424B5
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Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-170577 and
Registration No. 333-191108

 

Prospectus Supplement

(To Prospectus dated December 3, 2010)

 

 

LOGO

6,300,000 Shares

Glu Mobile Inc.

Common Stock

 

 

We are offering 6,300,000 shares of our common stock.

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “GLUU.” On September 11, 2013, the last reported sales price for our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market was $2.41 per share.

 

 

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Please see the section entitled “Risk Factors” starting on page S-3 of this prospectus supplement to read about risks you should consider carefully before buying shares of our common stock.

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

 

 

 

     Per
Share
     Total  

Public offering price

   $ 2.10         $ 13,230,000   

Underwriting discounts

   $ 0.126       $ 793,800   

Proceeds, before expenses, to Glu Mobile Inc.

   $ 1.974       $ 12,436,200   

We have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 945,000 shares of our common stock at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount, to cover any over-allotments.

The underwriters expect to deliver the shares on or about September 17, 2013.

Sole Book-Running Manager

Canaccord Genuity

Co-Managers

 

Needham & Company    Roth Capital Partners

The date of this prospectus supplement is September 12, 2013


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

About this Prospectus Supplement

     S-ii   

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

     S-iii   

Prospectus Supplement Summary

     S-1   

The Offering

     S-2   

Risk Factors

     S-3   

Price Range of Common Stock

     S-22   

Dividend Policy

     S-22   

Use of Proceeds

     S-23   

Capitalization

     S-24   

Dilution

     S-25   

Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders of Common Stock

     S-26   

Underwriting

     S-31   

Legal Matters

     S-34   

Experts

     S-34   

Incorporation of Documents By Reference

     S-34   

Where You Can Find More Information

     S-35   

 

 

 

     Page  

About this Prospectus

     i   

Prospectus Summary

     1   

Risk Factors

     4   

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

     27   

Use of Proceeds

     27   

Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

     27   

Description of Securities We May Offer

     28   

Plan of Distribution

     41   

Legal Matters

     43   

Experts

     43   

Incorporation of Documents By Reference

     44   

Where You Can Find More Information

     45   

 

 

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus and any free-writing prospectus that we authorize to be distributed to you. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus or any related free-writing prospectus that we authorize to be distributed to you. This prospectus is not an offer to sell, nor is it seeking an offer to buy, these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted. The information in this prospectus speaks only as of the date of this prospectus unless the information specifically indicates that another date applies, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of our common stock.

 

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

This document is in two parts. The first part is this prospectus supplement, which describes the terms of this offering of our common stock and supplements information contained in the accompanying base prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into the accompanying base prospectus. The second part consists of the accompanying base prospectus, dated December 3, 2010, which gives more general information about us and the shares of common stock we may offer from time to time under our shelf registration statement. If there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus supplement, on the one hand, and the information contained in the accompanying base prospectus or any document incorporated by reference therein, on the other hand, then the information in this prospectus supplement will control.

You should carefully read this prospectus supplement, any document incorporated by reference into this prospectus, the accompanying base prospectus and any related free-writing prospectus that we may authorize to be delivered to you, together with the additional information described under “Where You Can Find More Information” before buying securities in this offering.

Glu, our 2-D and 3D ‘g’ character logos and several of our game titles, including Big Time Gangsta’, Blood & Glory, Contract Killer, Contract Killer: Zombies, Deer Hunter, Eternity Warriors, Frontline Commando, Gun Bros, Heroes of Destiny, Samurai vs. Zombies Defense and Stardom and other trademarks or service marks appearing in this prospectus supplement are the property of Glu Mobile Inc. Trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies appearing in this prospectus supplement are the property of the respective owners.

Unless otherwise mentioned or unless the context requires otherwise, all references in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus to “the Company,” “Glu,” “we,” “us,” “our” or similar references mean Glu Mobile Inc. and our subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis.

 

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus, and documents incorporated herein and therein by reference contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus, and documents incorporated herein and therein by reference, including statements regarding future events, our future financial performance, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are often identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “estimate” or “continue,” and similar expressions or variations. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results and the timing of certain events to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified herein, and those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors,” set forth in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 filed on August 9, 2013 and in our other filings that we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement, each of which applies only as of the date of this prospectus. Before you invest in our common stock, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus could negatively affect our business, operating results, financial condition and stock price. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this prospectus to conform our statements to actual results or changed expectations.

 

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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY

This summary may not contain all the information that you should consider before investing in our common stock. You should carefully read the more detailed information set out in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus and the information incorporate by reference herein, especially the risks related to our business and investing in our common stock that we discuss under the heading “Risk Factor” beginning on page S-3 and our consolidated financial statements and related notes and other information that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus. The information contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference include “forward-looking statements,” which are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments actually affecting us will be those anticipated. Please see the previous page of this prospectus supplement for cautionary information regarding forward-looking statements.

Glu Mobile Inc.

Glu Mobile develops and publishes a portfolio of action/adventure and casual games designed to appeal to a broad cross section of the users of smartphones and tablet devices who purchase our games through direct-to-consumer digital storefronts, such as the Apple App Store, Google Play store, Amazon Appstore and others. We create games based on our own brands, including Big Time Gangsta, Blood & Glory, Contract Killer, Contract Killer: Zombies, Deer Hunter, Eternity Warriors, Frontline Commando, Gun Bros, Heroes of Destiny, Samurai vs. Zombies Defense and Stardom, as well as third-party licensed brands. We are based in San Francisco, California, with a major office outside Seattle, and international locations in Canada, China, India and Russia.

Corporate Information

We were incorporated in Nevada in May 2001 as Cyent Studios, Inc. and changed our name to Sorrent, Inc. later that year. In November 2001, we incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary in California, and, in December 2001, we merged the Nevada corporation into this California subsidiary to form Sorrent, Inc., a California corporation. In May 2005, we changed our name to Glu Mobile Inc. In March 2007, we completed our initial public offering.

Risks Affecting Us

Please see “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-3 of this prospectus supplement and in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013, filed with the SEC on August 9, 2013, and other information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of factors you should carefully consider before deciding to invest in shares of our common stock.

 

 

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THE OFFERING

 

Common stock offered by us

6,300,000 shares

 

Common stock to be outstanding after this offering

76,597,681 shares

 

Over-allotment option

We have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 945,000 shares of our common stock within 30 days of the date of this prospectus in order to cover over-allotments, if any.

 

Use of proceeds

We estimate that the net proceeds to us from this offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses payable by us, will be approximately $12.1 million. We currently intend to use the proceeds for working capital and other general corporate purposes, which may include growing our publishing business, further investing in our GluOn games-as-a-service technology platform, and the acquisition of, or investment in, companies, technologies, products or assets that complement our business. However, we have no present understandings, commitments or agreements to enter into any material acquisitions or make any investments. See “Use of Proceeds.”

 

NASDAQ Global Market symbol

GLUU

The number of shares of common stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on 70,297,681 shares outstanding as of June 30, 2013, and excludes:

 

    1,035,000 shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants to purchase shares of our common stock as of June 30, 2013, with an exercise price of $1.50 per share;

 

    3,333,333 shares issuable upon the exercise of an outstanding warrant to purchase shares of our common stock that was issued after June 30, 2013, with an exercise price of $3.00 per share;

 

    10,719,791 shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding options to purchase shares of our common stock as of June 30, 2013, with a weighted average exercise price of $2.94 per share;

 

    1,000,800 shares issuable upon the vesting of outstanding restricted stock units as of June 30, 2013 that settle in shares of our common stock; and

 

    8,584,456 shares reserved for issuance under our 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, our 2008 Equity Inducement Plan and our 2007 Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of June 30, 2013. The number of shares reserved for issuance under our 2007 Employee Stock Purchase Plan will increase automatically on each of January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2015 by the number of shares equal to 1% of our total outstanding shares as of the immediately preceding December 31st.

 

 

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. In addition to the following risk factors, you should consider carefully the risks, uncertainties and assumptions set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 4 of the accompanying base prospectus, as well as those described in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013, and in other documents that we subsequently file with the SEC that update, supplement or supersede such information, which documents are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information.” Additional risks not currently known to us or which we consider immaterial based on information currently available to us may also materially adversely affect us. If any of the events anticipated by the risks described occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the market price of our common stock could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business

We have a history of net losses, may incur substantial net losses in the future and may not achieve profitability.

We have incurred significant losses since inception, including a net loss of $21.1 million in 2011, a net loss of $20.5 million in 2012 and a net loss of $8.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013. As of June 30, 2013, we had an accumulated deficit of $240.7 million. We expect our costs in 2013 to increase in absolute dollars over 2012 levels as we implement additional initiatives designed to increase revenues, such as developing games with greater complexity and higher production values, making investments related to our continued transition to becoming a games-as-a-service company, increasing the amount we spend marketing our new titles and paying upfront license fees or minimum guarantees related to our Glu Publishing business. If our revenues do not increase to offset these additional expenses, if we experience unexpected increases in operating expenses or if we are required to take additional charges related to impairments or restructurings, we will continue to incur losses and will not become profitable. In addition, our revenues increased only slightly in each of 2011 and 2012 from the preceding year, and slightly decreased in the first half of 2013 as compared to the first half of 2012. If we are unable to significantly increase our revenues or reduce our expenses, it will continue to negatively affect our operating results and our ability to achieve and sustain profitability.

We have a relatively new and evolving business model with a short operating history.

In early 2010, we changed our business model to focus on becoming a leading publisher of “free-to-play” games for smartphones, tablets and other advanced platforms. Free-to-play games are games that a player can download and play for free, but which allow players to access a variety of additional content and features for a fee and to engage with various advertisements and offers that generate revenues for us. We launched our first free-to-play titles in the fourth quarter of 2010, so we have a short history operating in this business model, which limits the experience upon which we can draw when making operating decisions. In addition, we have been transitioning towards becoming a games-as-a-service company in which the majority of our future free-to-play games will be only playable online, and we may not be successful in executing on this transition. Our efforts to develop free-to-play games and transition towards becoming a games-as-a-service company may prove unsuccessful or, even if successful, it may take more time than we anticipate to achieve significant revenues because, among other reasons:

 

    we may have difficulty optimizing the monetization of our games due to our relatively limited experience creating games that include micro-transaction capabilities, advertising and offers, as well as our limited experience in offering the features that are often associated with free-to-play games published by games-as-a-service companies, such as tournaments, live events and more frequent content updates;

 

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    we intend to continue to develop the majority of our games based upon our own intellectual property, rather than well-known licensed brands, and we may encounter difficulties in generating sufficient consumer interest in and downloads of our games, particularly since we have had relatively limited success generating significant revenues from games based on our own intellectual property;

 

    many well-funded public and private companies have released, or plan to release, free-to-play games, including those provided under the games-as-a-service model, and this competition will make it more difficult for us to differentiate our games and derive significant revenues from them;

 

    free-to-play games, including those delivered as a service, have a relatively limited history, and it is unclear how popular this style of game will become or remain or its revenue potential;

 

    our free-to-play strategy assumes that a large number of players will download our games because they are free and that we will then be able to effectively monetize the games; however, players may not widely download our games for a variety of reasons, including poor consumer reviews or other negative publicity, ineffective or insufficient marketing efforts, lack of sufficient community features, lack of prominent storefront featuring and the relatively large file size of some of our games—our thick-client games often utilize a significant amount of the available memory on a user’s device, and due to the inherent limitations of the smartphone platforms and telecommunications networks, which only allow applications that are less than 50 megabytes to be downloaded over a carrier’s wireless network, players must download one of our thick-client games either via a wireless Internet (wifi) connection or initially to their computer and then side-loaded to their device;

 

    even if our games are widely downloaded, we may fail to retain users or optimize the monetization of these games for a variety of reasons, including poor game design or quality, lack of community features, gameplay issues such as game unavailability, long load times or an unexpected termination of the game due to data server or other technical issues, or our failure to effectively respond and adapt to changing user preferences through game updates;

 

    we may have difficulty hiring the additional monetization, live operations, server technology, user experience and product management personnel that we require to support our transition to becoming a games-as-a-service company, or may face difficulties in developing our GluOn games-as-a-service technology platform and incorporating it into our products;

 

    we will depend on the proper and continued functioning of our own servers and third-party infrastructure to operate our connected games that are delivered as a service;

 

    the billing and provisioning capabilities of some smartphones and tablets are currently not optimized to enable users to purchase games or make in-app purchases, which make it difficult for users of these smartphones and tablets to purchase our games or make in-app purchases and could reduce our addressable market, at least in the short term; and

 

    the Federal Trade Commission has indicated that it intends to review issues related to in-app purchases, particularly with respect to games that are marketed primarily to minors, and the commission might issue rules significantly restricting or even prohibiting in-app purchases or name us as a defendant in a future class-action lawsuit.

If we do not achieve a sufficient return on our investment with respect to our free-to-play business model, it will negatively affect our operating results and may require us to formulate a new business strategy.

We rely on a very small portion of our total players for nearly all of our revenues that we derive from in-app purchases.

Since our free-to-play games can be downloaded and played for free, we have succeeded in generating a significant number of game installations and significant user-base growth. However, we rely on a very small portion of our total users for nearly all of our smartphone revenues derived from in-app purchases (as opposed to

 

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advertisements and incentivized offers). Since the launch of our first free-to-play titles in the fourth quarter of 2010, the percentage of unique paying users for our largest revenue-generating free-to-play games has been approximately 1%; however, in the initial period following the launch of a game, the percentage may be higher, and the percentage of unique paying users is generally lower than 1% for our less successful titles. To significantly increase our revenues, we must either increase the number of users who make in-app purchases or increase the amount that our paying players spend in our games. We have to date encountered difficulties with game monetization (for example, developing a sufficient quantity and variety of virtual goods to enable a relatively large scale of in-app purchases by an individual user). We might not succeed in our efforts to increase the monetization rates of our users, particularly if we are unsuccessful in our transition to becoming a games-as-a-service company. If we are unable to convert non-paying players into paying players or if the average amount of revenues that we generate from our users does not increase or declines, our business may not grow, our financial results will suffer, and our stock price may decline.

We derive the majority of our revenues from Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store, and if we are unable to maintain a good relationship with each of Apple and Google or if either of these storefronts were unavailable for any prolonged period of time, our business will suffer.

The majority of our smartphone revenues have historically been derived from Apple’s iOS platform, which accounted for 58.8% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2013 compared with 57.4% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2012. We generated the majority of these iOS-related revenues from in-app purchases and sales of premium games made through the Apple App Store, which represented 50.4% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2013 compared with 42.5% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2012, with the balance of our iOS-related revenues generated from offers and advertisements in games distributed on the Apple App Store. In addition, we generated approximately 28.6% and 24.3% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively, from the Android platform. We generated the majority of our Android-related revenues from in-app purchases and sales of premium games made through the Google Play store, which represented 18.7% and 18.7% of our total revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively. We believe that we have good relationships with each of Apple and Google, which has contributed to the majority of our games being featured on their storefronts when they were commercially released. If we do not continue to receive prominent featuring, users may find it more difficult to discover our games and we may not generate significant revenues from them. We may also be required to spend significantly more on marketing campaigns to generate substantial revenues on these platforms. In addition, currently neither Apple nor Google charges a publisher when it features one of their apps. If either Apple or Google were to charge publishers to feature an app, it could cause our marketing expenses to increase considerably. Accordingly, any change or deterioration in our relationship with Apple or Google could materially harm our business and likely cause our stock price to decline.

We also rely on the continued functioning of the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. In the past these digital storefronts have been unavailable for short periods of time or experienced issues with their in-app purchasing functionality. If either of these events recurs on a prolonged basis or other similar issues arise that impact our ability to generate revenues from these storefronts, it would have a material adverse effect on our revenues and operating results. In addition, if these storefront operators fail to provide high levels of service, our end users’ ability to access our games may be interrupted or end users may not receive the virtual currency or goods for which they have paid, which may adversely affect our brand.

The operators of digital storefronts on which we publish our free-to-play games in many cases have the unilateral ability to change and interpret the terms of our contract with them.

Unlike our legacy feature phone business in which we and the wireless carrier or other distributor negotiated the business terms related to the distribution of our feature phone games, we distribute our free-to-play games through direct-to-consumer digital storefronts, for which the distribution terms and conditions are often “click through” agreements that we are not able to negotiate with the storefront operator. For example, we are subject to

 

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each of Apple’s and Google’s standard click-through terms and conditions for application developers, which govern the promotion, distribution and operation of applications, including our games, on their storefronts. Each of Apple and Google can unilaterally change their standard terms and conditions with no prior notice to us. In addition, the agreement terms can be vague and subject to changing interpretations by the storefront operator. For example, in the second quarter of 2011, Apple began prohibiting certain types of virtual currency-incented advertising offers in games sold on the Apple App Store. These offers accounted for approximately one-third of our smartphone revenues during the three months ended June 30, 2011, and our inability to subsequently use such offers negatively impacted our smartphone revenues thereafter. Most recently, Apple informed us early in the fourth quarter of 2012 that we could no longer include links to Tapjoy’s HTML5 website in our games, which has since negatively impacted our ability to generate revenue through incented offers and will likely continue to negatively impact our revenues in future periods. Any similar changes in the future that impact our revenues could materially harm our business, and we may not receive significant or any advance warning of such change. In addition, each of Apple and Google have the right to prohibit a developer from distributing its applications on its storefront if the developer violates its standard terms and conditions. If Apple or Google or any other storefront operator determines that we are violating its standard terms and conditions, by a new interpretation or otherwise or prohibits us from distributing our games on its storefront, it would materially harm our business and likely cause our stock price to significantly decline.

The markets in which we operate are highly competitive, and many of our competitors have significantly greater resources than we do.

Developing, distributing and selling mobile games is a highly competitive business, characterized by frequent product introductions and rapidly emerging new platforms, technologies and storefronts. For end users, we compete primarily on the basis of game quality, brand and customer reviews. We compete for promotional and storefront placement based on these factors, as well as our relationship with the digital storefront owner, historical performance, perception of sales potential and relationships with licensors of brands and other intellectual property. For content and brand licensors, we compete based on royalty and other economic terms, perceptions of development quality, porting abilities, speed of execution, distribution breadth and relationships with storefront owners or carriers. We also compete for experienced and talented employees.

We compete with a continually increasing number of companies, including Zynga, DeNA, Gree, Nexon and many well-funded private companies, including Kabam, King, Rovio, Storm 8/Team Lava and Supercell. We also compete for consumer spending with large companies, such as Activision, Electronic Arts (EA Mobile), Gameloft and Take-Two Interactive, whose games for smartphones and tablets are primarily premium rather than free-to-play. In addition, given the open nature of the development and distribution for smartphones and tablets, we also compete or will compete with a vast number of small companies and individuals who are able to create and launch games and other content for these devices using relatively limited resources and with relatively limited start-up time or expertise. As an example of the competition that we face, it has been estimated that more than 150,000 active games were available on Apple’s App Store as of July 31, 2013. The proliferation of titles in these open developer channels makes it difficult for us to differentiate ourselves from other developers and to compete for end users without substantially increasing our marketing expenses and development costs.

Some of our competitors and our potential competitors have one or more advantages over us, either globally or in particular geographic markets, which include:

 

    significantly greater financial resources;

 

    greater experience with the free-to-play games business model and more effective game monetization;

 

    stronger brand and consumer recognition regionally or worldwide;

 

    greater experience integrating community features into their games, operating as a games-as-a-service company and increasing the revenues derived from their users;

 

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    the capacity to leverage their marketing expenditures across a broader portfolio of mobile and non-mobile products;

 

    larger installed customer bases from related platforms, such as console gaming or social networking websites, to which they can market and sell mobile games;

 

    more substantial intellectual property of their own from which they can develop games without having to pay royalties;

 

    lower labor and development costs and better overall economies of scale;

 

    greater platform-specific focus, experience and expertise; and

 

    broader global distribution and presence.

If we are unable to compete effectively or we are not as successful as our competitors in our target markets, our sales could decline, our margins could decline and we could lose market share, any of which would materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our financial results could vary significantly from quarter to quarter and are difficult to predict, which in turn could cause volatility in our stock price.

Our revenues and operating results could vary significantly from quarter to quarter due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. In addition, we may not be able to accurately predict our future revenues or results of operations. We base our current and future expense levels on our internal operating plans and sales forecasts, and our operating costs are to a large extent fixed. As a result, we may not be able to reduce our costs sufficiently to compensate for an unexpected shortfall in revenues, and even a small shortfall in revenues could disproportionately and adversely affect financial results for that quarter.

In addition to other risk factors discussed in this section, factors that may contribute to the variability of our quarterly results include:

 

    our ability to increase the number of our paying players and the amount that each paying player spends in our games;

 

    the popularity and monetization rates of our new games released during the quarter and the ability of games released in prior periods to sustain their popularity and monetization rates;

 

    the number and timing of new games released by us and our competitors, particularly those games that may represent a significant portion of revenues in a quarter, which timing can be impacted by internal development delays, shifts in product strategy and how quickly digital storefront operators review and approve our games for commercial release;

 

    changes in the prominence of storefront featuring for our games and those of our competitors;

 

    fluctuations in the size and rate of growth of overall consumer demand for smartphones, tablets, games and related content;

 

    decisions by us to incur additional expenses, such as increases in marketing or research and development, or unanticipated increases in vendor-related costs, such as hosting fees;

 

    the timing of successful mobile device launches;

 

    the seasonality of our industry;

 

    changes in accounting rules, such as those governing recognition of revenue, including the period of time over which we recognize revenue for in-app purchases of virtual currency and goods within certain of our games;

 

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    fluctuations in the fair market value of the contingent consideration issued to the Blammo non-employee shareholders, as the fair value of the contingent consideration will be measured during each reporting period until the end of the earn-out period in March 2015;

 

    the amount and timing of charges related to any future impairments of goodwill, intangible assets, prepaid royalties and guarantees; for example, in 2011, we impaired $531,000 of certain prepaid royalties and royalty guarantees, and in 2012, we impaired $3.6 million of our goodwill related to our APAC reporting unit; and

 

    macro-economic fluctuations in the United States and global economies, including those that impact discretionary consumer spending.

Consumer tastes are continually changing and are often unpredictable, and we compete for consumer discretionary spending against other forms of entertainment; if we fail to develop and publish new mobile games that achieve market acceptance, our sales would suffer.

Our business depends on developing and publishing mobile games that consumers will want to download and spend time and money playing. We must continue to invest significant resources in research and development, analytics and marketing to introduce new games and continue to update our successful free-to-play games, and we often must make decisions about these matters well in advance of product release to timely implement them. Our success depends, in part, on unpredictable and volatile factors beyond our control, including consumer preferences, competing games, new mobile platforms and the availability of other entertainment activities. If our games and related applications do not meet consumer expectations, or they are not brought to market in a timely and effective manner, our business, operating results and financial condition would be harmed. For example, we intend to include new categories of games (such as role-playing games and card battle games) in our planned 2013 product portfolio that often have higher monetization rates than our single-player focused action/adventure and casual games. We have limited experience creating these types of games, and if we do not succeed in these efforts, it will negatively impact our revenues and operating results for 2013 and beyond. Even if our games are successfully introduced and initially adopted, a failure to continue to update them with compelling content or a subsequent shift in the entertainment preferences of consumers could cause a decline in our games’ popularity that could materially reduce our revenues and harm our business, operating results and financial condition. Furthermore, we compete for the discretionary spending of consumers, who face a vast array of entertainment choices, including games played on personal computers and consoles, television, movies, sports and the Internet. If we are unable to sustain sufficient interest in our games compared to other forms of entertainment, our business and financial results would be seriously harmed.

If we do not successfully establish and maintain awareness of our brand and games, if we incur excessive expenses promoting and maintaining our brand or our games or if our games contains defects or objectionable content, our operating results and financial condition could be harmed.

We believe that establishing and maintaining our brand is critical to establishing a direct relationship with end users who purchase our products from direct-to-consumer channels and to maintaining our existing relationships with distributors and content licensors, as well as potentially developing new such relationships. Increasing awareness of our brand and recognition of our games is particularly important in connection with our strategic focus of developing games based on our own intellectual property. Our ability to promote the Glu brand and increase recognition of our games depends on our ability to develop high-quality, engaging games. If consumers, digital storefront owners and branded content owners do not perceive our existing games as high-quality or if we introduce new games that are not favorably received by them, then we may not succeed in building brand recognition and brand loyalty in the marketplace. In addition, globalizing and extending our brand and recognition of our games is costly and involves extensive management time to execute successfully, particularly as we expand our efforts to increase awareness of our brand and games among international consumers. Although we have significantly increased our sales and marketing expenditures in connection with the launch of our games, these efforts may not succeed in increasing awareness of our brand or the new games. If

 

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we fail to increase and maintain brand awareness and consumer recognition of our games, our potential revenues could be limited, our costs could increase and our business, operating results and financial condition could suffer.

In addition, if a game contains objectionable content, we could experience damage to our reputation and brand. The majority of our successful free-to-play games are in the action/adventure genre, and we expect that the majority of the games that we will release in 2013 will be in that category. Some of these games contain violence or other content that certain consumers may find objectionable. For example, Apple has assigned our Frontline Commando: D-Day game a 17-and-older rating due to its violence. In addition, Google required us to submit two versions of our Blood & Glory and Contract Killer: Zombies games, one of which did not depict blood. Despite these ratings and precautions, consumers may be offended by certain of our game content games and children to whom these games are not targeted may choose to play them nonetheless. In addition, one of our employees or an employee of an outside developer could include hidden features in one of our games without our knowledge, which might contain profanity, graphic violence, sexually explicit or otherwise objectionable material. If consumers believe that a game we published contains objectionable content, it could harm our brand, consumers could refuse to buy it or demand a refund, and could pressure the digital platform operators to no longer allow us to publish the game on their platforms. Similarly, if one of our games is introduced with defects or has playability issues, it could results in negative user reviews and damage our brand. These issues could be exacerbated if our customer service department does not timely and adequately address issues that our users have encountered with our games.

We have depended on a small number of games for a significant portion of our revenues in recent fiscal periods. If these games do not continue to succeed or we do not release highly successful new games, our revenues would decline.

In the mobile gaming industry, new games are frequently introduced, but a relatively small number of games account for a significant portion of industry sales. Similarly, a significant portion of our revenues comes from a limited number of games, although the games in that group have shifted over time. Our growth depends on our ability to consistently launch new games that generate significant revenues. For example, in the third quarter of 2012, we launched 11 new games, only two of which generated significant revenues, which, in part, contributed to our revenues declining from the second quarter of 2012. We have since that time failed to consistently release titles that generate significant revenues, which has resulted in our inability to grow our revenues on a quarterly basis. Developing and launching our games and providing future content updates requires us to invest significant time and resources with no guarantee that our efforts will result in significant revenues. If our new games are not successful or if we are not able to cost-effectively extend the lives of our successful games, our revenues could be limited and our business and operating results would suffer.

If we fail to maintain and enhance our capabilities for porting games to a broad array of mobile devices, particularly those utilizing the Android operating system, our revenues and financial results could suffer.

We derive the majority of our revenues from the sale of games for smartphones and tablets that utilize Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android operating systems. Unlike the Apple ecosystem in which Apple controls both the device (iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) and the storefront (Apple’s App Store), the Android ecosystem is highly fragmented since a large number of OEMs manufacture and sell Android-based devices that run a variety of versions of the Android operating system, and there are many Android-based storefronts in addition to the Google Play Store. For us to sell our games to the widest possible audience of Android users, we must port our games to a significant portion of the more than 700 Android-based devices that are commercially available, many of which have different technical requirements. Since the number of Android-based smartphones and tablets shipped worldwide is growing significantly, it is important that we maintain and enhance our porting capabilities, which could require us to invest considerable resources in this area. These additional costs could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, we must continue to increase the efficiency of our porting processes or it may take us longer to port games to an equivalent number of devices, which would negatively impact our margins. If we fail to maintain or enhance our porting capabilities, our revenues and financial results could suffer.

 

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We use a game development engine licensed from Unity Technologies to create many of our games. If we experience any prolonged technical issues with this engine or if we lose access to this engine for any reason, it could delay our game development efforts and cause us our financial results to fall below expectations for a quarterly or annual period, which would likely cause our stock price to decline.

We use a game development engine licensed from Unity Technologies to create many of our games, and we expect to continue to use this engine for the foreseeable future. Because we do not own this engine, we do not control its operation or maintenance. As a result, any prolonged technical issues with this engine might not be resolved quickly, despite the fact that we have contractual service level commitments from Unity. In addition, although Unity cannot terminate our agreement absent an uncured material breach of the agreement by Glu, we could lose access to this engine under certain circumstances, such as a natural disaster that impacts Unity or a bankruptcy event. If we experience any prolonged issues with regard to the operation of the Unity game development engine or if we lose access to this engine for any reason, it could delay our game development efforts and cause us to not meet revenue expectations for a quarterly or annual period, which would likely cause our stock price to decline. Further, if one of our competitors acquired Unity, the acquiring company would be less likely to renew our agreement, which could impact our game development efforts in the future, particularly with respect to sequels to games that were created on the Unity engine.

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from advertisements and offers that are incorporated into our free-to-play games through relationships with third parties. If we lose the ability to provide these advertisements and offers for any reason, or if any events occur that negatively impact the revenues we receive from these sources, it would negatively impact our operating results.

We derive revenues from our free-to-play games though in-app purchases, advertisements and offers. We incorporate advertisements and offers into our games by implementing third parties’ software development kits. We rely on these third parties to provide us with a sufficient inventory of advertisements and offers to meet the demand of our user base. If we exhaust the available inventory of these third parties, it will negatively impact our revenues. If our relationship with any of these third parties terminates for any reason, or if the commercial terms of our relationships do not continue to be renewed on favorable terms, we would need to locate and implement other third party solutions, which could negatively impact our revenues, at least in the short term. Furthermore, the revenues that we derive from advertisements and offers is subject to seasonality, as companies’ advertising budgets are generally highest during the fourth quarter and decline significantly in the first quarter of the following year, which negatively impacts our revenues in the first quarter (and conversely significantly increases our marketing expenses in the fourth quarter).

In addition, the actions of the storefront operators can also negatively impact the revenues that we generate from advertisements and offers. For example, in the second quarter of 2011, Apple began prohibiting certain types of virtual currency-incented advertising offers in games sold on the Apple App Store. These offers accounted for approximately one-third of our revenues during the three months ended September 30, 2011, and our inability to utilize such offers has negatively impacted our revenues. In addition, in the third quarter of 2012, Apple made changes to its terms and conditions that could, depending on how Apple interprets them, negatively impact the revenues we generate from third-party advertising service providers. Any similar changes in the future that impact our revenues that we generate from advertisements and offers could materially harm our business.

We have begun publishing, and intend to continue to publish games developed by third parties which will expose us to a number of potential operational and legal risks.

In the first quarter of 2013, we formed our Glu Publishing department, which focuses on entering into publishing relationships with third party game developers, primarily in Asia, Eastern Europe and the United States. These publishing relationships typically provide that we will distribute and market one or more of the developer’s games and that we will receive a share of the revenues generated from these games. We refer to a relationship in which we provide the developer with some or all of the funds to develop the game or games as second-party publishing, and we refer to a relationship in which we do not provide any development funding as

 

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third-party publishing. During 2013, we expect to publish a total of eight third-party games, and in 2014, we expect to publish between two and four second-party games and between 16 and 20 third-party games.

Our Glu Publishing business will expose us to a number of potential operational and legal risks. For example, we may be required to provide third party developers with upfront license fees or non-recoupable minimum guarantees in order to obtain the rights to publish their games, we may need to invest significant development fees with regard to our second-party publishing efforts, and we may need to spend significant money marketing these games after they have been commercially launched. If the games are not commercially successful because of our limited experience in publishing other developers’ games or for any other reason, it will negatively impact our operating results. For example, we expect to incur an impairment charge of approximately $0.4 million in the third quarter of 2013 related to a minimum guarantee that we paid to a third-party developer that we do not expect to recoup due to lower than expected revenues generated from our publishing of the applicable game. In addition, if any of the third party developers with which we work have created their games by infringing another party’s intellectual property or otherwise violating their rights, or if these games violate applicable laws and regulations such as with respect to data collection and privacy, we would be exposed to potential legal risks by publishing these games.

We may need to raise additional capital or borrow funds to grow our business, and we may not be able to raise capital or borrow funds on terms acceptable to us or at all.

We expect to continue to use cash in our operations during 2013 as we seek to grow our business. In addition, we expect to use approximately $1.8 million in the third quarter of 2013 for capital expenditures related to office moves for our corporate headquarters in San Francisco and our Kirkland, Washington studio. As of June 30, 2013, we had $19.1 million of cash and cash equivalents. If our cash and cash equivalents and cash inflows are insufficient to meet our cash requirements or if we wish to strengthen our balance sheet, we will need to seek additional capital, potentially pursuant to our effective universal shelf registration statement, and we may be unable to do so on terms that are acceptable to us or at all. Equity financings would dilute our existing stockholders, particularly given our current stock price, and the holders of new securities may receive rights, preferences or privileges that are senior to those of existing stockholders. Alternatively, we may wish to enter into a credit facility or other debt arrangement, and we may be unable to procure one on terms that are acceptable to us, particularly in light of the current credit market conditions. The material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting that resulted from the restatement of our financial statements (as discussed in the amendments to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013) may make it more difficult for us to raise additional debt or equity capital. If we require new sources of financing but they are insufficient or unavailable, we would be required to modify our operating plans to align them with available resources, which would harm our ability to grow our business.

Our reported financial results could be adversely affected by changes in financial accounting standards or by the application of existing or future accounting standards to our business as it evolves.

Our reported financial results are impacted by the accounting policies promulgated by the accounting standards bodies and the methods, estimates and judgments that we use in applying our accounting policies. Due to recent economic events, the frequency of accounting policy changes may accelerate, including conversion to unified international accounting standards. Policies affecting software revenue recognition have affected, and could further significantly affect, the way we account for revenue. For example, the accounting for revenue derived from smartphone platforms and free-to-play games, particularly with regard to revenues generated from digital storefronts, is still evolving and, in some cases, uncertain. In particular, we were required to file an amendment to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 to restate or revise the financial statements contained in those reports (including for the year ended December 31, 2011) because we did not correctly apply the revenue accounting guidance to our smartphone revenues for sales through digital storefronts. While we believe that we

 

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are now correctly accounting for our smartphone revenues, this is an area that continues to involve significant discussion among accounting professionals and which is not completely settled. It is possible that the relative application, interpretation and weighting of the factors that relate to whether we should be considered the principal in the sales transaction of games sold through digital storefronts may evolve, and we may in the future conclude that our accounting policy for smartphone revenues, as reflected in the restated financial statements, is incorrect, which could result in another restatement of affected financial statements. In addition, we currently defer revenues related to virtual goods and currency over the average playing period of paying users, which approximates the useful life of the transaction. While we believe our estimates are reasonable based on available game player information, we may revise such estimates in the future as our games’ operation periods change. Any adjustments arising from changes in the estimates of the lives of these virtual items would be applied prospectively on the basis that such changes are caused by new information indicating a change in the game player behavior patterns of our paying users. Any changes in our estimates of useful lives of these virtual items may result in our revenues being recognized on a basis different from prior periods’ and may cause our operating results to fluctuate. As we enhance, expand and diversify our business and product offerings, the application of existing or future financial accounting standards, particularly those relating to the way we account for our smartphone revenues, could have a significant adverse effect on our reported results although not necessarily on our cash flows.

If we are unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, the accuracy and timeliness of our financial reporting may be adversely affected.

Maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to produce reliable financial statements. In connection with the recent restatement of certain of our historical financial statements, management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, reassessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012. Based on this reassessment using the guidelines established in Internal Control —   Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in 1992, management has concluded that we did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012 because of a material weakness related to the application of revenue accounting guidance to our smartphone revenues for sales through digital storefronts. This control deficiency resulted in the misstatement of our revenues and cost of revenues, including gross margin percentages, and the related balance sheet accounts and financial disclosures for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 (and the restatement of the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarters ended March 31, June 30, and September 30 for such years) as discussed in Note 1A and Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included in our annual report on Form 10-K/A filed on August 9, 2013. If we are unable to effectively remediate this material weakness or we are otherwise unable to maintain adequate internal controls for financial reporting, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal controls as required pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, it could result in another material misstatement of our financial statements that would require a restatement, investor confidence in the accuracy and timeliness of our financial reports may be impacted or the market price of our common stock could be negatively impacted.

Our acquisition activities may disrupt our ongoing business, may involve increased expenses and may present risks not contemplated at the time of the transactions.

We have acquired, and may continue to acquire, companies, products and technologies that complement our strategic direction. Acquisitions involve significant risks and uncertainties, including:

 

    diversion of management time and a shift of focus from operating the businesses to issues related to integration and administration;

 

    inability to successfully integrate the acquired technology and operations into our business and maintain uniform standards, controls, policies and procedures;

 

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    challenges retaining the key employees, customers and other business partners of the acquired business;

 

    inability to realize synergies expected to result from an acquisition;

 

    an impairment of acquired goodwill and other intangible assets in future periods would result in a charge to earnings in the period in which the write-down occurs;

 

    the internal control environment of an acquired entity may not be consistent with our standards and may require significant time and resources to improve;

 

    in the case of foreign acquisitions, the need to integrate operations across different cultures and languages and to address the particular economic, currency, political and regulatory risks associated with specific countries; and

 

    liability for activities of the acquired companies before the acquisition, including violations of laws, rules and regulations, commercial disputes, tax liabilities and other known and unknown liabilities.

In addition, if we issue equity securities as consideration in an acquisition, as we did for our acquisitions of Griptonite, Blammo and GameSpy, our current stockholders’ percentage ownership and earnings per share would be diluted. For example, our Blammo acquisition agreement provides that the former Blammo shareholders may earn up to 3,312,937 shares of our common stock if Blammo achieves certain net revenue targets during the years ending March 31, 2013, March 31, 2014 and March 31, 2015; Blammo earned 742,036 shares of a possible 909,091 shares for the year ended March 31, 2013. Because acquisitions are inherently risky, our transactions may not be successful and may, in some cases, harm our operating results or financial condition.

We rely on a combination of our own servers and third party infrastructure to operate our games. If we experience any system or network failures, cyber attacks or any other interruption to our games, it could reduce our sales, increase costs or result in a loss of revenues or end users of our games.

We rely on Digital Storefronts and other third-party networks to deliver games to our customers and on their or other third parties’ billing systems to track and account for our game downloads. We also rely on our own servers and third-party infrastructure to operate our connected games, and our reliance on such third-party infrastructure will increase as we transition to becoming a games-as-a-service company. In particular, a significant portion of our game traffic is hosted by Amazon Web Services, which service provides server redundancy and uses multiple locations on various distinct power grids. Amazon may terminate its agreement with us upon 30 days’ notice. Amazon experienced a power outage during the second quarter of 2012, which affected the playability of our games for approximately one day. While this particular event did not adversely impact our business, a similar outage of a longer duration could. In addition, we use, or plan to use, GameSpy’s services and equipment for many of our games, which is subject to a transitional data center services agreement between us and IGN, GameSpy’s former parent corporation, that terminates on August 2, 2014, unless we (or, under certain circumstances, IGN) earlier terminate the agreement. Any technical problem with, cyber attack on, or loss of access to these third parties’ or our systems, servers or other technologies could result in the inability of end users to download or play our games, prevent the completion of billing for a game or result in the loss of users’ virtual currency or other in-app purchases, interfere with access to some aspects of our games or result in the theft of end-user personal information. For example, some users of our Android-based games have experienced issues receiving the virtual currency that they purchased and paid for. In addition, if virtual assets are lost, or if users do not receive their purchased virtual currency, we may be required to issue refunds, we may receive negative publicity and game ratings, we may lose users of our games, and we may become subject to regulatory investigation or class action litigation, any of which would negatively affect our business. Any of these problems could harm our reputation or cause us to lose end users or revenues or incur substantial repair costs and distract management from operating our business.

 

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Changes in foreign exchange rates and limitations on the convertibility of foreign currencies could adversely affect our business and operating results.

We currently transact business in more than 70 countries in more than 20 different currencies, with Pounds Sterling and Euros being the primary international currencies in which we transact business. Conducting business in currencies other than U.S. Dollars subjects us to fluctuations in currency exchange rates that could have a negative impact on our reported operating results. We experienced significant fluctuations in currency exchange rates in 2011 and 2012, and expect to experience continued significant fluctuations in the future. We incur expenses for employee compensation and other operating expenses at our non-U.S. locations in the local currency, and an increasing percentage of our international revenue is from customers who pay us in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Fluctuations in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and those other currencies could result in the dollar equivalent of these expenses being higher and/or the dollar equivalent of the foreign-denominated revenue being lower than would be the case if exchange rates were stable. This could have a negative impact on our operating results. To date, we have not engaged in exchange rate hedging activities, and we do not expect to do so in the foreseeable future.

We face additional risk if a currency is not freely or actively traded. Some currencies, such as the Chinese Renminbi in which our Chinese operations principally transact business, are subject to limitations on conversion into other currencies, which can limit our ability to react to rapid foreign currency devaluations and to repatriate funds to the United States should we require additional working capital.

We face added business, political, regulatory, operational, financial and economic risks as a result of our international operations and distribution, any of which could increase our costs and adversely affect our operating results.

International sales represented approximately 46.6% (restated) and 50.3% (restated) of our revenues in 2012 and 2011, respectively. To target international markets, we develop games that are customized for consumers in those markets. We have international offices located in a number of foreign countries including Canada, China, India and Russia. We expect to maintain our international presence, and we expect international sales will continue to be an important component of our revenues, particularly in APAC markets. Risks affecting our international operations include:

 

    our ability to develop games that appeal to the tastes and preferences of consumers in international markets;

 

    difficulties developing, staffing, and simultaneously managing a large number of varying foreign operations as a result of distance, language, and cultural differences;

 

    multiple and conflicting laws and regulations, including complications due to unexpected changes in these laws and regulations;

 

    our ability to develop, customize and localize games that appeal to the tastes and preferences of consumers in international markets;

 

    competition from local game developers that have significant market share in certain foreign markets and a better understanding of local consumer preferences;

 

    potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and local laws prohibiting improper payments to government officials or representatives of commercial partners;

 

    regulations that could potentially affect the content of our products and their distribution, particularly in China;

 

    foreign exchange controls that might prevent us from repatriating income earned in countries outside the United States, particularly China;

 

    potential adverse foreign tax consequences, since due to our international operations, we must pay income tax in numerous foreign jurisdictions with complex and evolving tax laws;

 

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    political, economic and social instability;

 

    restrictions on the export or import of technology;

 

    trade and tariff restrictions and variations in tariffs, quotas, taxes and other market barriers; and

 

    difficulties in enforcing intellectual property rights in certain countries.

These risks could harm our international operations, which, in turn, could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

If we fail to deliver our games at the same time as new mobile devices are commercially introduced, our sales may suffer.

Our business depends, in part, on the commercial introduction of new mobile devices with enhanced features, including larger, higher resolution color screens, improved audio quality, and greater processing power, memory, battery life and storage. For example, the introduction of new and more powerful versions of Apple’s iPhone and iPad and devices based on Google’s Android operating system, have helped drive the growth of the mobile games market. In addition, consumers generally purchase the majority of content, such as our games, for a new device within a few months of purchasing it. We do not control the timing of these device launches. Some manufacturers give us access to their mobile devices prior to commercial release. If one or more major manufacturers were to stop providing us access to new device models prior to commercial release, we might be unable to introduce games that are compatible with the new device when the device is first commercially released, and we might be unable to make compatible games for a substantial period following the device release. If we do not adequately build into our title plan the demand for games for a particular mobile device or experience game launch delays, we miss the opportunity to sell games when new mobile devices are shipped or our end users upgrade to a new mobile device, our revenues would likely decline and our business, operating results and financial condition would likely suffer.

Our business and growth may suffer if we are unable to hire and retain key personnel.

Our future success will depend, to a significant extent, on our ability to retain and motivate our key personnel, namely our management team, particularly Niccolo de Masi, our President and Chief Executive Officer, as well as experienced game development personnel who may experience uncertainty due to the restructurings we implemented in the fourth quarter of 2012 and first half of 2013, in which we eliminated, in the aggregate, more than 100 positions in our Kirkland, Sao Paolo and San Francisco studios. In addition, to grow our business, execute on our business strategy and replace departing employees, we must identify, hire and retain qualified personnel, particularly additional monetization, live operations, server technology, user experience and product management personnel to support our transition to becoming a games-as-a-service company. Competition for qualified management, game development and other staff can be intense. Attracting and retaining qualified personnel may be particularly difficult for us if our stock price remains relatively depressed, since individuals may elect to seek employment with other companies that they believe have better long-term prospects. Competitors have in the past and may in the future attempt to recruit our employees, and our management and key employees are not bound by agreements that could prevent them from terminating their employment at any time. In addition, we do not maintain a key-person life insurance policy on any of our officers. Our business and growth may suffer if we are unable to hire and retain key personnel.

Our business is subject to increasing governmental regulation. If we do not successfully respond to these regulations, our business may suffer.

We are subject to a number of domestic and foreign laws and regulations that affect our business. Not only are these laws constantly evolving, which could result in their being interpreted in ways that could harm our business, but legislation is also continually being introduced that may affect both the content of our products and their distribution. In the United States, for example, numerous federal and state laws have been introduced which

 

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attempt to restrict the content or distribution of games. Legislation has been adopted in several states, and proposed at the federal level, that prohibits the sale of certain games to minors. If such legislation is adopted, it could harm our business by limiting the games we are able to offer to our customers or by limiting the size of the potential market for our games. We may also be required to modify certain games or alter our marketing strategies to comply with new and possibly inconsistent regulations, which could be costly or delay the release of our games. The Federal Trade Commission has also indicated that it intends to review issues related to in-app purchases, particularly with respect to games that are marketed primarily to minors. If the Federal Trade Commission issues rules significantly restricting or even prohibiting in-app purchases, it would significantly impact our business strategy. In addition, two self-regulatory bodies in the United States (the Entertainment Software Rating Board) and the European Union (Pan European Game Information) provide consumers with rating information on various products such as entertainment software similar to our products based on the content (for example, violence, sexually explicit content, language). Furthermore, the Chinese government has adopted measures designed to eliminate violent or obscene content in games. In response to these measures, some Chinese telecommunications operators have suspended billing their customers for certain mobile gaming platform services, including those services that do not contain offensive or unauthorized content, which could negatively impact our revenues in China. Any one or more of these factors could harm our business by limiting the products we are able to offer to our customers, by limiting the size of the potential market for our products, or by requiring costly additional differentiation between products for different territories to address varying regulations.

Furthermore, the growth and development of free-to-play gaming and the sale of virtual goods may prompt calls for more stringent consumer protection laws that may impose additional burdens on companies such as ours. We anticipate that scrutiny and regulation of our industry will increase and that we will be required to devote legal and other resources to addressing such regulation. For example, existing laws or new laws regarding the regulation of currency and banking institutions may be interpreted to cover virtual currency or goods. If that were to occur we may be required to seek licenses, authorizations or approvals from relevant regulators, the granting of which may depend on us meeting certain capital and other requirements and we may be subject to additional regulation and oversight, all of which could significantly increase our operating costs. Changes in current laws or regulations or the imposition of new laws and regulations in the United States or elsewhere regarding these activities may dampen the growth of free-to-play gaming and impair our business.

We sometimes offer our players various types of sweepstakes, giveaways and promotional opportunities, and in October 2012, we entered into a strategic relationship with Probability PLC to offer a suite of Glu-branded mobile slot games in the United Kingdom and Italy, two of which are currently offered in the United Kingdom. We intend to continue to explore opportunities with respect to real money gambling. We are subject to laws in a number of jurisdictions concerning the operation and offering of such activities and games, many of which are still evolving and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business. Any court ruling or other governmental action that imposes liability on providers of online services could result in criminal or civil liability and could harm our business.

In addition, because our services are available worldwide, certain foreign jurisdictions and others may claim that we are required to comply with their laws, including in jurisdictions where we have no local entity, employees or infrastructure.

The laws and regulations concerning data privacy and data security are continually evolving, and our actual or perceived failure to comply with these laws and regulations could harm our business.

We are subject to federal, state and foreign laws regarding privacy and the protection of the information that we collect regarding our users, which laws are currently in a state of flux and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. The U.S. government, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce, is continuing to review the need for greater regulation over collecting information concerning consumer behavior on the Internet and on mobile devices. For example, in December 2012, the Federal Trade

 

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Commission adopted amendments to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act to strengthen privacy protections for children under age 13, which amendments became effective on July 1, 2013. In addition, the European Union has proposed reforms to its existing data protection legal framework. Various government and consumer agencies have also called for new regulation and changes in industry practices. For example, in February 2012, the California Attorney General announced a deal with Amazon, Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Research in Motion to strengthen privacy protection for users that download third-party apps to smartphones and tablet devices. In response to developments in the interpretation and understanding of regulations such as these and guidance and inquiries from the California Attorney General, we released updates to our My Dragon and Deer Hunter Reloaded games and made changes to our games in development to make our privacy policy readily accessible to players of these games as required by the California Online Privacy Protection Act. If we do not follow existing laws and regulations, as well as the rules of the smartphone platform operators, with respect to privacy-related matters, or if consumers raise any concerns about our privacy practices, even if unfounded, it could damage our reputation and operating results.

All of our games are subject to our privacy policy and our terms of service located on our corporate website. If we fail to comply with our posted privacy policy, terms of service or privacy-related laws and regulations, including with respect to the information we collect from users of our games, it could result in proceedings against us by governmental authorities or others, which could harm our business. In addition, interpreting and applying data protection laws to the mobile gaming industry is often unclear. These laws may be interpreted and applied in conflicting ways from state to state, country to country, or region to region, and in a manner that is not consistent with our current data protection practices. Complying with these varying requirements could cause us to incur additional costs and change our business practices. Further, if we fail to adequately protect our users’ privacy and data, it could result in a loss of player confidence in our services and ultimately in a loss of users, which could adversely affect our business.

In the area of information security and data protection, many states have passed laws requiring notification to users when there is a security breach for personal data, such as the 2002 amendment to California’s Information Practices Act, or requiring the adoption of minimum information security standards that are often vaguely defined and difficult to implement. Costs to comply with these laws may increase as a result of changes in interpretation. Furthermore, any failure on our part to comply with these laws may subject us to significant liabilities.

Our facilities are located near known earthquake fault zones, and the occurrence of an earthquake or other natural disaster could damage our facilities and equipment, which could require us to curtail or cease operations.

Our principal offices are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, an area known for earthquakes. We are also vulnerable to damage from other types of disasters, including power loss, fires, explosions, floods, communications failures, terrorist attacks and similar events. If any natural or other disaster were to occur, our ability to operate our business at our facilities could be impaired.

If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property rights, it may be possible for third parties to obtain and improperly use our intellectual property and our business and operating results may be harmed.

Our intellectual property is essential to our business. We rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, trade secret and other intellectual property laws and contractual restrictions on disclosure to protect our intellectual property rights. To date, we have not sought patent protection, so, we will not be able to protect our technologies from independent invention by third parties. Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or otherwise to obtain and use our technology and games, and some parties have distributed “jail broken” versions of our games where all of the content has been unlocked and made available for free. Further, some of our competitors have released games that are nearly identical to successful games released by their competitors in an effort to confuse the market and divert users from the

 

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competitor’s game to the copycat game. To the extent that these tactics are employed with respect to any of our games, it could reduce our revenues that we generate from these games. Monitoring unauthorized use of our games is difficult and costly, and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent piracy and other unauthorized distribution and use of our technology and games, particularly in certain international jurisdictions, such as China, where the laws may not protect our intellectual property rights as fully as in the United States. In the future, we may have to litigate to enforce our intellectual property rights, which could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and our resources.

In addition, although we require our third-party developers to sign agreements not to disclose or improperly use our trade secrets and acknowledging that all inventions, trade secrets, works of authorship, developments and other processes generated by them on our behalf are our property and to assign to us any ownership they may have in those works, it may still be possible for third parties to obtain and improperly use our intellectual properties without our consent. This could harm our brand, business, operating results and financial condition.

We may become involved in intellectual property disputes, which may disrupt our business and require us to pay significant damage awards.

Third parties may sue us for intellectual property infringement, or initiate proceedings to invalidate our intellectual property, which, if successful, could disrupt our business, cause us to pay significant damage awards or require us to pay licensing fees. For example, on April 16, 2013, Lodsys Group, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (“Lodsys”), filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging that we have been infringing two of Lodsys’ patents, and is seeking unspecified damages, including treble damages for willful infringement, interest, attorneys’ fees and such other costs as the Court may deem just and proper. In the event of a successful claim against us, we might be enjoined from using our intellectual property or licensed intellectual property that we use in our business, we might incur significant licensing fees and we might be forced to develop alternative technologies. If we fail or are unable to develop non-infringing technology or games or to license the infringed or similar technology or games on a timely basis, we may be forced to withdraw games from the market or prevented from introducing new games. We might also incur substantial expenses in defending against third-party claims, regardless of their merit.

In addition, we use open source software in some of our games and expect to continue to use open source software in the future. We may face claims from companies that incorporate open source software into their products, claiming ownership of, or demanding release of, the source code, the open source software and/or derivative works that were developed using such software, or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open source license. These claims could also result in litigation, require us to purchase a costly license or require us to devote additional research and development resources to change our games, any of which would have a negative effect on our business and operating results.

We may become a party to litigation and regulatory inquiries, which could result in an unfavorable outcome and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows.

We may become subject to various legal proceedings, claims and regulatory inquiries that arise out of the ordinary conduct of our business and are not yet resolved and additional claims and inquiries may arise in the future. In addition, events may give occur that give rise to a potential risk of litigation, including for example, in connection with the recent restatement of our financial information. The number and significance of regulatory inquiries have increased as our business has evolved. Any proceedings, claims or inquiries initiated by or against us, whether successful or not, may be time consuming; result in costly litigation, damage awards, consent decrees, injunctive relief or increased costs of business, require us to change our business practices or products, require significant amounts of management time, result in diversion of significant operations resources or otherwise harm of business and future financial results.

 

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Unanticipated changes in our income tax rates or exposure to additional tax liabilities may affect our future financial results.

Our future effective income tax rates may be favorably or unfavorably affected by unanticipated changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, or by changes in tax laws or their interpretation. Determining our worldwide provision for income taxes requires significant judgments. The estimation process and applicable laws are inherently uncertain, and our estimates are not binding on tax authorities. Our effective tax rate could also be adversely affected by a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Recent and contemplated changes to U.S. tax laws, including limitations on a taxpayer’s ability to claim and utilize foreign tax credits and defer certain tax deductions until earnings outside of the U.S. are repatriated to the U.S., could impact the tax treatment of our foreign earnings. In addition, we are subject to the continuous examination of our income tax returns by the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine whether or not our provision for income taxes is adequate. These continuous examinations may result in unforeseen tax-related liabilities, which may harm our future financial results.

We must charge, collect and/or pay taxes other than income taxes, such as payroll, value-added, sales and use, net worth, property and goods and services taxes, in both the U.S. and foreign jurisdiction. If tax authorities assert that we have taxable nexus in a jurisdiction, they may seek to impose past as well as future tax liability and/or penalties. Any such impositions could also cause significant administrative burdens and decrease our future sales. Moreover, state and federal legislatures have been considering various initiatives that could change our tax position regarding sales and use taxes.

Finally, as we change our international operations, adopt new products and new distribution models, implement changes to our operating structure or undertake intercompany transactions in light of changing tax laws, our tax expense could increase.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock and This Offering

Our stock price has fluctuated and declined significantly since our initial public offering in March 2007, and may continue to fluctuate, may not rise and may decline further.

The trading price of our common stock has fluctuated in the past and is expected to continue to fluctuate in the future, as a result of a number of factors, many of which are outside our control, such as changes in the operating performance and stock market valuations of other technology companies generally, or those in our industry in particular, such as Electronic Arts and Zynga.

In addition, the NASDAQ Global Market on which our common stock is listed has recently and in the past experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market prices of many companies, some of which appear to be unrelated or disproportionate to their operating performance. These broad market fluctuations could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. Securities class action litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources.

Investors in this offering will pay a much higher price than the book value of our stock.

If you purchase shares of our common stock in this offering, you will incur immediate and substantial dilution of $1.78 per share, representing the difference between the amount per share paid by you in this offering and the net tangible book value per share of our common stock after giving effect to this offering at a public offering price of $2.10 per share and after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses payable by us. In the past, we issued certain stock options and warrants to purchase common stock at prices below the offering price. To the extent these outstanding stock options and warrants are ultimately exercised, you

 

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will incur further dilution. See the section entitled “Dilution” in this prospectus for a discussion of the dilution you will incur if you purchase shares of our common stock in this offering.

We have a large number of authorized but unissued shares of stock, which could negatively impact a potential investor if they purchased our common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation provides for 250,000,000 shares of authorized common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, approximately 180,000,000 of which were available for future issuance as of June 30, 2013, and 5,000,000 shares of authorized preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, all of which are available for future issuance. The issuance of additional shares of common stock may have a dilutive effect on earnings per share and relative voting power. We could use the shares of common stock that are available for future issuance in dilutive equity financing transactions, or to oppose a hostile takeover attempt or delay or prevent changes in control or changes in or removal of management, including transactions that are favored by a majority of the stockholders or in which the stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares over then-current market prices or benefit in some other manner.

Our board of directors will be authorized, without further stockholder approval, to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock with such rights, preferences and privileges as our board may determine. These rights, preferences and privileges may include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights and liquidation rights that may be greater than the rights of our common stock. As a result, the rights of holders of our common stock will be subject to, and could be adversely affected by, the rights of holders of any preferred stock that may be issued in the future.

If securities or industry analysts publish research or reports about our business, or if they change their recommendations regarding our stock, the price of our stock and trading volume could decline.

Currently, the trading market for our common stock is not widely covered by research reports and opinions that securities or industry analysts publish. However, if more analysts begin to cover us, the trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research reports and opinions that are published about our business. Investors have numerous investment opportunities and may limit their investments to publicly traded companies that receive thorough research coverage. If more analysts begin to cover us and fail to publish reports in a regular manner, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause a significant and prolonged decline in our stock price due to lack of investor awareness. Furthermore, if one or more analysts downgrade our stock or comment negatively about our prospects or the prospects of other companies operating in our industry, our stock price could decline significantly.

Future sales of our common stock could adversely affect the market price and our future capital-raising activities could involve the issuance of equity securities, which would dilute your investment and could result in a decline in the trading price of our common stock.

We may sell securities in the public or private equity markets if and when conditions are favorable, even if we do not have an immediate need for additional capital at that time. Sales of substantial amounts of common stock, or the perception that such sales could occur, could adversely affect the prevailing market price of shares of our common stock and our ability to raise capital. We may issue additional shares of common stock in future financing transactions or as incentive compensation for our executive management and other key personnel, consultants and advisors. Issuing any equity securities would be dilutive to the equity interests represented by our then-outstanding shares of common stock. The market price for our common stock could decrease as the market takes into account the dilutive effect of any of these issuances.

 

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We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds we receive from this offering and may not use them effectively.

We cannot specify with certainty the particular uses of the net proceeds we will receive from this offering. We will have broad discretion in the application of these net proceeds, including for any of the purposes described in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.” Accordingly, you will have to rely upon our judgment with respect to the use of these net proceeds, with only limited information concerning our specific intentions. We may spend a portion or all of the net proceeds we will receive from this offering in ways that our stockholders may not desire or that may not yield a favorable return. Our failure to apply these funds effectively could harm our business. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds we will receive from this offering in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value.

We do not expect to pay any dividends for the foreseeable future. Our stockholders may never obtain a return on their investment.

We have never declared or paid dividends on our common stock, and we do not expect to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Instead, we anticipate that all of our earnings, if any, in the foreseeable future will be used to finance the operation and growth of our business. Any future determination to pay dividends on our common stock is subject to the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon various factors, including, without limitation, our results of operations and financial condition.

Some provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may deter third parties from seeking to acquire us.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our company more difficult without the approval of our board of directors, including the following:

 

    our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors with staggered three-year terms;

 

    only our chairman of the board, our lead independent director, our chief executive officer, our president or a majority of our board of directors is authorized to call a special meeting of stockholders;

 

    our stockholders are able to take action only at a meeting of stockholders and not by written consent;

 

    only our board of directors and not our stockholders is able to fill vacancies on our board of directors;

 

    our certificate of incorporation authorizes undesignated preferred stock, the terms of which may be established and shares of which may be issued without stockholder approval; and

 

    advance notice procedures apply for stockholders to nominate candidates for election as directors or to bring matters before a meeting of stockholders.

 

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PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK

Our common stock has been listed on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “GLUU” since our initial public offering in March 2007. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low intra-day prices for our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Global Market. The closing price of our common stock on September 11, 2013 was $2.41.

 

     High      Low  

Year ended December 31, 2011

     

First quarter

   $ 5.08       $ 1.92   

Second quarter

   $ 5.75       $ 3.17   

Third quarter

   $ 6.10       $ 2.05   

Fourth quarter

   $ 3.81       $ 1.80   

Year ended December 31, 2012

     

First quarter

   $ 5.18       $ 2.67   

Second quarter

   $ 5.65       $ 3.85   

Third quarter

   $ 5.90       $ 4.19   

Fourth quarter

   $ 4.74       $ 1.99   

Year ended December 31, 2013

     

First quarter

   $ 3.86       $ 2.00   

Second quarter

   $ 3.25       $ 2.10   

Third quarter (through September 11, 2013)

   $ 2.91       $ 2.15   

As of June 30, 2013, we had approximately 62 record holders of our common stock and thousands of additional beneficial holders.

DIVIDEND POLICY

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not currently intend to pay any cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. We expect to retain future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. Any future determination to pay dividends on our common stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon, among other factors, our financial condition, operating results, current and anticipated cash needs, plans for expansion and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We expect the net proceeds to us from this offering to be approximately $12.1 million, or $14.0 million if the underwriters fully exercise their over-allotment option, based on a public offering price of $2.10 per share, after deducting the underwriting discounts and other estimated offering expenses payable by us.

We currently intend to use the proceeds for working capital and other general corporate purposes, which may include growing our publishing business, further investing in our GluOn games-as-a-service technology platform, and the acquisition of, or investment in, companies, technologies, products or assets that complement our business. However, we have no present understandings, commitments or agreements to enter into any material acquisitions or make any investments. Assuming the underwriters fully exercise their over-allotment option, we anticipate growing second-party publishing from no games in 2013 to between two and four games in 2014 and growing third-party publishing from a total of eight games in 2013 to between 16 and 20 games in 2014, such that overall titles, including our own games as well as those from second- to third-party publishing, will expand from 22 games in 2013 to 30 to 36 games in 2014. We refer to a relationship in which we provide the developer with some or all of the funds to develop the game or games as second-party publishing, and we refer to a relationship in which we do not provide any development funding as third-party publishing.

We will retain broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from this offering, and we may not grow our publishing business or invest in our GluOn games-as-a-service technology platform as anticipated. We may invest the net proceeds in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities.

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our cash, cash equivalents and capitalization as of June 30, 2013:

 

    on an actual basis; and

 

    on an as adjusted basis to reflect the sale of 6,300,000 shares of common stock offered by us at a public offering price of $2.10 per share, after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option).

The information presented below is based on our unaudited financial statements as of June 30, 2013.

This capitalization table should be read in conjunction with the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 and incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement.

 

     June 30, 2013  
     Actual     As Adjusted  
     (In thousands, except
share data)
 

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 19,131      $ 31,267   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Current portion of long-term debt

     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Long-term liabilities

     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Stockholders’ equity:

    

Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share; 5,000,000 shares authorized at June 30, 2013, no shares issued or outstanding actual or as adjusted at June 30, 2013

     —          —     

Common stock, $0.0001 par value per share; 250,000,000 shares authorized at June 30, 2013, 70,297,681 shares issued and outstanding, actual, at June 30, 2013; 76,597,681 shares issued and outstanding, as adjusted, at June 30, 2013;

     7        8   

Additional paid-in capital

     280,640        292,775   

Accumulated other comprehensive income

     62        62   

Accumulated deficit

     (240,720     (240,720
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity

     39,989        52,125   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total capitalization

   $ 39,989      $ 52,125   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

In the table above, the number of shares outstanding as of June 30, 2013, does not include:

 

    1,035,000 shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants to purchase shares of our common stock as of June 30, 2013, with an exercise price of $1.50 per share;

 

    3,333,333 shares issuable upon the exercise of an outstanding warrant to purchase shares of our common stock that was issued after June 30, 2013, with an exercise price of $3.00 per share;

 

    10,719,791 shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding options to purchase shares of our common stock as of June 30, 2013, with a weighted average exercise price of $2.94 per share;

 

    1,000,800 shares issuable upon the vesting of outstanding restricted stock units as of June 30, 2013 that settle in shares of our common stock; and

 

    8,584,456 shares reserved for issuance under our 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, our 2008 Equity Inducement Plan and our 2007 Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of June 30, 2013. The number of shares reserved for issuance under our 2007 Employee Stock Purchase Plan will increase automatically on each of January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2015 by the number of shares equal to 1% of our total outstanding shares as of the immediately preceding December 31st.

 

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DILUTION

If you purchase our common stock in this offering, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per share and the net tangible book value per share of our common stock after this offering. We calculate net tangible book value per share by dividing the net tangible book value, tangible assets less total liabilities, by the number of outstanding shares of our common stock.

Our net tangible book value at June 30, 2013, was $12.7 million, or $0.18 per share, based on 70,297,681 shares of our common stock outstanding as of that date. After giving effect to the sale of 6,300,000 shares of common stock by us at a public offering price of $2.10 per share, less the underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses, our net tangible book value as of June 30, 2013, would have been approximately $24.9 million, or $0.32 per share. This represents an immediate increase in the net tangible book value of approximately $0.14 per share to existing stockholders and an immediate dilution of $1.78 per share to investors in this offering. The following table illustrates this per share dilution:

 

Public offering price per share

      $ 2.10   

Net tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2013

   $ 0.18      

Increase in net tangible book value per share after this offering

     0.14      
  

 

 

    

As adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering

        0.32   
     

 

 

 

Dilution in as adjusted net tangible book value per share to new investors

      $ 1.78   
     

 

 

 

If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares of our common stock in this offering, the as adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering would be $0.34 per share, and the dilution in as adjusted net tangible book value per share to investors in this offering would be $1.76 per share.

The above discussion is based on 70,297,681 shares of common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2013, and does not include:

 

    1,035,000 shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants to purchase shares of our common stock as of June 30, 2013, with an exercise price of $1.50 per share;

 

    3,333,333 shares issuable upon the exercise of an outstanding warrant to purchase shares of our common stock that was issued after June 30, 2013, with an exercise price of $3.00 per share;

 

    10,719,791 shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding options to purchase shares of our common stock as of June 30, 2013, with a weighted average exercise price of $2.94 per share;

 

    1,000,800 shares issuable upon the vesting of outstanding restricted stock units as of June 30, 2013 that settle in shares of our common stock; and

 

    8,584,456 shares reserved for issuance under our 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, our 2008 Equity Inducement Plan and our 2007 Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of June 30, 2013. The number of shares reserved for issuance under our 2007 Employee Stock Purchase Plan will increase automatically on each of January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2015 by the number of shares equal to 1% of our total outstanding shares as of the immediately preceding December 31st.

To the extent that outstanding warrants and options are exercised, you will experience further dilution. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. If we raise that additional capital by selling equity or debt securities convertible into equity, then the issuance of any such securities could result in further dilution to our stockholders.

 

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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS FOR NON-U.S. HOLDERS OF COMMON STOCK

This section summarizes the material U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our common stock by “non-U.S. holders” (as defined below) pursuant to this offering. This summary does not provide a complete analysis of all potential U.S. federal income tax considerations. The information provided is based upon provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, Treasury regulations promulgated under the Code, administrative rulings, and judicial decisions currently in effect. These authorities may change at any time, possibly retroactively, or the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, might interpret the existing authorities differently. In either case, the tax considerations of owning or disposing of our common stock could differ from those described. As a result, we cannot assure you that the tax consequences described in this discussion will not be challenged by the IRS or will be sustained by a court if challenged by the IRS.

This summary does not address the tax considerations arising under the laws of any non-U.S., state or local jurisdiction, or under U.S. federal gift and estate tax laws, except to the limited extent provided below. In addition, this discussion does not address tax considerations applicable to an investor’s particular circumstances or to investors that may be subject to special tax rules, including, without limitation:

 

    banks, insurance companies or other financial institutions;

 

    partnerships or entities or arrangements treated as partnerships or other pass-through entities for U.S. federal tax purposes (or investors in such entities);

 

    corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax;

 

    persons subject to the alternative minimum tax;

 

    tax-exempt organizations or tax-qualified retirement plans;

 

    real estate investment trusts or regulated investment companies;

 

    controlled foreign corporations or passive foreign investment companies;

 

    persons who acquired our common stock as compensation for services;

 

    dealers in securities or currencies;

 

    traders in securities that elect to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for their securities holdings;

 

    persons that own, or are deemed to own, more than 5% of our capital stock (except to the extent specifically set forth below);

 

    certain former citizens or long-term residents of the United States;

 

    persons who hold our common stock as a position in a hedging transaction, “straddle,” “conversion transaction” or other risk reduction transaction;

 

    persons who do not hold our common stock as a capital asset within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code (generally, for investment purposes); or

 

    persons deemed to sell our common stock under the constructive sale provisions of the Code.

INVESTORS CONSIDERING THE PURCHASE OF OUR COMMON STOCK SHOULD CONSULT THEIR OWN TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME AND ESTATE TAX LAWS TO THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATIONS AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF FOREIGN, STATE OR LOCAL LAWS, AND TAX TREATIES.

 

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Non-U.S. Holder Defined

For purposes of this summary, a “non-U.S. holder” is any holder of our common stock, other than a partnership, that is not:

 

    an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;

 

    a corporation, or other entity taxable as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes, created or organized under the laws of the United States, any state therein or the District of Columbia;

 

    a trust if it (i) is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and one of more U.S. persons have authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (ii) has a valid election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person; or

 

    an estate whose income is subject to U.S. income tax regardless of source.

If you are a non-U.S. citizen that is an individual, you may, in many cases, be deemed to be a resident alien, as opposed to a nonresident alien, by virtue of being present in the United States for at least 31 days in the calendar year and for an aggregate of at least 183 days during a three-year period ending in the current calendar year. For these purposes, all the days present in the current year, one-third of the days present in the immediately preceding year, and one-sixth of the days present in the second preceding year are counted. Resident aliens are subject to U.S. federal income tax as if they were U.S. citizens. Such an individual is urged to consult his or her own tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the ownership or disposition of our common stock.

Dividends

We do not expect to declare or make any distributions on our common stock in the foreseeable future. If we do pay dividends on shares of our common stock, however, such distributions will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits will constitute a return of capital that is applied against and reduces, but not below zero, a non-U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in shares of our common stock. Any remaining excess will be treated as gain realized on the sale or other disposition of our common stock. See “Sale of Common Stock” below.

Any dividend paid to a non-U.S. holder on our common stock that is not effectively connected with a non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States will generally be subject to U.S. withholding tax at a 30% rate. The withholding tax might not apply, however, or might apply at a reduced rate, under the terms of an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and the non-U.S. holder’s country of residence. You should consult your tax advisors regarding your entitlement to benefits under a relevant income tax treaty. Generally, in order for us or our paying agent to withhold tax at a lower treaty rate, a non-U.S. holder must certify its entitlement to treaty benefits. A non-U.S. holder generally can meet this certification requirement by providing a Form W-8BEN (or any successor form) or appropriate substitute form to us or our paying agent. If the non-U.S. holder holds the stock through a financial institution or other agent acting on the holder’s behalf, the holder will be required to provide appropriate documentation to the agent. The holder’s agent will then be required to provide certification to us or our paying agent, either directly or through other intermediaries. For payments made to a partnership or other pass-through entity, the certification requirements generally apply to the partners or other owners rather than to the partnership or other entity, and the partnership or other entity must provide the partners’ or other owners’ documentation to us or our paying agent. If you are eligible for a reduced rate of U.S. federal withholding tax under an income tax treaty, you may obtain a refund or credit of any excess amounts withheld by filing an appropriate claim for a refund with the IRS in a timely manner.

Dividends received by a non-U.S. holder that are effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business conducted by the non-U.S. holder, and if required by an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and the non-U.S. holder’s country of residence, are attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the

 

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non-U.S. holder in the United States, are not subject to United States withholding tax. To obtain this exemption, a non-U.S. holder must provide us or our paying agent with an IRS Form W-8ECI properly certifying such exemption. Such effectively connected dividends, although not subject to withholding tax, are taxed at the same graduated rates applicable to U.S. persons, net of certain deductions and credits. In addition to being taxed at graduated tax rates, dividends received by corporate non-U.S. holders that are effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the corporate non-U.S. holder may also be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable tax treaty.

Sale of Common Stock

Subject to the discussion below regarding the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, non-U.S. holders will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gains realized on the sale, exchange or other disposition of our common stock unless:

 

    the gain (i) is effectively connected with the conduct by the non-U.S. holder of a U.S. trade or business and (ii) if required by an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and the non-U.S. holder’s country of residence, is attributable to a permanent establishment (or, in certain cases involving individual holders, a fixed base) maintained by the non-U.S. holder in the United States (in which case the special rules described below apply);

 

    the non-U.S. holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of the sale, exchange or other disposition of our common stock, and certain other requirements are met (in which case the gain would be subject to a flat 30% tax, or such reduced rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty, which may be offset by U.S. source capital losses, even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States); or

 

    the rules of the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) treat the gain as effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business.

The FIRPTA rules may apply to a sale, exchange or other disposition of our common stock if we are, or were within the shorter of the five-year period preceding the disposition and the non-U.S. holder’s holding period, a “U.S. real property holding corporation,” or USRPHC. In general, we would be a USRPHC if interests in U.S. real estate comprised at least half of the value of our business assets. We do not believe that we are a USRPHC and we do not anticipate becoming one in the future. Even if we become a USRPHC, as long as our common stock is regularly traded on an established securities market, such common stock will be treated as U.S. real property interests only if beneficially owned by a non-U.S. holder that actually or constructively owned more than 5% of our outstanding common stock at some time within the five-year period preceding the disposition.

If any gain from the sale, exchange or other disposition of our common stock, (i) is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business conducted by a non-U.S. holder and (ii) if required by an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and the non-U.S. holder’s country of residence, is attributable to a permanent establishment (or, in certain cases involving individuals, a fixed base) maintained by such non-U.S. holder in the United States, then the gain generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the same graduated rates applicable to U.S. persons, net of certain deductions and credits. If the non-U.S. holder is a corporation, under certain circumstances, that portion of its earnings and profits that is effectively connected with its U.S. trade or business, subject to certain adjustments, generally would be subject also to a “branch profits tax.” The branch profits tax rate is 30%, although an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and the non-U.S. holder’s country of residence might provide for a lower rate.

U.S. Federal Estate Tax

The estates of nonresident alien individuals generally are subject to U.S. federal estate tax on property with a U.S. situs. Because we are a U.S. corporation, our common stock will be U.S. situs property and therefore will

 

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be included in the taxable estate of a nonresident alien decedent, unless an applicable estate tax treaty between the United States and the decedent’s country of residence provides otherwise.

Backup Withholding and Information Reporting

The Code and the Treasury regulations require those who make specified payments to report the payments to the IRS. Among the specified payments are dividends and proceeds paid by brokers to their customers. The required information returns enable the IRS to determine whether the recipient properly included the payments in income. This reporting regime is reinforced by “backup withholding” rules. These rules require the payors to withhold tax from payments subject to information reporting if the recipient fails to cooperate with the reporting regime by failing to provide his taxpayer identification number to the payor, furnishing an incorrect identification number, or failing to report interest or dividends on his returns. The backup withholding tax rate is currently 28%. The backup withholding rules do not apply to payments to corporations, whether domestic or foreign, provided they establish such exemption.

Payments to non-U.S. holders of dividends on common stock generally will not be subject to backup withholding, and payments of proceeds made to non-U.S. holders by a broker upon a sale of common stock will not be subject to information reporting or backup withholding, in each case so long as the non-U.S. holder certifies its nonresident status (and we or our paying agent do not have actual knowledge or reason to know the holder is a U.S. person or that the conditions of any other exemption are not, in fact, satisfied) or otherwise establishes an exemption. The certification procedures to claim treaty benefits described under “Dividends” will generally satisfy the certification requirements necessary to avoid the backup withholding tax. We must report annually to the IRS any dividends paid to each non-U.S. holder and the tax withheld, if any, with respect to these dividends. Copies of these reports may be made available to tax authorities in the country where the non-U.S. holder resides.

Under the Treasury regulations, the payment of proceeds from the disposition of shares of our common stock by a non-U.S. holder made to or through a U.S. office of a broker generally will be subject to information reporting and backup withholding unless the beneficial owner certifies, under penalties of perjury, among other things, its status as a non-U.S. holder (and the broker does not have actual knowledge or reason to know the holder is a U.S. person) or otherwise establishes an exemption. The payment of proceeds from the disposition of shares of our common stock by a non-U.S. holder made to or through a non-U.S. office of a broker generally will not be subject to backup withholding and information reporting, except as noted below. Information reporting, but not backup withholding, will apply to a payment of proceeds, even if that payment is made outside of the United States, if you sell our common stock through a non-U.S. office of a broker that is:

 

    a U.S. person (including a foreign branch or office of such person);

 

    a “controlled foreign corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

 

    a foreign person 50% or more of whose gross income from certain periods is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business; or

 

    a foreign partnership if at any time during its tax year (a) one or more of its partners are U.S. persons who, in the aggregate, hold more than 50% of the income or capital interests of the partnership or (b) the foreign partnership is engaged in a U.S. trade or business;

unless the broker has documentary evidence that the beneficial owner is a non-U.S. holder and certain other conditions are satisfied, or the beneficial owner otherwise establishes an exemption (and the broker has no actual knowledge or reason to know to the contrary).

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld from a payment to a holder of common stock under the backup withholding rules can be credited against any U.S. federal income tax liability of the holder and may entitle the holder to a refund, provided that the required information is furnished to the IRS in a timely manner.

 

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Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, will impose a U.S. federal withholding tax of 30% on certain “withholdable payments” (including U.S. source dividends and the gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of U.S. stock) to foreign financial institutions and other non-U.S. entities that fail to comply with certain certification and information reporting requirements. The obligation to withhold under FATCA is currently expected to apply to, among other items, (i) dividends on our common stock that are paid after June 30, 2014 and (ii) gross proceeds from the disposition of our common stock occurring after December 31, 2016.

THE PRECEDING DISCUSSION OF U.S. FEDERAL TAX CONSIDERATIONS IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY. IT IS NOT TAX ADVICE. EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR SHOULD CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE PARTICULAR U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND FOREIGN TAX CONSEQUENCES OF PURCHASING, HOLDING AND DISPOSING OF OUR COMMON STOCK, INCLUDING THE CONSEQUENCES OF ANY PROPOSED CHANGE IN APPLICABLE LAWS.

 

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UNDERWRITING

We and the underwriters named below have entered into an underwriting agreement with respect to the shares being offered. Subject to certain conditions, each underwriter has severally agreed to purchase the number of shares indicated in the following table.

 

Underwriters

   Number of Shares  

Canaccord Genuity Inc.

     4,410,000   

Needham & Company, LLC

     1,260,000   

Roth Capital Partners, LLC

     630,000   
  

 

 

 

Total

     6,300,000   
  

 

 

 

The underwriters are committed to take and pay for all of the shares being offered, if any are taken, other than the shares covered by the option described below unless and until this option is exercised.

If the underwriters sell more shares than the total number set forth in the table above, the underwriters have an option to buy up to an additional 945,000 shares of our common stock from us to cover such sales. The underwriters have 30 days from the date of this prospectus to exercise this option. If any shares are purchased pursuant to this option, the underwriters will severally purchase shares in approximately the same proportion as set forth in the table above.

The following table shows the per share and total public offering price, underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid to the underwriters by us, and proceeds, before expenses, assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase 945,000 additional shares.

 

            Total  
     Per
Share
     Without
Overallotment
Exercise
     With
Overallotment
Exercise
 

Public offering price

   $ 2.10       $ 13,230,000       $ 15,214,500   

Underwriting discount paid by us

     0.126         793,800         912,870   

Proceeds, before expenses, to us

     1.974         12,436,200         14,301,630   

Shares sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. Any shares sold by the underwriters to securities dealers may be sold at a discount of up to $0.0756 per share from the public offering price. If all the shares are not sold at the public offering price, the representatives may change the offering price and the other selling terms.

We and all of our executive officers and directors have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain limited exceptions, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise dispose of any shares of our common stock, or any options or warrants to purchase any shares of our common stock, or any securities convertible into, exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive shares of our common stock during the period from the date of this prospectus continuing through the date 90 days after the date of this prospectus, except with the prior written consent of Canaccord Genuity Inc.

This agreement does not apply to:

 

    the conversion of any equity security into our common stock;

 

   

the establishment or modification of any contract, instruction or plan that satisfies all of the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c)(1)(i)(B) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act; provided that no sales shall be made pursuant to any such plan prior to the expiration of the 90-day restricted period, and any such plan may only be established or modified if no public announcement of the establishment, modification or existence thereof and no filing with the SEC or

 

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other regulatory authority in respect thereof or transactions thereunder or contemplated thereby, by the executive officer, director, us or any other person, shall be required, and no such announcement or filing is made voluntarily, by the executive officer, director, us or any other person, prior to the expiration of the 90-day restricted period;

 

    sales and transfers of shares of common stock to the underwriters pursuant to the underwriting agreement, if applicable;

 

    transfers as a bona fide gift or gifts, or by will or intestacy, provided that the transferee or transferees thereof agree to be bound by the restrictions set forth above;

 

    transfers to any immediate family member or any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the executive officer or director or any immediate family member of the executive officer or director, provided that the transferee or the trustee of the trust, as applicable, agrees to be bound by the restrictions set forth above, and provided further that any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value;

 

    transfers pursuant to a bona fide third party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction made to all holders of our common stock involving a change of control of the company, provided that in the event that the tender offer, merger, consolidation or other such transaction is not completed, our common stock owned by the executive officer or director shall remain subject to the restrictions set forth above;

 

    transfers pursuant to a contract, instruction or plan that satisfies all of the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c)(1)(i)(B) under the Exchange Act, existing on the date of this prospectus supplement and which has been provided to Canaccord Genuity Inc.;

 

    transfers by operation of law, such as pursuant to a domestic order or in connection with a divorce settlement, provided that the transferee agrees to be bound by the restrictions set forth above;

 

    the issuance of shares of our common stock pursuant to the exercise of warrants or options, the vesting of restricted stock units, or the conversion of notes, in each case pursuant to contractual obligations existing on the date of this prospectus supplement or existing equity incentive plans;

 

    the grant of options, restricted stock, restricted stock units and other equity-based incentive awards pursuant to our existing benefit plans; and

 

    the sale or issuance of or entry into an agreement to sell or issue shares of our common stock, or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our common stock, in connection with mergers, acquisitions of securities, businesses, property, technologies or other assets, joint ventures, commercial relationships or strategic transactions, provided that the aggregate number of shares of our common stock (on an as-converted or as-exercised basis, as the case may be) that we may sell or issue or agree to sell or issue pursuant to this clause shall not exceed 10% of the total number of shares of our common stock issued and outstanding immediately following the completion of transactions contemplated by the underwriting agreement (determined on a fully-diluted basis and as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends and other similar events after the date of this prospectus supplement).

The 90-day restricted period described in the preceding paragraph will be automatically extended if: (1) during the last 17 days of the 90-day restricted period we issue an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to us occurs; or (2) prior to the expiration of the 90-day restricted period, we announce that we will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the 90-day restricted period. In either case, the restrictions described in the preceding paragraph will continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event.

In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell shares of common stock in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, stabilizing transactions and purchases to cover positions created by short sales. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of shares than they are

 

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required to purchase in the offering. “Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares from us in the offering. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their option to purchase additional shares or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase additional shares pursuant to the option granted to them. “Naked” short sales are any sales in excess of such option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of common stock made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the consummation of the offering.

The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased shares sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.

Purchases to cover a short position and stabilizing transactions, as well as other purchases by the underwriters for their own accounts, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our common stock, and together with the imposition of the penalty bid, may stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of our common stock. As a result, the price of our common stock may be higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market. If these activities are commenced, they may be discontinued at any time. These transactions may be effected on the Nasdaq Global Market, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.

We have agreed to reimburse Canaccord Genuity Inc. for all reasonable and documented fees and expenses of the underwriters’ legal counsel, and for all other reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the offering, up to an aggregate not to exceed $75,000. We estimate that our share of the total expenses of the offering, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, and including the reimbursement mentioned above, will be approximately $300,000.

We have agreed to indemnify the several underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and liabilities arising from breaches of representations and warranties contained in the underwriting agreement, and to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make for certain liabilities.

Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates may in the future perform various financial advisory and investment banking services for us, for which they will receive customary fees and expenses.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the issuance of the securities offered under this prospectus supplement will be passed upon for us by Fenwick & West LLP, Mountain View, California. Certain legal matters related to this offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by DLA Piper LLP (US).

EXPERTS

The financial statements and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting (which is included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting) incorporated in this prospectus by reference to our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A (Amendment No. 1) for the year ended December 31, 2012 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to Glu Mobile Inc.’s restatement described in Note 1A to the consolidated financial statements, an adverse opinion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting and an explanatory paragraph due to the exclusion of GameSpy Industries, Inc. from the audit of internal control over financial reporting) of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

This prospectus supplement incorporates by reference some of the reports, proxy and information statements and other information that we have filed with the SEC under the Exchange Act. This means that we are disclosing important business and financial information to you by referring you to those documents. Unless expressly incorporated into this prospectus, a Current Report (or portion thereof) furnished, but not filed, on Form 8-K will not be incorporated by reference into this prospectus. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future filings made with the SEC under sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act until the termination of the offering of securities under this prospectus.

 

    Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the SEC on August 9, 2013;

 

    Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2013, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2013, filed with the SEC on August 9, 2013;

 

    Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2013, filed with the SEC on August 9, 2013;

 

    Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A for our 2013 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, filed with the SEC on April 19, 2013 and related additional soliciting materials on Schedules 14A filed with the SEC on April 19, 2013 and May 17, 2013;

 

    Amendment No. 1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed with the SEC on January 18, 2013;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 5, 2013;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 11, 2013;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 22, 2013;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 1, 2013 (but only the portions of such Current Report on Form 8-K that were filed with the SEC and not those portions that were furnished to the SEC);

 

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    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 17, 2013;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 24, 2013;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 10, 2013;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 17, 2013;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 6, 2013 (but only the portions of such Current Report on Form 8-K that were filed with the SEC and not those portions that were furnished to the SEC);

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on September 12, 2013; and

 

    The description of our common stock contained in our Form 8-A filed with the SEC on March 16, 2007 under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, including any amendment or report that may be filed for the purpose of updating such description.

Any statements made in a document incorporated by reference in this prospectus is deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus, or in any other subsequently filed document, which is also incorporated by reference, modifies or supersedes the statement. Any statement made in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus, is deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent a statement in any subsequently filed document, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.

We will provide to each person, including any beneficial holder, to whom a prospectus is delivered, at no cost, upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the information that has been incorporated by reference in the prospectus but not delivered with the prospectus. Requests for documents should be directed to Corporate Secretary, Glu Mobile Inc., 45 Fremont Street, Suite 2800, San Francisco, CA 94105, telephone number (415) 800-6100. Exhibits to these filings will not be sent unless those exhibits have been specifically incorporated by reference in such filings.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We are subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and file reports, proxy and information statements and other information with the SEC. We are required to file electronic versions of these documents with the SEC. Our reports, proxy and information statements and other information can be inspected and copied at prescribed rates at the Public Reference Room of the SEC located at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the Public Reference Room. The SEC also maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information, including electronic versions of our filings. The website address is www.sec.gov.

 

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PROSPECTUS

 

LOGO

$30,000,000

Common Stock

Preferred Stock

Debt Securities

Warrants

Subscription Rights

Units

 

 

From time to time, we or selling security holders may offer shares of our common or preferred stock, debt securities, warrants to purchase our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, subscription rights to purchase our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, and/or units consisting of some or all of these securities, in any combination, together or separately, in one or more offerings, in amounts, at prices and on the terms that we will determine at the time of the offering and which will be set forth in a prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. The total amount of these securities will have an initial aggregate offering price of up to $30,000,000.

You should read this prospectus, the information incorporated, or deemed to be incorporated, by reference in this prospectus, and any applicable prospectus supplement and related free writing prospectus carefully before you invest.

Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “GLUU.” On November 11, 2010, the last reported sales price for our common stock was $2.41 per share. None of the other securities we may offer are currently traded on any securities exchange. The applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus will contain information, where applicable, as to any other listing on The NASDAQ Global Market or any securities market or exchange of the securities covered by the prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus.

Investing in our securities involves various risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 4.

Common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants, subscription rights and/or units may be sold by us or selling security holders to or through underwriters or dealers, directly to purchasers or through agents designated from time to time. For additional information on the methods of sale, you should refer to the section entitled “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus. If any underwriters, dealers or agents are involved in the sale of any securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of such underwriters or agents and any applicable fees, discounts or commissions, details regarding over-allotment options, if any, and the net proceeds to us will be set forth in a prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus. The price to the public of such securities and the net proceeds we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus.

 

 

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

 

 

December 3, 2010


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

About this Prospectus

     i   

Prospectus Summary

     1   

Risk Factors

     4   

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

     27   

Use of Proceeds

     27   

Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

     27   

Description of Securities We May Offer

     28   

Plan of Distribution

     41   

Legal Matters

     43   

Experts

     43   

Incorporation of Documents By Reference

     44   

Where You Can Find More Information

     45   

 

 

You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus. No dealer, salesperson or any other person is authorized to give any information or to make any representation other than the information and representations contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus. If different information is given or different representations are made, you may not rely on that information or those representations as having been authorized by us or any selling stockholders. You may not imply from the delivery of this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, nor from a sale made under this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, that our affairs are unchanged since the date of this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus or that the information contained in any document incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus or any sale of a security. This prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus may be used only where it is legal to sell the securities.

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we or selling security holders may sell common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants to purchase common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, subscription rights to purchase common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, and/or units consisting of some or all of these securities in any combination, in one or more offerings up to a total dollar amount of $30,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we or selling security holders offer any securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain more specific information about the terms of the offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to the offerings. This prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplements and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you may also add, update or change any of the information contained in this prospectus or in documents we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. This prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplements and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be delivered to you, and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus, includes all material information relating to this offering. This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

 

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This prospectus contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

This prospectus and the information incorporated herein by reference include trademarks, service marks and trade names owned by us or others. “Glu,” “Glu Mobile,” our 2-D ‘g’ character logo, “Bonsai Blast,” “Brain Genius” and “Super K.O. Boxing” are some of the registered trademarks of Glu Mobile Inc. in the United States and in some other countries. Where not registered, these marks, “Beat It!,” “Glyder,” “Gun Bros.,” “Jump O’ Clock,” “Stranded” and “Toyshop Adventures” are trademarks of Glu. All other trademarks, service marks and trade names included or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus are the property of their respective owners.

You should carefully read this prospectus, any document incorporated by reference into this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be delivered to you, together with the additional information described under “Where You Can Find More Information” before buying securities in this offering.

 

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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary may not contain all the information that you should consider before investing in securities. You should carefully read the entire prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement, including the information incorporated by reference, and any free writing prospectuses we have authorized for use in connection with any offering, including “Risk Factors” and the financial data and related notes and other information incorporated by reference, as well as the exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, before making an investment decision.

GLU MOBILE INC.

Glu Mobile designs, markets and sells mobile games. We have developed and published a portfolio of casual and traditional games designed to appeal to a broad cross section of the subscribers served by our wireless carriers and other distributors, as well as to users of smartphones and tablet devices who purchase our games through direct-to-consumer digital storefronts. We create games and related applications based on third-party licensed brands and other intellectual property, as well as on our own original brands and intellectual property. Our games based on licensed intellectual property include Build-a-lot, Call of Duty, Deer Hunter, Diner Dash, DJ Hero, Guitar Hero, Family Feud, Family Guy, The Price Is Right, Transformers, Wedding Dash, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and World Series of Poker. Our original games based on our own intellectual property include Beat It!, Bonsai Blast, Brain Genius, Glyder, Gun Bros., Jump O’ Clock, Stranded, Super K.O. Boxing and Toyshop Adventures. We are based in San Mateo, California and have offices in Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Spain.

Corporate Information

We were incorporated in Nevada in May 2001 as Cyent Studios, Inc. and changed our name to Sorrent, Inc. later that year. In November 2001, we incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary in California, and, in December 2001, we merged the Nevada corporation into this California subsidiary to form Sorrent, Inc., a California corporation. In May 2005, we changed our name to Glu Mobile Inc. In March 2007, we reincorporated in Delaware and implemented a 3-for-1 reverse split of our common stock and convertible preferred stock. Our principal executive offices are located at 2207 Bridgepointe Parkway, Suite 300, San Mateo, CA 94404, and our telephone number is (650) 532-2400. Our website address is www.glu.com. The information found on, or accessible through, our website is not a part of this prospectus.

Except where the context requires otherwise, in this prospectus “Company,” “Glu,” “Glu Mobile,” “Registrant,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Glu Mobile Inc., and where appropriate, its subsidiaries.

The Securities We May Offer

We may offer shares of our common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants to purchase common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, subscription rights to purchase common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, and/or units consisting of some or all of these securities with a total aggregate offering price of up to $30,000,000 from time to time under this prospectus, together with any applicable prospectus supplement and related free writing prospectus, at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions at the time of offering. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will describe the specific amount, price and other important terms of the offering, including, to the extent applicable:

 

    designation or classification;

 

    rights, preferences, privileges, qualifications, limitations and restrictions, as applicable;

 

 

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    dividend rate, if applicable;

 

    aggregate principal amount or aggregate offering price;

 

    maturity, if applicable;

 

    original issue discount, if any;

 

    redemption, conversion, exercise, exchange or sinking fund terms, if any;

 

    conversion or exchange prices or rates, if any, and, if applicable, any provisions for changes to or adjustments in the conversion or exchange price or rates and in the securities or other property receivable upon conversion or exchange;

 

    ranking;

 

    restrictive covenants, if any;

 

    voting or other rights, if any; and

 

    important U.S. federal income tax considerations.

The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in documents we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell any securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

We or selling security holders may sell our securities directly or through underwriters, dealers or agents. We, and our underwriters, dealers or agents, reserve the right to accept or reject all or part of any proposed purchase of securities. If we or selling security holders do offer our securities through underwriters or agents, we will include in the applicable prospectus supplement:

 

    the name of each such security holder, if any, the nature of any position, office, or other material relationship such selling security holder has had with us in the past three years, the amount of securities of the class of securities offered owned by such security holder prior to the offering, the amount to be offered for such security holder’s account, the amount of the class of securities to be owned by such security holder after completion of the offering;

 

    the names of the underwriters or agents;

 

    applicable fees, discounts and commissions to be paid to them;

 

    details regarding over-allotment options, if any; and

 

    the net proceeds to us.

Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

The financial information provided in the table below should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the related notes incorporated by reference into this prospectus. The following table sets forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges. As our earnings were inadequate to cover fixed charges for each of the periods presented, we have provided the deficiency amounts. For purposes of calculating this deficiency, earnings consist of income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes and minority interest. Fixed charges consist of

 

 

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interest expense, including amortization of debt issuance costs, and the portion of rental expense which we believe is representative of the interest component of rental expense.

 

     Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
 
     2009     2008     2007     2010     2009  
     (In thousands)              

Earnings before income taxes and minority interest

     (16,034     (103,566     (3,591     (7,474     (8,811
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Fixed charges

     1,557        454        1,089        726        1,211   

Earnings

     (14,477     (103,112     (2,502     (6,748     (7,600

Fixed charges

     1,557        454        1,089        726        1,211   

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges

     (1)      (1)      (1)      (1)      (1) 

 

(1) Earnings were inadequate to cover fixed charges by $16,034 for 2009, $103,566 for 2008, $3,591 for 2007, $7,474 for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 and $8,811 for the nine months ended September 30, 2009.

 

 

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplements, as the same may be updated from time to time by our future filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), before deciding to invest in our securities. If any of the following risks occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the market price of our common stock and the value of our other securities could decline and you could lose part or even all of your investment.

Risks Relating To Our Business

We have a history of net losses, may incur substantial net losses in the future and may not achieve profitability.

We have incurred significant losses since inception, including a net loss of $3.3 million in 2007, a net loss of $106.7 million in 2008, a net loss of $18.2 million in 2009 and a net loss of $8.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2010. As of September 30, 2010, we had an accumulated deficit of $185.8 million. We expect to incur increased costs in order to implement additional initiatives designed to increase revenues, such as increased research and development and sales and marketing expenses for our new games, particularly those designed for advanced platforms and smartphones, such as Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android. If our revenues do not increase to offset these additional expenses, if we experience unexpected increases in operating expenses or if we are required to take additional charges related to impairments or restructurings, we will continue to incur significant losses and will not become profitable. In addition, our 2009 revenues were lower than our 2008 revenues, and we expect that our revenues will likely decline in 2010 from 2009 levels. If we are not able to significantly increase our revenues, we will likely not be able to achieve profitability in the future. Furthermore, during 2008, we incurred aggregate charges of approximately $77.6 million for goodwill impairments, royalty impairments and restructuring activities, during 2009, we incurred aggregate charges of approximately $8.5 million for royalty impairments and restructuring activities and during the first nine months of 2010, we incurred aggregate charges of approximately $2.0 million for royalty impairments and restructuring activities. If we continue to incur these charges, it will continue to negatively affect our operating results and our ability to achieve profitability.

Our financial results could vary significantly from quarter to quarter and are difficult to predict, particularly in light of the current economic environment, which in turn could cause volatility in our stock price.

Our revenues and operating results could vary significantly from quarter to quarter because of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. In addition, we may not be able to predict our future revenues or results of operations. We base our current and future expense levels on our internal operating plans and sales forecasts, and our operating costs are to a large extent fixed. As a result, we may not be able to reduce our costs sufficiently to compensate for an unexpected shortfall in revenues, and even a small shortfall in revenues could disproportionately and adversely affect financial results for that quarter. This will be particularly true for 2010, as we implemented significant cost-reduction measures in 2008 and 2009, as well as in the first and second quarters of 2010, making it more difficult for us to further reduce our operating expenses without a material adverse impact on our prospects in future periods. Individual games and carrier relationships represent meaningful portions of our revenues and net income or loss in any quarter. We may incur significant or unanticipated expenses when licenses are added or renewed, we may experience a significant reduction in revenue if licenses are not renewed or we may incur impairments of prepaid royalty guarantees if our forecast for games based on licensed intellectual property is lower than we anticipated at the time we entered into the agreement. For

 

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example, in 2008, 2009 and the first nine months of 2010, we impaired $6.3 million, $6.6 million and $0.7 million, respectively, of certain prepaid royalties and royalty guarantees primarily due to several distribution arrangements in our Europe, Middle East and Africa region and other global development and distribution arrangements that we entered into in 2007 and 2008. In addition, some payments from carriers that we recognize as revenue on a cash basis may be delayed unpredictably.

We are also subject to macroeconomic fluctuations in the United States and global economies, including those that impact discretionary consumer spending, which have deteriorated significantly in many countries and regions, including the United States, and may remain depressed for the foreseeable future. Some of the factors that could influence the level of consumer spending include continuing conditions in the residential real estate and mortgage markets, labor and healthcare costs, access to credit, consumer confidence and other macroeconomic factors affecting consumer spending. These issues can also cause foreign currency rates to fluctuate, which can have an adverse impact on our business since we transact business in more than 70 countries in more than 20 different currencies. In 2008, some of these currencies fluctuated by up to 40%, and we experienced continued significant fluctuations in 2009 and in the first nine months of 2010. These issues may continue to negatively impact the economy and our growth. If these issues persist, or if the economy enters a prolonged period of decelerating growth or recession, our results of operations may be harmed. As a result of these and other factors, our operating results may not meet the expectations of investors or public market analysts who choose to follow our company. Our failure to meet market expectations would likely result in a decline in the trading price of our common stock.

In addition to other risk factors discussed in this section, factors that may contribute to the variability of our quarterly results include:

 

    the number of new games released by us and our competitors, including those for smartphones and advanced platforms;

 

    the timing of release of new games by us and our competitors, particularly those that may represent a significant portion of revenues in a period;

 

    the quality and popularity of new games and games released in prior periods;

 

    changes in the prominence of deck placement or storefront featuring for our leading games and those of our competitors;

 

    fluctuations in the size and rate of growth of overall consumer demand for mobile handsets, games and related content;

 

    the rate at which consumers continue to migrate from traditional feature phones to more advanced platforms and smartphones;

 

    our success in developing and monetizing persistent-state, freemium games for smartphones;

 

    our ability to increase the daily and monthly active users of our persistent-state, freemium games that we develop for smartphones, as well as the number of minutes these users play such games;

 

    the strength or weakness in consumer demand for new mobile devices;

 

    the expiration of existing content licenses for particular games;

 

    the timing of charges related to impairments of goodwill, intangible assets, prepaid royalties and guarantees;

 

    changes in pricing policies by us, our competitors or our carriers and other distributors;

 

    changes in pricing policies by our carriers related to downloading content, such as our games, which pricing policies could be influenced by the lower average prices for content on advanced platforms and smartphones;

 

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    changes in the mix of original and licensed games, which have varying gross margins;

 

    carrier policies around off portal marketing and monetization;

 

    the timing of successful mobile handset launches;

 

    the timeliness and accuracy of reporting from carriers;

 

    the seasonality of our industry;

 

    strategic decisions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, joint ventures, strategic investments or changes in business strategy;

 

    our success in entering new geographic markets;

 

    changes in accounting rules, such as those governing recognition of revenue, including the period of time over which we recognize revenue for the sale of virtual currency and goods by means of purchases within certain of our games, sometimes referred to as in-app purchases;

 

    the timing of compensation expense associated with equity compensation grants; and

 

    decisions by us to incur additional expenses, such as increases in marketing or research and development.

The markets in which we operate are highly competitive, and many of our competitors have significantly greater resources than we do.

The development, distribution and sale of mobile games is a highly competitive business. For end users, we compete primarily on the basis of game quality, brand and price. For carrier and other application storefronts, we compete for promotional placement based on these factors, as well as historical performance and perception of sales potential and relationships with licensors of brands and other intellectual property. For content and brand licensors, we compete based on royalty and other economic terms, perceptions of development quality, porting abilities, speed of execution, distribution breadth and relationships with carriers. We also compete for experienced and talented employees.

Our primary competitors in both our traditional carrier-based mobile phone business and for advanced platforms and smartphones include Electronic Arts (EA Mobile) and Gameloft, with Electronic Arts having the largest market share of any company in the mobile games market. In the future, likely competitors in our target markets include major media companies, traditional video game publishers, content aggregators, mobile software providers and independent mobile game publishers. Wireless carriers may also decide to develop, internally or through a managed third-party developer, and distribute their own mobile games.

Some of our competitors’ and our potential competitors’ advantages over us, either globally or in particular geographic markets, include the following:

 

    significantly greater revenues and financial resources;

 

    stronger brand and consumer recognition regionally or worldwide;

 

    the capacity to leverage their marketing expenditures across a broader portfolio of mobile and non-mobile products;

 

    more substantial intellectual property of their own from which they can develop games without having to pay royalties;

 

    greater platform specific focus, experience and expertise;

 

    pre-existing relationships with brand owners or carriers that afford them access to intellectual property while blocking the access of competitors to that same intellectual property;

 

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    greater resources to make acquisitions;

 

    lower labor and development costs; and

 

    broader global distribution and presence.

In addition, given the open nature of the development and distribution for certain advanced platforms and smartphones, we also compete or will compete with a vast number of small companies and individuals who are able to create and launch games and other content for these mobile devices utilizing limited resources and with limited start-up time or expertise. Many of these smaller developers are able to offer their games at no cost or substantially reduce prices to levels at which we may be unable to respond competitively and still achieve profitability given their low overhead. In addition, publishers who create content for traditional gaming consoles and for online play have also begun developing games for smartphones. As an example of the competition that we face, it has been estimated that more than 40,000 active games were available on the Apple App Store as of October 31, 2010. The proliferation of titles in these open developer channels makes it difficult for us to differentiate ourselves from other developers and to compete for end users who purchase content for their smartphones without substantially reducing our prices, increasing development costs or increasing spending to market our products. Certain of our large competitors have greater intellectual property rights and access to more licenses to develop titles for the Apple App Store and have considerably greater resources than we do, which enables them to develop a greater volume of games, more rapidly than us. If our industry continues to shift to a sales and distribution model similar to the Apple App Store our ability to compete would be further challenged, since the substantial majority of our current revenue is currently derived from our wireless carrier-based distribution channel and not from fully open storefront channels.

If we are unable to compete effectively or we are not as successful as our competitors in our target markets, our sales could decline, our margins could decline and we could lose market share, any of which would materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our strategy to grow our business includes developing titles for advanced platforms and smartphones beyond our wireless carrier channel, which currently comprises the substantial majority of our revenues. If we do not succeed in generating considerable revenues and gross margins from these advanced platforms and smartphones, our revenues, financial position and operating results may suffer.

We believe that the slowdown in sales of feature phones in our traditional carrier-based business, which currently comprises the substantial majority of our revenues, will continue to accelerate and will result in an overall decline in our revenues in 2010. As part of our strategy to grow our business, we intend to significantly increase our studio capacity that is dedicated towards developing titles for smartphone digital storefronts (such as Apple’s App Store, Google’s Android Market, Research In Motion’s Blackberry App World, Palm’s App Catalog, Nokia’s Ovi Store and Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace for Mobile) as well as significantly increase our marketing-related expenditures in connection with the launch of our new games on these smartphone storefronts. The introduction of these smartphone storefronts has drawn many of our customers away from our carrier-based business. In order to succeed, we believe that we must publish mobile games that are widely accepted and commercially successful on the new advanced platforms and smartphones. However, our efforts on these advanced platforms and smartphones may prove unsuccessful or, even if successful, it may take us longer to achieve significant revenue than anticipated because, among others reasons:

 

    the open nature of many of these smartphone storefronts increases substantially the number of our competitors and competitive products and makes it more difficult for us to achieve prominent placement or featuring for our games;

 

   

the pricing and revenue models for titles on these smartphone storefronts are rapidly evolving (for example, the introduction of micro-transaction capabilities and the potential introduction of usage-based pricing for games), and has resulted, and may continue to result, in significantly lower average

 

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selling prices for our games developed for smartphones as compared to games developed for feature phones in our traditional carrier channels, and a lower than expected return on investment for these games;

 

    the billing and provisioning capabilities of some smartphones are currently not optimized to enable users to purchase games or make in-app purchases, which could make it difficult for users of these smartphones to purchase our games or make in-app purchases and could reduce our addressable market, at least in the short term;

 

    the competitive advantage of our porting capabilities may be reduced as these advanced platforms and smartphones become more widely adopted;

 

    many of our key licenses do not grant us the rights to develop games for the iPhone and certain other smartphones;

 

    we have less experience with open storefront distribution channels than with carrier-based distribution;

 

    these smartphone digital storefronts are relatively new markets, for which we are less able to forecast with accuracy revenue levels, required marketing and developments expenses, and net income or loss;

 

    many OEMs and carriers are developing their own storefronts and it may be difficult for us to predict which ones will be successful, and we may expend time and resources developing games for storefronts that ultimately do not succeed; and

 

    competitors may have substantially greater resources available to invest in development and publishing of products for advanced platforms and smartphones.

If we do not succeed in generating considerable revenues and gross margins from the advanced platforms and smartphones, our revenues, financial position and operating results may suffer.

If we do not achieve a sufficient return on our investment with respect to our efforts to develop persistent-state, freemium games for smartphones and advanced platforms, it could negatively affect our operating results.

We expect that a significant portion of our development activities for advanced platforms and smartphones in 2010 and beyond will be focused on persistent-state, freemium games — games that are downloadable without an initial charge or for a small fee, but which enable a variety of additional features to be accessed for a fee or otherwise monetized through various advertising and offer techniques. Our efforts to develop persistent-state, freemium games for multiple smartphones and other advanced platforms may prove unsuccessful or, even if successful, may take us longer to achieve significant revenue than anticipated because, among others reasons:

 

    we have limited experience in successfully developing and marketing persistent-state, freemium games;

 

    we have only recently begun to embed micro-transaction capabilities into some of our games for smartphones as well as experiment with a number of advertising monetization techniques, and our limited experience in these areas may cause us to have difficulty optimizing the monetization of our freemium games;

 

    some of our competitors have already released a significant number of persistent-state, freemium games on smartphones, and this competition will make it more difficult for us to differentiate our games and derive significant revenues from them;

 

    our competitors may have substantially greater resources available to invest in the development and publishing of persistent-state, freemium games;

 

   

we intend to have the significant majority of our persistent-state, freemium games be based upon our own intellectual property rather than well-known licensed brands, and, as a result, we may encounter

 

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difficulties in generating sufficient consumer interest in our games, particularly since we historically have had limited success in generating significant revenues from games based on our own intellectual property;

 

    persistent-state, freemium games currently represent a significant minority of the games available on smartphones and other advanced platforms and have a limited history, and it is unclear how popular this style of game will become on smartphones or their revenue potential;

 

    our strategy with respect to developing persistent-state, freemium games for smartphones assumes that a large number of consumers will download our games because they are free and that we will subsequently be able to effectively monetize these games; however, some smartphones charge users a fee for downloading content, and users of these smartphones may be reluctant to download our freemium games because of these fees, which would reduce the effectiveness of our product strategy;

 

    our persistent-state, freemium games may otherwise not be widely downloaded by consumers for a variety of reasons, including poor consumer reviews or other negative publicity, ineffective or insufficient marketing efforts or a failure to achieve prominent storefront featuring for such games;

 

    even if our persistent-state, freemium games are widely downloaded, we may fail to retain users of these games or optimize the monetization of these games for a variety of reasons, including poor game design or quality, gameplay issues such as game unavailability, long load times or an unexpected termination of the game due to data server or other technical issues or our failure to effectively respond and adapt to changing user preferences through updates to our games; and

 

    because these are effectively new products for us, we are less able to forecast with accuracy revenue levels, required marketing and development expenses, and net income or loss.

If we do not achieve a sufficient return on our investment with respect to developing and selling persistent-state, freemium games, it will negatively affect our operating results.

An acceleration in the slowdown in sales of feature phones in our traditional carrier-based business, which represents the substantial majority of our revenues, or a decline in the average selling prices of our games sold through wireless carriers, could have a material adverse impact on our revenues, financial position and results of operations.

We currently derive the substantial majority of our revenues from sales of our games on traditional feature phones through wireless carriers. Our revenues for each of the year ended December 31, 2009 and the nine months ended September 30, 2010 declined from the corresponding period of the prior year due to a decrease in sales in our carrier-based business, resulting primarily from a decrease in feature phone sales, which in turn led to a decrease in the number of games that we sold, as well as increasing movement by a number of consumers to smartphones that enable the download of applications from sources other than a carrier’s branded e-commerce service, such as the Apple App Store. We expect that we will continue to derive the substantial majority of our revenues from sales of our games on traditional feature phones during the remainder of 2010. However, we believe that the decline in the sales of feature phones and the transition of consumers to smartphones will continue to accelerate and will result in an overall decline in our revenues in 2010. In addition, due to the accelerating decline in the sales of feature phones, we intend to release fewer games for feature phones in future periods, which will further reduce our revenues that we derive from feature phones. The ability of smartphones to serve as a source of significant revenues is uncertain, and we will likely be unable to generate sufficient revenues from these platforms in 2010 to make up for the expected decline in sales of our games on traditional feature phones. In addition, games sold on smartphones typically have lower average prices than our games sold on traditional feature phones, and to the extent consumers continue to migrate to smartphones, it could result in lower average prices for our games sold on traditional feature phones. Any acceleration in the slowdown in our carrier-based business or in sales of feature phones for that business, or any reduction in the average prices of our games sold through our wireless carriers, could have a material adverse impact on our revenues, financial position and results of operations.

 

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We may need to raise additional capital or borrow funds to grow our business, and we may not be able to raise capital or borrow funds on terms acceptable to us or at all.

The operation of our business, and our efforts to grow our business, requires significant cash outlays and commitments. As of September 30, 2010, we had $15.9 million of cash and cash equivalents. In addition to our general operating expenses and prepaid and guaranteed royalty payments, we had debt service obligations related to $4.7 million outstanding as of September 30, 2010. These debt service obligations consisted of $3.1 million in remaining principal and accrued interest that we owed under the subordinated notes that we issued in December 2008 in connection with our restructuring of the MIG earnout and bonus payments (the “MIG subordinated notes”), and $1.6 million that was outstanding under our revolving credit facility. In addition, of our $15.9 million of cash and cash equivalents that we held as of September 30, 2010, $1.9 million was held in our China subsidiaries. To the extent we require additional working capital in our U.S. or other non-Chinese operations, it could be very difficult to repatriate money held in our China subsidiaries due to our declining operating profits in China, and such repatriation would be subject to taxation, potentially at high rates.

If our cash and cash equivalents, together with any cash generated from operations and borrowings under our credit facility, are insufficient to meet our cash requirements, we will either need to seek additional capital, potentially through an additional debt or equity financing, by increasing the amount available to us for borrowing under the credit facility, procuring a new debt facility or selling some of our assets, to fund our operations and debt repayment obligations or we will need to restructure our obligations under the MIG subordinated notes. We may not be able to raise needed cash on terms acceptable to us or at all. Financings, if available, may be on terms that are dilutive or potentially dilutive to our stockholders, such was the case with respect to the Private Placement, particularly given our current stock price. The holders of new securities may also receive rights, preferences or privileges that are senior to those of existing holders of our common stock, all of which is subject to the provisions of our credit facility. Additionally, we may be unable to increase the size of the credit facility or procure a new debt facility, or to do so on terms that are acceptable to us, particularly in light of the current credit market conditions. We also may not be able to access the full $8.0 million potentially available under of our credit facility, as the credit facility’s borrowing base is based upon our accounts receivable; as of September 30, 2010, the maximum amount available for borrowing under the credit facility was limited to $2.1 million. If new sources of financing are required but are insufficient or unavailable, or if we are unable to restructure our obligations under the MIG subordinated notes to the extent we may need to do so, we would be required to modify our growth and operating plans to the extent of available funding, which would harm our ability to grow our business. Furthermore, if we are unable to remain in compliance with the financial or other covenants contained in the credit facility and do not obtain a waiver from the lender then, subject to applicable cure periods, any outstanding indebtedness under the credit facility could be declared immediately due and payable, which would also trigger the cross-default provisions of the MIG subordinated notes. This credit facility also is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2011, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to extend the terms of this facility on terms favorable to us or at all. In the event that we default under our credit facility or are unable to successfully extend its term beyond June 30, 2011, we would need to seek additional sources of financing, which could have unfavorable terms, and any failure to do so would have a serious impact on our business, financial position and liquidity, including potentially forcing us to file for bankruptcy protection.

We have outstanding debt obligations and may incur additional debt in the future, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

In December 2008, we renegotiated and extended our $8.0 million revolving credit facility, which is secured by substantially all of our assets, including our intellectual property, and we further amended this credit facility in August 2009, February 2010 and March 2010. As of September 30, 2010, we had outstanding borrowings of $1.6 million under this credit facility, and we expect to continue to borrow during the term of the facility for general working capital purposes and to satisfy our other debt obligations. In addition, in December 2008, we issued an aggregate of $25.0 million in principal amount of the MIG subordinated notes, of which we had repaid

 

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$22.0 million in principal as of September 30, 2010. This debt may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition by, among other things:

 

    requiring us to dedicate a portion of our expected cash from operations to service our debt, thereby reducing the amount of expected cash flow available for other purposes, including funding our operations;

 

    increasing our vulnerability to downturns in our business, to competitive pressures and to adverse economic and industry conditions;

 

    limiting our ability to pursue acquisitions that may be accretive to our business; and

 

    limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and our industry.

Our credit facility imposes restrictions on us, including restricting our ability to incur specified liens and sell the company and requiring us to maintain compliance with specified covenants and to maintain a certain level of cash deposits with the lender. Our ability to comply with certain of these covenants may be affected by events beyond our control. Our expectations regarding cash sufficiency assume that our operating results will be sufficient to enable us to comply with the EBITDA-related covenant. Our revenues depend on a number of factors, including the rate of sales of mobile devices, our relationships with our carriers and licensors, consumer tastes, competitive pressures, our ability to generate revenues from advanced platforms and smartphones and foreign exchange rate fluctuations. If our revenues are lower than we anticipate, we will be required to reduce our operating expenses to remain in compliance with this covenant. However, reducing our operating expenses could be very challenging for us, since we undertook operating expense reductions and restructuring activities in the third and fourth quarters of 2008 that reduced our operating expenses significantly from second quarter of 2008 levels, and we implemented additional expense reduction measures in the third quarter of 2009 and the first and second quarters of 2010. Reducing operating expenses further could have the effect of reducing our revenues. Our ability to comply with the EBITDA-related covenant will be further challenged due to the approximately $1.7 million, excluding $500,000 in leasehold improvement write-offs, in costs we expect to incur during the fourth quarter of 2010 related to our relocation of our corporate headquarters to San Francisco and the transition of our General Counsel position. We currently believe that due primarily to this restructuring charge in addition to the additional marketing-related expenditures we expect to incur in the fourth quarter of 2010 in connection with the launch of our new persistent-state, freemium games on smartphone storefronts, we will not be able to comply with the EBITDA-related covenant in the fourth quarter of 2010. While we are currently engaged in discussions with the lender regarding amending the credit facility to enable our prospective compliance with the EBITDA-related covenant and believe that we will enter into such an amendment in the near future, we cannot assure you that we will be successful in doing so. If we breach any of the covenants under our credit facility and do not obtain a waiver from the lender, then, subject to applicable cure periods, any outstanding indebtedness under the credit facility could be declared immediately due and payable, which would also trigger the cross-default provision of our MIG subordinated notes. Should the lender call the loan at a time when we did not have or were unable to secure cash to repay it, it would have a serious impact on our business, financial position and liquidity, including potentially forcing us to file for bankruptcy protection. In addition, this credit facility also is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2011, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to extend the terms of this facility on terms favorable to us or at all.

Changes in foreign exchange rates and limitations on the convertibility of foreign currencies could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Although we currently transact approximately one-half of our business in U.S. Dollars, we also transact approximately one-fourth of our business in pounds sterling and Euros and the remaining portion of our business in other currencies. Conducting business in currencies other than U.S. Dollars subjects us to fluctuations in currency exchange rates that could have a negative impact on our reported operating results. Fluctuations in the value of the U.S. Dollar relative to other currencies impact our revenues, cost of revenues and operating margins and result in foreign currency exchange gains and losses. For example, in 2008, we recorded a $3.0 million

 

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foreign currency exchange loss primarily related to the revaluation of intercompany balance sheet accounts. To the extent foreign exchange rates continue to negatively affect our operating results, it will negatively affect our ability to remain in compliance with the EBITDA-related covenant in our credit facility. To date, we have not engaged in exchange rate hedging activities, and we do not expect to do so in the foreseeable future. Even if we were to implement hedging strategies to mitigate this risk, these strategies might not eliminate our exposure to foreign exchange rate fluctuations and would involve costs and risks of their own, such as cash expenditures, ongoing management time and expertise, external costs to implement the strategies and potential accounting implications.

We face additional risk if a currency is not freely or actively traded. Some currencies, such as the Chinese Renminbi, in which our Chinese operations principally transact business, are subject to limitations on conversion into other currencies, which can limit our ability to react to rapid foreign currency devaluations and to repatriate funds to the United States should we require additional working capital.

Inferior deck placement or storefront featuring would likely adversely impact our revenues and thus our operating results and financial condition.

Wireless carriers provide a limited selection of games that are accessible to their subscribers through a deck on their mobile handsets. The inherent limitation on the number of games available on the deck is a function of the limited screen size of handsets and carriers’ perceptions of the depth of menus and numbers of choices end users will generally utilize. Carriers typically provide one or more top-level menus highlighting games that are recent top sellers, that the carrier believes will become top sellers or that the carrier otherwise chooses to feature, in addition to a link to a menu of additional games sorted by genre. We believe that deck placement on the top-level or featured menu or toward the top of genre-specific or other menus, rather than lower down or in sub-menus, is likely to result in higher game sales. If carriers choose to give our games less favorable deck placement, our games may be less successful than we anticipate, our revenues may decline and our business, operating results and financial condition may be materially harmed.

Conversely, the open nature of the smartphone storefronts , such as the Apple App Store, allow for vast numbers of applications to be offered to consumers from a much wider array of competitors than in the traditional carrier channel. This may reduce the competitive advantage of our established network of relationships with wireless carriers. It may also require us to expend significantly increased amounts to generate substantial revenues on these platforms, reducing or eliminating the profitability of publishing games for them.

The open nature of many of the smartphone storefronts substantially increases the number of our competitors and competitive products, which makes it more difficult for us to achieve prominent placement or featuring for our games. Our failure to achieve prominent placement or featuring for our games on the smartphone storefronts could result in our games not generating significant sales. We believe that a number of factors may influence the featuring or placement of a game in these digital storefronts, including:

 

    the perceived attractiveness of the title or brand;

 

    the past critical or commercial success of the game or of other games previously introduced by a publisher;

 

    the publisher’s relationship with the applicable digital storefront owner and future pipeline of quality titles for it; and

 

    the current market share of the publisher.

If carriers choose to give our games less favorable deck placement or if our games do not receive prominent placement on the smartphone storefronts, our games may be less successful than we anticipate, our revenues may decline and our business, operating results and financial condition may be materially harmed.

 

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End user tastes are continually changing and are often unpredictable; if we fail to develop and publish new mobile games that achieve market acceptance, our sales would suffer.

Our business depends on developing and publishing mobile games that wireless carriers will place on their decks or digital storefront owners will prominently feature and that end users will buy. We must continue to invest significant resources in research and development, analytics and marketing to enhance our offering of games and introduce new games, and we must make decisions about these matters well in advance of product release to timely implement them. Our success depends, in part, on unpredictable and volatile factors beyond our control, including end-user preferences, competing games, new mobile platforms and the availability of other entertainment activities. If our games and related applications do not respond to the requirements of carriers and digital storefront owners or the entertainment preferences of end users, or they are not brought to market in a timely and effective manner, our business, operating results and financial condition would be harmed. Even if our games are successfully introduced and initially adopted, a subsequent shift in our carriers or the entertainment preferences of end users could cause a decline in our games’ popularity that could materially reduce our revenues and harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

If we are unsuccessful in establishing and increasing awareness of our brand and recognition of our games or if we incur excessive expenses promoting and maintaining our brand or our games, our potential revenues could be limited, our costs could increase and our operating results and financial condition could be harmed.

We believe that establishing and maintaining our brand is critical to retaining and expanding our existing relationships with wireless carriers and content licensors, as well as developing new such relationships, and is also critical to establishing a direct relationship with end users who purchase our products from direct-to-consumer channels, such as the Apple App Store. Our ability to promote the Glu brand depends on our success in providing high-quality mobile games. Similarly, recognition of our games by end users depends on our ability to develop engaging games of high quality with attractive titles. However, our success also depends, in part, on the services and efforts of third parties, over which we have little or no control. For instance, if our carriers fail to provide high levels of service, our end users’ ability to access our games may be interrupted, which may adversely affect our brand. If end users, smartphone storefront owners, branded content owners and carriers do not perceive our existing games as high-quality or if we introduce new games that are not favorably received by our end users, smartphone storefront owners and carriers, then we may not succeed in building brand recognition and brand loyalty in the marketplace. In addition, globalizing and extending our brand and recognition of our games will be costly and will involve extensive management time to execute successfully, particularly as we expand our efforts to increase awareness of our brand and games among international consumers. Moreover, if a game is introduced with defects, errors or failures or unauthorized objectionable content or if a game has playability issues such as game unavailability, long load times or a unexpected termination of the game due to data server or other technical issues, we could experience damage to our reputation and brand, and our attractiveness to wireless carriers, licensors, smartphone storefront owners and end users might be reduced. In addition, although we expect to significantly increase our sales and marketing-related expenditures in connection with the launch of our new persistent-state, freemium games, these efforts may not succeed in increasing awareness of our brand and new games. If we fail to increase and maintain brand awareness and consumer recognition of our games, our potential revenues could be limited, our costs could increase and our business, operating results and financial condition could suffer.

We currently rely primarily on wireless carriers to market and distribute our games for feature phones and thus to generate a significant portion of our revenues. The loss of or a change in any significant carrier relationship, including their credit worthiness, could materially reduce our revenues and adversely impact our cash position.

A significant portion of our revenues is derived from a limited number of carriers. In 2009, we derived approximately 49.1% of our revenues from relationships with five carriers, including Verizon Wireless, which accounted for 20.5% of our revenues. We expect that we will continue to generate a substantial majority of our

 

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revenues through distribution relationships with fewer than 20 carriers for the foreseeable future. If any of our carriers decides not to market or distribute our games or decides to terminate, not renew or modify the terms of its agreement with us or if there is consolidation among carriers generally, we may be unable to replace the affected agreement with acceptable alternatives, causing us to lose access to that carrier’s subscribers and the revenues they afford us. In addition, having a significant portion of our revenues concentrated among a limited number of carriers also creates a credit concentration risk for us, and in the event that any significant carrier were unable to fulfill its payment obligations to us, our operating results and cash position would suffer. Finally, our credit facility’s borrowing base is tied to our accounts receivable. If any of our wireless carriers were delinquent in their payments to us, it would reduce our borrowing base and could require us to immediately repay any borrowings outstanding related to such carrier. If any of these eventualities come to pass, it could materially reduce our revenues and otherwise harm our business.

Changes made by wireless carriers and other distributors to their policies regarding pricing, revenue sharing, supplier status, billing and collections could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Wireless carriers generally control the price charged for our mobile games either by approving or establishing the price of the games charged to their subscribers. Some of our carrier agreements also restrict our ability to change prices. In cases where carrier approval is required, approvals may not be granted in a timely manner or at all. A failure or delay in obtaining these approvals, the prices established by the carriers for our games, or changes in these prices could adversely affect market acceptance of those games. Similarly, for some of our carriers, including Verizon Wireless, when we make changes to a pricing plan (the wholesale price and the corresponding suggested retail price based on our negotiated revenue-sharing arrangement), adjustments to the actual retail price charged to end users may not be made in a timely manner or at all (even though our wholesale price was reduced). A failure or delay by these carriers in adjusting the retail price for our games, could adversely affect sales volume and our revenues for those games.

In addition, wireless carriers have the ability to change their pricing policy with their customers for downloading content, such as our games. For example, Verizon Wireless began imposing a data surcharge to download content on those of its customers who had not otherwise subscribed to a data plan. Such charges have, and could in the future, deter end users from purchasing our content. In addition, wireless carriers could renegotiate the revenue sharing arrangement that we have in place with them to our detriment. For example in the first quarter of 2010, China Mobile, the largest carrier in China, reduced the revenue share that we receive from our games sold on the mBox platform in approximately 15 provinces in China, which has begun, and will likely continue, to negatively impact our revenues in China. Furthermore, a portion of our revenues is derived from subscriptions. Our wireless carriers have the ability to discontinue offering subscription pricing, without our approval.

In China, sales to wireless carriers such as China Mobile may only be made by service providers, which are companies who have been licensed by the government to operate and publish mobile games. China Mobile has designated four classes of licenses for service providers with respect to mobile gaming, with a Class A license being the highest designation. We hold, through our Chinese subsidiaries, one of the three Class A licenses that have currently been awarded by China Mobile. In order to maintain this Class A license, we must maintain a certain level of monthly revenues, as well as meet certain minimum download and customer satisfaction levels. If we were to lose this Class A license, our revenues in China would be significantly and adversely impacted.

Carriers and other distributors also control billings and collections for our games, either directly or through third-party service providers. If our carriers or their third-party service providers cause material inaccuracies when providing billing and collection services to us, our revenues may be less than anticipated or may be subject to refund at the discretion of the carrier. Our market is experiencing a growth in adoption of smartphones, such as the Apple iPhone and devices based on Google’s Android operating system. For many of our wireless carriers, these smartphones are not yet directly integrated into the carrier’s provisioning infrastructure that would allow

 

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them to sell games directly to consumers, and games are instead sold through third parties, which is a more cumbersome process for consumers and results in a smaller revenue share for us. These factors could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

A shift of technology platform by wireless carriers and mobile handset manufacturers could lengthen the development period for our games, increase our costs and cause our games to be of lower quality or to be published later than anticipated.

End users of games must have a mobile handset with multimedia capabilities enabled by technologies capable of running third-party games and related applications such as ours. Our development resources are concentrated in the Apple iPhone, Google Android, Blackberry, i-mode, Mophun, Palm, Symbian, Windows Mobile, BREW and Java platforms. It is likely that one or more of these technologies will fall out of favor with handset manufacturers and wireless carriers, as transitions to different technologies and technology platforms have happened in the past and will occur in the future. If there is a rapid shift to a different technology platform, such as Adobe Flash or Flash Lite, or a new technology where we do not have development experience or resources, the development period for our games may be lengthened, increasing our costs, and the resulting games may be of lower quality, and may be published later than anticipated. In such an event, our reputation, business, operating results and financial condition might suffer.

We have depended on a small number of games for a significant portion of our revenues in recent fiscal periods. If these games do not continue to succeed or we do not release highly successful new games, our revenues would decline.

In our industry, new games are frequently introduced, but a relatively small number of games account for a significant portion of industry sales. Similarly, a significant portion of our revenues comes from a limited number of mobile games, although the games in that group have shifted over time. For example, in 2009, 2008 and 2007, we generated approximately 35.0%, 30.5% and 52.7% of our revenues, respectively, from our top ten games, but no individual game represented more than 10% of our revenues in any of those periods. If our new games are not successful, our revenues could be limited and our business and operating results would suffer in both the year of release and thereafter.

Failure to renew our existing brand and content licenses on favorable terms or at all and to obtain additional licenses would impair our ability to introduce new mobile games or to continue to offer our current games based on third-party content.

Revenues derived from mobile games and other applications based on or incorporating brands or other intellectual property licensed from third parties accounted for 77.5%, 75.0% and 88.1% of our revenues in 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. In 2009, revenues derived under various licenses from our five largest licensors, Activision, Atari, Fox Mobile Entertainment, Freemantle Media and Harrah’s, together accounted for approximately 27.8% of our revenues, and we expect that this percentage will increase in 2010. Any of our licensors could decide not to renew our existing license or not to license additional intellectual property and instead license to our competitors or develop and publish its own mobile games or other applications, competing with us in the marketplace. For example, in the second quarter of 2010, PopCap Games elected not to renew its license with us pursuant to which we created our game Zuma, which accounted for less than 5% of our revenues for each of 2009 and the first nine months of 2010. Many of our licensors already develop games for other platforms and may have significant experience and development resources available to them should they decide to compete with us rather than license to us. In addition, our licensors could decide to breach the terms of our license agreements, including failure to provide the content and intellectual property required under our license agreements and necessary to develop our games, and our remedies may be limited to recovering our direct costs but not our lost profits, and we may not be able to realize profits that we may have anticipated from such license agreements. We may be required to resort to potentially costly litigation in an effort to enforce our rights, which efforts might prove unsuccessful. Moreover, many of our licensors have not granted us the right to develop

 

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games for some smartphones, such as the iPhone, and may instead choose to develop games for such platforms themselves. Additionally, licensors may elect to work with publishers who can develop and publish products across multiple platforms, such as mobile, online and console, which we currently cannot offer.

Increased competition for licenses may lead to larger guarantees, advances and royalties that we would be required to pay to licensors, which could significantly increase our cost of revenues and cash usage or could make us unwilling to renew existing licenses or pursue new licenses. We may be unable or unwilling to renew these licenses or be unable to renew them on terms favorable to us, and, if we desire to do so, we may be unable to secure alternatives in a timely manner. Our budget for new licenses in 2009 was a substantial reduction from the amount we spent for new licenses in prior years, and we expect our spending for new licenses in 2010 and future periods to be significantly reduced from 2009 levels as we focus our developing efforts on creating persistent-state, freemium games based on our own intellectual property. Our reduced spending on new licenses may adversely impact our title plan for feature phones and our ability to generate revenues in 2010 and future periods. Failure to maintain or renew our existing licenses or to obtain additional licenses could impair our ability to introduce new games or would prevent us from continuing to offer our current games, which would materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Even if we succeed in gaining new licenses or extending existing licenses, we may fail to anticipate the entertainment preferences of our end users when making choices about which brands or other content to license. If the entertainment preferences of end users shift to content or brands owned or developed by companies with which we do not have relationships, we may be unable to establish and maintain successful relationships with these developers and owners, which would materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

System or network failures could reduce our sales, increase costs or result in a loss of revenues or end users of our games.

We rely on wireless carriers’ and other third-party networks to deliver games to end users and on their or other third parties’ billing systems to track and account for the downloading of our games. We also rely on our own servers to operate our new persistent-state, freemium games that are delivered as a live service, as well as to deliver games on demand to end users through our carriers’ networks. In addition, certain of our subscription-based games, such as World Series of Poker, require access over the mobile Internet to our servers to enable certain features. Any technical problem with carriers’, third parties’ or our billing, delivery or information systems or communications networks could result in the inability of end users to download or play our games, prevent the completion of billing for a game or result in the loss of users’ virtual currency or other in-app purchases, or interfere with access to some aspects of our games. For example, in connection with the release of our Gun Bros. game on the Apple App Store in the fourth quarter of 2010, we experienced issues with our data servers that resulted in gameplay issues and the loss of some users’ virtual assets they acquired through in-app purchases. In the event of a loss of virtual assets, we may be required to issue refunds, we may receive negative publicity and game ratings, and we may lose users of our games, any of which would negatively affect our business. In addition, from time to time, our carriers have experienced failures with their billing and delivery systems and communication networks, including gateway failures that reduced the provisioning capacity of their branded e-commerce system. Any such technical problems could cause us to lose end users or revenues or incur substantial repair costs and distract management from operating our business.

We face added business, political, regulatory, operational, financial and economic risks as a result of our international operations and distribution, any of which could increase our costs and adversely affect our operating results.

International sales represented approximately 52.2%, 52.0% and 46.2% of our revenues in 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. In addition, as part of our international efforts, we acquired U.K.-based Macrospace in December 2004, UK-based iFone in March 2006, China-based MIG in December 2007 and Superscape, which

 

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has a significant presence in Russia, in March 2008. We have international offices located in a number of foreign countries including Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Spain. We expect to maintain our international presence, and we expect international sales to be an important component of our revenues. Risks affecting our international operations include:

 

    challenges caused by distance, language and cultural differences;

 

    multiple and conflicting laws and regulations, including complications due to unexpected changes in these laws and regulations;

 

    foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations;

 

    difficulties in staffing and managing international operations;

 

    potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, particularly in certain emerging countries in East Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America;

 

    greater fluctuations in sales to end users and through carriers in developing countries, including longer payment cycles and greater difficulty collecting accounts receivable;

 

    protectionist laws and business practices that favor local businesses in some countries;

 

    regulations that could potentially affect the content of our products and their distribution, particularly in China;

 

    potential adverse foreign tax consequences;

 

    foreign exchange controls that might prevent us from repatriating income earned in countries outside the United States, particularly China;

 

    price controls;

 

    the servicing of regions by many different carriers;

 

    imposition of public sector controls;

 

    political, economic and social instability;

 

    restrictions on the export or import of technology;

 

    trade and tariff restrictions and variations in tariffs, quotas, taxes and other market barriers; and

 

    difficulties in enforcing intellectual property rights in certain countries.

In addition, developing user interfaces that are compatible with other languages or cultures can be expensive. As a result, our ongoing international operations may be more costly than we expect. As a result of our international operations in Asia, Europe and Latin America, we must pay income tax in numerous foreign jurisdictions with complex and evolving tax laws. If we become subject to increased taxes or new forms of taxation imposed by governmental authorities, our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

These risks could harm our international operations, which, in turn, could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

If we fail to deliver our games at the same time as new mobile handset models are commercially introduced, our sales may suffer.

Our business depends, in part, on the commercial introduction of new handset models with enhanced features, including larger, higher resolution color screens, improved audio quality, and greater processing power, memory, battery life and storage. For example, some companies have launched new smartphones or mobile

 

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platforms, including Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android. In addition, consumers generally purchase the majority of content, such as our games, for a new handset within a few months of purchasing the handset. We do not control the timing of these handset launches. Some new handsets are sold by carriers with one or more games or other applications pre-loaded, and many end users who download our games do so after they purchase their new handsets to experience the new features of those handsets. Some handset manufacturers give us access to their handsets prior to commercial release. If one or more major handset manufacturers were to cease to provide us access to new handset models prior to commercial release, we might be unable to introduce compatible versions of our games for those handsets in coordination with their commercial release, and we might not be able to make compatible versions for a substantial period following their commercial release. If, because we do not adequately build into our title plan the demand for games for a particular handset or platform or experience of game launch delays, we miss the opportunity to sell games when new handsets are shipped or our end users upgrade to a new handset, our revenues would likely decline and our business, operating results and financial condition would likely suffer.

Future mobile handsets may significantly reduce or eliminate wireless carriers’ control over delivery of our games and force us to rely further on alternative sales channels, which, if not successful, could require us to increase our sales and marketing expenses significantly.

The majority of our games are currently sold through carriers’ branded e-commerce services. We have invested significant resources developing this sales channel. However, a growing number of handset models currently available allow wireless subscribers to browse the Internet and, in some cases, download applications from sources other than a carrier’s branded e-commerce service, such as the Apple App Store. In addition, developing other application delivery mechanisms, such as premium-SMS, enable subscribers to download applications without having to access a carrier’s branded e-commerce service. Increased use by subscribers of open operating system handsets or premium-SMS delivery systems will enable them to bypass carriers’ branded e-commerce services and could reduce the market power of carriers. This could force us to rely further on alternative sales channels where we may not be successful selling our games and could require us to increase our sales and marketing expenses significantly. As with our carriers, we believe that inferior placement of our games and other mobile entertainment products in the menus of off-deck distributors will result in lower revenues than might otherwise be anticipated from these alternative sales channels. We may be unable to develop and promote our direct website distribution sufficiently to overcome the limitations and disadvantages of off-deck distribution channels and our efforts to promote direct distribution could prove expensive. This could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

If a substantial number of the end users that purchase our games by subscription change mobile handsets or if wireless carriers switch to subscription plans that require active monthly renewal by subscribers or change or cease offering subscription plans, our sales could suffer.

Subscriptions represent a significant portion of our revenues. As handset development continues, over time an increasing percentage of end users who already own one or more of our subscription games will likely upgrade from their existing handsets. With some wireless carriers, end users are not able to transfer their existing subscriptions from one handset to another. In addition, carriers may switch to subscription billing systems that require end users to actively renew, or opt-in, each month from current systems that passively renew unless end users take some action to opt-out of their subscriptions, or change or cease offering subscription plans altogether. If our subscription revenues decrease significantly for these or other reasons, our sales would suffer and this could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

If we fail to maintain and enhance our capabilities for porting games to a broad array of mobile handsets, our attractiveness to wireless carriers and branded content owners will be impaired, and our sales and financial results could suffer.

To reach large numbers of wireless subscribers, mobile entertainment publishers like us must support numerous mobile handsets and technologies. Once developed, a mobile game may be required to be ported to, or

 

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converted into separate versions for, more than 1,000 different handset models, many with different technological requirements. These include handsets with various combinations of underlying technologies, user interfaces, keypad layouts, screen resolutions, sound capabilities and other carrier-specific customizations. If we fail to maintain or enhance our porting capabilities, our sales could suffer, branded content owners might choose not to grant us licenses and carriers might choose to give our games less desirable deck placement or not to give our games placement on their decks at all.

Changes to our game design and development processes to address new features or functions of handsets or networks might cause inefficiencies in our porting process or might result in more labor intensive porting processes. In addition, in the future we will be required to port existing and new games to a broader array of handsets and develop versions specific to new smartphones. If we utilize more labor-intensive porting processes, our margins could be significantly reduced and it may take us longer to port games to an equivalent number of handsets. For example, the time required to develop and port games to some of the new smartphones, including the iPhone and those based on the Android platform, is longer and thus developing and porting for the advanced platforms is more costly than developing and porting for games for traditional mobile phones. Since the substantial majority of our revenues are currently derived from our carrier-based business, it is important that we maintain and enhance our porting capabilities. However, as additional smartphone storefronts are developed and gain market prominence, our porting capabilities represent less of a business advantage for us, yet we could be required to invest considerable resource in this area to support our existing business. These additional costs could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our industry is subject to risks generally associated with the entertainment industry, any of which could significantly harm our operating results.

Our business is subject to risks that are generally associated with the entertainment industry, many of which are beyond our control. These risks could negatively impact our operating results and include: the popularity, price and timing of release of games and mobile handsets on which they are played; the commercial success of any movies upon which one of more of our games are based; economic conditions that adversely affect discretionary consumer spending; changes in consumer demographics; the availability and popularity of other forms of entertainment; and critical reviews and public tastes and preferences, which may change rapidly and cannot necessarily be predicted.

If one or more of our games were found to contain hidden, objectionable content, our reputation and operating results could suffer.

Historically, many video games have been designed to include hidden content and gameplay features that are accessible through the use of in-game cheat codes or other technological means that are intended to enhance the gameplay experience. For example, our Super K.O. Boxing game released for feature phones includes additional characters and game modes that are available with a code (usually provided to a player after accomplishing a certain level of achievement in the game). These features have been common in console and computer games. However, in several cases, hidden content or features have been included in other publishers’ products by an employee who was not authorized to do so or by an outside developer without the knowledge of the publisher. From time to time, some of this hidden content and these hidden features have contained profanity, graphic violence and sexually explicit or otherwise objectionable material. If a game we published were found to contain hidden, objectionable content, our wireless carriers and other distributors of our games could refuse to sell it, consumers could refuse to buy it or demand a refund of their money, and, if the game was based on licensed content, the licensor could demand that we incur significant expense to remove the objectionable content from the game and all ported versions of the game. This could have a materially negative impact on our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

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Our business and growth may suffer if we are unable to hire and retain key personnel.

Our future success will depend, to a significant extent, on our ability to retain and motivate our key personnel, namely our management team and experienced sales and engineering personnel. In addition, in order to grow our business, succeed on our new business initiatives, such as developing persistent-state, freemium titles for smartphones and advanced platforms, and replace departing employees, we must be able to identify and hire qualified personnel. Competition for qualified management, sales, engineering and other personnel can be intense, and we may not be successful in attracting and retaining such personnel. This may be particularly the case for us to the extent our stock price remains at a depressed level, as individuals may elect to seek employment with other companies that they believe have better long-term prospects. Competitors have in the past and may in the future attempt to recruit our employees, and our management and key employees are not bound by agreements that could prevent them from terminating their employment at any time. For example, five of our executive officers, including our President and Chief Executive Officer, have left our company since October 2009. We may also experience difficulty assimilating our newly hired personnel and they may be less effective or productive than we anticipated, which may adversely affect our business. In addition, we do not maintain a key-person life insurance policy on any of our officers. Our business and growth may suffer if we are unable to hire and retain key personnel.

Acquisitions could result in operating difficulties, dilution and other harmful consequences.

We have acquired a number of businesses in the past, including, most recently, Superscape, which has a significant presence in Russia, in March 2008 and MIG, which is based in China, in December 2007. We expect to continue to evaluate and consider a wide array of potential strategic transactions, including business combinations and acquisitions of technologies, services, products and other assets. At any given time, we may be engaged in discussions or negotiations with respect to one or more of these types of transactions. Any of these transactions could be material to our financial condition and results of operations. The process of integrating any acquired business may create unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures and is itself risky. The areas where we may face difficulties include:

 

    diversion of management time and a shift of focus from operating the businesses to issues related to integration and administration;

 

    declining employee morale and retention issues resulting from changes in compensation, management, reporting relationships, future prospects or the direction of the business;

 

    the need to integrate each acquired company’s accounting, management, information, human resource and other administrative systems to permit effective management, and the lack of control if such integration is delayed or not implemented;

 

    the need to implement controls, procedures and policies appropriate for a larger public company that the acquired companies lacked prior to acquisition;

 

    in the case of foreign acquisitions, the need to integrate operations across different cultures and languages and to address the particular economic, currency, political and regulatory risks associated with specific countries; and

 

    liability for activities of the acquired companies before the acquisition, including violations of laws, rules and regulations, commercial disputes, tax liabilities and other known and unknown liabilities.

If the anticipated benefits of any future acquisitions do not materialize, we experience difficulties integrating businesses acquired in the future, or other unanticipated problems arise, our business, operating results and financial condition may be harmed.

 

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In addition, a significant portion of the purchase price of companies we acquire may be allocated to acquired goodwill and other intangible assets, which must be assessed for impairment at least annually. In the future, if our acquisitions do not yield expected returns, we may be required to take charges to our earnings based on this impairment assessment process, which could harm our operating results. For example, during 2008 we incurred an aggregate goodwill impairment charge related to write-downs in the third and fourth quarters of 2008 of $69.5 million as the fair values of our three reporting units were determined to be below their carrying values.

Moreover, the terms of acquisitions may require that we make future cash or stock payments to shareholders of the acquired company, which may strain our cash resources or cause substantial dilution to our existing stockholders at the time the payments are required to be made. For example, pursuant to our merger agreement with MIG, we were required to make $25.0 million in future cash and stock payments to the former MIG shareholders, which payments we renegotiated in December 2008. Had we paid the MIG earnout and bonus payments on their original terms, we could have experienced cash shortfall related to the cash payments and our stockholders could have experienced substantial dilution related to the stock payments.

Our reported financial results could be adversely affected by changes in financial accounting standards or by the application of existing or future accounting standards to our business as it evolves.

Our reported financial results are impacted by the accounting policies promulgated by the SEC and national accounting standards bodies and the methods, estimates, and judgments that we use in applying our accounting policies. Due to recent economic events, the frequency of accounting policy changes may accelerate, including conversion to unified international accounting standards. Policies affecting software revenue recognition have and could further significantly affect the way we account for revenue related to our products and services. For example, we are developing and selling games for smartphones, including persistent-state, freemium games that we have begun to release in the fourth quarter of 2010, and the accounting for revenue derived from these platforms and games, particularly with regard to micro-transactions, is still evolving and, in some cases, uncertain. As we enhance, expand and diversify our business and product offerings, the application of existing or future financial accounting standards, particularly those relating to the way we account for revenue, could have a significant adverse effect on our reported results although not necessarily on our cash flows.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we might not be able to report our financial results accurately or prevent fraud; in that case, our stockholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which could negatively impact the price of our stock.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. In addition, Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to evaluate and report on our internal control over financial reporting. We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, substantial accounting and auditing expenses and expend significant management time in complying with the requirements of Section 404. Even if we conclude, that our internal control over financial reporting provides reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect fraud or misstatements. Failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. If we or our independent registered public accounting firm discover a material weakness or a significant deficiency in our internal control, the disclosure of that fact, even if quickly remedied, could reduce the market’s confidence in our financial statements and harm our stock price. In addition, a delay in compliance with Section 404 could subject us to a variety of administrative sanctions, including ineligibility for short form resale registration, action by the SEC, the suspension or delisting of our common stock from the NASDAQ Global Market and the inability of registered broker-dealers to make a market in our common stock, which would further reduce our stock price and could harm our business.

 

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Maintaining and improving our financial controls and the requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified members for our board of directors.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and the rules and regulations of the NASDAQ Stock Market. The requirements of these rules and regulations has significantly increased our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, makes some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly and may also place undue strain on our personnel, systems and resources.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. This can be difficult to do. For example, we depend on the reports of wireless carriers for information regarding the amount of sales of our games and related applications and to determine the amount of royalties we owe branded content licensors and the amount of our revenues. These reports may not be timely, and in the past they have contained, and in the future they may contain, errors.

To maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we expend significant resources and provide significant management oversight to implement appropriate processes, document our system of internal control over relevant processes, assess their design, remediate any deficiencies identified and test their operation. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. These efforts also involve substantial accounting-related costs. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on the NASDAQ Global Market.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the NASDAQ Stock Market make it more difficult and more expensive for us to maintain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to maintain coverage. If we are unable to maintain adequate directors’ and officers’ insurance, our ability to recruit and retain qualified directors, especially those directors who may be considered independent for purposes of the NASDAQ Stock Market rules, and officers will be significantly curtailed.

If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property rights, it may be possible for third parties to obtain and improperly use our intellectual property and our business and operating results may be harmed.

Our intellectual property is an essential element of our business. We rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, trade secret and other intellectual property laws and restrictions on disclosure to protect our intellectual property rights. To date, we have not sought patent protection. Consequently, we will not be able to protect our technologies from independent invention by third parties. Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or otherwise to obtain and use our technology and games. Monitoring unauthorized use of our games is difficult and costly, and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent piracy and other unauthorized distribution and use of our technology and games, particularly internationally where the laws may not protect our intellectual property rights as fully as in the United States. In the future, we may have to resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, which could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and our resources.

In addition, although we require our third-party developers to sign agreements not to disclose or improperly use our trade secrets and acknowledging that all inventions, trade secrets, works of authorship, developments and other processes generated by them on our behalf are our property and to assign to us any ownership they may have in those works, it may still be possible for third parties to obtain and improperly use our intellectual properties without our consent. This could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

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Our business is subject to increasing regulation of content, consumer privacy, distribution and online hosting and delivery in the key territories in which we conduct business. If we do not successfully respond to these regulations, our business may suffer.

Legislation is continually being introduced that may affect both the content of our products and their distribution. For example, data and consumer protection laws in the United States and Europe impose various restrictions on our business, which will be increasingly important to our business as we continue to market our products directly to end users and to the extent we obtain personal information about our customers. Any concerns about our practices with regard to the collection, use, disclosure, or security of personal information or other privacy related matters, even if unfounded, could damage our reputation and operating results. The rules regarding data and consumer protection laws vary by territory although the Internet recognizes no geographical boundaries. In the United States, for example, numerous federal and state laws have been introduced which attempt to restrict the content or distribution of games. Legislation has been adopted in several states, and proposed at the federal level, that prohibits the sale of certain games to minors. If such legislation is adopted and enforced, it could harm our business by limiting the games we are able to offer to our customers or by limiting the size of the potential market for our games. We may also be required to modify certain games or alter our marketing strategies to comply with new and possibly inconsistent regulations, which could be costly or delay the release of our games. In addition, two self-regulatory bodies in the United States (the Entertainment Software Rating Board) and the European Union (Pan European Game Information) provide consumers with rating information on various products such as entertainment software similar to our products based on the content (for example, violence, sexually explicit content, language). Furthermore, the Chinese government has adopted measures designed to eliminate violent or obscene content in games. In response to these measures, some Chinese telecommunications operators have suspended billing their customers for certain mobile gaming platform services, including those services that do not contain offensive or unauthorized content, which could negatively impact our revenues in China. Any one or more of these factors could harm our business by limiting the products we are able to offer to our customers, by limiting the size of the potential market for our products, or by requiring costly additional differentiation between products for different territories to address varying regulations.

Changes in our tax rates or exposure to additional tax liabilities could adversely affect our earnings and financial condition.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and in various foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes, and, in the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain.

We are also required to estimate what our tax obligations will be in the future. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, the estimation process and applicable laws are inherently uncertain, and our estimates are not binding on tax authorities. The tax laws’ treatment of software and internet-based transactions is particularly uncertain and in some cases currently applicable tax laws are ill-suited to address these kinds of transactions. Apart from an adverse resolution of these uncertainties, our effective tax rate also could be adversely affected by our profit level, by changes in our business or changes in our structure, changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the elections we make, changes in applicable tax laws (in the United States or foreign jurisdictions), or changes in the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets, as well as other factors. Further, our tax determinations are subject to audit by tax authorities which could adversely affect our income tax provision. Should our ultimate tax liability exceed our estimates, our income tax provision and net income or loss could be materially affected.

We incur certain tax expenses that do not decline proportionately with declines in our consolidated pre-tax income or loss. As a result, in absolute dollar terms, our tax expense will have a greater influence on our effective tax rate at lower levels of pre-tax income or loss than at higher levels. In addition, at lower levels of pre-tax income or loss, our effective tax rate will be more volatile.

 

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We are also required to pay taxes other than income taxes, such as payroll, value-added, net worth, property and goods and services taxes, in both the United States and foreign jurisdictions. We are subject to examination by tax authorities with respect to these non-income taxes. There can be no assurance that the outcomes from examinations, changes in our business or changes in applicable tax rules will not have an adverse effect on our earnings and financial condition. In addition, we do not collect sales and use taxes since we do not make taxable sales in jurisdictions where we have employees and/or property or we do not have nexus in the state. If tax authorities assert that we have taxable nexus in the state, those authorities might seek to impose past as well as future liability for taxes and/or penalties. Such impositions could also impose significant administrative burdens and decrease our future sales. Moreover, state and federal legislatures have been considering various initiatives that could change our position regarding sales and use taxes.

Furthermore, as we expand our international operations, adopt new products and new distribution models, implement changes to our operating structure or undertake intercompany transactions in light of changing tax laws, acquisitions and our current and anticipated business and operational requirements, our tax expense could increase.

Third parties may sue us, including for intellectual property infringement, which, if successful, may disrupt our business and could require us to pay significant damage awards.

Third parties may sue us, including for intellectual property infringement, or initiate proceedings to invalidate our intellectual property, which, if successful, could disrupt the conduct of our business, cause us to pay significant damage awards or require us to pay licensing fees. For example, in a recently settled dispute, Skinit, Inc. filed a complaint against us and other defendants in which it sought unspecified damages, plus attorney’s fees and costs. In the event of a future successful claim against us, we might be enjoined from using our or our licensed intellectual property, we might incur significant licensing fees and we might be forced to develop alternative technologies. Our failure or inability to develop non-infringing technology or games or to license the infringed or similar technology or games on a timely basis could force us to withdraw games from the market or prevent us from introducing new games. In addition, even if we are able to license the infringed or similar technology or games, license fees could be substantial and the terms of these licenses could be burdensome, which might adversely affect our operating results. We might also incur substantial expenses in defending against third-party disputes, litigation or infringement claims, regardless of their merit. Successful claims against us might result in substantial monetary liabilities, an injunction against us and might materially disrupt the conduct of our business and harm our financial results.

Risks Relating To Our Common Stock

Our stock price has fluctuated and declined significantly since our initial public offering in March 2007, and may continue to fluctuate, may not rise and may decline further, which could cause our stock to be delisted from trading on the NASDAQ Global Market.

The trading price of our common stock has fluctuated in the past and is expected to continue to fluctuate in the future, as a result of a number of factors, many of which are outside our control, such as:

 

    price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market, including as a result of trends in the economy as a whole, such as the continuing unprecedented volatility in the financial markets;

 

    changes in the operating performance and stock market valuations of other technology companies generally, or those in our industry in particular;

 

    actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;

 

    the financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in these projections or our failure to meet these projections;

 

    failure of securities analysts to initiate or maintain coverage of us, changes in financial estimates by any securities analysts who follow our company or our industry, our failure to meet these estimates or failure of those analysts to initiate or maintain coverage of our stock;

 

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    ratings or other changes by any securities analysts who follow our company or our industry;

 

    announcements by us or our competitors of significant technical innovations, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, capital raising activities or capital commitments;

 

    the public’s response to our press releases or other public announcements, including our filings with the SEC;

 

    any significant sales of our stock by our directors, executive officers or large stockholders, including the investors in our recently completed private placement transaction (the “Private Placement”) whose shares have been registered for resale under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and may be freely sold at any time;

 

    lawsuits threatened or filed against us; and

 

    market conditions or trends in our industry or the economy as a whole.

In addition, the stock markets, including the NASDAQ Global Market on which our common stock is listed, have recently and in the past, experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market prices of many companies, some of which appear to be unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. These broad market fluctuations could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. Securities class action litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources.

Since becoming a publicly traded security listed on the NASDAQ Global Market in March 2007, our common stock has reached a closing high of $14.67 per share and closing low of $0.23 per share. Our common stock traded below $1.00 per share from October 30, 2008 until June 12, 2009, for portions of July and August 2009 and for portions of February, March and April 2010, and the last reported sale price of our common stock on November 11, 2010 was $2.41 per share. Under NASDAQ’s continued listing standards, if the closing bid price of our common stock is under $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive trading days, NASDAQ may notify us that it may delist our common stock from the NASDAQ Global Market. If the closing bid price of our common stock does not thereafter regain compliance for a minimum of ten consecutive trading days during the 180-days following notification by NASDAQ, NASDAQ may delist our common stock from trading on the NASDAQ Global Market. As a result, we cannot assure you that our common stock will remain eligible for trading on the NASDAQ Global Market. If our stock were delisted, the ability of our stockholders to sell any of our common stock at all would be severely, if not completely, limited, causing our stock price to continue to decline.

Our principal stockholders, executive officers and directors have substantial control over our company, which may prevent you or other stockholders from influencing significant corporate decisions.

Matthew A. Drapkin and Hany M. Nada, each of whom is a member of our board of directors, are affiliated with entities that previously held substantial amounts of our common stock and purchased shares of our common stock and warrants to purchase shares of our common stock in the Private Placement. In addition, Mr. Drapkin and one of his partners also purchased shares and warrants in the Private Placement for their own account. These persons and entities, which we collectively refer to as the Affiliated Investors, beneficially owned approximately 27.2% of our common stock as of September 30, 2010. In addition, the Affiliated Investors, together with the other members of our board of directors, our executive officers and our other 5% or greater stockholders, beneficially owned 61.4% of our common stock as of September 30, 2010. As a result, these stockholders will, if they so choose, be able to control or substantially control all matters requiring stockholder approval. These matters include the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions, such as a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination involving us. These stockholders may have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests. This concentration of ownership could also adversely affect the market price of our common stock or reduce any premium over market price that an acquirer might otherwise pay.

 

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Some provisions in our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and the terms of some of our licensing and distribution agreements and our credit facility may deter third parties from seeking to acquire us.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our company more difficult without the approval of our board of directors, including the following:

 

    our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors with staggered three-year terms;

 

    only our chairman of the board, our lead independent director, our chief executive officer, our president or a majority of our board of directors is authorized to call a special meeting of stockholders;

 

    our stockholders are able to take action only at a meeting of stockholders and not by written consent;

 

    only our board of directors and not our stockholders is able to fill vacancies on our board of directors;

 

    our certificate of incorporation authorizes undesignated preferred stock, the terms of which may be established and shares of which may be issued without stockholder approval; and

 

    advance notice procedures apply for stockholders to nominate candidates for election as directors or to bring matters before a meeting of stockholders.

In addition, the terms of a number of our agreements with branded content owners and wireless carriers effectively provide that, if we undergo a change of control, the applicable content owner or carrier will be entitled to terminate the relevant agreement. Also, our credit facility provides that a change in control of our company is an event of default, which accelerates all of our outstanding debt, thus effectively requiring that we or the acquirer be willing to repay the debt concurrently with the change of control or that we obtain the consent of the lender to proceed with the change of control transaction. Individually or collectively, these matters may deter third parties from seeking to acquire us.

Management might apply the net proceeds from an offering of our securities to uses that do not improve our operating results or increase the value of your investment.

Our management will have considerable discretion in the application of the net proceeds from offerings made pursuant to this prospectus, and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess how the proceeds will be used. The net proceeds may be used for corporate purposes that do not improve our operating results or market value and you will not have the opportunity to evaluate the economic, financial, or other information on which we base our decisions on how to use the proceeds. Pending application of the proceeds, they might be placed in investments that do not produce income or that lose value.

Future sales of shares by existing stockholders could affect our stock price.

The shares held by our stockholders, including our executive officers and directors and the investors in our recent Private Placement, may be sold in the public market at any time and from time to time subject, in certain cases, to volume limitations under Rule 144 of the Securities Act. If any of these stockholders sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, the market price of our common stock could decline. In addition, shares subject to outstanding options and shares reserved for future issuance under our stock option and purchase plans will continue to become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the securities rules and regulations applicable to these shares.

We do not expect to pay any dividends for the foreseeable future. Our stockholders may never obtain a return on their investment.

We have never declared or paid dividends on our common stock, and we do not expect to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Instead, we anticipate that all of our earnings, if any, in the foreseeable future will be used to finance the operation and growth of our business. In addition, our ability to pay dividends to holders of our capital stock is limited by our credit facility. Any future determination to pay

 

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dividends on our common stock is subject to the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon various factors, including, without limitation, our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, at this time our credit facility prohibits the payment of dividends.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This prospectus and documents incorporated herein by reference contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this prospectus or any documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, including statements regarding future events, our future financial performance, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are often identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “estimate” or “continue,” and similar expressions or variations. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results and the timing of certain events to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified herein, and those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors,” set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and in our other SEC filings incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement, each of which applies only as of the date of this prospectus. Before you invest in our securities, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus could negatively affect our business, operating results, financial condition and stock price. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this prospectus to conform our statements to actual results or changed expectations.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Except as described in any prospectus supplement, we currently intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of securities under this prospectus for general corporate purposes including, without limitation, additions to our working capital, capital expenditures and potential acquisitions of, or investments in, companies and technologies that complement our business. Pending such uses, we may temporarily invest the net proceeds.

RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

The financial information provided in the table below should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the related notes incorporated by reference into this prospectus. The following table sets forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges. As our earnings were inadequate to cover fixed charges for each of the periods presented, we have provided the deficiency amounts. For purposes of calculating this deficiency, earnings consist of income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes and minority interest. Fixed charges consist of

 

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interest expense, including amortization of debt issuance costs, and the portion of rental expense which we believe is representative of the interest component of rental expense.

 

     Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
 
     2009     2008     2007     2010     2009  
     (In thousands)  

Earnings before income taxes and minority interest

     (16,034     (103,566     (3,591     (7,474     (8,811
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Fixed charges

     1,557        454        1,089        726        1,211   

Earnings

     (14,477     (103,112     (2,502     (6,748     (7,600

Fixed charges

     1,557        454        1,089        726        1,211   

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges

     (1)      (1)      (1)      (1)      (1) 

 

(1) Earnings were inadequate to cover fixed charges by $16,034 for 2009, $103,566 for 2008, $3,591 for 2007, $7,474 for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 and $8,811 for the nine months ended September 30, 2009.

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES WE MAY OFFER

As of the date of this prospectus, our authorized capital stock consisted of 250,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, and 5,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share. The following description summarizes the most important terms of the securities we may offer. Because it is only a summary, it does not contain all the information that may be important to you. For a complete description, you should refer to the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws and to the applicable provisions of Delaware law.

Types of Securities We May Offer

Common Stock

As of October 31, 2010, we had 44,572,844 shares of common stock outstanding.

Dividend Rights.    Subject to preferences that may apply to shares of our preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of outstanding shares of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of funds legally available at the times and in the amounts that our board of directors may determine.

Voting Rights.    Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Our restated certificate of incorporation eliminates the right of stockholders to cumulate votes for the election of directors. Our restated certificate of incorporation establishes a classified board of directors, divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. Only one class of directors is elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms.

No Preemptive or Similar Rights.    Our common stock is not entitled to preemptive rights and is not subject to conversion, redemption or sinking fund provisions.

Right to Receive Liquidation Distributions.    Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, the assets legally available for distribution to stockholders will be distributable ratably among the holders of our common stock, subject to prior satisfaction of all outstanding debt and liabilities and the preferential rights and payment of liquidation preferences, if any, on any outstanding shares of preferred stock.

 

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Limitations on Common Stock Rights Created by the Rights of Another Authorized Class of Securities.    As further described below, our board of directors is authorized, subject to the limits imposed by Delaware law, to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock. Although no shares of preferred stock are outstanding as of the date of this prospectus, our board may authorize the issuance of such preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of the common stock.

Our common stock is listed on The NASDAQ Global Market under the trading symbol “GLUU.” The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Co.

Preferred Stock

As of the date of this prospectus, no shares of our preferred stock were outstanding. Subject to limitations prescribed by Delaware law, our board of directors is authorized to issue preferred stock in one or more series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each series, to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each series and any of its qualifications, limitations or restrictions, in each case without further action by our stockholders. Our board of directors can also increase or decrease the number of shares of any series of our preferred stock, but not below the number of shares of that series then outstanding, unless approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of our capital stock entitled to vote, or such other vote as may be required by the certificate of designation establishing the series. Our board of directors may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of our common stock. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could, among other things, have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in our control of Glu and might adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the voting and other rights of the holders of our common stock. We have no current plan to issue any shares of our preferred stock.

Our board of directors will fix the rights, preferences, privileges, qualifications, limitations and restrictions of the preferred stock of each series that we sell under this prospectus, applicable prospectus supplements and any related free writing prospectus in the certificate of designation relating to that series. We will incorporate by reference into the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part the form of any certificate of designation that describes the terms of the series of preferred stock we are offering before the issuance of the related series of preferred stock. This description of the preferred stock in the certificate of designation, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus will include:

 

    the number of shares in any series;

 

    the designation for any series by number, letter or title that shall distinguish the series from any other series of preferred stock;

 

    the dividend rate and whether dividends on that series of preferred stock will be cumulative, noncumulative or partially cumulative;

 

    the voting rights of that series of preferred stock, if any;

 

    the conversion provisions applicable to that series of preferred stock, if any;

 

    the redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to that series of preferred stock, if any;

 

    the liquidation preference per share of that series of preferred stock, if any;

 

    the rank of that series of preferred stock relative to other series of preferred stock; and

 

    the terms of any other preferences or rights, if any, applicable to that series of preferred stock.

The description of preferred stock set forth above and in any description of the terms of a particular series of preferred stock in the related prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus will not be complete. You should refer to the applicable certificate of designation for such series of preferred stock for complete

 

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information with respect to such preferred stock. The prospectus supplement will also contain a description of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences relating to that series of preferred stock.

Debt Securities

The following description of the terms of the debt securities summarizes some general terms that will apply to the debt securities. The description is not complete, and we refer you to the forms of indentures which we filed with the SEC as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

General

The debt securities will be either our senior debt securities or our subordinated debt securities. We will issue our debt securities under one or more separate indentures between us and a trustee to be named in a prospectus supplement. Senior debt securities will be issued under a senior indenture and subordinated securities will be issued under a subordinated indenture. A copy of the form of each type of indenture has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. The indentures may be supplemented by one or more supplemental indentures. We refer to the senior indenture and the subordinated indenture, together with any supplemental indentures, as the “indentures” throughout the remainder of this prospectus.

The indentures do not limit the amount of debt securities that we may issue. The indentures provide that debt securities may be issued up to the principal amount that we authorize from time to time. The senior debt securities will be secured or unsecured and will have the same rank as all of our other indebtedness that is not subordinated. The subordinated debt securities will be secured or unsecured and will be subordinated and junior to all senior indebtedness. The terms of the indentures do not contain any covenants or other provisions designed to give holders of any debt securities protection against changes in our operations, financial condition or transactions involving us, but those provisions may be included in the documents that include the specific terms of the debt securities.

We may issue the debt securities in one or more separate series of senior debt securities and subordinated debt securities. The prospectus supplement relating to the particular series of debt securities being offered will specify the particular amounts, prices and terms of those debt securities. These terms may include:

 

    the title of the debt securities;

 

    any limit upon the aggregate principal amount of the debt securities;

 

    if other than United States dollars, the currency or currencies, including the euro and other composite currencies, in which payments on the debt securities will be payable and whether the holder may elect payment to be made in a different currency;

 

    the date or dates when payments on the principal must be made or the method of determining that date or dates;

 

    interest rates, and the dates from which interest, if any, will accrue, and the dates when interest is payable and the maturity;

 

    the right, if any, to extend the interest payment periods and the duration of the extensions;

 

    the places where payments may be made and the manner of payments;

 

    any mandatory or optional redemption provisions;

 

    any subordination provisions;

 

    the denominations in which debt securities will be issued;

 

    the terms applicable to any debt securities issued at a discount from their stated principal amount;

 

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    the currency or currencies of payment of principal or interest; and the period, if any, during which a holder may elect to pay in a currency other than the currency in which the debt securities are denominated;

 

    if the amount of payments of principal or interest is to be determined by reference to an index or formula, or based on a coin or currency other than that in which the debt securities are stated to be payable, the manner in which these amounts are determined and the calculation agent, if any;

 

    whether the debt securities will be secured or unsecured;

 

    whether the debt securities will be issued in the form of one or more global securities in temporary or definitive form;

 

    whether and on what terms we will pay additional amounts to holders of the debt securities that are not United States persons in respect of any tax, assessment or governmental charge withheld or deducted and, if so, whether and on what terms we will have the option to redeem the debt securities rather than pay the additional amounts;

 

    the certificates or forms required for the issuance of debt securities in definitive form;

 

    the trustees, depositaries, authenticating or paying agents, transfer agents or registrars of the debt securities;

 

    any deletions of, or changes or additions to, the events of default or covenants;

 

    conversion or exchange provisions, if any, including conversion or exchange prices or rates and adjustments to those prices and rates; and

 

    any other specific terms of the debt securities.

If any debt securities are sold for any foreign currency or currency unit or if any payments on the debt securities are payable in any foreign currency or currency unit, the prospectus supplement will contain any restrictions, elections, tax consequences, specific terms and other information with respect to the debt securities and the foreign currency or currency unit.

Some of the debt securities may be issued as original issue discount debt securities. Original issue discount securities may bear no interest or bear interest at below-market rates and will be sold at a discount below their stated principal amount and may bear no or below market interest. The applicable prospectus supplement will also contain any special tax, accounting or other information relating to original issue discount securities other kinds of debt securities that may be offered, including debt securities linked to an index or payable in currencies other than United States dollars.

Senior Debt Securities

Payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on senior debt securities will rank on a parity with all of our other indebtedness that is not subordinated.

Subordinated Debt Securities

Payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on subordinated debt securities will be junior in right of payment to the prior payment in full of all of our unsubordinated debt, including senior debt securities. We will state in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to any subordinated debt securities the subordination terms of the securities as well as the aggregate amount of outstanding debt, as of the most recent practicable date, that by its terms would be senior to the subordinated debt securities. We will also state in such prospectus supplement limitations, if any, on issuance of additional senior debt. In addition, the subordinated debt securities will be effectively subordinated to creditors and preferred stockholders of our subsidiaries.

 

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Registrar and Paying Agent

The debt securities may be presented for registration of transfer or for exchange at the corporate trust office of the security registrar or at any other office or agency that we maintain for those purposes. In addition, the debt securities may be presented for payment of principal, interest and any premium at the office of the paying agent or at any office or agency that we maintain for those purposes.

The trustee to be named in a prospectus supplement will be designated security registrar and paying agent for the debt securities.

Global Securities

We may issue the debt securities of a series in whole or in part in the form of one or more global certificates that will be deposited with a depositary we will identify in a prospectus supplement. We may issue global debt securities in either temporary or definitive form. We will describe the specific terms of the depositary arrangement with respect to any series of debt securities in the prospectus supplement.

Conversion or Exchange Rights

Debt securities may be convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our common stock. The terms and conditions of conversion or exchange will be stated in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms will include, among others, the following:

 

    the conversion or exchange price;

 

    the conversion or exchange period;

 

    provisions regarding the convertibility or exchangeability of the debt securities, including who may convert or exchange;

 

    events requiring adjustment to the conversion or exchange price;

 

    provisions affecting conversion or exchange in the event of our redemption of the debt securities; and

 

    any anti-dilution provisions, if applicable.

Registered Global Securities

Unless and until it is exchanged in whole or in part for debt securities in definitive registered form, a registered global security may not be transferred except as a whole:

 

    by the depositary for that registered global security to its nominee;

 

    by a nominee of the depositary to the depositary or another nominee of the depositary; or

 

    by the depositary or its nominee to a successor of the depositary or a nominee of the successor.

The prospectus supplement relating to a series of debt securities will describe the specific terms of the depositary arrangement involving any portion of the series represented by a registered global security.

We anticipate that the following provisions will apply to all depositary arrangements for debt securities:

 

    ownership of beneficial interests in a registered global security will be limited to persons that have accounts with the depositary for that registered global security, these persons being referred to as “participants”, or persons that may hold interests through participants;

 

   

upon the issuance of a registered global security, the depositary for the registered global security will credit, on its book-entry registration and transfer system, the participants’ accounts with the respective

 

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principal amounts of the debt securities represented by the registered global security beneficially owned by the participants;

 

    any dealers, underwriters or agents participating in the distribution of the debt securities will designate the accounts to be credited; and

 

    ownership of beneficial interest in that registered global security will be shown on, and the transfer of that ownership interest will be effected only through, records maintained by the depositary for that registered global security for interests of participants and on the records of participants for interests of persons holding through participants.

The laws of some states may require that specified purchasers of securities take physical delivery of the securities in definitive form. These laws may limit the ability of those persons to own, transfer or pledge beneficial interests in registered global securities.

So long as the depositary for a registered global security, or its nominee, is the registered owner of that registered global security, the depositary or that nominee will be considered the sole owner or holder of the debt securities represented by the registered global security for all purposes under the indenture. Except as stated below, owners of beneficial interests in a registered global security:

 

    will not be entitled to have the debt securities represented by a registered global security registered in their names;

 

    will not receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of the debt securities in definitive form; and

 

    will not be considered the owners or holders of the debt securities under the indenture.

Accordingly, each person owning a beneficial interest in a registered global security must rely on the procedures of the depositary for the registered global security and, if the person is not a participant, on the procedures of a participant through which the person owns its interest, to exercise any rights of a holder under the indenture.

We understand that under existing industry practices, if we request any action of holders or if an owner of a beneficial interest in a registered global security desires to give or take any action that a holder is entitled to give or take under the indenture, the depositary for the registered global security would authorize the participants holding the relevant beneficial interests to give or take the action, and the participants would authorize beneficial owners owning through the participants to give or take the action or would otherwise act upon the instructions of beneficial owners holding through them.

We will make payments of principal and premium, if any, and interest, if any, on debt securities represented by a registered global security registered in the name of a depositary or its nominee to the depositary or its nominee as the registered owners of the registered global security. None of us, the trustee or any other of our agents or agents of the trustee will be responsible or liable for any aspect of the records relating to, or payments made on account of, beneficial ownership interests in the registered global security or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to the beneficial ownership interests.

We expect that the depositary for any debt securities represented by a registered global security, upon receipt of any payments of principal and premium, if any, and interest, if any, in respect of the registered global security, will immediately credit participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in the registered global security as shown on the records of the depositary. We also expect that standing customer instructions and customary practices will govern payments by participants to owners of beneficial interests in the registered global security held through the participants, as is now the case with the securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name.” We also expect that any of these payments will be the responsibility of the participants.

 

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If the depositary for any debt securities represented by a registered global security is at any time unwilling or unable to continue as depositary or stops being a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act, we will appoint an eligible successor depositary. If we fail to appoint an eligible successor depositary within 90 days, we will issue the debt securities in definitive form in exchange for the registered global security. In addition, we may at any time and in our sole discretion decide not to have any of the debt securities of a series represented by one or more registered global securities. In that event, we will issue debt securities of the series in a definitive form in exchange for all of the registered global securities representing the debt securities. The trustee will register any debt securities issued in definitive form in exchange for a registered global security in the name or names as the depositary, based upon instructions from its participants, will instruct the trustee.

Merger, Consolidation or Sale of Assets

Under the terms of the indentures, we may consolidate or merge with another company, or sell, lease or convey all or substantially all our assets to another company, if:

 

    Glu is the continuing entity; or

 

    (i) Glu is not the continuing entity, (ii) the successor entity is organized under the laws of the United States of America and expressly assumes all payments on all of the debt securities and the performance and observance of all the covenants and conditions of the applicable indenture, and (iii) the merger, sale of assets or other transaction must not cause a default on the debt securities and we must not already be in default.

Events of Default

Unless otherwise provided for in the prospectus supplement, the term “event of default,” when used in the indentures means any of the following:

 

    failure to pay interest for 30 days after the date payment is due and payable; however, if we extend an interest payment period under the terms of the debt securities, the extension will not be a failure to pay interest;

 

    failure to pay principal or premium, if any, on any debt security when due, either at maturity, upon any redemption, by declaration or otherwise;

 

    failure to perform other covenants for 60 days after notice that performance was required;

 

    certain events in bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization of our company; or

 

    any other event of default provided in the applicable resolution of our board of directors or the supplemental indenture under which we issue a series of debt securities.

An event of default for a particular series of debt securities does not necessarily constitute an event of default for any other series of debt securities issued under an indenture. If an event of default relating to the payment of interest, principal or any sinking fund installment involving any series of debt securities has occurred and is continuing, the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of each affected series may declare the entire principal of all the debt securities of that series to be due and payable immediately.

If an event of default relating to the performance of other covenants occurs and is continuing for a period of 60 days after notice of that event of default, or if any other event of default occurs and is continuing involving all of the series of senior debt securities, then the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of all of the series of senior debt securities may declare the entire principal amount of all of the series of senior debt securities due and payable immediately.

 

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Similarly, if an event of default relating to the performance of other covenants occurs and is continuing for a period of 60 days after notice, or if any other event of default occurs and is continuing involving all of the series of subordinated debt securities, then the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of all of the series of subordinated debt securities may declare the entire principal amount of all of the series of subordinated debt securities due and payable immediately.

If, however, the event of default relating to the performance of other covenants or any other event of default that has occurred and is continuing is for less than all of the series of senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities, then, the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in aggregate principal amount of each affected series of the senior debt securities or the subordinated debt securities, as the case may be, may declare the entire principal amount of all debt securities of that affected series due and payable immediately. The holders of not less than a majority, or any applicable supermajority, in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of a series may, after satisfying conditions, rescind and annul any of the above-described declarations and consequences involving the series.

If an event of default relating to events in bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occurs and is continuing, then the principal amount of all of the debt securities outstanding, and any accrued interest, will automatically become due and payable immediately, without any declaration or other act by the trustee or any holder.

Each indenture imposes limitations on suits brought by holders of debt securities against us. Except for actions for payment of overdue principal or interest, no holder of debt securities of any series may institute any action against us under each indenture unless:

 

    the holder has previously given to the trustee written notice of default and continuance of that default;

 

    the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the affected series have requested that the trustee institute the action;

 

    the requesting holders have offered the trustee reasonable indemnity for expenses and liabilities that may be incurred by bringing the action;

 

    the trustee has not instituted the action within 60 days of the request; and

 

    the trustee has not received inconsistent direction by the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the series.

We will be required to file annually with the trustee a certificate, signed by an officer of our company, stating whether or not the officer knows of any default by us in the performance, observance or fulfillment of any condition or covenant of an indenture.

Discharge, Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance

We can discharge or defease our obligations under the indentures as stated below or as provided in the prospectus supplement.

Unless otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may discharge obligations to holders of any series of debt securities that have not already been delivered to the trustee for cancellation and that have either become due and payable or are by their terms to become due and payable, or are scheduled for redemption, within one year. We may effect a discharge by irrevocably depositing with the trustee cash or United States government obligations, as trust funds, in an amount certified to be enough to pay when due, whether at maturity, upon redemption or otherwise, the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on the debt securities and any mandatory sinking fund payments.

Unless otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may also discharge any and all of our obligations to holders of any series of debt securities at any time, which we refer to as “defeasance.” We may

 

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also be released from the obligations imposed by any covenants of any outstanding series of debt securities and provisions of the indentures, and we may omit to comply with those covenants without creating an event of default under the trust declaration, which we refer to as “covenant defeasance.” We may effect defeasance and covenant defeasance only if, among other things:

 

    we irrevocably deposit with the trustee cash or United States government obligations, as trust funds, in an amount certified to be enough to pay at maturity, or upon redemption, the principal, premium, if any, and interest on all outstanding debt securities of the series;

 

    we deliver to the trustee an opinion of counsel from a nationally recognized law firm to the effect that (i) in the case of covenant defeasance, the holders of the series of debt securities will not recognize income, gain or loss for United States federal income tax purposes as a result of the defeasance, and will be subject to tax in the same manner and at the same times as if no covenant defeasance had occurred and (ii) in the case of defeasance, either we have received from, or there has been published by, the Internal Revenue Service a ruling or there has been a change in applicable United States federal income tax law, and based on that ruling or change, the holders of the series of debt securities will not recognize income, gain or loss for United States federal income tax purposes as a result of the defeasance and will be subject to tax in the same manner as if no defeasance had occurred; and

 

    in the case of subordinated debt securities, no event or condition will exist that, based on the subordination provisions applicable to the series, would prevent us from making payments of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on any of the applicable subordinated debt securities at the date of the irrevocable deposit referred to above or at any time during the period ending on the 91st day after the deposit date.

Although we may discharge or decrease our obligations under the indentures as described in the two preceding paragraphs, we may not avoid, among other things, our duty to register the transfer or exchange of any series of debt securities, to replace any temporary, mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen series of debt securities or to maintain an office or agency in respect of any series of debt securities.

Modification of the Indenture

Except as provided in the prospectus supplement, each indenture provides that we and the trustee may enter into supplemental indentures without the consent of the holders of debt securities to:

 

    secure any debt securities;

 

    evidence the assumption by a successor corporation of our obligations and the conversion of any debt securities into the capital stock of that successor corporation, if the terms of those debt securities so provide;

 

    add covenants for the protection of the holders of debt securities;

 

    cure any ambiguity or correct any inconsistency in the indenture;

 

    establish the forms or terms of debt securities of any series; and

 

    evidence and provide for the acceptance of appointment by a successor trustee.

Each indenture also provides that we and the trustee may, with the consent of the holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of debt securities of all series of senior debt securities or of subordinated debt securities then outstanding and affected, voting as one class, add any provisions to, or change in any manner, eliminate or modify in any way the provisions of, the indenture or modify in any manner the rights of the holders of the debt securities. We and the trustee may not, however, without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security affected:

 

    extend the stated maturity of any debt security;

 

   

reduce the principal amount or premium, if any;

 

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    reduce the rate or extend the time of payment of interest;

 

    reduce any amount payable on redemption;

 

    change the currency in which the principal, unless otherwise provided for a series, premium, if any, or interest is payable;

 

    reduce the amount of the principal of any debt security issued with an original issue discount that is payable upon acceleration or provable in bankruptcy;

 

    impair the right to institute suit for the enforcement of any payment on any debt security when due; or

 

    reduce the percentage of holders of debt securities of any series whose consent is required for any modification of the indenture for any such series.

Concerning the Trustee

Each indenture provides that there may be more than one trustee under the indenture, each for one or more series of debt securities. If there are different trustees for different series of debt securities, each trustee will be a trustee of a trust under the indentures separate and apart from the trust administered by any other trustee under the indenture. Except as otherwise indicated in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, any action permitted to be taken by a trustee may be taken by that trustee only on the one or more series of debt securities for which it is the trustee under the indenture. Any trustee under the indentures may resign or be removed from one or more series of debt securities. All payments of principal of, premium, if any, and interest on, and all registration, transfer, exchange, authentication and delivery of, the debt securities of a series may be effected by the trustee for that series at an office or agency designated by the trustee of that series.

If the trustee becomes a creditor of our company, each indenture places limitations on the right of the trustee to obtain payment of claims or to realize on property received in respect of any such claim as security or otherwise. The trustee may engage in other transactions. If it acquires any conflicting interest relating to any duties concerning the debt securities, however, it must eliminate the conflict or resign as trustee.

The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of any series of debt securities then outstanding will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for exercising any remedy available to the trustee concerning the applicable series of debt securities, so long as the direction:

 

    would not conflict with any rule of law or with the applicable indenture;

 

    would not be unduly prejudicial to the rights of another holder of the debt securities; and

 

    would not involve any trustee in personal liability.

Each indenture provides that if an event of default occurs, is not cured and is known to any trustee, the trustee must use the same degree of care as a prudent person would use in the conduct of his or her own affairs in the exercise of the trust’s power. The trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under the indenture at the request of any of the holders of the debt securities, unless they have offered to the trustee security and indemnity satisfactory to the trustee.

No Individual Liability of Incorporators, Stockholders, Officers or Directors

Each indenture provides that no incorporator and no past, present or future stockholder, officer or director of our company or any successor corporation in those capacities will have any individual liability for any of our obligations, covenants or agreements under the debt securities or such indenture.

Governing Law

The indentures and the debt securities will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.

 

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Warrants

We may issue warrants for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, or a combination thereof. Warrants may be issued independently or together with any offered securities and may be attached to or separate from any offered securities. Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and the purchasers of the warrants or between us and a bank or trust company, as warrant agent. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants. The warrant agent will not have any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders or beneficial owners of warrants.

For the complete terms of a particular series of warrants, you should refer to the prospectus supplement, any related free writing prospectus and the warrant agreement for that particular series of warrants. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus relating to a particular series of warrants to purchase our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities will describe the terms of the warrants, including the following:

 

    the title of the warrants;

 

    the offering price for the warrants, if any;

 

    the aggregate number of the warrants;

 

    the designation and terms of the common stock, preferred stock or debt securities that may be purchased upon exercise of the warrants;

 

    if applicable, the designation and terms of the securities with which the warrants are issued and the number of warrants issued with each security;

 

    if applicable, the date from and after which the warrants and any securities issued with the warrants will be separately transferable;

 

    the number of shares of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities that may be purchased upon exercise of a warrant and the exercise price for the warrants;

 

    the dates on which the right to exercise the warrants shall commence and expire;

 

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

 

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

 

    if applicable, a discussion of material U.S. federal income tax considerations;

 

    the anti-dilution provisions of the warrants, if any;

 

    the redemption or call provisions, if any, applicable to the warrants;

 

    in the case of warrants for debt securities:

 

    the number of, and any date on and after which, debt warrants and debt securities that will be separately transferable;

 

    the title, total principal amount, ranking and terms, including subordination and conversion provisions, of the underlying debt securities that may be purchased upon exercise of the debt warrants;

 

    the time or period when the debt warrants are exercisable, the minimum or maximum amount of debt warrants that may be exercised at any one time and the final date on which the debt warrants may be exercised;

 

    the principal amount of underlying debt securities that may be purchased upon exercise of each debt warrant and the price, or the manner of determining the price, at which the principal amount may be purchased upon exercise;

 

    whether the debt securities are secured or unsecured; and

 

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    any book-entry procedure information;

 

    any provisions with respect to holder’s right to require us to repurchase the warrants upon a change in control; and

 

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

Holders of warrants will not be entitled to:

 

    vote, consent or receive dividends;

 

    receive notice as stockholders with respect to any meeting of stockholders for the election of our directors or any other matter; or

 

    exercise any rights as stockholders of Glu.

As set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, the exercise price and the number of shares of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrant will be subject to adjustment in certain events, including the issuance of a stock dividend to any holders of common stock, a stock split, reverse stock split, combination, subdivision or reclassification of common stock, and such other events, if any, specified in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus.

Subscription Rights

We may issue subscription rights to purchase our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities. These subscription rights may be offered independently or together with any other security offered hereby and may or may not be transferable by the stockholder receiving the subscription rights in such offering. In connection with any offering of subscription rights, we may enter into a standby arrangement with one or more underwriters or other purchasers pursuant to which the underwriters or other purchasers may be required to purchase any securities remaining unsubscribed for after such offering.

The prospectus supplement relating to any subscription rights we offer, if any, will, to the extent applicable, include specific terms relating to the offering, including some or all of the following:

 

    the price, if any, for the subscription rights;

 

    the exercise price payable for our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities upon the exercise of the subscription rights;

 

    the number of subscription rights to be issued to each stockholder;

 

    the number and terms of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities which may be purchased per each subscription right;

 

    the extent to which the subscription rights are transferable;

 

    any other terms of the subscription rights, including the terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the subscription rights;

 

    the date on which the right to exercise the subscription rights shall commence, and the date on which the subscription rights shall expire;

 

    the extent to which the subscription rights may include an over-subscription privilege with respect to unsubscribed securities or an over-allotment privilege to the extent the securities are fully subscribed; and

 

    if applicable, the material terms of any standby underwriting or purchase arrangement which may be entered into by Glu in connection with the offering of subscription rights.

 

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The description in the applicable prospectus supplement of any subscription rights we offer will not necessarily be complete and will be qualified in its entirety by reference to the applicable subscription rights certificate, which will be filed with the SEC if we offer subscription rights. We urge you to read the applicable subscription rights certificate and any applicable prospectus supplement in their entirety.

Units

We may issue units to purchase one or more of the securities referenced herein. The terms of such units will be set forth in a prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus. The form of units and the applicable unit agreement will be filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K. We encourage you to read the applicable unit agreement and unit before you purchase any of our units.

Anti-Takeover Provisions

Provisions of Delaware law and our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws could make the acquisition of Glu and the removal of incumbent directors more difficult. These provisions are expected to discourage certain types of coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of our company to negotiate with us first.

Delaware Law

We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law regulating corporate takeovers. In general, the statute prohibits a publicly-held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years after the date that the person became an interested stockholder, subject to exceptions, unless the business combination or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder is approved by our board of directors in a prescribed manner. Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the stockholder. Generally, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years prior, did own, 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock. These provisions may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us without further action by the stockholders.

Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Restated Bylaw Provisions

Our restated certificate of incorporation and our restated bylaws include a number of provisions that may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying or preventing changes in control of Glu, including the following:

 

    Board of Directors Vacancies.    Our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws authorize only our board of directors to fill vacant directorships. In addition, the number of directors constituting our board of directors may be set only by resolution adopted by a majority vote of our entire board of directors. These provisions prevent a stockholder from increasing the size of our board of directors and gaining control of our board of directors by filling the resulting vacancies with its own nominees.

 

    Classified Board.    Our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws provide that our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors. The existence of a classified board of directors could delay a successful tender offeror from obtaining majority control of our board of directors, and the prospect of such delay may deter a potential offeror.

 

   

Stockholder Action; Special Meeting of Stockholders.    Our restated certificate of incorporation provides that our stockholders may not take action by written consent, but may take action only at annual or special meetings of our stockholders. Stockholders will not be permitted to cumulate their votes for the election of directors. Our restated bylaws further provide that special meetings of our

 

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stockholders may be called only by our chairman of the board, our chief executive officer, our president, a majority of our board of directors or our lead independent director, if any.

 

    Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations.    Our restated bylaws provide advance notice procedures for stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders, or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders. Our restated bylaws also specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. These provisions may preclude our stockholders from bringing matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our annual meeting of stockholders.

 

    Issuance of Undesignated Preferred Stock.    As described above, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock with rights and preferences, including voting rights, designated from time to time by the board of directors. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock enables our board of directors to render more difficult or to discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We or selling security holders may sell the securities referenced in this prospectus in any one or more of the following methods:

 

    direct sales to purchasers;

 

    through underwriting syndicates led by one or more managing underwriters, or through one or more underwriters acting alone, for resale to the public or investors;

 

    through designated agents;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

    exchange distributions in accordance with the rules of the applicable exchange;

 

    privately negotiated transactions;

 

    settlement of short sales entered into after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part;

 

    broker-dealers may agree with us to sell a specified number of such securities at a stipulated price per security;

 

    in “at the market offerings,” within the meaning of Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act to or through a market maker or into an existing trading market, on an exchange or otherwise;

 

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

 

    through dividend or similar distribution of subscription rights to our existing security holders, in connection with which we may engage a dealer-manager to assist in soliciting the exercise of rights and participation in any over-subscription or over-allotment right;

 

    a combination of any such methods of sale; or

 

    any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law.

 

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A prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus will set forth the specific terms of the offering of the securities covered by this prospectus, including:

 

    the name or names of any underwriters, dealers or agents, if any, and the amounts of securities underwritten or purchased by each of them;

 

    any over-allotment options under which underwriters, if any, may purchase additional securities from us;

 

    any underwriting discounts or commissions or agency fees and other items constituting underwriters’ or agents’ compensation, if applicable;

 

    in a subscription rights offering, whether we have engaged dealer-managers to facilitate the offering or subscription, including their name or names and compensation;

 

    the public offering price of the securities and the proceeds to us and any discounts, commissions or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers;

 

    the nature of the underwriter’s obligation to take the securities; and

 

    any securities exchanges or markets on which the securities will be listed.

Unless otherwise specified in the related prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, each series of securities will be a new issue with no established trading market, other than our common stock, which is listed on The NASDAQ Global Market. Any common stock sold pursuant to a prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus will be listed on The NASDAQ Global Market, subject to applicable notices. We may elect to apply for quotation or listing of any other class or series of our securities on a quotation system or an exchange, but we are not obligated to do so. It is possible that one or more underwriters may make a market in a class or series of our securities, but such underwriters will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. Therefore, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of, or the trading market for, any other class or series of our securities.

Underwriters may offer and sell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. If underwriters are used in the sale of any securities, the securities will be acquired by the underwriters for their own account and may be resold from time to time in one or more transactions described above. The securities may be either offered to the public through underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters, or directly by underwriters. Generally, the underwriters’ obligations to purchase the securities will be subject to certain conditions precedent. The underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the securities they have committed to purchase if they purchase any of the securities. We may use underwriters with which we have a material relationship. We will describe the nature of any such relationship in a prospectus supplement, naming the underwriters.

In connection with an offering, underwriters may purchase and sell securities in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, stabilizing transactions and purchases to cover positions created by short sales. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of securities than they are required to purchase in the offering. “Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional securities, if any, from us in the offering. If the underwriters have an over-allotment option to purchase additional securities from us, the underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their over-allotment option or purchasing securities in the open market. In determining the source of securities to close out the covered short position, the underwriters may consider, among other things, the price of securities available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase securities through the over-allotment option. “Naked” short sales are any sales in excess of such option or where the underwriters do not have an over-allotment option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing securities in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the securities in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering.

 

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Accordingly, to cover these short sales positions or to otherwise stabilize or maintain the price of the securities, the underwriters may bid for or purchase securities in the open market and may impose penalty bids. If penalty bids are imposed, selling concessions allowed to syndicate members or other broker-dealers participating in the offering are reclaimed if securities previously distributed in the offering are repurchased, whether in connection with stabilization transactions or otherwise. 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. The impositions of a penalty bid may also affect the price of the securities to the extent that it discourages resale of the securities. The magnitude or effect of any stabilization or other transactions is uncertain. These transactions may be effected on The NASDAQ Global Market or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.

We do not make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above might have on the price of the securities. In addition, we do not make any representation that underwriters will engage in such transactions or that such transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice at any time.

We or selling security holders may sell securities through agents from time to time. A prospectus supplement will name any agent involved in the offer or sale of the securities and any commissions we pay to them. Generally, any agent will be acting on a best efforts basis for the period of its appointment.

Any dealers or agents that are involved in selling the securities may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act in connection with such sales. In such event, any commissions received by such dealers or agents and any profit on the resale of the shares purchased by them may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the Securities Act.

We or selling security holders may authorize underwriters, dealers or agents to solicit offers by certain purchasers to purchase the securities from us at a public offering price set forth in the prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. The contracts will be subject only to those conditions set forth in the prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and the prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus will set forth any commissions we pay for solicitation of these contracts.

Agents and underwriters may be entitled to indemnification by us against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribution with respect to payments which the agents or underwriters may be required to make in respect thereof. Agents and underwriters may be customers of, engage in transactions with, or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the securities offered under this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Fenwick & West LLP, Mountain View, California. If the securities are being distributed in an underwritten offering, certain legal matters will be passed upon for the underwriters by counsel identified in the applicable prospectus supplement.

EXPERTS

The financial statements incorporated in this prospectus by reference to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

 

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INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

This prospectus incorporates by reference some of the reports, proxy and information statements and other information that we have filed with the SEC under the Exchange Act. This means that we are disclosing important business and financial information to you by referring you to those documents. Unless expressly incorporated into this prospectus, a Current Report (or portion thereof) furnished, but not filed, on Form 8-K shall not be incorporated by reference into this prospectus. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future filings made with the SEC under sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act until the termination of the offering of securities under this prospectus.

 

    Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009;

 

    Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2010;

 

    Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2010;

 

    Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2010

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 4, 2010;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 10, 2010 (but only the portions of such Current Report on Form 8-K that were filed with the SEC and not those portions that were furnished to the SEC);

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 22, 2010;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 12, 2010;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 10, 2010, as amended by our Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed on July 8, 2010;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 4, 2010;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 6, 2010;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 3, 2010 (but only the portions of such Current Report on Form 8-K that were filed with the SEC and not those portions that were furnished to the SEC);

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 30, 2010;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 4, 2010;

 

    Our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 2, 2010 (but only the portions of such Current Report on Form 8-K that were filed with the SEC and not those portions that were furnished to the SEC); and

 

    The description of our common stock contained in our Form 8-A filed with the SEC on March 16, 2007 under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, including any amendment or report that may be filed for the purpose of updating such description.

Any statements made in a document incorporated by reference in this prospectus is deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement in this prospectus or in any other subsequently filed document, which is also incorporated by reference, modifies or supersedes the statement. Any statement made in this prospectus is deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent a statement in any subsequently filed document, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus, modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.

 

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In addition, for so long as any of the securities remain outstanding and during any period in which we are not subject to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act, we will make available to any prospective purchaser or beneficial owner of the securities in connection with the sale thereof the information required by Rule 144A(d)(4) under the Securities Act. The information relating to us contained in this prospectus should be read together with the information in the documents incorporated by reference. In addition, certain information, including financial information, contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference in this prospectus should be read in conjunction with documents we have filed with the SEC.

We will provide to each person, including any beneficial holder, to whom a prospectus is delivered, at no cost, upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the information that has been incorporated by reference in the prospectus but not delivered with the prospectus. Requests for documents should be directed to Corporate Secretary, Glu Mobile Inc., 2207 Bridgepointe Parkway, Suite 300, San Mateo, CA 94404, telephone number (650) 532-2400. Exhibits to these filings will not be sent unless those exhibits have been specifically incorporated by reference in such filings.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We are subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and file reports, proxy and information statements and other information with the SEC. We are required to file electronic versions of these documents with the SEC. Our reports, proxy and information statements and other information can be inspected and copied at prescribed rates at the Public Reference Room of the SEC located at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the Public Reference Room. The SEC also maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information, including electronic versions of our filings. The website address is www.sec.gov.

 

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LOGO

6,300,000 Shares

Glu Mobile Inc.

Common Stock

 

 

PROSPECTUS

 

 

Sole Book-Running Manager

Canaccord Genuity

Co-Managers

 

Needham & Company    Roth Capital Partners

September 12, 2013

No action is being taken in any jurisdiction outside the United States to permit a public offering of the common stock of possession or distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in that jurisdiction. Persons who come into possession of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in jurisdictions outside the United States are required to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions as to this offering and the distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus applicable to that jurisdiction.