As filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on July 21, 2022.

Registration No. 333- ____________

 
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
 
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933  
 
BENSON HILL, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 
Delaware 85-3374823
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
 
1001 North Warson Rd
St. Louis, Missouri 63132
(314) 222-8218
(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)
 
 
 

Benson Hill, Inc. 2022 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
(Full title of the plan)


Yevgeny Fundler
Chief Legal Officer
Benson Hill, Inc.
1001 North Warson Rd
St. Louis, Missouri 63132
(314) 222-8218
(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)
 
 
Copies to:
James Bedar, Esq.
Brown Rudnick LLP
One Financial Center
Boston, Massachusetts 02111
Tel: (617) 856-8200
 
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated 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 filerAccelerated filer
Non-accelerated filerSmaller reporting company
  Emerging growth company
 
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  
 




EXPLANATORY NOTE

Benson Hill, Inc. (the “Registrant” or the “Company”) is filing this Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) pursuant to and in accordance with the requirements of Form S-8 for the purpose of registering under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), 5,000,0001 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), to be offered and sold under the Registrant’s 2022 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as it may be amended (hereinafter referred to as the “Plan”). The Plan was adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company on April 20, 2022, subject to approval of the stockholders of the Company. The Plan was approved by our stockholders at the Company’s Annual Meeting held on June 13, 2022.
PART I
 
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS
 

Item 1.Plan Information.*

Item 2.Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information.*
 
 
*The documents containing the information specified in Part I will be delivered in accordance with Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Such documents are not required to be, and are not, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), either as part of this Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. These documents, and the documents incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of this Form S-8, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

PART II
 
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
 
Item 3.
Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The Registrant is incorporating by reference into this Registration Statement the filings listed below and any additional documents that the Registrant may file with the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, after the date of this Registration Statement, but prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, except the Registrant is not incorporating by reference any information furnished (but not filed) under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K and corresponding information furnished under Item 9.01 as an exhibit thereto:

the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on March 28, 2022 (including those portions of the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on April 27, 2022 that are incorporated by reference into Part III of such Annual Report on Form 10-K);
the Registrant’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 4, 2022 (as amended by Registrant’s Form 8-K/A filed with the SEC on March 16, 2022), January 11, 2022, February 8, 2022, March 28, 2022, June 13, 2022 and July 7, 2022; and
the description of the Registrant’s shares of Common Stock and warrants contained in the “Description of Securities” attached as Exhibit 4.7 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 28, 2022, and any subsequent amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

Any statement contained in this Registration Statement, or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein, shall be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that a statement contained herein, or in any subsequently filed document that also is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes
1 Together with any additional shares of Common Stock that become issuable under the Plan by reason of any future stock splits, stock dividends, recapitalizations or any other similar transactions effected without the receipt of consideration by the Registrant, which results in an increase in the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock.



such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement. 

Item 4.Description of Securities.
 
Not applicable. 
 
Item 5.Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
 
Not applicable.

Item 6.Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits our amended and restated certificate of incorporation from limiting the liability of our directors for the following:
any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;
acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;
unlawful payment of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions; or
any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws also provide that if Delaware law is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of a director, then the liability of our directors will be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, as so amended. This limitation of liability does not apply to liabilities arising under the federal securities laws and does not affect the availability of equitable remedies such as injunctive relief or rescission.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws also provide that we shall have the power to indemnify our employees and agents to the fullest extent permitted by law. Our amended and restated bylaws also permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions in this capacity, regardless of whether our amended and restated bylaws would permit indemnification. We have obtained directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.
We have entered into separate indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers, in addition to indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws. These agreements, among other things, provide for indemnification of our directors and executive officers for expenses, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by this person in any action or proceeding arising out of this person’s services as a director or executive officer or at our request. We believe that these provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and executive officers.
The above description of the indemnification provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws and our indemnification agreements is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to these documents, each of which is filed as an exhibit to this registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against directors for breach of their fiduciary duties. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and our stockholders. A stockholder’s investment may be harmed to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable. There is no pending litigation or proceeding naming any of our directors or officers as to which indemnification is being sought, nor are we aware of any pending or threatened litigation that may result in claims for indemnification by any director or officer.

Item 7.
Exemption from Registration Claimed.




Not applicable.

Item 8.
Exhibits.
 
Exhibit No.Description
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
5.1
23.1
23.2
Consent of Crowe LLP (filed herewith).
23.3
Consent of Brown Rudnick LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1 to this Registration Statement).
24.1
Power of Attorney (included on the signature page to this Registration Statement) (filed herewith).
99.1
107
Filing Fee Table (filed herewith).

Item 9.    Undertakings.
 
(a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:
 
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
 
(i) to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;
 
(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 Securities and Exchange Commission (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 (i) and (ii) 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 Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.
 
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
 
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
 
(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser:



 
(i) Each prospectus filed by a 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 relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.
 
(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the Registrant under the Securities Act 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.
 
(6) 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.
 
(b) 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 Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.




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 FormS-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri on July 21, 2022.
   
  Benson Hill, Inc. 
    
 By: /s/ Matthew B. Crisp 
   Matthew B. Crisp 
   Title: Chief Executive Officer 
 
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Yevgeny Fundler his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to the Registration Statement on Form S-8 of Benson Hill, Inc. and any subsequent registration statements related thereto pursuant to Instruction E to Form S-8 (and all further amendments, including post-effective amendments thereto), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and generally to do all such things in their names and behalf in their capacities as officers and directors to enable the registrant to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and all requirements of the SEC, 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 connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or their or his or her substitutes or substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated.

Signature Capacity in Which Signed Date
/s/ Matthew B. CrispChief Executive Officer and Director
 (Principal Executive Officer)

July 21, 2022
Matthew B. Crisp
  
/s/ Dean FreemanChief Financial Officer
 (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

July 21, 2022
Dean Freeman
/s/ Daniel JacobiDirectorJuly 21, 2022
Daniel Jacobi
  
/s/ DeAnn BruntsDirectorJuly 21, 2022
DeAnn Brunts
/s/ J. Stephan DolezalekDirectorJuly 21, 2022
J. Stephan Dolezalek
  
/s/ Adrienne Elsner
Director
 
July 21, 2022
Adrienne Elsner
  
/s/ David J. Lee
Director
 
July 21, 2022
David J. Lee
  
/s/ Molly Montgomery
Director
 
July 21, 2022
Molly Montgomery
  



/s/ Craig Rohr
Director
 
July 21, 2022
Craig Rohr
  
/s/ Linda Whitley-Taylor
Director
 
July 21, 2022
Linda Whitley-Taylor
  


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