MERIDIAN WASTE SOLUTIONS, INC. (OTCMKTS:MRDN) Files An 8-K Entry into a Material Definitive AgreementItem 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
Closing of Securities Purchase Agreement
On October 17, 2017, Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. (the “Company”) received $1,100,000 in funding (the “Funding”) in connection with a private placement offering to accredited investors (the “Offering”) of up to $3,000,000 of units (the “Units”), with each Unit comprised of (i) one (1) share of Series E Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Series E Preferred Stock”) and (ii) fifteen (15) warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.025 per share (“Common Stock”).
In connection with the Funding, the Company entered into a definitive securities purchase agreement (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”) with one (1) accredited investor (the “Investor”), and an aggregate of 110,000 shares of Series E Preferred Stock and 1,650,000 Warrants will be issued, for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of $1,100,000.
The Warrants are five year warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $1.20 per share, exercisable beginning six months after the date of issuance thereof. The Warrants provide for cashless exercise to the extent that there is no registration statement available for the underlying shares of Common Stock.
The Company is utilizing the services of Garden State Securities, Inc., a FINRA-registered placement agent, for the Offering, which remains open. In connection with this first closing of the Offering (the “Closing”), the Company will pay such placement agent an aggregate cash fee of $88,000 and will issue to such placement agent or its designees 88,000 Warrants. The net proceeds to the Company from the Closing, after deducting the foregoing fees and other Offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $940,000.
The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Offering for equipment, the acquisition of a manufacturing facility for Meridian Innovations, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and/or other general working capital and/or capital expenditures. The Closing occurred following the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
The representations and warranties contained in the Securities Purchase Agreement were made by the parties to, and solely for the benefit of, the other in the context of all of the terms and conditions of that agreement and in the context of the specific relationship between the parties. The provisions of the Securities Purchase Agreement, including the representations and warranties contained therein, are not for the benefit of any party other than the parties to such agreements, and are not intended as documents for investors and the public to obtain factual information about the current state of affairs of the parties to those documents and their agreements.
Effective October 17, 2017, in connection with the Offering, the Company and the Investor entered into a Registration Rights Agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”). to the Registration Rights Agreement, the Company shall prepare and, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 10 days from the date of the effectiveness of the resale registration statement filed in connection with the offering of units that included shares of the Company’s Series D Preferred Stock, file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) an initial Registration Statement on Form S-3 covering the resale of all shares of Common Stock comprising the Units, including shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants, or the largest amount thereof permissible. The Company shall use its best efforts to have such initial Registration Statement, and each other Registration Statement required to be filed to the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement, declared effective by the SEC as soon as practicable.
The above description of the Warrants, Securities Purchase Agreement and Registration Rights Agreement do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by the full text of the forms of such documents, which are attached as an exhibit to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 3.02 Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities.
The information set forth in Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporated by reference into this Item 3.02.
The securities underlying the Amended and Restated Warrant and the securities issued to the Offering were not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), but qualified for exemption under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. The securities were exempt from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act because the issuance of such securities by the Company did not involve a “public offering,” as defined in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act, due to the insubstantial number of persons involved in the transaction, size of the offering, manner of the offering and number of securities offered. The Company did not undertake an offering in which it sold a high number of securities to a high number of investors. In addition, these shareholders had the necessary investment intent as required by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act since they agreed to, and received, share certificates bearing a legend stating that such securities are restricted to Rule 144 of the Securities Act. This restriction ensures that these securities would not be immediately redistributed into the market and therefore not be part of a “public offering.” Based on an analysis of the above factors, the Company has met the requirements to qualify for exemption under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
Item 3.03 Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders.
The information set forth in Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporated by reference into this Item 3.03.
On October 21, 2017, the Company amended its Certificate of Incorporation by filing the Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (the “Amendment to Certificate”), which established 300,000 shares of the Series E Preferred Stock, having such designations, rights and preferences as set forth in the Series E Designations, as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors in its sole discretion, in accordance with the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and bylaws.
The shares of Series E Preferred Stock have a stated value of $10.00 per share and, subject to the approval of a majority of the Company’s shareholders (“Shareholder Approval”), are convertible into Common Stock at a price of $1.00 per share, subject to adjustment (the “Conversion Price”) and earn dividends at the rate of 20% per annum, with such dividends for the first year earned in advance, to be issued in the form of common stock following Shareholder Approval. The Company and certain key stockholders of the Company entered into a voting agreement with the Investor related to the obtaining of Shareholder Approval (the “Voting Agreement”).
The shares of Series E Preferred Stock rank senior to the Common Stock and have the right to vote together with the holders of Common Stock as one class, with each share of Series E Preferred Stock voting on an “as converted” basis, with each share of Series E having 6.94 votes, or, subsequent to Shareholder Approval, 10 votes.
The Series E Preferred Stock shall also have the following class voting rights: so long as more than ten percent (10%) of the Series E Preferred Stock remain outstanding, the Company shall not, and shall not permit any subsidiary to, without the affirmative vote or consent of the holders of at least 75% of the shares of the Series E Preferred Stock outstanding at the time, given in person or by proxy, either in writing or at a meeting, in which the holders of the Series E Preferred Stock vote separately as a class: (i) amend, alter or repeal the provisions of the Series E Preferred Stock, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, so as to adversely affect any right, preference, privilege or voting power of the Series E Preferred Stock, including but not limited to the authorization or issuance of additional shares of Series E Preferred Stock; (ii) repurchase, redeem or pay dividends on (whether in cash, in kind, or otherwise), shares of the Company's Junior Stock; (iii) amend the Articles of Incorporation or By-Laws of the Company so as to materially and adversely and disproportionately affect any right, preference, privilege or voting power of the Series E Preferred Stock; (iv) effect any distribution with respect to Junior Stock; (v) reclassify the Company's outstanding securities; (vi) issue any Common Stock or any Common Stock equivalents below the Conversion Price, as in effect from time to time, excluding equity-based awards issued at the market price for the Company’s Common Stock on the date of grant to the Company’s current stock option plan and the issuance of stock upon exercise or conversion of currently outstanding securities; or (vii) amend any outstanding securities or instruments convertible or exchangeable into shares of Common Stock such that the conversion or exchange price or ratio would result in shares of Common Stock having an effective price per share below the Conversion Price.
The foregoing descriptions of the Amendment to Certificate and the Series E Preferred Stock designations does not purport to be complete and are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by, the Amendment to Certificate, a copy of which is attached as an exhibit to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.
The above description of the Voting Agreement and the designations, rights and preferences of the Series E Preferred Stock do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by the full text of the Voting Agreement and the Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation, which are attached as exhibits to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 5.03 Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year.
The information set forth in Item 3.03 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporated by reference into this Item 5.03.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
*filed herewith
Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. ExhibitEX-3.1 2 f8k101717ex3-1_meridian.htm CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT TO CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION Exhibit 3.1 CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT TO CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION OF MERIDIAN WASTE SOLUTIONS,…To view the full exhibit click here
About MERIDIAN WASTE SOLUTIONS, INC. (OTCMKTS:MRDN)
Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc., formerly Brooklyn Cheesecake & Desserts Company, Inc., is an integrated provider of non-hazardous solid waste collection, transfer and disposal services in Missouri. The Company is primarily in the business of residential and commercial waste hauling and has contracts with various cities and municipalities. As of September 30, 2016, the Company, through its subsidiaries, provides solid waste collection services to approximately 65,000 industrial, commercial and residential customers in the Metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri area. The Company operates through Here To Serve Missouri Waste Division, LLC (HTSMWD), Here To Serve Georgia Waste Division, LLC (HTSGWD), Meridian Land Company, LLC (MLC), and Christian Disposal, LLC and subsidiary (CD). In addition, it rents waste containers and provides collection services to construction, demolition and industrial sites.