As filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on July 30, 2021

 

Registration No. 333-_________________

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

AMERGENT HOSPITALITY GROUP INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware   84-4842958

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

 

 7529 Red Oak Lane, Norwalk, Charlotte, NC   28226
 (Address of Principal Executive Offices)   (Zip Code)

 

2021 Amergent Hospitality Group Inc. Inducement Plan

(Full title of the plan)

 

Michael D. Pruitt

Chief Executive Officer

7529 Red Oak Lane

Charlotte, NC 28226

(Name and address of agent for service)

 

(704) 366-5122

(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

with copies to:

Ruba Qashu

Libertas Law Group, Inc.

225 Santa Monica Blvd., 5th Floor

Santa Monica, CA 90061

(949) 355-5405

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company.

 

Large accelerated filer [  ] Accelerated filer [  ]
Non-accelerated filer [  ] Smaller reporting company [X]
    Emerging growth company [  ]

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. [  ]

 

Calculation of Registration Fee

 

Title of securities to be registered  Amount to be registered(1)   Proposed maximum offering price per share(2)   Proposed maximum aggregate offering price   Amount of registration fee 
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value   500,000   $0.549   $274,500   $29.95 

 

(1)   Pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”) this registration statement shall also cover such indeterminate number of additional shares of the Registrant’s common stock that become issuable by reason of any stock dividend, stock split, recapitalization or other similar transaction that increases the number of the Registrant’s outstanding shares to be offered pursuant to the applicable plan described herein.
     
(2)   Estimated solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(c) and Rule 457(h)(1) of the Securities Act based on the average of the high and low prices of the Registrant’s common stock on the OTCQB on January 26, 2021.

 

 

 

 

 

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

 

Information required by Part I to be contained in the Section 10(a) prospectus is omitted from this registration statement in accordance with Rule 428 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the Note to Part I of Form S-8.

 

 

 

 

PART II

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

 

The following documents, which have been filed with the SEC by Amergent Hospitality Group Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Registrant”), are incorporated herein by reference as of their respective dates:

 

  (a) the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 as filed with the SEC on April 15, 2021;
     
  (b) The Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2021 as filed with the SEC on May 24, 2021;
     
  (c) The Registrant’s Current Reports on Form 8-K as filed with the SEC on July 15, 2021, April 1, 2021, February 22, 2021 and January 19, 2021; and
     
  (d) the description of the Registrant’s common stock set forth in Item 11 of Registrant’s Form 10 under the heading “Description of Registrant’s Securities to be Registered” filed April 9, 2020 and amended June 3, 2020, June 23, 2020 and July 2, 2020, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

 

All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the respective filing dates of such documents.

 

Any statement contained herein or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such earlier statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

 

Under no circumstances will any information furnished under current Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K be deemed incorporated herein by reference unless such Form 8-K expressly provides to the contrary.

 

Item 4. Description of Securities.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

 

None.

 

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

 

We are subject to the laws of Delaware on corporate matters, including their indemnification provisions. Section 102 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware (the “DGCL”) permits a corporation to eliminate the personal liability of directors of a corporation to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for a breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached his 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.

 

Section 145 of the DGCL provides that a corporation has the power to indemnify a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, or a person serving at the request of the corporation for another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise in related capacities against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with an action, suit or proceeding to which he was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, ending or completed action, suit or proceeding by reason of such position, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, in any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful, except that, in the case of actions brought by or in the right of the corporation, no indemnification shall be made with respect to any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or other adjudicating court determines that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all of the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper. The statute provides that indemnification pursuant to these provisions is not exclusive of other rights of indemnification to which a person may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.

 

Our certificate of incorporation provides that the liability of directors for monetary damages shall be eliminated to the fullest extent permissible under Delaware law and the corporation is authorized to indemnify its agents to the fullest extent permissible under Delaware law.

 

 

 

 

Under our bylaws, any person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is in any way involved in any threatened, pending or completed action suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, including any appeal therefrom, by reason of the fact that he is or was a director or officer of ours or was serving at our request as a director or officer of another entity or enterprise (including any subsidiary), may be indemnified and held harmless by us, and we may advance all expenses incurred by such person in defense of any such proceeding prior to its final determination, if this person acted in good faith and in a manner reasonably believed to be in and not opposed to our best interest, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, the indemnified party had no reason to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. The indemnification provided in our bylaws is not exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification may otherwise be entitled.

 

We have obtained a general liability insurance policy that covers certain liabilities of directors and officers of our corporation arising out of claims based on acts or omissions in their capacities as directors or officers and enter into indemnification agreements with our directors and officers.

 

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and our executive officers. These agreements provide that we will indemnify each of our directors and executive officers to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. We will advance expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts, to each indemnified director and executive officer in connection with any proceeding in which indemnification is available, and we will indemnify our directors and officers for any action or proceeding arising out of that person’s services as an officer or director brought on behalf of the Company or in furtherance of our rights.

 

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 8. Exhibits.

 

See Exhibit Index immediately following the signature page.

 

Item 9. Undertakings.

 

(a) The undersigned 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:

 

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

 

(ii) 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 Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;

 

(iii) 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 paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section 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 Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78m or 78o(d)) that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.

 

 

 

 

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, 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.

 

(b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, 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.

 

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

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

In accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements of filing this Registration Statement on Form S-8 and authorized this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, in Charlotte, North Carolina on July 30, 2021.

 

  AMERGENT HOSPITALITY GROUP INC.
   
  /s/ Michael D. Pruitt
  Michael D. Pruitt
  Chief Executive Officer

 

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the undersigned officers and directors of Amergent Hospitality Group Inc. hereby constitutes and appoints Michael D. Pruitt, his attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments or post-effective amendments to this Registration Statement, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith or in connection with the registration of the shares of common stock under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto such attorney-in-fact and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary in connection with such matters as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that such attorney-in-fact and agent or her substitute may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

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

 

Signature   Title   Date
         
/s/ Michael D. Pruitt   Chief Executive Officer   July 30, 2021
Michael D. Pruitt  

(Principal Executive Officer),

Chairman

   
         
/s/ Steven J. Hoelscher   Chief Financial Officer   July 30, 2021
Steven J. Hoelscher   (Principal Financial Officer)    
         
/s/ Frederick L. Glick   Director   July 30, 2021
Frederick L. Glick        
         
/s/ Neil G. Kiefer   Director   July 30, 2021
Neil G. Kiefer        
         
/s/ J. Eric Wagoner   Director   July 30, 2021
J. Eric Wagoner        
         

/s/ Keith J. Johnson

 

Director

  July 30, 2021

Keith J. Johnson

       

 

 

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit Number   Exhibit Description
     
4.1   Specimen stock certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form 10-12(g) filed April 8, 2020, as amended)
     
4.2   Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant filed February 18, 2020 with the Delaware Secretary of State (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form 10-12(g) filed April 8, 2020, as amended)
     
4.3   Bylaws of Registrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form 10-12(g) filed April 8, 2020, as amended)
     
4.4  

2021 Amergent Hospitality Group Inc. Inducement Plan (including forms of award agreements), filed herewith

     
5.1   Opinion of Libertas Law Group, Inc., filed herewith
     
23.1   Consent of Cherry Bekaert LLP, filed herewith
     
23.2   Consent of Libertas Law Group, Inc. (filed as part of Exhibit 5.1)