Conduct of Business in Ordinary Course INT'X.xxx will carry on its business in the ordinary course in substantially the same manner as heretofore conducted and, to the extent consistent with such business, use all reasonable best efforts consistent with past practice and policies to preserve intact its present business organization, keep available the services of its present officers, consultants and employees and preserve its relationships with customers, suppliers and distributors and others having business dealings with it. INT'X.xxx will confer on a regular and frequent basis with representatives of Parent to report operational matters of a material nature and to report the general status of the ongoing operations of the business of INT'X.xxx. The foregoing notwithstanding, INT'X.xxx will not: (a) other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with prior practice, enter into any material commitment or transaction, including but not limited to any purchase of assets (other than raw materials, supplies or cash equivalents) for a purchase price in excess of $50,000; (b) grant any bonus, severance or termination pay to any officer, director, independent contractor or employee of INT'X.xxx; (c) enter into or amend any agreements pursuant to which any other party is granted support, service, marketing or publishing rights, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with prior practice, or is granted distribution rights of any type or scope with respect to any products of INT'X.xxx; (d) other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with prior practice, enter into or terminate any contracts, arrangements, plans, agreements, leases, licenses, franchises, permits, indentures, authorizations, instruments, or commitments, or amend or otherwise change in any material respect the terms thereof in a manner adverse to INT'X.xxx; (e) commence a lawsuit other than: (i) for the routine collection of bills, (ii) in such cases where INT'X.xxx in good faith determines that failure to commence suit would result in a material impairment of a valuable aspect of INT'X.xxx's business PROVIDED THAT INT'X.xxx consults with Parent prior to filing such suit, or (iii) for a breach of this Agreement or any agreement related hereto; (f) modify in any material respect existing discounts or other terms and conditions with dealers, distributors and other resellers of INT'X.xxx's products or services in a manner adverse to INT'X.xxx; (g) accelerate the vesting or otherwise modify any INT'X.xxx Option, restricted stock or other outstanding rights or other securities other than any acceleration or modification that results from the execution and performance of this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated hereby; (h) take any action which would make any representation or warranty in this Agreement untrue or incorrect, as if made as of such time; or (i) agree in writing or otherwise to take any of the foregoing actions.
Conduct of Business of the Company Except as expressly ---------------------------------- contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth on Schedule 6.01 hereto, during the period from the date hereof to the Effective Time, the Company and its subsidiaries will each conduct its operations according to its ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, and the Company and its subsidiaries will each use its reasonable best efforts to (i) preserve intact its business organization, (ii) keep available the services of its officers and employees, other than those officers and employees identified on Schedule 6.01 hereto, and (iii) maintain existing relationships with its lenders, suppliers and others having business relationships with it. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, and except as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth on Schedule 6.01 hereto, prior to the Effective Time, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries will, without the prior written consent of Acquisition: (a) amend or propose to amend any of their respective certificates or articles of incorporation or by-laws; (b) authorize for issuance, issue, sell, deliver or agree or commit to issue, sell, pledge, encumber, deliver or otherwise dispose of (whether through the issuance or granting of options, warrants, commitments, subscriptions, rights to purchase or otherwise) any stock of any class or any other equity securities or equity equivalents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or amend in any material respect any of the terms of any such securities outstanding as of the date hereof; (c) split, combine or reclassify any shares of its capital stock or the capital stock of any of its subsidiaries, declare, set aside or pay any dividend (other than dividends (whether in cash, stock, or property or any combination thereof), if any, paid by wholly-owned subsidiaries to the Company or another wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company) or other distribution in respect of its capital stock or redeem, repurchase or otherwise acquire any of its securities or any securities of its subsidiaries or any options, warrants or other rights to acquire any shares of its capital stock or adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation or resolutions providing for or authorizing such liquidation or a dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, other than the redemption, repurchase or other acquisition of the equity securities of any subsidiary of the Company which is not wholly-owned by the Company for aggregate consideration not in excess of the book value of such securities; (i) except as set forth in clause (e), incur any additional indebtedness for borrowed money or issue any debt securities or assume, guarantee or endorse the obligations of any other person except for the obligations of wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice; (ii) make any loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other person (other than to wholly- owned subsidiaries of the Company and advances to employees for travel or other business related expenses in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices); (iii) pledge or otherwise encumber shares of capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries; (iv) mortgage or pledge any of its material assets, tangible or intangible, or create or suffer to exist any material Lien thereupon; or (v) enter into any contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement to do any of the foregoing; (e) incur any advances pursuant to that certain Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of June 18, 1991, among the Company, various subsidiaries of the Company and Xxxxxx (as successor in interest to HCR Partners), as amended (the "Credit Agreement"), other than advances which at any time outstanding do not exceed $3,000,000. (f) enter into, adopt or (except as may be required by law) amend or terminate any bonus, profit sharing, compensation, severance, termination, stock option, stock appreciation right, restricted stock, performance unit, stock equivalent, stock purchase, pension, retirement, deferred compensation, employment, severance or other employee benefit agreement, trust, plan, fund or other arrangement for the benefit or welfare of any director, officer or employee, or (except for normal increases in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice that, in the aggregate, do not result in a material increase in benefits or compensation expense to the Company or an increase in excess of 5% in the case of any individual (other than compensation based upon the payment of commissions pursuant to commission schedules previously made available to Parent or Acquisition by the Company)) increase in any manner the compensation or fringe benefits of any director, officer or employee or pay any benefit not required by any plan or arrangement in effect as of the date hereof (including, without limitation, the granting of stock appreciation rights or performance units) or enter into any contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement to do any of the foregoing; (g) acquire, sell, lease or dispose of any assets outside the ordinary course of business or any assets which in the aggregate are material to the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or commit or agree to do any of the above; (h) except as required by GAAP, change any of the accounting principles or practices used by it; (i) make any tax election or settle or compromise any income tax liability material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; (j) pay, discharge or satisfy any claims, liabilities or obligations (absolute, accrued, asserted or unasserted, contingent or otherwise), other than the payment, discharge or satisfaction in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or in accordance with their terms, of liabilities reflected or reserved against in, or contemplated by, the consolidated financial statements (or the notes thereto) of the Company and its subsidiaries or incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice; provided that, in no event shall the Company and its subsidiaries repay any long-term indebtedness except to the extent required by the terms thereof; (i) acquire (by merger, consolidation, or acquisition of stock or assets) any corporation, partnership or other business organization or division thereof; (ii) enter into or commit to enter into any contract or agreement other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or which requires the payment of amounts in excess of $100,000 or which gives rise to obligations which extend beyond ninety (90) days from the date hereof other than agreements to provide services to customers of the Company or any of its subsidiaries; (iii) authorize any capital expenditures, other than those as to which the Company or its subsidiaries have committed as set forth on Schedule 6.01 hereto, individually in excess of $100,000, or in the aggregate in excess of $1,000,000, except with the consent of Parent (which shall not be unreasonably withheld); or (iv) enter into or amend any contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement with respect to any of the foregoing; (i) make or enter into any new lease of real property other than any new lease of real property which will replace an existing lease or (ii) extend or amend any existing lease of real property other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or on terms and conditions no less favorable to the Company or the subsidiary than the existing lease; (m) enter into or commit to enter into any amendment or modification to any contract, agreement or arrangement with any vendor or supplier identified on Schedule 6.01(m) hereto which individually or in the aggregate with all other such amendments and modifications is or could reasonably be expected to be material to such contract, agreement or arrangement; (n) intentionally take or omit to take, or enter into an agreement to take or agree to omit to take, any action that would result in any of the conditions to the Offer set forth in Annex A attached hereto or the conditions to the Merger set forth in Article VII hereof not being timely satisfied; (o) release or relinquish any material contractual rights, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice; (p) settle any pending or threatened material action, suit, claim or proceeding involving the Company or any subsidiary, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and other than any settlements which require only the payment of money not in excess of $50,000 individually or $250,000 in the aggregate; (q) enter into or commit to enter into any contract, agreement or arrangement or any amendment or modification to any existing contract, agreement or arrangement with Xxxxxx Holdings, Inc. or any affiliate thereof; or (r) commit or agree in writing or otherwise to take any of the actions described in Sections 6.01(a) through 6.01(q) hereof or any action which would make any of the representations or warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement untrue or incorrect in any material respect as of the date when made or as of the Effective Time, or omit to take or commit or agree to omit to take any action necessary to prevent any such representation or warranty from being untrue or incorrect in any material respect in any respect at any time which would result in any of the conditions set forth in this Agreement not being satisfied.
Conduct of Business of Parent Except as set forth in Section 6.2 of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, during the period from the date of this Agreement to the Effective Time (unless the Company shall otherwise agree in writing and except as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement), Parent will conduct its operations according to its ordinary and usual course of business consistent with past practice and shall use all reasonable efforts to preserve intact its current business organizations, keep available the service of its current officers and employees, maintain its material Permits and Contracts and preserve its relationships with customers, suppliers and others having business dealings with it. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, and except as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth in Section 6.2 of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, Parent will not, without the prior written consent of the Company (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld): (i) issue, sell, grant, dispose of, pledge or otherwise encumber, or authorize or propose the issuance, sale, disposition or pledge or other encumbrance of (A) any additional shares of capital stock of any class (including the shares of Parent Common Stock), or any securities or rights convertible into, exchangeable for, or evidencing the right to subscribe for any shares of capital stock, or any rights, warrants, options, calls, commitments or any other agreements of any character to purchase or acquire any shares of capital stock or any securities or rights convertible into, exchangeable for, or evidencing the right to subscribe for, any shares of capital stock or (B) any other securities in respect of, in lieu of, or in substitution for, shares of Parent Common Stock outstanding on the date hereof; (ii) redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire, or propose to redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire, any of its outstanding shares of Parent Common Stock; (iii) split, combine, subdivide or reclassify any shares of Parent Common Stock or declare, set aside for payment or pay any dividend, or make any other actual, constructive or deemed distribution in respect of any capital stock of Parent or otherwise make any payments to stockholders in their capacity as such, other than the declaration and payment of regular quarterly cash dividends on the Parent Common Stock in an amount no greater than $.72 per share per annum and in accordance with past dividend policy and other than the declaration and payment of dividends on Parent Preferred Stock pursuant to Parent's Certificate of Incorporation as in effect on the date hereof and except for dividends by a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Parent; (iv) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of Parent or any of the Parent Subsidiaries (other than the Merger), except for Parent Subsidiaries which are not material to the assets, liabilities, financial condition or results of operations of Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries taken as a whole; (v) adopt any amendments to its Certificate of Incorporation or By-Laws or alter through merger, liquidation, reorganization, restructuring or in any other fashion the corporate structure or ownership of any direct or indirect subsidiary of Parent, except for Parent Subsidiaries which are not material to the assets, liabilities, financial condition or results of operations of Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries taken as a whole; (vi) make, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to make, any material acquisition, by means of merger, consolidation or otherwise, or material disposition, of assets or securities; (vii) other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, incur, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to incur, any material indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantee any such indebtedness or make any material loans, advances or capital contributions to, or material investments in, any other person other than Parent or any Parent Subsidiary; (viii) change any method of accounting or accounting practice by Parent or any Parent Subsidiary, except for any such required change in GAAP or applicable statutory accounting principles; (ix) permit any Parent Insurance Subsidiary to materially change its investment guidelines or policies and approved programs or transactions or conduct transactions in investments except in material compliance with the investment guidelines and policies of such Parent Insurance Subsidiary and all applicable insurance Laws; (x) enter, or permit any Parent Insurance Subsidiary to enter, into any material reinsurance, coinsurance or similar Contract, whether as reinsurer or reinsured, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice; (xi) (x) take, or agree or commit to take, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to take, or agree or commit to take, any action that would make any representation and warranty of Parent hereunder inaccurate in any material respect at the Effective Time (except for representations and warranties which speak as of a particular date, which need be accurate only as of such date), (y) omit, or agree or commit to omit, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to omit, or agree or commit to omit, to take any action necessary to prevent any such representation or warranty from being inaccurate in any material respect at the Effective Time (except for representations and warranties which speak as of a particular date, which need be accurate only as of such date), provided however that Parent shall be permitted to take or omit to take such action which can be cured, and in fact is cured, at or prior to the Effective Time or (z) take, or agree or commit to take, or permit any Parent Subsidiary to take, or agree or commit to take, any action that would result in, or is reasonably likely to result in, any of the conditions of the Merger set forth in Article VII not being satisfied; or (xii) authorize, recommend, propose or announce an intention to do any of the foregoing, or enter into any contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement to do any of the foregoing.
Conduct of the Company’s Business During the period from the date of this Agreement and continuing until the earlier of the Effective Time and the date nominees of Parent or Subsidiary constitute a majority of the members of the board of trustees of the Company (such earlier time, the “Control Time”), except either as consented to in writing (including by email or other electronic transmission) by Parent in response to a written or oral request therefore from the Company (which response shall not be unreasonably delayed), the Company shall, and shall cause its subsidiaries to, conduct its and their business in the ordinary course and use commercially reasonable efforts to conduct its and their business relationships with third parties and to keep available the services of their present officers and employees, provided that it does not require additional compensation, and preserve its and their relationships with customers, suppliers and others having business dealings with the Company and its subsidiaries, and to maintain the Company’s qualification as a REIT, in each case subject to the terms of or contemplated by this Agreement. In addition, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, except as expressly permitted in this Agreement, from the date hereof until the Control Time, the Company shall not, and shall cause its subsidiaries not to: (a) (i) authorize, declare or pay any dividends on or make other distributions in respect of any of its stock (except for dividends by a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company to its parent and except for distributions necessary for the Company to maintain its REIT qualification, avoid the incurrence of any taxes under Section 857 of the Code, avoid the imposition of any excise taxes under Section 4981 of the Code, or avoid the need to make one or more extraordinary or disproportionately larger distributions to meet any of the three preceding objectives), (ii) split, combine or reclassify any of its stock or issue or authorize or propose the issuance of any other securities or (iii) repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any other securities thereof or any rights, warrants or options to acquire any such shares or other securities; (b) except in accordance with the Share Option Agreement, issue, deliver, sell, pledge or encumber, or authorize or propose the issuance, delivery, sale, pledge or encumbrance of, any shares of its beneficial interests, stock or any other security; (c) amend or propose to amend its declaration of trust, certificate of incorporation or bylaws (or similar organizational documents); (d) (i) acquire or agree to acquire any material assets (including securities) outside the ordinary course or merge or consolidate with any person or engage in any similar transaction or (ii) make any loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other person, other than to the Company or any wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and other than loans to auto dealers in the ordinary course of business which would, when originated, qualify as Eligible Receivables under the Warehouse Line; (e) sell, lease, license, encumber or otherwise dispose of any of its assets or any interest therein, other than in the ordinary course (including the disposition of any assets acquired as a result of a foreclosure), or adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring or other reorganization; (f) incur or suffer to exist any indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantee any such indebtedness, guarantee any debt of others, enter into any “keep-well” or other agreement to maintain any financial statement condition of another person or enter into any arrangement having the economic effect of any of the foregoing, except for borrowings under the Warehouse Line; (g) make or rescind any Tax election or settle or compromise any Tax liability of the Company or any of its subsidiaries; (h) make or agree to make any capital expenditures other than in amounts of less than $75,000 in the aggregate; (i) pay, discharge, settle or satisfy any Claim (whether absolute, accrued, asserted or unasserted, contingent or otherwise), other than the payment, discharge, settlement or satisfaction, in the ordinary course of business or in accordance with their terms, of Claims whether recognized or disclosed in the most recent financial statements (or the notes thereto) of the Company included in the Company Filed SEC Documents or incurred since the date of such financial statements in the ordinary course of business except for cash payments (x) paid by any insurer or person other than the Company and any subsidiary of the Company, plus (y) an amount paid by the Company or any subsidiary of the Company not exceeding $100,000 per Claim, liability or obligation or $500,000 for all Claims in the aggregate. (j) (i) modify, amend or terminate any material contract, (ii) waive, release or assign any material rights or claims, (iii) waive the benefits of, or agree to modify in any manner, any confidentiality, standstill or similar agreement, or fail to enforce any such agreement to the fullest extent practicable, including by seeking injunctive relief and specific performance or (iv) except, with respect to this clause (iv), in the ordinary course of business, enter into any material contracts or transactions; (i) increase the compensation or benefits of any director, trustee, officer or employee, except for, in the cases of non-officer employees, increases in the ordinary course that are consistent with past practice, (ii) adopt any material amendment to a Benefit Plan, (iii) enter into, amend or modify any employment, consulting, severance, termination or similar agreement with any director, trustee, officer or employee, (iv) accelerate the payment of compensation or benefits to any director, officer or employee, (v) take any action to fund or in any other way secure the payment of compensation or benefits under any Benefit Plan or compensation agreement or arrangement; or change any actuarial or other assumption used to calculate funding obligations with respect to any pension plan or change the timing or manner in which contributions to any pension plan are made or the basis on which such contributions are determined or (vi) take any action that could give rise to severance benefits payable to any officer, trustee, director, or employee of the Company or any subsidiary as a result of consummation of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; provided that nothing in this paragraph (k) shall preclude the payment by the Company of accrued, but unpaid bonuses to employees for 2004 and retroactive salary adjustments in each case as set forth in Section 6.1(k) of the Company Disclosure Schedule; (l) take any action to exempt or make not subject to or to otherwise waive or cause to be inapplicable (x) the provisions of any Takeover Statute or (y) Section 7.2 of the Declaration of Trust, in each case to any individual or entity (other than Parent or its subsidiaries), or any action taken thereby, which individual, entity or action would have otherwise been subject to the restrictive provisions thereof and not exempt therefrom; (m) take any action to delist the Shares from Nasdaq; (n) make any material change to its methods of accounting in effect on the date hereof, except as required by changes in GAAP as concurred with by the Company’s independent auditors, or change its fiscal year; (o) enter into any transaction with any of its affiliates other than pursuant to arrangements in effect on the date hereof which have been disclosed to Parent; (p) accelerate the collection of receivables or defer the payment of payables, or modify the payment terms of any receivables or payables, in each case, other than in the ordinary course of business; (q) securitize, or create any financing arrangements in the nature of a collateralized debt obligation with respect to, any accounts receivable, loans or other assets; (r) amend or modify the existing agreement between Company and Company Financial Advisor; or (s) authorize any of, or commit or agree to take any of, the foregoing actions or any action that would result in a breach of any representation, warranty or agreement of the Company contained in this Agreement as of the date when made or as of any future date or would result in any of the conditions to the Merger not being satisfied or in a material delay in the satisfaction of such conditions.
Conduct of the Business (a) From the date hereof until the Closing Date, or the earlier termination of this Agreement pursuant to Article IX, except to the extent described in Schedule 5.01 or otherwise required or specifically permitted by this Agreement, the Company shall: (i) conduct the Business in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice in all material respects (including with respect to capital expenditures, the timely making of any budgeted or emergency capital expenditures or capital expenditures that are required to maintain the Business in compliance with any applicable Laws), unless the Parent shall have otherwise consented in writing (which consent will not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed); (ii) maintain in effect the insurance coverage described on Schedule 7.16 (or reasonably equivalent replacement coverage); (iii) use its commercially reasonable efforts to preserve the present relationships of the Business with suppliers, vendors, licensees and other Persons with which the Business has business relations; (iv) maintain in effect the Business Licenses (if any) in accordance with the terms thereof and renew any Business License that would otherwise expire pursuant to the terms thereof between the date of this Agreement and the Closing; (v) use its commercially reasonable efforts to keep, or to cause Spoonful to keep, available the services of the Business Employees subject to the normal hiring and firing of Business Employees in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (vi) use commercially reasonable efforts to preserve intact its business organization, value as a going concern and relationships with third parties (including lessors, licensors, suppliers, distributors and customers) and employees. (b) From the date hereof until the Closing Date, or the earlier termination of this Agreement pursuant to Article IX, except to the extent described in Schedule 5.01 or otherwise required or specifically permitted by this Agreement or consented to in writing by the Parent (which consent will not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), the Company shall refrain from: (i) issuing, selling or delivering any of its Company LLC Interests or other Equity Interests or issuing or selling any securities convertible into, or options with respect to, or warrants to purchase or rights to subscribe for, any of its Company LLC Interests or other Equity Interests (or amending any term of any of the foregoing); (ii) effecting any recapitalization, reclassification, dividend, split or like change in its capitalization other than dividends in the in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and the terms and conditions of the Company’s Organizational Documents; (iii) amending its Organizational Documents; (iv) making any redemption or purchase of any of its of its Company LLC Interests or other Equity Interests; (v) (A) merging, consolidating or combining with any Person or (B) acquiring any material assets, except for acquisitions of inventory, equipment and supplies in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice; (vi) permitting any of the assets of the Company to become subject to a Lien (other than a Permitted Lien) or selling, leasing, licensing or otherwise disposing of any assets or securities, including by merger, consolidation, asset sale or other business combination, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice; (vii) making any loans or advances to, or any investments in, any other Person (in the case of loans or advances to employees, in excess of $100,000 in the aggregate for all such loans and advances); (viii) pledging or otherwise encumbering of its Company LLC Interests or other Equity Interests; (ix) excepting as required or specifically permitted by this Agreement, entering into or amending any Contract with the Manager or any officer of the Company; (x) increasing any benefits under any Employee Benefit Plan or increasing the compensation payable or paid, whether conditionally or otherwise, to any employee, officer, manager or consultant of Company (other than (A) any increase adopted in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice in respect of the compensation of any employee whose annual base compensation does not exceed $125,000 after giving effect to such increase or (B) any increase in benefits or compensation required by Law or required pursuant to the terms of an existing Employee Benefit Plan); (xi) becoming liable in respect of any guarantee (other than a guarantee by the Company of a Liability of the Company that is made in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice) or incur, assume or otherwise become liable in respect of any Indebtedness; (xii) repaying, prepaying or otherwise discharging or satisfying any Indebtedness or other material Liabilities, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, or waiving, cancelling or assigning any claims or rights of substantial value other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice; (xiii) making any capital expenditures that are in the aggregate in excess of $100,000 (other than capital expenditures contemplated by the capital expenditure budget attached to Schedule 5.01, emergency capital expenditures or capital expenditures that are required to maintain the Business in compliance with any applicable Laws); (xiv) making any change in its methods of accounting or accounting practices (including with respect to reserves) or any Tax election; filing any amended Tax Return; electing or changing any method of accounting for Tax purposes; settling any Action or claim in respect of Taxes; or consenting to any extension or waiver of the limitations period for the assessment of any Tax; (xv) settling, agreeing to settle, waiving or otherwise compromising any pending or threatened Actions or claims (A) involving potential payments by or to the Company of more than $100,000 in aggregate, (B) that admit Liability or consent to non-monetary relief, or (C) that otherwise are or would reasonably be expected to be material to the Company or the Business; (xvi) entering into, adopt, terminate, modify, renew or amend in any material respect (including by accelerating material rights or benefits under) any Contract unless such Contract requires payments by the Company of less than $10,000 per month and that can be terminated by the Company upon 60 days’ or less notice without penalty; (xvii) writing up or writing down any of its material assets of the Company or revalue its inventory or reserves in respect of its accounts receivable; (xviii) taking any action or failing to take any action that would result in any of the representations and warranties set forth in this Agreement becoming false or inaccurate in any material respect; or (xix) authorizing, agreeing or committing or entering into a Contract to do any of the foregoing.
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.
Conduct of the Company The Company covenants and agrees that, except for matters (i) expressly permitted or expressly contemplated by this Agreement, (ii) set forth on Part 6.01 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, (iii) reasonably undertaken in connection with any COVID-19 Measures, (iv) undertaken with the prior written consent of Parent (which shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), (v) required by Applicable Law or the rules and regulations of Nasdaq, from the date hereof until the earlier of the Effective Time and the termination of this Agreement in accordance with Article 8 hereof, the Company (A) shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to use commercially reasonable efforts to (1) conduct its business in the ordinary course in all material respects, substantially consistent with past practice, (2) to the extent consistent with the foregoing clause (1), maintain its business as a going concern and (3) keep available the services of its current officers and key employees and to preserve the goodwill of and maintain satisfactory relationships with those Persons having material business relationships with the Company and its Subsidiaries, and (B) shall not, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries not to: (a) amend the Company’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or amend any certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or other comparable charter or organizational documents, of the Company’s Subsidiaries; (b) other than with respect to a direct or indirect wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company, (i) establish a record date for, declare, set aside or pay any dividends on, or make any other distributions (whether in cash, stock, property or otherwise) in respect of, or enter into any agreement with respect to the voting of, any capital stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (or securities convertible or exchangeable therefor), (ii) split, reverse split, combine, subdivide or reclassify or otherwise amend the terms of any capital stock (or securities convertible or exchangeable therefor) of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (iii) except as expressly provided in Section 6.01(c), issue or authorize the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for, shares of capital stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (or securities convertible or exchangeable therefor), or (iv) purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire or offer to purchase, redeem or acquire any Company Securities, except for the net settlement of Company Equity Awards or acquisitions of shares of Company Common Stock by the Company, in each case, in satisfaction by holders of Company Equity Awards of the applicable withholding taxes or in accordance with the terms of the ESPP; (c) issue, deliver, sell, grant, announce, pledge, transfer, subject to any Lien, otherwise encumber or dispose of any equity interests of the Company or incur any obligation to make any payments to any Person based on the price or value of any Company Securities, other than (i) the issuance of shares of Company Common Stock pursuant to (A) the terms of Company Equity Awards that are outstanding on the date hereof, in accordance with the applicable terms of such Company Equity Awards as in effect on the date of this Agreement or (B) grants or awards of Company Securities or Company Equity Awards required to be made pursuant to the terms of existing employment or other compensation agreements or arrangements in effect as of the date hereof; provided that such grants or awards are pursuant to a form of award agreement that has been made available to Parent or (ii) the issuance of shares of Company Common Stock under the ESPP and pursuant to the terms thereof and Section 2.06 of this Agreement or (iii) the issuance of equity interests of a wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company to the Company or another wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company; (d) merge, consolidate or, other than in the ordinary course of business substantially consistent with past practice, enter into strategic alliance or similar legal partnership with any Person, file a voluntary petition for bankruptcy or liquidation, dissolve, liquidate, restructure or recapitalize or adopt a plan or agreement of, or resolutions providing for or authorizing, complete or partial bankruptcy, liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (e) (i) increase the salary, wages, benefits, bonuses or other cash compensation payable or to become payable to the Company’s employees, officers, directors or Independent Contractors, except for increases (A) required to be made pursuant to the terms of existing employment or other compensation agreements or arrangements in effect as of the date hereof, (B) required under any Company Employee Plan pursuant to the terms in effect as of the date hereof or Collective Bargaining Agreement or under Applicable Law, (C) made in the ordinary course of business and substantially consistent with past practice, or (D) in connection with changes to benefits as part of annual enrollment; provided that such changes made as part of annual enrollment are made in the ordinary course of business, and (ii) other than as required by the terms of the applicable Company Employee Plan or under Applicable Law, enter into, adopt, amend (including by accelerating the vesting, payment or funding of any benefits under), modify or terminate any Company Employee Plan or plan, agreement, arrangement, or policy that would be a Company Employee Plan if in effect on the date hereof; (f) hire, engage or terminate the employment or engagement of (other than for cause, as determined by the Company) any employee, officer, director, or Independent Contractor whose annual base cash compensation exceeds $250,000; (g) negotiate, enter into, amend or extend any Collective Bargaining Agreement; (h) acquire or commit to acquire any business, assets, real property or capital stock of, or make any loans, advances or capital contribution to any Person or division thereof, whether in whole or in part (and whether by purchase of stock, purchase of assets, merger, consolidation, entrance into a joint venture or otherwise) that, individually involve a purchase price or principal amount of not more than $500,000 individually or $2,000,000 in the aggregate, other than one or more acquisitions of inventory, supplies, intellectual property assets, raw materials, equipment or similar assets in the ordinary course of business and in amounts substantially consistent with past practice; (i) sell, assign, lease, license, pledge, transfer, abandon, subject to any Lien, permit to lapse or otherwise dispose of any assets, properties, or Company Intellectual Property, in each case having a value in excess of $500,000 individually or $5,000,000 in the aggregate, except in the ordinary course of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ business substantially consistent with past practice; (j) agree to any exclusivity, non-competition or similar provision or covenant limiting the ability of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to compete or engage in any line of business, with any Person or in any geographic area, or pursuant to which any benefit or right would be required to be given or lost as a result of so competing or engaging, or which would have any such effect on Parent or any of its Affiliates after the Effective Time, except, in each case, in connection with Contracts entered into with customers, contractors, distributors, resellers, partners or suppliers of the Company and its Subsidiaries or similar arrangements, that (x) are made in the ordinary course of business substantially consistent with past practice, (y) are on terms substantially similar to any such restrictions existing on the date of this Agreement and (z) would not have any such effect (or otherwise restrict or bind) on Parent or any of its Affiliates (other than the Company and its Subsidiaries) after the Effective Time; (k) adopt or change any of the accounting methods used by the Company materially affecting its assets, liabilities or business, except for such changes that are required by (i) GAAP (or any interpretation thereof), (ii) by any Applicable Law, including Regulation S-X under the Securities Act, or (iii) by any Governmental Authority or quasi-governmental authority (including the Financial Accounting Standards Board or any similar organization); (l) except for borrowings of revolving loans under the Existing Credit Agreement and capital leases in the ordinary course of business and except for intercompany loans, guarantees, advance or capital contribution between the Company and any of its wholly-owned Subsidiaries or between any wholly-owned Subsidiaries of the Company, (i) incur, issue, or otherwise become liable for any additional Indebtedness in excess of $5,000,000 in the aggregate, (ii) modify in a manner materially adverse to the Company or its Subsidiaries the terms of any material Indebtedness existing as of the date hereof, (iii) assume, guarantee or endorse the obligations of any Person (other than a wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company), (iv) make any loan, advance or capital contribution to any Person in excess of $500,000 in the aggregate, other than capital contributions and loans to any wholly owned Subsidiary, and extensions of trade credit in the ordinary course of business, (v) amend, modify or waive any provision of the Existing Credit Agreement (other than to waive or otherwise cure any “Default” or “Event of Default” thereunder provided that Parent has been provided prior written notice thereof and consented to such amendment, modification or waiver), or (vi) other than the regularly scheduled and required amortization payments under the Existing Credit Agreement, repurchase, prepay, terminate or refinance any Indebtedness arising under the Existing Credit Agreement; (m) make, change or revoke any material Tax election, change any annual Tax accounting period, file any material amended Tax Return or file any material Tax Return in a manner inconsistent with past practice, enter into any “closing agreement” within the meaning of Section 7121 of the Code (or similar provision of state, local or non-U.S. law) in respect of any material Tax, settle any material Tax Proceeding, surrender any right to claim a material Tax refund, offset or other reduction in Tax liability, or consent to any extension or waiver of the limitations period applicable to any material Tax claim or assessment outside the ordinary course of business; (n) make any commitment with respect to capital expenditures in excess of the amounts set forth in Part 6.01(n)(i) of the Company Disclosure Schedule; (o) institute, settle or agree to settle any Proceedings, other than (i) the settlement of claims, liabilities or obligations (A) reserved against on the most recent balance sheet of the Company included in the Company SEC Documents or (B) involving payments of less than $500,000 individually or $1,000,000 in the aggregate; provided that neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries shall settle or agree to settle any Proceeding which settlement involves a conduct remedy or injunctive or similar relief or has a restrictive impact on the Company’s business or (ii) Proceedings brought against Parent or Merger Sub arising out of a breach or alleged breach of this Agreement by Parent or Merger Sub; (p) enter into any material new line of business; (q) fail to maintain in all material respects any Insurance Policies; (r) other than in the ordinary course of business or as contemplated by this Agreement (i) amend, modify, renew or terminate, or grant any release or waiver under, any Material Contract (excluding the expiration of any Material Contract in accordance with its terms) or enter into any new Contract that would have been a Material Contract if in existence on the date of this Agreement, or (ii) renew or enter into any Contract with an Affiliate of the Company; (s) voluntarily terminate, amend or fail to renew or preserve any Company Communications License as set forth on Part 6.01(s) of the Company Disclosure Schedule; (t) conduct any reduction-in-force of employees or other service providers or otherwise implement any layoffs, in each case that could implicate the WARN Act; or (u) authorize, commit or agree to take any of the foregoing actions. Notwithstanding anything set forth in this Agreement or any other documents related to the Merger, prior to the Closing, neither Parent nor Merger Sub shall, directly or indirectly, exercise any form of control over the Company, any of its subsidiaries, or any of the Governmental Permits, within the meaning of the FCC Rules and the FCC’s orders and other published rulings thereunder. In addition, the Company and its Subsidiaries may take such further commercially reasonable actions necessary to (x) respond to emergencies or protect the health and safety of the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s employees, suppliers, customers and other individuals having business dealings with the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company (including any COVID-19 Measures) or (y) respond to third-party supply or service disruptions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic; provided that the Company shall, to the extent legally permissible and only if time permits, consult with Parent prior to taking the actions described in this sentence.
Conduct of Business by the Company (a) From and after the date hereof and prior to the Effective Time or the date, if any, on which this Agreement is earlier terminated pursuant to Section 7.1 (the “Termination Date”), and except (w) as may be required by applicable Law, (x) with the prior written consent of Parent, (y) as expressly contemplated or permitted by this Agreement or (z) as disclosed in Section 5.1 of the Company Disclosure Letter, the Company shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to (i) conduct its business in the ordinary course consistent with past practices, (ii) use reasonable best efforts to maintain and preserve intact its business organization to maintain its rights, franchises, licenses and other authorizations issued by Governmental Entities and to retain the services of its key officers and key employees and (iii) take no action which would reasonably be expected to materially impair or materially delay the ability of any of the parties hereto from obtaining any necessary approvals of any regulatory agency or other Governmental Entity required for the transactions contemplated hereby, performing its covenants and agreements under this Agreement or consummating the transactions contemplated hereby. (b) The Company agrees with Parent, on behalf of itself and its Subsidiaries, that between the date hereof and the Effective Time, except as set forth in Section 5.1(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter or expressly contemplated by this Agreement, the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, without the prior written consent of Parent: (i) adjust, split, combine or reclassify any capital stock or otherwise amend the terms of its capital stock or other equity interests; (ii) make, declare or pay any dividend, or make any other distribution on, or directly or indirectly redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire or encumber, any shares of its capital stock or other equity interests or any securities or obligations convertible (whether currently convertible or convertible only after the passage of time or the occurrence of certain events) into or exchangeable for any shares of its capital stock or other equity interests, except in connection with cashless exercises or similar transactions pursuant to the exercise of stock options issued and outstanding as of the date hereof under the Company Stock Plan; (iii) grant any person any right to acquire any shares of its capital stock or other equity interests; (iv) issue any additional shares of capital stock or other equity interests except pursuant to the exercise of stock options issued under the Company Stock Plans issued and outstanding as of the date hereof and listed on Section 3.2(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter and in accordance with the terms of such instruments; (v) purchase, sell, transfer, mortgage, encumber or otherwise dispose of any properties or assets having a value in excess of $5 million in the aggregate; (vi) make any investment or acquisition of another person or business, whether by purchase of stock or securities, contributions to capital, property transfers, or purchases of property or assets in excess of $5 million in the aggregate; (vii) make any capital expenditures not contemplated by the capital expenditure budget having an aggregate value in excess of $5 million for any 12 consecutive month period; (viii) incur, assume, guarantee, or become obligated with respect to, any debt, which, when taken together with all other debt of the Company and its Subsidiaries, would result in there being indebtedness of the Company and its Subsidiaries greater than $180 million in the aggregate outstanding at any given time (excluding intercompany debt), or any debt which contains covenants that restrict the Merger or that are inconsistent with the Financing Commitments; (ix) enter into, renew, extend, amend or terminate (A) any Company Material Contract or Contract which if entered into prior to the date hereof would be a Company Material Contract, in each case, other than any Contract relating to indebtedness that would not be prohibited under clause (viii) of this Section 5.1(b), or (B) any Contracts not in the ordinary course, involving the commitment or transfer of value in excess of $5 million in the aggregate in any year; (x) enter into, amend or terminate any material reinsurance, coinsurance, modified coinsurance or any similar Contract (including any surplus relief or financial reinsurance Contract), whether as reinsurer or reinsured; (xi) except to the extent required by Law or by Contracts in existence as of the date hereof (complete copies of which have been provided or made available to Parent prior to the date hereof), (A) increase in any manner the compensation or benefits of any of its employees, directors, consultants, independent contractors or service providers, except, with respect to non-officer employees, in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (B) pay any pension, severance or retirement benefits not required by any existing plan or agreement to any such employees, directors, consultants, independent contractors or service providers, (C) except to comply with Sections 2.3 or 5.12, enter into, amend, alter, adopt, implement or otherwise commit itself to any compensation or benefit plan, program, policy, arrangement or agreement including any pension, retirement, profit-sharing, bonus or other employee benefit or welfare benefit plan, policy, arrangement or agreement or employment or consulting agreement with or for the benefit of any employee, director, consultant, independent contractor or service provider, (D) cause the funding of any rabbi trust or similar arrangement or take any action to fund or in any other way secure the payment of compensation or benefits under any Company Benefit Plan, or (E) materially change any actuarial or other assumptions used to calculate funding obligations with respect to any Company Benefit Plan or 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 Law; (xii) waive, release, assign, settle or compromise any claim, action or proceeding, other than waivers, releases, assignments, settlements or compromises that involve only the payment of monetary damages not in excess of $1 million in the aggregate, or otherwise pay, discharge or satisfy any claims, liabilities or obligations in excess of such amount, in each case, other than in the ordinary course consistent with past practice; (xiii) amend or waive any provision of, or modify, the Company Charter Documents or Subsidiary Documents; (xiv) take or omit to take any action that is intended or would reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, result in any of the conditions to the Merger set forth in Article VI not being satisfied or satisfaction of those conditions being materially delayed in violation of any provision of this Agreement; (xv) enter into any “non-compete” or similar agreement that would materially restrict the businesses of the Surviving Corporation or its Subsidiaries following the Effective Time or that would in any way restrict the businesses of Parent or its Affiliates (excluding the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries) or take any action that may impose new or additional regulatory requirements on any Affiliate of Parent (excluding the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries); (xvi) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of such entity; (xvii) implement or adopt any material change in its existing underwriting, claim handling, loss control, investment, actuarial (or any material assumption underlying an actuarial practice or policy) or Tax or financial accounting principles, practices or methods, other than as required by GAAP, applicable Law or regulatory guidelines; (xviii) (A) enter into any closing agreement with respect to material Taxes, (B) settle or compromise any material liability for Taxes, (C) make, revoke or change any material Tax election, (D) file or surrender any claim for a material refund of Taxes, (E) file any amended Tax Return involving a material amount of Taxes, or (F) prepare any Tax Returns in a manner which is not consistent in all material respects with the past practice of the Company and its Subsidiaries; (xix) enter into any new, or materially amend or otherwise materially alter any current, Affiliate Transaction or transaction which would be an Affiliate Transaction if such transaction occurred prior to the date hereof; or (xx) agree to take, make any commitment to take, or adopt any resolutions of its Board of Directors in support of, any of the actions prohibited by this Section 5.1(b). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, any action or failure to act by any of Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx, Xx., Xxx X. Xxxxx or Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx, III, or at their direction, will not be deemed to be actions of the Company for purposes of this Section 5.1 unless such action or failure to act was taken with the support of a majority of the independent members of the Board of Directors of the Company.
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).
Conduct of Business by the Company Pending the Merger From the date of this Agreement until the Merger Effective Time, except as required by this Agreement, as may be required by applicable Law or as set forth in Section 6.01 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or except with the prior written consent of Parent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned (provided that consent of Parent shall be deemed to have been given if Parent does not object within three (3) Business Days after request for such consent is actually received by Parent), the Company shall, and shall cause each of the Company Subsidiaries to, conduct its business in the ordinary course consistent with past practice and shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to preserve substantially intact the business, assets and organization of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries and to preserve the current beneficial relationships of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries with any Person with which the Company or any Company Subsidiary has material business relations (including customers, suppliers, directors, officers and key employees). Except as required by this Agreement, as may be required by applicable Law or as set forth in Section 6.01 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the Company nor any Company Subsidiary shall, between the date of this Agreement and the Merger Effective Time, do any of the following without the prior written consent of Parent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned; provided, however, that consent of Parent shall be deemed to have been given if Parent does not object within three (3) Business Days after request for such consent is actually received by Parent. (a) amend or otherwise change any provision of the Company Charter or Company Bylaws, or similar organizational or governance documents; (b) (i) authorize for issuance, issue, sell, pledge, dispose of, grant or transfer or agree or commit to issue, sell, dispose of, grant or transfer any shares of any class of capital stock of the Company or any Company Subsidiary or any options, warrants, convertible securities or other rights of any kind to acquire any shares of such capital stock, or any other ownership interest, of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, other than the issuance of Company Common Shares issuable pursuant to Company Stock Awards outstanding on the date hereof, (ii) repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any securities or equity equivalents except in connection with the exercise of Company Stock Options or the vesting of Company Stock Awards, (iii) declare, set aside or pay any dividends on, or make any other actual, constructive or deemed distributions (whether in cash, shares, property or otherwise) in respect of, any shares of the Company’s capital stock or the shares of stock or other equity interests in any Company Subsidiary that is not directly or indirectly wholly owned by the Company, other than (A) dividends by any direct or indirect wholly owned Company Subsidiary to the Company or any other Company Subsidiary and (B) dividend equivalents already accrued as of the date hereof and paid with respect to Company Stock Awards outstanding on the date hereof and set forth in Section 6.01(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or (iv) split, combine or reclassify any shares, stock or other equity interests of the Company or any Company Subsidiary or issue or authorize the issuance of any securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for shares of such shares, stock or other equity interests; (c) merge or consolidate with any other Person or adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any Company Subsidiary (other than the Merger), except (i) that a Company Subsidiary may merge with another Company Subsidiary or (ii) for acquisitions (including by way of merger, consolidation, acquisition of equity interests or assets or any other business combination) by the Company or any Company Subsidiary of any Person providing for purchase price consideration (including any related amounts or promissory notes) of an amount less than Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) individually or Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000) in the aggregate; (d) sell, lease, license, subject to a Lien (other than a Permitted Lien) or otherwise surrender, relinquish or dispose of any assets or property of the Company or any Company Subsidiary other than in the ordinary course of business, except for (i) sales of investment assets by the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (ii) transfers and pledges of assets in connection with the conduct of the insurance business, including pursuant to reinsurance, coinsurance, ceding of insurance, assumption of insurance or indemnification with respect to insurance and similar arrangements, in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (iii) sales or transfers of assets between wholly owned Company Subsidiaries, (iv) pursuant to existing written contracts or commitments as set forth in Section 6.01(d) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or (v) in an amount not in excess of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) in the aggregate; (e) incur any indebtedness for borrowed money or issue any debt securities or assume, guarantee or endorse, or otherwise as an accommodation become responsible for, the obligations of any person (other than a Company Subsidiary) for borrowed money, other than indebtedness for borrowed money incurred in the ordinary course of business and pursuant to any credit agreement to which the Company or any Company Subsidiary is a party as of the date of this Agreement (which shall be deemed to include draws or standby letters of credit under the Company’s line of credit facility or other similar lines of credit); (f) except as required by the terms of the Plans or awards made thereunder prior to the date of this Agreement, (i) increase the compensation or benefits payable to its directors, officers or employees (other than increases for employees or officers below the level of senior vice president made in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice), (ii) amend, change, terminate or waive any rights under any Employment Agreement or (iii) establish, adopt, enter into or amend to materially increase benefits under any collective bargaining, bonus, profit sharing, thrift, compensation, stock option, restricted stock, pension, retirement, deferred compensation, employment, loan, retention, consulting, indemnification, termination, severance or other similar plan, agreement, trust, fund, policy or arrangement with any director, officer or employee (other than with respect to (A) agreements for new hires of non-executive officers in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice that do not provide any change in control benefits and (B) each award under the Company’s Performance Incentive Plan and the Company’s Long Term Incentive Plan; (g) pre-pay any long-term debt (which shall be deemed to include pre-payments or repayments of lines of credit facilities or other similar lines of credit or payments made in respect of any termination or settlement of any interest rate swap or other similar hedging instrument relating thereto) in an amount exceeding Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) in the aggregate for the Company and the Company Subsidiaries taken as a whole, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and in accordance with the terms of such debt; (h) except as required by Law or changes in GAAP or SAP which become effective after the date of this Agreement, materially change any of its accounting policies (whether for financial accounting or Tax purposes); (i) authorize, or enter into any commitment for, any new material capital expenditures (such authorized or committed new material capital expenditures being referred to hereinafter as the “Capital Expenditures”) in an amount in excess of Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000) in the aggregate; (j) pay, discharge, settle or satisfy any material litigation, arbitrations, proceedings, claims, liabilities or obligations other than any payment, discharge, settlement or satisfaction in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice (which includes payment of policyholders’ claims) where the amounts paid or to be paid, except in the case of policyholder claims, (i) are covered by insurance coverage maintained by the Company or (ii) are in an amount less than Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) in the aggregate; (k) take any action that would cause any of the representations or warranties of the Company contained herein to become inaccurate in any material respect or any of the covenants of the Company to be breached in any material respect or result in the failure to be satisfied of any of the conditions set forth in Section 8.02; (l) create or have any subsidiary of the Company other than the Company Subsidiaries as of the date of this Agreement; (m) (A) amend, change, cancel, terminate or waive or release, in any material respect, any rights under any Company Material Contract that was required to be filed as an exhibit to the Company SEC Reports pursuant to Regulation S-K of the Securities Act or (B) enter into any new contract, agreement or arrangement that would be required to be filed as an exhibit to the Company SEC Reports pursuant to Regulation S-K of the Securities Act; (n) (i) settle or compromise any material Tax audit, (ii) make or change any material Tax election or file any material amendment to a material Tax Return, except, in each case, as required by applicable Law, or (iii) surrender any right to claim a material refund of Taxes; (o) enter into (i) any agreement or arrangement that would be required to be reported by the Company pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC or (ii) any agreement or arrangement with Alleghany Corporation or its Affiliates; or (p) enter into any agreement or otherwise make a commitment to do any of the foregoing.