Correspondence 0001193805-23-000305 from SEALSQ Corp (LAES)
SEALSQ Corp
Date: March 10, 2023 · CIK: 0001951222 · Accession: 0001193805-23-000305
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
Referenced dates: February 10, 2023
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CORRESP
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filename1.htm
SEALSQ CORP
Avenue Louis-Casai 58
Contrin
Switzerland
1216
March 10, 2023
Mr. Patrick Fullem
Mr. Evan Ewing
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Manufacturing
100 F Street, N. E.
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re:
SEALSQ Corp
Registration Statement
on Form F-1 Submitted
February 10, 2023
CIK No. 0001951222
Dear Mr. Fullem and Mr. Ewing:
This letter responds to the letter dated February
10, 2023 (the “Comment Letter”) containing comments from the staff (the “Staff”) of the Division
of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) resulting from the Staff’s
review of the Registration Statement on Form F-1 of SEALSQ Corp (the “Company,” or “we”) initially
submitted to the Commission on February 10, 2023 (the “Initial Registration Statement”).
We are filing with the Commission via EDGAR concurrently
herewith an amended Registration Statement responding to the Staff’s comment (as amended, the “Registration Statement”).
For your convenience, your original comments appear
in bold text, followed by our responses. Page references in our responses are to the Registration Statement.
General
1. We note your response to prior comment 27. Based on your response, it is not clear why you believe
the transaction does not constitute a secondary offering of SEALSQ securities by WISeKey International Holding AG. In this instance, because
WISeKey is deemed to be the reseller of 100% of SEALSQ securities, we believe WISeKey is serving as a conduit for the public distribution
of SEALSQ securities and should therefore be identified as a statutory underwriter under Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act. Please
revise the registration statement or tell us why WISeKey should not be identified as a selling shareholder and as an underwriter.
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Response:
In response to the Staff’s comment, we have
revised its disclosure on the cover page and page 111 of the Registration Statement to identify WISeKey as a statutory underwriter and
as a selling shareholder.
Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information,
page 53
2. We note your presentation of the capitalization tables on pages 60 and 61 which set forth SEALSQ's
consolidated capitalization as of June 30, 2022, and after the recapitalization under common control. In this regard, please tell us the
purpose of the capitalization tables in Note 4 and how the presentation differs from the amounts presented in the shareholders' equity
section on your unaudited pro forma condensed combined consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2022 on page 55. Please consider removing
as the presentation is confusing and duplicative.
Response:
In response to the Staff’s comment, the
Company has revised the Registration Statement to remove the capitalization tables in Note 4 of the unaudited pro forma condensed
combined financial information.
Introduction, page 54
3. We note the revised disclosure in response to prior comment 12. Please further revise to remove the
references to “directly attributable” and “factually supportable” as they are no longer included in Article 11.
Response:
In response to the Staff’s comment,
the Company has revised the Registration Statement to remove the references to “directly attributable” and “factually
supportable” in the introduction of the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information.
Note 4. Transaction Accounting Adjustments and Autonomous
Entity Adjustments Adjustment (a), page 59
4. The disclosures on page 60 do not appear to agree with the information presented in SEALSQ Corp’s
historical balance sheet as of June 30, 2022 on page 55. Please revise to resolve these inconsistencies or provide a reconciliation in
the disclosure.
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Response:
In response to the Staff’s
comment, the Company has revised the Registration Statement to provide the exact debit and credit accounting entries of the transaction
accounting adjustments (a) and (b) in Note 4 of the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information.
Adjustment (e), page 61
5. We note from your disclosure on page 133 that Class F Shareholders have dividend right and will be
paid five times greater than the amount paid to Ordinary Shareholders. Please explain why you did not reflect the Class F Shares in your
pro forma earnings per share calculation. In this regard, please tell us your consideration for applying the two-class method in your
calculation. Refer to ASC 260-10-45.
Response:
In response to the Staff’s comment, the
Company has revised the Registration Statement to disclose the split of earnings per share between our ordinary shares and Class F shares
in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of comprehensive loss of each period presented. The Company also revised Note
4(e) of the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information to reflect the two-class method applied.
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations Liquidity and Capital Resources, page 64
6. We note the revised disclosure in the Material Contracts section in response to prior comment 19.
Please also revise to include this information in the Liquidity and Capital Resources section of the Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Response:
In response to the Staff’s comment,
the Company has revised the Registration Statement to disclose in the Liquidity and Capital Resources section of the Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations that the credit line with WISeKey as at June 30, 2022 “does
not cap the amount of loans allowed under the agreement”. The Company notes that the disclosure in the Liquidity and Capital Resources
section of the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations on page 64 differs from the
disclosure in the Material Contracts section due to amendments to the loan facility with WISeKey International Holding Ltd effected after
June 30, 2022.
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Business Overview, page 86
7. We note your response to prior comment 20. Please revise the description of your business throughout
the registration statement to clarify, if true, that the NFTs and blockchain technology used by your customers has not been developed
by you and that you only provide your customers the ability to create and maintain a secure link between an object and its NFT. For example,
you state that “our semiconductors, when placed on any object, securely issue NFTs,” “SEALSQ uses a unique method to
secure semiconductors designed by the Company through cutting-edge authentication processes combined with identity blockchain and post-quantum
technology” and make multiple references to the Casper blockchain. Please also provide a detailed explanation of how your products
function, the process by which a customer that purchases SEALSQ semiconductors issues a NFT and creates and maintains a secure link between
an object and its NFT. Provide illustrative examples as appropriate. Furthermore, revise your disclosure to describe the blockchain technology
supported by your products and the risks and challenges related to your customers' reliance on blockchain technology that you did not
develop.
Response:
In response to the Staff’s comment,
we have revised its disclosure on pages 86, 88, 89 and 90 of the Registration Statement.
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements, page F-1
8. We note your response to prior comment 25 regarding the application of the business combination related
shell company definition to SEALSQ Corp. Your response indicates SEALSQ Corp was formed solely for the purpose of completing a business
combination transaction among one or more entities other than the shell company and that one of the entities is Wisekey Semiconductors
SAS. Please clarify the entities that are combining in the business combination transaction, as it appears Wisekey Semiconductors KK and
Wisekey Semiconductors are already subsidiaries of Wisekey Semiconductors SAS. If SEALSQ Corp is not a business combination related shell
company, then file audited financial statements of SEALSQ Corp.
Response:
In response to the Staff’s comment, we have filed the audited
balance sheet of SEALSQ Corp.
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We appreciate your comments and welcome
the opportunity to discuss with you our response provided above. Please contact us at 011-41-22-594-3000 or via e-mail at cmoreira@wisekey.com/pward@wisekey.com
or our outside legal counsel from Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP at 212-336-2301 or via e-mail at hhraspe@pbwt.com, if you have
any questions or require additional information.
Respectfully,
SEALSQ Corp
By:
/s/ Carlos Moreira, CEO
By:
/s/ Peter Ward, CFO
cc: Herman H. Raspé. Esq. (Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP)