As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 17, 2016

 

Registration No. 333-             

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

XCEL BRANDS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware		76-0307819
(State or other jurisdiction of		(I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)		Identification No.)

 

1333 Broadway, 10th Floor

New York, NY 10018

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

 

 

XCEL BRANDS, INC.

2011 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

(Full title of the plan)

 

 

Robert D’Loren

Chief Executive Officer

Xcel Brands, Inc.

1333 Broadway, 10^th Floor

New York, NY 10018

(Name and address of agent for service)

(347) 727-2474

(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

Copy to:

Robert J. Mittman, Esq.
Brad L. Shiffman, Esq.

Blank Rome LLP

The Chrysler Building

405 Lexington Avenue

New York, New York 10174

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filed, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer ¨		Accelerated filer ¨
Non accelerated filer  ¨ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)		Smaller reporting company x

 

  

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

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Title of each class of securities to be registered			Amount to be registered (1)				Proposed maximum offering price per share (2)				Proposed maximum aggregate offering price (2)				Amount of registration fee
Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share			5,000,000			$	4.97			$	24,850,000			$	2,880.12

  

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(1)	Plus an indeterminate number of additional shares which may be offered and issued to prevent dilution resulting from stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions.

 

(2)	Estimated pursuant to Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, solely for the purpose of computing the registration fee, based on the last reportable trade of our common stock on October 13, 2016, as reported on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

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PART I

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

 

ITEM 1. PLAN INFORMATION.

 

Information required by Part I to be conformed in the Section 10(a) prospectus is omitted from this Registration Statement in accordance with Rule 428 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the Note to Part I of Form S-8.

 

ITEM 2. REGISTRANT INFORMATION AND EMPLOYEE PLAN ANNUAL INFORMATION.

 

Upon written or oral request, any of the documents incorporated by reference in Item 3 of Part II of the Registration Statement (which documents are incorporated by reference in the Section 10(a) Prospectus), and any other documents required to be delivered to the employees pursuant to Rule 428 promulgated under the Securities Act are available, without charge by contacting Xcel Brands, Inc., 1333 Broadway, 10^th Floor, New York, New York 10018, telephone number (347) 727-2474, Attention: Chief Financial Officer.

 

 

 

PART II

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

ITEM 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

 

The following documents filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) pursuant to Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement:

 

	(i)	our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 filed with the Commission on August 10, 2016
	(ii)	our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 filed with the Commission on May 10, 2016;
	(iii)	our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 filed with the Commission on  March 17, 2016;
	(iv)	our Current Reports on Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on March 3, 2016, April 6, 2016, June 30, 2016, August 15, 2016, September 23, 2016 and September 29, 2016; and
	(v)	the description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 10-SB, filed with the SEC on September 18, 2000 pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act and all amendments or reports filed by us for the purpose of updating those descriptions.

Any information provided pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of a Current Report on Form 8-K, including the exhibits thereto, shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement.

 

All reports and other documents subsequently filed by XCel Brands, Inc. (the “the Company”) pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from their respective dates of filing; provided, however, that the Company is not incorporating any information furnished under either Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K.

 

Any statement contained herein or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such earlier statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.

 

ITEM 4. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

 

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

 

Not applicable

 

ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

 

 

Section 102 of the Delaware General Corporation Law ("DGCL"), as amended, allows a corporation to eliminate the personal liability of directors of a corporation to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for a breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached his duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase in violation of Delaware law or obtained an improper personal benefit.

 

Section 145 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, agent or employee of the corporation or is or was serving at the corporation's request as a director, officer, agent, or employee of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses, including attorneys' fees, judgment, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding. The power to indemnify applies (a) if such person is successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding or (b) if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in the best interest, or not opposed to the best interest, of the corporation, and with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. The power to indemnify applies to actions brought by or in the right of the corporation as well, but only to the extent of defense expenses (including attorneys' fees but excluding amounts paid in settlement) actually and reasonably incurred and not to any satisfaction of judgment or settlement of the claim itself, and with the further limitation that in such actions no indemnification shall be made in the event of any adjudication of negligence or misconduct in the performance of duties to the corporation, unless the court believes that in light of all the circumstances indemnification should apply.

 

Section 174 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that a director, who willfully or negligently approves of an unlawful payment of dividends or an unlawful stock purchase or redemption, may be held liable for such actions. A director who was either absent when the unlawful actions were approved or dissented at the time, may avoid liability by causing his or her dissent to such actions to be entered in the books containing the minutes of the meetings of the board of directors at the time such action occurred or immediately after such absent director receives notice of the unlawful acts.

 

The registrant’s certificate of incorporation, as amended, eliminates, to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, a director's personal liability to the registrant or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director.

 

In addition, the registrant's by-laws provide that the registrant will indemnify its officers and directors to the full extent permitted by the laws of the State of Delaware and the employment agreements with the registrant’s executive officers provide that the registrant will indemnify them to the full extent provided by the DGCL.

 

 

ITEM 7. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

 

The securities that are to be reoffered or resold pursuant to this Registration Statement were issued pursuant to the Third Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan in transactions that were exempt from registration pursuant to Section 4(2) under the Securities Act.

 

ITEM 8. EXHIBITS.

 

Exhibit No.		Exhibit
4.1		The Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of XCel Brands Inc. (incorporated by reference to the applicable exhibit filed with the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with SEC on November 6, 2014)
4.2		The Second Amended and Restated By-Laws (incorporated by reference to the applicable exhibit filed with the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on November 6, 2014).
4.3		The Third Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan and Forms of Award Agreements (incorporated by reference to the applicable exhibit filed with the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement, filed with the Commission on August 15, 2016).
5.1		Opinion of Blank Rome LLP
23.1		Consent of CohnReznick LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
23.3		Consent of Blank Rome LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)
24.1		Power of Attorney (included on signature pages to this Registration Statement)

 

ITEM 9. UNDERTAKINGS.

 

(a)           The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

 

(1)           To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

 

(i)           To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

 

(ii)         To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement.

 

(iii)         To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.

 

Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the Registration Statement is on Form S-8, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.

 

(2)           That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(3)           To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

(b)           The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(c)           Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers, and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer, or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit, or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer, or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York, State of New York, on this 17th day of October 2016.

 

	XCel Brands, Inc.
	By:	/s/ Robert D’Loren
		Name: Robert D’Loren
		Title: Chief Executive Officer, Chairman
		(Principal Executive Officer)

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Robert D’Loren and James Haran, and each or any of them, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this Registration Statement, and any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and all other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or their substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

  

Signature		Title		Date
/s/ Robert D’Loren
Robert D’Loren		Chief Executive Officer and Chairman (Principal Executive Officer)		October  17, 2016
/s/ James Haran
James Haran		Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)		October 17, 2016
/s/ Michael Francis
Michael Francis		Director		October  17, 2016
/s/ Mark DiSanto
Mark DiSanto		Director		October  17, 2016
/s/ Edward Jones, III
Edward Jones		Director		October 17, 2016
/s/ Richard Kirschenbaum		Director		October 17, 2016
Richard Kirschenbaum
/s/ Howard Liebman
Howard Liebman		Director		October 17, 2016
/s/ Benjamin Malka
Benjamin Malka		Director		October 17, 2016

  

 

Exhibit 5.1

 

[Letterhead of Blank Rome LLP]

 

October 17, 2016

 

XCel Brands, Inc.

1333 Broadway - 10th Floor

New York, NY 10018 

 

Re: XCel Brands, Inc., Registration Statement on Form S-8

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

We have acted as counsel to XCel Brands, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the registration, pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-8, as the same may be amended from time to time (the “Registration Statement”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), of 5,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Common Stock”) issuable under the XCel Brands, Inc. 2011 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”).

 

We have examined originals or certified copies of such corporate records of the Company and other certificates and documents of officials of the Company, public officials and others as we have deemed relevant or appropriate for purposes of this opinion letter. We have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals and the conformity to authentic original documents of all copies submitted to us as conformed and certified or reproduced copies. We have also assumed that all of the shares eligible for issuance under the Plan following the date hereof will be issued for not less than par value.

 

Based upon the foregoing and subject to the assumptions, exceptions, qualifications and limitations set forth hereinafter, we are of the opinion that when the Registration Statement has become effective under the Act, that the shares, when issued, sold and delivered in compliance with the Plan and applicable federal and state securities laws, such shares will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

 

The opinions in this opinion letter are qualified in their entirety and subject to the following:

 

1. We express no opinion as to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

 

2. This opinion letter is limited to the matters stated herein, and no opinion is implied or may be inferred beyond the matters expressly stated. We assume herein no obligation, and hereby disclaim any obligation, to make any inquiry after the date hereof or to advise you of any future changes in the foregoing or of any facts or circumstances that may hereafter come to our attention.

 

We consent to the reference to this firm as your counsel in the Registration Statement and to the filing of this opinion as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

	Very truly yours,
	/s/ Blank Rome LLP
	BLANK ROME LLP

 

 

 

Exhibit 23.1

 

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-8 of Xcel Brands, Inc. of our report dated March 17, 2016, on our audits of the consolidated financial statements of Xcel Brands, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 and for the years then ended, which report appears in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Xcel Brands, Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2015.

 

/s/ CohnReznick LLP

 

New York, New York

 

October 17, 2016