Correspondence 0001213900-24-094236 from Tenon Medical, Inc. (TNON)
Tenon Medical, Inc.
Date: Nov. 4, 2024 · CIK: 0001560293 · Accession: 0001213900-24-094236
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File numbers found in text: 333-281531, 333-282704
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CORRESP
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Tenon Medical, Inc.
104 Cooper Court
Los Gatos, CA 95032
November 4, 2024
VIA EDGAR
Juan Grana and Margaret Sawicki
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Industrial Applications and Services
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re:
Tenon Medical, Inc.
Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed on October 17, 2024
File No. 333-282704
Dear Mr. Grana and Ms. Sawicki:
On behalf of Tenon Medical,
Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), this letter responds to comments provided
by the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”)
provided to the undersigned on October 25, 2024, regarding the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 filed on October 17,
2024 (the “Registration Statement”).
For your convenience, the
Staff’s comments have been restated below and the Company’s responses are set forth immediately under the restated comments.
Unless otherwise indicated, defined terms used herein have the meanings set forth in the Registration Statement. We have filed Amendment
No. 1 to the Registration Statement (the “Amendment”) with the Commission today.
Registration Statement
on Form S-1 Cover Page
1. We note your disclosure on the cover page that the Selling Stockholder may sell its shares through
underwriters, agents or broker-dealers on terms to be determined at the time of sale. Please confirm your understanding that the retention
by a Selling Stockholder of an underwriter would constitute a material change to your plan of distribution requiring a post-effective
amendment. Refer to your undertaking provided pursuant to Item 512(a)(1)(iii) of Regulation S-K.
Response: In
response to this comment, the Company advises the Staff that yes, it understands that the retention by a Selling Stockholder of an underwriter
would constitute a material change to our plan of distribution requiring a post-effective amendment.
Exhibits
2. Please revise your registration statement to file the warrant exercise inducement letter agreement
dated September 16, 2024 entered into between Tenon Medical and Armistice Capital.
Response: In
response to this comment, the Company advises the Staff that it has filed the warrant exercise inducement letter in accordance with the
Staff’s request.
3. We note the consent of Haskell & White LLP filed as Exhibit 23.1 is not signed.
Please revise your registration
statement to file a signed consent from Haskell & White LLP.
Response: In
response to this comment, the Company advises the Staff that it has updated the consent of Haskell & White LLP in accordance with
the Staff’s request.
General
4. Given the nature of your offering, including the size of the transaction relative to the number of
outstanding shares held by non-affiliates, it appears that the transaction may be an indirect primary offering on behalf of the registrant.
Please provide us with a detailed legal analysis of your basis for determining that it is appropriate to characterize the transaction
as a secondary offering under Securities Act Rule 415(a)(1)(i). For guidance, please see Securities Act Rules Compliance and Disclosure
Interpretations Question 612.09.
Response: We
have considered the factors set forth in Securities Act Rule Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“C&DI”) 612.09,
regarding whether a purported secondary offering is really a primary offering in which Selling Stockholder are acting as underwriters
selling on behalf of an issuer. Based on the factors set forth in C&DI 612.09, the Company respectfully submits that the Selling Stockholder
is not acting as an underwriter or otherwise as a conduit for the Company and that the resale of the 2,445,700 shares (the “Shares”)
of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Common Stock”), to be registered by the Registration Statement
is not an indirect primary offering being conducted by or on behalf of the Company.
Background.
On September 16, 2024, the Company
entered into an inducement offer letter agreement (the “Inducement Letter”) with Armistice Capital, LLC (the “Selling
Stockholder”), pursuant to which the Selling Stockholder agreed to exercise outstanding warrants (the “Old Warrants”)
to purchase 1,222,850 shares of Common Stock for cash at their then current exercise price of $3.55 per share in consideration for the
Company’s agreement to issue (i) new unregistered five-year warrants (the “Series A Warrants”) to purchase up to an
aggregate of 1,222,850 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $4.28 per share and (ii) new unregistered three-year warrants (the
“Series B Warrants,” and together with the Series A Warrants, the “New Warrants”) to purchase up to an aggregate
of 1,222,850 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $4.28 per share to the Selling Stockholder at a purchase price of $0.125 per
share of common stock underlying each New Warrant (the “Inducement Transaction”). The Company received $4,646,830 in gross
proceeds from the Inducement Transaction ($305,712.50 for the purchase of the New Warrants $4,341,117.50 for the exercise of the Old Warrants).
The Inducement Transaction was facilitated by A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners (“AGP”) who acted as the Company’s financial
advisor and received a cash fee of 7% of the gross proceeds from the Inducement Transaction. Pursuant to the terms of the Inducement Letter,
the Company also agreed to file a registration statement providing for the resale of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise
of the New Warrants within thirty (30) calendar days following the date of the Inducement Letter. The 1,222,850 shares of Common Stock
issued to the Selling Stockholder upon exercise of the Old Warrants were previously registered under Registration Statement on Form S-1
(No. 333-281531) and are not being registered under the Registration Statement.
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Analysis.
In an effort to assist registrants
in determining whether an offering by the Selling Stockholder may be characterized as a secondary offering that is eligible to be made
on a shelf basis under Rule 415(a)(1)(i), the Staff issued Interpretation 612.09 in its Securities Act Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations
(“C&DI 612.09”). C&DI 612.09 provides as follows:
612.09. It is important to identify
whether a purported secondary offering is really a primary offering, i.e., the Selling Stockholders are actually underwriters selling
on behalf of an issuer. Underwriter status may involve additional disclosure, including an acknowledgment of the seller’s prospectus
delivery requirements. In an offering involving Rule 415 or Form S-3, if the offering is deemed to be on behalf of the issuer, the Rule
and Form in some cases will be unavailable (e.g., because of the Form S-3 “public float” test for a primary offering, or because
Rule 415(a)(1)(i) is available for secondary offerings, but primary offerings must meet the requirements of one of the other subsections
of Rule 415). The question of whether an offering styled a secondary one is really on behalf of the issuer is a difficult factual one,
not merely a question of who receives the proceeds. Consideration should be given to how long the Selling Stockholders have held the shares,
the circumstances under which they received them, their relationship to the issuer, the amount of shares involved, whether the sellers
are in the business of underwriting securities, and finally, whether under all the circumstances it appears that the seller is acting
as a conduit for the issuer.
Each of the above factors mentioned in
the last sentence of C&DI 612.09 is considered below.
Factor 1: How long the Selling Stockholders
Have Held the Shares.
Although the safe harbor provided by
Rule 144 under the Securities Act indicates that a holding period of six months is, under certain circumstances,
sufficient to evidence investment intent and avoid being characterized as an “underwriter,” the Commission has recognized
that shorter holding periods do not negate investment intent. As described in CD&I Question 139.11, the Commission regularly permits
issuers to register privately issued shares (or in the case of convertible securities, the convertible security itself) for resale promptly
following, or even prior to, the closing of a private placement transaction:
In a PIPE transaction, a company will
be permitted to register the resale of securities prior to their issuance if the company has completed a Section 4(2)-exempt sale of the
securities to the investor, and the investor is at market risk at the time of filing of the resale registration statement.
This interpretation indicates that the
existence of registration rights and a short time between the issuance of the New Warrants and the filing date of the Registration Statement
do not preclude the offering from being secondary in nature. The private placement of the New Warrants to the Selling Stockholders occurred
prior to filing the Registration Statement and the Selling Stockholder bore market risk at the time of filing the Registration Statement.
Factor 2: The Circumstances Under
Which the Selling Stockholders Received Their Shares.
The Selling Stockholder acquired the
New Warrants as part of the Inducement Transaction in a bona fide private placement transaction pursuant to an exemption from registration
under Section 4(2) or Regulation D of the Securities Act. The Inducement Letter provides that the Company is obligated to register the
resale of the Shares. Such registration rights are customary in private placements of this nature (i.e., warrant exercise inducement transactions).
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Section 2(c)(ii) of the Securities Act
defines “underwriter” as any person who has purchased from an issuer with a view to, or offers or sells for an issuer in connection
with, the distribution of any security or participates or has a direct or indirect participation in any such undertaking, or participates
or has a participation in the direct or indirect underwriting of any such undertaking. In the Inducement Letter, the Selling Stockholder
made customary investment and private placement representations to the Company, including that (i) it is acquiring the New Warrants as
principal for its own account and has no direct or indirect arrangement or understandings with any other persons to distribute or regarding
the distribution of the New Warrants or the Shares, (ii) as of the date of the Inducement Letter it is, and on each date on which it exercises
any New Warrants it will be, an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501 of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities
Act, and agrees that the New Warrants will contain restrictive legends when issued, and neither the New Warrants nor the Shares issuable
upon exercise of the New Warrants will be registered under the Securities Act, except as provided in the registration rights provision
of the Inducement Letter.
The Company is neither aware of any
evidence that would indicate that these representations were false nor aware of any evidence that the Selling Stockholder has any plan
to act in concert to effect a distribution of their shares of Common Stock. The Selling Stockholders purchased the securities in an arm’s
length transaction in circumstances that do not indicate that they would be our underwriter. The Selling Stockholder is a private investment
fund. The Company is not aware of the Selling Stockholder being a broker dealer or being affiliated with a broker-dealer.
Furthermore, the Company is not aware
of any evidence that a distribution would occur if the Registration Statement is declared effective. Under the Commission’s rules,
a “distribution” requires special selling efforts. Rule 100(b) of Regulation M defines a “distribution” as “an
offering of securities, whether or not subject to registration under the Securities Act, that is distinguished from ordinary trading transactions
by the magnitude of the offering and the presence of special selling efforts and selling methods.” There is nothing to suggest that
any special selling efforts or selling methods by or on behalf of the Selling Stockholder has or would take place if the Registration
Statement is declared effective. The Company also is not aware of any facts to suggest that the Selling Stockholder has taken any actions
to condition or prime the market for the potential resale of the Shares.
Factor 3: The Selling Stockholders’
Relationship to the Company.
On September 16, 2024 and prior to entering
into the Inducement Transaction, the Company sold the Selling Stockholder in a registered best efforts offering 55,000 shares of Common
Stock, the Old Warrants and pre-funded warrants to purchase 1,167,850 shares of Common Stock at a purchase price of $3.68 per share and
accompanying Old Warrant and $3.6799 per prefunded warrant and accompanying Old Warrant. Prior to entering into the securities purchase
agreement related to the registered offering (the “SPA”), the Company had no relationship with the Selling Stockholder. The
Selling Stockholder was not provided with any control over the Company’s business pursuant to the SPA or the Inducement Letter,
neither the Selling Stockholder or any of its affiliates is an affiliate of the Company and the Selling Stockholder does not act as a
financial advisor or fiduciary of the Company. The Selling Stockholder was introduced to the Company by, solicited to make an investment
with the Company by, and worked through AGP, acting on behalf of the Company, and AGP, not the Selling Stockholder, acted as the Company’s
placement agent with respect to registered offering and financial advisor with respect to the Inducement Transaction.
The registration rights granted to the
Selling Stockholder under the Inducement Letter are customary and are not indicative of any desire of the Selling Stockholder to sell
or distribute the Shares on behalf of the Company, or at all. The Selling Stockholder negotiated for such customary registration rights
for a variety of business reasons, and the registration rights were not granted by the Company for the purpose of conducting an indirect
primary offering. Absent the contractual obligation contained in the Inducement Letter, the Company would not be filing the Registration
Statement.
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The Selling Stockholder is not acting
on the Company’s behalf with respect to the Shares being registered for resale under the Registration Statement, and the Company
has no contractual, legal or other relationship with the Selling Stockholder that would control the timing, nature or amount of resales
of such shares following the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or whether the Shares are ever resold at all under the Registration
Statement.
Finally, the Company will not receive
any of the proceeds from any resale of shares by the Selling Stockholder under the Registration Statement.
Factor 4: The Amount of Shares Involved.
The Company is seeking to register 2,445,700
shares of Common Stock underlying the New Warrants for resale, which represents approximately 44% of the Company’s outstanding shares
of Common Stock (after giving effect to the Offering and assuming exercise of the Warrants). While the number of shares being registered
are a factor considered by the Staff in determining whether an offering should be deemed to be a primary or secondary offering, we submit
that undue weight should not be placed on this single factor. The Staff’s own interpretations support this position. Pursuant to
C&DI 612.09, the number of shares being offered is only one of several factors to be considered in evaluating whether, under all the
circumstances, a purported secondary offering is instead an indirect primary offering. In addition, Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation
612.12 describes a scenario in which a controlling holder of more than 70% of the outstanding st