As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 7, 2022
Registration
No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware |
3674 |
84-3235065 | ||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
195 S. Milpitas Blvd.
Milpitas, CA 95035
(408)
263-9200
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Bill Krause
Chief Legal Officer
View, Inc.
195 S. Milpitas Blvd.
Milpitas, CA 95035
(408)
263-9200
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
With copies to:
Michael J. Mies, Esq.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
525 University Avenue
14th Floor
Palo Alto, California 94301
(650)
470-4500
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public
:
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: ☒
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 post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) 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.
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,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2
of the Exchange Act. | ☒ | 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 to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.
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 said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. A registration statement relating to the securities described herein has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Neither we nor the selling securityholders may sell or distribute the securities described herein until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell and is not soliciting an offer to buy the securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
View, Inc.
164,303,297 Shares of Class A common stock
366,666 Warrants to Purchase Class A common stock
This prospectus relates to the issuance by us of an aggregate of up to 41,647,653 shares of our Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “”), which consist of (i) up to 366,666 shares of Class A common stock that are issuable upon the exercise of private placement warrants (the “”) originally issued in a private placement (“”) to CF Finance Holdings II, LLC (the “”), in connection with our initial public offering (View, Inc. at the time of its initial public offering and prior to the consummation of its initial business combination (the “Business Combination”), “”), (ii) up to 16,666,637 shares of Class A common stock that are issuable upon the exercise of public warrants (the “” and, together with the Private Placement Warrants, the “”), (iii) up to 3,272,159 shares of Class A common stock that are issuable upon the exercise of certain warrants (the “”) which were warrants of View Operating Corporation (“”) that were converted to warrants of View, Inc. (“”) upon the closing of the Business Combination, and (iv) up to 21,342,191 shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of certain options (the “”) which were options of Legacy View that were converted to options of View upon the closing of the Business Combination.
Class
A common stock
Private Placement Warrants
Private Placement
Sponsor
CF II
Public Warrants
Warrants
Rollover Warrants
Legacy View
View
Rollover Options
This prospectus also relates to the offer and sale, from time to time, by the selling holders identified in this prospectus (the “”), or their permitted transferees, of (i) up to 164,303,297 shares of Class A common stock, comprised of (a) up to 1,100,000 shares of Class A common stock (the “”) issued to the Sponsor in the Private Placement, (b) up to 39,067,361 shares of Class A common stock (the “”) issued on March 8, 2021, in a private placement pursuant to subscription agreements, dated as of November 30, 2020, and January 11, 2021, (c) up to 12,500,000 shares of Class A common stock originally purchased by the Sponsor (the “”), some of which were transferred to CF II’s independent directors prior to the Business Combination, (d) up to 750,000 shares of Class A common stock under an engagement letter, pursuant to which Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. agreed to serve as financial advisor in connection with the Business Combination, dated as of October 3, 2020, as amended on November 26, 2020 (the “”), (e) up to 366,666 shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, (f) up to 1,423,020 shares of Class A common stock (the “”) issuable upon exercise of the Rollover Warrants held by Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation and Madrone Partners, L.P., and (g) 109,096,250 shares (the “”) held by certain of our affiliates, and (ii) up to 366,666 Private Placement Warrants.
Selling Holders
Private Placement Shares
Registered
PIPE Shares
Founder Shares
Engagement Letter
Rollover Warrants Shares
Affiliate Shares
This prospectus provides you with a general description of such securities and the general manner in which we and the Selling Holders may offer or sell the securities. More specific terms of any securities that we and the Selling Holders may offer or sell may be provided in a prospectus supplement that describes, among other things, the specific amounts and prices of the securities being offered and the terms of the offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus.
We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of Class A common stock or warrants by the Selling Holders pursuant to this prospectus or of the shares of Class A common stock by us pursuant to this prospectus, except with respect to amounts received by us upon exercise of warrants to the extent such warrants are exercised for cash. We will receive up to an aggregate of approximately $247.5 million from the exercise of all Warrants and Rollover Warrants, consisting of (i) approximately $195.9 million from the exercise of all Warrants assuming the exercise in full of all such warrants for cash at a price of $11.50 per share of Class A common stock and (ii) approximately $51.6 million from the exercise of all Rollover Warrants assuming the exercise in full of all such warrants for cash based on the weighted-average exercise price of $15.77 per share of Class A common stock of the Rollover Warrants. We will receive up to an aggregate of approximately $199.7 million from the exercise of all Rollover Options assuming the exercise in full of all such options for cash based on the weighted-average exercise price of $9.35 of the Rollover Options. We will pay the expenses, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, associated with the sale of securities pursuant to this prospectus.
Our registration of the securities covered by this prospectus does not mean that either we or the Selling Holders will issue, offer or sell, as applicable, any of the securities. The Selling Holders may offer and sell the securities covered by this prospectus in a number of different ways and at varying prices. We provide more information in the section entitled “.”
Plan of Distribution
You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement or amendment carefully before you invest in our securities.
Our Class A common stock and warrants are traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (“Nasdaq”) under the symbols “VIEW” and “VIEWW,” respectively. On August 31, 2022, the closing price of our Class A common stock was $1.78 per share and the closing price of our warrants was $0.09 per share.
Investing in our securities involves risks.
See “Risk Factors
” beginning on page 14 and in any applicable prospectus supplement.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the disclosures in this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is September 7, 2022.
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II-1 |
i
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a Registration Statement on Form ”) using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we and the Selling Holders may, from time to time, issue, offer and sell, as applicable, any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings. We may use the shelf registration statement to issue an aggregate of up to 41,647,653 shares of our Class A common stock, which consists of (i) up to 366,666 shares of Class A common stock that are issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, (ii) up to 16,666,637 shares of Class A common stock that are issuable upon the exercise of the Public Warrants, (iii) up to 3,272,159 shares of Class A common stock that are issuable upon the exercise of the Rollover Warrants, and (iv) up to 21,342,191 shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of certain options (the “”) which were options of Legacy View that were converted to options of View upon the closing of the Business Combination. The Selling Holders may use the shelf registration statement to sell (i) up to 164,303,297 shares of Class A common stock, comprised of (a) up to 1,100,000 Private Placement Shares, (b) up to 39,067,361 Registered PIPE Shares, (c) up to 12,500,000 Founder Shares, (d) up to 750,000 shares of Class A common stock under the Engagement Letter, (e) up to 366,666 shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, (f) up to 1,423,020 Rollover Warrants Shares, and (g) up to 109,096,250 Affiliate Shares and (ii) up to 366,666 Private Placement Warrants.
S-1
that we filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC
Rollover Options
More specific terms of any securities that the Selling Holders offer and sell may be provided in a prospectus supplement that describes, among other things, the specific amounts and prices of the Class A common stock and/or warrants being offered and the terms of the offering.
A prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information included in this prospectus. Any statement contained in this prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in such prospectus supplement modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified will be deemed to constitute a part of this prospectus only as so modified, and any statement so superseded will be deemed not to constitute a part of this prospectus. You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus. See “.”
Where You Can Find More Information
Neither we nor the Selling Holders have authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectus we have prepared. We and the Selling Holders take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby and only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus. This prospectus is not an offer to sell securities, and it is not soliciting an offer to buy securities, in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate only as of the date on the front of those documents only, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement, or any sale of a security. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
This prospectus contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under “.”
Where You Can Find More Information
On March 8, 2021 (the “”), View, Inc. (formerly known as CF Finance Acquisition Corp. II) (the “”), consummated its previously announced business combination pursuant to that certain
Closing Date
Company
ii
Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of November 30, 2020 (the “,” and the transactions contemplated thereby, the “”), by and among the Company, PVMS Merger Sub, Inc. (“”), a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and View Operating Corporation (formerly known as View, Inc.) (“”), a Delaware corporation. As contemplated by the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub merged with and into Legacy View, with Legacy View continuing as the surviving corporation and as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.
Merger Agreement
Business Combination
Merger Sub
Legacy View
iii
MARKET, RANKING AND OTHER INDUSTRY DATA
Certain market, ranking and industry data included in this prospectus, including the size of certain markets and our size or position and the positions of our competitors within these markets, including their products and services relative to their competitors, are based on estimates of our management. These estimates have been derived from our management’s knowledge and experience in the markets in which we operate, as well as information obtained from surveys, reports by market research firms, our customers, distributors, suppliers, trade and business organizations and other contacts in the markets in which we operate, which, in each case, we believe are reliable.
We are responsible for all of the disclosure in this prospectus and while we believe the data from these sources to be accurate and complete, we have not independently verified data from these sources or obtained third-party verification of market share data and this information may not be reliable. In addition, these sources may use different definitions of the relevant markets. Data regarding our industry is intended to provide general guidance, but is inherently imprecise. Market share data is subject to change and cannot always be verified with certainty due to limits on the availability and reliability of raw data, the voluntary nature of the data gathering process and other limitations and uncertainties inherent in any statistical survey of market shares. In addition, customer preferences can and do change. As a result, you should be aware that market share, ranking and other similar data set forth herein, and estimates and beliefs based on such data, may not be reliable. References herein to us being a leader in a market or product category refers to our belief that we have a leading market share position in each specified market, unless the context otherwise requires. In addition, the discussion herein regarding our various markets is based on how we define the markets for our products, which products may be either part of larger overall markets or markets that include other types of products and services.
Assumptions and estimates of our future performance are necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in “.” These and other factors could cause our future performance to differ materially from our assumptions and estimates. See “.”
Risk Factors
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
iv
TRADEMARKS, SERVICE MARKS AND TRADE NAMES
This prospectus contains some of our trademarks, service marks and trade names, including, among others, “VIEW”, “VIEW NET”, “INTELLIGENCE”, “VIEW SENSE”, “VIEW DISPLAY” AND “SMARTPROTECT”. Each one of these trademarks, service marks or trade names is either (1) our registered trademark, (2) a trademark for which we have a pending application or (3) a trade name or service mark for which we claim common law rights. All other trademarks, trade names or service marks of any other company appearing in this prospectus belong to their respective owners. Solely for convenience, the trademarks, service marks and trade names referred to in this prospectus are presented without the TM, SM and
®
symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our respective rights or the rights of the applicable licensors to these trademarks, service marks and trade names. v
SELECTED DEFINITIONS
Unless stated otherwise in this prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:
| • | “ 2018 Plan |
| • | “ 2021 Equity Incentive Plan |
| • | “ Additional Subscription Agreement |
| • | “ Affiliate Shares |
| • | “ Board Board of Directors |
| • | “ Business Combination |
| • | “ Bylaws |
| • | “ CEO Equity Incentive Plan |
| • | “ Certificate of Incorporation |
| • | “ CF II |
| • | “ Class A common stock common stock |
| • | “ Closing |
| • | “ Closing Date |
| • | “ Code |
| • | “ Company View we us our |
| • | “ DGCL |
| • | “ Effective Time |
| • | “ Engagement Letter |
| • | “ Engagement Letter Shares |
| • | “ Equity Incentive Plans |
| • | “ Exchange Act |
| • | “ Founder Shares |
| • | “ GAAP |
| • | “ Initial Stockholders |
vi
| • | “ Initial Subscription Agreements |
| • | “ IPO initial public offering |
| • | “ JOBS Act |
| • | “ Legacy View |
| • | “ management management team |
| • | “ Merger |
| • | “ Merger Agreement |
| • | “ Merger Sub |
| • | “ Nasdaq |
| • | “ Organizational Documents |
| • | “ PIPE Investment |
| • | “ PIPE Investors |
| • | “ PIPE Shares |
| • | “ Private Placement |
| • | “ Private Placement Shares |
| • | “ Private Placement Units one-third of one warrant to purchase one share of CF II Class A common stock, initially issued to the Sponsor in the Private Placement; |
| • | “ Private Placement Warrants |
| • | “ public shares |
| • | “ Public Warrants |
| • | “ public stockholders |
| • | “ Restricted Stock Units |
vii
| • | “ Registered PIPE Shares |
| • | “ Registration Rights Agreement |
| • | “ Rollover Options |
| • | “ Rollover Warrants |
| • | “ Sarbanes-Oxley Act |
| • | “ SEC |
| • | “ Securities Act |
| • | “ Selling Holders |
| • | “ Sponsor |
| • | “ Sponsor Registration Rights Agreement |
| • | “ Subscription Agreements |
| • | “ transfer agent Continental |
| • | “ trust account |
| • | “ Warrants |
Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus or as the context otherwise requires, all references in this prospectus to Class A common stock or warrants include such securities underlying the units.
viii
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and as such are not historical facts. This includes, without limitation, statements regarding our financial position, capital structure, indebtedness and business strategy, and plans and objectives of our management for future operations, as well as statements regarding growth, anticipated demand for our products and services and our business prospects. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements, and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. When used in this prospectus, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “strive,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. When we discuss our strategies or plans, we are making projections, forecasts or forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the beliefs of, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to, our management.
Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, assumptions, projections, forecasts and management’s beliefs, which are subject to change. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting our company will be those that we have anticipated. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control and are difficult to predict. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the expectations, estimates, assumptions, projections, forecasts or beliefs prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, but are not limited to: actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly operating results; results of operations that vary from the expectations of our company or of securities analysts and investors; the impact of the global
COVID-19
pandemic; changes in financial estimates by our management or by any securities analysts who might cover our securities; conditions or trends in the industries in which we operate; changes in the market valuations of similar companies; changes in the markets in which we operate; stock market price and volume fluctuations of comparable companies and, in particular, those that operate in the smart glass industry; disruptions to our business relationships, performance, current plans, employee retention and business generally; publication of research reports about our company or our industry or positive or negative recommendations or withdrawal of research coverage by securities analysts; announcements by our company or our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions, joint marketing relationships, joint ventures, capital commitments, strategic partnerships or divestitures; investors’ general perceptions of our company and our business; announcements by third parties or the outcome of any claims or legal proceedings that may be instituted against our company; the ability to maintain compliance with the continued listing requirements of, and to maintain the listing of our securities on, The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; volatility in the price of our securities due to a variety of factors, including downturns or other changes in the highly competitive and regulated industries in which we operate, variations in performance across competitors, and changes in laws and regulations affecting our business; our ability to implement business plans, forecasts and other expectations, and identify and realize additional opportunities; actions by stockholders, including the sale of shares of our common stock; speculation in the press or investment community; recruitment or departure of key personnel; overall performance of the equity markets; disputes or other developments relating to intellectual property rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain, maintain, defend, protect and enforce patent and other intellectual property rights for our technologies, and the potential infringement on the intellectual property rights of others; cyber security risks or potential breaches of data security; uncertainty regarding economic events; changes in interest rates; general market, political and economic conditions, including an economic slowdown, recession or depression; our operating performance and the performance of other similar companies; our ability to accurately project future results and our ability to achieve those and other industry and analyst forecasts; new legislation or other regulatory developments that adversely affect our company or the markets or industries in which we operate; our ability to continue as a going concern; our ability to raise additional capital on acceptable terms or at all; and other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative ix
purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by investors as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “” section of this prospectus. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties may be amplified by the
Risk Factors
COVID-19
pandemic, which has caused significant economic uncertainty. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Forward-looking statements included in this prospectus speak only as of the date of this prospectus or any earlier date specified for such statements. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. We do not give any assurance that we will achieve our expectations.
x
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights certain significant aspects of our business and is a summary of information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary is not complete and does not contain all of the information that you should consider before making your investment decision. You should carefully read this entire prospectus, including the information presented under the sections titled “Risk Factors,” “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements,” “View, Inc.’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and the consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus before making an investment decision. The definitions of some of the terms used in this prospectus are set forth under the section “Selected Definitions.”
Business Summary
Our Business
We are a leading smart buildings platform and technology company that transforms buildings to improve human health and experience, reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, and generate additional revenue for building owners.
Our innovative products are designed to enable people to lead healthier and more productive lives by increasing access to daylight and views, while minimizing associated glare and heat from the sun and keeping occupants comfortable. These products also simultaneously reduce energy consumption from lighting and HVAC, thus reducing carbon emissions. To achieve these benefits, we design, manufacture, and provide electrochromic or smart glass panels to which we add a 1 micrometer (~1/100th the thickness of human hair) proprietary electrochromic coating. These smart glass panels, in combination with our proprietary network infrastructure, software and algorithms, intelligently adjust in response to the sun by tinting from clear to dark states, and vice versa, to minimize heat and glare without ever blocking the view. In addition, we offer a suite of fully integrated, cloud-connected smart-building products that are designed to enable us to further optimize the human experience within buildings, improve cybersecurity, further reduce energy usage and carbon footprint, reduce real estate operating costs, provide real estate owners greater visibility into and control over the utilization of their assets, and provide a platform on which to integrate and deploy new technologies into buildings.
Our earlier generation products are described best as “smart glass,” which are primarily composed of three components that all work together to produce a solution:
| • | the insulating glass unit; which is either double or triple pane with a micrometer semiconductor (or electrochromic) coating. |
| • | the network infrastructure; which is composed of the controllers, connectors, sensors, and cabling. |
| • | the software: which includes the predictive algorithms, artificial intelligence, remote management tools, and user-facing iOS and Android apps, to control the tint of the glass. |
After we completed installations in a few hundred buildings, we identified an opportunity to use our network infrastructure and cabling as the backbone on which different smart and connected devices in a typical building could operate. We believe customers using View Smart Glass can leverage our network as their building’s operations technology infrastructure to reduce duplicative labor costs, reduce materials usage, provide better cyber security, improve visibility and management of connected devices, and future-proof the building through easy upgradability.
Recognizing the opportunity to significantly improve the human experience, energy performance and carbon footprint in buildings, and real estate operating costs through adoption of technology, we began selling a Smart
1
Building Platform, which is a fully integrated smart window platform, to building owners starting in 2021. Concurrent with the commencement of the sales efforts, we also began hiring an extensive team of construction managers, project managers, and building specialists to enable us to work towards delivering the fully installed and integrated Smart Building Platform, which had historically been the responsibility of the general contractor’s glazing and low voltage electrician (“LVE”) subcontractors.
The Smart Building Platform includes an upgraded network infrastructure and design and deployment services, and also enables next generation Smart Building Technologies. We began offering our Smart Building Platform for the following strategic reasons:
end-to-end
| • | To optimize the design, aesthetics, energy performance and cost of the entire smart façade (or digital skin) of the building, rather than just one component (smart glass), thus benefiting both customers and our company. |
| • | To elevate the window selection and purchase decision to a customer and decision maker that has a more global view of the project and is in a much better position to make an informed decision regarding all the benefits provided by our Smart Building Platform. |
| • | To accelerate the integration of new technologies into the fabric of the building. Today, this includes integrating environmental quality sensors and immersive, transparent, high-definition displays into smart windows. Importantly, our smart façade design enables future hardware and software upgrades into the building infrastructure. |
| • | We believe delivering a digital, connected façade and smart building platform will enable future business opportunities and pricing models as buildings, both existing and new, incorporate additional technology and connected products. |
Our next generation, smart building network is designed as a scalable and open infrastructure in which the smart window is now another node of the network; in addition, the network is now equipped to host other connected devices and applications, from both our company and third parties, as additional nodes on the network. The network has its own 48v direct current power and power-over-ethernet ports to incorporate other connected devices on a standard protocol. Also integrated into the network throughout the building is gigabit speed linear ethernet coaxial cable, as well as optical fiber. Computer processing is also built into the backbone of the network with x86 and ARM processing cores. The network also includes an operating system with capabilities to run third party applications and services, security protocol to protect buildings from cyberattacks, and several elements of a digital twin of the building. Our smart building network also hosts artificial intelligence and machine learning engines, which we developed, and also provides access to artificial intelligence and machine learning engines that are in the cloud. The exterior of the building is the largest in surface area. With the smart building network, the entire exterior of the building can be digitized. Activating the exterior through digitization creates multiple opportunities for building owners and occupants.
Our Smart Building Platform enables other devices and smart building applications to be built and connected to our smart building network. A few applications we have already built and deployed on our next generation network include:
Transparent Displays: View Immersive Display. Integrated into the smart window and connected to the same network as the glass, Immersive Display allows users to turn their windows into the equivalent of an iPad or tablet — an interactive digital display that allows users a new way to digest multi-media content. Immersive Displays are large-format (55 inches and larger), digital, high-definition, interactive canvases that can be used to broadcast content, host video calls and display information and digital art to large groups of people, while maintaining a view of the outdoors through the window on which it is integrated.
2
Personalized Health: View Sense. An integrated, enterprise-grade, secure, sensor module that monitors multiple environmental variables (e.g., CO2, Temperature, Volatile Organic Compounds, Humidity, Dust, Light, and Noise) to provide illustrative data and information to building management teams in order to improve building performance and enhance human health and comfort.
Our R&D continues to focus on not only improving the smart glass product but also on continually bringing more smart building applications and capabilities to market, as well as collaborating with other industry partners to integrate their devices and applications with our smart building network, with the aim of making building occupants more comfortable, healthier, and more productive, making buildings more sustainable, and providing better information to building owners to streamline operations and reduce operating costs.
In terms of the value propositions to our customers, our earlier generation smart glass product focused primarily on improving occupant experience and reducing energy costs through adjustments of the glass tint. The current generation of the product focuses not only on improving energy savings and user experience through smart glass; it also focuses on increasing occupant productivity, creating healthier buildings, and using data from other devices to develop broader insights that further improve building operations and reduce energy usage. Current scientific research supports that cognitive function and in turn, productivity goes up when building occupants are exposed to more natural light and comfortable workspaces; they sleep better, and they experience less eye strain, fewer headaches, and lower stress. In a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Health and Public Health in 2020, researchers at the University of Illinois and SUNY Upstate Medical University found that employees working next to View Smart Glass during the day slept 37 minutes longer each night, experienced half as many headaches, and performed 42% better on cognitive tests. The research was sponsored in part by our company.
We also recognized that the new Smart Building Platform offering would potentially enable the company to move ‘up’ the supply chain of the construction industry. Whereas our traditional offering placed us in the role of a supplier to subcontractors of the General Contractor (“GC”), the level of integration and oversight needed to ensure a quality installation and integration of the complete smart building platform is designed to incentivize building owners and GCs to engage directly with us, engaging us to assume the role of the prime contractor for the platform rather than supplier of subcomponent materials. This would also better position us to upsell additional goods and services to the building owners in the future, which could be more efficiently integrated into the smart building platform than with the traditional offering.
Today, our Smart Glass products are installed into over 40 million square feet of buildings, including offices, hospitals, airports, educational facilities, hotels, and multi-family residences. In addition to our Smart Building Platform, we continue to sell smart windows through our Smart Glass offering and several individual smart building products through our Smart Building Technologies offerings.
Our Strengths
We believe we have several strengths that will allow us to drive the rapid adoption of our products and to maintain our market leading position:
| • | Complete product solution: We offer complete product solutions, in which we design and deploy all critical aspects of the product, including the electrochromic nano-coatings, smart glass panels, electronics, cabling, converged secure network infrastructure, algorithms, software, customized framing, and end-to-end |
| • | Proven product durability: We have demonstrated projected lifetimes of our electrochromic nano-coating of over 30 years, with no degradation in performance, in tests conducted by independent laboratories. |
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| • | Strong record of execution: View Smart Glass and View Smart Building Platform have now been installed into over 40 million square feet of buildings of significant scale and prominence. |
| • | Manufacturing scale: We have a manufacturing footprint of over 800 thousand square feet in North America and have full control of our manufacturing processes, allowing us to rapidly scale while reducing production costs and maintaining quality. |
| • | Intellectual property portfolio: We have more than 1,400 patents and patent filings, over 14 years of research and development experience, and continue to drive innovation across materials science, electronics, networking, hardware, software, and human factors research. |
| • | Smart Building Platform: Our Smart Building Platform’s network architecture offers a competitive advantage, as it has greater functionality and utilizes less cabling, and we believe it is significantly simpler and cheaper to install than solutions from competing smart glass suppliers. As “smart buildings” grow in popularity, our Smart Building Platform’s enterprise-grade network provides yet another reason for building owners to choose smart glass. |
| • | Growing product portfolio: We have continued to develop several new products that will optimize the human experience in buildings, help reduce energy usage and carbon footprint, and make buildings more intelligent and adaptable. Our Smart Building Platform enables smart building applications to be built and connected to our smart building network. |
| • | Strong ecosystem relationships: In the process of View Smart Glass and View Smart Building Platform being installed into over 40 million square feet of buildings of significant scale and prominence, we have developed strong relationships with members of the construction ecosystem including architects, general contractors, glaziers and low voltage electricians. In addition, we have built strong relationships with owners, tenants, and building developers who are in the best position to recognize and appreciate the multiple benefits we bring to their employees and tenants, as well as their energy efficiency initiatives. Approximately 50% of our design wins over the last two years have been from building owners, developers and tenants that have previously had View Smart Glass installed in their buildings. See “ Our Customers |
| • | Experienced leadership team: We have built an experienced leadership team with a strong track record of driving product innovation, revenue growth and profitability in several technology businesses. |
| • | Company culture: Most importantly, we have built a strong culture of safety, inclusion, curiosity, customer delight, iterative learning, commitment to excellence, ownership, and teamwork. This has enabled us to tackle hard technical and business problems and opportunities, challenge conventional wisdom, deliver value to our customers, and build a strong competitive advantage over incumbents and other entrants. |
Growth Strategies
Each of the below growth initiatives will be propelled by our ability to develop mainstream acceptance of our products. We continuously work to market our products and believe we will have mainstream acceptance of our products through the execution of the following:
| • | Compelling, proven product with growing installed base: Our technology is patented, functional and proven, with an increasing number of installations across major markets in North America driving both greater product awareness and higher interest from the real estate ecosystem. We expect this trend to accelerate as our base of installations continues to grow. |
| • | New product introduction: We have significantly expanded our product portfolio and offer several smart building products to the market. In addition to a strong existing installed base who we believe will be likely adopters of these products, we also anticipate that strong interest in our smart building products will accelerate adoption of View Smart Glass and Smart Building Platform. |
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| • | Sales channel expansion: We plan to create greater awareness and education among building owners and tenants, of the significant benefits of our company, by forming business relationships with real estate brokers. Given the large number of commercial real estate brokers across North America, such business arrangements have the potential to significantly increase the awareness and recognition of our company, our products and our benefits multiple fold. |
| • | Deepen delivery ecosystem relationships: In the process of View Smart Glass and View Smart Building Platform being installed into over 40 million square feet of buildings of significant scale and prominence, we have developed strong relationships with members of the construction delivery ecosystem including architects, general contractors, glaziers and low voltage electricians. We will continue to focus on developing stronger relationships with these partners to facilitate smooth execution and positive momentum. |
| • | Expansion into new geographies: We currently derive the majority of our business from select markets in North America. We believe our solutions will have universal appeal and anticipate significant growth opportunities to expand our business in additional regions in North America and in international markets around the world. |
| • | Serving new applications and industries: We believe there are significant benefits to using smart glass solutions in automotive applications such as windows and glass roofs that automatically adjust to sunlight, mobile phones and computing, wearables, mixed and augmented reality applications, and in other industries. We anticipate serving these applications in the future. |
By focusing on innovation, continually enhancing our product offerings and leveraging our platform to offer new products, we believe we can increase building project originations, product usage and customer satisfaction, which we believe will increase revenue per customer and expand our customer base while reducing customer attrition. With over 14 years of research and development experience and more than 1,400 patents and patent applications, our research and development and engineering teams include people with expertise in all aspects of the development process, including materials science, electronics and networking, product design, software development, machine learning and AI, and quality assurance. Our research and development activities are conducted at our headquarters in Milpitas, California and also at our manufacturing facility located in Olive Branch, Mississippi.
Business Combination
On the Closing Date, View, Inc. (formerly known as CF Finance Acquisition Corp. II), consummated the Business Combination pursuant to the Merger Agreement, by and among the Company, Merger Sub, and View Operating Corporation (formerly known as View, Inc.). As contemplated by the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub merged with and into View Operating Corporation, with View Operating Corporation continuing as the surviving entity and as a wholly owned subsidiary of View.
On March 5, 2021, CF Finance Acquisition Corp. II’s stockholders, at a special meeting of CF Finance Acquisition Corp. II, approved and adopted the Merger Agreement, and approved the Business Combination proposal and the other related proposals presented in the definitive proxy statement filed by CF II on February 16, 2021 (the “Proxy Statement”), and the supplement thereto filed by CF II on February 23, 2021 (the “Supplement”).
At the Effective Time:
| (1) | each share of Legacy View capital stock that was issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (other than any shares of Legacy View capital stock held by a Legacy View stockholder who validly exercised its appraisal rights pursuant to Section 262 of the DGCL with respect to its Legacy View capital stock, “Dissenting Shares,” or Legacy View capital stock held in |
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| treasury or by CF II, the Sponsor or any of their Affiliates, as defined in the Merger Agreement), was automatically cancelled and ceased to exist in exchange for the right to receive such fraction of a share of newly issued Class A common stock equal to 0.02325 (the “Exchange Ratio”), without interest, subject to rounding up such fractional shares of each holder to the nearest whole share of Class A common stock (after aggregating all fractional shares of Class A common stock that otherwise would be received by such holder); |
| (2) | each share of Merger Sub common stock outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time was automatically converted into and exchanged for one validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable share of Class A common stock; |
| (3) | each Legacy View option that was outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, whether vested or unvested, was assumed by CF II and converted into an option exercisable for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the product (rounded down to the nearest whole number) of (a) the number of shares of Legacy View common stock subject to the Legacy View option immediately prior to the Effective Time multiplied by (b) the Exchange Ratio, such option having a per share exercise price for each share of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the option equal to the quotient (rounded up to the nearest whole cent) obtained by dividing (i) the exercise price per share of Legacy View common stock subject to such Legacy View option immediately prior to the Effective Time by (ii) the Exchange Ratio, and, except as specifically provided in the Merger Agreement, each option to continue to be governed by the same terms and conditions (including vesting and exercisability terms) as were applicable to the corresponding former Legacy View options immediately prior to the Effective Time; and |
| (4) | each Legacy View warrant that was outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time was assumed by CF II and converted into a warrant exercisable for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the product (rounded down to the nearest whole number) of (a) the number of shares of Legacy View capital stock subject to the Legacy View warrant immediately prior to the Effective Time multiplied by (b) the Exchange Ratio, such warrant having a per share exercise price for each share of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrant equal to the quotient (rounded up to the nearest whole cent) obtained by dividing (i) the exercise price per share of Legacy View capital stock subject to the Legacy View warrant immediately prior to the Effective Time by (ii) the Exchange Ratio, and, except as specifically provided in the Merger Agreement, each warrant to continue to be governed by the same terms and conditions (including vesting and exercisability terms) as were applicable to the corresponding former Legacy View warrant immediately prior to the Effective Time. |
Concurrently with the execution of the Merger Agreement, CF II entered into the Initial Subscription Agreements with certain of the PIPE Investors, and on January 11, 2021, CF II entered into the Additional Subscription Agreement with GIC Private Ltd. Pursuant to the Subscription Agreements, the PIPE Investors purchased an aggregate of 42,103,156 shares of Class A common stock in a private placement, in the case of the Initial Subscription Agreements at a price of $10.00 per share and in the case of the Additional Subscription Agreement at a price of $11.25 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $441.1 million. The PIPE Investment was consummated in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination. See “” below for a summary of the Subscription Agreements.
—Related Agreements
On the Closing Date, in connection with the Business Combination, we entered into certain other related agreements which are described below in “.”
—Related Agreements
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The following diagram illustrates our structure following the consummation of the Business Combination:
Summary of Risk Factors
The business and financial condition of our company is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Below is a summary of material factors that make an investment in our securities speculative or risky. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described below, alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may have an adverse effect on the business, cash flows, financial condition and results of operations of our company. Importantly, this summary does not address all of the risks and uncertainties that we face. Additional discussion of the risks and uncertainties summarized in this risk factor summary, as well as other risks and uncertainties that we face, can be found under the section titled “” in this prospectus beginning on page 14. The below summary is qualified in its entirety by that more complete discussion of such risks and uncertainties. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described under the section titled “” as part of your evaluation of an investment in our securities:
Risk Factors
Risk Factors
| • | We have determined that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, as our continued existence is dependent upon our ability to raise additional capital through outside sources. |
| • | There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain compliance with the continued listing standards of Nasdaq. |
| • | Our failure to prepare and timely file our periodic reports with the SEC limits our access to the public markets to raise debt or equity capital. |
| • | We have restated our consolidated financial statements for prior annual and interim periods, which has affected and may continue to affect investor confidence, our stock price, our ability to raise capital in |
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| the future, our reputation with our customers, and our ability to timely file our periodic reports with the SEC, which may result in additional stockholder litigation and may reduce customer confidence in our ability to complete new contract opportunities. |
| • | We have identified deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting resulting in material weaknesses and the conclusion that our internal control over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2021 and June 30, 2022. If we fail to properly remediate these or any future material weaknesses or deficiencies or to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, further material misstatements in our financial statements could occur and impair our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements, which could cause current and potential stockholders to lose confidence in our financial reporting, which in turn could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. |
| • | We are involved in, and may in the future be subject to, litigation and regulatory examinations, investigations, proceedings or orders as a result of or relating to our Restatement and our failure to timely file our Annual and Quarterly Reports with the SEC; if any of these are resolved adversely against us, it could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. |
| • | We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant expenses related to the Investigation, Restatement and remediation of deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, and any resulting litigation. |
| • | The Investigation, the findings thereof and the Restatement process, have diverted, and may continue to divert, management and other human resources from the operation of our business. |
| • | Our limited operating history and history of financial losses make evaluating our business and future prospects difficult, and may increase the risk of your investment. |
| • | Our revenue and backlog may not be adequate or grow sufficiently, and that backlog may not convert into future sales. |
| • | Our financial results may vary significantly from period-to-period |
| • | Our operating and financial results forecast relies in large part upon assumptions and analyses developed by us. If these assumptions or analyses prove to be incorrect, our actual operating results may be materially different from our forecasted results. |
| • | We may not be able to accurately estimate the future supply and demand for our products, which could result in a variety of inefficiencies in our business and hinder our ability to generate revenue. If we fail to accurately predict our manufacturing requirements, we could incur additional costs or experience delays. |
| • | Disruption of supply or shortage of materials, in particular for glass and semiconductor chips, could harm our business. |
| • | Increases in cost of materials, including glass and semiconductor chips, could harm our business. |
| • | Any significant disruption to our sole manufacturing production line or the failure of our facility to operate according to our expectation could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. |
| • | COVID-19 and other public health crises could materially impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations. |
| • | Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. |
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| • | While we obtain components from multiple sources whenever possible, there are important components used in our products that are purchased from single source suppliers. Delivery of necessary components of our products by these and other suppliers according to our schedule and at prices, quality levels and volumes acceptable to us, or our inability to efficiently manage these components, could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results. |
| • | We face risks associated with our national and future global operations and expansion, including unfavorable regulatory, political, economic, tax and labor conditions, and with establishing ourselves in new markets, all of which could harm our business. |
| • | The markets in which we operate are highly competitive, and we may not be successful in competing in these industries. We currently face competition from new and established national and international competitors and expect to face competition from others in the future, including competition from companies with new technology and greater financial resources. |
| • | We may be unable to meet our growing production demand, product sales, delivery plans and servicing needs, or accurately project and manage this growth nationwide or internationally, which could harm our business and prospects. |
| • | Our patent applications may not result in issued patents or our patent rights may be contested, circumvented, invalidated or limited in scope, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to prevent others from interfering with our commercialization of our products. |
| • | Our products and services are subject to substantial regulations, which are evolving, and unfavorable changes or failure by us to comply with these regulations could substantially harm our business and operating results. |
| • | Many of our products must comply with local building codes and ordinances, and failure of our products to comply with such codes and ordinances may have an adverse effect on our business. |
| • | Our business model of manufacturing smart glass is capital-intensive, and we may not be able to raise additional capital on attractive terms, if at all, which could be dilutive to stockholders. If we cannot raise additional capital when needed, our operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. |
| • | Warrants are or will in the future become exercisable for our Class A common stock, which, if exercised, would increase the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our stockholders. |
| • | There is no guarantee that our Warrants will be in the money at the time they become exercisable, and they may expire worthless. |
| • | We may redeem unexpired Warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to a Warrant holder, thereby making the Warrants worthless. |
| • | Resales of our securities may cause the market price of our securities to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well. |
| • | The trading price of our Class A common stock and warrants has been volatile and may be in the future. |
Corporate Information
We were incorporated on September 27, 2019, as a Delaware corporation under the name “CF Finance Acquisition Corp. II” and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. On March 8, 2021,
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in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, we changed our name to “View, Inc.” Our principal executive offices are located at 195 S. Milpitas Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035, and our telephone number is (408)
263-9200.
Our website is www.view.com
. The information found on, or that can be accessed from or that is hyperlinked to, our website is not part of this prospectus. Our common stock and warrants trade on Nasdaq under the tickers “VIEW” and “VIEWW”, respectively. 10
THE OFFERING
We are registering the issuance by us of an aggregate of up to 41,647,653 shares of our Class A common stock, which consists of (i) up to 366,666 shares of Class A common stock that are issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, (ii) up to 16,666,637 shares of Class A common stock that are issuable upon the exercise of the Public Warrants, (iii) up to 3,272,159 shares of Class A common stock that are issuable upon the exercise of the Rollover Warrants, and (iv) up to 21,342,191 shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Rollover Options. We are also registering the resale by the Selling Holders or their permitted transferees of (i) up to 164,303,297 shares of Class A common stock, comprised of (a) up to 1,100,000 Private Placement Shares, (b) up to 39,067,361 Registered PIPE Shares, (c) up to 12,500,000 Founder Shares, (d) up to 750,000 shares of Class A common stock under the Engagement Letter, (e) up to 366,666 shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, (f) up to 1,423,020 Rollover Warrants Shares, and (g) up to 109,096,250 Affiliate Shares, and (ii) up to 366,666 Private Placement Warrants. Any investment in the securities offered hereby is speculative and involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the information set forth under “Risk Factors” beginning on page 14 of this prospectus.
Issuance of Class A common stock, options, and warrants
The following information is as of August 31, 2022, and does not give effect to issuances of our Class A common stock or warrants after such date, or the exercise of warrants after such date.
| Shares of Class A common stock that may be issued upon exercise of Private Placement Warrants to purchase Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share of Class A common stock |
366,666 shares |
| Shares of Class A common stock that may be issued upon exercise of Public Warrants |
16,666,637 shares |
| Shares of Class A common stock that may be issued upon exercise of Rollover Warrants |
3,272,159 shares |
| Shares of Class A common stock that may be issued upon exercise of Rollover Options |
21,342,191 shares |
| Shares of common stock outstanding prior to exercise of all Warrants, Rollover Warrants and Rollover Options |
219,227,971 shares (as of August 31, 2022) |
| Shares of common stock outstanding assuming exercise of all Warrants, Rollover Warrants and Rollover Options |
260,875,624 shares (based on total shares outstanding on August 31, 2022) |
| Exercise price of Warrants |
$11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. |
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| Weighted-Average Exercise price of Rollover Warrants |
$15.77 |
| Weighted-Average Exercise price of Rollover Options |
$9.35 |
| Use of proceeds |
We will receive an aggregate of approximately $247.5 million from the exercise of all Warrants and Rollover Warrants, consisting of (i) approximately $195.9 million from the exercise of all Warrants assuming the exercise in full of all such warrants for cash and (ii) approximately $51.6 million from the exercise of all Rollover Warrants assuming the exercise in full of all such warrants for cash based on the weighted-average exercise price of such warrants. We will receive an aggregate of approximately $199.7 million from the exercise of all Rollover Options assuming the exercise in full of all such options for cash based on the weighted-average exercise price of such options. Unless we inform you otherwise in a prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, we intend to use the net proceeds from the exercise of such warrants or options for general corporate purposes which may include acquisitions or other strategic investments or repayment of outstanding indebtedness. |
Resale of Class A common stock and warrants
| Founder Shares |
12,500,000 shares |
| Registered PIPE Shares |
39,067,361 shares |
| Private Placement Shares |
1,100,000 shares |
| Shares of Class A common stock under the Engagement Letter |
750,000 shares |
| Shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants |
366,666 shares |
| Rollover Warrants Shares |
3,272,159 shares |
| Affiliate Shares |
109,096,250 shares |
| Private Placement Warrants |
366,666 warrants |
| Exercise Price of Private Placement Warrants |
$11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. |
| Weighted-Average Exercise Price of Rollover Warrants |
$15.77 |
| Redemption |
The warrants are redeemable in certain circumstances. See “ Description of Securities—Private Placement Warrants |
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| Use of Proceeds |
We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the Class A common stock and warrants to be offered by the Selling Holders. With respect to shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, we will not receive any proceeds from such shares except with respect to amounts received by us upon exercise of such warrants to the extent such warrants are exercised for cash. |
| Nasdaq Ticker Symbols |
Class A common stock: VIEW Warrants: VIEWW |
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RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves risks and uncertainties. You should carefully consider the following risks as well as the other information included in this prospectus, including “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “View, Inc.’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing in our securities. We operate in a changing environment that involves numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could materially adversely affect our operations. Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects. However, the selected risks described below are not the only risks facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or those we currently view to be immaterial may also materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects. In such a case, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment in us. Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references to “View,” “we,” “our,” “us,” and the “Company” refer to View, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries after giving effect to the Business Combination. References in this section to “Legacy View” refer to View Operating Corporation and its subsidiaries.
Risks Related to Liquidity, SEC and Nasdaq Compliance
We have determined that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern , as our continued existence is dependent upon our ability to raise additional capital through outside sources.
We have determined that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, as we do not currently have adequate financial resources to fund our forecasted operating costs and meet our obligations beyond November 2022.
While we are seeking to raise additional capital beyond the Committed Equity Facility, as described further in Note 14 of the “Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements” included elsewhere in this prospectus, there can be no assurance the necessary financing will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. If we raise funds by issuing equity securities, dilution to stockholders will occur and may be substantial. Any equity securities issued may also provide for rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of holders of common stock. If we raise funds by issuing debt securities, these debt securities would have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of preferred and common stockholders. The terms of debt securities or borrowings could impose significant restrictions on our operations and will increase the cost of capital due to interest payment requirements. The capital markets have in the past, and may in the future, experience periods of upheaval that could impact the availability and cost of equity and debt financing. In addition, recent and anticipated future increases in federal fund rates set by the Federal Reserve, which serve as a benchmark for rates on borrowing, will impact the cost of debt financing.
If we are unable to obtain adequate capital resources to fund operations, we would not be able to continue to operate our business pursuant to our current business plan, which would require us to modify our operations to reduce spending to a sustainable level by, among other things, delaying, scaling back or eliminating some or all of our ongoing or planned investments in corporate infrastructure, business development, sales and marketing, research and development and other activities, which could have a material adverse impact on our operations and our ability to increase revenues, or we may be forced to discontinue our operations entirely.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain compliance with the continued listing standards of Nasdaq.
Our Class A common stock and warrants are listed on Nasdaq. As a result of our failure to timely file certain 2021 Quarterly Reports, our Annual Report on Form
10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2021, and our Quarterly Report for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, we were not in compliance with Nasdaq listing rules. All 14
of these filings were completed in June 2022, and we are now in compliance with the Nasdaq listing rules. Although we regained such compliance on June 30, 2022, there is no guarantee that we will be able to maintain such compliance or that our securities will remain listed on Nasdaq in the future. If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on our exchange for failure to meet the listing standards and we are not able to list such securities on another national securities exchange, our securities could be quoted on an market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences including, along with our stockholders:
over-the-counter
| • | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| • | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| • | a determination that our Class A common stock is a “penny stock,” which will require brokers trading our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules, possibly resulting in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for shares of our Class A common stock; |
| • | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| • | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our Class A common stock and warrants are listed on Nasdaq, our Class A common stock and warrants qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. If we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
Our failure to prepare and timely file our periodic reports with the SEC limits our access to the public markets to raise debt or equity capital.
We did not file our Annual Report on Form
10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2021, as well as certain Quarterly Reports, within the timeframe required by the SEC; thus, we have not remained current in our reporting requirements with the SEC. Although we have since regained status as a current filer given that such reports have now been filed, we are not currently eligible to use a registration statement on Form S-3
that would allow us to continuously incorporate by reference our SEC reports into the registration statement, or to use “shelf” registration statements to conduct offerings, until approximately one year from the date we regained and maintain status as a current filer. To pursue an offering now, we are required to conduct the offering on an exempt basis, such as in accordance with Rule 144A, or file a registration statement on Form S-1.
Using a Form S-1
registration statement for a public offering would likely take significantly longer than using a registration statement on Form S-3
and increase our transaction costs, and could, to the extent we are not able to conduct offerings using alternative methods, adversely impact our ability to raise capital or complete acquisitions of other companies in a timely manner. Risks Related to the Investigation, Restatement, and Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
We have restated our consolidated financial statements for prior annual and interim periods, which has affected and may continue to affect investor confidence, our stock price, our ability to raise capital in the future, our reputation with our customers, and our ability to timely file our periodic reports with the SEC
which may result in additional stockholder litigation and may reduce customer confidence in our ability to complete new contract opportunities.
This prospectus includes restated consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2020, and for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, that correct misstatements associated with our warranty-related obligations discovered in connection with the independent investigation initiated by our Audit Committee
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concerning the adequacy of our previously presented warranty-related obligations (the “Investigation”), which has since been completed, as well as other immaterial misstatements. The associated restatement of certain financial information (the “Restatement”) is described in more detail elsewhere in this prospectus (see Note 2 of the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” included elsewhere in this prospectus). Such restatement:
| • | has had and may continue to have the effect of eroding investor confidence in us and our financial reporting and accounting practices and processes; |
| • | has resulted in failure to timely file our periodic reports with the SEC; |
| • | has negatively impacted and may continue to negatively impact the trading price of our common stock; |
| • | has resulted in stockholder litigation and may result in additional litigation; |
| • | may make it more difficult, expensive and time consuming for us to raise capital on acceptable terms, or at all; |
| • | may make it more difficult for us to pursue transactions or implement business strategies that might otherwise be beneficial to our business; |
| • | may negatively impact our reputation with our customers; |
| • | has limited and may continue to limit our ability to bid for new projects and ultimately secure sales; and |
| • | may cause customers to place new orders with other companies instead of with us. |
We have identified deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting resulting in material weaknesses and the conclusion that our internal control over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2021 and June 30, 2022. If we fail to properly remediate these or any future material weaknesses or deficiencies or to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, further material misstatements in our financial statements could occur and impair our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements, which could cause current and potential stockholders to lose confidence in our financial reporting, which in turn could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, and have concluded that our internal control over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2021 and June 30, 2022. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
Prior to March 8, 2021, we operated as a privately held company and were not required to comply with many corporate governance and financial reporting practices and policies required of a publicly traded company. Specifically, following the Business Combination, we became subject to the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
In connection with the preparation of our financial statements as of December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, and for the years then ended, we identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, which were unremediated as of December 31, 2020, and remain unremediated as of December 31, 2021 and June 30, 2022, as follows:
| • | We did not design or maintain an effective internal control environment that meets our accounting and reporting requirements. Specifically, we did not have a sufficient complement of personnel with an appropriate degree of accounting knowledge and experience to appropriately analyze, record and disclose accounting matters commensurate with our accounting and reporting requirements and lacked |
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| related internal controls necessary to satisfy our accounting and financial reporting requirements. This material weakness contributed to the following additional material weaknesses: |
| • | We did not design or maintain effective controls in response to the risks of material misstatement, including designing and maintaining formal accounting policies, procedures, and controls over significant accounts and disclosures to achieve complete, accurate and timely financial accounting, reporting and disclosures, including with respect to revenue and receivables, inventory, and period-end financial reporting. |
| • | We did not design or maintain effective controls over information technology (“IT”) general controls for information systems that are relevant to the preparation of our financial statements. Specifically, we did not design or maintain: (i) program change management controls for financial systems relevant to our financial reporting to ensure that information technology program and data changes affecting financial IT applications and underlying accounting records are identified, tested, authorized and implemented appropriately; (ii) user access controls to ensure appropriate segregation of duties and that adequately restrict user and privileged access to financial applications, programs, and data to appropriate personnel; (iii) computer operations controls to ensure critical data interfaces between systems are appropriately identified and monitored, data backups are authorized and monitored, and restorations are tested; and (iv) testing and approval controls for program development to ensure that new software development is aligned with business and IT requirements. |
During 2021, in connection with the Investigation, our Audit Committee concluded, with concurrence of management, that there are additional deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that constituted additional material weaknesses, which remain unremediated as of December 31, 2021 and June 30, 2022, as follows:
| • | We identified an additional material weakness exists in our control environment related to failure to demonstrate a commitment to integrity and ethical values, as well as an additional material weakness related to warranty-related obligations. |
Additionally, during 2021, and in connection with the preparation of our financial statements as of December 31, 2021, and for the year then ended, we identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, which remain unremediated as of December 31, 2021 and June 30, 2022, including: revenue recognized under the new Smart Building Platform offering; stock-based compensation; property, plant and equipment; equity and derivative liabilities; and leasing arrangements.
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The material weaknesses in our control environment, in our response to the risks of material misstatement, and in our warranty-related obligations process resulted in the need to restate our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the unaudited quarterly financial information for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, and the unaudited quarterly financial information for each of the quarters in the year ended December 31, 2020. The other material weaknesses, with the exception of the IT deficiencies, resulted in adjustments to substantially all of our accounts and disclosures for the interim and annual periods related to 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. The IT deficiencies did not result in an adjustment to the financial statements; however, the deficiencies, when aggregated, could impact maintaining effective segregation of duties, as well as the effectiveness of
IT-dependent
controls (such as automated controls that address the risk of material misstatement to one or more assertions, along with the IT controls and underlying data that support the effectiveness of system-generated data and reports) that could result in misstatements potentially impacting all financial statement accounts and disclosures that would not be prevented or detected. Additionally, each of these material weaknesses could result in a misstatement of substantially all of our account balances or disclosures that would result in a material misstatement to the annual consolidated or interim condensed consolidated financial statements that would not be prevented or detected. Although we plan to complete this remediation process as quickly as possible, we cannot at this time estimate how long it will take, and our remediation measures may not prove to be successful in remediating these material weaknesses. If our remedial measures are insufficient to address the material weaknesses, or if additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting are discovered or occur in the future, our consolidated financial statements may contain material misstatements and we may be required to restate our financial results. In addition, if we are unable to successfully remediate these material weaknesses and produce accurate and timely consolidated financial statements, our stock price, liquidity and access to the capital markets may be adversely affected and we may be unable to maintain compliance with applicable stock exchange listing requirements and debt covenant requirements. Further, because of our inherent limitations, even our remediated and effective internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect all material misstatements. Additionally, our projection or the result of any evaluation of effectiveness of these measures in future periods remain subject to the risk that our internal controls and procedures may become inadequate because of changes in our business condition, changes in accounting rules and regulations, or to the degree our compliance with our internal policies or procedures may deteriorate.
We are involved in, and may in the future be subject to, litigation and regulatory examinations, investigations, proceedings or orders as a result of or relating to our Restatement and our failure to timely file our Annual and Quarterly Reports with the SEC; if any of these are resolved adversely against us, it could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are exposed to potential liabilities and reputational risk associated with litigation, regulatory proceedings and government enforcement actions. As a result of the Investigation and our failure to timely file our Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2021, and our Quarterly Reports for the quarters ended June 30 and September 30, 2021, as well as our Quarterly Report for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, we are currently the subject of securities class action litigation and an ongoing investigation by the SEC (the “SEC Investigation”). See “—” for information about these and other current and potential legal proceedings involving the Company.
Legal Proceedings
The Restatement and our failure to timely file our Annual and Quarterly Reports with the SEC, as well as our reported material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting, may subject us to additional litigation and regulatory examinations, investigations, proceedings or orders, including a cease and desist order, the suspension of trading of our securities, delisting of our securities, the assessment of civil monetary penalties, and other equitable remedies. Our management has devoted and may be required to devote significant time and attention to these matters. If any of these matters are resolved adversely against us, it could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, while we cannot estimate our potential exposure to these matters at this time, we have already expended significant resources investigating the underlying claims
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and addressing these matters and expect to continue to need to expend significant resources to conclude these matters. Our insurance policies coverage may not be sufficient to compensate for all potential liability. Although we maintain applicable insurance, we cannot be certain that our insurance coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred or that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all.
We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant expenses related to the Investigation, Restatement and remediation of deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, and any resulting litigation.
We have devoted substantial internal and external resources towards the Investigation and the Restatement, and expect to continue to devote substantial such resources towards the implementation of enhanced procedures and controls over deficiencies that resulted in the Restatement and the remediation of other deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. Because of these efforts, we have incurred and expect that we will continue to incur significant fees and expenses for legal, accounting, financial and other consulting and professional services, as well as the implementation and maintenance of systems and processes that will need to be updated, supplemented or replaced. We have taken a number of remediation efforts in response to the Investigation. However, there can be no assurance that these steps will be successful. To the extent these steps are unsuccessful or incomplete, or we identify additional problems requiring remediation, we may be required to incur significant additional time and expense. The incurrence of significant additional expense or the requirement that management devotes substantial time that could reduce the time available to execute on our business strategies, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Investigation, the findings thereof and the Restatement process, have diverted, and may continue to divert, management and other human resources from the operation of our business.
The absence of timely and accurate financial information has hindered and may in the future hinder our ability to effectively manage our business. The Investigation, the findings thereof and process of the Restatement have diverted, and may continue to divert, management and other human resources from the operation of our business. The Board of Directors, members of management, and our accounting, legal, administrative and other staff and outside consultants have spent significant time on the Investigation, the findings thereof and the process of the Restatement, and will likely spend significant time on remediation of disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over our financial reporting. These resources have been, and will likely continue to be, diverted from the strategic and management of our business and may have an adverse effect on our ability to accomplish our strategic objectives, our results of operations and financial condition.
day-to-day
Risk Factors Relating to Our Business and Industry
Our limited operating history and history of financial losses make evaluating our business and future prospects difficult, and may increase the risk of your investment.
You must consider the risks and difficulties we face as an early-stage company with a limited operating history. If we do not successfully address these risks, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition may be materially and adversely harmed. We have devoted substantially all of our efforts towards the manufacturing, sale and further development of our product platforms, and marketing of both custom and standardized product solutions. In the course of our activities, we have not achieved profitable operations or positive cash flows from operations. We incurred a net loss of $165.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022, as well as a net loss of $343.0 million, $249.7 million, and $312.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. We believe that we will continue to incur substantial losses until we achieve production volumes necessary to support profitability, assuming such volumes can then be sustained. There can be no assurance when we will achieve positive cash flows from operations, if at all.
The amount of our future losses is uncertain and our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly or may fall below the expectations of investors as we, among other things, continue to incur significant expenses
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in connection with the design, development and manufacturing of our products, expansion of our research and development activities, investment in manufacturing capabilities,
build-up
of inventories of components for our products, increase in our sales and marketing activities, development of our distribution infrastructure and increase in our general and administrative functions to support our growing operations. We may find that these efforts are more expensive than we currently anticipate or that these efforts may not result in a sufficient increase in revenue, which would lead to even greater losses. Our future growth and success is dependent upon the real estate industry’s willingness to adopt our products, including View Smart Glass.
Our growth is highly dependent upon the adoption of smart glass by the real estate industry. Although we anticipate growing demand for our products, there is no guarantee of such future demand, or that our products will remain competitive in the market. If the market for smart glass in general and our products in particular do not develop as we expect, or develop more slowly than we expect, or if demand for our products decreases in our markets, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be harmed. The market for our products could be affected by numerous factors, such as:
| • | perceptions about smart glass features, quality, safety, performance and cost; |
| • | competition, including from other types of smart glass or traditional glass; |
| • | the cost premium of smart glass in contrast to traditional glass; |
| • | government regulations and economic incentives; |
| • | reduced construction activity, including as a result of the short and long-term effect of COVID-19; and |
| • | concerns about our current liquidity and future viability. |
Our revenue and backlog may not be adequate or grow sufficiently, and that backlog may not convert into future sales.
We cannot provide assurances that our business will grow. For instance, bookings and design win backlogs may not materialize into future sales as expected, as building projects may be canceled or change our product plans due to the time-sensitive nature of the construction of commercial buildings, which is often delayed by unforeseen events, or terminated completely. If our future demand does not reach anticipated levels, our second production line may not be required and could result in an impairment of long-lived assets or loss in capital investment to date. Further, even if our backlog can be sustained and there is conversion into future sales, we may not be able to produce and deliver the products at sufficient operating profit, or at all.
Our new products and services may not be successful.
We launched our first smart glass products and services in 2012. Since that time, we have launched a number of other offerings, and we anticipate launching additional products and services in the future. Existing and new products and services we may launch in the future may not be well received by our business customers, may not help us to generate new business customers, may adversely affect the attrition rate of existing business customers, may increase our business customer acquisition costs and may increase the costs to service our business customers. Any profits we may generate from these or other new products or services may be lower than profits generated from our other products and services and may not be sufficient for us to recoup our development or business customer acquisition costs incurred. New products and services may also have lower gross margins, particularly to the extent that they do not fully utilize our existing infrastructure. In addition, new products and services may require increased operational expenses or business customer acquisition costs and present new and difficult technological and intellectual property challenges that may subject us to claims or complaints if business customers experience service disruptions or failures or other quality issues. To the extent our new products and services are not successful, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
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Our financial results may vary significantly from due to fluctuations in our operating costs, revenue and other factors.
period-to-period
We expect our financial results to vary based on our operating costs and revenue, which we anticipate will fluctuate as the pace at which we continue to design, develop and manufacture new products and possibly increase production capacity by expanding our current manufacturing facility and adding future facilities, and, ultimately, upon market acceptance of our products. Additionally, our revenue from may fluctuate as we introduce existing products to new markets for the first time and as we develop and introduce new products. As a result of these factors, we believe that comparisons of our financial results, especially in the short term, are not necessarily meaningful and that these comparisons cannot be relied upon as indicators of future performance. Moreover, our financial results may not meet expectations of equity research analysts, ratings agencies or investors, who may be focused on quarterly financial results.
period-to-period
period-to-period
quarter-to-quarter
Our use of the input method of revenue recognition requires that we estimate costs to be incurred under long-term contracts. Changes in estimates could result in a reduction of previously recorded revenue or additional losses.
cost-to-cost
During the six months ended June 30, 2022 and the year ended December 31, 2021, approximately 55% and 39%, respectively, of our revenues were associated with Smart Building Platform contracts, for which we account for using the input method of revenue recognition, which requires that revenue be recognized ratably over the life of the contract based on the proportion of costs incurred to date to total costs expected to be incurred for the entire project. The effects of revisions to revenue and estimated costs, as well as the impact of change orders, are recorded when the amounts are known and can be reasonably estimated. Such revisions could occur in any period and their effects could be material. The uncertainties inherent in the estimating process make it possible for actual costs to vary materially from initial and updated estimates.
cost-to-cost
Our operating and financial results forecast relies in large part upon assumptions and analyses developed by us. If these assumptions or analyses prove to be incorrect, our actual operating results may be materially different from our forecasted results.
The projected financial and operating information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus reflect current estimates of future performance. Whether actual operating and financial results and business developments will be consistent with our expectations and assumptions as reflected in our forecasts depends on a number of factors, many of which are outside our control, including, but not limited to:
| • | market acceptance of our products; |
| • | success and timing of development activity; |
| • | competition, including from established and future competitors; |
| • | our ability to manage our growth; |
| • | our ability to satisfy the manufacturing and production demands associated with customer orders; |
| • | whether we can manage relationships with key suppliers; |
| • | our ability to retain existing key management, integrate recent hires and attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; and |
| • | the overall strength and stability of domestic and international economies. |
Unfavorable changes in any of these or other factors, most of which are beyond our control, could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial results.
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We may not be able to accurately estimate the future supply and demand for our products, which could result in a variety of inefficiencies in our business and hinder our ability to generate revenue. If we fail to accurately predict our manufacturing requirements, we could incur additional costs or experience delays.
It is difficult to predict our future revenue and appropriately budget for our expenses, and we may have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our business. We anticipate being required to provide forecasts of our demand to our current and future suppliers prior to the scheduled delivery of products to potential business customers. Currently, there is insufficient historical basis for making judgments on the demand for our products or our ability to develop, manufacture, and deliver products, or our profitability in the future. If we overestimate our requirements, our suppliers may have excess inventory, which indirectly would increase our costs. If we underestimates our requirements, our suppliers may have inadequate inventory, which could interrupt manufacturing of our products and result in delays in shipments and revenue. In addition, lead times for materials and components that our suppliers order may vary significantly and depend on factors such as the specific supplier, contract terms and demand for each component at a given time. If we fail to order sufficient quantities of product components in a timely manner, the delivery of our products to our potential business customers could be delayed, which would harm our business, financial condition and operating results.
Disruption of supply or shortage of materials, in particular for glass and semiconductor chips, could harm our business.
Our business is dependent on the continued supply of certain materials, including glass and semiconductor chips for use in our products, and we may experience a sustained interruption in the supply or shortage of such materials. Any such supply interruption or shortage could materially and negatively impact our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. The available supply may be unstable, depending on market conditions and global demand for these materials and could adversely affect our business and operating results.
Increases in cost of materials, including glass and semiconductor chips, could harm our business.
Certain materials necessary to produce our products, including glass and semiconductor chips, are sourced from a limited number of suppliers. Any disruption in the supply of materials from such suppliers could disrupt production of our products until such time as a different supplier is fully qualified. As a result, we may experience an increase in costs or inability to meet customer demand. Furthermore, shortages or increased demand of such materials and other economic conditions may cause us to experience significant increases in freight charges and the cost of materials. Substantial increases in the prices for our materials or prices charged to us would increase our operating costs and could further reduce our margins if we cannot recoup the increased costs through increased product prices. Any attempts to increase product prices in response to increased material costs could result in cancellations of product orders and reservations and therefore materially and adversely affect our brand, image, business, prospects and operating results.
We have yet to achieve positive operating cash flow and there can be no assurance that we will be able to generate positive cash flow from operations in the future.
We had negative cash flow from operating activities of $153.2 million in the six months ending June 30, 2022, as well as negative cash flow from operating activities of $261.3 million, $165.7 million, and $234.0 million in the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. We anticipate that we will have negative cash flow from operating and investing activities for the foreseeable future as we scale our business. Our business also will at times require significant amounts of working capital to support our growth, particularly as we acquire inventory to support our anticipated increase in production. An inability to generate positive cash flow for the foreseeable future may adversely affect our ability to raise needed capital for our business on reasonable terms, diminish supplier or customer willingness to enter into transactions with us, and have other adverse effects that would decrease our long-term viability. There can be no assurance we will achieve positive cash flow in the foreseeable future.
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Any significant disruption to our sole manufacturing production line or the failure of our facility to operate according to our expectation could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
We currently manufacture our smart glass product on a single production line. While significant investment has been made, our second production line is currently incapable of producing our products and will require further capital investment to become operational. Any stoppages, malfunction, or destruction of our operational line could adversely affect our ability to meet customer demand, manufacture our products at cost and/or ramp production. In addition, we may experience delays in realizing our cost targets in the event that there is an increase in the cost of maintenance of the equipment, machinery and facility used in production.
Operational problems with our manufacturing equipment could result in the personal injury to or death of workers, the loss of production equipment, damage to manufacturing facilities, monetary losses, delays and unanticipated fluctuations in production. Safety incidents could damage machinery or products, slow or stop production, or harm employees. In addition, operational problems may result in environmental damage, administrative fines, increased insurance costs and potential legal liabilities. All of these operational problems could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition or prospects.
Our corporate headquarters and production facility are located in seismically active regions. If major disasters such as earthquakes, fires or other events occur, or our information system or communications network breaks down or operates improperly, our headquarters and production facility may be seriously damaged, or we may have to stop or delay production and shipment of our products. We may incur expenses relating to such damages, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Any issues or delays in meeting our projected manufacturing cost improvements and increased production capacity could adversely impact our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.
Future events could result in issues or delays in further ramping our products and expanding production output at our existing and future production lines. In order to achieve our volume and the anticipated ramp in production of our products, we must continue to sustain and ramp significant production at our sole, existing production line. We are investing additional capital with respect to facility automation and completion of the second production line. If we are unable to maintain production at our Olive Branch facility, ramp output additionally over time as needed through the second production line, and do so cost-effectively, or if we are unable to attract, hire and retain a substantial number of highly skilled personnel, ours ability to supply our products could be negatively impacted, which could negatively affect our brand and harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
The timeframe for the completion of construction of our second production line is subject to a number of uncertainties, including regulatory licenses, supply chain constraints, hiring and retention of qualified employees, labor delays and competition for workers. Moreover, our second production line will require significant investments of cash and management resources. If we experience any issues or delays in meeting our projected timelines, costs, capital efficiency and production capacity for this second production line, or in securing and complying with the terms of financing that we intend will largely fund our construction, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely impacted.
COVID-19
and other public health crises could materially impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations. The
COVID-19
pandemic has impacted health and economic conditions throughout the United States, including the construction industry. In response to the global COVID-19
pandemic, we implemented a number of precautionary and other measures to promote business continuity. These measures have been comprehensive and included initiatives regarding employee health and safety, working conditions (including remote working), 23
engagements with business customers and suppliers, financial management, operational efficiency, internal and external communications, government relations and community outreach. While we believe that all of these measures have been necessary or appropriate, they have resulted in additional costs and may adversely impact our business and financial performance in the future or expose us to additional unknown risks.
The extent to which the pandemic could impact us continues to be highly uncertain and cannot be predicted and will depend largely on subsequent developments, including the severity and duration of the pandemic, measures taken by federal, state and local governments to contain the spread of the virus, such as restrictions on travel and gatherings of people and temporary closures of or limitations on businesses and other commercial activities, and policies implemented by governmental authorities to ease restrictions in a phased manner.
Although it is not possible to predict the ultimate impact of
COVID-19,
including on our business, we may be subject to significant risks, which have the potential to materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations, including the following: | • | reduced or delayed demand for our products in the markets that we serves around the world; |
| • | potential long-term effects on employer work-from-home policies and therefore demand for office space; |
| • | increased credit risk, including increased failure by business customers experiencing business disruptions to make timely payments; |
| • | a negative impact on our liquidity position, as well as increased costs and decreased ability to access funds under our existing or future credit facilities and the capital markets; |
| • | long-term tightening of the supply of capital in global financial markets (including, in the United States, a reduction in total tax equity availability), which could make it difficult for purchasers of our products or our development projects to secure the debt or equity capital necessary to finance our operations, thereby delaying or reducing demand for our products; |
| • | reduced availability and productivity of employees and third-party partner personnel; |
| • | recommendations or orders of governmental authorities that require us to curtail or cease business operations or activities, including manufacturing; |
| • | costs associated with production curtailments that are driven by governmental actions, business customer demand or other causes related to COVID-19; |
| • | increased operational risks resulting from changes to operations and remote work arrangements, including the potential effects on internal controls and procedures, cybersecurity risks and increased vulnerability to security breaches, information technology disruptions and other similar events; |
| • | failure of our suppliers or vendors to supply materials or equipment, or the failure of our vendors to install, repair, or replace our specialized equipment, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, related containment measures, or limitations on logistics providers’ ability to operate, may idle, slowdown, shutdown, or otherwise cause us to adjust our manufacturing capacity; |
| • | higher costs in certain areas such as transportation and distribution, as well as incremental costs associated with health screenings, temperature checks and enhanced cleaning and sanitation protocols to protect our employees and others; |
| • | delays and disruptions in the availability and timely delivery of materials and equipment used in our operations, as well as increased costs for such materials and equipment; |
| • | delays in the performance by third parties of activities related to the development of projects, such as engineering, procurement, construction, and other activities; |
| • | delays in obtaining, or failing to obtain, the approvals or rights that are required for our development projects to proceed, such as permitting, interconnection, or land usage approvals or rights; |
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| • | government-imposed travel or visa restrictions that may prevent personnel employed by us or our vendors from traveling to our sites to work on key projects, which may delay our progress; |
| • | any further impairment in the value of tangible or intangible assets that could be recorded as a result of weaker or more volatile economic conditions; and |
| • | administrative proceedings, litigation or regulatory compliance matters. |
With respect to the United States credit markets (in particular for middle market loans), the
COVID-19
outbreak has resulted in, and until fully resolved is likely to continue to result in, the following, among other things: (i) increased draws by borrowers on revolving lines of credit; (ii) increased requests by borrowers for amendments and waivers of their credit agreements to avoid default, increased defaults by such borrowers and/or increased difficulty in obtaining refinancing at the maturity dates of their loans; (iii) volatility and disruption of these markets including greater volatility in pricing and spreads and difficulty in valuing loans during periods of increased volatility, and liquidity issues; and (iv) rapidly evolving proposals and/or actions by state and federal governments to address problems being experienced by the markets and by businesses and the economy in general which will not necessarily adequately address the problems facing the loan market and middle market businesses. This outbreak is having, and any future outbreaks could have, an adverse impact on the markets and the economy in general, which could have a material adverse impact on, among other things, the ability of lenders to originate loans, the volume and type of loans originated, and the volume and type of amendments and waivers granted to borrowers and remedial actions taken in the event of a borrower default, each of which could negatively impact the amount and quality of loans available for investment by View and returns to us and our subsidiary, View Smart Building Technology, Inc. (“View Canada”), among other things. The financial and economic market uncertainty could have a significant adverse impact on us and the fair value of our investments. These potential impacts, while uncertain, could adversely affect View Canada’s operating results. If the economy is unable to substantially reopen, and high levels of unemployment continue for an extended period of time, loan delinquencies, loan
non-accruals,
problem assets, and bankruptcies may increase. In addition, collateral for our loans may decline in value, which could cause loan losses to increase, and the net worth and liquidity of loan guarantors could decline, impairing their ability to honor commitments to us. An increase in loan delinquencies and
non-accruals
or a decrease in loan collateral and guarantor net worth could result in increased costs and reduced income which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We will also be negatively affected if our operations and effectiveness or the operations and effectiveness of View Canada (or any of the key personnel or service providers of the foregoing) is compromised or if necessary or beneficial systems and processes are disrupted.
If current global market conditions continue or worsen, or if we cannot or do not maintain operations at a scope that is commensurate with such conditions or are later required to or choose to suspend such operations again, our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results could be materially harmed.
Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The global economy has been negatively impacted by the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Furthermore, governments in the U.S., United Kingdom, and European Union have each imposed export controls on certain products and financial and economic sanctions on certain industry sectors and parties in Russia. Shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw material, as well as uncertainty on overall consumer sentiment are some of the negative impacts of the Russia-Ukraine military conflict on the global economy. Further escalation of geopolitical tensions related to the military conflict, including increased trade barriers or restrictions on global trade, could result in, among other things, cyberattacks, supply disruptions,
25
lower consumer demand, and changes to foreign exchange rates and financial markets, any of which may adversely affect our business. In addition, the effects of the ongoing conflict could heighten many of our known risks described in this prospectus.
Risk Factors Relating to Suppliers and Third Parties
While we obtain components from multiple sources whenever possible, there are important components used in our products that are purchased from single source suppliers. Delivery of necessary components of our products by these and other suppliers according to our schedule and at prices, quality levels and volumes acceptable to us, or our inability to efficiently manage these components, could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results.
Our products contain numerous purchased parts that we source from multiple direct suppliers. We attempt to mitigate our supply chain risk by entering into long-term agreements where it is practical and beneficial to do so. We also minimize our risk when we can qualify and obtain components from multiple sources, which we purchase from a variety of suppliers. However, any significant increases in our production may require us to procure additional components in a short amount of time, and in the past, we have also replaced certain suppliers because of their failure to provide components that met our quality control standards. While we believe that we will be able to secure additional or alternate sources of supply for most of our components in a relatively short time frame, there is no assurance that we will be able to do so or develop our own replacements for certain highly customized components of our products. If we encounter unexpected difficulties with key suppliers and if we are unable to fill these needs from other suppliers, we could experience production delays and potential loss of access to important technology and parts for producing, servicing and supporting our products.
We obtain important components of our products from single source third-party suppliers. Should any such supplier cease to manufacture the products we purchase from them or become unable to timely deliver these products in accordance with our requirements, or should such other suppliers of other components choose not to do business with us, we may be required to locate alternative suppliers in the open market. Any disruption in the supply of components or materials could temporarily disrupt research and development activities or production of our products until an alternative supplier is able to supply the required material. Replacing a supplier may require the expenditure of additional resources and time to redesign and resource these products. To the extent our suppliers experience any delays in providing or developing the necessary materials, we could experience delays in delivering on our timelines. This could result in loss of future revenue and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. Also, if components and materials were found to be defective, we might not be able to recover the costs associated with the recall, repair or replacement of such products, across our business customer base, and the diversion of personnel and other resources to address such issues could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Furthermore, unexpected changes in business conditions, materials pricing, labor issues, wars, governmental changes, currency fluctuations, trade barriers, tariffs, shortages, natural disasters and other factors beyond our and our suppliers’ control, could also affect our suppliers’ ability to deliver components to us on a timely basis or significantly increase freight charges, raw material costs and other expenses associated with our business. The loss of a supplier or the disruption in the supply of components from these suppliers could lead to delays in product deliveries to our business customers, which could hurt our relationships with our business customers and result in negative publicity, damage to our brand and a material and adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
We may also experience cost increases from our suppliers in order to meet our quality targets and development timelines as well as due to our design changes, and we may experience similar cost increases in the future. We may not be able to control fluctuation in the prices for these materials or negotiate agreement with our suppliers on terms that are beneficial to us. Substantial increases in the prices for our raw materials or components would increase our operating costs and negatively impact our prospects.
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There is no assurance that these suppliers will ultimately be able to meet our cost, quality and volume needs in a sustainable and timely manner, or at all. Furthermore, as the scale of our production increases, we will need to accurately forecast, purchase, warehouse and transport to our manufacturing facilities components at much higher volumes. If we are unable to accurately match the timing and quantities of component purchases to our actual needs, including for our different product variants, or successfully implement automation, inventory management and other systems to accommodate the increased complexity in our supply chain, we may incur unexpected production disruption, storage, transportation and
write-off
costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results. Our financial condition may impair our ability to obtain credit terms with our suppliers.
Our supply contracts and purchase orders typically provide us with payment terms of at least 30 days. However, our financial condition may make it difficult for us to continue to receive payment terms of at least 30 days or may result in one or more of our suppliers making demand for adequate assurance, which could include a demand for If we are unable to obtain reasonable payment terms or if any of our material suppliers were to successfully demand it could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity.
payment-in-advance.
payment-in-advance,
Failure by our component suppliers to use ethical business practices and comply with applicable laws and regulations may adversely affect our business
We do not control our contract manufacturers or suppliers or their business practices. Accordingly, we cannot guarantee that they follow ethical business practices such as fair wage practices and compliance with environmental, safety, and other local laws. A lack of demonstrated compliance could lead us to seek alternative manufacturers or suppliers, which could increase our costs and result in delayed delivery of our products, product shortages, or other disruptions of our operations. Violation of labor or other laws by our manufacturers or suppliers or the divergence of a supplier’s labor or other practices from those generally accepted as ethical in the United States or other markets in which we do business could also attract negative publicity for us and harm our business.
Failure of our subcontractors to satisfy their obligations to us or other parties, or the inability to maintain these relationships, may adversely impact our business operations and financial results.
We depend on subcontractors in conducting our business. There is a risk that we may have disputes with our subcontractors arising from, among other things, the quality and timeliness of work performed and customer concerns. In addition, if any of our subcontractors fail to deliver on a timely basis, go out of business, or fail to perform on a project, our ability to fulfill our obligations may be jeopardized and we may be contractually responsible for the work performed. The absence of qualified subcontractors with which we have a satisfactory relationship could adversely affect the quality of our service and our ability to perform under some of our contracts.
Risk Factors Relating to Future Performance
Our future operating and financial results are uncertain.
Prior growth rates in our revenue and other operating and our financial results should not be considered indicative of our future performance. Our future performance and operating results depend on, among other things: (i) our ability to renew and/or upgrade contracts with existing business customers and maintain business customer satisfaction with existing business customers; (ii) our ability to generate new business customers, including our ability to scale the number of new business customers generated through inside sales and other channels; (iii) our ability to increase the density of our business customer base for existing markets or continue to expand into new geographic markets; (iv) our ability to successfully develop and market new and innovative
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products and services; (v) the level of product, service and price competition; (vi) the degree of saturation in, and our ability to further penetrate, existing markets; (vii) our ability to manage growth, revenue, origination or acquisition costs of new business customers and attrition rates, the cost of servicing our existing business customers and general and administrative costs; and (viii) our ability to attract, train and retain qualified employees. If our future operating and financial results suffer as a result of any of the other reasons mentioned above, or any other reasons, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Our historical financial results may not be indicative of what our actual financial position or results of operations will be
We are a relatively new public company. Certain of our historical financial results included in this prospectus do not reflect the financial condition, results of operations or cash flows we would have achieved as a public company during the periods presented or those we will achieve in the future. Our financial condition and future results of operations could be materially different from amounts reflected in our historical financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus, so it may be difficult for investors to compare our future results to historical results or to evaluate our relative performance or trends in our business.
As a privately held company, we were not required to comply with many corporate governance and financial reporting practices and policies required of a publicly traded company. As a result of the Business Combination, we are a public company with significant operations, and as such (and particularly since we are no longer an “emerging growth company” or a “smaller reporting company”), we face increased legal, accounting, administrative and other costs and expenses as a public company that Legacy View did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including the requirements of Section 404, as well as rules and regulations implemented by the SEC, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the securities exchanges, impose additional reporting and other obligations on public companies. Compliance with public company requirements increases costs and makes certain activities more time-consuming. A number of those requirements require us to carry out activities we have not done previously. In addition, expenses associated with SEC reporting requirements have been and will be incurred. If any issues in complying with those requirements are identified (for example, if we identify a significant deficiency or additional material weaknesses in the internal control over financial reporting), we could incur additional costs to rectify those issues, and the existence of those issues could adversely affect our reputation or investor perceptions. In addition, we have purchased director and officer liability insurance, which has substantial additional premiums. Advocacy efforts by stockholders and third parties may also prompt additional changes in governance and reporting requirements, which could further increase costs. The additional reporting and other obligations associated with being a public company will increase legal and financial compliance costs and the costs of related legal, accounting and administrative activities.
If we are unable to establish and maintain confidence in our long-term business prospects among business customers, analysts and within our industries, then our financial condition, operating results, and business prospects may suffer materially.
Business customers may be less likely to purchase our products if they are not convinced that our business will succeed or that our service and support and other operations will continue in the long term. Similarly, suppliers and other third parties will be less likely to invest time and resources in developing business relationships with us if they are not convinced that our business will succeed. Accordingly, in order to build and maintain our business, we must maintain confidence among business customers, suppliers, analysts, ratings agencies and other parties in our long-term financial viability and business prospects. Maintaining such confidence may be complicated by certain factors, such as our limited operating history, negative press, business customer and supplier unfamiliarity with our products, any delays in scaling manufacturing, delivery and service operations to meet demand, competition and uncertainty regarding the future of smart glass or our other products and services, our quarterly production and sales performance compared with market expectations, and any other negative publicity related to us. Many of these factors are largely outside our control, and any negative
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perceptions about our long-term business prospects, even if exaggerated or unfounded, such as speculation regarding the sufficiency or stability of our management team, could harm our business and make it more difficult to raise additional funds if needed.
Our management has limited experience in operating a public company.
Our executive officers have limited experience in the management of a publicly traded company. Our management team may not successfully or effectively manage View as a public company that is now subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under federal securities laws. Their limited experience in dealing with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies could be a significant disadvantage in that an increasing amount of their time has been devoted to these activities, which results in less time being devoted to the management and growth of View. We may not have adequate personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience, and training in the accounting policies, practices or internal controls over financial reporting required of public companies in the United States. The development and implementation of the standards and controls necessary for us to achieve the level of accounting standards required of a public company in the United States may require costs greater than expected. It is possible that we will be required to expand our employee base and hire additional employees to support our ongoing operations as a public company, which will increase our operating costs in future periods.
We have incurred and expect to continue to incur costs and demands upon our management as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies in the United States.
As a public company listed in the United States, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant additional legal, accounting and other expenses. In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including regulations implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq may increase legal and financial compliance costs and make certain regulatory or compliance activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. We have invested, and expect to continue to invest, resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses. Certain of our executive officers also have limited experience in the management of a publicly-traded company, which could be a significant disadvantage, as an increasing amount of our time may be devoted to regulatory and oversight activities, and may result in less time being devoted to our management and growth. If, notwithstanding our efforts, we fail to comply with new laws, regulations and standards, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us, and our business may be harmed.
Failure to comply with these rules might also make it more difficult for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. The impact of these events could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, on committees of our board of directors or as members of senior management.
We may incur
non-cash
impairment charges on our goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite lives as well as other long-lived assets and intangible assets with finite lives, which would negatively impact our operating results. Goodwill represents the excess of the total purchase consideration over the fair value of the net assets acquired in a business combination. Goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite lives must be evaluated at least annually for impairment. Goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite lives must also be evaluated for impairment between the annual tests if an event or change in circumstance occurs that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of the asset below its carrying amount. Our annual impairment test for goodwill was performed as of October 1, 2021. We performed additional procedures to carry forward our conclusions through
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December 31, 2021, due to the sustained decline in our share price. No impairment of goodwill was recorded as of December 31, 2021. The Company evaluated goodwill for triggering events or other circumstances that could indicate impairment as of June 30, 2022 and no triggering events or other circumstances were identified. There was no impairment of goodwill during the three and six months ended June 30, 2022.
Impairment of goodwill may result in the future from significant changes in the manner of use of the acquired assets, negative industry or economic trends or significant underperformance relative to historical or projected operating results. An impairment of our goodwill would negatively impact our operating results.
Long-lived assets, such as property and equipment and intangible assets subject to amortization, must be reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset or asset group may not be recoverable. If such events arise, we compare the carrying amount of the asset group comprising the long-lived assets to the estimated future undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by the asset group. If the estimated aggregate undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the asset group, an impairment charge is recorded as the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds the fair value of the assets, as based on the expected discounted future cash flows attributable to those assets.
We regularly review our long-lived assets for triggering events or other circumstances that could indicate impairment. As of December 31, 2021, management considered the continued operating losses, when combined with the sustained decline in our market capitalization, to be a potential triggering event and therefore performed a quantitative impairment test of our long-lived assets as of December 31, 2021. Based on the results of this test, management concluded that the asset group was recoverable, and no impairment was recorded as of December 31, 2021. We reviewed our long-lived assets for triggering events or other circumstances that could indicate impairment as of June 30, 2022 and no triggering events or other circumstances were identified. There were no impairments of long-lived assets during the three and six months ended June 30, 2022.
If the decline in our share price is sustained or we identify other events or circumstances indicating the carrying amount of an asset or asset group may not be recoverable, this would require further testing of these assets and it may result in an impairment of such assets, which would negatively impact our operating results.
Risk Factors Relating to Growth and Expansion
We face risks associated with our national and future global operations and expansion, including unfavorable regulatory, political, economic, tax and labor conditions, and with establishing ourselves in new markets, all of which could harm our business.
We currently have domestic operations in the United States and subsidiaries in India and Canada, and we plan to continue to expand and optimize our products domestically and internationally. Accordingly, we are subject to a variety of legal, political and regulatory requirements and social and economic conditions over which we have little control. For example, we may be impacted by trade policies, political uncertainty and economic cycles involving geographic regions where we have significant operations.
We may become subject to a number of risks associated in particular with international business activities that may increase our costs, impact our ability to sell our products and require significant management attention. These risks include conforming our products to various international regulatory and safety requirements, organizing local operating entities, difficulty in establishing, staffing and managing foreign operations, challenges in attracting business customers, foreign government taxes, regulations and permit requirements, our ability to enforce our contractual rights; trade restrictions, customs regulations, tariffs and price or exchange controls, and preferences of foreign nations for domestically manufactured products.
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If we fail to scale our business operations and otherwise manage future growth and adapt to new conditions effectively as we rapidly grow, including internationally, we may not be able to produce, market, sell and service our products successfully.
Any failure to manage our growth effectively could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. Our future operating results depend to a large extent on our ability to manage our expansion and growth successfully and to correctly forecast demand for our products in different markets, including with respect to reduced demand for commercial real estate resulting from the
COVID-19
pandemic. We may not be successful in undertaking this expansion if we are unable to control expenses and avoid cost overruns and other unexpected operating costs, establish sufficient nationwide and international service in a timely manner, adapt our products and conduct our operations to meet local requirements, implement required local infrastructure, systems and processes, and find and hire a significant number of additional manufacturing, engineering, service, construction and administrative personnel. As of June 30, 2022, we have invested over $400 million in capital expenditures primarily in our factory. We currently operate one production line in our facility with a name-plate capacity of approximately 5 million square feet of smart glass per year. In addition, we have partially completed the construction of a second production line at our Olive Branch facility. If we are unable to sufficiently manage our expansion and growth successfully to increase demand sufficiently to require the use of the second production line, we could result in impairment of the related property and equipment.
Risk Factors Relating to Markets and Competition
The markets in which we operate are highly competitive, and we may not be successful in competing in these industries. We currently face competition from new and established national and international competitors and expect to face competition from others in the future, including competition from companies with new technology and greater financial resources.
The smart glass market is highly competitive today and we expect it will become even more so in the future. There is no assurance that our products will be successful in the respective markets in which they compete. Our current and potential competitors could, in the future, have significantly greater financial, technical, manufacturing, marketing, product sales resources and networks than we do and may be able to devote greater resources to the design, development, manufacturing, distribution, promotion, sale and support of their products. These competitors also may have greater access to business customers and may be able to establish cooperative or strategic relationships amongst themselves or with third parties that may further enhance their resources and competitive positioning. In addition, smart glass manufacturers may continue to reduce cost and expand supply of conventional glass and therefore reduce the prospects for our business or negatively impact the ability for us to sell our products at a market-competitive price and yet at sufficient margins. Increased competition could result in lower smart glass unit sales, price reductions, revenue shortfalls, loss of business customers and loss of market share, which could harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
Developments in alternative smart glass or improvements in smart glass technology made by competitors may materially adversely affect the sales, pricing and gross margins of View Smart Glass. If a competing technology is developed that has superior operational or price performance, our business may be harmed. Similarly, if we fail to accurately predict and ensure that our smart glass technology can address business customers’ changing needs or emerging technological trends, or if our business customers fail to achieve the benefits expected from View Smart Glass products, our business may be harmed.
We must continue to commit significant resources, including financial resources we will need to raise from third party sources, to develop our smart glass technology in order to establish a competitive position, and these commitments will be made without knowing whether such investments will result in products potential business customers will accept. There is no assurance we will successfully raise additional capital, identify new consumer requirements, develop and bring our smart glass to market on a timely basis, or that products and technologies
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developed by others will not render View Smart Glass obsolete or noncompetitive, any of which would adversely affect our business and operating results.
If we are unable to attract and/or retain key employees and hire qualified personnel, our ability to compete could be harmed.
Our success depends on our ability to attract and retain our executive officers and key technology, sales, marketing, research and development, engineering, manufacturing and support personnel, and our operations may be severely disrupted if we lost their services. As we build our brand and become more well known, there is increased risk that competitors or other companies will seek to hire our personnel. None of our employees are bound by a
non-competition
agreement. The failure to attract, integrate, train, motivate and retain these personnel could seriously harm our business and prospects. The loss of the services of any of our key employees or executive officers could disrupt our operations, delay the development and introduction of our products and services, and negatively impact our business, prospects and operating results. In addition, we are highly dependent on the services of Rao Mulpuri, our Chief Executive Officer, and other senior technical and management personnel, including our executive officers, who would be difficult to replace. If Dr. Mulpuri or other key personnel were to depart, we may not be able to successfully attract and retain senior leadership necessary to grow our business.
Furthermore, replacing executive officers and key employees may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to successfully develop, sell and service our products. Competition to hire from this limited pool is intense, and we may be unable to hire, train, retain or motivate these key personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous smart glass companies for similar personnel.
Although we have employment agreements with our key employees, these employment agreements provide for
at-will
employment, which means that any of our employees could leave our employment at any time, with or without notice. Our continued success depends upon our continued ability to hire new employees in a timely manner, especially to support our high-volume manufacture of products and expansion plans, and to retain current employees or replace departed senior employees with qualified and experienced individuals, which is typically a time-consuming process, and any failure or delay in doing so could adversely impact our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. Key talent may leave us due to various factors, such as a competitive labor market for talented individuals with business or technology experience, or negative publicity related to View. This competition affects both our ability to retain key employees and hire new ones. Moreover, we have in the past conducted reductions in force in order to optimize our organizational structure and reduce costs, and certain senior personnel have also departed for various reasons. Additionally, we compete with both mature and prosperous companies that have far greater financial resources than we do and
start-ups
and emerging companies that promise short-term growth opportunities. Difficulties in retaining current employees or recruiting new ones could have an adverse effect on our performance and results. Risk Factors Relating to Supply, Demand and Production
We may be unable to meet our growing production demand, product sales, delivery plans and servicing needs, or accurately project and manage this growth nationwide or internationally, which could harm our business and prospects.
We may experience delays or other complications in the design, manufacture, launch, and production ramp of our products, including View Smart Glass or may not realize our manufacturing cost targets, which could harm our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. Our manufacturing facility may
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require significant cash investments and management resources for these plans, and we may not meet our expectations with respect to additional sales of our products. In addition, we may introduce new manufacturing technologies, techniques and processes. There is no guarantee that we will be able to successfully and timely introduce and scale any such new processes or features.
Our production plans for our products are based on many key assumptions, including:
| • | Ability to raise additional capital; |
| • | Ability to utilize manufacturing capacity to achieve the planned production yield. We assume that we will be able to sustain and further expand our high-volume production and our products at the Olive Branch facility, including with the introduction of new product features, without exceeding our projected costs and on our projected timeline; |
| • | Ability to maintain our desired quality levels and optimize design and production changes. We assume that the equipment and processes which we have selected for production will be able to accurately manufacture high volumes of the different variants of our products within specified design tolerances and with high quality; |
| • | Suppliers’ ability to support our needs. We assume that we will be able to maintain suppliers for the necessary components on terms and conditions that are acceptable to us and that we will be able to obtain high-quality components on a timely basis and in the necessary quantities to support high-volume production; and |
| • | Ability to hire and retain skilled employees. We assume that we will be able to attract, recruit, hire, train and retain skilled employees to operate our planned high-volume production facilities to support our products, including at the Olive Branch facility. |
If one or more of the foregoing assumptions turns out to be incorrect, our ability to meet our projections, including for production, on time and at volumes and prices that are profitable, the demand for and deliveries of our products, as well as our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition, may be materially and adversely impacted.
Concurrent with developing, launching and ramping our products, our success will depend on our ability to continue to significantly increase our sales, deliveries, and servicing, while allocating our available resources among multiple products simultaneously. We are the sole servicer of our products, providing internet connectivity of products and servicing warranty. Although we have a plan for selling and delivering increased volumes of our products, we have limited experience developing, manufacturing, selling, servicing and allocating our available resources at the scale to which we expect to grow. If we are unable to realize our plans, our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be materially damaged.
We continuously evaluate, and as appropriate evolve, our operations and product offerings in order to maximize our reach and optimize our costs. However, there is no guarantee that each step in our evolving strategy will be perceived as intended by developers, tenants, and the construction industry. Likewise, as we develop and grow our products and services in North America, and possibly worldwide, our success will depend on our ability to correctly forecast demand in different markets.
We may also face difficulties meeting our sales and delivery goals in both existing markets as well as new markets into which we expand. There is no assurance that we will be able to ramp our business to meet our sales and delivery targets in North America or even globally, or that our projections on which such targets are based will prove accurate. This ongoing expansion in North America and potentially internationally, which includes planned entry into markets in which we have limited or no experience selling, delivering, and servicing our products at scale, and which may pose legal, regulatory, labor, cultural and political challenges that we have not previously encountered, may not have the desired effect of increasing sales and expanding our brand presence to
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the degree we are anticipating. Moreover, we may not be successful in managing our national and future international operations if we are unable to avoid cost overruns and other unexpected operating costs, adapt our products and conduct our operations to meet local requirements and regulations, implement required local infrastructure, systems and processes, and find and hire as needed additional sales, service, construction and administrative personnel. If we fail to manage our growth effectively, we could result in negative publicity and damage to our brand and have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
We rely on complex machinery for our operations, and production involves a significant degree of risk and uncertainty in terms of operational performance and costs.
We rely heavily on complex machinery for our operations and production of our products. Such machinery suffers unexpected malfunctions from time to time and requires repairs and spare parts to resume operations, which may not be available when needed. Unexpected malfunctions of our production equipment may significantly affect intended operational efficiency. In addition, the operational performance and costs associated with this equipment can be difficult to predict and may be influenced by factors outside of our control, such as, but not limited to, failures by suppliers to deliver necessary machinery components in a timely manner and at prices and volumes acceptable to us, which could have a material adverse effect on our operational performance, cash flows, financial condition or prospects.
Catastrophic events may disrupt our business.
Unforeseen events, or the prospect of such events, including war, terrorism and other international conflicts, public health issues including health epidemics or pandemics and natural disasters such as fire, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados or other adverse weather and climate conditions, whether occurring in the United States, Canada or elsewhere, could disrupt our operations, disrupt the operations of suppliers or business customers or result in political or economic instability. These types of events outside of our control could adversely affect our operating results. We cannot assure that any backup systems will be adequate to protect it from the effects of fire, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, power loss, telecommunications failures,
break-ins,
war, riots, terrorist attacks or similar events. Any of the foregoing events may give rise to interruptions, breakdowns, system failures, technology platform failures or internet failures, which could cause the loss or corruption of data or malfunctions of software or hardware as well as adversely affect our ability to manufacture products and provide services. These events could reduce demand for our products and services, make it difficult or impossible to receive equipment from suppliers or impair our ability to deliver products and services to business customers on a timely basis. Any such disruption could damage our reputation and cause business customer attrition. We could be subject to claims or litigation with respect to losses caused by such disruptions. Our insurance may not cover a particular event at all or may not be sufficient to fully cover our losses. Risk Factors Relating to Quality of Products
If our products fail to perform as expected, our ability to develop, market and sell our products and services could be harmed.
If our products contain defects in design and manufacture that cause them not to perform as expected or that require repair, or certain features of our products take longer than expected to become enabled or are legally restricted, our ability to develop, sell, and service our products could be harmed. Although we attempt to remedy any issues we observe in our products as effectively and rapidly as possible, such efforts may not be timely, may hamper production or may not be to the satisfaction of our business customers. While we performed extensive internal testing on the products we manufacture, we currently have a limited frame of reference by which to evaluate detailed long-term quality, reliability, durability and performance characteristics of our products. There can be no assurance that we will be able to detect and fix any defects in our products prior to their sale to business customers.
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Our inability to provide products or services in a timely manner, legal restrictions on product features, or defects in our products or services, including products and services of third parties that we incorporate into our offerings, could adversely affect our reputation, result in delivery delays, product recalls, product liability claims, and significant warranty and other expenses, and subject us to claims or litigation. In addition, our inability to meet business customers’ expectations with respect to our products or services could increase attrition rates or affect our ability to generate new business customers and thereby have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flow or results of operations.
We may choose to or be compelled to undertake product recalls or take other similar actions, which could adversely affect our brand image and financial performance.
Any product recall with respect to our products may result in adverse publicity, damage our brand and adversely affect our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. In the future, we may at various times, voluntarily or involuntarily, initiate a recall if any of our products prove to be defective or noncompliant with applicable laws and regulations. Such recalls, whether voluntary or involuntary or caused by systems or components engineered or manufactured by us or our suppliers, could involve significant expense and could adversely affect our brand image in our target markets, as well as our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
In 2019, we identified a quality issue with certain material purchased from one of our suppliers utilized in the manufacturing of certain IGUs. We stopped using the affected materials upon identification of the quality issue in 2019. We have replaced and expect to continue to replace the affected IGUs for the remainder of the period covered by the warranty. We developed a statistical model to analyze the risk of failure of the affected IGUs related to this quality issue and predict the potential number of future failures that may occur during the remaining warranty period, as well as the timing of the expected failures. The statistical model considered the volume of units sold, the volume of unit failures, data patterns, and other characteristics associated with the failed IGUs as well as the IGUs that had not yet failed as of each financial reporting period. These characteristics include, but are not limited to, time to failure, manufacture date, location of installation, and environmental factors. Based on this analysis, we have recorded a specific warranty liability using the estimated number of affected IGUs expected to fail in the remaining warranty period and applying estimated costs we expect to incur to replace the IGUs based on warranty contractual terms and business practices. The total warranty liability included $33.8 million and $36.2 million as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively, related to these IGUs. It is reasonably possible that the amount of costs to be incurred to replace the defective IGUs could be materially different from the estimate. Considering the uncertainty inherent in the failure analysis, including the actual timing of the failures and the number of defective IGUs, as well as uncertainty regarding future supply chain costs and production volumes that may impact the projected costs to replace defective IGUs in future years, it is reasonably possible that the amount of costs to be incurred to replace the defective IGUs could ultimately be materially different from the estimate. Unforeseen component failures or exceptional component performance can also result in changes to warranty costs. If actual warranty costs differ substantially from our estimates, revisions to the estimated warranty liability would be required, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risk Factors Relating to Technology
We must successfully maintain and upgrade our information technology systems.
We rely on various information technology systems to manage our operations, including general,
non-proprietary
information technology systems in our facility and proprietary information technology systems in our products. As necessary, we implement modifications and upgrades to these systems, and replaces certain of our legacy systems with successor systems with new functionality. The technology and capital equipment we employ may become old or obsolete, which could require significant capital expenditures for upkeep and upgrade over time. Our products and services interact with the
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hardware and software technology of systems and devices located at our business customers’ property. We may be required to implement new technologies or adapt existing technologies in response to changing market conditions, business customer preferences, industry standards or inability to secure necessary intellectual property licenses, which could require significant capital expenditures. Our inability to adapt to changing technologies, market conditions or subscriber preferences in a timely manner could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
There are inherent costs and risks associated with modifying or changing these systems and implementing new systems, including potential disruption of our internal control structure, substantial capital expenditures, additional administration and operating expenses, retention of sufficiently skilled personnel to implement and operate the new systems, demands on management time and other risks and costs of delays or difficulties in transitioning to new systems or of integrating new systems into our current systems. While management seeks to identify and remediate issues, we can provide no assurance that our identification and remediation efforts will be successful or that we will not encounter additional issues as we complete the implementation of these and other systems. In addition, our information technology system implementations may not result in productivity improvements at a level that outweighs the costs of implementation, or at all. The implementation of new information technology systems may also cause disruptions in our business operations and have an adverse effect on our business, cash flows and operations.
We rely on certain third-party providers of licensed software and services integral to the operations of our business.
Certain aspects of the operation of our business may depend on third-party software and service providers. With regard to licensed software technology, we may become dependent upon the ability of third parties to maintain, enhance or develop our software and services on a timely and cost-effective basis, to meet industry technological standards and innovations to deliver software and services that are free of defects or security vulnerabilities, and to ensure their software and services are free from disruptions or interruptions. Further, these third-party services and software licenses may not always be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
If the third-party software or services become obsolete, fail to function properly, are incompatible with future versions of our products or services, or are defective or otherwise fail to address our needs, there is no assurance that we would be able to replace the functionality provided by any future third-party software or services with software or services from alternative providers. Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Risk Factors Relating to Intellectual Property
Our patent applications may not result in issued patents or our patent rights may be contested, circumvented, invalidated or limited in scope, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to prevent others from interfering with our commercialization of our products.
Our patent applications may not result in issued patents, which may have a material adverse effect on our ability to prevent others from commercially exploiting products similar to ours. The status of patents involves complex legal and factual questions and the breadth of claims allowed is uncertain. As a result, we cannot be certain that the patent applications that we file will result in patents being issued, or that our patents and any patents that may be issued to us will afford protection against competitors with similar technology. Numerous patents and pending patent applications owned by others exist in the fields in which we have developed and are developing our technology. In addition to those who may claim priority, any of our existing or pending patents may also be challenged by others on the basis that they are otherwise invalid or unenforceable. Furthermore, patent applications filed in foreign countries are subject to laws, rules and procedures that differ from those of the United States, and thus we cannot be certain that foreign patent applications related to issued United States patents will be issued.
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Even if our patent applications succeed and we are issued patents in accordance with them, we are still uncertain whether these patents will be contested, circumvented, invalidated or limited in scope in the future. The rights granted under any issued patents may not provide us with meaningful protection or competitive advantages, and some foreign countries provide significantly less effective patent enforcement than in the United States. In addition, the claims under any patents that issue from our patent applications may not be broad enough to prevent others from developing technologies that are similar or that achieve results similar to ours. The intellectual property rights of others could also bar us from licensing and exploiting any patents that issue from our pending applications. In addition, patents issued to us may be infringed upon or designed around by others and others may obtain patents that we need to license or design around, either of which would increase costs and may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
We may need to defend ourselves against and may face liability in respect of claims for infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of others, which may be time-consuming and could cause us to incur substantial costs and/or materially impact our ability to operate.
From time to time, we may need to take legal action to enforce our patents and other intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets, to determine the validity and scope of the intellectual property rights of others or to defend against claims of infringement, misappropriation or invalidity. Such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. Others, including our competitors, may hold or obtain patents, copyrights, trademarks or other proprietary rights that could prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to make, use, develop, or sell our products and services, which could make it more difficult for us to operate our business. We may receive inquiries from holders of patents or trademarks inquiring whether we are infringing their proprietary rights and/or seek court declarations that they do not infringe upon our intellectual property rights.
We may consider the entering into licensing agreements with respect to such rights, although no assurance can be given that such licenses can be obtained on acceptable terms or that litigation will not occur, and such licenses could significantly increase our operating expenses. Companies holding patents or other intellectual property rights relating to smart glass may bring suits alleging infringement of such rights or otherwise asserting their rights and seeking licenses. In addition, if we are determined to have infringed upon a third party’s intellectual property rights, we may be required to cease making, selling or incorporating certain components or intellectual property into the goods and services we offer, to pay substantial damages and/or license royalties, obtain a license from the holder of the infringed intellectual property right, which license may not be available on reasonable terms or at all, to redesign our products and services, and/or to establish and maintain alternative branding for our products and services. In the event that we were required to take one or more such actions, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. In addition, any litigation or claims, whether or not valid, could result in substantial costs, negative publicity and diversion of resources and management attention.
We cannot be certain that our products and services or those of third parties that we incorporate into our products do not and will not infringe the intellectual property rights of others. Many of our competitors and others may now and in the future have significantly larger or more mature patent portfolios than we have. We have been in the past, and may be in the future, subject to claims based on allegations of infringement, misappropriation or other violations of the intellectual property rights of others, including litigation brought by competitors, potential competitors or special purpose or
so-called
“non-practicing”
entities that focus solely on extracting royalties and settlements by enforcing intellectual property rights and against whom our patents may therefore provide little or no deterrence or protection. Regardless of their merits, intellectual property claims divert the attention of our personnel and are often time-consuming and expensive. In addition, to the extent claims against us are successful, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages (including, for example, treble damages if we are found to have willfully infringed patents and increased statutory damages if we are found to have willfully infringed copyrights) or discontinue or
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modify certain products or services that are found to infringe another party’s rights or enter into licensing agreements with costly royalty payments. Defending against claims of infringement, misappropriation or other violations or being deemed to be infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of others could impair our ability to innovate, develop, distribute and sell our current and planned products and services. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by the discovery process. We have in the past and will continue in the future to seek one or more licenses to continue offering certain products or services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. Although claims of this kind have not materially affected our business to date, there can be no assurance material claims will not arise in the future.
In some cases, we indemnify certain parties against claims that our products infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of third parties. Such claims could arise out of our indemnification obligation with our partners and business customers, whom we typically indemnify against such claims. Conversely, we may seek indemnification from our licensors under our license contracts with them. However, our rights to indemnification may be unavailable or insufficient to cover our costs and losses, depending on our use of the technology, whether we choose to retain control over conduct of the litigation, and other factors.
Although third parties may offer a license to their technology or other intellectual property, the terms of any offered license may not be acceptable, and the failure to obtain a license or the costs associated with any license could cause our business, financial condition and results of operations to be materially and adversely affected. In addition, some licenses may be
non-exclusive,
and therefore our competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to us. If a third party does not offer us a license to our technology or other intellectual property on reasonable terms, or at all, we could be enjoined from continued use of such intellectual property. As a result, we may be required to develop alternative, non-infringing
technology, which could require significant time (during which we could be unable to continue to offer our affected products, subscriptions or services), effort, and expense and may ultimately not be successful. Furthermore, a successful claimant could secure a judgment, or we may agree to a settlement that prevents us from distributing certain products, providing certain subscriptions or performing certain services or that requires us to pay substantial damages, royalties or other fees. Any of these events could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may need to acquire intellectual property that if we are unable to obtain, or if we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property, we could be competitively disadvantaged.
Our intellectual property, including our patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and other proprietary rights, constitutes a significant part of our value. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technology, brands and other intellectual property against dilution, infringement, misappropriation and competitive pressure. To protect our proprietary technology, we rely on a combination of patent, copyright and trade secret laws of the United States, Canada and other countries, a combination of confidentiality procedures, contractual provisions and other methods, all of which offer only limited protection. In addition, we may be required to acquire rights to intellectual property necessary for our operations in the future. However, there can be no assurance that these measures will be successful in any given case, particularly in those countries where the laws do not protect our proprietary rights as fully as in the United States. We may not be able to prevent unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position.
We own a portfolio of issued United States and foreign patents and pending United States and foreign patent applications that relate to a variety of technologies utilized in our business. We may file additional patent applications in the future in the United States and internationally. The process of obtaining patent protection is expensive and time-consuming, and we may not be able to prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner all the way through to the successful issuance of a patent. We may choose not to seek patent protection for certain innovations and may choose not to pursue patent
38
protection in certain jurisdictions. In addition, issuance of a patent does not guarantee that we have an absolute right to practice the patented invention.
Patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret laws vary significantly throughout the world. A number of foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. Therefore, our intellectual property rights may not be as strong or as easily enforced outside of the United States and efforts to protect against the unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights, technology and other proprietary rights may be more expensive and difficult outside of the United States. Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property rights could result in our competitors using our intellectual property to offer products, potentially resulting in the loss of some of our competitive advantage and a decrease in our revenue which, would adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
If we are unable to acquire the intellectual property rights we may require in the future or to adequately protect or assert our intellectual property rights, competitors may dilute our brands, manufacture and market similar products and services or convert our business customers, which could adversely affect our market share and results of operations. We may not receive patents or trademarks for all of our pending patent and trademark applications, and existing or future patents may not provide competitive advantages for our products and services. Furthermore, it is possible that the scope of our issued patents will be insufficient or not have the coverage originally sought, or that our issued patents will not provide us with any competitive advantages. Our competitors may challenge, invalidate or avoid the application of our existing or future intellectual property rights that we obtain. In addition, patent rights may not prevent our competitors from developing, using or selling products or services that are similar to or address the same market as our products and services. The loss of protection for our intellectual property rights could reduce the market value of our brands and our products and services, reduce new business customer originations or sales upgrades to existing business customers, lower our profits, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Our policy is to require our employees that were hired to develop material intellectual property included in our products to execute written agreements in which they assign to us their rights in intellectual property created within the scope of their employment (or, with respect to consultants and service providers, their engagement to develop such intellectual property), but we cannot assure you that we has adequately protected our rights in every such agreement or that we have executed an agreement with every such party. Finally, in order to benefit from the protection of patents and other intellectual property rights, we must monitor and detect infringement, misappropriation or other violations of our intellectual property rights and pursue infringement, misappropriation or other claims in certain circumstances in relevant jurisdictions. Monitoring unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and costly, and the steps we have taken or will take to prevent misappropriation may not be sufficient. As a result, we may not be able to obtain adequate protection or to effectively enforce our issued patents or other intellectual property rights. Any enforcement efforts we undertake, including litigation, could be time-consuming and expensive and could divert management’s attention, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, existing intellectual property laws and contractual remedies may afford less protection than needed to safeguard our intellectual property portfolio.
Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary technologies and our intellectual property rights, unauthorized parties, including our employees, consultants, service providers or business customers, may attempt to copy aspects of our products or obtain and use our trade secrets or other confidential information. We generally enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees and third parties that have access to our material confidential information, and generally limit access to and distribution of our proprietary information and proprietary technology through certain procedural safeguards. In addition, we seek to protect our intellectual property rights through nondisclosure and invention assignment agreements with our employees and consultants, and through
non-disclosure
agreements with business partners and other third parties. These agreements may not effectively prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of our intellectual property or technology, could be breached or otherwise may not provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets and know-how
related to the design, manufacture or 39
operation of our products and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure. We cannot assure you that the steps we have taken will prevent misappropriation or infringement of our intellectual property rights. Competitors may independently develop technologies or products that are substantially equivalent or superior to our solutions or that inappropriately incorporate our proprietary technology, or they may hire our former employees who may misappropriate our proprietary technology or misuse our confidential information. In addition, if we expand the geography of our service offerings, the laws of some foreign countries where we may do business in the future may not protect intellectual property rights and technology to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and these countries may not enforce these laws as diligently as government agencies and private parties in the United States.
If we are unable to protect our intellectual property and technology, we may find ourselves at a competitive disadvantage to others who need not incur the additional expense, time and effort required to create the innovative products that have enabled us to be successful to date.
Risk Factors Relating to Privacy and Security
We are continuously expanding and improving our information technology systems and security measures designed to protect our systems against breaches and cyber-attacks. If these efforts are not successful, our business and operations could be disrupted, and our operating results and reputation could be harmed.
We are continuously expanding and improving our information technology systems, including implementing new internally developed systems, to assist us in the management of our business. In particular, our volume production of multiple products necessitates continued development, maintenance and improvement of our information technology systems in the United States and other locations abroad, which include product data management, procurement, inventory management, production planning and execution, sales, service and logistics, dealer management, financial, tax and regulatory compliance systems. We also maintain information technology measures designed to protect us against intellectual property theft, data breaches and other cyber-attacks. The implementation, maintenance and improvement of these systems require significant management time, support and cost. Moreover, there are inherent risks associated with developing, improving and expanding our core systems as well as implementing new systems, including the disruption of our data management, procurement, manufacturing execution, finance, supply chain and sales and service processes. These risks may affect our ability to manage our data and inventory, procure parts or supplies or manufacture, sell, and deliver products, or achieve and maintain compliance with, or realize available benefits under, tax laws and other applicable regulations.
We cannot be sure that these systems or their required functionality will be effectively implemented, maintained or expanded as planned. If we do not successfully implement, maintain or expand these systems as planned, our operations may be disrupted, our ability to accurately and/or timely report our financial results could be impaired, and deficiencies may arise in our internal control over financial reporting, which may impact our ability to certify our financial results. Moreover, our proprietary information could be compromised or misappropriated, and our reputation may be adversely affected. If these systems or their functionality do not operate as we expect them to, we may be required to expend significant resources to make corrections or find alternative sources for performing these functions.
Any unauthorized breach, control or manipulation of our products’ systems could result in loss of confidence in us and our products and harm our business.
Our products contain complex information technology systems. We have designed, implemented and tested security measures intended to prevent unauthorized access to our information technology networks, our products and their systems. However, hackers may attempt to gain unauthorized access to modify, alter and use such networks, products and systems to gain control of, or to change, our products’ functionality, user interface and performance characteristics, or to gain access to data stored in or generated by our products. We encourage
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reporting of potential vulnerabilities in the security of our products via our security vulnerability reporting policy, and we aim to remedy any reported and verified vulnerability. However, there can be no assurance that vulnerabilities will not be exploited in the future before they can be identified, or that our remediation efforts are or will be successful.
Any unauthorized access to or control of our products or our systems or any loss of data could result in legal claims or proceedings. In addition, regardless of our veracity, reports of unauthorized access to our products, our systems or data, as well as other factors that may result in the perception that our products, our systems or data are capable of being “hacked,” could negatively affect our brand and harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
If our security controls are breached or unauthorized or inadvertent access to business customers’ information or other data are otherwise obtained, our services may be perceived as insecure, we may lose existing business customers or fail to attract new business customers, our business may be harmed, and we may incur significant liabilities.
Our future products may involve the collection, storage, transmission and processing of personal, payment, credit and other confidential and private information of our business customers, and may in certain cases permit access to our business customers’ property or help secure them. Such future products that may present privacy and data risks may be subject to privacy and data protection laws and regulations. We also maintain and processes other confidential and proprietary information in our business, including our employees’ and contractors’ personal information and confidential business information. We rely on proprietary and commercially available systems, software, tools and monitoring to protect against unauthorized use or access of the information we process and maintain. Our services and the networks and information systems we utilize in our business are at risk for breaches as a result of third-party action, employee, vendor or partner error, malfeasance, or other factors. For example, we may experience instances of our employees, contractors and other third parties improperly accessing ours and/or our business customers’ systems and information in violation of our internal policies and procedures.
Criminals and other nefarious actors may use increasingly sophisticated methods, including cyberattacks, phishing, social engineering and other illicit acts to capture, access or alter various types of information, to engage in illegal activities such as fraud and identity theft, and to expose and exploit potential security and privacy vulnerabilities in corporate systems and websites. Unauthorized intrusion into the portions of our systems and networks and data storage devices that process and store business customers’ confidential and private information, the loss of such information or the deployment of malware or other harmful code to our services or our networks or systems may result in negative consequences, including the actual or alleged malfunction of our products or services. In addition, third parties, including our partners and vendors, could also be sources of security risks to us in the event of a failure of their own security systems and infrastructure. The threats we face continue to evolve and are difficult to predict due to advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography and new and sophisticated methods used by criminals. There can be no assurances that our defensive measures will prevent cyber-attacks or that we will discover network or system intrusions or other breaches on a timely basis or at all. We cannot be certain that we will not suffer a compromise or breach of the technology protecting the systems or networks that house or access our products and services or on which we or our partners or vendors process or store personal information or other sensitive information or data, or that any such incident will not be believed or reported to have occurred. Any such actual or perceived compromises or breaches to systems, or unauthorized access to, or acquisition or loss of, data, whether suffered by us, our partners or vendors or other third parties, whether as a result of employee error or malfeasance or otherwise, could harm our business. They could, for example, cause interruptions in operations, loss of data, loss of confidence in our services and products and damage to our reputation, and could limit the adoption of our services and products. They could also subject us to costs, regulatory investigations and orders, litigation, contract damages, indemnity demands and other liabilities and materially and adversely affect our business customer base, sales, revenue and profits. Any of these could, in turn, have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
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Further, if a high-profile security breach occurs with respect to another provider of smart glass, our existing and potential business customers may lose trust in the security of our services or in smart glass generally, which could adversely impact our ability to retain existing business customers or attract new ones. Even in the absence of any security breach, business customers’ concerns about security, privacy or data protection may deter them from using our service. Our insurance policies covering errors and omissions and certain security and privacy damages and claim expenses may not be sufficient to compensate for all potential liability. Although we maintain cyber liability insurance, we cannot be certain that our insurance coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred or that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all.
Risk Factors Relating to Regulations
Our products and our website, systems, and data we maintain may be subject to intentional disruption, other security incidents, or alleged violations of laws, regulations, or other obligations relating to data handling that could result in liability and adversely impact our reputation and future sales.
We may face significant challenges with respect to information security and maintaining the security and integrity of our systems and other systems used in our business, as well as with respect to the data stored on or processed by these systems.
Advances in technology, an increased level of sophistication, and an increased level of expertise of hackers, new discoveries in the field of cryptography or others can result in a compromise or breach of the systems used in our business or of security measures used in our business to protect confidential information, personal information, and other data.
The availability and effectiveness of our products, and our ability to conduct our business and operations, depend on the continued operation of information technology and communications systems, some of which we have yet to develop or otherwise obtain the ability to use. Systems used in our business, including data centers and other information technology systems, will be vulnerable to damage or interruption. Such systems could also be subject to
break-ins,
sabotage and intentional acts of vandalism, as well as disruptions and security incidents as a result of non-technical
issues, including intentional or inadvertent acts or omissions by employees, service providers, or others. We anticipate using outsourced service providers to help provide certain services, and any such outsourced service providers face similar security and system disruption risks as we do. Some of the systems used in our business will not be fully redundant, and our disaster recovery planning cannot account for all eventualities. Any data security incidents or other disruptions to any data centers or other systems used in our business could result in lengthy interruptions in our service. Our products and services are subject to substantial regulations, which are evolving, and unfavorable changes or failure by us to comply with these regulations could substantially harm our business and operating results.
Smart glass is subject to substantial regulation under international, federal, state and local laws. We incur significant costs in complying with these regulations and may be required to incur additional costs to comply with any changes to such regulations, and any failures to comply could result in significant expenses, delays or fines. We may become subject to laws and regulations applicable to the supply, manufacture, import, sale and service of smart internationally. For example, in countries outside of the United States, we may be required to meet standards relating to safety that are often materially different from requirements in the United States, thus resulting in additional investment into the products and systems to ensure regulatory compliance in those countries. This process may include official review and certification of our products by foreign regulatory agencies prior to market entry, as well as compliance with foreign reporting and recall management systems requirements.
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We are subject to various government regulations that could impose substantial costs upon us and negatively impact our ability to operate our manufacturing facility.
As a manufacturing company, including with respect to our facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi, we are and will be subject to complex environmental, manufacturing, health and safety laws and regulations, including laws relating to the use, handling, storage, recycling, disposal and human exposure to hazardous materials. The costs of compliance, including remediating contamination, if any is found on our properties and any changes to our operations mandated by new or amended laws, may be significant. We may also face unexpected delays in obtaining permits and approvals required by such laws in connection with our manufacturing facility, which would hinder our operation of this and future facilities. Such costs and delays may adversely impact our business prospects and operating results. Furthermore, any violations of these laws may result in substantial fines and penalties, remediation costs, third party damages, or a suspension or cessation of our operations. We may also be subject to anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering, financial and economic sanctions and similar laws, for instance, in connection with our sales to airports.
Non-compliance
with such laws can subject us to administrative, civil and criminal fines and penalties, collateral consequences, remedial measures and legal expenses, all of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation. There may be laws in jurisdictions we have not yet entered or laws we are unaware of in jurisdictions we have entered that may restrict our sales or other business practices. The laws in this area can be complex, difficult to interpret and may change over time. Continued regulatory limitations and other obstacles that may interfere with our ability to commercialize our products could have a negative and material impact on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Many of our products must comply with local building codes and ordinances, and failure of our products to comply with such codes and ordinances may have an adverse effect on our business.
Many of our products must comply with local building codes and ordinances. Building codes may also affect the products our customers are allowed to use, and, consequently, changes in building codes may also affect the sale of our products. These codes and ordinances are subject to future government review and interpretation. If our products fail to comply with such local building codes or ordinances, our ability to market and sell such products would be impaired. Also, should these codes and ordinances be amended or expanded, or should new laws and regulations be enacted, we could incur additional costs or become subject to requirements or restrictions that require us to modify our products or adversely affect our ability to market and sell our products. If our products do not adequately or quickly adapt to building standards, we may lose market share to competitors, which would adversely affect our business, results of operation, financial condition, and cash flows. Furthermore, failure of our products to comply with such codes or ordinances could subject us to negative publicity or damage our reputation.
Compliance with the regulations of the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) can be costly, and
non-compliance
with such requirements may result in potentially significant monetary penalties, operational delays, negative publicity and adverse effect on our financial condition. Our operations are subject to regulation under OSHA and other state and local laws and regulations. OSHA establishes certain employer responsibilities, including maintenance of a workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious injury, compliance with standards promulgated by the applicable regulatory authorities and various recordkeeping, disclosure and procedural requirements. Changes to OSHA requirements, or stricter interpretation or enforcement of existing laws or regulations, could result in increased costs. If we fail to comply with applicable OSHA regulations, even if no work-related serious injury or death occurs, we may be subject to civil or criminal enforcement and be required to pay substantial penalties, incur significant capital expenditures or suspend or limit operations. Any such accidents, citations, violations, injuries or failure to comply with industry best practices may subject us to adverse publicity, damage our reputation and competitive position and adversely affect our business.
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We will continue to incur, capital and operating expenditures and other costs in the ordinary course of business in complying with OSHA and other state, local and foreign laws and regulations. While we will continue to invest substantial resources in worker health and safety programs, there can be no assurance that we will avoid significant liability exposure. Personal injury claims for damages, including for bodily injury or loss of life, could result in substantial costs and liabilities, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. In addition, if our safety record was to substantially deteriorate, or if we suffered substantial penalties or criminal prosecution for violation of health and safety regulations, business customers could cancel existing contracts and not award future business to us, which could materially adversely affect our liquidity, cash flows and results of operations.
We are subject to labor and employment laws and regulations, which could increase our costs and restrict our operations in the future.
Our business is subject to a variety of employment laws and regulations and may become subject to additional requirements in the future. Although we believe we are in material compliance with applicable employment laws and regulations, in the event of a change in requirements, we may be required to modify our operations or to utilize resources to maintain compliance with such laws and regulations. Moreover, we have been and may in the future be subject to various employment-related claims, such as individual or class actions or government enforcement actions relating to alleged employment discrimination, employee classification and related withholding, wage-hour disputes, labor standards or healthcare and benefit issues. Our failure to comply with applicable employment laws and regulations and related legal actions against us may affect our ability to compete or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
Failure to comply with various privacy and data protection laws and regulations relating to privacy and data protection and information security to which we are subject could harm us.
Our products may process, transmit and store personal, payment and other confidential and private information of our business customers, thus posing a privacy and data risk in the future. Our privacy policy is posted on our website, and any failure by it or other partners to comply with it or with federal, state or international privacy, data protection or security laws or regulations could result in regulatory or litigation-related actions against us, legal liability, fines, damages and other costs. Substantial expenses and operational changes may be required in connection with maintaining compliance with such laws, and in particular certain emerging privacy laws are still subject to a high degree of uncertainty as to their interpretation and application. Although we take steps to protect the security of our business customers’ personal information, we may be required to expend significant resources to comply with data breach requirements if third parties improperly obtain and use the personal information of our business customers or it otherwise experiences a data loss with respect to business customers’ personal information. A major breach of our network security and systems could have negative consequences for our business and future prospects, including possible fines, penalties and damages, reduced demand for our products and harm to our reputation and brand.
Our collection, retention, transfer and use of this information may be governed by United States and foreign laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and information security, industry standards and protocols, or we may be asserted that such industry standards or protocols apply to us. The regulatory framework for privacy and information security issues worldwide is rapidly evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. In North America, federal and various state and provincial governmental bodies and agencies have adopted or are considering adopting laws and regulations limiting, or laws and regulations regarding the collection, distribution, use, disclosure, storage, and security of certain categories of information. Some of these requirements include obligations of companies to notify individuals of security breaches involving particular personal information, which could result from exploitation of a vulnerability in our systems or services, or breaches experienced by our service providers and/or partners. For example, the State of California enacted the California Consumer Privacy ACT (“CCPA”), effective in January 2020. The CCPA expands the scope of what
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is considered “personal information” and creates new data access and
opt-out
rights for consumers, which may create new requirements for us and other companies that operate in California. Many jurisdictions have established their own data security and privacy legal and regulatory frameworks with which we, or our vendors or partners, must comply to the extent our operations expand into these geographies or the laws and regulations in these frameworks otherwise may be interpreted to apply to us. Laws and regulations in these jurisdictions apply broadly to the collection, use, storage, disclosure and security of data that identifies or may be used to identify or locate an individual, such as names, email addresses and, in some jurisdictions, internet protocol addresses. We are also bound by contractual requirements relating to privacy, data protection and information security, and may agree to additional contractual requirements addressing these matters from time to time.
Our compliance with these various requirements increases our operating costs, and additional laws, regulations, standards or protocols (or new interpretations of existing laws, regulations, standards or protocols) in these areas may further increase our operating costs and adversely affect our ability to effectively market our products and services. In view of new or modified legal obligations relating to privacy, data protection or information security, or any changes in their interpretation, we may find it necessary or desirable to fundamentally change our business activities and practices or to expend significant resources to modify our products and services and otherwise adapt to these changes. We may be unable to make such changes and modifications in a commercially reasonable manner or at all, and our ability to develop new services and features could be limited.
Further, our failure or perceived failure to comply with any of these laws, regulations, standards, protocols or other obligations could result in a loss of business customers’ data, fines, sanctions and other liabilities and additional restrictions on our collection, transfer or use of business customers’ data. In addition, our failure to comply with any of these laws, regulations, standards, protocols or other obligations could result in a material adverse effect on our reputation, business customer attrition, new business customer origination, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
We may fail to obtain or maintain necessary licenses or otherwise fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
Our business focuses on contracts and transactions with business customers and therefore is and was subject to a variety of laws, regulations and licensing requirements that govern our interactions with business customers, including those pertaining to privacy and data security, business customer financial transactions and warranties. We are a licensed service provider in each market where such licensure is and was required. Our business may become subject to additional such requirements in the future. In certain jurisdictions, we are also required to obtain licenses or permits to comply with standards governing marketing and sales efforts, servicing of business customers, monitoring station employee selection and training and to meet certain standards in the conduct of our business. These laws and regulations are dynamic and subject to potentially differing interpretations, and various legislative and regulatory bodies may expand current laws or regulations or enact new laws and regulations regarding these matters. We strive to comply with all applicable laws and regulations relating to our interactions with business customers. It is possible, however, that these requirements may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules, our practices. Our
non-compliance
with any such law or regulations could also expose us to claims, proceedings, litigation and investigations by private parties and regulatory authorities, as well as substantial fines and negative publicity, each of which may materially and adversely affect our business. Delays in obtaining, or failing to obtain, approvals or rights, such as permitting, interconnection, or land usage approvals or rights, could affect our business customers’ builds. We may incur significant expenses to comply with such laws and regulations, and increased regulation of matters relating to our interactions with business customers could require us to modify our operations and incur significant additional expenses, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we expand the scope of our products or services or our operations 45
in new markets, we may be required to obtain additional licenses and otherwise maintain compliance with additional laws, regulations or licensing requirements.
Changes in these laws or regulations or their interpretation, as well as new laws, regulations or licensing requirements which may be enacted, could dramatically affect how we do business, acquire business customers, and manage and use information we collect from, and about current and prospective customers and the costs associated therewith. In addition, federal, state and local governmental authorities have considered, and may in the future consider, implementing consumer protection rules and regulations, which could impose significant constraints on our sales channels.
We are subject to requirements relating to environmental and safety regulations and environmental remediation matters which could adversely affect our business, results of operation and reputation.
We are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations governing, among other things, solid and hazardous waste storage, treatment and disposal, and remediation of releases of hazardous materials. Our suppliers are also subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations, and their use of hazardous materials may adversely impact their operations and the availability of raw materials. While we adapt our manufacturing and distribution processes to the environmental control standards of regulatory authorities, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from hazardous or regulated materials, including injury of our employees, individuals who handle our products, or others who claim to have been exposed to our products, nor can we completely eliminate the unanticipated interruption or suspension of operations at our facilities due to such events. We may be held liable for significant damages or fines in the event of contamination or injury, and such assessed damages or fines could have an adverse effect on our financial performance and results of operations.
For example, in April 2022, View and the United States Attorney’s Office for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi agreed in principle to the terms of a global settlement agreement resolving the prospect of claims and charges against us relating to certain discharges of water without first obtaining a pretreatment permit. The terms of the potential global settlement agreement include, among others, a $3.0 million fine, $1.5 million civil penalty, a $0.5 million community service payment, wastewater reduction requirements, as well as probation and oversight for three years. For further discussion of the potential global settlement agreement, as well as our other legal proceedings, see “—” and Note 9 of the “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements” included in this prospectus.
Legal Proceedings
There are capital, operating and other costs associated with compliance with these environmental laws and regulations. Environmental laws and regulations may become more stringent in the future, which could increase costs of compliance or require us to manufacture with alternative technologies and materials. Moreover, there are proposed international accords and treaties, as well as federal, state and local laws and regulations, which would attempt to control or limit the causes of climate change, including the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment. In the event that the U.S. government or other others enact new climate change laws or regulations or make changes to existing laws or regulations, compliance with applicable laws or regulations may result in increased operating costs and could require us to make significant financial expenditures that cannot be predicted with certainty at this time.
Non-compliance
with such environmental regulations may result in litigation, additional regulation, fines, increased insurance premiums, mandates to temporarily halt production, workers’ compensation claims, or other actions that impact our brand, finances, or ability to operate. We may face regulatory limitations on our ability to sell products directly which could materially and adversely affect our ability to sell our products.
We sell our products directly to business customers. There may be laws in jurisdictions we have not yet entered or laws we are unaware of in jurisdictions we have entered that may restrict our sales or other business practices. Even for those jurisdictions we have analyzed, the laws in this area can be complex, difficult to
46
interpret and may change over time. Continued regulatory limitations and other obstacles interfering with our ability to sell products directly to business customers could have a negative and material impact our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Risk Factors Relating to Liabilities
We could be subject to liability, penalties and other restrictive sanctions and adverse consequences arising out of certain governmental investigations and proceedings.
We are currently cooperating and intend to continue to cooperate with certain government investigations. For example, in January 2022, we were informed that the SEC is conducting a formal investigation into the adequacy of our previously reported warranty accrual. In addition, View and the United States Attorney’s Office for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi agreed in principle to the terms of a global settlement agreement relating to certain discharges of water without first obtaining a pretreatment permit. For additional information about these matters, see “” and Note 9 of the “Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements” included in this prospectus. However, we cannot predict the outcome or impact of any future potential matters, and there exists the possibility that we could be subject to liability, penalties and other restrictive sanctions and adverse consequences if the SEC, the United States Department of Justice, or any other government agency were to pursue legal action in the future. Moreover, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur costs in responding to related requests for information and subpoenas, and if instituted, in defending against any governmental proceedings.
—Legal Proceedings
Our insurance strategy may not be adequate to protect us from all business risks.
We may be subject, in the ordinary course of business, to losses resulting from products liability, accidents, acts of God and other claims against it, for which we may have no insurance coverage. A loss that is uninsured or which exceeds policy limits may require us to pay substantial amounts, which could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
We are subject to all of the ordinary course operating hazards and risks that may come with the provision of our products and services and business operations. In addition to contractual provisions limiting our liability to business customers and third parties, we maintain insurance policies in such amounts and with such coverage and deductibles as required by law and that we believe are reasonable and prudent. Nevertheless, such insurance may not be adequate to protect us from all the liabilities and expenses that may arise from claims for personal injury, death or property damage arising in the ordinary course of our business and current levels of insurance may not be able to be maintained or be available at economical prices. If a significant liability claim is brought against us that is not covered by insurance, then we may have to pay the claim with our own funds, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. We may not be able to secure additional product liability insurance coverage on commercially acceptable terms or at reasonable costs when needed, particularly if we do face liability for our products and are forced to make a claim under our policy.
Litigation, complaints or adverse publicity or unauthorized use of our brand name could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
From time to time, we engage in the defense of, and may in the future be subject to, certain investigations, claims and lawsuits arising in the ordinary course of our business including, without limitation, commercial or contractual disputes, including warranty claims and other disputes with potential business customers and suppliers, intellectual property matters, personal injury claims (e.g., OSHA), environmental issues, tax matters and employment matters. It is difficult to predict the outcome or ultimate financial exposure, if any, represented by these matters, and there can be no assurance that any such exposure will not be material. Any resulting actions or negative publicity could reduce the volume of our new business customer origination or increase attrition of
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existing business customers. See “” for additional information about current and potential legal proceedings involving the Company. Any of the foregoing may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
—Legal Proceedings
Unauthorized use of our brand name by third parties may also adversely affect our business and reputation, including the perceived quality and reliability of our products and services. We rely on trademark law, internal policies and agreements with our employees, business customers, business partners and others to protect the value of our brand name. Despite our precautions, we cannot provide assurance that those procedures are sufficiently effective to protect against unauthorized third-party use of our brand name. We may not be successful in investigating, preventing or prosecuting all unauthorized third-party use of our brand name. Future litigation with respect to such unauthorized use could also result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources. These factors could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We may become subject to product liability claims, which could harm our financial condition and liquidity if we are not able to successfully defend or insure against such claims.
Although we design our products and temper our glass to be the safest smart glass in the industry, product liability claims, even those without merit, could harm our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. We face inherent risk of exposure to claims in the event our products do not perform or are claimed to not have performed as expected. A successful product liability claim against us could require us to pay a substantial monetary award. Moreover, a product liability claim could generate substantial negative publicity about our products and business and could have a material adverse effect on our brand, business, prospects and operating results.
Our current and future warranty reserves may be insufficient to cover future warranty claims which could adversely affect our financial performance.
If our warranty reserves are inadequate to cover future warranty claims on our products, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be materially and adversely affected. We evaluate warranty reserves on an ongoing basis and record liabilities for matters in which losses are probable and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated.
In 2019, we identified a quality issue with certain materials purchased from one of our suppliers utilized in the manufacturing of certain IGUs. We stopped using the affected materials upon identification of the quality issue in 2019. As of June 30, 2022, we had a low warranty claim rate related to this matter. We have replaced and expect to continue to replace affected IGUs for the remainder of the period covered by the warranty. We developed a statistical model to analyze the risk of failure of the affected IGUs related to this quality issue and predict the potential number of future failures that may occur during the remaining warranty period, as well as the timing of the expected failures. The statistical model considered the volume, data patterns, and other characteristics associated with the failed IGUs as well as the IGUs that had not yet failed as of each financial reporting period. These characteristics include, but are not limited to, time to failure, manufacture date, location of installation, and environmental factors. Based on this analysis, we recorded a specific warranty liability using the estimated number of affected IGUs expected to fail in the remaining warranty period and applying estimated costs we expect to incur to replace the IGUs. The total warranty liability included $33.8 million and $36.2 million as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively, related to these IGUs. It is reasonably possible that the amount of costs to be incurred to replace the defective IGUs could be materially different from the estimate. Considering the limited failure rate data available
to-date
and the uncertainty inherent in the failure analysis, including the projected costs to replace defective IGUs in future years, the actual timing of the failures, and the number of defective IGUs, it is reasonably possible that the amount of costs to be incurred to replace the defective IGUs could be materially different from the estimate. 48
Our business may be adversely affected by any disruptions caused by union activities.
Although our employees are currently not unionized and we have not experienced any work stoppages since our inception, it is not uncommon for employees at manufacturing companies to belong to a union, which can result in higher employee costs and increased risk of work stoppages. Although we work diligently to provide the best possible work environment for our employees, our employees may decide to join or seek recognition to form a labor union in the future, or we may be required to become a union signatory. If a work stoppage occurs, it could delay the manufacture and sale of our products and have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, operating results or financial condition.
Risk Factors Relating to Debt and Credit
Adverse developments in the credit markets may impair our ability to secure debt financing.
In past economic downturns, such as the financial crisis in the United States that began in
mid-2007
and during other times of extreme market volatility, many commercial banks and other financial institutions stopped lending or significantly curtailed their lending activity. In addition, in an effort to stem losses and reduce their exposure to segments of the economy deemed to be high risk, some financial institutions limited routine refinancing and loan modification transactions and even reviewed the terms of existing facilities to identify bases for accelerating the maturity of existing lending facilities. The United States and global economies suffered dramatic downturns as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic, a deterioration in the credit markets and related financial crisis, as well as a variety of other factors including, among other things, extreme volatility in security prices, severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, ratings downgrades of certain investments and declining valuations of others. If these conditions recur or persist, it may be difficult for us to obtain desired financing to finance the growth of our investments on acceptable economic terms, or at all. The
COVID-19
pandemic has, and until fully resolved could again, result in, among other things, increased draws by borrowers on revolving lines of credit and increased requests by borrowers for amendments, modifications and waivers of their credit agreements to avoid default or change payment terms, increased defaults by such borrowers and/or increased difficulty in obtaining refinancing at the maturity dates of their loans. The duration and effectiveness of responsive measures implemented by governments and central banks cannot be predicted. The commencement, continuation, or cessation of government and central bank policies and economic stimulus programs, including changes in monetary policy involving interest rate adjustments or governmental policies, may contribute to the development of or result in an increase in market volatility, illiquidity and other adverse effects that could negatively impact credit markets and our business, results of operations and financial condition. If we are unable to consummate credit facilities on commercially reasonable terms, our liquidity may be reduced significantly. If we are unable to repay amounts outstanding under any facility we may enter into and are declared in default or are unable to renew or refinance any such facility, it would limit our ability to initiate significant originations or to operate our business in the normal course. These situations may arise due to circumstances that we may be unable to control, such as inaccessibility of the credit markets, a severe decline in the value of the United States dollar, a further economic downturn or an operational problem that affects third parties or us, and could materially damage our business. Moreover, we are unable to predict when economic and market conditions may become more favorable. Even if such conditions improve broadly and significantly over the long term, adverse conditions in particular sectors of the financial markets could adversely impact our business.
Risk Factors Relating to Financial Results and Ownership of Our Class A Common Stock
Loss of a major customer could result in a decrease in our future sales and earnings.
In any given quarter or year, sales of our products may be concentrated in a few major customers, including glaziers and low voltage electricians. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, two customers represented greater
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than 10.0% of total revenue, each accounting for 16.9% and 16.6% of total revenue. For the years ended December 31, 2021, two customers represented greater than 10.0% of total revenue, accounting for 24.0%. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, one customer accounted for 10.2% and 11.2% of total revenue, respectively.
We anticipate that a limited number of customers in any given period may account for a substantial portion of our total net revenue for the foreseeable future. The business risks associated with this concentration, including increased credit risks for these and other customers and the possibility of related bad debt write-offs, could negatively affect our margins and profits. Additionally, the loss of a major customer, whether through competition or consolidation, or a disruption in sales to such a customer, could result in a decrease of our future sales and earnings.
If we are unable to achieve our targeted manufacturing costs for our products, our financial condition and operating results may suffer.
While we are continuing to and expect in the future to realize cost reductions by both us and our suppliers, including through increased production, there is no guarantee we will be able to achieve sufficient cost savings to reach our gross margin and profitability goals, or our other financial targets. We incur significant costs related to procuring the materials required to manufacture our products and compensating our personnel. If our efforts to continue to decrease manufacturing costs are not successful, we may incur substantial costs or cost overruns in utilizing and increasing the production capability of our manufacturing facility. Many of the factors that impact our manufacturing costs are beyond our control, such as potential increases in the costs of our materials and components. If we are unable to continue to control and reduce our manufacturing costs, our operating results, business and prospects will be harmed.
Our business model of manufacturing smart glass is capital-intensive, and we may not be able to raise additional capital on attractive terms, if at all, which could be dilutive to stockholders. If we cannot raise additional capital when needed, our operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.
The development, design, manufacture and sale of our products is a capital-intensive business, for which significant amounts of capital have already been invested at our facility. As a result of our investments of capital, we maintain a facility with a production line that can meet our near-term projections for sale and production. Over time, until we are generating positive free cash flows, we will need to raise additional funds, including through the issuance of equity, equity-related or debt securities or through obtaining credit from financial institutions to fund, together with our principal sources of liquidity, ongoing costs such as research and development relating to our products, any significant unplanned or accelerated expenses, new strategic investments, or refinancing of our significant consolidated indebtedness, even if not required to do so by the terms of such indebtedness. We cannot be certain that additional capital will be available on attractive terms, if at all, when needed, which could be dilutive to stockholders, and our financial condition, results of operations, business and prospects could be adversely affected.
From time to time, we may use capital from third-party investors to enable our business customers access to our products. The availability of this financing depends upon many factors, including the confidence of the investors in the smart glass industry, the quality and mix of our business customer contracts, any regulatory changes impacting the economics of our existing business customer contracts, changes in law (including tax law), risks or government incentives associated with these financings, and our ability to compete with other smart glass companies for the limited number of potential investors. Moreover, while interest rates remain at low levels, they have risen in recent periods. If the rate of return required by investors rises as a result of a rise in interest rates, we will reduce the present value of the business customer payment streams underlying, and therefore the total value of, our financing structures, increasing our cost of capital. If we are unable to establish new financing funds on favorable terms for third-party ownership arrangements, our cost of capital could increase and our liquidity may be negatively impacted, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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We may fail to meet our publicly announced guidance or other expectations about our business in the future, which could cause our future stock price to be adversely affected.
We periodically provide guidance regarding our expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenue, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and our guidance may not ultimately be accurate, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. Our guidance may be based on certain assumptions such as those relating to global and local economic conditions, anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs and planned cost reductions. If our guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to our inability to meet our assumptions or the impact on our financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of View common stock could be adversely affected in the future.
Future sales of View stock, or the perception of future sales, by us or our stockholders in the public market could cause the market price for View Class A common stock to decline.
The sale of shares of View Class A common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of View Class A common stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.
We have a total of approximately 219,227,971 shares of Class A common stock outstanding as of August 31, 2022. We have a total of approximately 21,305,462 warrants outstanding, which are exercisable for an aggregate of 21,305,462 shares of Class A common stock. The exercise of such warrants will increase the number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding and may result in additional dilution to our stockholders.
In addition, the shares of View Class A common stock reserved for future issuance under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan will become eligible for sale in the public market once those shares are issued, subject to provisions relating to various vesting agreements,
lock-up
agreements and, in some cases, limitations on volume and manner of sale applicable to affiliates under Rule 144, as applicable. A total of 58,631,907 shares of View Class A common stock were initially reserved for future issuance under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan. View is expected to file one or more registration statements on Form S-8
under the Securities Act to register shares of View Class A common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of View Class A common stock issued pursuant to the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan. Any such Form S-8
registration statements will automatically become effective upon filing. Accordingly, shares registered under such registration statements will be available for sale in the open market. In the future, we may also issue our securities in connection with investments or acquisitions. The amount of shares of View Class A common stock issued in connection with an investment or acquisition could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares of Class A common stock. Any issuance of additional securities in connection with investments or acquisitions may result in additional dilution to our stockholders.
We are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which could affect our financial results.
A small portion of our revenue is denominated in Canadian Dollars. Accordingly, we may be adversely affected by currency fluctuations in the United States Dollar versus Canadian Dollar. Weaker foreign currencies relative to the United States Dollar may result in lower levels of reported revenue with respect to foreign currency-denominated sales on our United States Dollar-denominated financial statements. Foreign exchange rates are influenced by many factors outside of our control, including but not limited to: changing supply and demand for a particular currency, monetary policies of governments (including exchange-control programs, restrictions on local exchanges or markets and limitations on foreign investment in a country or an investment by
51
residents of a country in other countries), changes in balances of payments and trade, trade restrictions and currency devaluations and revaluations. The resulting fluctuations in the exchange rates for the other currencies could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to collection risks.
We may face normal collection risks with business customers and suppliers. If we fail to collect from our business customers, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
Risk Factors Relating to Acquisitions
Future transactions could pose risks.
We frequently evaluate strategic opportunities both within and outside our existing lines of business. We expect from time to time to pursue additional business opportunities and may decide to eliminate or acquire certain businesses, products or services. There are various risks and uncertainties associated with potential acquisitions and divestitures, including: (i) availability of financing; (ii) difficulties related to integrating previously separate businesses into a single unit, including product and service offerings, distribution and operational capabilities and business cultures; (iii) general business disruption; (iv) managing the integration process; (v) diversion of management’s attention from operations, (vi) assumption of costs and liabilities of an acquired business, including unforeseen or contingent liabilities or liabilities in excess of the amounts estimated; (vii) failure to realize anticipated benefits and synergies, such as cost savings and revenue enhancements; (viii) potentially substantial costs and expenses associated with acquisitions and dispositions; (ix) failure to retain and motivate key employees; and (x) difficulties in applying our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures to an acquired business. Any or all of these risks and uncertainties, individually or collectively, could have material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flow or results of operations. We can offer no assurance that any such strategic opportunities will prove to be successful. Among other negative effects, our pursuit of such opportunities could cause our cost of investment in new business customers to grow at a faster rate than our recurring revenue and fees collected at the time of sale. Additionally, any new product or service offerings could require developmental investments or have higher cost structures than our current arrangements, which could reduce operating margins and require more working capital.
day-to-day
Our business could be materially adversely affected as a result of the risks associated with acquisitions and investments. In particular, we may not succeed in making acquisitions or be effective in integrating such acquisitions.
We may make acquisitions and investments in the future as part of our growth strategy. We will evaluate the tactical or strategic opportunities available related to complementary businesses, products or technologies. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in making future acquisitions. Even if we are successful in making acquisitions, integrating an acquired company’s business into our operations or investing in new technologies may (i) result in unforeseen operating difficulties and large expenditures and (ii) absorb significant management attention that would otherwise be available for the ongoing development of our business, both of which may result in the loss of key business customers or personnel and expose us to unanticipated liabilities. Further, we may not be able to retain the key employees that may be necessary to operate the businesses we acquire, and we may not be able to attract, in a timely manner, new skilled employees and management to replace them.
We may not be able to consummate acquisitions or investments that we have identified as crucial to the implementation of our strategy for other commercial or economic reasons. Further, we may not be able to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals, including those of competition authorities and foreign investment authorities, in countries where we seek to consummate acquisitions or make investments. For those and other reasons, we may ultimately fail to consummate an acquisition, even if we announce the intended acquisition.
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We are required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to achieve and maintain effective internal controls, our operating results and financial condition could be harmed.
As discussed herein, management has determined that we did not maintain effective controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 and June 30, 2022, due to the existence of material weaknesses, which we may not be able to remediate in a timely manner. See also “— ” We cannot be certain as to the timing of completion of our remediation actions or their effect on our operations. If we are unable to remediate in a timely manner, this may impede our ability to file timely and accurate reports with the SEC. Any of the above could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our Class A common stock.
We have identified deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting resulting in material
weaknesses and the conclusion that our internal control over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December
31, 2021 and June
30, 2022. If we fail to properly remediate these or any future material weaknesses or deficiencies or to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, further material misstatements in our financial statements could occur and impair our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements, which could cause current and potential stockholders to lose confidence in our financial reporting, which in turn could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.
Risk Factors Relating to our Governance Documents
Our certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and certain other actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will, subject to certain exceptions, be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel, which may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders.
Unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and certain other actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel except any action; provided, however, that, in the event that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, the sole and exclusive forum for such action or proceeding shall be another state or federal court located within the State of Delaware, in each such case, unless the Court of Chancery (or such other state or federal court located within the State of Delaware, as applicable) has dismissed a prior action by the same plaintiff asserting the same claims because such court lacked personal jurisdiction over an indispensable party named as a defendant therein.
Unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act.
The exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, subject to certain exceptions. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. We note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive, and this exclusive forum provision does not purport to waive, compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
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This choice of forum provision may limit the ability of a View stockholder to bring a claim in a judicial forum that the stockholder finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our charter to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The provision of our charter that authorizes our Board to issue preferred stock from time to time based on terms approved by our Board may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that public stockholders might consider in their best interest.
The provision of our charter that authorizes our Board to issue preferred stock from time to time based on terms approved by our Board may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that you might consider in your best interest.
Risk Factors Relating to our Management
The ability of our management to operate the business successfully will be largely dependent upon the efforts of certain key personnel of ours. The loss of such key personnel could negatively impact the operations and financial results of ours.
The ability of our management to operate the business successfully is dependent upon the efforts of certain key personnel of ours. Although we expect key personnel to remain with us, there can be no assurance that they will do so. It is possible that we will lose some key personnel, the loss of which could negatively impact the operations and profitability of ours. Furthermore, certain of the key personnel of View may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
Risk Factors Relating to Dividends
We do not expect to declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.
We do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. Consequently, investors may need to rely on sales of their shares after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investment.
Risk Factors Relating to Securities and Industry Analysts
If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business, or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our securities adversely, the price and trading volume of our securities could decline.
The trading market for our securities will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, market or competitors. There has been limited research coverage by securities and industry analysts on us. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of us, our share price and trading volume would likely be negatively impacted. If any of the analysts who may cover us change their recommendation regarding our shares of common stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, the price of our shares of common stock would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on it, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.
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Risk Factors Relating to Warrants and Options
Warrants and options are or will in the future become exercisable for our Class A common stock, which, if exercised would increase the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our stockholders.
Private Placement Warrants to purchase an aggregate of approximately 366,666 shares of our Class A common stock became exercisable on August 31, 2021. Additionally, public warrants to purchase an aggregate of approximately 16,666,637 shares of our Class A common stock became exercisable on August 31, 2021. The exercise price of these Warrants is $11.50 per share. Rollover Warrants to purchase an aggregate of approximately 3,272,159 shares of our Class A common stock are exercisable or may become exercisable in the future. The Rollover Warrants have a weighted average exercise price of approximately $15.77. Additionally, 21,342,191 Rollover Options are or may in the future become exercisable. The Rollover Options have a weighted average exercise price of approximately $9.35. To the extent such warrants or options are exercised, additional shares of our Class A common stock will be issued, which will result in dilution to the holders of our Class A common stock and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market or the fact that such warrants or options may be exercised could adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
There is no guarantee that our Warrants will be in the money at the time they become exercisable, and they may expire worthless.
The exercise price for our Warrants is $11.50 per share of Class A common stock. There is no guarantee that any of our Warrants will be in the money following the time they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, and as such, the Warrants may expire worthless.
We may redeem unexpired Warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to a Warrant holder, thereby making the Warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding Warrants at any time while they are exercisable and prior to their expiration, provided that the last sales price of the Class A common stock reported has been at least $18.00 per share (subject to certain adjustments) on each of twenty (20) trading days within the thirty
(30) trading-day
period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which notice of the redemption is given. If and when the Warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right. Redemption of the outstanding Warrants could force Warrant holders to: (1) exercise their Warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so, (2) sell their Warrants at the then-current market price when they might otherwise wish to hold their Warrants or (3) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding Warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of the Warrants. In addition, we may redeem Warrants after they become exercisable for a number of shares of Class A common stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A common stock. Any such redemption may have similar consequences to a cash redemption described above. In addition, such redemption may occur at a time when the Warrants are in which case Warrants holders would lose any potential embedded value from a subsequent increase in the value of the Class A common stock had the Warrants remained outstanding.
“out-of-the-money,”
The Warrants may not be in the money after they become exercisable, they may expire worthless and the terms of the Warrants may be amended in a manner that may be adverse to holders of our Warrants with the approval by the holders of a majority of the then outstanding Public Warrants, or, in the case of an amendment solely to the Private Placement Warrants, the approval of a majority of the holders of the then outstanding Private Placement Warrants. As a result, the exercise price of the Warrants could be increased, the Warrants could be converted into cash or stock (at a ratio different than initially provided), the exercise period could be shortened
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and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a Warrant could be decreased, all without a Warrant holder’s approval.
The Warrants may never be in the money, and they may expire worthless. Our Warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement, dated as of August 26, 2020, between Continental and us (the “Warrant Agreement”). The Warrant Agreement provides that the terms of the Warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder (i) for the purpose of curing any ambiguity, or curing, correcting or supplementing any defective provision contained in the Warrant Agreement or adding or changing any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the Warrant Agreement as the parties thereto may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties thereto deem shall not adversely affect the interest of the Warrant holders, and (ii) to provide for the delivery of Alternative Issuance (as defined in the Warrant Agreement) pursuant to Section 4.4 of the Warrant Agreement. All other modifications or amendments require the vote or written consent of the holders of a majority of the then outstanding Public Warrants. Any amendment solely to the Private Placement Warrants require the vote or written consent of a majority of the holders of the then outstanding Private Placement Warrants. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we may lower the price per share at which the shares of Class A common stock may be purchased at the time a Warrant is exercised or extend the duration of the exercise period pursuant to Sections 3.1 and 3.2 of the Warrant Agreement, respectively, without the consent of the Warrant holders.
Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the Warrant Agreement in a manner adverse to a holder if the holders of a majority of the then outstanding Public Warrants approve of such amendment or, in the case of an amendment solely to the Private Placement Warrants, if a majority of the holders of the then outstanding Private Placement Warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the Warrants with the appropriate consent(s) is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the Warrants, convert the Warrants into cash or stock (at a ratio different than initially provided), shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a Warrant.
Risk Factors Relating to Ownership of Our Securities
We have in the past and may in the future issue additional securities without your approval, which would dilute your ownership interests and may depress the market price of our securities.
We have in the past and may in the future issue additional shares of Class A common stock or other equity securities of equal or senior rank in the future in connection with, among other things, future acquisitions or repayment of outstanding indebtedness, without stockholder approval, in a number of circumstances.
The issuance of additional shares or other equity securities of equal or senior rank would have the following effects:
| • | existing stockholders’ proportionate ownership interest in our company will decrease; |
| • | the amount of cash available per share, including for payment of dividends in the future, may decrease; |
| • | the relative voting strength of each previously outstanding common stock may be diminished; and |
| • | the market price of our securities may decline. |
Resales of our securities may cause the market price of our securities to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
Subject to certain exceptions, a number of our stockholders were contractually restricted from selling or transferring their shares until the earlier of (i) six (6) months after the Closing, or (ii) the date after the Closing on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization, tender offer or other similar
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transaction after the Closing which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their equity holdings in View for cash, securities or other property. However, following the expiration of such lockups on September 8, 2021, the View stockholders are no longer restricted from selling their securities, other than by applicable securities laws.
The 119,860,088 shares that were subject to the
Lock-Up
Agreements constitute approximately 54.7% of our outstanding Class A common stock. Additionally, 17,033,303 shares of our Class A common stock are issuable upon the exercise of our Warrants. The warrants became exercisable on August 31, 2021. All of the Founder Shares, Registered PIPE Shares, Private Placement Shares, the shares under the Engagement Letter, the shares issuable upon the vesting of Restricted Stock Units, and the Private Placement Warrants are being registered in the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part for resale under the Securities Act. As the lock-up
restrictions have expired and the warrants are exercisable, the sale or possibility of sale of shares could have the effect of increasing the volatility in our share price or the market price of our securities could decline if the holders of currently restricted shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them.