S-8 1 tm2225731d1_s8.htm S-8

 

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 14, 2022  Registration No. 333-            

 

 

 

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

 

MULLEN AUTOMOTIVE INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware
 
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)

 

 

90-1025599

(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.) 

 

1405 Pioneer Street

Brea, California 92821

(Address of principal executive offices)

(714) 613-1900

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

 

 

Mullen Automotive Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan

Performance Stock Award Agreement

(Full title of the plan)

 

David Michery

President and Chief Executive Officer

1405 Pioneer St

Brea, CA 92821

(714) 613-1900

(Name, address and telephone number of agent for service)

 

With copies to:

 

Thomas J. Poletti, Esq.
Katherine J. Blair, Esq.
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
695 Town Center Drive, 14th Floor
Costa Mesa, California 92626
(714) 371-2501

 

 

 

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. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer ¨ Accelerated filer ¨ 
Non-accelerated filer x  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.  ¨

 

This Registration Statement shall become effective upon filing in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 462 under the Securities Act.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART I

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

 

The documents containing the information specified in this Part I of Form S-8 will be sent or given to participants in the Mullen Automotive Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) and the Performance Stock Award Agreement as specified by Rule 428 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

 

Such documents are not required to be, and are not, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) either as part of this Registration Statement or as a prospectus or prospectus supplement pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of Form S-8, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

 

PART II

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

Item 3.Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

 

The Registrant hereby incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement the following documents filed by it with the Commission:

 

(a)The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, as filed with the Commission on December 29, 2021, as amended by that Amendment No. 1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021 filed with the Commission on January 10, 2022.

 

(b)The Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, filed with the Commission on August 12, 2022.

 

(c)The Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, filed with the Commission on May 16, 2022, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Commission on May 17, 2022.

 

(d)The Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, filed with the Commission on February 14, 2022.

 

(e)The Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on November 4, 2021, November 12, 2021 (as amended by a Form 8-K/A filed with the Commission on November 19, 2021), January 24, 2022, February 28, 2022, March 10, 2022, March 31, 2022 (Two Filing), June 10, 2022, June 21, 2022, June 24, 2022, July 13, 2022, July 27, 2022, September 8, 2022, and September 9, 2022 (Two Filings).

 

(a)The description of the Company’s securities contained in the Prospectus, dated April 15, 2022, filed with the Commission on April 18, 2022 pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) under the Securities Act relating to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-263880) filed with the Commission on March 28, 2022, together with any amendment thereto filed with the Commission for the purpose of updating such description.

 

All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date hereof, and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be a part thereof from the date of the filing of such documents. Any statement contained in the documents incorporated, or deemed to be incorporated, by reference herein or therein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement and the prospectus to the extent that a statement contained herein or therein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is, or is deemed to be, incorporated by reference herein or therein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement and the prospectus.

 

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Notwithstanding the foregoing, unless specifically stated to the contrary, none of the information disclosed by the Registrant under Items 2.02 or 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K, including the related exhibits under Item 9.01, that the Registrant has furnished, or may from time to time furnish, to the Commission is, or will be, incorporated by reference into, or otherwise included in, this Registration Statement.

 

Item 4.Description of Securities

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 5.Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 6.Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

 

Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) provides, in general, that a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, as we are, may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding (other than a derivative action 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 the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another enterprise, against 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 if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful. In the case of a derivative action, a Delaware corporation may indemnify any such person against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification will be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person will have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or any other court in which such action was brought determines such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses.

 

Article VIII of our certificate of incorporation, as amended, states that to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, a director of the corporation shall not be liable to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director.

 

Under Article IX of our certificate of incorporation, 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), shall be indemnified and held harmless by us to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware Law, and we may advance all expenses incurred by such person in defense of any such proceeding prior to its final determination. The indemnification provided in our bylaws is not exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification may otherwise be entitled.

 

We maintain 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.

 

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have 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.

 

Item 7.Exemption From Registration Claimed.

 

Not applicable.

 

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Item 8.Exhibits.

 

Exhibit
Number
 

 

 

Description

4.1   Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Mullen Automotive Inc., a Delaware corporation, filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware on October 2, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on November 12, 2021)
4.1(a)   Certificate of Amendment to the Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Mullen Automotive, Inc., dated March 8, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on March 10, 2022)
4.1(b)   Certificate of Amendment to the Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation filed on July 26, 2022 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed with the Commission on July 27, 2022)
4.2   Amended and Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on October 5, 2012)
4.2(a)   Amendment No. 1 to the Bylaws, dated June 15, 2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on June 16, 2015)
4.2(b)   Amendment No. 2 to the Bylaws, dated July 10, 2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on July 10, 2015)
5.1    Opinion of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP
23.1   Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (Daszkal Bolton LLP)
23.2   Consent of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)
24   Power of Attorney (contained on signature page hereto)
99.1   Mullen Automotive Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Appendix B to the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement (Schedule 14A) filed with the Commission on June 24, 2022)
99.2   CEO Performance Stock Award Agreement dated May 5, 2022 between Mullen Automotive Inc. and David Michery (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on July 27, 2022).
107   Filing Fee Table

 

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; and

 

(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) 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 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 herein, 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.

 

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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 herein, 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.

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Brea, State of California, on the 14th day of September, 2022.

 

  Mullen Automotive Inc.
   
  By: /s/ David Michery
    Name: David Michery
    Title: Chief Executive Officer and President

 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

We, the undersigned officers and directors of Mullen Automotive Inc., a Delaware corporation, do hereby constitute and appoint David Michery and Kerri Sadler, each of them, as his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution for him in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, 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 connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or their or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

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

 

Name and Signature   Title   Date
         
/s/ David Michery   President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board    September 14, 2022
David Michery   (Principal Executive Officer)    
         
/s/ Kerri Sadler   Chief Financial Officer    September 14, 2022
Kerri Sadler   (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)    
         
/s/ Mark Betor   Director   September 14, 2022
Mark Betor        
         
/s/ William Miltner   Director   September 14, 2022
William Miltner        
         
/s/ Jonathan New   Director   September 14, 2022
Jonathan New        
         
/s/ Ignacio Novoa   Director    September 14, 2022
Ignacio Novoa        
         
/s/ Kent Puckett   Director    September 14, 2022
Kent Puckett        
         
/s/ Mary Winter   Director    September 14, 2022
Mary Winter