of Nevada, and we do not purport to be
experts on, or to express any opinion with respect to the applicability thereto or the effect thereon of, the laws of any other jurisdiction. We express no opinion concerning, and we assume no responsibility as to laws or judicial decisions
related to, or any orders, consents or other authorizations or approvals as may be required by, any federal laws, rules or regulations, including, without limitation, any federal securities laws, rules or regulations, or any state securities or
“blue sky” laws, rules or regulations.
Based upon the foregoing and in reliance thereon, and having regard to legal considerations and other information that we deem relevant, we are of the opinion that the Shares have been duly authorized by the
Company and if, when and to the extent any Shares are issued and sold in accordance with all applicable terms and conditions set forth in, and in the manner contemplated by, the Underwriting Agreement, including payment in full to the Company
of all consideration required therefor, and as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, such Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
The opinion expressed herein is based upon the applicable laws of the State of Nevada and the facts in existence on the date of this opinion letter. In delivering this opinion letter to you, we disclaim any
obligation to update or supplement the opinion set forth herein or to apprise you of any changes in any laws or facts after the date hereof. No opinion is offered or implied as to any matter, and no inference may be drawn, beyond the strict
scope of the specific issues expressly addressed by the opinion set forth herein.
|
Strive, Inc.
November 10, 2025
Page 3
|
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as an exhibit to the Current Report on Form 8-K being filed on the date hereof and incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and to the
reference to our firm in the Prospectus under the heading “Legal Matters”. In giving this consent, we do not admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of
the Commission promulgated thereunder.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
Strive
Announces NASDAQ Listing of SATA and Closing of Oversubscribed & Upsized IPO
| • |
Strive has acquired 1,567 Bitcoin at an average price of $103,315 and hodls 7,525 Bitcoin as of November 10, 2025.
|
| • |
The company expects the dividends for SATA to be return of capital (ROC) dividends, enhancing its after-tax yield potential.
|
| • |
A new investor presentation highlighting details for both ASST and SATA can be accessed on [Strive’s website] (link).
|
DALLAS, TX, November 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Strive, Inc. (“Strive” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: ASST; SATA), announced today the closing of its initial public offering of 2,000,000 shares of Strive’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual
Preferred Stock (the “SATA Stock”), at a public offering price of $80 per share. The SATA Stock is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Market on or around November 10, 2025, under the ticker symbol “SATA.”
Despite a week in which Bitcoin dipped below $100,000 for the first time since June, investor demand for SATA remained strong, prompting the company to upsize its IPO to 2 million shares from the initially targeted 1.25 million shares. This
preferred equity offering was designed to create a Bitcoin amplification toggle that will allow the Company to build on its current holdings of 7,525 Bitcoin with additional Bitcoin accumulation via non-dilutive financing with the goal of
accreting value to ASST common equity shareholders. The Company may also use a portion of the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including, among other things, for working capital.
“The successful IPO of the SATA Stock makes Strive the first Bitcoin treasury company to finance its Bitcoin amplification exclusively through perpetual preferred equity, and the second overall, after Strategy, to issue a publicly traded
perpetual preferred equity security,” said Matt Cole, Chairman & CEO. “While Strive only went public in September, we’ve quickly shown the market both the speed and the precision our team operates with to drive long-term value to our
shareholders, with Bitcoin as our hurdle rate.”
The SATA Stock accumulates cumulative dividends at a variable rate (as described in the prospectus supplement) per annum on the stated amount of $100 per share (the “stated amount”) thereof and an initial liquidation preference of $100 per
share. Regular dividends on the SATA Stock will be payable when, as and if declared by Strive’s board of directors or any duly authorized committee thereof, out of funds legally available for their payment, monthly in arrears on the 15th calendar day of each calendar month, beginning on December 15, 2025.
“At Strive, we are deliberate with every addition to our capital structure, and that discipline is reflected in the design of our initial Perpetual Preferred Equity,” said Ben Werkman, Chief Investment Officer. “By introducing a
variable-rate dividend security initially set at 12% and payable monthly when declared, we’re providing investors with an attractive yield opportunity. When paired with our intention to actively manage the dividend and issuance rate with the
goal of maintaining SATA Stock’s trading price within its stated long-term range of $95 and $105 per share, we believe this structure represents a compelling value proposition.”
“We are focused on applying advanced mathematic risk controls to our Bitcoin-based balance sheet, leaning on past experiences in traditional finance,” said Jeff Walton, Chief Risk Officer. “We believe Bitcoin’s maturation as a scarce,
liquid, and transparent asset makes it an incredible foundation for a disciplined long duration risk conscious yield instrument. This structure aligns the principles of traditional finance and portfolio management with the future of digital
capital.”
Strive is a well-known seasoned issuer (WKSI) with an effective shelf registration statement on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which provides the Company with the ability to raise capital via a wide range of
financing options. After completing the largest ever equity-only financing for a Bitcoin Treasury Company (BTCTC) in September 2025, the SATA Stock is the next leg of Strive’s capital structure strategy.
The offering was conducted pursuant to the Form S-3 registration statement, and was made only by means of a prospectus supplement and an accompanying prospectus. An electronic copy of the final prospectus supplement, together with the
accompanying prospectus, is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
About Strive
Strive is the first publicly traded asset management Bitcoin treasury company. Strive is focused on increasing Bitcoin per share to outperform Bitcoin over the long run. Strive holds approximately 7,525 bitcoins as of November 10, 2025.
Since launching its first ETF in August 2022, Strive Asset Management, LLC, a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Strive and an SEC-registered investment adviser, has grown to manage over $2 billion in assets.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
(the “Securities Act”), and Rule 175 promulgated thereunder, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and Rule 3b-6 promulgated thereunder, which statements involve inherent risks and
uncertainties. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the outlook and expectations of Strive and Semler Scientific, Inc. (“Semler Scientific”), respectively, with respect to the proposed
transaction (the “proposed transaction”), the strategic benefits and financial benefits of the proposed transaction, including the expected impact of the proposed transaction on the combined company’s future financial performance, the timing of
the closing of the proposed transaction, the ability to successfully integrate the combined businesses, the listing of the SATA Stock on Nasdaq, the terms of the securities being offered and the Company’s intentions with respect to adjusting
the SATA Stock monthly regular dividend rate per annum. Such statements are often characterized by the use of qualified words (and their derivatives) such as “may,” “will,” “anticipate,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “contemplate,”
“expect,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plan,” “project,” “predict,” “potential,” “assume,” “forecast,” “target,” “budget,” “outlook,” “trend,” “guidance,” “objective,” “goal,” “strategy,” “opportunity,” and “intend,” as well as words of similar
meaning or other statements concerning opinions or judgments of Strive, Semler Scientific and/or their respective management teams about future events. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as of the time they are made and are
subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict with regard to timing, extent, likelihood and degree of occurrence, which could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including the uncertainties related to market conditions and the completion of the offering on the anticipated terms or at all or the uncertainties related to
the satisfaction of closing conditions for the sale of the securities being offered. Other risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, among others, the following:
| • |
the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or both of Strive and Semler Scientific to terminate the merger agreement between Strive and Semler
Scientific;
|
| • |
the possibility that the proposed transaction does not close when expected or at all because the conditions to closing are not received or satisfied on a timely basis or at all;
|
| • |
the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Strive or Semler Scientific or the combined company;
|
| • |
the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction, including anticipated cost savings and strategic gains, are not realized when expected or at all, including as a result of changes in,
or problems arising from, implementation of Bitcoin treasury strategies and risks associated with Bitcoin and other digital assets, general economic and market conditions, interest and exchange rates, monetary policy, and laws and
regulations and their enforcement;
|
| • |
the possibility that the integration of the two companies may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected;
|
| • |
the possibility that the proposed transaction may be more expensive or take longer to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events;
|
| • |
the diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities;
|
| • |
dilution caused by Strive’s issuance of additional shares of its Class A common stock in connection with the proposed transaction;
|
| • |
potential adverse reactions of Strive’s or Semler Scientific’s customers or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed
transaction;
|
| • |
changes in Strive’s or Semler Scientific’s share price before closing; and
|
| • |
other factors that may affect future results of Strive, Semler Scientific or the combined company.
|
These factors are not necessarily all of the factors that could cause Strive’s, Semler Scientific’s or the combined company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or
implied by any of the forward-looking statements. Other factors, including unknown or unpredictable factors, also could harm Strive, Semler Scientific or the combined company’s results.
Although each of Strive and Semler Scientific believes that its expectations with respect to forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its existing knowledge of its business
and operations, there can be no assurance that the actual results of Strive or Semler Scientific will not differ materially from any projected future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could
cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in Strive’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Strive’s Form S-4 filed on August 6, 2025 and October 10, 2025, under the “Supplementary Risk Factors” filed as an exhibit to
Strive’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 24, 2025, Semler Scientific’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other documents
subsequently filed by Strive and Semler Scientific with the SEC.
The actual results anticipated may not be realized or, even if substantially realized, they may not have the expected consequences to or effects on Strive, Semler Scientific or their respective businesses or
operations. Investors are cautioned not to rely too heavily on any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Strive and Semler Scientific undertake no
obligation to update or clarify these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
In connection with the proposed transaction, Strive has filed with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) to register the Class A common stock to be issued by Strive in connection with the proposed
transaction and that will include an information statement of Strive, proxy statement of Semler Scientific and a prospectus of Strive (the “Information Statement/Proxy Statement/Prospectus”), and each of Strive and Semler Scientific may file
with the SEC any other relevant documents concerning the proposed transaction. A definitive Information Statement/Proxy Statement/Prospectus will be sent to the stockholders of Semler Scientific to seek their approval of the proposed
transaction. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION, INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS OF SEMLER SCIENTIFIC ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND INFORMATION STATEMENT/PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION
WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT STRIVE, SEMLER SCIENTIFIC AND THE PROPOSED
TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS.
A copy of the Registration Statement, Information Statement/Proxy Statement/Prospectus, as well as other filings containing information about Strive and Semler Scientific, may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website
(http://www.sec.gov). You will also be able to obtain these documents, when they are filed, free of charge, from Strive by accessing Strive’s website at https://investors.strive.com/. Copies of the Registration Statement, the Information
Statement/Proxy Statement/Prospectus and the filings with the SEC that will be incorporated by reference therein can also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Strive’s Investor Relations department at 200 Crescent Court, Suite
1400, Dallas, Texas 75201 or by calling (855) 427-7360 or by submitting an inquiry at https://investors.strive.com/ir-resources/contact-ir. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Semler Scientific will be available free of charge on
Semler Scientific’s website at https://ir.semlerscientific.com/. The information on Strive’s or Semler Scientific’s respective websites is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this communication or incorporated into other filings
either company makes with the SEC.
Participants in the Solicitation
Strive, Semler Scientific and certain of their respective directors, executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of Semler Scientific in connection with the proposed
transaction. Information about the interests of the directors and executive officers of Strive and Semler Scientific and other persons who may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of stockholders of Semler Scientific in connection
with the proposed transaction and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be included in the Information Statement/Proxy Statement/Prospectus related to the proposed transaction, which will
be filed with the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of Semler Scientific, their ownership of Semler Scientific common stock, and Semler Scientific’s transactions with related persons is set forth in the section
entitled “INFORMATION REGARDING OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE,” “EXECUTIVE OFFICERS,” “SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT,” “DIRECTOR COMPENSATION,” and “TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PERSONS” included
in Semler Scientific’s definitive proxy statement in connection with its 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, as filed with the SEC on July 17, 2025. Additional information regarding ownership of Semler Scientific’s securities by its directors
and executive officers is included in such persons’ SEC filings on Forms 3 or 4, which are available at https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/own-disp?action=getissuer&CIK=0001554859. Information about the directors and executive officers of Strive
is contained in Strive’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 15, 2025, Strive’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 12, 2025, Strive’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 6,
2025 and under “Meet the Leadership Team” accessed through the “About Us” link on Strive’s website at https://strive.com/team. Additional information regarding ownership of Strive’s securities by its directors and executive officers is included
in such persons’ SEC filings on Forms 3 or 4 which are available at https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/own-disp?action=getissuer&CIK=1920406. These documents and the other SEC filings described in this paragraph may be obtained free of charge as
described above under the heading “Additional Information and Where to Find It.”
No Offer or Solicitation
This press release is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or the solicitation of any vote of approval, nor shall there be any
sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means
of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act, or pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, such registration requirements.
Strive Media Contact:
media@strive.com
Investor Contact:
ir@strive.com
Source: Strive, Inc.
FAQ
What did Strive (ASST) announce?
Strive closed an upsized underwritten offering of 2,000,000 SATA preferred shares at $80 per share, with net proceeds of approximately $149.3 million.
How will Strive (ASST) use the proceeds?
The company used the net proceeds to purchase bitcoin and for general corporate purposes, including working capital.
What are the dividend terms of the SATA preferred?
Cumulative monthly cash dividends at a variable rate, initially 12.00% per annum on a $100 stated amount, with company adjustments subject to specified limits.
Is there protection if dividends are unpaid?
Yes. Unpaid dividends compound monthly and the rate increases by 25 bps per month up to a maximum of 20% per annum until paid.
What is the liquidation preference for SATA?
Initially $100 per share with a daily adjustment formula based on stated amount and recent trading prices.
Can Strive redeem the SATA preferred?
Strive may redeem after listing on a major exchange at $110 per share plus accrued dividends, with additional clean-up and tax redemption options.
When do dividends start for SATA holders?
Monthly in arrears on the 15th of each month, beginning on December 15, 2025, when and if declared out of legally available funds.
Strive
NASDAQ:ASST
ASST Rankings
ASST Latest News
ASST Latest SEC Filings
Nov 10, 2025
[8-K] Strive, Inc. Reports Material Event
Nov 10, 2025
[8-K] Strive, Inc. Reports Material Event
Nov 10, 2025
[CERT] Strive, Inc. Certification Filing
Nov 7, 2025
[Form 4] Strive, Inc. Insider Trading Activity
ASST Stock Data
1.15B
788.28M
4.49%
144.01%
38.58%
Internet Content & Information
Finance Services
United States
DALLAS