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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 27, 2009

Registration No. 333-161608

 

 

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

AMENDMENT No. 1

TO

FORM S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Under

The Securities Act of 1933

 

 

ACTIVE POWER, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware		74-2961657
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

2128 W. Braker Lane, BK 12

Austin, Texas 78758

(512) 836-6464

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

John K. Penver

Chief Financial Officer

2128 W. Braker Lane, BK12

Austin, Texas 78758

(512) 836-6464

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

Derek L. Willis, Esq.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Professional Corporation

900 S. Capital of Texas Highway

Las Cimas IV, Fifth Floor

Austin, Texas 78746

Tel: (512) 338-5400

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Registration Statement.

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box.    ¨

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box.    x

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.    ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.    ¨

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box.    ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box.    ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, 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. (Check one):

 

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

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

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 $0.001 par value		6,000,000		$0.76		$4,560,000		$254.45

(1)

Consists entirely of 6,000,000 shares of common stock outstanding. Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement shall also cover any additional shares of common stock which become issuable by reason of any stock dividend, stock split or other similar transaction effected without the receipt of consideration that results in an increase in the number of the outstanding shares of common stock of the registrant.

(2)

In accordance with Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act of 1933, the aggregate offering price of our stock is estimated solely for the calculating of the registration fees due for this filing. For the initial filing of this Registration Statement, this estimate was based on the average of the high and low sales price of our stock reported by The NASDAQ Global Market on August 26, 2009, which was $0.76.

 

 

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission acting pursuant to said Section 8(a) may determine.

 

 

 

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Subject to Completion, Dated October 27, 2009

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

6,000,000

Active Power, Inc.

Common Stock

On May 29, 2009, the selling stockholder set forth in the section starting on page 15 of this prospectus acquired 6,000,000 shares of our common stock directly from us in a private placement that was exempt from the registration requirements of the securities laws. This prospectus relates to the resale of up to all 6,000,000 of such shares of common stock by such selling stockholder. We are not selling any securities under this prospectus and will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholder.

The selling stockholder may sell the shares of common stock described in this prospectus in a number of different ways and at varying prices. We provide more information about how the selling stockholder may sell shares of common stock in the section titled “Plan of Distribution” on page 17. We will not be paying any underwriting discounts or commissions in this offering. We will pay the expenses incurred in registering the shares, including legal and accounting fees.

Our common stock is listed on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “ACPW.” The last reported sale price for our common stock on October 26, 2009 was $1.31 per share.

Investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk.

See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 3 of this prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus or the accompanying prospectus are truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is                     , 2009.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

		Page
Prospectus Summary		1
Risk Factors		3
Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements		12
Use of Proceeds		13
Selling Stockholder		14
Plan of Distribution		15
Description of Capital Stock		17
Legal Matters		20
Experts		20
Where You Can Find More Information		20
Incorporation by Reference		21

INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement. We have not, and the selling stockholder has not, authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different information. These securities are not being offered in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should assume that the information in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate only as of the date on the front of the document and that any information we have incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement or of any sale of our common stock.

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risk factors described below, and all other information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, before deciding to invest in our common stock. If any of the following risks actually occur, they may materially harm our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows. As a result, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks and uncertainties that are not yet identified or that we think are immaterial may also materially harm our business, operating results or financial condition and could result in a complete loss of your investment.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS

We have incurred significant losses and anticipate losses for at least the next year.

We have incurred operating losses since our inception and expect to continue to incur losses for at least the next year. As of December 31, 2008 and September 30, 2009, we had an accumulated deficit of $238.8 million and $247.7 million, respectively. To date, we have funded our operations principally through the public and private sale of our stock, from product and service revenue and from $10.0 million in development funding from Caterpillar. We will need to generate significant additional revenue in order to achieve profitability, and we cannot assure you that we will ever realize such revenue levels or achieve profitability. We also expect to incur product development, sales and marketing and administrative expenses in excess of our product revenue after costs, and, as a result, we expect to continue to incur losses for at least the next year.

Our increased emphasis on a direct sales model and our transaction and customer concentration may affect our ability to accurately predict the timing of revenues and to meet short-term expectations of operating results.

Our increased emphasis on a direct sales model has increased the effort and time required by us to complete sales to customers. Further, a larger portion of our quarterly revenue is derived from relatively few large transactions with relatively few customers. For example, in the third quarter of 2009, our five largest customers contributed 69% of our revenue. Our shift to the direct sales model, or any delay in completing these large sales transactions or reduction in the number of customers or large transactions, may result in significant fluctuations in our quarterly revenue. Further, we use anticipated revenues to establish our operating budgets and a large portion of our expenses, particularly rent and salaries are fixed in the short term. As a result, any shortfall or delay in revenue could result in increased losses and would likely cause our operating results to be below public expectations. The occurrence of any of these events would likely cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

Our business may be affected by general economic conditions and uncertainty that may cause customers to defer or cancel sales commitments previously made to us.

Recent economic difficulties in the Unites States credit markets and certain international markets has led to an economic recession in some or all of the markets in which we operate. A recession or even the risk of a potential recession may be sufficient reason for customers to delay, defer or cancel purchase decisions, including decisions previously made. This risk is magnified for capital goods purchases such as the UPS products we supply. Although we believe that the higher operating efficiency and lower total cost of ownership supports customers using and purchasing our equipment, and our efforts to broaden the number of different markets in which we sell will help mitigate economic risk from any one country, any customer delays or cancellation in sales orders could materially affect our level of revenues and operating results. Should our financial results not meet the expectations of public market analysts or investors, the market price of our stock would most likely decline.

Our financial results may vary significantly from quarter to quarter.

Our product revenue, operating expenses and quarterly operating results have varied in the past and may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter in the future due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result you should not rely on our operating results during any particular quarter as an indication of our future performance in any quarterly period or fiscal year. These factors include, among others:

 

•

timing of orders from our customers and the possibility that customers may change their order requirements with little or no notice to us;

 

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•

rate of adoption of our flywheel-based energy storage system as an alternative to lead-acid batteries;

 

•

ongoing need for short-term power outage protection in traditional UPS systems;

 

•

deferral of customer orders in anticipation of new products from us or other providers of power quality systems;

 

•

timing of deferred revenue components associated with large orders;

 

•

new product releases, licensing or pricing decisions by our competitors;

 

•

commodity and raw material component prices;

 

•

lack of order backlog;

 

•

loss of a significant customer or distributor;

 

•

impact of changes to our product distribution strategy and pricing policies;

 

•

changes in the mix of domestic and international sales;

 

•

rate of growth of the markets for our products; and

 

•

other risks described below.

The market for power quality products is evolving and it is difficult to predict its potential size or future growth rate. Most of the organizations that may purchase our products have invested substantial resources in their existing power systems and, as a result, have been reluctant or slow to adopt a new approach, particularly during a period of reduced capital expenditures. Moreover, our current products are alternatives to existing UPS and battery-based systems and may never be accepted by our customers or may be made obsolete by other advances in power quality technologies.

Significant portions of our expenses are not variable in the short term and cannot be quickly reduced to respond to decreases in revenue. Therefore, if our revenue is below our expectations, our operating results are likely to be adversely and disproportionately affected. In addition, we may change our prices, modify our distribution strategy and policies, accelerate our investment in research and development, sales or marketing efforts in response to competitive pressures or to pursue new market opportunities. Any one of these activities may further limit our ability to adjust spending in response to revenue fluctuations. We use forecasted revenue to establish our expense budget. Because most of our expenses are fixed in the short term or incurred in advance of anticipated revenue, any shortfall in revenue may result in significant losses.

We derive a substantial portion of our revenues from international markets and plan to continue to expand such efforts, which subjects us to additional business risks including increased logistical and financial complexity, managing internal controls and processes, political instability and currency fluctuations.

The percentage of our product revenue derived from customers located outside of the United States was 42%, 45% and 39% in 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively. Our international operations are subject to a number of risks, including:

 

•

foreign laws and business practices that favor local competition;

 

•

dependence on local channel partners;

 

•

compliance with multiple, conflicting and changing government laws and regulations;

 

•

longer sales cycles;

 

•

difficulties in managing and staffing foreign operations;

 

•

foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and the associated effects on product demand and timing of payment;

 

•

political and economic stability, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa;

 

•

greater difficulty in the contracting and shipping process and in accounts receivable collection including longer collection periods;

 

•

greater difficulty in hiring qualified technical sales and application engineers; and

 

•

difficulties with financial reporting in foreign countries.

 

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To date, the majority of our sales to international customers and purchases of components from international suppliers have been denominated in U.S. dollars. We have benefited from the decline in value of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies over the last several years which has made our products more price competitive in foreign markets. As a result, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies could make our products more expensive for our international customers to purchase, thus rendering our products less competitive. As we increase direct sales in foreign markets, we are making more sales that are denominated in other currencies, primarily euros and British pounds. Those sales in currencies other than U.S. dollars can result in translation gains and losses. Currently, we do not engage in hedging activities for our international operations. However, we may engage in hedging activities in the future.

We are subject to risks relating to product concentration and lack of revenue diversification.

We derive a substantial portion of our revenue from a limited number of products, particularly our 250-900 kVA product family. We expect these products to continue to account for a large percentage of our revenues in the near term. Continued market acceptance of these products is therefore critical to our future success. Our future success will also depend in part on our ability to reduce our dependence on these few products by developing and introducing new products and product or feature enhancements in a timely manner. Specifically, our ability to capture significant market share depends on our ability to develop and market extensions to our existing UPS product line at higher and lower power range offerings and as containerized solutions. Even if we are able to develop and commercially introduce new products and enhancements, they may not achieve market acceptance, which would substantially impair our revenue, profitability and overall financial prospects. Successful product development and market acceptance of our existing and future products depend on a number of factors including:

 

•

changing requirements of customers;

 

•

accurate prediction of market and technical requirements;

 

•

timely completion and introduction of new designs;

 

•

quality, price and performance of our products;

 

•

availability, quality, price and performance of competing products and technologies;

 

•

our customer service and support capabilities and responsiveness;

 

•

successful development of our relationships with existing and potential customers; and

 

•

changes in technology, industry standards or end-user preferences.

We must expand our distribution channels and manage our existing and new product distribution relationships to continue to grow our business.

The future growth of our business will depend in part on our ability to expand our existing relationships with distributors, to identify and develop additional channels for the distribution and sale of our products and to manage these relationships. As part of our growth strategy, we may expand our relationships with distributors and develop relationships with new distributors. We will also look to identify and develop new relationships with additional parties that could serve as an outlet for our products, or that could provide additional opportunities for our existing sales channels, such as the recent relationships that we have developed with Sun Microsystems, Hewlett Packard and Verari Systems. Our inability to successfully execute this strategy, and to integrate and manage our existing OEM channel partners and our new distributors and manufacturer’s representatives, could impede our future growth.

We must continue to hire and retain skilled personnel.

We believe our future success will depend in large part upon our ability to attract, motivate and retain highly skilled managerial, engineering and sales and product marketing personnel. There is a limited supply of skilled employees in the power quality marketplace. A decline in our stock price can result in a substantial number of “underwater” stock options, whereby the exercise price of the option is greater than the current market value of our common stock. As a result, the financial attractiveness of the stock options is substantially diminished, which may cause certain of our employees to seek employment elsewhere as a result of this decreased financial incentive, or impair our ability to recruit new employees. Our efforts to attract and retain highly skilled employees could be harmed by our past or any future workforce reductions. Our failure to attract and retain the highly trained technical personnel who are

 

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essential to our product development, marketing, sales, service and support teams may limit the rate at which we can develop new products or generate revenue. If we are unable to retain the personnel we currently employ, or if we are unable to quickly replace departing employees, our operations and new product development may suffer.

We are significantly dependent on our relationship with Caterpillar, our primary OEM customer. If this relationship is unsuccessful, for whatever reason, our business and financial prospects would likely suffer.

Caterpillar and its dealer network is our primary OEM customer and our largest single customer for our flywheel-based products. Caterpillar and its dealer network accounted for 35%, 31% and 40% of our revenue during 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively. If our relationship with Caterpillar is not successful, or if Caterpillar’s distribution of the Cat UPS product is not successful or suffers a material change, our business and financial prospects would likely suffer. Pursuant to our distribution agreement with Caterpillar, they are an OEM distributor of our CleanSource UPS product which is then marketed to Caterpillar’s dealer network under the brand name CAT UPS. Caterpillar is not obligated to purchase any minimum quantity of CleanSource UPS units from us.

We have underutilized manufacturing capacity and have no experience manufacturing our products in large quantities.

In 2001, we leased and equipped a 127,000 square foot facility used for manufacturing and testing of our three-phase product line, including our DC and UPS products. To be financially successful, and to fully utilize the capacity of this facility and allocate its associated overhead, we must achieve significantly higher sales volumes. We must accomplish this while also preserving the quality levels we achieved when manufacturing these products in more limited quantities. To date, we have not been successful at increasing our sales volume to a level that fully utilizes the capacity of the facility and we may never increase our sales volume to necessary levels. During 2007 we subleased approximately 31,000 feet of our manufacturing facility to help lower our operating costs and to take advantage of surplus space that we leased but were not using. If we do not reach these necessary sales volume levels, or if we cannot sell our products at our suggested prices, our ability to reach profitability will be materially limited.

Achieving the necessary production levels presents a number of technological and engineering challenges for us. We have not previously manufactured our products in high volume. We do not know whether or when we will be able to develop efficient, low-cost manufacturing capability and processes that will enable us to meet the quality, price, engineering, design and product standards or production volumes required to successfully manufacture large quantities of our products. Even if we are successful in developing our manufacturing capability and processes, we do not know whether we will do so in time to meet our product commercialization schedule or to satisfy the requirements of our customers.

We must build quality products to ensure acceptance of our products.

The market perception of our products and related acceptance of the products is highly dependent upon the quality and reliability of the products that we build. Any quality problems attributable to the CleanSource DC, CleanSource UPS or CoolAir DC product lines may substantially impair our revenue prospects. Moreover, quality problems for our product lines could cause us to delay or cease shipments of products or have to recall or field upgrade products, thus adversely affecting our ability to meet revenue or cost targets. In addition, while we seek to limit our liability as a result of product failure or defects through warranty and other limitations, if one of our products fails, a customer could suffer a significant loss and seek to hold us responsible for that loss.

We currently operate without a sufficient backlog.

We generally operate our business without a sufficient backlog of orders from customers. Normally our products are shipped and revenue is recognized shortly after the order is received and usually within two quarters of the date of the order. Because our backlog is not sufficient to provide all of the next quarter’s revenue, revenue in any quarter is substantially dependent on orders booked and shipped throughout that quarter. We are attempting to increase the size of our backlog to allow greater efficiency in production and to facilitate business planning and to improve visibility, but there can be no guarantee that we can successfully build meaningful backlog.

 

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Seasonality may contribute to fluctuations in our quarterly operating results.

Our business has, on occasion, experienced seasonal customer buying patterns. In recent years, the UPS industry has generally experienced relatively weaker demand in the first calendar quarter of the year and we have experienced the same behavior. We believe that this pattern will continue. In addition, we anticipate that demand for our products in Europe and Africa may decline in the summer months, as compared to other regions, because of reduced corporate buying patterns during the vacation season.

We depend on sole and limited source suppliers, and outsource selected component manufacturing.

We purchase several component parts from sole source and limited source suppliers. As a result of our current volumes, we lack significant leverage with these and other suppliers. If our suppliers receive excess demand for their products, we may receive a low priority for order fulfillment as large volume customers may receive priority that may result in delays in our acquiring components. If we are delayed in acquiring components for our products, the manufacture and shipment of our products also will be delayed. We are, however, continuing to enter into long-term agreements with our sole suppliers and other key suppliers, when available, using a rolling sales volume forecast to stabilize component availability. Lead times for ordering materials and components vary significantly and depend on factors such as specific supplier requirements, contract terms, the extensive production time required and current market demand for such components. Some of these delays may be substantial. As a result, we purchase several components in large quantities to protect our ability to deliver finished products. If we overestimate our component requirements, we may have excess inventory, which will increase our costs. If we underestimate our component requirements, we will have inadequate inventory, which will delay our manufacturing and render us unable to deliver products to customers on scheduled delivery dates. If we are unable to obtain a component from a supplier or if the price of a component has increased substantially, we may be required to manufacture the component internally, which will also result in delays or be required to absorb price increases. Manufacturing delays could negatively impact our ability to sell our products and could damage our customer relationships.

To assure the availability of our products to our customers, we outsource the manufacturing of selected components prior to the receipt of purchase orders from customers based on their forecasts of their product needs and internal product sales revenue forecasts. However, these forecasts do not represent binding purchase commitments from our customers. We do not recognize revenue for such products until we receive an order from the customer and the product is shipped to the customer. As a result, we incur inventory and manufacturing costs in advance of anticipated revenue. As demand for our products may not materialize, this product delivery method subjects us to increased risks of high inventory carrying costs, obsolescence and excess, and may increase our operating costs. In addition, we may from time to time make design changes to our products, which could lead to obsolescence of inventory.

We face significant competition from other companies.

The markets for power quality and power reliability are intensely competitive. There are many companies engaged in all areas of traditional and alternative UPS and backup systems in the United States and abroad, including, among others, major electric and specialized electronics firms, as well as universities, research institutions and foreign government-sponsored companies. There are many companies that are developing flywheel-based energy storage systems and flywheel-based power quality systems. We may face future competition from companies that are developing other types of emerging power technologies, such as high-speed composite flywheels, ultra capacitors and superconducting magnetic energy storage.

Many of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories, significantly greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources, broader name and brand recognition and a larger installed base of customers. As a result, these competitors may have greater credibility with our existing and potential customers and greater service infrastructure than we do. They also may be able to adopt more aggressive pricing policies and devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than we can to ours, which would allow them to respond more quickly than us to new or emerging technologies or changes in customer requirements. In addition, some of our current and potential competitors have established supplier or joint development relationships with our current or potential customers. These competitors may be able to leverage their existing relationships to discourage these customers from purchasing products from us or to persuade them to replace our products with their products. Increased competition could decrease our prices, reduce our sales, lower our margins, or decrease our market share. These and other competitive pressures could prevent us from competing successfully against current or future competitors and could materially harm our business.

 

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We may be unable to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights.

Our success depends to a significant degree upon our ability to protect our proprietary technology, and we expect that future technological advancements made by us will be critical to sustain market acceptance of our products. We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws and restrictions on disclosure to protect our intellectual property rights. We also enter into confidentiality or license agreements with our employees, consultants and business partners and control access to and distribution of our software, documentation and other proprietary information. Despite these efforts, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain and use our products or technology. Monitoring unauthorized use of our products is difficult, and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent unauthorized use of our technology, particularly in foreign countries where applicable laws may not protect our proprietary rights as fully as in the United States. In addition, the measures we undertake may not be sufficient to adequately protect our proprietary technology and may not preclude competitors from independently developing products with functionality or features similar to those of our products.

We may be subject to claims by others that we infringe on their proprietary technology.

In recent years, there has been significant litigation in the United States involving patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights. We may become involved in litigation in the future to protect our intellectual property or defend allegations of infringement asserted by others. Legal proceedings could subject us to significant liability for damages or invalidate our intellectual property rights. Any litigation, regardless of its merits or its outcome, would likely be time consuming and expensive to resolve and would divert management’s time and attention. Any potential intellectual property litigation also could force us to take specific actions, including:

 

•

cease selling our products that use the challenged intellectual property;

 

•

obtain from the owner of the infringed intellectual property right a license to sell or use the relevant technology or trademark, which license may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all;

 

•

redesign those products that use infringing intellectual property; or

 

•

cease to use an infringing trademark.

Our involvement in any such litigation will cause us to incur unexpected litigation costs, require modifications to or limit our ability to sell our products, and adversely impact our business and reputation.

A significant increase in sales of our PowerHouse product may materially increase the amount of liquidity required to fund the Company’s operations.

A significant increase in sales of our PowerHouse product may materially increase the amount of liquidity required to fund out operations. The amount of time between the receipt of payment from our customers and our expenditures for raw materials, manufacturer and shipment of products (the sales cycle) for sales of our standard UPS product can be as short as 45 days, and is typically 60 days. However, this cash cycle on a PowerHouse sale can be as much as 210 days, depending on customer payment terms. We intend to mitigate the financial impact of this longer cash cycle by requiring customer deposits and periodic payments where possible from our customers. This is not always commercially feasible, and in order to increase our PowerHouse sales, we may be required to make larger investments in inventory and receivables to fund these sales opportunities. These larger investments may require us to obtain additional sources of working capital, debt or equity financing in order to fund this business. If we are unsuccessful at obtaining additional sources of working capital, we may be required to curtail our level of PowerHouse sales or we may lose potential customers, both of which may cause our financial results to not meet the expectations of public market analysts or investors and adversely impact our results of operations.

 

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RISKS RELATED TO OUR COMMON STOCK

We have anti-takeover provisions that could discourage, delay or prevent our acquisition.

Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing a merger or acquisition that a stockholder may consider favorable. Additionally, in December 2001, our board of directors approved a stockholder rights plan, which would require a potential acquirer to negotiate directly with our board of directors regarding any planned acquisition. We also are subject to the anti-takeover laws of the State of Delaware, which may further discourage, delay or prevent someone from acquiring or merging with us. In addition, our agreement with Caterpillar for the distribution of CleanSource UPS provides that Caterpillar may terminate the agreement in the event we are acquired or undergo a change in control. The possible loss of our most significant customer could be a significant deterrent to possible acquirers and may substantially limit the number of possible acquirers. All of these factors may decrease the likelihood that we would be acquired, which may depress the market price of our common stock.

The trading price of our common stock has been volatile and is likely to be volatile in the future.

Historically the market price of our common stock has fluctuated significantly. The sales price of our common stock ranged from $.22 to $2.60 in 2008 and from $.30 to $.92 during the first nine months of 2009. In addition to those risks described earlier in this section, the market price of our common stock can be expected to fluctuate significantly in response to numerous other factors, many of which are beyond our control, including the following:

 

•

actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;

 

•

changes in financial estimates by securities analysts or our failure to perform in line with such estimates;

 

•

changes in market valuations of other technology companies, particularly those that sell products used in power quality systems;

 

•

announcements by us or our competitors of significant technical innovations, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;

 

•

introduction of technologies or product enhancements that reduce the need for flywheel energy storage systems;

 

•

the loss of one or more key OEM customers;

 

•

inability to successfully expand our distribution channels;

 

•

departures of key personnel; and

 

•

changing external capital market conditions.

If the market for technology stocks or the stock market in general experiences loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, operating results or financial condition. The trading price of our common stock might also decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry or the stock market generally even if these events do not directly affect us. Each of these factors, among others, could cause our stock price to decline. Some companies that have had volatile market prices for their securities have had securities class actions filed against them. If a suit were filed against us, regardless of its merits or outcome, it could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources.

Securities or industry analysts may not publish research or may publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business.

The trading market for our common stock will continue to depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If we do not continue to maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which could cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

 

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Our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements because of its inherent limitations.

Pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we are required to provide a report by management on internal control over financial reporting, including management’s assessment of the effectiveness of such control. Internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements because of its inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls, or fraud. Therefore, even effective internal controls can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements. In addition, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject to the risk that the control may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, including any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or if we experiences difficulties in their implementation, our business and operating results could be harmed, we could fail to meet our reporting obligations, and there could be a material adverse effect on our stock price.

If we need additional capital in the future, it may not be available to us on favorable terms, or at all.

We have historically relied on outside financing and cash flow from operations to fund our operations, capital expenditures and expansion. We may require additional capital from equity or debt financing in the future to fund our operations or respond to competitive pressures or strategic opportunities. We may not be able to secure timely additional financing on favorable terms, or at all. The terms of any additional financing may place limits on our financial and operating flexibility. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity, convertible debt securities or other securities convertible into equity, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution in their percentage ownership of our company, and any new securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of our common stock. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us, if and when we require it, our ability to grow or support our business and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited. Should additional funding be required, we may need to raise the required funds through borrowings or public or private sales of debt or equity securities. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of debt or equity securities, the percentage ownership of our stockholders could be significantly diluted. If we obtain additional debt financing, a substantial portion of our operating cash flow may be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on such indebtedness, and the terms of the debt securities issued could impose significant restrictions on our operations. We do not know whether we will be able to secure additional funding, or funding on terms acceptable to us, to continue our operations as planned. If financing is not available, we may be required to reduce, delay or eliminate certain activities or to license or sell to others some of our proprietary technology.

Our common stock could be delisted from the NASDAQ Global Market if our stock price continues to trade below $1.00 per share.

On August 18, 2008, we received a Staff Deficiency Letter from The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC, or NASDAQ, notifying us that we were not in compliance with NASDAQ’s Marketplace Rule 4450(a)(5), or the Rule, because the closing bid price for our Common Stock had, for the preceding 30 consecutive business days, closed below the minimum $1.00 per share requirement for continued listing. In accordance with Marketplace Rule 4450(e)(2) we were provided a period of 180 calendar days, or until February 17, 2009, to regain compliance. On October 16, 2008, NASDAQ announced that they had suspended the enforcement of the Rule until January 19, 2009. NASDAQ subsequently extended the suspension of enforcement of the Rule in December 2008 and again in March 2009. On July 14, 2009, NASDAQ informed us that the temporary suspension of enforcement of the Rule would remain in effect until July 31, 2009. As a result, the period during which we must regain compliance has been extended to December 2, 2009. If at any time before December 2, 2009, the bid price of our Common Stock closes at or above $1.00 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days, NASDAQ will provide written notification that we have achieved compliance with the Rule. If compliance with the Rule cannot be demonstrated by December 2, 2009, our Common Stock will be subject to delisting from The NASDAQ Global Market.

In the event that we receive notice that our common stock is being delisted from The NASDAQ Global Market, NASDAQ rules permit us to appeal any delisting determination by the NASDAQ staff to a NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel. Alternatively, NASDAQ may permit us to transfer the listing of our common stock to The NASDAQ Capital Market if we satisfy the requirements for initial inclusion set forth in Marketplace Rule 4310(c),

 

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except for the bid price requirement. Currently we believe we satisfy these requirements. If our application for transfer is approved, we would have an additional 180 calendar days to comply with the Rule in order to remain on The NASDAQ Capital Market.

We will continue to monitor the bid price for our common stock and consider various options available to us if our common stock does not trade at a level that is likely to regain compliance.

Delisting from The NASDAQ Global Market could have an adverse effect on our business and on the trading of our common stock. If a delisting of our common stock from the NASDAQ Stock Market were to occur, our common stock would trade on the OTC Bulletin Board or on the “pink sheets” maintained by the National Quotation Bureau, Inc. Such alternatives are generally considered to be less efficient markets, and our stock price, as well as the liquidity of our common stock, may be adversely impacted as a result.

Because we do not expect to pay dividends on our common stock, stockholders will benefit from an investment in our common stock only if it appreciates in value.

We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock and have no present intention to pay any dividends in the future. Any future determination about the payment of dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon our earnings, if any, our capital requirements, our operating and financial conditions and on such other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant. As a result, the success of an investment in our common stock will depend upon any future appreciation in its value. There is no guarantee that our common stock will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which stockholders have purchased their shares.

Future sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, including the shares offered pursuant to this prospectus, could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock and impair our ability to raise funds in future stock offerings.

Future sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, including the shares to be offered pursuant to this prospectus and other resale prospectuses and shares available for resale under Rule 144 under the Securities Act, or the perception that such sales could occur, could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock and could make it more difficult for us to raise additional capital through the sale of equity securities.

 

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DISCLOSURE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and the Commission filings that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus contain or incorporate by reference forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 has established that these statements qualify for safe harbors from liability. You can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “project,” and “continue” or similar words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss future expectations, contain projections of future results of operations or financial condition, or state other “forward-looking” information.

We believe it is important to communicate our expectations to our stockholders. However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to predict accurately or over which we have no control. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements that we make.

Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding:

 

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our expectations regarding costs and revenues;

 

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our expectations regarding current economic trends;

 

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anticipated trends and challenges in our business and the markets in which we operate;

 

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our ability to manage expansion into international markets;

 

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our ability to compete in our industry and innovation by our competitors;

 

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our ability to attract and retain customers;

 

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our ability to anticipate market needs or develop new or enhanced products to meet those needs;

 

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our ability to manage growth and to expand our infrastructure;

 

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our ability to hire and retain key personnel;

 

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our expectations regarding the use of proceeds from this offering; and

 

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our anticipated cash needs and our estimates regarding our capital requirements and our need for additional financing.

Although we believe that the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, we can give no assurance that our plans, intentions or expectations will be met. The risk factors and cautionary language discussed in this prospectus provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations described in the forward-looking statements.

You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which speak only of that date of this prospectus. Except to the extent required by applicable laws and regulations, we do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this prospectus or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

The proceeds from the sale of the Shares offered pursuant to this prospectus are solely for the account of the selling stockholder. Accordingly, we will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of Shares offered by this prospectus. See “Selling Stockholder” and “Plan of Distribution” described below.

 

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SELLING STOCKHOLDER

The following table provides information regarding the selling stockholder and the number of Shares the selling stockholder is offering. We have prepared this table based on information furnished to us by or on behalf of the selling stockholder. Under the rules of the Commission, beneficial ownership includes shares over which the indicated beneficial owner exercises voting or investment power. Beneficial ownership is determined under Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to securities, including any securities that grant the selling stockholder the right to acquire common stock within 60 days of October 26, 2009. Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes below, we believe that the selling stockholder has sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares beneficially owned. The percentage ownership data is based on 66,478,623 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding as of October 26, 2009. Since the date on which it provided us with the information below, the selling stockholder may have sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of some or all of its Shares in transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act.

The Shares may be sold by the selling stockholder, by those persons or entities to whom it transfers, donates, devises, pledges or distributes its Shares or by other successors in interest. The information regarding shares beneficially owned after this offering assumes the sale of all Shares offered by the selling stockholder. The selling stockholder may sell less than all of the Shares listed in the table. In addition, the Shares listed below may be sold pursuant to this prospectus or in privately negotiated transactions. Accordingly, we cannot estimate the number of Shares the selling stockholder will sell under this prospectus.

The selling stockholder has not held any position or office or had any other material relationship with us or any of our predecessors or affiliates within the past three years.

The selling stockholder has represented to us that it purchased the Common Shares for its own account, in the ordinary course of business and not with a view toward selling or distributing them in violation of the Securities Act, except in sales either registered under the Securities Act, or sales that are exempt from registration. In recognition of the fact that the selling stockholder, even though purchasing its shares for investment, may wish to be legally permitted to sell its Shares when it deems appropriate, we agreed with the selling stockholder to file a registration statement to register the resale of the Shares. We have also agreed to prepare and file all amendments and supplements necessary to keep the registration statement effective until the earliest of (i) May 29, 2010, (ii) such time as all of the Shares have been sold pursuant to this registration statement, or (iii) such time as the Shares become eligible for resale by non-affiliates pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act or any other rule of similar effect without any volume or manner of sale restrictions or any need for us to be current in our Exchange Act reporting obligations.

 

		Shares Beneficially Owned before Offering							Shares Beneficially Owned After Offering
Name of selling stockholder		Number		Percentage (%)			Shares Offered Hereby (1)		Number		Percentage (%)
Kinderhook Partners, L.P. (2)		6,000,000		9.0	%		6,000,000		0		0	%

 

(1)

We do not know when or in what amounts the selling stockholder may offer Shares for sale. The selling stockholder may not sell any or all of the Shares offered by this prospectus. Because the selling stockholder may offer all or some of the Shares pursuant to this offering and because there are currently no agreements, arrangements or undertakings with respect to the sale of any of the Shares, we cannot estimate the number of Shares that will be held by the selling stockholder after completion of this offering. However, for purposes of this table, we have assumed that, after completion of this offering, none of the Shares covered by this prospectus will be held by the selling stockholder.

(2)	Kinderhook Partners, L.P., Kinderhook GP, LLC, Stephen J. Clearman and Tushar Shah may be deemed to share dispositive and voting power over the shares held by Kinderhook Partners, L.P.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We are registering the shares offered by this prospectus for resale on behalf of the selling stockholder. The selling stockholder, which as used herein includes donees, pledgees, transferees or other successors-in-interest selling Shares or interests in Shares received after the date of this prospectus from the selling stockholder as a gift, pledge, partnership distribution or other transfer, may, from time to time, sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any or all of their Shares or interests in Shares on any stock exchange, market or trading facility on which the Shares are traded or in private transactions. These dispositions may be at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of sale, at prices related to the prevailing market price, at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. To the extent the selling stockholder gifts, pledges or otherwise transfers the shares offered hereby, such transferee may offer and sell the shares from time to time under this prospectus, provided this prospectus has been amended under Rule 424(b) or under any applicable provision of the Securities Act to include the name of such transferee in the list of selling stockholders under this prospectus.

The selling stockholder may use any one or more of the following methods when disposing of shares or interests therein:

 

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on the NASDAQ Global Market (or any other exchange on which the shares may be listed);

 

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on the over-the-counter market;

 

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ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits purchasers;

 

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block trades in which the broker-dealer will attempt to sell the shares as agent, but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction;

 

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purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its account;

 

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an exchange distribution in accordance with the rules of the applicable exchange;

 

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privately negotiated transactions;

 

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short sales;

 

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through the writing or settlement of options or other hedging transactions, whether through an options exchange or otherwise;

 

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broker-dealers may agree with the selling stockholder to sell a specified number of such Shares at a stipulated price per share;

 

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a combination of any such methods of sale; and

 

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any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law.

The selling stockholder may, from time to time, pledge or grant a security interest in some or all of the Shares owned by it and, if it defaults in the performance of its secured obligations, the pledgees or secured parties may offer and sell the Shares, from time to time, under this prospectus, or under an amendment to this prospectus under Rule 424(b) or under any applicable provision of the Securities Act amending the list of selling stockholders to include the pledgee, transferee or other successors in interest as selling stockholders under this prospectus. The selling stockholder also may transfer the Shares in other circumstances, in which case the transferees, pledgees or other successors in interest will be the selling beneficial owners for purposes of this prospectus. To the extent required, this prospectus may be amended or supplemented under Rule 424(b) or under any applicable provision of the Securities act from time to time to describe a specific plan of distribution.

In connection with the sale of the Shares or interests therein, the selling stockholder may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions, which may, in turn, engage in short sales of the Shares in the course of hedging the positions they assume. The selling stockholder may also sell Shares short and deliver these securities to close out their short positions, or loan or pledge the common stock to broker-dealers that in turn may sell these securities. The selling stockholder may also enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions or the creation of one or more derivative securities which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of shares offered by this prospectus, which Shares such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell pursuant to this prospectus (as supplemented or amended to reflect such transaction).

 

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The aggregate proceeds to the selling stockholder from the sale of the Shares offered by it will be the purchase price of the Shares less discounts or commissions, if any. The selling stockholder reserves the right to accept and, together with its agents from time to time, to reject, in whole or in part, any proposed purchase of Shares to be made directly or through agents. We will not receive any of the proceeds from this offering.

The selling stockholder also may resell all or a portion of the Shares in open market transactions in reliance upon Rule 144 under the Securities Act, provided that they meet the criteria and conform to the requirements of that rule.

The selling stockholder and any underwriters, broker-dealers or agents that participate in the sale of Shares or interests therein may be “underwriters” within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act. Any discounts, commissions, concessions or profit they earn on any resale of the Shares may be underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act. If the selling stockholder is an “underwriter” within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act, it will be subject to the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act. The selling stockholder may indemnify any broker-dealer that participates in transactions involving the sale of the Shares against certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act. To the extent required, the shares to be sold, the name of the selling stockholder, the respective purchase prices and public offering prices, the names of any agents, dealer or underwriter, and any applicable commissions or discounts with respect to a particular offer will be set forth in an accompanying prospectus, supplement or, if appropriate, a post effective amendment to the registration statement that includes this prospectus.

We have borne and will bear substantially all of the expenses in connection with the registration of the Shares, other than any fees and expenses, if any, of counsel or other advisors to the selling stockholder or any commissions, discounts or other fees payable to broker-dealers in connection with any sale of Shares, which will be borne by the selling stockholder selling such Shares. We have agreed to indemnify the selling stockholder against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act and state securities laws, relating to the registration of the Shares offered by this prospectus.

In order to comply with the securities laws of some states, if applicable, the Shares may be sold in these jurisdictions only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers. In addition, in some states the Shares may not be sold unless they have been registered or qualified for sale or an exemption from registration or qualification requirements is available and is complied with.

The selling stockholder may be subject to the anti-manipulation rules of Regulation M, which may limit the timing of purchases and sales of Shares by such selling stockholder.

We will make copies of this prospectus (as it may be supplemented or amended from time to time) available to the selling stockholder for the purpose of satisfying the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act.

We have agreed with the selling stockholder to keep the registration statement, of which this prospectus constitutes a part, effective with respect to its Shares until the earliest of (i) May 29, 2010, (ii) such time as all of the Shares have been sold pursuant to this registration statement, or (iii) such time as the Shares become eligible for resale by non-affiliates pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act or any other rule of similar effect without any volume or manner of sale restrictions or any need for us to be current in our Exchange Act reporting obligations.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

As of the date of this prospectus, our authorized capital stock consists of 160,000,000 shares. Those shares consist of 150,000,000 shares designated as common stock, $0.001 par value per share, and 10,000,000 shares designated as preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share. The only equity securities currently outstanding are shares of common stock. As of October 26, 2009, there were approximately 66,478,623 shares of common stock issued and outstanding.

The following description summarizes the material terms of our capital stock. This summary is, however, subject to the provisions of our restated certificate of incorporation and any applicable certificate of designation for a series of preferred stock, our amended bylaws, a rights agreement between us and EquiSave Trust N.A. and applicable law.

Common Stock

The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters to be voted upon by the stockholders. Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any outstanding preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends or other distributions that may be declared from time to time by the board of directors out of funds legally available for that purpose. However, we are not currently paying any dividends. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of common stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities, subject to prior distribution rights of preferred stock then outstanding. The common stock has no preemptive or conversion rights or other subscription rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock.

All outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and non-assessable, and all Shares offered by this prospectus are validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable.

Preferred Stock

Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without action by our stockholders, to designate and issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series. Of these authorized shares of preferred stock, 400,000 shares have been designated as “Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock,” the rights, preferences and privileges of which are set forth in the Certificate of Designation of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock of Active Power filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware on December 18, 2001, a summary and form of which can be found in our Form 8-K filed December 14, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference. The board of directors may also designate the rights, preferences and privileges of each series of preferred stock, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of the common stock.

It is not possible to state the actual effect of the issuance of any shares of preferred stock upon the rights of holders of the common stock until the board of directors determines the specific rights of the holders of the preferred stock.

However, these effects might include:

 

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restricting dividends on the common stock;

 

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diluting the voting power of the common stock;

 

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impairing the liquidation rights of the common stock; and

 

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delaying or preventing a change in control of our company without further action by the stockholders.

This description of the terms of the preferred stock is not complete and will be subject to and qualified by the certificate of designation relating to any applicable series of preferred stock. We have no present plans to issue any shares of preferred stock.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Some Provisions of Delaware Law

Provisions of Delaware law and our currently in effect amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended bylaws could make the acquisition of our company through a tender offer, a proxy contest or other means more difficult and could make the removal of incumbent officers and directors more difficult. We expect these provisions to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to encourage persons seeking to acquire control

 

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of our company to first negotiate with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits provided by our ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging these proposals. We believe the negotiation of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal could result in an improvement of its terms.

We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, an anti-takeover law. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder, unless:

 

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Prior to the date of the transaction, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;

 

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The stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the number of shares outstanding (a) shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers, and (b) shares owned by employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or

 

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On or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business combination is approved by the board and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.

Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. An “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns or, within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status, did own 15% or more of a corporation’s outstanding voting securities. We expect the existence of this provision to have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions our board of directors does not approve in advance. We also anticipate that Section 203 may also discourage attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares of common stock held by stockholders.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of Our Charter Documents

Our currently in effect amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for our board of directors to be divided into three classes serving staggered terms. Approximately one-third of the board of directors will be elected each year. The provision for a classified board could prevent a party who acquires control of a majority of the outstanding voting stock from obtaining control of the board of directors until the second annual stockholders meeting following the date the acquirer obtains the controlling stock interest. The classified board provision could discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company and could increase the likelihood that incumbent directors will retain their positions. In accordance with our currently in effect amended and restated certificate of incorporation, directors may be removed by the affirmative vote of the holders of the outstanding shares of common stock only with cause.

Our currently in effect amended bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to the board of directors. At an annual meeting, stockholders may only consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the board of directors. Stockholders may also consider a proposal or nomination by a person who was a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given to our Secretary timely written notice, in proper form, of his or her intention to bring that business before the meeting. The amended bylaws do not give the board of directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting of the stockholders. However, our amended bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed. These provisions may also discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company.

Our amended bylaws provide that only our board of directors may call a special meeting of stockholders. Because our stockholders do not have the right to call a special meeting, a stockholder could not force stockholder consideration

 

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of a proposal over the opposition of the board of directors by calling a special meeting of stockholders prior to such time as a majority of the board of directors believed the matter should be considered or until the next annual meeting provided that the requestor met the notice requirements. The restriction on the ability of stockholders to call a special meeting means that a proposal to replace the board also could be delayed until the next annual meeting.

Our currently in effect amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not allow stockholders to act by written consent without a meeting. Without the availability of stockholder’s actions by written consent, a holder controlling a majority of our capital stock would not be able to amend our amended bylaws or remove directors without holding a stockholders’ meeting. The holder would have to obtain the consent of a majority of the board of directors to call a stockholders’ meeting and satisfy the notice periods determined by the board of directors.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

Our transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC. Its address is 59 Maiden Lane, Plaza Level, New York, New York 10038.

Listing

Our common stock has been approved for listing on the NASDAQ Global Market under the trading symbol ACPW.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the Shares being offered by this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation, of Austin, Texas.

EXPERTS

Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 as set forth in their report, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement. Our financial statements are incorporated by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We are a reporting company and file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Commission. You may read and copy these reports, proxy statements and other information at the Commission’s public reference rooms at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can request copies of these documents by writing to the Commission and paying a fee for the copying cost. Please call the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330 for more information about the operation of the public reference rooms. Our Commission filings are also available at the Commission’s web site at www.sec.gov and our website at www.activepower.com. We have not incorporated by reference into this prospectus the information contained on our website and you should not consider it to be part of this prospectus.

 

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INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The Commission allows us to “incorporate by reference” information that we file with them, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the Commission will automatically update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future filings we will make with the Commission under Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, after the date of this prospectus but before the end of any offering made under this prospectus and accompanying prospectus (other than current reports or portions thereof furnished under Item 2.02, 7.01 or 8.01 of Form 8-K, unless such current reports or portions thereof specifically reference their contents as being filed):

 

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Description of our common stock contained in our registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-36946), filed with the SEC on May 12, 2000, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description;

 

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Our annual report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, filed with the SEC on March 4, 2009, as amended by that certain Amendment No. 1 to Form 10-K filed with the SEC on October 27, 2009;

 

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Our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, filed with the SEC on April 28, 2009;

 

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Our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, filed with the SEC on July 28, 2009;

 

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Our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, filed with the SEC on October 27, 2009;

 

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Our definitive proxy statement for our 2009 annual meeting of stockholders, filed with the SEC on April 10, 2009; and

 

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Our current reports on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on March 17, 2009, May 14, 2009, June 1, 2009 and July 6, 2009.

Copies of documents incorporated by reference, excluding exhibits except to the extent such exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference, are available from us without charge, upon oral or written request to:

Active Power, Inc.

2128 W. Braker Lane, BK12

Austin, Texas 78758

Attn: John K. Penver, Chief Financial Officer

(512) 836-6464

 

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PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 14. Other expenses of issuance and distribution

The following table sets forth all expenses, other than the underwriting discounts and commissions, payable by the registrant in connection with the sale of the securities being registered. All the amounts shown are estimates except for the registration fee.

 

		Amount to be Paid
Securities and Exchange Commission Registration Fee		$	254.45
Legal Fees and Expenses			20,000.00
Accountant’s Fees and Expenses			10,000.00
Printing Expenses			5,000.00
Miscellaneous			5,000.00
Total		$	40,254.45

Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that eliminate, to the maximum extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, the personal liability of directors and executive officers for monetary damages for breach of their fiduciary duties as a director or officer. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended bylaws provide that we shall indemnify our directors and executive officers and may indemnify our employees and other agents to the fullest extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

Sections 145 and 102(b)(7) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware provide that a corporation may indemnify any person made a party to an action by reason of the fact that he or she was a director, executive officer, employee or agent of the corporation or is or was serving at the request of the corporation against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with such action if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful, except that, in the case of an action by or in right of the corporation, no indemnification may generally be made in respect of any claim as to which such person is adjudged to be liable to the corporation.

We have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers, in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended bylaws, and intend to enter into indemnification agreements with any new directors and executive officers in the future.

We have purchased and intend to maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director or officer of our company against any loss arising from any claim asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, subject to certain exclusions.

See also the undertakings set out in our response to Item 17 herein.

 

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Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

(a) The following exhibits are filed herewith or incorporated herein by reference:

 

Exhibit Number		Description
3.1*		Restated Certificate of Incorporation (filed as Exhibit 3.1 to Active Power’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on July 28, 2006)
3.2*		Second Amended and Restated Bylaws (filed as Exhibit 3.2 to Active Power’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 2, 2007)
3.3*		Amendment to Second Amended and Restated Bylaws (filed as Exhibit 3.01 to Active Power’s Current Report on 8-K filed on December 7, 2007)
4.1*		Specimen certificate for shares of Common Stock (filed as Exhibit 4.1 to Active Power’s IPO Registration Statement on Form S-l (SEC File No. 333-36946))
4.2*		Rights Agreement, dated as of December 13, 2001, between the Active Power and EquiServe Trust N.A., which includes the form of Certificate of Designation for the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock as Exhibit A, the form of Rights Certificate as Exhibit B and the Summary of Rights to Purchase Series A Preferred Stock as Exhibit C (filed as Exhibit 4.1 to Active Power’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on December 14, 2001)
4.3		See Exhibits 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 for provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws of the registrant defining the rights of holders of common stock
5.1*		Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation (filed as Exhibit 5.1 to Active Power’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed on August 28, 2009)
10.1*		Securities Purchase Agreement by and between Active Power, Inc. and certain investors, dated as of May 29, 2009 (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to Active Power’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 1, 2009)
23.1		Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
23.2		Consent of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation (included in Exhibit 5.1)
24.1*		Power of Attorney (filed as Exhibit 24.1 to Active Power’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed on August 28, 2009)

 

*	Incorporated by reference to the indicated filing.

Item 17. 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, as amended (the “Securities Act”);

(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 and 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 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;

 

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(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 (1)(i), (1)(ii) and (1)(iii) do not apply if 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, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of 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.

(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser:

(i) If the registrant is relying on Rule 430B:

(A) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

(B) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii) or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of and included in this registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or a prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of this registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in this registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date; or

(ii) If the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.

(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 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to 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.

 

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(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 Securities 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 of whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

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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-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Austin, State of Texas, on the 27th day of October, 2009.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and as of the dates indicated.

 

Signature		Title		Date
/s/ James A. Clishem James A. Clishem		Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)		October 27, 2009
/s/ John K. Penver John K. Penver		Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)		October 27, 2009
* Benjamin L. Scott		Chairman of the Board of Directors
* Ake Almgren		Director
* Rodney S. Bond		Director
* James E. deVenny III		Director

 

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Signature		Title		Date
* Robert S. Greenberg		Director
* Jan H. Lindelow		Director

 

* By:		/s/James A. Clishem				October 27, 2009
		James A. Clishem Attorney in Fact

 

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EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit Number		Description
3.1*		Restated Certificate of Incorporation (filed as Exhibit 3.1 to Active Power’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on July 28, 2006)
3.2*		Second Amended and Restated Bylaws (filed as Exhibit 3.2 to Active Power’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 2, 2007)
3.3*		Amendment to Second Amended and Restated Bylaws (filed as Exhibit 3.01 to Active Power’s Current Report on 8-K filed on December 7, 2007)
4.1*		Specimen certificate for shares of Common Stock (filed as Exhibit 4.1 to Active Power’s IPO Registration Statement on Form S-l (SEC File No. 333-36946))
4.2*		Rights Agreement, dated as of December 13, 2001, between the Active Power and EquiServe Trust N.A., which includes the form of Certificate of Designation for the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock as Exhibit A, the form of Rights Certificate as Exhibit B and the Summary of Rights to Purchase Series A Preferred Stock as Exhibit C (filed as Exhibit 4.1 to Active Power’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on December 14, 2001)
4.3		See Exhibits 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 for provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws of the registrant defining the rights of holders of common stock
5.1*		Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation (filed as Exhibit 5.1 to Active Power’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed on August 28, 2009)
10.1*		Securities Purchase Agreement by and between Active Power, Inc. and certain investors, dated as of May 29, 2009 (filed as Exhibit 10.1 to Active Power’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 1, 2009)
23.1		Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
23.2		Consent of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation (included in Exhibit 5.1)
24.1*		Power of Attorney (filed as Exhibit 24.1 to Active Power’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed on August 28, 2009)

 

*	Incorporated by reference to the indicated filing.

EXHIBIT 23.1

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

We consent to the reference to our firm under the caption “Experts” in Amendment No. 1 of the Registration Statement (Form S-3) and related Preliminary Prospectus of Active Power, Inc. for the registration of 6,000,000 shares of its common stock and to the incorporation by reference therein of our reports dated February 27, 2009, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of Active Power, Inc., and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting of Active Power, Inc., included in its Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2008, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Austin, Texas

October 27, 2009