As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 8, 2023
Registration No. 333-266056
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 3
TO
FORM S-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
VERTEX ENERGY, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Nevada | 94-3439569 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
1331 Gemini Street
Suite 250
Houston, Texas 77058
(866) 660-8156
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
|
Benjamin P. Cowart Chief Executive Officer Vertex Energy, Inc. 1331 Gemini Street, Suite 250 Houston, Texas 77058 (866) 660-8156 (Name, Address, including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, including Area Code, of Agent for Service) |
|
David M. Loev, Esq. John S. Gillies, Esq. The Loev Law Firm, PC 6300 West Loop South, Suite 280 Bellaire, Texas 77401 Telephone: (713) 524-4110 |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after this registration statement becomes effective.
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, 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 ☐ | Smaller reporting company ☐ | |
| 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. ☐
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the SEC, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 (this “Amendment No. 3”) to the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-266056) initially filed by Vertex Energy, Inc. (the “Company”) on July 8, 2022 and subsequently amended by Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 thereto filed March 1, 2023, and Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 thereto filed on March 2, 2023 (as amended, the “Registration Statement”), is being filed solely to update the auditors’ consents filed with the Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 as Exhibits 23.1 and 23.2. Accordingly, this Amendment No. 3 consists only of the facing page, this explanatory note, Part II of the Registration Statement and updated Exhibits 23.1 and 23.2 and is not intended to amend or delete any part of the Registration Statement or prospectus except as specifically set forth herein.
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
| Item 14. | Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution |
The following table sets forth the costs and expenses that have and will be paid by us in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities being registered. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock by the selling stockholders pursuant to this prospectus. However, we will pay the expenses, other than underwriting discounts and commissions and certain expenses incurred by the selling stockholders in disposing of the securities, associated with the sale of securities pursuant to this prospectus. In addition, we may incur additional expenses in the future in connection with the offering of our securities pursuant to this prospectus. If required, any such additional expenses will be disclosed in a prospectus supplement.
All amounts are estimates, except for the SEC registration fee:
| Registration Fee Under the Securities Act of 1933 | $ | 3,198 | ||
| Financial Printing and Miscellaneous Expenses (1) | $ | 10,000 | ||
| Accounting Fees and Expenses (1) | $ | 12,350 | ||
| Legal Fees and Expenses (1) | $ | 225,000 | ||
| Total | $ | 250,548 |
| (1) | Estimated. |
| Item 15. | Indemnification of Directors and Officers |
As authorized by Section 78.751 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, we may indemnify our officers and directors against expenses incurred by such persons in connection with any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, involving such persons in their capacities as officers and directors, so long as such persons acted in good faith and in a manner which they reasonably believed to be in our best interests. If the legal proceeding, however, is by or in our right, the director or officer may not be indemnified in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which he is adjudged to be liable for negligence or misconduct in the performance of his duty to us unless a court determines otherwise.
Under Nevada law, corporations may also purchase and maintain insurance or make other financial arrangements on behalf of any person who is or was a director or officer (or is serving at our request as a director or officer of another corporation) for any liability asserted against such person and any expenses incurred by him in his capacity as a director or officer. These financial arrangements may include trust funds, self-insurance programs, guarantees and insurance policies.
Additionally, our Bylaws, as amended (“Bylaws”), state that we shall indemnify every (i) present or former director, advisory director or officer of us, (ii) any person who while serving in any of the capacities referred to in clause (i) served at our request as a director, officer, partner, venturer, proprietor, trustee, employee, agent or similar functionary of another foreign or domestic corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise, and (iii) any person nominated or designated by (or pursuant to authority granted by) the Board of Directors or any committee thereof to serve in any of the capacities referred to in clauses (i) or (ii) (each an “Indemnitee”).
Our Bylaws provide that we shall indemnify an Indemnitee against all judgments, penalties (including excise and similar taxes), fines, amounts paid in settlement and reasonable expenses actually incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with any proceeding in which he was, is or is threatened to be named as a defendant or respondent, or in which he was or is a witness without being named a defendant or respondent, by reason, in whole or in part, of his serving or having served, or having been nominated or designated to serve, if it is determined that the Indemnitee (a) conducted himself in good faith, (b) reasonably believed, in the case of conduct in his official capacity, that his conduct was in our best interests and, in all other cases, that his conduct was at least not opposed to our best interests, and (c) in the case of any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful; provided, however, that in the event that an Indemnitee is found liable to us or is found liable on the basis that personal benefit was improperly received by the Indemnitee, the indemnification (i) is limited to reasonable expenses actually incurred
by the Indemnitee in connection with the proceeding and (ii) shall not be made in respect of any proceeding in which the Indemnitee shall have been found liable for willful or intentional misconduct in the performance of his duty to us.
Except as provided above, the Bylaws provide that no indemnification shall be made in respect to any proceeding in which such Indemnitee has been (a) found liable on the basis that personal benefit was improperly received by him, whether or not the benefit resulted from an action taken in the Indemnitee’s official capacity, or (b) found liable to us. The termination of any proceeding by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or on a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, is not of itself determinative that the Indemnitee did not meet the requirements set forth in clauses (a) or (b) above. An Indemnitee shall be deemed to have been found liable in respect of any claim, issue or matter only after the Indemnitee shall have been so adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction after exhaustion of all appeals therefrom. Reasonable expenses shall include, without limitation, all court costs and all fees and disbursements of attorneys’ fees for the Indemnitee. The indemnification provided shall be applicable whether or not negligence or gross negligence of the Indemnitee is alleged or proven.
Neither our Bylaws nor our Articles of Incorporation include any specific indemnification provisions for our officers or directors against liability under the Securities Act. Additionally, insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Company 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 and is, therefore, unenforceable.
In addition, we have entered into separate indemnification agreements with our executive officers and directors. Such agreements 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 also intend to enter into indemnification agreements with any new directors and executive officers in the future.
We have purchased and intend to maintain insurance on behalf of us and any person who is or was a director or officer against any loss arising from any claim asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in that capacity, subject to certain exclusions and limits of the amount of coverage.
| Item 16. | Exhibits. |
| Filed or | |||||||||
| Exhibit | Furnished | Incorporation By Reference | |||||||
| Number | Exhibit Description | Herewith | Form | Exhibit | Filing Date | File No. | |||
| 3.1 | Restated Articles of Incorporation of Vertex Energy, Inc. | POSASR | 4.1 | 3/1/2023 | 333-266056 | ||||
| 3.2 | Amended and Restated Bylaws of Vertex Energy, Inc. | 8-K | 3.1 | 4/29/2019 | 001-11476 | ||||
| 4.1 | Indenture, dated as of November 1, 2021, by and between Vertex Energy, Inc. and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee. | 8-K | 4.1 | 11/2/2021 | 001-11476 | ||||
| 4.2 | Form of Global Note, representing Vertex Energy, Inc.’s 6.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2027 (included as Exhibit A to the Indenture incorporated by reference as Exhibit 4.1). | 8-K | 4.2 | 11/2/2021 | 001-11476 | ||||
* Filed herewith.
% Certain schedules, annexes and similar attachments have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K. A copy of any omitted schedule or exhibit will be furnished supplementally to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon request; provided, however that Vertex Energy, Inc. may request confidential treatment pursuant to Rule 24b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, for any schedule or exhibit so furnished.
| Item 17. | Undertakings |
We hereby undertake:
(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 of 1933, as amended (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 SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective 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 (1)(i), (l)(ii) and (l)(iii) 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 SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (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 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 to any purchaser,
(i) 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
(ii) 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 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) 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.
(6) 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 provisions described under Item 15 above, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that, in the opinion of the SEC, 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
Pursuant to 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 for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Houston, State of Texas on the 8th day of May 2023.
| VERTEX ENERGY, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Benjamin P. Cowart | |
| Benjamin P. Cowart | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
| By: | /s/ Chris Carlson | |
| Chris Carlson | ||
| Chief Financial Officer | ||
| (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended this Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement on Form S-3 has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Signature | Title | Date | ||
|
/s/ Benjamin P. Cowart |
Chief Executive Officer |
May 8, 2023 | ||
| Benjamin P. Cowart | (Principal Executive Officer) and Chairman | |||
| /s/ Chris Carlson | Chief Financial Officer | May 8, 2023 | ||
| Chris Carlson | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
| * | Director | May 8, 2023 | ||
| Dan Borgen | ||||
| /s/ Odeh Khoury | Director | May 8, 2023 | ||
| Odeh Khoury | ||||
| * | Director | May 8, 2023 | ||
| Timothy C. Harvey | ||||
| * | ||||
| Christopher Stratton | Director | May 8, 2023 | ||
| /s/ Karen Maston | Director | May 8, 2023 | ||
| Karen Maston |
* Mr. Chris Carlson hereby signs this Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement on Form S-3 on behalf of the indicated persons for whom he is attorney-in-fact on May 8, 2023, pursuant to powers of attorney previously filed as Exhibit 24.1 to the Registration Statement on Form S-3 of Vertex Energy, Inc. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 8, 2022.
By: /s/ Chris Carlson
Chris Carlson
Attorney-in-fact
Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to Registration Statement on Form S-3 and related prospectus of Vertex Energy, Inc. for the registration of 2,834,900 shares of its common stock, of our reports dated March 1, 2023, relating to the consolidated financial statements and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, which appears in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Vertex Energy, Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2022. Our report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting expresses an adverse opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022.
We also consent to the reference to our firm under the heading “Experts” in such registration statement.
/s/ Ham, Langston & Brezina L.L.P.
Houston, Texas
May 8, 2023
Exhibit 23.2
We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to Registration Statement (No. 333-266056) on Form S-3 of Vertex Energy, Inc. of our report dated May 31, 2022, relating to the combined financial statements of Mobile Refinery and Logistics Assets, appearing in the Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed by Vertex Energy, Inc. on June 15, 2022.
We also consent to the reference to our firm under the heading “Experts” in such registration statement.
/s/ RSM US LLP
Houston, Texas
May 8, 2023