Form S-3
Table of Contents

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 17, 2014

Registration No. 333-                

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Form S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Prothena Corporation plc

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Ireland   98-1111119

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

650 Gateway Boulevard

South San Francisco, CA 94080

(650) 837-8550

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

 

 

Dale B. Schenk

Chief Executive Officer

Prothena Corporation plc

650 Gateway Boulevard

South San Francisco, CA 94080

(650) 837-8550

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

 

 

Copies to:

Alan C. Mendelson, Esq.

Robert W. Phillips, Esq.

Latham & Watkins LLP

140 Scott Drive

Menlo Park, CA 94025

Telephone: (650) 328-4600

Facsimile: (650) 463-2600

 

 

Approximate Date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

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

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of securities to be registered  

Amount

to be

registered

 

Proposed

maximum
offering price

per share

 

Proposed

maximum

aggregate

offering price (1)

 

Amount of

registration fee

Ordinary Shares, par value $0.01 per share

  3,182,253 shares  

$26.45

 

$84,170,591.85

  $10,841.18

 

 

(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of computing the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In accordance with Rule 457(c) of the Securities Act, the price shown is the average of the high and low prices for the Registrant’s ordinary shares on January 16, 2014, as reported on The NASDAQ Global Select Market.

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

 

 


Table of Contents

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell nor does it seek an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Subject to Completion, dated January 17, 2014.

PROSPECTUS

 

 

LOGO

Prothena Corporation plc

3,182,253 Ordinary Shares

Offered by Selling Shareholders

The selling shareholders to be identified in a prospectus supplement may offer and sell up to 3,182,253 ordinary shares from time to time in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the ordinary shares. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of our ordinary shares by the selling shareholders.

Elan Science One Limited, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Perrigo Company plc, or Perrigo, is the current holder of the 3,182,253 ordinary shares included in the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. As used in this prospectus, the term “selling shareholders” shall refer to Elan Science One Limited or any other holder of such ordinary shares, as identified in a prospectus supplement.

Each time the selling shareholders offer and sell ordinary shares, we or such selling shareholders will provide a supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the offering and the selling shareholders, as well as the amounts, prices and terms of the ordinary shares. The supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus with respect to that offering. You should carefully read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement before you invest in our ordinary shares.

The selling shareholders may offer and sell the ordinary shares described in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement to or through one or more underwriters, dealers and agents, or directly to purchasers, or through a combination of these methods. If any underwriters, dealers or agents are involved in the sale of any ordinary shares, their names and any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement between or among them will be set forth, or will be calculable from the information set forth, in the applicable prospectus supplement. See the sections of this prospectus entitled “About this Prospectus” and “Plan of Distribution” for more information. No securities may be sold without delivery of this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of such securities.

Investing in our ordinary shares involves risks. See the “Risk Factors” on page 7 of this prospectus and any similar section contained in the applicable prospectus supplement concerning factors you should consider before investing in our ordinary shares.

Our ordinary shares are listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “PRTA.” On January 16, 2014, the last reported sale price of our ordinary shares on The NASDAQ Global Select Market was $26.60 per ordinary share.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is                 , 2014.


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

     1   

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION; INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

     2   

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     4   

THE COMPANY

     6   

RISK FACTORS

     7   

USE OF PROCEEDS

     8   

DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL

     9   

GLOBAL SECURITIES

     22   

SELLING SHAREHOLDERS

     25   

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

     26   

LEGAL MATTERS

     28   

EXPERTS

     28   


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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. By using a shelf registration statement, the selling shareholders to be named in a supplement to this prospectus may, from time to time, sell up to 3,182,253 ordinary shares from time to time in one or more offerings as described in this prospectus. Each time that the selling shareholders offer and sell ordinary shares, we or the selling shareholders will provide a prospectus supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the securities being offered and sold and the specific terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus with respect to that offering. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, you should rely on the prospectus supplement. Before purchasing any ordinary shares, you should carefully read both this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, together with the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.”

Neither we, nor the selling shareholders, have authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We and the selling shareholders will not make 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 and the applicable prospectus supplement to this prospectus is accurate as of the date on its respective cover, and that any information incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, unless we indicate otherwise. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

When we refer to “Prothena,” “we,” “our,” “us” and the “Company” in this prospectus, we mean Prothena Corporation plc and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise specified. When we refer to “you,” we mean the holders of the applicable series of securities.

Prothena and our logo are our trademarks and are used in this prospectus. This prospectus also includes trademarks, tradenames and service marks that are the property of other organizations. Solely for convenience, our trademarks and tradenames referred to in this prospectus appear without the ™ symbol, but those references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights, or the right of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and tradenames.

For investors outside the United States: Neither we nor any of the underwriters have taken any action that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons who have come into possession of this prospectus in a jurisdiction outside the United States are required to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to this offering and the distribution of this prospectus.

 

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION; INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

Available Information

We file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Information filed with the SEC by us can be inspected and copied at the Public Reference Room maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may also obtain copies of this information by mail from the Public Reference Section of the SEC at prescribed rates. Further information on the operation of the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. can be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a web site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information about issuers, such as us, who file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is http://www.sec.gov.

Our web site address is http://www.prothena.com. The information on our web site, however, is not, and should not be deemed to be, a part of this prospectus.

This prospectus and any prospectus supplement are part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC and do not contain all of the information in the registration statement. The full registration statement may be obtained from the SEC or us, as provided below. Other documents establishing the terms of the offered securities are or may be filed as exhibits to the registration statement. Statements in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement about these documents are summaries and each statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers. You should refer to the actual documents for a more complete description of the relevant matters. You may inspect a copy of the registration statement at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or through the SEC’s website, as provided above.

Incorporation by Reference

The SEC’s rules allow us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus, and subsequent information that we file with the SEC will automatically update and supersede that information. Any statement contained in a previously filed document incorporated by reference will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus modifies or replaces that statement.

We incorporate by reference our documents listed below and any future filings made by us with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which we refer to as the “Exchange Act” in this prospectus, between the date of this prospectus and the termination of the offering of the securities described in this prospectus. We are not, however, incorporating by reference any documents or portions thereof, whether specifically listed below or filed in the future, that are not deemed “filed” with the SEC, including our Compensation Committee report and performance graph or any information furnished pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K or related exhibits furnished pursuant to Item 9.01 of Form 8-K.

This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement incorporate by reference the documents set forth below that have previously been filed with the SEC:

 

   

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the SEC on March 29, 2013.

 

   

The information specifically incorporated by reference into our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 from our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on April 10, 2013.

 

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Our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2013, June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2013, filed with the SEC on May 15, 2013, August 13, 2013 and November 12, 2013, respectively.

 

   

Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 25, 2013, March 8, 2013, March 20, 2013, March 28, 2013 (only with respect to Item 5.02), April 23, 2013 (only with respect to Item 8.01), May 22, 2013, May 28, 2013, July 23, 2013, December 5, 2013 and December 11, 2013.

 

   

The description of our ordinary shares contained in our Registration Statement on Form 10, dated December 17, 2012 and filed with the SEC on December 17, 2012, and any amendment or report filed with the SEC for the purpose of updating the description.

All reports and other documents we subsequently file pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the termination of this offering, including all such documents we may file with the SEC after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement, but excluding any information furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC, will also be incorporated by reference into this prospectus and deemed to be part of this prospectus from the date of the filing of such reports and documents.

You may request a free copy of any of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus (other than exhibits, unless they are specifically incorporated by reference in the documents) by writing or telephoning us at the following address:

Prothena Corporation plc

650 Gateway Boulevard

South San Francisco, CA 94080

(650) 837-8550

Exhibits to the filings will not be sent, however, unless those exhibits have specifically been incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement.

 

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements concerning our business, operations and financial performance and condition, as well as our plans, objectives and expectations for our business operations and financial performance and condition. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “due,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “positioned,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and other similar expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

   

our ability to obtain additional financing in future offerings;

 

   

our operating losses;

 

   

our collaboration with F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd and Hoffman-La Roche Inc., or collectively Roche, pursuant to the License, Development, and Commercialization Agreement, or the License Agreement, to develop and commercialize PRX002, as well as any future licensed products targeting alpha-synuclein;

 

   

our ability to successfully complete research and development of our drug candidates and the growth of the markets for those drug candidates;

 

   

our ability to develop and commercialize products before competitors that are superior to the alternatives developed by such competitors;

 

   

expected activities and responsibilities of us and Roche under the License Agreement;

 

   

our potential receipt of revenue under the License Agreement, including milestone and royalty revenue;

 

   

the satisfaction of conditions under the License Agreement required for continued commercialization, and the payment of potential milestone payments, royalties and fulfillment of other Roche obligations under the License Agreement;

 

   

expectations with respect to our intent and ability to carry out plans to promote PRX002 for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease in the United States through our co-promotion option under the License Agreement;

 

   

our ability to protect our patents and other intellectual property;

 

   

loss of key employees;

 

   

tax treatment of our separation from Elan Corporation Limited (formerly Elan Corporation, plc), or Elan, now owned by Perrigo, and subsequent distribution of our ordinary shares;

 

   

restrictions on our taking certain actions due to tax rules and covenants with Elan;

 

   

our ability to maintain financial flexibility and sufficient cash, cash equivalents, and investments and other assets capable of being monetized to meet our liquidity requirements;

 

   

disruptions in the U.S. and global capital and credit markets;

 

   

extensive government regulation;

 

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the volatility of our share price;

 

   

business disruptions caused by information technology failures; and

 

   

the other risks and uncertainties described in “Risk Factors” herein.

These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about our business and the industry in which we operate and management’s beliefs and assumptions and are not guarantees of future performance or development and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that are in some cases beyond our control. As a result, any or all of our forward-looking statements in this prospectus may turn out to be inaccurate. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, those listed under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Potential investors are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available in the future. You should, however, review the factors and risks we describe in the reports we will file from time to time with the SEC after the date of this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation By Reference.”

 

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THE COMPANY

We are a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel antibodies for the potential treatment of diseases that involve protein misfolding and cell adhesion.

We were formed under the laws of Ireland as a private limited company under the name “Neotope Corporation Limited” on September 26, 2012. We subsequently re-registered as a public limited company and changed our name to “Neotope Corporation plc.” On November 1, 2012, our shareholders resolved to change our name to “Prothena Corporation plc,” and this was approved by the Irish Registrar of Companies on November 7, 2012.

Our business consists of a substantial portion of Elan’s former drug discovery business platform, including Neotope Biosciences Limited and its wholly owned subsidiaries Onclave Therapeutics Limited and Prothena Biosciences Inc (which for the period prior to separation and distribution we refer to herein as the “Prothena Business”). Elan was acquired by Perrigo in December 2013. Prior to December 21, 2012, the Prothena Business operated as part of Elan and not as a separate stand-alone entity. After the separation from Elan, and the related distribution of our ordinary shares to Elan’s shareholders (which we refer to as the “Separation and Distribution”), our ordinary shares began trading on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “PRTA” on December 21, 2012 and currently trade on The NASDAQ Global Select Market.

Our principal executive offices are located at 650 Gateway Boulevard, South San Francisco, California 94080, and our telephone number is (650) 837-8550. We also maintain offices in Dublin, Ireland. Our website address is http://www.prothena.com. The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not part of this prospectus.

 

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RISK FACTORS

Investment in our ordinary shares offered pursuant to this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement involves risks. You should carefully consider the risk factors incorporated by reference into this prospectus from our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K that we have filed or that we file after the date of this prospectus, and all other information contained or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act, and the risk factors and other information contained in the applicable prospectus supplement before acquiring any ordinary shares. The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of ordinary shares being offered by the selling shareholders.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL

The following description of our share capital is not complete and may not contain all the information you should consider before investing in our share capital. This description is summarized from, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, our Memorandum and Articles of Association, which has been publicly filed with the SEC. See “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.”

The following description of our ordinary shares and Euro Deferred Shares is a summary. This summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Irish Companies Acts 1963—2013, or the Companies Acts, and the complete text of our Memorandum and Articles of Association. You should read those laws and documents carefully.

For the avoidance of any doubt, the ordinary shares are the subject of this Registration Statement. The Euro Deferred Shares are not listed on any stock exchange and are not the subject of any registration.

Capital Structure

Issued Share Capital

As December 31, 2013, our issued share capital was 21,856,261. There are no Euro Deferred Shares in issue. Our ordinary shares are listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “PRTA.”

Authorized Share Capital

The authorized share capital of the Company is $1,000,000 and €220,000 consisting of 100,000,000 ordinary shares with a par value of $0.01 per share and 10,000 Euro Deferred Shares with a par value of €22 per share. We may issue shares subject to the maximum authorized share capital contained in our Articles of Association. The authorized share capital may be increased or reduced by a resolution approved by a simple majority of the votes cast at a general meeting of our shareholders (referred to under Irish law as an “ordinary resolution”). The shares comprising our authorized share capital may be divided into shares of such nominal value as the resolution shall prescribe. As a matter of Irish law, the directors of a company may issue new ordinary shares or Euro Deferred Shares without shareholder approval once authorized to do so by the Articles of Association or by an ordinary resolution adopted by the shareholders at a general meeting. The authorization may be granted for a maximum period of five years, at which point it must be renewed by the shareholders by an ordinary resolution.

Our Articles of Association authorize our Board to issue new ordinary shares and Euro Deferred Shares for cash without shareholder approval for a period of five years from the date of adoption of such Articles of Association, which adoption was effective prior to the completion of the Separation and Distribution.

The rights and restrictions to which our ordinary shares and Euro Deferred Shares are subject are prescribed in our Articles of Association. We may, by ordinary resolution and without obtaining any vote or consent of the holders of any class or series of shares, unless expressly provided by the terms of that class or series of shares, provide from time to time for the issuance of other classes or series of shares and to establish the characteristics of each class or series, including the number of shares, designations, relative voting rights, dividend rights, liquidation and other rights, redemption, repurchase or exchange rights and any other preferences and relative, participating, optional or other rights and limitations not inconsistent with applicable law.

Irish law does not recognize fractional shares held of record. Accordingly, our Articles of Association do not provide for the issuance of fractional shares of the Company, and the official Irish share register of the Company will not reflect any fractional shares. Whenever as a result of an issuance, alteration, reorganisation, consolidation, division, or subdivision of the share capital of the Company would result in any shareholder

 

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becoming entitled to fractions of a share, no such fractions shall be issued or delivered to any shareholder. All such fractions of a share will be aggregated into whole shares and sold in the open market at prevailing market prices and the aggregate cash proceeds from such sale (net of tax, commissions, costs and other expenses) shall be distributed on a pro rata basis, rounding down to the nearest cent, to each shareholder who would otherwise have been entitled to receive fractions of a share.

Preemption Rights, Share Warrants and Share Options

Under Irish law, certain statutory preemption rights apply automatically in favor of shareholders where shares are to be issued for cash. However, we have opted out of these preemption rights in our Articles of Association as permitted under Irish law. Because Irish law requires this opt-out to be renewed every five years by a resolution approved by not less than 75% of the votes cast at a general meeting of our shareholders (referred to under Irish law as a “special resolution”), our Articles of Association provide that this opt-out must be so renewed. If the opt-out is not renewed, shares issued for cash must be offered to existing shareholders of the Company on a pro rata basis to their existing shareholding before the shares may be issued to any new shareholders. The statutory preemption rights do not apply (i) where shares are issued for non-cash consideration (such as in a share-for-share acquisition), (ii) to the issue of non-equity shares (that is, shares that have the right to participate only up to a specified amount in any income or capital distribution) or (iii) where shares are issued pursuant to an employee share option or similar equity plan.

Our Articles of Association provide that, subject to any shareholder approval requirement under any laws, regulations or the rules of any stock exchange to which we are subject, our Board is authorized, from time to time, in its discretion, to grant such persons, for such periods and upon such terms as it deems advisable, options to purchase such number of shares of any class or classes or of any series of any class as our Board may deem advisable, and to cause warrants or other appropriate instruments evidencing such options to be issued. The Companies Acts provide that directors may issue share warrants or options without shareholder approval once authorized to do so by the Articles of Association or an ordinary resolution of shareholders. We are subject to the rules of NASDAQ and the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which require shareholder approval of certain equity plans and share issuances. Our Board may issue shares upon exercise of warrants or options without shareholder approval or authorization (up to the relevant authorized share capital limit).

Dividends

Under Irish law, dividends and distributions may only be made from distributable reserves. Distributable reserves generally means accumulated realized profits less accumulated realized losses and includes reserves created by way of capital reduction. In addition, no distribution or dividend may be made unless our net assets are equal to, or in excess of, the aggregate of our called up share capital plus undistributable reserves and the distribution does not reduce our net assets below such aggregate. Undistributable reserves include the share premium account, the capital redemption reserve fund and the amount by which our accumulated unrealized profits, so far as not previously utilized by any capitalization, exceed the Company’s accumulated unrealized losses, so far as not previously written off in a reduction or reorganization of capital.

The determination as to whether or not we have sufficient distributable reserves to fund a dividend must be made by reference to the “relevant accounts” of the Company. The “relevant accounts” are either the last set of unconsolidated annual audited financial statements or other financial statements properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Acts, which give a “true and fair view” of our unconsolidated financial position and accord with accepted accounting practice. The relevant accounts must be filed in the Companies Registration Office (the official public registry for companies in Ireland).

Our Articles of Association authorize the Board to declare dividends without shareholder approval to the extent they appear justified by profits lawfully available for distribution. Our Board may also recommend a dividend to be approved and declared by the shareholders at a general meeting. Our Board may direct that the payment be made by distribution of assets, shares or cash, and no dividend issued may exceed the amount

 

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recommended by the directors. Dividends may be declared and paid in the form of cash or non-cash assets and may be paid in dollars or any other currency.

Our Board may deduct from any dividend payable to any shareholder any amounts payable by such shareholder to the Company in relation to the shares of the Company.

The Board may also authorize the Company to issue shares with preferred rights to participate in dividends declared by the Company from time to time, as determined by ordinary resolution. The holders of preferred shares may, depending on their terms, rank senior to our ordinary shares in terms of dividend rights and or be entitled to claim arrears of a declared dividend out of subsequently declared dividends in priority to ordinary shareholders.

Share Repurchases, Redemptions and Conversions

Overview

Our Articles of Association provide that any ordinary share that we have agreed to acquire shall be deemed to be a redeemable share. Accordingly, for Irish law purposes, the repurchase of ordinary shares by us may technically be effected as a redemption of those shares as described below under Description of Share Capital—Repurchases and Redemptions by Prothena.” If our Articles of Association did not contain such provision, repurchases by us would be subject to many of the same rules that apply to purchases of our ordinary shares by subsidiaries described below under “Description of Share Capital—Purchases by Subsidiaries of Prothena,” including the shareholder approval requirements described below, and the requirement that any overseas market purchases be effected on a “recognized stock exchange,” which, for purposes of the Companies Acts, includes NASDAQ. Neither Irish law nor any of our constituent documents places limitations on the right of non-resident or foreign owners to vote or hold our ordinary shares. Except where otherwise noted, references in this information statement to repurchasing or buying back our ordinary shares refer to the redemption of ordinary shares by us or the purchase of our ordinary shares by one of our subsidiaries, in each case in accordance with our Articles of Association and Irish company law as described below.

Repurchases and Redemptions by Prothena

Under Irish law, a company may issue redeemable shares and redeem them out of distributable reserves or the proceeds of a new issue of shares for that purpose. Please see also “Description of Share Capital—Dividends.” We may only issue redeemable shares if the nominal value of the issued share capital that is not redeemable is not less than 10% of the nominal value of our total issued share capital. All redeemable shares must also be fully-paid and the terms of redemption of the shares must provide for payment on redemption. Redeemable shares may, upon redemption, be cancelled or held in treasury. Based on the provisions of our Articles of Association, shareholder approval will not be required to redeem our shares.

We may also be given an additional general authority for overseas market purchases of our ordinary shares by way of ordinary resolution, which would take effect on the same terms and be subject to the same conditions as applicable to purchases by our subsidiaries as described below.

Repurchased and redeemed shares may be cancelled or held as treasury shares. The nominal value of treasury shares held by us at any time must not exceed 10% of the nominal value of our issued share capital. We may not exercise any voting rights in respect of any shares held as treasury shares. Treasury shares may be cancelled by us or re-issued subject to certain conditions.

Purchases by Subsidiaries of Prothena

Under Irish law, an Irish or non-Irish subsidiary of the Company may purchase our shares by way of an: (i) overseas market purchase; or (ii) off-market purchase. For one of our subsidiaries to make overseas market

 

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purchases of our ordinary shares, our shareholders must provide general authorization for such purchase by way of ordinary resolution. However, as long as this general authority has been granted, no specific shareholder authority for a particular overseas market purchase by a subsidiary of our ordinary shares is required. For a purchase by one of our subsidiaries off-market, the proposed purchase contract must be authorized by special resolution of our shareholders before the contract is entered into. The person whose ordinary shares are to be bought back cannot vote in favor of the special resolution and, for at least 21 days prior to the special resolution being passed, the purchase contract must be on display or must be available for inspection by our shareholders at our registered office.

In order for one of our subsidiaries to make overseas market purchases of our shares, such shares must be purchased on a “recognized stock exchange.” NASDAQ, on which our ordinary shares are listed, is specified as a recognized stock exchange for this purpose in accordance with Irish law.

The number of shares held by our subsidiaries at any time will count as treasury shares and will be included in any calculation of the permitted treasury share threshold of 10% of the nominal value of our issued share capital. While a subsidiary holds our shares, it cannot exercise any voting rights in respect of those shares. The acquisition of our ordinary shares by a subsidiary must be funded out of distributable reserves of the subsidiary.

Lien on Shares, Calls on Shares and Forfeiture of Shares

Our Articles of Association provide that we have a first and paramount lien on every share that is not a fully paid up share for all amounts payable at a fixed time or called in respect of that share. Subject to the terms of their allotment, directors may call for any unpaid amounts in respect of any shares to be paid, and if payment is not made, the shares may be forfeited. These provisions are standard inclusions in the Articles of Association of an Irish public company limited by shares such as Prothena and are only applicable to our shares that have not been fully paid up. Irish stamp duty may be payable in respect of transfers of our ordinary shares at the rate of 1%.

Consolidation and Division; Subdivision

Under our Articles of Association, we may, by ordinary resolution, consolidate and divide all or any of our share capital into shares of larger nominal value than our existing shares or subdivide our shares into smaller amounts than are fixed by our Articles of Association.

Reduction of Share Capital

We may, by ordinary resolution, reduce our authorized share capital in any way. We also may, by special resolution and subject to confirmation by the Irish High Court, reduce or cancel our issued share capital in any manner permitted by the Companies Acts.

Annual Meetings of Shareholders

Our first annual general meeting was held in Dublin, Ireland on May 22, 2013. Under Irish company law, we are required to hold annual general meetings at intervals of no more than 15 months from the previous annual general meeting, provided that an annual general meeting is held in each calendar year following the first annual general meeting and no more than nine months after our fiscal year-end. Any of our annual general meetings may be held outside Ireland if a resolution so authorizing has been passed at the preceding annual general meeting.

Notice of an annual general meeting must be given to all of our shareholders and to our auditors. Our Articles of Association provide for a minimum notice period of 21 days’ notice, which is the minimum permitted by the Irish Companies Acts.

 

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The only matters which must, as a matter of Irish company law, be transacted at an annual general meeting are the presentation of the annual accounts, balance sheet and reports of the directors and auditors, the appointment of new auditors and the fixing of the auditor’s remuneration (or delegation of same). If no resolution is made in respect of the reappointment of an existing auditor at an annual general meeting, the existing auditor will be deemed to have continued in office.

Extraordinary General Meetings of Shareholders

Extraordinary general meetings of the Company may be convened by (i) our Board, (ii) on requisition of our shareholders holding not less than 10% of the paid up share capital of our carrying voting rights, (iii) on requisition of our auditors or (iv) in exceptional cases, by order of the Irish High Court. Extraordinary general meetings are generally held for the purpose of approving shareholder resolutions as may be required from time to time. At any extraordinary general meeting only such business shall be conducted as is set forth in the notice thereof.

Notice of an extraordinary general meeting must be given to all of our shareholders and to our auditors. Under Irish law and our Articles of Association, the minimum notice periods are 21 days’ notice in writing for an extraordinary general meeting to approve a special resolution and 14 days’ notice in writing for any other extraordinary general meeting.

In the case of an extraordinary general meeting convened by our shareholders, the proposed purpose of the meeting must be set out in the requisition notice. Upon receipt of any such valid requisition notice, our Board has 21 days to convene a meeting of our shareholders to vote on the matters set out in the requisition notice. This meeting must be held within two months of the receipt of the requisition notice. If our Board does not convene the meeting within such 21-day period, the requisitioning shareholders, or any of them representing more than one half of the total voting rights of all of them, may themselves convene a meeting, which meeting must be held within three months of our receipt of the requisition notice.

If our Board becomes aware that our net assets are not greater than half of the amount of our called-up share capital, it must convene an extraordinary general meeting of our shareholders not later than 28 days from the date that they learn of this fact to consider how to address the situation.

Quorum for General Meetings

Our Articles of Association provide that no business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum is present. One or more of our shareholders present in person or by proxy holding not less than one-half of our issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at the meeting in question constitute a quorum.

Voting

Our Articles of Association provide that our Board or chairman may determine the manner in which the poll is to be taken and the manner in which the votes are to be counted.

Each Company shareholder is entitled to one vote for each ordinary share that he or she holds as of the record date for the meeting. Voting rights may be exercised by shareholders registered in our share register as of the record date for the meeting or by a duly appointed proxy, which proxy need not be a Company shareholder. Where interests in shares are held by a nominee trust company, such company may exercise the rights of the beneficial holders on their behalf as their proxy. All proxies must be appointed in the manner prescribed by our Articles of Association, which permit shareholders to notify us of their proxy appointments electronically in such manner as may be approved by our Board.

In accordance with our Articles of Association, we may from time to time be authorized by ordinary resolution to issue preferred shares. These preferred shares may have such voting rights as may be specified in

 

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the terms of such preferred shares (e.g., they may carry more votes per share than ordinary shares or may entitle their holders to a class vote on such matters as may be specified in the terms of the preferred shares). Treasury shares or our shares that are held by our subsidiaries are not entitled to be voted at general meetings of shareholders.

Pursuant to the Subscription and Registration Rights Agreement among Prothena, Elan and Elan Science One Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Elan, dated November 8, 2012, Elan Science One Limited agreed to subscribe for ordinary shares, representing 18% of our then outstanding ordinary shares (as calculated immediately following the consummation of such subscription) for a cash payment of $26.0 million (the “Subscriber Shares”). As of January 15, 2014, the Subscriber Shares represented approximately 14.6% of our outstanding ordinary shares. In December 2013, Perrigo acquired Elan and as a result, Elan Science One Limited became an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Perrigo. The Subscriber Shares constitute all of the ordinary shares that have been included in the shelf registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Elan agreed to cause the vote of any of our ordinary shares that its wholly owned subsidiaries acquired in proportion to the votes cast by our other shareholders and will grant us a proxy to vote such shares in this manner. Upon completion of any offering pursuant to an applicable prospectus supplement and this prospectus, the proxy described above will automatically be revoked with respect to such ordinary shares.

Irish law requires special resolutions of our shareholders at a general meeting to approve certain matters. Examples of matters requiring special resolutions include:

 

   

amending the objects or our Memorandum of Association;

 

   

amending our Articles of Association;

 

   

approving a change of name of Prothena;

 

   

authorizing the entering into of a guarantee or provision of security in connection with a loan, quasi loan or credit transaction to a director or connected person;

 

   

opting out of preemption rights on the issuance of new shares;

 

   

re-registration of Prothena from a public limited company to a private company;

 

   

variation of class rights attaching to classes of shares (where the Articles of Association do not provide otherwise);

 

   

purchase of our shares off-market;

 

   

reduction of issued share capital;

 

   

sanctioning a compromise/scheme of arrangement with creditors or shareholders;

 

   

resolving that we be wound up by the Irish courts;

 

   

resolving in favor of a shareholders’ voluntary winding-up; and

 

   

setting the re-issue price of treasury shares.

Variation of Rights Attaching to a Class or Series of Shares

Under our Articles of Association and the Companies Acts, any variation of class rights attaching to our issued shares must be approved by a special resolution of our shareholders of the affected class or with the consent in writing of the holders of three-quarters of all the votes of that class of shares.

 

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The provisions of our Articles of Association relating to general meetings apply to general meetings of the holders of any class of our shares except that the necessary quorum is determined in reference to the shares of the holders of the class. Accordingly, for general meetings of holders of a particular class of our shares, a quorum consists of the holders present in person or by proxy representing at least one-half of the issued shares of the class.

Inspection of Books and Records

Under Irish law, shareholders have the right to: (i) receive a copy of our Memorandum and Articles of Association and any act of the Irish Government which alters our memorandum; (ii) inspect and obtain copies of the minutes of our general meetings and resolutions; (iii) inspect and receive a copy of the register of shareholders, register of directors and secretaries, register of directors’ interests and other statutory registers we maintain; (iv) receive copies of balance sheets and directors’ and auditors’ reports which have previously been sent to shareholders prior to an annual general meeting; and (v) receive balance sheets of any of our subsidiaries which have previously been sent to shareholders prior to an annual general meeting for the preceding ten years. Our auditors also have the right to inspect all of our books, records and vouchers. The auditors’ report must be circulated to the shareholders with our Financial Statements prepared in accordance with Irish law 21 days before the annual general meeting and must be read to the shareholders at our annual general meeting.

Acquisitions

An Irish limited company may be acquired in a number of ways, including:

 

   

a court-approved scheme of arrangement under the Companies Acts. A scheme of arrangement with shareholders requires a court order from the Irish High Court and the approval of a majority in number representing 75% in value of the shareholders present and voting in person or by proxy at a meeting called to approve the scheme;

 

   

through a tender or takeover offer by a third party for all of our shares. Where the holders of 80% or more of our shares have accepted an offer for their shares in Prothena, the remaining shareholders may also be statutorily required to transfer their shares. If the bidder does not exercise its “squeeze out” right, then the non-accepting shareholders also have a statutory right to require the bidder to acquire their shares on the same terms. If our shares were to be listed on the main securities market of the Irish Stock Exchange or another regulated stock exchange in the European Union, this threshold would be increased to 90%; and

 

   

it is also possible for us to be acquired by way of a merger with an EU-incorporated company under the EU Cross-Border Mergers Directive 2005/56/EC. Such a merger must be approved by a special resolution. If we are being merged with another EU company under the EU Cross-Border Mergers Directive 2005/56/EC and the consideration payable to our shareholders is not all in the form of cash, our shareholders may be entitled to require their shares to be acquired at fair value.

Irish law does not generally require shareholder approval for a sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially all of a company’s property and assets.

Appraisal Rights

Generally, under Irish law, shareholders of an Irish company do not have dissenters’ or appraisal rights. Under the European Communities (Cross-Border Mergers) Regulations 2008 governing the merger of an Irish company limited by shares such as Prothena and a company incorporated in the European Economic Area (the European Economic Area includes all member states of the European Union and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), a shareholder (i) who voted against the special resolution approving the merger, or (ii) of a

 

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company in which 90% of the shares are held by the other party to the merger, has the right to request that the company acquire its shares for cash at a price determined in accordance with the share exchange ratio set out in the merger agreement.

Disclosure of Interests in Shares

Under the Companies Acts, our shareholders must notify us if, as a result of a transaction, the shareholder will become interested in five percent or more of the Prothena voting shares, or if as a result of a transaction a shareholder who was interested in more than five percent of Prothena voting shares ceases to be so interested. Where a shareholder is interested in more than five percent of Prothena voting shares, the shareholder must notify us of any alteration of his or her interest that brings his or her total holding through the nearest whole percentage number, whether an increase or a reduction. The relevant percentage figure is calculated by reference to the aggregate nominal value of the voting shares in which the shareholder is interested as a proportion of the entire nominal value of our issued share capital (or any such class of share capital in issue). Where the percentage level of the shareholder’s interest does not amount to a whole percentage, this figure may be rounded down to the next whole number. We must be notified within five business days of the transaction or alteration of the shareholder’s interests that gave rise to the notification requirement. If a shareholder fails to comply with these notification requirements, the shareholder’s rights in respect of any our shares it holds will not be enforceable, either directly or indirectly. However, such person may apply to the court to have the rights attaching to such shares reinstated.

In addition to these disclosure requirements, we, under the Companies Acts, may, by notice in writing, require a person whom we know or have reasonable cause to believe to be, or at any time during the three years immediately preceding the date on which such notice is issued to have been, interested in shares comprised in our relevant share capital to: (i) indicate whether or not it is the case; and (ii) where such person holds or has during that time held an interest in our shares, to provide additional information, including the person’s own past or present interests in our shares. If the recipient of the notice fails to respond within the reasonable time period specified in the notice, we may apply to court for an order directing that the affected shares be subject to certain restrictions, as prescribed by the Companies Acts, as follows:

 

   

any transfer of those shares or, in the case of unissued shares, any transfer of the right to be issued with shares and any issue of shares, shall be void;

 

   

no voting rights shall be exercisable in respect of those shares;

 

   

no further shares shall be issued in right of those shares or in pursuance of any offer made to the holder of those shares; and

 

   

no payment shall be made of any sums due from Prothena on those shares, whether in respect of capital or otherwise.

The court may also order that shares subject to any of these restrictions be sold with the restrictions terminating upon the completion of the sale.

In the event we are in an offer period pursuant to the Irish Takeover Rules, accelerated disclosure provisions apply for persons holding an interest in our securities of one percent or more.

Anti-Takeover Provisions

Irish Takeover Rules and Substantial Acquisition Rules

A transaction in which a third party seeks to acquire 30% or more of Prothena voting rights and any other acquisitions of our securities are governed by the Irish Takeover Panel Act 1997 and the Irish Takeover

 

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Rules made thereunder, which are referred to in this information statement as the “Irish Takeover Rules,” and are regulated by the Irish Takeover Panel. The “General Principles” of the Irish Takeover Rules and certain important aspects of the Irish Takeover Rules are described below.

General Principles

The Irish Takeover Rules are built on the following General Principles which will apply to any transaction regulated by the Irish Takeover Panel:

 

   

in the event of an offer, all holders of securities of the target company must be afforded equivalent treatment and, if a person acquires control of a company, the other holders of securities must be protected;

 

   

the holders of securities in the target company must have sufficient time and information to enable them to reach a properly informed decision on the offer; where it advises the holders of securities, the board of directors of the target company must give its views on the effects of the implementation of the offer on employment, employment conditions and the locations of the target company’s place of business;

 

   

a target company’s board of directors must act in the interests of the company as a whole and must not deny the holders of securities the opportunity to decide on the merits of the offer;

 

   

false markets must not be created in the securities of the target company, the bidder or any other company concerned by the offer in such a way that the rise or fall of the prices of the securities becomes artificial and the normal functioning of the markets is distorted;

 

   

a bidder can only announce an offer after ensuring that he or she can fulfill in full the consideration offered, if such is offered, and after taking all reasonable measures to secure the implementation of any other type of consideration;

 

   

a target company may not be hindered in the conduct of its affairs longer than is reasonable by an offer for its securities; and

 

   

a “substantial acquisition” of securities (whether such acquisition is to be effected by one transaction or a series of transactions) shall take place only at an acceptable speed and shall be subject to adequate and timely disclosure.

Mandatory Bid

Under certain circumstances, a person who acquires our shares, or other voting securities, may be required under the Irish Takeover Rules to make a mandatory cash offer for remaining outstanding Prothena voting securities at a price not less than the highest price paid for the securities by the acquiror, or any parties acting in concert with the acquiror, during the previous 12 months. This mandatory bid requirement is triggered if an acquisition of securities would increase the aggregate holding of an acquiror, including the holdings of any parties acting in concert with the acquiror, to securities representing 30% or more of Prothena voting rights, unless the Irish Takeover Panel otherwise consents. An acquisition of securities by a person holding, together with its concert parties, securities representing between 30% and 50% of Prothena voting rights would also trigger the mandatory bid requirement if, after giving effect to the acquisition, the percentage of the voting rights held by that person (together with its concert parties) would increase by 0.05% within a 12-month period. Any person (excluding any parties acting in concert with the holder) holding securities representing more than 50% of the voting rights of a company is not subject to these mandatory offer requirements in purchasing additional securities.

 

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Voluntary Bid; Requirements to Make a Cash Offer and Minimum Price Requirements

If a person makes a voluntary offer to acquire our outstanding ordinary shares, the offer price must not be less than the highest price paid for our ordinary shares by the bidder or its concert parties during the three-month period prior to the commencement of the offer period. The Irish Takeover Panel has the power to extend the “look back” period to 12 months if the Irish Takeover Panel, taking into account the General Principles, believes it is appropriate to do so.

If the bidder or any of its concert parties has acquired our ordinary shares (i) during the period of 12 months prior to the commencement of the offer period that represent more than 10% of our total ordinary shares or (ii) at any time after the commencement of the offer period, the offer must be in cash (or accompanied by a full cash alternative) and the price per our Ordinary Share must not be less than the highest price paid by the bidder or its concert parties during, in the case of (i), the 12-month period prior to the commencement of the offer period or, in the case of (ii), the offer period. The Irish Takeover Panel may apply this rule to a bidder who, together with its concert parties, has acquired less than 10% of our total ordinary shares in the 12-month period prior to the commencement of the offer period if the Irish Takeover Panel, taking into account the General Principles, considers it just and proper to do so. An offer period will generally commence from the date of the first announcement of the offer or proposed offer.

Substantial Acquisition Rules

The Irish Takeover Rules also contain rules governing substantial acquisitions of shares and other voting securities which restrict the speed at which a person may increase his or her holding of shares and rights over shares to an aggregate of between 15% and 30% of the Prothena voting rights. Except in certain circumstances, an acquisition or series of acquisitions of shares or rights over shares representing 10% or more of the Prothena voting rights is prohibited, if such acquisition(s), when aggregated with shares or rights already held, would result in the acquirer holding 15% or more but less than 30% of the Prothena voting rights and such acquisitions are made within a period of seven days. These rules also require accelerated disclosure of acquisitions of shares or rights over shares relating to such holdings.

Frustrating Action

Under the Irish Takeover Rules, our Board is not permitted to take any action that might frustrate an offer for our shares once our Board has received an approach that may lead to an offer or has reason to believe that such an offer is or may be imminent, subject to certain exceptions. Potentially frustrating actions such as (i) the issue of shares, options or convertible securities, (ii) material acquisitions or disposals, (iii) entering into contracts other than in the ordinary course of business or (iv) any action, other than seeking alternative offers, which may result in frustration of an offer, are prohibited during the course of an offer or at any earlier time during which our Board has reason to believe an offer is or may be imminent. Exceptions to this prohibition are available where:

 

   

the action is approved by our shareholders at a general meeting; or

 

   

the Irish Takeover Panel has given its consent, where:

 

   

it is satisfied the action would not constitute frustrating action;

 

   

our shareholders holding more than 50% of the voting rights state in writing that they approve the proposed action and would vote in favor of it at a general meeting;

 

   

the action is taken in accordance with a contract entered into prior to the announcement of the offer (or any earlier time at which our Board considered the offer to be imminent); or

 

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the decision to take such action was made before the announcement of the offer and either has been at least partially implemented or is in the ordinary course of business.

Certain other provisions of Irish law or our Articles of Association may be considered to have antitakeover effects, including advance notice requirements for director nominations and other shareholder proposals, as well those described under the following captions: “Description of Share Capital—Capital Structure—Authorized Share Capital” (regarding issuance of preferred shares) “Description of Share CapitalPreemption Rights, Share Warrants and Share Options,” “Description of Share Capital—Disclosure of Interests in Shares” and “Description of Share Capital Capital—Corporate Governance.”

Corporate Governance

Our Articles of Association allocate authority over the day-to-day management of Prothena to our Board. Our Board may then delegate the management of Prothena to committees of the Board (consisting of one or more members of the Board) or executives, but regardless, our Board remain responsible, as a matter of Irish law, for the proper management of the affairs of Prothena. Committees may meet and adjourn as they determine proper. A vote at any committee meeting will be determined by a majority of votes of the members present.

The Board has a standing audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee, with each committee comprised solely of independent directors, as prescribed by the NASDAQ listing standards and SEC rules and regulations. We have adopted corporate governance policies substantially similar to those maintained by Elan prior to the Separation and Distribution, including a code of conduct and an insider trading policy, as well as an open door reporting policy and a comprehensive compliance program.

The Companies Acts provide for a minimum of two directors. Our Memorandum and Articles of Association provide that the board may determine the size of the board from time to time.

Our Articles of Association provide that at least one-third of the directors serving on the board shall come up for re-election at a given annual general meeting, and that directors must come up for re-election at the third annual general meeting subsequent to their appointment or reappointment to the board. Except as otherwise provided by law, vacancies on the board may be filled only by ordinary resolution or the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors. A director elected by the board to fill a vacancy shall serve until the subsequent annual general meeting and until such director’s successor is elected and qualified. At each annual general meeting of shareholders, the successors to directors whose terms will then expire will be elected to serve from the time of election and qualification until the third subsequent annual general meeting of shareholders.

Under the Companies Acts and notwithstanding anything contained in the Articles of Association or in any agreement between us and a director, the shareholders may, by an ordinary resolution, remove a director from office before the expiration of his or her term at a meeting held on no less than 28 days’ notice and at which the director is entitled to be heard. The power of removal is without prejudice to any claim for damages for breach of contract (e.g. employment contract) that the director may have against us in respect of his removal.

Our Articles of Association provide that the Board may fill any vacancy occurring on the Board. If the Board fills a vacancy, the director’s term expires at the next annual general meeting. A vacancy on the Board created by the removal of a director may be filled by the shareholders at the meeting at which such director is removed and, in the absence of such election or appointment, the remaining directors may fill the vacancy.

Legal Name; Formation; Fiscal Year; Registered Office

Prothena Corporation plc, our current legal and commercial name, was formed under the laws of Ireland on September 26, 2012 as a private limited company, under the name “Neotope Corporation Limited” (registration number 518146), and re-registered as a public limited company and changed its name to “Neotope

 

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Corporation plc” on October 25, 2012. On November 1, 2012, our shareholders resolved, by way of special resolution, to change the name of the company to “Prothena Corporation plc,” and this was approved by the Irish Registrar of Companies on November 7, 2012. Our fiscal year ends on December 31st and our registered address is 25-28, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1, Ireland.

Duration; Dissolution; Rights upon Liquidation

Our duration is unlimited. We may be dissolved and wound up at any time by way of a shareholders’ voluntary winding up or a creditors’ winding up. In the case of a shareholders’ voluntary winding up, a special resolution of shareholders is required. We may also be dissolved by way of court order on the application of a creditor, or by the Companies Registration Office as an enforcement measure where we have failed to file certain returns.

If our Articles of Association contain no specific provisions in respect of a dissolution or winding up, then, subject to the priorities of any creditors, the assets will be distributed to our shareholders in proportion to the paid-up nominal value of the shares held. Our Memorandum and Articles of Association provide that our ordinary shareholders are entitled to participate pro rata in a winding up.

Uncertificated Shares

Holders of our ordinary shares that hold their ordinary shares electronically have the right to require us to issue certificates for their shares.

Stock Exchange Listing

Our ordinary shares are listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “PRTA.”

No Sinking Fund

Our ordinary shares have no sinking fund provisions.

Transfer and Registration of Shares

The transfer agent for our ordinary shares is Computershare Trust Company, N.A. Its address is 250 Royall Street, Canton, MA 02021. An Irish based affiliate of the transfer agent, Computershare Investor Services (Ireland) Limited, maintains our share register, registration in which is determinative of ownership of our ordinary shares. This affiliate provides an inspection facility in Ireland for inspection and copying of our register in accordance with the Companies Acts. A shareholder who holds shares beneficially is not the holder of record of such shares. Instead, the depository (for example, Cede & Co. as nominee for The Depository Trust Company, or DTC) or other nominee is the holder of record of those shares. Accordingly, a transfer of shares from a person who holds such shares beneficially to a person who also holds such shares beneficially through a depository or other nominee will not be registered in our official share register, as the depository or other nominee will remain the record holder of any such shares.

A written instrument of transfer is required under Irish law in order to register on our official share register any transfer of shares (i) from a person who holds such shares directly to any other person, (ii) from a person who holds such shares beneficially to a person who holds such shares directly, or (iii) from a person who holds such shares beneficially to another person who holds such shares beneficially where the transfer involves a change in the depository or other nominee that is the record owner of the transferred shares. An instrument of transfer is also required for a shareholder who directly holds shares to transfer those shares into his or her own broker account (or vice versa). Such instruments of transfer may give rise to Irish stamp duty, which must be paid prior to registration of the transfer on our official Irish share register. However, a shareholder who directly

 

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holds shares may transfer those shares into his or her own broker account (or vice versa) without giving rise to Irish stamp duty provided there is no change in the ultimate beneficial ownership of the shares as a result of the transfer and the transfer is not made in contemplation of a sale of the shares.

Any transfer of our ordinary shares that is subject to Irish stamp duty will not be registered in the name of the buyer unless an instrument of transfer is duly stamped and provided to the transfer agent. We, in our absolute discretion and insofar as the Companies Acts or any other applicable law permit, may, or may provide that one of our subsidiaries will, pay Irish stamp duty arising on a transfer of our ordinary shares on behalf of the transferee of such ordinary shares. If stamp duty resulting from the transfer of our ordinary shares which would otherwise be payable by the transferee is paid by us or any of our subsidiaries on behalf of the transferee, then in those circumstances, we will, on our behalf or on behalf of our subsidiary (as the case may be), be entitled to (i) seek reimbursement of the stamp duty from the transferee, (ii) set-off the stamp duty against any dividends payable to the transferee of those ordinary shares and (iii) claim a first and permanent lien on our ordinary shares on which stamp duty has been paid by us or our subsidiary for the amount of stamp duty paid. Our lien shall extend to all dividends paid on those ordinary shares. Parties to a share transfer may assume that any stamp duty arising in respect of a transaction in our ordinary shares has been paid unless one or both of such parties is otherwise notified by us or the transfer agent.

Our Articles of Association delegate to any director, the secretary or any of our assistant secretaries duly appointed (or such other person as may be appointed by the secretary for this purpose) the authority, on our behalf, to execute an instrument of transfer on behalf of a transferring party.

The directors may suspend registration of transfers from time to time, not exceeding 30 days in aggregate each year.

 

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GLOBAL SECURITIES

Book-Entry, Delivery and Form

Unless we indicate differently in a prospectus supplement, the ordinary shares, or securities, initially will be held in book-entry form and represented by one or more global securities. The global securities will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York, as depositary, or DTC, and registered in the name of Cede & Co., the nominee of DTC. Unless and until it is exchanged for individual certificates evidencing securities under the limited circumstances described below, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depositary to its nominee or by the nominee to the depositary, or by the depositary or its nominee to a successor depositary or to a nominee of the successor depositary.

DTC has advised us that it is:

 

   

a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law;

 

   

a “banking organization” within the meaning of the New York Banking Law;

 

   

a member of the Federal Reserve System;

 

   

a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code; and

 

   

a “clearing agency” registered pursuant to the provisions of Section 17A of the Exchange Act.

DTC holds securities that its participants deposit with DTC. DTC also facilitates the settlement among its participants of securities transactions, such as transfers and pledges, in deposited securities through electronic computerized book-entry changes in participants’ accounts, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. “Direct participants” in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, including underwriters, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other organizations. DTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, or DTCC. DTCC is the holding company for DTC, National Securities Clearing Corporation and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, all of which are registered clearing agencies. DTCC is owned by the users of its regulated subsidiaries. Access to the DTC system is also available to others, which we sometimes refer to as indirect participants, that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a direct participant, either directly or indirectly. The rules applicable to DTC and its participants are on file with the SEC.

Purchases of securities under the DTC system must be made by or through direct participants, which will receive a credit for the securities on DTC’s records. The ownership interest of the actual purchaser of a security, which we sometimes refer to as a beneficial owner, is in turn recorded on the direct and indirect participants’ records. Beneficial owners of securities will not receive written confirmation from DTC of their purchases. However, beneficial owners are expected to receive written confirmations providing details of their transactions, as well as periodic statements of their holdings, from the direct or indirect participants through which they purchased securities. Transfers of ownership interests in global securities are to be accomplished by entries made on the books of participants acting on behalf of beneficial owners. Beneficial owners will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in the global securities, except under the limited circumstances described below.

To facilitate subsequent transfers, all global securities deposited by direct participants with DTC will be registered in the name of DTC’s partnership nominee, Cede & Co., or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. The deposit of securities with DTC and their registration in the name of Cede & Co. or such other nominee will not change the beneficial ownership of the securities. DTC has no knowledge of the actual beneficial owners of the securities. DTC’s records reflect only the identity of the direct participants to whose accounts the securities are credited, which may or may not be the beneficial owners. The participants are responsible for keeping account of their holdings on behalf of their customers.

 

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So long as the securities are in book-entry form, you will receive payments and may transfer securities only through the facilities of the depositary and its direct and indirect participants. We will maintain an office or agency in the location specified in the prospectus supplement for the applicable securities, where notices and demands in respect of the securities and the indenture may be delivered to us and where certificated securities may be surrendered for payment, registration of transfer or exchange.

Conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC to direct participants, by direct participants to indirect participants and by direct participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any legal requirements in effect from time to time.

Redemption notices will be sent to DTC. If less than all of the securities of a particular series are being redeemed, DTC’s practice is to determine by lot the amount of the interest of each direct participant in the securities of such series to be redeemed.

Neither DTC nor Cede & Co. (or such other DTC nominee) will consent or vote with respect to the securities. Under its usual procedures, DTC will mail an omnibus proxy to us as soon as possible after the record date. The omnibus proxy assigns the consenting or voting rights of Cede & Co. to those direct participants to whose accounts the securities of such series are credited on the record date, identified in a listing attached to the omnibus proxy.

So long as securities are in book-entry form, we will make payments on those securities to the depositary or its nominee, as the registered owner of such securities, by wire transfer of immediately available funds. If securities are held in definitive certificated form under the limited circumstances described below, we will have the option of making payments by check mailed to the addresses of the persons entitled to payment or by wire transfer to bank accounts in the United States designated in writing to the applicable trustee or other designated party at least 15 days before the applicable payment date by the persons entitled to payment, unless a shorter period is satisfactory to the applicable trustee or other designated party.

Redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments on the securities will be made to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. DTC’s practice is to credit direct participants’ accounts upon DTC’s receipt of funds and corresponding detail information from us on the payment date in accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTC records. Payments by participants to beneficial owners will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case with securities held for the account of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name.” Those payments will be the responsibility of participants and not of DTC or us, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements in effect from time to time. Payment of redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC, is our responsibility, disbursement of payments to direct participants is the responsibility of DTC, and disbursement of payments to the beneficial owners is the responsibility of direct and indirect participants.

Except under the limited circumstances described below, purchasers of securities will not be entitled to have securities registered in their names and will not receive physical delivery of securities. Accordingly, each beneficial owner must rely on the procedures of DTC and its participants to exercise any rights under the securities and the indenture.

The laws of some jurisdictions may require that some purchasers of securities take physical delivery of securities in definitive form. Those laws may impair the ability to transfer or pledge beneficial interests in securities.

DTC may discontinue providing its services as securities depositary with respect to the securities at any time by giving reasonable notice to us. Under such circumstances, in the event that a successor depositary is not obtained, securities certificates are required to be printed and delivered.

 

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As noted above, beneficial owners of a particular series of securities generally will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in those securities. However, if:

 

   

DTC notifies us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as a depositary for the global security or securities representing such series of securities or if DTC ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act at a time when it is required to be registered and a successor depositary is not appointed within 90 days of the notification to us or of our becoming aware of DTC’s ceasing to be so registered, as the case may be; or

 

   

we determine, in our sole discretion, not to have such securities represented by one or more global securities.

we will prepare and deliver certificates for such securities in exchange for beneficial interests in the global securities. Any beneficial interest in a global security that is exchangeable under the circumstances described in the preceding sentence will be exchangeable for securities in definitive certificated form registered in the names that the depositary directs. It is expected that these directions will be based upon directions received by the depositary from its participants with respect to ownership of beneficial interests in the global securities.

We have obtained the information in this section and elsewhere in this prospectus concerning DTC and DTC’s book-entry system from sources that are believed to be reliable, but we take no responsibility for the accuracy of this information.

 

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SELLING SHAREHOLDERS

This prospectus relates to the possible resale by the selling shareholders to be identified in a prospectus supplement of up to 3,182,253 of our ordinary shares that were issued and outstanding, prior to the original date of filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Elan Science One Limited, a direct subsidiary of Elan and the current holder of such ordinary shares, originally acquired the ordinary shares included in this prospectus pursuant to a subscription in connection with the separation and distribution of the Prothena Business from Elan. In December 2013, Elan Science One Limited became an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Perrigo following Perrigo’s acquisition of Elan.

Information about the selling shareholders, where applicable, including their identities, the amount of ordinary shares owned by each selling shareholder prior to the offering, the number of ordinary shares to be offered by each selling shareholder and the amount of ordinary shares to be owned by each selling shareholder after completion of the offering, will be set forth in an applicable prospectus supplement, documents incorporated by reference or in a free writing prospectus we file with the SEC. The applicable prospectus supplement will also disclose whether any of the selling shareholders has held any position or office with, has been employed by or otherwise has had a material relationship with us during the three years prior to the date of the prospectus supplement.

The selling shareholders may not sell any ordinary shares pursuant to this prospectus until we have identified such selling shareholders and the shares being offered for resale by such selling shareholders in a subsequent prospectus supplement. However, the selling shareholders may sell or transfer all or a portion of their ordinary shares pursuant to any available exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

The selling shareholders may sell ordinary shares, or the securities, from time to time pursuant to underwritten public offerings, negotiated transactions, block trades or a combination of these methods or through underwriters or dealers, through agents and/or directly to one or more purchasers. The securities may be distributed from time to time in one or more transactions:

 

   

at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed;

 

   

at market prices prevailing at the time of sale;

 

   

at prices related to such prevailing market prices; or

 

   

at negotiated prices.

Each time that any of the selling shareholders sell securities covered by this prospectus, we or the selling shareholders will provide a prospectus supplement or supplements that will describe the method of distribution and set forth the terms and conditions of the offering of such securities, including the offering price of the securities and the proceeds to us or the selling shareholders, if applicable.

Offers to purchase the securities being offered by this prospectus may be solicited directly. Agents may also be designated to solicit offers to purchase the securities from time to time. Any agent involved in the offer or sale of our securities will be identified in a prospectus supplement.

If a dealer is utilized in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, the securities will be sold to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale.

If an underwriter is utilized in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, an underwriting agreement will be executed with the underwriter at the time of sale and the name of any underwriter will be provided in the prospectus supplement that the underwriter will use to make resales of the securities to the public. In connection with the sale of the securities, we, or the selling shareholders, or the purchasers of securities for whom the underwriter may act as agent, may compensate the underwriter in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions. The underwriter may sell the securities to or through dealers, and those dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for which they may act as agent. Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement, an agent will be acting on a best efforts basis and a dealer will purchase securities as a principal, and may then resell the securities at varying prices to be determined by the dealer.

Any compensation paid to underwriters, dealers or agents in connection with the offering of the securities, and any discounts, concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers will be provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. Underwriters, dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any discounts and commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions. We may enter into agreements to indemnify underwriters, dealers and agents against civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments they may be required to make in respect thereof and to reimburse those persons for certain expenses.

Any ordinary shares will be listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market. To facilitate the offering of securities, certain persons participating in the offering may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the securities. This may include over-allotments or short sales of the securities, which involve the sale by persons participating in the offering of more securities than were sold to them. In these

 

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circumstances, these persons would cover such over-allotments or short positions by making purchases in the open market or by exercising their over-allotment option, if any. In addition, these persons may stabilize or maintain the price of the securities by bidding for or purchasing securities in the open market or by imposing penalty bids, whereby selling concessions allowed to dealers participating in the offering may be reclaimed if securities sold by them are repurchased in connection with stabilization transactions. The effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. These transactions may be discontinued at any time.

If indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, underwriters or other persons acting as agents may be authorized to solicit offers by institutions or other suitable purchasers to purchase the securities at the public offering price set forth in the prospectus supplement, pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on the date or dates stated in the prospectus supplement. These purchasers may include, among others, commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies and educational and charitable institutions. Delayed delivery contracts will be subject to the condition that the purchase of the securities covered by the delayed delivery contracts will not at the time of delivery be prohibited under the laws of any jurisdiction in the United States to which the purchaser is subject. The underwriters and agents will not have any responsibility with respect to the validity or performance of these contracts.

For investors outside the United States: Neither we nor any of the underwriters have taken any action that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons who have come into possession of this prospectus in a jurisdiction outside the United States are required to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to this offering and the distribution of this prospectus.

The specific terms of any lock-up provisions in respect of any given offering will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

In compliance with the guidelines of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, the maximum consideration or discount to be received by any FINRA member or independent broker dealer may not exceed 8% of the aggregate proceeds of the offering.

The underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in transactions with us, or perform services for us, in the ordinary course of business for which they receive compensation.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

A&L Goodbody, Dublin, Ireland will pass upon certain legal matters relating to the sale of the ordinary shares offered hereby on behalf of Prothena Corporation plc. Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as special U.S. counsel for us. Additional legal matters may be passed upon for us, the selling shareholders or any underwriters, dealers or agents, by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Prothena Corporation plc as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012 have been incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon the report of KPMG LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated by reference herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

The consolidated financial statements of Prothena Corporation plc formerly referred to as the carve-out financial statements of the Prothena Business (formerly, the Neotope Business), as of December 31, 2011 and for each of the years in the two year period ended December 31, 2011, have been incorporated by reference herein in reliance upon the report of KPMG, independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated by reference herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

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PART II

Information Not Required in Prospectus

Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution

The following is an estimate of the expenses (all of which are to be paid by the registrant) that we may incur in connection with the securities being registered hereby.

 

SEC registration fee

   $ 10,841.18   

FINRA filing fee

   $ (1

The NASDAQ Global Select Market listing fee

   $ (1

Printing and engraving expenses

   $ (1

Legal fees and expenses

   $ (1

Accounting fees and expenses

   $ (1

Blue Sky, qualification fees and expenses

   $ (1

Transfer Agent fees and expenses

   $ (1

Miscellaneous

   $ (1
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ (1
  

 

 

 

 

 

  (1) These fees are calculated based on the securities offered and the number of issuances and accordingly cannot be estimated at this time.

Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Articles 182.1, 182.2, 182.3, 182.4, 182.5 and 182.6 of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Registrant, or the Company, provide as follows:

182.1 Subject to the provisions of and so far as may be admitted by the Companies Acts (the “Companies Acts 1963-2013”), every Director and Secretary shall be entitled to be indemnified by the Company against all costs, charges, losses, expenses and liabilities incurred by her in the execution and discharge of her duties or in relation thereto including any liability incurred by her in defending any proceedings, civil or criminal, which relate to anything done or omitted or alleged to have been done or omitted by her as an officer or employee of the Company and in which judgement is given in her favour (or the proceedings are otherwise disposed of without any finding or admission of any material breach of duty on her part) or in which she is acquitted or in connection with any application under any statute for relief from liability in respect of any such act or omission in which relief is granted to her by the Court.

182.2 As far as permissible under the Companies Acts, the Company shall indemnify any current or former executive of the Company (excluding any Directors or Secretary) or any person who is serving or has served at the request of the Company as a director, executive or trustee of another company, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgements, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by her in connection with any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, other than an action by or in the right of the Company, to which she is, or she was, or is threatened to be made a party by reason of the fact that she is or was such a director, executive or trustee, provided always that the indemnity contained in this Article 182.2 shall not extend to any matter which would render it void pursuant to the Companies Acts.

182.3 In the case of any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding by or in the right of the Company, the Company shall indemnify each person indicated in this Article 182 against expenses,

 

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including attorneys’ fees, actually and reasonably incurred in connection with the defense or the settlement thereof, except no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable for fraud or dishonesty in the performance of her duty to the Company unless and only to the extent that the Court or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that despite the adjudication of liability, but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses as the Court shall deem proper.

182.4 As far as permissible under the Companies Acts, expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred in defending any action, suit or proceeding referred to in Articles of this Article 182 may be paid by the Company in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding as authorised by the Board in the specific case upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the director, executive or trustee, or other indemnitee to repay such amount, unless it shall ultimately be determined that she is entitled to be indemnified by the Company as authorised by these Articles.

182.5 It being the policy of the Company that indemnification of the persons specified in this Article shall be made to the fullest extent permitted by law, the indemnification provided by this Article shall not be deemed exclusive (a) of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under the Memorandum, Articles, any agreement, any insurance purchased by the Company, any vote of Members or disinterested Directors, or pursuant to the direction (however embodied) of any court of competent jurisdiction, or otherwise, both as to action in her official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office, or (b) of the power of the Company to indemnify any person who is or was an employee or agent of the Company or of another company, joint venture, trust or other enterprise which she is serving or has served at the request of the Company, to the same extent and in the same situations and subject to the same determinations as are hereinabove set forth with respect to a director, executive or trustee. As used in this paragraph (b), references to the “Company” include all constituent companies in a consolidation or merger in which the Company or a predecessor to the Company by consolidation or merger was involved. The indemnification provided by this Article shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, executive or trustee and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors, and administrators of such a person.

182.6 The Directors shall have power to purchase and maintain for any Director, the Secretary or other officers or employees of the Company insurance against any such liability as referred to in Section 200 of the 1963 Act or otherwise.

Section 200 of the Irish Companies Act of 1963 (as amended) provides as follows:

 

  (1) Subject as hereinafter provided, any provision whether contained in the articles of a company or in any contract with a company or otherwise for exempting any officer of the company or any person employed by the company as auditor from, or indemnifying him against, any liability which by virtue of any rule of law would otherwise attach to him in respect of any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust of which he may be guilty in relation to the company shall be void, so, however, that:

 

  (a) nothing in this section shall operate to deprive any person of any exemption or right to be indemnified in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by him while any such provision was in force; and

 

  (b)

notwithstanding anything in this section, a company may, in pursuance of any such provision as aforesaid, indemnify any such officer or auditor against any liability incurred by him in defending proceedings, whether civil or criminal, in which judgement is given in his favour or in which he is acquitted, or in connection with any application under section 391 (of the

 

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  Companies Act, 1963), or section 42 of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1983, in which relief is granted to him by the court.

 

  (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a company may purchase and maintain for any of its officers or auditors insurance in respect of any liability referred to in that subsection.

 

  (3) Notwithstanding any provision contained in an enactment, the articles of a company or otherwise, a director may be counted in the quorum and may vote on any resolution to purchase or maintain any insurance under which the director may benefit.

 

  (4) Any directors’ and officers’ insurance purchased or maintained by a company before the date on which the amendments made to this section by the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003 came into operation is as valid and effective as it would have been if those amendments had been in operation when that insurance was purchased or maintained.

 

  (5) In this section a reference to an officer or auditor includes any former or current officer or auditor of the company, as the case may be.

The Registrant has purchased directors’ and officers’ liability insurance. The Registrant has entered into indemnification agreements with its directors and officers. These agreements contain provisions that require the Registrant, among other things, to indemnify these directors and executive officers against certain liabilities that may arise because of their status or service as directors or executive officers, and advance their expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they may be indemnified.

Item 16. Exhibits

(a) Exhibits

A list of exhibits filed with this registration statement on Form S-3 is set forth on the Exhibit Index and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 17. Undertakings

(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

 

  (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

  (i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

 

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

 

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  (iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii), and (a)(1)(iii) above 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 Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is a part of the registration statement.

 

  (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

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

 

  (5) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

 

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

 

  (B) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

 

  (6) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of 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

 

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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 prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

 

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

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

(h) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of South San Francisco, California, on January 17, 2014.

 

  Prothena Corporation plc

Date: January 17, 2014

  By:  

/s/    Dale B. Schenk

    Dale B. Schenk
    President and Chief Executive Officer

Date: January 17, 2014

  By:  

/s/    Tran B. Nguyen

    Tran B. Nguyen
    Chief Financial Officer


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POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Dale B. Schenk and Tran B. Nguyen, or either of them, as his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to file and sign any and all amendments, including post-effective amendments and any registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective under Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act, to this registration statement, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or their substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. This power of attorney shall be governed by and construed with the laws of the State of Delaware and applicable federal securities laws.

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

 

Name

  

Title

 

Date

/s/    Dale B. Schenk

Dale B. Schenk, Ph.D.

  

President and Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer) and Director

  January 17, 2014

/s/    Tran B. Nguyen

Tran B. Nguyen

  

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer)

  January 17, 2014

/s/    Karin L. Walker

Karin L. Walker

  

Controller, Chief Accounting Officer and Head of Accounting

(Principal Accounting Officer)

  January 17, 2014

/s/    Lars Ekman

Lars Ekman, M.D., Ph.D.

   Chairman of the Board   January 17, 2014

/s/    Richard T. Collier

Richard T. Collier

   Director   January 17, 2014

/s/    Shane Cooke

Shane Cooke

   Director   January 17, 2014

/s/    Christopher S. Henney

Christopher S. Henney, D.Sc., Ph.D.

   Director   January 17, 2014

/s/    Dennis J. Selkoe

Dennis J. Selkoe, M.D.

   Director   January 17, 2014


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EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit

Number

  

Description

  1.1*    Form of Underwriting Agreement.
  3.1    Memorandum and Articles of Association of Prothena Corporation plc (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the SEC on March 29, 2013).
  4.1    Reference is made to exhibit 3.1.
  5.1    Opinion of A&L Goodbody.
23.1    Consent of A&L Goodbody (included in Exhibit 5.1).
23.2    Consent of independent registered public accounting firm, KPMG LLP.
23.3    Consent of independent registered public accounting firm, KPMG.
24.1    Powers of Attorney (incorporated by reference to the signature page hereto).

 

* To be filed by amendment or incorporated by reference in connection with the offering of the securities.