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 the Business Pending the Closing (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Agreement or with the prior written consent of Newco, between the date hereof and the Closing, the Company shall:
(i) conduct the Business only in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(ii) use its commercially reasonable efforts to (A) preserve the present business operations, organization (including officers and Employees) and goodwill of the Company and (B) preserve the present relationships with Persons having business dealings with the Company (including customers and suppliers);
(iii) maintain (A) all of the assets and properties of, or used by, the Company consistent with past practice, and (B) insurance upon all of the assets and properties of the Company in such amounts and of such kinds comparable to that in effect on the date of this Agreement;
(iv) (A) maintain the books, accounts and records of the Company in the Ordinary Course of Business, (B) continue to collect accounts receivable and pay accounts payable and other Liabilities set forth on the Balance Sheet in the Ordinary Course of Business utilizing normal procedures and without discounting or accelerating payment of such accounts or Liabilities utilizing all available cash and any available line of credit, and (C) comply with all contractual and other obligations of the Company;
(v) comply with the capital expenditure plan of the Company for 2009 set forth on Company Disclosure Schedule 6.2(a)(v), including making such capital expenditures in the amounts and at the times set forth in such plan;
(vi) comply in all material respects with all applicable Laws;
(vii) take steps to renew all Permits in a timely manner prior to their lapse; and
(viii) pay all maintenance and similar fees and take all other appropriate actions as necessary to prevent the abandonment, loss or impairment of all Intellectual Property of the Company.
(b) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, except as otherwise expressly provided by this Agreement or with the prior written consent of Newco, the Company shall not:
(i) (A) increase the salary or other compensation of any director or Employee of the Company except for normal year-end increases in the Ordinary Course of Business, (B) grant any bonus, benefit or other direct or indirect compensation to any Employee or director, (C) increase the coverage or benefits available under any (or create any new) severance pay, termination pay, vacation pay, company awards, salary continuation for disability, sick leave, deferred compensation, bonus or other incentive compensation, insurance, pension or other employee benefit plan or arrangement made to, for, or with any of the directors, officers, Employees, agents or representatives of the Company or otherwise modify or amend or terminate any such plan or arrangement (D) enter into any employment, deferred compensation, stay bonus, severance, special pay, consulting, non-competition or similar agreement or arrangement with any directors or officers of the Company (or amend any such agreement) to which the Company is a party; or (E) pay or make any dividend or distribution of cash or other property with respect to the units or other equity interests of the Company;
(ii) (A) create, incur, assume, guarantee, endorse or otherwise become liable or responsible with respect to (whether directly, contingently or otherwise) any Indebtedness except (u) the Indebtedness related to the Permitted Exceptions, (x) the Indebtedness reflected in the Balance Sheet, (y) the Indebtedness incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business since the Balance Sheet Date, or (z) the Indebtedness set forth on Company Disclosure Schedule 4.5; (B) except in the Ordinary Course of Business, pay, prepay, accelerate, discharge, purchase, repurchase or satisfy any Indebtedness issued or guaranteed by the Company; (C) materially modify the terms of any Indebtedness or other Liability; or (D) make any loans, advances of capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person;
(iii) subject to any Lien or otherwise encumber or, except for Permitted Exceptions, permit, allow or suffer to be subjected to any Lien or otherwise encumbered, any of the Purchased Assets;
(iv) acquire any material properties or assets or sell, assign, license, transfer, convey, lease or otherwise dispose of any of the Purchased Assets (except for fair consideration in the Ordinary Course of Business) of the Company;
(v) except as provided in Section 6.6 hereof, enter into or agree to enter into any merger or consolidation with any Person, and not engage in any new business or invest in, make a loan, advance or capital contribution to, or otherwise acquire the securities of any Person;
(vi) cancel or compromise any debt or claim, or waive or release any material right of the Company except in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(vii) enter into, modify or terminate any labor or collective bargaining agreement or, through negotiation or otherwise, make any commitment or incur any Liability to any labor organization with respect to any Employee;
(viii) introduce any material change with respect to the operation of the Business, including any material change in the types, nature, composition or quality of products or services, or, other than in the Ordinary Course of Business, make any change in product specifications or prices or terms of distributions of such products;
(ix) enter into any transaction or enter into, modify or renew any Contract which by reason of its size or otherwise is not in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(x) enter into any Contract, understanding or commitment that restrains, restricts, limits or impedes the ability of the Business, or the ability of Newco or Purchaser, to compete with or conduct any business or line of business in any geographic area or solicit the employment of any persons;
(xi) terminate, amend, restate, supplement or waive any rights under any (A) Material Contract, Real Property Lease, Personal Property Lease or Intellectual Property License, other than in the Ordinary Course of Business or (B) Permit;
(xii) settle or compromise any pending or threatened Legal Proceeding or any claim or claims for, or that would result in a loss of revenue of, an amount that could, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to be greater than $50,000;
(xiii) change or modify its credit, collection or payment policies, procedures or practices, including acceleration of collections or receivables (whether or not past due) or fail to pay or delay payment of payables or other liabilities;
(xiv) take any action which would adversely affect the ability of the parties to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(xv) amend the operating agreement of the Company;
(xvi) agree to materially increase Liabilities from the amounts set forth on the Balance Sheet except in the Ordinary Course of Business under loan or credit agreements or arrangements up to the maximum amounts and other terms as in effect on the date of this Agreement; or
(xvii) agree to do anything (A) prohibited by this Section 6.2, (B) that would make any of the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement or any of the Company Documents untrue or incorrect in any material respect or could result in any of the conditions to the Closing not being satisfied or (C) that could be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company.
The Business The parties acknowledge that the Company is engaged in the development, marketing and sale of certain proprietary technologies, processes and related products in the areas of chemical detection, technical processes, and technical/business services, and that the Company may also from time to time become or may intend to become engaged in other business endeavors (individually and collectively, the "BUSINESS"). The Company shall be deemed to intend to become engaged in a business endeavor if it has devoted or expended any significant resources, either financial or human resources, towards the proposed endeavor, either in planning or implementing the undertaking of such planned endeavor.
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 Pending Closing Between the date of this Agreement and the Funding and Consummation Date, the Company will, except as set forth on Schedule 7.2:
(i) carry on its business in substantially the same manner as it has heretofore and not introduce any material new method of management, operation or accounting;
(ii) use its reasonable efforts to maintain its properties and facilities, including those held under leases, in as good working order and condition as at present, ordinary wear and tear excepted;
(iii) perform in all material respects all of its obligations under agreements relating to or affecting its respective assets, properties or rights;
(iv) use its reasonable efforts to keep in full force and effect present insurance policies or other comparable insurance coverage;
(v) use its reasonable efforts to maintain and preserve its business organization intact, retain its respective present key employees and maintain its relationships with suppliers, customers and others having business relations with the Company;
(vi) use its reasonable efforts to maintain compliance with all Licenses, laws, rules and regulations, consent orders, and all other orders of applicable courts, regulatory agencies and similar governmental authorities applicable to it;
(vii) maintain present debt and lease instruments and not enter into new or amended debt or lease instruments without the knowledge and consent of TCI (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld), provided that debt and/or lease instruments may be replaced without the consent of TCI if such replacement instruments are on terms at least as favorable to the Company as the instruments being replaced; and
(viii) maintain or reduce present salaries and commission levels for all officers, directors, employees and agents except for ordinary and customary bonus and salary increases for employees in accordance with past practices.
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 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’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 Business Prior to Closing Between the date of the execution of this Agreement and the Closing, the Borrower and the Guarantor Parties: (a) shall not enter into any agreements of any nature relating to or affecting the Loan Collateral or the business of the Borrower or Guarantor, including any agreement which may restrict the Borrower or Guarantor, as applicable, from operating its business as currently conducted unless the written consent of the Lender shall first be obtained, (b) shall not convey or remove from any location where now located, any of the Loan Collateral to be conveyed under the Conveyance Documents, (c) shall not cancel any insurance policies with respect to the Loan Collateral and shall preserve and maintain its permits and licenses including any cannabis related licenses, (d) shall use commercially reasonable efforts to continue to operate the Cannabis Business and the Loan Collateral in the ordinary course consistent with past practice, subject to the availability of sufficient working capital and the Borrower and Guarantor’s reasonable business judgment, (e) shall use commercially reasonable efforts to preserve the rights, franchises, goodwill and relationships of its employees, customers, lenders, suppliers, regulators and others having business relationships with the Borrower and Guarantor and shall maintain the Loan Collateral in a state of repair and condition that is consistent with the requirements and normal conduct of the business of the Borrower and Guarantor, subject to the availability of sufficient working capital and the Borrower and Guarantor’s reasonable business judgment, (f) shall maintain its books and records in accordance with past practice, (g) shall not incur any Indebtedness other than Permitted Indebtedness or authorize or commit to the same, (h) shall not lend money to or guarantee the debts of any other Person or authorize or commit to the same, (i) shall not issue or amend any securities or authorize or commit to the same, except as contemplated by the Call Option Agreement, (j) shall not take any action that would materially delay, prohibit or impede the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Call Option Agreement, (k) shall fully cooperate with any reasonable requests of appraisers retained by the Lender or its counsel, (l) shall comply in all material respects with applicable laws, (m) shall not lend money to, or guarantee the debts of, any other Person, (n) shall not settle or commence any claim, action, cause of action, demand, lawsuit, arbitration, inquiry, audit, notice of violation, proceeding, litigation, citation, summons, subpoena or investigation of any nature, civil, criminal, administrative, regulatory or otherwise, whether at law or in equity commenced to which the Borrower or Guarantor is a party, (o) shall not amend its constating documents, (p) shall not effect any split, consolidation, reclassification, redemption or repurchase of its securities, (q) shall not reorganize, amalgamate or merge, (r) shall not undertake any voluntary dissolution, liquidation or winding-up or any other disposition of its assets for the purpose of winding up, (s) shall not declare, set aside or pay any dividend or other disposition of any kind or nature (whether in cash, stock or property or any combination thereof) in respect of any securities, (t) shall not make any bonus or profit sharing distribution or similar payment of any kind, (u) except as required by applicable law, shall not agree to or make any severance, change of control or termination payment or increase the compensation of any employee, officer, director or consultant, (v) shall not terminate, dismiss, demote or otherwise decrease the job requirement of any officer, (w) shall not appoint any officer, (x) shall complete on a timely basis all requisite filings with Governmental Authorities or as may otherwise be required under applicable law, (y) shall allow a representative of the Lender to attend and observe any meeting of the board of directors of the Borrower or Guarantor, (z) shall not make or enter into any commitment or agreement in contravention of the foregoing and (aa) shall use best efforts to satisfy the conditions to Closing set forth in Section 3 of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the Existing Events of Default, the Borrower and Guarantor Parties shall comply with all covenants contained in the Loan Agreement and the other Loan Documents subject to the continuation of the Existing Events of Default; provided, that the Lender hereby consents to the Transfer of the Loan Collateral to the Designee and such Transfer shall not constitute a Default or Event of Default under the Loan Documents. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent the Modesto Planning Department informs the Lender that any covenant contained in Section 4 of this Agreement constitutes “control” requiring thirty (30) day prior written consent from the Modesto Planning Department, the parties hereto agree that (i) upon written notice from the Lender such covenant shall be deemed to be of no force and effect until such thirty (30) day prior written notice from the Modesto Planning Department has been obtained, (ii) to the extent requested by the Lender in writing, the parties shall agree to amend this Agreement to remove or modify such covenant only to the extent required so as to not trigger such thirty (30) day prior written consent requirement, and (iii) solely to the extent the Lender elects in its sole discretion by written notice to the other parties, this Agreement shall be deemed terminated.
Conduct of Business by the Company Pending the Closing The Company covenants and agrees that, between the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time, except as set forth in Section 6.1 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or as permitted by any other provision of this Agreement, unless Parent will otherwise agree in writing (which agreement will not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), the Company will, and will cause each Company Subsidiary to, conduct its operations in the ordinary course of business and use commercially reasonable efforts to preserve substantially intact its business organization and maintain existing relations and goodwill with customers, suppliers and employees in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice. Without limiting the foregoing, and as an extension thereof, except as set forth in Section 6.1 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or as permitted by any other provision of this Agreement, the Company will not (unless required by applicable Law), and will not permit any Company Subsidiary to, between the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time, directly or indirectly, do, or agree to do, any of the following without the prior written consent of Parent (which consent will not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned):
(a) amend or otherwise change its certificate of incorporation or bylaws or equivalent organizational documents;
(b) issue, sell, pledge, dispose of, grant, transfer or encumber, or authorize the issuance, sale, pledge, disposition, grant, transfer, or encumbrance of, any shares of capital stock of, or other Equity Interests in, the Company or any Company Subsidiary of any class, or securities convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, any shares of such capital stock or other Equity Interests, or any options, warrants or other rights of any kind to acquire any shares of such capital stock or other Equity Interests or such convertible or exchangeable securities, or any other ownership interest (including, without limitation, any such interest represented by Contract right), of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, other than the issuance of Shares (i) upon the vesting of Company RSUs or Company Restricted Shares, (ii) the exercise of Company Options outstanding as of the date hereof in accordance with their terms or (iii) in connection with the Top-Up Option;
(c) sell, pledge, dispose of, let lapse, abandon, assign, transfer, lease, license, guarantee or encumber any material property or assets of the Company or any Company Subsidiary (including any Registered Intellectual Property and unregistered Owned Intellectual Property), except (i) to the extent required pursuant to Contracts in effect prior to the date hereof, (ii) pursuant to the sale, purchase or licensing of inventory, raw materials, equipment, goods, or other supplies in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or (iii) for non-exclusive licenses in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice with a fair market value not in excess of $2,500,000 in the aggregate;
(d) declare, set aside, make or pay any dividend or other distribution (whether payable in cash, stock, property or a combination thereof) with respect to any of its capital stock (other than dividends paid by a wholly-owned Company Subsidiary to the Company or another wholly-owned Company Subsidiary) or enter into any agreement with respect to the voting or registration of its capital stock;
(e) reclassify, combine, split, subdivide or amend the terms of, or redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any of its capital stock, other Equity Interests or any other securities, or authorize or propose the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for shares of its capital stock or other securities, in each case other than in connection with the Top-Up Option;
(f) merge or consolidate the Company or any Company Subsidiary with any Person or adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation or resolutions providing for a complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, or otherwise enter into any agreements imposing material restrictions on the assets, operations or businesses of the Company or any Company Subsidiary;
(g) enter into a new line of business (other than currently-projected extensions of existing product lines);
(h) acquire (including, without limitation, by merger, consolidation, or acquisition of stock or assets) any interest in any Person or any division thereof or any assets, other than acquisitions of assets (including, without limitation, the purchase of inventory, raw materials, equipment, goods, or other supplies) in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and any other acquisitions for consideration that is individually not in excess of $2,500,000, or in the aggregate not in excess of $5,000,000;
(i) incur any indebtedness for borrowed money or issue any debt securities or assume, guarantee or endorse, or otherwise become responsible for the obligations of any Person (other than a wholly-owned Company Subsidiary) for borrowed money;
(j) make any loans, advances, guarantees or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person (other than any wholly-owned Company Subsidiary) in excess of $2,500,000 in the aggregate;
(k) terminate, cancel or amend any Company Material Contract, or cancel, modify or waive any rights thereunder, or enter into or amend any Contract that, if existing on the date hereof, would be a Company Material Contract;
(l) make or authorize any capital expenditure in excess of the Company’s capital expenditure budget as disclosed to Parent prior to the date hereof, other than capital expenditures that are not, in the aggregate, in excess of $2,500,000;
(m) except to the extent required by (i) applicable Law, (ii) the existing terms of any Company Benefit Plan, (iii) contractual commitments or corporate policies with respect to severance or termination pay as in existence on the date hereof and listed on Section 6.1(m) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or (iv) as otherwise provided on Section 6.1(m) of the Company Disclosure Schedule: (A) increase in any manner the compensation, bonus or benefits payable or to become payable to its Service Providers (except for increases in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice in base salaries or base wages of employees of the Company or any Company Subsidiary); (B) grant any additional rights to severance or termination pay to, or enter into any severance agreement with, any Service Provider, or establish, adopt, enter into or amend any Company Benefit Plan; (C) grant any new awards under any Company Benefit Plan, (D) amend or modify any outstanding award under any Company Benefit Plan, (E) take any action to amend, waive or accelerate the vesting criteria or vesting requirements of payment of any compensation or benefit under any Company Benefit Plan or remove any existing restrictions in any Company Benefit Plans or awards made thereunder, (F) take any action to accelerate the payment, or to fund or in any other way secure the payment, of compensation or benefits under any Company Benefit Plan, to the extent not already provided in any such Company Benefit Plan or (G) change any actuarial or other assumptions used to calculate funding obligations with respect to any Company Benefit Plan or to change the manner in which contributions to such plans are made or the basis on which such contributions are determined, except as may be required by GAAP or applicable laws;
(n) forgive any loans to Service Providers or any of their respective affiliates;
(o) make any material change in accounting policies, practices, principles, methods or procedures, other than as required by GAAP or by a Governmental Entity;
(p) encourage customers to make payments earlier than would otherwise reasonably be expected (based on past practice) to be made to the Company or the Company Subsidiaries, or agree to payment terms or conditions with suppliers that are not consistent in all material respects with past practice;
(q) compromise, settle or agree to settle any Proceeding (including any Proceeding relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby) other than compromises, settlements or agreements in the ordinary course of business that involve only the payment of monetary damages not in excess of $2,500,000 individually or $5,000,000 in the aggregate, in any case without the imposition of equitable relief on, or the admission of wrongdoing by, the Company or any Company Subsidiary;
(r) (i) make, change, or rescind any material Tax election, (ii) file any material amended Tax Return of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries, (iii) or adopt or change any material method or period of Tax accounting, (iv) settle or compromise any material claim relating to Taxes; (v) surrender any material claim for a refund of Taxes; (vi) enter into any “closing agreement” as described in Section 7121 of the Code with respect to material Taxes; or (vii) consent to any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to any material Tax claim or assessment (other than pursuant to extensions of time to file Tax Returns obtained in the ordinary course of business);
(s) write up, write down or write off the book value of any assets, except for depreciation and amortization and normal valuation adjustments to accounts receivable and inventory in accordance with GAAP consistently applied;
(t) pre-pay any long-term debt; or
(u) authorize or enter into any Contract or otherwise make any commitment, in each case to do any of the foregoing in clauses (a) through (t).
