UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) |
(Commission File No.) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
Michael L. Sapir
(
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
W. John McGuire
c/o Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
and
Richard F. Morris
c/o ProShare Capital Management LLC
7501 Wisconsin Avenue
Suite 1000E
Bethesda, MD 20814
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
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Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
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Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
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Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
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Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
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 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 8.01 | Other Events |
ProShare Capital Management LLC (the “Sponsor”) and ProShares Trust II (the “Trust”) are named as defendants in the following purported class action lawsuits filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on the following dates: (i) on January 29, 2019 and captioned Ford v. ProShares Trust II et al.; (ii) on February 27, 2019 and captioned Bittner v. ProShares Trust II, et al.; and (iii) on March 1, 2019 and captioned Mareno v. ProShares Trust II, et al. The allegations in the complaints are substantially the same, namely that the defendants violated Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 10(b) and 20(a) and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing untrue statements of material fact and omitting material facts in the prospectus for ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF, and allegedly failing to state other facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading. Certain Principals of the Sponsor and Officers of the Trust are also defendants in the actions, along with a number of others. The Court consolidated the three actions and appointed lead plaintiffs and lead counsel. On January 3, 2020, the Court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss the class consolidated action in its entirety and ordered the case closed. The plaintiffs may file a notice of appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in which case, the Trust and Sponsor will continue to vigorously defend against this lawsuit. The Trust and the Sponsor cannot predict the outcome of this action. ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF may incur expenses in defending against such claims.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Date: January 7, 2020
| ProShares Trust II | ||
| By: |
/s/ Todd B. Johnson | |
| Todd B. Johnson | ||
| Principal Executive Officer | ||