Operations Prior to the Closing Date (a) From the ------------------------------------ date hereof through the Closing Date, Parent shall cause the Companies to operate and carry on the Business in the ordinary course in accordance with past practice and in compliance with all applicable Requirements of Law, including Environmental Laws. Consistent with the foregoing, Parent shall cause each of the Companies to use its reasonable efforts consistent with good business practice to (i) maintain the business organization of the Companies intact, (ii) keep available the services of any key employees of the Companies and (iii) preserve the goodwill and beneficial relationships of the suppliers, contractors, licensors, employees, customers, distributors and others having business relations with the Companies.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 7.4(a), except as set forth in Schedule -------------- -------- 7.4, except as contemplated by this Agreement or except with the express written --- approval of Buyer (which, in the case of clauses (ii), (iii), (vi), (ix), (x) and (xviii), Buyer agrees shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), Parent shall cause each of the Companies not to:
(i) make any material change in the Business or its operations, except such changes as may be required to comply with any applicable Requirements of Law;
(ii) make any capital expenditure or enter into any contract or commitment therefor, other than in the ordinary course of the Business, which is in excess of $50,000;
(iii) other than in the ordinary course of the Business, enter into any contract, agreement, undertaking or commitment which would have been required to be set forth in Schedule 5.14(a) or 5.14(b) if in effect on the ---------------- ------- date hereof or amend any Business Agreement in any material respect;
(iv) enter into any contract that contains a "change of control" provision that would give the other party a right to terminate such contract upon the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or under which the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby would constitute a default;
(v) enter into any contract for the purchase of real property or exercise any option to extend a lease listed in Schedule 5.9; ------------
(vi) sell, lease (as lessor), transfer or otherwise dispose of (including any transfers to any of its Affiliates), or mortgage or pledge, or impose or suffer to be imposed any Encumbrance on, any of its properties, rights or assets, other than inventory and minor amounts of personal property sold or otherwise disposed of in the ordinary course of the Business consistent with past practice and other than Permitted Encumbrances;
(vii) cancel any debts owed to or claims held by it or pay, settle or discharge any claims/litigation, proceedings, actions or liabilities, other than in the ordinary course of the Business consistent with past practice;
(viii) create, incur or assume, or agree to create, incur or assume, any Indebtedness for Borrowed Money (other than money borrowed or advances from any of its Affiliates in the ordinary course of the Business consistent with past practice) or enter into, as lessee, any capitalized lease obligations (as defined in Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 13);
(ix) accelerate or delay collection of any notes or accounts receivable in advance of or beyond their regular due dates or the dates when the same would have been collected in the ordinary course of the Business consistent with past practice;
(x) delay or accelerate payment of any account payable or other liability beyond or in advance of its due date or the date when such liability would have been paid in the ordinary course of the Business consistent with past practice;
(xi) make, or agree to make, any distribution of assets (other than cash) to Parent or any of its Affiliates;
(xii) institute any increase in any benefit provided, or loan or advance any money or property, to any present or former director, officer, consultant or employee of any of the Companies, other than in the ordinary course of the Business consistent with past practice or as required by any Company Plan, Parent Plan or Requirements of Law;
(xiii) make any material change in the compensation of its employees, other than changes made in accordance with normal compensation practices of the Companies or pursuant to existing contractual commitments and consistent with past compensation practices, or grant any severance or termination pay to any of its employees or amend the form of retention and severance agreement contained in Schedule 7.4; ------------
(xiv) establish, adopt, enter into, amend or terminate any Company Plan, or any plan, agreement, program, policy, trust, fund or other arrangement that would be a Company Plan if it were in existence on the date hereof, other than in the ordinary course of the Business consistent with past practice or as required by any Company Plan, Parent Plan or Requirement of Law;
(xv) make any material change in the accounting policies applied in the preparation of the Interim Financial Statements, unless such change is required by GAAP;
(xvi) make any change in its charter, by-laws or other organizational document or issue any capital stock (or securities exchangeable, convertible or exercisable for capital stock);
(xvii) split, combine or reclassify any shares of its capital stock or partnership or membership interests or declare, set aside or pay any dividends or make any other distributions (whether in cash, stock or other property) in respect of such shares or interests, except for cash dividends and distributions payable by a Conveyed Companies Subsidiary to any of the Companies, Parent or Affiliates of Parent;
(xviii) except as required by law, and except in cases where doing so would not have a material adverse consequence to Buyer Group Members with respect to taxable years or periods beginning after the Closing Date or, with respect to any Straddle Period, the portion of such Straddle Period beginning after the Closing Date, file any Tax Return in a manner inconsistent with past practice or take any position, make any election, or adopt any method that is inconsistent with positions taken, elections made or methods used in prior periods in filing Tax Returns (including any such position, election or method which would have the effect of deferring income to periods for which Buyer is liable or accelerating deductions to periods for which Parent is liable);
(xix) amend any Tax Returns or settle or compromise any proceeding relating to Tax liabilities of any Company, in either case if doing so would, or would reasonably be expected to, materially adversely affect any Buyer Group Member with respect to taxable years or periods beginning after the Closing Date or, with respect to any Straddle Period, the portion of such Straddle Period beginning after the Closing Date;
(xx) enter into or amend any aviation, manufacturing or transportation customer contract, other than new contracts with existing customers and amendments to existing contracts, in each case, where the terms of such new contract or amendment are not materially less favorable to the Companies than existing contracts with such customers;
(xxi) enter into any joint venture, partnership or similar arrangement or acquire or agree to acquire by merging or consolidating with, or by purchasing a substantial portion of the assets of, or by any other manner, any business or any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture association or other business organization or division thereof;
(xxii) merge or consolidate with or into any other Person or dissolve or liquidate; or
(xxiii) authorize, commit or agree, whether in writing or otherwise, to do any of the foregoing.
Conduct of Business Prior to the Closing (a) Without the consent of Buyer, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, except (x) as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement, the Closing Agreements or the Restructuring, (y) as disclosed on Section 5.1 of the Seller Disclosure Schedule or (z) as required by Law or Order, during the Pre-Closing Period, Seller shall cause the Sold Companies to conduct their businesses (other than in respect of the Legacy Defense Business, which shall not be subject to this Section 5.1(a)) in the ordinary course of business and, to the extent consistent therewith, use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain satisfactory relationships with suppliers, customers, and other third parties having material business relationships with the Sold Companies (other than in respect of the Legacy Defense Business, which shall not be subject to this Section 5.1(a)).
(b) In furtherance of Section 5.1(a), without the consent of Buyer, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, except (x) as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement, the Closing Agreements or the Restructuring, (y) as disclosed on Section 5.1 of the Seller Disclosure Schedule or (z) as required by Law or Order, during the Pre-Closing Period, Seller shall cause each Sold Company (other than in respect of any actions relating to the Legacy Defense Business, which shall not be subject to this Section 5.1(b)) not to (and in the case of Section 5.1(b)(ii)(B), Seller shall not):
(i) amend its certificate of incorporation or bylaws or comparable organizational documents;
(ii) (A) issue, deliver, sell, pledge, dispose of or encumber any shares of capital stock or other ownership interests, or any options, warrants, convertible securities or other rights of any kind to acquire or receive any shares of capital stock or other ownership interests, in the Sold Companies, or (B) issue or grant any Seller Options;
(iii) reclassify, combine, split, subdivide, redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire any shares of capital stock or ownership interests;
(iv) (A) incur any obligations or commitments to make any capital expenditures in excess of $250,000 in the aggregate following the Closing, or (B) cease to continue to make capital expenditures in the ordinary course of business;
(v) with respect to Company Products, make any material change in the selling, distribution, advertising, terms of sale or collection practices outside of the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices;
(vi) after the close of business on the Business Day immediately preceding the Closing Date, declare, set aside, make or pay any dividend or other distribution in respect of the capital stock or other ownership interests of any of the Sold Companies or repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire, or grant any rights or enter into any Contracts or commitments to repurchase, redeem or acquire, any outstanding shares of the capital stock or ownership interests of any of the Sold Companies;
(vii) acquire (whether by merger, consolidation or acquisition of stock or assets or otherwise) any corporation, partnership or other business organization or division thereof or any assets, other than purchases of inventory and other assets in the ordinary course of business and pursuant to existing Contracts made available to Buyer prior to the date hereof;
(viii) sell, lease, license, assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of (whether by merger, consolidation or acquisition of stock or assets or otherwise) (A) any corporation, partnership or other business organization or division thereof or (B) any Inventory, equipment, assets, rights or properties (including Intellectual Property) for consideration in excess of $50,000, or abandon or allow to expire any issued patent or material registration or application included in the Company-Owned Intellectual Property, in each case, other than (w) sales or dispositions of Inventory and licenses of products and services, in each case, in the ordinary course of business, (x) pursuant to existing Contracts made available to Buyer prior to the date hereof, (y) non-exclusive licenses of Company-Owned Intellectual Property granted in the ordinary course of business as necessary to make available the Company Products or (z) sales of dispositions of obsolete and worthless assets or scrap;
(ix) sell, lease, license, assign, pledge transfer, abandon, permit any Lien on or otherwise dispose of any Company-Owned Intellectual Property used in or necessary for the operation of the businesses of the Sold Companies, other than (x) non-exclusive licenses of Company-Owned Intellectual Property granted in the ordinary course of business or (y) pursuant to existing Contracts made available to Buyer prior to the date hereof;
(x) modify, amend, terminate or waive any rights under any Material Contract in any material respect or enter into any new Contract that would be a Material Contract if entered into prior to the date of this Agreement;
(xi) acquire or obtain any license to any Intellectual Property or technology other than in the ordinary course of business (including commercially available computer software available or design tools on standard terms and in object-code form) for consideration not to exceed $100,000 in the aggregate;
(xii) permit the loss, expiration or termination of any material license or right to any third party Intellectual Property used in or necessary for the operation of the businesses of the Sold Companies other than in the ordinary course of business;
(xiii) agree to by any exclusivity, non-competition, most favored nation, or similar provision or covenant restricting the Sold Companies from competing in any line of business or with any Person or in any area or engaging in any activity or business (including with respect to the development, manufacture, marketing or distribution of their respective products or services);
(xiv) disclose any material trade secrets or other material proprietary or confidential information of the Sold Companies to any Person not subject to a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement;
(xv) except in the ordinary course of business, make any loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person (other than in a Subsidiary or sister Subsidiary of such Person);
(xvi) except to the extent required under any Company Benefit Plan or Seller Benefit Plan in existence as of the date hereof or as required by applicable Law: (A) hire or terminate (other than for cause) any Business Employee who holds (or, if hired, would hold) the position of “vice president”, “director”, “manager”, “senior engineer”, “executive” or any other individual in a salary grade of 07 or higher or any individual consultant of the Sold Companies, except with respect to individual consultants who perform services for any of the Sold Companies whose aggregate fees are less than $100,000, (B) increase or establish, or commit to increase or establish, the compensation or benefits of any Business Employee or individual consultant of the Sold Companies, (C) establish, adopt, enter into, amend in any material respect or terminate any Seller Benefit Plan or Company Benefit Plan, in each case, affecting any Business Employees, (D) accelerate the vesting or payment of any compensation or benefits under any Seller Benefit Plan or Company Benefit Plan, in each case, with respect to any Business Employees, or (E) grant any cash bonus, incentive, performance or other incentive compensation to any Business Employee;
Operations Prior to Closing (a) Seller agrees to operate the Property between the Execution Date and the Closing Date in the same general manner as Seller has operated the Property during the immediately preceding six (6) month period, paying all costs and expenses as they come due, and in any event prior to Closing, and maintaining all insurance coverage currently in force.
(b) Seller shall comply with all of the obligations of landlord under the Leases and all other agreements and contractual arrangements affecting the Real Property by which Seller is bound or to which the Real Property, or any of them, are subject, and which will be binding upon Buyer or a lien upon such Real Property, after the Closing.
(c) Seller shall notify Buyer promptly of Seller's receipt of any notice from any party alleging that Seller is in default of its obligations under any of the Leases or any Permit or agreement affecting the Real Property, or any portion or portions thereof.
(d) No contract for or on behalf of or affecting the Real Property shall be negotiated or entered into which cannot be terminated by Seller upon the Closing without the payment of a specific charge, cost, penalty or premium for such termination.
(e) Except with the prior written consent of Buyer, which Buyer agrees it shall not unreasonably withhold, condition or delay, Seller shall not enter into any new leases for any portion of the Real Property. Any new lease shall be on Buyer's customary form (which may vary to reflect customary negotiated revisions thereto), or such other form which is reasonably acceptable to Buyer. Further, except with the prior written consent of Buyer, which Buyer agrees it shall not unreasonably withhold, condition or delay, or as set forth above, Seller shall not amend, extend (except where required under the terms of the Lease in question), terminate (except by reason of a tenant's default), accept surrender of, or permit any assignments or subleases of, any of the Leases (except as may be required under such Lease), nor accept any rental more than one (1) month in advance (exclusive of any security deposit).
(f) Seller shall not make or permit to be made any capital improvements or additions to the Real Property, or any portion thereof, without the prior written consent of Buyer, except those made by Seller pursuant to the express requirements of this Agreement, those made by tenants pursuant to the right to do so under their Leases, or by Seller if required by applicable law or ordinance, or as required under any Lease.
(g) Seller shall timely xxxx all tenants for all rent billable under Leases, and use commercially reasonable efforts to collect any rent in arrears.
(h) Seller shall notify Buyer of any tax assessment disputes (pending or threatened) prior to Closing, and from and after the Due Diligence Expiration Date, Seller not agree to any changes in the real estate tax assessment, nor settle, withdraw or otherwise compromise any pending claims with respect to tax assessments relating to the current or any subsequent year, without Buyer's prior written consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned. If any proceedings shall result in any reduction of assessment and/or tax for the tax year in which the Closing occurs, it is agreed that the amount of tax savings or refund for such tax year, less the reasonable fees and disbursements in connection with such proceedings, shall be apportioned between the parties as of the date real estate taxes are apportioned under this Agreement. All refunds relating to any tax year prior to the Closing shall be the sole property of Seller, and all refunds relating to any year subsequent to the year in which Closing occurs shall be the sole property of Buyer. Each party agrees to promptly remit to the other any refund received by it which is the property of the other.
(i) Seller shall notify Buyer promptly of the occurrence of any of the following:
(i) Receipt of notice from any governmental or quasi-governmental agency or authority or insurance underwriter relating to the condition, use or occupancy of the Real Property, or any portion thereof;
(ii) Receipt of any notice of default from any tenant or from the holder of any lien or security interest in or encumbering the Real Property, or any portion thereof;
(iii) Notice of any actual or threatened litigation against Seller or affecting or relating to the Real Property, or any portion thereof which may materially and adversely affect the Real Property or Seller's ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; and
(iv) Vacancy of any demised Property by a tenant, other than in accordance with a scheduled lease termination.
Interim Period During the Interim Period, the Seller shall cause the Company to be managed in accordance with its ordinary course of business, in accordance with Applicable Law and with past practice, so as to ensure that no act or event depending on the Company shall occur during such Interim Period which would be reasonably expected to result in a breach of the provisions of this Agreement upon their occurring prior to Closing, without prejudice and save for any transaction to be entered into or any action to be carried out pursuant to this Agreement. Unless a prior written consent is given to the Seller by the Purchaser, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, save for any transaction to be entered into or any action to be carried out pursuant to this Agreement, without prejudice to any different provision under this Agreement, the Seller shall procure that:
(a) the Company does not issue any shares, warrants, convertible or exchangeable bonds, financial instruments or other securities or any rights relating thereto or otherwise approve or make any change in its capital structure;
(b) no dividends or reserves will be declared or paid by the Company, except for an amount equal to Euro 575.000,00 (five hundred seventy-five thousand/00), pursuant to Paragraph 4.2 above;
(c) except for the possible extension of the current temporary lease agreement, the Company does not sell, transfer, pledge, mortgage, lease or otherwise dispose of any assets or properties (other than inventory, products and systems sold to customers in the ordinary course of business);
(d) the Company does not hire any personnel, with the exception of the hiring of personnel (a) whose hiring is in progress as of the date of this Agreement or (b) required to replace terminated employees;
(e) the Company does not amend the employment agreements, collective bargaining agreements or other collective labour agreements or conventions applicable to the Company’s employees’, increase the compensation payable to the employees and the directors of the Company or grant any of them additional personal benefits, bonuses or indemnities, other than increases or benefits, bonuses or indemnities mandated by Applicable Law or by collective bargaining agreements;
(f) the Company does not merge, demerge or consolidate with other companies and do not amend in any way whatsoever the by-laws;
(g) the Company does not enter into any loan or other form of financing or financial facility and/or incur, assume or modify the existing indebtedness of the Company ;
(h) the Company does not carry out or implement any material change in the treasury management and/or contractual payment terms to suppliers and/or by customers (including by applying discounts not in the ordinary course of business), except for any change which is more favourable to the Company;
(i) the Company does not enter into factoring agreements and/or financial leases agreements;
(j) the Company does not enter into any legally binding commitment with respect to any of the foregoing.
Conduct of the Business Pending the Closing (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Agreement or with the prior written consent of Newco, between the date hereof and the Closing, the Company shall:
(i) conduct the Business only in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(ii) use its commercially reasonable efforts to (A) preserve the present business operations, organization (including officers and Employees) and goodwill of the Company and (B) preserve the present relationships with Persons having business dealings with the Company (including customers and suppliers);
(iii) maintain (A) all of the assets and properties of, or used by, the Company consistent with past practice, and (B) insurance upon all of the assets and properties of the Company in such amounts and of such kinds comparable to that in effect on the date of this Agreement;
(iv) (A) maintain the books, accounts and records of the Company in the Ordinary Course of Business, (B) continue to collect accounts receivable and pay accounts payable and other Liabilities set forth on the Balance Sheet in the Ordinary Course of Business utilizing normal procedures and without discounting or accelerating payment of such accounts or Liabilities utilizing all available cash and any available line of credit, and (C) comply with all contractual and other obligations of the Company;
(v) comply with the capital expenditure plan of the Company for 2009 set forth on Company Disclosure Schedule 6.2(a)(v), including making such capital expenditures in the amounts and at the times set forth in such plan;
(vi) comply in all material respects with all applicable Laws;
(vii) take steps to renew all Permits in a timely manner prior to their lapse; and
(viii) pay all maintenance and similar fees and take all other appropriate actions as necessary to prevent the abandonment, loss or impairment of all Intellectual Property of the Company.
(b) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, except as otherwise expressly provided by this Agreement or with the prior written consent of Newco, the Company shall not:
(i) (A) increase the salary or other compensation of any director or Employee of the Company except for normal year-end increases in the Ordinary Course of Business, (B) grant any bonus, benefit or other direct or indirect compensation to any Employee or director, (C) increase the coverage or benefits available under any (or create any new) severance pay, termination pay, vacation pay, company awards, salary continuation for disability, sick leave, deferred compensation, bonus or other incentive compensation, insurance, pension or other employee benefit plan or arrangement made to, for, or with any of the directors, officers, Employees, agents or representatives of the Company or otherwise modify or amend or terminate any such plan or arrangement (D) enter into any employment, deferred compensation, stay bonus, severance, special pay, consulting, non-competition or similar agreement or arrangement with any directors or officers of the Company (or amend any such agreement) to which the Company is a party; or (E) pay or make any dividend or distribution of cash or other property with respect to the units or other equity interests of the Company;
(ii) (A) create, incur, assume, guarantee, endorse or otherwise become liable or responsible with respect to (whether directly, contingently or otherwise) any Indebtedness except (u) the Indebtedness related to the Permitted Exceptions, (x) the Indebtedness reflected in the Balance Sheet, (y) the Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business since the Balance Sheet Date, or (z) the Indebtedness set forth on Company Disclosure Schedule 4.5; (B) except in the Ordinary Course of Business, pay, prepay, accelerate, discharge, purchase, repurchase or satisfy any Indebtedness issued or guaranteed by the Company; (C) materially modify the terms of any Indebtedness or other Liability; or (D) make any loans, advances of capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person;
(iii) subject to any Lien or otherwise encumber or, except for Permitted Exceptions, permit, allow or suffer to be subjected to any Lien or otherwise encumbered, any of the Purchased Assets;
(iv) acquire any material properties or assets or sell, assign, license, transfer, convey, lease or otherwise dispose of any of the Purchased Assets (except for fair consideration in the Ordinary Course of Business) of the Company;
(v) except as provided in Section 6.6 hereof, enter into or agree to enter into any merger or consolidation with any Person, and not engage in any new business or invest in, make a loan, advance or capital contribution to, or otherwise acquire the securities of any Person;
(vi) cancel or compromise any debt or claim, or waive or release any material right of the Company except in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(vii) enter into, modify or terminate any labor or collective bargaining agreement or, through negotiation or otherwise, make any commitment or incur any Liability to any labor organization with respect to any Employee;
(viii) introduce any material change with respect to the operation of the Business, including any material change in the types, nature, composition or quality of products or services, or, other than in the Ordinary Course of Business, make any change in product specifications or prices or terms of distributions of such products;
(ix) enter into any transaction or enter into, modify or renew any Contract which by reason of its size or otherwise is not in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(x) enter into any Contract, understanding or commitment that restrains, restricts, limits or impedes the ability of the Business, or the ability of Newco or Purchaser, to compete with or conduct any business or line of business in any geographic area or solicit the employment of any persons;
(xi) terminate, amend, restate, supplement or waive any rights under any (A) Material Contract, Real Property Lease, Personal Property Lease or Intellectual Property License, other than in the Ordinary Course of Business or (B) Permit;
(xii) settle or compromise any pending or threatened Legal Proceeding or any claim or claims for, or that would result in a loss of revenue of, an amount that could, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be greater than $50,000;
(xiii) change or modify its credit, collection or payment policies, procedures or practices, including acceleration of collections or receivables (whether or not past due) or fail to pay or delay payment of payables or other liabilities;
(xiv) take any action which would adversely affect the ability of the parties to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(xv) amend the operating agreement of the Company;
(xvi) agree to materially increase Liabilities from the amounts set forth on the Balance Sheet except in the Ordinary Course of Business under loan or credit agreements or arrangements up to the maximum amounts and other terms as in effect on the date of this Agreement; or
(xvii) agree to do anything (A) prohibited by this Section 6.2, (B) that would make any of the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement or any of the Company Documents untrue or incorrect in any material respect or could result in any of the conditions to the Closing not being satisfied or (C) that could be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company.
After the Closing Seller shall, and shall cause its Affiliates to, preserve, in accordance with Seller’s, or its applicable Affiliates’, standard document retention policies and until the earlier to occur of (i) such date as such books and records are transferred to Buyer or its Affiliates or (ii) the end of the Retention Period, all pre-Closing Date books and records of the Acquired Companies and the Business (including any Business Data) that have not been transferred to Buyer. During such period, upon any reasonable request from Buyer or its Representatives, the member of the Seller Group holding such books and records shall (i) provide to Buyer or any of its Representatives reasonable access to such books and records during normal business hours; provided, however, that such access shall not unreasonably interfere with the conduct of the business of Seller or any of its Affiliates holding such books and records and (ii) permit Buyer or any of its authorized Representatives to make copies of such books and records, in each case, at no cost to Buyer or its applicable Representatives (provided that Xxxxx will reimburse Seller for reasonable out-of-pocket costs or expenses incurred by Seller). Nothing herein shall require Parent, Seller or any of its Affiliates to disclose any information to Buyer if such disclosure would (A) jeopardize any applicable attorney-client privilege, the work product immunity or any other applicable legal privilege or similar doctrine, (B) contravene any applicable Law or contractual confidentiality obligation, (C) jeopardize the health and safety of any employee of Seller or any of its Subsidiaries, in light of COVID-19 or any COVID-19 Measures or (D) result in competitive harm to Seller or any of its Subsidiaries, it being understood that Seller shall use its reasonable best efforts to make other arrangements (including redacting information or entering into joint defense agreements), in the case of each of clauses (A) to (D), that would enable any otherwise required disclosure to Buyer or its Representatives to occur without so jeopardizing any such privilege or immunity or contravening such applicable Law or contractual confidentiality obligation or jeopardizing health and safety or resulting in competitive harm or (E) require Parent, Seller or any of its Affiliates to disclose its Tax records (except for Tax records exclusively of, or with respect to, the Acquired Companies or the Business). Such books and records may be requested under this Section 9.5(b) for any reasonable business purpose, including to the extent reasonably required in connection with accounting, litigation, financial reporting, federal securities disclosure, compliance with contractual obligations of Buyer or any of its Affiliates or review of the Closing Statement.
Conduct of Business Prior to Closing Between the date of the execution of this Agreement and the Closing, the Borrower and the Guarantor Parties: (a) shall not enter into any agreements of any nature relating to or affecting the Loan Collateral or the business of the Borrower or Guarantor, including any agreement which may restrict the Borrower or Guarantor, as applicable, from operating its business as currently conducted unless the written consent of the Lender shall first be obtained, (b) shall not convey or remove from any location where now located, any of the Loan Collateral to be conveyed under the Conveyance Documents, (c) shall not cancel any insurance policies with respect to the Loan Collateral and shall preserve and maintain its permits and licenses including any cannabis related licenses, (d) shall use commercially reasonable efforts to continue to operate the Cannabis Business and the Loan Collateral in the ordinary course consistent with past practice, subject to the availability of sufficient working capital and the Borrower and Guarantor’s reasonable business judgment, (e) shall use commercially reasonable efforts to preserve the rights, franchises, goodwill and relationships of its employees, customers, lenders, suppliers, regulators and others having business relationships with the Borrower and Guarantor and shall maintain the Loan Collateral in a state of repair and condition that is consistent with the requirements and normal conduct of the business of the Borrower and Guarantor, subject to the availability of sufficient working capital and the Borrower and Guarantor’s reasonable business judgment, (f) shall maintain its books and records in accordance with past practice, (g) shall not incur any Indebtedness other than Permitted Indebtedness or authorize or commit to the same, (h) shall not lend money to or guarantee the debts of any other Person or authorize or commit to the same, (i) shall not issue or amend any securities or authorize or commit to the same, except as contemplated by the Call Option Agreement, (j) shall not take any action that would materially delay, prohibit or impede the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Call Option Agreement, (k) shall fully cooperate with any reasonable requests of appraisers retained by the Lender or its counsel, (l) shall comply in all material respects with applicable laws, (m) shall not lend money to, or guarantee the debts of, any other Person, (n) shall not settle or commence any claim, action, cause of action, demand, lawsuit, arbitration, inquiry, audit, notice of violation, proceeding, litigation, citation, summons, subpoena or investigation of any nature, civil, criminal, administrative, regulatory or otherwise, whether at law or in equity commenced to which the Borrower or Guarantor is a party, (o) shall not amend its constating documents, (p) shall not effect any split, consolidation, reclassification, redemption or repurchase of its securities, (q) shall not reorganize, amalgamate or merge, (r) shall not undertake any voluntary dissolution, liquidation or winding-up or any other disposition of its assets for the purpose of winding up, (s) shall not declare, set aside or pay any dividend or other disposition of any kind or nature (whether in cash, stock or property or any combination thereof) in respect of any securities, (t) shall not make any bonus or profit sharing distribution or similar payment of any kind, (u) except as required by applicable law, shall not agree to or make any severance, change of control or termination payment or increase the compensation of any employee, officer, director or consultant, (v) shall not terminate, dismiss, demote or otherwise decrease the job requirement of any officer, (w) shall not appoint any officer, (x) shall complete on a timely basis all requisite filings with Governmental Authorities or as may otherwise be required under applicable law, (y) shall allow a representative of the Lender to attend and observe any meeting of the board of directors of the Borrower or Guarantor, (z) shall not make or enter into any commitment or agreement in contravention of the foregoing and (aa) shall use best efforts to satisfy the conditions to Closing set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the Existing Events of Default, the Borrower and Guarantor Parties shall comply with all covenants contained in the Loan Agreement and the other Loan Documents subject to the continuation of the Existing Events of Default; provided, that the Lender hereby consents to the Transfer of the Loan Collateral to the Designee and such Transfer shall not constitute a Default or Event of Default under the Loan Documents. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent the Modesto Planning Department informs the Lender that any covenant contained in Section 4 of this Agreement constitutes “control” requiring thirty (30) day prior written consent from the Modesto Planning Department, the parties hereto agree that (i) upon written notice from the Lender such covenant shall be deemed to be of no force and effect until such thirty (30) day prior written notice from the Modesto Planning Department has been obtained, (ii) to the extent requested by the Lender in writing, the parties shall agree to amend this Agreement to remove or modify such covenant only to the extent required so as to not trigger such thirty (30) day prior written consent requirement, and (iii) solely to the extent the Lender elects in its sole discretion by written notice to the other parties, this Agreement shall be deemed terminated.
Conduct of Business by the Company Pending the Closing The Company covenants and agrees that, between the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time, except as set forth in Section 6.1 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or as permitted by any other provision of this Agreement, unless Parent will otherwise agree in writing (which agreement will not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), the Company will, and will cause each Company Subsidiary to, conduct its operations in the ordinary course of business and use commercially reasonable efforts to preserve substantially intact its business organization and maintain existing relations and goodwill with customers, suppliers and employees in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice. Without limiting the foregoing, and as an extension thereof, except as set forth in Section 6.1 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or as permitted by any other provision of this Agreement, the Company will not (unless required by applicable Law), and will not permit any Company Subsidiary to, between the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time, directly or indirectly, do, or agree to do, any of the following without the prior written consent of Parent (which consent will not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned):
(a) amend or otherwise change its certificate of incorporation or bylaws or equivalent organizational documents;
(b) issue, sell, pledge, dispose of, grant, transfer or encumber, or authorize the issuance, sale, pledge, disposition, grant, transfer, or encumbrance of, any shares of capital stock of, or other Equity Interests in, the Company or any Company Subsidiary of any class, or securities convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, any shares of such capital stock or other Equity Interests, or any options, warrants or other rights of any kind to acquire any shares of such capital stock or other Equity Interests or such convertible or exchangeable securities, or any other ownership interest (including, without limitation, any such interest represented by Contract right), of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, other than the issuance of Shares (i) upon the vesting of Company RSUs or Company Restricted Shares, (ii) the exercise of Company Options outstanding as of the date hereof in accordance with their terms or (iii) in connection with the Top-Up Option;
(c) sell, pledge, dispose of, let lapse, abandon, assign, transfer, lease, license, guarantee or encumber any material property or assets of the Company or any Company Subsidiary (including any Registered Intellectual Property and unregistered Owned Intellectual Property), except (i) to the extent required pursuant to Contracts in effect prior to the date hereof, (ii) pursuant to the sale, purchase or licensing of inventory, raw materials, equipment, goods, or other supplies in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or (iii) for non-exclusive licenses in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice with a fair market value not in excess of $2,500,000 in the aggregate;
(d) declare, set aside, make or pay any dividend or other distribution (whether payable in cash, stock, property or a combination thereof) with respect to any of its capital stock (other than dividends paid by a wholly-owned Company Subsidiary to the Company or another wholly-owned Company Subsidiary) or enter into any agreement with respect to the voting or registration of its capital stock;
(e) reclassify, combine, split, subdivide or amend the terms of, or redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any of its capital stock, other Equity Interests or any other securities, or authorize or propose the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for shares of its capital stock or other securities, in each case other than in connection with the Top-Up Option;
(f) merge or consolidate the Company or any Company Subsidiary with any Person or adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation or resolutions providing for a complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, or otherwise enter into any agreements imposing material restrictions on the assets, operations or businesses of the Company or any Company Subsidiary;
(g) enter into a new line of business (other than currently-projected extensions of existing product lines);
(h) acquire (including, without limitation, by merger, consolidation, or acquisition of stock or assets) any interest in any Person or any division thereof or any assets, other than acquisitions of assets (including, without limitation, the purchase of inventory, raw materials, equipment, goods, or other supplies) in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and any other acquisitions for consideration that is individually not in excess of $2,500,000, or in the aggregate not in excess of $5,000,000;
(i) incur any indebtedness for borrowed money or issue any debt securities or assume, guarantee or endorse, or otherwise become responsible for the obligations of any Person (other than a wholly-owned Company Subsidiary) for borrowed money;
(j) make any loans, advances, guarantees or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person (other than any wholly-owned Company Subsidiary) in excess of $2,500,000 in the aggregate;
(k) terminate, cancel or amend any Company Material Contract, or cancel, modify or waive any rights thereunder, or enter into or amend any Contract that, if existing on the date hereof, would be a Company Material Contract;
(l) make or authorize any capital expenditure in excess of the Company’s capital expenditure budget as disclosed to Parent prior to the date hereof, other than capital expenditures that are not, in the aggregate, in excess of $2,500,000;
(m) except to the extent required by (i) applicable Law, (ii) the existing terms of any Company Benefit Plan, (iii) contractual commitments or corporate policies with respect to severance or termination pay as in existence on the date hereof and listed on Section 6.1(m) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or (iv) as otherwise provided on Section 6.1(m) of the Company Disclosure Schedule: (A) increase in any manner the compensation, bonus or benefits payable or to become payable to its Service Providers (except for increases in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice in base salaries or base wages of employees of the Company or any Company Subsidiary); (B) grant any additional rights to severance or termination pay to, or enter into any severance agreement with, any Service Provider, or establish, adopt, enter into or amend any Company Benefit Plan; (C) grant any new awards under any Company Benefit Plan, (D) amend or modify any outstanding award under any Company Benefit Plan, (E) take any action to amend, waive or accelerate the vesting criteria or vesting requirements of payment of any compensation or benefit under any Company Benefit Plan or remove any existing restrictions in any Company Benefit Plans or awards made thereunder, (F) take any action to accelerate the payment, or to fund or in any other way secure the payment, of compensation or benefits under any Company Benefit Plan, to the extent not already provided in any such Company Benefit Plan or (G) change any actuarial or other assumptions used to calculate funding obligations with respect to any Company Benefit Plan or to change the manner in which contributions to such plans are made or the basis on which such contributions are determined, except as may be required by GAAP or applicable laws;
(n) forgive any loans to Service Providers or any of their respective affiliates;
(o) make any material change in accounting policies, practices, principles, methods or procedures, other than as required by GAAP or by a Governmental Entity;
(p) encourage customers to make payments earlier than would otherwise reasonably be expected (based on past practice) to be made to the Company or the Company Subsidiaries, or agree to payment terms or conditions with suppliers that are not consistent in all material respects with past practice;
(q) compromise, settle or agree to settle any Proceeding (including any Proceeding relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby) other than compromises, settlements or agreements in the ordinary course of business that involve only the payment of monetary damages not in excess of $2,500,000 individually or $5,000,000 in the aggregate, in any case without the imposition of equitable relief on, or the admission of wrongdoing by, the Company or any Company Subsidiary;
(r) (i) make, change, or rescind any material Tax election, (ii) file any material amended Tax Return of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries, (iii) or adopt or change any material method or period of Tax accounting, (iv) settle or compromise any material claim relating to Taxes; (v) surrender any material claim for a refund of Taxes; (vi) enter into any “closing agreement” as described in Section 7121 of the Code with respect to material Taxes; or (vii) consent to any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to any material Tax claim or assessment (other than pursuant to extensions of time to file Tax Returns obtained in the ordinary course of business);
(s) write up, write down or write off the book value of any assets, except for depreciation and amortization and normal valuation adjustments to accounts receivable and inventory in accordance with GAAP consistently applied;
(t) pre-pay any long-term debt; or
(u) authorize or enter into any Contract or otherwise make any commitment, in each case to do any of the foregoing in clauses (a) through (t).
Vendor’s Resellers as Related to This Agreement
Conduct of Business Pending the Closing During the period from the date of this Agreement and continuing until the earlier of the termination of this Agreement in accordance with its terms or the Closing, the Company shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to, carry on the Business in the ordinary course of business and, to the extent consistent therewith, use all commercially reasonable efforts to preserve the Business intact and preserve the goodwill of and relationships with Governmental Entities, customers, suppliers, partners, lessors, licensors, licensees, contractors, distributors, agents, officers and employees and others having business dealings with the Business, provided that the foregoing shall not prevent Sellers from rejecting Contracts that are not Assumed Contracts. During the period from the date of this Agreement through the Closing Date, the Company shall endeavor to maintain the Net Receivables Amount, the Inventory Value and each component of Inventory at or in excess of the amounts set forth on Schedule 7.1. Without limiting the generality of the first sentence of this Section 7.1, during the period from the date of this Agreement through the Closing Date, the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, without the prior written consent of Buyer:
(a) abandon any rights under any of the Assumed Contracts; terminate, amend, modify or supplement the terms of any Assumed Contract; or fail to honor or perform, the Assumed Contracts;
(b) other than sales of Inventory in the ordinary course of business or the disposition of obsolete equipment, lease, license, surrender, relinquish, sell, transfer, convey, assign or otherwise dispose of any Acquired Assets;
(c) mortgage, pledge or subject to Liens (other than Permitted Liens), any property, business or any of the Acquired Assets, other than as would not result in any Liability that would be or would increase an Assumed Liability as of or subsequent to the Closing;
(d) incur or permit to be incurred any Liability (other than Accounts Payable or in connection with the performance of Assumed Contracts) that would be or would increase an Assumed Liability as of or subsequent to the Closing;
(e) fail to replenish the Inventory and Supplies of the Business in the ordinary course of business;
(f) increase the salary of any Identified Employee at or after the time such person becomes an Identified Employee, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(g) make or rescind any material Tax election or take any material Tax position (unless required by law) or file any Tax Return or change its fiscal year or financial or Tax accounting methods, policies or practices, or settle any Tax Liability, except in each case as would not reasonably be expected to affect the Buyer;
(h) institute, settle or agree to settle any litigation, action or Proceeding before any court or Governmental Entity relating to the Acquired Assets, or modify in any manner that is adverse to the Business or the Acquired Assets, rescind or terminate a material Permit, allowance, or credit (or application therefor) relating to the Business or the Acquired Assets;
(i) transfer or grant any rights under, modify any existing rights under, or enter into any settlement regarding the breach or infringement of, any material Intellectual Property; or
(j) enter into any Contract to do any of the foregoing.
