e424b3
This prospectus supplement relates to an effective registration statement under the Securities
Act of 1933, but is not complete and may be changed. This prospectus supplement is not an offer to
sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where
the offer or sale is not permitted.
Filed
Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
File No. 333-122068
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED MARCH 22, 2006
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT TO THE PROSPECTUS DATED APRIL 25, 2005
4,000,000 Shares
DIGITAL RIVER, INC.
Common Stock
This is a public offering of common stock of Digital River, Inc. All of
the shares of our common stock offered by this prospectus supplement are being offered by us.
Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol
DRIV. On March 22, 2006, the last reported sale price for our common stock,
as reported on the Nasdaq National Market, was $44.51 per share.
Investing in our common stock involves risks. See Risk Factors
beginning on page S-4 of this prospectus supplement.
The
underwriter has agreed to purchase the shares of common stock from us.
The underwriter may offer the shares of common stock from time to time
in one or more transactions on the Nasdaq National Market, in the
over-the-counter market or through negotiated transactions at market
prices or at negotiated prices.
It is expected that delivery of the shares of common stock will be made on or
about March 28, 2006.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities
commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the
adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus supplement. Any representation to the
contrary is a criminal offense.
Credit Suisse
The
date of this prospectus supplement is
March , 2006.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT |
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S-1 |
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S-3 |
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S-4 |
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S-18 |
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S-18 |
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S-19 |
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S-21 |
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S-23 |
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S-25 |
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S-25 |
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PROSPECTUS |
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Digital River is our registered trademark. All other trademarks or service marks appearing
in this prospectus supplement are the property of their respective owners.
You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this
prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not authorized any other person to
provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent
information, you should not rely on it. You should assume that the information appearing in this
prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as well as information that we have
previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and incorporated by reference, is
accurate only as of the date of the applicable document. The descriptions set forth in this
prospectus supplement replace and supplement, where inconsistent, the description of the general
terms and provisions set forth in the accompanying prospectus.
i
The distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus
and the offering of the common stock in certain jurisdictions may be restricted
by law. If you possess this prospectus supplement and the accompanying
prospectus, you should find out about and observe these restrictions. This
prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are not an offer to sell
the common stock and are not soliciting an offer to buy the common stock in any
jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted or where the person
making the offer or sale is not qualified to do so or to any person to whom it
is not permitted to make such offer or sale.
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY
We provide outsourced e-commerce solutions globally to a wide variety
of companies primarily in the software and high-tech products
markets. We were incorporated in 1994 and began building and
operating online stores for our clients in 1996. We offer our clients
a broad range of services that enable them to effectively build,
manage, and grow online sales on a global basis. We focus on helping
our clients mitigate risk and grow their revenues. Our services
include online store design, development and hosting, store
merchandising and optimization, order management, fraud prevention
screening, export controls and management, tax management, digital
product delivery via download, physical product fulfillment,
multi-lingual customer service, e-mail marketing, website
optimization, web analytics, and reporting.
Our products and services allow our clients to focus on promoting and
marketing their brands while leveraging the investments we have made
in technology and infrastructure that facilitate the purchase of
products from their online stores. When shoppers visit the store on
one of our clients websites, they are seamlessly transferred to our
e-commerce platform. Once on our platform, shoppers can browse for
products and make purchases online. After a purchase is made, we
either deliver the product digitally via download over the Internet
or transmit the order to a third party for physical fulfillment. We
also process the buyers payment, including collection and remittance
of applicable taxes, and provide customer service in multiple
languages to handle order-related questions.
In addition to the services we provide that facilitate the completion
of an online transaction, we also offer services designed to increase
traffic to our clients online stores and to improve the sales
effectiveness of those stores. Our services include paid search
advertising, search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, store
optimization, and e-mail optimization. All of our services are
designed to help our clients acquire customers more effectively, sell
to those customers more often and more efficiently, and increase the
lifetime value of each customer.
Our clients include many of the largest software and high-tech
products companies and major retailers of these products, including
Allume Systems, Inc., Autodesk, Inc., CompUSA, Inc., eBay, Inc.,
Hewlett Packard Company, Lexmark, Inc., McAfee, Inc., Microsoft
Corporation, OfficeMax Incorporated, Nuance Communications Inc.,
Symantec Corporation, and Trend Micro, Inc.
Recent Developments
Revenue
Guidance
On March 21, 2006, we announced updated guidance for our quarterly period ending March 31,
2006. We now expect revenues for the quarter to be approximately $77 million, compared to our
previous guidance of approximately $70 million of revenues for the same period.
S-1
Litigation
DDR Holdings, LLC has brought a claim against us and several other defendants alleging
infringement of United States Patents No. 6,629,135 and 6,993,572, which are owned by DDR Holdings.
These patents claim e-commerce outsourcing systems and methods relating to the provision of
outsourced e-commerce support pages having a common look and feel with a hosts website. The case
was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on January 31, 2006. The
complaint seeks injunctive relief, declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees. No substantive
actions have taken place as yet in this case. We are currently evaluating our position with respect
to these patents and have not yet answered the complaint. This matter is at a very early stage, and
we are unable to predict its outcome. We intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter.
The statements contained in this Recent Developments caption include forward-looking
statements regarding our anticipated future financial performance, our inability to predict the
outcome of litigation, and our intent to vigorously defend ourselves
in such litigation. These
statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause
our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the variability of
operating results; competition in the e-commerce market; challenges associated with international
expansion; the risks and uncertainties of patent litigation, including the risk that claims of
infringement of other parties intellectual property rights could require us to expend significant
resources, enter into unfavorable licenses or change business plans; and the risk
factors beginning on page S-4 of this prospectus supplement and the other risk factors referenced
in the our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005. In addition,
the forward-looking statement included herein regarding our
anticipated revenues for the first quarter of 2006 reflected our expectations as of March 20, 2006.
References in the prospectus
to Digital River, we, our or us
refer to Digital River, Inc., a Delaware corporation and its
subsidiaries. Our executive offices are located at 9625 West 76th
Street, Suite 150, Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55344. Our telephone
number is (952) 253-1234. Information contained on our Web site does
not constitute part of this prospectus.
S-2
THE OFFERING
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Common stock offered by us |
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4,000,000 shares |
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Common stock outstanding after this offering |
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39,473,578 |
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Use of proceeds
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Our net proceeds from the sale of the shares of common stock to
be offered by this prospectus supplement will be not less than approximately
$170 million, after deducting our estimated offering expenses. We currently
intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of common stock offered by this
prospectus supplement for general corporate purposes, including capital
expenditures and to meet working capital needs. We may also use a portion of
the net proceeds to acquire or invest in businesses, products and technologies
that are complementary to our own. |
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Nasdaq National Market symbol |
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DRIV |
The number of shares of common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering is based on
35,473,578 shares of common stock outstanding on March 21, 2006 and excludes:
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555,748 shares of common stock held by us as treasury shares; |
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4,401,843 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options outstanding as of
March 21, 2006, at a weighted average exercise price of $17.76 per share; |
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2,238,825 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity
incentive plans as of March 21, 2006; and |
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4,425,486 shares of common stock reserved for issuance upon conversion of our 1.25%
Convertible Senior Notes due 2024. |
S-3
RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider the following risk factors and other information included or
incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus before you
decide to buy our common stock.
We have a limited profitable operating history.
Our limited profitable operating history, which we first achieved in the quarter ended
September 30, 2002, makes it difficult to evaluate our ability to sustain profitability in the
future. The success of our business model depends upon our success in generating sufficient
transaction and service fees from the use of our e-commerce solutions by existing and future
clients. Accordingly, we must maintain our existing relationships and develop new relationships
with software publishers, online retailers and physical goods clients. To achieve this goal, we
intend to continue to expend significant financial and management resources on the development of
additional services, sales and marketing, improved technology and expanded operations. If we are
unable to maintain existing, and develop new, client relationships, we will not generate a
profitable return on our investments and we will be unable to gain meaningful market share to
justify those investments. Further, we may be unable to sustain profitability if our revenues
decrease or increase at a slower rate than expected, or if operating expenses exceed our
expectations and cannot be adjusted to compensate for lower than expected revenues.
A loss of any client that accounts for a large portion of our revenue would cause our revenue to
decline.
Sales of products for one software publisher client, Symantec Corporation, accounted for
approximately 29.7% of our revenue in 2005. In addition, in 2005, revenues derived from proprietary
Digital River services sold to Symantec end-users and dealer network sales of Symantec products
together amounted to approximately $31.8 million, or approximately 14.4% of total Digital River
revenue. In addition, a limited number of other software and physical goods clients contribute a
large portion of our annual revenue. Contracts with our clients are generally one or two years in
length. If any one of these key contracts is not renewed or otherwise terminates, or if revenues
from these clients decline for any other reason (such as competitive developments), our revenue
would decline and our ability to sustain profitability would be impaired. If our contract with
Symantec is not renewed or otherwise terminated, or if revenues from Symantec and Symantec-related
services decline for any other reason, our revenue and our ability to sustain profitability could
be materially adversely impaired. It is important to our ongoing success that we maintain our key
client relationships and, at the same time, develop new client relationships.
Failure to properly manage and sustain our expansion efforts could strain our management and other
resources.
Through acquisitions and organic growth, we are rapidly and significantly expanding our
operations, both domestically and internationally. We will continue to expand further to pursue
growth of our service offerings and customer base. This expansion increases the complexity of our
business and places a significant strain on our management, operations, technical performance,
financial resources, and internal financial control and reporting functions, and there can be no
assurance that we will be able to manage it effectively. Our personnel, systems, procedures and
controls may not be adequate to effectively manage our future operations, especially as we employ
personnel in multiple domestic and international locations. We may not be able to hire, train,
retain and manage the personnel required to address our growth. Failure to effectively manage our
growth opportunities could damage our reputation, limit our future growth, negatively affect our
operating results and harm our business.
S-4
We intend to continue to expand our international operations and these efforts may not be
successful in generating additional revenue.
We sell products and services to end-users outside the United States and we intend to continue
expanding our international presence. In 2005, our international revenues represented approximately
39% of our total revenues. Expansion into international markets, particularly the European and
Asia-Pacific regions, requires significant resources that we may fail to recover by generating
additional revenue. Conducting business outside of the United States is subject to risks,
including:
Changes in regulatory requirements and tariffs;
Uncertainty of application of local commercial, tax, privacy and other laws and
regulations;
Reduced protection of intellectual property rights;
Difficulties in physical distribution for international sales;
Higher incidences of credit card fraud and difficulties in accounts receivable
collection;
The burden and cost of complying with a variety of foreign laws;
The possibility of unionization of our workforce outside the United States,
particularly in Europe; and
Political or economic constraints on international trade or instability.
These risks have grown with the acquisitions of element 5 and SWReg, which have substantial
operations outside the U.S., and with our expansion into the Asia-Pacific region.
We may be unable to successfully and cost-effectively market, sell and distribute our services
in foreign markets. This may be more difficult or take longer than anticipated especially due to
international challenges, such as language barriers, currency exchange issues and the fact that the
Internet infrastructure in foreign countries may be less advanced than the U.S. Internet
infrastructure. If we are unable to successfully expand our international operations, or manage
this expansion, our operating results and financial condition could be harmed.
Our operating results are subject to fluctuations in demand for products and services offered by us
or our clients.
Our quarterly and annual operating results are subject to fluctuations in demand for the
products or services offered by us or our clients, such as anti-virus software and anti-spyware
software. In particular, sales of anti-virus software represented a significant portion of our
revenues in recent years, and continue to be very important to our business. Demand for anti-virus
software is subject to the unpredictable introduction of significant computer viruses. In February
2006, Microsoft Corporation announced plans to introduce products to protect businesses and
consumers from computer viruses and other security risks. To the extent that Microsoft or others
successfully introduce products or services not sold through our platform that are competitive with
products and services sold by current Digital River clients (including anti-virus products and
services), our revenues could be materially adversely affected.
S-5
New obligations to collect or pay transaction taxes could substantially increase the cost to us of
doing business.
Currently, we collect sales, use, value added tax (VAT) or other similar transaction taxes
with respect to electronic software download and physical delivery of products in tax jurisdictions
where we believe we have taxable presences. The application of transaction taxes to interstate and
international sales over the Internet is complex and evolving. We already are required to collect
and remit VAT in the European Union, for example. Local, state or international jurisdictions may
seek to impose transaction tax collection obligations on companies like ours that engage in
e-commerce, and they may seek to impose taxes retroactively on past transactions that we believed
were exempt from transaction tax liability. A successful assertion by one or more tax jurisdictions
that we should collect or were obligated to collect transaction taxes on the products we sell could
harm our results of operations.
We could be liable for fraudulent, improper or illegal uses of our platforms.
In recent years revenues from our remote control platforms have grown as a percentage of our
overall business, and we plan to continue to emphasize our self service e-commerce solutions. These
platforms typically have an automated structure that allows customers to use our e-commerce
services without significant participation from Digital River personnel. Despite our efforts to
detect and contractually prohibit the sale of inappropriate and illegal goods and services, the
remote control nature of these platforms makes it more likely that transactions involving the sale
of unlawful goods or services or the violation of the proprietary rights of others may occur before
we become aware of them. Furthermore, unscrupulous individuals may offer illegal products for sale
via such platforms under innocuous names, further frustrating attempts to prevent inappropriate use
of our services. Failure to detect inappropriate or illegal uses of our platforms by third parties
could expose us to a number of risks, including fines, increased fees or termination of services by
payment processors or credit card associations, risks of lawsuits, and civil and criminal
penalties.
Loss of our credit card acceptance privileges would seriously hamper our ability to process the
sale of merchandise.
The payment by end-users for the purchase of digital goods that we process is typically made
by credit card or similar payment method. As a result, we must rely on banks or payment processors
to process transactions, and must pay a fee for this service. From time to time, credit card
associations may increase the interchange fees that they charge for each transaction using one of
their cards. Any such increased fees will increase our operating costs and reduce our profit
margins. We also are required by our processors to comply with credit card association operating
rules, and we have agreed to reimburse our processors for any fines they are assessed by credit
card associations as a result of processing payments for us. The credit card associations and their
member banks set and interpret the credit card rules. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or
Discover could adopt new operating rules or re-interpret existing rules that we or our processors
might find difficult to follow. We have had payment processing agreements with certain of our
payment processors terminated due to violations of their rules, and although we have been able to
successfully migrate to new processors, such migrations require significant attention from our
personnel, and often result in higher fees and customer dissatisfaction. Any disputes or problems
associated with our payment processors could impair our ability to give customers the option of
using credit cards to fund their payments. If we were unable to accept credit cards, our business
would be seriously damaged. We also could be subject to fines or increased fees from MasterCard and
Visa if we fail to detect that merchants are engaging in activities that are illegal or activities
that are considered high risk, primarily the sale of certain types of digital content. We may be
required to expend significant capital and other resources to monitor these activities.
S-6
Our failure to attract and retain software and digital products publishers, manufacturers, online
retailers and online channel partners as clients would cause our revenue and operating profits to
decline.
We generate revenue by providing outsourced services to a wide variety of companies, primarily
in the software and high-tech products markets. If we cannot develop and maintain satisfactory
relationships with software and digital products publishers, manufacturers, online retailers and
online channel partners on acceptable commercial terms, we will likely experience a decline in
revenue and operating profit. We also depend on our software and digital publisher clients creating
and supporting software and digital products that end-users will purchase. If we are unable to
obtain sufficient quantities of software and digital products for any reason, or if the quality of
service provided by these software and digital products publishers falls below a satisfactory
level, we could also experience a decline in revenue, operating profit and end-user satisfaction,
and our reputation could be harmed. Our contracts with our software and digital products publisher
clients are generally one to two years in duration, with an automatic renewal provision for
additional one-year periods, unless we are provided with a written notice at least 90 days before
the end of the contract. As is common in our industry, we have no material long-term or exclusive
contracts or arrangements with any software or digital products publishers that guarantee the
availability of software or digital products. Software and digital products publishers that
currently supply software or digital products to us may not continue to do so and we may be unable
to establish new relationships with software or digital product publishers to supplement or replace
existing relationships.
Implementing our acquisition strategy could result in dilution and operating difficulties leading
to a decline in revenue and operating profit.
We have acquired, and intend to continue engaging in strategic acquisitions of businesses,
technologies, services and products. For example, in April 2004, we acquired element 5, and in
December 2005, we acquired Commerce5, each a provider of outsourced e-commerce solutions. The
process of integrating an acquired business, technology, service or product into our business and
operations may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures. Integration of an
acquired business also may disrupt our ongoing business, distract management and make it difficult
to maintain standards, controls and procedures. Moreover, the anticipated benefits of any
acquisition may not be realized. If a significant number of clients of the acquired businesses
cease doing business with us, we would experience lost revenue and operating profit, and any
synergies from the acquisition may be lost. Future acquisitions could result in potentially
dilutive issuances of equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities,
amortization of intangible assets or impairment of goodwill.
We may need to raise additional capital to achieve our business objectives, which could result in
dilution to existing investors or increase our debt obligations.
We require substantial working capital to fund our business. In
addition to the equity or debt securities that will remain available for issuance and sale by us
after this offering under the registration statement to which this prospectus supplement relates,
we have filed an acquisition shelf registration statement for up to approximately 1.5 million
shares. In February 2006, we also filed a shelf registration that would allow us to sell an
undetermined amount of equity or debt securities in accordance with the recently approved rules
applying to well-known seasoned issuers. If additional funds are raised through the issuance of
equity securities, the percentage ownership of our stockholders will be reduced and these equity
securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of our common stock. In June
2004, we issued 1.25% convertible notes which require us to make interest payments and will require
us to pay principal when the notes become due in 2024 or in the event of acceleration under certain
circumstances, unless the notes are converted into our common stock prior to that. We may not have
sufficient capital to service this or any future debt securities that we may issue, and the
conversion of the notes into our common stock may result in further dilution to our stockholders.
Our capital requirements depend on several factors, including the rate of market acceptance of our
products, the ability to expand our client base, the growth of sales and marketing, and
opportunities for acquisitions of other businesses. We have had significant operating losses and
negative cash flow from operations since inception. Additional financing
S-7
may not be available when needed, on terms favorable to us or at all. If adequate funds are not
available or are not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to develop or enhance our
services, take advantage of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures, which would
harm our operating results and adversely affect our ability to sustain profitability.
Our operating results have fluctuated in the past and are likely to continue to do so, which could
cause the price of our common stock to be volatile.
Our quarterly and annual operating results have fluctuated significantly in the past and are
likely to continue to do so in the future due to a variety of factors, some of which are outside
our control. As a result, we believe that quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year comparisons of our
revenue and operating results are not necessarily meaningful, and that these comparisons may not be
accurate indicators of future performance. If our annual or quarterly operating results fail to
meet the guidance we provide to securities analysts and investors or otherwise fail to meet their
expectations, the trading price of our common stock will likely decline. Some of the factors that
have or may contribute to fluctuations in our quarterly and annual operating results include:
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The addition of new clients or loss of current clients; |
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The introduction by us of new websites, web stores or services that may require a
substantial investment of our resources; |
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The introduction by others of competitive websites, web stores or services or products; |
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Our ability to continue to upgrade and develop our systems and infrastructure to meet
emerging market needs and remain competitive in our service offerings; |
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Economic conditions, particularly those affecting e-commerce; |
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Client decisions to delay new product launches or to invest in e-commerce initiatives; |
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The performance of our newly acquired assets or companies; |
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Slower than anticipated growth of the online market as a vehicle for the purchase of
software products; |
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The cost of compliance with U.S. and foreign regulations relating to our business; and |
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Our ability to retain and attract personnel commensurate with our business needs. |
In addition, revenue generated by our software and digital commerce services is likely to
fluctuate on a seasonal basis that is typical for the software publishing market in general. We
believe that our first and fourth quarters are generally seasonally stronger than our second and
third quarters due to the timing of new product introductions, which generally do not occur in the
summer months, the holiday selling period, and the post-holiday retail season.
Our operating expenses are based on our expectations of future revenue. These expenses are
relatively fixed in the short-term. If our revenue for a quarter falls below our expectations and
we are unable to quickly reduce spending in response, our operating results for that quarter would
be harmed. In addition, the operating results of companies in the electronic commerce industry
have, in the past, experienced significant quarter-to-quarter fluctuations that may adversely
affect our stock price.
S-8
Security breaches could hinder our ability to securely transmit confidential information.
A significant barrier to e-commerce and communications is the secure transmission of
confidential information over public networks. Any compromise or elimination of our security could
be costly to remedy, damage our reputation and expose us to liability, and dissuade existing and
new clients from using our services. We rely on encryption and authentication technology licensed
from third parties to provide the security and authentication necessary for secure transmission of
confidential information, such as end-user credit card numbers. A party who circumvents our
security measures could misappropriate proprietary information or interrupt our operations.
We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect against
security breaches or address problems caused by breaches. Concerns over the security of the
Internet and other online transactions and the privacy of users could deter people from using the
Internet to conduct transactions that involve transmitting confidential information, thereby
inhibiting the growth of our business. To the extent that our activities or those of third-party
contractors involve the storage and transmission of proprietary information, such as credit card
numbers, security breaches could damage our reputation and expose us to a risk of loss, fines or
litigation and possible liability. Our security measures may not prevent security breaches, and
failure to prevent security breaches could lead to a loss of existing clients and also deter
potential clients away from our services.
Claims of infringement of other parties intellectual property rights could require us to expend
significant resources, enter into unfavorable licenses or require us to change our business plans.
From time-to-time we are named as a defendant in lawsuits claiming that we have, in some way,
violated the intellectual property rights of others. Any assertions or prosecutions of claims like
these, could require us to expend significant financial and managerial resources. The defense of
any claims, with or without merit, could be time-consuming, result in costly litigation and
diversion of technical and management personnel, cause product enhancement delays or require that
we develop non-infringing technology or enter into royalty or licensing agreements. Royalty or
licensing agreements, if required, may be unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. In the
event of a successful claim of infringement against us and our failure or inability to develop
non-infringing technology or license the infringed or similar technology on a timely basis, we may
be unable to pursue our current business plan. We expect that we will increasingly be subject to
patent infringement claims as our services expand in scope and complexity, and our results of
operation and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
Claims against us related to the software products that we deliver electronically and the tangible
goods that we deliver physically could require us to expend significant resources.
We may become more vulnerable to third party claims as laws such as the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act, the Lanham Act and the Communications Decency Act are interpreted by the courts.
Claims may be made against us for negligence, copyright or trademark infringement, products
liability or other theories based on the nature and content of software products or tangible goods
that we deliver electronically and physically. Because we did not create these products, we are
generally not in a position to know the quality or nature of the content of these products.
Although we carry general liability insurance and require that our customers indemnify us against
end-user claims, our insurance and indemnification measures may not cover potential claims of this
type, may not adequately cover all costs incurred in defense of potential claims, or may not
reimburse us for all liability that may be imposed. Any costs or imposition of liability that are
not covered by insurance or indemnification measures could be expensive and time-consuming to
address, distract management and delay product deliveries, even if we are ultimately successful in
the defense of these claims.
S-9
The growth of the market for our services depends on the development and maintenance of the
Internet infrastructure.
Our business is based on highly reliable Internet delivery of services. The success of our
business therefore depends on the development and maintenance of a sound Internet infrastructure.
This includes maintenance of a reliable network backbone with the necessary speed, data capacity
and security, as well as timely development of complementary products, such as routers, for
providing reliable Internet access and services. Our ability to increase the speed and scope of our
services is limited by, and depends upon, the speed and reliability of both the Internet and our
clients internal networks. Consequently, as Internet usage increases, the growth of the market for
our services depends upon improvements made to the Internet as well as to individual clients
networking infrastructures to alleviate overloading and congestion. In addition, any delays in the
adoption of new standards and protocols required to govern increased levels of Internet activity or
increased governmental regulation may have a detrimental effect on the Internet infrastructure.
Because the e-commerce industry is highly competitive and has low barriers to entry, we may be
unable to compete effectively.
The market for e-commerce solutions is extremely competitive and we may find ourselves unable
to compete effectively. Because there are relatively low barriers to entry in the e-commerce
market, we expect continued intense competition as current competitors expand their product
offerings and new competitors enter the market. In addition, our clients may become competitors in
the future. Increased competition is likely to result in price reductions, reduced margins, longer
sales cycles and a decrease or loss of our market share, any of which could negatively impact our
revenue and earnings. We face competition from the following sources:
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In-house development of e-commerce capabilities using tools or applications from
companies, such as Art Technology Group, Inc. and IBM Corporation; |
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E-Commerce capabilities custom-developed by companies, such as IBM Global Services and
Accenture, Inc.; |
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Other providers of outsourced e-commerce solutions, such as GSI Commerce, Inc.,
Macrovision Corporation, asknet Inc. and eSellerate, Inc.; |
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Companies that provide technologies, services or products that support a portion of the
e-commerce process, such as payment processing, including CyberSource Corporation and
PayPal Corp.; |
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Companies that offer various online marketing services, technologies and products,
including ValueClick, Inc. and aQuantive, Inc.; |
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High-traffic, branded websites that generate a substantial portion of their revenue
from e-commerce and may offer or provide to others the means to offer their products for
sale, such as Amazon.com, Inc.; and |
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Web hosting, web services and infrastructure companies that offer portions of our
solution and are seeking to expand the range of their offering, such as Network Solutions,
LLC, Akamai Technologies, Inc., Yahoo! Inc., eBay Inc. and Hostopia.com Inc. |
We believe that the principal competitive factors in our market are the breadth of products
and services offered, the number of clients and online channel partnerships, brand recognition,
system reliability and scalability, price, customer service, ease of use, speed to market,
convenience and quality of delivery. The online channel partners and the other companies described
above may compete directly with us by adopting a similar business model. Moreover, while some of
these companies also are clients or potential clients of ours, they may compete
S-10
with our e-commerce outsourcing solution to the extent that they develop e-commerce systems or
acquire such systems from other software vendors or service providers.
Many of our competitors have, and new potential competitors may have, more experience
developing Internet-based software and e-commerce solutions, larger technical staffs, larger
customer bases, more established distribution channels and customer relationships, greater brand
recognition and greater financial, marketing and other resources than we have. In addition,
competitors may be able to develop services that are superior to our services, achieve greater
customer acceptance or have significantly improved functionality as compared to our existing and
future products and services. Our competitors may be able to respond more quickly to technological
developments and changes in customers needs. Our inability to compete successfully against current
and future competitors could cause our revenue and earnings to decline.
Changes in government regulation could limit our Internet activities or result in additional costs
of doing business over the Internet.
We are subject to the same international, federal, state and local laws as other companies
conducting business over the Internet. Today, there are relatively few laws specifically directed
towards conducting business over the Internet. The adoption or modification of laws related to the
Internet could harm our business, operating results and financial condition by increasing our costs
and administrative burdens. Due to the increasing popularity and use of the Internet, many laws and
regulations relating to the Internet are being debated at the international, federal and state
levels. These laws and regulations could cover issues such as:
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User privacy with respect to adults and minors; |
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Our ability to collect and/or share necessary information that allows us to conduct
business on the Internet; |
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Export compliance; |
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Pricing and taxation; |
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Fraud; |
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Advertising; |
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Intellectual property rights; |
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Information security; and |
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Quality of products and services. |
Applicability to the Internet of existing laws governing issues, such as property ownership,
copyrights and other intellectual property issues, taxation, libel, obscenity and personal privacy
also could harm our operating results and substantially increase the cost to us of doing business.
For example, numerous state legislatures have proposed that tax rules for Internet retailing and
catalog sales correspond to enacted tax rules for sales from physical stores. Any requirement that
we collect sales tax for each online purchase and remit the tax to the appropriate state authority
would be a significant administrative burden to us, and would likely depress online sales. This and
any other change in laws applicable to the Internet also might require significant management
resources to respond appropriately. The vast majority of these laws were adopted prior to the
advent of the Internet, and do not contemplate or address the unique issues raised thereby. Those
laws that do reference the Internet, such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, are only beginning to be interpreted by the
courts, and their applicability and reach are therefore
uncertain.
S-11
Failure to develop our technology to accommodate increased traffic could reduce demand for our
services and impair the growth of our business.
We periodically enhance and expand our technology and transaction-processing systems, network
infrastructure and other technologies to accommodate increases in the volume of traffic on our
technology platforms. Any inability to add software and hardware or to develop and upgrade existing
technology, transaction-processing systems or network infrastructure to manage increased traffic on
this platform may cause unanticipated systems disruptions, slower response times and degradation in
client services, including impaired quality and speed of order fulfillment. Failure to manage
increased traffic could harm our reputation and significantly reduce demand for our services, which
would impair the growth of our business. We may be unable to improve and increase the capacity of
our network infrastructure sufficiently or anticipate and react to expected increases in the use of
the platform to handle increased volume. Further, additional network capacity may not be available
from third-party suppliers when we need it. Our network and our suppliers networks may be unable
to maintain an acceptable data transmission capability, especially if demands on the platform
increase.
To remain competitive, we must continue to enhance and improve the responsiveness,
functionality and features of our e-commerce platforms and the underlying network infrastructure.
If we incur significant costs without adequate results, or are unable to adapt rapidly to
technological changes, we may fail to achieve our business plan. The Internet and the e-commerce
industry are characterized by rapid technological changes, changes in user and client requirements
and preferences, frequent new product and service introductions embodying new technologies and the
emergence of new industry standards and practices that could render our technology and systems
obsolete. To be successful, we must adapt to rapid technological changes by licensing and
internally developing leading technologies to enhance our existing services, developing new
products, services and technologies that address the increasingly sophisticated and varied needs of
our clients, and responding to technological advances and emerging industry standards and practices
on a cost-effective and timely basis. The development of our proprietary technologies involves
significant technical and business risks. We may fail to use new technologies effectively or fail
to adapt our proprietary technology and systems to client requirements or emerging industry
standards.
System failures could reduce the attractiveness of our service offerings.
We provide commerce, marketing and delivery services to our clients and end-users through our
proprietary technology transaction processing and client management systems. These systems also
maintain an electronic inventory of products and gather consumer marketing information. The
satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of the technology and the underlying network
infrastructure are critical to our operations, level of client service, reputation and ability to
attract and retain clients. We have experienced periodic interruptions, affecting all or a portion
of our systems, which we believe will continue to occur from time-to-time. Any systems damage or
interruption that impairs our ability to accept and fill client orders could result in an immediate
loss of revenue to us, and could cause some clients to purchase services offered by our
competitors. In addition, frequent systems failures could harm our reputation.
Although we maintain system redundancies in multiple physical locations, our systems and
operations are vulnerable to damage or interruption from:
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Fire, flood and other natural disasters; |
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Operator negligence, improper operation by, or supervision of, employees, physical and
electronic break-ins, misappropriation, computer viruses and similar events; and |
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Power loss, computer systems failures, and Internet and telecommunications failure. |
We do not carry sufficient business interruption insurance to fully compensate us for losses
that may occur.
We may become liable to clients who are dissatisfied with our services.
We design, develop, implement and manage e-commerce solutions that are crucial to the
operation of our clients businesses. Defects in the solutions we develop could result in delayed
or lost revenue, adverse end-user reaction, and/or negative publicity, which could require
expensive corrections. As a result, clients who experience these adverse consequences either
directly or indirectly by using our services could bring claims against us for substantial damages.
Any claims asserted could exceed the level of any insurance coverage that may be available to us.
The successful assertion of one or more large claims that are uninsured, that exceed insurance
coverage or that result in changes to insurance policies, including future premium increases that
could adversely affect our operating results or financial condition.
We depend on key personnel.
Our future success significantly depends on the continued services and performance of our
senior management. Our performance also depends on our ability to retain and motivate our key
technical employees who are skilled in maintaining our proprietary technology platforms. The loss
of the services of any of our executive officers or key employees could harm our business if we are
unable to effectively replace that officer or employee, or if that person should decide to join a
competitor or otherwise directly or indirectly compete with us. Further, we may need to incur
additional operating expenses and divert other management time in order to search for a
replacement.
Our future success depends on our ability to continue to identify, attract, hire, train,
retain and motivate highly skilled personnel. Competition for these personnel is intense,
particularly in the Internet industry. We may be unable to successfully attract, assimilate or
retain sufficiently qualified personnel. In making employment decisions, particularly in the
Internet and high-technology industries, job candidates often consider the value of stock option
grants they are to receive in connection with their employment. Fluctuations in our stock price may
make it more difficult to retain and motivate employees. Consequently, potential employees may
perceive our equity incentives as less attractive and current employees whose equity incentives are
no longer attractively priced may choose not to remain with our organization. In that case, our
ability to attract employees will be adversely affected. As a result, our ability to use stock
options as equity incentives will be adversely affected, which will make it more difficult to
compete for and attract qualified personnel. Finally, should our stock price substantially decline,
the retention value of stock options may weaken and employees who hold such options may choose not
to remain with our organization.
Protecting our intellectual property is critical to our success.
We regard the protection of our trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and other intellectual
property as critical to our success. We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark,
service mark and trade secret laws and contractual restrictions to protect our proprietary rights.
We have entered into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and
contractors, and nondisclosure agreements with parties with whom we conduct business, in order to
limit access to and disclosure of our proprietary information. These contractual arrangements and
the other steps taken by us to protect our intellectual property may not prevent misappropriation
of our technology or deter independent third-party development of similar technologies. We also
seek to protect our proprietary position by filing U.S. patent applications related to our
proprietary technology, inventions and improvements that are important to the development of our
business. Proprietary rights relating to our technologies will be protected from
S-13
unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent they are covered by valid and enforceable
patents or are effectively maintained as trade secrets. We pursue the registration of our
trademarks and service marks in the U.S. and internationally. Effective trademark, service mark,
copyright and trade secret protection may not be available in every country in which our services
are made available online.
The steps we have taken to protect our proprietary rights may be inadequate and third parties
may infringe or misappropriate our trade secrets, trademarks and similar proprietary rights. Any
significant failure on our part to protect our intellectual property could make it easier for our
competitors to offer similar services and thereby adversely affect our market opportunities. In
addition, litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights, to
protect our trade secrets or to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of
others. Litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of management and technical
resources.
Our clients sales cycles are lengthy, which may cause us to incur substantial expenses and expend
management time without generating corresponding consumer revenue, which would impair our cash
flow.
We market our services directly to software publishers, online retailers and other prospective
customers outside of the software industry. These relationships are typically complex and take time
to finalize. Due to operating procedures in many organizations, a significant amount of time may
pass between selection of our products and services by key decision-makers and the signing of a
contract. The period between the initial client sales call and the signing of a contract with
significant sales potential is difficult to predict and typically ranges from six to twelve months.
If at the end of a sales effort a prospective client does not purchase our products or services, we
may have incurred substantial expenses and expended management time that cannot be recovered and
that will not generate corresponding revenue. As a result, our cash flow and our ability to fund
expenditures incurred during the sales cycle may be impaired.
The listing of our network addresses on anti-SPAM lists could harm our ability to service our
clients and deliver goods over the Internet.
Certain privacy and anti-email proponents have engaged in a practice of gathering, and
publicly listing, network addresses that they believe have been involved in sending unwanted,
unsolicited emails commonly known as SPAM. In response to user complaints about SPAM, Internet
service providers have from time-to-time blocked such network addresses from sending emails to
their users. If our network addresses mistakenly end up on these SPAM lists, our ability to provide
services for our clients and consummate the sales of digital and physical goods over the Internet
could be harmed.
We are subject to regulations relating to consumer privacy.
We collect and maintain end-user data for our clients, which subjects us to increasing
international, federal and state regulations related to online privacy and the use of personal user
information. Congress has enacted anti-SPAM legislation with which we must comply when providing
email campaigns for our clients. Legislation and regulations are pending in various domestic and
international governmental bodies that address online privacy protections. Several governments have
proposed, and some have enacted, legislation that would limit the use of personal user information
or require online services to establish privacy policies. In addition, the U.S. Federal Trade
Commission, or FTC, has urged Congress to adopt legislation regarding the collection and use of
personal identifying information obtained from individuals when accessing websites. In the past,
the emphasis has been on information obtained from minors. Focus has now shifted to include online
privacy protection for minors and adults.
S-14
Even in the absence of laws requiring companies to establish these procedures, the FTC has
settled several proceedings resulting in consent decrees in which Internet companies have been
required to establish programs regarding the manner in which personal information is collected from
users and provided to third parties. We could become a party to a similar enforcement proceeding.
These regulatory and enforcement efforts could limit our collection of and/or ability to share with
our clients demographic and personal information from end-users, which could adversely affect our
ability to comprehensively serve our clients.
The European Union has adopted a privacy directive that regulates the collection and use of
information that identifies an individual person. These regulations may inhibit or prohibit the
collection and sharing of personal information in ways that could harm our clients or us. The
globalization of Internet commerce may be harmed by these and similar regulations because the
European Union privacy directive prohibits transmission of personal information outside the
European Union. The United States and the European Union have negotiated an agreement providing a
safe harbor for those companies who agree to comply with the principles set forth by the U.S.
Department of Commerce and agreed to by the European Union. Failure to comply with these principles
may result in fines, private lawsuits and enforcement actions. These enforcement actions can
include interruption or shutdown of operations relating to the collection and sharing of
information pertaining to citizens of the European Union.
Compliance with future laws imposed on e-commerce may substantially increase our costs of doing
business or otherwise adversely affect our ability to offer our services.
Because our services are accessible worldwide, and we facilitate sales of products to
end-users worldwide, international jurisdictions may claim that we are required to comply with
their laws. Laws regulating Internet companies outside of the United States may be less favorable
than those in the United States, giving greater rights to consumers, content owners and users.
Compliance may be more costly or may require us to change our business practices or restrict our
service offerings relative to those provided in the United States. Any failure to comply with
foreign laws could subject us to penalties ranging from fines to bans on our ability to offer our
services.
As our services are available over the Internet in multiple states and foreign countries,
these jurisdictions may claim that we are required to qualify to do business as a foreign
corporation in each state or foreign country. We and/or our subsidiaries are qualified to do
business only in certain states. Failure to qualify as a foreign corporation in a required
jurisdiction could subject us to taxes and penalties and could result in our inability to enforce
contracts in these jurisdictions.
In addition, we are subject to United States laws governing the conduct of business with other
countries, such as export control laws, which prohibit or restrict the export of goods, services
and technology to designated countries, denied persons or denied entities from the United States.
Violation of these laws could result in fines or other actions by regulatory agencies and result in
increased costs of doing business and reduced profits. In addition, any significant changes in
these laws, particularly an expansion in export control laws, will increase our costs of compliance
and may further restrict our overseas client base.
We are exposed to foreign currency exchange risk.
Net revenues outside the United States accounted for approximately 39% of our net revenues in
2005. The results of operations of, and certain of our intercompany balances associated with, our
internationally-focused websites are exposed to foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Upon
translation, net sales and other operating results from our international operations may differ
materially from expectations, and we may record significant gains or losses on the remeasurement of
intercompany balances. If the U.S. dollar weakens against foreign currencies, the translation of
these foreign-currency-denominated transactions will result in increased net revenues and operating
expenses. Similarly, our net revenues and operating expenses will decrease if the U.S. dollar
strengthens against foreign currencies. As we have expanded our international operations, our
exposure to exchange rate fluctuations has become more
S-15
pronounced. We do not currently have a currency hedging program to mitigate the effect of
fluctuations of currency prices on our financial results. See Item 7A of Part II of our Annual
Report on Form 10-K (and incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement), for
information demonstrating the effect on our consolidated statements of operations from changes in
exchange rates versus the U.S. dollar.
Developments in accounting standards may cause us to increase our recorded expenses, which in turn
would jeopardize our ability to demonstrate sustained profitability.
In January 2002, we adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 142, Goodwill and
Other Intangible Assets (SFAS No. 142). The statement generally establishes that goodwill and
intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized, but are to be tested on an annual basis
for impairment and, if impaired, are recorded as an impairment charge in income from operations. As
of December 31, 2005, we had goodwill with an indefinite life of $195.3 million from our
acquisitions. If our goodwill is determined for any reason to be impaired, the subsequent
accounting of the impaired portion as an expense would lower our earnings and jeopardize our
ability to demonstrate sustained profitability.
In 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board adopted a proposal to require that the fair
value of stock options and other share-based payments be reflected as an expense item in the
financial statements of public companies for annual periods beginning after June 15, 2005. As a
result of the adoption of this proposal, our recorded non-cash expenses will significantly increase
in 2006, which could impair our ability to maintain profitability.
Compliance with changing regulation of corporate governance and public disclosure may result in
additional expenses.
Keeping abreast of, and in compliance with, changing laws, regulations and standards relating
to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, new SEC
regulations and the NASDAQ Stock Market rules, have required an increased amount of management
attention and external resources. We intend to invest all reasonably necessary resources to comply
with evolving corporate governance and public disclosure standards, and this investment may result
in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention
from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
Internet-related stock prices are especially volatile and this volatility may depress our stock
price or cause it to fluctuate significantly.
The stock market, and the trading prices of Internet-related companies in particular, have
been notably volatile. This volatility is likely to continue in the short-term and is not
necessarily related to the operating performance of affected companies. This broad market and
industry volatility could significantly reduce the price of our common stock at any time, without
regard to our operating performance. Factors that could cause our stock price in particular to
fluctuate include, but are not limited to:
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Actual or anticipated variations in quarterly operating results; |
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Announcements of technological innovations; |
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The ability to sign new clients and the retention of existing clients; |
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New products or services that we offer; |
S-16
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Competitive developments, including new products or services, or new
relationships by our competitors; |
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Changes that affect our clients or the viability of their product lines; |
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Changes in financial estimates by securities analysts; |
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Conditions or trends in the Internet and online commerce industries; |
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Global unrest and terrorist activities; |
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Changes in the economic performance and/or market valuations of other Internet or
online e-commerce companies; |
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Required changes in generally accepted accounting principles and disclosures; |
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Our announcement of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint
ventures or capital commitments or results of operations or other developments
related to those acquisitions; |
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Additions or departures of key personnel; and |
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Sales or other transactions involving our common stock or our convertible notes. |
In addition, our stock price may be impacted by the short sales and actions of other parties
who may disseminate misleading information about us in an effort to profit from fluctuations in our
stock price.
Provisions of our charter documents, other agreements and Delaware law may inhibit potential
acquisition bids for us.
Certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, bylaws, other
agreements and Delaware law could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if a
change in control would be beneficial to our stockholders.
S-17
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
In addition to the historical information contained in this prospectus supplement and the
accompanying prospectus, this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements may be identified by the use
of words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans and similar expressions. These
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our
actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from
any future results, performance or achievements, or industry results, expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. The sections entitled Risk
Factors beginning on page S-4 of this
prospectus supplement, and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of Operations and Business in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2005 contain a discussion of some of the factors that could contribute to those differences.
USE OF PROCEEDS
Our net proceeds from the sale of the shares of common stock to be offered by this prospectus
supplement will be not less than approximately $170 million, after deducting our estimated
offering expenses.
We currently intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of common stock offered by this
prospectus supplement for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures and to meet
working capital needs. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire or invest in
businesses, products and technologies that are complementary to our own. Pending such uses, we may
invest the net proceeds in interest-bearing securities.
S-18
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
Our authorized capital stock consists of 60,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01
per share, and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01
per share. As of March 21, 2006, there were 35,473,578 shares of
our common stock issued and outstanding, and no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding. The number of shares of common stock outstanding as of March 21, 2006 excludes:
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555,748 shares of common stock held by us as treasury shares; |
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4,401,843 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options outstanding as of
March 21, 2006, at a weighted average exercise price of $17.76 per share; |
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2,238,825 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity
incentive plans as of March 21, 2006; and |
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4,425,486 shares of common stock reserved for issuance upon conversion of our 1.25%
Convertible Senior Notes due 2024. |
Common Stock
The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all
matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders. Subject to preferences that may be applicable to
any outstanding shares of preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive
ratably any dividends declared by the board of directors out of legally available funds. In the
event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company, holders of the common stock are
entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities and the liquidation
preferences of any outstanding shares of preferred stock. Holders of common stock have no
preemptive rights and no right to convert their common stock into any other securities. There are
no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. All of our outstanding
shares of common stock are, and all of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus as
well as all of the shares of our common stock issuable upon the conversion of our outstanding
convertible notes and upon the conversion of any preferred stock or debt securities offered
pursuant to this prospectus, when issued and paid for, will be, fully paid and non-assessable.
Preferred Stock
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has
the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of
preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the designations, powers, preferences, privileges
and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or
restrictions thereof, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of
redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of the
common stock.
The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of our
common stock, and the likelihood that holders of preferred stock will receive dividend payments and
payments upon liquidation may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in
control of us, which could depress the market price of our common stock and securities convertible
into our common stock.
Antitakeover Effects of Provisions of Charter Documents and Delaware Law
Charter Documents. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws include
a number of provisions that may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying or
preventing changes in control or management of our company. First, our certificate of incorporation
provides for a classified board of directors in which only approximately one third of the
directors are elected at each annual meeting of stockholders. Our certificate of incorporation also
provides that all stockholder action must be effected at a duly called meeting of stockholders and
not by a consent in writing. Further, our bylaws limit who may call special meetings of the
stockholders. Our certificate of incorporation does not include a provision for cumulative voting
for directors. Under cumulative voting, a minority stockholder holding a sufficient percentage of a
class of shares may be able to ensure the election of one or more directors. Finally, our bylaws
establish procedures, including advance notice procedures, with regard to the nomination of
candidates for election as directors and stockholder proposals. These and other provisions of our
certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law could discourage potential acquisition
proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control or management of our company.
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Delaware Takeover Statute. We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware
General Corporation Law. In general, the statute prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation
from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years
after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the
business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. For purposes of Section 203, a business
combination includes a merger, asset sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to
the interested stockholder, and an interested stockholder is a person who, together with affiliates
and associates, owns, or within three years prior, did own, 15% or more of the corporations voting
stock.
These and other provisions of our certificate and bylaws and Delaware law could discourage
potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control or management
of our company.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
Wells Fargo Shareowner Services is the transfer agent and registrar for our common stock.
S-20
UNDERWRITING
We
have entered into an underwriting agreement with Credit Suisse
Securities (USA) LLC, pursuant to which we will
sell to Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC all of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus supplement.
The underwriting agreement provides that the obligation of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC to purchase the shares
offered hereby is subject to certain conditions and that Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is obligated to purchase all
of the shares of common stock offered hereby if any of the shares are purchased.
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC proposes to offer the shares of common stock from time to time for sale in one or
more transactions on the Nasdaq National Market, in the over-the-counter market, through negotiated
transactions or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to
prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices, subject to receipt and acceptance by it and
subject to its right to reject any order in whole or in part. In connection with the sale of the
shares of common stock offered hereby, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC may be deemed to have received compensation in
the form of underwriting discounts. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC may effect such transactions by selling shares of
common stock to or through dealers, and such dealers may receive compensation in the form of
discounts, concessions or commissions from Credit Suisse Securities
(USA) LLC and/or purchasers of shares of common stock
for whom they may act as agents or to whom they may sell as principal.
We
will bear the expenses of this offering, which are estimated to be approximately $350,000.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against liabilities under the Securities Act or
to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in that respect.
We have agreed and our directors and executive officers agreed, subject to certain of our
executive officers and directors being able to sell an aggregate of
360,000 shares of our
common stock and certain other limited exceptions, not to, without the prior written consent of
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or
contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant
to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of any shares of our common stock or other capital
stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our common stock or
other capital stock or enter into any swap or other agreement or transaction that transfers, in
whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequences of ownership of any of our
common stock or other capital stock, whether any such swap or transaction described above is to be
settled by delivery of our common stock or other capital stock or other securities, in cash or
otherwise, for a period of 90 days after the date of this prospectus supplement, or Lockup Period;
provided, however, that if (1) during the last 17 days of the initial Lockup Period, we release
earnings results or material news or a material event relating to us occurs or (2) prior to the
expiration of the initial Lockup Period, we announce that we will release earnings results during
the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the initial Lockup Period, then in each case the
Lockup Period will be extended until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the date of
release of the earnings results or the occurrence of the material news or material event, as
applicable, unless Credit Suisse Securities
(USA) LLC waives, in writing, such extension, or unless any research
published or distributed by Credit Suisse Securities
(USA) LLC on Digital River would be compliant under Rule 139 of the
Securities Act of 1933, and our securities are actively-traded as defined in Rule 101(c)(1) of
Regulation M of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The foregoing will not prohibit us from
issuing shares of common stock upon the exercise of any option or warrant or the conversion of a
security outstanding on the date of this prospectus supplement or from issuing shares of common
stock or options to purchase common stock granted pursuant to employee benefit plans existing on
the date of this prospectus supplement.
S-21
Credit
Suisse Securities (USA) LLC has advised us that it may make short sales of our common stock in connection
with this offering. Short sales involve the sale by Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC of a greater number of
shares than it is required to purchase in the offer. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC must close out any such short
position by purchasing shares in the open market. A short position is more likely to be created if
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the shares in the
open market prior to the completion of the offering.
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC has advised us that, pursuant to Regulation M under the Securities Act, they may
engage in transactions, including stabilizing bids, that may have the effect of stabilizing or
maintaining the market price of the shares of our common stock at a level above that which might
otherwise prevail in the open market. A stabilizing bid is a bid for or the purchase of shares of
common stock by Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC for the purpose of fixing or maintaining the price of common stock.
Purchases to cover short positions and stabilizing transactions may have the effect of preventing
or slowing a decline in the market price of our common stock. As a result, the price of our common
stock may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC has
advised us that stabilizing bids and open market purchases may be effected on the Nasdaq National
Market or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
From time to time, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and its affiliates have provided, and may in the future
provide, investment banking and other services to us for which they receive customary fees and
commissions.
A
prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the web sites maintained by
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC may distribute prospectuses electronically. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC may
allocate a number of shares to for sale to its online brokerage account holders. Internet
distributions will be allocated by Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC on the same basis as other allocations.
S-22
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
We are a reporting company and file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements
and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy these reports, proxy statements and
other information at the SECs public reference room at Room 1024, 450 Fifth Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. You can request copies of these documents by writing to the SEC and paying a fee
for the copying cost. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for more information about the
operation of the public reference rooms. Our SEC filings are also available at the SECs web site
at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, you can read and copy our SEC filings at the office of the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. at 1735 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006.
The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference information that we file with them, which
means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The
information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus supplement and the
accompanying prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update
and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any
future filings we will make with the SEC under Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 between the date of this prospectus supplement and the termination of the
offering (other than those portions of such documents that have been furnished rather than filed in
accordance with the applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC):
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Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005; |
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Current Report on Form 8-K, filed March 22, 2006; |
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Current Report on Form 8-K, filed March 21, 2006, as amended by the Current Report on
Form 8-K/A, filed March 22, 2006; |
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Current Report on Form 8-K, filed February 16, 2006; |
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The following information contained in our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A,
filed April 7, 2005: |
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Information relating to our directors set forth under the caption
Election of Directors; |
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Information relating to our board committees as set forth under the
caption Board Committees and Meetings; |
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Information relating to our relationship with, and our fees paid to,
our auditors, set forth under the captions Audit Fees, Audit-Related Fees,
Tax Fees, All Other Fees and
Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures; |
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Information relating to our securities set forth under the captions
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Equity
Compensation Plan Information; |
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Information relating to compliance with Section 16(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 set forth under the caption Section 16(a)
Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance; and |
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Information relating to compensation of, and arrangements with, our
directors and executive officers set forth under the captions Compensation of
Directors, Compensation of Executive Officers, Employment Agreements, and
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation, (except to the |
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extent that the foregoing has been superseded and/or supplemented by Exhibits
10.20, 10.21, 10.23 and 10.24 to our Annual Report on 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2005, and Exhibit 99.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed
February 16, 2006); and |
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The description of the common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form
8-A, as filed on July 20, 1998 with the SEC. |
You may access these documents at no cost through our web site at www.digitalriver.com or
request a copy of these filings at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address:
Digital River, Inc.
9625 W. 76th Street, Suite 150
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
(952) 253-1234
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is part of a registration statement
we filed with the SEC. You should rely only on the information incorporated by reference or
provided in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the registration statement filed by us in connection with this offering. We have authorized no
one to provide you with different information. You should not assume that the information in this
prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of the document.
S-24
LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the shares of common stock being offered by this prospectus supplement will be
passed upon for us by Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin, A Professional Corporation, San
Francisco, California. Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon
for the underwriters by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation, Palo Alto,
California.
EXPERTS
Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our consolidated financial
statements and schedule included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005,
and managements assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2005 as set forth in their reports, which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere
in the registration statement. Our financial statements and schedule and managements assessment are incorporated
by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLPs reports, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
S-25
PROSPECTUS
$255,165,000
Digital River, Inc.
Common Stock
Preferred Stock
Debt Securities
Warrants
From time to time, we may sell common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and/or
warrants.
We will describe in one or more prospectus supplements the securities we are offering and
selling, as well as the specific terms of the securities. You should read this prospectus and any
prospectus supplements carefully before you invest. This prospectus may not be used to offer or
sell any securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
The securities may be sold directly by us to investors, through agents designated from time to
time or to or through underwriters or dealers. For additional information on the methods of sale,
you should refer to the section entitled Plan of Distribution. If any underwriters are involved
in the sale of any securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names
of such underwriters and any applicable commissions or discounts will be set forth in a prospectus
supplement. The net proceeds we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a
prospectus supplement.
On April 25, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission declared effective our acquisition
shelf registration statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-122069) for the offering by us from time to
time of up to 1,480,000 shares of our common stock in connection with future acquisitions of other
businesses, assets or securities. In addition, on January 19, 2005, the Securities and Exchange
Commission declared effective our resale shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No.
333-120602) for the sale from time to time by the selling securityholders named therein of up to
311,185 shares of our common stock in connection with our acquisition of BlueHornet Networks, Inc.
See Risk Factors beginning on page 2 of this prospectus to read about factors you
should consider before buying our common stock.
Our common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol DRIV. On
April 15, 2005, the last reported sale price for our common stock, as reported on the Nasdaq
National Market, was $28.21 per share.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has
approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or
complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is April 25, 2005
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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About this Prospectus
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Summary
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Risk Factors
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Forward-Looking Statements
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Ratio Of Earnings to Fixed Charges
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Use of Proceeds
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Dividend Policy
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Description of Capital Stock
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Description of Debt Securities
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Description of Warrants
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Plan of Distribution
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Legal
Matters
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Experts
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Where You Can Find More Information
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ABOUT
THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) using a shelf registration process. Under the shelf registration
process, we may sell common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and/or warrants in one or more
offerings up to a total dollar amount of $255,165,000. This prospectus provides you with a general
description of the securities we may offer. Each time we sell securities, we will provide a
prospectus supplement that will contain more specific information. We may also add, update or
change in the prospectus supplement any of the information contained in this prospectus. This
prospectus, together with applicable prospectus supplements, includes all material information
relating to this offering. You should carefully read both this prospectus and any prospectus
supplement together with the additional information described below under Where You Can Find More
Information.
You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this
prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with
information that is different. We are not making an offer of common stock in any state or
jurisdiction where such an offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information
contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate
as of any date other than the date on the front of such document.
Digital River is our registered trademark. All other trademarks or service marks appearing in
this prospectus are property of their respective owners.
i
SUMMARY
This summary highlights basic information about us but may not contain all of the information
important to you. You should read the section entitled Risk Factors in this prospectus and in any
prospectus supplements, as well as the more detailed information contained in, or incorporated by
reference into, this prospectus. In this prospectus, unless expressly stated otherwise or unless
the context otherwise requires, Digital River, we, our, us and the Company refer to
Digital River, Inc., a Delaware corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries.
Digital River, Inc.
Overview
We are a provider of comprehensive e-commerce outsourcing solutions. We were incorporated in
Delaware in 1994 and commenced offering products for sale through our clients e-commerce stores in
August 1996. As a leading global e-commerce outsource provider, we have developed a proprietary
technology platform that allows us to provide our clients with a suite of e-commerce services,
including e-commerce site development and hosting, site merchandising, order management, fraud
prevention, denied parties screening, export controls, tax management, digital and physical product
fulfillment, multi-lingual customer service, email marketing and advanced reporting and web
analytics.
Our solution allows our clients to promote and maintain their brands while leveraging our
investment in infrastructure and technology. Our clients access our e-commerce platform over the
Internet. From a shopper perspective, end-users enter the client site and are then seamlessly
transferred to our e-commerce platform. End-users can then browse for products and make purchases
online, and once purchases are made, we either deliver the products digitally to the end-user
through the Internet or communicate the order through a third-party fulfillment agency for physical
delivery.
We also offer a wide range of analytics-based, strategic marketing services to help our
clients increase their customer acquisition, retention and lifetime value. These services include
paid search advertising, search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, site/store optimization
and email optimization to help our clients increase their customer acquisition, retention and
lifetime value.
Our address is 9625 West 76th Street, Suite 150, Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55344, (952)
253-1234. We maintain a website at www.digitalriver.com. Information contained on, or accessed
through, our website does not constitute a part of this prospectus.
1
RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider the risks described below before making an investment decision.
The risks described below are not the only ones facing our company. Additional risks not presently
known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. Our
business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by
any of these risks. The value of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks, and you
may lose all or part of your investment. This prospectus and the incorporated documents also
contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could
differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain
factors, including the risks faced by us described below and elsewhere in this prospectus.
Risks Related To Our Business
We have a history of losses
We were incorporated in February 1994 and conducted our first online sale through a clients
Web store in August 1996. We have been in business for approximately 44 quarters, but have only
sustained profitability for the last ten quarters through December 31, 2004, and have incurred
significant losses since we were formed. As of December 31, 2004, we had an accumulated deficit of
approximately $51.2 million. Our limited profitable operating history makes it difficult to
evaluate our ability to sustain profitability in the future.
The success of our business model depends upon our success in generating sufficient
transaction and service fees from the use of our e-commerce solutions by existing and future
clients. Accordingly, we must maintain our existing relationships and develop new relationships
with software publishers, online retailers and physical goods clients. To achieve this goal, we
intend to continue to expend significant financial and management resources on the development of
additional services, sales and marketing, improved technology and expanded operations. If we are
unable to maintain existing, and develop new, client relationships, we will not generate a
profitable return on our investments and we will be unable to gain meaningful market share to
justify those investments. Further, we may be unable to sustain profitability if our revenues
decrease or increase at a slower rate than expected, or if operating expenses exceed our
expectations and cannot be adjusted to compensate for lower than expected revenues.
Our operating results are subject to fluctuations in demand for products and services offered by us
or our clients.
Our quarterly and annual operating results are subject to fluctuations in demand for the
products or services offered by us or our clients, such as anti-virus software, anti-spyware
software, and tax preparation software. In particular, sales of anti-virus software represented a
significant portion of our revenues in recent years, and continue to be very important to our
business. In February 2005, Microsoft Corporation announced plans to acquire Sybari Software Inc.,
a producer of commercial anti-virus products. Microsoft simultaneously announced plans to introduce
products to protect businesses and consumers from computer viruses and other security risks. To the
extent that Microsoft or others successfully introduce products or services not sold through our
platform that are competitive with products and services sold by current Digital River clients
(including anti-virus products and services), our revenues could be materially adversely affected.
If, as a result, our annual or quarterly revenues or operating profits fail to meet the guidance we
provide to securities analysts and investors, or we otherwise fail to meet their expectations, the
trading price of our common stock will likely decline.
Our operating results have fluctuated in the past and are likely to continue to do so, which could
cause the price of our common stock to be volatile.
Our quarterly and annual operating results have fluctuated significantly in the past and are
likely to continue to do so in the future due to a variety of factors, some of which are outside
our control. As a result, we believe that quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year comparisons of our
revenue and operating results are not necessarily meaningful, and that these comparisons may not be
accurate indicators of future performance. If our annual or quarterly operating results fail to
meet the guidance we provide to securities analysts and investors or otherwise fail to meet
2
their expectations, the trading price of our common stock will likely decline. Some of the factors
that have or may contribute to fluctuations in our quarterly and annual operating results include:
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our ability to attract and retain software and digital products publishers,
manufacturers, online retailers and online channel partners as clients; |
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the introduction by us of new Web sites, Web stores or services that may require a
substantial investment of our resources; |
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the introduction by others of competitive Web sites, Web stores or services or
products; |
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our ability to continue to upgrade and develop our systems and infrastructure to
meet emerging market needs and remain competitive in our service offerings; |
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economic conditions, particularly those affecting Internet-based e-commerce; |
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client decisions to delay new product launches or to invest in e-commerce initiatives; |
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national and international political unrest in connection with the continued
military responses to the terrorist attacks on the United States, possible future terrorist
attacks and the possibility of future armed conflicts; |
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the performance of our newly acquired assets or companies, particularly element 5; |
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technical difficulties or system downtime leading to termination of client contracts
and harm to our reputation; |
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slower than anticipated growth of the online market as a vehicle for the purchase of
software products; |
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the cost of compliance with U.S. and foreign regulations relating to our business; and |
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our ability to retain and attract personnel commensurate with our business needs. |
In addition, revenue generated by our software and digital commerce services is likely to
fluctuate on a seasonal basis that is typical for the software publishing market in general. We
believe that our first and fourth quarters are generally seasonally stronger than our second and
third quarters due to the timing of demand of tax preparation software, the holiday selling period
and the post-holiday retail season. We also believe that software publishers avoid new product
releases in the summer months.
Our operating expenses, which include: sales & marketing, product research & development and
general & administrative expenses, are based on our expectations of future revenue. These expenses
are relatively fixed in the short-term. If our revenue for a quarter falls below our expectations
and we are unable to quickly reduce spending in response, our operating results for that quarter
would be harmed. In addition, the operating results of companies in the e-commerce industry have,
in the past, experienced significant quarter-to-quarter fluctuations that may adversely affect our
stock price.
A loss of any client that accounts for a large portion of our revenue would cause our revenue to
decline.
Sales of products for one software publisher client, Symantec Corporation, accounted for
approximately 27% of our revenue in 2004. In addition, Digital River independently sells
proprietary Digital River services directly to customers as they purchase Symantec products. These
services include product recovery services provided by Digital River for which separate fees are
charged to end-users. In addition, Digital River derives revenues from e-commerce retailers and
dealers who sell Symantec products or related Digital River services. In 2004, revenues derived
from proprietary Digital River services sold to Symantec end-users and dealer network sales of
Symantec products together amounted to approximately $16.6 million, or approximately 10.8% of total
Digital River revenue. In addition, a limited number of other software and physical goods clients
contribute a large portion of our annual revenue. Contracts with our clients are generally one or
two years in length. If any one of these key contracts is not renewed or otherwise terminates, or
if revenues from these clients decline for any other reason (such as competitive developments), our
revenue would decline and our ability to sustain profitability would be impaired. It is important
to our ongoing success that we maintain these key client relationships and, at the same time,
develop new client relationships.
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Our sales cycle is lengthy, which may cause us to incur substantial expenses and expend management
time without generating corresponding revenue, which would impair our cash flow.
We market our services directly to software publishers, online retailers and other prospective
customers outside of the software industry. These relationships are typically complex and take time
to finalize. Due to operating procedures in many organizations, a significant amount of time may
pass between selection of our products and services by key decision-makers and the signing of a
contract. The period between the initial sales call and the signing of a contract with significant
sales potential is difficult to predict and typically ranges from six to twelve months. If at the
end of a sales effort a prospective client does not purchase our products or services, we may have
incurred substantial expenses and expended management time that cannot be recovered and that will
not generate corresponding revenue. As a result, our cash flow and our ability to fund expenditures
incurred during the sales cycle may be impaired.
General economic uncertainty may reduce our revenue and operating profits.
The revenue growth and profitability of our business depends significantly on the overall
demand for e-commerce solutions. We believe that the market for these solutions may be adversely
affected by a number of factors, including reductions in capital expenditures by clients and
potential weakening of the U.S. and foreign economies. The continued military responses to the 2001
terrorist attacks on the United States, the ongoing possibility of future terrorist attacks and the
possibility of future armed conflicts may create adverse economic conditions and lead to weakening
in the economy.
These factors may, in turn, give rise to a number of market trends that may slow our revenue
growth, including:
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longer sales cycles; |
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deferral or delay of e-commerce projects and generally reduced expenditures for
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increased price competition. |
Our failure to attract and retain software and digital products publishers, manufacturers, online
retailers and online channel partners as clients would cause our revenue and operating profits to
decline.
We generate revenue by providing outsourced services to software and digital products
publishers, manufacturers, online retailers and online channel partners. If we cannot develop and
maintain satisfactory relationships with software and digital products publishers, manufacturers,
online retailers and online channel partners on acceptable commercial terms, we will likely
experience a decline in revenue and operating profits. We also depend on our software and digital
publisher clients creating and supporting software and digital products that end-users will
purchase. If we are unable to obtain sufficient quantities of software and digital products for any
reason, or if the quality of service provided by these software and digital products publishers
falls below a satisfactory level, we could also experience a decline in revenue, operating profit
and end-user satisfaction, and our reputation could be harmed. Our contracts with our software and
digital products publisher clients are generally one to two years in duration, with an automatic
renewal provision for additional one-year periods, unless we are provided with a written notice at
least 90 days before the end of the contract. As is common in our industry, we have no long-term or
exclusive contracts or arrangements with any software or digital products publishers that guarantee
the availability of software or digital products. Software and digital products publishers that
currently supply software or digital products to us may not continue to do so and we may be unable
to establish new relationships with software or digital products publishers to supplement or
replace existing relationships.
Implementing our acquisition strategy could result in dilution and operating difficulties leading
to a decline in revenue and operating profit.
We have acquired, and intend to continue engaging in strategic acquisitions of, businesses,
technologies, services and products, such as businesses that provide outsourcing services to
software publishers. For example, in
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April 2004, we acquired element 5, a provider of outsourced e-commerce solutions. The process of
integrating an acquired business, technology, service or product into our business and operations
may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures. Integration of an acquired
business also may disrupt our ongoing business, distract management and make it difficult to
maintain standards, controls and procedures. Moreover, the anticipated benefits of any acquisition
may not be realized. If a significant number of clients of the acquired businesses cease doing
business with us, we would experience lost revenue and operating profit, and any synergies from the
acquisition may be lost. Future acquisitions could result in potentially dilutive issuances of
equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization of intangible
assets or impairment of goodwill.
Electronic software delivery, or ESD, is still an evolving and unproven technology and the industry
may ultimately fail to accept ESD.
Our success will depend in large part on the continued growth in end-user acceptance of ESD as
a method of distributing software products. ESD is a relatively new method of distributing software
products to end-users, and unless ESD gains widespread market acceptance, we will be unable to
achieve our business plan. Factors that are likely to influence the market acceptance of ESD
include:
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the number, adequacy and commercial desirability of software products that are
available for purchase through ESD as compared to those available through physical delivery;
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Even if ESD achieves widespread acceptance, we may be unable to overcome the substantial
existing and future technical challenges associated with electronically delivering software
reliably and consistently on a long-term basis. Our failure to do so would also impair our ability
to execute our business plan.
Developments in accounting standards may cause us to increase our recorded expenses, which in turn
would jeopardize our ability to demonstrate sustained profitability.
In January 2002, we adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 142, Goodwill and
Other Intangible Assets (SFAS No. 142). The statement generally establishes that goodwill and
intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized but are to be tested on an annual basis
for impairment and, if impaired, are recorded as an impairment charge in income from operations. As
of December 31, 2004, we had unamortized goodwill with an indefinite life of $148.1 million from
our acquisitions made in 2004 and previous years. Our acquisition of element 5 for example has
resulted in a significant increase in unamortized goodwill. If a portion of our unamortized
goodwill is determined for any reason to be impaired, the subsequent accounting of the impaired
portion as an expense would lower our earnings and jeopardize our ability to demonstrate sustained
profitability, which could cause our stock price to decline.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board also recently adopted a standard to require that the
fair value of stock options and other share based payments be reflected as an expense item in the
financial statements of public companies for years beginning after June 15, 2005. As a result of
the adoption of this standard, our recorded non-cash expenses will significantly increase, which
may impair our ability to maintain profitability.
Increasing consumer acceptance of the Internet as a medium of commerce is important to the success
of our business strategy and our future revenue growth.
The failure of the Internet to continue developing into a significant commercial medium would
harm our ability to increase our revenue and execute our business strategy. Rapid growth in the
acceptance and use of the Internet as an effective medium of commerce is a recent development. The
acceptance and use of the Internet may
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not continue to develop and a sufficiently broad base of consumers may not adopt and continue to
use the Internet as a medium of commerce. We rely on purchasers who have historically used
traditional means of commerce to purchase goods or transact business. If we are to be successful,
these purchasers must accept and use the Internet as a means of purchasing goods and services and
exchanging information. We cannot predict the rate at which these purchasers will do so.
The growth of the market for our services depends on the development and maintenance of the
Internet infrastructure.
Our business is based on delivering services over the Internet, and the success of our
business therefore depends on the development and maintenance of a sound Internet infrastructure.
This includes maintenance of a reliable network backbone with the necessary speed, data capacity
and security, as well as timely development of complementary products such as high-speed modems,
for providing reliable Internet access and services. Our ability to increase the speed and scope of
our services is limited by, and depends upon, the speed and reliability of both the Internet and
our clients internal networks. Consequently, as Internet usage increases, the growth of the market
for our services depends upon improvements made to the Internet as well as to individual clients
networking infrastructures to alleviate overloading and congestion. In addition, any delays in the
adoption of new standards and protocols required to govern increased levels of Internet activity or
increased governmental regulation may have a detrimental effect on the Internet infrastructure.
Because the e-commerce industry is highly competitive and has low barriers to entry, we may be
unable to compete effectively.
The market for e-commerce solutions is extremely competitive and we may find ourselves unable
to compete effectively. Because there are relatively low barriers to entry in the e-commerce
market, we expect competition to intensify as current competitors expand their product offerings
and new competitors enter the market. In addition, our clients may become competitors in the future
Increased competition is likely to result in price reductions, lower average sales prices, reduced
margins, longer sales cycles and a decrease or loss of our market share, any of which could
negatively impact our revenue and earnings. We face competition from the following sources:
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in-house development of e-commerce capabilities using tools or applications from
companies such as BroadVision, Inc. and ATG, Inc.; |
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other providers of outsourced e-commerce solutions such as GSI Commerce, Inc. and
eSellerate; |
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system integrators and application service providers that offer tools and services
for e-commerce, including companies that provide a broad range of Internet and server
solutions, such as Electronic Data Systems Corporation and IBM Global Services; |
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companies that provide technologies, services or products that support a portion of
the e-commerce value chain, such as payment processing, including CyberSource Corporation; |
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companies that offer a range of online marketing services, technology programs such
as DoubleClick, Inc. and ValueClick, Inc.; and |
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high-traffic, branded Web sites that derive a substantial portion of their revenue
from e-commerce and may themselves offer, or provide means for others to offer their
products for sale, such as Amazon.com, Inc. |
We believe that the principal competitive factors in our market are breadth of products and
services, number of clients and online channel partnerships, brand recognition, system reliability
and scalability, price, customer service, speed and accessibility and ease of use, speed to market,
convenience and quality of delivery. The online channel partners and the other companies described
above may compete directly with us by adopting a similar business model. Moreover, while some of
these companies are also clients or potential clients of ours, they may compete with our e-commerce
outsourcing solution to the extent that they develop e-commerce systems or acquire such systems
from other software vendors or service providers.
6
Many of our competitors have, and new potential competitors may have, more experience
developing Internet-based software and e-commerce solutions, larger technical staffs, larger
customer bases, more established distribution channels and customer relationships, greater brand recognition and greater financial,
marketing and other resources than us. In addition, competitors may be able to develop services
that are superior to our services, achieve greater customer acceptance or have significantly
improved functionality as compared to our existing and future products and services. Our
competitors may be able to respond more quickly to technological developments and changes in
customers needs. Our inability to compete successfully against current and future competitors
could cause our revenue and earnings to decline.
Failure to properly manage and sustain our expansion efforts could strain our management and other
resources.
Our ability to successfully offer services and implement our business plan in a rapidly
evolving market requires an effective planning and management process. We have rapidly and
significantly expanded the depth and breadth of our service offerings. Failure to properly manage
this expansion could place a significant strain on our managerial, operational and financial
resources. To manage this expansion, we are required to continually:
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improve existing and implement new operational, financial and management controls,
reporting systems and procedures; |
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install new management information systems; and |
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train, motivate, retain and manage our employees. |
We may be unable to install management information and control systems in an efficient and
timely manner, and our current or planned personnel, systems, procedures and controls may be
inadequate to support our operations.
Failure to develop our technology to accommodate increased traffic could reduce demand for our
services and impair the growth of our business.
We periodically enhance and expand our technology and transaction-processing systems, network
infrastructure and other technologies to accommodate increases in the volume of traffic on our
technology platform. Any inability to add software and hardware or to develop and upgrade existing
technology, transaction-processing systems or network infrastructure to manage increased traffic on
this platform may cause unanticipated systems disruptions, slower response times and degradation in
client services, including impaired quality and speed of order fulfillment. Failure to manage
increased traffic could harm our reputation and significantly reduce demand for our services, which
would impair the growth of our business. We may be unable to improve and increase the capacity of
our network infrastructure sufficiently or anticipate and react to expected increases in the use of
the platform to handle increased volume. Further, additional network capacity may not be available
from third-party suppliers when we need it. Our network and our suppliers networks may be unable
to maintain an acceptable data transmission capability, especially if demands on the platform
increase.
We continue to enhance our e-commerce platforms to better support new features and
functionality demanded by our client base. Failure of these to perform as expected could lead to
client dissatisfaction and loss of business.
Our industry is characterized by rapid technological change that may make our technology and
systems obsolete or cause us to incur substantial costs to adapt to these changes.
To remain competitive, we must continue to enhance and improve the responsiveness,
functionality and features of our CST technology platform and the underlying network
infrastructure. If we incur significant costs without adequate results, or are unable to adapt
rapidly to technological changes, we may fail to achieve our business plan. The Internet and the
e-commerce industry are characterized by rapid technological change, changes in user and client
requirements and preferences, frequent new product and service introductions embodying new
technologies and the emergence of new industry standards and practices that could render our
technology and systems obsolete. To be successful, we must adapt to rapid technological change by
licensing and internally developing leading technologies to enhance our existing services,
developing new products, services and technologies that address the increasingly sophisticated and
varied needs of our clients, and responding to technological advances and emerging industry
standards and practices on a cost-effective and timely basis. The
7
development of our CST platform and other proprietary technologies involves significant technical
and business risks. We may fail to use new technologies effectively or fail to adapt our
proprietary technology and systems to client requirements or emerging industry standards.
System failures could reduce the attractiveness of our service offerings.
We provide commerce, marketing and delivery services to our clients and end-users through our
proprietary technology transaction processing and client management systems. These systems also
maintain an electronic inventory of products and gather consumer marketing information. The
satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of the technology and the underlying network
infrastructure are critical to our operations, level of client service, reputation and ability to
attract and retain clients. We have experienced periodic interruptions, affecting all or a portion
of our systems, which we believe will continue to occur from time to time. Any systems damage or
interruption that impairs our ability to accept and fill client orders could result in an immediate
loss of revenue to us, and could cause some clients to purchase services offered by our
competitors. In addition, frequent systems failures could harm our reputation.
Our systems and operations are vulnerable to damage or interruption from:
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fire, flood and other natural disasters; |
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operator negligence, improper operation by, or supervision of, employees, physical
and electronic break-ins, misappropriation, computer viruses and similar events; and |
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power loss, computer systems failures, and Internet and telecommunications failure. |
We do not carry sufficient business interruption insurance to fully compensate us for losses
that may occur.
We may become liable to clients who are dissatisfied with our services.
We design, develop, implement and manage e-commerce solutions that are crucial to the
operation of our clients businesses. Defects in the solutions we develop could result in delayed
or lost revenue, adverse end-user reaction, and/or negative publicity which could require expensive
corrections. As a result, clients who experience these adverse consequences either directly or
indirectly as a result of our services could bring claims against us for substantial damages. Any
claims asserted could exceed the level of any insurance coverage that may be available to us.
Moreover, the insurance we carry may not continue to be available on economically reasonable terms,
or at all. The successful assertion of one or more large claims that are uninsured, that exceed
insurance coverage or that result in changes to insurance policies (including premium increases)
could adversely affect our operating results or financial condition.
Our chief executive officer and key technical employees are critical to our business, and if they
do not remain with us in the future, we may be unable to effectively replace them.
Our future success significantly depends on the continued services and performance of our
senior management, particularly Joel A. Ronning, our chief executive officer. Our performance also
depends on our ability to retain and motivate our key technical employees who are skilled in
maintaining our proprietary technology platform. The loss of the services of any of our executive
officers or key technical employees could harm our business if we are unable to effectively replace
that officer or employee, or if that person should decide to join a competitor or otherwise
directly or indirectly compete with us. Further, we may need to incur additional operating expenses
and divert other management time in order to search for a replacement.
We must continually attract and retain technical and other key personnel in order to successfully
execute our business strategy.
Our future success depends on our ability to continue to identify, attract, hire, train,
retain and motivate highly skilled technical, managerial, operations, merchandising, sales and
marketing and client service personnel.
8
Competition for these personnel is intense, particularly in the Internet industry. We may be unable
to successfully attract, assimilate or retain sufficiently qualified personnel. Failure to do so
could harm our business growth and profitability. In addition, the market price of our common stock
has fluctuated substantially since our initial public offering in August 1998. Consequently,
potential employees may perceive our equity incentives as less attractive and current employees
whose equity incentives are no longer attractively priced may choose not to remain with our
organization. In that case, our ability to attract employees will be adversely affected.
Additionally, the Financial Accounting Standards Board recently adopted a proposal requiring that
the fair value of stock options and other share based payments be reflected as an expense item in
the financial statements of public companies for quarters beginning after June 15, 2005. As a
result, our ability to use stock options as equity incentives will be adversely affected, which
will make it more difficult to compete for and attract qualified personnel. Finally, should our
stock price substantially decline, the retention value of stock options granted since our initial
public offering will decline and employees who hold such options may choose not to remain with our
organization.
Protecting our intellectual property is critical to our success.
We regard the protection of our trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and other intellectual
property as critical to our success. We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark,
service mark and trade secret laws and contractual restrictions to protect our proprietary rights.
We have entered into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and
contractors, and nondisclosure agreements with parties with whom we conduct business, in order to
limit access to and disclosure of our proprietary information. These contractual arrangements and
the other steps taken by us to protect our intellectual property may not prevent misappropriation
of our technology or deter independent third-party development of similar technologies. We also
seek to protect our proprietary position by filing U.S. and foreign patent applications related to
our proprietary technology, inventions and improvements that are important to the development of
our business. Proprietary rights relating to our technologies will be protected from unauthorized
use by third parties only to the extent they are covered by valid and enforceable patents or are
effectively maintained as trade secrets. We pursue the registration of our trademarks and service
marks in the U.S. and internationally. Effective trademark, service mark, copyright and trade
secret protection may not be available in every country in which our services are made available
online.
The steps we have taken to protect our proprietary rights may be inadequate and third parties
may infringe or misappropriate our trade secrets, trademarks and similar proprietary rights. Any
significant failure on our part to protect our intellectual property could make it easier for our
competitors to offer similar services and thereby adversely affect our market opportunities. In
addition, litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights, to
protect our trade secrets or to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of
others. Litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of management and technical
resources.
Claims of infringement of other parties intellectual property rights could require us to expend
significant resources, enter into unfavorable licenses or require us to change our business plans.
From time to time we are named as a defendant in lawsuits claiming that we have, in some way,
violated the intellectual property rights of others. Existing lawsuits in this area, as well as any
future assertions or prosecutions of claims like these, could require us to expend significant
financial and managerial resources. The defense of any claims, with or without merit, could be
time-consuming, result in costly litigation and diversion of technical and management personnel,
cause product enhancement delays or require that we develop non-infringing technology or enter into
royalty or licensing agreements. Royalty or licensing agreements, if required, may be unavailable
on terms acceptable to us or at all. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us
and our failure or inability to develop non-infringing technology or license the infringed or
similar technology on a timely basis, we may be unable to pursue our current business plan.
Claims against us related to the software products that we deliver electronically and the tangible
goods that we deliver physically could also require us to expend significant resources.
Claims may be made against us for negligence, copyright or trademark infringement, products
liability or other theories based on the nature and content of software products or tangible goods
that we deliver electronically
9
and physically. Because we did not create these products, we are generally not in a position to
know the quality or nature of the content of these products. Although we carry general liability
insurance and require that our customers indemnify us against end-user claims, our insurance and
indemnification measures may not cover potential claims of this type, may not adequately cover all
costs incurred in defense of potential claims, or may not reimburse us for all liability that may
be imposed. Any costs or imposition of liability that are not covered by insurance or
indemnification measures could be expensive and time-consuming to address, distract management and
delay product deliveries, even if we are ultimately successful in the defense of these claims.
Security breaches could hinder our ability to securely transmit confidential information.
A significant barrier to e-commerce and communications is the secure transmission of
confidential information over public networks. Any compromise or elimination of our security could
be costly to remedy, damage our reputation and expose us to liability, and dissuade existing and
new clients from using our services. We rely on encryption and authentication technology licensed
from third parties to provide the security and authentication necessary for secure transmission of
confidential information, such as end-user credit card numbers. A party who circumvents our
security measures could misappropriate proprietary information or interrupt our operations.
We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect against
security breaches or address problems caused by breaches. Concerns over the security of the
Internet and other online transactions and the privacy of users could deter people from using the
Internet to conduct transactions that involve transmitting confidential information, thereby
inhibiting the growth of our business. To the extent that our activities or those of third-party
contractors involve the storage and transmission of proprietary information, such as credit card
numbers, security breaches could damage our reputation and expose us to a risk of loss or
litigation and possible liability. Our security measures may not prevent security breaches and
failure to prevent security breaches could lead to a loss of existing clients and deter potential
clients away from our services.
Loss of our credit card acceptance privileges would seriously hamper our ability to process the
sale of digital goods.
The payment by end-users for the purchase of digital goods that we process is typically made
by credit card. If we incur significant instances of credit card fraud over an extended period of
time, it may result in penalties and termination of our credit card acceptance privileges. Loss of
our credit card acceptance privileges would severely impact our ability to process the sale of
digital goods where the payment method is by credit card. We may be required to expend significant
capital and other resources to protect against these fraudulent transactions.
The listing of our network addresses on anti-SPAM lists could harm our ability to service our
clients and deliver goods over the Internet.
Certain privacy and anti-email proponents have engaged in a practice of gathering, and
publicly listing, network addresses that they believe have been involved in sending unwanted,
unsolicited emails commonly known as SPAM. In response to user complaints about SPAM, Internet
service providers have from time to time blocked such network addresses from sending emails to
their users. If our network addresses mistakenly end up on these SPAM lists, our ability to provide
services for our clients and consummate the sales of digital and physical goods over the Internet
could be harmed.
Changes in government regulation could limit our Internet activities or result in additional costs
of doing business over the Internet.
We are subject to the same federal, state and local laws as other companies conducting
business over the Internet. Today, there are relatively few laws specifically directed towards
conducting business over the Internet. The adoption or modification of laws related to the Internet
could harm our business, operating results and financial condition by increasing our costs and
administrative burdens. Due to the increasing popularity and use of the
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Internet, many laws and regulations relating to the Internet are being debated at the
international, federal and state levels. These laws and regulations could cover issues such as:
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user privacy with respect to adults and minors; |
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our ability to collect necessary information that allows us to conduct business on the Internet; |
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export compliance; |
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pricing and taxation; |
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fraud; |
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advertising; |
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intellectual property rights; |
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information security; and |
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quality of products and services. |
Applicability to the Internet of existing laws governing issues such as property ownership,
copyrights and other intellectual property issues, taxation, libel, obscenity and personal privacy
could also harm our operating results and substantially increase the cost to us of doing business.
For example, numerous state legislatures have proposed that tax rules for Internet retailing and
catalog sales correspond to enacted tax rules for sales from physical stores. Any requirement that
we collect sales tax for each online purchase and remit the tax to the appropriate state authority
would be a significant administrative burden to us and possibly depress online sales. This and any
other change in laws applicable to the Internet might also require significant management resources
to respond appropriately. The vast majority of these laws were adopted prior to the advent of the
Internet, and do not contemplate or address the unique issues raised thereby. Those laws that do
reference the Internet, such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, are only beginning to be
interpreted by the courts and their applicability and reach are therefore uncertain.
Laws relating to user information and online privacy may limit the collection and use of end-user
data for our clients.
We collect and maintain end-user data for our clients, which subjects us to increasing
international, federal and state regulation related to online privacy and the use of personal user
information. Congress recently enacted anti-SPAM legislation with which we must comply when
providing email campaigns for our clients. Bills are pending in Congress and in various states that
address online privacy protections. Several states have proposed, and some have enacted,
legislation that would limit the use of personal user information or require online services to
establish privacy policies. In addition, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, has urged
Congress to adopt legislation regarding the collection and use of personal identifying information
obtained from individuals when accessing Web sites. In the past, the emphasis has been on
information obtained from minors. Focus has now shifted to include online privacy protection for
adults. If such legislation is adopted, it may include requirements that companies establish
procedures to, among other things:
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give adequate notice to users regarding information collection and disclosure practices; |
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provide users with the ability to have personal information deleted from a companys database; |
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provide users with access to their collected personal information and the ability to
correct inaccuracies; |
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clearly identify affiliations with third parties that may collect information or
sponsor activities on another companys Web site; and |
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obtain express parental consent prior to collecting and using personal information
from children under 13 years of age. |
Even in the absence of laws requiring companies to establish these procedures, the FTC has
settled several proceedings resulting in consent decrees in which Internet companies have been
required to establish programs regarding the manner in which personal information is collected from
users and provided to third parties. We could become a party to a similar enforcement proceeding.
These regulatory and enforcement efforts could limit our collection of demographic and personal
information from end-users, which could adversely affect our ability to comprehensively serve our
clients.
11
The adoption and implementation of international laws and regulations applicable to e-commerce may
impair our efforts to expand revenue from international transactions.
The European Union has adopted a privacy directive that regulates the collection and use of
information that identifies an individual person. These regulations may inhibit or prohibit the
collection and sharing of personal information in ways that could harm our clients or us. The
globalization of Internet commerce may be harmed by these and similar regulations because the
European Union privacy directive prohibits transmission of personal information outside the
European Union. The United States and the European Union have negotiated an agreement providing a
safe harbor for those companies who agree to comply with the principles set forth by the U.S.
Department of Commerce and agreed to by the European Union. Failure to comply with these principles
may result in fines, private lawsuits and enforcement actions. These enforcement actions can
include interruption or shutdown of operations relating to the collection and sharing of
information pertaining to citizens of the European Union. Certain countries in the Asia-Pacific
region have also adopted, or are considering adopting, privacy laws similar to those of the
European Union, which may impair our ability to expand our revenue from those countries.
In addition, in July 2003, the European Union implemented rules regarding the collection and
payment of Value Added Tax, or VAT. These rules require VAT to be charged on supply delivered over
electronic networks, including software and computer services, as well as information and cultural,
artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment and similar services. These services are
now being taxed in the country where the purchaser resides rather than where the supplier is
located. Historically, suppliers of digital products that existed outside the European Union were
not required to collect or remit VAT on digital orders made to purchasers in the European Union.
With the implementation of these rules, we are required to collect and remit VAT on digital orders
received from purchasers in the European Union which effectively raises the price for these goods
by the VAT amount. This price increase could serve to discourage purchasing of our products and
services which in turn could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
Compliance with future laws imposed on e-commerce may substantially increase our costs of doing
business or otherwise adversely affect our ability to offer our services.
Because our services are accessible worldwide, and we facilitate sales of products to
end-users worldwide, foreign jurisdictions may claim that we are required to comply with their
laws. Laws regulating Internet companies outside of the United States may be less favorable than
those in the United States, giving greater rights to consumers, content owners and users.
Compliance may be more costly or may require us to change our business practices or restrict our
service offerings relative to those provided in the United States. Any failure to comply with
foreign laws could subject us to penalties ranging from fines to bans on our ability to offer our
services.
As our services are available over the Internet in multiple states and foreign countries,
these jurisdictions may claim that we are required to qualify to do business as a foreign
corporation in each state or foreign country. We and/or our subsidiaries are qualified to do
business only in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota,
New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah and Washington. Failure to qualify as a foreign
corporation in a required jurisdiction could subject us to taxes and penalties and could result in
our inability to enforce contracts in these jurisdictions.
In addition, we are subject to United States laws governing the conduct of business with other
countries, such as export control laws, which prohibit or restrict the export of goods, services
and technology to designated countries, denied persons or denied entities from the United States.
Violation of these laws could result in fines or other actions by regulatory agencies and result in
increased cost of doing business and reduced profits. In addition, any significant changes in these
laws, particularly an expansion in the export control laws, will increase our costs of compliance
and may further restrict our overseas client base.
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We intend to continue to expand our international operations and these efforts may not be
successful in generating additional revenue.
We sell products and services to end-users outside the United States and we intend to continue
to expand our international presence. Expansion into international markets, particularly the
European and Asia-Pacific regions, requires significant resources that we may fail to recover by
generating additional revenue. Conducting business outside of the United States is subject to
risks, including:
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changes in regulatory requirements and tariffs; |
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uncertainty of application or governing of local laws; |
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reduced protection of intellectual property rights; |
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difficulties in physical distribution for international sales; |
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higher incidences of credit card fraud and difficulties in accounts receivable collection; |
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the burden and cost of complying with a variety of foreign laws; |
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the possibility of unionization of our workforce outside the United States,
particularly in Europe; and |
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political or economic constraints on international trade or instability. |
These risks have grown with the recent acquisition of element 5, which has substantial
operations outside the U.S. and our expansion into the Asia-Pacific region.
We may be unable to successfully and cost-effectively market, sell and distribute our services
in foreign markets. This may be more difficult or take longer than anticipated especially due to
international challenges, such as language barriers, currency exchange issues and the fact that the
Internet infrastructure in foreign countries may be less advanced than the U.S. Internet
infrastructure. If we are unable to successfully expand our international operations, or manage
this expansion, our operating results and financial condition could be harmed.
New obligations to collect or pay sales tax could substantially increase the cost to us of doing
business.
Currently, we collect sales, use or other similar taxes with respect to electronic software
download in states where we believe that we have nexus. The application of sales related taxes to
interstate and international sales over the Internet is unclear and evolving. We are already
required to collect and remit VAT in the European Union, for example. Local, state or foreign
jurisdictions may seek to impose sales or use tax collection obligations on out-of-state companies
like ours that engage in e-commerce. A successful assertion by one or more states or any foreign
country that we should collect sales, use or other taxes on the sale of merchandise through our
physical goods clients or on physical shipments of software could harm our results of operations.
In addition, any failure by a physical goods client to collect obligatory sales or use taxes could
cause the relevant jurisdiction to attempt imposing that obligation on us.
Compliance with changing regulation of corporate governance and public disclosure may result in
additional expenses.
Keeping abreast of, and in compliance with, changing laws, regulations and standards relating
to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, new SEC
regulations and Nasdaq Stock Market rules, have required an increased amount of management
attention and external resources. We intend to invest all reasonably necessary resources to comply
with evolving corporate governance and public disclosure standards, and this investment may result
in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention
from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
We may need to raise additional capital to achieve our business objectives, which could result in
dilution to existing investors or increase our debt obligations.
We require substantial working capital to fund our business. If capital requirements vary
materially from those currently planned, we may require additional financing sooner than
anticipated. We filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a universal shelf registration
statement on Form S-3, of which this prospectus is a part, pursuant to which we may sell up to $255
million in equity or debt securities. In addition, we filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission an acquisition shelf registration statement on Form S-4 pursuant to which we
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may issue up to 1,480,000 shares of common stock in connection with future acquisitions of other
businesses, assets or securities. If additional funds are raised through the issuance of equity
securities, the percentage ownership of our stockholders will be reduced, stockholders may
experience additional dilution or these equity securities may have rights, preferences or
privileges senior to those of our common stock. In June 2004, we issued 1.25% convertible notes
which require us to make interest payments and will require us to pay principal when the notes
become due in 2024 or in the event of acceleration under certain circumstances, unless the notes
are converted into our common stock prior to that. We may not have sufficient capital to service
this or any future debt securities that we may issue, and the conversion of the notes into our
common stock may result in further dilution to our stockholders. Our capital requirements depend on
several factors, including the rate of market acceptance of our products, the ability to expand our
client base and the growth of sales and marketing. We have had significant operating losses and
negative cash flow from operations since inception. Additional financing may not be available when
needed, on terms favorable to us or at all. If adequate funds are not available or are not
available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to develop or enhance our services, take advantage
of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures, which would harm our operating results
and adversely affect our ability to sustain profitability.
Internet-related stock prices are especially volatile and this volatility may depress our stock
price or cause it to fluctuate significantly.
The stock market, and the trading prices of Internet-related companies in particular, have
been notably volatile. This volatility is likely to continue in the short-term and is not
necessarily related to the operating performance of affected companies. This broad market and
industry volatility could significantly reduce the price of our common stock at any time, without
regard to our operating performance. Factors that could cause our stock price in particular to
fluctuate include, but are not limited to:
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actual or anticipated variations in quarterly operating results; |
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announcements of technological innovations; |
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the ability to sign new clients and the retention of existing clients; |
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new products or services that we offer; |
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competitive developments, including new products or services, or new relationships
by our competitors; |
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changes that affect our clients or the viability of their product lines; |
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changes in financial estimates by securities analysts; |
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conditions or trends in the Internet and online commerce industries; |
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global unrest and terrorist activities; |
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changes in the economic performance and/or market valuations of other Internet or
online e-commerce companies; |
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required changes in generally accepted accounting principles and disclosures; |
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our announcement of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures
or capital commitments or results of operations or other developments related to those
acquisitions; |
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additions or departures of key personnel; and |
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sales or other transactions involving our common stock or our convertible notes. |
In addition, our stock price may be impacted by the short sales and actions of other parties
who may disseminate misleading information about us in an effort to profit from fluctuations in our
stock price.
Our involvement in class-action litigation relating to our IPO may adversely affect our results of
operations and distract management.
We are party to a lawsuit which alleges that we, certain of our officers and directors and the
underwriters of our initial public offering, or IPO, violated Section 11 of the Securities Act of
1933 based on allegations that our IPO registration statement and prospectus failed to disclose
material facts regarding the compensation to be received by, and the stock allocation practices of,
the IPO underwriters. Similar complaints, pursuing similar theories, were filed in the same court
against hundreds of other public companies.
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The IPO lawsuit, as well as any future allegations that we may have, in some way, violated
securities laws could require us to expend significant financial and managerial resources and could
result in further volatility of our stock price. The defense of any claims, with or without merit,
could be time-consuming, result in costly litigation and divert technical and management personnel.
We may need to recognize and record income tax expense in the future while having no cash outlay
for these taxes.
Because we have a substantial net operating loss carryforward, the related deferred tax asset
is fully reserved on our balance sheet. At some future date when we meet the requirements, we may
reflect the benefit of the deferred tax asset and taxation of our financial results in our
financial statements. The recognition of taxes may adversely affect the trading price of our stock
in the stock market. It is also possible under existing accounting rules that we may be required to
record income tax expense although we may have no cash outlay for these taxes or the ability to
recognize the deferred tax asset under current accounting rules. In addition, we may also be
expected to pay alternative minimum tax or foreign taxes even though we have a net operation loss
carryforward.
Provisions of our charter documents, other agreements and Delaware law may inhibit potential
acquisition bids for us.
Certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, bylaws, other
agreements and Delaware law could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if a
change in control would be beneficial to our stockholders.
Risks Related to the Acquisition of Element 5 AG
element 5 has a history of losses and has yet to achieve sustained profitability.
element 5 has experienced significant losses since inception ($10.2 million through March 31,
2004) and has experienced significant negative cash flows from operations. To address these risks,
we and element 5 must, among others things, maintain existing and develop new relationships with
independent software publishers, online retailers and other companies outside of the software
market, maintain and increase element 5s client base, implement and successfully execute its
business and marketing strategy, continue to develop and upgrade its technology and
transaction-processing systems, provide superior customer service and order fulfillment, respond to
competitive developments, and attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel. There can be no
assurances that we will be successful in addressing such risks, and the failure to do so could have
a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we do not successfully integrate element 5, our business will be adversely affected.
Our acquisition of element 5 in April 2004 is recent. We therefore have a very limited
operating history with element 5 and limited experience in managing its business. Integrating
element 5 is a complex and time-consuming process. Prior to the acquisition, Digital River and
element 5 operated independently, each with its own business, corporate culture, locations,
employees and systems. Eventually, we intend to operate as a combined organization utilizing common
technology, information and communication systems, operating procedures, financial controls, and
human resource practices. There may be substantial difficulties, costs and delays involved in any
integration of element 5 into Digital River. These may include:
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distracting management from day-to-day operations; |
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potential incompatibility of corporate cultures; |
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potential difficulties in transitioning customers to new platforms; |
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an inability to achieve synergies as planned; |
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costs and delays in implementing common systems and procedures; and |
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increased difficulties in managing our business due to the addition of an
international location and two locations in the U.S. |
Many of these risks are accentuated because element 5s operations, employees and customers
are largely located outside of the U.S. Any one or all of these factors may increase operating
costs or lower anticipated financial performance. Many of these factors are also outside of our
control. Achieving anticipated synergies and the potential benefits underlying our reasons for the
acquisition will depend on successful integration of the two businesses. The failure to integrate
element 5 successfully would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition
and results of operations.
We may be unable to retain element 5s customers.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to retain element 5s customers following the
acquisition. A failure to retain element 5s customers could have a material adverse effect on our
financial condition and profitability.
As a result of the acquisition of element 5, we will be exposed to greater risk from currency
fluctuations.
Approximately one half of element 5s revenue and most of its costs are denominated in Euros
and currencies other than U.S. dollars. As a result, a greater proportion of our revenues, earnings
and costs will now be subject to currency fluctuations. We do not have, and we do not have plans to
implement, a currency hedging program to mitigate the effect of fluctuations of currency prices on
our financial results. As a result, our future operating results may be subject to fluctuations due
to volatility in foreign currency exchange markets.
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some of the statements in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference are
forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our current expectations, assumptions,
estimates and projections about our business and our industry, and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industrys results, levels of activity,
performance or achievement to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity,
performance or achievements expressed or implied in or contemplated by the forward-looking
statements. Words such as believe, anticipate, expect, intend, plan, will, may,
should, estimate, predict, potential, continue, or the negative of such terms or other
similar expressions, identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to
expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are
forward-looking statements. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in
such forward-looking statements as a result of several factors more fully described under the
caption Risk Factors and in the documents incorporated by reference. The forward-looking
statements made in this prospectus relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are
made.
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
The following table sets forth the ratio of earnings to fixed charges for each of the last
five years (in millions):
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Years ended December 31 |
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2000 |
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2001 |
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2002 |
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Ratio of earnings to fixed charges |
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70.5 |
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17.6 |
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The ratio of earnings to fixed charges is computed by dividing income (loss) from operations
plus fixed charges by fixed charges. Fixed charges consist of interest expense, amortization of
debt issuance costs and that portion of rental payments under operating leases that we believe to
be representative of interest. Earnings were insufficient to cover fixed charges in 2000 through
2002 by amounts equal to the net loss for the period.
USE OF PROCEEDS
Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, we currently intend to use the net
proceeds from the sale of securities offered by this prospectus for general corporate purposes,
including capital expenditures and to meet working capital needs. We may also use a portion of the
net proceeds to acquire or invest in businesses, products and technologies that are complementary
to our own. Pending such uses, we may invest the net proceeds in interest-bearing securities.
DIVIDEND POLICY
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock. We intend to retain any future earnings to support operations and to finance the growth and development of our business and we do not anticipate paying cash dividends for the foreseeable future.
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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
Our authorized capital stock consists of 60,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01
per share, and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share. As of March 1, 2005,
there were 34,179,543 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding, 4,425,486 shares of common
stock reserved for issuance upon the conversion of our 1.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2024 and
no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Common Stock
The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all
matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders. Subject to preferences that may be applicable to
any outstanding shares of preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive
ratably any dividends declared by the board of directors out of legally available funds. In the
event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company, holders of the common stock are
entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities and the liquidation
preferences of any outstanding shares of preferred stock. Holders of common stock have no
preemptive rights and no right to convert their common stock into any other securities. There are
no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. All of our outstanding
shares of common stock are, and all of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus as
well as all of the shares of our common stock issuable upon the conversion of our outstanding
convertible notes and upon the conversion of any preferred stock or debt securities offered
pursuant to this prospectus, when issued and paid for, will be, fully paid and non-assessable.
Preferred Stock
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has
the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of
preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the designations, powers, preferences, privileges
and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or
restrictions thereof, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of
redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of the
common stock.
We will fix the rights, preferences, privileges, limitations and restrictions of the preferred
stock of each series that we sell under this prospectus and applicable prospectus supplements in
the certificate of designation relating to that series. We will incorporate by reference as an
exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus the form of any certificate of
designation that describes the terms of the series of preferred stock we are offering before the
issuance of the related series of preferred stock. This description will include:
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the title and stated value; |
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the number of shares we are offering; |
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the liquidation preference per share; |
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the purchase price per share; |
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the dividend rate per share, dividend period and payment dates and method of calculation for dividends; |
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whether dividends will be cumulative or non-cumulative and, if cumulative, the date from
which dividends will accumulate; |
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our right, if any, to defer payment of dividends and the maximum length of any such deferral period; |
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the procedures for any auction and remarketing, if any; |
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the provisions for a sinking fund, if any; |
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the provisions for redemption or repurchase, if applicable, and any restrictions on our
ability to exercise those redemption and repurchase rights; |
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any listing of the preferred stock on any securities exchange or market; |
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whether the preferred stock will be convertible into our common stock, and, if
applicable, the conversion period, the conversion price, or how it will be calculated, and
under what circumstances it may be adjusted; |
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whether the preferred stock will be exchangeable into debt securities, and, if
applicable, the exchange period, the exchange price, or how it will be calculated, and
under what circumstances it may be adjusted; |
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voting rights, if any, of the preferred stock; |
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preemption rights, if any; |
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restrictions on transfer, sale or other assignment, if any; |
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whether interests in the preferred stock will be represented by depositary shares; |
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a discussion of any material or special United States federal income tax considerations
applicable to the preferred stock; |
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the relative ranking and preferences of the preferred stock as to dividend rights and
rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs; |
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any limitations on issuances of any class or series of preferred stock ranking senior to
or on a parity with the series of preferred stock being issued as to dividend rights and
rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs; and |
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any other specific terms, rights, preferences, privileges, limitations or restrictions
of the preferred stock. |
When we issue shares of preferred stock under this prospectus, the shares will be fully paid
and nonassessable and will not have, or be subject to, any preemptive or similar rights.
Delaware law provides that the holders of preferred stock will have the right to vote
separately as a class on any proposal involving fundamental changes in the rights of holders of
that preferred stock. This right is in addition to any voting rights that may be provided for in
the applicable certificate of designation.
The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of our
common stock, and the likelihood that holders of preferred stock will receive dividend payments and
payments upon liquidation may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in
control of us, which could depress the market price of our common stock and securities convertible
into our common stock.
Antitakeover Effects of Provisions of Charter Documents and Delaware Law
Charter Documents. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws include
a number of provisions that may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying or
preventing changes in control or management of our company. First, our certificate of incorporation
provides for a classified board of directors in which only approximately one third of the
directors are elected at each annual meeting of stockholders. Our certificate of incorporation also
provides that all stockholder action must be effected at a duly called meeting of stockholders and
not by a consent in writing. Further, our bylaws limit who may call special meetings of the
stockholders. Our certificate of incorporation does not include a provision for cumulative voting
for directors. Under cumulative voting, a minority stockholder holding a sufficient percentage of a
class of shares may be able to ensure the election of one or more directors. Finally, our bylaws
establish procedures, including advance notice procedures, with regard to the nomination of
candidates for election as directors and stockholder proposals. These and other provisions of our
certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law could discourage potential acquisition
proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control or management of our company.
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Delaware Takeover Statute. We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware
General Corporation Law. In general, the statute prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation
from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years
after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the
business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. For purposes of Section 203, a business
combination includes a merger, asset sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to
the interested stockholder, and an interested stockholder is a person who, together with affiliates
and associates, owns, or within three years prior, did own, 15% or more of the corporations voting
stock.
These and other provisions of our certificate and bylaws and Delaware law could discourage
potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control or management
Digital River.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
Wells Fargo Shareowner Services is the transfer agent and registrar for our common stock.
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
We may issue debt securities from time to time in one or more series. The following
description summarizes the general terms and provisions of the debt securities that we may offer
pursuant to this prospectus that are common to all series. The specific terms relating to any
series of our debt securities that we offer will be described in a prospectus supplement. You
should read the applicable prospectus supplement for the terms of the series of debt securities
offered. Because the terms of specific series of debt securities offered may differ from the
general information that we have provided below, you should rely on information in the applicable
prospectus supplement that contradicts any information below.
As required by federal law for all bonds and notes of companies that are publicly offered, the
debt securities will be governed by a document called an indenture. An indenture is a contract
between a financial institution, acting on your behalf as trustee of the debt securities offered,
and us. The debt securities will be issued pursuant to an indenture that we will enter into with a
trustee, which, unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, will be Wells
Fargo Bank, a national association. When we refer to the indenture in this prospectus, we are
referring to the indenture under which your debt securities are issued, as may be supplemented by
any supplemental indenture applicable to your debt securities. The trustee has two main roles.
First, subject to some limitations on the extent to which the trustee can act on your behalf, the
trustee can enforce your rights against us if we default on our obligations under the indenture.
Second, the trustee performs certain administrative duties for us with respect to the debt
securities.
Unless otherwise provided in any applicable prospectus supplement, the following section is a
summary of the principal terms and provisions that will be included in the indenture. This summary
is not complete. Because this section is a summary, it does not describe every aspect of the debt
securities or the indenture. If we refer to particular provisions in the indenture, such
provisions, including the definition of terms, are incorporated by reference in this prospectus as
part of this summary. We urge you to read the indenture and any supplement thereto that are
applicable to you because the indenture, and not this section, defines your rights as a holder of
debt securities. The form of indenture is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of
which this prospectus is a part.
General Terms of Debt Securities
Unless otherwise provided in any applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities offered
hereby will be unsecured obligations of Digital River and will be either our senior unsecured
obligations issued in one or more series and referred to herein as the senior debt securities, or
our subordinated unsecured obligations issued in one or more series and referred to herein as the
subordinated debt securities. The senior debt securities will rank equal in right of payment to
all of our other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness. The subordinated debt securities will
be subordinated in right of payment to the prior payment in full of the senior debt securities and
all of our other senior indebtedness, as described below under Subordination Provisions.
The indenture contains covenants with respect to the following matters:
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payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest; |
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maintenance of an office or agency in each place of payment; |
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arrangements regarding the handling of money held in trust; |
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maintenance of corporate existence; |
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maintenance of insurance; and |
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statement by officers as to default. |
We may agree to additional covenants for the benefit of one or more series of debt securities,
and, if so, these will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
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The indenture does not limit the total amount of debt securities that we can issue under it,
nor does it limit us from incurring or issuing other unsecured or secured debt. Unless otherwise
indicated in the applicable prospectus
supplement, the indenture pursuant to which the debt securities are issued will not contain any
financial covenants or other provisions that protect you in the event we issue a large amount of
debt, or in the event that we are acquired by another entity (including in a highly leveraged
transaction).
Specific Terms of Debt Securities
You should read the applicable prospectus supplement for the terms of the series of debt
securities offered. The terms of the debt securities described in such prospectus supplement may
include the following, as applicable to the series of debt securities offered thereby:
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the title of the debt securities; |
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whether the debt securities will be senior debt securities or subordinated debt
securities of Digital River; |
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the aggregate principal amount of the debt securities and whether there is any limit on
such aggregate principal amount; |
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whether we may reopen the series of debt securities for issuances of additional debt
securities of such series; |
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the date or dates, or how the date or dates will be determined, when the principal
amount of the debt securities will be payable; |
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the amount payable upon acceleration of the maturity of the debt securities or how this
amount will be determined; |
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the interest rate or rates, which may be fixed or variable, that the debt securities
will bear, if any, or how such interest rate or rates will be determined; |
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the basis upon which interest will be calculated if other than that of a 360-day year of
twelve 30-day months; |
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the date or dates from which any interest will accrue or how such date or dates will be determined; |
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the interest payment dates and the record dates for these interest payments; |
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whether the debt securities are redeemable at our option; |
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whether there are any sinking fund or other provisions that would obligate us to
purchase or otherwise redeem the debt securities; |
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the form in which we will issue the debt securities, if other than in registered
book-entry only form represented by global securities; whether we will have the option of
issuing debt securities in certificated form; whether we will have the option of issuing
certificated debt securities in bearer form if we issue the securities outside the United
States to non-U.S. persons; any restrictions on the offer, sale or delivery of bearer
securities and the terms, if any, upon which bearer securities of the series may be
exchanged for registered securities of the series and vice versa (if permitted by
applicable laws and regulations); |
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the currency or currencies of the debt securities; |
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whether the amount of payments of principal, premium, if any, or interest on the debt
securities will be determined with reference to an index, formula or other method (which
could be based on one or more currencies, commodities, equity indices or other indices) and
how these amounts will be determined; |
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the place or places for payment, transfer, conversion and/or exchange of the debt securities; |
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the denominations in which the offered debt securities will be issued; |
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the applicability of the provisions of the indenture described under defeasance and
any provisions in modification of, in addition to or in lieu of any of these provisions; |
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material federal income tax considerations that are specific to the series of debt
securities offered; |
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any provisions granting special rights to the holders of the debt securities upon the
occurrence of specified events; |
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whether the indenture contains any changes or additions to the events of default or
covenants described in this prospectus; |
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whether the debt securities will be convertible into or exchangeable for any other
securities and the applicable terms and conditions for such conversion or exchange; |
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if the debt securities are to be secured, the provisions applicable to such security; and |
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any other terms specific to the series of debt securities offered. |
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Redemption
If the debt securities are redeemable, the applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the
terms and conditions for such redemption, including:
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the redemption prices (or method of calculating the same); |
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the redemption period (or method of determining the same); |
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whether such debt securities are redeemable in whole or in part at our option; and |
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any other provisions affecting the redemption of such debt securities. |
Conversion and Exchange
If any series of the debt securities offered are convertible into or exchangeable for shares
of our common stock or other securities (which could include securities issued by third parties,
including our affiliates), the applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the terms and
conditions for such conversion or exchange, including:
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the conversion price or exchange ratio (or method of calculating the same); |
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the conversion or exchange period (or method of determining the same); |
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whether conversion or exchange will be mandatory, or at our option or at the option of the holder; |
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the events requiring an adjustment of the conversion price or the exchange ratio; and |
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any other provisions affecting conversion or exchange of such debt securities. |
Form and Denomination of Debt Securities
Denomination of Debt Securities
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will
be denominated in U.S. dollars, in minimum denominations of $1,000 and multiples thereof.
Registered Form
We may issue the debt securities in registered form, in which case we may issue them either in
book-entry form only or in certificated form. We will issue registered debt securities in
book-entry form only, unless we specify otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement. Debt
securities issued in book-entry form will be represented by global securities.
Bearer Form
We also will have the option of issuing debt securities in non-registered form, as bearer
securities, if we issue the securities outside the United States to non-U.S. persons. In that case,
the applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the mechanics for holding the bearer
securities, including the procedures for receiving payments, for exchanging the bearer securities
for registered securities of the same series and for receiving notices. The applicable prospectus
supplement will also describe the requirements with respect to our maintenance of offices or
agencies outside the United States and the applicable U.S. federal tax law requirements.
Holders of Registered Debt Securities
Book-Entry Holders
We will issue registered debt securities in book-entry form only, unless we specify otherwise
in the applicable prospectus supplement. Debt securities held in book-entry form will be
represented by one or more global
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securities registered in the name of a depositary or its nominee. The depositary or its nominee
will hold such global securities on behalf of financial institutions that participate in such
depositarys book-entry system. These participating financial institutions, in turn, hold
beneficial interests in the global securities either on their own behalf or on behalf of their
customers.
Under the indenture, only the person in whose name a debt security is registered is recognized
as the holder of that debt security. Consequently, for debt securities issued in global form, we
will recognize only the depositary or its nominee as the holder of the debt securities, and we will
make all payments on the debt securities to the depositary or its nominee. The depositary will then
pass along the payments that it receives to its participants, which in turn will pass the payments
along to their customers who are the beneficial owners of the debt securities. The depositary and
its participants do so under agreements they have made with one another or with their customers or
by law; they are not obligated to do so under the terms of the debt securities or the terms of the
indenture.
As a result, investors will not own debt securities directly. Instead, they will own
beneficial interests in a global security, through a bank, broker or other financial institution
that participates in the depositarys book-entry system, or that holds an interest through a
participant in the depositarys book-entry system. As long as the debt securities are issued in
global form, investors will be indirect holders, and not holders, of the debt securities.
Street Name Holders
In the event that we issue debt securities in certificated form, or in the event that a global
security is terminated, investors may choose to hold their debt securities either in their own
names or in street name. Debt securities held in street name are registered in the name of a
bank, broker or other financial institution chosen by the investor, and the investor would hold a
beneficial interest in those debt securities through the account that he or she maintains at such
bank, broker or other financial institution.
For debt securities held in street name, we will recognize only the intermediary banks,
brokers and other financial institutions in whose names the debt securities are registered as the
holders of those debt securities, and we will make all payments on those debt securities to them.
These institutions will pass along the payments that they receive from us to their customers who
are the beneficial owners pursuant to agreements that they have entered into with such customers or
by law; they are not obligated to do so under the terms of the debt securities or the terms of the
indenture. Investors who hold debt securities in street name will be indirect holders, and not
holders, of the debt securities.
Registered Holders
Our obligations, as well as the obligations of the trustee and those of any third parties
employed by the trustee or us, run only to the registered holders of the debt securities. We do not
have obligations to investors who hold beneficial interests in global securities, in street name or
by any other indirect means and who are, therefore, not the registered holders of the debt
securities. This will be the case whether an investor chooses to be an indirect holder of a debt
security, or has no choice in the matter because we are issuing the debt securities only in global
form.
For example, once we make a payment or give a notice to the registered holder of the debt
securities, we have no further responsibility with respect to such payment or notice even if that
registered holder is required, under agreements with depositary participants or customers or by
law, to pass it along to the indirect holders but does not do so. Similarly, if we want to obtain
the approval of the holders for any purpose (for example, to amend an indenture or to relieve us of
the consequences of a default or of our obligation to comply with a particular provision of an
indenture), we would seek the approval only from the registered holders, and not the indirect
holders, of the debt securities. Whether and how the registered holders contact the indirect
holders is up to the registered holders.
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Notwithstanding the above, when we refer to you or your in this prospectus, we are
referring to investors who invest in the debt securities being offered by this prospectus, whether
they are the registered holders or only
indirect holders of the debt securities offered. When we refer to your debt securities in this
prospectus, we mean the series of debt securities in which you hold a direct or indirect interest.
Special Considerations for Indirect Holders
If you hold debt securities through a bank, broker or other financial institution, either in
book-entry form or in street name, we urge you to check with that institution to find out:
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how it handles securities payments and notices; |
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whether it imposes fees or charges; |
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how it would handle a request for its consent, as a registered holder of the debt
securities, if ever required; |
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if permitted for a particular series of debt securities, whether and how you can
instruct it to send you debt securities registered in your own name so you can be a
registered holder of such debt securities; |
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how it would exercise rights under the debt securities if there were a default or other
event triggering the need for holders to act to protect their interests; and |
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if the debt securities are in book-entry form, how the depositarys rules and procedures
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Global Securities
A global security represents one or any other number of individual debt securities. Generally,
all debt securities represented by the same global securities will have the same terms. Each debt
security issued in book-entry form will be represented by a global security that we deposit with
and register in the name of a financial institution or its nominee that we select. The financial
institution that we select for this purpose is called the depositary. Unless we specify otherwise
in the applicable prospectus supplement, The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York, known as
DTC, will be the depositary for all debt securities that we issue in book-entry form. A global
security may not be transferred to or registered in the name of anyone other than the depositary or
its nominee, unless special termination situations arise. We describe those situations below under
Special Situations When a Global Security Will Be Terminated. As a result of these
arrangements, the depositary, or its nominee, will be the sole registered holder of all debt
securities represented by a global security, and investors will be permitted to own only beneficial
interests in a global security. Beneficial interests must be held by means of an account with a
broker, bank or other financial institution that in turn has an account either with the depositary
or with another institution that has an account with the depositary. Thus, an investor whose
security is represented by a global security will not be a registered holder of the debt security,
but an indirect holder of a beneficial interest in the global security.
Special Considerations for Global Securities
As an indirect holder, an investors rights relating to a global security will be governed by
the account rules of the investors financial institution and of the depositary, as well as general
laws relating to securities transfers. The depositary that holds the global security will be
considered the registered holder of the debt securities represented by such global security.
If debt securities are issued only in the form of a global security, an investor should be
aware of the following:
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An investor cannot cause the debt securities to be registered in his or her name, and
cannot obtain non-global certificates for his or her interest in the debt securities,
except in the special situations we describe below under Special Situations When a
Global Security Will Be Terminated. |
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An investor will be an indirect holder and must look to his or her own bank or broker
for payments on the debt securities and protection of his or her legal rights relating to
the debt securities, as we describe under Holders of Registered Debt Securities above. |
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An investor may not be able to sell his or her interest in the debt securities to some
insurance companies and other institutions that are required by law to own their securities
in non-book-entry form. |
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An investor may not be able to pledge his or her interest in the debt securities in
circumstances where certificates representing the debt securities must be delivered to the
lender or other beneficiary of the pledge in order for the pledge to be effective. |
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The depositarys policies, which may change from time to time, will govern payments,
transfers, exchanges and other matters relating to an investors interest in the debt
securities. Neither the trustee nor we have any responsibility for any aspect of the
depositarys actions or for the depositarys records of ownership interests in a global
security. Additionally, neither the trustee nor we supervise the depositary in any way. |
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DTC requires that those who purchase and sell interests in a global security that is
deposited in its book-entry system use immediately available funds. Your broker or bank may
also require you to use immediately available funds when purchasing or selling interests in
a global security. |
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Financial institutions that participate in the depositarys book-entry system, and
through which an investor holds its interest in a global security, may also have their own
policies affecting payments, notices and other matters relating to the debt security. There
may be more than one financial intermediary in the chain of ownership for an investor. We
do not monitor and are not responsible for the actions of any of such intermediaries. |
Special Situations When a Global Security Will Be Terminated
In a few special situations described below, a global security will be terminated and
interests in the global security will be exchanged for certificates in non-global form, referred to
as certificated debt securities. After such an exchange, it will be up to the investor as to
whether to hold the certificated debt securities directly or in street name. We have described the
rights of direct holders and street name holders under Holders of Registered Debt Securities
above. Investors must consult their own banks or brokers to find out how to have their interests in
a global security exchanged on termination of a global security for certificated debt securities to
be held directly in their own names.
The special situations for termination of a global security are as follows:
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if the depositary notifies us that it is unwilling, unable or no longer qualified to
continue as depositary for that global security, and we do not appoint another institution
to act as depositary within 60 days of such notification; |
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if we notify the trustee that we wish to terminate that global security; or |
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if an event of default has occurred with regard to the debt securities represented by
that global security and such event of default has not been cured or waived. |
The applicable prospectus supplement may list situations for terminating a global security
that would apply only to the particular series of debt securities covered by such prospectus
supplement. If a global security were terminated, only the depositary, and not we or the trustee,
would be responsible for deciding the names of the institutions in whose names the debt securities
represented by the global security would be registered and, therefore, who would be the registered
holders of those debt securities.
Form, Exchange and Transfer of Registered Securities
If we cease to issue registered debt securities in global form, we will issue them:
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only in fully registered certificated form; and |
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unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, in denominations of
$1,000 and amounts that are multiples of $1,000. |
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Holders may exchange their certificated securities for debt securities of smaller
denominations or combined into fewer debt securities of larger denominations, as long as the total
principal amount is not changed.
Holders may exchange or transfer their certificated securities at the trustees office. We
have appointed the trustee to act as our agent for registering debt securities in the names of
holders transferring debt securities. We may appoint another entity to perform these functions or
perform them ourselves. Holders will not be required to pay a service charge to transfer or
exchange their certificated securities, but they may be required to pay any tax or other
governmental charge associated with the transfer or exchange. The transfer or exchange will be made
only if our transfer agent is satisfied with the holders proof of legal ownership.
If we have designated additional transfer agents for your debt security, they will be named in
the applicable prospectus supplement. We may appoint additional transfer agents or cancel the
appointment of any particular transfer agent. We may also approve a change in the location of the
office through which any transfer agent acts. If any certificated securities of a particular series
are redeemable and we redeem less than all the debt securities of that series, we may block the
transfer or exchange of those debt securities during the period beginning 15 days before the day we
mail the notice of redemption and ending on the day of that mailing, in order to freeze the list of
holders to prepare the mailing. We may also refuse to register transfers or exchanges of any
certificated securities selected for redemption, except that we will continue to permit transfers
and exchanges of the unredeemed portion of any debt security that will be partially redeemed.
If a registered debt security is issued in global form, only the depositary will be entitled
to transfer and exchange the debt security as described in this subsection because it will be the
sole holder of the debt security.
Payment and Paying Agents
On each due date for interest payments on the debt securities, we will pay interest to each
person shown on the trustees records as owner of the debt securities at the close of business on a
designated day that is in advance of the due date for interest. We will pay interest to each such
person even if such person no longer owns the debt security on the interest due date. The
designated day on which we will determine the owner of the debt security, as shown on the trustees
records, is also known as the record date. The record date will usually be about two weeks in
advance of the interest due date.
Because we will pay interest on the debt securities to the holders of the debt securities
based on ownership as of the applicable record date with respect to any given interest period, and
not to the holders of the debt securities on the interest due date (that is, the day that the
interest is to be paid), it is up to the holders who are buying and selling the debt securities to
work out between themselves the appropriate purchase price for the debt securities. It is common
for purchase prices of debt securities to be adjusted so as to prorate the interest on the debt
securities fairly between the buyer and the seller based on their respective ownership periods
within the applicable interest period.
Payments on Global Securities
We will make payments on a global security by wire transfer of immediately available funds
directly to the depositary, or its nominee, and not to any indirect holders who own beneficial
interests in the global security. An indirect holders right to those payments will be governed by
the rules and practices of the depositary and its participants, as described under Global
Securities above.
Payments on Certificated Securities
We will make interest payments on debt securities held in certificated form by mailing a check
on each due date for interest payments to the holder of the certificated securities, as shown on
the trustees records, as of the close of business on the record date. We will make all payments of
principal and premium, if any, on the certificated securities by check at the office of the
trustee, and/or at other offices that may be specified in the applicable prospectus supplement or
in a notice to holders, against surrender of the certificated security. All payments by check will
be made in next-day funds (that is, funds that become available on the day after the check is
cashed).
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Payment When Offices Are Closed
If payment on a debt security is due on a day that is not a business day, we will make such
payment on the next succeeding business day. The indenture will provide that such payments will be
treated as if they were made on the original due date for payment. A postponement of this kind will
not result in a default under any debt security or indenture, and no interest will accrue on the
amount of any payment that is postponed in this manner.
Book-entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on
how they will receive payments on their debt securities.
Events of Default
You will have special rights if an Event of Default occurs with respect to your debt
securities and such Event of Default is not cured, as described later in this subsection.
What Is an Event of Default?
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the term Event of
Default with respect to the debt securities offered means any of the following:
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We do not pay the principal of, or any premium on, the debt security on its due date; |
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We do not pay interest on the debt security within 30 days of its due date; |
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We do not deposit any sinking fund payment, if applicable, with respect to the debt
securities on its due date; |
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We remain in breach of a covenant with respect to the debt securities for 60 days after
we receive a written notice of default stating that we are in breach. The notice must be
sent by either the trustee or holders of at least 25% of the principal amount of the debt
securities of the affected series; |
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We file for bankruptcy or certain other events of bankruptcy, insolvency or
reorganization occur; or |
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Any other Event of Default that may be described in the applicable prospectus
supplement, and set forth in the indenture, occurs. |
An Event of Default for a particular series of debt securities does not necessarily constitute
an Event of Default for any other series of debt securities issued under the same indenture or any
other indenture.
Remedies if an Event of Default Occurs
If an Event of Default has occurred and has not been cured within the applicable time period,
the trustee or the holders of 25% in principal amount of the debt securities of the affected series
may declare the entire principal amount of all the debt securities of that series to be immediately
due and payable. This is called a declaration of acceleration of maturity. A declaration of
acceleration of maturity may be rescinded by the holders of at least a majority in principal amount
of the debt securities of the affected series.
The trustee may withhold notice to the holders of debt securities of any default, except in
the payment of principal or interest, if it considers the withholding of notice to be in the best
interests of the holders. Additionally, subject to the provisions of the indenture relating to the
duties of the trustee, the trustee is not required to take any action under the indenture at the
request of any of the holders of the debt securities unless such holders offer the trustee
reasonable protection from expenses and liability (called an indemnity). If reasonable indemnity
is provided, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of
the relevant series may direct the time, method and place of conduct of any lawsuit or other formal
legal action seeking any remedy available to the trustee. The trustee may refuse to follow those
directions in certain circumstances. No delay or omission in exercising any right or remedy will be
treated as a waiver of that right, remedy or Event of Default.
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Before you are allowed to bypass the trustee and bring your own lawsuit or other formal legal
action or take other steps to enforce your rights or protect your interests relating to your debt
securities, the following must occur:
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You must give the trustee written notice that an Event of Default has occurred and
remains uncured. |
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The holders of 25% in principal amount of all outstanding debt securities of the
relevant series must make a written request that the trustee take action because of the
default that has occurred and must offer reasonable indemnity to the trustee against the
cost and other liabilities of taking that action. |
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The trustee must not have taken any action for 60 days after receipt of the above
notice, request and offer of indemnity. |
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The holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of the relevant
series must not have given the trustee a direction inconsistent with the above notice or
request. |
Notwithstanding the above, you are entitled at any time to bring a lawsuit for the payment of
money due on your debt securities on or after the due date for payment.
Holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of the affected series may
waive any past defaults other than:
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the payment of principal, or any premium or interest, on the affected series of debt
securities; or |
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a default in respect of a covenant that cannot be modified or amended without the
consent of each holder of the affected series of debt securities. |
Book-entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on
how to give notice or direction to or make a request of the trustee, and how to declare or rescind
an acceleration of maturity on their debt securities.
With respect to each series of debt securities, we will furnish to each trustee, each year, a
written statement of certain of our officers certifying that, to their knowledge, we are in
compliance with the provisions of the indenture applicable to such series of debt securities, or
specifying an Event of Default.
Merger or Consolidation
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the terms of the indenture
will generally permit us to consolidate or merge with another entity. We will also be permitted to
sell all or substantially all of our assets to another entity. However, we may not take any of
these actions unless, among other things, the following conditions are met:
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in the event that we merge out of existence or sell all or substantially all of our
assets, the resulting entity must agree to be legally responsible for the debt securities; |
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the merger or sale of all or substantially all of our assets must not cause a default on
the debt securities, and we must not already be in default (unless the merger or sale would
cure the default) with respect to the debt securities; and |
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we must satisfy any other requirements specified in the applicable prospectus supplement
relating to a particular series of debt securities. |
Modification or Waiver
There are three types of changes we can make to any indenture and the debt securities issued
thereunder.
Changes Requiring Your Approval
First, there are changes that we cannot make to the terms or provisions of your debt
securities without your specific approval. Subject to the provisions of the indenture, without your
specific approval, we may not:
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change the stated maturity of the principal of, or interest or any additional amounts
on, your debt securities; |
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reduce the principal amount of, or premium, if any, or interest on, or any other amounts
due on your debt securities; |
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reduce the amount of principal payable upon acceleration of maturity of your debt
securities; |
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make any change that adversely affects your right to receive payment on, to convert, to
exchange or to require us to purchase, as applicable, your debt securities in accordance
with the terms of the indenture; |
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change the place or currency of payment on your debt securities; |
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impair your right to sue for payment on your debt securities; |
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if your debt securities are subordinated debt securities, modify the subordination
provisions in the indenture in a manner that is adverse to you; |
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reduce the percentage of holders of outstanding debt securities of your series whose
consent is needed to modify or amend the indenture; |
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reduce the percentage of holders of outstanding debt securities of your series whose
consent is needed to waive compliance with certain provisions of the indenture or to waive
certain defaults of the indenture; |
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modify any other aspect of the provisions of the indenture dealing with modification and
waiver of past defaults, changes to the quorum or voting requirements or the waiver of
certain covenants relating to your debt securities; or |
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modify any other provisions of the indenture as specified in the applicable prospectus
supplement. |
Changes Not Requiring Your Approval
There are certain changes that we may make to your debt securities without your specific
approval and without any vote of the holders of the debt securities of the same series. Such
changes are limited to clarifications and certain other changes that would not adversely affect the
holders of the outstanding debt securities of such series in any material respect.
Changes Requiring Majority Approval
Subject to the provisions of the indenture, any other change to, or waiver of, any provision
of the indenture and the debt securities issued pursuant thereto would require the following
approval:
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If the change affects only one series of debt securities, it must be approved by the
holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that
series. |
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If the change affects more than one series of debt securities issued under the same
indenture, it must be approved by the holders of a majority in principal amount of the
outstanding debt securities of all series affected by the change, with all affected series
voting together as one class for this purpose. |
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Waiver of our compliance with certain provisions of an indenture must be approved by the
holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of all series
issued under such indenture, voting together as one class for this purpose, in accordance
with the terms of such indenture. |
In each case, the required approval must be given in writing.
Further Details Concerning Voting
When taking a vote, we will decide the principal amount attributable to the debt securities in
the following manner:
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For debt securities issued with an original issue discount, we will use the principal
amount that would be due and payable on the voting date if the maturity of such debt
securities were accelerated to that date because of a default. |
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For debt securities for which principal amount is not known (for example, because it is
based on an index), we will use the formula described in the prospectus supplement relating
to such debt securities. |
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For debt securities denominated in one or more foreign currencies, we will use the U.S.
dollar equivalent. |
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Debt securities will not be considered outstanding, and therefore will not be eligible to
vote, if we have deposited or set aside in trust money for their payment in full or their
redemption. Debt securities will also not be eligible to vote if we can legally release ourselves
from all payment and other obligations with respect to such debt securities, as described below
under DefeasanceFull Defeasance.
We will generally be entitled to set any day as a record date for the purpose of determining
the holders of outstanding debt securities that are entitled to vote or take other action under the
indenture. If we set a record date for a vote or other action to be taken by holders of one or more
series of debt securities, such vote or action may be taken only by persons shown on the trustees
records as holders of the debt securities of the relevant series on such record date.
Book-entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on
how their approval or waiver may be granted or denied if we seek their approval to change or waive
the provisions of an indenture or of their debt securities.
Defeasance
If specified in the applicable prospectus supplement and subject to the provisions of the
indenture, we may elect either:
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to be released from some of the covenants in the indenture under which your debt
securities were issued (referred to as covenant defeasance); or |
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to be discharged from all of our obligations with respect to your debt securities,
except for obligations to register the transfer or exchange of your debt securities, to
replace mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen debt securities, to maintain paying offices or
agencies and to hold moneys for payment in trust (referred to as full defeasance). |
Covenant Defeasance
In the event of covenant defeasance, you would lose the protection of some of our covenants in
the indenture, but would gain the protection of having money and government securities set aside in
trust to repay your debt securities.
Subject to the provisions of the indenture, to accomplish covenant defeasance with respect to
the debt securities offered:
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We must deposit in trust for the benefit of all holders of the debt securities of the
same series as your debt securities a combination of money and U.S. government or U.S.
government agency notes or bonds that would generate enough cash to make interest,
principal and any other payments on such series of debt securities on the various dates
when such payments would be due. |
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No Event of Default or event which with notice or lapse of time would become an Event of
Default, including by reason of the above deposit of money, notes or bonds, with respect to
your debt securities shall have occurred and be continuing on the date of such deposit. |
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We must deliver to the trustee of your debt securities a legal opinion of our counsel to
the effect that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, you will not recognize income, gain
or loss as a result of such covenant defeasance and that such covenant defeasance will not
cause you to be taxed on your debt securities any differently than if such covenant
defeasance had not occurred and we had just repaid your debt securities ourselves at
maturity. |
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We must deliver to the trustee of your debt securities a legal opinion of our counsel to
the effect that the deposit of funds or bonds would not require registration under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or that all necessary registration under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, had been effected. |
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We must comply with any additional terms of, conditions to or limitations to covenant
defeasance, as set forth in the indenture. |
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We must deliver to the trustee of your debt securities an officers certificate and a
legal opinion of our counsel stating that all conditions precedent to covenant defeasance,
as set forth in the indenture, had been complied with. |
If we were to accomplish covenant defeasance, you could still look to us for repayment of the
debt securities if there were a shortfall in the trust deposit or the trustee were prevented from
making payment. In fact, if an Event of Default that remained after we accomplish covenant
defeasance occurred (such as our bankruptcy) and your debt securities became immediately due and
payable, there might be a shortfall in our trust deposit. Depending on the event causing the
default, you might not be able to obtain payment of the shortfall.
Full Defeasance
If we were to accomplish full defeasance, you would have to rely solely on the funds or notes
or bonds that we deposit in trust for repayment of your debt securities. You could not look to us
for repayment in the unlikely event of any shortfall in our trust deposit. Conversely, the trust
deposit would most likely be protected from claims of our lenders and other creditors if we were to
become bankrupt or insolvent.
Subject to the provisions of the indenture, in order to accomplish full defeasance with
respect to the debt securities offered:
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We must deposit in trust for the benefit of all holders of the debt securities of the
same series as your debt securities a combination of money and U.S. government or U.S.
government agency notes or bonds that would generate enough cash to make interest,
principal and any other payments on such series of debt securities on the various dates
when such payments would be due. |
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No Event of Default or event which with notice or lapse of time would become an Event of
Default, including by reason of the above deposit of money, notes or bonds, with respect to
your debt securities shall have occurred and be continuing on the date of such deposit. |
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We must deliver to the trustee of your debt securities a legal opinion of our counsel
stating either that we have received, or there has been published, a ruling by the Internal
Revenue Service or that there had been a change in the applicable U.S. federal income tax
law, in either case to the effect that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, you will not
recognize income, gain or loss as a result of such full defeasance and that such full
defeasance will not cause you to be taxed on your debt securities any differently than if
such full defeasance had not occurred and we had just repaid your debt securities ourselves
at maturity. |
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We must deliver to the trustee a legal opinion of our counsel to the effect that the
deposit of funds or bonds would not require registration under the Investment Company Act
of 1940, as amended, or that all necessary registration under the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended, had been effected. |
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We must comply with any additional terms of, conditions to or limitations to full
defeasance, as set forth in the indenture. |
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We must deliver to the trustee of your debt securities an officers certificate and a
legal opinion of our counsel stating that all conditions precedent to full defeasance, as
set forth in the indenture, had been complied with. |
Subordination Provisions
Upon any distribution of our assets upon our dissolution, winding up, liquidation or
reorganization, the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest, if any, on the
subordinated debt securities will be subordinated, to the extent provided in the subordinated
indenture, as supplemented, in right of payment to the prior payment in full of all of our senior
indebtedness. Our obligation to make payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest, if
any, on the subordinated debt securities will not otherwise be affected. In addition, no payment on
account of principal and premium, if any, sinking fund or interest, if any, may be made on the
subordinated debt
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securities at any time unless full payment of all amounts due in respect of the principal and
premium, if any, sinking fund and interest, if any, on our senior indebtedness has been made or
duly provided for in money or moneys worth.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, unless all of our senior indebtedness has been paid in full, in
the event that any payment or distribution made by us is received by the trustee or the holders of
any of the subordinated debt securities, such payment or distribution must be paid over to the
holders of our senior indebtedness or a person acting on their behalf, to be applied toward the
payment of all our senior indebtedness remaining unpaid until all the senior indebtedness has been
paid in full. Subject to the payment in full of all our senior indebtedness, the rights of the
holders of the subordinated debt securities will be subrogated to the rights of the holders of our
senior indebtedness.
By reason of this subordination, in the event of a distribution of our assets upon our
insolvency, certain of our general creditors may recover more, ratably, than holders of the
subordinated debt securities. The subordinated indenture provides that these subordination
provisions will not apply to money and securities held in trust under the defeasance provisions of
the subordinated indenture.
When we refer to senior indebtedness in this prospectus, we are referring to the principal
of (and premium, if any) and unpaid interest on:
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our indebtedness (including indebtedness of others guaranteed by us), other than
subordinated debt securities, whenever created, incurred, assumed or guaranteed, or money
borrowed, unless the instrument creating or evidencing such indebtedness or under which
such indebtedness is outstanding provides that such indebtedness is not senior or prior in
right of payment to the subordinated debt securities; and |
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renewals, extensions, modifications and refundings of any of such indebtedness. |
If this prospectus is being delivered in connection with the offering of a series of
subordinated debt securities, the accompanying prospectus supplement or the information
incorporated by reference will set forth the approximate amount of our senior indebtedness
outstanding as of a recent date.
Information Concerning the Trustee
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, Wells Fargo Bank, a
national association will be the trustee under the indenture. We may conduct banking and other
transactions with the trustee in the ordinary course of business.
Governing Law
Unless by their terms they provide otherwise, the indenture and the debt securities will be
governed by, and construed in accordance with, the law of the State of New York.
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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS
General
We may issue warrants for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities.
Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into
between us and a bank or trust company, as warrant agent. The warrant agent will act solely as our
agent in connection with the warrants. The warrant agent will not have any obligation or
relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders or beneficial owners of warrants. This
summary of certain provisions of the warrants is not complete. For the complete terms of a
particular series of warrants, you should refer to the prospectus supplement for that series of
warrants and the warrant agreement for that particular series.
Debt Warrants
The prospectus supplement relating to a particular issue of warrants to purchase debt
securities will describe the terms of the debt warrants, including the following:
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the title of the debt warrants; |
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the offering price for the debt warrants, if any; |
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the aggregate number of the debt warrants; |
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the designation and terms of the debt securities, including any conversion rights,
purchasable upon exercise of the debt warrants; |
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the principal amount of debt securities that may be purchased upon exercise of a debt
warrant and the exercise price for the warrants, which may be payable in cash, securities
or other property; |
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the dates on which the right to exercise the debt warrants will commence and expire; |
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if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of the debt warrants that may be exercised
at any one time; |
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whether the debt warrants represented by the debt warrant certificates or debt
securities that may be issued upon exercise of the debt warrants will be issued in
registered or bearer form; |
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information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any; |
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the currency or currency units in which the offering price, if any, and the exercise price are payable; |
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if applicable, a discussion of material United States Federal income tax considerations; |
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the antidilution provisions of the debt warrants, if any; |
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the redemption or call provisions, if any, applicable to the debt warrants; |
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any provisions with respect to the holders right to require us to repurchase the
warrants upon a change in control; and |
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any additional terms of the debt warrants, including terms, procedures, and limitations
relating to the exchange, exercise and settlement of the debt warrants. |
Debt warrant certificates will be exchangeable for new debt warrant certificates of different
denominations. Debt warrants may be exercised at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or
any other office indicated in the prospectus supplement. Prior to the exercise of their debt
warrants, holders of debt warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of the debt
securities purchasable upon exercise and will not be entitled to payment of principal or any
premium, if any, or interest on the debt securities purchasable upon exercise.
Stock Warrants
The prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of warrants to purchase our common
stock or preferred stock will describe the terms of the warrants, including the following:
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the title of the warrants; |
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the offering price for the warrants, if any; |
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the aggregate number of the warrants; |
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the designation and terms of the common stock or preferred stock that may be purchased
upon exercise of the warrants; |
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the number of shares of common stock or preferred stock that may be purchased upon
exercise of a warrant and the exercise price for the warrants; |
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the dates on which the right to exercise the warrants shall commence and expire; |
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if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of the warrants that may be exercised at any one time; |
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the currency or currency units in which the offering price, if any, and the exercise price are payable; |
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if applicable, a discussion of material United States federal income tax considerations; |
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the antidilution provisions of the warrants, if any; |
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the redemption or call provisions, if any, applicable to the warrants; |
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any provisions with respect to holders right to require us to repurchase the warrants
upon a change in control; and |
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any additional terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures, and limitations
relating to the exchange, exercise and settlement of the warrants. |
Holders of equity warrants will not be entitled:
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to vote, consent or receive dividends; |
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receive notice as stockholders with respect to any meeting of stockholders for the
election of our directors or any other matter; or |
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exercise any rights as stockholders of the Company. |
As set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement, the exercise price and the number of
shares of common stock or preferred stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant will be subject to
adjustment in certain events, including the issuance of a stock dividend to any holders of common
stock, a stock split, reverse stock split, combination, subdivision or reclassification of common
stock, and such other events, if any, specified in the applicable prospectus supplement.
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We may sell the securities separately or together:
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through one or more underwriters or dealers in a public offering and sale by them; |
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directly to investors; |
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through agents; or |
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through a combination of any of these methods of sale. |
We may sell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions:
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at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed from time to time: |
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at market prices prevailing at the times of sale; |
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at prices related to such prevailing market prices; or |
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at negotiated prices. |
We will set forth in a prospectus supplement the terms of the offering of securities, including:
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the name or names of any agents or underwriters, if any; |
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the purchase price of the securities being offered and the proceeds we will receive from the sale; |
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any over-allotment options under which underwriters may purchase additional securities from us; |
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any agency fees or underwriting discounts and other items constituting agents or
underwriters compensation; |
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any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and |
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any securities exchanges on which such securities may be listed. |
If we use underwriters for a sale of securities, the underwriters will acquire the securities
for their own account. The underwriters may resell the securities in one or more transactions,
including negotiated transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined
at the time of sale. The obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject
to the conditions set forth in the applicable underwriting agreement. The underwriters will be
obligated to purchase all the securities of the series offered if they purchase any of the
securities of that series. We may use underwriters with whom we have a material relationship. We
will describe in the prospectus supplement naming the underwriter the nature of any such
relationship.
One or more firms, referred to as remarketing firms, may also offer or sell the securities,
if the prospectus supplement so indicates, in connection with a remarketing arrangement upon their
purchase. Remarketing firms will act as principals for their own accounts or as agents for Digital
River. These remarketing firms will offer or sell the securities pursuant to the terms of the
securities. The prospectus supplement will identify any remarketing firm and the terms of its
agreement, if any, with Digital River and will describe the remarketing firms compensation.
Remarketing firms may be deemed to be underwriters in connection with the securities they remarket.
Remarketing firms may be entitled under agreements that may be entered into with Digital River to
indemnification by us against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities
Act, and may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the
ordinary course of business.
We may determine the price or other terms of the securities offered under this prospectus by
use of an electronic auction. We will describe how any auction will determine the price or any
other terms, how potential investors may participate in the auction and the nature of the
obligations of the underwriter, dealer or agent in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Underwriters, dealers or agents may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions
or commissions from us or our purchasers (as their agents in connection with the sale of
securities). These underwriters, dealers or agents may be considered to be underwriters under the
Securities Act. As a result, discounts,
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commissions or profits on resale received by the underwriters, dealers or agents may be treated as
underwriting discounts and commissions. The prospectus supplement will identify any such
underwriter, dealer or agent, and describe any compensation received by them from us. Any initial
public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers may
be changed from time to time.
We may authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers by certain types of institutional
investors to purchase securities from us at the public offering price set forth in the prospectus
supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified
date in the future. We will describe the conditions to these contracts and the commissions we must
pay for solicitation of these contracts in the prospectus supplement.
Underwriters, dealers and agents may be entitled to indemnification by us against certain
civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribution with respect
to payments made by the underwriters, dealers or agents, under agreements between us and the
underwriters, dealers and agents.
We may grant underwriters who participate in the distribution of securities an option to
purchase additional securities to cover over-allotments, if any, in connection with the
distribution.
All debt securities will be new issues of securities with no established trading market.
Underwriters involved in the public offering and sale of debt securities may make a market in the
debt securities. However, they are not obligated to make a market and may discontinue market-making
activity at any time. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity of the trading market for any
debt securities.
Underwriters or agents and their associates may be customers of, engage in transactions with
or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.
Any underwriter may engage in overallotment, stabilizing transactions, short covering
transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Overallotment
involves sales in excess of the offering size, which create a short position. Stabilizing
transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not
exceed a specified maximum. Short covering transactions involve purchases of the securities in the
open market after the distribution is completed to cover short positions. Penalty bids permit the
underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a dealer when the securities originally sold by
the dealer are purchased in a covering transaction to cover short positions. Those activities may
cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would otherwise be. If commenced, the
underwriters may discontinue any of the activities at any time.
Any underwriters who are qualified market makers on the Nasdaq National Market may engage in
passive market making transactions in the securities on the Nasdaq National Market in accordance
with Rule 103 of Regulation M, during the business day prior to the pricing of the offering, before
the commencement of offers or sales of the securities. Passive market makers must comply with
applicable volume and price limitations and must be identified as passive market makers. In
general, a passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest
independent bid for such security; if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market
makers bid, however, the passive market makers bid must then be lowered when certain purchase
limits are exceeded.
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LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the securities being offered hereby will be passed upon by Howard Rice
Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin, A Professional Corporation, San Francisco, California.
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements and schedule of Digital River, Inc. and subsidiaries,
included in Digital River, Inc.s Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2004
and Digital River, Inc. managements assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over
financial reporting as of December 31, 2004 included therein, have been audited by Ernst & Young
LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon included
therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements and schedule
and managements assessment have been incorporated herein by reference and included herein,
respectively, in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm as experts in
accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We are a reporting company and file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements
and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy these reports, proxy statements and other
information at the SECs public reference room at Room 1024, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington,
D.C. You can request copies of these documents by writing to the SEC and paying a fee for the
copying cost. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for more information about the operation of the
public reference rooms. Our SEC filings are also available at the SECs web site at
http://www.sec.gov. In addition, you can read and copy our SEC filings at the office of the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. at 1735 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006.
We are incorporating by reference in this prospectus some of the information that we file with
the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those
documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and
information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this
information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future filings, other
than reports furnished and not filed pursuant to Form 8-K, we will make with the SEC under Section
13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including filings made after the
date of the filing of the initial registration statement and prior to effectiveness of the
registration statement:
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Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004; |
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Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on January 20, 2005 and February 15, 2005; and |
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The description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A,
as filed on July 20, 1998. |
You may access these documents at no cost through our web site at www.digitalriver.com
or request a copy of these filings at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following
address:
Digital River, Inc.
9625 W. 76th Street, Suite 150
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
(952) 253-1234
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4,000,000 Shares
DIGITAL RIVER, INC.
Common Stock
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
March , 2006