Evogene (EVGN) F-3Shelf registration (foreign)

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, please 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.C. 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.C. 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 an emerging growth company, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933. 

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, 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. ☐

Each time we sell securities, we will provide a supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the offering, as well as the amounts, prices and terms of the securities. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you in connection with each offering of the securities. Any prospectus supplement and related free writing prospectuses may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should read this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and related free writing prospectuses, as well as the documents incorporated by reference, or deemed incorporated by reference into this prospectus before you invest in any of our securities.

 

We may, from time to time, offer and sell securities through public or private transactions, directly or through underwriters, agents or dealers, on or off the Nasdaq Stock Market, or Nasdaq, or Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Ltd., or the TASE, as applicable, at prevailing market prices or at privately negotiated prices. If any underwriters, agents or dealers are involved in the sale of any of these securities, the applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the names of the underwriters, agents or dealers and any applicable fees, commissions or discounts. Our net proceeds from the sale of securities will also be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. By using a shelf registration statement, we may sell securities from time to time, in one or more offerings up to a total dollar amount of $200,000,000, as described in this prospectus. Each time that we sell securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the securities being offered and sold and the specific terms of that offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you in connection with each offering of the securities. Any prospectus supplement and related free writing prospectuses may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and in the applicable prospectus supplement or related free writing prospectuses, you should rely on the prospectus supplement and/or the related free writing prospectuses. Before purchasing any securities, you should carefully read both this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, together with the additional information described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference.”

We have not authorized any other person to provide you with different or additional information other than that contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement. We will not take any responsibility and can make no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We will not make an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement to this prospectus is accurate as of the date on its respective cover, and that any information incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, unless we indicate otherwise. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

 

This prospectus incorporates by reference market data and certain industry data and forecasts that were obtained from market research databases, consultant surveys commissioned by us, publicly available information, reports of governmental agencies and industry publications and surveys. Industry surveys, publications, consultant surveys commissioned by us and forecasts generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. We have relied on certain data from third-party sources, including internal surveys, industry forecasts and market research, which we believe to be reliable based on our management’s knowledge of the industry. Statements as to our market position are based on the most currently available data. While we are not aware of any misstatements regarding the industry data presented in this prospectus, our estimates involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and in the relevant prospectus supplement, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated herein or therein by reference.

Certain figures included in this prospectus have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, figures shown as totals in certain tables may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them.

Our capitalization will be set forth in a prospectus supplement to this prospectus or in a Report of Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K subsequently furnished to the SEC and specifically incorporated herein by reference.

 

Unless otherwise indicated in an accompanying prospectus supplement, the net proceeds from the sale of securities by our Company under this prospectus will be used for research and development, working capital, investments in our subsidiaries, sales and marketing activities and for general corporate purposes. We may also use a portion of the net of proceeds to acquire or invest in technologies, products and/or businesses that we believe are complementary to ours. Pending these uses, we may invest the net proceeds from the sale of securities in accordance with our investment policies, as amended from time to time. When securities are offered, the prospectus supplement relating thereto will set forth our intended use of the net proceeds that we receive from the sale of such securities.

The descriptions of the securities contained in this prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplements, summarize the material terms and provisions of the various types of securities that we may offer. We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the particular terms of any securities offered by such prospectus supplement. If we so indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, the terms of the securities may differ from the terms we have summarized below. We may also include in the prospectus supplement information about material United States federal income tax considerations relating to the securities, and the securities exchange, if any, on which the securities will be listed.

 

 

A person wishing to acquire shares or a class of shares of an Israeli public company such as ours and who would, as a result, own more than 90% of the target company’s issued and outstanding share capital or of a certain class of its shares, is required by the Companies Law to make a full tender offer (as defined in the Companies Law) to all of the company’s shareholders for the purchase of all of the issued and outstanding shares of the company or class of shares. If either (i) the shareholders who do not accept the offer hold, in the aggregate, less than 5% of the issued and outstanding share capital of the company or of the applicable class, and more than half of the shareholders who do not have a personal interest in the offer accept the offer, or (ii) the shareholders who do not accept the offer hold less than 2% of the issued and outstanding share capital of the company or of the applicable class, then all of the shares that the acquirer offered to purchase will be transferred to the acquirer by operation of law. However, a shareholder that had its shares so transferred, whether or not it accepted the tender offer (unless otherwise provided in the offering memorandum for the tender offer), may, within six months from the date of acceptance of the tender offer, petition the court based on a claim that the tender offer was for less than fair value and that the fair value should be paid as determined by the court. If both of the foregoing conditions (i) and (ii) are not satisfied, the acquirer may not acquire shares of the company that will increase its holdings to more than 90% of the company’s issued and outstanding share capital or of the applicable class from shareholders who accepted the full tender offer. Shares purchased not in accordance with those provisions shall become “dormant shares” and shall not grant the purchaser any rights so long as they are held by the purchaser.

 

Under the Companies Law, an acquisition pursuant to which a purchaser shall hold (i) a “controlling stake”, which is defined as 25% or more of the voting rights (assuming that no other shareholder holds a controlling stake), or (ii) more than 45% of the voting rights (assuming that no other shareholder owns more than 45% of the voting rights), of a public company such as ours may not be performed by way of market accumulation, but only by way of a special tender offer (as defined in the Companies Law) made to all of the company’s shareholders on a pro rata basis. A special tender offer may not be consummated unless a majority of the shareholders who have submitted their response to the offer have approved it. In counting the total votes of responding shareholders, shares held by the controlling shareholders, shareholders who have a conflict of interest with respect to the offer (referred to under the Companies Law as a “personal interest”), shareholders who own 25% or more of the voting rights in the company, relatives or representatives of any of the above, and the bidder, and corporations under their respective control, shall not be taken into account. A shareholder may object to such a tender offer without such objection being deemed as a waiver of his, her or its right to sell shares to the bidder if the offer is approved by a majority of the company’s shareholders despite the subject shareholder’s objection. Shares purchased by the bidder in violation of the foregoing rules shall become “dormant shares” and shall not grant the bidder any rights so long as they are held by the bidder. If a special tender offer is accepted, then the purchaser or any person or entity controlling it or under common control with the purchaser or such controlling person or entity may not make a subsequent tender offer for the purchase of shares of the target company and may not enter into a merger with the target company for a period of one year from the date of the initial tender offer, unless the purchaser or such person or entity undertook to effect such an offer or merger in the initial special tender offer.

 

Under regulations enacted pursuant to the Companies Law, the above special tender offer requirements do not apply to companies whose shares are listed for trading on a foreign stock exchange if, among other things, the relevant foreign laws or the rules of the stock exchange include provisions limiting the percentage of control which may be acquired or requiring that the acquisition of such percentage of control requires making a tender offer to the public. However, we believe that the Israeli Securities Authority’s current opinion is that such leniency does not apply with respect to companies such as ours whose shares are listed for trading on stock exchanges in the United States, including the Nasdaq.

 

The Companies Law requires that a merger transaction must be approved by (i) each party’s board of directors, and, unless certain requirements described under the Companies Law are met, (ii) a majority of each party’s shares (including, if relevant, a majority of each class of shares of each party) voted on the proposed merger at a shareholders meeting called with at least 35 days’ prior notice.

 

For purposes of the shareholder vote, unless a court rules otherwise, the merger requires approval by a majority of the shares represented at the shareholders meeting that are held by parties other than the other party to the merger, or by any person who holds 25% or more of the outstanding shares or the right to appoint 25% or more of the directors of the other party. If the merger would have been approved if not for (a) the required separate approval of each class of shares of the merging party (if relevant), or (b) the exclusion of the votes of certain shareholders, as provided above, a court may still approve the merger upon the request of holders of at least 25% of the voting rights of the merging party, if the court holds that the merger is fair and reasonable, taking into account the value of the parties to the merger and the consideration offered to the shareholders.

 

Upon the request of a creditor of either party to the proposed merger, the court may delay or prevent the merger if it concludes that there exists a reasonable concern that, as a result of the merger, the surviving company will be unable to satisfy the obligations of any of the parties to the merger, and may further give instructions to secure the rights of creditors.

 

In addition, a merger may not be completed unless at least 50 days have passed from the date that a proposal for approval of the merger was filed by each party with the Israeli Registrar of Companies and 30 days have passed from the date the merger was approved by the shareholders of each party.

The Companies Law allows us to create and issue shares having rights different from those accompanying our ordinary shares, including shares providing certain preferred rights, distributions or other rights, including preemptive rights. As of the date of this prospectus, we do not have any authorized or issued shares other than our ordinary shares. In the future, if we do create and issue a class of shares other than ordinary shares, the holders of such class of shares, depending on the specific rights to which they may be entitled, may delay or prevent a takeover or otherwise prevent our shareholders from realizing a potential premium over the market value of their ordinary shares. The authorization of a new class of shares would require the amendment of our articles, which requires the prior approval of the holders of a majority of our shares present and voting at a general meeting. However, the TASE rules and regulations prohibit a listed company from having more than one class of shares listed, and the TASE’s current position is that a listed company may not issue or list preferred shares. Therefore, assuming that the TASE’s current position does not change, as long as our ordinary shares are listed on the TASE, we will be prohibited from issuing preferred shares. 

We may issue warrants to purchase our ordinary shares in one or more series together with other securities or separately, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and a warrant agent. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency for or with holders or beneficial owners of warrants. The terms of any warrants to be issued and a description of the material provisions of the applicable warrant agreement will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the following terms of any warrants in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered:

We may issue subscription rights to purchase our ordinary shares. Rights may be issued independently or together with any other offered security and may or may not be transferable by the person purchasing or receiving the rights in such offering, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. In connection with any offering of rights, we may enter into a standby arrangement with one or more underwriters or purchasers pursuant to which such underwriters or other purchasers will purchase any offered securities remaining unsubscribed for after such offering. We may also appoint a rights agent that may act solely as our agent in connection with the rights that are sold in such offering, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Any such agent will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust with any of the holders of the rights. The following description sets forth certain general terms and provisions of the rights to which any prospectus supplement may relate. The particular terms of the rights to which any prospectus supplement may relate and the extent, if any, to which the general provisions may apply to the rights so offered will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. To the extent that any particular terms of the rights, rights agreement or rights certificates described in a prospectus supplement differ from any of the terms described herein, then the terms described herein will be deemed to have been superseded by that prospectus supplement. We encourage you to read the applicable rights agreement and rights certificate for additional information before you decide whether to purchase any of our rights.

The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the following terms of rights in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered:

As specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may issue units consisting of our ordinary shares, warrants, rights and/or any combination of such securities. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe:

In June 2020, we announced participation in a three-year workplan, IIA-sponsored CRISPR-IL Consortium to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) based, end-to-end system for genome-editing to be used in multi-species including human, plant, and certain animal DNA, applicable to market segments in pharma, agriculture and aquaculture. In addition to Evogene, the CRISPR-IL Consortium consists of several Israeli industrial companies and academic institutions. The goal of the consortium is to develop an artificial intelligence-based system, “Go-Genome”, providing users improved genome-editing workflows. The system aims to provide end-to-end solutions, from user interface to an accurate measurement tool. The total budget for the consortium was approved for the first 18 months in an amount of approximately $10.2 million, of which approximately $1.3 million was allocated to us, and for the additional 18 months was approved an amount of approximately $15.4 million, of which approximately $1.9 million was allocated to us.

Below is a description of our obligations in connection with the grants received from IIA under the Innovation Law:

Under the Innovation Law and the regulations thereunder, a recipient of IIA grants is required to return the grants by the payment of royalties of 3% to 6% on the revenues generated from the sale of products (and related services) developed (in whole or in part) under an IIA program up to the total amount of the grants received from the IIA and is linked to the U.S. dollar. Pursuant to the latest IIA regulations, grants received from the IIA before June 30, 2017, bear an annual interest rate that applied at the time of the approval of the applicable file and such interest will apply to all the funding received under that approval.  Grants received from the IIA after June 30, 2017, bear an annual interest rate based on the 12-month London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, until December 31, 2023, and as of January 1, 2024, bear an annual interest rate based on the 12-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or the SOFR, or in an alternative publication by the Bank of Israel, with the addition of 0.71513%. Grants approved after January 1, 2024, shall bear the higher of 12 months SOFR interest, plus 1% or a fixed annual interest rate of 4%.

We may sell the securities described in this prospectus from time to time in one or more of the following ways:

At any time at which a particular offer of the securities covered by this prospectus is made, a revised prospectus or prospectus supplement, if required, will be distributed, which will describe the type of securities and the aggregate number of securities covered by this prospectus being offered and the terms of the offering, including any public offering price, any securities exchange or market on which the ordinary shares may be listed, the purchase price and/or any public offering price, and the proceeds we will receive from the sale, the name or names of any underwriters, dealers, brokers or agents, any discounts, commissions, concessions and other items constituting compensation from us, including any options pursuant to which underwriters may purchase additional securities from us, and any discounts, commissions or concessions allowed or re-allowed or paid to dealers. Such prospectus supplement, and, if necessary, a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, will be filed with the SEC to reflect the disclosure of additional information with respect to the distribution of the securities covered by this prospectus. In order to comply with the securities laws of certain states, if applicable, the securities sold under this prospectus may only be sold through registered or licensed broker-dealers. In addition, in some states, the securities may not be sold unless they have been registered or qualified for sale in the applicable state, or an exemption from registration or qualification requirements is available and is complied with.

 

The distribution of securities may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions, including block transactions and transactions on the Nasdaq, TASE or any other organized market where the securities may be traded. The securities may be sold at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, or at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices relating to the prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. The consideration may be cash or another form negotiated by the parties. Agents, underwriters or broker-dealers may be paid compensation for offering and selling the securities. That compensation may be in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions to be received from us or from the purchasers of the securities. Any dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters, and compensation received by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts. If any such dealers or agents were deemed to be underwriters, they may be subject to statutory liabilities under the Securities Act.

If underwriters are used in a sale, securities 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, or under delayed delivery contracts or other contractual commitments. Securities may be offered to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more firms acting as underwriters. If an underwriter or underwriters are used in the sale of securities, an underwriting agreement will be executed with the underwriter or underwriters, with respect to a particular underwritten offering of securities, and will set forth the terms of the transactions, including compensation of the underwriters and dealers and the public offering price, if applicable. Subject to certain conditions, the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all the securities offered by the prospectus supplement. We may change from time to time the public offering price, if any, and any discounts or concession allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers. The prospectus and prospectus supplement and free writing prospectuses, if any, will be used by the underwriters to resell the securities. 

If a dealer is used in the sale of the securities, we or an underwriter will sell the securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale. To the extent required, we will set forth in the prospectus supplement the name of the dealer and the terms of the transactions. 

We may sell the securities directly or through agents we designate from time to time. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, any agent will be acting on a best efforts basis for the period of its appointment. Any agent selling the securities covered by this prospectus may be deemed to be an underwriter, as that term is defined in the Securities Act, of the securities.

 

We may directly solicit offers to purchase the securities and may make sales of securities directly to institutional investors or others. These persons may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any resale of the securities. To the extent required, the prospectus supplement will describe the terms of any such sales, including the terms of any bidding or auction process, if used.

We may also sell securities pursuant to an “equity line of credit”. In such event, we will enter into a purchase agreement for the sale of ordinary shares with the purchaser to be named therein, which will be described in a Report of Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K that we will file with the SEC. In that Report of Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K, we will describe securities that we may require the purchaser to purchase under the purchase agreement and the other terms of purchase, and any rights that the purchaser is granted to purchase securities from us. In addition to our issuance of ordinary shares to the equity line purchaser pursuant to the purchase agreement, this prospectus (and the applicable prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part) also covers the resale of those shares from time to time by the equity line purchaser to the public. The equity line purchaser will be considered an “underwriter” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act. Its resales may be effected through a number of methods, including without limitation, ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker solicits purchasers and block trades in which the broker or dealer so engaged will attempt to sell the shares as agent, but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction. The equity line purchaser will be bound by various anti-manipulation rules of the SEC and may not, for example, engage in any stabilization activity in connection with its resales of our securities and may not bid for or purchase any of our securities or attempt to induce any person to purchase any of our securities other than as permitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

 

Agents, underwriters and dealers may be entitled under agreements that may be entered into with us to indemnification by us against specified liabilities, including liabilities incurred under the Securities Act, or to contribution by us to payments they may be required to make in respect of such liabilities. If required, the prospectus supplement will describe the terms and conditions of the indemnification or contribution. Some of the agents, underwriters or dealers, or their affiliates, may be customers of, engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us or our subsidiaries.

Any person participating in the distribution of securities registered under the registration statement that includes this prospectus will be subject to applicable provisions of the Exchange Act, and the applicable SEC rules and regulations, including, among others, Regulation M, which may limit the timing of purchases and sales of any of our securities by that person. Furthermore, Regulation M may restrict the ability of any person engaged in the distribution of our securities to engage in market-making activities with respect to our securities. These restrictions may affect the marketability of our securities and the ability of any person or entity to engage in market-making activities with respect to our securities.

 

Certain persons participating in an offering may engage in over-allotment, stabilizing transactions, short-covering transactions, penalty bids and other transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the offered securities. These activities may maintain the price of the offered securities at levels above those that might otherwise prevail in the open market, including by entering stabilizing bids, effecting syndicate-covering transactions or imposing penalty bids, each of which is described below:

These transactions may be effected on an exchange or automated quotation system, if the securities are listed on that exchange or admitted for trading on that automated quotation system, or in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. If commenced, the underwriters may discontinue any of these activities at any time.

 

If so indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will authorize agents, underwriters or dealers to solicit offers from certain types of institutions to purchase offered securities from us at the public offering price set forth in such prospectus supplement, pursuant to delayed-delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. Such contracts will be subject only to those conditions set forth in the prospectus supplement, and the prospectus supplement will set forth the commission payable for solicitation of such contracts.

Any underwriters to whom offered securities are sold for public offering and sale may make a market in such offered securities, but such underwriters will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market-making at any time without notice. We cannot give any assurance as to liquidity of the trading market for our ordinary shares. We do not know at the current time whether the offered securities will be listed on the Nasdaq, the TASE and/or any other organized market.

  

Certain legal matters with respect to Israeli law and with respect to the validity of the offered securities under Israeli law will be passed upon for us by Meitar | Law Offices, Ramat Gan, Israel. Certain legal matters with respect to New York law and U.S. federal securities law will be passed upon for us by Sullivan & Worcester LLP, New York, New York. Additional legal matters may be passed upon for us or any underwriters, dealers or agents, by counsel that we will name in an applicable prospectus supplement.

 

Our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 and for each of the three years ended December 31, 2022, incorporated in this prospectus by reference to our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022, have been audited by Kost Forer Gabbay & Kasierer (a member of Ernst & Young Global), an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report, given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act that are applicable to a foreign private issuer. In accordance with the Exchange Act, we file reports, including annual reports on Form 20-F, with the SEC. We also furnish to the SEC under cover of Form 6-K material information required to be made public in Israel, filed with and made public by any stock exchange or distributed by us to our shareholders. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the rules under the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements to shareholders, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the “short-swing profits” reporting and liability provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act and related Exchange Act rules.

 

We file or furnish annual and current reports and other information with the SEC (File Number 001-36187). These filings and other submissions contain important information that does not appear in this prospectus. The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information in this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to other documents that we have filed or furnished, or will file or furnish, with or to the SEC and such information incorporated by reference is then considered to be part of this prospectus.

We incorporate by reference in this prospectus the documents listed below and all amendments or supplements to such documents that we may file or furnish to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act:

We furthermore incorporate by reference in this prospectus each of the following documents, which will be considered a part of this prospectus from the date of filing or furnishing of such documents:

Certain statements in and portions of this prospectus update and replace information in the above-listed, already-filed or furnished documents incorporated by reference. Likewise, statements in or portions of a future document listed above that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus may update and replace statements in and portions of this prospectus or the above-listed documents.

 

We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, without charge, upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the information that has been incorporated by reference in this prospectus, other than exhibits to such documents which are not specifically incorporated by reference into such documents. Please direct your written or telephone requests to our headquarters, which are currently located at 13 Gad Feinstein Street, Park Rehovot, Rehovot, 7638517, Attn: VP Legal Affairs & Company Secretary, telephone number: +972-8-9311-971. Copies of these filings and submissions may also be accessed at our website, https://www.evogene.com/. Information contained in our website is not part of this prospectus.

 

We are incorporated under the laws of the State of Israel. Service of process upon us and upon certain of our directors and officers and the Israeli experts named in this prospectus whom reside outside of the United States, may be difficult to obtain within the United States. Furthermore, because a significant portion of our assets and substantially all of our directors and officers are located outside of the United States, any judgment obtained in the United States against us or any of our directors and officers may be difficult to collect within the United States.

 

It may be difficult to assert U.S. securities law claims in original actions instituted in Israel. Israeli courts may refuse to hear a claim based on a violation of U.S. securities laws based on the reasoning that Israel is not the most appropriate forum to bring such a claim. In addition, even if an Israeli court agrees to hear a claim, it may determine that Israeli law and not U.S. law is applicable to the claim. If U.S. law is found to be applicable, the content of applicable U.S. law must be proved as a fact, which can be a time-consuming and costly process. Certain matters of procedure will also be governed by Israeli law.

Subject to specified time limitations and legal procedures, Israeli courts may enforce a United States judgment in a civil matter which, subject to certain exceptions, is non-appealable, including judgments based upon the civil liability provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and including a monetary or compensatory judgment in a non-civil matter, provided that:

We have irrevocably appointed Puglisi & Associates as our agent to receive service of process in any action against us in any United States federal or state court arising out of any offering, or any purchase or sale of securities in connection with any offering, under this prospectus.

 

If a foreign judgment is enforced by an Israeli court, it generally will be payable in Israeli currency, which can then be converted into non-Israeli currency and transferred out of Israel. Under existing Israeli law, a foreign judgment payable in foreign currency may be paid in Israeli currency at the rate of exchange in force on the date of the payment. Current Israeli exchange control regulations also permit a judgment debt or to make payment in foreign currency. Pending collection, the amount of the judgment of an Israeli court stated in Israeli currency ordinarily will be linked to the Israeli consumer price index, plus interest at the annual statutory rate set by Israeli regulations prevailing at the time. Judgment creditors must bear the risk of unfavorable exchange rates.

 

The following is a statement of expenses in connection with the distribution of the securities registered. All amounts shown are estimates, except the SEC registration fee. Each prospectus supplement describing an offering of securities will reflect the estimated expenses related to the offering of securities under that prospectus supplement.

 

Under the Israeli Companies Law 5759-1999, or the Companies Law, a company may not exculpate an office holder from liability for a breach of the duty of loyalty. An Israeli company may exculpate an office holder in advance from liability to the company, in whole or in part, for damages caused to the company as a result of a breach of duty of care but only if a provision authorizing such exculpation is included in its articles of association. Our articles of association include such a provision.

 

Under the Companies Law, a company may indemnify an office holder in respect of the following liabilities and expenses incurred for acts performed by him or her as an office holder, pursuant to an undertaking made either in advance of an event or following an event, provided its articles of association include a provision authorizing such indemnification (ours contain such a provision):

Under the Companies Law and the Israeli Securities Law 5728-1968, or the Israeli Securities Law, a company may insure an office holder against the following liabilities incurred for acts performed by him or her as an office holder if and to the extent provided in the company’s articles of association:

Under our articles of association, we may insure and indemnify an office holder against the aforementioned liabilities as well as the following liabilities:

Under the Companies Law, a company may not indemnify, exculpate or insure an office holder against any of the following:

Our articles of association permit us to exculpate, indemnify and insure our office holders to the fullest extent permitted or to be permitted by the Companies Law and the Israeli Securities Law.

Under the Companies Law, exculpation, indemnification and insurance for office holders in a public company must be approved by the compensation committee and the board of directors, and, with respect to certain office holders or under certain circumstances, also by the shareholders. We have obtained the foregoing approvals with respect to our office holders, and have entered into agreements with each of our office holders exculpating them to the fullest extent permitted by law and by our articles of association, and undertaking to indemnify them to the fullest extent permitted by law and our articles of association. This indemnification is limited to events determined as foreseeable by the board of directors based on our activities, and to an amount or according to criteria determined by the board of directors as reasonable under the circumstances.

 

(1)          The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(a)          To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

(b)          That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, 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.

(c)          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.

(d)          To file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to include any financial statements required by Item 8.A. of Form 20-F at the start of any delayed offering or throughout a continuous offering. Financial statements and information otherwise required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act need not be furnished, provided that the registrant includes in the prospectus, by means of a post-effective amendment, financial statements required pursuant to this paragraph (1)(d) and other information necessary to ensure that all other information in the prospectus is at least as current as the date of those financial statements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to registration statements on Form F-3, a post-effective amendment need not be filed to include financial statements and information required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act or Rule 3-19 of Regulation S-X if such financial statements and information are contained in periodic 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 that are incorporated by reference in this Form F-3.

(e)          That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

(f)          That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in an offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, each director and officer whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Ofer Haviv or Yaron Eldad, or either of these, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and re-substitution, to sign in any and all capacities any and all amendments or post-effective amendments to this registration statement on Form F-3, and to sign any and all additional registration statements relating to the same offering of securities of the Registration Statement that are filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act, and to file the same with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting such attorney-in-fact and agent full power and authority to do all such other acts and execute all such other documents as he may deem necessary or desirable in connection with the foregoing, as fully as the undersigned may or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that such attorney-in-fact and agent 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 and on the dates indicated.