Entry into a Material Agreement

On October 9, 2019, Geron Corporation ("Geron" or the "Company") reported that it entered into an office lease agreement (the "Hillsdale Lease") with Hudson Metro Center LLC (the "Landlord"), with respect to office space within the premises located at 919 East Hillsdale Boulevard, Foster City, California (the "Hillsdale Office") (Filing, 8-K, Geron, OCT 9, 2019, View Source [SID1234542251]). The purpose of the Hillsdale Lease is to replace the Company’s current leased premises at 149 Commonwealth Drive, Suite 2070, Menlo Park, California. The initial term of the Hillsdale Lease for the Hillsdale Office is 87 months, with an option by Geron to extend for an additional five years. Also, in connection with the Hillsdale Lease, Geron has provided a security deposit to the Landlord of $310,662.

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Geron has not yet occupied the Hillsdale Office as it is being prepared for the Company’s use. The Hillsdale Lease term commences upon the earlier of the date of completion of construction, which is expected to occur by March 1, 2020, or the date upon which the Company first conducts business in the Hillsdale Office. Upon the commencement of the Hillsdale Lease, the aggregate minimum future lease payments for the initial lease term is approximately $4.4 million, net of a three-month rent abatement period, and subject to scheduled annual increases. In addition, the Company is responsible for paying its pro-rata share of certain building operating expenses and taxes throughout the term of the lease.

If the Hillsdale Lease does not commence on or before August 1, 2020, Geron may terminate the Hillsdale Lease without penalty and any prepaid monthly rent payments and any undrawn security deposit will be returned by the Landlord to Geron.

The foregoing description of the Hillsdale Lease is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Hillsdale Lease, a copy of which is filed herewith as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.