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Plan of Distribution
We, or an agent of ours, may sell the securities on behalf of the selling stockholders for a period of one year from the date of this prospectus:
o through underwriters or dealers; o directly to a limited number of purchasers or to a single purchaser; or o through agents
We have entered into an agreement with certain of selling stockholders to sell, or arrange for the sale, of the securities on their behalf on a "best efforts" basis for a period of one year from the date of this prospectus. These selling stockholders have informed us of the price at which they will sell the warrants owned by them to us or an agent designated by us. We or an agent designated by us will purchase the warrants, subject to this agreement, exercise the warrants and sell the common stock underlying the warrants from time to time in one or more transactions on the American Stock Exchange, in foreign markets, special offerings, exchange distributions, secondary distributions, negotiated transactions, or a combination of these transactions. We or an agent designated by us may sell the securities at market prices at the time of sale, at prices related to the market price or at negotiated prices. If an agent designated by us is used in the sale, that agent will receive a commission of 10%, payable by the applicable selling stockholder. The commission represents 10% of the purchase price set by that selling stockholder. We will not receive commissions on sales made by us.
Pursuant to the Agreement, after one year from the date of this prospectus, the selling stockholders may sell their securities from time to time directly to purchasers in one or more transactions on the American Stock Exchange, in foreign markets, special offerings, exchange distributions, secondary distributions, negotiated transactions, or a combination of these transactions.
A prospectus supplement with respect to the securities being offered subject to the above described agreement will set forth the terms of the offering of the offered securities, including the name or names of any underwriters or agents, the purchase price of the offered securities, any underwriting discounts and other items constituting underwriters' compensation, any initial public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers. Any initial public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers may be changed from time to time.
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If underwriters are used in the sale, the offered securities subject to the agreement described above will be acquired by the underwriters for their own account and may be resold from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. The offered securities may be offered to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more underwriters. The underwriter or underwriters with respect to a particular underwritten offering of securities, or, if an underwriting syndicate is used, the managing underwriter or underwriters, will be set forth on the cover of the applicable prospectus supplement. Unless otherwise set forth in the prospectus supplement relating thereto, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the offered securities will be subject to conditions precedent and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the offered securities if any are purchased.
If dealers are utilized in the sale of the offered securities subject to the agreement described above in respect of which this prospectus is delivered, and if so specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will sell such offered securities to the dealers as principals. The dealers may then resell the offered securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by such dealers at the time of resale. The names of the dealers will be set forth in a prospectus supplement.
The offered securities subject to the agreement described above may be sold directly by us or through agents designated by us from time to time. Any agent involved in the offer or sale of the offered securities in respect to which this prospectus is delivered will be named, and any commissions payable to the agent, will be set forth in a prospectus supplement.
The common stock held by VMW, Inc., a selling stockholder in the table above, and warrants held by certain selling stockholders in the table above are not subject to the terms of the above described agreement. VMW and those certain warrant holders may sell their common stock, warrants and common stock underlying their warrants from time to time in one or more transactions on the American Stock Exchange, in foreign markets, special offering exchange distributions, secondary distributions, negotiated transactions, or a combination of these transactions.
The selling stockholders and broker-dealers, if any, acting in connection with these sales might be deemed to be "underwriters" within the meaning of section 2(11) of the Securities Act. Any commission they receive and any profit upon the resale of the securities might be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act.
Sales of the common stock may also be made under Rule 144 of the Securities Act of 1933, where applicable. The selling stockholders' shares may also be offered in one or more underwritten offerings, on a firm commitment or best efforts basis. We will not receive proceeds from the sale of the selling stockholders' securities.
From time to time each of the selling stockholders may transfer, pledge, donate or assign their securities to lenders, family members and others and each of such persons will be deemed to be selling stockholders for the purposes of this prospectus. The number of selling stockholders securities beneficially owned by those selling stockholders who so transfer, pledge, donate or assign selling stockholder securities will decrease as and when they take this action. The plan of distribution for the selling stockholders securities sold hereunder will otherwise remain unchanged, except that the transferees, pledgees, donees or other successors will be selling stockholders hereunder.
Under applicable rule and regulations under the Exchange Act, any person engaged in the distribution of the common stock may not bid for or purchase shares of common stock
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during a period which commences one business day, or 5 business days if our public float is less than $25 million or our average daily trading volume is less than $100,000, prior to the person's participation in the distribution, subject to exceptions for certain passive market making activities. In addition and without limiting the foregoing, the selling stockholders will be subject to applicable provisions of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, including, without limitation, Regulation M which may limit the timing of purchases and sales of common stock by selling stockholders.
We are bearing all costs relating to the registration of the shares of common stock, other than fees and expenses, if any, of counsel or other advisors to the selling stockholders. Any commissions, discounts or other fees payable to our designated agent in connection with any sale of the securities will be borne by the selling stockholders.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock and class A warrants is Continental Stock Transfer and Trust Co., 2 Broadway, New York, New York 10004.
Legal Matters
The legality of the common stock offered in this prospectus has been passed upon for us by Silverman, Collura & Chernis, P.C., 381 Park Avenue South, Suite 1601, New York, New York 10016.
Experts
The consolidated financial statements of Hemispherx as of December 31, 1998 and 1997, and for each of the years in the three year period ended December 31, 1998, have been incorporated by reference in this prospectus and in the registration statement in reliance upon the report of KPMG LLP, independent certified public accountants, also incorporated by reference in this prospectus, and upon the authority of KPMG LLP as experts in accounting and auditing.
Disclosure of Commission Position on Indemnification for Securities Act Liabilities
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers, and controlling persons, we have been advised that in the |