Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
Settlement. On October 14, 2009, Syntroleum Corporation ("Syntroleum," "we" or
"us") entered into a Settlement Agreement with Fletcher International, Ltd.
("Fletcher") to settle all legal claims arising in connection with the
Investment Agreement (the "Investment Agreement") dated November 18, 2007,
between Syntroleum and Fletcher. Pursuant to the terms of the Investment
Agreement, under which a maximum of 12.4 million shares could be issued,
Fletcher agreed to purchase $12 million worth of Syntroleum stock at floating
per share prices over a twenty-four month period. The purchase was divided into
an Initial Investment of $3 million (at a premium to the trading price of
Syntroleum stock) and Later Investments totaling $9 million (at a discount to
the trading price of Syntroleum stock). Fletcher refused to close on the Initial
Investment at $1.39 per share, asserting that all of the conditions precedent
had not been satisfied, and subsequently attempted to make a Later Investment at
$0.44 per share. We refused to close on the grounds that, because Fletcher
failed to make the Initial Investment, Fletcher was not entitled to go forward
with the Later Investments. Each party subsequently filed legal claims against
one another, with Syntroleum claiming unspecified damages against Fletcher and
Fletcher claiming damages, excluding legal fees, of $14 million. Pursuant to the
terms of the Settlement Agreement, Syntroleum and Fletcher entered into a
Securities Purchase Agreement (the "Securities Purchase Agreement") dated
October 14, 2009 whereby Fletcher purchased $4 million of common stock of
Syntroleum in an initial closing and was issued six-year warrants and acquired
the option to purchase, on or before June 30, 2010, up to an additional
$8 million of common stock of Syntroleum in up to two subsequent closings
together with additional six-year warrants.
Initial Closing. Under the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement, Fletcher
has the right to purchase up to 4,541,498 shares of common stock and warrants
for the purchase of up to 5,676,872 shares of common stock. Under the initial
closing, Fletcher purchased 1,513,833 shares of our common stock at a price of
approximately $2.64 per share and was issued a warrant, exercisable until
October 14, 2015, to purchase 1,892,291 shares of our common stock at an
exercise price of $3.30 per share (the "Initial Closing Warrant"). We will
receive net proceeds from the sale of the 1,513,833 shares of our common stock
of approximately $3,790,000 after deducting estimated fees and expenses of the
offering payable by us. In the event the Initial Closing Warrant is fully
exercised by Fletcher, we estimate that the net proceeds to us from such
exercise would be approximately $6,245,000. Syntroleum intends to use the net
proceeds from the sale of the offered securities for general corporate purposes.
Subsequent Closing. Under the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement,
Fletcher also has the option to purchase, on or before June 30, 2010, an
additional 3,027,665 shares of our common stock, at a price of $2.64 per share,
in up to two subsequent closings, of a minimum of 1,513,833 shares of common
stock for the first such closing and up to the remainder, if any, at the second
such closing. At any subsequent closing, Fletcher will receive a warrant,
exercisable for a period of six years, to purchase the number of shares of our
common stock equal to the product of 1.25 and the number of shares of our common
stock purchased in such subsequent closing, with an exercise price of $3.30 per
share. The terms of such future warrant(s) would be set forth in a common stock
purchase warrant having the same terms as those set forth in the Initial Closing
Warrant.
Limitations. Fletcher is subject to an ownership limitation of 4.95% of the
outstanding shares of common stock ("Ownership Limitation"), under which
Fletcher is prohibited from consummating any subsequent closing or exercising
any warrant where such closing or exercise would cause Fletcher to exceed the
Ownership Limitation, or from otherwise exceeding the Ownership Limitation
through other avenues, including the purchase of shares in the public market.
Fletcher is also prohibited from transferring the warrants to any transferee who
exceeds the Ownership Limitation and any such transferee is subject to the same
transfer and exercise limitations applicable to Fletcher. All warrants issued to
Fletcher must be exercised for cash as no cashless exercises are allowed.
Registration Statement. The issuance of shares of common stock and warrants to
Fletcher under the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement and the Warrants
have been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on our
Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-157879). A prospectus
supplement to this Registration Statement has been filed with the SEC covering
the sale and issuance of the shares of common stock and warrants to Fletcher.
Exhibits. A copy of the opinion of Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden &
Nelson, P.C. related to the legality of the issuance and sale of the shares and
the issuance of the warrants is attached hereto as Exhibit 5.1. Copies of the
Settlement Agreement, the Securities Purchase Agreement and the Common Stock
Purchase Warrant are attached to this Report as Exhibits 10.87, 10.88 and 10.89,
respectively, and are incorporated herein by reference. The foregoing
description of the transaction with Fletcher does not purport to be complete and
is qualified in its entirety by reference to such Exhibits.
Item 1.02. Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement.
On October 14, 2009, pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement,
Syntroleum and Fletcher terminated the Investment Agreement.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
The following exhibits are filed herewith:
5.1 Opinion of Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C.
5.2 Opinion of Richards, Layton and Finger, P.A.
10.87 Settlement Agreement dated October 14, 2009 between Syntroleum and
Fletcher.
10.88 Securities Purchase Agreement dated October 14, 2009 between Syntroleum
and Fletcher.
10.89 Common Stock Purchase Warrant dated October 14, 2009 between Syntroleum
and Fletcher.
23.1 Consent Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson, P.C. (included
as part of Exhibit 5.1).
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