UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
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| Item 1.01 | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement |
On August 9, 2023, Merus N.V. (the “Company”) entered into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with Jefferies LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., Guggenheim Securities, LLC and William Blair & Company, L.L.C., as representatives of the several underwriters named therein (collectively, the “Underwriters”), in connection with the issuance and sale by the Company in a public offering of 6,818,182 common shares of the Company, nominal value €0.09 per share, at a public offering price of $22.00 per share, less underwriting discounts and commissions, pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 and accompanying prospectus (Registration No. 333-255903), which became effective upon filing on May 7, 2021, and a prospectus supplement thereunder. Under the terms of the Underwriting Agreement, the Company also granted the Underwriters an option exercisable for 30 days to purchase up to an additional 1,022,727 common shares at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. On August 10, 2023, the Underwriters exercised this option in full. The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about August 14, 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
The Company expects to receive net proceeds from the offering of approximately $140.8 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering, together with its existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, to advance the clinical development of its product candidates, for preclinical research and technology development and for working capital and general corporate purposes. The Company believes that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, together with the net proceeds from this offering, will fund its operations into 2027.
The Underwriting Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and agreements by the Company, customary conditions to closing, indemnification obligations of the Company and the Underwriters, including for liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, other obligations of the parties and termination provisions.
The foregoing description of the Underwriting Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Underwriting Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated by reference herein.
NautaDutilh N.V., Dutch counsel to the Company, has issued an opinion to the Company, dated August 11, 2023, regarding the validity of the common shares to be issued and sold in the offering. A copy of the opinion is filed as Exhibit 5.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Current Report are forward-looking statements, including without limitation, statements regarding the completion of the proposed offering, the anticipated net proceeds from the offering, our intended use of proceeds from the offering and the sufficiency of our cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and net proceeds from the offering to fund the Company’s operations. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words.
The forward-looking statements in this Current Report are only predictions and are based largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Current Report and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, including those discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2023, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on August 7, 2023, and our other reports filed with the SEC, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this Current Report. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this Current Report.
Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and some of which are beyond our control, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in such forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change, except as required under applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this Current Report.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits.
| Exhibit No. |
Exhibit Description | |
| 1.1 | Underwriting Agreement, dated as of August 9, 2023, between Merus N.V. and Jefferies LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., Guggenheim Securities, LLC and William Blair & Company, L.L.C., as representatives of the underwriters named therein. | |
| 5.1 | Opinion of NautaDutilh N.V. | |
| 23.1 | Consent of NautaDutilh N.V. (included in Exhibit 5.1). | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document). | |
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.
| MERUS N.V. | ||||||
| Date: August 11, 2023 | By: | /s/ Sven (Bill) Ante Lundberg | ||||
| Name: | Sven (Bill) Ante Lundberg, M.D. | |||||
| Title: | President and Chief Executive Officer | |||||