S-3 1 v355137_s3.htm FORM S-3

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 4, 2013

Registration No. 333-_____

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Nevada	2834	33-0901534
(State or other jurisdiction	(Primary Standard Industrial	(I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation or organization)	Code Number)	Identification Number)

4/F Building B Chuangye Square, No. 48 Keji Road, Gaoxin District

Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China

(8629) 8819-3188

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number,

including area code, of registrant's principal executive offices)

Bing Mei

Chief Financial Officer

4/F Building B Chuangye Square, No. 48 Keji Road,

Gaoxin District, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China

(8629) 8819-3188

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

Copies To:

Ralph V. De Martino, Esq.

F. Alec Orudjev, Esq.

Schiff Hardin LLP

901 K Street NW, Suite 700

Washington, DC 20001

Telephone: 202.724.6846

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time 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, please 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 in 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 small reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

	Proposed Maximum
	Aggregate Offering			Amount of
Title of Each Class of Security Being Registered	Price(1)			Registration Fee(2)

Common Stock, par value $.001 per share			(3)			(3)
Preferred Stock, par value $.001 per share			(3)			(3)
Debt Securities			(3)			(3)
Warrants			(3)			(3)
Units			(3)			(3)
Total	$	35,000,000	(4)(5)	$	4,508

(1)

There are being registered hereunder such indeterminate number of shares of common stock and preferred stock, such indeterminate principal amount of debt securities, such indeterminate number of warrants to purchase common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities, and such indeterminate number of units as may be sold by the registrant from time to time, which together shall have an aggregate initial offering price not to exceed $35,000,000. If any debt securities are issued at an original issue discount, then the offering price of such debt securities shall be in such greater principal amount at maturity as shall result in an aggregate offering price not to exceed $35,000,000, less the aggregate dollar amount of all securities previously issued hereunder. Any securities registered hereunder may be sold separately or as units with the other securities registered hereunder. The proposed maximum offering price per unit will be determined, from time to time, by the registrant in connection with the issuance by the registrant of the securities registered hereunder. The securities registered hereunder also include such indeterminate number of shares of common stock and preferred stock and amount of debt securities as may be issued upon conversion of or exchange for preferred stock or debt securities that provide for conversion or exchange, upon exercise of warrants or pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of any of such securities. In addition, pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the shares being registered hereunder include such indeterminate number of shares of common stock and preferred stock as may be issuable with respect to the shares being registered hereunder as a result of stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions.

(2)

The proposed maximum per unit and aggregate offering prices per class of security will be determined from time to time by the registrant in connection with the issuance by the registrant of the securities registered hereunder.

(3)

Pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), the registration fee is calculated on the maximum offering price of all securities listed, and the table does not specify information by each class about the amount to be registered.

(4)

The proposed maximum aggregate offering price has been estimated for the sole purpose of computing the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act and is exclusive of accrued interest, distributions and dividends, if any.

(5)

At no time will the maximum aggregate offering price of all securities issued in any given 12-month period exceed the amount allowed for in General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3.

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 Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Subject to Completion, dated December 4, 2013

Prospectus

Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company

$35,000,000

Common Stock

Preferred Stock

Debt Securities

Warrants

Units

We may offer, from time to time, in one or more series:

shares of common stock;

shares of preferred stock;

secured or unsecured senior debt securities;

unsecured subordinated debt securities;

warrants; and

units.

The securities:

will have a maximum aggregate offering price of $35,000,000;

will be offered at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more accompanying prospectus supplements;

may be denominated in U.S. dollars or in other currencies or currency units;

may be offered separately or together, or in separate series; and

may be listed on a national securities exchange, if specified in an accompanying prospectus supplement.

This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities that may be offered. Each time securities are sold, we will provide one or more supplements to this prospectus that will contain additional information about the specific offering and the terms of the securities being offered. The supplements may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement before you invest in any of our securities. This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell our securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “SKBI”. On December 2, 2013, the closing sale price of our common stock was $4.01 per share. As of December 2, 2013, the aggregate market value of our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $24,180,152, based on 7,604,800 shares of outstanding common stock, of which 6,029,963 shares were held by non-affiliates, and a per share price of our common stock on that date. We have not offered any securities during the period of 12 calendar months immediately prior to, and including, the date of this prospectus pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3.

Investing in our securities involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 1.

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

The date of this prospectus is , 2013

Table of Contents

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS		1
ABOUT SKYSTAR		1
RISK FACTORS		2
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS		3
USE OF PROCEEDS		3
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK		3
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED STOCK		6
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES		6
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS		13
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS		15
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION		15
LEGAL MATTERS		17
EXPERTS		17
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION		17
INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE		18

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may offer from time to time, in one or more offerings, securities having an aggregate initial offering price of up to $35,000,000. Each time we offer securities, we will provide you with a prospectus supplement that describes the specific amounts, prices and terms of the securities we offer. The prospectus supplement also may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus.

We have provided to you in this prospectus a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we sell securities under this shelf registration process, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. That prospectus supplement may include additional risk factors or other special considerations applicable to the securities being offered. We may also add, update or change in the prospectus supplement any of the information contained in this prospectus. To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus and the prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement, provided that if a statement in any document is inconsistent with a statement in another document having a later date — for example, a document incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement — the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement. You should read both this prospectus and the prospectus supplement together with the additional information described under “Where You Can Find More Information.”

The registration statement containing this prospectus, including the exhibits to the registration statement, provides additional information about us and the securities offered under this prospectus. The registration statement, including the exhibits, can be read at the SEC website or at the SEC offices mentioned under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

You should rely only on the information incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We are not making an offer to sell or soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction in which the offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making the offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make the offer or solicitation. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of the document.

This prospectus does not contain all the information provided in the registration statement we filed with the SEC. For further information about us or our securities offered hereby, you should refer to that registration statement, which you can obtain from the SEC as described below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

ABOUT SKYSTAR

Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company is a Nevada corporation engaged in the research, development, production, marketing, and sales of veterinary healthcare and medical care products. All current operations of the Company are in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and are carried out by its PRC subsidiaries and Xi’an Tianxing Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Limited (“Xi’an Tianxing”), a PRC joint stock company that the Company controls through contractual arrangements.

The Company has four major product lines:

•

micro-organism products line including over 16 products

•

veterinary medicine line for poultry and livestock including over 145 products

•

feed additives line including over 16 products, and

•

bio-pharmaceutical veterinary vaccine line including over 10 products.

All four product lines are developed, manufactured and distributed by Xian Tianxing, which the Company operates and controls through contractual arrangements, and Skystar Biotechnology (Jingzhou) Co., Limited. All of the Company’s revenue is derived from the sale of veterinary healthcare and medical care products in China.

The Company distributes its products in 29 provinces in China through distributors and directly to its customers. The Company has 2,883 distributors and 1,120 direct customers. The Company promotes and markets its products through a variety of means, including sending sales team to rural and urban areas to promote awareness of poultry and livestock conventional disease, educate farmers about prevention and treatment of diseases, and provide demonstrations in the field to them to promote our products; participating in various meetings, seminars, symposiums, exhibitions for bio-pharmaceutical and other related industries; organizing cooperative promotional activities with distributors; and sending direct mailing to major customers. We work closely with research institutes in the veterinary science field.

Financial Condition

As of September 30, 2013, we had unrestricted cash of $4,456,619. Our total current assets were $88,624,051, and our total current liabilities were $28,318,062, which resulted in a net working capital of $60,235,989. We finance our ongoing operating activities by using funds from our operations and external credit or financing arrangements. We routinely monitor current and expected operational requirements and financial market conditions to evaluate the use of available financing sources. Considering our existing working capital position and our ability to access debt funding sources, we believe that our operations and borrowing resources are sufficient to provide for our current and foreseeable capital requirements to support our ongoing operations for at least next twelve months.

Corporate Information

The Company’s executive offices are located at 4/F, Building B, Chuangye Square, No. 48 Keji Rd., Gaoxin District, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China; telephone number is (8629) 8819-3188. The Company’s web site address is http://www.skystarbio-pharmaceutical.com. Information on our web site is not part of this prospectus.

Securities Being Offered

We may from time to time issue up to $35,000,000 aggregate dollar amount of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants and units. We will specify in the accompanying prospectus supplement the terms of the securities to be offered and sold. We may sell these securities directly to you, through underwriters, dealers or agents we select, or through a combination of these methods. We will describe the plan of distribution for any particular offering of these securities in the applicable prospectus supplement. This prospectus may not be used to sell our securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

RISK FACTORS

Before making an investment decision, you should consider the “Risk Factors” included under Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 and in our updates to those Risk Factors in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, all of which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus, as updated by our future filings with the SEC. The market or trading price of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks. In addition, please read “Forward-Looking Statements” in this prospectus, where we describe additional uncertainties associated with our business and the forward-looking statements included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Please note that additional risks not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business and operations. The accompanying prospectus supplement may contain a discussion of additional risks applicable to an investment in us and the particular type of securities we are offering under that prospectus supplement.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Some of the information in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement, and the documents we incorporate by reference contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. You should not rely on forward-looking statements in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement, or the documents we incorporate by reference. Forward-looking statements typically are identified by use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “expect,” “future,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. This prospectus, any prospectus supplement, and the documents we incorporate by reference may also contain forward-looking statements attributed to third parties relating to their estimates regarding the growth of our markets. All forward-looking statements address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, and there are many important risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, as well as those of the markets we serve, levels of activity, performance, achievements and prospects to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement, and the documents we incorporate by reference.

You should also consider carefully the statements under “Risk Factors” and other section of this prospectus, any prospectus supplement, and the documents we incorporate by reference, which address additional facts that could cause our actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. We caution investors not to place significant reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement, and the documents we incorporate by reference. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Except as otherwise provided in a prospectus supplement, we will use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities covered by this prospectus for general corporate purposes, which may include reducing our outstanding indebtedness, increasing our working capital or financing acquisitions and capital expenditures. When a particular series of securities is offered, the prospectus supplement relating to that offering will set forth our intended use of the net proceeds received from the sale of those securities.

DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK

General

We are presently authorized under our Articles of Incorporation, as amended, to issue 40,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, and 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share. As of December 2, 2013, there were:

7,604,800 shares of common stock outstanding, and

247,119 shares of common stock available for future equity grants under our stock option plan.

Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of legally available assets at such times and in such amounts as our Board may from time to time determine. Each stockholder is entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Cumulative voting for the election of directors is not authorized.

Our common stock is not subject to conversion or redemption and holders of our common stock are not entitled to preemptive rights. Upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company, the remaining assets legally available for distribution to stockholders, after payment of claims or creditors and payment of liquidation preferences, if any, on outstanding preferred stock, are distributable ratably among the holders of our common stock and any participating preferred stock outstanding at that time. Each outstanding share of common stock is fully paid and nonassessable.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of Nevada Law and Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws

Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, as amended to date, contain provisions that could make our acquisition by means of a tender or exchange offer, a proxy contest or otherwise more difficult. These provisions are summarized below.

Special Meetings. Our Bylaws provide that special meetings of stockholders can be called by the President, at the request of a majority of the Board of Directors or at the written request of holders of at least 50% of the shares outstanding and entitled to vote.

The provisions of Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS), our Articles of Incorporation and our Bylaws could have the effect of discouraging others from attempting hostile takeovers and, as a consequence, they may also inhibit temporary fluctuations in the market price of our common stock that often result from actual or rumored hostile takeover attempts. These provisions may also have the effect of preventing changes in our management. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.

Limitation of Director Liability

Further, every person who was or is a party to, or is threatened to be made a party to, or is involved in any such action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by the reason of the fact that he or she, or a person with whom he or she is a legal representative, is or was a director of the Company, or who is serving at the request of the Company as a director or officer of another Company, or is a representative in a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, will be indemnified and held harmless to the fullest extent legally permissible under the laws of the State of Nevada from time to time against all expenses, liability and loss (including attorney’s fees, judgments, fines, and amounts paid or to be paid in a settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by him or her in connection therewith. Right of indemnification will be a contract right which may be enforced in any manner desired by such person.

The expenses of officers and directors incurred in defending a civil suit or proceeding must be paid by the Company as incurred and in advance of the final disposition of the action, suit, or proceeding, under receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the director or officer to repay the amount if it is ultimately determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that he or she is not entitled to be indemnified by the Company. Such right of indemnification will not be exclusive of any other right of such directors, officers or representatives may have or hereafter acquire, and, without limiting the generality of such statement, they will be entitled to their respective rights of indemnification under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders, provision of law, or otherwise, as well as their rights under this Article. Without limiting the application of the foregoing, the Board of Directors may adopt bylaws from time to time without respect to indemnification, to provide at all times the fullest indemnification permitted by the laws of the State of Nevada, and may cause the Company to purchase or maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director or officer.

Under Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS), unless the Articles of Incorporation or an amendment thereto provide for greater individual liability, a director or officer is not individually liable to the corporation or its stockholders or creditors for any damages as a result of any act or failure to act in his or her capacity as a director or officer unless it is proven that (i) the director’s or officer’s act or failure to act constituted a breach of his or her fiduciary duties as a director or officer; and (ii) the breach of those duties involved intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of law. Further, under the NRS provisions, the indemnification and advancement of expenses do not exclude any other rights to which a person seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under the Articles of Incorporation or any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, for either an action in the person’s official capacity or an action in another capacity while holding office, except that indemnification, unless ordered by a court pursuant to NRS 78.7502 or for the advancement of expenses, may not be made to or on behalf of any director or officer if a final adjudication establishes that the director’s or officer’s acts or omissions involved intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of the law and was material to the cause of action. A right to indemnification or to advancement of expenses arising under a provision of the Articles of Incorporation or any bylaw is not eliminated or impaired by an amendment to such provision after the occurrence of the act or omission that is the subject of the civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which indemnification or advancement of expenses is sought, unless the provision in effect at the time of such act or omission explicitly authorizes such elimination or impairment after such action or omission has occurred.

Indemnification; Disclosure of Commission Position on Indemnification for Securities Act Liabilities

Pursuant to Article 7 of our Articles of Incorporation and Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS), we adopted Bylaws with the following indemnification provisions for our directors and officers:

Section 8.1. Indemnification. No officer or director shall be personally liable for any obligations arising out of any acts or conduct of said officer or director performed for or on behalf of the Corporation. The Corporation shall and does hereby indemnify and hold harmless each person and his heirs and administrators who shall serve at any time hereafter as a director or officer of the Corporation from and against any and all claims, judgments and liabilities to which such persons shall become subject by reason of any action alleged to have been heretofore or hereafter taken or omitted to have been taken by him as such director or officer, and shall reimburse each such person for all legal and other expenses reasonably incurred by him in connection with any such claim of liability; including power to defend such person from all suits as provided for under the provisions of the Nevada Corporation Laws; provided, however that no such person shall be indemnified against, or be reimbursed for, any expense incurred in connection with any claim or liability arising out of his own gross negligence or willful misconduct. The rights accruing to any person under the foregoing provisions of this section shall not exclude any other right to which he may lawfully be entitled, nor shall anything herein contained restrict the right of the Corporation to indemnify or reimburse such person in any proper case, even though not specifically herein provided for. The Corporation, its directors, officers, employees and agents shall be fully protected in taking any action or making any payment or in refusing so to do in reliance upon the advice of counsel.

Section 8.2. Other Indemnification. The indemnification herein provided shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise, both as to action in his official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office, and shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer or employee and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.

Section 8.3. Insurance. The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer or employee of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation in such capacity for another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against any liability asserted against him and incurred by him in any capacity, or arising out of his status as such, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify him against liability under the provisions of this Article VIII or the laws of the State of Nevada.

Section 8.4. Settlement by Corporation. The right of any person to be indemnified shall be subject always to the right of the Corporation by its Board of Directors, in lieu of such indemnity, to settle any such claim, action, suit or proceeding at the expense of the Corporation by the payment of the amount of such settlement and the costs and expenses incurred in connection therewith.”

These indemnification provisions may be sufficiently broad to permit indemnification of the registrant's executive officers and directors for liabilities (including reimbursement of expenses incurred) arising under the Securities Act.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. No pending material litigation or proceeding involving our directors, executive officers, employees or other agents as to which indemnification is being sought exists, and we are not aware of any pending or threatened material litigation that may result in claims for indemnification by any of our directors or executive officers.

Transfer Agent, Warrant Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Empire Stock Inc. at 1859 Whitney Mesa Drive, Henderson, NV 89014 and its telephone number is (702) 818-5898.

Listing

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the trading symbol “SKBI”.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED STOCK

We are authorized to issue 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock. Our Board has the authority, without action by our stockholders, to designate and issue preferred stock in one or more series. Our Board 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 on the rights of holders of the common stock until our Board determines the specific rights of the holders of the preferred stock. However, these effects might include: (a) restricting dividends on the common stock; (b) diluting the voting power of the common stock; (c) impairing the liquidation rights of the common stock; and (d) delaying or preventing a change in control of our company without further action by our stockholders.

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

General

The following description sets forth general terms that will apply to the debt securities. We will describe the particular terms of any debt securities that we offer in the prospectus supplement relating to those debt securities.

The debt securities will be either our senior debt securities or our subordinated debt securities. The senior debt securities will be issued under an indenture between us and the trustee named in the indenture. We refer to this indenture as the “senior indenture.” The subordinated debt securities will be issued under a separate Subordinated Indenture between us and the trustee named in the indenture. We refer to this indenture as the “subordinated indenture” and, together with the senior indenture, as the “indentures.” Except as permitted by applicable law, the indentures have been or will be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.

We have filed the forms of the indentures as exhibits to the registration statement. The following summaries of provisions of the debt securities and the indentures are not complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the provisions of the indentures and the debt securities.

Neither of the indentures limits the principal amount of debt securities that we may issue. Each indenture provides that debt securities may be issued in one or more series up to the principal amount that we may authorize from time to time. Each indenture also provides that the debt securities may be denominated in any currency or currency unit that we designate. In addition, each series of debt securities may be reopened in order to issue additional debt securities of that series in the future without the consent of the holders of debt securities of that series. Unless otherwise described in the prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering, neither the indentures nor the debt securities will contain any provisions to afford holders of any debt securities protection in the event of a takeover, recapitalization or similar restructuring of our business.

Unless otherwise described in the prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering, the senior debt securities will rank equally with all of our other unsecured and unsubordinated debt. The subordinated debt securities will be subordinated to the prior payment in full of our senior debt securities. We will describe the particular terms of the subordinated debt securities that we offer in the prospectus supplement relating to those subordinated debt securities.

We will describe the specific terms relating to each particular series of debt securities in the prospectus supplement relating to the offering of those debt securities. The terms we will describe in the prospectus supplement will include some or all of the following:

•

the title and type of the debt securities;

•

the total principal amount or initial offering price of the debt securities;

•

the date or dates when the principal of the debt securities will be payable;

•

whether we will have the right to extend the stated maturity of the debt securities;

•

whether the debt securities will bear interest and, if so, the rate or rates, or the method for calculating the rate or rates, of interest;

•

if the debt securities will bear interest, the date from which interest will accrue, the dates when interest will be payable and the regular record dates for these interest payment dates;

•

the place where the principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, on the debt securities will be paid, registered debt securities may be surrendered for registration of transfer, and debt securities may be surrendered for exchange;

•

any sinking fund or other provisions that would obligate us to repurchase or otherwise redeem the debt securities;

•

the terms and conditions upon which we will have the option or the obligation to redeem the debt securities;

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the denominations in which any registered debt securities will be issuable;

•

the identity of each security registrar and paying agent, and the designation of the exchange rate agent, if any, if other than the trustee;

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the portion of the principal amount of debt securities that will be payable upon acceleration of the maturity of the debt securities;

•

the currency used to pay principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, on the debt securities, if other than U.S. dollars, and whether you or we may elect to have principal, premium and interest paid in a currency other than the currency in which the debt securities are denominated;

•

any index, formula or other method used to determine the amount of principal, premium or interest on the debt securities;

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any changes or additions to the events of default, defaults or our covenants made in the applicable indenture;

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whether there are any restrictions relating to the form in which the debt securities are issued;

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to whom interest will be payable

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if other than the registered holder (for registered debt securities), or

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if other than as specified in the indentures (for global debt securities);

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whether the debt securities are to be convertible or exchangeable for other securities and, if so, the terms of conversion or exchange;

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particular terms of subordination with respect to subordinated debt securities; and

•

any other terms of the debt securities consistent with the provisions of the applicable indenture.

We may issue debt securities as original issue discount securities to be sold at a substantial discount below their principal amount. If we issue original issue discount securities, then we will describe the material U.S. federal income tax consequences that apply to those debt securities in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Registration and Transfer

Holders of registered debt securities may present the debt securities for exchange for different authorized amounts of other debt securities of the same series and in the same aggregate principal amount at the corporate trust office of the trustee or at the office of any other transfer agent we may designate for the purpose and describe in the applicable prospectus supplement. The registered securities must be duly endorsed or accompanied by a written instrument of transfer. The agent will not impose a service charge on you for the transfer or exchange. We may, however, require that you pay any applicable tax or other governmental charge.

We may issue debt securities in global form.

Conversion and Exchange

If any debt securities will be convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock, preferred stock or other securities, the applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the terms and conditions of the conversion or exchange, including:

•

the conversion price or exchange ratio;

•

the conversion or exchange period;

•

whether the conversion or exchange will be mandatory or at the option of the holder or us;

•

provisions for adjustment of the conversion price or exchange ratio; and

•

provisions that may affect the conversion or exchange if the debt securities are redeemed.

Redemption

Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may, at our option, redeem any series of debt securities in whole at any time or in part from time to time. If any series of debt securities are redeemable only on or after a certain date or only upon satisfaction of additional conditions, the applicable prospectus supplement will specify the date or the additional conditions. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the redemption price for debt securities will equal 100% of the principal amount plus any accrued and unpaid interest on those debt securities.

The applicable prospectus supplement will contain the specific terms on which we may redeem a series of debt securities prior to its stated maturity. Unless otherwise described in the prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering, we will send a notice of redemption to holders at least 30 days but not more than 60 days prior to the redemption date. The notice will state:

•

the redemption date;

•

the redemption price;

•

if less than all of the debt securities of the series are being redeemed, the particular debt securities to be redeemed (and the principal amounts, in the case of a partial redemption);

•

that on the redemption date, the redemption price will become due and payable and any applicable interest will cease to accrue on and after that date;

•

the place or places of payment;

•

whether the redemption is for a sinking fund; and

•

any other provisions required by the terms of the debt securities of the series that are being redeemed.

On or before any redemption date, we will deposit an amount of money with the trustee or with a paying agent sufficient to pay the redemption price.

Unless otherwise described in the prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering, if we are redeeming less than all the debt securities, the trustee will select the debt securities to be redeemed using a method it considers fair and appropriate. After the redemption date, holders of redeemed debt securities will have no rights with respect to the debt securities except the right to receive the redemption price and any unpaid interest to the redemption date.

Events of Default

Unless otherwise described in the prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering, an “event of default” regarding any series of debt securities is any one of the following events:

•

default for 30 days in the payment of any interest installment when due and payable;

•

default in the making of any sinking fund payment when due;

•

default in the payment of principal or premium (if any) when due at its stated maturity, by declaration, when called for redemption or otherwise;

•

default in the performance of any covenant in the debt securities of that series or in the applicable indenture for 60 days after notice to us by the trustee or by the holders of 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series;

•

certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency and reorganization; and

•

any other event of default provided with respect to that series of debt securities.

We are required to file every year with each trustee an officers’ certificate stating whether any default exists and specifying any default that exists.

Acceleration of Maturity

Unless otherwise described in the prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering, if an event of default has occurred and is continuing with respect to debt securities of a particular series (except, in the case of subordinated debt securities, defaults relating to bankruptcy events), the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of outstanding debt securities of that series may declare the principal amount of outstanding debt securities of that series due and payable immediately.

Unless otherwise described in the prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering, at any time after a declaration of acceleration of maturity with respect to debt securities of any series has been made and before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained by the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series by written notice to us and the trustee, may rescind and annul the declaration and its consequences if:

•

we have paid or deposited with the trustee a sum sufficient to pay:

•

all overdue interest on all outstanding debt securities of that series and any related coupons,

•

all unpaid principal of and premium, if any, on any of the debt securities which has become due otherwise than by the declaration of acceleration, and interest on the unpaid principal at the rate or rates prescribed in the debt securities,

•

to the extent lawful, interest on overdue interest at the rate or rates prescribed in the debt securities, and

•

all sums paid or advanced by the trustee and the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the trustee, its agents and counsel; and

•

all events of default with respect to debt securities of that series, other than the non-payment of amounts of principal, interest or any premium on the debt securities which have become due solely by the declaration of acceleration, have been cured or waived.

No rescission will affect any subsequent default or impair any right consequent thereon.

Waiver of Defaults

Unless otherwise described in the prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering, the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may, on behalf of the holders of all the debt securities of the series and any related coupons, waive any past default under the applicable indenture with respect to the series and its consequences, except a default:

•

in the payment of the principal of or premium, if any, or interest on any debt security of the series or any related coupon, or

•

in respect of a covenant or provision that cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security of the series affected thereby.

If an event of default with respect to debt securities of a particular series occurs and is continuing, the trustee will not be obligated to exercise any of its rights or powers under the applicable indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders of debt securities of the series, unless the holders have offered to the trustee reasonable indemnity and security against the costs, expenses and liabilities that might be incurred by it in compliance with the request.

The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee under the applicable indenture, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee with respect to the debt securities of that series. The trustee may refuse to follow directions in conflict with law or the indenture that may expose the trustee to personal liability or may be unduly prejudicial to the other, non-directing holders. Additionally, the trustee may take any other action the trustee deems proper which is not inconsistent with the direction.

Modification of Indenture

We and the trustee may, without the consent of any holders of debt securities, enter into supplemental indentures for various purposes, including:

•

to evidence the succession of another entity to us and the assumption by the successor of our covenants and obligations under the debt securities and the indenture;

•

establishing the form or terms of any series of debt securities issued under the supplemental indentures;

•

adding to our covenants for the benefit of the holders or to surrender any of our rights or powers under the indenture;

•

adding additional events of default for the benefit of the holders;

•

to change or eliminate any provisions of the indenture provided that the change or elimination becomes effective only when there is no debt security outstanding entitled to the benefit of any changed or eliminated provision;

•

to secure the debt securities;

•

to cure any ambiguities or correct defective or inconsistent provisions of the indenture, provided that holders of debt securities are not materially affected by the change;

•

to evidence and provide for acceptance of a successor trustee; and

•

to comply with the requirements of the Trust Indenture Act.

We and the trustee may, with the consent of the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of all affected series acting as one class, execute supplemental indentures adding any provisions to or changing or eliminating any of the provisions of the indenture or modifying the rights of the holders of the debt securities of the series. Without the consent of the holders of all the outstanding debt securities affected thereby, no supplemental indenture may:

•

change the stated maturity of the principal of, or any installment of principal of or interest on, any debt security;

•

reduce the principal amount of, the rate of interest on or any premium payable upon the redemption of, or change the manner of calculating the rate of interest on, any debt security;

•

reduce the amount of the principal of any original issue discount security that would be due and payable upon acceleration of the maturity of the debt security;

•

change the place of payment where, or the currency in which, principal or interest on any debt security is payable;

•

impair the right to institute suit for enforcement of payments;

•

reduce the percentage in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series, the holders of which must consent to a supplemental indenture or any waiver of compliance with various provisions of, or defaults and covenants under, the indenture; or

•

modify any of the provisions described in this section.

Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets

Unless otherwise described in the prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering, as provided in the indentures, we may not consolidate with or merge into any other person, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of our assets to any other person, unless:

•

the person surviving or formed by the transaction is organized and validly existing under the laws of any United States jurisdiction and expressly assumes our obligations under the debt securities and the indentures;

•

immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no event of default will have occurred and be continuing under the indentures; and

•

the trustees under the indentures receive certain officers’ certificates and opinions of counsel.

Satisfaction and Discharge

We may terminate our obligations with respect to debt securities of any series not previously delivered to the trustee for cancellation when those debt securities:

•

have become due and payable;

•

will become due and payable at their stated maturity within one year; or

•

are to be called for redemption within one year under arrangements satisfactory to the indenture trustee for giving notice of redemption.

We may terminate our obligations with respect to the debt securities of a series by depositing with the trustee, as trust funds in trust dedicated solely for that purpose, an amount sufficient to pay and discharge the entire indebtedness on the debt securities of that series. In that case, the applicable indenture will cease to be of further effect, and our obligations will be satisfied and discharged with respect to that series (except our obligations to pay all other amounts due under the indenture and to provide certain officers’ certificates and opinions of counsel to the trustee). At our expense, the trustee will execute proper instruments acknowledging the satisfaction and discharge.

The Trustees

Any trustee may be deemed to have a conflicting interest for purposes of the Trust Indenture Act and may be required to resign as trustee if there is an event of default under the applicable indenture and, as more fully described in Section 310(b) of the Trust Indenture Act, one or more of the following occurs:

•

the trustee is a trustee under another indenture under which our securities are outstanding;

•

the trustee is a trustee for more than one outstanding series of debt securities under a single indenture;

•

we or our affiliates or underwriters hold certain threshold ownership beneficial ownership interest in the trustee;

•

the trustee holds certain threshold beneficial ownership interests in us or in securities of ours that are in default;

•

the trustee is one of our creditors; or

•

the trustee or one of its affiliates acts as an underwriter or agent for us.

We may appoint an alternative trustee for any series of debt securities. The appointment of an alternative trustee would be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

We and our affiliates engage in transactions with the trustee and its affiliates in the ordinary course of business.

Governing Law

Each of the indentures are, and the related senior debt securities and subordinated debt securities will be, governed by and construed under the internal laws of the State of New York.

DESCRIPTION OF THE WARRANTS

We may issue warrants to purchase debt securities, preferred stock or common stock. We may offer warrants separately or together with one or more additional warrants, debt securities, shares of preferred stock or common stock, or any combination of those securities in the form of units, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. If we issue warrants as part of a unit, the prospectus supplement will specify whether those warrants may be separated from the other securities in the unit prior to the warrants’ expiration date. We may issue the warrants under warrant agreements to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as warrant agent, all as described in the prospectus supplement. If we issue the warrants under warrant agreements, the warrant agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders or beneficial owners of warrants.

We will describe the particular terms of any warrants that we offer in the prospectus supplement relating to those warrants. Those terms may include the following:

•

the specific designation and aggregate number of warrants, and the price at which we will issue the warrants;

•

the currency or currency units in which the offering price, if any, and the exercise price are payable;

•

the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will begin and the date on which the right will expire or, if the warrants are not continuously exercisable throughout that period, the specific date or dates on which they are exercisable;

•

whether the warrants will be issued in fully registered form or bearer form, in definitive or global form or in any combination of these forms;

•

any applicable material United States federal income tax considerations;

•

the identity of the warrant agent, if any, for the warrants and of any other depositaries, execution or paying agents, transfer agents, registrars or other agents;

•

the designation, aggregate principal amount, currency, denomination and terms of any debt securities that may be purchased upon exercise of the warrants;

•

the designation, amount, currency, denominations and terms of any preferred stock or common stock purchasable upon exercise of the warrants;

•

if applicable, the designation and terms of the debt securities, preferred stock or common stock with which the warrants are issued and the number of warrants issued with each security;

•

if applicable, the date from and after which the warrants and the related debt securities, preferred stock or common stock will be separately transferable;

•

the principal amount of debt securities or the number of shares of preferred stock or common stock purchasable upon exercise of any warrant and the price at which those shares may be purchased;

•

provisions for changes to or adjustments in the exercise price;

•

if applicable, the minimum or maximum number of warrants that may be exercised at any one time;

•

information with respect to any book-entry procedures;

•

any antidilution provision of the warrants;

•

any redemption or call provisions; and

•

any additional terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the warrants.

DESCRIPTION OF UNITS

As specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may issue units consisting of one or more warrants, debt securities, shares of common stock, shares of preferred stock, or any combination of such securities. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe:

the terms of the units and of the warrants, debt securities, common stock and preferred stock comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances the securities comprising the units may be traded separately;

a description of the terms of any unit agreement governing the units; and

a description of the provisions for the payment, settlement, transfer or exchange or the units.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

Pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3 and so long as such instruction is applicable to us, we are permitted to use the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part to sell a maximum amount of securities equal to one-third of the aggregate market value of our outstanding, publicly held voting and non-voting common equity in any 12 month period. We may, from time to time, offer and sell the securities registered hereby up to this maximum amount.

We may sell the securities described in this prospectus through underwriters or dealers, through agents, or directly to one or more purchasers or through a combination of these methods. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the terms of the offering of the securities, including:

the name or names of any underwriters, if any, and if required, any dealers or agents;

the purchase price of the securities and the proceeds we will receive from the sale;

any underwriting discounts and other items constituting underwriters' compensation;

any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and

any securities exchange or market on which the securities may be listed.

We may distribute the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at:

a fixed price or prices, which may be changed;

market prices prevailing at the time of sale;

varying prices determined at the time of sale related to such prevailing market prices; or

negotiated prices.

Only underwriters named in the prospectus supplement will be underwriters of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement.

If we use underwriters in the sale, they may acquire the securities for their own account and may resell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. We may offer the securities to the public through underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or by underwriters without a syndicate. Any public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers may change from time to time.

If we use a dealer in the sale of the securities being offered pursuant to this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, we may sell the securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale.

We may sell the securities directly or through agents we designate from time to time. We will name any agent involved in the offering and sale of securities and we will describe any commissions we will pay the agent in the prospectus supplement.

We may authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers by institutional investors to purchase securities from us at the public offering price set forth in the prospectus supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. We will describe the conditions to these contracts and the commissions we must pay for solicitation of these contracts in the prospectus supplement.

In connection with the sale of the securities, underwriters, dealers or agents may receive compensation from us or from purchasers of the securities for whom they act as agents in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions. Underwriters may sell the securities to or through dealers, and those dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agents. Underwriters, dealers and agents that participate in the distribution of the securities, and any institutional investors or others that purchase securities directly and then resell the securities, may be deemed to be underwriters, and any discounts or commissions received by them from us and any profit on the resale of the securities by them may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act.

The aggregate value of all compensation to be received by participating FINRA members will not exceed 8% of the offering proceeds.

Market Making, Stabilization and Other Transactions

Our common stock is listed on Nasdaq Capital Market (Nasdaq). Any common stock sold pursuant to a prospectus supplement will be eligible for listing and trading on Nasdaq, subject to official notice of issuance. Unless the applicable prospectus supplement states otherwise, each series of preferred stock, series of warrants, units or other securities will be a new issue and will have no established trading market. The applicable prospectus supplement will indicate if we elect to list a series of warrants on an exchange. Any underwriters that we use in the sale of securities may make a market in such securities, but may discontinue such market making at any time without notice. Therefore, we cannot assure you that the securities will have a liquid trading market.

Any underwriter also may engage in stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase the underlying security in the open market for the purpose of pegging, fixing or maintaining the price of the securities. Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the securities in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions.

Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the security originally sold by the syndicate member is purchased in a syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. Stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may cause the price of the security to be higher than it would be in the absence of the transactions. The underwriters may, if they commence these transactions, discontinue them at any time.

The effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. Such transactions, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time. We make no representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above, if implemented, may have on the price of our securities.

Derivative Transactions and Hedging

We, the underwriters or other agents may engage in derivative transactions involving the securities. These derivatives may consist of short sale transactions and other hedging activities. The underwriters or agents may acquire a long or short position in the securities, hold or resell the securities acquired and purchase options or futures on the securities and other derivative instruments with returns linked to or related to changes in the price of the securities. In order to facilitate these derivative transactions, we may enter into security lending or repurchase agreements with the underwriters or agents. The underwriters or agents may effect the derivative transactions through sales of the securities to the public, including short sales, or by lending the securities in order to facilitate short sale transactions by others. The underwriters or agents may also use the securities purchased or borrowed from us or others (or, in the case of derivatives, securities received from us in settlement of those derivatives) to directly or indirectly settle sales of the securities or close out any related open borrowings of the securities.

Electronic Auctions

We may also make sales through the Internet or through other electronic means. Since we may from time to time elect to offer securities directly to the public, with or without the involvement of agents, underwriters or dealers, utilizing the Internet or other forms of electronic bidding or ordering systems for the pricing and allocation of such securities, you will want to pay particular attention to the description of that system we will provide in a prospectus supplement.

Such electronic system may allow bidders to directly participate, through electronic access to an auction site, by submitting conditional offers to buy that are subject to acceptance by us, and which may directly affect the price or other terms and conditions at which such security is sold. These bidding or ordering systems may present to each bidder, on a so-called “real-time” basis, relevant information to assist in making a bid, such as the clearing spread at which the offering would be sold, based on the bids submitted, and whether a bidder’s individual bids would be accepted, prorated or rejected. Of course, many pricing methods can and may also be used.

Upon completion of such an electronic auction process, securities will be allocated based on prices bid, terms of bid or other factors. The final offering price at which securities would be sold and the allocation of securities among bidders would be based in whole or in part on the results of the Internet or other electronic bidding process or auction.

General Information

We may provide agents and underwriters with indemnification against particular civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribution with respect to payments that the agents or underwriters may make with respect to such liabilities. Agents and underwriters may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us in the ordinary course of business. We will describe in the prospectus supplement the nature of any such relationship and the name of the parties involved.

LEGAL MATTERS

Schiff Hardin LLP, Washington, DC, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered by this prospectus for us. Legal matters will be passed upon for any underwriters, dealers or agents by counsel named in the applicable prospectus supplement.

EXPERTS

The financial statements incorporated by reference in this prospectus have been audited for 2012 by Crowe Horwath (HK) CPA Limited, an independent registered public accounting firm, and for 2011 by Crowe Horwarth LLP, the Company’s previous independent registered public accounting firm, to the extent and for the periods set forth in their reports incorporated herein by reference, and are included in reliance upon such reports given upon the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You may read and copy the registration statement and any other documents we have filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission's Public Reference Room 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the Public Reference Room. Our Securities and Exchange Commission filings are also available to the public at the Securities and Exchange Commission's Internet site at www.sec.gov.

This prospectus, and any prospectus supplement, is part of the registration statement and does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. Whenever a reference is made in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, to any of our contracts or other documents, the reference may not be complete and, for a copy of the contract or document, you should refer to the exhibits that are a part of the registration statement.

INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

SEC rules allow us to “incorporate by reference” into this prospectus much of the information we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring to those publicly available documents. The information that we incorporate by reference in this prospectus is considered to be part of this prospectus. The following documents filed with the SEC are hereby incorporated by reference in this prospectus:

(a)

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012;

	(b)	Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2013, June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2013;
	(c)	Our Definitive Proxy Statement as Schedule 14A filed on September 27, 2013;

(d)

Our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the Commission on June 25, 2009 and all amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such form; and,

(e)

All other reports filed by the Company pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the 1934 Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the document referred to in (a) above.

Also incorporated by reference into this prospectus are all documents that we may file with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of filing of this registration statement, and until all of the securities to which the prospectus relates has been sold or the offering is otherwise terminated. These documents include periodic reports, such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K, as well as proxy statements. Pursuant to General Instruction B of Form 8-K, any information submitted under Item 2.02, Results of Operations and Financial Condition, or Item 7.01, Regulation FD Disclosure, of Form 8-K is not deemed to be “filed” for the purpose of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, and we are not subject to the liabilities of Section 18 with respect to information submitted under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K. We are not incorporating by reference any information submitted under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K into this prospectus. Any statement contained herein or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement.

You may request a copy of any or all of the documents incorporated by reference but not delivered with this prospectus, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address and number: Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company, 4/F Building B Chuangye Square, No. 48 Keji Road, Gaoxin District, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China, (8629) 8819-3188. We will not, however, send exhibits to those documents, unless the exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference in those documents.

Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company

$35,000,000

Common Stock

Preferred Stock

Debt Securities

Warrants

Units

PROSPECTUS

, 2013

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give information that is not contained in this prospectus. This prospectus is not an offer to sell nor is it seeking an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is correct only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of the delivery of this prospectus or the sale of these securities.

PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 14.

Other expenses of issuance and distribution

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

Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee	$	4,508
Accounting fees and expenses	$	18,000
Legal fees and expenses	$	19,000
Printing fees and expenses	$	5,000
Miscellaneous	$	5,000
Total	$	51,508

Item 15.

Indemnification of directors and officers

Under the provisions of the Articles of Incorporation, as amended (the “Articles”), a director or officer of our Company will not be personally liable to the Company or its stockholders for damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officer. Our Articles do not eliminate or limit the liability of a director or officer for (i) acts of omissions which involve intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of the law or (ii) the unlawful payment of dividends. Further, every person who was or is a party to, or is threatened to be made a party to, or is involved in any such action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by the reason of the fact that he or she, or a person with whom he or she is a legal representative, is or was a director of the Company, or who is serving at the request of the Company as a director or officer of another Company, or is a representative in a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, will be indemnified and held harmless to the fullest extent legally permissible under the laws of the State of Nevada from time to time against all expenses, liability and loss (including attorney’s fees, judgments, fines, and amounts paid or to be paid in a settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by him or her in connection therewith. Right of indemnification will be a contract right which may be enforced in any manner desired by such person. The expenses of officers and directors incurred in defending a civil suit or proceeding must be paid by the Company as incurred and in advance of the final disposition of the action, suit, or proceeding, under receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the director or officer to repay the amount if it is ultimately determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that he or she is not entitled to be indemnified by the Company. Such right of indemnification will not be exclusive of any other right of such directors, officers or representatives may have or hereafter acquire, and, without limiting the generality of such statement, they will be entitled to their respective rights of indemnification under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders, provision of law, or otherwise, as well as their rights under this Article. Without limiting the application of the foregoing, the Board of Directors may adopt bylaws from time to time without respect to indemnification, to provide at all times the fullest indemnification permitted by the laws of the State of Nevada, and may cause the Company to purchase or maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director or officer.

Pursuant to Article 7 of our Articles of Incorporation and Nevada Revised Statutes, we adopted Bylaws with the following indemnification provisions for our directors and officers:

“Section 8.1. Indemnification. No officer or director shall be personally liable for any obligations arising out of any acts or conduct of said officer or director performed for or on behalf of the Corporation. The Corporation shall and does hereby indemnify and hold harmless each person and his heirs and administrators who shall serve at any time hereafter as a director or officer of the Corporation from and against any and all claims, judgments and liabilities to which such persons shall become subject by reason of any action alleged to have been heretofore or hereafter taken or omitted to have been taken by him as such director or officer, and shall reimburse each such person for all legal and other expenses reasonably incurred by him in connection with any such claim of liability; including power to defend such person from all suits as provided for under the provisions of the Nevada Corporation Laws; provided, however that no such person shall be indemnified against, or be reimbursed for, any expense incurred in connection with any claim or liability arising out of his own gross negligence or willful misconduct. The rights accruing to any person under the foregoing provisions of this section shall not exclude any other right to which he may lawfully be entitled, nor shall anything herein contained restrict the right of the Corporation to indemnify or reimburse such person in any proper case, even though not specifically herein provided for. The Corporation, its directors, officers, employees and agents shall be fully protected in taking any action or making any payment or in refusing so to do in reliance upon the advice of counsel.

Item 16.

Exhibits and financial statement schedules

(a)

Exhibits Pursuant to Item 601 of Regulation S-K:

EXHIBIT NO.		IDENTIFICATION OF EXHIBIT
1.1		Form of Underwriting Agreement⁺
3.1		Articles of Incorporation, as amended (incorporated by reference from the Registration’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q on November 15, 2010).
3.2		Amended and Restated Bylaws (Incorporated by reference from the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K on July 15, 2008).
4.1		Form of Unsubordinated Indenture^*
4.2		Form of Subordinated Indenture^*
4.3		Form of Certificate of Designation for Preferred Stock⁺
4.4		Form of Preferred Stock Certificate⁺
4.5		Form of Warrant Agreement⁺

4.6		Form of Warrant Certificate⁺
4.7		Form of Subscription Agreement⁺
4.8		Form of Stock Purchase Contract⁺
4.9		Form of Unit Agreement and Certificate⁺
5		Opinion of Schiff Hardin LLP (1)
23.1		Consent of Crowe Horwath (HK) CPA Limited^*
23.2		Consent of Crowe Horwath LLP *
23.3		Consent of Schiff Hardin LLP (1)
24.1		Power of Attorney (included on signature page)
25.1		Form T-1 Statement of Eligibility of Trustee under the Unsubordinated Indenture^#
25.2		Form T-1 Statement of Eligibility of Trustee under the Subordinated Indenture^#

Filed herewith

⁽¹⁾

To be filed by amendment

⁺

As applicable, to be filed by amendment or by a report filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and incorporated herein by reference

As applicable, to be incorporated herein by reference from a subsequent filing in accordance with Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act

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;

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

(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 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 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 of 1933, 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 of 1933 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 of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the 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 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 effective date, 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 effective date.

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

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

(d) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

(1) For purposes of determining liability under the Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus 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.

(e) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file an application for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of Section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Commission under Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, 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 Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, P.R. China, on December 4, 2013.

	Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company

	By:	/s/ Weibing Lu
	Name:	Weibing Lu
	Title:	Chief Executive Officer

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Weibing Lu, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement, and any subsequent registration statements pursuant to Rule 462 of the Securities Act of 1933 and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that attorney-in-fact or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated on December 4, 2013.

Signature	Title	Date

/s/ Weibing Lu	Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)	December 4, 2013
Weibing Lu

/s/ Bing Mei	Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial officer)	December 4, 2013
Bing Mei

/s/ Wei Wen	Director	December 4, 2013
Wei Wen

/s/ R. Scott Cramer	Director	December 4, 2013
R. Scott Kramer

/s/ Qiang Fan	Director	December 4, 2013
Qiang Fan

/s/ Chengtun Qu	Director	December 4, 2013
Chengtun Qu

/s/ Weirong Shen	Director	December 4, 2013
Weirong Shen

/s/ Mark D. Chen	Director	December 4, 2013
Mark D. Chen