Conduct Prior to Closing 7.1 Conduct of Business by HL, the Company, Parent, and Merger Sub. During the period from the date of this Agreement and continuing until the earlier of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to its terms and the Closing (the “Interim Period”), each of HL, the Company, the Company’s Subsidiaries, Parent and Merger Sub shall, except to the extent that HL (in the case of a request by the Company) or the Company (in the case of a request by HL) shall otherwise consent in writing (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) or as set forth in Schedule 7.1 hereto or as contemplated by this Agreement, carry on its business in the usual, regular and ordinary course consistent with past practices, in substantially the same manner as heretofore conducted and in compliance with all applicable Legal Requirements (except as expressly contemplated by Schedule 7.1 hereto) and use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with past practices and policies to (i) preserve substantially intact its present business organization, (ii) keep available the services of its present key officers and employees, (iii) preserve its relationships with key customers, suppliers, distributors, licensors, licensees, and others with which it has significant business dealings. During the Interim Period, HL shall file all Certifications, registration statements, reports, schedules, forms, statements, and other documents required to be filed or furnished to the SEC (“Additional HL SEC Reports”), which Additional SEC Reports shall be prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act, as the case may be, and the rules and regulations thereunder, and which will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. In addition, except as required or permitted by the terms of this Agreement, the PIPE Subscription Agreements, or as set forth in Schedule 7.1 hereto, without the prior written consent of HL (in the case of a request by the Company) or the Company (in the case of a request by HL), which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, during the Interim Period, HL, the Company, the Company’s Subsidiaries, Parent, and Merger Sub shall not do any of the following:
(a) Waive any share repurchase rights, accelerate, amend or (except as specifically provided for herein) change the period of exercisability of options or restricted stock, or reprice options granted under any employee, consultant, director or other stock plans or authorize cash payments in exchange for any options granted under any of such plans;
(b) Grant any material severance or termination pay to (i) any officer or (ii) any employee, except pursuant to applicable Legal Requirements, written agreements outstanding, or Plans or policies existing on the date hereof and as previously or concurrently disclosed or made available to the other Party, or in the case of the Company and its Subsidiaries except in connection with the promotion, hiring or firing of any employee in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(c) Abandon, allow to lapse, transfer, sell, assign, or license to any Person or otherwise extend, amend or modify any material rights to any Intellectual Property or enter into grants to transfer or license to any Person future patent rights, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices;
(d) Declare, set aside or pay any dividends on or make any other distributions (whether in cash, stock, equity securities or property) in respect of any capital stock (other than any such dividend or distribution by a Subsidiary of the Company to the Company or another such Subsidiary), or split, combine or reclassify any capital stock or issue or authorize the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for any capital stock;
(e) Purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any shares of capital stock or other equity securities or ownership interests, except with respect to Converting Shareholders;
(f) Issue, deliver, sell, authorize, pledge or otherwise encumber, or agree to any of the foregoing with respect to, any shares of capital stock or other equity securities or ownership interests or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or other equity securities or ownership interests, or subscriptions, rights, warrants or options to acquire any shares of capital stock or other equity securities or ownership interests or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or other equity securities or other ownership interests, or enter into other agreements or commitments of any character obligating it to issue any such shares, equity securities or other ownership interests or convertible or exchangeable securities, except as contemplated by Section 8.2 hereunder;
(g) Amend its Charter Documents in any material respect, except as contemplated by Section 8.2 hereunder;
(h) Acquire or agree to acquire by merging or consolidating with, or by purchasing any equity interest in or a material portion of the assets of, or by any other manner, any business or any corporation, partnership, association, or other business organization or division thereof, or otherwise acquire or agree to acquire outside the ordinary course of business any assets which are material, individually or in the aggregate, to the business of such Party or enter into any joint ventures, strategic partnerships or alliances, or other arrangements that provide for exclusivity of territory or otherwise restrict such Party’s ability to compete or to offer or sell any products or services to other Persons. For purposes of this paragraph, “material” includes the requirement that, as a result of such transaction, financial statements of the acquired, merged, or consolidated entity be included in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus;
(i) Sell, lease, license, encumber or otherwise dispose of any properties or assets, except (A) sales in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, and (B) the sale, lease or disposition of property or assets that are not material, individually or in the aggregate, to the business of such Party (measured with all of its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole);
(j) Except incurrences of indebtedness under the Company’s existing credit facilities (and, in the case of the Company and its Subsidiaries, extensions of credit in the ordinary course with employees and among the Company and its Subsidiaries), incur any indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantee any such indebtedness of another Person or Persons (other than Affiliates), issue or sell any debt securities or options, warrants, calls or other rights to acquire any debt securities, enter into any “keep well” or other agreement to maintain any financial statement condition or enter into any arrangement having the economic effect of any of the foregoing;
(k) Except as contemplated by Section 8.15 hereunder, or as otherwise required by applicable Legal Requirements or pursuant to an existing Plan, policy or Company Contract, (i) adopt or materially amend any Plan (including any Plan that provides for severance), or enter into any employment contract or collective bargaining agreement (other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice), (ii) pay any special bonus or special remuneration to any director or employee, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices, or (iii) materially increase the salaries or wage rates or fringe benefits (including rights to severance or indemnification) of its directors, officers, employees or consultants, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices;
(l) (i) Pay, discharge, settle or satisfy any material claims, liabilities or obligations (absolute, accrued, asserted or unasserted, contingent or otherwise), or litigation (whether or not commenced prior to the date of this Agreement) other than the payment, discharge, settlement or satisfaction of any claims, liabilities or obligations in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices or in accordance with their terms, or recognized or disclosed in the most recent Company Financial Statements or in the HL SEC Reports, as applicable, or incurred since the date of such financial statements, (ii) settle any material litigation where the consideration given by the Party is other than monetary or to which an officer, director or employee of such Person is a party in his or her capacity as such, or (iii) waive the benefits of, agree to modify in any material manner, terminate, release any Person from or knowingly fail to enforce any material confidentiality or similar agreement to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or of which the Company any of its Subsidiaries is a beneficiary (other than with customers and other counterparties in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices) or to which HL is a party or of which HL is a beneficiary, as applicable;
(m) Except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices, modify in any material respect or terminate (other than in accordance with its terms) any Company Material Contract or HL Contract, as applicable, or waive, delay the exercise of, release or assign any material rights or claims thereunder;
(n) Except as required by law, U.S. GAAP, or IFRS, revalue any of its assets in any material manner or make any material change in accounting methods, principles or practices;
(o) Except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices, incur or enter into any agreement, contract or commitment requiring such Party to pay in excess of $1,000,000 in any 12-month period;
(p) Make or rescind any Tax elections that, individually or in the aggregate, would be reasonably likely to adversely affect the Tax liability or Tax attributes of such Party, settle or compromise any income Tax liability outside the ordinary course of business or, except as required by applicable Legal Requirements, change any method of accounting for Tax purposes or prepare or file any Return in a manner inconsistent with past practice;
(q) Form or establish any subsidiary except in the ordinary course of business consistent with prior practice or as contemplated by this Agreement;
(r) Permit any Person to exercise any of its discretionary rights under any Plan to provide for the automatic acceleration of any outstanding options, the termination of any outstanding repurchase rights or the termination of any cancellation rights issued pursuant to such Plans;
(s) Make capital expenditures in excess of $500,000;
(t) Enter into any material transaction with or distribute or advance any assets or property to any of its officers, directors, partners, shareholders, managers, members or other Affiliates other than (i) the payment of salary and benefits and the advancement of expenses in the ordinary course of business consistent with prior practice or (ii) such distributions or advancements by a Subsidiary of the Company to the Company or another such Subsidiary; or
(u) Agree in writing or otherwise agree or commit to take any of the actions described in Section 7.1(a) through (t) above. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of Sections 7.1(d), (f), and (g) as set forth above, HL hereby consents to the Company’s adoption of its Amended and Restated Articles of Association, the creation of the Company Class A Shares thereunder, and the issuance of an aggregate of 100 Company Class A Shares to certain Company Shareholders, and waives any noncompliance with such Sections. Nothing in this Section 7.1 shall prohibit a Party from taking any action or omitting to take any action as required by this Agreement.
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.
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.
Actions Prior to Closing From the date hereof until the Closing Date, Contributor shall not take any action or fail to take any action the result of which could (1) have a material adverse effect on the Contributed Interests or the Operating Partnership’s ownership thereof, or any Material Adverse Effect on any Contributed Entity or Property after the Closing Date or (2) cause any of the representations and warranties contained in this Section 2.2 to be untrue as of the Closing Date.
Conduct Prior to the Closing Antisense and Biophan covenant and agree that, after the date hereof and prior to the Closing (unless ITI shall otherwise approve in writing, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld):
(a) Antisense will not declare, set aside or pay any dividends or distributions payable in cash, stock or property, in respect of its capital stock;
(b) Antisense will not amend, nor will Biophan cause the amendment of the Antisense Articles of Incorporation or By-Laws;
(c) Antisense and Biophan will comply with all requirements which federal or state law may impose on it with respect to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, and will promptly cooperate with and furnish written information to ITI in connection with any such requirements imposed upon the parties hereto in connection therewith;
(d) Except within the regular course of business, Antisense will not incur any indebtedness for money borrowed, issue or sell any debt securities, incur or suffer to be incurred any liability or obligation of any nature whatsoever, cause or permit any lien, encumbrance or security interest to be created or arise on or in any of its properties or assets, acquire or dispose of fixed assets, change employment terms, enter into any material or long-term contract, guarantee obligations of any third party, settle or discharge any balance sheet receivable for less than its stated amount or enter into any other transaction, except to comply with the terms of this Agreement; and
(e) Antisense and Biophan shall grant to ITI and its counsel, accountants and other representatives, full access during normal business hours during the period prior to the Closing to all Antisense's respective properties, books, contracts, commitments and records and, during such period, furnish promptly to ITI and such representatives all information relating to Antisense as ITI may reasonably request, and shall extend to ITI the opportunity to meet with Antisense's accountants and attorneys to discuss the financial condition of Antisense.
COVENANTS PRIOR TO CLOSING 37 7.1 Access and Cooperation; Due Diligence...........................37 7.2 Conduct of Business Pending Closing.............................38 7.3
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 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 Prior to the Effective Time 5.1 Conduct of Business by Company, Indirect Parent, Second Intermediary -------------------------------------------------------------------- Parent, First Intermediary Parent and Parent. During the period from the date -------------------------------------------- of this Agreement and continuing until the earlier of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to its terms or the Effective Time, Indirect Parent, Second Intermediary Parent, First Intermediary Parent and Parent shall cause the Company to and the Company shall, except to the extent that Purchaser shall otherwise consent in writing (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), carry on its business, in the usual, regular and ordinary course, in substantially the same manner as heretofore conducted and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, pay its debts and taxes when due subject to good faith disputes over such debts or taxes, pay or perform other material obligations when due, and use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with past practices and policies to (i) preserve intact its present business organization, (ii) keep available the services of its present officers and employees and (iii) preserve its relationships with customers, suppliers, distributors, licensors, licensees, and others with which it has significant business dealings. In addition, except as permitted by the terms of this Agreement, and the transactions contemplated hereby, without the prior written consent of Purchaser, during the period from the date of this Agreement and continuing until the earlier of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to its terms or the Effective Time, neither Indirect Parent, Second Intermediary Parent, First Intermediary Parent nor Parent shall permit the Company to, and Company shall not do any of the following:
(a) With respect to Indirect Parent, Second Intermediary Parent, First Intermediary Parent or Parent, waive any stock repurchase rights, accelerate, amend or change the period of exercisability of options or restricted stock, or reprice options granted under any employee, consultant, director or other stock plans or authorize cash payments in exchange for any options granted under any of such plans to any employee, consultant or director of the Company, except as provided for under this Agreement or the attached exhibits;
(b) Grant any severance or termination pay to any officer or employee except pursuant to written agreements outstanding, or policies existing, on the date hereof and as previously disclosed in writing or made available to Purchaser, or adopt any new severance plan, or amend or modify or alter in any manner any severance plan, agreement or arrangement existing on the date hereof or hire any new employees or consultants;
(c) Transfer or license to any person or entity or otherwise extend, amend or modify any rights to the Company Intellectual Property, or enter into grants to transfer or license to any person future patent rights;
(d) Declare, set aside or pay any dividends on or make any other distributions (whether in cash, stock, equity securities or property) in respect of any capital stock or split, combine or reclassify any capital stock or issue or authorize the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for any capital stock;
(e) Purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any shares of capital stock of Company;
(f) Issue, deliver, sell, authorize, pledge or otherwise encumber or propose any of the foregoing with respect to any shares of capital stock, or enter into other agreements or commitments of any character obligating it to issue any such shares;
(g) Cause, permit or propose any amendments to the Company Charter Documents;
(h) Acquire or agree to acquire by merging or consolidating with, or by purchasing any equity interest in or a portion of the assets of, or by any other manner, any business or any corporation, partnership, association or other business organization or division thereof, or otherwise acquire or agree to enter into any joint ventures, strategic partnerships or alliances;
(i) Sell, lease, license, encumber or otherwise dispose of any properties or assets except sales of inventory in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(j) Incur any indebtedness for borrowed money or guarantee any such indebtedness of another person, issue or sell any debt securities or options, warrants, calls or other rights to acquire any debt securities of Company, enter into any "keep well" or other agreement to maintain any financial statement condition or enter into any arrangement having the economic effect of any of the foregoing other than in connection with the financing of ordinary course trade payables by Indirect Parent, Second Intermediary Parent, First Intermediary Parent or Parent;
(k) Adopt or amend any material employee policy or arrangement, or enter into any employment contract or collective bargaining agreement (other than offer letters and letter agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice with employees who are terminable "at will"), pay any special bonus or special remuneration to any director or employee, or, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, increase the salaries or wage rates or fringe benefits (including rights to severance or indemnification) of its directors, officers, employees or consultants;
(i) pay, discharge, settle or satisfy any claims, liabilities or obligations (absolute, accrued, asserted or unasserted, contingent or otherwise), or litigation (whether or not commenced prior to the date of this Agreement) other than the payment, discharge, settlement or satisfaction, in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or in accordance with their terms, or liabilities recognized or disclosed in the most recent consolidated financial statements (or the notes thereto) of Company as provided to the Purchasers or incurred since the date of such financial statements, or (ii) waive the benefits of, agree to modify in any manner, terminate, release any person from or knowingly fail to enforce any confidentiality or similar agreement to which Company is a party or of which Company is a beneficiary;
(m) Make any individual or series of related payments outside of the ordinary course of business in excess of $10,000;
(n) Except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, modify, amend or terminate any Material Contract or agreement to which Company is a party or waive, delay the exercise of, release or assign any material rights or claims thereunder;
(o) Enter into, renew or materially modify any contracts, agreements, or obligations relating to the distribution, sale, license or marketing by third parties of Company's products or products licensed by Company other than renewals of existing nonexclusive contracts, agreements or obligations;
(p) Except as required by GAAP, revalue any of its assets or make any change in accounting methods, principles or practices;
(q) Incur or enter into any agreement, contract or commitment requiring Company to pay in excess of $10,000, excluding routine purchase orders consistent with past practices;
(r) Settle any material litigation;
(s) Make or change any election in respect of Taxes, adopt or change any accounting method in respect of Taxes, file any Tax Returns or any amendment to any Tax Return other than in a manner consistent with prior practices, enter into any closing agreement, settle any claim or assessment in respects of Taxes, or consent to any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to any claim or assessment in respect of Taxes;
(t) Agree in writing or otherwise to take any of the actions described in Section 5.1(a) through (s) above.
Prior to Closing As used herein, “Compensation” shall mean the direct salaries and wages and other aggregate compensation paid to or accrued for the benefit of any employee together with all fringe benefits payable to or accrued for the benefit of such employee as to which the employer is responsible, including, without limitation, employer contributions under F.I.C.A., fringe benefits, annual bonuses, unemployment compensation or other employment taxes, pension fund contributions, vacation pay, sick leave, worker’s compensation, group life and accidental and health premiums, and pension or profit sharing, retirement, disability and other similar benefits. Purchaser shall be responsible for and shall pay (i) all Compensation with respect to the operations of the Property on and after the date of Closing and (ii) all Compensation which is accrued but not payable as of the Closing and for which Purchaser is credited at Closing. For these purposes, vacation benefits, sick leave, annual bonuses and related payroll expenses of Hotel Employees (the “Supplemental Employee Expenses”) as of the Closing shall be treated as accrued and subject to proration solely (A) if vested and not subject to expiration if not used or termination in the event of the employee’s departure or (B) to the extent of 70% of any such accrued Supplemental Employee Expenses subject to later vesting or expiration if not used or termination in the event of the employee’s departure. With respect to accrued bonuses for 2006, Seller’s pro-rated share at Closing shall be based upon Operator’s reasonable estimate of the bonuses to be paid to such Hotel Employees for 2006. No later than March 31, 2007, or earlier upon the mutual agreement of the parties, the parties shall adjust Seller’s pro-rated share of the bonuses paid to the Hotel Employees for 2006 based upon the actual amounts of such bonuses (as shown by such supporting documentation as may be reasonably required by either party), and Purchaser or Seller, as the case may be, shall make such additional payment or refund as shall be required by such adjustment. Purchaser acknowledges that the New HMA shall initially afford the Hotel Employees continuation of all rights under Operator’s existing Section 401(k) plans and health care plans, as previously afforded under the Current HMA.
