AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORP /DE/ - Quarter Report: 2014 December (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

For the quarterly period ended: December 31, 2014

For the transition period from _____ to _____.

Commission File Number: 0-19672

American Superconductor Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(978) 842-3000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).     Yes  x    No  ¨

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ¨    No   x

Shares outstanding of the Registrant’s common stock:

AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION

INDEX

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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION

PART I — FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share data)  

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME

(In thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity

Nature of the Business and Operations

American Superconductor Corporation (“AMSC” or the “Company”) was founded on April 9, 1987. The Company is a leading provider of megawatt-scale solutions that lower the cost of wind power and enhance the performance of the power grid. In the wind power market, the Company enables manufacturers to field wind turbines through its advanced engineering, support services and power electronics products. In the power grid market, the Company enables electric utilities and renewable energy project developers to connect, transmit and distribute power through its transmission planning services and power electronics and superconductor-based products. The Company’s wind and power grid products and services provide exceptional reliability, security, efficiency and affordability to its customers.

These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared on a going concern basis in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) instructions to Form 10-Q. The going concern basis of presentation assumes that the Company will continue operations and will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those instructions. The year-end condensed balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 and the financial position at December 31, 2014.

Liquidity

The Company has experienced recurring operating losses and as of December 31, 2014, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $901.7 million. In addition, the Company has experienced recurring negative operating cash flows.  At December 31, 2014, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $36.0 million. Cash used in operations for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 was $20.9 million.  

On August 29, 2014, the Arbitration Tribunal for the ICC International Court of Arbitration (the “ICC Court”) found the Company’s wholly-owned Austrian subsidiary, AMSC Austria GmbH (“AMSC Austria”) liable for damages in its breach of contract proceeding against Ghodawat Energy Pvt Ltd (“Ghodawat”) and awarded Ghodawat approximately €8.3 million (approximately $10.1 million) plus interest of 5.33%, which accrues from the date of award.  On February 4, 2015, AMSC Austria entered into a Settlement Agreement with Ghodawat, which provided for, among other things, (i) a payment by AMSC Austria to Ghodawat of €7.45 million (approximately $8.5 million), and (ii) upon payment by AMSC Austria to Ghodawat, the full settlement of any and all disputes and claims between the parties (including their respective parent and affiliated companies), in particular related to or arising out of the award.  As of the date of this filing, the Company has not paid this award, but expects to pay the settlement amount during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.  See Note 13, “Commitments and Contingencies” for further information.

From April 1, 2011 through the date of this filing, the Company has reduced its global workforce substantially.  The Company is currently in the process of consolidating certain business operations to reduce facility costs.  As of December 31, 2014, the Company had a global workforce of approximately 303 persons.  The Company plans to closely monitor its expenses and if required, expects to further reduce operating costs and capital spending to enhance liquidity.

On June 5, 2012, the Company entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (the “Term Loan”) with Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc (“Hercules”), under which the Company borrowed $10.0 million.  As of December 31, 2014, this loan was repaid in full.  On November 15, 2013, the Company entered into an amendment of the Term Loan (the “New Term Loan B”, under which the Company borrowed an additional $10.0 million.  On December 19, 2014, the Company entered into a second amendment of the Term Loan, (the “New Term Loan C”) and together with the Term Loan and the New Term Loan B, the “Term Loans”), under which the Company borrowed an additional $1.5 million.  As of December 31, 2014, the outstanding principal balance of the Term Loans is approximately $9.2 million.  The Term Loans contain certain covenants and restrictions including, among others, a requirement to maintain a minimum unrestricted cash balance in the U.S. equal to the lesser of a minimum threshold or the remaining principal balance of the Term Loans.  (See Note 10, “Debt”, for further information regarding these debt arrangements, including the covenants, restrictions and events of default under the agreements.) The Company believes that it is in compliance with the covenants and restrictions included in the agreements governing these debt arrangements as of December 31, 2014.

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On November 15, 2013, the Company entered into an At Market Sales Arrangement (“ATM”) under which the Company could, at its discretion, sell up to $30.0 million of shares of its common stock (before expenses) through its sales agent, MLV & Co. LLC (“MLV”).  During the three months ended December 31, 2014, the Company received net proceeds of $1.0 million, including sales and commissions and offering expenses, from sales of approximately 0.8 million shares of its common stock at an average sales price of approximately $1.22 per share under the ATM. (See Note 12, “Stockholders’ Equity”, for further information regarding the ATM.)   On November 5, 2014, the Company terminated the ATM arrangement in connection with an equity offering (see further discussion below).

On November 13, 2014, the Company completed an offering of approximately 9.1 million units of its common stock to a single investor at a price of $1.10 per share.  Each unit consisted of one share of the Company’s common stock and 0.9 of a warrant to purchase one share of common stock, or a warrant to purchase in the aggregate 8.2 million shares.  After deducting fees and expenses, the net proceeds from this offering were approximately $9.1 million.  (See Note 12, “Stockholders Equity” for further discussion regarding this offering.)

As a result of the financings completed during the three months ended December 31, 2014, the Company believes it has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations, including the Ghodawat arbitration award liability, capital expenditures and scheduled cash payments under its debt obligations through December 31, 2015. The Company’s liquidity is highly dependent on, its ability to increase revenues, its ability to control its operating costs, its ability to maintain compliance with the covenants and restrictions on its debt obligations (or obtain waivers from its lender in the event of non-compliance), and its ability to raise additional capital, if necessary. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to continue to raise additional capital from other sources or execute on any other means of improving liquidity described above.

In addition, the Company is actively seeking to sell its minority investment in Tres Amigas, LLC, a Delaware limited liability Company (“Tres Amigas”).  The Company no longer believes its investment in Blade Dynamics is recoverable and fully impaired its remaining investment in Blade Dynamics Ltd. (“Blade Dynamics”) during the three months ended September 30, 2014. (See Note 14, “Minority Investments”, for further information about such investments.) There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to sell these investments on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

2. Stock-Based Compensation

The Company accounts for its stock-based compensation at fair value. The following table summarizes stock-based compensation expense by financial statement line item for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):

During the nine months ended December 31, 2014, the Company granted 1,000,000 stock options, and approximately 3,243,000 restricted stock awards. During the nine months ended December 31, 2013, the Company granted approximately 831,000 stock options, 1,307,000 time-based restricted stock awards, 362,000 performance-based restricted stock awards, and issued 212,000 shares of common stock in-lieu of cash bonuses and severance payments issued. The stock options vest generally over 3-5 years, and the time-based restricted stock awards vest generally over three years. For options and awards that vest upon the passage of time, expense is being recorded over the vesting period.  Performance-based restricted stock awards are expensed over the requisite service period based on probability of achievement.

The estimated fair value of the Company’s stock-based awards, less expected annual forfeitures, is amortized over the awards’ service period. The total unrecognized compensation cost for unvested outstanding stock options was $1.5 million at December 31, 2014. This expense will be recognized over a weighted average expense period of approximately 3.0 years. The total unrecognized compensation cost for unvested outstanding restricted stock was $3.7 million at December 31, 2014. This expense will be recognized over a weighted-average expense period of approximately 1.4 years.

The weighted-average assumptions used in the Black-Scholes valuation model for stock options granted during the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 are as follows:

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The expected volatility rate was estimated based on an equal weighting of the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock and the implied volatility of the Company’s traded options. The expected term was estimated based on an analysis of the Company’s historical experience of exercise, cancellation, and expiration patterns. The risk-free interest rate is based on the average of the five and seven year United States Treasury rates.  

3. Computation of Net Loss per Common Share

Basic net loss per share (“EPS”) is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Where applicable, diluted EPS is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares and dilutive common equivalent shares outstanding during the period, calculated using the treasury stock method. Common equivalent shares include the effect of restricted stock, exercise of stock options and warrants and contingently issuable shares. For each of the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014, 15.7 million shares were not included in the calculation of diluted EPS as they were considered anti-dilutive, of which 3.8 million relate to unexercised stock options, and 11.9 million relate to outstanding warrants. For each of the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013, 10.1 million shares were not included in the calculation of diluted EPS as they were considered anti-dilutive, of which 3.2 million relate to unvested stock options, 3.5 million relate to outstanding warrants and 3.4 million shares relate to the number of shares underlying the Company’s unsecured, senior convertible note (the “Exchanged Note”).

The following table reconciles the numerators and denominators of the earnings per share calculation for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands, except per share data):

4. Fair Value Measurements

A valuation hierarchy for disclosure of the inputs to valuation used to measure fair value has been established. This hierarchy prioritizes the inputs into three broad levels as follows:

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The Company provides a gross presentation of activity within Level 3 measurement roll-forward and details of transfers in and out of Level 1 and 2 measurements.  A change in the hierarchy of an investment from its current level is reflected in the period during which the pricing methodology of such investment changes.  Disclosure of the transfer of securities from Level 1 to Level 2 or Level 3 is made in the event that the related security is significant to total cash and investments.  The Company did not have any transfers of assets and liabilities between Level 1 and Level 3 of the fair value measurement hierarchy during the three or nine months ended December 31, 2014.

A financial asset’s or liability’s classification within the hierarchy is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

The following table provides the assets and liabilities carried at fair value, measured as of December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 (in thousands):

The table below reflects the activity for the Company’s major classes of liabilities measured at fair value (in thousands):

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The following table provides the assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis, as of December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 (in thousands).  During the three months ended September 30, 2014 the following asset was determined to be no longer recoverable and was fully impaired.  See note 14, “Minority Investments” for further details:

Valuation Techniques

Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents consist of highly liquid instruments with maturities of three months or less that are regarded as high quality, low risk investments and are measured using such inputs as quoted prices, and are classified within Level 1 of the valuation hierarchy. Cash equivalents consist principally of certificates of deposits and money market accounts.

Derivative Liability

In April 2012, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with Capital Ventures International (“CVI”), an affiliate of Heights Capital Management, under which the Company issued a $25.0 million, 7% convertible note (the “Initial Note”).  In December 2012, the Company entered into an agreement with CVI pursuant to which it exchanged the Initial Note for the Exchanged Note.  The Exchanged Note was extinguished as of March 31, 2014.  The Company had identified all of the derivatives (“Derivative Liability”) associated with the extinguished Exchanged Note which include holder change of control redemption rights, issuer optional redemption rights, sale redemption rights and a feature to convert the Exchanged Note into equity at the holder’s option.  The Derivative Liability was subject to revaluation at each balance sheet date, and any change in fair value was recorded as a change in fair value in derivatives and warrants until its expiration.  The Company relied on assumptions in a lattice model to determine the fair value of Derivative Liability.  The Company had valued the Derivative Liability within Level 3 of the valuation hierarchy.  (See Note 10, “Debt,” for further discussion of the Exchanged Note, Derivative Liability and valuation assumptions used.)

Warrants

Warrants were issued in conjunction with the Purchase Agreement with CVI, the equity offering to a single investor in November 2014, and the Term Loans. (See Note 10, “Debt,” and Note 11 “Warrants and Derivative Liabilities,” for additional information.) These warrants are subject to revaluation at each balance sheet date, and any change in fair value will be recorded as a change in fair value in derivatives and warrants until the earlier of their exercise or expiration.

The Company relies on various assumptions in a lattice model to determine the fair value of warrants. The Company has valued the warrants within Level 3 of the valuation hierarchy. (See Note 11, “Warrants and Derivative Liabilities,” for a discussion of the warrants and the valuation assumptions used.)

Minority Investment

The Company accounts for the minority investment in Blade Dynamics on a cost basis (See Note 14, “Minority Investments”).  During the year ended March 31, 2014, the Company determined that as a result of its efforts to sell its investment in Blade Dynamics, certain indicators of impairment existed which required the Company to perform further analysis. Based on analysis which included potential sale scenarios of the investment, the Company recorded an impairment charge of approximately $1.3 million and reported the investment at its estimated fair value in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2014.

During the three months ended September 30, 2014, the Company determined that as a result of a dilutive financing which resulted in the Company losing certain of its shareholder rights, as well as certain operational issues and adverse changes to the potential sale scenarios previously considered, its investment in Blade Dynamics was no longer recoverable and therefore recorded a charge of $3.5 million to fully impair the investment.

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5. Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable at December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 consisted of the following (in thousands):

6. Inventory

Inventory at December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 consisted of the following (in thousands):

The Company recorded inventory write-downs of $0.1 million and less than $0.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.  The Company recorded inventory write-downs of $1.4 million and $0.3 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.  These write downs were based on evaluating its inventory on hand for excess quantities and obsolescence.

Deferred program costs as of December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 primarily represent costs incurred on programs accounted for under contract accounting where the Company needs to complete development milestones before revenue and costs will be recognized.

7. Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses

Accounts payable and accrued expenses at December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 consisted of the following (in thousands):

The Company generally provides a one to three year warranty on its products, commencing upon installation. A provision is recorded upon revenue recognition to cost of revenues for estimated warranty expense based on historical experience.

Product warranty activity was as follows (in thousands):

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8. Income Taxes

For the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014, the Company recorded income tax expense of $0.2 million and $0.4 million, respectively.  For the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013, the Company recorded income tax expense of $0.3 million and $0.7 million, respectively.  Income tax expense was primarily due to income taxes in the Company’s foreign jurisdictions.

9. Restructuring

The Company accounts for charges resulting from operational restructuring actions in accordance with ASC Topic 420, Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations (“ASC 420”) and ASC Topic 712, Compensation—Nonretirement Postemployment Benefits (“ASC 712”). In accounting for these obligations, the Company is required to make assumptions related to the amounts of employee severance, benefits, and related costs and the time period over which leased facilities will remain vacant, sublease terms, sublease rates and discount rates. Estimates and assumptions are based on the best information available at the time the obligation arises. These estimates are reviewed and revised as facts and circumstances dictate; changes in these estimates could have a material effect on the amount accrued on the consolidated balance sheet.

During the years ended March 31, 2014 and March 31, 2013, the Company undertook restructuring activities, approved by the Board of Directors, in order to reorganize its global operations, streamline various functions of the business, and reduce its global workforce to better reflect the demand for its products.  During the year ended March 31, 2014, the Company undertook a plan to consolidate its Grid manufacturing activities in its Devens, Massachusetts facility and close its facility in Middleton, Wisconsin.  In addition, the Company is establishing a new Wind manufacturing facility in Romania and as a result reduced the headcount in its operation in China to a level necessary to support demand from its Chinese customers.  The Company also undertook a workforce reduction in July 2013, reducing its workforce by approximately 7%, impacting primarily selling, engineering and general and administrative functions.  The Company recorded restructuring charges for severance and other costs of approximately $0.5 million and $1.9 million during the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014, respectively.  The restructuring charge in the three months ended December 31, 2014 primarily represents severance, relocation and lease termination costs associated with closure of the Company’s Middleton, WI facility.  During the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013, the Company incurred restructuring costs of approximately $0.1 and $0.9 million, respectively. From April 1, 2011 through December 31, 2014, the Company’s various restructuring activities resulted in a substantial reduction of its global workforce. Remaining unpaid amounts under these restructuring activities are expected to be paid by August 31, 2015.

The following table presents restructuring charges and cash payments (in thousands):

All restructuring charges discussed above are included within restructuring and impairments in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. The Company includes accrued restructuring within accounts payable and accrued expenses in the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets.

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10. Debt

Senior Convertible Note

On April 4, 2012, the Company entered into the Purchase Agreement with CVI and completed a private placement of the Initial Note. After fees and expenses, the net proceeds of the Initial Note were $23.2 million. The Initial Note had an initial conversion price of $4.85 per share, representing a premium of approximately 20% over AMSC’s closing price on April 3, 2012. The Initial Note was payable in monthly installments beginning four months from issuance and ending on October 4, 2014. Monthly payments were payable in cash or the Company’s common stock at the option of the Company, subject to certain trading volume, stock price and other conditions. CVI could elect to defer receipt of monthly installment payments at its option. Any deferred installment payments would continue to accrue interest. The Company registered 10,262,311 shares of common stock which could be used as payment for principal and interest in lieu of cash for resale under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) as required under a Registration Rights Agreement with CVI.

The Company accounted for the Initial Note as an instrument that has the characteristics of a debt host contract containing several embedded derivative features that would require bifurcation and separate accounting as a derivative instrument pursuant to the provisions of ASC Topic 815 – Derivatives and Hedging (ASC 815). The Company elected not to use the fair value option for the aggregate amount of the Initial Note and recorded the liability at its stated value on the date of issuance with no changes in fair value reported in subsequent periods. The Company valued these derivatives at $3.8 million upon issuance of the Initial Note. (See Note 11, “Warrants and Derivative Liabilities,” for additional information regarding derivative liabilities.)

In conjunction with the Initial Note, CVI received a warrant to purchase approximately 3.1 million additional shares of common stock exercisable at a strike price of $5.45 per share, subject to adjustment, until October 4, 2017. Due to certain adjustment provisions within the warrant, it qualified for liability accounting and had a fair value of $7.0 million upon issuance. The Company recorded the value as a debt discount and a warrant liability. (See Note 11, “Warrants and Derivative Liabilities,” for additional information regarding the warrant.)

On December 20, 2012, the Company entered into an Amendment and Exchange Agreement, (the “Amendment”) with CVI, which amended the Purchase Agreement. Pursuant to the Amendment, the Company and CVI exchanged the Initial Note for the Exchanged Note. At the time of the exchange, the Exchanged Note had the same principal amount and accrued interest as the Initial Note. The Exchanged Note was convertible into the Company’s common stock and had the same scheduled monthly installment payments as the Initial Note. The Exchanged Note provided the Company with additional flexibility to make monthly installment payments in shares of the Company’s common stock. The Company retained the ability to repay the Exchanged Note in cash.

The Company assessed the changes in the Exchanged Note and accounted for it as a modification of the Initial Note. Therefore, the Company determined the incremental value of the derivative instruments, as a result of the Exchanged Note, as having a reduced conversion price. As a result of the re-valuation, the Company recorded a $0.5 million increase in the value of the derivative liability and additional debt discount. At the modification date, the value of the derivative liability was $1.5 million. The total debt discount, including the embedded derivatives in the Initial Note, the incremental value of embedded derivatives in the Exchanged Note, warrant and legal and origination costs of $13.1 million was amortized into interest expense over the term of the Exchanged Note using the effective interest method. Under this method, interest expense was recognized each period until the debt instruments reached maturity. Given that the maturity of the Exchanged Note was accelerated due to prepayment, the amortization was accelerated.

On October 9, 2013, the Company entered into a Second Amendment and Warrant Exchange Agreement (the “CVI Second Amendment”) with CVI. The CVI Second Amendment further amended the Purchase Agreement, as amended by the Amendment (collectively, the “Amended Purchase Agreement”), that the Company previously entered into with CVI.

Pursuant to the CVI Second Amendment, the Company and/or CVI waived certain provisions of the Amended Purchase Agreement and amended certain provisions of the Exchanged Note and exchanged the warrant (the “Original Warrant”) for a new warrant (the Exchanged Warrant”) with a reduced exercise price of $2.61 per share of common stock.

The Company assessed the changes to the Exchanged Note included in the CVI Second Amendment and accounted for it as a modification of the Exchanged Note. Therefore, the Company determined the incremental value of the derivative instruments, as a result of the CVI Second Amendment, specifically the Exchanged Warrant. (See Note 11 “Warrants and Derivative Liabilities” for discussion of the valuation of the Exchanged Warrant.)

During the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013, the Company recorded non-cash interest expense for amortization of the debt discount related to the convertible notes of $0.9 million and $3.6 million, respectively.

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Provided certain equity conditions were met, the Company could elect to repay principal and interest in shares of the Company’s common stock. If the Company elected to make a payment in shares of the Company’s common stock, the number of shares issued was determined by dividing the amount of such payment by 85% of the lessor of the average volume-weighted average price (“VWAP”) of the 10 consecutive days immediately preceding the payment date or the VWAP price on the day preceding the payment date (the “Market Price”). The Company recorded the difference between the closing price of its common stock on the day preceding the payment date and the Market Price as a discount on the fair value of its shares. During both the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013, the Company recorded $1.8 million of non-cash interest expense related to installment payments made by issuing the Company’s common stock at a discount.

On March 2, 2014, the Company entered into an Exchange Agreement with CVI, pursuant to which the Company exchanged the Exchanged Note for approximately 6.6 million shares of common stock and extinguished the debt.  As a result of this transaction, the Company recorded a loss on the extinguishment of debt of $5.2 million during the three months ended March 31, 2014.

Senior Secured Term Loans

On June 5, 2012, the Company entered into the Term Loan with Hercules, under which the Company borrowed $10.0 million. After the closing fees and expenses, the net proceeds to the Company were $9.7 million. The Term Loan bears an interest rate equal to 11% plus the percentage, if any, by which the prime rate as reported by The Wall Street Journal exceeds 3.75%. The Company made interest-only payments from July 1, 2012 through October 31, 2012, after which the Company began repaying the Term Loan in equal monthly installments ending on December 1, 2014.  As of December 31, 2014, this loan has been repaid in full. In addition, Hercules received a warrant (the “First Warrant”) to purchase 139,276 shares of common stock, exercisable at an initial strike price of $3.59 per share, subject to adjustment, until December 5, 2017. Due to certain adjustment provisions within the warrant, it qualified for liability accounting and the fair value of $0.4 million was recorded upon issuance, which the Company recorded as a debt discount and a warrant liability.  The Company paid an end of term fee of $0.5 million upon the maturity of the loan on December 1, 2014. Initially, the Company had accrued the end of term fee and recorded a corresponding amount into the debt discount. In addition, the Company incurred $0.3 million of legal and origination costs in the year ended March 31, 2013, which have been recorded as a debt discount. The total debt discount including the First Warrant, end of term fee and legal and origination costs of $1.2 million was amortized into interest expense over the term of the Term Loan using the effective interest method. Under this method, interest expense was recognized each period until the debt instrument reached maturity. During the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014, the Company recorded non-cash interest expense for amortization of the debt discount related to the Term Loan of less than $0.1 million and $0.1 million, respectively.  During the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013, the Company recorded non-cash interest expense for amortization of the debt discount related to the Term Loan of $0.1 million and $0.4 million, respectively.

On November 15, 2013, the Company amended the Term Loan with Hercules and entered into the New Term Loan B, borrowing an additional $10.0 million. After closing fees and expenses, the net proceeds to the Company for the New Term Loan B were $9.8 million.  The New Term Loan B bears the same interest rate as the Term Loan.  The Company made interest-only payments from December 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014.  If the Company achieved certain revenue targets for the six-month period ending March 31, 2014, interest only payments would continue through August 31, 2014.  The Company did not meet these revenue targets.  As a result, the Company is repaying the New Term Loan B in equal monthly installments ending on November 1, 2016.  The principal balance of the New Term Loan B is approximately $7.7 million as of December 31, 2014.  Hercules received a warrant (the “Second Warrant”) to purchase 256,410 shares of common stock, exercisable at an initial strike price of $1.95 per share, subject to adjustment, until May 15, 2019.  In addition, the exercise price of the First Warrant was reduced to $1.95 per share.  (See Note 11, “Warrants and Derivative Liabilities,” for a discussion on both warrants and the valuation assumptions used.) The Company will pay an end of term fee of $0.5 million upon the earlier of maturity or prepayment of the New Term Loan B. The Company has accrued the end of term fee and recorded a corresponding amount into the debt discount.  The New Term Loan B includes a mandatory prepayment feature which allows Hercules the right to use any of the Company’s net proceeds from specified asset dispositions greater than $1.0 million in a calendar year to pay off any outstanding accrued interest and principal balance on the New Term Loan B.  The Company determined the fair value to be de-minimis for this feature. In addition, the Company incurred $0.2 million of legal and origination costs in the three months ended December 31, 2013, which have been recorded as a debt discount. The total debt discount including the Second Warrant, end of term fee and legal and origination costs of $1.0 million is being amortized into interest expense over the term of the New Term Loan B using the effective interest method. During the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014, the Company recorded non-cash interest expense for amortization of the debt discount related to the New Term Loan B of $0.1 million and $0.4 million, respectively.  During each of the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013, the Company recorded non-cash interest expense for amortization of the debt discount related to the New Term Loan of $0.1 million.

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On December 19, 2014, the Company entered into an amendment with Hercules (the “Hercules Second Amendment”) and entered into the New Term Loan C, borrowing an additional $1.5 million.  After closing fees and expenses, the net proceeds to the Company for the New Term Loan C were $1.4 million.  The New Term Loan C also bears the same interest rate as the other Term Loans.  The Company will make interest only payments until maturity on March 1, 2017, when the loan is scheduled to be repaid in its entirety.  If the Company raises an additional $10 million in new capital by December 31, 2015, the maturity date of the loan will be extended to June 1, 2017.  In conjunction with the Hercules Second Amendment, the First and Second Warrants were cancelled and replaced with the issuance of a new warrant (the “Warrant”) to purchase 588,235 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.10 per share, subject to adjustment.  The Warrant expires on June 30, 2020.  (See Note 11, “Warrants and Derivative Liabilities”, for a discussion on the Warrant and the valuation assumptions used.)  The Company will pay an end of term fee of approximately $0.1 million upon earlier of maturity or prepayment of the New Term Loan C.  The Company has accrued the end of term fee and recorded a corresponding amount in the debt discount.  The New Term Loan C includes the same mandatory prepayment feature as the New Term Loan B.   The Company determined the fair value to be de-minimus for this feature.  In addition, the Company incurred approximately $0.1 million of legal and origination costs in the three months ended December 31, 2014, which have been recorded as a debt discount.  The total debt discount, including the Warrant, end of term fee and legal and origination costs of $0.2 million is being amortized into interest expense over the term of the New Term Loan C using the effective interest method.  Interest recorded during the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 was immaterial.  If the maturity of any of the Term Loans is accelerated because of prepayment, then the amortization will be accelerated.

The Term Loans are secured by substantially all of the Company’s existing and future assets, including a mortgage on real property owned by the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, ASC Devens LLC, and located at 64 Jackson Road, Devens, Massachusetts.  The Term Loans contain certain covenants that restrict the Company’s ability to, among other things, incur or assume certain debt, merge or consolidate, materially change the nature of the Company’s business, make certain investments, acquire or dispose of certain assets, make guaranties or grant liens on its assets, make certain loans, advances or investments, declare dividends or make distributions or enter into transactions with affiliates. In addition, there is a covenant that requires the Company to maintain a minimum unrestricted cash balance (the “Minimum Threshold”) in the United States.  As part of the Hercules Second Amendment, this Minimum Threshold was amended to be the lower of $5.0 million or the aggregate outstanding principal balance of the Term Loans. As of December 31, 2014, the Minimum Threshold was $5.0 million.  If the Company raises $10.0 million in new capital by June 30, 2015, the Minimum Threshold will be reduced to the lesser of $2.0 million or the aggregate outstanding principal balance of the Term Loans.  The events of default under the Term Loans include, but are not limited to, failure to pay amounts due, breaches of covenants, bankruptcy events, cross defaults under other material indebtedness and the occurrence of a material adverse effect and/or change in control. In the case of a continuing event of default, Hercules may, among other remedies, declare due all unpaid principal amounts outstanding and any accrued but unpaid interest and foreclose on all collateral granted to Hercules as security under the Term Loans.

Although the Company believes that it is in and expects to remain in compliance with the covenants and restrictions under the Term Loans as of December 31, 2014, there can be no assurance that the Company will continue to be in compliance.

Interest expense on the Term Loans for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014, was $0.4 million and $1.4 million, respectively, which included $0.1 million and $0.5 million, respectively, of non-cash interest expense related to the amortization of the debt discount on the Term Loans.  Interest expense on the Exchanged Note and Term Loans for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013, was $1.6 million and $7.2 million, respectively, which included $1.1 million and $5.9 million, respectively, of non-cash interest expense related to the amortization of the debt discount on the Exchanged Note and Term Loans and payment of the Exchanged Note in Company common stock at a discount.

11. Warrants and Derivative Liabilities

Senior Convertible Note Warrant

On April 4, 2012, the Company entered into the Purchase Agreement with CVI. The Purchase Agreement included the Original Warrant to purchase 3,094,060 shares of the Company’s common stock. The warrant is exercisable at any time on or after the date that is six months after the issuance of the warrant and entitles CVI to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock for a period of five years from the initial date the warrant becomes exercisable at a price equal to $5.45 per share, subject to certain price-based and other anti-dilution adjustments. On October 9, 2013, the Company amended the Purchase Agreement with CVI (the “Amendment”). Pursuant to the Amendment, the Company exchanged the Original Warrant for the Exchanged Warrant, with a reduced exercise price of $2.61 per share of common stock. Other than the reduced exercise price, the Exchanged Warrant has the same terms and conditions as the Original Warrant.  As a result of the sales of common stock under the ATM (See Note 12, “Stockholders’ Equity”, for further discussion of the ATM) and the 9.1 million shares sold to a single investor during the three months ended December 31, 2014, the exercise price of the Exchanged Warrant was reduced to $2.21 per share.  The Exchanged Warrant may not be exercised if, after giving effect to the conversion, CVI together with its affiliates would beneficially own in excess of 4.99% of the Company’s common stock. This percentage may be raised to any other percentage not in excess of 9.99% at the option of CVI, upon at least 61-days prior notice to the Company, or lowered to any other percentage, at the option of CVI, at any time.

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The Company calculated the fair value of the derivative liabilities, (see Note 4, “Fair Value Measurements”, and Note 10, “Debt” for further discussion), and warrants utilizing an integrated lattice model. The lattice model is an option pricing model that involves the construction of a binomial tree to show the different paths that the underlying asset may take over the option’s life. A lattice model can take into account expected changes in various parameters such as volatility over the life of the options, providing more accurate estimates of option prices than the Black-Scholes model.

The Company accounts for the Exchanged Warrant as a liability due to certain adjustment provisions within the warrant, which requires that it be recorded at fair value. The Exchanged Warrant is subject to revaluation at each balance sheet date and any change in fair value will be recorded as a change in fair value of derivatives and warrants until the earlier of its expiration or its exercise at which time the warrant liability will be reclassified to equity.

Following is a summary of the key assumptions used to calculate the fair value of the warrant:

The Company recorded net gains, resulting from the decrease in the fair value of the Exchanged Warrant, of $1.0 million and $0.3 million to change in fair value of derivatives and warrants in the three months ended December 31, 2014, and 2013, respectively.  The Company recorded net gains, resulting from the decrease in the fair value of the Exchanged Warrant, of $1.7 million and $1.2 million to change in fair value of derivatives and warrants in the nine months ended December 31, 2014, and 2013, respectively.

Convertible Note Derivative Liability

The Company determined certain embedded derivatives issued with the Initial Note required accounting as a liability, which requires they be accounted for as a standalone liability subject to revaluation at each balance sheet date with changes in fair value recorded as change in fair value of derivatives and warrants until the earlier of exercise or expiration.

The terms of the December 2012 Amendment with CVI provided for, among other things, the exchange of the Initial Note for the Exchanged Note and reduced the conversion price of the Initial Note from $4.85 per share to $3.19 per share in the Exchanged Note.

On March 2, 2014, the Company entered into an Exchange Agreement with CVI, pursuant to which the Company exchanged the Exchanged Note for approximately 6.6 million shares of common stock, in full satisfaction of all amounts owed under the Exchanged Note, including any accrued interest.  In addition, the Company extinguished the remaining value for the derivative liability identified with the Exchanged Note and any unamortized debt discount.  

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Following is a summary of the key assumptions used to value the convertible notes derivative features:

Based on historical VWAP of the Company’s common stock as well as the historic average dollar trading volume of the Company’s common stock, the percentage volume condition is the probability that the Company will convert monthly installment payments into the Company’s common stock. The expected volatility rate was estimated based on an equal weighting of the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock and the implied volatility of the Company’s traded options. To determine the risk-free interest rate, an interpolated rate was used based on the one, two and three-year United States Treasury rates. The bond yield was estimated using comparable corporate debt and yield information. The recovery rate of the Exchanged Note was estimated by reviewing historical corporate debt that went into default. The bond is redeemable by the Company at any point after the one-year anniversary of the grant date provided certain provisions within the note. The total time is based on the actual 30-month contractual terms. It was determined that there is a dilution effect based on the Company’s ability to make payments in shares of common stock.

The Company recorded net gains, resulting from the decrease in the fair value of the derivative, of $0.2 million and $0.5 million to change in fair value of derivatives and warrants in the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013, respectively.  

Senior Secured Term Loan – First Warrant

On June 5, 2012, the Company entered into the Loan and Security Agreement with Hercules. (See Note 10, “Debt,” for additional information regarding the Loan and Security Agreement.) In conjunction with this agreement, the Company issued the First Warrant to purchase 139,276 shares of the Company’s common stock. The First Warrant was exercisable at any time after its issuance and had an expiration date of December 5, 2017, at a price equal to $3.59 per share subject to certain price-based and other anti-dilution adjustments.  The exercise price was reduced to $1.95 per share in conjunction with entering into the New Term Loan.  An anti-dilution adjustment from the sale of 9.1 million shares to a single investor resulted in a reduction of the exercise price to $1.70 per share on November 13, 2014.  The Hercules Second Amendment resulted in the cancellation of the First Warrant on December 19, 2014.

The Company had accounted for the First Warrant as a liability due to certain provisions within the warrant, which required that it be recorded at fair value. The First Warrant was subject to revaluation at each balance sheet date and any change in fair value was recorded as a change in fair value of derivatives and warrants until the warrant was cancelled on December 19, 2014.

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Following is a summary of the key assumptions used to calculate the fair value of the First Warrant: