UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 27, 2020

Sphere 3D Corp.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
     
Ontario, Canada 001-36532 98-1220792
(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation)
(Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.)

 895 Don Mills Road,
Bldg. 2, Suite 900
Toronto, Ontario 
  M3C 1W3
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
   
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (858) 571-5555
   
Not Applicable
Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

[   ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

[   ] Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

[   ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[   ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class

Trading Symbol(s)

Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered

Common Shares

  ANY

NASDAQ Capital Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company [   ]

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. [   ]


Item 8.01  Other Events.

Sphere 3D Corp. (the "Company") will be relying on the Securities and Exchange Commission's Order under Section 36 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Granting Exemptions From Specified Provisions of the Exchange Act and Certain Rules Thereunder dated March 4, 2020 (Release No. 34-88318) (the "Order") to delay the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 (the "Annual Report") due to circumstances related to the coronavirus disease ("COVID-19").

The Company's operations and business have experienced disruption due to the unprecedented conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic spreading throughout the United States, Canada and elsewhere.  The spread of COVID-19 has caused a change in the availability of our support services and we have had to modify our business practices including employee work locations and cancellation of physical participation in meetings. Due to these disruptions, management is currently unable to timely review and prepare the Company's financial statements for the 2019 fiscal year. The Company will file its Annual Report by no later than May 14, 2020, which is 45 days after the original due date of its Annual Report.

In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Company will be including the following Risk Factor in its Annual Report:

The extent to which the coronavirus ("COVID-19") outbreak impacts our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, which cannot be predicted.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused us to modify our business practices (including employee travel, employee work locations, and cancellation of physical participation in meetings, events and conferences), and we may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers and business partners. There is no certainty that such measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks posed by the virus or otherwise be satisfactory to government authorities. ​

The COVID-19 pandemic may have a material impact on our ability to get the parts we need to manufacture our products as our suppliers face disruptions in their business as a result of the coronavirus.  Some of our products have a large number of components and subassemblies produced by outside suppliers. We depend greatly on these suppliers for items that are essential to the manufacturing of our products.  If our suppliers fail to meet our manufacturing needs, it would delay our production and our product shipments to customers and negatively affect our operations.

The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are uncertain and cannot be predicted, including, but not limited to, the duration and spread of the outbreak, its severity, the actions to contain the virus or treat its impact, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume. Even after the coronavirus outbreak has subsided, we may continue to experience materially adverse impacts to our business as a result of its global economic impact, including any recession that has occurred or may occur in the future. ​

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Current Report on Form 8-K contains statements as to the Company's beliefs and expectations of the outcome of future events that are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on travel and physical locations and the anticipated impact of such outbreak on our results of operations. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, including levels of consumer, business and economic confidence generally, the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak and severity of such outbreak, the pace of recovery following the COVID-19 outbreak, the effect on our supply chain and our ability to implement cost containment and business recovery strategies. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements made by it to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or the occurrence of unanticipated events.


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Date: March 27, 2020


  SPHERE 3D CORP.
     
  By: /s/ Peter Tassiopoulos
    Peter Tassiopoulos
    Chief Executive Office