Sec Form 13G Filing - Woodford Investment Management Ltd filing for NORTHWEST BIOTHERAPEUTICS INC. (NWBO) - 2019-02-14

 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

SCHEDULE 13G

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Final Amendment (Amendment No. 3)*

 

Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc.

(Name of Issuer)

 

Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share

(Title of Class of Securities)

 

66737P600

(CUSIP Number)

 

December 31, 2018

(Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement)

 

Check the appropriate box to designate the rule pursuant to which this Schedule is filed:

 

☒    Rule 13d-1(b)

 

☐     Rule 13d-1(c)

 

☐     Rule 13d-1(d)

 

*The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting person’s initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter the disclosures provided in a prior cover page.

 

The information required in the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes).

 

 

 

CUSIP NO. 66737P600

SCHEDULE 13G

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1	NAMES OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NOS. OF ABOVE PERSONS (Entities Only)   Woodford Investment Management Ltd
2	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) ☒ (b) ☐
3	SEC USE ONLY
4	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION   United Kingdom

NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON WITH	5	SOLE VOTING POWER   0
	6	SHARED VOTING POWER   24,815,028 shares of Common Stock
	7	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER   0
	8	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 24,815,028 shares of Common Stock

9	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON   24,815,028 shares of Common Stock
10	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES        ☐
11	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9)   4.8% (See Item 4)
12	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON   FI

 

 

CUSIP NO. 66737P600

SCHEDULE 13G

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1	NAMES OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NOS. OF ABOVE PERSONS (Entities Only)   Neil Woodford
2	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) ☒ (b) ☐
3	SEC USE ONLY
4	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION   United Kingdom

NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON WITH	5	SOLE VOTING POWER   0
	6	SHARED VOTING POWER   24,815,028 shares of Common Stock
	7	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER   0
	8	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 24,815,028 shares of Common Stock

9	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON   24,815,028 shares of Common Stock
10	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES        ☐
11	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9)   4.8% (See Item 4)
12	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON   IN

 

 

CUSIP NO. 66737P600

SCHEDULE 13G

Page 4 of 8

 

This Amendment No. 3 amends and restates in its entirety the Schedule 13G filed by Woodford Investment Management Ltd and Neil Woodford on January 10, 2017, as amended by Amendment No. 1 thereto on September 11, 2017, and Amendment No. 2 thereto on February 13, 2018 (as amended and restated, this “Schedule 13G”).

 

Item 1(a).	Name of Issuer:
	Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. (the “Issuer”)
Item 1(b).	Address of Issuer’s Principal Executive Offices:
	4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 800
	Bethesda, MD 20814
Items 2(a),
(b) and (c).	Name of Persons Filing, Address of Principal Business Office and  Citizenship:
	This Schedule 13G is being filed jointly by Woodford Investment Management Ltd (the “Manager”) and Neil Woodford, the Head of Investment for the Manager. The joint filing agreement of the Manager and Mr. Woodford is attached as Exhibit 1 to this Schedule 13G. The filers of this statement are collectively referred to herein as the “Group.”
	The principal business office of the Manager and Mr. Woodford is 9400 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2HN, United Kingdom. For the place of organization of the Manager and the citizenship of Mr. Woodford, see Item 4 of their respective cover pages.
Item 2(d).	Title of Class of Securities:
	Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”)
Item 2(e).	CUSIP Number:
	66737P600

 

Item 3.

If this statement is filed pursuant to §§240.13d-1(b) or 240.13d-2(b) or (c), check whether the person filing is a:

 

(a)

☐

Broker or dealer registered under section 15 of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78o).

 

(b)

☐

Bank as defined in section 3(a)(6) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78c).

 

(c)

☐

Insurance company as defined in section 3(a)(19) of the Act (15 U.S.C. ☐ 78c).

 

(d)

☐

Investment company registered under section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C 80a-8).

 

(e)

☐

An investment adviser in accordance with §240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(E);

 

(f)

☐

An employee benefit plan or endowment fund in accordance with §240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(F);

 

 

CUSIP NO. 66737P600

SCHEDULE 13G

Page 5 of 8

 

(g)

☒

A parent holding company or control person in accordance with § 240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(G);

 

(h)

☐

A savings associations as defined in Section 3(b) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813);

 

(i)

☐

A church plan that is excluded from the definition of an investment company under section 3(c)(14) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-3);

 

(j)

☐

A non-U.S. institution in accordance with §240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J).

 

(k)

☒

Group, in accordance with §240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(K).   If filing as a non-U.S. institution in accordance with §240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J), please specify the type of institution: The Manager is eligible to file pursuant to §240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J) and is an investment manager authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom which is comparable to the regulatory scheme applicable to the investment advisers covered by Item 3(e) above. See Exhibit 1 for the identification and classification of each member of the Group.

 

Item 4.

Ownership.

 

(a)

Amount beneficially owned:

 

Each member of the Group may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of 24,815,028 shares of Common Stock. Mr. Woodford, who, as Head of Investments for the Manager, may be deemed to share beneficial ownership of the Common Stock with the Manager, expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the Common Stock beneficially owned by the Manager, except to the extent of any pecuniary interest therein.

 

(b)

Percent of class:

 

Based on 519,729,780 shares of Common Stock of the Issuer outstanding as of December 13, 2018, as reported in the Issuer’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Form DEF 14A, filed with the SEC on January 8, 2019, each member of the Group beneficially owns approximately 4.8% of the issued and outstanding Common Stock of the Issuer.

 

(c)

Number of shares to which each member of the Group has:

 

	(i)	Sole power to vote or direct the vote: 0
	(ii)	Shared power to vote or direct the vote: 24,815,028 shares of Common Stock*
	(iii)	Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0
	(iv)	Shared power to dispose of or direct the disposition of: 24,815,028 shares of Common Stock*

 

* The Manager is the investment manager of LF Woodford Equity Income Fund (the “Woodford Fund”), providing services to the Woodford Fund and Link Fund Solutions, the operator of the Woodford Fund. The Woodford Fund is the holder of record of the Common Stock reported herein. Pursuant to a Management Agreement between the Woodford Fund and the Manager (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager has investment discretion and voting power over securities held of record by the Woodford Fund, including the Common Stock. As a result, the Manager may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of such Common Stock. Mr. Neil Woodford is the Head of Investment for the Manager, and as such, may be deemed to beneficially own the Common Stock beneficially owned by the Manager, and expressly disclaims such beneficial ownership except to the extent of any pecuniary interest therein. The Woodford Fund is also a beneficial owner of such Common Stock because, pursuant to the terms of the Management Agreement, it may give the Manager disposition and voting instructions for the Woodford Fund’s securities, including the Common Stock. Furthermore, the Management Agreement may be terminated by the Woodford Fund at any time upon 60 days’ notice.

 

 

CUSIP NO. 66737P600

SCHEDULE 13G

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Item 5.

Ownership of Five Percent or Less of a Class.

 

If this statement is being filed to report the fact that as of the date hereof the Reporting Person has ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of the class of securities, check the following: ☒.

 

Item 6.

Ownership of More than Five Percent on Behalf of Another Person.

 

The Manager is an investment manager and the funds managed by it have the right to receive and the power to direct the receipt of dividends or the proceeds from the sale of Common Stock owned by them.

 

Item 7.

Identification and Classification of the Subsidiary Which Acquired the Security Being Reported By the Parent Holding Company.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 8.

Identification and Classification of Members of the Group.

 

See Exhibit 1.

 

Item 9.

Notice of Dissolution of a Group.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 10.

Certification.

 

By signing below each member of the Group certifies that, to the best of his or its knowledge and belief, (i) the securities referred to above were acquired and are held in the ordinary course of business and were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer of the securities and were not acquired and are not held in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having that purpose or effect and (ii) the foreign regulatory scheme applicable to investment managers authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom is substantially comparable to the regulatory scheme applicable to the functionally equivalent U.S. institution(s). Each member of the Group also undertakes to furnish to the Commission staff, upon request, information that would otherwise be disclosed in a Schedule 13D. 

 

 

CUSIP NO. 66737P600

SCHEDULE 13G

Page 7 of 8

 

SIGNATURE

 

After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, the undersigned certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.

 

Dated: February 14, 2019

 

	WOODFORD INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LTD
	By:	/s/ Chris Martin
		Name:	Chris Martin
		Title:	Head of Compliance and Authorized Signatory
	/s/ Neil Woodford
	Neil Woodford

  

This Schedule 13G is being jointly filed by the Group. The Manager is an investment manager, authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom, in the business of investment management. Mr. Woodford serves as the Head of Investment for the Manager. Mr. Woodford, as a controlling person of the Manager, may be deemed to have beneficial ownership under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, o f the securities beneficially owned by the Manager. Securities reported on this Schedule 13G as being beneficially owned by the Group were purchased on behalf of clients of the Manager.

 

Pursuant to Rule 13d-4, Mr. Woodford declares that the filing of this Schedule 13G shall not be deemed an admission by him that he is, for the purposes of Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the beneficial owner of any securities covered by this Schedule 13G.

 

 

CUSIP NO. 66737P600

SCHEDULE 13G

Page 8 of 8

 

EXHIBIT 1

JOINT FILING AGREEMENT

 

In accordance with Rule 13d-1(k) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the persons named below agree to the joint filing on behalf of each of them of a statement on Schedule 13G (including amendments thereto) with respect to the Common Stock of the Issuer and further agree that this Joint Filing Agreement be included as an Exhibit to such joint filings.

  

Dated: February 14, 2019

 

	WOODFORD INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LTD
	By:	/s/ Chris Martin
		Name:	Chris Martin
		Title:	Head of Compliance and Authorized Signatory
	/s/ Neil Woodford
	Neil Woodford

  

IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF MEMBERS OF THE GROUP

 

The Group filing this Schedule 13G is comprised of Woodford Investment Management Ltd and Neil Woodford, its Head of Investment.

 

Item 3 Classification:

 

Woodford Investment Management Ltd:  A non-U.S. institution in accordance with §240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J).

 

Neil Woodford: A parent holding company or control person in accordance with § 240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(G).