EX-99.A1E 6 d438072dex99a1e.htm EX-(A)(1)(E)-SUMMARY AD EX-(a)(1)(E)-Summary Ad

Exhibit (a)(1)(E)

This announcement is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell Shares (as defined below). The Offer (as defined below) is made solely pursuant to the Offer to Purchase, dated March 24, 2023, and the related Letter of Transmittal and any amendments or supplements to such Offer to Purchase or Letter of Transmittal, and is being made to all holders of Shares. The Offer is not being made to (nor will tenders be accepted from or on behalf of) holders of Shares in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Offer or the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities, “blue sky” or other laws of such jurisdiction. In those jurisdictions where applicable laws or regulations require the Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Offer shall be deemed to be made on behalf of Purchaser (as defined below) by one or more registered brokers or dealers licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction to be designated by Purchaser.

Notice of Offer to Purchase

All Outstanding Shares of Common Stock

of

PROVENTION BIO, INC.

at

$25.00 PER SHARE, NET IN CASH

Pursuant to the Offer to Purchase dated March 24, 2023

by

ZEST ACQUISITION SUB, INC.

an indirect wholly owned subsidiary

of

SANOFI

Zest Acquisition Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Purchaser”) and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Sanofi, a French société anonyme (“Parent”), is offering to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Shares”), of Provention Bio, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), at a purchase price of $25.00 per Share in cash (the “Offer Price”), without interest and subject to any withholding of taxes required by applicable legal requirements, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase, dated March 24, 2023, and in the related letter of transmittal (the “Letter of Transmittal” which, together with the Offer to Purchase, as they may be amended or supplemented from time to time, collectively constitute the “Offer”).

Stockholders of record who tender directly to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Depositary”) will not be obligated to pay brokerage fees or commissions or, except as may be set forth in the Letter of Transmittal, stock transfer taxes with respect to the purchase of Shares by Purchaser pursuant to the Offer. Stockholders who hold their Shares through a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee should consult such institution as to whether it charges any service fees or commissions.

THE OFFER AND WITHDRAWAL RIGHTS WILL EXPIRE AT ONE MINUTE FOLLOWING 11:59 P.M., EASTERN TIME, ON APRIL 20, 2023 (SUCH DATE, OR ANY SUBSEQUENT DATE TO WHICH THE EXPIRATION OF THE OFFER IS EXTENDED, THE “EXPIRATION DATE”), UNLESS THE OFFER IS EXTENDED OR EARLIER TERMINATED.

 

 

The Offer is being made pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of March 12, 2023 (as it may be amended from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company, Parent and Purchaser. The Merger Agreement provides, among other things, that, unless otherwise agreed by the Company, Parent and Purchaser, as soon as practicable following the consummation of the Offer, and subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, Purchaser will merge with and into the Company pursuant to Section 251(h) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as amended (the “DGCL”), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, with the Company continuing as the surviving corporation and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (the “Merger”). In the Merger, each Share issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger (the “Effective Time”) (other than Shares (a) held in the treasury of the Company or owned by the Company or any direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the


Company, (b) held by Parent or any direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (other than Purchaser), (c) irrevocably accepted for purchase in the Offer or (d) held by stockholders who have properly exercised and perfected their statutory rights of appraisal under Delaware law) will be converted into the right to receive an amount in cash equal to the Offer Price, without interest and subject to any withholding of taxes required by applicable legal requirements. As a result of the Merger, the Company will cease to be publicly traded.

The Offer is not subject to a financing condition. The obligation of Purchaser to accept for payment and pay for Shares validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) pursuant to the Offer is subject to the conditions set forth in Section 15 of the Offer to Purchase (collectively, the “Offer Conditions”). Among the Offer Conditions are: (i) the Minimum Tender Condition (as defined below); (ii) the Regulatory Condition (as defined below); (iii) the HSR Condition (as defined below); (iv) the accuracy of the Company’s representations and warranties set forth in the Merger Agreement as of specified times, and the performance of the Company’s covenants set forth in the Merger Agreement, in each case, to specified standards of materiality; and (v) since the date of the Merger Agreement, there not having occurred a Material Adverse Effect (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) that is continuing. The “Minimum Tender Condition” means that the number of Shares validly tendered and “received” by the “depositary” (as such terms are defined in 251(h) of the DGCL), and not validly withdrawn, together with any Shares owned beneficially by Parent and Purchaser (together with their wholly owned subsidiaries), represents at least a majority of the total number of Shares outstanding as of the expiration of the Offer. The “HSR Condition” means that any waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (the “HSR Act”), or any extension thereof, will have been terminated or expired, as the case may be. The “Regulatory Condition” means that there will not have been issued by any court of competent jurisdiction or remain in effect any judgment, temporary restraining order, preliminary or permanent injunction or other order preventing the acquisition of or payment for Shares pursuant to the Offer or the consummation of the Offer or the Merger nor shall any action have been taken, or any legal requirement or order promulgated, entered, enforced, enacted, issued or deemed applicable to the Offer or the Merger by any governmental body which directly or indirectly prohibits, or makes illegal, the acquisition of or payment for Shares pursuant to the Offer, or the consummation of the Merger.

The Board of Directors of the Company has unanimously: (i) determined that the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Offer and the Merger, are advisable and fair to, and in the best interests of, the Company and its stockholders; (ii) adopted the Merger Agreement and approved the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Merger Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Offer and the Merger; and (iii) resolved to recommend that the stockholders of the Company accept the Offer and tender their Shares pursuant to the Offer.

The Merger Agreement provides that, subject to the terms and conditions in the Merger Agreement, (a) if, as of the then-scheduled Expiration Date, any Offer Condition is not satisfied and has not been waived, Purchaser will extend the Offer on one or more occasions, for an additional period of up to ten business days per extension, to permit such Offer Condition to be satisfied and (b) Purchaser will extend the Offer for any period required by any legal requirement, any interpretation or position of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), the staff thereof or NASDAQ Global Select Stock Market (“NASDAQ”) applicable to the Offer. Purchaser will not be required to, and without the Company’s prior written consent is not permitted to, extend the Offer beyond the Outside Date. The “Outside Date” means December 12, 2023; provided, that, if on the Outside Date, all of the conditions to the closing of the Merger and the Offer Conditions, other than the HSR Condition and Regulatory Condition (solely to the extent that such judgment, order, injunction, action or law arises under the HSR Act or any antitrust law), shall have been satisfied or waived, the Outside Date will be automatically extended no more than twice, by a period of 90 days each time (and in the case of such extension(s), any reference to the Outside Date in any other provision of the Merger Agreement will reference the Outside Date, as so extended).

 

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If the Offer is consummated, Purchaser will not seek the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders before effecting the Merger. Parent, Purchaser and the Company have elected to have the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby governed by Section 251(h) of the DGCL and agreed that, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, the Merger will be effected as soon as practicable following the consummation of the Offer (unless otherwise agreed by the Company, Parent and Purchaser). Under Section 251(h) of the DGCL, the consummation of the Merger does not require a vote or action by written consent of the Company’s stockholders.

The Merger Agreement provides, among other things, that, without the prior written consent of the Company, Purchaser will not (A) decrease the Offer Price or change the form of consideration payable in the Offer; (B) decrease the number of Shares sought to be purchased in the Offer; (C) amend, modify or waive the Minimum Tender Condition; (D) add to the Offer Conditions or impose any other conditions on the Offer; (E) amend or modify the Offer Conditions in a manner adverse to the holders of Shares; (F) extend the Expiration Date of the Offer other than as required or permitted by the Merger Agreement; or (G) make any other change in the terms or conditions of the Offer that is adverse to the holders of Shares or that would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to prevent or materially delay the consummation of the Offer or the Merger or impair the ability of Parent or Purchaser to consummate the offer.

Except as set forth above, subject to the terms of the Merger Agreement and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and other applicable laws and regulations, Purchaser expressly reserves the right to waive any Offer Condition at any time and from time to time, or modify or amend the terms of the Offer, including to increase the Offer Price. Any extension, delay, termination or amendment of the Offer will be followed as promptly as practicable by a public announcement thereof, and such announcement in the case of an extension will be made no later than 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on the next business day after the previously scheduled Expiration Date.

For purposes of the Offer, Purchaser will be deemed to have accepted for payment, and thereby purchased, Shares validly tendered to Purchaser and not validly withdrawn as, if and when it or Parent gives notice to the Depositary of its acceptance for payment of such Shares pursuant to the Offer. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions of the Offer, payment for Shares accepted for payment pursuant to the Offer will be made by deposit of the Offer Price for such Shares with the Depositary, which will act as agent for tendering stockholders for the purpose of receiving payments from Parent and Purchaser and transmitting such payments to tendering stockholders whose Shares have been accepted for payment. Under no circumstances will Parent or Purchaser pay interest on the Offer Price for Shares, regardless of any extension of the Offer or any delay in making such payment.

In all cases, Purchaser will pay for Shares tendered and accepted for payment pursuant to the Offer only after timely receipt by the Depositary of (i) the certificates evidencing such Shares (the “Share Certificates”) or timely confirmation of a book-entry transfer of such Shares into the Depositary’s account at The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 3 of the Offer to Purchase, (ii) the Letter of Transmittal (or a manually signed facsimile thereof), properly completed and duly executed, with any required signature guarantees and (iii) any other documents required by the Letter of Transmittal or, in the case of a book-entry transfer, an Agent’s Message (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) in lieu of the Letter of Transmittal and such other documents. Accordingly, tendering stockholders may be paid at different times depending upon when Share certificates or book-entry transfers with respect to Shares are actually received by the Depositary.

Shares tendered pursuant to the Offer may be withdrawn at any time prior to the Expiration Date. Thereafter, tenders are irrevocable, except that Shares tendered may also be withdrawn after May 23, 2023 if Purchaser has not accepted them for payment by the end of May 23, 2023. For a withdrawal of Shares to be effective, the Depositary must timely receive a written or facsimile transmission notice of withdrawal at one of its addresses set forth on the back cover of the Offer to Purchase. Any notice of withdrawal must specify the name of the person who tendered the Shares to be withdrawn, the number of Shares to be withdrawn and the names in which the Share Certificates are registered, if different from that of the person who tendered such Shares. If the Shares to be withdrawn have been delivered to the Depositary, a signed notice of withdrawal with (except in the case of

 

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Shares tendered by an “eligible institution”) signatures guaranteed by an eligible institution must be submitted before the release of such Shares. In addition, such notice must specify, in the case of Shares tendered by delivery, or other identification to the Depositary, of Share Certificates, the serial numbers shown on the Share Certificates evidencing the Shares to be withdrawn or, in the case of Shares tendered by book-entry transfer, the name and number of the account at DTC to be credited with the withdrawn Shares. Withdrawals of tenders of Shares may not be rescinded and any Shares properly withdrawn will be deemed not validly tendered for purposes of the Offer. Withdrawn Shares may, however, be retendered by following one of the procedures for tendering Shares described in Section 3 of the Offer to Purchase at any time prior to the Expiration Date.

The information required to be disclosed by paragraph (d)(1) of Rule 14d-6 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is contained in the Offer to Purchase and is incorporated herein by reference.

The Company provided Parent and Purchaser with the Company’s stockholder list and security position listings for the purpose of disseminating the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and related documents to holders of Shares. The Offer to Purchase and related Letter of Transmittal will be mailed to record holders of Shares whose names appear on the Company’s stockholder list and will be furnished for subsequent transmittal to beneficial owners of Shares to brokers, dealers, commercial banks, trust companies and similar persons whose names, or the names of whose nominees, appear on the stockholder list or, if applicable, who are listed as participants in a clearing agency’s security position listing.

The receipt of cash by a holder of Shares pursuant to the Offer or the Merger will be a taxable transaction to U.S. stockholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. See Section 5 of the Offer to Purchase for a more detailed discussion of the tax treatment of the Offer. Stockholders should consult with their own tax advisor to determine the particular tax consequences to them of the Offer and the Merger. For a more complete description of the principal U.S. federal income tax consequences and the Merger, see the Offer to Purchase.

The Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and the Company’s Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 (which contains the recommendation of the Company’s Board of Directors and the reasons therefor) contain important information. Stockholders should carefully read all documents in their entirety before any decision is made with respect to the Offer.

Questions or requests for assistance may be directed to Innisfree M&A Incorporated (the “Information Agent”) at the address and telephone numbers set forth below. Requests for copies of the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and other tender offer materials may be directed to the Information Agent or to brokers, dealers, commercial banks or trust companies. Such copies will be furnished promptly at Purchaser’s expense. Purchaser will not pay any fees or commissions to any broker or dealer or any other person (other than the Information Agent or the Depositary) for soliciting tenders of Shares pursuant to the Offer.

The Information Agent for the Offer is:

 

LOGO

Innisfree M&A Incorporated

501 Madison Avenue, 20th floor

New York, New York 10022

Shareholders may call toll free: (877) 800-5195

Banks and Brokers may call collect: (212) 750-5833

 

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