As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2022.
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Certara, Inc.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
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Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) |
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7372
(Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number) |
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82-2180925
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.) |
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100 Overlook Center, Suite 101
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
(609) 716-7900
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
(609) 716-7900
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Richard M. Traynor
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
100 Overlook Center, Suite 101
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
(609) 716-7900
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
100 Overlook Center, Suite 101
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
(609) 716-7900
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
With copies to:
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William B. Brentani
Kelli C. Schultz Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP 2475 Hanover Street Palo Alto, California 94304 Tel: (650) 251-5000 Fax: (650) 251-5002 |
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Jason M. Licht
Wesley C. Holmes Christopher J. Clark Latham & Watkins LLP 555 Eleventh Street, NW — Suite 1000 Washington, D.C. 20004 Tel: (202) 637-2200 Fax: (202) 637-2201 |
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Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this Registration Statement.
If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box: ☐
If any of the securities being registered on this form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. ☒
If this form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☒
If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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Large accelerated filer
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Accelerated filer
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Non-accelerated filer
☐
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Smaller reporting company
☐
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Emerging growth company
☐
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of Securities Act. ☐
PROSPECTUS
43,664,168 Shares
![[MISSING IMAGE: lg_certara-4c.jpg]](https://cdn.kscope.io/8ed95a4c589961676ab1a4d5a774a2c9-lg_certara-4c.jpg)
Certara, Inc.
Common Stock
This prospectus relates to the offer and sale from time to time of up to 43,664,168 shares of Certara, Inc. common stock, $0.01 par value per share, by the selling stockholders identified in this prospectus or in supplements to this prospectus. See “Selling Stockholders.” The registration of the shares of common stock to which this prospectus relates does not require the selling stockholders to sell any of their shares of our common stock.
We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares by the selling stockholders, but we have agreed to pay certain registration expenses, other than underwriting discounts and commissions. The selling stockholders from time to time may offer and sell the shares held by them directly or through underwriters, agents or broker-dealers on terms to be determined at the time of sale, as described in more detail in this prospectus. For more information, see “Plan of Distribution.”
Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “CERT.” On May 19, 2022, the last reported sale price of our common stock as reported on Nasdaq was $19.65 per share.
Investing in our common stock involves risks. Before making a decision to invest in our common stock, you should refer to the risk factors included in our periodic reports, in prospectus supplements relating to specific offerings and in other information that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). See “Risk Factors” on page 6 of this prospectus.
Neither the SEC nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Prospectus dated May 19, 2022.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any amendment or supplement to this prospectus or any free writing prospectus we may authorize to be delivered or made available to you. Neither we nor the selling stockholders or the underwriters, if any, have authorized anyone to provide you with information or to make any representations different from those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any amendment or supplement to this prospectus or any free writing prospectus prepared by us or on our behalf. Neither we nor the selling stockholders or the underwriters, if any, take any responsibility for, or can provide any assurance as to the reliability of, any information other than the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any amendment or supplement to this prospectus or any free writing prospectus prepared by us or on our behalf. This prospectus, any amendment or supplement to this prospectus or any applicable free writing prospectus is an offer to sell only the shares offered hereby from time to time, but only under circumstances where it is lawful to do so. The selling stockholders are not offering to sell shares of our common stock in any jurisdiction where an offer or sale is not permitted. The information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus, any amendment or supplement to this prospectus or any applicable free writing prospectus or any sale of shares of our common stock.
This prospectus is part of a shelf registration statement that we have filed with the SEC using a “shelf” registration process. Under the shelf registration process, the selling stockholders may, from time to time, offer and sell the shares of common stock described in this prospectus and in any accompanying prospectus supplement in one or more transactions. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the shares of common stock the selling stockholders may offer. Each time the selling stockholders sell shares of our common stock using this prospectus, to the extent necessary, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering, including the number of shares being offered, the manner of distribution, the identity of any underwriters or other counterparties and other specific terms related to the offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. To the extent that any statement made in an accompanying prospectus supplement is inconsistent with statements made in this prospectus, the statements made in this prospectus will be deemed modified or superseded by those made in the accompanying prospectus supplement. You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together, along with the information incorporated by reference herein or therein and any free writing prospectus prepared by us or on our behalf.
For investors outside of the United States, neither we nor the selling stockholders or the underwriters, if any, have done anything that would permit the offering, possession or distribution of this prospectus, any amendment or supplement to this prospectus or any applicable free writing prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. You are required to inform yourselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to the offering, possession or the distribution of this prospectus, any amendment or supplement to this prospectus or any applicable free writing prospectus outside of the United States.
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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights information contained elsewhere or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement and does not contain all of the information you should consider before investing in shares of our common stock. You should read this entire prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated herein or therein carefully, including the section entitled “Risk Factors” and the financial statements and the related notes incorporated by reference into this prospectus, before you decide to invest in shares of our common stock.
Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to “Company,” “Certara,” “we,” “us” and “our” means Certara, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.
Our Company
We accelerate medicines to patients using biosimulation software, technology, and services to transform traditional drug discovery and development.
Biosimulation is a powerful technology used to conduct virtual trials using virtual patients to predict how drugs behave in different individuals. Biopharmaceutical companies use our proprietary biosimulation software throughout drug discovery and development to inform critical decisions that not only save significant time and money but also advance drug safety and efficacy, improving millions of lives each year.
As a global leader in biosimulation based on 2021 revenue, we provide an integrated, end-to-end platform used by more than 2,000 clients including biopharmaceutical companies, regulatory agencies and academic institutions across 62 countries, including 38 of the top 40 biopharmaceutical companies by research and development (“R&D”) spend in 2020. Since 2014, customers who use our biosimulation software and technology-driven services have received 90% of all new drug approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). Moreover, 17 global regulatory authorities license our biosimulation software to independently analyze, verify, and review regulatory submissions, including the FDA, Health Canada, Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (“PMDA”), and China’s National Medical Products Administration. Demand for our offerings continues to expand rapidly.
While traditional drug development has led to meaningful therapies, such as vaccines and chemotherapy, many patients still wait for life-saving medicines, which can take more than 10 years and $2 billion to bring to market. Change is necessary to continue delivering remarkable gains in human health at an accelerated pace. We believe that biosimulation enables this change.
We build our biosimulation technology on first principles of biology, chemistry, and pharmacology with proprietary mathematical algorithms that model how medicines and diseases behave in the body. For over two decades, we have honed and validated our biosimulation technology with an abundance of data from scientific literature, lab research, and preclinical and clinical studies. In turn, our customers use biosimulation to conduct virtual trials to answer critical questions, such as: What will be the human response to a drug based on preclinical data? How will other drugs interfere with this new drug? What is a safe and efficacious dose for children, the elderly, or patients with pre-existing conditions? Virtual trials may be used to optimize dosing on populations that are otherwise difficult to study for ethical or logistical reasons, such as infants, pregnant women, the elderly, and cancer patients.
The benefits of biosimulation are significant. One of our customers, a top ten global biopharmaceutical company by R&D spend, estimated that they saved more than half a billion dollars over three years using biosimulation to inform key decisions. Biosimulation can reduce the size of and cost of human trials, the most expensive and time-consuming part of drug development, and in some cases, eliminate certain human trials completely. An analysis published on Applied Clinical Trials Online, to which we contributed, estimated that $1 billion was saved in clinical trial costs using biosimulation for a cancer drug due to consistently shorter completion times in the later phase clinical trials.
We develop and apply our biosimulation technology throughout drug discovery and development with what we believe to be the largest and best team of scientists with deep expertise in biosimulation. Our scientists are recognized key opinion leaders who are at the forefront of the science and technology underpinning the rapidly emerging biosimulation field. We have collaborated on more than 5,000 customer projects in the
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past decade in therapeutic areas ranging from cancer and hematology to diabetes and hundreds of rare diseases. Over the past year, we have worked on more than 35 programs on vaccines and therapeutics to combat COVID-19.
Biosimulation results need to be incorporated into regulatory documents for compelling submissions. Accordingly, we provide regulatory science solutions and integrate them with biosimulation, so that our customers can navigate the complex and evolving regulatory landscape and maximize their chances of approval. Our differentiated regulatory services are powered by submissions management software and natural language processing for scalability and speed, allowing us to deliver more than 250 regulatory submissions over the past four years. Our team of regulatory professionals has extensive experience applying industry guidelines and global regulatory requirements. In addition, in October 2021, we completed the acquisition of Pinnacle 21, LLC (“Pinnacle”), which develops advanced software for standards-based data management for regulatory submission. Pinnacle enhances our software offerings in data management and the regulatory drug approval process that accelerates the speed and efficiency of developing and bringing drugs to market. Pinnacle’s products are used by the FDA and Japan’s PMDA to review the quality of submissions.
The final hurdle to delivering medicines to patients is market access, defined as strategies, processes, and activities to ensure that therapies are available to patients at the right price. We believe that biosimulation and market access will continue to be increasingly intertwined as health systems and countries move toward outcomes-based pricing. We have expanded into market access solutions, which help our customers understand the real-world impact of therapies and dosing regimens earlier in the process and effectively communicate this to payors and health authorities. Our solutions are underpinned by software as a service-based value communication tools.
We have a proven track record of steady growth, driven by higher adoption of biosimulation, expansion of our technology portfolio, strategic acquisitions, and cross-selling of biosimulation, regulatory science, and market access solutions across our end-to-end platform:
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From 2020 to 2021, our revenue increased by 17% from $243.5 million to $286.1 million.
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The number of customers with Annual Customer Value of $100,000 or more in revenue increased from 261 in 2020 to 299 in 2021.
We believe that biosimulation is at an inflection point, driven by increasing global regulatory adoption and advancements in technology. We believe we are well-positioned to capture the significant market opportunity ahead of us. Our growth strategy is to build out the depth and breadth of our scalable, end-to-end biopharmaceutical platform to advance all stages of the continuum, from discovery and development to regulatory submission and market access. We continue to innovate and introduce new functionality and uses of biosimulation and technology-enabled solutions. We increasingly integrate the science and data we obtain across this end-to-end platform to inform critical decisions. We further reduce the cost and time of human trials to materially accelerate the speed of development and availability of therapies to patients worldwide. As exciting, new research areas arise, we attract and hire specialized talent and acquire businesses to expand our offerings to address these market opportunities.
With continued innovation in and adoption of our biosimulation software, technology, and services, we believe more biopharmaceutical companies worldwide will leverage more of our end-to-end platform to reduce cost, accelerate speed to market, and ensure safety and efficacy of medicines for all patients.
For a description of our business, financial condition, results of operations and other important information regarding Certara, we refer you to our filings with the SEC incorporated by reference in this prospectus. For instructions on how to find copies of these documents, see “Where You Can Find More Information.”
Certara, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on June 27, 2017. Our principal executive offices are located at 100 Overlook Center, Suite 101, Princeton, New Jersey 08540. Our telephone number is (609) 716-7900. Our website address is www.certara.com. Information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute part of this prospectus, and inclusion of our website address in this prospectus and the information incorporated by reference is intended to be an inactive textual reference only.
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Summary of Risk Factors
We are providing the following summary of the risk factors contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (“Annual Report on Form 10-K”) to enhance the readability and accessibility of our risk factor disclosures. We encourage you to carefully review the full risk factors contained in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are incorporated by reference herein, in their entirety for additional information regarding the material factors that make an investment in our securities speculative or risky. Some of the factors, risks and uncertainties that might materially affect the forward-looking statements contained herein and may make an investment in our securities speculative or risky include, but are not limited to, the following:
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our ability to compete within our market;
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any deceleration in, or resistance to, the acceptance of model-informed biopharmaceutical discovery;
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changes or delays in government regulation relating to the biopharmaceutical industry;
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increasing competition, regulation and other cost pressures within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries;
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trends in R&D spending, the use of third parties by biopharmaceutical companies and a shift toward more R&D occurring at smaller biotechnology companies;
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our ability to successfully enter new markets, increase our customer base and expand our relationships with existing customers;
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our ability to retain key personnel or recruit additional qualified personnel;
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consolidation within the biopharmaceutical industry;
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reduction in the use of our products by academic institutions;
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pricing pressures due to increased customer utilization of our products;
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the occurrence of natural disasters and epidemic diseases, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which may result in delays or cancellations of customer contracts or decreased utilization by our employees;
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any delays or defects in our release of new or enhanced software or other biosimulation tools;
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failure of our existing customers to renew their software licenses or any delays or terminations of contracts or reductions in scope of work by our existing customers;
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our ability to accurately estimate costs associated with our fixed-fee contracts;
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risks related to our contracts with government customers, including the ability of third parties to challenge our receipt of such contracts;
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our ability to sustain recent growth rates;
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any future acquisitions and our ability to successfully integrate such acquisitions;
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the accuracy of our addressable market estimates;
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the length and unpredictability of our software and service sales cycles;
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our ability to successfully operate a global business;
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our ability to comply with applicable anti-corruption, trade compliance and economic sanctions laws and regulations;
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risks related to litigation against us;
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the adequacy of our insurance coverage and our ability to obtain adequate insurance coverage in the future;
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our ability to perform our services in accordance with contractual requirements, regulatory standards and ethical considerations;
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the loss of more than one of our major customers;
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our future capital needs;
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the ability or inability of our bookings to accurately predict our future revenue and our ability to realize the anticipated revenue reflected in our backlog;
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any disruption in the operations of the third-party providers who host our software solutions or any limitations on their capacity or interference with our use;
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our ability to reliably meet our data storage and management requirements, or the experience of any failures or interruptions in the delivery of our services over the internet;
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our ability to comply with the terms of any licenses governing our use of third-party open source software utilized in our software solutions;
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any breach of our security measures or unauthorized access to customer data;
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our ability to comply with applicable privacy and data security laws;
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our ability to adequately enforce or defend our ownership and use of our intellectual property and other proprietary rights;
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any allegations that we are infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating a third party’s intellectual property rights;
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our ability to meet the obligations under our current or future indebtedness as they become due and have sufficient capital to operate our business and react to changes in the economy or industry;
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any limitations on our ability to pursue our business strategies due to restrictions under our current or future indebtedness or inability to comply with any restrictions under such indebtedness;
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any impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets;
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our ability to use our net operating losses (“NOLs”) and R&D tax credit carryforwards to offset future taxable income;
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the accuracy of our estimates and judgments relating to our critical accounting policies and any changes in financial reporting standards or interpretations;
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any inability to design, implement, and maintain effective internal controls when required by law, or inability to timely remediate internal controls that are deemed ineffective; and
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the other factors discussed under “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and our Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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The Offering
Common stock offered by the selling stockholders
Up to 43,664,168 shares of common stock.
Common stock outstanding as of May 16, 2022
159,843,614 shares of common stock. Does not reflect 2,356,355 shares of common stock underlying restricted stock units outstanding; 706,266 shares of common stock underlying performance stock units outstanding; 16,542,770 shares of common stock available for future issuance under the Company’s 2020 Incentive Plan; and 1,700,000 shares of common stock available for future issuance under the Company’s 2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
Use of proceeds
The selling stockholders will receive all of the proceeds of the sale of shares of common stock offered from time to time pursuant to this prospectus. Accordingly, we will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock that may be sold from time to time pursuant to this prospectus.
Dividend policy
We currently do not intend to declare any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Our ability to pay dividends on our common stock is limited by the covenants of our credit agreement governing our credit facilities.
Risk factors
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Before making a decision to invest in our common stock, you should refer to the risk factors contained in or incorporated by reference under “Risk Factors” on page 6 of this prospectus and under similar headings in other documents that are incorporated by reference herein.
Nasdaq symbol
“CERT”
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RISK FACTORS
Investing in our common stock involves risks. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are incorporated by reference herein, as the same may be updated from time to time by our subsequent filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). You should also carefully consider the other information contained in this prospectus, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act, and the risk factors and other information contained in any applicable prospectus supplement before acquiring any shares of our common stock. These risks could materially affect our business, results of operations or financial condition and cause the value of our common stock to decline. You could lose all or part of your investment.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements made herein or incorporated by reference in this prospectus contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Such forward-looking statements reflect, among other things, our current expectations and anticipated results of operations, all of which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, market trends or industry results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Therefore, any statements contained and incorporated by reference herein that are not statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements and should be evaluated as such. In addition, forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “should,” “expect,” “might,” “intend,” “will,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “believe,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “suggest,” “project” or “target” or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. These forward-looking statements are contained or incorporated by reference throughout this prospectus and the information incorporated by reference.
We base these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, plans and assumptions that we have made in light of our experience in the industry, as well as our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances at this time. As you read and consider this prospectus and the information incorporated by reference, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. The forward-looking statements contained and incorporated by reference herein are subject to and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions at the time they are made, actual results might differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might materially affect such forward-looking statements and projections include:
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our ability to compete within our market;
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any deceleration in, or resistance to, the acceptance of model-informed biopharmaceutical discovery;
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changes or delays in government regulation relating to the biopharmaceutical industry;
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increasing competition, regulation and other cost pressures within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries;
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trends in R&D spending, the use of third parties by biopharmaceutical companies and a shift toward more R&D occurring at smaller biotechnology companies;
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our ability to successfully enter new markets, increase our customer base and expand our relationships with existing customers;
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our ability to retain key personnel or recruit additional qualified personnel;
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consolidation within the biopharmaceutical industry;
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reduction in the use of our products by academic institutions;
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pricing pressures due to increased customer utilization of our products;
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the occurrence of natural disasters and epidemic diseases, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which may result in delays or cancellations of customer contracts or decreased utilization by our employees;
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any delays or defects in our release of new or enhanced software or other biosimulation tools;
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failure of our existing customers to renew their software licenses or any delays or terminations of contracts or reductions in scope of work by our existing customers;
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our ability to accurately estimate costs associated with our fixed-fee contracts;
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risks related to our contracts with government customers, including the ability of third parties to challenge our receipt of such contracts;
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our ability to sustain recent growth rates;
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any future acquisitions and our ability to successfully integrate such acquisitions;
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the accuracy of our addressable market estimates;
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the length and unpredictability of our software and service sales cycles;
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our ability to successfully operate a global business;
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our ability to comply with applicable anti-corruption, trade compliance and economic sanctions laws and regulations;
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risks related to litigation against us;
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the adequacy of our insurance coverage and our ability to obtain adequate insurance coverage in the future;
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our ability to perform our services in accordance with contractual requirements, regulatory standards and ethical considerations;
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the loss of more than one of our major customers;
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our future capital needs;
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the ability or inability of our bookings to accurately predict our future revenue and our ability to realize the anticipated revenue reflected in our backlog;
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any disruption in the operations of the third-party providers who host our software solutions or any limitations on their capacity or interference with our use;
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our ability to reliably meet our data storage and management requirements, or the experience of any failures or interruptions in the delivery of our services over the internet;
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our ability to comply with the terms of any licenses governing our use of third-party open source software utilized in our software solutions;
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any breach of our security measures or unauthorized access to customer data;
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our ability to comply with applicable privacy and data security laws;
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our ability to adequately enforce or defend our ownership and use of our intellectual property and other proprietary rights;
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any allegations that we are infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating a third party’s intellectual property rights;
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our ability to meet the obligations under our current or future indebtedness as they become due and have sufficient capital to operate our business and react to changes in the economy or industry;
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any limitations on our ability to pursue our business strategies due to restrictions under our current or future indebtedness or inability to comply with any restrictions under such indebtedness;
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any impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets;
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our ability to use our NOLs and R&D tax credit carryforwards to offset future taxable income;
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the accuracy of our estimates and judgments relating to our critical accounting policies and any changes in financial reporting standards or interpretations;
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any inability to design, implement, and maintain effective internal controls when required by law, or inability to timely remediate internal controls that are deemed ineffective; and
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the other factors disclosed or incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
These cautionary statements should not be construed by you to be exhaustive and speak only as of the date the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further discussion of the risks relating to our business, see the section titled “Risk Factors.”
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TRADEMARKS AND SERVICE MARKS
The Certara design logo, “Certara,” and our other registered or common law trademarks, service marks or trade names contained herein or incorporated by reference are our property. Solely for convenience, we may refer to trademarks, tradenames, and service marks in this prospectus and in the information incorporated by reference without the ®, TM, and SM symbols, but those references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights to these trademarks, tradenames, and service marks. This prospectus contains additional trademarks, tradenames, and service marks of other companies that are the property of their respective owners. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trademarks, trade names or service marks to imply relationships with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, these other companies.
USE OF PROCEEDS
The selling stockholders will receive all of the proceeds of the sale of shares of common stock offered from time to time pursuant to this prospectus. Accordingly, we will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock that may be sold from time to time pursuant to this prospectus.
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SELLING STOCKHOLDERS
On December 15, 2020, we completed our initial public offering (our “IPO”). In connection with our IPO, we entered into an amended and restated registration rights agreement with EQT Avatar Parent L.P. (the “EQT Investor”) and certain other stockholders (collectively, the “selling stockholders”) party thereto providing them with certain registration rights with respect to our common stock. This prospectus covers 43,664,168 shares of our common stock that may be offered for resale by affiliates of the selling stockholders or their pledgees, donees, transferees or other successors in interest. For more information about our relationships with the selling stockholders and their affiliates, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K which is incorporated herein by reference.
The following table sets forth information as of May 16, 2022, with respect to the selling stockholders and the shares of our common stock beneficially owned by the selling stockholders that may from time to time be offered or sold pursuant to this prospectus. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC. Information concerning the selling stockholders may change from time to time, and any changed information will be set forth in supplements to this prospectus or a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to which this prospectus relates if and when necessary. The selling stockholders may offer all, some or none of their shares of common stock. We cannot advise you as to whether the selling stockholders will in fact sell any or all of such shares of common stock. In addition, the selling stockholders may have sold or transferred, in transactions pursuant to this prospectus or otherwise, some or all of their shares since the date as of which the information is presented in the table below. Information concerning the selling stockholders may change from time to time and any such changed information will, if required, be set forth in supplements to this prospectus or post-effective amendments to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, as may be appropriate.
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Shares of Common Stock
Beneficially Owned |
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Shares of
Common Stock that May be Offered for Resale |
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Shares of Common
Stock Beneficially Owned After the Sale of the Maximum Number of Shares of Common Stock |
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Name
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Number of
Shares |
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Percent of
Common Stock Outstanding |
| |
Number
of Shares |
| |
Percent of
Common Stock Outstanding |
| ||||||||||||||||||
|
EQT Investor(1)
|
| | | | 37,458,939 | | | | | | 23.4% | | | | | | 37,458,939 | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
|
Santo Holding (Deutschland) GmbH(2)
|
| | | | 2,626,479 | | | | | | 1.6% | | | | | | 2,626,479 | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
|
Kirkbi Invest A/S(3)
|
| | | | 1,339,504 | | | | | | * | | | | | | 1,339,504 | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
|
Mason P. Slaine
|
| | | | 1,335,738 | | | | | | * | | | | | | 1,335,738 | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
|
Monte Rosa Opportunities, SICAV-SIF(4)
|
| | | | 901,407 | | | | | | * | | | | | | 901,407 | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
|
Additional selling stockholder (1 person)
|
| | | | 2,101 | | | | | | * | | | | | | 2,101 | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
(1)
Consists of shares of common stock held directly by the EQT Investor. EQT Avatar Parent GP LLC (“Avatar Parent GP”) is the general partner of the EQT Investor. Several investment vehicles collectedly make up the fund known as “EQT VII.” EQT VII owns 100% of the membership interests in Avatar Parent GP. EQT Fund Management S.à.r.l. (“EFMS”) has exclusive responsibility for the management and control of the business and affairs of investment vehicles which constitute the majority of the total commitments to EQT VII. As such, EFMS has the power to control Avatar Parent GP’s voting and investment decisions and may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the securities held by the EQT Investor. EFMS is overseen by a board that acts by majority approval. The individual members of such board are Joshua Stone, Adam Larsson, Nicholas Curwen, Peter Veldman and James Arrol. The registered address of the EQT Investor, Avatar Parent GP, and EFMS is 26A, Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
(2)
The common shares of Santo Holding (Deutschland) GmbH, Germany are directly held by Santo Holding AG, Switzerland (89.60%) and ATHOS KG, Germany (10.40%). ATHOS KG holds indirectly via ATHOS Beteiligung GmbH, Germany 100% of the common shares of Santo Holding AG.
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Consequently ATHOS KG has directly/indirectly 100% ownership in Santo Holding (Deutschland) GmbH. Thomas Peter Maier is Managing Director of Santo Holding (Deutschland) GmbH. Thomas Peter Maier is authorized to represent the company alone. Thomas Maier is General Partner of ATHOS KG and authorized to represent ATHOS KG alone. ATHOS KG is owned by ten individual natural persons. The individuals above 10% ownership in ATHOS KG are Dr. Andreas Strüngmann, Dr. Thomas Strüngmann, Nicole Strüngmann and Florian Strüngmann. Shareholder resolutions are generally passed with a simple majority of the votes cast. The mailing address for ATHOS KG and Santo Holding (Deutschland) GmbH is Bergfeldstraße 9, 83607 Holzkirchen — Germany.
(3)
KIRKBI Invest A/S is the investment vehicle of KIRKBI A/S. Mr. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen has the majority of the voting rights in KIRKBI A/S and as such Mr. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen has the power to appoint all board members and thereby indirectly control the voting and investment decisions of KIRKBI Invest A/S and he may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the securities held by KIRKBI Invest A/S. The mailing address for the entity referenced above is Koldingvej 2, DK-7190 Billund, Denmark.
(4)
Includes 901,407 shares of our common stock held of record by Monte Rosa Opportunities, SICAV-SIF and governed by Pictet Alternative Advisors (Europe) S.A. Pictet Alternative Advisors (Europe) S.A. has the power to control Monte Rosa Opportunities, SICAV-SIF’s voting and investment decisions and may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the 901,407 shares of our common stock held of record by Monte Rosa Opportunities, SICAV-SIF. Pictet Alternative Advisors (Europe) S.A. is exercising the voting rights and taking the investment decisions on behalf of Monte Rosa Opportunities, through its conducting officers: Mr. Michaël Durand; Mr. Sorin Sandulescu; and Mr. Christophe Fasbender. The address for each of Pictet Alternative Advisors (Europe) S.A. and Monte Rosa Opportunities SICAV-SIF is 15 Avenue J.F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg.
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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
General
The following description summarizes the material terms of, and is qualified in its entirety by, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws. For a complete description of our capital stock, you should refer to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and the applicable provisions of Delaware laws.
Our purpose is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may now or hereafter be organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”). Our authorized capital stock consists of 600,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share. No shares of preferred stock will be issued or outstanding immediately after the offering contemplated by this prospectus. Unless our board of directors determines otherwise, we will issue all shares of our common stock in uncertificated form.
Common Stock
Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters on which stockholders are entitled to vote generally, including the election or removal of directors. The holders of our common stock do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors.
Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up and after payment in full of all amounts required to be paid to creditors and subject to the rights of the holders of one or more outstanding series of preferred stock having liquidation preferences, if any, or the right to participate with the common stock, the holders of our common stock are entitled to receive pro rata our remaining assets available for distribution. Holders of our common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption sinking fund or conversion rights. The common stock is not subject to further calls or assessment by us. All shares of our common stock that will be outstanding at the time of the completion of the offering will be fully paid and non-assessable. The rights, powers, preferences and privileges of holders of our common stock are subject to those of the holders of any shares of our preferred stock or any series or class of stock we may authorize and issue in the future.
Preferred Stock
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors to establish one or more series of preferred stock (including convertible preferred stock). Unless required by law or by the Nasdaq rules, the authorized shares of preferred stock are available for issuance without further action by you, and holders of our common stock are not entitled to vote on any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relates solely to the terms of any outstanding shares of preferred stock, if the holders of such shares of preferred stock are entitled to vote thereon. Our board of directors is authorized to determine, with respect to any series of preferred stock, the powers (including voting powers), preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, including, without limitation:
•
the designation of the series;
•
the number of shares of the series, which our board of directors may, except where otherwise provided in the preferred stock designation, increase (but not above the total number of authorized shares of the class of stock) or decrease (but not below the number of shares then outstanding);
•
whether dividends, if any, will be cumulative or non-cumulative and the dividend rate of the series;
•
the dates at which dividends, if any, will be payable;
•
redemption rights and price or prices, if any, for shares of the series;
•
the terms and amounts of any sinking fund provided for the purchase or redemption of shares of the series;
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•
the amounts payable on shares of the series in the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the affairs of our Company;
•
whether the shares of the series will be convertible into shares of any other class or series of the stock of our Company, or any other security of our Company or any other entity, and, if so, the specification of the other class or series or other security, the conversion price or prices or rate or rates, any rate adjustments, the date or dates as of which the shares will be convertible and all other terms and conditions upon which the conversion may be made;
•
restrictions on the issuance of shares of the same series or of any other class or series of our capital stock; and
•
the voting rights, if any, of the holders of the series.
We could issue a series of preferred stock that could, depending on the terms of the series, impede or discourage an acquisition attempt or other transaction that some, or a majority, of the holders of our common stock might believe to be in their best interests or in which the holders of our common stock might receive a premium for their common stock over the market price of the common stock. Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock may adversely affect the holders of our common stock, including, without limitation, by restricting dividends on the common stock, diluting the voting power of the common stock or subordinating the liquidation rights of the common stock. As a result of these or other factors, the issuance of preferred stock could have an adverse impact on the market price of our common stock.
Dividends
Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends when, as and if declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available therefor, subject to any statutory or contractual restrictions on the payment of dividends and to the rights of the holders or one or more outstanding series of our preferred stock.
The DGCL permits a corporation to declare and pay dividends out of “surplus” or, if there is no “surplus,” out of its net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year. “Surplus” is defined as the excess of the net assets of the corporation over the amount determined to be the capital of the corporation by the board of directors. The capital of the corporation is typically calculated to be (and cannot be less than) the aggregate par value of all issued shares of capital stock. Net assets equal the fair value of the total assets minus total liabilities. The DGCL also provides that dividends may not be paid out of net profits if, after the payment of the dividend, remaining capital would be less than the capital represented by the outstanding stock of all classes having a preference upon the distribution of assets.
Declaration and payment of any dividend is subject to the discretion of our board of directors. The time and amount of such dividends, if any, will be dependent upon our financial condition, operations, compliance with applicable law, cash requirements and availability, debt repayment obligations, capital expenditure needs and restrictions in our debt instruments, contractual restrictions, business prospects, industry trends, the provisions of Delaware law affecting the payment of distributions to stockholders and any other factors our board of directors may consider relevant.
We do not expect to declare or pay any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. In addition, our ability to pay dividends on our common stock is limited by the covenants of our existing credit agreement and may be further restricted by the terms of any future debt or preferred securities. See Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Credit Facilities” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Part I, Item 2, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources” and “— Indebtedness” of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2022.
Annual Stockholder Meetings
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws provide that annual stockholder meetings will be held at a date, time and place, if any, as exclusively selected by our
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board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof. To the extent permitted under applicable law, we may conduct meetings by remote communications, including by webcast.
Effects of Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
and Certain Provisions of Delaware Law
and Certain Provisions of Delaware Law
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws and the DGCL contain provisions (which are summarized in the following paragraphs) that are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our board of directors. These provisions are intended to avoid costly takeover battles, reduce our vulnerability to a hostile change of control and enhance the ability of our board of directors to maximize stockholder value in connection with any unsolicited offer to acquire us. However, these provisions may have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a merger or acquisition of our Company by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest or other takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider in its best interest, including attempts that might result in a premium over the prevailing market price for the shares of common stock held by stockholders.
Authorized but Unissued Capital Stock
Delaware law does not require stockholder approval for any issuance of authorized shares. However, the listing requirements of Nasdaq, which apply so long as our common stock remains listed on Nasdaq, require stockholder approval of certain issuances equal to or exceeding 20% of the then outstanding voting power or then outstanding number of shares of common stock. Additional shares that may be used in the future may be used for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings, to raise additional capital or to facilitate acquisitions.
Our board of directors may generally issue one or more series of preferred shares on terms calculated to discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our Company or the removal of our management. Moreover, our authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock are available for future issuances in one or more series without stockholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, to facilitate acquisitions and employee benefit plans.
One of the effects of the existence of authorized and unissued and unreserved common stock or preferred stock may be to enable our board of directors to issue shares to persons friendly to current management, which issuance could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of our Company by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, and thereby protect the continuity of our management and possibly deprive our stockholders of opportunities to sell their shares of common stock at prices higher than prevailing market prices.
Classified Board of Directors
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, subject to the right of holders of any series of preferred stock, our board of directors will be divided into three classes of directors, with the classes to be as nearly equal in number as possible, and with the directors serving staggered three-year terms, with only one class of directors being elected at each annual meeting of stockholders. As a result, approximately one-third of our board of directors will be elected each year. The classification of directors has the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to change the composition of our board of directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that, subject to any rights of holders of preferred stock to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, the number of directors will be fixed from time to time exclusively pursuant to a resolution adopted by the board of directors; however, if at any time EQT owns at least 40% in voting power of the then-outstanding shares of stock of our Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, the stockholders may also fix the number of directors.
Business Combinations
We have opted out of Section 203 of the DGCL; however, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains similar provisions providing that we may not engage in certain “business
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combinations” with any “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:
•
prior to such time, our board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;
•
upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding certain shares;
•
at or subsequent to that time, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and by the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66 2/3% of our outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder; or
•
the stockholder became an interested stockholder inadvertently and (i) as soon as practicable divested itself of sufficient ownership to cease to be an interested stockholder and (ii) had not been an interested stockholder but for the inadvertent acquisition of ownership within three years of the business combination.
Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. Subject to certain exceptions, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with that person’s affiliates and associates, owns, or within the previous three years owned, 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. For purposes of this section only, “voting stock” has the meaning given to it in Section 203 of the DGCL.
Under certain circumstances, this provision will make it more difficult for a person who would be an “interested stockholder” to effect various business combinations with our company for a three-year period. This provision may encourage companies interested in acquiring our Company to negotiate in advance with our board of directors because the stockholder approval requirement would be avoided if our board of directors approves either the business combination or the transaction which results in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder. These provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our board of directors and may make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that EQT, and any of its direct or indirect transferees and any group as to which such persons or entities are a party, do not constitute “interested stockholders” for purposes of this provision.
Removal of Directors; Vacancies
Under the DGCL, unless otherwise provided in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, directors serving on a classified board may be removed by the stockholders only for cause. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, other than directors elected by holders of our preferred stock, if any, directors may only be removed for cause, and only by the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of our company entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, subject to the rights granted to one or more series of preferred stock then outstanding or the rights granted pursuant to the stockholders agreement, any newly created directorship on the board of directors that results from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancies on our board of directors will be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director (and not by the stockholders). Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the board of directors may increase the number of directors by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors.
No Cumulative Voting
Under Delaware law, the right to vote cumulatively does not exist unless the certificate of incorporation specifically authorizes cumulative voting. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not
15
authorize cumulative voting. Therefore, stockholders holding a majority in voting power of the then-outstanding shares of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors are able to elect all of our directors.
Special Stockholder Meetings
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that special meetings of our stockholders may be called at any time only by or at the direction of the board of directors or the chairman of the board of directors. Our amended and restated bylaws prohibit the conduct of any business at a special meeting other than as specified in the notice for such meeting. These provisions may have the effect of deferring, delaying or discouraging hostile takeovers, or changes in control or management of our Company.
Requirements for Advance Notification of Director Nominations and Stockholder Proposals
Our amended and restated bylaws establish advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of the board of directors or a committee of the board of directors. In order for any matter to be properly brought before a meeting of our stockholders, a stockholder will have to comply with advance notice requirements and provide us with certain information. Generally, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be received at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. Our amended and restated bylaws also specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. Our amended and restated bylaws allow the chairman of the meeting at a meeting of the stockholders to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of meetings, which may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the rules and regulations are not followed. These provisions may also deter, delay or discourage a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to influence or obtain control of our Company.
Stockholder Action by Written Consent
Pursuant to Section 228 of the DGCL, any action required to be taken at any annual or special meeting of the stockholders may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote if a consent or consents, setting forth the action so taken, is signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of our stock entitled to vote thereon were present and voted, unless our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation precludes stockholder action by written consent, other than certain rights that holders of our preferred stock may have to act by consent.
Supermajority Provisions
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws provide that the board of directors is expressly authorized to make, alter, amend, change, add to, rescind or repeal, in whole or in part, our amended and restated bylaws without a stockholder vote in any matter not inconsistent with Delaware law or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any amendment, alteration, rescission, change, addition or repeal of our amended and restated bylaws by our stockholders will require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of our Company entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class.
The DGCL provides generally that the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation, unless the certificate of incorporation requires a greater percentage.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the following provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended, altered, repealed or rescinded only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of our Company entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class:
•
the provision requiring a 66 2/3% supermajority vote for stockholders to amend our bylaws;
16
•
the provisions providing for a classified board of directors (the election and term of our directors);
•
the provisions regarding resignation and removal of directors;
•
the provisions regarding competition and corporate opportunities;
•
the provisions regarding Section 203 of the DGCL and entering into business combinations with interested stockholders;
•
the provisions regarding stockholder action by written consent;
•
the provisions regarding calling annual or special meetings of stockholders;
•
the provisions regarding filling vacancies on our board of directors and newly created directorships;
•
the provisions eliminating monetary damages for breaches of fiduciary duty by a director; and
•
the amendment provision requiring that the above provisions be amended only with a 66 2/3% supermajority vote.
The combination of the classification of our board of directors, the lack of cumulative voting and the supermajority voting requirements will make it more difficult for our existing stockholders to replace our board of directors as well as for another party to obtain control of us by replacing our board of directors. Because our board of directors has the power to retain and discharge our officers, these provisions could also make it more difficult for existing stockholders or another party to effect a change in management.
These provisions may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying or preventing changes in control of our management or our company, such as a merger, reorganization or tender offer. These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of our board of directors and its policies and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened acquisition of our company. These provisions are designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal. These provisions are also intended to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and, as a consequence, they also may inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our shares that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts. Such provisions may also have the effect of preventing changes in management of our Company.
Dissenters’ Rights of Appraisal and Payment
Under the DGCL, with certain exceptions, our stockholders will have appraisal rights in connection with a merger or consolidation with our Company. Pursuant to the DGCL, stockholders who properly request and perfect appraisal rights in connection with such merger or consolidation will have the right to receive payment of the fair value of their shares as determined by the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Stockholders’ Derivative Actions
Under the DGCL, any of our stockholders may bring an action in our name to procure a judgment in our favor, also known as a derivative action, provided that the stockholder bringing the action is a holder of our shares at the time of the incident to which the action relates or such stockholder’s stock thereafter devolved by operation of law.
Exclusive Forum
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for any (i) derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our company, (ii) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer, employee or stockholder of our company to our company or our company’s stockholders, (iii) action asserting a claim against our company or any current or former director, officer, employee or stockholder of our company arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws (as either may be amended from
17
time to time) or (iv) action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware. Unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the federal securities laws of the United States of America. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of capital stock of our company shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Although our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains the exclusive forum provision described above, it is possible that a court could find that such a provision is inapplicable for a particular claim or action or that such provision is unenforceable.
Conflicts of Interest
Delaware law permits corporations to adopt provisions renouncing any interest or expectancy in certain opportunities that are presented to the corporation or its officers, directors or stockholders. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, to the maximum extent permitted from time to time by Delaware law, renounces any interest or expectancy that we have in, or right to be offered an opportunity to participate in, any business opportunities that are from time to time presented to our officers, directors or stockholders or their respective affiliates, other than those officers, directors, stockholders or affiliates who are our or our subsidiaries’ employees. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, none of EQT or any director who is not employed by us (including any non-employee director who serves as one of our officers in both his director and officer capacities) or his or her affiliates will have any duty to refrain from (i) engaging in a corporate opportunity in the same or similar business activities or lines of business in which we or our affiliates now engage or propose to engage or (ii) otherwise competing with us or our affiliates. In addition, to the fullest extent permitted by law, in the event that EQT or any non-employee director acquires knowledge of a potential transaction or other business opportunity which may be a corporate opportunity for itself, himself or herself, or its, his or her, affiliates or for us or our affiliates, such person will have no duty to communicate or offer such transaction or business opportunity to us or any of our affiliates and they may take any such opportunity for themselves or offer it to another person or entity. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not renounce our interest in any business opportunity that is expressly offered to a non-employee director solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company. To the fullest extent permitted by law, no business opportunity will be deemed to be a potential corporate opportunity for us unless we would be permitted to undertake the opportunity under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we have sufficient financial resources to undertake the opportunity and the opportunity would be in line with our business.
Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
The DGCL authorizes corporations to limit or eliminate the personal liability of directors to corporations and their stockholders for monetary damages for breaches of directors’ fiduciary duties, subject to certain exceptions.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation includes a provision that eliminates the personal liability of directors for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except to the extent such exemption from liability or limitation thereof is not permitted under the DGCL. The effect of these provisions is to eliminate the rights of us and our stockholders, through stockholders’ derivative suits on our behalf, to recover monetary damages from a director for breach of certain fiduciary duties as a director, including breaches resulting from grossly negligent behavior. However, exculpation does not apply to any director if the director has acted in bad faith, knowingly or intentionally violated a law during the performance of his or her duties, fiduciary or otherwise, owed to us, authorized illegal dividends, repurchases or redemptions or derived an improper benefit from his or her actions as a director.
Our amended and restated bylaws provide that we must indemnify and advance expenses to our directors and officers to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL. We also are expressly authorized to carry directors’ and officers’ liability insurance providing indemnification for our directors, officers and certain employees for some liabilities. We believe that these indemnification and advancement provisions and insurance are useful to attract and retain qualified directors and executive officers.
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The limitation of liability, indemnification and advancement provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. In addition, any investment in our common stock may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We have entered into an indemnification agreement with each of our directors and officers. These agreements require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted under the DGCL against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us, and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified.
There is currently no pending material litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors, officers or employees for which indemnification is sought.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions, Inc.
Listing
Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “CERT.”
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CERTAIN UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME AND ESTATE TAX CONSEQUENCES TO
NON-U.S. HOLDERS
NON-U.S. HOLDERS
The following is a summary of certain United States federal income and estate tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our common stock. This summary deals only with common stock that is held as a capital asset by a non-U.S. holder (as defined below).
A “non-U.S. holder” means a beneficial owner of our common stock (other than an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) that is not, for United States federal income tax purposes, any of the following:
•
an individual citizen or resident of the United States;
•
a corporation (or any other entity treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;
•
an estate the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source; or
•
a trust if it (1) is subject to the primary supervision of a court within the United States and one or more United States persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (2) has a valid election in effect under applicable United States Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person.
This summary is based upon provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and regulations, rulings and judicial decisions as of the date hereof. Those authorities may be changed, perhaps retroactively, so as to result in United States federal income and estate tax consequences different from those summarized below. This summary does not address all aspects of United States federal income and estate taxes and does not deal with the Medicare contribution tax on net investment income or any foreign, state, local or other tax considerations that may be relevant to non-U.S. holders in light of their particular circumstances. In addition, it does not represent a detailed description of the United States federal income and estate tax consequences applicable to you if you are subject to special treatment under the United States federal income tax laws (including if you are a United States expatriate, foreign pension fund, “controlled foreign corporation,” “passive foreign investment company” or a partnership or other pass-through entity for United States federal income tax purposes). We cannot assure you that a change in law will not alter significantly the tax considerations that we describe in this summary.
If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) holds our common stock, the tax treatment of a partner will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. If you are a partner of a partnership holding our common stock, you should consult your tax advisors.
If you are considering the purchase of our common stock, you should consult your own tax advisors concerning the particular United States federal income and estate tax consequences to you of the ownership and disposition of our common stock, as well as the consequences to you arising under other United States federal tax laws and the laws of any other taxing jurisdiction.
Dividends
In the event that we make a distribution of cash or other property (other than certain pro rata distributions of our stock) in respect of our common stock, the distribution generally will be treated as a dividend for United States federal income tax purposes to the extent it is paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under United States federal income tax principles. Any portion of a distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits generally will be treated first as a tax-free return of capital, causing a reduction in the adjusted tax basis of a non-U.S. holder’s common stock, and to the extent the amount of the distribution exceeds a non-U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in our common stock, the excess will be treated as gain from the disposition of our common stock (the tax treatment of which is discussed below under “— Gain on Disposition of Common Stock”).
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Dividends paid to a non-U.S. holder generally will be subject to withholding of United States federal income tax at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. However, dividends that are effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business by the non-U.S. holder within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a United States permanent establishment) are not subject to the withholding tax, provided certain certification and disclosure requirements are satisfied. Instead, such dividends are subject to United States federal income tax on a net income basis in the same manner as if the non-U.S. holder were a United States person as defined under the Code. Any such effectively connected dividends received by a foreign corporation may be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty.
A non-U.S. holder who wishes to claim the benefit of an applicable treaty rate and avoid backup withholding, as discussed below, for dividends will be required (a) to provide the applicable withholding agent with a properly executed Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Form W-BEN or Form W-8BEN-E (or other applicable form) certifying under penalty of perjury that such holder is not a United States person as defined under the Code and is eligible for treaty benefits or (b) if our common stock is held through certain foreign intermediaries, to satisfy the relevant certification requirements of applicable United States Treasury regulations. Special certification and other requirements apply to certain non-U.S. holders that are pass-through entities rather than corporations or individuals.
A non-U.S. holder eligible for a reduced rate of United States federal withholding tax pursuant to an income tax treaty may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing an appropriate claim for refund with the IRS.
Gain on Disposition of Common Stock
Subject to the discussions of backup withholding and FATCA below, any gain realized by a non-U.S. holder on the sale or other disposition of our common stock generally will not be subject to United States federal income or withholding tax unless:
•
the gain is effectively connected with a trade or business of the non-U.S. holder in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a United States permanent establishment of the non-U.S. holder);
•
the non-U.S. holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of that disposition, and certain other conditions are met; or
•
we are or have been a “United States real property holding corporation” for United States federal income tax purposes and certain other conditions are met.
A non-U.S. holder described in the first bullet point immediately above will be subject to tax on the gain derived from the sale or other disposition in the same manner as if the non-U.S. holder were a United States person as defined under the Code. In addition, if any non-U.S. holder described in the first bullet point immediately above is a foreign corporation, the gain realized by such non-U.S. holder may be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. An individual non-U.S. holder described in the second bullet point immediately above will be subject to a 30% (or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty) tax on the gain derived from the sale or other disposition, which gain may be offset by United States source capital losses even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States.
Generally, a corporation is a “United States real property holding corporation” if the fair market value of its United States real property interests equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market value of its worldwide real property interests and its other assets used or held for use in a trade or business (all as determined for United States federal income tax purposes). We believe we are not and do not anticipate becoming a “United States real property holding corporation” for United States federal income tax purposes.
Federal Estate Tax
Common stock held by an individual non-U.S. holder at the time of death will be included in such holder’s gross estate for United States federal estate tax purposes, unless an applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise.
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Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Distributions paid to a non-U.S. holder and the amount of any tax withheld with respect to such distributions generally will be reported to the IRS. Copies of the information returns reporting such distributions and any withholding may also be made available to the tax authorities in the country in which the non-U.S. holder resides under the provisions of an applicable income tax treaty.
A non-U.S. holder will not be subject to backup withholding on dividends received if such holder certifies under penalty of perjury that it is a non-U.S. holder (and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such holder is a United States person as defined under the Code), or such holder otherwise establishes an exemption.
Information reporting and, depending on the circumstances, backup withholding will apply to the proceeds of a sale or other disposition of our common stock made within the United States or conducted through certain United States-related financial intermediaries, unless the beneficial owner certifies under penalty of perjury that it is a non-U.S. holder (and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that the beneficial owner is a United States person as defined under the Code), or such owner otherwise establishes an exemption.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules will be allowed as a refund or a credit against a non-U.S. holder’s United States federal income tax liability, provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Additional Withholding Requirements
Under Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code (such Sections commonly referred to as “FATCA”), a 30% United States federal withholding tax may apply to any dividends paid on our common stock to (i) a “foreign financial institution” (as specifically defined in the Code and whether such foreign financial institution is the beneficial owner or an intermediary) which does not provide sufficient documentation, typically on IRS Form W-8BEN-E, evidencing either (x) an exemption from FATCA, or (y) its compliance (or deemed compliance) with FATCA (which may alternatively be in the form of compliance with an intergovernmental agreement with the United States) in a manner which avoids withholding, or (ii) a “non-financial foreign entity” (as specifically defined in the Code and whether such non-financial foreign entity is the beneficial owner or an intermediary) which does not provide sufficient documentation, typically on IRS Form W-8BEN-E, evidencing either (x) an exemption from FATCA, or (y) adequate information regarding certain substantial United States beneficial owners of such entity (if any). If a dividend payment is both subject to withholding under FATCA and subject to the withholding tax discussed above under “—Dividends,” an applicable withholding agent may credit the withholding under FATCA against, and therefore reduce, such other withholding tax. FATCA withholding may also apply to payments of gross proceeds of dispositions of our common stock, although under proposed regulations (the preamble to which specifies that taxpayers are permitted to rely on them pending finalization), no withholding will apply on payments of gross proceeds. You should consult your own tax advisors regarding these requirements and whether they may be relevant to your ownership and disposition of our common stock.
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
The selling stockholders, and their pledgees, donees, transferees or other successors in interest, may from time to time offer and sell, separately or together, shares of common stock covered by this prospectus. Registration of the shares of common stock covered by this prospectus does not mean, however, that those shares of common stock necessarily will be offered or sold.
The shares of common stock covered by this prospectus may be sold from time to time, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to market prices, at a fixed price or prices subject to change or at negotiated prices, by a variety of methods including the following:
•
on Nasdaq (including through at-the-market offerings);
•
in the over-the-counter market;
•
in privately negotiated transactions;
•
through broker-dealers, who may act as agents or principals;
•
through one or more underwriters on a firm commitment or best-efforts basis;
•
in a block trade in which a broker-dealer will attempt to sell a block of shares of common stock as agent but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction;
•
through put or call option transactions relating to the shares of common stock;
•
directly to one or more purchasers;
•
through agents; or
•
in any combination of the above.
In effecting sales, brokers or dealers engaged by us and/or the selling stockholders may arrange for other brokers or dealers to participate. Broker-dealer transactions may include:
•
purchases of the shares of common stock by a broker-dealer as principal and resales of the shares of common stock by the broker-dealer for its account pursuant to this prospectus;
•
ordinary brokerage transactions; or
•
transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits purchasers on a best efforts basis.
The selling stockholders have not entered into any agreements, understandings or arrangements with any underwriters or broker-dealers regarding the sale of the common stock covered by this prospectus. At any time a particular offer of the shares of common stock covered by this prospectus is made, a revised prospectus or prospectus supplement, if required, will set forth the aggregate amount of shares of common stock covered by this prospectus being offered and the terms of the offering, including the name or names of any underwriters, dealers, brokers or agents. In addition, to the extent required, any discounts, commissions, concessions and other items constituting underwriters’ or agents’ compensation, as well as any discounts, commissions or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers, will be set forth in such prospectus supplement. To the extent required, any such prospectus supplement, and, if necessary, a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, will be filed with the SEC to reflect the disclosure of additional information with respect to the distribution of the shares of common stock covered by this prospectus.
To the extent required, the applicable prospectus supplement will set forth whether or not underwriters may over-allot or effect transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the common stock at levels above those that might otherwise prevail in the open market, including, for example, by entering stabilizing bids, effecting syndicate covering transactions or imposing penalty bids.
If the selling stockholders utilize a dealer in the sale of the securities being offered pursuant to this prospectus, the selling stockholders will sell the securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale.
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The selling stockholders may also authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers by certain types of institutional investors to purchase securities at the public offering price set forth in the revised prospectus or prospectus supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. The conditions to these contracts and the commission that the selling stockholders must pay for solicitation of these contracts will be described in a revised prospectus or prospectus supplement, to the extent such revised prospectus or prospectus supplement is required.
In connection with the sale of the shares of common stock covered by this prospectus through underwriters, underwriters may receive compensation in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions and may also receive commissions from purchasers of shares of common stock for whom they may act as agent. Underwriters may sell to or through dealers, and such dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agent.
Any underwriters, broker/dealers or agents participating in the distribution of the shares of common stock covered by this prospectus may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any commissions received by any of those underwriters, broker/dealers or agents may be deemed to be underwriting commissions under the Securities Act.
We and the selling stockholders may agree to indemnify underwriters, broker-dealers or agents against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and may also agree to contribute to payments which the underwriters, broker/dealers or agents may be required to make.
Certain of the underwriters, broker/dealers or agents who may become involved in the sale of the shares of common stock may engage in transactions with and perform other services for us in the ordinary course of their business for which they receive customary compensation.
Some of the shares of common stock covered by this prospectus may be sold by selling stockholders in private transactions or under Rule 144 under the Securities Act rather than pursuant to this prospectus.
24
LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the shares of common stock will be passed upon for us by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Palo Alto, California. Additional legal matters may be passed upon for us, the selling stockholders or any underwriters, dealers or agents by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements of the Company for the three years ended December 31, 2021 have been audited by CohnReznick LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report appearing in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements have been incorporated herein in reliance upon the report of such firm, given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file reports and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov as well as the Certara Investor Relations website at https://ir.certara.com; however, information on, or accessible through, our website is not part of this prospectus.
We file annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our filings with the SEC are available to the public on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov as well as the Certara Investor Relations website at https://ir.certara.com. The information contained on our corporate website or any other website maintained by us is not part of this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part except to the extent that SEC filings on such websites are otherwise incorporated by reference herein. We will provide to you a copy of any or all of the filings incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any other documents referred to in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement or any applicable free writing prospectus, free of charge. To request a copy of any such filing or other document, you should write:
Investor Relations
100 Overlook Center, Suite 101
Princeton, NJ 08540
e-mail: ir@certara.com
100 Overlook Center, Suite 101
Princeton, NJ 08540
e-mail: ir@certara.com
This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we have filed with the SEC under the Securities Act and does not contain all of the information in such registration statement. You may read or obtain a copy of the registration statement, including the exhibits thereto, from the SEC or us as described above.
25
INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
The SEC’s rules allow us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus. This prospectus incorporates by reference the documents listed below:
•
•
•
the information specifically incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 from our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed on April 7, 2022 and supplemental material filed on April 13, 2022;
•
our Current Reports on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on March 30, 2022 and April 7, 2022; and
•
all other documents filed by us under sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus and before the termination of the offerings to which this prospectus relates (other than documents and information furnished and not filed in accordance with SEC rules, unless expressly stated otherwise therein).
If we have incorporated by reference any statement or information in this prospectus and we subsequently modify that statement or information with information contained in this prospectus, the statement or information previously incorporated in this prospectus is also modified or superseded in the same manner.
You can obtain any of the filings incorporated by reference into this prospectus through us or from the SEC as noted above in “Where You Can Find More Information.”
26
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
ITEM 14. OTHER EXPENSES OF ISSUANCE AND DISTRIBUTION.
The following table sets forth the expenses payable by the Registrant expected to be incurred in connection with the issuance and distribution of the shares of common stock being registered hereby (other than underwriting discounts and commissions). All of such expenses are estimates, other than the filing fee payable to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
| |
Filing Fee – Securities and Exchange Commission
|
| | | $ | 68,000.83 | | |
| |
Fees and Expenses of Counsel
|
| | | | * | | |
| |
Fees and Expenses of Accountants
|
| | | | * | | |
| |
Miscellaneous Expenses
|
| | | | * | | |
| |
Total
|
| | | $ | * | | |
*
To the extent required, any applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the estimated aggregate amount of expenses payable in respect of any offering of securities.
ITEM 15. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.
Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) allows a corporation to provide in its certificate of incorporation that a director of the corporation will not be personally liable to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached the duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase in violation of Delaware corporate law or obtained an improper personal benefit. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for this limitation of liability.
Section 145 of the DGCL, provides, among other things, that a Delaware corporation may indemnify any person who was, is or is threatened to be made, party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of such corporation), by reason of the fact that such person is or was an officer, director, employee or agent of such corporation or is or was serving at the request of such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise. The indemnity may include expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation’s best interests and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful. A Delaware corporation may indemnify any persons who were or are a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise. The indemnity may include expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit, provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation’s best interests, provided further that no indemnification is permitted without judicial approval if the officer, director, employee or agent is adjudged to be liable to the corporation. Where an officer or director is successful on the merits or otherwise in the defense of any action referred to above, the corporation must indemnify him or her against the expenses (including attorneys’ fees) which such officer or director has actually and reasonably incurred.
Section 145 further authorizes a corporation to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise,
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against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the corporation would otherwise have the power to indemnify such person under Section 145.
Our amended and restated bylaws provide that we must indemnify and advance expenses to our directors and officers to the full extent authorized by the DGCL.
We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. Such agreements may require us, among other things, to advance expenses and otherwise indemnify our executive officers and directors against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as executive officers or directors, to the fullest extent permitted by law. We intend to enter into indemnification agreements with any new directors and executive officers in the future.
The indemnification rights set forth above shall not be exclusive of any other right which an indemnified person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we shall not be obligated to indemnify a director or officer in respect of a proceeding (or part thereof) instituted by such director or officer, unless such proceeding (or part thereof) has been authorized by the board of directors pursuant to the applicable procedure outlined in the amended and restated bylaws.
Section 174 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that a director, who willfully or negligently approves of an unlawful payment of dividends or an unlawful stock purchase or redemption, may be held jointly and severally liable for such actions. A director who was either absent when the unlawful actions were approved or dissented at the time may avoid liability by causing his or her dissent to such actions to be entered in the books containing the minutes of the meetings of the board of directors at the time such action occurred or immediately after such absent director receives notice of the unlawful acts.
We maintain and expect to maintain standard policies of insurance that provide coverage (1) to our directors and officers against loss rising from claims made by reason of breach of duty or other wrongful act and (2) to us with respect to indemnification payments that we may make to such directors and officers.
We expect that the applicable underwriting agreement with respect to an offering will provide for indemnification by the underwriters of us and our officers and directors, and by us of the underwriters, for certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act or otherwise in connection with an offering of common stock pursuant to this registration statement.
ITEM 16. EXHIBITS.
(a) Exhibits. See Exhibit Index immediately preceding the signature page hereto, which is incorporated herein by reference.
(b) Financial Statement Schedules. None.
ITEM 17. UNDERTAKINGS
The Registrant hereby undertakes:
(1)
To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
(A)
To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
(B)
To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to
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Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and
(C)
To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.
Provided, however, that the undertakings set forth in paragraphs (A), (B) and (C) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.
(2)
That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3)
To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(4)
That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:
(A)
Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and
(B)
Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.
(5)
That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(A)
Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(B)
Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;
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(C)
The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
(D)
Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
The Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(6)
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer, or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit, or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
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EXHIBIT INDEX
| |
Exhibit
Number |
| |
Description
|
|
| |
1.1
|
| | Form of Underwriting Agreement.* | |
| |
3.1
|
| | Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Certara, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-251368) filed with the SEC on December 15, 2020). | |
| |
3.2
|
| | Amended and Restated Bylaws of Certara, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-251368) filed with the SEC on December 15, 2020). | |
| |
5.1
|
| | | |
| |
23.1
|
| | | |
| |
23.2
|
| | | |
| |
24.1
|
| | | |
| |
107
|
| | |
*
To be filed by amendment or as an exhibit to a document incorporated by reference into this registration statement at a later date, in connection with a specific offering.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Princeton, New Jersey, on May 19, 2022.
Certara, Inc.
By:
/s/ William F. Feehery
Name: William F. Feehery
Title: Chief Executive Officer and Director
The undersigned directors and officers of Certara, Inc. hereby constitute and appoint William F. Feehery, M. Andrew Schemick and Richard M. Traynor and each of them, any of whom may act without joinder of the other, the individual’s true and lawful attorneys in fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for the person and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this registration statement and any or all amendments, including post effective amendments to the Registration Statement, including a prospectus or an amended prospectus therein and any registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, and all other documents in connection therewith to be filed with the SEC, granting unto said attorneys in fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys in fact as agents or any of them, or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereto.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated on May 19, 2022.
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Signature
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Title
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/s/ William F. Feehery
William F. Feehery
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Chief Executive Officer and Director
(Principal Executive Officer) |
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/s/ M. Andrew Schemick
M. Andrew Schemick
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Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) |
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/s/ James E. Cashman III
James E. Cashman III
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Chairman
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/s/ Eric C. Liu
Eric C. Liu
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Director
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/s/ Stephen M. McLean
Stephen M. McLean
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Director
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/s/ Mason P. Slaine
Mason P. Slaine
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Director
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II-6
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Signature
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Title
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/s/ Matthew Walsh
Matthew Walsh
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Director
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/s/ Ethan Waxman
Ethan Waxman
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Director
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/s/ Cynthia Collins
Cynthia Collins
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Director
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/s/ Nancy Killefer
Nancy Killefer
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Director
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II-7
Exhibit 5.1
| Simpson Thacher & Bartlett llp |
2475 hanover street palo alto, ca 94304
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telephone: +1-650-251-5000 facsimile: +1-650-251-5002 |
May 19, 2022
Certara, Inc.
100 Overlook Center, Suite 101
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to Certara, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the “Registration Statement”) filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), relating to the sale of up to 43,664,168 shares (the “Selling Stockholder Shares”) of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Common Stock”), that may be sold from time to time by certain selling stockholders identified in the Registration Statement. The Selling Stockholder Shares may be sold or delivered from time to time as set forth in the Registration Statement, any amendment thereto, the prospectus contained therein (the “Prospectus”) and any supplements to the Prospectus pursuant to Rule 415 under the Act.
We have examined the Registration Statement and the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, incorporated by reference as Exhibit 3.1 to the Registration Statement. In addition, we have examined, and have relied as to matters of fact upon, originals, or duplicates or certified or conformed copies, of such records, agreements, documents and other instruments and such certificates or comparable documents of public officials and of officers and representatives of the Company and have made such other investigations as we have deemed relevant and necessary in connection with the opinion hereinafter set forth.
NEW YORK BEIJING HONG KONG HOUSTON LONDON LOS ANGELES SÃO PAULO TOKYO WASHINGTON, D.C .
| Certara, Inc. | -2- | May 19, 2022 |
In rendering the opinion set forth below, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as duplicates or certified or conformed copies and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents.
Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications, assumptions and limitations stated herein, we are of the opinion that the Selling Stockholder Shares are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
We do not express any opinion herein concerning any law other than the Delaware General Corporation Law.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement and to the use of our name under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus included in the Registration Statement.
| Very truly yours, |
| /s/ Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP | |
| SIMPSON THACHER & BARTLETT LLP |
Exhibit 23.1
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-3 and related Prospectus, of our report dated March 1, 2022, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of Certara, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of December 31, 2021 and for the three years then ended, which report is included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Certara, Inc. and Subsidiaries for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
We also consent to the reference to our firm under the caption "Experts."
/s/ CohnReznick LLP
May 19, 2022
Tysons, Virginia
Exhibit 107
Calculation of Filing Fee Tables
Form S-3
(Form Type)
CERTARA, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
Table 1: Newly Registered and Carry Forward Securities
| Security Type | Security Class Title | Fee Calculation or Carry Forward Rule | Amount Registered | Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Unit | Maximum
Aggregate Offering Price | Fee Rate | Amount
of Registration Fee | Carry Forward Form Type | Carry Forward File Number | Carry Forward Initial effective date | Filing
Fee Previously Paid In Connection with Unsold Securities to be Carried Forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Newly Registered Securities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fees to Be Paid | Equity | Common stock, $0.01 par value per share | 457 | (a) | 43,664,168 | (1) | $ | 16.80 | (2) | $ | 733,558,022.40 | (2) | $ | 0.0000927 | $ | 68,000.83 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fees Previously Paid | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Carry Forward Securities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Carry Forward Securities | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Offering Amounts | $ | 16.80 | (2) | $ | 733,558,022.40 | (2) | $ | 68,000.83 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Fees Previously Paid | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Fee Offsets | $ | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Fee Due | $ | 68,000.83 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (1) | This Registration Statement registers 43,664,168 shares of common stock. This Registration Statement also covers, pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), an indeterminate number of shares of common stock as may be issuable with respect to the shares being registered hereunder as a result of stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions. |
| (2) | Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the amount of the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act, the maximum offering price per share and maximum aggregate offering price are based on the average of the $17.43 (high) and $16.17 (low) sale price of the registrant’s common stock as reported on The Nasdaq Global Select Market on May 12, 2022, which date is within five business days prior to the filing of this Registration Statement. |