Covenants regarding Party C Party B (as a shareholder of Party C) and Party C hereby covenant as follows:
2.1.1 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not in any manner supplement, change or amend the articles of association of Party C, increase or decrease its registered capital, or change its structure of registered capital in other manners;
2.1.2 They shall maintain Party C’s corporate existence in accordance with good financial and business standards and practices, obtain and maintain all necessary government licenses and permits by prudently and effectively operating its business and handling its affairs;
2.1.3 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not at any time following the date hereof, sell, transfer, mortgage or dispose of in any manner any assets of Party C or legal or beneficial interest in the material business or revenues of Party C, or allow the encumbrance thereon of any security interest;
2.1.4 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not incur, inherit, guarantee or suffer the existence of any debt, except for payables incurred in the ordinary course of business other than through loans;
2.1.5 They shall always operate all of Party C’s businesses in the ordinary course of business to maintain the asset value of Party C and refrain from any action/omission that may affect Party C’s operating status and asset value;
2.1.6 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to execute any major contract, except the contracts in the ordinary course of business (for purpose of this subsection, a contract with a price exceeding RMB100,000 shall be deemed a major contract);
2.1.7 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause Party C to provide any person with any loan or credit;
2.1.8 They shall provide Party A with information on Party C’s business operations and financial condition at Party A’s request;
2.1.9 If requested by Party A, they shall procure and maintain insurance in respect of Party C’s assets and business from an insurance carrier acceptable to Party A, at an amount and type of coverage typical for companies that operate similar businesses;
2.1.10 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall not cause or permit Party C to merge, consolidate with, acquire or invest in any person;
2.1.11 They shall immediately notify Party A of the occurrence or possible occurrence of any litigation, arbitration or administrative proceedings relating to Party C’s assets, business or revenue;
2.1.12 To maintain the ownership by Party C of all of its assets, they shall execute all necessary or appropriate documents, take all necessary or appropriate actions, file all necessary or appropriate complaints, and raise necessary or appropriate defenses against all claims;
2.1.13 Without the prior written consent of Party A, they shall ensure that Party C shall not in any manner distribute dividends to its shareholders, provided that upon Party A’s written request, Party C shall immediately distribute all distributable profits to its shareholders;
2.1.14 At the request of Party A, they shall appoint any person designated by Party A as the director or executive director of Party C.
2.1.15 Without Party A’s prior written consent, they shall not engage in any business in competition with Party A or its affiliates; and
2.1.16 Unless otherwise required by PRC law, Party C shall not be dissolved or liquated without prior written consent by Party A.
Confidentiality and Non-Competitions To the Company’s knowledge, no director, officer, key employee or consultant of the Company is subject to any confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-competition agreement or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or prior employer that could reasonably be expected to materially affect his ability to be and act in his respective capacity of the Company or be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.
Non-Competition a. Executive acknowledges and recognizes the highly competitive nature of the businesses of the Company and its affiliates and accordingly agrees as follows:
(1) During the Employment Term and for a period of nine months following the date Executive ceases to be employed by the Company for any reason (the “Restricted Period”), Executive will not, whether on Executive’s own behalf or on behalf of or in conjunction with any person, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation or other business organization, entity or enterprise whatsoever (“Person”), directly or indirectly solicit or assist in soliciting in competition with the Company, the business of any customer of the Company or prospective customer of the Company:
(i) with whom Executive had personal contact or dealings on behalf of the Company during the one year period preceding Executive’s termination of employment;
(ii) with whom employees reporting to Executive have had personal contact or dealings on behalf of the Company during the one year immediately preceding Executive’s termination of employment; or
(iii) for whom Executive had direct or indirect responsibility during the one year immediately preceding Executive’s termination of employment.
(2) During the Restricted Period, Executive will not directly or indirectly:
(i) engage in any coal-related business that competes with the business of the Company or its affiliates (including, without limitation, businesses which the Company or its affiliates have specific plans to conduct in the future and as to which Executive is aware of such planning) in the United States (a “Competitive Business”);
(ii) enter the employ of, or render any services to, any Person (or any division or controlled or controlling affiliate of any Person) who or which engages in a Competitive Business;
(iii) acquire a financial interest in, or otherwise become actively involved with, any Competitive Business, directly or indirectly, as an individual, partner, shareholder, officer, director, principal, agent, trustee or consultant;
(iv) interfere with, or attempt to interfere with, business relationships (whether formed before, on or after the date of this Agreement) between the Company or any of its affiliates and customers, clients, suppliers partners, members or investors of the Company or its affiliates, or
(v) disparage the Company or any of its stockholders, directors, officers, employees or agents.
(3) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, Executive may, directly or indirectly own, solely as an investment, securities of any Person engaged in the business of the Company or its affiliates which are publicly traded on a national or regional stock exchange or on the over-the-counter market if Executive (i) is not a controlling person of, or a member of a group which controls, such person and (ii) does not, directly or indirectly, own 5% or more of any class of securities of such Person.
(4) During the Employment Term and, for a period of two years following the date Executive ceases to be employed by the Company, Executive will not, whether on Executive’s own behalf or on behalf of or in conjunction with any Person, directly or indirectly:
(i) solicit or encourage any employee of the Company or its affiliates to leave the employment of the Company or its affiliates; or
(ii) hire any such employee who was employed by the Company or its affiliates as of the date of Executive’s termination of employment with the Company or who left the employment of the Company or its affiliates coincident with, or within one year prior to or after, the termination of Executive’s employment with the Company.
(5) During the Restricted Period, Executive will not, directly or indirectly, solicit or encourage to cease to work with the Company or its affiliates any consultant then under contract with the Company or its affiliates.
b. It is expressly understood and agreed that although Executive and the Company consider the restrictions contained in this Section 8 to be reasonable, if a final judicial determination is made by a court of competent jurisdiction that the time or territory or any other restriction contained in this Agreement is an unenforceable restriction against Executive, the provisions of this Agreement shall not be rendered void but shall be deemed amended to apply as to such maximum time and territory and to such maximum extent as such court may judicially determine or indicate to be enforceable. Alternatively, if any court of competent jurisdiction finds that any restriction contained in this Agreement is unenforceable, and such restriction cannot be amended so as to make it enforceable, such finding shall not affect the enforceability of any of the other restrictions contained herein.
Confidentiality and Non-Competition To the Company’s knowledge, no director, officer, key employee or consultant of the Company is subject to any confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-competition agreement or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or prior employer that could reasonably be expected to materially affect his ability to be and act in his respective capacity of the Company or be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.
Non-Competition Covenants a. The provisions of this subparagraph a. shall apply both during normal working hours and at all other times including, but not limited to, nights, weekends and vacation time, while Optionee is employed by the Company or any Subsidiary. Optionee shall not directly or indirectly (i) engage in any employment, business, or activity that is competitive with the business of the Company or any Subsidiary, (ii) assist any other person or organization in competing with, or in preparing to engage in competition with, the business of the Company or any Subsidiary. Direct competition shall include, but not be limited to, the design, development, production, promotion or sale of products, software, or services competitive with those of the Company or any Subsidiary. In addition, Optionee shall not directly or indirectly (i) engage in any employment, business, or activity that is competitive with either (A) the proposed business of the Subsidiary that employs Optionee (“Employing Subsidiary”) or (B) any proposed business of any of the Company’s other Subsidiaries (the “Non-Employing Subsidiaries”) of which Optionee has actual knowledge, or (ii) assist any other person or organization in competing with, or in preparing to engage in competition with, either (A) the proposed business of the Employing Subsidiary or (B) any proposed business of any Non-Employing Subsidiary of which Optionee has actual knowledge.
b. The provisions of this subparagraph b. shall apply during Optionee’s employment with the Company or any Subsidiary and for a period of twelve months after Optionee ceases to be employed by the Company or any Subsidiary. Optionee shall not directly or indirectly solicit to conduct any Competitive Business with, or conduct any Competitive Business with, any (i) then-current customer of the Employing Subsidiary or (ii) any person that has been a customer of the Employing Subsidiary within the six months prior to the time of Optionee’s separation from employment. The phrase “Competitive Business” means the line(s) of business(es) conducted by the Employing Subsidiary.
c. The provisions of this subparagraph c. shall apply during Optionee’s employment with the Company or any Subsidiary and for a period of 12 months after Optionee’s separation from employment. Optionee shall not directly or indirectly solicit to hire, or cause to be hired, any employee of the Company or any Subsidiary as an employee or agent of, or consultant to, any business enterprise that Optionee is associated with.
d. Each non-competition covenant of Optionee contained in the preceding provisions of this Paragraph 10 (the “non-competition covenant”) shall be construed as an agreement independent of any other provision of this Agreement and the existence of any claim or cause of action of Optionee against the Company or any Subsidiary, whether predicated on this Agreement or otherwise, shall not constitute a defense to the enforcement by the Company or any Subsidiary of such non-competition covenant.
e. The Company and Optionee have in good faith used their best efforts to make each non-competition covenant contained in the preceding provisions of this Paragraph 10 reasonable in both scope and in duration. It is not anticipated, nor is it intended, by either party to this Agreement that any court or other tribunal having jurisdiction over the matter will find it necessary to reform any non-competition covenant to make it reasonable in both scope and in duration, or otherwise. If any non-competition covenant is deemed by a tribunal having jurisdiction over the matter to be unlawful or unenforceable, such provision will be deemed severable from this Agreement and such provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and be enforceable. Furthermore, in lieu of such unlawful or unenforceable provision, there shall be added automatically as part of this Agreement a provision as similar in terms as may be possible and be enforceable.
f. Optionee is agreeing to the provisions of this Paragraph 10 in consideration of the grant of this Option. The provisions of this Paragraph 10 shall be valid and enforceable by the Company and its Subsidiaries, regardless of whether or not any of this Option granted hereunder actually becomes exercisable, or whether or not Optionee actually exercises any rights under this Option. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between any provision of this Paragraph 10 and any similar or analogous provision of any other agreement (either currently in effect or that may be entered into in the future) between Optionee, on the one hand, and the Company or any Subsidiary, on the other hand, whichever provision is most favorable to the Company or such Subsidiary shall govern.
Non Competition and Confidentiality (a) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary set forth elsewhere herein, the RSUs, the shares of common stock of the Company underlying the RSUs, or any proceeds received by the Key Person upon the sale of shares of common stock of the Company underlying the RSUs shall be forfeited by the Key Person to the Company without any consideration therefore, if the Key Person is not in compliance, at any time during the period commencing on the date of this Agreement and ending nine months following the termination of the Key Person’s affiliation with the Company and/or its subsidiaries, with all applicable provisions of the Plan and with the following conditions:
(i) the Key Person shall not directly or indirectly (1) be employed by, engage or have any interest in any business which is or becomes competitive with the Company or its subsidiaries or is or becomes otherwise prejudicial to or in conflict with the interests of the Company or its subsidiaries, (2) induce any customer of the Company or its subsidiaries to patronize such competitive business or otherwise request or advise any such customer to withdraw, curtail or cancel any of its business with the Company or its subsidiaries, or (3) solicit for employment any person employed by the Company or its subsidiaries; provided, however, that this restriction shall not prevent the Key Person from acquiring and holding up to two percent of the outstanding shares of capital stock of any corporation which is or becomes competitive with the Company or is or becomes otherwise prejudicial to or in conflict with the interests of the Company if such shares are available to the general public on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market; and
(ii) the Key Person shall not use or disclose, except for the sole benefit of or with the written consent of the Company, any confidential information relating to the business, processes or products of the Company.
(b) The Company shall notify in writing the Key Person of any violation by the Key Person of this Section 16. The forfeiture shall be effective as of the date of the occurrence of any of the activities set forth in (a) above. If the shares of common stock of the Company underlying the RSUs have been sold, the Key Person shall promptly pay to the Company the amount of the proceeds from such sale. The Key Person hereby consents to a deduction from any amounts owed by the Company to the Key Person from time to time (including amounts owed as wages or other compensation, fringe benefits or vacation pay) to the extent of the amounts owed by the Key Person to the Company under this Section 16. Whether or not the Company elects to make any set-off in whole or in part, the Key Person agrees to timely pay any amounts due under this Section 16. In addition, the Company shall be entitled to injunctive relief for any violation by the Key Person of subsection (a)(ii) of this Section 16.
Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation Covenants a. The Executive acknowledges that i) he will be employed as a high-level employee in an executive and managerial capacity; ii) his employment with the Company gives him access to confidential and proprietary information concerning the Company; iii) his prior employment with South West gave him access to confidential and proprietary information concerning South West; iv) the agreements and covenants contained in this Section 6 (the "Covenants") are essential to protect the business of the Company and to protect the Company's investment in South West; and v) the Executive is to receive consideration pursuant to this Agreement and the Merger Agreement.
b. During the period of the Executive's employment, the Executive agrees that he will not, on behalf of anyone other than the Company, engage in any managerial, executive, sales, or marketing activities related to any business in which the Company is or becomes engaged during the Executive's employment. The Executive acknowledges the competitive nature of the business and the extensive geographic markets served by the Company. The Executive acknowledges that because of his position with the Company his duties will require him to perform, supervise, or assist in performing work throughout the markets served by the Company. The Executive further acknowledges that because of his position with the Company and the broad scope of his duties, he will be in a position to cause substantial harm to the Company were he to compete in the business of the Company or any other business in which the Company is or becomes engaged during Executive's employment in the Company's markets. Given the broad scope of Executive's duties, he acknowledges that the geographic scope of the covenants in this paragraph shall be limited to the continental United States.
c. Should the Executive (i) be terminated with or without cause following the first 90 days of this Agreement, or (ii) resign from his employment or otherwise terminate this Agreement at any time, he agrees that for a twelve (12) month period following the termination of his employment with the Company, the Executive shall not hire or solicit any employee of the Company employed at the time of his termination, or encourage any such employee to leave such employment.
d. If the Executive commits a material breach of, the Covenants, the Company shall have the rights and remedy (in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other rights and remedies available to the Company at law or in equity) to seek injunctive relief, including permanent injunctions; (ii) to have the Covenants specifically enforced by any court of competent jurisdiction (it being agreed that any breach or threatened breach of the Covenants would cause irreparable injury to the Company and that money damages would not provide an adequate remedy to the Company; and (iii) to cease any severance payments or benefits which the Executive or his eligible dependents may otherwise be due.
e. The Executive agrees that the Covenants are necessary for the reasonable and proper protection of the Company and that the Covenants are reasonable in respect of subject matter, length of time, and geographic scope. The Executive further acknowledges that the Covenants will not unreasonably restrict him from earning a livelihood following the termination of his employment with the Company.
f. If any court of competent jurisdiction determines that the Covenants, or any part thereof, are invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of the Covenants shall not thereby be affected and shall be given full effect, without regard to the invalid portions. In such event, the court shall have the power (and the parties hereto request the court) to reduce or modify the duration or scope, or any other unenforceable aspect of such provision, as the case may be, and, in its reduced or modified form, enforce such provision to the maximum extent permissible.
g. The provisions of this Section 6 so far as they relate to the period after the end of the term of this Agreement shall continue to have effect and shall operate as a separate agreement between the Company and the Executive; provided, however, that the provisions of Section 6 (b) shall terminate.
Confidentiality and Noncompetition (a) Executive acknowledges that, prior to and during the Term of this Agreement, the Company has furnished and will furnish to Executive Confidential Information which could be used by Executive on behalf of a competitor of the Company to the Company's substantial detriment. Moreover, the parties recognize that Executive during the course of his employment with the Company may develop important relationships with customers and others having valuable business relationships with the Company. In view of the foregoing, Executive acknowledges and agrees that the restrictive covenants contained in this Section are reasonably necessary to protect the Company's legitimate business interests and good will.
(b) Executive agrees that he shall protect the Company's Confidential Information and shall not disclose to any Person, or otherwise use, except in connection with his duties performed in accordance with this Agreement, any Confidential Information; provided, however, that Executive may make disclosures required by a valid order or subpoena issued by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction, in which event Executive will promptly notify the Company of such order or subpoena to provide the Company an opportunity to protect its interests. Executive's obligations under this Section 4(b) shall survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement, provided that Executive may after such expiration or termination disclose Confidential Information with the prior written consent of the Chairman of the Board.
(c) Upon the termination or expiration of his employment hereunder, Executive agrees to deliver promptly to the Company all Company files, customer lists, management reports, memoranda, research, Company forms, financial data and reports and other documents supplied to or created by him in connection with his employment hereunder (including all copies of the foregoing) in his possession or control, and all of the Company's equipment and other materials in his possession or control. Executive's obligations under this Section 4(c) shall survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement.
(d) Upon the termination or expiration of his employment under this Agreement, Executive agrees that he shall not enter into or engage in the design, manufacture, marketing or sale of any products similar to those produced or offered by the Company or its affiliates in the area of North America, either as an individual, partner or joint venturer, or as an employee, agent or salesman, or as an officer, director, or shareholder of a corporation for a period of two (2) years from the date of his termination of employment.
(e) Executive acknowledges that if he breaches or threatens to breach this Section 4, his actions may cause irreparable harm and damage to the Company which could not be compensated in damages. Accordingly, if Executive breaches or threatens to breach this Section 4, the Company shall be entitled to seek injunctive relief, in addition to any other rights or remedies of the Company. The existence of any claim or cause of action by Executive against the Company, whether predicated on this Agreement or otherwise, shall not constitute a defense to the enforcement by the Company of Executive's agreement under this Section 4(d). 5.
Confidentiality and Restrictive Covenants (a) The Executive acknowledges that:
(i) the Company (which, for purposes of this Section 8 shall include the Company and each of its subsidiaries and affiliates) operates membership warehouse clubs in Central America, Colombia and the Caribbean (the “Business”);
(ii) the Company is dependent on the efforts of a certain limited number of persons who have developed, or will be responsible for developing the Company’s Business;
(iii) the Company’s Business is international in scope;
(iv) the Business in which the Company is engaged is intensely competitive and that Executive’s employment by the Company will require that he have access to and knowledge of nonpublic confidential information of the Company and the Company’s Business, including, but not limited to, certain/all of the Company’s products, plans for creation, acquisition or disposition of products or publications, strategic and expansion plans, formulas, research results, marketing plans, financial status and plans, budgets, forecasts, profit or loss figures, distributors and distribution strategies, pricing strategies, improvements, sales figures, contracts, agreements, then existing or then prospective suppliers and sources of supply and customer lists, undertakings with or with respect to the Company’s customers or prospective customers, and patient information, product development plans, rules and regulations, personnel information and trade secrets of the Company, all of which are of vital importance to the success of the Company’s business (collectively, “Confidential Information”);
(v) the direct or indirect disclosure of any Confidential Information would place the Company at a serious competitive disadvantage and would do serious damage, financial and otherwise, to the Company’s business;
(vi) by his training, experience and expertise, the Executive’s services to the Company is special and unique;
(vii) the covenants and agreements of the Executive contained in this Section 8 are essential to the business and goodwill of the Company; and
(viii) if the Executive leaves the Company’s employ to work for a competitive business, in any capacity, it would cause the Company irreparable harm.
Non Competition Confidentiality (a) Executive agrees and acknowledges that reasonable limits on his ability to engage in activities which are competitive with the Company are warranted in order to protect the Company's trade secrets and proprietary information and are warranted in order to protect the Company in developing and maintaining its reputation, good will and status in the marketplace. In that regard, during the 60 months following the Termination Date (the "Continuation Period"), the Executive will not directly or indirectly, on Executive's own behalf or in the service of or on behalf of any other individual or entity, either as a proprietor, employee, agent, independent contractor, consultant, director, officer, partner or stockholder (other than a stockholder of a corporation listed on a national securities exchange or whose stock is regularly traded in the over-the-counter market, provided that the Executive at no time owns, directly or indirectly, in excess of 5% of the outstanding stock of any class of any such corporation):
(i) participate or engage in any activities or business developing, manufacturing, marketing or distributing any products or services offered by the Company as of the Effective Time (as defined in the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of February 14, 2000, by and among the Parent, Silversmith Acquisition Corp. and the Company), or any products or services offered by the Company subsequent to the Effective Time and in which the Executive actively participated, recognizing that the Company offers products and services globally ("Competitive Activities"), including, without limitation, (A) selling goods or rendering services of the type (or similar to the type) sold or rendered by the Company, whether by means of electronic, traditional or other form of commerce; (B) soliciting any person or entity that is a current or prospective customer or has been a customer, in each case, of the Company, while the Executive has been employed by the Company (provided that it shall not be deemed a breach of this Agreement if the Executive solicits such customers for goods or services unrelated to the Competitive Activities) and (C) assisting any person in any way to do, or attempt to do, anything prohibited by clauses (A) or (B) above; or
(ii) solicit (other than pursuant to general, non-targeted advertisements) any employee of the Company, who was an employee at or prior to the Effective Time, to leave the employment of the Company.
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Executive may remain a director at those companies for which Executive is a director as of the Effective Time, and may engage in any activities or businesses for which the Company has given permission in writing, which shall not be unreasonably withheld (or delayed) following the expiration of three years from the date the Offer is consummated, provided Executive's engaging in such activities or business would not have a material adverse impact on any of the Company's lines of businesses.
(i) The Executive shall not, without the written consent of the Company, disclose to any other person or use, whether directly or indirectly, any Confidential Information (as hereinafter defined) relating to or used by the Company, whether in written, oral or other form. "Confidential Information" shall mean information about the Company, and its clients and customers that is not disclosed by the Company for financial reporting purposes and that was learned by the Executive in the course of employment with the Company, including (without limitation) any proprietary knowledge, product and service designs, trade secrets, manuals, technical information and plans, contracts, systems, procedures, databases, electronic files, disks and printouts, correspondence, internal reports, personnel files, information about Company employees relating to their education, experience, skills, abilities, compensation and benefits, and inter-personal relationships with suppliers to and customers of Company, sales and advertising material, business plans, marketing plans, financial data (including without limitation the revenues, costs or profits associated with services), customer and industry lists, customer information, customer lists coupled with product or service pricing, customer contracts, supplier contacts and other contact information, pricing policies, supplies, agents, risk analyses, engineering information and computer screen designs and computer input and output specifications, inclusive of any pertinent documentation, techniques, processes, technical information and know how. The Executive acknowledges that such Confidential Information is specialized, unique in nature and of great value to the Company, and that such information gives the Company a competitive advantage. The Executive's obligations under this Section 10(c) shall survive the termination of the Continuation Period.
