Public Statements and Disclosure The initial press release concerning this Agreement and the Merger will be a joint press release reasonably acceptable to the Company and Parent and will be issued promptly following the execution and delivery of this Agreement. Thereafter, unless the Company Special Committee has made a Company Recommendation Change, the Company and its Representatives, on the one hand, and Parent and Merger Sub and their respective Representatives, on the other hand, will consult with the other Parties before (a) participating in any media interviews; (b) engaging in any meetings or calls with analysts, institutional investors or other similar Persons; or (c) providing any statements that are public or are reasonably likely to become public, in each case to the extent relating to this Agreement or the Merger and neither party shall issue any press release or make any public announcement or statement without the consent of the other party, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed; provided, that to the extent such release or announcement is required by applicable Law or any listing agreement with or rule of any national securities exchange or association upon which the securities of the Company are listed, the party required to make the release, announcement or statement shall use reasonable best efforts to consult with the other Party about, and allow the other Party reasonable time (taking into account the circumstances) to comment on, such release, announcement or statement in advance of such issuance. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither Parent nor the Company will be obligated to engage in such consultation with respect to communications that are (i) principally directed to its employees, drivers, suppliers, customers, partners or vendors so long as such communications are consistent with prior communications previously agreed to by Parent and the Company and do not add additional material information not included in such previous communication (in which case such communications may be made consistent with such plan); (ii) related to a Superior Proposal or Company Recommendation Change or, in each case, any action taken pursuant thereto; (iii) with respect to any dispute or Legal Proceeding solely among the Parties or their respective Affiliates related to this Agreement or the Transaction Documents; or (iv) substantively consistent with previous public disclosures made by the Parties in compliance with this Section 6.13 and which do not add additional material information not included in such previous disclosure. Parent will not be obligated to engage in such consultation with respect to communications that are principally directed to its existing or prospective equity holders and investors of Parent or its Affiliates, so long as such communications are consistent with prior communications previously agreed to by Parent and the Company and do not add additional material information not included in such previous communication.
Information and Documents (a) From and after the date of this Agreement and to the earlier of the Closing Date and the date on which this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 9.1, to the extent permitted by applicable Law and upon reasonable advance notice, and solely for purposes of integration planning or in furtherance of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Ancillary Agreements, (1) Seller Parent shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, permit Purchaser Parent and its Representatives to have reasonable access, during normal business hours, to the books and records that constitute Purchased Assets, and to such personnel, offices and other facilities and properties that constitute Purchased Assets, and to provide such other information in respect of the Business as may be reasonably requested by Purchaser Parent for such purposes and (2) Purchaser Parent shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, permit Seller Parent and its Representatives to have reasonable access, during normal business hours, to the books and records of Purchaser and its Subsidiaries or that are related to the Purchaser Business (provided that Purchaser Parent may redact any information in any such record not related to the Purchaser Business), and to such personnel, offices and other facilities and properties of Purchaser and its Subsidiaries or that are related to the Purchaser Business, and to provide such other information in respect of the Purchaser Business as may be reasonably requested by Seller Parent for such purposes; provided that all requests for access pursuant to this Section 6.1 shall be directed to and coordinated with a person or persons designated by Seller Parent or Purchaser Parent, as applicable, in writing; provided, further, that each Parent and its Subsidiaries may restrict the foregoing access or the provision of such information to the extent that, in the reasonable judgment of such Parent, (i) applicable Law requires such Parent or any of its Subsidiaries to restrict or prohibit such access or the provision of such information, (ii) providing such access would unreasonably interfere with the operation of such Parent’s and its Subsidiaries’ respective businesses, including the Business and the Purchaser Business, as applicable, (iii) providing such access or information would breach a confidentiality obligation to a third party, (iv) providing such access or information would result in disclosure of any information that is competitively or commercially sensitive, (v) in the case of access or information provided by Seller Parent, the information relates to the Strategic Process, or in the case of access or information provided by Purchaser Parent, the information relates to review of strategic alternatives with respect to the Purchaser Business, or (vi) providing such access or disclosure of any such information would reasonably be expected to result in the loss or waiver of the attorney-client or other applicable privilege or protection. In the event that a Parent or its Subsidiaries restricts access or withholds information on the basis of the foregoing clauses (i) through (vi), such Parent shall, if permitted, inform the other Parent as to the general nature of what is being restricted or withheld and the reason therefor, and such Parent shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, use its commercially reasonable efforts to make appropriate substitute arrangements to permit disclosure of the relevant information in a manner that does not suffer from such impediments. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (A) prior to the Closing, neither Parent, nor any of its Affiliates and Representatives, shall conduct any phase II environmental site assessment or conduct any invasive testing or any sampling of soil, sediment, surface water, groundwater or building material at, on, under or within any property of the other Parent or its Subsidiaries and (B) prior to Closing, none of Seller Parent or any of its Affiliates, including the Conveyed Subsidiaries (and their Subsidiaries), shall provide Business Employee personnel files to Purchaser Parent or its Affiliates or Representatives and none of Purchaser Parent or any of its Affiliates, including Purchaser (and its Subsidiaries), shall provide Purchaser Business Employee personnel files to Seller Parent or its Affiliates or Representatives. Notwithstanding the foregoing, following Closing (x) to the extent permitted by Law, Seller Parent shall, and shall cause its Affiliates to, provide Purchaser and its Subsidiaries access to personnel records and other personnel information related to the Business Employees and Former Business Employees reasonably requested by Purchaser and its Subsidiaries and (y) Seller Parent shall, and shall cause its Affiliates to, retain all material records related to the Business Employees and Former Business Employees in accordance with Seller Parent’s records retention policies and, in no event, for less than such period of time required by applicable Law. It is further agreed that, prior to the Closing, each Parent and its Affiliates and Representatives shall not contact any of the directors, officers, employees, agents, customers, suppliers, licensors, licensees, distributors or other business partners of the other Parent or any of its Affiliates (including, with respect to Seller Parent, the Conveyed Subsidiaries (or their Subsidiaries) and, with respect to Purchaser Parent, Purchaser and its Subsidiaries) in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, whether in person or by telephone, mail or other means of communication, without the specific prior authorization by the other Parent (not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed); provided that the foregoing shall not prevent any Parent or its Affiliates from operating in the ordinary course of business and communicating with such parties on matters unrelated to the Business or the Purchaser Business, as applicable, and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in no event shall Seller Parent or any of its Affiliates, including the Conveyed Subsidiaries (and their Subsidiaries), be required to provide any information as and to the extent it relates to any Retained Businesses, any Excluded Assets or any Retained Liabilities, or be required to provide a copy of, or otherwise disclose the contents of, any Seller Combined Tax Return, and in no event shall Purchaser Parent or any of its Affiliates, including Purchaser and its Subsidiaries, be required to provide any information as and to the extent it relates to any Purchaser Parent Retained Businesses or any Purchaser Parent Retained Liabilities. The Parties agree that, with respect to any matters that are the subject of both this Section 6.1(a) and Section 6.5(i), the provisions of Section 6.5(i) (and not this Section 6.1(a)) shall control.
(b) Subject to Section 6.12, all information received or otherwise obtained by either Parent or its Affiliates or Representatives from, by or on behalf of the other Parent or any of its Affiliates or Representatives, in connection with the negotiation, execution, performance or consummation of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, whether prior to, on or following the date of this Agreement, will be held by such Parent and its Affiliates and Representatives pursuant to the terms of the Confidentiality Agreement and Section 6.12. Subject to Section 6.12(d), the Confidentiality Agreement and the Clean Team Agreement shall remain in full force and effect in accordance with their terms (subject to Section 9.2(d)) notwithstanding any termination of this Agreement.
(c) From and after the date of this Agreement until the earlier of the Closing Date and the date on which this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 9.1, Seller Parent and its Subsidiaries shall consult with and provide material updates to Purchaser Parent regarding the matters disclosed on Section 6.1(c) of the Purchaser Disclosure Letter.
