As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 11, 2020

Registration No. 333-

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

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FORM S-3 REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

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BLUE BIRD CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

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Delaware	46-3891989
(State or Other Jurisdiction of	I.R.S. Employer Identification Number
Incorporation or Organization)
3920 Arkwright Road Suite 200 Macon, Georgia 31210 (478) 822-2801
(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

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Phillip Tighe Chief Financial Officer Blue Bird Corporation 3920 Arkwright Road Suite 200 Macon, Georgia 31210  (478) 822-2801
(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)
Copies to:
Paul Yousif, Esq. General Counsel and Corporate Treasurer 3920 Arkwright Road Suite 200 Macon, Georgia 31210 (478) 822-2800	Peter H. Ehrenberg, Esq. Lowenstein Sandler LLP 1251 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10020 (212) 204-8697

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Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to public: From time to time after this Registration Statement becomes effective.

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

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

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.  o

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

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:  o

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: o

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

Large accelerated filer	o	Accelerated filer	x
Non-accelerated filer	o	Smaller reporting company	o
Emerging growth company	o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. o

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CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

Title of each class of securities to be registered	Amount to be registered		Proposed maximum offering price per unit			Proposed maximum aggregate offering price		Amount of registration fee
Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share	11,030,150	(1)	$	20.70	(2)	$	228,324,105	$	29,636.47

(1) Represents the resale of shares of common stock by a selling stockholder.

(2) Estimated at $20.70 per share, the average of the high and low prices of the Registrant’s common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Stock Market on February 7, 2020 (a date within five business days prior to the initial filing of this Registration Statement), solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act.

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.

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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. The Company and the selling securityholder identified in this prospectus 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 it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED FEBRUARY 11, 2020

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

BLUE BIRD CORPORATION

11,030,150 Shares of Common Stock

This prospectus relates to the resale of 11,030,150 shares of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), by the selling security holder named in this prospectus or its transferees.

The security holders may offer, sell or distribute all or a portion of its securities publicly or through private transactions at prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of Common Stock by the selling stockholder. We will bear all costs, expenses and fees in connection with the registration of these securities, including with regard to compliance with state securities or “blue sky” laws. The selling security holder will bear all commissions and discounts, if any, attributable to their sale of securities, except as otherwise expressly set forth under “Plan of Distribution.”

Our Common Stock is quoted on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol “BLBD.” On February 7, 2020, the closing price of our Common Stock was $20.43. On February 7, 2020, we had 26,839,825 shares of Common Stock outstanding.

INVESTING IN THESE SECURITIES INVOLVES CERTAIN RISKS. SEE “RISK FACTORS.”

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

The date of this prospectus is February 11, 2020

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS	6
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY	6
THE OFFERING	7
RISK FACTORS	8
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	22
USE OF PROCEEDS	23
SELLING SECURITY HOLDER	23
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION	24
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK	26
LEGAL MATTERS	29
EXPERTS	29
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE	30
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION	30

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we refer to as the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. Under the shelf registration process, the selling security holders may, from time to time, offer and sell shares of our Common Stock pursuant to this prospectus. It is important for you to read and consider all of the information contained in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement before making any decision whether to invest in the Common Stock. You should also read and consider the information contained in the documents that we have incorporated by reference as described in “Incorporation of Certain Documents By Reference” and “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus.

We and the selling security holder have not authorized anyone to give any information or to make any representations different from that which is contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement in connection with the offer made by this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement and, if given or made, such information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by Blue Bird Corporation or any such person. This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement do not constitute an offer or solicitation by anyone in any state in which such offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.

You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference is accurate only as of their respective dates. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed materially since any of those dates. To the extent there is a conflict or inconsistency between the information contained in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement we may authorize to be delivered to you, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement, except that if any statement in one of these documents 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. This prospectus, together with any applicable prospectus supplements we may authorize to be delivered to you, includes all material information relating to this offering.

Unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms “Blue Bird,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Blue Bird Corporation, a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries.

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights certain information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. For a more complete understanding of this offering, you should read carefully the entire prospectus, including the risk factors, and the documents incorporated herein by reference..

Background

We (formerly Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp.) were incorporated in Delaware on September 24, 2013 as a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. On February 24, 2015, we consummated a business combination, pursuant to which we acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of School Bus Holdings Inc. (“School Bus Holdings”) from The Traxis Group, B.V. (“Traxis”), in accordance with a purchase agreement, dated as of September 21, 2014, by and among us, Traxis and Hennessy Capital Partners I LLC, as amended on February 10, 2015 and February 18, 2015 (the “Purchase Agreement”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the total purchase price was paid in a combination of cash in the amount of $100.0 million and 12,000,000 shares of our common stock, $0.0001 par value (the “Common Stock”).

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In connection with the closing of our business combination, we changed our name from Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. to Blue Bird Corporation. Unless expressly stated otherwise in this prospectus, Blue Bird Corporation shall be referred to as “Blue Bird” or the “Company,” and includes its consolidated subsidiaries. Upon consummation of the closing, we increased the size of our board of directors and School Bus Holdings’ executive officers became our executive officers.

Any description of our business herein or in the documents incorporated herein by reference describes the business historically operated by School Bus Holdings and its subsidiaries under the “Blue Bird” name as an independent enterprise prior to our business combination and as subsidiaries of Blue Bird Corporation (formerly Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp.) after our business combination.

Pursuant to a Purchase and Sale Agreement, dated as of May 26, 2016 (the “Purchase and Sale Agreement”), by and among Traxis, ASP BB Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“ASP”), and us, Traxis agreed to sell and ASP agreed to purchase all of the 12,000,000 shares of Common Stock of the Company owned by Traxis. We did not receive any proceeds from that transaction.

Our Company

We are the leading independent designer and manufacturer of school buses, with more than 570,000 buses sold since our formation in 1927. We review and present our business in two operating segments, which are also our reportable segments: (i) the Bus segment, which involves the design, engineering, manufacture and sales of school buses and extended warranties; and (ii) the Parts segment, which includes the sales of replacement bus parts. Financial information is reported on the basis that it is used internally by the chief operating decision maker in evaluating segment performance and deciding how to allocate resources to segments. Our performance in recent years has been driven by the implementation of repeatable processes focused on product initiatives, continuous improvement of both competitiveness and manufacturing flexibility, and lowering our cost of capital.

Our principal executive offices are located at 3920 Arkwright Road, Suite 200, Macon, Georgia and our telephone number is (478) 822-2801.

THE OFFERING

The selling security holder identified in the section “Selling Security Holder” is offering an aggregate of 11,030,150 shares of our Common Stock. We will not receive any proceeds upon the sale of shares of Common Stock by the selling security holder. The shares being offered hereby were originally issued in connection with our business combination and subsequently were sold to an entity that became our principal stockholder by virtue of that sale. See the discussion set forth under the caption “Selling Security Holder.”

On February 7, 2020, we had 26,839,825 shares of Common Stock outstanding. On that date, we also had outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of 192,893 shares of Common Stock at a price of $5.75 per one half of one share ($11.50 per whole share). Any such warrants that are not exercised prior to the expiration date will expire on February 24, 2020.

Our Common Stock is quoted on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “BLBD.” On February 7, 2020, the closing price of our Common Stock was $20.43.

For additional information concerning the offering, see “Plan of Distribution.”

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RISK FACTORS

The following risk factors apply specifically to an investment in our securities. You should carefully consider the following risk factors in addition to the other information included in this prospectus, including matters addressed in the section entitled “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and risk factors disclosed in reports incorporated herein by reference. We may face additional risks and uncertainties that are not presently known to us, or that we currently deem immaterial, which may also impair our business. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes to the financial statements incorporated by reference herein.

Risk Factors Relating to Our Business and Industry

General economic conditions in the markets we serve have a significant impact on demand for our buses.

The school bus market is predominantly driven by long-term trends in the level of spending by municipalities. The principal factors underlying spending by municipalities are housing prices, property tax levels, municipal budgeting issues and voter initiatives. Demand for school buses is further influenced by overall acquisition priorities of municipalities, availability of school bus financing, student population changes, school district busing policies, price and other competitive factors, fuel prices and environmental regulations. Significant deterioration in the economic environment, housing prices, property tax levels or municipal budgets could result in fewer new orders for school buses or could cause customers to seek to postpone or reduce orders, which could result in lower revenues, profitability and cash flows.

Our products may not achieve or maintain market acceptance or competing products could gain market share, which could adversely affect our competitive position.

We operate in a highly competitive domestic market. Our principal competitors are Thomas Built Bus (owned by Daimler Trucks North America) and IC Bus (owned by Navistar International), which, at the consolidated level, have potential access to more technical, financial and marketing resources than our company. Our competitors may develop or gain access to products that are superior to our products, develop methods of more efficiently and effectively providing products and services, or adapt more quickly than we do to new technologies or evolving customer requirements. IC Bus and Thomas Built Bus both sell propane-powered school buses. This brings both competitors into direct competition with our propane-powered school buses. Our competitors may achieve cost savings or be able to withstand a substantial downturn in the market because their businesses are consolidated with other vehicle lines. In addition, our competitors could be, and have been in the past, vertically integrated by designing and manufacturing their own components (including engines) to reduce their costs. The school bus market does not have “Buy America” regulations, so competitors or new entrants to the market could manufacture school buses in more cost-effective jurisdictions and import them to the United States to compete with us. Any increase in competition may cause us to lose market share or compel us to reduce prices to remain competitive, which could result in reduced sales and earnings.

We continue to optimize our product offerings to meet customer needs and specifications. While we target product offerings to meet customer needs, there is no assurance that our product offerings will be embraced and that we will meet our sales projections.

Our business is cyclical, which has had, and could have future, adverse effects on our sales and results of operations and lead to significant shifts in our results of operations from quarter to quarter that make it difficult to project long-term performance.

The school bus market historically has been and is expected to continue to be cyclical. This cyclicality has an impact both on the school bus industry and also on the comparative analysis of quarterly results of our company.

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Customers historically have replaced school buses in lengthy cycles. Moreover, weak macroeconomic conditions can adversely affect demand for new school buses and lead to an overall aging of school bus fleets beyond a typical replacement cycle. While United States and Canadian demand for school buses has steadily increased since 2011, that increase may be partially attributable to the lower volume of purchases during the sustained downturn from 2007 to 2011 and historically low industry sales in 2011. To the extent the increase in school bus demand is attributable to pent-up demand rather than overall economic growth, future school bus sales may lag behind improvements in general economic conditions or property tax levels.

During downturns, we may find it necessary to reduce line rates and employee levels due to lower overall demand. An economic downturn may reduce, and in the past has reduced, demand for school buses, resulting in lower sales volumes, lower prices and decreased profits.

Primarily as a result of the seasonal nature of our business, we operate with negative working capital for significant portions of our fiscal year. During economic downturns, this tends to result in our utilizing a substantial portion of our cash reserves.

We may be unable to obtain critical components from suppliers, which could disrupt or delay our ability to deliver products to customers.

We rely on specialist suppliers for critical components (including engines, transmissions and axles) and replacement of any of these components with like parts from another supplier normally requires engineering and testing resources, which entail costs and take time. The lack of ready-to-implement alternatives could give such suppliers, some of which have substantial market power, significant leverage over us if these suppliers elected to exert their market power over us, which leverage could adversely impact the terms and conditions, including pricing and delivery schedules, pursuant to which we purchase these products from these suppliers. We seek to mitigate supply chain risks with our key suppliers by entering into long-term agreements, by commencing contract negotiations with suppliers of critical components significantly before contract expiration dates and by diversifying our suppliers of key components with contingency programs when possible.

If any of our critical component suppliers limit or reduce the supply of components due to commercial reasons, financial difficulties or other problems that prevent them from supplying us with the necessary components, we could experience a loss of revenues due to our inability to fulfill orders. These single-source and other suppliers are each subject to quality and operational issues, materials shortages, unplanned demand, reduction in capacity and other factors that may disrupt the flow of goods to us or to our customers, which would adversely affect our business and customer relationships.

We have no assurance that our suppliers will continue to meet our requirements. If supply arrangements are interrupted, we may not be able to find another supplier on a timely or satisfactory basis. We may incur significant set-up costs, delays and lag time in manufacturing should it become necessary to replace any key suppliers due to work stoppages, shipping delays, financial difficulties, natural or man-made disasters, cyber-attacks or other factors. In addition, strikes, work stoppages or other types of conflicts with labor organizations or employees at a supplier’s facility could delay the production and/or development of the components that they supply to us, which could strain relationships with our customers and cause a loss of revenues which could materially adversely affect our operations. Our business interruption insurance coverage may not be adequate for any such factors that we could encounter and may not continue to be available in amounts and on terms acceptable to us. Production delays could, under certain circumstances, result in penalties or liquidated damages in certain of our General Services Administration (“GSA”) contracts. In addition to the general risks described above regarding interruption of supplies, which are exacerbated in the case of single-source suppliers, the exclusive supplier of a key component potentially could exert significant bargaining power over price, warranty claims or other terms relating to a component.

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Our ability to sell our products may be affected by trade policies and tariffs.

We import some of our components from the People's Republic of China and other foreign countries. Our purchases may be subject to the effects of the United States trade policy, including the imposition of tariffs and anti-dumping/countervailing duties on these components. We cannot assure you that our ability to sell our products at reasonable margins will not be impaired by the imposition of tariffs or other changes in trade policy which may make it more difficult or more expensive to purchase our products.

We rely on certain single-source suppliers that could materially and adversely impact us if they were to interrupt the supply of component parts to us.

We currently rely on a limited number of single-source suppliers and/or have limited alternatives for important bus parts such as diesel engines and emission components, propane and gasoline engines including powertrains, control modules, steering systems, seats, specialty resins, and other key components. Shortages and allocations by such manufacturers may result in inefficient operations and a build-up of inventory, which could negatively affect our working capital position.

New laws, regulations or policies of governmental organizations regarding environmental, health and safety standards, or changes in existing ones, may have a significant negative effect on how we do business.

Our products must satisfy various legal, environmental, health and safety requirements, including applicable emissions and fuel economy requirements. Meeting or exceeding government-mandated safety standards can be difficult and costly. Such regulations are extensive and may, in certain circumstances, operate at cross purposes. While we are managing our product development and production operations to reduce costs, unique local, state, federal and international standards can result in additional costs for product development, testing and manufacturing. We depend on third party sole-source suppliers to comply with applicable emissions and fuel economy standards in the manufacture of engines supplied to us for our buses. Increased environmental, safety, emissions, fuel economy or other regulations may result in additional costs and lag time to introduce new products to market.

Safety or durability incidents associated with a school bus malfunction may result in loss of school bus sales that could have material adverse effects on our business.

The school bus industry has few competitors due to the importance of brand and reputation for safety and durability, compliance with stringent safety and regulatory requirements, an understanding of the specialized product specifications in each region and specialized technological and manufacturing know-how. If incidents associated with school bus malfunction transpired that called into question our reputation for safety or durability, it could harm our brand and reputation and cause consumers to question the safety, reliability and durability of our products. Lost school bus sales resulting from safety or durability incidents associated with a school bus malfunction could materially adversely affect our business.

Disruption of our manufacturing and distribution operations would have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We manufacture school buses at facilities in Fort Valley, Georgia and distribute parts from a distribution center located in Delaware, Ohio. If operations at our manufacturing or distribution facilities were to be disrupted for a significant length of time as a result of significant equipment failures, natural disasters, power outages, fires, explosions, terrorism, adverse weather conditions, labor disputes, cyber-attacks or other reasons, we may be unable to fill dealer or customer orders and otherwise meet demand for our products, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any interruption in production or distribution capability could require us to make substantial capital expenditures to fill customer orders, which could negatively affect our profitability and financial condition. We maintain property damage insurance that we believe to be adequate to provide for reconstruction of facilities and equipment, as well as business interruption insurance to mitigate losses resulting from any production interruption or shutdown caused by an insured loss. However, any recovery under our insurance policies may not offset the lost sales or increased costs that may be experienced during the disruption of operations, which could adversely

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affect our financial performance. Also, our property damage and business interruption insurance coverage may not be applicable or adequate for any such disruption that we could encounter and may not continue to be available in amounts and on terms acceptable to us.

Rationalization or restructuring of manufacturing facilities, including plant expansions and system upgrades at our manufacturing facilities, may cause production capacity constraints and inventory fluctuations.

The rationalization of our manufacturing facilities has at times resulted in, and similar rationalizations or restructurings in the future may result in, temporary constraints upon our ability to produce the quantity of products necessary to fill orders and thereby complete sales in a timely manner. In addition, system upgrades at our manufacturing facilities that impact ordering, production scheduling and other related manufacturing processes are complex, and could impact or delay production targets. A prolonged delay in our ability to fill orders on a timely basis could affect customer demand for our products and increase the size of our raw material inventories, causing future reductions in our manufacturing schedules and adversely affecting our results of operations. Moreover, our continuous development and production of new products will often involve the retooling of existing manufacturing equipment. This retooling may limit our production capacity at certain times in the future, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, the expansion, reconfiguration, maintenance and modernization of existing manufacturing facilities and the start-up of new manufacturing operations, could increase the risk of production delays and require significant investments of capital.

We may incur material losses and costs related to product warranty claims.

We are subject to product warranty claims in the ordinary course of our business. Our standard warranty covers the bus for one year and certain components for up to five years. We attempt to adequately price ongoing warranty costs into our bus purchase contracts; however, our warranty reserves are estimates and if we produce poor quality products, develop new products with deficiencies or receive defective materials or components, we may incur material unforeseen costs in excess of what we have provided for in our contracts or reserved in our financial statements.

In addition, we may not be able to enforce warranties and extended warranties received or purchased from our suppliers if such suppliers refuse to honor such warranties or go out of business. Also, a customer may choose to pursue remedies directly under its contract with us over enforcing such supplier warranties. In such a case, we may not be able to recover our losses from the supplier.

We may incur material losses and costs as a result of product liability claims and recalls.

We face an inherent risk of exposure to product liability claims if the use of our products results, or is alleged to result, in personal injury and/or property damage. If we manufacture a defective product or if component failures result in damages that are not covered by warranty provisions, we may experience material product liability losses in the future. In addition, we may incur significant costs to defend product liability claims. We could also incur damages and significant costs in correcting any defects, lose sales and suffer damage to our reputation. Our product liability insurance coverage may not be adequate for all liabilities we could incur and may not continue to be available in amounts and on terms acceptable to us. Significant product liability claims could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Moreover, the adverse publicity that may result from a product liability claim or perceived or actual defect with our products could have a material adverse effect on our ability to market our products successfully.

We are subject to potential recalls of our products from customers to cure manufacturing defects or in the event of a failure to comply with customers’ order specifications or applicable regulatory standards, as well as potential recalls of components or parts manufactured by suppliers that we purchase and incorporate into our school buses. We may also be required to remedy or retrofit buses in the event that an order is not built to a customer’s specifications or where a design error has been made. Significant retrofit and remediation costs or product recalls could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

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A failure to renew dealer agreements or cancellation of, or significant delay in, new bus orders may result in unexpected declines in revenue and profitability.

We rely to a significant extent on our dealers to sell our products to the end consumer. A loss of one or more significant dealers or a reduction in the market share of existing dealers would lead to a loss of revenues that could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our dealer agreements are typically for a five-year term; however, the dealer can usually cancel the agreement for convenience without penalty upon 90 days’ notice. While most of our dealers have been purchasing from us for more than two decades, we can provide no assurance that we will be able to renew our dealer agreements on favorable terms, or at all, at their scheduled expiration dates. If we are unable to renew a contract with one or more of our significant dealers, our revenues and results of operations could be adversely affected until an alternative solution is implemented (e.g., a new dealer or combining the territory with another, existing Blue Bird dealer). If dealer agreements are terminated with one or more of our top 10 dealers, significant orders are canceled or delayed or we incur a significant decrease in the level of purchases from any of our top 10 dealers, our sales and operating results would be adversely impacted. In addition, our new bus orders are subject to potential reduction, cancellation and/or significant delay. Although dealers generally only order buses from us after they have a firm order from a school district, orders for buses are also generally cancelable until 14 weeks prior to delivery.

The inability to attract and retain key personnel could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our ability to operate our business and implement our strategies depends, in part, on the efforts of our executive officers and other key employees. Our future success depends, in large part, on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, including manufacturing personnel, sales professionals and engineers. The unexpected loss of services of any of our key personnel or the failure to attract or retain other qualified personnel could have a material adverse effect on the operation of our business.

While we have enjoyed good relations and a collaborative approach with our work force, employment relationships can deteriorate over time. Given the extent to which we rely on our employees, any significant deterioration in our relationships with our key employees or overall workforce could materially harm us. We cannot predict how stable our relationships with our employees will be in the future and we may experience work stoppages or labor organizing activity in the future, which could adversely affect our business. Work stoppages or instability in our relationships with our employees could delay the production and/or development of our products, which could strain relationships with customers and cause a loss of revenues which would adversely affect our operations. In addition, local economic conditions in the Central Georgia area (where our principal manufacturing facilities are located) may impact our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel.

Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments, including non-U.S. governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements, as well as laws and regulations regarding the manufacture of school buses. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our products must satisfy a complex compliance scheme due to variability in and potentially conflicting local, state, federal and international laws and regulations. The cost of compliance may be substantial in a period due to the potential for modification or customization of our school buses in any of the 50 plus jurisdictions. In addition, if we expand into more international jurisdictions, we could potentially incur additional costs in order to tailor our products to the applicable local law requirements of such jurisdictions. Further, we must comply with additional regulatory

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requirements applicable to us as a federal contractor for our GSA contracts, which increases our costs. GSA contracts are also subject to audit and increased inspections and costs of compliance. Any potential penalties for non-compliance with laws and regulations may not be covered by insurance that we carry.

Environmental obligations and liabilities could have a negative impact on our financial condition, cash flows and profitability.

Potential environmental issues have been identified at our facility in Fort Valley, Georgia, including the solid waste management units at the facility’s old landfill. Potential remediation costs and obligations could require the expenditure of capital and, if greater than expected, or in excess of applicable insurance coverage, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, liquidity or financial condition. We are cooperating with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and have conducted a site-wide investigation under the current hazardous waste management law. All investigations of suspect areas have been completed. Implementation of a corrective action plan is forthcoming, which will consist of re-surfacing the landfill cap, possible monitoring, and ground water use restrictions for the old landfill. There are currently no proposed remediation actions to be included in the corrective action plan. Based on the data generated from the latest site investigation, we believe our environmental risks have been reduced.

Our worker’s compensation insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities.

Although we maintain a workers’ compensation insurance stop loss policy to cover us for costs and expenses we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from work-related injuries over our self-insured limit, this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities as we incur the costs and expenses up to our self-insured limit. In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future health and safety laws and regulations. These current or future laws and regulations may negatively impact our manufacturing operations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations also may result in substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions.

Our future competitiveness and ability to achieve long-term profitability depend on our ability to control costs, which requires us to improve our organization continuously and to increase operating efficiencies and reduce costs.

In order to operate profitably in our market, we are continually transforming our organization and rationalizing our operating processes. Our future competitiveness depends upon our continued success in implementing these initiatives throughout our operations. While some of the elements of cost reduction are within our control, others, such as commodity costs, regulatory costs and labor costs, depend more on external factors, and there can be no assurance that such external factors will not materially adversely affect our ability to reduce our costs.

Our operating results may vary widely from period to period due to the sales cycle, seasonal fluctuations and other factors.

Our orders with our dealers and customers generally require time-consuming customization and specification. We incur significant operating expenses when we are building a bus prior to sale or designing and testing a new bus. If there are delays in the sale of buses to dealers or customers, such delays may lead to significant fluctuations in results of operations from quarter to quarter, making it difficult to predict our financial performance on a quarterly basis. Further, if we were to experience a significant amount of cancellations of or reductions in purchase orders, it would reduce our future sales and results of operations.

Our business is subject to seasonal and other fluctuations. In particular, we have historically experienced higher revenues during the third quarter and fourth quarter versus the first quarter and second quarter during each fiscal year. This seasonality is caused primarily by school districts ordering more school buses prior to the beginning of a school year. Our ability to meet customer delivery schedules is dependent on a number of factors including, but not limited to, access to components and raw materials, an adequate and capable workforce, assembling/engineering expertise for certain projects and sufficient manufacturing capacity. The availability of these factors may in some cases be subject to conditions outside of our control. A failure to deliver in accordance with our performance obligations may result in

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financial penalties under certain of our GSA contracts and damage to existing customer relationships, damage to our reputation and a loss of future bidding opportunities, which could cause the loss of future business and could negatively impact our financial performance.

Our defined benefit pension plans are currently underfunded and pension funding requirements could increase significantly due to a reduction in funded status as a result of a variety of factors, including weak performance of financial markets, declining interest rates and investments that do not achieve adequate returns.

Our employee benefit plans currently hold a significant amount of equity and fixed income securities. Our future funding requirement for our frozen defined benefit pension plan (“Pension Plan”) qualified with the Internal Revenue Service depends upon the future performance of assets placed in trusts for this plan, the level of interest rates used to determine funding levels, the level of benefits provided for by the Pension Plan and any changes in government laws and regulations. Future funding requirements generally increase if the discount rate decreases or if actual asset returns are lower than expected asset returns, as other factors are held constant. If future funding requirements increase, we would be required to contribute more funds, which would negatively affect our cash flows.

We enter into firm fixed-price school bus sales contracts without price escalation clauses which could subject us to losses if we have cost overruns or if our costs increase.

We often bid on contracts weeks or months before school buses are delivered and enter into school bus sales contracts with fixed prices per bus. The sales contracts generally do not have an indexed price escalation formula to account for economic fluctuations between the contract date and the delivery date. As a result, we typically are unable to pass along increased costs due to economic fluctuations to our customers. We generally purchase steel one quarter in advance, but because we generally do not hedge our other primary raw materials (rubber, aluminum and copper), changes in prices of raw materials can significantly impact operating margins. Our actual costs and any gross profit realized on these fixed-price contracts could vary from the estimated costs on which these contracts were originally based.

Our current or future indebtedness could impair our financial condition and reduce the funds available to us for growth or other purposes. Our debt agreements impose certain operating and financial restrictions, with which failure to comply could result in an event of default that could adversely affect our results of operations.

We have substantial indebtedness. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund the interest payments on our outstanding borrowings under our credit facility and other debt service obligations and keep us in compliance with the covenants under our debt agreements or to fund our other liquidity needs, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets or operations, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. We cannot assure investors that we would be able to take any of these actions, that these actions would permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations or that these actions would be permitted under the terms of our existing or future debt agreements, which may impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us and could adversely affect our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs; obtain standby letters of credit, bank guarantees or performance bonds required to bid on or secure certain customer contracts; make strategic acquisitions or investments or enter into alliances; withstand a future downturn in our business or the economy in general; engage in business activities, including future opportunities for growth, that may be in our interest; and plan for or react to market conditions or otherwise execute our business strategies.

If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, or if we breach any of the covenants in our debt agreements, we will be in default and, as a result, our lenders could declare all outstanding principal and interest to be due and payable, could terminate their commitments to lend us money and foreclose against the assets securing our borrowings, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

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In addition, we and certain of our subsidiaries may incur significant additional indebtedness, including additional secured indebtedness. Although the terms of our debt agreements contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions, and additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be significant. Incurring additional indebtedness could increase the risks associated with our substantial indebtedness, including our ability to service our indebtedness.

Our profitability depends on achieving certain minimum school bus sales volumes and margins. If school bus sales deteriorate, our results of operations and financial condition will suffer.

Our continued profitability requires us to maintain certain minimum school bus sales volumes and margins. As is typical for a vehicle manufacturer, we have significant fixed costs and, therefore, changes in our school bus sales volume can have a disproportionately large effect on profitability. If our school bus sales were to decline to levels significantly below our assumptions, due to a financial downturn, renewed recessionary conditions, changes in consumer confidence, geopolitical events, inability to produce sufficient quantities of school buses, limited access to financing or other factors, our financial condition and results of operations would be materially adversely affected.

We may need additional financing to execute our business plan and fund operations, which additional financing may not be available on reasonable terms or at all.

Our future growth, including the potential for future market expansion and opportunities for future international growth, may require substantial additional capital. We will consider raising additional funds through various financing sources, including the sale of our equity securities or the procurement of additional commercial debt financing. However, there can be no assurance that such funds will be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. If such financing is not available on satisfactory terms, we may be unable to execute our growth strategy, and operating results may be adversely affected. Any additional debt financing will increase expenses and must be repaid regardless of operating results and may involve restrictions limiting our operating flexibility. If we issue equity securities to raise additional funds, the percentage ownership of our existing stockholders will be reduced, and our stockholders may experience additional dilution in net book value per share.

Our ability to obtain financing may be impaired by such factors as the capital markets, both generally and specifically in our industry, which could impact the availability or cost of future financings. If the amount of capital we are able to raise from financing activities, together with our revenues from operations, are not sufficient to satisfy our capital needs, we may be required to decrease the pace of, or eliminate, our future product offerings and market expansion opportunities and potentially curtail operations.

Interest rates could change substantially, materially impacting our profitability.

Our borrowings under our credit facility are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. We monitor and manage this exposure as part of our overall risk management program, which recognizes the unpredictability of interest rates and seeks to reduce potentially adverse effects on our business. The majority of our debt interest payments are protected against increases in short-term rates; however, changes in interest rates cannot always be predicted, hedged, or offset with price increases to eliminate earnings volatility.

If we do not maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results.

A material weakness is a deficiency or a combination of deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

Deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting are matters that may require an extended period to remediate. We will continue to evaluate, design and implement policies and procedures to address deficiencies to maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting as a public company.

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Internal control over financial reporting, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control objectives will be met. These inherent limitations include system errors, the potential for human error and unauthorized actions of employees or contractors, inadequacy of controls, temporary lapses in controls due to shortfalls in transition planning and oversight or resources, and other factors. Consequently, such controls may not prevent or detect misstatements in our reported financial results as required under SEC and NASDAQ rules, which could increase our operating costs or impair our ability to operate our business. Controls may also become inadequate due to changes in circumstances, and it is necessary to replace, upgrade or modify our internal information systems from time to time.

If management is not successful in maintaining an effective internal control environment, material weaknesses could occur, causing investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could lead to a decline in our stock price, limit our ability to access the capital markets in the future, and require us to incur additional costs to improve our internal control systems and procedures.

An impairment in the carrying value of goodwill and other long-lived intangible assets could negatively affect our operating results.

We have a substantial amount of goodwill and purchased intangible assets on our balance sheet, concentrated in our bus segment and specifically related to the dealer network and our trade name. The carrying value of goodwill represents the fair value of an acquired business in excess of identifiable assets and liabilities as of the acquisition date. The carrying value of other long-lived intangible assets represents the fair value of trademarks and trade names, customer relationships and technology as of the acquisition date. Under generally accepted accounting principles, long-lived assets are required to be reviewed for impairment at least annually, or more frequently if potential interim indicators exist that could result in impairment. If any business conditions or other factors cause profitability or cash flows to significantly decline, we may be required to record a non-cash impairment charge, which could adversely affect our operating results. Events and conditions that could result in impairment include a prolonged period of global economic weakness, a further decline in economic conditions or a slow, weak economic recovery, sustained declines in the price of our Common Stock, adverse changes in the regulatory environment, adverse changes in the market share of our products, adverse changes in interest rates or other factors leading to reductions in the long-term sales or profitability that we expect.

If Blue Bird Capital Services cannot provide financial services to our dealers and customers to acquire our products, our sales and results of operations could deteriorate.

Our dealers and customers benefit from Blue Bird Capital Services (“BBCS”), a private label financing product. BBCS provides floorplan financing for certain of our network dealers and provides a modest amount of vehicle lease financing to school districts. Although we neither assume any balance sheet risk nor receive any direct economic benefit from BBCS, which is financed by TCF Inventory Finance, Inc., we could be materially adversely affected if BBCS were unable to provide this financing and our dealers were unable to obtain alternate financing, at least until we were able to put in place a replacement for BBCS. BBCS faces a number of business, economic and financial risks that could impair its access to capital and negatively affect its business and operations and its ability to provide financing and leasing to our dealers and customers. Because BBCS serves as an additional source of leasing and financing options for dealers and customers, an impairment of BBCS’ ability to provide such financial services could negatively affect our efforts to expand our market penetration among customers who rely on these financial services to acquire new school buses and dealers who seek financing.

We rely heavily on trade secrets to gain a competitive advantage in the market and the unenforceability of our nondisclosure agreements may adversely affect our operations.

Historically, we have not relied upon patents to protect our design or manufacturing processes or products. Instead, we rely significantly on maintaining the confidentiality of our trade secrets and other information related to our operations. Accordingly, we require all executives, engineering employees and suppliers to sign a nondisclosure agreement to protect our trade secrets, business strategy and other proprietary information. If the provisions of these agreements are found unenforceable in any jurisdiction in which we operate, the disclosure of our proprietary information

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may place us at a competitive disadvantage. Even where the provisions are enforceable, the confidentiality clauses may not provide adequate protection of our trade secrets and proprietary information in every such jurisdiction.

We require training sessions for our employees regarding the protection of our trade secrets, business strategy and other proprietary information. Our employee training may not provide adequate protection of our trade secrets and proprietary information.

We may be unable to prevent third parties from using our intellectual property rights, including trade secrets and know-how, without our authorization or from independently developing intellectual property that is the same as or similar to our intellectual property, particularly in those countries where the laws do not protect our intellectual property rights as fully as in the United States. The unauthorized use of our trade secrets or know-how by third parties could reduce or eliminate any competitive advantage we have developed, cause us to lose sales or otherwise harm our business or increase our expenses as we attempt to enforce our rights.

Our intellectual property rights may not be successfully asserted in the future or may be invalidated, circumvented or challenged.

We rely on a number of significant unregistered trademarks and other unregistered intellectual property in the day-to-day operation of our business. Without the protections afforded by registration, our ability to protect and use our trademarks and other unregistered intellectual property may be limited, which could negatively affect our business in the future.

In addition, while we have not faced intellectual property infringement claims from others in recent years, in the event successful infringement claims are brought against us, particularly claims (under patents or otherwise) against our product design or manufacturing processes, such claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operation.

Security breaches and other disruptions to our information technology networks and systems could substantially interfere with our operations and could compromise the confidentiality of our proprietary information, notwithstanding the fact that no such breaches or disruptions have materially impacted us to date.

We rely upon information technology systems and networks, some of which are managed by third-parties, to process, transmit and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes and activities, including supply chain management, manufacturing, invoicing and collection of payments from our dealer network and customers. Additionally, we collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, proprietary business information, the proprietary business information of our dealers and suppliers, as well as personally identifiable information of our employees, in data centers and on information technology systems. The secure operation of these information technology systems, and the processing and maintenance of this information, is critical to our business operations and strategy. Despite security measures and business continuity plans, our information technology systems and networks may be vulnerable to damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to attacks by hackers or breaches due to errors or malfeasance by employees, contractors and others who have access to our networks and systems, or other disruptions during the process of upgrading or replacing computer software or hardware, hardware failures, software errors, third-party service provider outages, power outages, computer viruses, telecommunication or utility failures or natural disasters or other catastrophic events. The occurrence of any of these events could compromise our systems and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability or regulatory penalties under laws protecting the privacy of personal information, disrupt operations and reduce the competitive advantage we hope to derive from our investment in technology. Our insurance coverage may not be available or adequate to cover all the costs related to significant security attacks or disruptions resulting from such attacks.

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Our business could be materially adversely affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

We sell the majority of our buses and parts in United States Dollars. Our foreign customers have exposures to risks related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on our sales in that region. Foreign currency exchange rates can have material adverse effects on our foreign customers' ability to purchase our products. Further, we have certain sales contracts that are transacted in Canadian Dollars. While we aim to hedge any such transactions, that may not always be the case. As a result, foreign currency fluctuations and the associated translations could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Taxing authorities could challenge our historical and future tax positions.

The amount of income tax we pay is subject to our interpretation of applicable tax laws in the jurisdictions in which we file. We have taken, and will continue to take, appropriate tax positions based on our interpretation of such tax laws. While we believe that we have complied with all applicable tax laws, there can be no assurance that a taxing authority will not have a different interpretation of the law and assess additional taxes. Should additional taxes be assessed, this may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

The manufacture of our Type A buses is conducted by the Micro Bird joint venture that we do not control and cannot operate solely for our benefit.

The manufacture of Type A buses is carried out by a 50/50 Canadian joint venture, Micro Bird Holdings, Inc., an unconsolidated Canadian joint venture with Girardin Minibus JV Inc. (“Micro Bird”). In joint ventures, we share ownership and management of a company with one or more parties who may not have the same goals, strategies, priorities or resources as we do and may compete with us outside the joint venture. Joint ventures are intended to be operated for the equal benefit of all co-owners, rather than for our exclusive benefit. Operating a business as a joint venture often requires additional organizational formalities as well as time-consuming procedures for sharing information and making decisions. In joint ventures, we are required to foster our relationships with co-owners as well as promote the overall success of the joint venture, and if a co-owner changes or relationships deteriorate, our success in the joint venture may be materially adversely affected. The benefits from a successful joint venture are shared among the co-owners, so that we do not receive all the benefits from our joint venture.

Other Risk Factors Relating to an Investment in Our Equity Securities

Our only significant asset is ownership of 100% of the capital stock of School Bus Holdings and we do not currently intend to pay cash dividends on our Common Stock. Consequently, stockholders' ability to achieve a return on their investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our Common Stock.

We have no direct operations and no significant assets other than the ownership of 100% of the capital stock of School Bus Holdings. We depend on School Bus Holdings and its subsidiaries for distributions, loans and other payments to generate the funds necessary to meet our financial obligations, including our expenses as a publicly traded company, and to pay any dividends with respect to our Common Stock, if any. Legal and contractual restrictions in agreements governing our current indebtedness, as well as our financial condition and operating requirements, may limit our ability to obtain cash from School Bus Holdings and its subsidiaries. While we are permitted to pay dividends in certain circumstances under our credit facility, as long as we are in compliance with our obligations under the credit facility, we do not expect to pay cash dividends on our Common Stock. Any future dividend payments are within the absolute discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, working capital requirements, capital expenditure requirements, financial condition, level of indebtedness, contractual restrictions with respect to payment of dividends, business opportunities, anticipated cash needs, provisions of applicable law and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

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Concentration of ownership of our Common Stock may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control.

Approximately 41% of our Common Stock is owned by ASP. American Securities LLC ("American Securities") provides investment advisory services to ASP and certain affiliated entities. As a result, American Securities has the ability to significantly influence the outcome of corporate actions of our company requiring stockholder approval. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control and might adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock.

We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our business.

Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors. We do not have key-man insurance on the life of any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could adversely impact us and the market price of our Common Stock.

If we do not meet the expectations of investors, stockholders or financial analysts, the market price of our securities may decline.

Fluctuations in the price of our securities could contribute to the loss of all or part of the investment of our equity owners. The trading price of our securities could be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. Any of the factors listed below could have a material adverse effect on an investment in our securities and our securities may trade at prices significantly below the price that you may pay for them. In such circumstances, the trading price of our securities may not recover and may experience a further decline.

Factors affecting the trading price of our securities may include:

• actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly financial results or the quarterly financial results of companies perceived to be similar to us;

• changes in the market’s expectations about our operating results;

• success of competitors;

• our operating results failing to meet the expectation of securities analysts or investors in a particular period;

• changes in financial estimates and recommendations by securities analysts concerning us in particular or the school bus market in general;

• operating and stock price performance of other companies that investors deem comparable to us;

• our ability to market new and enhanced products on a timely basis;

• changes in laws and regulations affecting our business;

• commencement of, or involvement in, litigation involving us;

• our ability to access the capital markets as needed;

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• changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of securities or the incurrence of additional debt;

• the volume of shares of our Common Stock available for public sale;

• any major change in our board or management;

• sales of substantial amounts of Common Stock by our directors, executive officers or significant stockholders or the perception that such sales could occur; and

• general economic and political conditions such as recessions, interest rates, fuel prices, international currency fluctuations and acts of war or terrorism.

Broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our securities irrespective of our operating performance. The stock market in general, and NASDAQ in particular, have experienced price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the particular companies affected. The trading prices and valuations of these stocks, and of our securities, may not be predictable. A loss of investor confidence in the market for manufacturing stocks or the stocks of other companies which investors perceive to be similar to us could depress our stock price regardless of our business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations. A decline in the market price of our securities also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future.

Shares of our Common Stock are reserved for issuance under our Incentive Plan, which would have the effect of diluting the existing shareholders.

On May 28, 2015, we registered 3,700,000 Common Stock shares which represented the common stock then issuable under the Blue Bird Corporation 2015 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan (the “Incentive Plan”) and, pursuant to Rule 416(c) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, an indeterminable number of additional shares of common stock issuable under the Incentive Plan, as such amount may be adjusted as a result of stock splits, stock dividends, recapitalizations, anti-dilution provisions and similar transactions. At September 28, 2019, there were 453,106 Common Stock shares remaining to be issued under the Incentive Plan. On December 10, 2019, our Board approved the Amended and Restated 2015 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan (the “Amendment and Restatement”), which increases the number of shares of Common Stock reserved to and available for awards under the Incentive Plan from 3,700,000 shares to 5,200,000 shares, among other revisions. As required by Nasdaq regulations and certain federal tax laws, the Board has directed that the Amendment and Restatement be submitted to our stockholders for approval at our 2020 annual meeting of stockholders.

Warrants are exercisable for our Common Stock, which, if exercised, would increase the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our stockholders.

At February 7, 2020, there were 385,786 Warrants outstanding to purchase an aggregate of 192,893 shares of our Common Stock, each of which is exercisable through 5:00 p.m., New York time, on February 24, 2020 (which is five years after the completion of our business combination) or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one-half of one share of our Common Stock at a price of $5.75 per half share ($11.50 per whole share), subject to adjustment. To the extent such warrants are exercised, additional shares of our Common Stock will be issued, which will result in dilution to the then existing holders of our Common Stock and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market could adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock.

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Anti-takeover provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in control or changes in our management without the consent of our board of directors. These provisions include:

• no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates;

• the exclusive right of our board of directors to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the resignation, death, or removal of a director with or without cause by stockholders, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our board of directors;

• subject to any rights of holders of existing preferred shares, the ability of our board of directors to determine whether to issue shares of our preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer;

• a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent, which forces stockholder action to be taken at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders;

• the requirement that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by the chairman of the board of directors, the chief executive officer, or the board of directors, which may delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors;

• limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, our directors and officers;

• controlling the procedures for the conduct and scheduling of stockholder meetings;

• providing for a staggered board, in which the members of the board of directors are divided into three classes to serve for a period of three years from the date of their respective appointment or election;

• permitting the removal of directors with or without cause by stockholders voting a majority of the votes cast if, at any time and for so long as, American Securities beneficially owns, in the aggregate, capital stock representing at least 40% of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock;

• advance notice procedures that stockholders must comply with in order to nominate candidates to our board of directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company;

• requiring an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of our entire board of directors and by the holders of at least 66.67% of the voting power of our outstanding voting stock in order to adopt an amendment to our certificate of incorporation if, at any time and for so long as, American Securities beneficially owns, in the aggregate, capital stock representing at least 50% of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock; and

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• requiring an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of our entire board of directors or by the holders of at least 66.67% of the voting power of our outstanding voting stock to amend our bylaws if, at any time and for so long as, American Securities beneficially owns, in the aggregate, capital stock representing at least 50% of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock.

These provisions, alone or together, could delay hostile takeovers and changes in control of our Company or changes in our board of directors and management.

As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), which prevents some stockholders holding more than 15% of our outstanding Common Stock from engaging in certain business combinations without approval of the holders of substantially all of our outstanding Common Stock. Any provision of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our Common Stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our Common Stock.

The future exercise of registration rights may adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock.

The securities that we are registering in the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part are subject to registration rights agreements. Sales of restricted securities pursuant to this prospectus or those agreements may substantially depress the market price of our Common Stock.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus, including the information incorporated herein by reference, contains forward-looking statements. All statements in this prospectus and the information incorporated herein by reference, including those made by the management of the Company, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s estimates, projections and assumptions as of the date hereof or, in the case of statements included in documents incorporated by reference, as of the date of the applicable filed document, and include the assumptions that underlie such statements. Forward-looking statements may contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” “forecast,” “seek,” “target,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” and “continue,” the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology. Examples of forward-looking statements include statements regarding our future financial results, research and trial results, regulatory approvals, operating results, business strategies, projected costs, products, competitive positions, management’s plans and objectives for future operations, and industry trends. These forward-looking statements relate to expectations for future financial performance, business strategies or expectations for our business. Specifically, forward-looking statements may include statements relating to:

• our future financial performance;

• changes in the market for our products; and

• our expansion plans and opportunities.

These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this prospectus (or, in the case of forward-looking statements incorporated herein by reference, as of the date of the applicable filed document), and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, our actual results or performance may be materially different than those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

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Any expectations based on these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and other important factors, including those discussed in this prospectus, particularly in the section titled “Risk Factors.” Other risks and uncertainties are and will be disclosed in our prior and future SEC filings.

USE OF PROCEEDS

We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of Common Stock by the selling security holder named herein.

SELLING SECURITY HOLDER

On February 24, 2015, Hennessy Capital consummated our initial business combination, pursuant to which Hennessy Capital acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of School Bus Holdings from Traxis, in accordance with a purchase agreement, dated as of September 21, 2014, by and among Hennessy Capital, Traxis and, solely for purposes of Section 10.01(a) thereof, a party related to Hennessy Capital, as amended on February 10, 2015 and February 18, 2015 (as so amended, the “Purchase Agreement”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the total purchase price was paid in a combination of cash ($100 million) and in shares of our Common Stock (12,000,000 shares). Concurrent with the consummation of the closing of the business combination, we changed our name from Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. to Blue Bird Corporation. Pursuant to a Purchase and Sale Agreement, dated as of May 26, 2016 , by and among Traxis, ASP and us, ASP acquired those 12,000,000 shares of Common Stock from Traxis and was assigned Traxis’ rights under a registration rights agreement entered into by Traxis and us (among others) in connection with our business combination. The 11,030,150 shares of Common Stock registered for resale by ASP hereunder represent the portion of such 12,000,000 shares that ASP continues to hold.

The selling security holder may offer and sell, from time to time, any or all of the shares of Common Stock covered by this prospectus.

The following table provides, as of the date of this prospectus, information regarding the beneficial ownership of our Common Stock by the selling security holder, the securities that may be sold by the selling security holder under this prospectus and the number and percentage of securities that the selling security holder will beneficially own after this offering if it sells all such securities. Because the selling security holder may dispose of all, none or some portion of its securities, no estimate can be given as to the number of securities that will be beneficially owned by the selling security holder upon termination of this offering. For purposes of the table below, however, we have assumed that after termination of this offering none of the securities covered by this prospectus will be beneficially owned by the selling security holder and further assumed that the selling security holder will not acquire beneficial ownership of any additional securities during the offering. In addition, the selling security holder may have sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of, or may sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of, at any time and from time to time, our securities in transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), after the date on which the information in the table is presented.

We may amend or supplement this prospectus from time to time in the future to update or change this selling security holder list and the securities that may be resold.

See the section entitled “Plan of Distribution” for further information regarding the stockholders’ method of distributing these shares.

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Common Stock

Name of Selling Security Holder	Number of Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned Prior to the Offering	Number of Shares of Common Stock to be Sold Pursuant to this Prospectus	Number of Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned After the Offering	Percentage of Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned After the Offering
ASP BB Holdings LLC (1)	11,030,150	11,030,150	—	—

(1) As of January 17, 2020, ASP beneficially owned 41.3% of the Common Stock. ASP’s address is c/o American Securities LLC, 299 Park Avenue, 34th Floor, New York, New York 10171. Two of our directors, Kevin Penn and Connor Wentzell, are affiliated with American Securities LLC.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We are registering Common Stock offered by this prospectus on behalf of the selling security holder named herein. The selling security holder, which as used herein includes donees, pledgees, transferees or other successors-in-interest selling Common Stock received after the date of this prospectus from a selling security holder as a gift, pledge, limited liability company or partnership distribution or other transfer, may, from time to time, sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any or all of their securities on Nasdaq or any other stock exchange, market or trading facility on which such securities are traded or in private transactions. These dispositions may be at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of sale, at prices related to the prevailing market price, at varying prices determined at the time of sale or at negotiated prices.

The selling security holder may use any one or more of the following methods when disposing of its securities or interests therein:

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

• in underwritten transactions;

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

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

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

• privately negotiated transactions;

• short sales;

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

• broker-dealers may agree with the selling security holders to sell a specified number of such securities at a stipulated price;

• distribution to members, limited partners or stockholders of selling security holders;

• a combination of any such methods of sale; and

• any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law.

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The selling security holder may, from time to time, pledge or grant a security interest in some or all of the securities owned by it and, if it defaults in the performance of its secured obligations, the pledgees or secured parties may offer and sell their securities, from time to time, under this prospectus, or under an amendment to this prospectus under Rule 424(b)(3) or other applicable provision of the Securities Act amending the list of selling security holders to include the pledgee, transferee or other successors in interest as selling security holders under this prospectus. The selling security holder also may transfer its securities in other circumstances, in which case the transferees, pledgees or other successors in interest will be the selling beneficial owners for purposes of this prospectus.

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

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

The selling security holder also may resell all or a portion of their securities in open market transactions in reliance upon Rule 144 under the Securities Act, provided that it meets the criteria and conforms to the requirements of that rule.

The selling security holder and any broker-dealers that act in connection with the sale of securities might be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act, and any commissions received by such broker-dealers and any profit on the resale of the securities sold by them while acting as principals might be deemed to be underwriting discounts or commissions under the Securities Act.

To the extent required, the securities to be sold, the names of the selling security holders, the respective purchase prices and public offering prices, the names of any agent, dealer or underwriter, and any applicable commissions or discounts with respect to a particular offer will be set forth in an accompanying prospectus supplement or, if appropriate, a post-effective amendment to the registration statement that includes this prospectus.

Blue Sky Restrictions on Resale

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

If a selling security holder wants to sell its securities under this prospectus in the United States, the selling security holders will also need to comply with state securities laws, also known as “Blue Sky laws,” with regard to secondary sales. All states offer a variety of exemptions from registration for secondary sales. Many states, for example, have an exemption for secondary trading of securities registered under Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act or for securities of issuers that publish continuous disclosure of financial and non-financial information in a recognized securities manual, such as Standard & Poor’s. The broker for a selling security holder will be able to advise a selling security holder in which states our securities are exempt from registration with that state for secondary sales.

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Any person who purchases our securities from a selling security holder offered by this prospectus who then wants to sell such securities will also have to comply with Blue Sky laws regarding secondary sales.

When the registration statement that includes this prospectus becomes effective, and a selling security holder indicates in which state(s) such selling security holder desires to sell such selling security holder’s securities, we will be able to identify whether such selling security holder will need to register or will be able to rely on an exemption therefrom.

We have advised the selling security holder that the anti-manipulation rules of Regulation M under the Exchange Act may apply to sales of securities in the market and to the activities of the selling security holder and its affiliates. In addition, we will make copies of this prospectus (as it may be supplemented or amended from time to time) available to the selling security holder for the purpose of satisfying the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act. The selling security holder may indemnify any broker-dealer that participates in transactions involving the sale of their securities against certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act.

We have agreed to indemnify the selling security holders against liabilities, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act and state securities laws, relating to the registration of the securities offered by this prospectus.

We are required to pay all of our fees and expenses incident to the registration of the securities covered by this prospectus, including with regard to compliance with state securities or “blue sky” laws. All discounts, commissions or fees incurred in connection with the sale of securities offered hereby will be paid by the selling security holders, except that we will pay such discounts, commissions or fees on behalf of ASP pursuant to a registration rights agreement described above.

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

Authorized and Outstanding Stock

Our charter authorizes the issuance of 110.0 million shares, consisting of 100.0 million shares of Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share, and 10.0 million shares of preferred stock, $0.0001 par value. The outstanding shares of our Common Stock are, and the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of any outstanding Warrants will be upon issuance, duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

As of February 7, 2020, there were 26,839,825 shares of Common Stock outstanding excluding shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of unsurrendered Warrants.

Common Stock

Our charter provides that the Common Stock will have identical rights, powers, preferences and privileges.

Voting Power

Except as otherwise required by law or as otherwise provided in any certificate of designation for any series of preferred stock, the holders of Common Stock possess all voting power for the election of our directors and all other matters requiring stockholder action. Holders of Common Stock are entitled to one vote per share on matters to be voted on by stockholders.

Dividends

Holders of Common Stock will be entitled to receive such dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors in its discretion out of funds legally available therefor. In no event will any stock dividends or stock splits or combinations of stock be declared or made on Common Stock unless the shares of Common Stock at the time outstanding are treated equally and identically.

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Liquidation, Dissolution and Winding Up

In the event of our voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution, distribution of assets or winding-up, the holders of the Common Stock will be entitled to receive an equal amount per share of all of our assets of whatever kind available for distribution to stockholders, after the rights of the holders of the preferred stock have been satisfied.

Preemptive or Other Rights

There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the Common Stock.

Election of Directors

Our board of directors is divided into three separate classes with each class serving a three-year term. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors.

Preferred Stock

Our charter provides that shares of preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without stockholder approval, issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the Common Stock and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of our company or the removal of existing management.

As of February 7, 2020, there were no shares of Preferred Stock outstanding. Shares of Series A Convertible Cumulative Preferred Stock issued in connection with our business combination were either purchased by us or converted by us into Common Stock.

Warrants

As of February 7, 2020, there were 385,786 Warrants outstanding. Each Warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one-half of one share of our Common Stock at a price of $5.75 per one-half of one share ($11.50 per whole share), subject to adjustment as discussed below. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of our Common Stock. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of Warrants. The Warrants will expire on February 24, 2020, five years after the completion of our business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

If the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock is increased by a stock dividend payable in shares of Common Stock, or by a split-up of shares of Common Stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of Common Stock issuable on exercise of each Warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of Common Stock. A rights offering to holders of Common Stock entitling holders to purchase shares of Common Stock at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of Common Stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Common Stock) multiplied by (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of Common Stock paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Common Stock, in determining the price payable for Common Stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of Common Stock as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first

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date on which the shares of Common Stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.

In addition, if we, at any time while the Warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Common Stock on account of such shares of Common Stock (or other shares of our capital stock into which the Warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Common Stock in connection with the business combination or (d) as a result of the repurchase of shares of Common Stock by us, then the Warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of Common Stock in respect of such event.

If the number of outstanding shares of our Common Stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of shares of Common Stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse stock split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of Common Stock issuable on exercise of each Warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of Common Stock.

Whenever the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the Warrants is adjusted, as described above, the Warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the Warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the Warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of Common Stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.

In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of Common Stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding shares of Common Stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the Warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the Warrants and in lieu of the shares of our Common Stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the Warrants would have received if such holder had exercised such holder’s Warrants immediately prior to such event. However, if such holders were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such consolidation or merger, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets for which each Warrant will become exercisable will be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by such holders in such consolidation or merger that affirmatively make such election, and if a tender, exchange or redemption offer has been made to and accepted by such holders (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by us in connection with redemption rights held by stockholders as provided for in our charter or as a result of the repurchase of shares of Common Stock by us in connection with the business combination) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, the holder of a Warrant will be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a stockholder if such Warrant holder had exercised the Warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the Common Stock held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustments (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in the Warrant agreement. Additionally, if less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Common Stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of Common Stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on

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a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the Warrant properly exercises the Warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the Warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the Warrant agreement based on the per share consideration minus the Black- Scholes value (as defined in the Warrant agreement) of the Warrant.

The Warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the Warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the Warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the Warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of Warrants being exercised. The Warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Common Stock and any voting rights until they exercise their Warrants and receive shares of Common Stock. After the issuance of shares of Common Stock upon exercise of the Warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.

Dividends

We have not paid any cash dividends on our Common Stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends. In addition, certain of our loan agreements restrict the payment of dividends. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements, debt covenants and general financial condition. The payment of any cash dividends will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time.

Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent

The transfer agent for our Common Stock and Warrant agent for our Warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and Warrant agent, its agents and each of its stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.

Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions Under our Charter and Pursuant to Delaware Law

For information regarding certain provisions that may operate to preclude a takeover of our company, see “Risk Factors - Anti-takeover provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.”

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the securities offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Lowenstein Sandler LLP of New York, New York.

EXPERTS

The financial statements and schedules as of September 28, 2019 and September 29, 2018 and for each of the three years in the period ended September 28, 2019 and management's assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of September 28, 2019 incorporated by reference in this Prospectus have been so incorporated in reliance on the reports of BDO USA, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated herein by reference, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” into this prospectus the information we have filed with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. Any information that we file subsequently with the SEC will automatically update this prospectus. We incorporate by reference into this prospectus the information contained in the documents listed below, which is considered to be a part of this prospectus:

• our annual report on From 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 28, 2019 filed by us with the SEC on December 12, 2019, as amended on February 5, 2020;

• our definitive proxy statement filed by us with the SEC on January 27, 2020 in connection with our 2020 annual meeting of stockholders;

• our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 18, 2019; and

• the “Description of Securities” section of the Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed by Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. with the SEC on January 20, 2015, and the “Item 1.01 Entry Into a Material Agreement-Subscription Agreement” section of the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. with the SEC on February 19, 2015, and any amendments or reports filed for the purposes of updating such description.

We also incorporate by reference all documents we file under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (a) after the initial filing date of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and before the effectiveness of the registration statement and (b) after the effectiveness of the registration statement and before the filing of a post-effective amendment that indicates that the securities offered by this prospectus have been sold or that deregisters the securities covered by this prospectus then remaining unsold. The most recent information that we file with the SEC automatically updates and supersedes older information. The information contained in any such filing will be deemed to be a part of this prospectus, commencing on the date on which the document is filed. We will not, however, incorporate by reference in this prospectus any documents or portions thereof that are not deemed “filed” with the SEC, including any information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of our current reports on Form 8-K unless, and except to the extent, specified in such current report.

We will provide to you, and any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, a copy of any or all of the information that has been incorporated by reference in this prospectus but has not been delivered with this prospectus. You may request a copy of the information incorporated by reference, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address:

Blue Bird Corporation

Attention: Paul Yousif

General Counsel and Corporate Treasurer

Blue Bird Corporation

3920 Arkwright Road, Suite 200

Macon, Georgia 31210

Tel: (478) 822-2801

Email: paul.yousif@blue-bird.com

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-3, including exhibits, under the Securities Act with respect to the securities being offered under this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement. This prospectus contains descriptions of certain agreements or documents that are exhibits to the registration statement. The statements as to the contents of such exhibits, however, are brief descriptions and are not necessarily complete, and each statement is qualified in all respects by reference to such

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agreement or document. For further information about us, please refer to the registration statement and the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

We file annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The SEC’s website contains reports, proxy statements and other information regarding issuers, such as Blue Bird Corporation, that file electronically with the SEC. We make available free of charge through our web site our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statements on Schedule 14A and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Our website address is http://www.blue-bird.com. Please note that our website address is provided as an inactive textual reference only. Information contained on or accessible through our website is not part of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, and is therefore not incorporated by reference unless such information is otherwise specifically referenced elsewhere in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement.

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. No one has been authorized to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus, as well as information we filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference, is accurate as of the date of those documents only. Our business, financial condition and results of operations described in those documents may have changed since those dates.

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PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

The following table sets forth the various expenses to be incurred in connection with the registration of the securities being registered hereby, all of which will be borne by us. All amounts shown are estimates except the SEC registration fee.

SEC registration fee	$29,636
Transfer agent’s fees and expenses	—
Printing expenses	$5,000
Legal fees and expenses	$15,000
Accounting fees and expenses	$20,000
Miscellaneous	$364
Total expenses	$70,000

Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”) permits a corporation, under specified circumstances, to indemnify its directors, officers, employees and agents against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) and other liabilities actually and reasonably incurred by them as a result of any suit (other than a suit brought by or in the right of the corporation) brought against them in their capacity as such, if they acted in good faith and in a manner they reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, if they had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful. Section 145 of the DGCL also provides that directors, officers, employees and agents may also be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by them in connection with a suit brought by or in the right of the corporation if they acted in good faith and in a manner they reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification may be made, unless otherwise determined by the court, if such person was adjudged liable to the corporation. The DGCL provides that the indemnification described above shall not be deemed exclusive of other indemnification that may be granted by a corporation pursuant to its by-laws, disinterested directors’ vote, stockholders’ vote, agreement or otherwise.

The DGCL also provides corporations with the power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation in a similar capacity for another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify him or her against such liability as described above.

The registrant’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide for indemnification of our directors and officers to the maximum extent permitted by the DGCL. In addition, the registrant has entered into indemnification agreements with each of its current directors and executive officers. Each indemnification agreement provides that we will indemnify the director or executive officer to the fullest extent permitted by law if the director or officer was, is made, or is threatened to be made a party to any proceeding, other than a proceeding by or in the right of the registrant, for all expenses, judgments, liabilities, fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the director or officer in connection with such proceeding, or, for all expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the director or officer in connection with any proceeding by or in the right of the registrant, in both cases, so long as the director or officer acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the registrant, and, in the case of a criminal proceeding, in addition, had no reason to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. The indemnification agreement also provides for, among other things, (i) partial indemnification of all expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the director or officer in the event that he or she was successful as

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to less than all of the claims in connection with any proceeding; (ii) that, in respect of any proceeding in which the registrant is jointly liable with the director or officer, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the registrant waives and relinquishes any right of contribution it may have against the director of officer; (iii) proportionate contribution by the registrant of all expenses actually incurred and paid or payable in the event the director or officer shall elect or be required to pay all or any portion of a judgment or settlement in any proceeding in which the registrant is jointly liable; and (iv) to the fullest extent permitted by law, that the registrant will advance the expenses incurred by or on behalf of the director or officer in connection with any eligible proceeding, provided that the director or officer undertakes to repay the amounts advanced to the extent it is ultimately determined that the director or officer is not entitled to indemnification by the registrant. The registrant also intends to enter into indemnification agreements with its future directors and executive officers.

The registrant has purchased directors’ and officers’ liability insurance. The registrant believes that this insurance is necessary to attract and retain qualified directors and officers.

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Item 16. Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Exhibit
2.1	Purchase Agreement, dated as of September 21, 2014, by and among the registrant, Hennessy Capital Partners I LLC (solely for purposes of Section 10.01(a) thereof) and The Traxis Group B.V. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the registrant on September 24, 2014).
2.2	Amendment No. 1 to Purchase Agreement, dated as of February 10, 2015, by and among the registrant, Hennessy Capital Partners I LLC (solely for purposes of Section 10.01(a) thereof) and The Traxis Group B.V. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the registrant on February 11, 2015).
2.3	Amendment No. 2 to Purchase Agreement, dated as of February 18, 2015, by and among the registrant, Hennessy Capital Partners I LLC (solely for purposes of Section 10.01(a) thereof) and The Traxis Group B.V. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the registrant on February 19, 2015).
3.1	The registrant’s Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the registrant on February 26, 2015).
3.2	The registrant’s Bylaws (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 to the registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-192982) filed by the registrant on December 20, 2013).
5.1	Opinion of Lowenstein Sandler LLP*
10.1	Purchase and Sale Agreement, dated as of May 26, 2016 by and among The Traxis Group B.V., ASP BB Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“ASP”), and us (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the registrant on May 27, 2016).
10.2	Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of February 24, 2015, by and among the registrant, The Traxis Group B.V. and the investors named therein (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 of the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the registrant on March 2, 2015).
23.1	Consent of BDO USA, LLP*
23.2	Consent of Lowenstein Sandler LLP (included as part of Exhibit 5.1)
24.1	Power of Attorney (included on the Signature Page of this Registration Statement)
	*Filed herewith.

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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;

(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 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 (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii), and (a)(1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.

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

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

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

(i)    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

(ii)    Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of and included in 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 related, 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.

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(5)    That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities:

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

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

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Macon, Georgia, on February 11, 2020.

BLUE BIRD CORPORATION

By:    /s/Philip Horlock

Name: Philip Horlock

Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Philip Horlock, Phillip Tighe and Paul Yousif, and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, to sign this Registration Statement on Form S-3, including any and all amendments (including without limitation any post-effective amendments) and supplements to such Registration Statement, and any Registration Statement for the same offering that is to be effective under Rule 462(b) 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 attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, 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 and to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or their 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 and on the dates indicated.

/s/ Philip Horlock	President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Philip Horlock	(Principal Executive Officer)	February 11, 2020
/s/ Philip Tighe	Chief Financial Officer
Philip Tighe	(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)	February 11, 2020
/s/ Gurminder Bedi
Gurminder Bedi	Director	February 11, 2020
/s/ Chan Galbato
Chan Galbato	Director	February 11, 2020
/s/ Douglas Grimm
Douglas Grimm	Director	February 11, 2020
/s/ Kevin Penn
Kevin Penn	Director	February 11, 2020
/s/ Alan Schumacher
Alan Schumacher	Director	February 11, 2020
/s/ Connor Wentzell
Connor Wentzell	Director	February 11, 2020
/s/ Kathleen M. Shaw, PH.D.
Kathleen M. Shaw, PH.D.	Director	February 11, 2020

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