| Item 1.01. |
Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
On January 23, 2023 (the “Effective Date”), Pono Capital Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) entered into a Standby Equity Purchase Agreement (the “SEPA”) with YA II PN, Ltd., (“YA”). The Company and its successors will be able to sell up to one hundred million dollars in aggregate gross purchase price of the Company’s shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.000001 per share (the “Common Shares”) at the Company’s request any time during the 36 months following the date of the SEPA’s entrance into force. The shares would be purchased at 96% or 97% (depending on the type of notice) of the Market Price (as defined below) and would be subject to certain limitations, including that YA could not purchase any shares that would result in it owning more than 4.99% of the Company’s common stock. “Market Price” shall mean the lowest daily VWAP of the Common Shares during the three consecutive trading days commencing on the advance notice date, other than the daily VWAP on any excluded days. “VWAP” means, for any trading day, the daily volume weighted average price of the Common Shares for such trading day on the principal market during regular trading hours as reported by Bloomberg L.P.
Pursuant to the SEPA, the Company is required to register all shares which YA may acquire. The Company agreed to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a Registration Statement (as defined in the SEPA) registering all of the shares of common stock that are to be offered and sold to YA pursuant to the SEPA. The Company is required to have a Registration Statement declared effective by the SEC before it can raise any funds using the SEPA. The Company may not issue more than 19.99% of its shares issued and outstanding as of the Effective Date without first receiving shareholder approval for such issuances, unless such additional shares may be issued consistent with the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Pursuant to the SEPA, the use of proceeds from the sale of the shares by the Company to YA shall be used by the Company in the manner as will be set forth in the prospectus included in the Registration Statement (and any post-effective amendment thereto) and any prospectus supplement thereto filed pursuant to the SEPA.
There are no other restrictions on future financing transactions. The SEPA does not contain any right of first refusal, participation rights, penalties or liquidated damages. The Company has paid YA Global II SPV, LLC, a subsidiary of YA, a structuring fee in the amount of $15,000, and, on the Effective Date, the Company agreed to issue to YA shares with aggregate value equal to one million dollars, as a commitment fee.
YA has agreed that neither it nor any of its affiliates shall engage in any short-selling or hedging of our common stock during any time prior to the public disclosure of the SEPA.
Unless earlier terminated as provided under the SEPA, the SEPA shall terminate automatically on the earliest of (i) the first day of the month next following the 36-month anniversary of the Effective Date or (ii) the date on which the YA shall have made payment of Advances (as defined in the SEPA) pursuant to the SEPA for the Common Shares equal to the Commitment Amount (as defined in the SEPA).
The foregoing is a summary description of certain terms of the SEPA. For a full description of all terms, please refer to the copy of the SEPA that is filed herewith as Exhibits 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference. All readers are encouraged to read the entire text of the SEPA.