Unwired Planet Inc. (NASDAQ: UPIP) announced that at its Annual General
Meeting of Stockholders held on December 4, the Company's stockholders
approved an amendment to the Company's Certificate of Incorporation to
effect a reverse split of the Company's common stock, $0.001 par value
per share, and authorized the Company's Board of Directors to determine
the ratio in a range of up to 1:20, and to determine the effective date
of the reverse stock split. The reverse stock split proposal was
approved by a vote of, over 85.5% of the outstanding shares, and of the
shares represented at the meeting, nearly 97% voted in favor of the
proposal. The Company also announced that the Board of Directors
authorized a program to repurchase up to five million shares (pre-split).
Reverse Stock Split of 1:12
The Board of Directors determined to fix the ratio for the reverse stock
split at 1-for-12, with a record date to be January 5, 2016, and trading
on a post-reverse split-adjusted basis on the NASDAQ Global Market to
begin as of the opening of trading on January 6, 2016. The purpose of
the reverse split is to raise the per share trading price of Unwired
Planet’s common stock to regain compliance with the $1.00 per share
minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on The Nasdaq Global
Market. However, there can be no assurance this desired effect will
occur or be maintained.
The common stock will continue to be reported on the Nasdaq Global
Market under the symbol "UPIP" (although management expects Nasdaq to
add the letter "D" to the end of the trading symbol for a period of 20
trading days to indicate that the reverse stock split has occurred). The
common stock will have a new CUSIP number upon the reverse stock split
becoming effective.
Upon the effectiveness of the reverse stock split, each 12 shares of the
Company's issued and outstanding common stock will be automatically
combined and converted into one issued and outstanding share of common
stock, par value $0.001 per share. The reverse stock split will affect
all issued and outstanding shares of the Company's common stock, as well
as common stock underlying the Company’s employee stock option plan and
outside director plan, stock options, stock appreciation rights,
restricted stock units, and restricted stock granted under restricted
stock agreements outstanding immediately prior to the effectiveness of
the reverse stock split. The reverse stock split will reduce the number
of shares of the Company's common stock currently outstanding from
approximately 113 million to approximately 9.4 million. In addition, the
number of authorized shares of the Company's common stock was decreased
from one billion to 350 million.
No fractional shares will be issued in connection with the reverse
split. Stockholders who would otherwise hold a fractional share of the
Company's common stock will receive a cash payment in lieu of such
fractional share based on each such holder’s pro rata share of the sale
price of the fractional shares, which will be aggregated and sold at
prevailing market prices by the Company’s exchange agent, Computershare,
Inc., as soon as practicable after the effective date of the reverse
stock split.
Stockholders with shares held in book-entry form or through a bank,
broker or other nominee are not required to take any action and will see
the impact of the reverse stock split reflected in their accounts
after January 5, 2016. Beneficial holders may contact their bank, broker
or nominee for more information. Stockholders with shares held in
certificate form may exchange their stock certificates for book-entry
shares representing the shares of common stock resulting from the
reverse stock split. These stockholders will receive a Letter of
Transmittal and instructions for exchanging their certificates from
Computershare, Inc.
Stock Repurchase Program
Under the stock repurchase program, the Company may repurchase up to
five million (pre-split) shares in open-market purchases in accordance
with all applicable securities laws and regulations, including Rule
10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Due to
applicable securities laws, the Company’s repurchase of shares will not
begin until the Company’s trading window re-opens, which could be as
early as late January 2016. The extent to which Unwired Planet
repurchases its shares, and the timing of such repurchases, will depend
upon a variety of factors, including market conditions, regulatory
requirements and other corporate considerations, as determined by
Unwired Planet’s management team. The repurchase program may be
suspended or discontinued at any time. The Company expects to finance
the purchases with existing cash balances.
Additional information about the reverse stock split can be found in the
Company's definitive proxy statement filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on October 28, 2015, a copy of which is available at www.sec.gov or
at www.unwiredplanet.com
under the SEC Documents tab located on the Investors page.
About Unwired Planet
Unwired Planet, Inc. (NASDAQ: UPIP) is the inventor of the Mobile
Internet and a premier intellectual property company focused exclusively
on the mobile industry. The company's patent portfolio of approximately
2,500 issued and pending US and foreign patents, includes technologies
that allow mobile devices to connect to the Internet and enable mobile
communications. The portfolio spans 2G, 3G, and 4G technologies, as well
as cloud-based mobile applications and services. Unwired
Planet's portfolio includes patents related to key mobile technologies,
including baseband mobile communications, mobile browsers, mobile
advertising, push notification technology, maps and location based
services, mobile application stores, social networking, mobile gaming,
and mobile search. Unwired Planet is headquartered in Los Altos,
California. References in this release to Unwired Planet may be
to Unwired Planet, Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release with respect to future events or
expectations, including statements regarding the effective date of the
reverse stock split, continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Market, and
the implementation and any potential transactions under the stock
repurchase program are forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933. These forward-looking statements are subject
to many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected. Notwithstanding changes that may
occur with respect to matters relating to any forward looking
statements, Unwired Planet assumes no obligation to update the
forward-looking statements included in this press release. For a
detailed discussion of these and other factors that may cause these
forward looking statements not to come true, please refer to the risk
factors discussed in Unwired Planet’s filings with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the company's Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, and Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015. These
documents are available through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering
Analysis and Retrieval system (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov
or from Unwired Planet’s website at www.unwiredplanet.com.
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