As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 5, 2018

Registration No. 333-

 

 

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
_______________________________

 

FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
_______________________________

 

FUELCELL ENERGY, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware   06-0853042
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
  (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
     
3 Great Pasture Road
Danbury, Connecticut
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
 
06810
(Zip Code)

 

FUELCELL ENERGY, INC. 2018 OMNIBUS INCENTIVE PLAN
FUELCELL ENERGY, INC. 2018 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
(Full title of the plan)

 _______________________________

 

Arthur A. Bottone

President and Chief Executive Officer
FuelCell Energy, Inc.
3 Great Pasture Road

Danbury, Connecticut 06810
(203) 825-6000

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

  

Copies to:

 

Paul D. Broude, Esq.
Megan A. Odroniec, Esq.

Foley & Lardner LLP

111 Huntington Avenue, Suite 2500

Boston, Massachusetts 02199

Jennifer D. Arasimowicz, Esq.
General Counsel
FuelCell Energy, Inc.
3 Great Pasture Road

Danbury, Connecticut 06810

 

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  x
Non-accelerated filer    ¨  (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) 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.  ¨

_______________________________

 

 

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

Title of Securities to be Registered

Amount to be

Registered (1)

Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Share (2) Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price Amount of Registration Fee
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share:        
2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan 4,000,000 shares $1.70 $6,800,000 $847
2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan   500,000 shares $1.70 $850,000 $106
TOTAL 4,500,000 shares   $7,650,000 $953

 

(1)Pursuant to Rule 416(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), this Registration Statement shall also cover any additional shares of the Registrant’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Common Stock”), that become issuable under the Registrant’s 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan (“2018 Plan”) and the Registrant’s 2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“2018 ESPP”) by reason of any stock dividend, stock split, recapitalization or other similar transaction effected without receipt of consideration that increases the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock.

 

(2)Estimated in accordance with Rule 457(c) and (h) of the Securities Act solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee on the basis of $1.70 per share, which is the average of the high and low prices of the Common Stock, as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market, on April 2, 2018.

 

 

 

 

 

PART I

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

 

The documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be sent or given to participants in the plans covered by this Registration Statement as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) and the instructions to Form S-8, such documents are not being filed with the Commission either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements 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.

 

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (the “Company” or the “Registrant”) hereby incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement the documents listed in (a) through (d) below, which have previously been filed with the Commission:

 

(a)The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2017, filed on January 11, 2018;

 

(b)The Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2018, filed on March 8, 2018;

 

(c)The Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K, filed on November 1, 2017, December 15, 2017, and April 2, 2018; and

 

(d)The description of the Company’s common stock contained in its registration statement on Form 8-A, filed on June 6, 2000, including any amendments or reports filed for the purposes of updating this description.

 

In addition, all documents filed with the Commission by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), on or after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement that indicates that all securities offered hereunder have been sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents; provided, however, that documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with the rules of the Commission shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement.

 

Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed document that also is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein 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.

 

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Item 4. Description of Securities.

 

Not Applicable.

 

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

 

Not Applicable.

 

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

 

Delaware General Corporation Law

 

Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) provides that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is, or is threatened to be made, a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of such corporation), by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise. The indemnity may include 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, provided 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 such corporation, and, with respect to any criminal actions and proceedings, had no reasonable cause to believe that such person’s conduct was unlawful.

 

In addition, under Section 145 of the DGCL, a Delaware corporation may indemnify any person who was or is, or is threatened to be made, a party to any threatened, pending or contemplated action or suit by or in the right of such corporation to procure a judgment in its favor, by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise 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 such corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to such corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.

 

To the extent that an officer or director of a corporation has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to above, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, the corporation must indemnify such person against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.

 

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Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, Amended and Restated By-Laws, and Insurance

 

The Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, provides that the Company may, to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the DGCL, indemnify any and all persons whom it shall have power to indemnify under said section from and against any and all of the expenses, liabilities or other matters referred to in or covered by said section. The Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, further provides that no director will be personally liable to the Company or its stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty by such director as a director; provided, however, that a director will be liable to the extent provided by applicable law (i) for breach of such director’s duty of loyalty to the Company or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

 

 The Company’s Amended and Restated By-laws also provide for indemnification of the Company’s officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

 

In addition, the Company maintains directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies.

 

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

 

Not Applicable.

 

Item 8. Exhibits.

 

The following exhibits, as required by Item 601 of Regulation S-K, are attached or incorporated by reference, as indicated below.

 

Exhibit
Number

 

Description

4.1   Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, as amended, July 12, 1999 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated September 21, 1999).
     
4.2   Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, dated October 31, 2003 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.11 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated November 3, 2003).
     
4.3   Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, dated November 21, 2000 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K dated January 12, 2017).
     
4.4   Amended Certificate of Designation of Series B Cumulative Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock, dated March 14, 2005 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.4 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K dated January 12, 2017).
     
4.5   Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, dated April 8, 2011 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.5 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K dated January 12, 2017).
     
4.6   Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, dated April 5, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.6 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K dated January 12, 2017).
     

 

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4.7   Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, dated December 3, 2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated December 3, 2015).
     
4.8   Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, dated April 18, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.9 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ending April 30, 2016).
     
4.9   Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, dated April 7, 2017 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.10 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ending April 30, 2017).
     
4.10   Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, dated December 14, 2017 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated December 14, 2017).
     
4.11   Schedule A to Articles of Amendment of FuelCell Energy, Ltd., setting forth the rights, privileges, restrictions and conditions of Class A Cumulative Redeemable Exchangeable Preferred Shares (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended January 31, 2009).
     
4.12   Certificate of Designation for the Company’s 5% Series B Cumulative Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report Form 8-K, dated November 22, 2004).
     
4.13   Certificate of Designations for the Company’s Series C Convertible Preferred Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, dated September 5, 2017).
     
4.14   Amended and Restated By-Laws of the Company, dated December 15, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated December 15, 2016).
     
4.15   Specimen of Common Share Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year ended October 31, 1999).
     
4.16   FuelCell Energy, Inc. 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Annex A to the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement filed on February 16, 2018).
     
4.17   FuelCell Energy, Inc. 2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (incorporated by reference to Annex B to the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement filed on February 16, 2018).
     
5.1   Opinion of Foley & Lardner LLP (including consent of counsel).
     
23.1   Consent of KPMG LLP.
     
23.2   Consent of Foley & Lardner LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).
     
24.1   Powers of Attorney (included on signature page).

 

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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. 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 Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective Registration Statement;

 

(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 periodic 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 this 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.

 

(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 that is incorporated by reference in this 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 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 certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Danbury, State of Connecticut, on April 5, 2018.

 

  FUELCELL ENERGY, INC.
     
     
  By: /s/ Arthur A. Bottone
  Arthur A. Bottone
  President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

__________________

 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Arthur A. Bottone and Michael Bishop, and each of them, as his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and re-substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, 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, and any other regulatory authority, 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 or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or their substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

___________________

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated on April 5, 2018.

 

Signature   Title
     
/s/ Arthur A. Bottone  
Arthur A. Bottone   President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
(Principal Executive Officer and Director)
   
/s/ Michael Bishop    
Michael Bishop   Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)
     
/s/ James H. England    
James H. England    Director
     
/s/ Matthew F. Hilzinger    
Matthew F. Hilzinger   Director
     
/s/ John A. Rolls  
John A. Rolls   Director – Chairman of the Board
     
/s/ Christopher S. Sotos    
Christopher S. Sotos   Director
     
/s/ Natica von Althann  
Natica von Althann   Director