Unassociated Document
As
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 15,
2011
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
F-3
REGISTRATION
STATEMENT
UNDER
THE
SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
AUDIOCODES
LTD.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
N/A
(Translation
of registrant’s name into English)
Israel
|
Not
applicable
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of
incorporation
or organization)
|
(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
Number)
|
1
Hayarden Street, Airport City
Lod
70151, Israel
Telephone: (972)
3-976-4105
(Address and telephone number of
registrant’s principal executive offices)
AudioCodes
Inc.
27
World’s Fair Drive
Somerset,
New Jersey 08873
Telephone:
(732) 469-0880
(Name, address, including zip code,
and telephone number, including area code, of agent for
service)
Copies
to:
Neil
Gold, Esq.
Manuel
G.R. Rivera, Esq.
Fulbright
& Jaworski L.L.P.
666
Fifth Avenue
New
York, New York 10103
Telephone:
(212) 318-3000
Facsimile:
(212) 318-3400
|
Itamar
Rosen, Adv.
VP
Legal Affairs
General
Counsel and Secretary
AudioCodes
Ltd.
1
Hayarden Street, Airport City
Lod,
70151 Israel
Telephone:
(972) 3-976-4000
Facsimile:
(972) 3-976-4044
|
Aaron
M. Lampert, Adv.
Tuvia
J. Geffen, Adv.
Naschitz,
Brandes & Co.
5
Tuval Street
Tel-Aviv
67897, Israel
Telephone:
(972) 3-623-5000
Facsimile:
(972) 3-623-5005
|
Approximate date of commencement of
proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the
effective date of this Registration Statement.
If the
only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to
dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following
box: ¨
If any of
the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or
continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check
the following box: x
If this
Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule
462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the
Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective
registration statement for the same offering. ¨
_____________
If this
Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the
Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration
statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same
offering. ¨ __________
If this
Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.C. or a
post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with
the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the
following box: ¨
If this
Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to
General Instruction I.C. filed to register additional securities or additional
classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check
the following box: ¨
CALCULATION
OF REGISTRATION FEE
|
|
Title of Each Class of Securities To
Be Registered (1)
|
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Amount To Be
Registered
|
|
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Proposed
Maximum
Offering Price
Per Unit
|
|
|
Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering Price
|
|
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Amount Of
Registration
Fee
|
|
Primary
Offering:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Ordinary
shares, nominal value NIS 0.01 per share
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Warrants
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Debt
securities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Units
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Subtotal
|
|
|
|
(2) |
|
|
|
(2) |
|
$ |
150,000,000 |
(3) |
|
$ |
17,415 |
(4) |
Secondary
Offering:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ordinary
shares, nominal value NIS 0.01 per share(5)
|
|
|
3,000,000 |
|
|
$ |
7.39 |
|
|
$ |
22,170,000 |
|
|
$ |
2,573.94 |
|
Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
172,170,000 |
|
|
$ |
19,988.94 |
|
|
|
(1)
|
There
are being registered under this registration statement such indeterminate
number of ordinary shares, number of warrants to purchase ordinary shares,
principal amount of debt securities, and a combination of such securities,
separately or as units, as may be sold by the registrant from time to
time, which collectively shall have an aggregate initial offering price
not to exceed $150,000,000 or, if any securities are issued for
consideration denominated in a foreign currency, such amount as shall
result in an aggregate initial offering price equivalent to a maximum of
$150,000,000. The securities registered hereunder also include
(i) with respect to warrants, such indeterminate number of ordinary shares
as may be issuable or deliverable upon exercise of warrants and (ii) with
respect to debt securities, such unspecified amount of ordinary shares as
may be issuable or deliverable upon the exercise or conversion of debt
securities. In addition, up to 3,000,000 ordinary shares may be
sold from time to time pursuant to this registration statement by the
selling shareholders referred to herein. Pursuant to Rule 416
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the
ordinary shares being registered hereunder include such indeterminate
number of ordinary shares as may be issuable with respect to the shares
being registered hereunder as a result of stock splits, stock dividends,
or similar transactions.
|
(2)
|
Omitted
pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities
Act.
|
(3)
|
Estimated
solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee. The
aggregate maximum offering price of all securities sold by the registrant
pursuant to this registration statement will not exceed
$150,000,000.
|
(4)
|
Calculated
pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities
Act.
|
(5)
|
Represents
ordinary shares registered for resale by the selling
shareholders.
|
(6)
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Estimated
solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee in accordance with
Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act, based upon the average of the high
and low sales prices ($7.05 and $7.72) of the registrant’s ordinary shares
on the NASDAQ Global Market on February 10,
2010.
|
The registrant hereby amends this
registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its
effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which
specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become
effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until
the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the
Commission, acting pursuant to Section 8(a), may
determine.
The
information in this prospectus is not complete and may be
changed. Neither we nor any selling shareholder may sell these
securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus 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.
SUBJECT
TO COMPLETION, DATED FEBRUARY 15, 2011
PROSPECTUS
$150,000,000
of Ordinary Shares, Warrants, Debt Securities
and/or
Units Offered by AudioCodes Ltd.
and
Up
to 3,000,000 Ordinary Shares Offered by the Selling Shareholders
AUDIOCODES
LTD.
This
prospectus relates to ordinary shares, warrants and debt securities, and any
combination of such securities, separately or as units, that we may offer and
sell from time to time in one or more offerings up to a total dollar amount of
$150,000,000. The warrants and debt securities may be convertible,
exercisable or exchangeable for ordinary shares. In addition, the
selling shareholders may offer and sell up to 3,000,000 ordinary shares from
time to time in one or more offerings. We refer to the ordinary
shares that we or the selling shareholders may offer and sell, and the warrants,
debt securities and units that we may offer and sell, collectively as
“securities” in this prospectus.
Each time
we or a selling shareholder sells securities pursuant to this prospectus, we
will provide specific terms of the offering of these securities, and the terms
of any warrants, debt securities and units so offered, in a supplement to this
prospectus. You should read this prospectus and any supplement
carefully before you invest. This prospectus may not be used to offer
and sell securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement for those
securities.
These
securities may be sold directly, on a continuous or delayed basis, by us or the
selling shareholders, through dealers or agents designated from time to time, to
or through underwriters or through a combination of these
methods. See “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus. We
may also describe the plan of distribution for any particular offering of these
securities in any applicable prospectus supplement. If any agents,
underwriters or dealers are involved in the sale of any securities in respect of
which this prospectus is being delivered, we will disclose their names and the
nature of our arrangements with them in a prospectus supplement. The
net proceeds we expect to receive from any sale will also be included in a
prospectus supplement. We will not receive any of the proceeds from
the sale of ordinary shares by the selling shareholders pursuant to this
prospectus.
Our
ordinary shares are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, or NASDAQ, and
the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange, or the TASE, under the symbol
“AUDC”. The closing price of our ordinary shares on NASDAQ on
February 14, 2011 was $7.72 per share and the closing price of our ordinary
shares on the TASE on February 14, 2011 was NIS 28.20 per
share. If we decide to list any warrants, debt securities or
units that may be issued on a national securities exchange, the applicable
prospectus supplement to this prospectus will identify the exchange and the date
when we expect trading to begin.
Investing
in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should
carefully consider the “Risk Factors” referred to on page 4 of this
prospectus, in any applicable prospectus supplement and the documents
incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference in this prospectus or the
applicable prospectus supplement before investing in our
securities.
Neither
the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Israel Securities Authority, 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 under the laws of the
United States and the laws of the State of Israel.
The date
of this prospectus is
,
2011
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Page
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Prospectus
Summary
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1
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Risk
Factors
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4
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Special
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
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27
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Price
Range of Ordinary Shares
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27
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Dividend
Policy
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30
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Ratio
of Earnings to Fixed Charges
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31
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Capitalization
and Indebtedness
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32
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Use
of Proceeds
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33
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The
Securities We May Offer
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33
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Selling
Shareholders
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33
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Description
of Share Capital
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34
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Description
of Warrants
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40
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Description
of Debt Securities
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41
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Description
of Units
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48
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Taxation
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48
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Plan
of Distribution
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48
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Experts
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51
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Legal
Matters
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51
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Where
You Can Find More Information and Incorporation by
Reference
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51
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Enforceability
of Civil Liabilities
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53
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Offering
Expenses
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54
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You should rely only on the information
contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any applicable
prospectus supplement. 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. Neither we nor any selling shareholder are making an offer to
sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not
permitted.
You should not assume that the
information appearing in this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement
is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of this
prospectus or the applicable prospectus supplement, or that the information
contained in any document incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date
other than the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the
time of delivery of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement or any sale of
a security. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and
prospects may have changed since such dates.
PROSPECTUS
SUMMARY
About
this Prospectus
This
prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration
process. Under this shelf registration process, we may, from time to
time, offer and sell the securities described in this prospectus in one or more
offerings up to a total dollar amount of U.S. $150,000,000, and the selling
shareholders referred to in this prospectus and identified in supplements to
this prospectus may, from time to time, offer and sell up to 3,000,000 of our
ordinary shares in one or more offerings.
This
prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities which we or
the selling shareholders may offer. Each time we or the selling
shareholders sell securities we will provide a prospectus supplement that will
contain specific information about the terms of the offering. The
prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in
this prospectus. You should read both this prospectus and any
prospectus supplement together with additional information described below under
the heading “Where You Can Find More Information and Incorporation by Reference”
before purchasing any of our securities.
The rules
of the SEC allow us to incorporate by reference information into this
prospectus. This means that important information is contained in
other documents that are considered to be a part of this
prospectus. Additionally, information that we file later with the SEC
will automatically update and supersede this information. You should
read this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the information that is
incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference in this
prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information and
Incorporation by Reference.” The registration statement, including
the exhibits and the documents incorporated or deemed incorporated in this
prospectus can be read on the SEC website or at the SEC offices mentioned under
the heading “Where You Can Find More Information and Incorporation by
Reference.”
This
prospectus may not be used by us or the selling shareholders to sell any
securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
In this
prospectus, unless the context otherwise requires, “AudioCodes,” “us,” “we” and
“our” refer to AudioCodes Ltd. and its subsidiaries.
In this
prospectus, unless otherwise specified or unless the context otherwise requires,
all references to “$” or “dollars” are to U.S. dollars and all references to
“NIS” are to New Israeli Shekels.
About
AudioCodes
We
design, develop and sell products for voice and data over packet
networks. In broad terms, voice over packet, or VoP, networks consist
of key network elements such as software switches, application servers, Internet
protocol, or IP phones and media gateways. Our products primarily
provide the media gateway element in the network, as well as voice over Internet
protocol, or VoIP, end-points such as IP phones and VoIP mobile
clients. Multi-service business gateways integrate media gateway
functionality with data routing and network access. The media
gateways connect legacy and IP networks. They essentially receive the
legacy format of communication and convert it to an IP communication and vice
versa. Typically, media gateways utilize compression algorithms to
compress the amount of information and reduce the amount of bandwidth required
to convey the information (for example, a voice communication).
We offer
two categories of products, networking products and technology
products. Our networking products primarily include media gateways
that enable the transmission of voice, fax and data communications in VoP
networks and also include VoIP end-points. Our networking products
are comprised of customer premises equipment, or CPE, gateways for the
enterprise and service provider (or carrier) markets and of
carrier-grade-oriented low- and mid-density media gateways for service
providers, and also include our multi-service business gateways, IP phones,
media server, and value added application products.
Our
technology products are components, such as signal processor chips,
communications boards and modules, that allow our customers flexibility to build
highly-efficient, high capacity network-level products that incorporate these
components. Our technology products are used by us in our networking
products and by our customers as part of their own network-level
products.
Our
products are sold to service providers and enterprises in the telecommunications
and networking industries, primarily via channels, such as distributors,
original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, network equipment providers and
systems integrators. In addition, our proprietary voice compression
technology is licensed to a broad group of companies that manufacture equipment
for a variety of markets.
Recent
Developments
In the
past few years, we extended convertible loans to MailVision in the aggregate
principal amount of $662,000. These loans bear interest at the rate of 4%-9% per
annum and are convertible into shares. In November 2010, $588,000 in principal
amount of these loans was converted by us into shares of MailVision. As of
December 31, 2010, we owned 25.6% of the outstanding share capital of this
company and 23.9% of the share capital of this company on a diluted basis
compared to owning 20.2% of the outstanding share capital as of December 31,
2009.
In
January 2010, we entered into an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding
equity of Natural Speech Communication Ltd., or NSC, that we did not own as of
December 31, 2009. The closing of the transaction occurred in May 2010. Pursuant
to the agreement, we purchased the remaining 40.26% of the shares from NSC’s
non-controlling shareholders with a maximum total consideration payable in the
aggregate amount of $ 1,733,000 in any combination, at our option, of cash
and our shares. We paid $224,000 in cash in 2010. An additional
$1,009,000 is payable by us in three annual installments commencing on the first
anniversary of the closing. Additional consideration of up to $500,000 is
payable by us in 2013, if certain aggregate revenue milestones are met for 2010,
2011 and 2012.
During
2010, AudioCodes invested in some key product lines and solutions to address the
following market segments:
|
·
|
Enterprise session border
controllers for the emerging SIP Trunking market: We launched our
enterprise session border controller (E-SBC) family, which is an extension
to our existing line of Mediant media gateways and multi-service business
gateways. The Mediant 800 E-SBC, Mediant 1000 E-SBC and Mediant 3000 E-SBC
target the VoIP security and connectivity needs of enterprises of
different sizes, migrating from traditional PSTN connectivity to SIP
trunking services. In addition, they support the mediation between
SIP solutions and application of different vendors. As
the E-SBC line is an evolution of our existing gateways and MSBG lines,
the market for these products will include the same evolving channel
strategy, including value added resellers and service provider
channels.
|
|
·
|
Residential gateways for the
growing voice over broadband market: We extended our
line of residential gateways with our MP-252 multimedia home gateway. The
MediaPack™ 252 (MP-252) is a sophisticated, feature-rich, multimedia home
gateway for broadband networks with multi-play support. With an ADSL2+
modem, multiple antenna wireless LAN connectivity, DECT home wireless
support, handsets supporting HD VoIP, bluetooth interface for connecting
cellular phones and optional battery backup, it is targeting the tiers of
service providers that offer multi-play services over broadband networks.
The market for this product is focused on direct engagement with service
providers, as this product typically requires specific integration with
the network and is expected to sell in the thousands of units to each
customer.
|
|
·
|
Mobile clients for the growing
mobile VoIP market: AudioCodes’ VoIP mobile access solution, VMAS,
is a mobile VoIP (mVoIP) solution comprised of a client management system
and a variety of mobile soft clients for leading mobile operating systems
and smartphones. VMAS is currently available for leading smartphones such
as iPhone™/iPod touch™, Nokia™, Samsung™ and HTC™. Our first customer
orders are with service providers such as Vonage and Cellcom Israel. The
market for this product is focused on direct engagement with service
providers, as this product typically requires specific integration with
the service provider’s network.
|
|
·
|
Survivable branch appliances
and applications for the Microsoft unified communications
environment: We have extended our product range specifically
designed for the Microsoft unified communications environment to support
Microsoft Lync, the latest Microsoft unified communications platform.
These products include survivable branch appliances, based on our Mediant
family of media gateways, as well as SPS (SIP phone support), a software
platform that enables the connectivity of third party SIP phones into the
Microsoft environment. The marketing and sales of these products is
utilizing our growing network of Microsoft VSPs (voice specialized
partners) that we work closely
with.
|
|
·
|
Expanding the line of
multi-service business gateways (MSBG) with a new platform and new
interfaces: We have extended our product range designed for
integrated voice and data access applications with the launch of the
Mediant 800 MSBG – an all-in-one, multi-service business gateway solution,
designed to provide converged voice and data services for small-to-mid
size business customers, and to form a well-managed point of demarcation
for service providers. The Mediant 800 MSBG integrates a variety of
communication functions into a single platform to support fundamental
services, such as VoIP mediation, data routing, WAN access, voice and data
security, survivability, and third party value-added services
applications. These services allow smooth connectivity to cloud services.
In addition, we have expanded the range of interfaces supported on the
Mediant 1000 MBBG, with the introduction of E1/T1 voice interface, T1 WAN
interface and SHDSL WAN interface.
|
Corporate
Information
AudioCodes
Ltd. was incorporated in 1992 under the laws of the State of
Israel. Our principal executive offices are located at 1 Hayarden
Street, Airport City, Lod 70151, Israel. Our telephone number is
972-3-976-4000. Our agent in the United States is AudioCodes Inc., 27
World’s Fair Drive, Somerset, New Jersey 08873.
RISK
FACTORS
Before
you invest in our securities, you should carefully consider the risks
involved. In addition, we may include additional risk factors in a
prospectus supplement to the extent there are additional risks related to the
securities offered by that prospectus supplement. Accordingly, you
should carefully consider the following factors, other information in this
prospectus or in the documents incorporated by reference and any additional risk
factors included in the relevant prospectus supplement:
Risks
Relating to Our Business and Industry
We
reported losses in 2007, 2008 and 2009. We may experience additional
losses in the future.
We
reported a net loss of $8.7 million in 2007, $85.8 million in 2008 and $2.8
million in 2009. We reported net income of $12.1 million in 2010. The
loss in 2008 included a non-cash impairment charge of $86.1 million taken in the
fourth quarter of 2008 with respect to goodwill, intangible assets and
investment in an affiliate. The majority of our expenses are directly
and indirectly related to the number of people we employ. We may
increase our expenses based on projections of revenue growth. If at
any given time we do not meet our expectations for growth in revenues, our
expenses incurred in anticipation of projected revenues may cause us to incur a
loss. We may not be able to anticipate a loss in advance and adjust
our variable costs accordingly. We cannot be sure that we will
continue to be profitable in 2011.
We
have depended, and expect to continue to depend, on a small number of large
customers. Nortel Networks, which was our largest customer in 2008
and 2009, filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2009. As a result, sales to
Nortel decreased significantly in 2010. The loss of one or more of
our other large customers or the reduction in purchases by a significant
customer or failure of such customer to pay for the products it purchases from
us could have a material adverse effect on our revenues.
Historically,
a substantial portion of our revenue has been derived from large purchases by a
small number of original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, and network equipment
providers, or NEPs, systems integrators and distributors. For
example, our top three customers accounted for approximately 20.9% of our
revenues in 2008, 25.7% of our revenues in 2009 and 22.2% of our revenue in
2010. Based on our experience, we expect that our customer base may
change from period to period. If we lose a large customer and fail to
add new customers, or if purchases made by such customers are significantly
reduced, there could be a material adverse effect on our results of
operations.
Nortel
filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2009. Nortel Networks was
our largest customer in 2008 and 2009, accounting for 15.6% of our revenues in
2009 and 14.4% of our revenues in 2008. In 2010, Nortel accounted for only 3.9%
of our revenues. As a result of this bankruptcy filing, $1.7 million of sales to
Nortel in the fourth quarter of 2008 were recorded as unpaid deferred revenues
which also reduced trade receivables on our balance sheet. During 2009, Nortel
returned to us products with a sales price of $706,000, which reduced our unpaid
deferred revenues by this amount. Nortel has sold a number of its
business units and is continuing to sell business units and liquidate assets in
the bankruptcy proceeding. Some of the business units sold by Nortel
were customers of ours. We cannot be sure if Nortel or business units
sold by Nortel that were customers of ours will continue to purchase products
from us or, if Nortel sells additional business units that deal with us, any
purchaser of those business units will continue to do business with us. Any
significant reduction in sales to our large customers could have a
material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Nortel
has asserted a preference claim against us in its bankruptcy proceeding. A
successful claim by Nortel could result in a judgment against us requiring us to
return to Nortel payments made to us.
In a
bankruptcy proceeding, a company is entitled to make preference claims for
amounts paid by the company during specified periods prior to the bankruptcy
filing. Nortel has asserted that we received approximately $2.6 million in
payments from them during the ninety day period prior to their bankruptcy filing
that constitute avoidable preferential transfers. We have entered into an
agreement with Nortel that tolls the statute of limitations with respect to
these claims until the end of February 2011. We expect to engage in discussions
with Nortel with respect to these claims. While we believe that we have valid
defenses to these claims, we cannot be sure that we will be able to reach an
acceptable settlement with Nortel. If an acceptable settlement is not
reached with Nortel, we intend to vigorously defend against any claim brought
against us, but we cannot be sure of the outcome of any litigation with respect
to this claim. We could be required to repay all or a portion of the amounts
claimed by Nortel to be a preference if a litigation were to be resolved in
Nortel’s favor.
Recent
and future economic conditions, including turmoil in the financial and credit
markets, may adversely affect our business.
The
general economic downturn, including disruptions in the world credit and equity
markets, has had and continues to have a significant negative impact on business
around the world. The impact of the current economic environment on
the technology industry and our major customers has been
significant. Conditions may continue to be depressed or may be
subject to further deterioration which could lead to a further reduction in
consumer and customer spending overall, which could have an adverse impact on
sales of our products. A disruption in the ability of our significant
customers to access liquidity could cause serious disruptions or an overall
deterioration of their businesses which could lead to a significant reduction in
their orders of our products and the inability or failure on their part to meet
their payment obligations to us, any of which could have a material adverse
effect on our results of operations and liquidity. A significant
adverse change in a customer’s financial and/or credit position could also
require us to assume greater credit risk relating to that customer’s receivables
or could limit our ability to collect receivables related to previous purchases
by that customer. As a result, our reserves for doubtful accounts and
write-offs of accounts receivable may increase.
We
may need additional financing to operate or grow our business. We may
not be able to raise additional financing for our capital needs on favorable
terms, or at all, which could limit our ability to grow and to continue our
longer term expansion plans.
We may
need additional financing to operate our business or continue our longer term
expansion plans. To the extent that we cannot fund our activities and
acquisitions through our existing cash resources and any cash we generate from
operations, we may need to raise equity or debt funds through additional public
or private financings. In November 2009, we were required to use
$73.1 million to repurchase almost all of our outstanding senior convertible
notes in accordance with the terms of the notes. We borrowed $30
million in 2008 that is repayable in 20 equal quarterly payments of $1.5 million
from August 2008 through July 2013. We will need to pay these
installments and could also be required to repay all or portion of these bank
loans if we do not comply with covenants in our loan agreements with respect to
maintaining shareholders’ equity at specified levels or achieving certain levels
of operating income. We cannot be certain that we will be able to
obtain additional financing on commercially reasonable terms, or at
all. This could inhibit our growth, increase our financing costs or
cause us severe financial difficulties.
We
are party to an agreement for the construction and long-term lease of a new
building in Israel. We are currently engaged in a dispute with the
landlord with respect to this lease. Any unfavorable outcome in this dispute
could result in significant damages to us.
In May
2007, we entered into an agreement with respect to property adjacent to our
headquarters in Israel, pursuant to which a building of approximately 145,000
square feet has been erected and was expected to be leased to us for a period of
eleven years. This new building was substantially completed on a
structural level in May 2010. The landlord claims that we should have
taken delivery of the building at that time and started paying rent. We
disagreed with the landlord’s interpretation of the relevant agreement, and as a
result the landlord terminated the agreement and leased the property to a third
party. This dispute has been referred to arbitration, in which we claimed
that we lost significant potential revenues due to the landlord’s
failure. The landlord’s counterclaim alleges that it has sustained
losses of approximately one year’s rent and management fees. The
landlord’s claim against us is for approximately NIS 14 million (approximately
$3.9 million). We believe that we have valid defenses to the counterclaim. The
claim is at an early stage and it is not possible at this stage to predict the
outcome of these proceedings. An unfavorable outcome in the
arbitration could result in the payment by us of a significant amount to the
landlord.
We
are dependent on the development of the VoIP market to increase our
sales.
We are
dependent on the development of the Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP,
market to increase our sales. Most existing networks are still not
based on Voice over Packet technology which we use in our products designed for
the VoIP market. We cannot be sure that the delivery of telephone and
other communications services over packet networks will expand or that there
will be a need to interconnect to other networks utilizing the type of
technology contained in our products. For example, the need for our
media gateway products depends on the need to interconnect VoIP networks with
traditional non-packet based networks. Our session border control
products depend on growth in the need to interconnect Voice over Packet networks
with each other. The adaptation process of connecting packet networks
and telephone networks can be time consuming and costly. Sales of our
VoIP products will depend on the development of packet networks and the
commercialization of VoIP services. If this market develops more
slowly than we expect, we may not be able to sell our products in a significant
enough volume to be profitable.
We
may expand our business through acquisitions that could result in diversion of
resources and extra expenses. This could disrupt our business and
affect our results of operations.
Part of
our strategy is to pursue acquisitions of, or investments in, businesses and
technologies or to establish joint ventures to expand our
business. For example, in April 2003, we purchased a product group
from Nortel Networks and in May 2004 we purchased Ai-Logix Inc., now known as
AudioCodes Inc. In 2005, we invested in two Israeli-based companies,
MailVision Ltd. and CTI Squared Ltd., and continued investing in Natural Speech
Communication Ltd. We have recognized losses from our equity
investment in Natural Speech Communication in our results of operations in each
of the past three years. In December 2008, we began consolidating the
financial results of Natural Speech Communication in our financial results and
in May 2010 we acquired the remaining shares of Natural Speech Communications
that were not previously owned by us.
In July
2006, we acquired Nuera Communications, Inc. (which merged into AudioCodes
Inc.), in August 2006, we acquired Netrake Corporation (which merged into
AudioCodes Inc.), and in April 2007, we completed our acquisition of CTI Squared
Ltd.
The
negotiation of acquisitions, investments or joint ventures, as well as the
integration of acquired or jointly developed businesses or technologies, could
divert our management’s time and resources. Acquired businesses,
technologies or joint ventures may not be successfully integrated with our
products and operations. The markets for the products produced by the
companies we acquire may take longer than we anticipated to develop and to
result in increased sales and profits for us. We may not realize the
intended benefits of any acquisition, investment or joint venture and we may
incur losses from any acquisition, investment or joint venture.
The
future valuation of acquired businesses may be less than the purchase price we
paid and result in impairment charges related to goodwill or intangible
assets. During the fourth quarter of 2008, we recognized non-cash
impairment charges of $86.1 million with respect to goodwill and intangible
assets related to our acquisitions and an investment in an affiliated
company.
In
addition, acquisitions could result in:
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substantial
cash expenditures;
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potentially
dilutive issuances of equity
securities;
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the
incurrence of debt and contingent
liabilities;
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a
decrease in our profit margins;
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amortization
of intangibles and potential impairment of goodwill and intangible assets,
such as occurred during 2008;
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reduction
of management attention to other parts of the
business;
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failure
to invest in different areas or alternative
investments;
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failure
to generate expected financial results or reach business goals;
and
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increased
expenditures on human resources and related
costs.
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If
acquisitions disrupt our sales or marketing efforts or operations, our business
may suffer.
We
recorded significant charges for the impairment of goodwill and intangible
assets during the fourth quarter of 2008 which caused us to report a net loss
for 2008. If our goodwill and other intangible assets become further
impaired, we may be required to record additional charges to
earnings.
We
recorded aggregate charges of $86.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 for
impairment charges with respect to goodwill and intangible assets related to our
acquisitions and investments in affiliated companies. As a result, we
reported a net loss for 2008. As of December 31, 2010, we had
goodwill and other intangible assets in an aggregate amount of $37.4 million, or
approximately 21.5% of our total assets and 37.8% of our shareholders’ equity.
Under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, we review
our goodwill and other intangible assets for impairment annually during the
fourth quarter of each fiscal year and when events or changes in circumstances
indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. The carrying
value of our goodwill and other intangible assets may not be recoverable due to
factors such as a decline in our stock price and market capitalization, reduced
estimates of future cash flows and profitability and slower growth rates in our
industry. Our impairment charges in 2008 were primarily the result of
the decline in global economic conditions and reduction in consumer and business
confidence experienced during the fourth quarter of 2008. In addition, we
experienced a major setback in the product lines of the Nuera and Netrake
businesses that had been acquired by us. . Estimates of future cash
flows and profitability are based on an updated long-term financial outlook of
our operations. However, actual performance in the near-term or
long-term could be materially different from these forecasts, which could impact
future estimates. A further significant decline in our market
capitalization or deterioration in our projected results could result in
additional impairment of goodwill and/or intangible assets. We may be
required in the future to record a significant charge to earnings in our
financial statements during a period in which an impairment of our goodwill is
determined to exist, as happened in 2008, which would negatively impact our
results of operations and could negatively impact our stock
price.
If
new products we recently introduced or expect to introduce in the future fail to
generate the level of demand we anticipated, we will realize a lower than
expected return from our investment in research and development with respect to
those products, and our results of operations may suffer.
Our
success is dependent, in part, on the willingness of our customers to transition
or migrate to new products, such as our expanded offering of Mediant and IPmedia
products, our residential gateways, our session border controller products, the
multi service business gateways (MSBGs), our software application products or
expected future products. We are involved in a continuous process of
evaluating changing market demands and customer requirements in order to develop
and introduce new products, features and applications to meet changing demands
and requirements. We need to be able to interpret market trends and
the advancement of technology in order to successfully develop and introduce new
products, features and applications. If potential customers defer
transition or migration to new products, our return on our investment in
research and development with respect to products recently introduced or
expected to be introduced in the near future will be lower than we originally
anticipated and our results of our operations may suffer.
Because
of the rapid technological development in the communications equipment market
and the intense competition we face, our products can become outmoded or
obsolete in a relatively short period of time, which requires us to provide
frequent updates and/or replacements to existing products. If we do
not successfully manage the transition process to the next generation of our
products, our operating results may be harmed.
The
communications equipment market is characterized by rapid technological
innovation and intense competition. Accordingly, our success depends
in part on our ability to develop next generation products in a timely and
cost-effective manner. The development of new products is expensive,
complex and time consuming. If we do not rapidly develop our next
generation products ahead of our competitors, we may lose both existing and
potential customers to our competitors. Further, if a competitor
develops a new, less expensive product using a different technological approach
to delivering informational services over existing networks, our products would
no longer be competitive. Conversely, even if we are successful in
rapidly developing new products ahead of our competitors and we do not
cost-effectively manage our inventory levels of existing products when making
the transition to the new products, our financial results could be negatively
affected by high levels of obsolete inventory. If any of the
foregoing were to occur, then our operating results would be
harmed.
Our
industry is rapidly evolving and we may not be able to keep pace with
technological changes, which could adversely affect our business.
The
transmission of multimedia over data networks is rapidly
evolving. Short product life cycles place a premium on our ability to
manage the transition from current products to new products. Our
future success in generating revenues will depend on our ability to enhance our
existing products and to develop and introduce new products and product
features. These products and features must keep pace with
technological developments and address the increasingly sophisticated needs of
our customers. The development of new technologies and products is
increasingly complex and uncertain. This increases the difficulty in
coordinating the planning and production process and can result in delay in the
introduction of new technologies and products.
The
increase in the number of IP networks may adversely affect the demand for media
gateway products.
Media
gateway products are primarily intended to transcode voice from traditional
telephony networks to IP networks and vice versa. Along with the
growth in the number of IP networks, there has been an increase in the amount of
information that is sent directly from one IP network to another IP
network. This direct network communication potentially obviates the
need to use a media gateway or transcoding. A reduction in the demand
for media gateways may adversely affect the demand for our media gateway
products and, in turn, adversely affect our results of operations.
New
industry standards, the modification of our products to meet additional existing
standards or the addition of features to our products may delay the introduction
of our products or increase our costs.
The industry standards that apply to
our products are continually evolving. In addition, since our
products are integrated into networks consisting of elements manufactured by
various companies, they must comply with a number of industry standards and
practices established by various international bodies and industry
forums. Should new standards gain broad acceptance, we will be
required to adopt those standards in our products. We may also decide
to modify our products to meet additional existing standards or add features to
our products. Standards may be adopted by various industry interest
groups or may be proprietary and nonetheless accepted broadly in the
industry. It may take us a significant amount of time to develop and
design products incorporating these new standards. We may also have
to pay additional fees to the developers of the technologies which constitute
the newly adopted standards.
Our
OEM customers or potential customers may develop or prefer to develop their own
technical solutions, and as a result, would not buy our products.
Our
products are sold also as components or building blocks to large OEMs and
NEPs. These customers incorporate our products into their product
offerings, usually in conjunction with value-added services of their own or of
third parties. OEM or NEP customers or potential customers may prefer
to develop their own technology or purchase third party
technology. They could also manufacture their own components or
building blocks that are similar to the ones we offer. Large
customers have already committed significant resources in developing integrated
product offerings. Customers may decide that this gives them better
profitability and/or greater control over supplies, specifications and
performance. Customers may therefore not buy components or products
from an external manufacturer such as us. This could have an adverse
impact on our ability to sell our products and our revenues.
We
have a limited order backlog. If revenue levels for any quarter fall
below our expectations, our results of operations will be adversely
affected.
We have a
limited order backlog, which makes revenues in any quarter substantially
dependent on orders received and delivered in that quarter. A delay
in the recognition of revenue, even from one customer, may have a significant
negative impact on our results of operations for a given period. We
base our decisions regarding our operating expenses on anticipated revenue
trends, and our expense levels are relatively fixed, or require some time for
adjustment. Because only a small portion of our expenses varies with
our revenues, if revenue levels fall below our expectations, our results of
operations will be adversely affected.
Generally,
we sell to original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, network equipment
providers or system integrator customers, as well as to
distributors. As a result, we have less information with respect to
the actual requirements of end-users and their utilization of
equipment. We also have less influence over the choice of equipment
by these end-users.
We
typically sell to OEM customers, network equipment providers, and system
integrators, as well as to distributors. Our customers usually
purchase equipment from several suppliers and may be trying to fulfill one of
their customers’ specific technical specifications. We rely heavily
on our customers for sales of our products and to inform us about market trends
and the needs of their customers. We cannot be certain that this
information is accurate. If the information we receive is not
accurate, we may be manufacturing products that do not have a customer or fail
to manufacture products that end-users want. Because we are selling
products to OEMs, system integrators and distributors rather than directly to
end-users, we have less control over the ultimate selection of products by
end-users.
The
markets we serve are highly competitive and many of our competitors have much
greater resources, which may make it difficult for us to maintain
profitability.
Competition
in our industry is intense and we expect competition to increase in the
future. Our competitors currently sell products that provide similar
benefits to those that we sell. There has been a significant amount
of merger and acquisition activity and strategic alliances, frequently involving
major telecommunications equipment manufacturers acquiring smaller companies,
and we expect that this will result in an increasing concentration of market
share among these companies, many of whom are our customers.
Our
principal competitors in the residential gateway market are Pirelli Broadband
(ADB), Technicolor (previously Thomson), Sagemcom, Zyxel, Netgear, Bewan (Pace),
Amper, Huawei, FiberHome and ZTE.
Our
principal competitors in the area of analog media gateways (2 to 24 ports) for
access and enterprise are Linksys (a division of Cisco Systems, Inc.), Mediatrix
Telecom, Inc., Vega Stream Limited, Samsung, Innovaphone AG, Net.com/Quintum
Technologies, Tainet Communication System Corp., Welltech, Ascii Corp., D-Link
Systems, Inc., Multitech Inc., Inomedia, OKI and LG. In the area of
low density digital gateway and multi-service business gateways we face
competition from companies such as Cisco, Adtran, Oneaccess, and more
specifically in the enterprise class Session Border Controller technology with
ACME Packet (Convergence), SIPera, Ingate and Edwater. In addition we
face competition in low, mid and high density gateways from companies such as
Nortel, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia-Siemens, Huawei, Ericsson, UTstarcom, ZTE and from
Cisco Systems, Inc., Veraz Networks, Sonus Networks, General Bandwidth,
Dialogic/Cantat Technologies and Commatch (Telrad), some of which are also
customers of our products and technology.
Our
principal competitors in the media server market segment are Dialogic/Cantata
Technology, NMS Communications, Convedia/Radisys, Movius (IP Unity Glenayre),
Cognitronics and Aculab. In addition, we face competition in
software-based and hardware-based media servers from internal development at
companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Comverse-NetCentrex, Nortel, Alcatel -
Lucent, Nokia – Siemens and Ericsson.
Our
principal competitors in the sale of signal processing chips are Texas
Instruments, Broadcom, Infineon, Centillium, Surf and
Mindspeed. Several large manufacturers of generic signal processors,
such as Motorola, Agere Systems, which merged with LSI Corporation in April
2007, and Intel have begun, or are expected to begin, marketing competing
processors. Our principal competitors in the communications board
market are Dialogic/NMS Communications, Cantata, Aculab, PIKA
Technologies, Inc., Intel and Motorola.
Our
principal competitors in the area of IP Phones are comprised of “best-of-breed”
IP phone vendors and end-to-end IP telephony vendors. “Best of breed”
IP phone vendors sell standard-based SIP phones that can be integrated into any
standards-based IP-PBX or hosted IP telephony system. These
competitors include Polycom, Mediatrix and SNOM. End-to-end IP
telephony vendors sell IP phones that only work in their proprietary systems and
include IP telephony vendors such as Cisco, Avaya/Nortel, Alcatel-Lucent,
Siemens and Asstra.
Many of
our competitors have the ability to offer complete network solutions and
vendor-sponsored financing programs to prospective customers. Some of
our competitors with broad product portfolios may also be able to offer lower
prices on products that compete with ours because of their ability to recoup a
loss of margin through sales of other products or
services. Additionally, voice, audio and other communications
alternatives that compete with our products are being continually
introduced.
In the
future, we may also develop and introduce other products with new or additional
telecommunications capabilities or services. As a result, we may
compete directly with VoIP companies and other telecommunications and solution
infrastructure providers, some of which may be our
customers. Additional competitors may include companies that
currently provide communication software products and services. The
ability of some of our competitors to bundle other enhanced services or complete
solutions with VoIP products could give these competitors an advantage over
us.
Offering
to sell system level products that compete with the products manufactured by our
customers could negatively affect our business.
Our
product offerings range from media gateway building blocks, such as chips and
boards, to media gateways, media servers and session border control products
(systems). These products could compete with products offered by our
customers. These customers could decide to decrease purchases from us
because of this competition. This could result in a material adverse
effect on our results of operations.
Offering
to sell directly to carriers or service providers may expose us to requirements
for service which we may not be able to meet.
We also
sell our products directly to telecommunications carriers, service providers or
other end-users. We have traditionally relied on third party distributors and
OEMs to test and/or sell our products and to inform us about the requirements of
end-users. We have limited experience selling our products directly to end-user
customers. Telecommunications carriers and other service providers have great
bargaining power in negotiating contracts. Generally, contracts with end-users
tend to be more complex and impose more obligations on us than contracts with
third party distributors. We may be unable to meet the requirements of these
contracts. If we are unable to meet the conditions of a contract with an
end-user customer, we may be subject to liquidated damages or liabilities that
could result in a material adverse effect on our results of
operations.
Selling
directly to end-users may adversely affect our relationship with our current
third party distributors upon whom we will continue to rely for a significant
portion of our sales. Loss of third party distributors and OEMs, or a
decreased commitment by them to sell our products as a result of direct sales by
us, could adversely affect our sales and results of operations.
We
rely on third-party subcontractors to assemble our products and therefore do not
directly control manufacturing costs, product delivery schedules or
manufacturing quality.
Our
products are assembled and tested by third-party subcontractors. As a
result of our reliance on third-party subcontractors, we cannot directly control
product delivery schedules. We have in the past experienced delays in
delivery schedules. Any problems that occur and persist in connection
with the delivery, quality or cost of the assembly and testing of our products
could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and
results of operations. This reliance could also lead to product
shortages or quality assurance problems, which, in turn, could lead to an
increase in the costs of manufacturing or assembling our products.
In
addition, we have engaged three original design manufacturers, or ODMs, based in
Asia to design and manufacture some of our products and may engage additional
ODMs in the future. Any problems that occur and persist in connection
with the delivery, quality, cost of the assembly or testing of our products, as
well as the termination of our commercial relationship with an ODM or the
discontinuance of the manufacturing of the respective products could have a
material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of
operations.
We
may not be able to deliver our products to our customers, and substantial
reengineering costs may be incurred if a small number of third-party suppliers
do not provide us with key components on a timely basis.
Texas
Instruments Incorporated supplies all of the chips for our signal processor
product line. Our signal processor line is used both as a product
line in its own right and as a key component in our other product
lines. Motorola manufactures all of the communications processors
currently used on our communications boards.
We have
not entered into any long-term supply agreements or alternate source agreements
with our suppliers and, while we maintain an inventory of critical components,
our inventory of chips would likely not be sufficient in the event that we had
to engage an alternate supplier for these components.
Texas
Instruments is also one of our major competitors in providing signal processing
solutions. An unexpected termination of the supply of the chips
provided by Texas Instruments or Motorola or disruption in their timely delivery
would require us to make a large investment in capital and personnel to shift to
using signal processors manufactured by other companies and may cause a delay in
introducing replacement products. Customers may not accept an
alternative product design. Supporting old products or redesigning
products may make it more difficult for us to support our products.
We
utilize other sole source suppliers upon whom we depend without having long-term
supply agreements.
Some of
our sole source suppliers custom produce components for us based upon our
specifications and designs while other of our sole source suppliers are the only
manufacturers of certain components required by our products. We have
not entered into any long-term supply agreements or alternative source
agreements with our suppliers and while we maintain an inventory of components
from single source providers, our inventory would likely not be sufficient in
the event that we had to engage an alternate supplier of these single source
components. In the event of any interruption in the supply of
components from any of our sole source suppliers, we may have to expend
significant time, effort and other resources in order to locate a suitable
alternative manufacturer and secure replacement components. If no
replacement components are available, we may be forced to redesign certain of
our products. Any such new design may not be accepted by our
customers. A prolonged disruption in supply may force us to redesign
and retest our products. Any interruption in supply from any of these
sources or an unexpected technical failure or termination of the manufacture of
components could disrupt production, thereby adversely affecting our ability to
deliver products and to support products previously sold to our
customers.
In
addition, if demand for telecommunications equipment increases, we may face a
shortage of components from our suppliers. This could result in
longer lead times, increases in the price of components and a reduction in our
margins, all of which could adversely affect the results of our
operations.
Our
customers may require us to produce products or systems to hold in inventory in
order to meet their “just in time”, or short lead time, delivery
requirements. If we are unable to sell this inventory on a timely
basis, we could incur charges for excess and obsolete inventory which would
adversely affect our results of operations.
Our
customers expect us to maintain an inventory of products available for purchase
off the shelf subsequent to the initial sales cycle for these
products. This may require us to incur the costs of manufacturing
inventory without having a purchase order for the products. The VoIP
industry is subject to rapid technological change and volatile customer demands,
which result in a short product commercial life before a product becomes
obsolete. If we are unable to sell products that are produced to hold
in inventory, we may incur write-offs as a result of slow moving items,
technological obsolescence, excess inventories, discontinued products and
products with market prices lower than cost. Write-offs could
adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. We
wrote off inventory in an aggregate amount of $2.4 million in 2008, $3.4 million
in 2009 and $1.1 million in 2010.
The
right of our customers to return products and their right to exchange products
may affect our ability to recognize revenues which could adversely affect the
results of our operations.
Some of
our customers expect us to permit them to return some or all of the products
they purchase from us. If we contractually agree to allow a customer
to return products, the customer may be entitled to a refund for the returned
products or to receive a credit for the purchase of replacement
products. If we agree to this type of contractual obligation, it
could affect our ability to recognize revenues. In addition, if we
are not able to resell any products that are returned and we would have to write
off this inventory. This could adversely affect our results of
operations.
Our
products generally have long sales cycles and implementation periods, which
increase our costs in obtaining orders and reduce the predictability of our
revenues.
Our
products are technologically complex and are typically intended for use in
applications that may be critical to the business of our
customers. Prospective customers generally must make a significant
commitment of resources to test and evaluate our products and to integrate them
into larger systems. As a result, our sales process is often subject
to delays associated with lengthy approval processes that typically accompany
the design and testing of new communications equipment. The sales
cycles of our products to new customers are approximately six to twelve months
after a design win, depending on the type of customer and complexity of the
product. This time period may be further extended because of internal
testing, field trials and requests for the addition or customization of
features. This delays the time until we realize revenue and results
in significant investment of resources in attempting to make sales.
Long
sales cycles also subject us to risks not usually encountered in a short sales
span, including customers’ budgetary constraints, internal acceptance reviews
and cancellation. In addition, orders expected in one quarter could
shift to another because of the timing of customers’ procurement
decisions. The time required to implement our products can vary
significantly with the needs of our customers and generally exceeds several
months; larger implementations can take multiple calendar
quarters. This complicates our planning processes and reduces the
predictability of our revenues.
Our
proprietary technology is difficult to protect, and our products may infringe on
the intellectual property rights of third parties. Our business may
suffer if we are unable to protect our intellectual property or if we are sued
for infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties.
Our
success and ability to compete depend in part upon protecting our proprietary
technology. We rely on a combination of patent, trade secret,
copyright and trademark laws, nondisclosure and other contractual agreements and
technical measures to protect our proprietary rights. These
agreements and measures may not be sufficient to protect our technology from
third-party infringement, or to protect us from the claims of
others.
Enforcement
of intellectual property rights may be expensive and may divert attention of
management and of research and development personnel away from our
business. Intellectual property litigation could also call into
question the ownership or scope of rights owned by us. We believe
that at least one of our patents may cover technology related to the ITU G.723.1
standard. Because of our involvement in the standard setting process,
we may be required to license certain of our patents on a reasonable and
non-discriminatory basis to a current or future competitor, to the extent
required to carry out the G.723.1 standard. Additionally, our
products may be manufactured, sold, or used in countries that provide less
protection to intellectual property than that provided under U.S. or Israeli
laws or where we do not hold relevant intellectual property rights.
We
believe that the frequency of third party intellectual claims is increasing, as
patent holders, including entities that are not in our industry and that
purchase patents as an investment or to monetize such rights by obtaining
royalties, use infringement assertions as a competitive tactic and a source of
additional revenue. Any intellectual property claims against us, even
without merit, could cost us a significant amount of money to defend and divert
management’s attention away from our business. We may not be able to
secure a license for technology that is used in our products and we may face
injunctive proceedings that prevent distribution and sale of our products even
prior to any dispute being concluded. These proceedings may also have
a deterrent effect on purchases by customers, who may be unsure about our
ability to continue to supply their requirements. We may be forced to
repurchase our products and compensate customers that have purchased such
infringing products. We may be forced to redesign the product so that
it becomes non-infringing, which may have an adverse impact on the results of
our operations.
In
addition, claims alleging that the development, use, or sale of our products
infringes third parties’ intellectual property rights may be directed either at
us or at our direct or indirect customers. We may be required to
indemnify such customers against claims made against them. We may be
required to indemnify them even if we believe that the claim of infringement is
without merit.
Multiple
patent holders in our industry may result in increased licensing
costs.
There are
a number of companies besides us that hold patents for various aspects of the
technology incorporated in our industry’s standards and our
products. We expect that patent enforcement will be given high
priority by companies seeking to gain competitive advantages or additional
revenues. The holders of patents from which we have not obtained
licenses may take the position that we are required to obtain a license from
them. We cannot be certain that we would be able to negotiate a
license agreement at an acceptable price or at all. Our results of
operations could be adversely affected by the payment of any additional
licensing costs or if we are prevented from manufacturing or selling a
product.
Changes
in governmental regulations in the United States or other countries could slow
the growth of the VoIP telephony market and reduce the demand for our customers’
products, which, in turn, could reduce the demand for our products.
VoIP and
other services are not currently subject to all of the same regulations that
apply to traditional telephony. Nevertheless, it is possible that
foreign or U.S. federal or state legislatures may seek to impose increased fees
and administrative burdens on VoIP, data, and video providers. The
FCC has already required VoIP service providers to meet various emergency
service requirements relating to delivery of 911 calls, known as E911, and to
accommodate law enforcement interception or wiretapping requirements, such as
the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA. In
addition, the FCC may seek to impose other traditional telephony requirements
such as disability access requirements, consumer protection requirements, number
assignment and portability requirements, and other obligations, including
additional obligations regarding E911 and CALEA.
The cost
of complying with FCC regulations could increase the cost of providing Internet
phone service which could result in slower growth and decreased profitability
for this industry, which would adversely affect our business.
The
enactment of any additional regulation or taxation of communications over the
Internet in the United States or elsewhere in the world could have a material
adverse effect on our customers’ (and their customers’) businesses and could
therefore adversely affect sales of our products. We do not know what
effect, if any, possible legislation or regulatory actions in the United States
or elsewhere in the world may have on private telecommunication networks, the
provision of VoIP services and purchases of our products.
Use
of encryption technology in our products is regulated by governmental
authorities and may require special development, export or import
licenses. Delays in the issuance of required licenses, or the
inability to secure these licenses, could adversely affect our revenues and
results of operations.
Growth in
the demand for security features may increase the use of encryption technology
in our products. The use of encryption technology is generally
regulated by governmental authorities and may require specific development,
export or import licenses. Encryption standards may be based on
proprietary technologies. We may be unable to incorporate encryption
standards into our products in a manner that will insure
interoperability. We also may be unable to secure licenses for
proprietary technology on reasonable terms. If we cannot meet
encryption standards, or secure required licenses for proprietary encryption
technology, our revenues and results of operations could be adversely
affected.
We
are subject to regulations that require us to use components based on
environmentally friendly materials. We may be subject to various
regulations relating to management and disposal of waste with respect to
electronic equipment. Compliance with these regulations has increased
our costs. Failure to comply with these regulations could materially
adversely affect our results of operations.
We are
subject to an increasing number of telecommunications industry regulations
requiring the use of environmentally-friendly materials in telecommunications
equipment. For example, pursuant to a European Community directive,
telecom equipment suppliers were required to stop using specified materials that
are not “environmentally friendly” by July 1, 2006. In addition, telecom
equipment suppliers that take advantage of an exemption with respect to the use
of lead in solders are required by this directive to eliminate the lead in
solders from their products by the time set forth by the European Community
regulations. This exemption has been extended by the
authorities. Some of our customers may also require products that
meet higher standards than those required by the directive, such as complete
removal of additional harmful substances from our products. We will
be dependent on our suppliers for components and sub-system modules, such as
semiconductors and purchased assemblies and goods, to comply with these
requirements. This may harm our ability to sell our products in
regions or to customers that may adopt such directives.
Compliance
with these directives, especially with respect to the requirement that products
eliminate lead solders, requires us to undertake significant expenses with
respect to the re-design of our products. In addition, we may be
required to pay higher prices for components that comply with this
directive. We may not be able to pass these higher component costs on
to our customers. We cannot at this point estimate the expense that
will be required to redesign our products in order to include “environmentally
friendly” components. We cannot be sure that we will be able to
timely comply with these regulations, that we will be able to comply on a
cost-effective basis or that a sufficient supply of compliant components will be
available to us. Compliance with these regulations could increase our
product design costs. New designs may also require qualification
testing with both customers and government certification boards. We
cannot be certain of the reliability of any new designs that utilize non-lead
components, in part due to the lack of experience with the replacement materials
and assembly technologies. In addition, the incorporation of new
components may adversely affect equipment reliability and
durability.
Some of
our operations use substances regulated under various federal, state, local and
international laws governing the environment, including laws governing the
management and disposal of waste with respect to electronic
equipment. We could incur substantial costs, including fines and
civil or criminal sanctions, if we were to violate or become liable under
environmental laws or if our products become non-compliant with environmental
laws. We also face increasing complexity in our product design and
procurement operations as we adjust to new and future requirements relating to
the materials that compose our products. The EU has enacted the Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, which makes producers of
electrical goods financially responsible for specified collection, recycling,
treatment and disposal of past and future covered products. Similar
legislation has been or may be enacted in other jurisdictions, including the
United States, Canada, Mexico, China and Japan.
Our
inability or failure to comply with these regulations could have a material
adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition,
manufacturers of components that use lead solders may decide to stop
manufacturing those components prior to the required compliance
date. These actions by manufacturers of components could result in a
shortage of components that could adversely affect our business and results of
operations.
A
significant portion of our revenues is generated outside of the United States
and Israel. We intend to continue to expand our operations
internationally and, as a result, our results of operations could suffer if we
are unable to manage our international operations effectively.
We
generated 40% of our revenues in 2008, 36% of our revenues in 2009 and 39% of
our revenues in 2010 outside of the United States and Israel. Part of our
strategy is to expand our penetration in existing foreign markets and to enter
new foreign markets. Our ability to penetrate some international
markets may be limited due to different technical standards, protocols or
product requirements in different markets. Expansion of our
international business will require significant management attention and
financial resources. Our international sales and operations are
subject to numerous risks inherent in international business activities,
including:
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economic
and political instability in foreign
countries;
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compliance
with foreign laws and
regulations;
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different
technical standards or product
requirements;
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staffing
and managing foreign operations;
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foreign
currency fluctuations;
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import
or currency control restrictions;
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increased
risk of collection; and
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burdens
that may be imposed by tariffs and other trade
barriers.
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If we are
unable to address these risks, our foreign operations may be unprofitable or the
value of our investment in our foreign operations may decrease.
Currently,
our international sales are denominated primarily in U.S.
dollars. Therefore, any devaluation in the local currencies of our
customers relative to the U.S. dollar could cause customers to decrease or
cancel orders or default on payment.
The
prices of our products may become less competitive due to foreign exchange
fluctuations.
Although
we have operations throughout the world, the majority of our revenues and our
operating costs in 2010 were denominated in, or linked to, the U.S.
dollar. Accordingly, we consider the U.S. dollar to be our functional
currency. However, a significant portion of our operating costs in
2010 were incurred in New Israeli Shekels (NIS). During 2010, the NIS
appreciated against the U.S. dollar, which resulted in an increase in the U.S.
dollar cost of our operations in Israel. As a result of this
differential, from time to time we may experience increases in the costs of our
operations outside the United States, as expressed in U.S.
dollars. If there is a significant increase in our expenses, we may
be required to increase the prices of our products and may be less
competitive. We cannot be sure that our international customers will
continue to place orders denominated in U.S. dollars.
Our sales
to European customers denominated in Euros are increasing. Sales
denominated in Euros could make our revenues subject to fluctuation in the
Euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate. If the U.S. dollar appreciates
against the Euro, we may be required to increase the prices of our products that
are denominated in Euros. In 2010, the U.S. dollar appreciated
against the Euro, which resulted in an increase in the prices of our products
that are denominated in Euros.
We
may be unable to attract sales representatives who will market our products
effectively.
A
significant portion of our marketing and sales involves the aid of independent
sales representatives that are not under our direct control. We
cannot be certain that our current independent sales representatives will
continue to distribute our products or that, even if they continue to distribute
our products, they will do so successfully. These representatives are
not subject to any minimum purchase requirements and can discontinue marketing
our products at any time. In addition, these representatives often
market products of our competitors. Accordingly, we must compete for
the attention and sales efforts of our independent sales
representatives.
Our
products could contain defects, which would reduce sales of those products or
result in claims against us.
We
develop complex and evolving products. Despite testing by us and our
customers, undetected errors or defects may be found in existing or new
products. The introduction of products with reliability, quality or
compatibility problems could result in reduced revenues, additional costs,
increased product returns and difficulty or delays in collecting accounts
receivable. The risk is higher with products still in the development
stage, where full testing or certification is not yet completed. This
could result in, among other things, a delay in recognition or loss of revenues,
loss of market share or failure to achieve market acceptance. We
could also be subject to material claims by customers that are not covered by
our insurance.
Obtaining
certification of our products by national regulators may be time-consuming and
expensive. We may be unable to sell our products in markets in which
we are unable to obtain certification.
Our
customers may expect us to obtain certificates of compliance with safety and
technical standards set by national regulators, especially standards set by U.S.
or European regulators. There is no uniform set of standards, and
each national regulator may impose and change its own
standards. National regulators may also prohibit us from importing
products that do not conform to their standards. If we make any
change in the design of a product, we are usually required to obtain
recertification of the product. The process of certification may be
time-consuming and expensive and may affect the length of the sales cycle for a
product. If we are unable to obtain certification of a product in a
market, we may be unable to sell the product in that market.
We
depend on a limited number of key personnel who would be difficult to
replace.
Because
our products are complex and our market is evolving, the success of our business
depends in large part upon the continuing contributions of our management and
key personnel. Specifically, we rely heavily on the services of
Shabtai Adlersberg, our Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of our
Board of Directors. If our Chief Executive Officer is unable or
unwilling to continue with us, our results of operations could be materially and
adversely affected. We do not carry key person insurance for our
Chief Executive Officer.
The
success of our business also depends upon our continuing ability to attract and
retain other highly-qualified management, technical, sales and marketing
personnel. We need highly-qualified technical personnel who are
capable of developing technologies and products and providing the technical
support required by our customers. We experience competitive pressure
with respect to retaining and hiring employees in the high technology sector in
Israel. If we fail to hire and retain skilled employees, our business
may be adversely affected.
If
we do not manage our operations effectively, our results of operations could be
adversely affected.
We have
actively expanded our operations in the past and may continue to expand them in
the future. This expansion has required, and may continue to require,
the application of managerial, operational and financial
resources. We cannot be sure that we will continue to expand, or that
we will be able to expand our operations successfully. In particular,
our business requires us to focus on multiple markets, including the VoIP,
wireline, cable and wireless markets. In addition, we work
simultaneously with a number of large OEMs and network equipment providers each
of which may have different requirements for the products that we sell to
them. We may not have sufficient personnel, or may be unable to
devote this personnel when needed, to address the requirements of these markets
and customers. If we are unable to manage our operations effectively,
our revenues may not increase, our cost of operations may rise and our results
of operations may be adversely affected.
As we
grow we may need new or enhanced systems, procedures or controls. The
transition to such systems, procedures or controls, as well as any delay in
transitioning to new or enhanced systems, procedures or controls, may seriously
harm our ability to accurately forecast sales demand, manage our product
inventory and record and report financial and management information on a timely
and accurate basis.
Our
gross profit percentage could be negatively impacted by amortization expenses in
connection with acquisitions, increased manufacturing costs and other
factors. This could adversely affect our results of
operations.
Our gross
profit percentage decreased in 2008 and 2009 and increased in
2010. The decrease in our gross profit percentage in 2008 was
primarily attributable to amortization expenses related to the acquisitions of
Nuera and Netrake beginning in the third quarter of 2006 and CTI Squared
beginning in the second quarter of 2007, as well as expenses related to
equity-based compensation resulting from the adoption of ASC 718 beginning in
2006. During the fourth quarter of 2008, we recognized non-cash
impairment charges of $86.1 million with respect to goodwill, intangible assets
and investment in an affiliate. As a result of these impairment
charges, non-cash amortization expense included in cost of revenues declined in
2009 and 2010.
Our gross
profit percentage has also been negatively affected in the past and could
continue to be negatively affected by an increase in manufacturing costs, a
shift in our sales mix towards our less profitable products, increased customer
demand for longer product warranties and increased cost pressures as a result of
increased competition. Acquisitions of new businesses could also
negatively affect our gross profit percentage, which could cause an adverse
effect on our results of operations.
The
growth in our product portfolio means that we have to service and support more
products. This may result in an increase in our expenses and an
adverse effect on our results of operations.
The size
of our product portfolio has increased and continues to increase. As
a result, we are required to provide to our customers sales
support. Customers have requested that we provide a contractual
commitment to support a product for a specified period of time. This
period of time may exceed the working life of the product or extend past the
period of time that we may intend to manufacture or support a
product. We are dependent on our suppliers for the components
(hardware and software) needed to provide support and may be unable to secure
the components necessary to satisfy our service commitments. We do
not have long-term contracts with our suppliers, and they may not be obligated
to provide us with products or services for any specified period of
time. We may need to purchase an inventory of replacement components
and parts in advance in order to try to provide for their availability when
needed. This could result in increased risk of write-offs with
respect to our replacement component inventory to the extent that we cannot
accurately predict our future requirements under our customer service
contracts. If any of our component suppliers cease production, cease
operations or refuse or fail to make timely delivery of orders, we may not be
able to meet our contractual commitments for product support. We may
be required to supply enhanced components or parts as substitutes if the
original versions are no longer available. Product support may be
costly and any extra service revenues may not cover the hardware and software
costs associated with providing long-term support.
Terrorist
attacks, or the threat of such attacks, may negatively impact the global economy
which may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and
results of operation and may cause our share price to decline.
The
financial, political, economic and other uncertainties following terrorist
attacks throughout the world have led to a worsening of the global
economy. As a result, many of our customers and potential customers
have become much more cautious in setting their capital expenditure budgets,
thereby restricting their telecommunications
procurement. Uncertainties related to the threat of terrorism have
had a negative effect on global economy, causing businesses to continue slowing
spending on telecommunications products and services and further lengthen
already long sales cycles. Any escalation of these threats or similar
future events may disrupt our operations or those of our customers, distributors
and suppliers, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition
and results of operations.
We
are subject to taxation in several countries.
Because
we operate in several countries, mainly in the United States, Israel, United
Kingdom and Singapore, we are subject to taxation in multiple
jurisdictions. We are required to report to and are subject to local
tax authorities in the countries in which we operate. In addition,
our income that is derived from sales to customers in one country might also be
subject to taxation in other countries. We cannot be sure of the
amount of tax we may become obligated to pay in the countries in which we
operate. The tax authorities in the countries in which we operate may
not agree with our tax position. Our tax benefits from carry forward
losses and other tax planning benefits such as Israeli approved enterprise
programs, may prove to be insufficient due to Israeli tax limitations, or may
prove to be insufficient to offset tax liabilities from foreign tax
authorities. Foreign tax authorities may also use our gross profit or
our revenues in each territory as the basis for determining our income tax, and
our operating expenses might not be considered for related tax calculations
adversely affect our results of operations.
Risks
Relating to Our Operations in Israel
Conditions
in Israel affect our operations and may limit our ability to produce and sell
our products, and instability in the Middle East may adversely affect
us.
We are
incorporated under the laws of the State of Israel, and our principal executive
offices and principal research and development facilities are located
in the State of Israel. Political, economic and military conditions
in Israel directly affect our operations. There has been an increase
in unrest and terrorist activity in Israel, which has continued with varying
levels of severity for many years through the current period of
time. This has led to ongoing hostilities between Israel, the
Palestinian Authority, other groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the
northern border of Lebanon. The future effect of this violence on the
Israeli economy and our operations is unclear. The
Israeli-Palestinian conflict may also lead to political instability between
Israel and its neighboring countries. Ongoing violence between Israel
and the Palestinians, as well as tension between Israel and the neighboring
countries, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial
conditions and results of operations.
Recent
popular uprisings in various countries in the Middle East are affecting the
political stability of those countries. This instability may lead to
deterioration of the political and trade relationships that exist between the
State of Israel and these countries. In addition, this instability
may affect the global economy and marketplace through changes in oil and gas
prices. Our headquarters and research and development facilities are
located in the State of Israel. Any events that affect the State of
Israel may impact us in unpredictable ways. We have contingent plans
for alternative manufacturing and supply sources, but these plans may be
insufficient. Should our operations be impacted in a significant way,
this may adversely affect the results of our operations.
We cannot
predict the effect on us of an increase in these hostilities or any future armed
conflict, political instability or violence in the
region. Additionally, some of our officers and employees in Israel
are obligated to perform annual military reserve duty and are subject to being
called for additional active duty under emergency circumstances, such as the
military confrontation in the Gaza Strip at the end of 2008. Some of
our employees live within conflict area territories and may be forced to stay at
home instead of reporting to work. We cannot predict the full impact
of these conditions on us in the future, particularly if emergency circumstances
or an escalation in the political situation occur. If many of our
employees are called for active duty, or forced to stay at home, our operations
in Israel and our business may be adversely affected. Additionally, a
number of countries continue to restrict or ban business with Israel or Israeli
companies, which may limit our ability to make sales in those
countries.
We
are adversely affected by the devaluation of the U.S. dollar against the New
Israeli Shekel and could be adversely affected by the rate of inflation in
Israel.
We
generate substantially all of our revenues in U.S. dollars and, in 2010, a
significant portion of our expenses, primarily salaries, related personnel
expenses and the leases of our buildings in Israel, were incurred in
NIS. We anticipate that a significant portion of our expenses will
continue to be denominated in NIS.
Our NIS
related costs, as expressed in U.S. dollars, are influenced by the exchange rate
between the U.S. dollar and the NIS. During 2009 and 2010, the NIS
appreciated against the U.S. dollar, which resulted in a significant increase in
the U.S. dollar cost of our operations in Israel To the extent the
U.S. dollar weakens against the NIS, we could experience an increase in the cost
of our operations, which are measured in U.S. dollars in our financial
statements, which could adversely affect our results of
operations. In addition, in periods in which the U.S. dollar
appreciates against the NIS, we bear the risk that the rate of inflation in
Israel will exceed the rate of such devaluation of the NIS in relation to the
U.S. dollar or that the timing of such devaluations were to lag considerably
behind inflation, which will increase our costs as expressed in U.S.
dollars.
The
devaluation of the U.S. dollar in relation to the NIS has and may continue to
have the effect of increasing the cost in U.S. dollars of these
expenses. Our U.S. dollar-measured results of operations were
adversely affected in 2009 and 2010. This could happen again if the
U.S. dollar were to devalue against the NIS.
In order
to manage the risks imposed by foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, from
time to time, we enter into currency forward contracts and put and call options
to hedge some of our foreign currency exposure. We can provide no
assurance that our hedging arrangements will be effective. In
addition, if we wish to maintain the U.S. dollar-denominated value of our
products in non-U.S. markets, devaluation in the local currencies of our
customers relative to the U.S. dollar may cause our customers to cancel or
decrease orders or default on payment.
Because
exchange rates between the NIS and the U.S. dollar fluctuate continuously,
exchange rate fluctuations have an impact on our profitability and
period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations. In 2010,
the value of the U.S. dollar decreased in relation to the NIS by 0.6%, and the
inflation rate in Israel was 2.3%. As a result, our results of operations were
adversely affected in 2010. If this trend continues, it will continue
to adversely affect our result of operations.
The
Israeli government programs in which we currently participate, and the tax
benefits we currently receive require us to meet several conditions and may be
terminated or reduced in the future, which would increase our
costs.
We
benefit from certain government programs and tax benefits, particularly as a
result of exemptions and reductions resulting from the “approved enterprise”
status of our existing production facilities and programs in
Israel. In the past, the designation required advance approval from
the Investment Center of the Israel Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor (the
Investment Center). To be eligible for these programs and tax
benefits, we must continue to meet conditions relating principally to adherence
to the approved programs and to periodic reporting obligations. We
believe that we are currently in compliance with these
requirements. However, if we fail to meet these conditions, we will
be subject to corporate tax at the rate then in effect under Israeli law for
such tax year.
In April
2005, an amendment to the law came into effect (the “Amendment”) which
significantly changed the provisions of the law. The Amendment
limited the scope of enterprises which may be approved by the Investment Center
by setting criteria for the approval of a facility as a Privileged Enterprise,
such as provisions generally requiring that at least 25% of the Privileged
Enterprise’s income be derived from export. Additionally, the
Amendment enacted major changes in the manner in which tax benefits are awarded
under the law so that companies no longer require Investment Center approval in
order to qualify for tax benefits.
The law
provides that terms and benefits included in any certificate of approval granted
prior to December 31, 2004 remain subject to the provisions of the law as they
were on the date of such approval. Therefore, our existing “Approved
Enterprises” are generally not subject to the provisions of the
Amendment. As a result of the Amendment, tax-exempt income generated
under the provisions of the law as amended, will subject us to taxes upon
distribution or liquidation and we may be required to record a deferred tax
liability with respect to such tax-exempt income. We have elected the
year 2008 as the year of election for “Privileged Enterprise” under the
Amendment.
In
December 2010, the Israeli Parliament passed the Law for Economic Policy for
2011 and 2012 (Amended Legislation), 2011, which prescribes, among others,
amendments to the Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments, 1959 (“the
Law”). The amendments became effective as of January 1, 2011. According to the
amendments, the benefit tracks in the Law were modified and a flat tax rate
applies to a company’s entire preferred income. We will be able to elect to
apply the amendments and would then be subject to amended tax rates as follows:
2011 and 2012 - 15% (in development area A - 10%), 2013 and 2014 - 12.5% (in
development area A - 7%) and in 2015 and thereafter - 12% (in development area A
- 6%).
We are
examining the possible effect of the amendments on our financial statements. We
have not yet decided whether to elect to have the amendments apply to
us.
The
government grants we have received for research and development expenditures
limit our ability to manufacture products and transfer technologies outside of
Israel and require us to satisfy specified conditions. If we fail to
satisfy these conditions, we may be required to refund grants previously
received together with interest and penalties.
In
connection with research and development grants we received from the OCS, we
must pay royalties to the OCS on the revenue derived from the sale of products,
technologies and services developed with the grants from the OCS. The
terms of the OCS grants and the law pursuant to which grants are made restrict
our ability to manufacture products or transfer technologies developed outside
of Israel if OCS grants funded the development of the products or
technology. An amendment to the relevant law facilitates the transfer
of technology or know-how developed with the funding of the OCS to third parties
outside of Israel, but any future transfer would still require the approval of
the OCS, which may not be granted, and is likely to involve a material payment
to the OCS. This restriction may limit our ability to enter into
agreements for those products or technologies without OCS
approval. We cannot be certain that any approval of the OCS will be
obtained on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all.
In order
to meet specified conditions in connection with the grants and programs of the
OCS, we have made representations to the Government of Israel concerning our
Israeli operations. If we fail to meet the conditions related to the
grants, including the maintenance of a material presence in Israel, or if there
is any material deviation from the representations made by us to the Israeli
government, we could be required to refund the grants previously received
(together with an adjustment based on the Israeli consumer price index and an
interest factor) and would likely be ineligible to receive OCS grants in the
future. Any inability to receive these grants would result in an
increase in our research and development expenses.
In 2010,
we recognized a royalty-bearing grant of $3,536,000 from the Government of
Israel, through the Office of the Chief Scientist, or the OCS, for the financing
of a portion of our research and development expenditures in Israel. The OCS
budget has been subject to reductions, which may affect the availability of
funds for these prospective grants and other grants in the future. As
a result, we cannot be certain that we will continue to receive grants at the
same rate, or at all. In addition, the terms of any future OCS grants
may be less favorable than our past grant. As of December 31, 2010, we have a
contingent obligation to pay royalties in the amount of approximately
$12,463,000.
It
may be difficult to enforce a U.S. judgment against us, our officers and
directors, assert U.S. securities law claims in Israel or serve process on
substantially all of our officers and directors.
We are
incorporated in Israel. Substantially all of our executive officers
and directors are nonresidents of the United States, and a majority of our
assets and the assets of these persons are located outside the United
States. Therefore, it may be difficult to enforce a judgment obtained
in the United States against us or any such persons or to effect service of
process upon these persons in the United States. Israeli courts may
refuse to hear a claim based on a violation of U.S. securities laws because
Israel is not the most appropriate forum to bring such a claim. In
addition, even if an Israeli court agrees to hear a claim, it may determine that
Israeli law and not U.S. law is applicable to the claim. If U.S. law
is found to be applicable, the content of applicable U.S. law must be proved as
a fact which can be a time-consuming and costly process. Certain
matters of procedure will also be governed by Israeli law. There is
little binding case law in Israel addressing these
matters. Additionally, there is doubt as to the enforceability of
civil liabilities under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act in original
actions instituted in Israel. See “Enforceability of Civil
Liabilities.”
Israeli
law may delay, prevent or make difficult a merger with or an acquisition of us,
which could prevent a change of control and therefore depress the price of our
shares.
Provisions
of Israeli law may delay, prevent or make undesirable a merger or an acquisition
of all or a significant portion of our shares or assets. Israeli
corporate law regulates acquisitions of shares through tender offers and
mergers, requires special approvals for transactions involving significant
shareholders and regulates other matters that may be relevant to these types of
transactions. These provisions of Israeli law could have the effect
of delaying or preventing a change in control and may make it more difficult for
a third party to acquire us, even if doing so would be beneficial to our
shareholders. These provisions may limit the price that investors may
be willing to pay in the future for our ordinary shares. In addition,
our articles of association contain certain provisions that may make it more
difficult to acquire us, such as a staggered board, the ability of our board of
directors to issue preferred stock and limitations on business combinations with
interested shareholders. Furthermore, Israel tax considerations may
make potential transactions undesirable to us or to some of our
shareholders.
Risks
Relating to the Ownership of our Ordinary Shares
The
price of our ordinary shares may fluctuate significantly.
The
market price for our ordinary shares, as well as the prices of shares of other
technology companies, has been volatile. Between January 1, 2009 and
February 14, 2011, our share price has fluctuated from a low of $0.92 to a high
of $8.07. The following factors may cause significant fluctuations in
the market price of our ordinary shares:
|
·
|
fluctuations
in our quarterly revenues and earnings or those of our
competitors;
|
|
·
|
shortfalls
in our operating results compared to levels forecast by securities
analysts;
|
|
·
|
announcements
concerning us, our competitors or telephone
companies;
|
|
·
|
announcements
of technological innovations;
|
|
·
|
the
introduction of new products;
|
|
·
|
changes
in product price policies involving us or our
competitors;
|
|
·
|
market
conditions in the industry;
|
|
·
|
integration
of acquired businesses, technologies or joint ventures with our products
and operations;
|
|
·
|
the
conditions of the securities markets, particularly in the technology and
Israeli sectors; and
|
|
·
|
political,
economic and other developments in the State of Israel and
worldwide.
|
In
addition, stock prices of many technology companies fluctuate significantly for
reasons that may be unrelated or disproportionate to operating
results. The factors discussed above may depress or cause volatility
of our share price, regardless of our actual operating results.
Our
quarterly results of operations have fluctuated in the past and we expect these
fluctuations to continue. Fluctuations in our results of operations
may disappoint investors and result in a decline in our share
price.
We have
experienced and expect to continue to experience significant fluctuations in our
quarterly results of operations. In some periods, our operating
results may be below public expectations or below revenue levels and operating
results reached in prior quarters or in the corresponding quarters of the
previous year. If this occurs, the market price of our ordinary
shares could decline.
The
following factors have affected our quarterly results of operations in the past
and are likely to affect our quarterly results of operations in the
future:
|
·
|
size,
timing and pricing of orders, including order deferrals and delayed
shipments;
|
|
·
|
launching
of new product generations;
|
|
·
|
length
of approval processes or market
testing;
|
|
·
|
technological
changes in the telecommunications
industry;
|
|
·
|
competitive
pricing pressures;
|
|
·
|
the
timing and approval of government research and development
grants;
|
|
·
|
accuracy
of telecommunication company, distributor and original equipment
manufacturer forecasts of their customers’
demands;
|
|
·
|
changes
in our operating expenses;
|
|
·
|
disruption
in our sources of supply; and
|
|
·
|
general
economic conditions.
|
Therefore,
the results of any past periods may not be relied upon as an indication of our
future performance.
Our
actual financial results might vary from our publicly disclosed financial
forecasts.
From time
to time, we publicly disclose financial forecasts. Our forecasts
reflect numerous assumptions concerning our expected performance, as well as
other factors which are beyond our control and which might not turn out to be
correct. As a result, variations from our forecasts could be
material. Our financial results are subject to numerous risks and
uncertainties, including those identified throughout this “Risk Factors” section
and in our SEC filings incorporated by reference in this
prospectus. If our actual financial results are worse than our
financial forecasts, the price of our ordinary shares may decline.
It
is our policy that we will not provide quarterly forecasts of the results of our
operations. This policy could affect the willingness of analysts to
provide research with respect to our ordinary shares which could affect the
trading market for our ordinary shares.
It is our
policy that we will not provide quarterly forecasts of the results of our
operations. This could result in the reduction of research analysts
who cover our ordinary shares. Any reduction in research coverage
could affect the willingness of investors, particularly institutional investors,
to invest in our shares which could affect the trading market for our ordinary
shares and the price at which our ordinary shares are traded.
As
a foreign private issuer whose shares are listed on NASDAQ, we follow certain
home country corporate governance practices instead of certain NASDAQ
requirements.
As a
foreign private issuer whose shares are listed on NASDAQ, we are permitted to
follow certain home country corporate governance practices instead of certain
requirements of the NASDAQ Marketplace Rules.
We do not
comply with the NASDAQ requirement that we obtain shareholder approval for
certain dilutive events, such as for the establishment or amendment of certain
equity based compensation plans. Instead, we follow Israeli law and
practice which permits the establishment or amendment of certain equity based
compensation plans to be approved by our board of directors without the need for
a shareholder vote, unless such arrangements are for the compensation of
directors, in which case they also require audit committee and shareholder
approval.
As a
foreign private issuer listed on the NASDAQ, we may also elect in the
future to follow home country practice with regard to, among other things,
executive officer compensation, director nomination, composition of the board of
directors and quorum at shareholders’ meetings, as well as not obtain
shareholder approval for certain dilutive events.
Accordingly,
our shareholders may not be afforded the same protection as provided under
NASDAQ’s corporate governance rules.
Our
ordinary shares are listed for trading in more than one market and this may
result in price variations.
Our
ordinary shares are listed for trading on NASDAQ and on TASE. Trading
in our ordinary shares on these markets is made in different currencies (U.S.
dollars on NASDAQ and New Israeli Shekels on TASE), and at different times
(resulting from different time zones, different trading days and different
public holidays in the United States and Israel). Actual trading
volume on the TASE is generally lower than trading volume on NASDAQ, and as such
could be subject to higher volatility. The trading prices of our
ordinary shares on these two markets often differ resulting from the factors
described above, as well as differences in exchange rates. Any
decrease in the trading price of our ordinary shares on one of these markets
could cause a decrease in the trading price of our ordinary shares on the other
market.
We
do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends on our ordinary
shares.
We have
never declared or paid cash dividends on our ordinary shares and do not plan to
pay any cash dividends in the near future. Our current policy is to
retain all funds and earnings for use in the operation and expansion of our
business. See “Dividend Policy.”
U.S.
shareholders face certain income tax risks in connection with their acquisition,
ownership and disposition of our ordinary shares. In any tax year, we
could be deemed a passive foreign investment company, which could result in
adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences for U.S. shareholders.
Based on
the composition of our gross income, the composition and value of our gross
assets and the amounts of our liabilities during 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008,
2009 and 2010, we do not believe that we were a passive foreign investment
company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes during any of such tax
years. It is likely, however, that we would be deemed to have been a
PFIC in 2001, 2002 and 2003. There can be no assurance that we will
not be deemed a PFIC for any future tax year in which, for example, the value of
our assets, as measured by the public market valuation of our ordinary shares,
declines in relation to the value of our passive assets (generally, cash, cash
equivalents and marketable securities). If we are a PFIC for any tax
year, U.S. shareholders who own our ordinary shares during such year may be
subject to increased U.S. federal income tax liabilities and reporting
requirements for such year and succeeding years, even if we are no longer a PFIC
in such succeeding years. Under legislation enacted by the U.S., a
U.S. holder of our ordinary shares will be required to file an information
return containing certain information required by the U.S. Internal Revenue
Service for each year in which we are treated as a PFIC.
We urge
U.S. holders of our ordinary shares to consult their own tax advisors with
respect to the U.S. federal income tax risks related to owning and disposing of
our ordinary shares and the consequences of PFIC status.
We
are subject to ongoing costs and risks associated with complying with extensive
corporate governance and disclosure requirements.
As a
foreign private issuer subject to U.S. federal securities laws, we spend a
significant amount of management time and resources to comply with laws,
regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public
disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, SEC regulations and NASDAQ
rules. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires management’s
annual review and evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting
and attestations of the effectiveness of these controls by our management and by
our independent registered public accounting firm. There is no
guarantee that these efforts will result in management assurance or an
attestation by our independent registered public accounting firm that our
internal control over financial reporting is adequate in future
periods. In connection with our compliance with Section 404 and the
other applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our management and other
personnel devote a substantial amount of time, and may need to hire additional
accounting and financial staff, to assure that we comply with these
requirements. The additional management attention and costs relating
to compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other corporate governance
requirements could materially and adversely affect our financial
results.
SPECIAL
NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This
prospectus (including the documents incorporated by reference) contains
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities
Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking
statements can generally be identified as such because the context of the
statement will include words such as “may,” “will,” “intends,” “plans,”
“believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,”
“continue,” or “opportunity,” the negative of these words or words of similar
import. Similarly, statements that describe our business outlook or
future economic performance, anticipated revenues, expenses or other financial
items, introductions and advancements in development of products, and plans and
objectives related thereto, and statements concerning assumptions made or
expectations as to any future events, conditions, performance or other matters,
are also forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual
results to differ materially from those stated in such
statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such
differences include, but are not limited to, those set forth under “Risk
Factors” in this prospectus as well as those discussed elsewhere in our other
filings with the SEC incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
Our
actual results of operations and execution of our business strategy could differ
materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking
statements. In addition, past financial and/or operating performance
is not necessarily a reliable indicator of future performance and you should not
use our historical performance to anticipate results or future period
trends. We can give no assurances that any of the events anticipated
by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if any of them do, what impact
they will have on our results of operations and financial
condition. In evaluating our forward-looking statements, you should
specifically consider the risks and uncertainties discussed under “Risk Factors”
in this prospectus. Except as required by law, we undertake no
obligation to publicly revise our forward-looking statements to reflect events
or circumstances that arise after the date of this prospectus.
PRICE
RANGE OF ORDINARY SHARES
Our
ordinary shares are quoted on NASDAQ and the TASE under the symbol
“AUDC”.
The
following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales
prices of our ordinary shares as reported by NASDAQ.
Calendar Year
|
|
Price Per Share
|
|
|
|
High
|
|
|
Low
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
$ |
6.51 |
|
|
$ |
2.31 |
|
2009
|
|
$ |
3.06 |
|
|
$ |
0.92 |
|
2008
|
|
$ |
5.26 |
|
|
$ |
1.47 |
|
2007
|
|
$ |
10.40 |
|
|
$ |
4.55 |
|
2006
|
|
$ |
14.64 |
|
|
$ |
8.77 |
|
Calendar Period
|
|
Price Per Share
|
|
|
|
High
|
|
|
Low
|
|
2011
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
quarter (through February 14, 2011)
|
|
$ |
8.07 |
|
|
$ |
6.00 |
|
2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth
quarter
|
|
$ |
6.51 |
|
|
$ |
3.70 |
|
Third
quarter
|
|
$ |
3.99 |
|
|
$ |
2.31 |
|
Second
quarter
|
|
$ |
4.39 |
|
|
$ |
2.43 |
|
First
quarter
|
|
$ |
4.17 |
|
|
$ |
2.65 |
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth
quarter
|
|
$ |
3.06 |
|
|
$ |
1.94 |
|
Third
quarter
|
|
$ |
2.40 |
|
|
$ |
1.37 |
|
Second
quarter
|
|
$ |
1.60 |
|
|
$ |
1.16 |
|
First
quarter
|
|
$ |
1.90 |
|
|
$ |
0.92 |
|
Calendar Month
|
|
Price Per Share
|
|
|
|
High
|
|
|
Low
|
|
2011
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
January
|
|
$ |
7.76 |
|
|
$ |
6.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
|
|
$ |
6.51 |
|
|
$ |
4.61 |
|
November
|
|
$ |
5.16 |
|
|
$ |
4.34 |
|
October
|
|
$ |
5.03 |
|
|
$ |
3.70 |
|
September
|
|
$ |
3.99 |
|
|
$ |
2.63 |
|
August
|
|
$ |
3.20 |
|
|
$ |
2.49 |
|
The
following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales
prices of our ordinary shares as reported by the TASE. All share
prices shown in the following table are in NIS. All share prices shown in the
following table are in NIS. As of December 31, 2010, the exchange rate was equal
to approximately NIS 3.549 per U.S. $1.00.
Calendar Year
|
|
Price Per Share
|
|
|
|
High
|
|
|
Low
|
|
2010
|
|
NIS |
23.25 |
|
|
NIS |
9.20 |
|
2009
|
|
NIS |
11.55 |
|
|
NIS |
4.26 |
|
2008
|
|
NIS |
20.20 |
|
|
NIS |
5.71 |
|
2007
|
|
NIS |
44.00 |
|
|
NIS |
18.90 |
|
2006
|
|
NIS |
66.27 |
|
|
NIS |
38.10 |
|
Calendar Period
|
|
Price Per Share
|
|
|
|
High
|
|
|
Low
|
|
2011
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
quarter (through February 14, 2011)
|
|
NIS |
29.51 |
|
|
NIS |
20.50 |
|
2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth
quarter
|
|
NIS |
23.25 |
|
|
NIS |
13.30 |
|
Third
quarter
|
|
NIS |
13.91 |
|
|
NIS |
9.33 |
|
Second
quarter
|
|
NIS |
16.05 |
|
|
NIS |
9.20 |
|
First
quarter
|
|
NIS |
15.25 |
|
|
NIS |
9.50 |
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth
quarter
|
|
NIS |
11.55 |
|
|
NIS |
7.61 |
|
Third
quarter
|
|
NIS |
8.30 |
|
|
NIS |
5.50 |
|
Second
quarter
|
|
NIS |
6.64 |
|
|
NIS |
4.70 |
|
First
quarter
|
|
NIS |
7.33 |
|
|
NIS |
4.26 |
|
Calendar Month
|
|
Price Per Share
|
|
|
|
High
|
|
|
Low
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2011
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
January
|
|
NIS |
15.25 |
|
|
NIS |
9.50 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
|
|
NIS |
23.25 |
|
|
NIS |
16.20 |
|
November
|
|
NIS |
18.65 |
|
|
NIS |
16.05 |
|
October
|
|
NIS |
18.10 |
|
|
NIS |
13.30 |
|
September
|
|
NIS |
13.91 |
|
|
NIS |
9.91 |
|
August
|
|
NIS |
12.08 |
|
|
NIS |
9.68 |
|
The
closing price of our ordinary shares on NASDAQ on February 14, 2011 was $7.72
per share, and the closing price of our ordinary shares on the TASE on February
14, 2011 was NIS 28.20 per share.
DIVIDEND
POLICY
We have
never declared or paid cash dividends on our ordinary shares and do not plan to
pay any cash dividends in the near future. Our current policy is to
retain all funds and earnings for use in the operation and expansion of our
business. Payment of future dividends, if any, will be at the
discretion of our board of directors and will depend on various factors, such as
our statutory retained earnings, financial condition, operating results, current
and anticipated cash needs and tax implications of dividend distributions on our
income. Our loan agreements currently restrict us from
paying dividends. The distribution of dividends may also be limited by Israeli
law, which permits the distribution of dividends only out of retained earnings
or otherwise upon the permission of an Israeli court. Our board of directors has
determined that we will not distribute any amounts of our undistributed tax
exempt income as a dividend.
If we
declare cash dividends, we will pay those dividends in NIS. Current
Israeli law permits holders of our ordinary shares who are non-residents of
Israel and who acquired their shares with a non-Israeli currency to repatriate
all distributions on these shares in that non-Israeli
currency.
RATIO
OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
The
following table sets forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges for the
periods indicated. The ratio of earnings to fixed charges is computed
by dividing fixed charges into earnings from continuing operations before income
tax and extraordinary items plus fixed charges. For the purposes of computing
the ratio of earnings to fixed charges, earnings consist of pretax income (loss)
from continuing operations plus fixed charges.
|
|
Year
Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratio
of earnings to fixed charges (a)
|
|
|
1.46 |
|
|
|
— |
(b) |
|
|
— |
(c) |
|
|
— |
(d) |
|
|
7.36 |
|
(a) See
calculation in Exhibit 12.1 of the Registration Statement on Form F-3, of which
this prospectus is a part.
(b) Due
to the loss recorded in 2007, the ratio coverage was less than
1:1. We would have needed to generate additional earnings of
approximately $6 million to achieve coverage of 1:1 in 2007.
(c) Due
to the loss recorded in 2008, the ratio coverage was less than
1:1. We would have needed to generate additional earnings of
approximately $83 million to achieve coverage of 1:1 in 2008.
(d) Due
to the loss recorded in 2009, the ratio coverage was less than
1:1. We would have needed to generate additional earnings of
approximately $3 million to achieve coverage of 1:1 in 2009.
As of the
date of this prospectus, we have no preferred shares outstanding and have not
declared or paid any dividends on preferred shares for the periods set forth
above.
CAPITALIZATION
AND INDEBTEDNESS
The
following table sets forth our cash, cash equivalents and short-term bank
deposits and our consolidated capitalization as of December 31, 2010 on an
actual basis. The table should be read in conjunction with our
unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2010,
included in our Form 6-K filed on February 15, 2011, which have been
incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
|
|
As of December 31, 2010
(U.S. Dollars in
thousands)
Unaudited
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
$ |
50,311 |
|
Short-term
bank deposits
|
|
|
13,825 |
|
Total
cash, cash equivalents, and short-term bank deposits
|
|
|
64,136 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-Term
Debt:
|
|
|
|
|
Senior
convertible notes
|
|
|
(353 |
) |
Long-term
banks loans
|
|
|
(9,750 |
) |
Total
long-term debt
|
|
|
(10,103 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
Shareholders’
equity:
|
|
|
|
|
Share
capital:
|
|
|
|
|
Ordinary
shares of NIS 0.01 par value:
|
|
|
|
|
100,000,000
shares authorized; 48,595,373 shares issued; 41,203,017 shares
outstanding
|
|
|
125 |
|
Additional
paid-in capital
|
|
|
191,280 |
|
Treasury
stock
|
|
|
(25,057 |
) |
Accumulated
other comprehensive income
|
|
|
822 |
|
Accumulated
deficit
|
|
|
(67,990 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
Total
shareholders’ equity
|
|
|
99,180 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
capitalization
|
|
$ |
173,718 |
|
USE
OF PROCEEDS
We
currently intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of securities sold by us
pursuant to this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement for general
corporate purposes. General corporate purposes may include repaying
debt, making capital expenditures, acquisitions, funding product development and
other operating expenses, and any other purpose that we may specify in any
prospectus supplement. We have not yet determined the amount of net
proceeds to be used specifically for any of the foregoing
purposes. Accordingly, our management will have significant
discretion and flexibility in applying the net proceeds from the sale of
securities sold pursuant to this prospectus and the applicable prospectus
supplement. Our plans to use the net proceeds from the sale of these
securities may change, and if they do, we will update this information in a
prospectus supplement.
We will
not receive any proceeds from sales of ordinary shares by the selling
shareholders.
THE
SECURITIES WE MAY OFFER
The
descriptions of the securities contained in this prospectus, together with the
applicable prospectus supplements, summarize the material terms and provisions
of the various types of securities that we may offer. We will
describe in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to any securities the
particular terms of the securities offered by that prospectus
supplement. If we so indicate in the applicable prospectus
supplement, the terms of the securities may differ from the terms we have
summarized below. We will also include in the prospectus supplement
information, where applicable, about material United States and Israeli federal
income tax considerations relating to the securities, and the securities
exchange, if any, on which the securities will be listed.
We may
sell from time to time, in one or more offerings:
|
·
|
warrants
to purchase ordinary shares;
|
|
·
|
units
comprised of ordinary shares, warrants to purchase ordinary shares or debt
securities, in any combination.
|
In this
prospectus, we refer to the ordinary shares, warrants, debt securities and units
collectively as “securities.” The total dollar amount of all
securities that we may issue will not exceed $150,000,000.
This
prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of securities by us unless it is
accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
SELLING
SHAREHOLDERS
This
prospectus relates to the offering by the selling shareholders of up to
3,000,000 ordinary shares. These ordinary shares were issued to the
selling shareholders, who are founders of the company, prior to our initial
public offering in June 1999. The applicable selling shareholders
will be identified in a prospectus supplement with respect to an
offering. This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of
securities by a selling shareholder unless it is accompanied by a prospectus
supplement.
DESCRIPTION
OF SHARE CAPITAL
As of the
date of this prospectus, our articles of association authorize us to issue
100,000,000 of our ordinary shares, nominal value NIS 0.01 per share, and
2,500,000 preferred shares, nominal value NIS 0.01 per share. As of
February 11, 2011, we had outstanding 41,356,587 of our ordinary shares. As of
December 31, 2010 we had options to purchase an aggregate of 4,784,886 of our
ordinary shares at a weighted average exercise price of $7.06 per share, with
the latest expiration date of these options being December 2017 (of which,
options to purchase 2,920,925 of our ordinary shares were exercisable as of
December 31, 2010). No preferred shares were outstanding as of
December 31, 2010. All figures relating to outstanding shares exclude
shares held in treasury.
During
2010, we issued a total of 934,823 ordinary shares, all of which were issued
through the exercise of options, at an average exercise price of $2.74 per
share.
The
following description of our ordinary shares and certain provisions of our
memorandum and articles of association is a summary. The description
below is qualified in its entirety by the provisions of our memorandum and
articles of association.
Ordinary
Shares
Our
issued and outstanding ordinary shares are validly issued, fully paid and
nonassessable. Our ordinary shares are neither redeemable nor
convertible. Upon our liquidation, our assets available for
distribution to shareholders will be distributed to them in proportion to the
nominal value of their shares. Our shareholders do not have
preemptive rights.
Authorized
but Unissued Shares
Our
authorized but unissued ordinary shares are available for future issuance
without shareholder approval. These additional shares may be utilized
for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise
additional capital, corporate acquisitions and employee benefit
plans.
Limitations
on the Rights to Own Securities
The
ownership or voting of ordinary shares by non-residents of Israel, except with
respect to citizens of countries which are in a state of war with Israel, is not
restricted in any way by our memorandum of association or articles of
association or by the laws of the State of Israel.
Transfer
Agent and Registrar
The
transfer agent and registrar for our ordinary shares is American Stock Transfer
& Trust Company.
Objects
and Purposes
We were
incorporated in 1992 under the laws of the State of Israel. Our
registration number with the Israeli Registrar of Companies is
520044132. Our objects and purposes, set forth in Section 2 of our
memorandum of association, are:
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to
plan, develop and market voice signal
systems;
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to
purchase, import, market and wholesale and retail distribute, in Israel
and abroad, consumption goods and accompanying
products;
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to
serve as representatives of bodies, entrepreneurs and companies from
Israel and abroad with respect to their activities in Israel and abroad;
and
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to
carry out any activity as determined by the lawful
management.
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Borrowing
Powers
The board
of directors has the power to cause us to borrow money and to secure the payment
of borrowed money. The board of directors specifically has the power
to issue bonds or debentures, and to impose mortgages or other security
interests on all or any part of our property.
Amendment
of Articles of Association
Shareholders
may amend our articles of association by a resolution adopted at a shareholders
meeting by the holders of 50% of voting power represented at the meeting in
person or by proxy and voting thereon.
Dividends
Under the
Israeli Companies Law
5759-1999, or the Companies Law, we may pay dividends only out of our
profits. The amount of any dividend to be distributed among
shareholders is based on the nominal value of their shares. Our board
of directors has determined that we will not distribute any amounts of our
undistributed tax exempt income as dividend. We intend to reinvest
our tax-exempt income and not to distribute such income as a
dividend. Accordingly, no deferred income taxes have been provided on
income attributable to our Approved Enterprise program as the undistributed tax
exempt income is essentially permanent in duration.
Voting
Rights and Powers
Unless
any shares have special rights as to voting, every shareholder has one vote for
each share held of record. A shareholder is not entitled to vote at
any shareholders meeting unless all calls then payable by him in respect of his
shares have been paid (this does not apply to separate meetings of the holders
of a particular class of shares with respect to the modification or abrogation
of their rights).
Under our
articles of association, we may issue preferred shares from time to time, in one
or more series. However, in connection with our listing on TASE in
2001, we agreed that for such time as our ordinary shares are traded on TASE, we
will not issue any of the 2,500,000 preferred shares, nominal value NIS 0.01,
authorized in our articles of association. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, we may issue preferred shares if the preference of those shares is
limited to a preference in the distribution of dividends and such preferred
shares have no voting rights.
Business
Combinations
Our
articles of association impose restrictions on our ability to engage in any
merger, asset or share sale or other similar transaction with a shareholder
holding 15% or more of our voting shares.
Winding
Up
Upon our
liquidation, our assets available for distribution to shareholders will be
distributed to them in proportion to the nominal value of their
shares.
Redeemable
Shares
Subject
to our undertaking to the TASE as described above, we may issue and redeem
redeemable shares.
Modification
of Rights
Subject
to the provisions of our memorandum of association, and without prejudice to any
special rights previously conferred upon the holders of our existing shares, we
may, from time to time, by a resolution approved by the holders of 75% voting
power represented at the meeting in person or by proxy and voting thereon,
provide for shares with such preferred or deferred rights or rights of
redemption, or other special rights and/or such restrictions, whether in regard
to dividends, voting repayment of share capital or otherwise, as may be
stipulated in such resolution.
If at any
time our share capital is divided into different classes of shares, we may
modify or abrogate the rights attached to any class, unless otherwise provided
by the articles of association, by a resolution approved by the holders of 75%
voting power represented at the meeting in person or by proxy and voting
thereon, subject to the consent in writing of the holders of 75% of the issued
shares of that class.
The
provisions of our articles of association relating to general meetings also
apply to any separate general meeting of the holders of the shares of a
particular class, except that two or more members holding not less than 75% of
the issued shares of that class must be present in person or by proxy at that
separate general meeting for a quorum to exist.
Unless
otherwise provided by our articles of association, the increase of an authorized
class of shares, or the issuance of additional shares thereof out of the
authorized and unissued share capital, shall not be deemed to modify or abrogate
the rights attached to previously issued shares of that class or of any other
class.
Shareholders
Meetings
An annual
meeting of shareholders is to be held once a year, within 15 months after the
previous annual meeting. The annual meeting may be held in Israel or
outside of Israel, as determined by the board of directors.
The board
of directors may, whenever it thinks fit, convene a special shareholders
meeting. The board of directors must convene a special shareholders
meeting at the request of:
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at
least two directors;
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at
least one-quarter of the directors in office;
or
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one
or more shareholders who hold at least 5% of the outstanding share capital
and at least 1% of the voting rights, or one or more shareholders who hold
at least 5% of the outstanding voting
rights.
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A special
shareholders meeting may be held in Israel or outside of Israel, as determined
by the board of directors.
Notice
of General Meetings; Omission to Give Notice
The
provisions of the Companies Law and the related regulations override the
provisions of our articles of association, and provide for notice of a meeting
of shareholders to be sent to each registered shareholder at least 21 days or 35
days in advance of the meeting depending on the items included in the meeting
agenda. Notice of a meeting of shareholders must also be published in
two Israeli newspapers at least five days prior to the record date for the
meeting.
Notice of
a meeting of shareholders must specify the type of meeting, the place and time
of the meeting, the agenda, a summary of the proposed resolutions, the majority
required to adopt the proposed resolutions, and the record date for the
meeting. The notice must also include the address and telephone
number of our registered office, and a list of times at which the full text of
the proposed resolutions may be examined at the registered office.
The
accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to any shareholder, or the
non-receipt of notice sent to such shareholder, does not invalidate the
proceedings at the meeting.
Limitations
on Foreign Shareholders to Hold or Exercise Voting Rights
There are
no limitations on foreign shareholders in our articles of
association. Israeli law restricts the ability of citizens of
countries that are in a state of war with Israel to hold shares of Israeli
companies.
Fiduciary
Duties; Approval of Transactions under Israeli Law
The
Companies Law imposes fiduciary duties that “office holders,” including
directors and executive officers, owe to their company. An office holder’s
fiduciary duties consist of a duty of care and a duty of loyalty.
Duty of care. The duty of
care generally requires an office holder to act with the level of care which a
reasonable office holder in the same position would have acted under the same
circumstances. This includes the duty to use reasonable means to obtain
information regarding the advisability of a given action submitted for his or
her approval or performed by virtue of his or her position and all other
relevant information material to these actions.
Duty of loyalty. The duty of
loyalty generally requires an office holder to act in good faith and for the
benefit of the company. Specifically, an office holder must avoid any conflict
of interest between the office holder’s position in the company and his or her
other positions or personal affairs. In addition, an office holder must avoid
competing against the company or exploiting any business opportunity of the
company for his or her own benefit or the benefit of others. An office holder
must also disclose to the company any information or documents relating to the
company’s affairs that the office holder has received due to his or her position
in the company. A company may approve any of the acts mentioned above provided
that all the following conditions apply: the office holder acted in good faith
and neither the act nor the approval of the act prejudices the good of the
company, and the office holder disclosed the essence of his or her personal
interest in the act, including any substantial fact or document, a reasonable
time before the date for discussion of the approval.
The term
“office holder” includes any person who, either formally or in substance, serves
as a director, general manager or chief executive officer, or who reports
directly to the general manager or chief executive officer.
Compensation. Under the
Companies Law, all arrangements as to compensation of office holders who are not
directors require approval of the board of directors and, in certain cases, the
prior approval of the audit committee. Arrangements as to compensation of
directors also require audit committee and shareholder approval.
Disclosure of personal interest.
The Companies Law requires that an office holder promptly disclose any
personal interest that he or she may have, and all related material information
known to him or her, in connection with any existing or proposed transaction by
the company. A “personal interest” of an office holder, as defined in the
Companies Law, includes a personal interest of the office holder’s relative or a
corporation in which the office holder or the office holder’s relative is a 5%
or greater shareholder, director or general manager or has the right to appoint
at least one director or the general manager. “Personal interest” does not apply
to a personal interest stemming merely from holding shares in the
company.
The
office holder must make the disclosure of his personal interest no later than
the first meeting of the company’s board of directors that discusses the
particular transaction. The office holder’s duty to disclose shall not apply in
the event that the personal interest only results from a personal interest of
the office holder’s relative in a transaction that is not an “extraordinary
transaction”. The Companies Law defines an “extraordinary transaction” as a
transaction not in the ordinary course of business, not on market terms, or
likely to have a material impact on the company’s profitability, assets or
liabilities, and a “relative” as a spouse, sibling, parent, grandparent,
descendent, spouse’s descendant and the spouse of any of the
foregoing.
Approvals. For a transaction
that is not an extraordinary transaction, under the Companies Law, once the
office holder complies with the above disclosure requirement, the board of
directors is authorized to approve the transaction, unless the articles of
association provide otherwise. Our articles of association do not provide
otherwise. Such approval must determine that the transaction is not adverse to
the company’s interest. If the transaction is an extraordinary transaction, or
if it concerns exculpation, indemnification or insurance of an office holder,
then it also must be approved by the company’s audit committee and board of
directors, and, under certain circumstances, by the shareholders of the company.
An office holder who has a personal interest in a matter that is considered at a
meeting of the board of directors or the audit committee generally may not be
present at this meeting or vote on this matter unless a majority of the board of
directors or the audit committee has a personal interest in the
matter. If a majority of the board of directors or the audit
committee has a personal interest in the transaction, shareholder approval also
would be required.
Duties
of Shareholders
Under the
Companies Law, the disclosure requirements that apply to an office holder also
apply to a controlling shareholder of a public company. A controlling
shareholder is a shareholder who has the ability to direct the activities of a
company, including a shareholder that owns 25% or more of the voting rights if
no other shareholder owns more than 50% of the voting rights, but excluding a
shareholder whose power derives solely from his or her position on the board of
directors or any other position with the company. Two or more
shareholders with a personal interest in the approval of the same transaction
are deemed to be one shareholder for the purpose of being a “controlling
shareholder.”
Approval
of the audit committee, the board of directors and our shareholders, in that
order, is required for:
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extraordinary
transactions, including a private placement, with a controlling
shareholder or in which a controlling shareholder has a personal interest;
and
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the
terms of compensation or employment of a controlling shareholder or his or
her relative, as an officer holder or employee of our
company.
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The
shareholders approval must include the majority of shares voted at the
meeting. In addition to the majority vote, the shareholder approval
must satisfy either of two additional tests:
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the
majority includes at least one-third of the shares voted by shareholders
who have no personal interest in the transaction;
or
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the
total number of shares, other than shares held by the disinterested
shareholders, that voted against the approval of the transaction does not
exceed 1% of the aggregate voting rights of our
company.
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Under the
Companies Law, a shareholder has a duty to act in good faith and in a customary
manner towards the company and other shareholders, and to refrain from abusing
his or her power in the company, including when voting in a shareholders meeting
or in a class meeting on matters such as the following:
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an
amendment to our articles of
association;
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an
increase in our authorized share
capital;
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approval
of related party transactions that require shareholder
approval.
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In
addition, any controlling shareholder, any shareholder who knows that he or she
possesses the power to determine the outcome of a shareholders meeting or a
shareholders class meeting and any shareholder who has the power to prevent the
appointment of an office holder, is under a duty to act with fairness towards
the company. The Companies Law does not define the substance of this
duty of fairness, except to state that the remedies generally available upon a
breach of contract will also apply in the event of a breach of the duty to act
with fairness, taking into account the position in the company of those who
breached the duty of fairness.
Anti-Takeover
Provisions Under Israeli Law
The
Companies Law provides that an acquisition of shares in a public company must be
made by means of a tender offer if as a result of the acquisition the purchaser
would hold 25% or more of the voting rights in the company, unless there is
already another shareholder of the company with 25% or more of the voting
rights. Similarly, the Companies Law provides that an acquisition of
shares in a public company must be made by means of a tender offer if as a
result of the acquisition the purchaser would hold more than 45% of the voting
rights in the company, unless there is a shareholder with more than 45% of the
voting rights in the company.
The
Companies Law requires the parties to a proposed merger to file a merger
proposal with the Israeli Registrar of Companies, specifying certain terms of
the transaction. Each merging company’s board of directors and
shareholders must approve the merger. Shares in one of the merging
companies held by the other merging company or certain of its affiliates are
disenfranchised for purposes of voting on the merger. A merging
company must inform its creditors of the proposed merger. Any
creditor of a party to the merger may seek a court order blocking the merger, if
there is a reasonable concern that the surviving company will not be able to
satisfy all of the obligations of the parties to the
merger. Moreover, a merger may not be completed until at least 50
days have passed from the time that the merger proposal was filed with the
Israeli Registrar of Companies and at least 30 days have passed from the
approval of the shareholders of each of the merging companies.
Finally,
in general, Israeli tax law treats stock-for-stock acquisitions less favorably
than does U.S. tax law. Israeli tax law has been amended to provide
for tax deferral in specified acquisitions, including transactions where the
consideration for the sale of shares is the receipt of shares of the acquiring
company. Nevertheless, Israeli tax law may subject a shareholder who
exchanges his ordinary shares for shares in a foreign corporation to immediate
taxation or to taxation before his investment in the foreign corporation becomes
liquid, although in the case of shares of a foreign corporation that are traded
on a stock exchange, the tax may be postponed subject to certain
conditions.
DESCRIPTION
OF WARRANTS
We may,
from time to time, issue warrants for the purchase of ordinary
shares. Warrants may be convertible into, exercisable for, or
exchangeable for ordinary shares. Warrants may be issued separately
or in combination with ordinary shares or debt securities as a unit, as further
discussed under “Description of Units” below. We may issue warrants
directly or under a warrant agreement to be entered into between us and a
warrant agent. We will name any warrant agent in the applicable
prospectus supplement. Any warrant agent will act solely as our agent
in connection with the warrants of a particular series and will not assume any
obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders or
beneficial owners of warrants.
The
following is a description of the general terms and provisions of any warrants
we may issue and may not contain all the information that is important to
you. You can access complete information by referring to the
applicable prospectus supplement. In the applicable prospectus
supplement, we will describe the terms of the warrants and any applicable
warrant agreement, including, where applicable, the following:
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the
offering price and aggregate number of warrants
offered;
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the
ordinary shares or debt securities with which the warrants are issued and
the number of warrants issued with each such share or debt
security;
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the
date on and after which the warrants and the related ordinary shares or
debt securities will be separately
transferable;
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the
number of ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of one warrant and
the price at which the ordinary shares may be purchased upon such
exercise;
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the
effect of any merger, consolidation, sale or other disposition of our
business on the warrant agreement and the
warrants;
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the
terms of any rights to redeem or call the
warrants;
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any
provisions for changes to or adjustments in the exercise price or number
of ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the
warrants;
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the
dates on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and
expire;
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the
manner in which the warrant agreement and warrants may be
modified;
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a
discussion of any material U.S. federal and Israeli income tax
considerations of holding or exercising the warrants;
and
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any
other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of or
restrictions on the warrants.
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DESCRIPTION
OF DEBT SECURITIES
The
following description, together with the additional information we include in
any applicable prospectus supplements, summarizes the material terms and
provisions of the debt securities that we may offer under this
prospectus. While the terms we have summarized below will generally
apply to any future debt securities we may offer under this prospectus, we will
describe the particular terms of any debt securities that we may offer in more
detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any debt
securities we offer under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms we
describe below.
We will
issue senior notes under the senior indenture which we will enter into with the
trustee named in the senior indenture. We will issue subordinated
notes under the subordinated indenture which we will enter into with the trustee
named in the subordinated indenture. We have filed forms of these
documents as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is
a part. Supplemental indentures and forms of debt securities
containing the terms of debt securities being offered will be incorporated by
reference into the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part
from reports we file with the SEC. We use the term “indentures” to
refer to both the senior indenture and the subordinated indenture.
The
indentures will be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of
1939. We use the term “trustee” to refer to either the senior trustee
or the subordinated trustee, as applicable.
The
following is a summary of material provisions of the senior notes, the
subordinated notes and the indenture. This summary is not
complete. The debt securities are subject to, and qualified in their
entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the indenture applicable to a
particular series of debt securities. We urge you to read the
applicable prospectus supplements related to the debt securities that we sell
under this prospectus, as well as the complete indentures that contain the terms
of the debt securities. Except as we may otherwise indicate, the
terms of the senior indenture and the subordinated indenture are
identical.
General
We will
describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms relating to a series
of debt securities, including:
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the
principal amount being offered, and, if a series, the total amount
authorized and the total amount
outstanding;
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the
currency of the debt securities;
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any
limit on the amount that may be
issued;
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whether
or not we will issue the series of debt securities in global form and, if
so, the terms and who the depositary will
be;
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the
principal amount due at maturity, and whether the debt securities will be
issued with any original issue
discount;
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the
annual interest rate, which may be fixed or variable, or the method for
determining the rate, the date interest will begin to accrue, the dates
interest will be payable and the regular record dates for interest payment
dates or the method for determining such
dates;
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whether
or not the debt securities will be secured or unsecured, and the terms of
any secured debt;
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the
terms of the subordination of any series of subordinated
debt;
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the
place where payments will be
payable;
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restrictions
on transfer, sale or other assignment, if
any;
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our
right, if any, to defer payment of interest and the maximum length of any
such deferral period;
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provisions
for a sinking fund, purchase or other analogous fund, if
any;
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the
date, if any, on which, and the price at which we are obligated, pursuant
to any mandatory sinking fund or analogous fund provisions or otherwise,
to redeem, or at the holder’s option to purchase, the series of debt
securities;
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whether
the indenture will restrict our ability and/or the ability of our
subsidiaries to:
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incur
additional indebtedness;
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issue
additional securities;
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pay
dividends and make distributions in respect of our capital stock and the
capital stock of our subsidiaries;
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place
restrictions on our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends, make
distributions or transfer assets;
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make
investments or other restricted
payments;
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sell
or otherwise dispose of assets;
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enter
into sale-leaseback transactions;
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engage
in transactions with shareholders and
affiliates;
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issue
or sell stock of our subsidiaries;
or
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effect
a consolidation or merger;
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whether
the indenture will require us to maintain any interest coverage, fixed
charge, cash flow-based, asset-based or other financial
ratios;
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a
discussion of any material or special Israeli or United States federal
income tax considerations applicable to the debt
securities;
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information
describing any book-entry features;
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the
procedures for any auction and remarketing, if
any;
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the
denominations in which we will issue the series of debt securities, if
other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple
thereof;
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if
other than dollars, the currency in which the series of debt securities
will be denominated; and
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any
other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of, or
restrictions on, the debt securities, including any events of default that
are in addition to those described in this prospectus or any covenants
provided with respect to the debt securities that are in addition to those
described above, and any terms which may be required by us or advisable
under applicable laws or regulations or advisable in connection with the
marketing of the debt securities.
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Redemption
If any
series of the debt securities offered 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.
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Conversion
or Exchange Rights
If any
series of the debt securities offered are convertible into or exchangeable for
shares of our ordinary shares or other securities, 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.
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Consolidation,
Merger or Sale
The
indentures in the forms initially filed as exhibits to the registration
statement of which this prospectus is a part do not contain any covenant which
restricts our ability to merge or consolidate, or sell, convey, transfer or
otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets. However,
any successor of ours or acquiror of such assets must assume all of our
obligations under the indentures and the debt securities.
If the
debt securities are convertible for our securities, the person with whom we
consolidate or merge or to whom we sell all of our property must make provisions
for the conversion of the debt securities into securities which the holders of
the debt securities would have received if they had converted the debt
securities before the consolidation, merger or sale.
Events
of Default Under the Indenture
The
following are events of default under the indentures with respect to any series
of debt securities that we may issue:
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if
we fail to pay interest when due and payable and our failure continues for
90 days and the time for payment has not been
extended;
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if
we fail to pay the principal, or premium, if any, when due and payable and
the time for payment has not been
extended;
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if
we fail to observe or perform any other covenant contained in the debt
securities or the indentures, other than a covenant specifically relating
to another series of debt securities, and our failure continues for 90
days after we receive notice from the trustee or holders of at least 25%
in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the applicable
series; and
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if
specified events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization
occur.
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If an
event of default with respect to debt securities of any series occurs and is
continuing, other than an event of default specified in the last bullet point
above, the trustee or the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount
of the outstanding debt securities of that series, by notice to us in writing,
and to the trustee if notice is given by such holders, may declare the unpaid
principal of, premium, if any, and accrued interest, if any, due and payable
immediately. If an event of default specified in the last bullet
point above occurs with respect to us, the principal amount of and accrued
interest, if any, of each issue of debt securities then outstanding shall be due
and payable without any notice or other action on the part of the trustee or any
holder.
The
holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of
an affected series may waive any default with respect to the series and its
consequences, except defaults in payment of principal, premium, if any, or
interest, unless we have cured the default in accordance with the
indenture.
Subject
to the terms of the indentures, if an event of default under an indenture shall
occur and be continuing, the trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any
of its rights or powers under such indenture at the request or direction of any
of the holders of the applicable series of debt securities, unless such holders
have offered the trustee reasonable indemnity.
The
holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of
any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of
conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee, or exercising
any trust or power conferred on the trustee with respect to the debt securities
of that series, provided that:
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the
direction so given by the holder is not in conflict with any law or the
applicable indenture; and
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subject
to its duties under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the trustee may
decline to follow any direction of such holders that might involve it in
personal liability or might be unduly prejudicial to the holders not
involved in the proceeding.
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A holder
of the debt securities of any series will only have the right to institute a
proceeding under the indentures or to appoint a receiver or trustee, or to seek
other remedies if:
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the
holder has given written notice to the trustee of a continuing event of
default with respect to that
series;
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the
holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding
debt securities of that series have made written request, and such holders
have offered reasonable indemnity to the trustee to institute the
proceeding as trustee; and
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the
trustee does not institute the proceeding, and does not receive from the
holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding
debt securities of that series other conflicting directions within 90 days
after the notice, request and
offer.
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These
limitations do not apply to a suit instituted by a holder of debt securities if
we default in the payment of the principal, premium, if any, or interest on, the
debt securities.
We will
periodically file statements with the trustee regarding our compliance with
specified covenants in the indentures.
Modification
of Indenture; Waiver
We and
the trustee may change an indenture without the consent of any holders with
respect to specific matters, including:
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to
fix any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency in the indenture or in the debt
securities of any series;
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to
comply with the provisions described above under “—Consolidation, Merger
or Sale”;
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to
provide for uncertificated debt securities in addition to or in place of
certificated debt securities;
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to
add to our covenants such new covenants, restrictions, conditions or
provisions for the protection of the holders, to make the occurrence, or
the occurrence and the continuance, of a default in any such additional
covenants, restrictions, conditions or provisions an event of default, or
to surrender any of our rights or powers under the
indenture;
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to
add to, delete from, or revise the conditions, limitations and
restrictions on the authorized amount, terms or purposes of issue,
authentication and delivery of debt securities of any
series;
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to
change anything that does not adversely affect the rights of any holder of
debt securities of any series in any material
respect;
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to
evidence and provide for the acceptance of appointment under an indenture
by a successor trustee; or
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to
comply with any requirements of the SEC in connection with the
qualification of any indenture under the Trust Indenture Act of
1939.
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In
addition, under the indentures, we and the trustee may not change an indenture,
and the rights of holders of a series of debt securities may be changed by us
and the trustee other than as set forth in the bullet points above with the
written consent of the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal
amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series that is
affected. However, we and the trustee may not make the following
changes without the consent of each holder of any outstanding debt securities
affected:
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extending
the fixed maturity of the series of debt
securities;
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reducing
the principal amount, reducing the rate of or extending the time of
payment of interest, or reducing any premium payable upon the redemption
of any debt securities; or
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reducing
the percentage of debt securities, the holders of which are required to
consent to any change to an
indenture.
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Discharge
Each
indenture provides that we can elect to be discharged from our obligations with
respect to one or more series of debt securities, except for obligations
to:
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register
the transfer or exchange of debt securities of the
series;
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replace
stolen, lost or mutilated debt securities of the
series;
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maintain
paying agencies;
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hold
monies for payment in trust;
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recover
excess money held by the trustee;
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compensate
and indemnify the trustee; and
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appoint
any successor trustee.
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In order
to exercise our rights to be discharged, we must deposit with the trustee money
or government obligations sufficient to pay all the principal of, any premium,
if any, and interest on, the debt securities of the series on the dates payments
are due.
Form,
Exchange and Transfer
We will
issue the debt securities of each series only in fully registered form without
coupons and, unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus
supplement, in denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple
thereof. The indentures provide that we may issue debt securities of
a series in temporary or permanent global form and as book-entry securities that
will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company or another
depositary named by us and identified in a prospectus supplement with respect to
that series. See the applicable prospectus supplement for a further
description of the terms relating to any book-entry securities.
At the
option of the holder, subject to the terms of the indentures and the limitations
applicable to global securities described in the applicable prospectus
supplement, the holder of the debt securities of any series can exchange the
debt securities for other debt securities of the same series, in any authorized
denomination and of like tenor and aggregate principal amount.
Subject
to the terms of the indentures and the limitations applicable to global
securities set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the
debt securities may present the debt securities for exchange or for registration
of transfer, duly endorsed or with the form of transfer endorsed thereon duly
executed if so required by us or the security registrar, at the office of the
security registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us for
this purpose. Unless otherwise provided in the debt securities that
the holder presents for transfer or exchange, we will make no service charge for
any registration of transfer or exchange, but we may require payment of any
taxes or other governmental charges.
We will
name in the applicable prospectus supplement the security registrar, and any
transfer agent in addition to the security registrar, that we initially
designate for any debt securities. We may at any time designate
additional transfer agents or rescind the designation of any transfer agent or
approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts, except
that we will be required to maintain a transfer agent in each place of payment
for the debt securities of each series.
If we
elect to redeem the debt securities of any series, we will not be required
to:
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issue,
register the transfer of, or exchange any debt securities of any series
being redeemed in part during a period beginning at the opening of
business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption of
any debt securities that may be selected for redemption and ending at the
close of business on the day of the mailing;
or
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register
the transfer of or exchange any debt securities so selected for
redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of any debt
securities we are redeeming in
part.
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Information
Concerning the Trustee
The
trustee, other than during the occurrence and continuance of an event of default
under an indenture, undertakes to perform only those duties as are specifically
set forth in the applicable indenture. Upon an event of default under
an indenture, the trustee must use the same degree of care as a prudent person
would exercise or use in the conduct of his or her own
affairs. Subject to this provision, the trustee is under no
obligation to exercise any of the powers given it by the indentures at the
request of any holder of debt securities unless it is offered reasonable
security and indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities that it might
incur.
Payment
and Paying Agents
Unless we
otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will make payment
of the interest on any debt securities on any interest payment date to the
person in whose name the debt securities, or one or more predecessor securities,
are registered at the close of business on the regular record date for the
interest payment.
We will
pay principal of and any premium and interest on the debt securities of a
particular series at the office of the paying agents designated by us, except
that, unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we
may make interest payments by check which we will mail to the holder or by wire
transfer to certain holders. Unless we otherwise indicate in a
prospectus supplement, we will designate an office or agency of the trustee in
The City of New York as our sole paying agent for payments with respect to debt
securities of each series. We will name in the applicable prospectus
supplement any other paying agents that we initially designate for the debt
securities of a particular series. We will maintain a paying agent in
each place of payment for the debt securities of a particular
series.
All money
we pay to a paying agent or the trustee for the payment of the principal of or
any premium or interest on any debt securities which remains unclaimed at the
end of two years after such principal, premium or interest has become due and
payable will be repaid to us, and the holder of the debt security thereafter may
look only to us for payment thereof.
Governing
Law
The
indentures and the debt securities will be governed by and construed in
accordance with the laws of the State of New York, except to the extent that the
Trust Indenture Act of 1939 is applicable.
Subordination
of Subordinated Debt Securities
The
subordinated debt securities will be subordinate and junior in priority of
payment to certain of our other indebtedness to the extent described in a
prospectus supplement. The indentures in the forms initially filed as
exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part do not
limit the amount of indebtedness which we may incur, including senior
indebtedness or subordinated indebtedness, and do not limit us from issuing any
other debt, including secured debt or unsecured debt.
DESCRIPTION
OF UNITS
We may,
from time to time, issue units comprised of ordinary shares, warrants to
purchase ordinary shares or debt securities, in any combination. Each
unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each
security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have
the rights and obligations of a holder of each included security. We
may issue units under a unit agreement to be entered into between us and a unit
agent. We will name any unit agent in the applicable prospectus
supplement. Any unit agent will act solely as our agent in connection
with the units of a particular series and will not assume any obligation or
relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders or beneficial owners of
units. The unit agreement under which a unit is issued may provide
that the securities included in the unit may not be held or transferred
separately at any time, or at any time before a specified date.
The
following is a description of the general terms and provisions of any units we
may issue and may not contain all the information that is important to
you. You can access complete information by referring to the
applicable prospectus supplement. In the applicable prospectus
supplement, we will describe the terms of the units and any applicable unit
agreement, including, where applicable, the following:
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the
material terms of the units and of the securities comprising the units,
including whether and under what circumstances those securities may be
held or transferred separately;
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any
material provisions relating to the issuance, payment, settlement,
transfer or exchange of the units or of the securities comprising the
units; and
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any
material provisions of the governing unit agreement that differ from those
described above.
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TAXATION
The
material U.S. federal and Israeli income tax consequences relating to the
purchase, ownership and disposition of any of the securities offered by this
prospectus will be set forth in the prospectus supplement offering those
securities.
PLAN
OF DISTRIBUTION
We and
the selling shareholders may sell the securities being offered hereby in one or
more of the following ways from time to time:
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through
agents to the public or to
investors;
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to
one or more underwriters or dealers for resale to the public or to
investors;
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in
“at the market offerings,” within the meaning of Rule 415(a)(4) of the
Securities Act, to or through a market maker or into an existing trading
market, or an exchange or
otherwise;
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directly
to investors in privately negotiated transactions;
or
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through
a combination of these methods of
sale.
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The
securities that we or the selling shareholders distribute by any of these
methods may be sold, in one or more transactions, at:
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a
fixed price or prices, which may be
changed;
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market
prices prevailing at the time of
sale;
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prices
related to prevailing market prices;
or
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We will
set forth in a prospectus supplement the terms of the offering of our securities
by us or the selling shareholders, which will include, if
applicable:
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the
name or names of the selling
shareholders;
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the
name or names of any agents or
underwriters;
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the
purchase price of our 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 or from the selling
shareholders;
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any
agency fees or underwriting discounts and commissions and other items
constituting agents’ or underwriters’
compensation;
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the
public offering price;
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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 ordinary shares or warrants may be
listed.
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Underwriters
Underwriters,
dealers and agents that participate in the distribution of the securities may be
underwriters as defined in the Securities Act and any discounts or commissions
they receive from us or the selling shareholders and any profit on their resale
of the securities may be treated as underwriting discounts and commissions under
the Securities Act. We will identify in the applicable prospectus
supplement any underwriters, dealers or agents and will describe their
compensation. In compliance with the guidelines of the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, the aggregate maximum fees or other
items of value to be received by any FINRA member or independent broker-dealer
will not exceed 8% of the gross proceeds of any offering pursuant to this
registration statement. We and the selling shareholders may have
agreements with the underwriters, dealers and agents to indemnify them against
specified civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities
Act. Underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in transactions with
or perform services for us or our subsidiaries in the ordinary course of their
businesses.
If we or
the selling shareholders 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. We may change from time to time
any initial public offering price and any discounts or concessions the
underwriters allow or reallow or pay to dealers. We may use
underwriters with whom we have a material relationship. If so, we
will describe in the prospectus supplement naming the underwriters the nature of
any such relationship.
Agents
We or the
selling shareholders may designate agents who agree to use their reasonable
efforts to solicit purchases for the period of their appointment or to sell
securities on a continuing basis.
Direct
Sales
We or the
selling shareholders may also sell securities directly to one or more purchasers
without using underwriters or agents.
Trading
Markets and Listing of Securities
While our
ordinary shares are traded on NASDAQ and the TASE, each class or series of debt
securities, warrants or units will be a new issue with no established trading
market. We may elect to list any class or series of debt securities,
warrants or units on any exchange, but we are not obligated to do
so. It is possible that one or more underwriters may make a market in
a class or series of debt securities, warrants or units, but the underwriters
will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time
without notice. We cannot give any assurance as to the liquidity of
the trading market for any of the debt securities, warrants or
units.
Stabilization
Activities
In
connection with an offering, an underwriter may purchase and sell securities in
the open market. These transactions may include short sales,
stabilizing transactions and purchases to cover positions created by short
sales. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater
number of securities than they are required to purchase in the
offering. “Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not
greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional securities from us
or the selling shareholders, if any, in the offering. If the
underwriters have an over-allotment option to purchase additional securities
from us or the selling shareholders, the underwriters may close out any covered
short position by either exercising their over-allotment option or purchasing
securities in the open market. In determining the source of
securities to close out the covered short position, the underwriters may
consider, among other things, the price of securities available for purchase in
the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase securities
through the over-allotment option. “Naked” short sales are any sales
in excess of such option or where the underwriters do not have an overallotment
option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by
purchasing securities in the open market. A naked short position is
more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be
downward pressure on the price of the securities in the open market after
pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the
offering.
Accordingly,
to cover these short sales positions or to otherwise stabilize or maintain the
price of the securities, the underwriters may bid for or purchase securities in
the open market and may impose penalty bids. If penalty bids are
imposed, selling concessions allowed to syndicate members or other
broker-dealers participating in the offering are reclaimed if securities
previously distributed in the offering are repurchased, whether in connection
with stabilization transactions or otherwise. The effect of these
transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities
at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open
market. The impositions of a penalty bid may also affect the price of
the securities to the extent that it discourages resale of the
securities. The magnitude or effect of any stabilization or other
transactions is uncertain. These transactions may be effected on
NASDAQ or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any
time.
EXPERTS
The
consolidated financial statements appearing in our Annual Report on Form 20-F
for the year ended December 31, 2009, and the effectiveness of our internal
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009 included in our Annual
Report on Form 20-F have been audited by Kost, Forer, Gabbay & Kasierer, an
independent registered public accounting firm and a member of Ernst & Young
Global, as set forth in its reports thereon, included therein, and incorporated
herein by reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such
firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
LEGAL
MATTERS
The
validity of the securities offered hereby under Israeli law has been passed upon
for us by and other legal matters under Israeli law relating to any offering
will be passed upon for us by Naschitz, Brandes & Co., Tel-Aviv,
Israel. Some legal matters under United States law relating to any
offering will be passed upon for us by Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., New
York, New York. If the securities are distributed in an underwritten
offering, certain legal matters will be passed upon for the underwriters by
counsel identified in the applicable prospectus supplement.
WHERE
YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
AND
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
We are an
Israeli company and are a “foreign private issuer” as defined in Rule 3b-4 under
the Exchange Act. As a result, (1) our proxy solicitations are not
subject to the disclosure and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A under
the Exchange Act, (2) transactions in our equity securities by our officers and
directors are exempt from Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and (3) until November
4, 2002, we were not required to make, and before January 24, 2002 did not make,
our SEC filings electronically, so that those filings are not available on the
SEC’s website. However, since that date, we have been making all
required filings with the SEC electronically, and these filings are available
over the Internet as described below.
In
addition, we are not required to file reports and financial statements with the
SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are
registered under the Exchange Act. However, we file with the SEC an
Annual Report on Form 20-F containing financial statements audited by an
independent registered public accounting firm. We also furnish
reports on Form 6-K containing unaudited financial information for the first
three quarters of each fiscal year and other material information.
You can
read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at its Public Reference Room at
100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can obtain
information about the operations of the SEC Public Reference Room by calling the
SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a web site that
contains information we file electronically with the SEC, which you can access
over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov. You may also access the
information we file electronically with the SEC through our website at
http://www.audiocodes.com. Our website does not form part of this
prospectus.
We
incorporate by reference in this prospectus the documents listed below, and any
future Annual Reports on Form 20-F or Reports on Form 6-K (to the extent that
such Form 6-K indicates that it is intended to by incorporated by reference
herein) filed with the SEC pursuant to the Exchange Act prior to the termination
of the offering. The documents we incorporate by reference
are:
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our
Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009,
filed with the SEC on June 29,
2010;
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the
information set forth in our Report on Form 6-K filed with the Commission
on February 15, 2011;
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the
information set forth in the second, third, seventh and eighth paragraphs
of, and the condensed consolidated balance sheets, condensed consolidated
statements of operations and condensed consolidated statement of cash
flows contained in, the press release attached as Exhibit 1 to our Report
on Form 6-K filed with the Commission on October 22,
2010;
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the
information set forth in the first paragraph of and the translation
attached as Exhibit 1 to our Report on Form 6-K filed with the Commission
on October 20, 2010;
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the
information set forth in the second, third, sixth and seventh paragraphs
of, and the condensed consolidated balance sheets, condensed consolidated
statements of operations and condensed consolidated statement of cash
flows contained in, the press release attached as Exhibit 1 to our Report
on Form 6-K filed with the Commission on July 28,
2010;
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the
information set forth in the first and second paragraphs of the press
release attached as Exhibit 2 to our Report on Form 6-K filed with the
Commission on June 29, 2010;
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the
information set forth in the first and second paragraphs of the press
release attached as Exhibit 1 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 6-K filed
with the Commission on May 12,
2010;
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the
information set forth in the second, third, sixth, seventh, ninth,
eleventh and twelfth paragraphs of, and the condensed consolidated balance
sheets, condensed consolidated statements of operations, condensed
consolidated statement of cash flows contained in, the press release
attached as Exhibit 1 to our Report on Form 6-K filed with the SEC on
April 28, 2010;
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the
information set forth in the first paragraph of the joint press release
attached as Exhibit 1 and the first paragraph of the press release
attached as Exhibit 2 to our Report on Form 6-K filed with the Commission
on March 24, 2010;
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the
information set forth in the first paragraph of the press release attached
as Exhibit 1 to our Report on Form 6-K filed with the Commission on
January 19, 2010; and
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the
description of our ordinary shares set forth in our Registration Statement
on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on May 20, 1999, and any amendment or
report filed for the purpose of updating that
description.
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The
information we incorporate by reference is an important part of this prospectus,
and later information that we file with the SEC will automatically update and
supersede the information contained in this prospectus.
We shall
provide you without charge, upon your written or oral request, a copy of any of
the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, other than exhibits
to such documents which are not specifically incorporated by reference into such
documents. Please direct your written or telephone requests
to:
AudioCodes
Ltd.
1
Hayarden Street, Airport City
Lod
70151, Israel
Telephone: (972)
3-976-4105
or to our
agent in the United States:
AudioCodes
Inc.
27
World’s Fair Drive, Somerset
New
Jersey 08873
Telephone:
(732) 469-0880
ENFORCEABILITY
OF CIVIL LIABILITIES
Service
of process upon us and upon our directors and officers and the Israeli experts
named in this prospectus or our filings incorporated by reference in this
prospectus, all of whom reside outside the United States, may be difficult to
obtain within the United States. Furthermore, because substantially all of our
assets and substantially all of our directors and officers are located outside
the United States, any judgment obtained in the United States against us or any
of our directors and officers may not be collectible within the United
States.
We have
been informed by our legal counsel in Israel, Naschitz, Brandes & Co., that
there is doubt as to the enforceability of civil liabilities under the
Securities Act and the Exchange Act in original actions instituted in Israel.
However, subject to specified time limitations, an Israeli court may declare a
foreign civil judgment enforceable if it finds that:
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the
judgment was rendered by a court which was, according to the laws of the
state of the court, competent to render the
judgment,
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the
judgment is no longer appealable,
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the
obligation imposed by the judgment is enforceable according to the rules
relating to the enforceability of judgments in Israel and the substance of
the judgment is not contrary to public policy,
and
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the
judgment is executory in the state in which it was
given.
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Even if
the above conditions are satisfied, an Israeli court will not enforce a foreign
judgment if it was given in a state whose laws do not provide for the
enforcement of judgments of Israeli courts (subject to exceptional cases) or if
its enforcement is likely to prejudice the sovereignty or security of the State
of Israel.
An
Israeli court also will not declare a foreign judgment enforceable
if:
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the
judgment was obtained by fraud,
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there
was no due process,
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the
judgment was rendered by a court not competent to render it according to
the laws of private international law in
Israel,
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the
judgment is at variance with another judgment that was given in the same
matter between the same parties and which is still valid,
or
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at
the time the action was brought in the foreign court a suit in the same
matter and between the same parties was pending before a court or tribunal
in Israel.
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We have
irrevocably appointed our U.S. subsidiary, AudioCodes Inc. as our agent to
receive service of process in any action against us in the state and federal
courts sitting in The City of New York, Borough of Manhattan arising out of any
offering pursuant to this prospectus and a related prospectus supplement or any
purchase or sale of securities in connection therewith. We have not given
consent for this agent to accept service of process in connection with any other
claim.
If a
foreign judgment is enforced by an Israeli court, it generally will be payable
in Israeli currency. Judgment creditors must bear the risk of unfavorable
exchange rates.
OFFERING
EXPENSES
The
following is a statement of expenses in connection with the distribution of the
securities registered. All amounts shown are estimates, except the
SEC registration fee.
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SEC
registration fee
|
|
$ |
19,989 |
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Legal
fees and expenses*
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85,000 |
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Accounting
fees and expenses*
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37,000 |
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Printing,
EDGAR formatting and mailing expenses*
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7,000 |
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Miscellaneous
expenses*
|
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11,011 |
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Total
|
|
$ |
160,000 |
|
* Does
not include expenses of preparing prospectus supplements and other expenses
relating to offerings of particular securities.
PART
II
INFORMATION
NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item
8.
|
Indemnification
of Directors and Officers
|
Insurance
of Office Holders
The
Companies Law permits a company, if permitted by its articles of association, to
insure an office holder in respect of liabilities incurred by the office holder
as a result of:
|
·
|
the
breach of his or her duty of care to the company or to another person,
or
|
|
·
|
the
breach of his or her duty of loyalty to the company, to the extent that
the office holder acted in good faith and had reasonable cause to believe
that the act would not prejudice the
company.
|
A company
can also insure an office holder against monetary liabilities imposed on the
office holder in favor of a third party as a result of an act or omission that
the office holder committed in connection with his or her serving as an office
holder.
Indemnification
of Office Holders
Under the
Companies Law, a company can, if permitted by its articles of association,
indemnify an office holder for any of the following obligations or expenses
incurred in connection with his or her acts or omissions as an office
holder:
|
·
|
monetary
liability imposed upon the office holder in favor of other persons
pursuant to a court judgment, including a settlement or an arbitrator’s
decision approved by a court;
|
|
·
|
reasonable
litigation expenses, including attorney’s fees, incurred by the office
holder as a result of an investigation or proceeding instituted against
the office holder by a competent authority, provided that such
investigation or proceeding concluded without the filing of an indictment
against the office holder; and
either:
|
|
·
|
no
financial liability was imposed on the office holder in lieu of criminal
proceedings, or
|
|
·
|
financial
liability was imposed on the office holder in lieu of criminal proceedings
but the alleged criminal offense does not require proof of criminal
intent, and
|
|
·
|
reasonable
litigation expenses, including attorneys’ fees, actually incurred by the
office holder or imposed upon the office holder by a
court:
|
|
·
|
in
an action brought against the office holder by the company, on behalf of
the company or on behalf of a third
party;
|
|
·
|
in
a criminal action in which the office holder is found innocent;
or
|
|
·
|
in
a criminal action in which the office holder is convicted but in which
proof of criminal intent is not
required.
|
A company
may indemnify an office holder in respect of these liabilities either in advance
of an event or following an event. If a company undertakes to
indemnify an office holder in advance of an event, the indemnification, other
than legal costs, must be limited to foreseeable events in light of the
company’s actual activities when the company undertook such indemnification, and
reasonable amounts or standards, as determined by the board of
directors.
Exculpation
of Office Holders
Under the
Companies Law, a company may, if permitted by its articles of association, also
exculpate an office holder in advance, in whole or in part, from liability for
damages sustained by a breach of duty of care to the company, other than in
connection with distributions.
Limitations
on Exculpation, Insurance and Indemnification
Under the
Companies Law, a company may indemnify or insure an office holder against a
breach of duty of loyalty only to the extent that the office holder acted in
good faith and had reasonable grounds to assume that the action would not
prejudice the company. In addition, a company may not indemnify,
insure or exculpate an office holder against a breach of duty of care if
committed intentionally or recklessly (excluding mere negligence), or committed
with the intent to derive an unlawful personal gain, or for a fine or forfeit
levied against the office holder in connection with a criminal
offense.
Our
articles of association allow us to insure, indemnify and exculpate office
holders to the fullest extent permitted by law, provided such insurance or
indemnification is approved in accordance with law. Pursuant to the
Companies Law, exculpation of, procurement of insurance coverage for, and an
undertaking to indemnify or indemnification of, our office holders must be
approved by our audit committee and our board of directors and, if the office
holder is a director, also by our shareholders.
We have
entered into agreements with each of our directors and senior officers to
insure, indemnify and exculpate them to the full extent permitted by law against
some types of claims, subject to dollar limits and other
limitations. These agreements have been ratified by our audit
committee, board of directors and shareholders. We have acquired
directors’ and officers’ liability insurance covering our officers and directors
and the officers and directors of our subsidiaries against certain
claims.
Exhibit
No.
|
|
Description
|
|
|
|
1.1*
|
|
Form
of Underwriting Agreement.
|
|
|
|
3.1†(1)
|
|
Memorandum
of Association of Registrant.
|
|
|
|
3.2(2)
|
|
Articles
of Association of Registrant, as amended.
|
|
|
|
4.1
|
|
Form
of Senior Debt Securities Indenture (including form of Senior
Note).
|
|
|
|
4.2
|
|
Form
of Subordinated Debt Securities Indenture (including form of Subordinated
Note).
|
|
|
|
4.3*
|
|
Form
of Warrant Agreement and Warrant Certificate.
|
|
|
|
4.4*
|
|
Form
of Unit Agreement and Unit Certificate.
|
|
|
|
5.1
|
|
Opinion
of Naschitz, Brandes & Co., Advocates.
|
|
|
|
12.1
|
|
Statement
Regarding Computation of Ratios of Earnings to Fixed
Charges.
|
|
|
|
23.1
|
|
Consent
of Kost Forer Gabbay & Kasierer, a member of Ernst & Young
Global.
|
|
|
|
23.2
|
|
Consent
of Naschitz, Brandes & Co., Advocates (included in Exhibit
5.1).
|
|
|
|
24.1
|
|
Powers
of Attorney (included on signature page).
|
|
|
|
25.1*
|
|
Statement
of Eligibility of Trustee under Senior Debt Securities
Indenture.
|
|
|
|
25.2*
|
|
Statement
of Eligibility of Trustee under Subordinated Debt Securities
Indenture.
|
*
|
To
be filed by amendment or incorporated by reference pursuant to a Report on
Form 6-K.
|
†
|
English
summary of Hebrew original; the original language version is on file with
AudioCodes Ltd. and is available upon
request.
|
(1)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form F-1
(File No. 333-10352).
|
(2)
|
Incorporated
herein by reference to Registrant’s Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2000 and Exhibit 1 to the Registrant’s Report on
Form 6-K filed with the Commission on September 1,
2005.
|
|
(a)
|
The
undersigned registrant hereby
undertakes:
|
|
(1)
|
To
file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a
post-effective amendment to this registration
statement:
|
|
(i)
|
To
include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act
of 1933;
|
|
(ii)
|
To
reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective
date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective
amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a
fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration
statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or
decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of
securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any
deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range
may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission
pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and
price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate
offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in
the effective registration
statement;
|
|
(iii)
|
To
include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution
not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material
change to such information in the registration
statement;
|
provided, however, that paragraphs
(a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and a(l)(iii) do not apply if the registration statement
is on Form S-3 or Form F-3 and the information required to be included in a
post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with
or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or
Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by
reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus
filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration
statement.
|
(2)
|
That,
for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of
1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new
registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial
bona fide
offering thereof.
|
|
(3)
|
To
remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the
securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the
offering.
|
|
(4)
|
To
file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to include
any financial statements required by Item 8.A of Form 20-F at the start of
any delayed offering or throughout a continuous
offering. Financial statements and information otherwise
required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Act need not be furnished, provided, that the
registrant includes in the prospectus, by means of a post-effective
amendment, financial statements required pursuant to this paragraph (a)(4)
and other information necessary to ensure that all other information in
the prospectus is at least as current as the date of those financial
statements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to
registration statements on Form F-3, a post-effective amendment need not
be filed to include financial statements and information required by
Section 10(a)(3) of the Act or Rule 3-19 of Regulation S-X if such
financial statements and information are contained in periodic reports
filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to
Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that
are incorporated by reference in the Form
F-3.
|
|
(5)
|
That,
for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933
to any purchaser:
|
|
(i)
|
If
the registrant is relying on Rule
430B:
|
|
A.
|
Each
prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be
deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed
prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement;
and
|
|
B.
|
Each
prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or
(b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B
relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x)
for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of
the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in
the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of
prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first
contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the
prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer
and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be
deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating
to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus
relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed
to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no
statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of
the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed
incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus
that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a
time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify
any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus
that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document
immediately prior to such effective
date.
|
|
(6)
|
That,
for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the
Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the
securities:
|
The
undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of
the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless
of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the
securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the
following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the
purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such
purchaser:
|
(i)
|
Any
preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant
relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule
424;
|
|
(ii)
|
Any
free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf
of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned
registrant;
|
|
(iii)
|
The
portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering
containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its
securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant;
and
|
|
(iv)
|
Any
other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the
undersigned registrant to the
purchaser.
|
(b) The
undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any
liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s
annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit
plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be
deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered
therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be
the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(h) Insofar
as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may
be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant
pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been
advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such
indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is,
therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will
be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(i) The
undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
|
(1)
|
For
purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933,
the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this
registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form
of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b) (1) or (4)
or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this
registration statement as of the time it was declared
effective.
|
|
(2)
|
For
the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933,
each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be
deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be
deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
thereof.
|
(j) The
undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file an application for the purpose
of determining the eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of
Section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act in accordance with the rules and
regulations prescribed by the Commission under Section 305(b)(2) of the
Act.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that
it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for
filing on Form F-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed
on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Airport City,
Israel, on February 15, 2011.
AUDIOCODES
LTD.
|
|
|
By:
|
/s/ SHABTAI ADLERSBERG
|
|
Name:
Shabtai Adlersberg
|
|
Title: Chief
Executive Officer
|
POWER
OF ATTORNEY
Each
person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Shabtai
Adlersberg, Guy Avidan and Itamar Rosen, or any of them, as his or her true and
lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and
resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place, and stead, in any
and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective
amendments) to this registration statement (as well as any and all additional
registration statements relating to the same offering of securities of this
registration statement that are filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended), and all documents relating thereto, and to file the
same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith,
with the Securities and Exchange Commission granting unto said attorney-in-fact
and agent, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and
thing necessary or advisable to be done in and about the premises, as fully to
all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby
ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of
them, or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by
virtue hereof.
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration
statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and
on the dates indicated.
Signature
|
|
Title
|
|
Date
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chairman
of the Board and Chief
|
|
February
15, 2011
|
Shabtai
Adlersberg
|
|
Executive
Officer (Principal
Executive
Officer)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vice
President of Finance and Chief
|
|
February
15, 2011
|
Guy
Avidan
|
|
Financial
Officer (Principal Financial
and
Accounting Officer)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Director
|
|
February
15, 2011
|
Joseph
Tenne
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Director
|
|
February
15, 2011
|
Dr.
Eyal Kishon
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Director
|
|
February
15, 2011
|
Doron
Nevo
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Director
|
|
February
15, 2011
|
Dana
Gross
|
|
|
|
|
Authorized
Representative in the United States: February 15,
2011
AUDIOCODES
INC.
By:
|
/s/ Shabtai Adlersberg
|
Name:
|
Shabtai
Adlersberg
|
Title:
|
President,
Chairman and CEO
|
EXHIBIT
INDEX
Exhibit
No.
|
|
Description
|
|
|
|
4.1
|
|
Form
of Senior Debt Securities Indenture (including form of Senior
Note).
|
|
|
|
4.2
|
|
Form
of Subordinated Debt Securities Indenture (including form of Subordinated
Note).
|
|
|
|
5.1
|
|
Opinion
of Naschitz, Brandes & Co., Advocates.
|
|
|
|
12.1
|
|
Statement
Regarding Computation of Ratios of Earnings to Fixed
Charges.
|
|
|
|
23.1
|
|
Consent
of Kost Forer Gabbay & Kasierer, a member of Ernst & Young
Global.
|
|
|
|
23.2
|
|
Consent
of Naschitz, Brandes & Co., Advocates (included in Exhibit
5.1).
|
|
|
|
24.1
|
|
Powers
of Attorney (included on signature
page).
|