As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 7, 2017

Registration No. 333-            

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

ON SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

5005 E. McDowell Road

Phoenix, Arizona 85008

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

ON SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION

2000 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

(Full title of the plan)

George H. Cave, Esq.

ON SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION

5005 E. McDowell Road

Phoenix, Arizona 85008

(602) 244-5226

(Name, address, telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

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

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 pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

The documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be sent or given to each employee who is eligible to participate in the ON Semiconductor Corporation 2000 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended (the “Plan”), as required by Rule 428(b)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Such documents need not be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”) either as part of this registration statement on Form S-8 (this “Registration Statement”) or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 of the Securities Act, and accordingly, such information is omitted from this Registration Statement and is not being filed with the SEC either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act.

These documents and the documents incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of this Registration Statement, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act. Pursuant to General Instruction E to Form S-8, the contents of the registration statements on Form S-8 filed by ON Semiconductor Corporation (the “Company”) with the SEC on May 21, 2009 (File No. 333-159381), Form S-8 filed with the SEC on August 2, 2013 (File No. 333-190344), Form S-8 filed with the SEC on August 19, 2015 (File No. 333-206471), and each of them are hereby incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

The sole purpose of this Registration Statement is to register an additional 5,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01, reserved for issuance under the Plan. This increase was approved by the Company’s Board of Directors on March 22, 2017 and by the Company’s shareholders on May 17, 2017.

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The following documents have been filed by the Company or by the Plan with the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and are incorporated herein by reference, excluding, in each case, information deemed furnished and not filed:

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All documents subsequently filed by the Company or by the Plan pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement which indicates that all securities offered have been sold, or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents, excluding, in each case, information deemed furnished and not filed. Any statement contained in this Registration Statement or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Item 4. Description of Securities.

Not applicable.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

Not applicable.

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) authorizes a court to award, or a corporation’s board of directors to grant, indemnity to directors and officers under certain circumstances and subject to certain limitations. The terms of Section 145 of the DGCL are sufficiently broad to permit indemnification under certain circumstances for liabilities, including reimbursement of expenses incurred, arising under the Securities Act.

As permitted by the DGCL, the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), contains provisions relating to the limitation of liability and indemnification of directors and officers. The Certificate of Incorporation eliminates the personal liability of each of the Company’s directors to the fullest extent permitted by Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL, as it may be amended or supplemented, and provides that the Company will indemnify its directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the DGCL, as amended from time to time.

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The Company has entered into indemnification agreements with each of its directors and executive officers. The form of agreement (the “Indemnification Agreement”) provides, subject to certain exceptions and conditions specified in the Indemnification Agreement, that the Company will indemnify each indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law against all expenses, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with a proceeding or claim in which such person is involved because of his or her status as one of the Company’s directors or executive officers. In addition, the Indemnification Agreement provides that the Company will, to the extent not prohibited by law and subject to certain exceptions and repayment conditions, advance specified indemnifiable expenses incurred by the indemnitee in connection with such proceeding or claim. The foregoing description of the Indemnification Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full and complete terms of the Indemnification Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company on February 25, 2016.

The Company also maintains directors’ and officers’ insurance policies that indemnify its directors and officers against various liabilities, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act, that might be incurred by any director or officer in his or her capacity as such.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

Not applicable.

Item 8. Exhibits.

In addition to those Exhibits shown above, the Company hereby incorporates the following Exhibits pursuant to Rule 411 of Regulation C promulgated under the Securities Act by reference to the filings set forth below:

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Item 9. Undertakings.

A. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement;

Provided, however, that paragraphs (A)(1)(i) and (A)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

B. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

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C. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers, and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer, or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer, or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

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SIGNATURES

THE REGISTRANT. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Phoenix, State of Arizona, on August 7, 2017.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement on Form S-8 has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

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THE PLAN. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the trustees (or other persons who administer the employee benefit plan) have duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Phoenix, State of Arizona, on August 7, 2017.

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INDEX TO EXHIBITS