Item 1.01Item 1.01 - Entry into Material Agreement
Item
1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
Securities
Purchase Agreement
On
October 30, 2026, Vertical Data Inc. (the “ Company ”) entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “ Purchase
Agreement ”) with certain investors named therein (each, an “ Investor ” and collectively, the “ Investors ”),
pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell to the Investors, in a private placement (the “ Private Placement ”), an
aggregate of 1,413,640 shares (each, a “ Share ” and collectively, the “ Shares ”) of the Company’s
common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “ Common Stock ”), at an offering price of $3.00 per Share. The gross
proceeds of the Private Placement are expected to be approximately $4.2 million, before deducting offering expenses payable by the Company.
The
Private Placement closed on November 2, 2026 (the “ Closing
Date ”). B. Riley Securities, Inc.
acted as sole placement agent (the “ Placement Agent ”) for the Company
in connection with the Private Placement. Pursuant
to the terms of an engagement letter entered into by the Company and
the Placement Agent, dated September 11, 2026, as amended on November 4, 2026, the Company agreed
to issue 22,916 shares of Common Stock to the Placement Agent (the “ Placement Agent Shares ”)
as compensation for serving as Placement Agent.
The
Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Private Placement (i) for
general corporate purposes and working capital, and (ii) to
support the satisfaction of any applicable quantitative initial listing requirements of a national securities exchange in connection
with a potential uplisting to such exchange (the “ Uplisting ”) and to pay
the costs and expenses of the Uplisting. Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the Company has agreed not to use such proceeds
for (a) the
repayment or refinancing of any indebtedness owed to officers, directors or affiliates of the Company, (b) the redemption or repurchase of any equity securities of the
Company, or (c) any
loan to or investment in any entity other than a subsidiary of the Company.
The
Purchase Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and agreements of the Company and the Investors, customary conditions
to closing, indemnification obligations of the Company, other obligations of the parties and termination provisions.
Pursuant
to the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the Company agreed
to use commercially reasonable efforts to file an initial listing application for the Common Stock with a national securities exchange
(the “ National Exchange ”) within sixty (60) days after the Closing
Date and to cause the Common Stock to be approved
for listing and trading on the National Exchange within
one hundred eighty (180) days
after the Closing Date (the
“ Uplisting Deadline ”). The Uplisting Deadline extends automatically by an
additional sixty (60) days
if the Company is in compliance in all material respects with its uplisting covenants and the Uplisting has not occurred by the Uplisting Deadline solely
because the National Exchange’s review
of the listing application remains pending. If the Uplisting has not occurred by the Uplisting Deadline, (i) the Company must pay each
Investor liquidated damages in cash equal to 1.0% of its aggregate purchase price for each 30-day period, prorated, until the Uplisting
occurs, capped at 6.0% of that purchase price, (ii) certain issuance restrictions and the most-favored-nation rights described below
are extended until the Uplisting occurs, and (iii) the Investors become entitled to additional registration rights.
In addition, among other covenants, the Purchase Agreement provides as
follows:
Restrictions on Subsequent Issuances. Subject to
certain limited exceptions, for sixty (60) days after the Closing Date, the Company may not issue equity or equity-linked securities
without the consent of Investors holding a majority in interest of the outstanding securities. Thereafter, until the earlier of the Uplisting
and the 12-month anniversary of the Closing Date, the Company may not issue any shares of its Common Stock or equivalents at an effective
price below the per-share purchase price.
Restrictions
on Variable Rate Transactions. Until the earlier of the 12-month anniversary of the Closing
Date and
three months after the Uplisting, the Company may not enter into any Variable Rate Transactions
(as defined in the Purchase Agreement). Following the Uplisting, the term “Variable
Rate Transaction” shall not include the issuance or sale of shares of Common Stock
by the Company pursuant to an “at-the-market” offering or equity line transaction
conducted under an effective registration statement.
Most
Favored Nation Right. Until the earlier of the Uplisting and the 12-month anniversary
of the Closing Date, if
the Company completes a non-exempt capital raise on terms more favorable to investors, each
Investor may elect to receive the benefit of those terms.
Indemnification. The Company has agreed to indemnify the Investors and their related parties for losses arising
out of, among other things, any breach of the Company’s representations, warranties,
covenants or agreements in the transaction documents and certain actions brought by the Company’s
stockholders with respect to the transactions contemplated thereby, subject to certain limitations.
Certain
Other Covenants. The Company also agreed to timely remove restrictive legends, with liquidated
damages and buy-in remedies for delays. In addition, the Company agreed to maintain its reporting
status under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”),
and make information available under Rule 144 promulgated
under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
2
Registration
Rights Agreement
In connection with the Private
Placement, the Company and the Investors entered into a Registration Rights Agreement, dated as
of October 30, 2026 (the “Registration Rights Agreement”),
providing for the registration for resale of the Shares issued in the Private Placement and the
Placement Agent Shares (the “Registrable Securities”). Pursuant
to the Registration Rights Agreement, the Company is required to file a registration statement on Form S-1 (or Form S-3, if
eligible) (the “Registration Statement”) within thirty
(30) days after the Closing Date. The Company is required to use commercially
reasonable efforts to have the Registration Statement declared effective within thirty
(30) days after the filing deadline, or within sixty (60) days if the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) reviews it. If the SEC reviews the
Registration Statement and the Company uses commercially reasonable efforts to resolve the SEC’s comments, the effectiveness
deadline will be extended until such comments are resolved. In addition, the Company is required to file additional registration
statements if the registered shares fall below 75% of the required amount. If the Common Stock is not listed by the Uplisting
Deadline, then, in addition to any other remedy available to the Investors under the Purchase Agreement, upon the written request of
holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities, the Company will, as soon as practicable and in no event later than 30 days
following such request, prepare and file with the SEC an additional Registration Statement covering the resale of all Registrable
Securities not then covered by an effective Registration Statement. If the Company fails to file the required Registration Statement
by its deadline, it is required to pay each holder of Registrable Securities 1.0% of that
holder’s aggregate purchase price on the date of the failure and on every 30-day anniversary until the failure is cured. These
payments are partial liquidated damages. Late payments bear interest at 2.0% per month.
The Company is required to keep the Registration Statement effective until the earlier of: (a) the date the Registrable Securities
may be sold under Rule 144 without restriction or the current public information requirement, and (b) the date all Registrable
Securities have been sold. The Company may suspend use of a Registration Statement for limited grace periods. No grace period may
exceed twenty (20) consecutive days, and grace periods may not exceed sixty
(60) days in total in any 365-day period. The Investors also have customary piggyback registration rights. The Company has
agreed to pay the registration expenses other than underwriting discounts and commissions. The Registration Rights Agreement
includes customary cross-indemnification and contribution provisions. The foregoing description of the Purchase Agreement and the
Registration Rights Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the forms of the
Purchase Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement, which are filed as Exhibits 10.1 and 10.2, respectively, to this Current
Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated by reference herein.