424B7
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Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(7)
Registration No. 333-170609

 

This preliminary prospectus supplement relates to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, but the information in this preliminary prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. This preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are not an offer to sell and are not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT (Subject to Completion)

(To the prospectus dated November 26, 2010)

DATED NOVEMBER 29, 2017

 

 

                         Shares

 

LOGO

LIMELIGHT NETWORKS, INC.

Common Stock

The selling stockholders of Limelight Networks, Inc. identified in this prospectus supplement are offering                      shares of our common stock, $0.001 par value, pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We will not receive any of the proceeds of the sales of common stock by the selling stockholders. The selling stockholders will bear all of the offering expenses associated with the sale of common stock pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “LLNW”. On November 28, 2017, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $5.71 per share.

Our business and an investment in our common stock involves significant risks. These risks are described under “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-19 of this prospectus supplement.

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

 

 

 

     Per Share     Total  

Public offering price

   $     $  

Underwriting discount(1)

   $     $  

Proceeds, before expenses, to the selling stockholders

   $                      $                   

 

(1) See “Underwriting” beginning on page S-31 for a description of the compensation payable to the underwriters.

The underwriters have the option to purchase up to an additional                  shares from the selling stockholders at the public offering price less the underwriting discount. They may exercise this option for 30 days.

The underwriters expect to deliver the shares of common stock against payment on or about                 , 2017.

 

 

Joint Book-Running Managers

 

Cowen   B. Riley FBR

 

 

The date of this prospectus supplement is                 , 2017.


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prospectus Supplement

 

    Page  

About this Prospectus Supplement

    S-1  

Industry and Market Data

    S-2  

Where You Can Find More Information

    S-2  

Information Incorporated by Reference

    S-3  

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

    S-5  

Prospectus Supplement Summary

    S-7  

Risk Factors

    S-19  

Use of Proceeds

    S-21  

Dilution

    S-22  

Dividend Policy

    S-23  

Price Range of Common Stock

    S-24  

Selling Stockholders

    S-25  

Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders

    S-27  

Underwriting

    S-31  

Legal Matters

    S-36  

Experts

    S-36  

Prospectus

 

    Page  

Prospectus Summary

    1  

Risk Factors

    3  

Forward-Looking Statements

    3  

Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

    4  

Use of Proceeds

    4  

Description of Capital Stock

    5  

Description of the Depositary Shares

    9  

Description of the Warrants

    12  

Description of the Debt Securities

    14  

Description of the Units

    24  

Selling Security Holders

    25  

Plan of Distribution

    25  

Legal Matters

    28  

Experts

    28  

Where You Can Find More Information

    28  

Information Incorporated by Reference

    29  


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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

This document consists of two parts. The first part is the prospectus supplement, which describes the specific terms of the offering. The second part is the prospectus, which describes more general information, some of which may not apply to the offering. You should read both this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, together with additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. If the description of the offering varies between this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, you should rely on the information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement.

When we refer to the “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us” in this prospectus, we mean Limelight Networks, Inc. (“Limelight”). When we refer to the “common stock,” we refer to all shares of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share, offered pursuant to this prospectus supplement.

You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may be used only for the purpose for which it has been prepared. No one is authorized to give information other than that contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Neither we, the underwriters, nor the selling stockholders have authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it.

We are not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information appearing in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or any document incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the applicable document. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date. Neither this prospectus supplement nor the accompanying prospectus constitutes an offer, or an invitation on our behalf or on behalf of the underwriters or any agents, to subscribe for and purchase, any of the securities and may not be used for or in connection with an offer or solicitation by anyone, in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation.

Currency amounts in this prospectus supplement are stated in U.S. dollars.

 

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INDUSTRY AND MARKET DATA

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference may include industry and trade association data, forecasts and information that we have prepared based, in part, upon data, forecasts and information obtained from independent trade associations, industry publications and surveys and other information available to us. Some data is also based on our good faith estimates, which are derived from management’s knowledge of the industry and independent sources. Industry publications and surveys and forecasts generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Although we believe these sources are reliable, we have not independently verified the information. Statements as to our market position are based on market data currently available to us. Our estimates involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference. Similarly, we believe our internal research is reliable, even though such research has not been verified by any independent sources.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We have filed a Registration Statement on Form S-3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) regarding the securities offered hereby. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, which are part of the registration statement, do not contain all of the information included in the registration statement, and you should refer to the registration statement and its exhibits to read that information. We file annual, quarterly, and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov and on the investor relations page of our corporate website at www.limelight.com. Except for those SEC filings incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, none of the other information on our website is part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at its public reference facilities at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can also obtain copies of the documents upon the payment of a duplicating fee to the SEC. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the public reference facilities.

 

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INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement much of the information we file with it, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those publicly available documents. The information that we incorporate by reference is an important part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Some information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus updates the information incorporated by reference, and information that we file in the future with the SEC will automatically modify, supersede, or update this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. In other words, in the case of a conflict or inconsistency between information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and/or information incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, you should rely on the information contained in the document that was filed later.

This prospectus supplement incorporates by reference the documents listed below and any filings we make with the SEC under Section 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) (other than documents or information “furnished” to and not “filed” with the SEC) after the initial filing of this prospectus supplement until the termination of the offering under this prospectus supplement:

 

    our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, filed with the SEC on February 17, 2017, as amended on February 21, 2017;

 

    our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2017, June 30, 2017 and September 30, 2017, filed with the SEC on April 25, 2017, July 27, 2017 and October 19, 2017, respectively;

 

    our Current Reports on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on February 9, 2017, February 10, 2017, March 15, 2017, June 9, 2017 and November 8, 2017;

 

    our Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on April 28, 2017; and

 

    the description of our common stock contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on May 30, 2007, including any subsequent amendment thereto or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

Documents incorporated by reference are available without charge, excluding any exhibits to those documents unless the exhibit is specifically incorporated by reference as an exhibit in this document. You can obtain documents incorporated by reference in this document by requesting them in writing or by telephone from us at the following address:

Limelight Networks, Inc.

Attn: Investor Relations

222 South Mill Avenue, 8th Floor

Tempe, Arizona 85281

(602) 850-5000

You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, and the accompanying prospectus or in any free writing prospectuses we have prepared. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We, and not the underwriters, have ultimate authority over the statements contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and in any free writing prospectuses we have prepared, including the content of those statements and whether and how to communicate them. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We are not making an offer of these securities in

 

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any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of the applicable document.

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

Statements contained in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus as to the contents of any contract or other document referred to in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus do not purport to be complete, and where reference is made to the particular provisions of such contract or other document, such provisions are qualified in all respects by reference to all of the provisions of such contract or other document. We will provide without charge to each person to whom a copy of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus has been delivered, on the written or oral request of such person, a copy of any or all of the documents which have been or may be incorporated in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus by reference (other than exhibits to such documents unless such exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference in any such documents) and a copy of any or all other contracts or documents which are referred to in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. You may request a copy of these filings at the address and telephone number set forth above.

In reviewing any agreements incorporated by reference, please remember that they are included to provide you with information regarding the terms of such agreements and are not intended to provide any other factual or disclosure information about Limelight. The agreements may contain representations and warranties by Limelight or other parties, which should not in all instances be treated as categorical statements of fact, but rather as a way of allocating the risk to one of the parties if those statements prove to be inaccurate. The representations and warranties were made only as of the date of the relevant agreement or such other date or dates as may be specified in such agreement and are subject to more recent developments. Accordingly, these representations and warranties alone may not describe the actual state of affairs as of the date they were made or at any other time.

 

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference contain statements reflecting assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions or beliefs about future events that are intended as “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements represent our reasonable judgment on the future based on various factors and using numerous assumptions and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results and financial position to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “could,” “continue,” “forecast,” “may,” “should,” “plan,” “project” and other words of similar meaning. In particular, these include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the following:

 

    our beliefs regarding trends driving Internet congestion and demands for digital content, as well as requirements for delivering effective digital experiences;

 

    our beliefs regarding delivery traffic growth trends and demand for digital content;

 

    our expectations regarding revenue, costs, expenses, gross margin, non-GAAP earnings per share, Adjusted EBITDA and capital expenditures;

 

    our plans regarding investing in our content delivery network, as well as other products and technologies;

 

    our beliefs regarding the growth of, and competition within, the content delivery industry;

 

    our beliefs regarding the growth of our business and how that impacts our liquidity and capital resources requirements;

 

    our expectations regarding headcount;

 

    the impact of certain new accounting standards and guidance as well as the time and cost of continued compliance with existing rules and standards;

 

    our plans with respect to investments in marketable securities;

 

    our expectations and strategies regarding acquisitions;

 

    our expectations regarding litigation and other pending or potential disputes;

 

    our estimations regarding taxes and belief regarding our tax reserves;

 

    our beliefs regarding the use of Non-GAAP financial measures;

 

    our approach to identifying, attracting and keeping new and existing customers, as well as our expectations regarding customer turnover;

 

    the sufficiency of our sources of funding;

 

    our beliefs regarding inflation risks;

 

    our beliefs regarding expense and productivity of and competition for our sales force; and

 

    our beliefs regarding the significance of our large customers.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those discussed under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and our reports filed from time to time with the SEC, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as the same may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by our filings under the Exchange Act.

In addition, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the

 

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impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements contained herein are based on our current expectations and assumptions and on information available as of the date of the filing of this prospectus supplement. We undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

 

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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY

This summary highlights certain information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement. Please read the entire prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference herein, and the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2017 before you decide to invest. In addition, this prospectus includes forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. See “Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements.”

The Company

Overview

Limelight operates a private, globally distributed, high-performance network and provides a suite of integrated services marketed as the Limelight Orchestrate Platform. These services include content delivery, video content management, website and web application acceleration, website and content security, and cloud storage services.

The services we provide help our customers optimize and deliver digital content to a wide variety of digital devices. These services provide advanced features to enable digital workflows for video publishing, content distribution for any device, and website and web application acceleration. Limelight services incorporate content and application security, file management, video transformation, distributed storage functionality, and the analytics and reporting associated with them. These services leverage our global network, which provides highly available, highly redundant storage, bandwidth, and computing resources, as well as connectivity to last-mile broadband network providers.

We derive revenue primarily from the sale of components of the Limelight Orchestrate Platform. We also generate revenue through the sale of professional services and other infrastructure services, such as transit and rack space services. In addition, we also maintain relationships with resellers that purchase our services for resale to their end customers.

We provide our services to customers that we believe view Internet, mobile, social, and other digital initiatives as critical to their success, including traditional and emerging media companies operating in the television, music, radio, newspaper, magazine, movie, game, software, and social media industries, as well as to enterprises, technology companies, and government entities conducting business online. Our offerings enable our customers to deliver a high quality online experience, and thereby improve brand perception, drive revenue, and enhance customer relationships.

As of September 30, 2017, we had approximately 753 active customers and had a presence in approximately 47 countries throughout the world, including approximately 40 Global Metro Locations and approximately 80 delivery locations.

Five Trends Driving Internet Congestion

We have identified five trends that point to an Internet of the future in which congestion may cause outages and prevent organizations from delivering the highest quality digital experiences. In this

 



 

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situation, the need and demand for private, global networks to deliver digital content increases significantly. These trends are:

 

    Shift to over the top (OTT) consumption for online video.    Online video viewership continues to grow as does the number of connected devices for consuming content In our September 2017 State of Online Video consumer report, we found that consumers watch 5 hours 45 minutes of online video per week on average, with Millennials far exceeding 7 hours. Viewing habits are shifting as well. There’s an increasing use of a multitude of devices to watch online video both inside and outside the home, ranging from computers and tablets to smart phones and streaming devices. This trend reflects that many top-tier content owners have either already launched their content direct-to-consumer (e.g., HBO, CBS, Showtime) or have announced plans to do so. In addition, content owners continue to join forces with media companies (e.g., Sony, Hulu, Dish Networks) to launch OTT subscription services enabling consumers to bundle together channels for a fraction of the cost of a cable subscription. As day-to-day consumption of video content shifts to Internet-based delivery, we believe this will put an increasing strain on the Internet, placing additional pressure on organizations and service providers to take steps to protect the quality of the end-user experience as this increasing segment of traffic competes with other Internet activities, such as browsing websites and downloading digital content.

 

    Broadcast Quality Online Video.    Consumers are continuing to consume online streaming video in record numbers. Online video is rapidly growing towards becoming a primary method by which users consume video content, whether it is via their personal computers, smartphones, tablets, smart televisions or other connected devices. Yet, consumers continue to expect the same quality experience online as they would have in viewing broadcast television. This will put a significant burden on publishers to produce not just compelling content, but also to deliver it in a way that meets changing consumer expectations. To keep up, organizations have been forced to increase quality to provide a “broadcast-like” experience. For example, with the recent advent of 4K resolution devices, several large-scale online video providers are already streaming in this new format that requires, in most cases, four times the bandwidth of a traditional high definition stream. We believe that as more content is made available in 4K resolution (coupled with increasing sales of 4K-ready devices like televisions and computer monitors), more consumers will want to consume the higher-quality content, resulting in increased strain on Internet architecture and infrastructure.

 

    Growth of digital downloads.    Consumers are becoming more accustomed to making purchases of movies, music, games, and applications digitally from a variety of retailers with the growing availability of higher bandwidth connections to connected devices. As a result, consumers accept larger download sizes. For example, releases of popular games have topped 50 gigabytes (GBs) in size. As digital purchases of massive files increase, we believe that this will cause more strain on the Internet’s infrastructure. We believe that this will result in additional pressure on organizations and service providers to take steps to avoid congestion, latency, lengthening download times, and increasingly interrupted downloads, all of which we believe would undermine an organization’s ability to deliver the best possible digital experience.

 

    The Internet of Things (IoT).    Connected devices communicate with each other and with server-based resources via the Internet. Although it is unclear as to how much bandwidth this “background communication” will consume, as more devices become connected and begin communicating with each other and other resources, this traffic will compete with other Internet traffic such as streaming video and digital downloads. We believe IoT may complicate an organization’s ability to utilize the Internet to deliver high quality digital experiences.

 



 

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    Webpage size.    Organizations are building more complex, interactive, and engaging digital experiences that rely heavily on imagery and multimedia content. This trend is reflected in the growing size of webpages. For instance, today’s average webpage requires users to download 2.5 MB worth of data, according to the HTTP-Archive, a site that tracks website performance and the technologies they use. We believe, through a highly congested Internet, these websites will become increasingly harder to deliver at the level of performance that users expect.

Seven Trends Illustrating Consumer Demand for Digital Content

The Internet is key for today’s digital business. Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and other Internet protocols are critical to enabling organizations to digitize business processes and operations as well as provide the kinds of experiences that consumers worldwide have come to expect across a variety of devices. We believe there are seven trends that illustrate a demand for digital content, contribute to the overall usage of the Internet, increase potential congestion, and punctuate the need for a private, global network to meet the level of performance that users expect. We believe these trends are:

 

    The continued growth of online video.    Consumers are demanding and consuming video, music, and other forms of rich media over the Internet. According to Cisco’s Visual Network Index annual report, by 2021, IP video will account for 82% of all Internet traffic, there will be over 27 billion mobile-connected devices and 4.1 billion Internet users. Additionally, Cisco estimates that there will be 1 million video minutes traversing the Internet every second by 2021. Based on this trend, we expect that businesses will continue to incorporate video into their digital marketing efforts as a way to further differentiate their message from competitors and generate new opportunities for engagement.

 

    Mobile First.    We believe that mobile is becoming increasingly important as a primary method users employ to interact with online content, a position supported by our November 2017 State of The User Experience consumer research which indicated that smartphones are the most popular device for accessing online content. Mobile devices enable consumers to remain connected and engaged with an organization’s content when they are away from their primary computers or TVs and it’s clear that consumers are employing these devices more often to do so. However, in order for those consumers to remain engaged, the experience must be optimized across devices. An organization’s content and video has to be accessible regardless of device and provide the same engagement and interaction with those users.

 

    The continued migration of information technology (IT) services into the cloud.    Enterprises may seek to decrease infrastructure expenditures by moving to a “cloud-based” model in which application delivery and storage are available on-demand and paid for on an as-needed basis. We anticipate that the core cloud computing market will continue to grow at a rapid pace as the cloud increasingly becomes a mainstream IT strategy embraced by corporate enterprises and government agencies. According to Gartner, by 2020 the shift to cloud will affect more than $1 trillion in IT spending. The core cloud market includes platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and infrastructure- as-a-service (IaaS) offerings such as content delivery networks (CDN), as well as the cloud-delivered software used to build and manage a cloud environment.

 

    Increasing user expectations for digital experience performance.    Websites are becoming increasingly complex and large, while user expectations for website performance are becoming more demanding. We anticipate that these demanding consumer expectations will drive a continued need for website and web application acceleration services. The combination of performance expectation coupled with multi-device delivery creates a considerable challenge for most organizations.

 



 

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    Increasing need for scalable storage.    The amount of data created each year has grown rapidly, and we believe this rapid growth in data production will create demand for flexible and scalable storage mechanisms to support growing libraries of digital content. We anticipate the need for digital cloud storage to increase because of the growing demand for video and other types of digital content. Organizations must consider their choice of storage solution carefully when the technology is part of a digital content delivery chain as the wrong selection can lead to incremental latency that can undermine digital experience performance.

 

    The evolution of digital marketing.    As the global online economy has continued to expand and grow, it has become increasingly difficult for businesses to capture consumer attention. Because of this difficulty, we anticipate that marketing will continue to evolve from “broadcast advertising” to engaging with users through conversations associated with content in a variety of places including websites and social networks. We believe this kind of engagement requires that content be increasingly comprised of video and rich media, and be delivered in a manner that meets the high user expectations for the delivery and responsiveness of digital experiences.

 

    Global broadband speed increase.    With each passing year, the average broadband connection speed is increasing around the world, especially as governmental agencies (such as the United States Federal Communications Commission) take an active role in ensuring that consumers have access to high-speed connections. The continued increase in speed is illustrative of consumer desire to access multimedia content (e.g. online video, game downloads, interactive web applications) through the Internet and how integral rich, digital experiences have become the way people conduct their lives on a daily basis.

Requirements for delivering effective digital experiences

We believe that the challenges of delivering digital content, particularly related to rich media, dynamic content, and applications over the Internet to a wide variety of mobile and connected devices, have created a new set of technical, management, and economic requirements for organizations seeking to succeed in the online economy. We believe those requirements include the following:

 

    Reduction of IT involvement.    As businesses increasingly rely on cloud-based services they will require more intuitive web-based interfaces that enable adoption and usage of cloud-based services by the entire company or organization, regardless of location, with less direct IT support required.

 

    Security.    Maintaining effective security is a challenge for any enterprise that operates an online presence. Threats, denial of service attacks, viruses, and piracy can impact online web presence in many ways, including compromising personal and sensitive information, loss of customer trust and loyalty, loss of revenue, and negative publicity and brand reputation. Businesses require services that employ a number of software and network features to mitigate the risk of unauthorized access to content and network-related attacks against web properties, digital content, and applications. In 2017, there have been a number of high profile security incidents that continue to raise the awareness, and strategic importance of, security in our industry.

 

    Conditional access to content.    Consumers increasingly expect the ability to consume any form of media content online. To meet this expectation, traditional media companies are making their enormous libraries of content, such as television shows and movies, available for viewing online. Content providers often have regulations with respect to where they can display, or store their content, due to industry requirements or geographic location. Accordingly, companies require powerful features that enable them to control where content is stored, for how long, and in what regions it can be delivered.

 



 

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    Ability to scale capacity to handle rapidly accelerating demand.    Online businesses must scale delivery of their web presence smoothly as the quantity of their site visitors or audience increases to avoid delays for users. When a large number of users simultaneously access a particular digital content asset like a video, the operator must be able to meet that surge in demand without making users wait. Rapidly accelerating demand can be related to a single event, such as a breaking news story or seasonal shopping, or can be spread across an entire library of content, such as when a social media website surges in popularity. The continued increase in video and other rich media consumption, and the growing size of digital content objects, contributes to concerns that Internet bandwidth may be supply constrained in the future.

 

    Ability to easily publish and deliver online video.    As the consumer demand for online video grows, businesses and organizations may be required to adopt video into their marketing messages. However, there are a host of complexities involved in developing and implementing a “video publishing workflow.” Businesses will require intuitive tools that enable them to manage their video portfolio, and quickly and efficiently publish and deliver their video content at scale with quality performance. Additionally, businesses will require that video content can be converted automatically for playing on any mobile device with the opportunity to integrate advertisements.

 

    Multi-device delivery.    With the increasing popularity of smartphones and tablets, businesses and organizations must ensure that their content, whether dynamic web pages or video, display properly in mobile formats. However, adding this requirement to existing content publishing workflows may greatly complicate internal processes that may result in delays for making content available to end users. Additionally, because many mobile devices have separate requirements, businesses will require features for automatically delivering correctly formatted content.

 

    Reliability and Consistency.    Throughout the path data must traverse to reach a user, problems with the underlying infrastructure supporting the Internet can occur. For example, servers can crash or network connections can fail. Network, datacenter, or service provider outages can mean frustrated users, lost audiences, and missed revenue opportunities. Businesses require a massively redundant network that they can depend on to ensure the reliable and consistent delivery of their digital experiences.

Our Services

We believe our integrated suite of services, coupled with our global network, are responsive to the trends driving Internet growth and address the requirements for delivering effective digital experiences. Our primary services include the following:

 

    Content delivery services improve the reliability and performance of digital content delivery by using our global network to deliver rich media files such as video, music, games, and software, or live streaming of corporate or entertainment events. We support all major formats as well as dynamic and static webpages.

 

    Mobile delivery services help publishers deliver properly-formatted, device-optimized video to almost any media-enabled mobile device as well as to present dynamic pre- and post-roll video and audio advertising into media that is delivered to mobile or connected users. These mobility services automatically detect the requesting mobile device and provide a version of the content suitable to that device.

 

   

Video content management services help organizations manage, publish, syndicate, analyze, and monetize video content through a cloud-based service. Services also include

 



 

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extensible off-the-shelf video player for quick deployment and monetization features that enable customers to integrate advertising into the video playback experience.

 

    Performance services improve web experiences by speeding up the loading of web pages for faster action and provide consistent performance from any geography for dynamic and personalized content, online commerce transactions, and web applications.

 

    Cloud-based storage services provide customers with the scalable, redundant, geographically diverse storage of media and enterprise content, offering policies for global geographic placement, content workflow, and business logic controls while maintaining the highest levels of performance for object retrieval.

 

    Cloud-based content security services mitigate a variety of attacks against websites and protect against unauthorized access or theft of content. These services include protection against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, Web Application Firewall (WAF) protection, and conditional access controls that restrict access to digital content through rights management, geographic and IP address restriction and HTTP request and response flows.

Limelight Global Network

Our global network provides highly available, highly redundant storage, bandwidth, and computing resources in support of our services and solutions. This architecture, managed by our proprietary software, automatically responds to network and datacenter outages and disruptions. All of our delivery locations are interconnected via our global network and also connected to multiple Internet backbone and broadband Internet service provider (ISP) networks. This global network has three main features:

 

    Densely configured, high-capacity.    Our global network consists of dense clusters of specially configured servers organized into large, multi-tiered, logical delivery locations. The extensive storage capacity of these logical locations leads to fewer cache misses to our network of servers than we believe would occur in other CDN architectures and provides significant scalability and responsiveness to surges in end-user demand. We believe our cache hit efficiency is industry-leading, with greater than 98% efficiency and that our network and servers are approximately ten times more efficient than other industry leaders. The clustering of many high-performance CPUs provides us with aggregated computational power.

 

    Many connections to other networks.    Our logical locations are directly connected to hundreds of ISPs and other user access networks, which are computer networks connected to end-users. We are connected directly to over 900 unique networks. In addition, for dedicated connectivity between our logical locations, we operate a dedicated fiber optic backbone and metro area networks. Also, our infrastructure has multiple connections to the Internet. In combination, these connections enable us to frequently bypass the often-congested public Internet, improving the delivery speed of content.

 

    Intelligent software to manage the network.    We have developed proprietary software that manages our global network. This software manages, among other things, the delivery of digital content, the retrieval of dynamic content, storage and retrieval of objects, activity logging, and information reporting.

We continue to expand our architecture through the use of “smart POPs.” These smaller POPs are less dense than our traditional densely-configured metro POPs and are designed to be quickly and more cost-effectively deployed within existing networks. In addition, we continue to explore and implement ways to improve throughput and efficiency of our infrastructure through the use of advanced technologies, hardware tuning, and software refinement that help us deliver more content, more quickly, for less cost.

 



 

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Summary Financial Data

The following table summarizes our revenue, costs and expenses in thousands of dollars and as a percentage of total revenue for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 and for the year ended December 31, 2016. This information is only a summary. You should read this data in conjunction with our historical financial statements and related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” contained in our annual report, quarterly reports and other information on file with the SEC that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. For more details on how you can obtain our SEC reports and other information, you should read the section of this prospectus supplement entitled “Where You Can Find More Information.” Our results of operations are for historical periods and are not necessarily indicative of results of operations for future periods.

 

    Three Months Ended
September 30,
    Nine Months
Ended September 30,
    Year Ended
December 31,
 
    2017     2016     2017     2016     2016  
(In Thousands)     (unaudited)       (unaudited)       (unaudited)       (unaudited)        

Revenues

  $ 46,069       100.0   $ 39,473       100.0   $ 136,173       100.0   $ 124,456       100.0   $ 168,234       100.0

Cost of revenue

    23,793       51.6     23,235       58.9     71,352       52.4     72,772       58.5     96,889       57.6
 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

   

Gross profit

    22,276       48.4     16,238       41.1     64,821       47.6     51,684       41.5     71,345       42.4

Operating expenses

    23,961       52.0     21,983       55.7     71,663       52.6     66,915       53.8     89,774       53.4

Provision for litigation

                                  54,000       43.4     54,000       32.1
 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

   

Operating loss

    (1,685     (3.7 )%      (5,745     (14.6 )%      (6,842     (5.0 )%      (69,231     (55.6 )%      (72,429     (43.0 )% 

Total other income (expense)

    117       0.3     (247     (0.6 )%      572       0.4     (371     (0.3 )%      (893     (0.5 )% 
 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

   

Loss before income taxes

    (1,568     (3.4 )%      (5,992     (15.2 )%      (6,270     (4.6 )%      (69,602     (55.9 )%      (73,322     (43.6 )% 

Income tax expense

    188       0.4     130       0.3     448       0.3     404       0.3     603       0.4
 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

   

Net loss

  $ (1,756     (3.8 )%    $ (6,122     (15.5 )%    $ (6,718     (4.9 )%    $ (70,006     (56.2 )%    $ (73,925     (43.9 )% 
 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

   

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To evaluate our business, we consider and use non-generally accepted accounting principles (Non-GAAP) net income (loss), EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as supplemental measures of operating performance. These measures include the same adjustments that management takes into account when it reviews and assesses operating performance on a period-to-period basis. We consider Non-GAAP net income (loss) to be an important indicator of overall business performance. We define Non-GAAP net income (loss) to be U.S. GAAP net loss, adjusted to exclude provision for litigation, share-based compensation, litigation expenses, and amortization of intangible assets. We believe that EBITDA provides a useful metric to investors to compare us with other companies within our industry and across industries. We define EBITDA as U.S. GAAP net loss, adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization, interest expense, interest and other (income) expense, and income tax expense. We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA adjusted to exclude provision for litigation, share-based compensation and litigation expenses. We use Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure to review and assess operating performance. Our management uses these Non-GAAP financial measures because, collectively, they provide valuable information on the performance of our on-going operations, excluding non-cash charges, taxes and non-core activities (including interest payments related to financing activities). These measures also enable our management to compare the results of our on-going operations from period to period, and allow management to review the performance of our on-going operations against our peer companies and against other companies in our industry and

 



 

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adjacent industries. We believe these measures also provide similar insights to investors, and enable investors to review our results of operations “through the eyes of management.”

Furthermore, our management uses these Non-GAAP financial measures to assist them in making decisions regarding our strategic priorities and areas for future investment and focus.

The terms Non-GAAP net income (loss), EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not defined under U.S. GAAP, and are not measures of operating income, operating performance or liquidity presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our Non-GAAP net income (loss), EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have limitations as analytical tools, and when assessing our operating performance, Non-GAAP net income (loss), EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for net loss or other consolidated income statement data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Some of these limitations include, but are not limited to:

 

    EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect our cash expenditures or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;

 

    these measures do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;

 

    Non- GAAP net income (loss) and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the cash requirements necessary for litigation costs, including provision for litigation and litigation expenses;

 

    these measures do not reflect the interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on our debt that we may incur;

 

    these measures do not reflect income taxes or the cash requirements for any tax payments;

 

    although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will be replaced sometime in the future, and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements;

 

    while share-based compensation is a component of operating expense, the impact on our financial statements compared to other companies can vary significantly due to such factors as the assumed life of the options and the assumed volatility of our common stock; and

 

    other companies may calculate Non-GAAP net income (loss), EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.

We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our U.S. GAAP results and using Non-GAAP net income (loss), EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA only as supplemental support for management’s analysis of business performance. Non-GAAP net income (loss), EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are calculated as follows for the periods presented.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The below table presents the directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures and reconciles the unaudited Non-GAAP financial metrics to the comparable U.S. GAAP measures.

 



 

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Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP Net Loss to Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss)

(Unaudited)

 

    Three Months Ended     Nine Months Ended     Year Ended  
(In Thousands)   Sept. 30,
2017
    June 30,
2017
    Sept. 30,
2016
    Sept. 30,
2017
    Sept. 30,
2016
    Dec. 31,
2016
 

U.S. GAAP net loss

  $ (1,756   $ (1,625   $ (6,122   $ (6,718   $ (70,006   $ (73,925

Provision for litigation

                            54,000       54,000  

Share-based compensation

    3,112       3,255       2,987       9,442       9,776       13,459  

Litigation expenses

    863       1,276       2,837       4,048       5,286       7,284  

Amortization of intangible assets

                2             14       14  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-GAAP net income (loss)

  $ 2,219     $ 2,906     $ (296   $ 6,772     $ (930   $ 832  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP Net Loss to EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA

(Unaudited)

 

    Three Months Ended     Nine Months Ended     Year Ended  
(In Thousands)   Sept. 30,
2017
    June 30,
2017
    Sept. 30,
2016
    Sept. 30,
2017
    Sept. 30,
2016
    Dec. 31,
2016
 

U.S. GAAP net loss

  $ (1,756   $ (1,625   $ (6,122   $ (6,718   $ (70,006   $ (73,925

Depreciation and amortization

    5,109       5,128       5,014       15,383       15,420       20,484  

Interest expense

    18       10       406       42       865       918  

Interest and other (income) expense

    (135     (274     (159     (614     (494     (25

Income tax expense

    188       151       130       448       404       603  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

EBITDA

  $ 3,424     $ 3,390     $ (731   $ 8,541     $ (53,811   $ (51,945

Provision for litigation

                            54,000       54,000  

Share-based compensation

    3,112       3,255       2,987       9,442       9,776       13,459  

Litigation expenses

    863       1,276       2,837       4,048       5,286       7,284  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

  $ 7,399     $ 7,921     $ 5,093     $ 22,031     $ 15,251     $ 22,798  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Risk Factors

Participating in this offering involves substantial risk. Our ability to execute our strategy also is subject to certain risks. The risks described under the heading “Risk Factors” immediately following this summary may cause us not to realize the full benefits of our strengths or may cause us to be unable to successfully execute all or part of our strategy. Before you participate in this offering, you should carefully consider all the information in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the other information incorporated by reference, including matters set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2017, which are incorporated by reference herein.

 



 

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Additional Information

Limelight is a Delaware corporation formed in 2001. Our principal executive offices are located at 222 South Mill Avenue, 8th Floor, Tempe, Arizona 85281, and our main telephone number is (602) 850-5000. We began development of our infrastructure in 2001 and began generating meaningful revenue in 2002. We began international operations in 2004. We are registered as a reporting company under the Exchange Act. Accordingly, we file or furnish with the SEC annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to such reports as required by the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC. We refer to these reports as “Periodic Reports”. The public may read and copy any Periodic Reports or other materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F. Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room is available by calling 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, such as Limelight Networks, Inc., that file electronically with the SEC. The address of this website is www.sec.gov.

Our Internet website address is www.limelight.com. We make available, free of charge, on or through our Internet website our Periodic Reports and amendments to those Periodic Reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file them with the SEC. Our website and the information contained therein or connected thereto shall not be deemed to be incorporated into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus supplement forms a part, and you should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to purchase our securities.

 



 

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The Offering

 

Common stock offered by selling stockholders

             shares (             shares if the underwriters exercise the option to purchase additional shares in full).

 

Common stock to be outstanding after the offering

109,638,128 shares.

 

Selling Stockholders

GS Capital Partners V Fund, L.P., GS Capital Partners V Offshore Fund, L.P., GS Capital Partners V Institutional, L.P. and GS Capital Partners V GmbH & Co. K.G (collectively, the “GS Funds”).

 

Listing

Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “LLNW.”

 

Option to purchase additional shares

The selling stockholders have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional              shares of common stock from them, within 30 days from the date of this prospectus supplement.

 

Dividends

We have not paid dividends on our common stock, and we do not currently anticipate paying any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. See “Dividend Policy.”

 

Risk Factors

See “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-19 of this prospectus supplement and on page 3 of the accompanying prospectus and the other information included and 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 our common stock.

 

Use of proceeds

We will not receive any proceeds from this offering, including upon any sales pursuant to an exercise of the option to purchase additional shares. The selling stockholders will bear our expenses related to this offering.

Except as otherwise indicated, the number of shares of common stock to be outstanding following the offering is based on 109,638,128 fully paid shares outstanding at September 30, 2017 and:

 

    assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase up to              additional shares of common stock from the selling stockholders;

 



 

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    does not give effect to 21,956,776 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding options or the vesting of restricted stock units outstanding as of September 30, 2017; and

 

    does not give effect to 9,320,542 shares of common stock collectively reserved for future issuance under our Amended and Restated 2007 Equity Incentive Plan and our 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of September 30, 2017.

 

 



 

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risk factors described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, in Part II, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2017 and our other reports filed from time to time with the SEC, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as the same may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by our filings under the Exchange Act. Before making any investment decision, you should carefully consider these risks as well as other information we include or incorporate by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The risks and uncertainties described in this prospectus supplement and the documents we incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of or that we believe are not material at the time could also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. In any case, the value of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. See also the information contained under the heading “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” above.

In addition, you should carefully consider the additional risks related to an investment in our common stock and this offering, as set forth below:

This offering will result in a substantial amount of our common stock being sold, which may depress the market price of our common stock.

Of the 109,638,128 of our common stock issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2017, approximately 28% were held by the selling stockholders. Prior to this offering, the shares held by the selling stockholders were subject to volume limitations under Rule 144 under the Securities Act. In this offering, the selling stockholders intend to sell                  shares of our common stock (or                  if the underwriters exercise the option to purchase additional shares in full). The market price of our common stock could decline as a result of the sale of a substantial number of our common stock in the public market.

Substantial blocks of our total outstanding shares may be sold into the market when the “lock-up” period ends. If there are substantial sales of our common stock, the price of our common stock could decline.

The price of our common stock could decline if there are substantial sales of our common stock, particularly sales by our directors, executive officers and significant stockholders. After this offering, the selling stockholders will be subject to lock-up agreements with the underwriters that restrict their ability to sell any shares of our common stock they continue to hold following this offering until 90 days after the date of this prospectus supplement. After the lock-up agreements expire, all of the shares of our common stock owned by the selling stockholders will be eligible for sale in the public market, subject to the limitations of Rule 144 under the Securities Act.

The underwriters may permit the selling stockholders to sell shares of our common stock prior to the expiration of the restrictive provisions contained in the lock-up agreements. The market price of the common stock could decline as a result of the sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, the availability of shares of our common stock for sale or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares of our common stock intend to sell their common stock. In addition, the sale of shares of our common stock by stockholders could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional shares of our common stock.

 

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Our ability to use our net operating losses to offset future taxable income may be subject to certain limitations.

Our ability to use our net operating losses to offset future taxable income may be subject to certain limitations. As of December 31, 2016, we had federal and state net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, of $156 million and $100 million, respectively, due to prior period losses. In general, under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” can be subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its NOLs to offset future taxable income. Our existing NOLs may be subject to limitations arising from past ownership changes, including in connection with this offering. Future changes in our stock ownership, some of which are outside of our control, could result in an ownership change under Section 382 of the Code. In addition, legislative tax reform proposed under the current Congress, if enacted, may limit the amount of NOLs we may deduct in any taxable year to 90% of our taxable income in such year, and may eliminate the ability to carry back any NOL to prior taxable years for losses arising in tax years beginning after 2017. There is a risk that due to such legislative or regulatory changes, or other unforeseen reasons, our existing NOLs could expire or otherwise be unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities. For these reasons, we may not be able to realize a tax benefit from the use of our NOLs, whether or not we attain profitability.

We have no plans to pay regular dividends on our common stock, which could reduce the return on your investment.

We have no plans to pay regular dividends on our common stock. Any payment of future dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on, among other things, our earnings, financial condition, capital requirements, level of indebtedness, statutory and contractual restrictions applying to the payment of dividends, and other considerations that our Board of Directors deems relevant. Our Loan and Security Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with Silicon Valley Bank, as amended, also includes limitations on our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders. Accordingly, any return on your investment must come from an increase in the trading price of our common stock.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We will not receive any proceeds from this offering. The selling stockholders will receive all of the net proceeds from the sale of their shares of our common stock. See “Selling Stockholders.”

 

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DILUTION

If you invest in our common stock in this offering, your ownership interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per share of our common stock and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering. Net tangible book value dilution per share to new investors represents the difference between the amount per share paid by purchasers of shares of our common stock in this offering and the net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after completion of this offering.

Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our total tangible assets less our total liabilities by the number of shares of our common stock outstanding. Our historical net tangible book value as of September 30, 2017 was $65.0 million, or $0.59 per share.

Because all of the shares of our common stock to be sold in this offering, including those subject to the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares, will be sold by the selling stockholders, there will be no increase in the number of shares of our common stock outstanding as a result of this offering. The common stock to be sold by the selling stockholders is common stock that is currently issued and outstanding. Accordingly, our net tangible book value as of September 30, 2017, would be unchanged at $65.0 million, or $0.59 per share.

 

Assumed public offering price per share

     $ 5.71  

Net tangible book value per share as of September 30, 2017

  $ 0.59     

Increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to new investors in this offering

    0.00     
 

 

 

    

Net tangible book value per share immediately after this offering

       0.59  
    

 

 

 

Dilution in net tangible book value per share to new investors in this offering

     $ 5.12  
    

 

 

 

Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed public offering price of $5.71 per share, which is the last reported sale price of our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on November 28, 2017, would not affect our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share to new investors, but would increase or decrease, as applicable, dilution per share to new investors in this offering by $1.00.

The number of shares of common stock to be outstanding following the offering is based on 109,638,128 fully paid shares outstanding at September 30, 2017 and:

 

    assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase up to                  additional shares of common stock from the selling stockholders;

 

    does not give effect to 21,956,776 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding options or the vesting of restricted stock units outstanding as of September 30, 2017; and

 

    does not give effect to 9,320,542 shares of common stock collectively reserved for future issuance under our Amended and Restated 2007 Equity Incentive Plan and our 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of September 30, 2017.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We have not paid dividends on our common stock, and we do not currently anticipate paying any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any future determination as to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon many factors, including our financial condition, earnings, legal requirements, restrictions in our debt agreements and other factors our Board of Directors deems relevant. The terms of the indebtedness of our Credit Agreement also restrict us from paying cash dividends to our stockholders under some circumstances. See “Risk Factors—We have no plans to pay regular dividends on our common stock, which could reduce the return on your investment.”

 

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PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK

Our common stock began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “LLNW” following our initial public offering in June 2007. Before then, there was no public market for our common stock. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales prices of our common stock as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market:

 

    High      Low  

First quarter 2015

  $ 3.98      $ 2.52  

Second quarter 2015

  $ 4.43      $ 3.36  

Third quarter 2015

  $ 4.29      $ 1.78  

Fourth quarter 2015

  $ 2.22      $ 1.43  

First quarter 2016

  $ 1.99      $ 0.90  

Second quarter 2016

  $ 1.87      $ 1.17  

Third quarter 2016

  $ 2.04      $ 1.38  

Fourth quarter 2016

  $ 2.90      $ 1.70  

First quarter 2017

  $ 2.70      $ 2.02  

Second quarter 2017

  $ 3.51      $ 2.41  

Third quarter 2017

  $ 4.25      $ 2.85  

Fourth quarter 2017 (through November 28, 2017)

  $ 5.96      $ 4.09  

On November 28, 2017, the closing price as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market of our common stock was $5.71 per share. As of November 27, 2017, we had approximately 252 holders of record of our common stock.

 

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SELLING STOCKHOLDERS

The following table sets forth (i) the selling stockholders, (ii) as of November 27, 2017, the number of shares of common stock that the selling stockholders beneficially owned before this offering, (iii) the number of shares of common stock to be sold in this offering by the selling stockholders, and (iv) the number of shares of our common stock that will be beneficially owned by the selling stockholders after this offering. The following table assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase up to                  additional shares of common stock from the selling stockholders. The number of shares of our common stock outstanding as of November 27, 2017 was 110,169,457. See Note 17 “Related Party Transactions” to our consolidated financial statements incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement from our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, for a discussion of the relationship between us and the selling stockholders.

The amounts and percentage of common stock beneficially owned are reported on the basis of regulations of the SEC governing the determination of beneficial ownership of securities. Under the rules of the SEC, a person is deemed to be a “beneficial owner” of a security if that person has or shares “voting power,” which includes the power to vote or to direct the voting of such security, or “investment power,” which includes the power to dispose of or to direct the disposition of such security. A person is also deemed to be a beneficial owner of any securities of which that person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership within 60 days. Under these rules, more than one person may be deemed a beneficial owner of the same securities and a person may be deemed a beneficial owner of securities as to which he or she has no economic interest.

 

    Shares Beneficially
Owned Before the
Offering(1)
    Number of
Shares to be
Sold in the
Offering
     Shares Beneficially
Owned After the
Offering(1)
 

Name of Beneficial Owner

  Shares      %        Shares      %  

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and affiliated funds(2)

    30,919,026        28.0                  

 

(1) Applicable percentage of ownership is based on 110,169,457 shares of our common stock outstanding as of November 27, 2017. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with rules of the SEC and means voting or investment power with respect to securities. Shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options exercisable currently or within 60 days of November 27, 2017 are deemed outstanding and to be beneficially owned by the person holding such option for purposes of computing such person’s percentage ownership, but are not deemed outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person.

 

(2)

Consists of (i) 15,940,283 of common stock held by GS Capital Partners V Fund, L.P. of which                  are being offered for sale pursuant to this prospectus supplement, (ii) 8,234,087 shares of common stock held by GS Capital Partners V Offshore Fund, L.P. of which                  are being offered for sale pursuant to this prospectus supplement, (iii) 5,466,153 shares of common stock held by GS Capital Partners V Institutional, L.P. of which                  are being offered for sale pursuant to this prospectus supplement and (iv) 631,970 shares of common stock held by GS Capital Partners V GmbH & Co. KG of which               are being offered for sale pursuant to this prospectus supplement (collectively, the “GS Funds”). Affiliates of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are the general partner, managing general partner, managing partner, managing member or member of each of the GS Funds. In addition, the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is the parent of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, which is the investment manager of certain of the GS Funds. Accordingly, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC may be deemed to beneficially own the shares of common stock owned by the GS Funds. Mark Midle, who has served as a member of our board of directors since 2015, is also a Vice President of the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC. In addition to the shares identified above, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. may be deemed to beneficially own (i) 366,866 shares of

 

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  common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options granted to Mr. Midle and former directors affiliated with The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. that are exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus supplement, (ii) 103,246 shares of common stock issued upon vesting of restricted stock units granted to Mr. Midle in his capacity as a director of the company, (iii) 102,879 shares of common stock issued upon vesting of restricted stock units that were granted to Joseph H. Gleberman, a former advisory director of Goldman Sachs, in his capacity as a director of the company, (iv) 71,985 shares of common stock issued upon vesting of restricted stock units that were granted to Peter J. Perrone, a former managing director of Goldman Sachs, in his capacity as a director of the company, and (v) 1,557 shares of common stock held by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC. Each restricted stock unit represents a contingent right to receive one share of our common stock. The GS Funds report their address as c/o Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282.

 

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

The following is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our common stock to non-U.S. holders (as defined below), but does not purport to be a complete analysis of all the potential tax considerations relating thereto. This summary is based upon the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, administrative rulings and judicial decisions, all as of the date hereof. These authorities may be changed or subject to differing interpretations, possibly with retroactive effect, so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those set forth below. We have not sought any ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, with respect to the statements made and the conclusions reached in the following summary, and there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with such statements and conclusions.

This summary also does not address the tax considerations arising under the laws of any U.S. state or local or any non-U.S. jurisdiction, U.S. federal estate or gift tax laws, the Medicare tax on net investment income or any alternative minimum tax consequences. 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;

 

    tax-exempt organizations;

 

    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 five percent of our capital stock;

 

    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);

 

    S corporations, partnerships, or other entities or arrangements treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes (or investors in any such entities);

 

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

 

    regulated investment companies or real estate investment trusts;

 

    pension plans;

 

    controlled foreign corporations;

 

    passive foreign investment companies; or

 

    persons that acquire our common stock as compensation for services.

In addition, if a partnership, including any entity or arrangement classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, holds our common stock, the tax treatment of a partner in such partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and upon the activities of the partnership. Accordingly, partnerships that hold our common stock, and partners in such partnerships, should consult their tax advisors.

You are urged to consult your tax advisor with respect to the application of the U.S. federal income tax laws to your particular situation, as well as any tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock arising under the U.S. federal estate or gift tax rules or under the laws of any U.S. state or local or any non-U.S. or other taxing jurisdiction or under any applicable tax treaty.

 

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Non-U.S. Holder Defined

For purposes of this discussion, you are a non-U.S. holder if you are a beneficial owner of our common stock that is for United States federal income tax purposes (i) a foreign corporation, (ii) a nonresident alien individual, (iii) a foreign estate, the income of which, if from sources without the United States and not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States, is not subject to tax in the United States, or (iv) a trust that has not made an election to be treated as a U.S. holder under applicable Treasury regulations and that either (A) is not subject to the primary jurisdiction of a court within the United States, or (B) is not subject to the substantial control of one or more United States persons.

Distributions

As discussed under “Dividend Policy,” above, we do not anticipate paying any dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future. If we were to make distributions on our common stock, those payments 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. To the extent those distributions exceed both our current and our accumulated earnings and profits, they will constitute a return of capital and will first reduce your basis in our common stock, but not below zero, and then will be treated as gain from the sale of stock, subject to the tax treatment described in the discussion below regarding taxable dispositions of our common stock. Any such distributions would also be subject to the discussions below regarding backup withholding and FATCA.

Subject to the discussion below regarding a dividend received by you that is effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business, a dividend paid to you generally will be subject to U.S. withholding tax either at a rate of 30% of the gross amount of the dividend or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. In order to receive a reduced treaty rate, you must provide us with a valid IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8-BEN-E or another appropriate version of IRS Form W-8 (or a successor form), in each case, certifying qualification for the reduced rate.

Dividends received by you that are effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by you in the United States) generally are exempt from such withholding tax. In order to obtain this exemption, you must provide us with a valid IRS Form W-8ECI or successor form or other applicable IRS Form W-8 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, subject to an applicable income tax treaty providing otherwise. In addition, if you are a corporate non-U.S. holder, you 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 income tax treaty on your earnings and profits in respect of such effectively connected dividend income.

If you are eligible for a reduced rate of withholding tax pursuant to a tax treaty, you may be able to obtain a refund of any excess amounts currently withheld if you file an appropriate claim for refund with the IRS. Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding their entitlement to benefits under any applicable income tax treaties.

Gain on Sale or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Stock

Subject to the discussion below regarding backup withholding and FATCA, a non-U.S. Holder generally will not be required to pay U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized upon the sale or other taxable disposition of our common stock unless:

 

   

the gain is effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the gain is attributable to a permanent establishment

 

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maintained by you in the U.S.), in which case you will be required to pay tax on the net gain derived from the sale under regular graduated U.S. federal income tax rates, and for a non-U.S. holder that is a corporation, such non-U.S. holder may be subject to the branch profits tax on any earnings and profits attributable to such gains at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty;

 

    you are an individual who is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable year in which the sale or disposition occurs and certain other conditions are met, in which case you will be required to pay a flat 30% tax on the gain derived from the sale, which tax may be offset by certain U.S. source capital losses in the taxable year of disposition (even though you are not considered a resident of the United States) (subject to applicable income tax or other treaties); or

 

    our common stock constitutes a U.S. real property interest by reason of our status as a “U.S. real property holding corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or a USRPHC, at any time within the shorter of the five-year period preceding the disposition or your holding period for our common stock. We believe that we are not currently and will not become a USRPHC. However, because the determination of whether we are a USRPHC depends on the fair market value of our U.S. real property relative to the fair market value of our other real property and business assets, there can be no assurance that we will not become a USRPHC in the future. Even if we become a USRPHC, however, as long as our common stock is regularly traded on an established securities market (as determined under the Code), such common stock will be treated as U.S. real property interests only if you actually or constructively hold more than five percent of such regularly traded common stock at any time during the applicable period that is specified in the Code.

Backup Withholding and Information Reporting

Generally, we must report annually to the IRS the amount of dividends paid to you, your name and address, and the amount of tax withheld, if any. A similar report will generally be sent to you. Pursuant to applicable income tax treaties or other agreements, the IRS may make these reports available to tax authorities in your country of residence.

Payments of dividends or of proceeds on the disposition of stock made to you may be subject to additional information reporting and backup withholding at the then applicable rate (currently 28%) unless you establish an exemption, for example by properly certifying your non-U.S. status on an IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E or another appropriate version of IRS Form W-8 (or a successor form). Notwithstanding the foregoing, backup withholding and information reporting may apply if either we or our paying agent has actual knowledge, or reason to know, that you are a U.S. person.

Backup withholding is not an additional tax; rather, the U.S. income tax liability of persons subject to backup withholding will be reduced by the amount of tax withheld. If withholding results in an overpayment of taxes, a refund or credit may generally be obtained from the IRS, provided that the required information is furnished to the IRS in a timely manner.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”)

Provisions commonly referred to as “FATCA” may impose withholding tax on certain types of payments made to “foreign financial institutions” and certain other non-U.S. entities. The legislation imposes a 30% withholding tax on dividends on, or gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of, our common stock paid to a foreign financial institution or to certain non-financial foreign entities, unless (i) the foreign financial institution undertakes certain diligence and reporting obligations, (ii) the non-financial foreign entity either certifies it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or furnishes identifying information regarding each substantial U.S. owner and such entity meets certain other specified requirements, or (iii) the foreign financial institution or non-financial foreign entity

 

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otherwise qualifies for an exemption from these rules. If the payee is a foreign financial institution and is subject to the requirements in (i) above, it must enter into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury requiring, among other things, that it undertake to identify accounts held by certain U.S. persons or U.S.-owned foreign entities, annually report certain information about such accounts, and withhold 30% on payments to account holders whose actions prevent it from complying with these reporting and other requirements. If the country in which a payee is resident has entered into an “intergovernmental agreement” with the United States regarding FATCA, that agreement may permit the payee to report to that country rather than to the U.S. Treasury. Under final regulations and published guidance, the obligation to withhold from payments made to a foreign financial institution or a foreign non-financial entity under FATCA with respect to dividends on our common stock are currently in effect, but with respect to the gross proceeds of a sale or other disposition of our common stock will not begin until January 1, 2019. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding FATCA.

The preceding discussion of U.S. federal income 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 and local and non-U.S. 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, the selling stockholders and the underwriters for the offering named below have entered into an underwriting agreement with respect to the common stock being offered. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement, each underwriter has severally agreed to purchase from the selling stockholders the number of shares of our common stock set forth opposite its name below. Cowen and Company, LLC and B. Riley FBR, Inc. are the representatives of the underwriters.

 

Underwriter

  Number
of
Shares
 

Cowen and Company, LLC

 

B. Riley FBR, Inc.

 

Total

 
 

 

 

 

The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriters are subject to certain conditions precedent and that the underwriters have agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase all of the shares sold under the underwriting agreement if any of these shares are purchased, other than those shares covered by the overallotment option described below. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or the underwriting agreement may be terminated.

We and the selling stockholders have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against specified liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect thereof.

The underwriters are offering the shares, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel and other conditions specified in the underwriting agreement. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.

Option to Purchase Additional Shares.    The selling shareholders have granted to the underwriters an option to purchase up to              additional shares of common stock at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount. This option is exercisable for a period of 30 days. To the extent that the underwriters exercise this option, the underwriters will purchase additional shares from the selling stockholders in approximately the same proportion as shown in the table above.

Discounts and Commissions.    The following table shows the public offering price, underwriting discount and proceeds, before expenses to the selling stockholders. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares.

 

    Total  
    Per Share      Without Over-
Allotment
     With Over
Allotment
 
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Public offering price

       

Underwriting discount

       

Proceeds, before expenses, to selling stockholders

       

We estimate that the total expenses of the offering, excluding underwriting discount, will be approximately $             and are payable by the selling stockholders.

The underwriters propose to offer the shares of common stock to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. The underwriters may offer the shares of common stock

 

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to securities dealers at the public offering price less a concession not in excess of $     per share. If all of the shares are not sold at the public offering price, the underwriters may change the offering price and other selling terms.

Discretionary Accounts.    The underwriters do not intend to confirm sales of the shares to any accounts over which they have discretionary authority.

Stabilization.    In connection with this offering, the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions, overallotment transactions, syndicate covering transactions, penalty bids and purchases to cover positions created by short sales.

 

    Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase shares of common stock so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum, and are engaged in for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the common stock while the offering is in progress.

 

    Overallotment transactions involve sales by the underwriters of shares of common stock in excess of the number of shares the underwriters are obligated to purchase. This creates a syndicate short position which may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of shares over-allotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number of shares that they may purchase in the option. In a naked short position, the number of shares involved is greater than the number of shares in the option. The underwriters may close out any short position by exercising their option and/or purchasing shares in the open market.

 

    Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of common stock in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of shares to close out the short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared with the price at which they may purchase shares through exercise of the option. If the underwriters sell more shares than could be covered by exercise of the option and, therefore, have a naked short position, the position can be closed out only by buying shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that after pricing there could be downward pressure on the price of the shares in the open market that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering.

 

    Penalty bids permit the representatives to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the common stock originally sold by that syndicate member is purchased in stabilizing or syndicate covering transactions to cover syndicate short positions.

These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our common stock or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our common stock. As a result, the price of our common stock in the open market may be higher than it would otherwise be in the absence of these transactions. Neither we nor the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our common stock. These transactions may be effected on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.

Passive Market Making.    In connection with this offering, underwriters and selling group members may engage in passive market making transactions in our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act during a period before the commencement of offers or sales of common stock and extending through the completion of the distribution. A passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of

 

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the highest independent bid of that security. However, if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, such bid must then be lowered when specified purchase limits are exceeded.

Lock-Up Agreements.    Pursuant to certain ‘‘lock-up’’ agreements, we and the selling stockholders, have agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to offer, sell, assign, transfer, pledge, contract to sell, or otherwise dispose of or announce the intention to otherwise dispose of, or enter into any swap, hedge or similar agreement or arrangement that transfers, in whole or in part, the economic consequence of ownership of, directly or indirectly, or make any demand or request or exercise any right with respect to the registration of, or file with the SEC a registration statement under the Securities Act relating to, any common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any common stock held prior to the date of this offering without the prior written consent of the representatives, for a period of 90 days after the date of the pricing of the offering.

This lock-up provision applies to common stock and to securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for common stock. The exceptions permit us, among other things and subject to restrictions, to: (a) issue common stock or options pursuant to employee benefit plans, (b) issue common stock upon exercise of outstanding options or warrants (c) issue securities in connection with acquisitions, joint ventures, commercial arrangements or similar transactions in an amount not to exceed 10% of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding following the completion of any such transaction, or (d) file registration statements on Form S-8. The exceptions permit parties to the “lock-up” agreements, among other things and subject to restrictions, to: (a) make certain gifts, (b) if the party is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business entity, make transfers to any shareholders, partners, members of, or owners of similar equity interests in, the party, or to an affiliate of the party, if such transfer is not for value, (c) if the party is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business entity, make transfers in connection with the sale or transfer of all of the party’s capital stock, partnership interests, membership interests or other similar equity interests, as the case may be, or all or substantially all of the party’s assets, in any such case not undertaken for the purpose of avoiding the restrictions imposed by the “lock-up” agreement and (d) enter into trading plans providing for the sale of common stock which meet the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c) under the Exchange Act, provided that such plan does not provide for, or permit, the sale of any common stock during the term of the “lock-up.” In addition, the lock-up provision will not restrict broker-dealers from engaging in market making and similar activities conducted in the ordinary course of their business.

The representatives, in their sole discretion, may release our common stock and other securities subject to the lock-up agreements described above in whole or in part at any time. When determining whether or not to release our common stock and other securities from lock-up agreements, the representatives will consider, among other factors, the holder’s reasons for requesting the release, the number of shares for which the release is being requested and market conditions at the time of the request.

Canada.    The common stock may be sold only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of the common stock must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.

Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus supplement (including any amendment thereto) contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or

 

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territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.

Pursuant to section 3A.3 of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts (NI 33-105), the underwriters are not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.

United Kingdom.    Each of the underwriters has represented and agreed that:

 

    it has not made or will not make an offer of the securities to the public in the United Kingdom within the meaning of section 102B of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended) (FSMA) except to legal entities which are authorized or regulated to operate in the financial markets or, if not so authorized or regulated, whose corporate purpose is solely to invest in securities or otherwise in circumstances which do not require the publication by us of a prospectus pursuant to the Prospectus Rules of the Financial Services Authority (FSA);

 

    it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of FSMA) to persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 or in circumstances in which section 21 of FSMA does not apply to us; and

 

    it has complied with and will comply with all applicable provisions of FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the securities in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

Switzerland.    The securities will not be offered, directly or indirectly, to the public in Switzerland and this prospectus does not constitute a public offering prospectus as that term is understood pursuant to article 652a or 1156 of the Swiss Federal Code of Obligations.

European Economic Area.    In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area (the “EEA”) which has implemented the European Prospectus Directive (each, a “Relevant Member State”), an offer of our shares may not be made to the public in a Relevant Member State other than:

 

    to any legal entity which is a qualified investor, as defined in the European Prospectus Directive;

 

    to fewer than 100 or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provision of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the European Prospectus Directive), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the relevant dealer or dealers nominated by us for any such offer, or;

 

    in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the European Prospectus Directive,

provided that no such offer of our shares shall require us or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the European Prospectus Directive or supplement prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the European Prospectus Directive.

For the purposes of this description, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to the securities in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the securities, as the expression may be varied in that Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the European Prospectus Directive in that member state, and the expression “European Prospectus Directive’’ means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments hereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the

 

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Relevant Member State) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State. The expression 2010 PD Amending Directive means Directive 2010/73/EU.

Israel.    In the State of Israel this prospectus shall not be regarded as an offer to the public to purchase shares of common stock under the Israeli Securities Law, 5728—1968, which requires a prospectus to be published and authorized by the Israel Securities Authority, if it complies with certain provisions of Section 15 of the Israeli Securities Law, 5728–1968, including, inter alia, if: (i) the offer is made, distributed or directed to not more than 35 investors, subject to certain conditions (the “Addressed Investors”); or (ii) the offer is made, distributed or directed to certain qualified investors defined in the First Addendum of the Israeli Securities Law, 5728—1968, subject to certain conditions (the “Qualified Investors”). The Qualified Investors shall not be taken into account in the count of the Addressed Investors and may be offered to purchase securities in addition to the 35 Addressed Investors. The company has not and will not take any action that would require it to publish a prospectus in accordance with and subject to the Israeli Securities Law, 5728—1968. We have not and will not distribute this prospectus or make, distribute or direct an offer to subscribe for our common stock to any person within the State of Israel, other than to Qualified Investors and up to 35 Addressed Investors.

Qualified Investors may have to submit written evidence that they meet the definitions set out in of the First Addendum to the Israeli Securities Law, 5728—1968. In particular, we may request, as a condition to be offered common stock, that Qualified Investors will each represent, warrant and certify to us and/or to anyone acting on our behalf: (i) that it is an investor falling within one of the categories listed in the First Addendum to the Israeli Securities Law, 5728—1968; (ii) which of the categories listed in the First Addendum to the Israeli Securities Law, 5728—1968 regarding Qualified Investors is applicable to it; (iii) that it will abide by all provisions set forth in the Israeli Securities Law, 5728—1968 and the regulations promulgated thereunder in connection with the offer to be issued common stock; (iv) that the shares of common stock that it will be issued are, subject to exemptions available under the Israeli Securities Law, 5728—1968: (a) for its own account; (b) for investment purposes only; and (c) not issued with a view to resale within the State of Israel, other than in accordance with the provisions of the Israeli Securities Law, 5728—1968; and (v) that it is willing to provide further evidence of its Qualified Investor status. Addressed Investors may have to submit written evidence in respect of their identity and may have to sign and submit a declaration containing, inter alia, the Addressed Investor’s name, address and passport number or Israeli identification number.

We have not authorized and do not authorize the making of any offer of securities through any financial intermediary on our behalf, other than offers made by the underwriters and their respective affiliates, with a view to the final placement of the securities as contemplated in this document. Accordingly, no purchaser of the shares, other than the underwriters, is authorized to make any further offer of shares on our behalf or on behalf of the underwriters.

Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Shares.    A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by one or more of the underwriters or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering and one or more of the underwriters participating in this offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. The representatives may agree to allocate a number of shares to underwriters and selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriters and selling group members that will make internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on these websites is not part of this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, has not been approved or endorsed by us or any underwriter in its capacity as underwriter, and should not be relied upon by investors.

Other Relationships.    Certain of the underwriters and their affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, various investment banking, commercial banking and other financial services for us and our affiliates for which they have received, and may in the future receive, customary fees.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

Certain legal matters with respect to the securities offered by this prospectus supplement will be passed upon for us by Goodwin Procter LLP, Menlo Park, California. Certain legal matters will be passed upon for the underwriters by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, New York, New York. The selling stockholders have been represented by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP, New York, New York.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Limelight Networks, Inc. appearing in Limelight Networks, Inc.’s Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2016 (including the schedule appearing therein) and the effectiveness of Limelight Networks, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2016, have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

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PROSPECTUS

 

 

LOGO

$150,000,000

Limelight Networks, Inc.

By this prospectus, Limelight may offer, from time to time:

 

    Common stock
    Preferred stock
    Depositary Shares
    Warrants
    Debt securities
    Units

Limelight Networks, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Limelight”) may offer and sell from time to time, in one or more series or issuances and on terms that Limelight will determine at the time of the offering, any combination of the securities described in this prospectus, up to an aggregate amount of $150,000,000.

In addition, the selling stockholders named in this prospectus may offer and resell from time to time up to 15,000,000 shares of Limelight common stock.

Limelight will provide specific terms of any offering in a supplement to this prospectus. Any prospectus supplement may also add, update, or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement as well as the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus before you purchase any of the securities offered hereby.

These securities may be offered and sold in the same offering or in separate offerings, to or through underwriters, dealers, and agents, or directly to purchasers. The names of any underwriters, dealers, or agents involved in the sale of our securities, their compensation and any over-allotment options held by them will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. For a more complete description of the plan of distribution of these securities, see the section entitled “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page 25 of this prospectus.

Limelight’s common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “LLNW.” Limelight will provide information in any applicable prospectus supplement regarding any listing of securities other than shares of Limelight’s common stock on any securities exchange.

 

 

INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES INVOLVES SIGNIFICANT RISKS. SEE “RISK FACTORS” BEGINNING ON PAGE 3 OF THIS PROSPECTUS AND IN THE APPLICABLE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT BEFORE INVESTING IN ANY SECURITIES.

 

 

NEITHER THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THESE SECURITIES OR PASSED UPON THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

The date of this prospectus is November 26, 2010


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Table of Contents

 

    Page  

Prospectus Summary

    1  

Risk Factors

    3  

Forward-Looking Statements

    3  

Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

    4  

Use of Proceeds

    4  

Description of Capital Stock

    5  

Description of the Depositary Shares

    9  

Description of the Warrants

    12  

Description of the Debt Securities

    14  

Description of the Units

    24  

Selling Security Holders

    25  

Plan of Distribution

    25  

Legal Matters

    28  

Experts

    28  

Where You Can Find More Information

    28  

Information Incorporated by Reference

    29  


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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that Limelight filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf process, Limelight may, from time to time, sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings up to a total amount of $150,000,000. In addition, under this shelf process, the selling stockholders named in this prospectus may sell from time to time up to 15,000,000 shares of Limelight common stock.

This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities Limelight and the selling stockholders may offer. Each time Limelight or the selling stockholders sell securities, Limelight will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add to, update or change information contained in the prospectus and, accordingly, to the extent inconsistent, information in this prospectus is superseded by the information in the prospectus supplement.

The prospectus supplement to be attached to the front of this prospectus may describe, as applicable: the terms of the securities offered; the initial public offering price; the price paid for the securities; net proceeds; and the other specific terms related to the offering of the securities.

Limelight has not authorized anyone to provide any information other than that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of Limelight or to which Limelight has referred you. Limelight takes no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. No person has been authorized to give any information or make any representations in connection with this offering other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and any related issuer free writing prospectus in connection with the offering described herein and therein. Neither this prospectus nor any prospectus supplement nor any related issuer free writing prospectus shall constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy offered securities in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful for such person to make such an offering or solicitation. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For a more complete understanding of the offering of the securities, you should refer to the registration statement, including its exhibits.

You should read the entire prospectus and any prospectus supplement and any related issuer free writing prospectus, as well as the documents incorporated by reference, before making an investment decision. Neither the delivery of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement or any issuer free writing prospectus nor any sale made hereunder shall under any circumstances imply that the information contained or incorporated by reference herein or in any prospectus supplement or issuer free writing prospectus is correct as of any date subsequent to the date hereof or of such prospectus supplement or issuer free writing prospectus, as applicable. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any document incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the applicable documents, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of securities. Limelight’s business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.

 

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Prospectus Summary

This summary description about us and our business highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus or incorporated in this prospectus by reference. This summary does not contain all of the information you should consider before buying securities in an offering. You should carefully read this entire prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, including each of the documents incorporated herein or therein by reference, before making an investment decision. As used in this prospectus, “we,” “us,” “Limelight,” “our” and “the Company” refer to Limelight Networks, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Limelight Networks, Inc.

Overview

Limelight Networks, Inc. is a provider of high-performance content delivery network services. Limelight provides scalable software services that improve the quality of online media, accelerate the performance of web applications, enable secure online transactions, manage and monetize digital assets, and optimize advertising campaigns. These services are supported by Limelight’s global platform, which provides highly-available, highly-redundant storage, bandwidth, and computing resources as well as connectivity to last-mile broadband network providers. Limelight delivers content for traditional and emerging media companies, or content providers, including businesses operating in the television, music, radio, newspaper, magazine, movie, videogame, software and social media industries as well as enterprises and government entities doing business online. Using Limelight’s content delivery network, or CDN, content providers are able to provide their end-users with a high-quality media experience for rich media content including video, music, games, software and social media. As consumer demands for media content over the Internet have increased, and as enabling technologies such as broadband access to the Internet have proliferated, consumption of rich media content has become increasingly important to Internet end-users and therefore to the content providers that serve them. Limelight has developed its services and architected its network specifically to meet the unique demands content providers face in delivering rich media content to large audiences of demanding Internet end-users. Limelight’s comprehensive solution delivers content providers a high-quality, highly scalable, highly reliable offering. Limelight primarily derives revenue from the sale of services to customers executing contracts with terms of one year or longer, which we refer to as recurring revenue contracts or long-term contracts. These contracts generally commit the customer to a minimum monthly level of usage with additional charges applicable for actual usage above the monthly minimum.

Corporate Information

Limelight was formed as an Arizona limited liability company, Limelight Networks, LLC, in June 2001 and converted into a Delaware corporation, Limelight Networks, Inc., in August 2003. Limelight common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “LLNW.” The principal executive offices of Limelight are located at 2220 W. 14th Street, Tempe, Arizona 85281 and 201 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach, California 92075, and its telephone number is (602) 850-5000. Additional information about Limelight is available on our website at http://www.limelightnetworks.com. Our website, and the information contained therein, is not a part of this prospectus.

The Securities We May Offer

We may offer up to $150,000,000 of common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, warrants, debt securities and units in one or more offerings and in any combination. In addition, the selling stockholders may sell up to 15,000,000 shares of our common stock from time to time in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. A prospectus supplement, which we will provide each time we offer securities, will describe the specific amounts, prices and terms of the securities we determine to offer.

 

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Common Stock

We may offer shares of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share, either alone or underlying other registered securities convertible or exercisable into our common stock. In addition, the selling stockholders may offer shares of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share. Each holder of our common stock is entitled to one vote for each share on all matters to be voted upon by the stockholders, and there are no cumulative rights. Subject to any preferential rights of any outstanding preferred stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive ratably the dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefore. If there is a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company, holders of our common stock would be entitled to share in our assets remaining after the payment of liabilities and any preferential rights of any outstanding preferred stock.

Preferred Stock and Depositary Shares

Under the terms of our certificate of incorporation, our board of directors is authorized to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more series without stockholder approval. Our board of directors has the discretion to determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, dividend rights, conversion rights, redemption privileges and liquidation preferences, of each series of preferred stock.

We may also issue fractional shares of preferred stock that will be represented by depositary shares and depositary receipts.

Each series of preferred stock, depositary shares or depositary receipts, if issued, will be more fully described in the particular prospectus supplement that will accompany this prospectus, including redemption provisions, rights in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, voting rights and rights to convert into common stock. We do not have any shares of our preferred stock, depositary shares or depositary receipts presently outstanding.

Warrants

We may issue warrants for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities. We may issue warrants independently or together with other securities.

Debt Securities

We may offer secured or unsecured obligations in the form of one or more series of senior or subordinated debt. The senior debt securities and the subordinated debt securities are together referred to in this prospectus as the “debt securities.” The subordinated debt securities generally will be entitled to payment only after payment of our senior debt. Senior debt generally includes all debt for money borrowed by us, except debt that is stated in the instrument governing the terms of that debt to not be senior to, or to have the same rank in right of payment as, or to be expressly junior to, the subordinated debt securities. We may issue debt securities that are convertible into shares of our common stock.

The senior and subordinated debt securities will be issued under separate indentures between us and a trustee. We have summarized the general features of the debt securities to be governed by the indentures. These indentures have been filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. We encourage you to read these indentures. Instructions on how you can get copies of these documents are provided in the section entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” beginning on page 28 of the prospectus.

Units

We may issue units comprised of one or more of the other classes of securities issued by us as described in this prospectus in any combination. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit.

 

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The prospectus supplement applicable to each offering of our securities will contain a discussion of the risks applicable to an investment in our securities. Prior to making a decision about investing in our securities, you should carefully consider the specific factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the applicable prospectus supplement, together with all of the other information contained or incorporated by reference in the prospectus supplement or appearing or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should also consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions discussed under “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 and any updates described in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, and may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports we file with the SEC in the future and any prospectus supplement related to a particular offering. The risks and uncertainties we have described are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our operations. The occurrence of any of these known or unknown risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the offered securities.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus, each prospectus supplement and the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus and each prospectus supplement contain certain statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include statements as to industry trends and future expectations of ours and other matters that do not relate strictly to historical facts. 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, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. Those statements appear in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated herein and therein by reference, particularly in the sections entitled “Prospectus Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business,” and include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and management that are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions 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 discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” set forth above.

This prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement also contain statements that are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs, including estimates and projections about our company, industry, financial condition, results of operations and other matters. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict.

Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the SEC, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein after we distribute this prospectus, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise.

 

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RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

The following table sets forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges on a historical basis for each of the periods indicated. You should read these ratios in connection with our consolidated financial statements, including the notes to those statements, incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

 

    

 

Fiscal Year Ended December 31,

     Nine Months
Ended
September 30,

2010
 
       2005          2006          2007          2008          2009       

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges

     1.2x        —          —          —          3.3x        —    

The ratio of earnings to fixed charges has been computed on a consolidated basis. “Earnings” consists of net income before income taxes plus fixed charges. “Fixed charges” consist of interest expense plus the portion of interest expense under operating leases deemed by us to be representative of the interest factor.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2010 and for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, our earnings were insufficient to cover fixed charges by $18.6 million, $63.1 million, $70.6 million and $0.8 million, respectively.

As of the date of this prospectus, we have no shares of preferred stock outstanding, and consequently, our ratio of earnings to preferred share dividends and ratio of earnings to fixed charges would be identical.

USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will use the net proceeds from the sale of securities offered by this prospectus for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital, capital expenditures, other corporate expenses and acquisitions of complementary products, technologies or businesses. The timing and amount of our actual expenditures will be based on many factors, including cash flows from operations and the anticipated growth of our business. As a result, unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, our management will have broad discretion to allocate the net proceeds of the offerings. We intend to invest the net proceeds in a variety of short-term, interest-bearing, investment grade securities.

We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock by the selling stockholders.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

The following information describes our common stock and preferred stock, as well as certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, referred to as our certificate of incorporation, and amended and restated bylaws, referred to as our bylaws. This description is only a summary. You should also refer to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, which have been filed with the SEC as exhibits to our registration statement, of which this prospectus forms a part.

General

Our authorized capital stock consists of 150,000,000 shares of common stock with a $0.001 par value per share, and 7,500,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock with a $0.001 par value per share. Our board of directors may establish the rights and preferences of the preferred stock from time to time. As of November 10, 2010 there were 99,522,192 shares of common stock issued and outstanding, held of record by 220 stockholders, although we believe that there may be a significantly larger number of beneficial owners of our common stock. We derived the number of stockholders by reviewing the listing of outstanding common stock recorded by our transfer agent as of November 10, 2010.

The following is a summary of the material provisions of the common stock and preferred stock provided for in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws. For additional detail about our capital stock, please refer to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws.

Common Stock

The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters to be voted upon by the stockholders. Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any outstanding preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends that may be declared from time to time by the board of directors out of funds legally available for that purpose. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of common stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities, subject to prior distribution rights of preferred stock then outstanding. The common stock has no preemptive or conversion rights or other subscription rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. All outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and nonassessable.

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “LLNW.” The transfer agent and registrar for the common stock is American Stock Transfer and Trust Company. Its address is 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, New York 11219, and its telephone number is (800) 937-5449.

Preferred stock

The following description of preferred stock and the description of the terms of any particular series of preferred stock that we choose to issue hereunder and that will be set forth in the related prospectus supplement are not complete. These descriptions are qualified in their entirety by reference to our certificate of incorporation and the certificate of designation relating to any series of preferred stock. The rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of the preferred stock of each series will be fixed by the certificate of designation relating to that series. The prospectus supplement also will contain a description of certain United States federal income tax consequences relating to the purchase and ownership of the series of preferred stock that is described in the prospectus supplement.

Under the terms of our certificate of incorporation, our board of directors is authorized to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more series without stockholder approval. Our board of directors has the discretion to determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, dividend rights, conversion rights, redemption privileges and liquidation preferences, of each series of preferred stock. There are no restrictions presently on the repurchase or redemption of any shares of our preferred stock.

 

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The prospectus supplement for a series of preferred stock will specify:

 

    the maximum number of shares;

 

    the designation of the shares;

 

    the annual dividend rate, if any, whether the dividend rate is fixed or variable, the date or dates on which dividends will accrue, the dividend payment dates, and whether dividends will be cumulative;

 

    the price and the terms and conditions for redemption, if any, including redemption at our option or at the option of the holders, including the time period for redemption, and any accumulated dividends or premiums;

 

    the liquidation preference, if any, and any accumulated dividends upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs;

 

    any sinking fund or similar provision, and, if so, the terms and provisions relating to the purpose and operation of the fund;

 

    the terms and conditions, if any, for conversion or exchange of shares of any other class or classes of our capital stock or any series of any other class or classes, or of any other series of the same class, or any other securities or assets, including the price or the rate of conversion or exchange and the method, if any, of adjustment;

 

    the voting rights; and

 

    any or all other preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, privileges or qualifications, limitations or restrictions.

The issuance of preferred stock will affect, and may adversely affect, the rights of holders of common stock. It is not possible to state the actual effect of the issuance of any shares of preferred stock on the rights of holders of common stock until our board of directors determines the specific rights attached to that preferred stock. The effects of issuing preferred stock could include one or more of the following:

 

    restricting dividends on the common stock;

 

    diluting the voting power of the common stock;

 

    impairing the liquidation rights of the common stock; or

 

    delaying or preventing changes in control or management of our company.

We have no present plans to issue any shares of preferred stock nor are any shares of our preferred stock presently outstanding. Preferred stock will be fully paid and nonassessable upon issuance.

Effect of Certain Provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws and the Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute

Some provisions of Delaware law and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could make the following transactions more difficult:

 

    acquisition of us by means of a tender offer;

 

    acquisition of us by means of a proxy contest or otherwise; or

 

    removal of our incumbent officers and directors.

Those provisions, summarized below, could have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of us. These provisions and certain provisions of Delaware law, which are summarized below, are expected to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to promote stability in our management. These provisions are also designed, in part, to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to negotiate first with our board of directors.

 

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Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws provide for the following:

 

    Undesignated Preferred Stock. As discussed above, our board of directors has the ability to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change control of us. These and other provisions may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control or management of our company.

 

    Stockholder Meetings. Our certificate of incorporation provides that our stockholders may not act by written consent, which may lengthen the amount of time required to take stockholder actions. As a result, a holder controlling a majority of our capital stock would not be able to amend our bylaws or remove directors without holding a meeting of our stockholders called in accordance with our bylaws. In addition, our bylaws provide that special meetings of the stockholders may be called only by the chairperson of the board, the chief executive officer or our board of directors. Stockholders may not call a special meeting, which may delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or for holders controlling a majority of our capital stock to take any action, including the removal of directors.

 

    Requirements for Advance Notification of Stockholder Nominations and Proposals. Our bylaws establish advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of our board of directors or a committee of our board of directors. These provisions may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed. These provisions may also discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company.

 

    Board Classification. Our board of directors is divided into three classes, one class of which is elected each year by our stockholders. The directors in each class will serve for a three-year term. Our classified board may tend to discourage a third party from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us, because it generally makes it more difficult for stockholders to replace a majority of the directors.

 

    No Cumulative Voting. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws do not permit cumulative voting in the election of directors. Cumulative voting allows a stockholder to vote a portion or all of its shares for one or more candidates for seats on the board of directors. Without cumulative voting, a minority stockholder may not be able to gain as many seats on our board of directors as the stockholder would be able to gain if cumulative voting were permitted. The absence of cumulative voting makes it more difficult for a minority stockholder to gain a seat on our board of directors to influence our board’s decision regarding a takeover.

 

    Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws. The amendment of the above provisions of our charter documents requires approval by holders of at least two-thirds of the voting power of our then outstanding voting stock.

Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute

We are subject to Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, with the following exceptions:

 

    before such date, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;

 

   

upon completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the

 

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time the transaction began, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) those shares owned (i) by persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or

 

    on or after such date, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 23% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.

In general, Section 203 defines business combination to include the following:

 

    any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder;

 

    any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of either the assets or outstanding stock of the corporation involving the interested stockholder;

 

    subject to certain exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder;

 

    any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock of any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or

 

    the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits by or through the corporation.

In general, Section 203 defines interested stockholder as an entity or person who, together with affiliates and associates, beneficially owns, or within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF THE DEPOSITARY SHARES

General

At our option, we may elect to offer fractional shares of preferred stock, rather than full shares of preferred stock. If we do elect to offer fractional shares of preferred stock, we will issue receipts for depositary shares and each of these depositary shares will represent a fraction of a share of a particular series of preferred stock, as specified in the applicable prospectus supplement. Each owner of a depositary share will be entitled, in proportion to the applicable fractional interest in shares of preferred stock underlying that depositary share, to all rights and preferences of the preferred stock underlying that depositary share. These rights may include dividend, voting, redemption and liquidation rights.

The shares of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares will be deposited with a bank or trust company selected by us to act as depositary, under a deposit agreement by and among us, the depositary and the holders of the depositary receipts. The depositary will be the transfer agent, registrar and dividend disbursing agent for the depositary shares.

The depositary shares will be evidenced by depositary receipts issued pursuant to the depositary agreement. Holders of depositary receipts agree to be bound by the deposit agreement, which requires holders to take certain actions such as filing proof of residence and paying certain charges.

The summary of terms of the depositary shares contained in this prospectus is not complete, and is subject to modification in any prospectus supplement for any issuance of depositary shares. You should refer to the forms of the deposit agreement, our certificate of incorporation and the certificate of designation that are, or will be, filed with the SEC for the applicable series of preferred stock.

Dividends

The depositary will distribute cash dividends or other cash distributions, if any, received in respect of the series of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares to the record holders of depositary receipts in proportion to the number of depositary shares owned by those holders on the relevant record date. The relevant record date for depositary shares will be the same date as the record date for the preferred stock.

In the event of a distribution other than in cash, the depositary will distribute property received by it to the record holders of depositary receipts that are entitled to receive the distribution, unless the depositary determines that it is not feasible to make the distribution. If this occurs, the depositary, with our approval, may adopt another method for the distribution, including selling the property and distributing the net proceeds to the holders.

Liquidation preference

If a series of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares has a liquidation preference, in the event of our voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of depositary shares will be entitled to receive the fraction of the liquidation preference accorded each share of the applicable series of preferred stock, as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Redemption

If a series of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares is subject to redemption, the depositary shares will be redeemed from the proceeds received by the depositary resulting from the redemption, in whole or in part, of the preferred stock held by the depositary. Whenever we redeem any preferred stock held by the depositary, the depositary will redeem, as of the same redemption date, the number of depositary shares representing the

 

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preferred stock so redeemed. The depositary will mail the notice of redemption to the record holders of the depositary receipts promptly upon receiving the notice from us and not fewer than 20 or more than 60 days, unless otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, prior to the date fixed for redemption of the preferred stock.

Voting

Upon receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of preferred stock are entitled to vote, the depositary will mail the information contained in the notice of meeting to the record holders of the depositary receipts underlying the preferred stock. Each record holder of those depositary receipts on the record date will be entitled to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights pertaining to the amount of preferred stock underlying that holder’s depositary shares. The record date for the depositary will be the same date as the record date for the preferred stock. The depositary will, to the extent practicable, vote the preferred stock underlying the depositary shares in accordance with these instructions. We will agree to take all action that may be deemed necessary by the depositary in order to enable the depositary to vote the preferred stock in accordance with these instructions. The depositary will not vote the preferred stock to the extent that it does not receive specific instructions from the holders of depositary receipts.

Withdrawal of preferred stock

Owners of depositary shares will be entitled to receive upon surrender of depositary receipts at the principal office of the depositary and payment of any unpaid amount due to the depositary, the number of whole shares of preferred stock underlying their depositary shares.

Partial shares of preferred stock will not be issued. Holders of preferred stock will not be entitled to deposit the shares under the deposit agreement or to receive depositary receipts evidencing depositary shares for the preferred stock.

Amendment and termination of the deposit agreement

The form of depositary receipt evidencing the depositary shares and any provision of the deposit agreement may be amended by agreement between the depositary and us. However, any amendment which materially and adversely alters the rights of the holders of depositary shares, other than fee changes, will not be effective unless the amendment has been approved by at least a majority of the outstanding depositary shares. The deposit agreement may be terminated by the depositary or us only if:

 

    all outstanding depositary shares have been redeemed; or

 

    there has been a final distribution of the preferred stock in connection with our dissolution and such distribution has been made to all the holders of depositary shares.

Charges of depositary

We will pay all transfer and other taxes and governmental charges arising solely from the existence of the depositary arrangement. We will also pay charges of the depositary in connection with:

 

    the initial deposit of the preferred stock;

 

    the initial issuance of the depositary shares;

 

    any redemption of the preferred stock; and

 

    all withdrawals of preferred stock by owners of depositary shares.

 

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Holders of depositary receipts will pay transfer, income and other taxes and governmental charges and other specified charges as provided in the deposit agreement for their accounts. If these charges have not been paid, the depositary may:

 

    refuse to transfer depositary shares;

 

    withhold dividends and distributions; and

 

    sell the depositary shares evidenced by the depositary receipt.

Miscellaneous

The depositary will forward to the holders of depositary receipts all reports and communications we deliver to the depositary that we are required to furnish to the holders of the preferred stock. In addition, the depositary will make available for inspection by holders of depositary receipts at the principal office of the depositary, and at such other places as it may from time to time deem advisable, any reports and communications we deliver to the depositary as the holder of preferred stock.

Neither the depositary nor we will be liable if either the depositary or we are prevented or delayed by law or any circumstance beyond the control of either the depositary or us in performing our respective obligations under the deposit agreement. Our obligations and the depositary’s obligations will be limited to the performance in good faith of our or the depositary’s respective duties under the deposit agreement. Neither the depositary nor we will be obligated to prosecute or defend any legal proceeding in respect of any depositary shares or preferred stock unless satisfactory indemnity is furnished. The depositary and we may rely on:

 

    written advice of counsel or accountants;

 

    information provided by holders of depositary receipts or other persons believed in good faith to be competent to give such information; and

 

    documents believed to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties.

Resignation and removal of depositary

The depositary may resign at any time by delivering a notice to us. We may remove the depositary at any time. Any such resignation or removal will take effect upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment. The successor depositary must be appointed within 60 days after delivery of the notice for resignation or removal. The successor depositary must be a bank and trust company having its principal office in the United States of America and having a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000.

Federal income tax consequences

Owners of the depositary shares will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as if they were owners of the preferred stock underlying the depositary shares. As a result, owners will be entitled to take into account for U.S. federal income tax purposes and deductions to which they would be entitled if they were holders of such preferred stock. No gain or loss will be recognized for U.S. federal income tax purposes upon the withdrawal of preferred stock in exchange for depositary shares. The tax basis of each share of preferred stock to an exchanging owner of depositary shares will, upon such exchange, be the same as the aggregate tax basis of the depositary shares exchanged. The holding period for preferred stock in the hands of an exchanging owner of depositary shares will include the period during which such person owned such depositary shares.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF THE WARRANTS

General

We may issue warrants for the purchase of our debt securities, preferred stock or common stock, or any combination thereof. Warrants may be issued independently or together with our debt securities, preferred stock or common stock 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 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. This summary of certain provisions of the warrants is not complete. For the terms of a particular series of warrants, you should refer to the prospectus supplement for that series of warrants and the warrant agreement for that particular series.

Debt warrants

The prospectus supplement relating to a particular issue of warrants to purchase debt securities will describe the terms of the debt warrants, including the following:

 

    the title of the debt warrants;

 

    the offering price for the debt warrants, if any;

 

    the aggregate number of the debt warrants;

 

    the designation and terms of the debt securities, including any conversion rights, purchasable upon exercise of the debt warrants;

 

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

 

    the principal amount of debt securities that may be purchased upon exercise of a debt warrant and the exercise price for the warrants, which may be payable in cash, securities or other property;

 

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

 

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

 

    whether the debt warrants represented by the debt warrant certificates or debt securities that may be issued upon exercise of the debt warrants will be issued in registered or bearer form;

 

    information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any;

 

    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 antidilution provisions of the debt warrants, if any;

 

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

 

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

 

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

Debt warrant certificates will be exchangeable for new debt warrant certificates of different denominations. Debt warrants may be exercised at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the prospectus supplement. Prior to the exercise of their debt warrants, holders of debt warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of the debt securities purchasable upon exercise and will not be entitled to payment of principal or any premium, if any, or interest on the debt securities purchasable upon exercise.

 

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Equity warrants

The prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of warrants to purchase our common stock or preferred stock 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 warrants;

 

    the designation and terms of the common stock or preferred stock 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 or preferred stock 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 antidilution provisions of the warrants, if any;

 

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

 

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

 

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

Holders of equity 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 us.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF THE DEBT SECURITIES

The debt securities may be either secured or unsecured and will either be our senior debt securities or our subordinated debt securities. The debt securities will be issued under one or more separate indentures between us and a trustee to be specified in an accompanying prospectus supplement. Senior debt securities will be issued under a senior indenture and subordinated debt securities will be issued under a subordinated indenture. Together, the senior indenture and the subordinated indenture are called indentures in this description. This prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplement, will describe the terms of a particular series of debt securities.

The following is a summary of selected provisions and definitions of the indentures and debt securities to which any prospectus supplement may relate. The summary of selected provisions of the indentures and the debt securities appearing below is not complete and is subject to, and qualified entirely by reference to, all of the provisions of the applicable indenture and certificates evidencing the applicable debt securities. For additional information, you should look at the applicable indenture and the certificate evidencing the applicable debt security that is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes the prospectus. In this description of the debt securities, the words “we,” “us,” “our” or “the Company” refer only to Limelight Networks, Inc. and not to any of our subsidiaries, unless we expressly state or the context otherwise requires.

The following description sets forth selected general terms and provisions of the applicable indenture and debt securities to which any prospectus supplement may relate. Other specific terms of the applicable indenture and debt securities will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. If any particular terms of the indenture or debt securities described in a prospectus supplement differ from any of the terms described below, then the terms described below will be deemed to have been superseded by that prospectus supplement.

General

Debt securities may be issued in separate series without limitation as to aggregate principal amount. We may specify a maximum aggregate principal amount for the debt securities of any series.

We are not limited as to the amount of debt securities we may issue under the indentures. Unless otherwise provided in a prospectus supplement, a series of debt securities may be reopened to issue additional debt securities of such series.

The prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of debt securities will set forth:

 

    whether the debt securities are senior or subordinated;

 

    the offering price;

 

    the title;

 

    any limit on the aggregate principal amount;

 

    the person who shall be entitled to receive interest, if other than the record holder on the record date;

 

    the date or dates the principal will be payable;

 

    the interest rate or rates, which may be fixed or variable, if any, the date from which interest will accrue, the interest payment dates and the regular record dates, or the method for calculating the dates and rates;

 

    the place where payments may be made;

 

    any mandatory or optional redemption provisions or sinking fund provisions and any applicable redemption or purchase prices associated with these provisions;

 

    if issued other than in denominations of U.S. $1,000 or any multiple of U.S. $1,000, the denominations in which the debt securities shall be issuable;

 

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    if applicable, the method for determining how the principal, premium, if any, or interest will be calculated by reference to an index or formula;

 

    if other than U.S. currency, the currency or currency units in which principal, premium, if any, or interest will be payable and whether we or a holder may elect payment to be made in a different currency;

 

    if the principal, premium, if any, or interest will be payable at the election of the company or holder in one or more currencies or currency units other than that or those stated by the debt securities, the currency or currency units in which such payments shall be payable, the periods within which and the terms and conditions upon which such election is to be made and the amount so payable;

 

    the portion of the principal amount that will be payable upon acceleration of maturity, if other than the entire principal amount;

 

    if the principal amount payable at stated maturity will not be determinable as of any date prior to stated maturity, the amount or method for determining the amount which will be deemed to be the principal amount;

 

    if applicable, that the debt securities shall be subject to the defeasance provisions described below under “Satisfaction and discharge; defeasance” or such other defeasance provisions specified in the applicable prospectus supplement for the debt securities;

 

    any conversion or exchange provisions;

 

    whether the debt securities will be issuable in the form of a global security;

 

    any subordination provisions applicable to the subordinated debt securities if different from those described below under “Subordinated debt securities;”

 

    any paying agents, authenticating agents, security registrars or other agents for the debt securities, if other than the trustee;

 

    any provisions relating to any security provided for the debt securities, including any provisions regarding the circumstances under which collateral may be released or substituted;

 

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

 

    any provisions relating to guaranties for the debt securities and any circumstances under which there may be additional obligors;

 

    any provisions granting special rights to holders when a specified event occurs;

 

    any special interest premium or other premium; and

 

    any other specific terms of such debt securities.

Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, the debt securities will be registered debt securities. Debt securities may be sold at a substantial discount below their stated principal amount, bearing no interest or interest at a rate which at time of issuance is below market rates. The U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to debt securities sold at a discount will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Exchange and transfer

Debt securities may be transferred or exchanged at the office of the security registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us.

We will not impose a service charge for any transfer or exchange, but we may require holders to pay any tax or other governmental charges associated with any transfer or exchange.

 

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In the event of any partial redemption of debt securities of any series, we will not be required to:

 

    issue, register the transfer of, or exchange, any debt security of that series during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of the mailing; or

 

    register the transfer of or exchange any debt security of that series selected for redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion being redeemed in part.

We will appoint the trustee as the initial security registrar. Any transfer agent, in addition to the security registrar initially designated by us, will be named in the prospectus supplement. We may designate additional transfer agents or change transfer agents or change the office of the transfer agent. However, we will be required to maintain a transfer agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of each series.

Global securities

The debt securities of any series may be represented, in whole or in part, by one or more global securities. Each global security will:

 

    be registered in the name of a depositary, or its nominee, that we will identify in a prospectus supplement;

 

    be delivered to the depositary or nominee or custodian; and

 

    bear any required legends.

The prospectus supplement for any series of debt securities will set forth the provisions applicable to one or more global securities.

Payment and paying agents

Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement, the provisions described in this paragraph will apply to the debt securities. Payment of interest on a debt security on any interest payment date will be made to the person in whose name the debt security is registered at the close of business on the regular record date. Payment on debt securities of a particular series will be payable at the office of a paying agent or paying agents designated by us. However, at our option, we may pay interest by mailing a check to the record holder. The trustee will be designated as our initial paying agent.

We may also name any other paying agents in a prospectus supplement. We may designate additional paying agents, change paying agents or change the office of any paying agent. However, we will be required to maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of a particular series.

All amounts paid by us to a paying agent for payment on any debt security that remain unclaimed for a period ending the earlier of:

 

    10 business days prior to the date the money would escheat to the applicable state; or

 

    at the end of two years after such payment was due,

will be repaid to us thereafter. The holder may look only to us for such payment.

No protection in the event of a change of control

Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement with respect to a particular series of debt securities, the debt securities will not contain any provisions that may afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event we have a change in control or in the event of a highly leveraged transaction, whether or not such transaction results in a change in control.

 

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Covenants

Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement with respect to a particular series of debt securities, the debt securities will not contain any financial or restrictive covenants.

Consolidation, merger and sale of assets

Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement with respect to a particular series of debt securities, we may not consolidate with or merge into any other person (other than a subsidiary of us), in a transaction in which we are not the surviving entity, or convey, transfer or lease our properties and assets substantially as an entirety to, any person (other than a subsidiary of us), unless:

 

    the successor entity, if any, is a U.S. corporation, limited liability company, partnership, trust or other business entity;

 

    the successor entity assumes our obligations on the debt securities and under the indentures; and

 

    certain other conditions specified in the indenture are met.

Events of default

Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, the following will be events of default for any series of debt securities under the indentures:

 

  (1) we fail to pay the principal or any redemption price of or any premium on any debt security of that series when due;

 

  (2) we fail to pay any interest on any debt security of that series for 30 days after it becomes due;

 

  (3) we fail to deposit any sinking fund payment when due;

 

  (4) we fail to perform any other covenant in the indenture and such failure continues for 90 days after we are given the notice required in the indentures; and

 

  (5) certain events involving bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization of the company.

Additional or different events of default applicable to a series of debt securities may be described in a prospectus supplement. An event of default of one series of debt securities is not necessarily an event of default for any other series of debt securities.

The trustee may withhold notice to the holders of any default, except defaults in the payment of principal, premium, if any, interest, any sinking fund installment on, or with respect to any conversion right of, the debt securities of such series. However, the trustee must consider it to be in the interest of the holders of the debt securities of such series to withhold this notice.

Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, if an event of default, other than an event of default described in clause (5) above, shall occur and be continuing with respect to any series of debt securities, either the trustee or the holders of at least 25 percent in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may declare the principal amount and premium, if any, of all the debt securities of that series, or if any debt securities of that series are original issue discount securities, such other amount as may be specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, in each case together with accrued and unpaid interest, if any, thereon, to be due and payable immediately.

Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, if an event of default described in clause (5) above shall occur, the principal amount and premium, if any, of all the debt securities of that series, or if any debt securities of that series are original issue discount securities, such other amount as may be specified in the

 

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applicable prospectus supplement, in each case together with accrued and unpaid interest, if any, thereon, will automatically become immediately due and payable. Any payment by us on the subordinated debt securities following any such acceleration will be subject to the subordination provisions described below under “Subordinated debt securities.”

Notwithstanding the foregoing, each indenture will provide that we may, at our option, elect that the sole remedy for an event of default relating to our failure to comply with our obligations described under the section entitled “Reports” below or our failure to comply with the requirements of Section 314(a)(1) of the Trust Indenture Act will for the first 180 days after the occurrence of such an event of default consist exclusively of the right to receive additional interest on the relevant series of debt securities at an annual rate equal to (i) 0.25% of the principal amount of such series of debt securities for the first 90 days after the occurrence of such event of default and (ii) 0.50% of the principal amount of such series of debt securities from the 91st day to, and including, the 180th day after the occurrence of such event of default, which we call “additional interest.” If we so elect, the additional interest will accrue on all outstanding debt securities from and including the date on which such event of default first occurs until such violation is cured or waived and shall be payable on each relevant interest payment date to holders of record on the regular record date immediately preceding the interest payment date. On the 181st day after such event of default (if such violation is not cured or waived prior to such 181st day), the debt securities will be subject to acceleration as provided above. In the event we do not elect to pay additional interest upon any such event of default in accordance with this paragraph, the debt securities will be subject to acceleration as provided above.

In order to elect to pay the additional interest as the sole remedy during the first 180 days after the occurrence of any event of default relating to the failure to comply with the reporting obligations in accordance with the preceding paragraph, we must notify all holders of debt securities and the trustee and paying agent of such election prior to the close of business on the first business day following the date on which such event of default occurs. Upon our failure to timely give such notice or pay the additional interest, the debt securities will be immediately subject to acceleration as provided above.

After acceleration, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may, under certain circumstances, rescind and annul such acceleration if all events of default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal, or other specified amounts or interest or a default relating to a covenant or other provision of the indenture that cannot be waived without the consent of each holder of outstanding debt securities of that series, have been cured or waived.

Other than the duty to act with the required care during an event of default, the trustee will not be obligated to exercise any of its rights or powers at the request of the holders unless the holders shall have offered to the trustee reasonable indemnity. Generally, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee.

A holder of debt securities of any series will not have any right to institute any proceeding under the indentures, or for the appointment of a receiver or a trustee, or for any other remedy under the indentures, unless:

 

  (1) the holder has previously given to the trustee written notice of a continuing event of default with respect to the debt securities of that series;

 

  (2) the holders of at least 25 percent in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made a written request and have offered reasonable indemnity to the trustee to institute the proceeding; and

 

  (3) the trustee has failed to institute the proceeding and has not received direction inconsistent with the original request from the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series within 60 days after the original request.

 

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Holders may, however, sue to enforce the payment of principal, premium or interest on any debt security on or after the due date or to enforce the right, if any, to convert any debt security (if the debt security is convertible) without following the procedures listed in (1) through (3) above.

We will furnish the trustee an annual statement from our officers as to whether or not we are in default in the performance of the conditions and covenants under the indenture and, if so, specifying all known defaults.

Modification and waiver

Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, the applicable trustee and we may make modifications and amendments to an indenture with the consent of the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series affected by the modification or amendment.

We may also make modifications and amendments to the indentures for the benefit of holders without their consent, for certain purposes including, but not limited to:

 

    providing for our successor to become to obligor and assume the covenants under the indenture;

 

    adding covenants or events of default, provided that such action shall not adversely affect the holders in any material respect;

 

    making certain changes to facilitate the issuance of the debt securities;

 

    securing the debt securities;

 

    providing for a successor trustee or additional trustees;

 

    conforming the indenture to the description of the debt securities set forth in this prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement;

 

    curing any ambiguities or inconsistencies, provided that such action shall not adversely affect the holders in any material respect;

 

    providing for guaranties of, or additional obligors on, the debt securities;

 

    permitting or facilitating the defeasance and discharge of the debt securities, provided that such action shall not adversely affect the holders in any material respect; and

 

    other changes specified in the indenture.

However, neither the trustee or us may make any modification or amendment without the consent of the holder of each outstanding security of that series affected by the modification or amendment if such modification or amendment would:

 

    change the stated maturity of any debt security;

 

    reduce the principal, premium, if any, or interest on any debt security or any amount payable upon redemption or repurchase, whether at our option or the option of any holder, or reduce the amount of any sinking fund payments;

 

    reduce the principal of an original issue discount security or any other debt security payable on acceleration of maturity;

 

    change the place of payment or the currency in which any debt security is payable;

 

    impair the right to enforce any payment after the stated maturity or redemption date;

 

    if subordinated debt securities, modify the subordination provisions in a materially adverse manner to the holders;

 

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    adversely affect the right to convert any debt security if the debt security is a convertible debt security; or

 

    change the provisions in the indenture that relate to modifying or amending the indenture or waiver of past defaults.

Satisfaction and discharge; defeasance

We may be discharged from our obligations on the debt securities, subject to limited exceptions, of any series that have matured or will mature or be redeemed within one year if we deposit enough money with the trustee to pay all the principal, interest and any premium due to the stated maturity date or redemption date of the debt securities.

Each indenture contains a provision that permits us to elect either or both of the following:

 

    we may elect to be discharged from all of our obligations, subject to limited exceptions, with respect to any series of debt securities then outstanding. If we make this election, the holders of the debt securities of the series will not be entitled to the benefits of the indenture, except for the rights of holders to receive payments on debt securities or the registration of transfer and exchange of debt securities and replacement of lost, stolen or mutilated debt securities.

 

    we may elect to be released from our obligations under some or all of any financial or restrictive covenants applicable to the series of debt securities to which the election relates and from the consequences of an event of default resulting from a breach of those covenants.

To make either of the above elections, we must irrevocably deposit in trust with the trustee enough money to pay in full the principal, interest and any premium on the debt securities. This amount may be made in cash and/ or U.S. government obligations or, in the case of debt securities denominated in a currency other than U.S. dollars, cash in the currency in which such series of debt securities is denominated and/or foreign government obligations. As a condition to either of the above elections, for debt securities denominated in U.S. dollars we must deliver to the trustee an opinion of counsel that the holders of the debt securities will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of the action.

With respect to debt securities of any series that are denominated in a currency other than United States dollars, “foreign government obligations” means:

 

    direct obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued the currency in which such debt securities are denominated and for the payment of which obligations its full faith and credit is pledged, or, with respect to debt securities of any series which are denominated in Euros, direct obligations of certain members of the European Union for the payment of which obligations the full faith and credit of such members is pledged, which in each case are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof; or

 

    obligations of a person controlled or supervised by or acting as an agency or instrumentality of a government described in the bullet above the timely payment of which is unconditionally guaranteed as a full faith and credit obligation by such government, which are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof.

Reports

The indentures provide that any reports or documents that we file with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act will be filed with the trustee within 15 days after the same is filed with the SEC. Documents filed by us with the SEC via the EDGAR system will be deemed filed with the trustee as of the time such documents are filed with the SEC.

 

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Notices

Notices to holders will be given by mail to the addresses of the holders in the security register.

Governing law

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

No personal liability of directors, officers, employees and stockholders

No incorporator, stockholder, employee, agent, officer, director or subsidiary of ours will have any liability for any obligations of ours, or because of the creation of any indebtedness under the debt securities, the indentures or any supplemental indentures. The indentures provide that all such liability is expressly waived and released as a condition of, and as a consideration for, the execution of such indentures and the issuance of the debt securities.

Regarding the trustee

The indentures limit the right of the trustee, should it become our creditor, to obtain payment of claims or secure its claims.

The trustee will be permitted to engage in certain other transactions with us. However, if the trustee acquires any conflicting interest, and there is a default under the debt securities of any series for which it is trustee, the trustee must eliminate the conflict or resign.

Subordinated debt securities

The following provisions will be applicable with respect to each series of subordinated debt securities, unless otherwise stated in the prospectus supplement relating to that series of subordinated debt securities.

The indebtedness evidenced by the subordinated debt securities of any series is subordinated, to the extent provided in the subordinated indenture and the applicable prospectus supplement, to the prior payment in full, in cash or other payment satisfactory to the holders of senior debt, of all senior debt, including any senior debt securities.

Upon any distribution of our assets upon any dissolution, winding up, liquidation or reorganization, whether voluntary or involuntary, marshalling of assets, assignment for the benefit of creditors, or in bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership or other similar proceedings, payments on the subordinated debt securities will be subordinated in right of payment to the prior payment in full in cash or other payment satisfactory to holders of senior debt of all senior debt.

In the event of any acceleration of the subordinated debt securities of any series because of an event of default with respect to the subordinated debt securities of that series, holders of any senior debt would be entitled to payment in full in cash or other payment satisfactory to holders of senior debt of all senior debt before the holders of subordinated debt securities are entitled to receive any payment or distribution.

In addition, the subordinated debt securities will be structurally subordinated to all indebtedness and other liabilities of our subsidiaries, including trade payables and lease obligations. This occurs because our right to receive any assets of our subsidiaries upon their liquidation or reorganization, and your right to participate in those assets, will be effectively subordinated to the claims of that subsidiary’s creditors, including trade creditors, except to the extent that we are recognized as a creditor of such subsidiary. If we are recognized as a creditor of that subsidiary, our claims would still be subordinate to any security interest in the assets of the subsidiary and any indebtedness of the subsidiary senior to us.

 

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We are required to promptly notify holders of senior debt or their representatives under the subordinated indenture if payment of the subordinated debt securities is accelerated because of an event of default.

Under the subordinated indenture, we may also not make payment on the subordinated debt securities if:

 

    a default in our obligations to pay principal, premium, if any, interest or other amounts on our senior debt occurs and the default continues beyond any applicable grace period, which we refer to as a payment default; or

 

    any other default occurs and is continuing with respect to designated senior debt that permits holders of designated senior debt to accelerate its maturity, which we refer to as a non-payment default, and the trustee receives a payment blockage notice from us or some other person permitted to give the notice under the subordinated indenture.

We will resume payments on the subordinated debt securities:

 

    in case of a payment default, when the default is cured or waived or ceases to exist, and

 

    in case of a nonpayment default, the earlier of when the default is cured or waived or ceases to exist or 179 days after the receipt of the payment blockage notice.

No new payment blockage period may commence on the basis of a nonpayment default unless 365 days have elapsed from the effectiveness of the immediately prior payment blockage notice. No nonpayment default that existed or was continuing on the date of delivery of any payment blockage notice to the trustee shall be the basis for a subsequent payment blockage notice.

As a result of these subordination provisions, in the event of our bankruptcy, dissolution or reorganization, holders of senior debt may receive more, ratably, and holders of the subordinated debt securities may receive less, ratably, than our other creditors. The subordination provisions will not prevent the occurrence of any event of default under the subordinated indenture.

The subordination provisions will not apply to payments from money or government obligations held in trust by the trustee for the payment of principal, interest and premium, if any, on subordinated debt securities pursuant to the provisions described under the section entitled “Satisfaction and discharge; defeasance,” if the subordination provisions were not violated at the time the money or government obligations were deposited into trust.

If the trustee or any holder receives any payment that should not have been made to them in contravention of subordination provisions before all senior debt is paid in full in cash or other payment satisfactory to holders of senior debt, then such payment will be held in trust for the holders of senior debt.

Senior debt securities will constitute senior debt under the subordinated indenture.

Additional or different subordination provisions may be described in a prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of debt securities.

Definitions

“Designated senior debt” means our obligations under any particular senior debt in which the instrument creating or evidencing the same or the assumption or guarantee thereof, or related agreements or documents to which we are a party, expressly provides that such indebtedness shall be designated senior debt for purposes of the subordinated indenture. The instrument, agreement or other document evidencing any designated senior debt may place limitations and conditions on the right of such senior debt to exercise the rights of designated senior debt.

 

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“Indebtedness” means the following, whether absolute or contingent, secured or unsecured, due or to become due, outstanding on the date of the indenture for such series of securities or thereafter created, incurred or assumed:

 

    our indebtedness evidenced by a credit or loan agreement, note, bond, debenture or other written obligation;

 

    all of our obligations for money borrowed;

 

    all of our obligations evidenced by a note or similar instrument given in connection with the acquisition of any businesses, properties or assets of any kind,

 

    our obligations:

 

    as lessee under leases required to be capitalized on the balance sheet of the lessee under generally accepted accounting principles, or

 

    as lessee under leases for facilities, capital equipment or related assets, whether or not capitalized, entered into or leased for financing purposes;

 

    all of our obligations under interest rate and currency swaps, caps, floors, collars, hedge agreements, forward contracts or similar agreements or arrangements;

 

    all of our obligations with respect to letters of credit, bankers’ acceptances and similar facilities, including reimbursement obligations with respect to the foregoing;

 

    all of our obligations issued or assumed as the deferred purchase price of property or services, but excluding trade accounts payable and accrued liabilities arising in the ordinary course of business;

 

    all obligations of the type referred to in the above clauses of another person, the payment of which, in either case, we have assumed or guaranteed, for which we are responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, jointly or severally, as obligor, guarantor or otherwise, or which are secured by a lien on our property; and

 

    renewals, extensions, modifications, replacements, restatements and refundings of, or any indebtedness or obligation issued in exchange for, any such indebtedness or obligation described in the above clauses of this definition.

“Senior debt” means the principal of, premium, if any, and interest, including all interest accruing subsequent to the commencement of any bankruptcy or similar proceeding, whether or not a claim for post-petition interest is allowable as a claim in any such proceeding, and rent payable on or in connection with, and all fees and other amounts payable in connection with, our indebtedness. However, senior debt shall not include:

 

    any debt or obligation if its terms or the terms of the instrument under which or pursuant to which it is issued expressly provide that it shall not be senior in right of payment to the subordinated debt securities or expressly provide that such indebtedness is on the same basis or “junior” to the subordinated debt securities; or

 

    debt to any of our subsidiaries, a majority of the voting stock of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by us.

“Subsidiary” means a corporation more than 50% of the outstanding voting stock of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by us or by one or more of our other subsidiaries or by a combination of us and our other subsidiaries. For purposes of this definition, “voting stock” means stock or other similar interests which ordinarily has or have voting power for the election of directors, or persons performing similar functions, whether at all times or only so long as no senior class of stock or other interests has or have such voting power by reason of any contingency.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF THE UNITS

We may issue units comprised of one or more of the other classes of securities described in this prospectus in any combination. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each included security. The units may be issued under unit agreements to be entered into between us and a unit agent, as detailed in the prospectus supplement relating to the units being offered. The prospectus supplement will describe:

 

    the designation and terms of the units and of the securities comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances the securities comprising the units may be held or transferred separately;

 

    a description of the terms of any unit agreement governing the units;

 

    a description of the provisions for the payment, settlement, transfer or exchange of the units;

 

    a discussion of material federal income tax considerations, if applicable; and

 

    whether the units if issued as a separate security will be issued in fully registered or global form.

The descriptions of the units in this prospectus and in any prospectus supplement are summaries of the material provisions of the applicable agreements. These descriptions do not restate those agreements in their entirety and may not contain all the information that you may find useful. We urge you to read the applicable agreements because they, and not the summaries, define your rights as holders of the units. For more information, please review the forms of the relevant agreements, which will be filed with the SEC promptly after the offering of units and will be available as described in the section entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” beginning on page 28 of this prospectus.

 

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SELLING SECURITY HOLDERS

This prospectus also relates to the possible resale by certain of our stockholders, who we refer to in this prospectus as the “selling stockholders,” of up to 15,000,000 shares of our common stock that were issued and outstanding prior to the original date of filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. The selling stockholders originally acquired the shares of our common stock included in this prospectus through (1) several private placements of our convertible preferred stock prior to our initial public offering, all of which shares were converted into shares of our common stock in connection with our initial public offering, (2) issuances of shares of common stock and options to acquire common stock issued to officers, directors and employees pursuant to our Amended and Restated 2003 Incentive Compensation Plan and our 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, and (3) issuances of our common stock associated with business acquisitions. Information about the selling stockholders, where applicable, including their identities and the number of shares of common stock to be registered on their behalf, will be set forth in an applicable prospectus supplement, documents incorporated by reference or in a free writing prospectus we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The selling stockholders shall not sell any shares of our common stock pursuant to this prospectus until we have identified such selling stockholders and the shares being offered for resale by such selling stockholders in a subsequent prospectus supplement. However, the selling stockholders may sell or transfer all or a portion of their shares of our common stock pursuant to any available exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We or the selling stockholders may sell the securities offered through this prospectus (1) to or through underwriters or dealers, (2) directly to purchasers, including our affiliates, (3) through agents, or (4) through a combination of any of these methods. The securities may be distributed at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, market prices prevailing at the time of sale, prices related to the prevailing market prices, or negotiated prices. The prospectus supplement will include the following information:

 

    the terms of the offering;

 

    the names of any underwriters or agents;

 

    the name or names of any managing underwriter or underwriters;

 

    the purchase price of the securities;

 

    the net proceeds from the sale of the securities;

 

    any delayed delivery arrangements;

 

    any underwriting discounts, commissions and other items constituting underwriters’ compensation;

 

    any initial public offering price;

 

    any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and

 

    any commissions paid to agents.

Sale through underwriters or dealers

If underwriters are used in the sale, the underwriters will acquire the securities for their own account, including through underwriting, purchase, security lending or repurchase agreements with us. The underwriters may resell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions. Underwriters may sell the securities in order to facilitate transactions in any of our other securities (described in this prospectus or otherwise), including other public or private transactions and short sales. Underwriters may offer securities to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing

 

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underwriters or directly by one or more firms acting as underwriters. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to certain conditions, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all the offered securities if they purchase any of them. The underwriters may change from time to time any initial public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers. The prospectus supplement will include the names of the principal underwriters the respective amount of securities underwritten, the nature of the obligation of the underwriters to take the securities and the nature of any material relationship between an underwriter and us.

If dealers are used in the sale of securities offered through this prospectus, we or the selling stockholders will sell the securities to them as principals. They may then resell those securities to the public at varying prices determined by the dealers at the time of resale. The prospectus supplement will include the names of the dealers and the terms of the transaction.

Direct sales and sales through agents

We or the selling stockholders may sell the securities offered through this prospectus directly. In this case, no underwriters or agents would be involved. Such securities may also be sold through agents designated from time to time. The prospectus supplement will name any agent involved in the offer or sale of the offered securities and will describe any commissions payable to the agent by us or the selling stockholders. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, any agent will agree to use its reasonable best efforts to solicit purchases for the period of its appointment.

We or the selling stockholders may sell the securities directly to institutional investors or others who may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any sale of those securities. The terms of any such sales will be described in the prospectus supplement.

Delayed delivery contracts

If the prospectus supplement indicates, we or the selling stockholders may authorize agents, underwriters or dealers to solicit offers from certain types of institutions to purchase securities at the public offering price under delayed delivery contracts. These contracts would provide for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. The contracts would be subject only to those conditions described in the prospectus supplement. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the commission payable for solicitation of those contracts.

Market making, stabilization and other transactions

Unless the applicable prospectus supplement states otherwise, each series of offered securities will be a new issue and will have no established trading market. We may elect to list any series of offered securities on an exchange. Any underwriters that we or the selling stockholders use in the sale of offered securities may make a market in such securities, but may discontinue such market making at any time without notice. Therefore, we cannot assure you that the securities will have a liquid trading market.

Any underwriter may also engage in stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Rule 104 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase the underlying security in the open market for the purpose of pegging, fixing or maintaining the price of the securities. Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the securities in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions.

Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the securities originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. Stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would be in the absence of the transactions. The underwriters may, if they commence these transactions, discontinue them at any time.

 

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Derivative transactions and hedging

We, the underwriters or other agents may engage in derivative transactions involving the securities. These derivatives may consist of short sale transactions and other hedging activities. The underwriters or agents may acquire a long or short position in the securities, hold or resell securities acquired and purchase options or futures on the securities and other derivative instruments with returns linked to or related to changes in the price of the securities. In order to facilitate these derivative transactions, we may enter into security lending or repurchase agreements with the underwriters or agents. The underwriters or agents may effect the derivative transactions through sales of the securities to the public, including short sales, or by lending the securities in order to facilitate short sale transactions by others. The underwriters or agents may also use the securities purchased or borrowed from us or others (or, in the case of derivatives, securities received from us in settlement of those derivatives) to directly or indirectly settle sales of the securities or close out any related open borrowings of the securities.

Electronic auctions

We or the selling stockholders may also make sales through the Internet or through other electronic means. Since we or the selling stockholders may from time to time elect to offer securities directly to the public, with or without the involvement of agents, underwriters or dealers, utilizing the Internet or other forms of electronic bidding or ordering systems for the pricing and allocation of such securities, you should pay particular attention to the description of that system we will provide in a prospectus supplement.

Such electronic system may allow bidders to directly participate, through electronic access to an auction site, by submitting conditional offers to buy that are subject to acceptance by us, and which may directly affect the price or other terms and conditions at which such securities are sold. These bidding or ordering systems may present to each bidder, on a so-called “real-time” basis, relevant information to assist in making a bid, such as the clearing spread at which the offering would be sold, based on the bids submitted, and whether a bidder’s individual bids would be accepted, prorated or rejected. For example, in the case of a debt security, the clearing spread could be indicated as a number of “basis points” above an index treasury note. Of course, many pricing methods can and may also be used.

Upon completion of such an electronic auction process, securities will be allocated based on prices bid, terms of bid or other factors. The final offering price at which securities would be sold and the allocation of securities among bidders would be based in whole or in part on the results of the Internet or other electronic bidding process or auction.

General information

Agents, underwriters, and dealers may be entitled, under agreements entered into with us, to indemnification by us or the selling stockholders against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the securities offered by this prospectus will be passed upon by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation, Palo Alto, California. Certain members of, and investment partnerships comprised of members of, and persons associated with, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation own an interest representing less than 1% of our outstanding common stock.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Limelight Networks, Inc. incorporated by reference in Limelight Networks, Inc. Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2009 (including schedule appearing therein), and the effectiveness of Limelight Networks, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009 have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and other reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the Public Reference Room. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments to those reports, and other information that we file with or furnish to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act can also be accessed free of charge through the Internet. These filings will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933 relating to the offering of these securities. The registration statement, including the attached exhibits, contains additional relevant information about us and the securities. This prospectus does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement. You can obtain a copy of the registration statement, at prescribed rates, from the SEC at the address listed above. The registration statement and the documents referred to below under “Information Incorporated by Reference” are also available on our website at http://www.limelightnetworks.com. We have not incorporated by reference into this prospectus the information on our website, and you should not consider it to be a part of this prospectus.

 

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INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference into this prospectus certain information we file with it, which means that we can disclose important information by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede information contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below that we have previously filed with the SEC (excluding any portions of any Form 8-K that are not deemed “filed” pursuant to the General Instructions of Form 8-K):

 

    our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, filed on March 12, 2010, including the information specifically incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 from our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed on March 26, 2010;

 

    our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, filed on May 7, 2010, the quarter ended June 30, 2010, filed on August 6, 2010, and the quarter ended September 30, 2010, filed on November 5, 2010;

 

    our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on February 12, 2010, February 25, 2010, April 6, 2010, May 3, 2010, May 6, 2010 (the second of the two Current Reports filed on May 6, 2010 only), June 15, 2010, July 14, 2010, July 26, 2010 and August 2, 2010; and

 

    the description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A as filed with the SEC on May 30, 2007 pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act.

We also incorporate by reference into this prospectus additional documents that we may file with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the completion or termination of the offering, including all such documents we may file with the SEC after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement, but excluding any information deemed furnished and not filed with the SEC. Any statements contained in a previously filed document incorporated by reference into this prospectus is deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus, or in a subsequently filed document also incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes that statement.

This prospectus may contain information that updates, modifies or is contrary to information in one or more of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus. In case of a conflict or inconsistency between information contained in this prospectus and information incorporated by reference in this prospectus, you should rely on the information contained in the document that was later filed. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date of this prospectus or the date of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this prospectus is delivered, upon written or oral request, at no cost to the requester, a copy of any and all of the information that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

Requests for such copies should be directed to:

Limelight Networks, Inc.

Attn: Investor Relations

2220 W. 14th Street

Tempe, Arizona 85281

(602) 850-5000

You may also access the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus through our website at http://www.limelightnetworks.com. Except for the specific incorporated documents listed above, no information available on or through our website shall be deemed to be incorporated in this prospectus or the registration statement of which it forms a part.

 

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                     Shares

 

LOGO

Common Stock

 

 

Prospectus Supplement

 

 

Joint Book-Running Managers

 

Cowen   B. Riley FBR

 

 

                    , 2017