As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 27, 2023
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Weibo Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Cayman Islands | Not Applicable | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of | (I.R.S. Employer | |
| incorporation or organization) | Identification Number) |
8/F, QIHAO Plaza, No. 8 Xinyuan S. Road
Chaoyang District, Beijing 100027
People’s Republic of China
+86 10 5898 3336
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
2023 Share Incentive Plan
(Full title of the plan)
Cogency Global Inc.
122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10168
+1 800-221-0102
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer x | Accelerated filer | ¨ |
| Non-accelerated filer ¨ | Smaller reporting company | ¨ |
| Emerging growth company | ¨ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ¨
Copies to:
| Fei Cao | Yuting Wu, Esq. | |
| Chief Financial Officer | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP | |
| Weibo Corporation | JingAn Kerry Centre, Tower II | |
| 8/F, QIHAO Plaza, No. 8 Xinyuan S. Road | 46th Floor | |
| Chaoyang District, Beijing 100027 | 1539 Nanjing West Road | |
| People’s Republic of China | Shanghai, People’s Republic of China | |
| +86 10 5898-3095 | +86 21 6193-8200 |
PART I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS
| Item 1. | Plan Information* |
| Item 2. | Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information* |
* Information required by Part I to be contained in the Section 10(a) prospectus is omitted from this registration statement in accordance with Rule 428 under the Securities Act and the Note to Part I of Form S-8. The documents containing information specified in this Part I will be separately provided to the participants covered by the 2023 Share Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act.
PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
| Item 3. | Incorporation of Documents by Reference |
The following documents previously filed by Weibo Corporation (the “Registrant”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) are incorporated by reference herein:
All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), after the date of this registration statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this registration statement which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement and to be part hereof from the date of filing of such documents. Reports on Form 6-K that the Registrant furnishes to the Commission will only be deemed incorporated by reference into this registration statement if such Report on Form 6-K so states that it is incorporated by reference herein.
Any statement in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement will be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that a statement contained in this registration statement or in any other later filed document that also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to be a part of this registration statement.
| Item 4. | Description of Securities |
Not applicable.
| Item 5. | Interests of Named Experts and Counsel |
Not applicable.
| Item 6. | Indemnification of Directors and Officers |
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s articles of association may provide for indemnification of directors and officers, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime.
2
The Registrant’s third amended and restated articles of association provide that all directors and officers of the Registrant shall be indemnified out of the assets and profits of the Registrant from and against all actions, costs, charges, losses, damages and expenses which they shall or may incur or sustain by or by reason of any act done, concurred in or omitted in or about the execution of their duty, or supposed duty, in their respective offices or trusts; provided that this indemnity shall not extend to any matter in respect of any fraud or dishonesty which may attach to any of said persons.
Pursuant to the indemnification agreements, the form of which was filed as Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-194589), the Registrant has agreed to indemnify its directors and executive officers against certain liabilities and expenses incurred by such persons in connection with claims made by reason of their being such a director or officer.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the Registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
The Registrant also maintains a directors and officers liability insurance policy for its directors and officers.
| Item 7. | Exemption From Registration Claimed |
Not applicable.
| Item 8. | Exhibits |
See the Index to Exhibits attached hereto.
| Item 9. | Undertakings |
| (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; |
| (ii) | to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this 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 this registration statement; and |
| (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 that information in the registration statement; |
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) above do not apply if 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 Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this registration statement;
| (2) | That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, 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. |
3
| (b) | The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this 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. |
| (c) | Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act 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 Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities 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 Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. |
4
EXHIBIT INDEX
* Filed herewith.
5
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 S-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Beijing, China, on April 27, 2023.
| Weibo Corporation | |||
| By: | /s/ Fei Cao | ||
| Name: | Fei Cao | ||
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer | ||
6
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints, severally and not jointly, each of Gaofei Wang and Fei Cao, with full power to act alone, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact, with the power of substitution, for and in such person’s name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto each said attorney-in-fact full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that each said attorney-in-fact may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities set forth below on April 27, 2023.
| Signature | Title |
| /s/ Charles Chao |
Chairman of the Board
|
| Charles Chao | |
| /s/ Hong Du | Director |
| Hong Du | |
| /s/ Pen Hung Tung | Director |
| Pen Hung Tung | |
| /s/ Gaofei Wang | |
| Gaofei Wang |
Director and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) |
| /s/ Pehong Chen | Director |
| Pehong Chen | |
| /s/ P Christopher Lu | Director |
| P Christopher Lu | |
| /s/ Yan Wang | Director |
| Yan Wang | |
|
/s/ Fei Cao |
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
| Fei Cao |
7
SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES
Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of Weibo Corporation has signed this registration statement or amendment thereto in New York, New York on April 27, 2023.
| Authorized U.S. Representative | ||
| Cogency Global Inc. | ||
| By: | /s/ Colleen A. De Vries | |
| Name: Colleen A. De Vries | ||
| Title: Sr. Vice President on behalf of Cogency Global Inc. | ||
8
Exhibit 5.1
Ref: KKZ/688185-000004/25472759v3
Weibo Corporation
8/F, Qihao Plaza
No. 8 Xinyuan S. Road
Chaoying District
Beijing F4 100027
27 April 2023
Dear Sir or Madam
Weibo Corporation (the "Company")
We have acted as Cayman Islands legal counsel to the Company in connection with a registration statement on Form S-8 to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") on 27 April 2023 (the "Registration Statement") relating to the registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "Securities Act") of 10,000,000 class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.00025 per share (the "Shares"), issuable by the Company pursuant to the Company's 2023 Share Incentive Plan (the "Plan").
For the purposes of giving this opinion, we have examined copies of the Registration Statement and the Plan. We have also reviewed copies of the third amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of the Company adopted by special resolution passed on 1 December 2021 and effective on 1 December 2021 (the "Memorandum and Articles") and the written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company dated 1 March 2023 (the "Resolutions").
Based upon, and subject to, the assumptions and qualifications set out below, and having regard to such legal considerations as we deem relevant, we are of the opinion that:
| 1. | The Shares to be issued by the Company and registered under the Registration Statement have been duly and validly authorized. |
| 2. | When issued and paid for in accordance with the terms of the Plan and in accordance with the Resolutions, and appropriate entries are made in the register of members (shareholders) of the Company, the Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. |
In this opinion letter, the phrase "non-assessable" means, with respect to the issuance of Shares, that a shareholder shall not, in respect of the relevant Shares, have any obligation to make further contributions to the Company's assets (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
These opinions are subject to the qualification that under the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the "Companies Act"), the register of members of a Cayman Islands company is by statute regarded as prima facie evidence of any matters which the Companies Act directs or authorises to be inserted therein. A third party interest in the shares in question would not appear. An entry in the register of members may yield to a court order for rectification (for example, in the event of fraud or manifest error).
These opinions are given only as to, and based on, circumstances and matters of fact existing and known to us on the date of this opinion letter. These opinions only relate to the laws of the Cayman Islands which are in force on the date of this opinion letter. We express no opinion as to the meaning, validity or effect of any references to foreign (i.e. non-Cayman Islands) statutes, rules, regulations, codes, judicial authority or any other promulgations.
We have also relied upon the assumptions, which we have not independently verified, that (a) all signatures, initials and seals are genuine, (b) copies of documents, conformed copies or drafts of documents provided to us are true and complete copies of, or in the final forms of, the originals, (c) the Memorandum and Articles remain in full force and effect and are unamended, (d) the Resolutions were duly passed in the manner prescribed in the memorandum and articles of association of the Company in force at the relevant time (including, without limitation, with respect to the disclosure of interests (if any) by directors of the Company) and have not been amended, varied or revoked in any respect, (e) there is nothing under any law (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands) which would or might affect the opinions set out in this opinion letter, (f) there is nothing contained in the minute book or corporate records of the Company (which we have not inspected) which would or might affect the opinions set out in this opinion letter, and (d) upon the issue of any Shares, the Company will receive consideration which shall be not less than the par value of such Shares.
This opinion letter is to and for the benefit solely of the addressee and may not be relied upon by any other person for any purpose.
We consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and further consent to all references to us in the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto. In giving such consent, we do not consider that we are “experts” within the meaning of such term as used in the Securities Act, or the rules and regulations of the Commission issued thereunder, with respect to any part of the Registration Statement, including this opinion as an exhibit or otherwise.
Yours faithfully
/s/ Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP
Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-8 of Weibo Corporation of our report dated April 27, 2023 relating to the financial statements and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, which appears in Weibo Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP
Beijing, the People’s Republic of China
April 27, 2023
Exhibit 107
Calculation of Filing Fee Tables
Form S-8
(Form Type)
Weibo Corporation
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
Table 1 – Newly Registered Securities
| Security Type |
Security Class Title(1) | Fee Calculation Rule | Amount
Registered(2) | Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Unit | Maximum Aggregate Offering Price | Fee Rate | Amount of Fee |
|||||||||||
| Equity | Class A Ordinary Shares, par value $0.00025 per share | Other(3) | 10,000,000 | (3) | US$16.04(3) | US$160,400,000.00 | $0.00011020 | US$17,676.08 | ||||||||||
| Total Offering Amount | US$160,400,000.00 | US$17,676.08 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total Fee Offsets | N/A | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Fee Due | US$17,676.08 | |||||||||||||||||
| (1) | These shares may be represented by the Registrant’s ADSs, each of which represents one Class A ordinary share. The Registrant’s ADSs issuable upon deposit of the Class A ordinary shares registered hereby have been registered under a separate registration statement on Form F-6 (333-195072). |
| (2) | Represents Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of options and pursuant to other awards to be granted under the 2023 Share Incentive Plan (the “Plan”). Pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), this Registration Statement also covers an indeterminate number of additional shares which may be offered and issued to prevent dilution from share splits, share dividends or similar transactions as provided in the Plan. Any Class A ordinary shares covered by an award granted under the Plan (or portion of an award) that terminates, expires or lapses for any reason will be deemed not to have been issued for purposes of determining the maximum aggregate number of Class A ordinary shares that may be issued under the Plan. |
| (3) | Represent Class A ordinary shares reserved for future award grants under the Plan. The proposed maximum offering price per unit, which is estimated solely for the purposes of calculating the registration fee under Rule 457(c) and Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act, is based on US$16.04 per ADS, the average of the high and low prices for the Registrant’s ADSs as quoted on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on April 25, 2023. |