Closing Balance Sheet (i) As soon as practicable (and in no event later than 45 days after the Closing) the Company shall prepare and deliver to the Parent and the Shareholders' Representative a proposed actual closing consolidated balance sheet of the Company and its subsidiaries as of the opening of business on the Closing Date (the "Closing Balance Sheet"). The Closing Balance Sheet will be prepared in accordance with GAAP on a basis consistent with the Audited Balance Sheets. Simultaneously with the preparation and delivery of the Closing Balance Sheet, the Company shall prepare and deliver to the Parent and the Shareholders' Representative a statement of "Closing Net Worth," defined herein as total assets, including cash, less total liabilities, excluding the outstanding balance of the Crestar Loan, each as set forth in the Closing Balance Sheet.
(ii) If neither the Parent nor the Shareholders' Representative objects to the determination by the Company of the Closing Net Worth by written notice of objection (the "Notice of Objection") delivered to the other party within 20 days after the receipt of such statement, such Notice of Objection to describe in reasonable detail such party's proposed adjustments to the Closing Net Worth, the proposed Closing Net Worth shall be deemed final and binding.
(iii) If either party delivers a Notice of Objection in respect of the Closing Net Worth, then any dispute shall be resolved in accordance with paragraph (b) of this Section 2.9.
(iv) During the period that the Parent and the Shareholders' Representative are conducting their review of the determination of the Closing Net Worth, and subsequent to issuance of the Closing Balance Sheet, Parent and the Shareholders' Representative and their respective representatives shall have reasonable access during normal business hours to the workpapers, schedules, memoranda, and all of the documents, including accounting records and other information arising after the Closing Date, prepared or reviewed by the Company and its employees related to or arising in connection with the preparation of the Closing Balance Sheet and the determination of the Closing Net Worth.
(v) The Company will make the work papers prepared in connection with its preparation of the Closing Balance Sheet available to each of the Parent and the Shareholders' Representative and their respective representatives at reasonable times and upon reasonable notice subsequent to the completion of their review of the Closing Balance Sheet and at any time during the resolution of any objections raised by any party with respect to the Closing Balance Sheet and the determination of the Closing Net Worth.
Post-Closing Adjustments As soon as practicable after the Closing, but in no event later than one hundred eighty (180) days thereafter, Seller shall prepare and deliver to Purchaser a final settlement statement (the “Final Settlement Statement”) setting forth each adjustment or payment that was not finally determined as of the Closing and showing the calculation of such adjustments and the resulting Final Purchase Price. Seller shall make its workpapers and other information available to Purchaser to review in order to confirm the adjustments shown on Seller’s draft. As soon as practicable after receipt of the Final Settlement Statement, but in no event later than sixty (60) days thereafter, Purchaser shall deliver to Seller a written report containing any changes that Purchaser proposes to make to the Final Settlement Statement. Any failure by Purchaser to deliver to Seller the written report detailing Purchaser’s proposed changes to the Final Settlement Statement within sixty (60) days following Purchaser’s receipt of the Final Settlement Statement shall be deemed an acceptance by Purchaser of the Final Settlement Statement as submitted by Seller. The parties shall agree with respect to the changes proposed by Purchaser, if any, no later than sixty (60) days after Seller receives from Purchaser the written report described above containing Purchaser’s proposed changes. If the Purchaser and the Seller cannot then agree upon the Final Settlement Statement, the determination of the amount of the Final Settlement Statement shall be submitted to a mutually agreed firm of independent public accountants (the “Accounting Firm”). The determination by the Accounting Firm shall be conclusive and binding on the parties hereto and shall be enforceable against any party hereto in any court of competent jurisdiction. Any costs and expenses incurred by the Accounting Firm pursuant to this Section 12.1 shall be borne by the Seller and the Purchaser equally. The date upon which such agreement is reached or upon which the Final Purchase Price is established, shall be herein called the “Final Settlement Date.” In the event
(a) the Final Purchase Price is more than the Estimated Final Purchase Price, Purchaser shall pay to Seller the amount of such difference, or
(b) the Final Purchase Price is less than the Estimated Final Purchase Price, Seller shall pay to Purchaser the amount of such difference, in either event by wire transfer in immediately available funds. Payment by Purchaser or Seller, as the case may be, shall be within five (5) days of the Final Settlement Date.
Closing Date Balance Sheet a. Not later than sixty (60) days after the Closing, Seller shall prepare a balance sheet of the Company as of the close of business on the Closing Date (the "Closing Date Balance Sheet"), in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") applied in a manner consistent with the accounting principles and practices applied in the preparation of the Financial Statements (as defined herein). Seller agrees to use reasonable efforts to cause the Closing Date Balance Sheet to be prepared and delivered to Purchaser within sixty (60) days after the Closing, unless such inability to deliver the Closing Date Balance Sheet is as a result of Purchaser's failure to give Seller reasonable access to the necessary books, records and/or personnel, in which event the requirement to deliver the Closing Date Balance Sheet shall be tolled until Seller is given reasonable access to the necessary documentation or personnel. The date of delivery of the Closing Date Balance Sheet to Purchaser is referred to herein as the "Delivery Date".
b. Without charge by Purchaser, Purchaser shall cause its and the Company's employees to cooperate reasonably and on a timely basis and to assist Seller with the preparation of the Closing Date Balance Sheet, and shall make reasonably available to Seller and its authorized representatives the books, records, and personnel of the Company which Seller reasonably requires in order to prepare and deliver the Closing Date Balance Sheet. Purchaser and Seller shall, throughout the entire period from the date of this Agreement to the Delivery Date, meet and discuss any and all financial and business matters relating to such process and the preparation of the Closing Date Balance Sheet, and Seller shall make available its work papers for confidential inspection and review by Purchaser and Purchaser's accountants; provided, however, that Seller may omit or redact information that contains competitively sensitive information concerning Seller's or any of Seller's Affiliate's unrelated operations, contracts, customers, pricing, costs, or related matters.
Post-Closing Capitalization At, and immediately after, the Closing, the authorized capitalization, and the number of issued and outstanding shares of the capital stock of the Company and the Parent, on a fully-diluted basis, as indicated on a schedule to be delivered by the Parties at or prior to the Closing, shall be acceptable to the Parent in its sole and absolute discretion.
Events Subsequent to Most Recent Fiscal Year End Since the Most Recent Fiscal Year End and except as described herein and in the attached exhibits, there has not been any material adverse change in the business, financial condition, operations, results of operations, or future prospects of Sewcal. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, since that date:
(i) Sewcal has not sold, leased, transferred, or assigned any of its assets, tangible or intangible, other than for a fair consideration in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(ii) Sewcal has note entered into any agreement, contract, lease, or license (or series of related agreements, contracts, leases, and licenses) involving more than $10,000.00 outside the Ordinary Course of Business;
(iii) Sewcal has not accelerated, terminated, modified, or canceled any agreement, contract, lease, or license (or series of related agreements, contracts, leases, and licenses) involving more than $10,000.00 to which Sewcal is a party.
(iv) Sewcal has not imposed any Security Interest upon any of its assets, tangible or intangible;
(v) Sewcal has not made any capital expenditure (or series of related capital expenditures) either involving more than $5,000.00 outside the Ordinary Course of Business;
(vi) Sewcal has not made any capital investment in, any loan to, or any acquisition of the securities or assets of, any other Person (or series of related capital investments, loans, and acquisitions) either involving more than $5,000.00 outside the Ordinary Course of Business;
(vii) Sewcal has not issued any note, bond, or other debt security or created, incurred, assumed, or guaranteed any indebtedness for borrowed money or capitalized lease obligation either involving more than $2,500.00 singly or $5,000.00 in the aggregate.
(viii) Sewcal has not delayed or postponed the payment of accounts payable and other Liabilities outside the Ordinary Course of Business;
(ix) Sewcal has not canceled, compromised, waived, or released any right or claim (or series of related rights and claims) involving more than $2,500.00 outside the Ordinary Course of Business;
(x) Sewcal has not granted any license or sublicense of any rights under or with respect to any Intellectual Property;
(xi) Sewcal has not made or authorized any change in its articles of incorporation or bylaws of any of Sewcal or its Subsidiaries;
(xii) Sewcal has not issued, sold, or otherwise disposed of any of its capital stock, or granted any options, warrants, or other rights to purchase or obtain (including upon conversion, exchange, or exercise) any of its capital stock;
(xiii) Sewcal has not declared, set aside, or paid any dividend or made any distribution with respect to its capital stock (whether in cash or in kind) or redeemed, purchased, or otherwise acquired any of its capital stock;
(xiv) Sewcal has not experienced any damage, destruction, or loss (whether or not covered by insurance) to its property outside the ordinary course of business;
(xv) Sewcal has not made any loan to, or entered into any other transaction with, any of its directors, officers, and employees outside the Ordinary Course of Business;
(xvi) Sewcal has not entered into any collective bargaining agreements, written or oral, or modified the terms of any existing such contract or agreement;
(xvii) Sewcal has not granted any increase in the base compensation of any of its directors, officers, and employees outside the Ordinary Course of Business;
(xviii) Sewcal has not adopted, amended, modified, or terminated any bonus, profit-sharing, incentive, severance, or other plan, contract, or commitment for the benefit of any of its directors, officers, and employees (or taken any such action with respect to any other Employee Benefit Plan);
(xix) Sewcal has not made any other change in employment terms for any of its directors, officers, and employees outside the Ordinary Course of Business;
(xx) Sewcal has not made or pledged to make any charitable or other capital contribution outside the Ordinary Course of Business;
(xxi) (removed)
(xxii) There has not been any other material occurrence, event, incident, action, failure to act, or transaction outside the Ordinary Course of Business involving Sewcal and/or its Subsidiaries; and
Post-Closing Adjustment (a) Within forty-five (45) days after the Closing Date, Seller shall prepare and deliver to Purchaser (i) an unaudited consolidated balance sheet of the Acquired Company and the Subsidiaries dated as of the close of business on the Closing Date (the "Closing Balance Sheet") showing the Net Worth of the Acquired Company and the Subsidiaries at the Closing Date (the "Preliminary Net Worth Amount") and (ii) a schedule (the "Closing Debt Schedule") of the amount of Long Term Debt at the Closing Date (the "Preliminary Debt Amount"). The Closing Balance Sheet shall be prepared in accordance with the definitions and procedures set forth on the Post-Closing Adjustment Schedule. In connection with the preparation of the Closing Balance Sheet and the Closing Debt Schedule, Purchaser shall give, and shall cause the Acquired Company and its representatives to give, to Seller and its representatives full access at all reasonable times to the books, records and other materials of the Acquired Company and the Subsidiaries and the personnel of, and work papers prepared by or for Purchaser, the Acquired Company and the Subsidiaries or their respective accountants, including, without limitation, to such historical financial information relating to the Acquired Company and the Subsidiaries as Seller may reasonably request in order to permit the timely preparation and delivery of the Closing Balance Sheet and the Closing Debt Schedule in accordance with this Section 1.05(a).
(b) Upon receipt of the Closing Balance Sheet and the Closing Debt Schedule, Purchaser shall have thirty (30) days (the "Review Period") to review such Closing Balance Sheet and the Closing Debt Schedule and related computations of the Net Worth of the Acquired Company and the Subsidiaries and the Closing Debt on the Closing Date. If Purchaser has accepted such Closing Balance Sheet Closing Debt Schedule in writing or has not given written notice to Seller setting forth in reasonable detail any objection of Purchaser to such Closing Balance Sheet or Closing Debt Schedule(a "Statement of Objections") prior to the expiration of the Review Period, then such Closing Balance Sheet and Closing Debt Schedule shall be final and binding upon the parties, and the Preliminary Net Worth Amount shall be deemed the Net Worth amount of the Acquired Company and the Subsidiaries as of the Closing Date (the "Final Net Worth Amount") and the Preliminary Debt Amount shall be deemed to be the amount of Long Term Debt as of the Closing Date (the "Final Debt Amount"). In addition, to the extent any portion of the Closing Balance Sheet or of the calculation of the Preliminary Net Worth Amount, of the Closing Debt Schedule or of the calculation of the Preliminary Debt Amount shall not be expressly objected to in the Statement of Objections, such matters shall be deemed to have been accepted and approved by Purchaser and shall be final and binding upon the parties for purposes hereof. In the event that Purchaser delivers a Statement of Objections during the Review Period, Purchaser and Seller shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to agree on the amount of Net Worth of the Acquired Company and the Subsidiaries on the Closing Date within thirty (30) days following the receipt by Seller of the Statement of Objections. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement as to such amounts within such thirty (30) day period, then the matter shall be submitted to Deloitte & Touche LLP, or such other accountant as shall be mutually agreed between the parties hereto (such accountant, the "Settlement Accountant"), who shall determine the matters still in dispute and adjust the Closing Balance Sheet to reflect such determination and establish the Final Net Worth Amount and adjust the Closing Debt Schedule and establish the Final Debt Amount. If issues in dispute are submitted to the Settlement Accountant for resolution, each party will furnish to the Settlement Accountant such work papers and other documents and information relating to the disputed issues as the Settlement Accountant may request, and will be afforded the opportunity to present to the Settlement Accountant any material relating to the resolution of the disputed items and to discuss the resolution of the disputed items with the Settlement Accountant; provided, that no party shall have any ex parte discussions with the Settlement Accountant (other than after reasonable notice to the other party and such party's refusal or failure to participate). The Settlement Accountant will be instructed in performing the review that Purchaser and Seller will each be provided with copies of any and all correspondence and drafts distributed to any party, and Purchaser and Seller will be granted access to information contained in the documents made available to the Settlement Accountant by the other party. The Settlement Accountant shall determine only those matters in dispute (and based solely on the materials and other information presented by Seller and Purchaser and not by independent investigation). The Settlement Accountant shall make its determination within thirty (30) days (or as soon as practicable thereafter if the Settlement Accountant notifies the parties that it requires additional time to make such determination) following the submission of the matter to the Settlement Accountant for resolution, and such determination shall be final and binding upon Purchaser and Seller. Purchaser and Seller will each bear fifty percent (50%) of the fees, charges and expenses of the Settlement Accountant.
(c) In the event that the Final Net Worth Amount is greater than the Target Net Worth Amount, such excess is referred to herein as the "Excess Net Worth Amount".
(d) In the event that the Final Net Worth Amount is less than the Target Net Worth Amount, such deficiency is referred to herein as the "Net Worth Deficiency".
Off-Balance Sheet Transactions There is no transaction, arrangement or other relationship between the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and an unconsolidated or other off-balance sheet entity which is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (other than as disclosed therein).
Final Closing Statement (a) On or before the date that is ninety (90) days following the Closing Date, Buyer or its representatives shall prepare a schedule setting forth its determination of Working Capital, Indebtedness and Seller Transaction Expenses (the “Final Closing Statement”) and shall deliver the Final Closing Statement to the Seller. Working Capital shall be determined disregarding any effects on the assets and liabilities of the Seller of (i) purchase accounting adjustments arising from or resulting as a consequence of the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or (ii) any cash, cash equivalents, or stock contributed to Seller by Buyer or any of its Affiliates on the Closing Date.
(b) Prior to the date which is thirty (30) days after Buyer’s delivery of the Final Closing Statement (the “Protest Date”), the Seller may deliver written notice to Buyer (the “Protest Notice”) setting forth any objections which the Seller may have to the Final Closing Statement. The Protest Notice shall specify in reasonable detail any contested amounts and the basis therefor and shall include a schedule setting forth the Seller’s determination of Working Capital, Indebtedness and Seller Transaction Expenses. If a Protest Notice is not delivered prior to the Protest Date, the Working Capital, Indebtedness and Seller Transaction Expenses as set forth on the Final Closing Statement shall be final, binding and non-appealable by the Sellers. If a Protest Notice is delivered prior to the Protest Date, any amounts not disputed therein shall be final, binding and non-appealable by the Seller. Upon receipt of the Final Closing Statement, the Seller and its accountants will be given reasonable access upon reasonable notice to the relevant books, records, workpapers and personnel during regular business hours for the purpose of verifying Working Capital, Indebtedness and Seller Transaction Expenses. The parties will thereafter negotiate any objections in the Protest Notice in good faith.
Post-Closing Purchase Price Adjustment 1.9.1 Within ninety (90) days following the Closing Date, Seller shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, and deliver to Purchaser a statement (the “Closing Net Working Capital Statement”) which shall set forth the Net Working Capital of the Newsprint Business and of Apache as of the Closing Time (which shall be set forth separately for each of the Newsprint Business and Apache, but as aggregated shall be referred to as the “Closing Net Working Capital”) and shall be prepared in accordance with Seller’s past accounting methods, policies, practices and procedures and in the same manner, with consistent classification and estimation methodology, as the Financial Statements were prepared, except that the Excluded Assets and the Newsprint Retained Obligations shall be excluded. The Closing Net Working Capital Statement may not be amended by Seller after it is delivered to Purchaser.
1.9.2 Purchaser shall, within thirty (30) days after the delivery of the Closing Net Working Capital Statement to it, complete its review of the Closing Net Working Capital reflected on the Closing Net Working Capital Statement. If Purchaser wishes to dispute the Closing Net Working Capital, Purchaser shall notify Seller in writing in reasonable detail of such disagreement and any reason therefore (“Purchaser’s Objection”), setting forth a specific description of the basis of Purchaser’s Objection and the adjustments to the Closing Net Working Capital that Purchaser believes should be made, on or before the last day of such thirty (30) day period, which Purchaser’s Objection may not be amended by Purchaser after it is delivered to Seller (except to withdraw any such Purchaser’s Objection). Any items on the Closing Net Working Capital Statements not disputed in Purchaser’s Objection shall be irrevocably deemed to be accepted by Purchaser. Seller shall then have thirty (30) days to review and respond to Purchaser’s Objection. If Seller and Purchaser are unable to resolve all of their disagreements with respect to the determination of the foregoing items within thirty (30) days following Seller’s receipt of Purchaser’s Objection (the “Negotiation Period”), they shall refer their remaining differences to a mutually agreeable independent accounting firm of national recognition (other than an independent accounting firm utilized by any of Seller, Apache or Purchaser or any Affiliate of any of the foregoing within the past three (3) years) acceptable to both Seller and Purchaser or if Seller and Purchaser are unable to agree as to such third party accounting firm within ten (10) days after the conclusion of the Negotiation Period, either Seller or Purchaser may request that the Chairman of the American Arbitration Association (or the nominated representative of the Chairman) appoint a third party accounting firm meeting the aforementioned requirements to resolve the dispute (the accounting firm selected being referred to as the “CPA Firm”), who shall determine, only with respect to the remaining differences so submitted, whether and to what extent, if any, the Closing Net Working Capital requires adjustment. The procedure and schedule under which any dispute shall be submitted to the CPA Firm shall be as follows:
(a) Within ten (10) days after the later of (i) the end of the Negotiation Period and (ii) the selection of the CPA Firm, Purchaser shall submit any unresolved elements of the Purchaser’s Objection to the CPA Firm in writing (with a copy to Seller), supported by any documents and/or affidavits upon which it relies. Failure to timely do so shall constitute a withdrawal by Purchaser of the Purchaser’s Objection with respect to any unresolved element to which such failure relates.
(b) Within fifteen (15) days following Purchaser’s submission of the unresolved elements of the Purchaser’s Objection as specified in sub-clause (a) above, Seller shall submit its response to the CPA Firm in writing (with a copy to Purchaser), supported by any documents and/or affidavits upon which it relies. Failure to timely do so shall constitute an acceptance by Seller with respect to any unresolved elements to which such failure relates.
(c) The CPA Firm shall deliver its written determination to Purchaser and Seller no later than the thirtieth (30th) day after the remaining differences underlying Purchaser’s Objection are referred to the CPA Firm, or such longer period of time as the CPA Firm determines is necessary.
Estimated Closing Statement (i) No later than three (3) Business Days prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall deliver to Acquiror (A) a statement (the “Estimated Closing Statement”) setting forth the Company’s good faith estimates of (1) the Estimated Net Working Capital (as well as the resulting Estimated Net Working Capital Surplus (if any) or Estimated Net Working Capital Shortfall (if any)), (2) the Estimated Transaction Expenses, (3) the Estimated Closing Cash and (4) the Estimated Closing Debt, and (B) a schedule which shall include (1) the Estimated Total Stock Purchase Consideration, (2) wire instructions for the payments to be made to NewCo at the Closing pursuant to Section 2.3(b), (3) each Seller’s Pro Rata Percentage and the portion of the Estimated Total Stock Purchase Consideration attributable to each Seller; and (4) wire instructions for the payments of Debt, and the Estimated Transaction Expenses, including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Transaction Bonuses, to be made to the applicable payees thereof pursuant to Section 2.3(b) (such schedule delivered pursuant to this clause (B), the “Payment Schedule”). The Estimated Closing Statement shall be prepared by the Company in accordance with the Agreed Principles.
(ii) The Company shall consider in good faith any reasonable comments or objections to any amounts set forth on the Estimated Closing Statement notified to it by Acquiror prior to the Closing and if, prior to the Closing, the Company and Acquiror agree to make any modification to the Estimated Closing Statement, then the Estimated Closing Statement as so modified shall be deemed to be the Estimated Closing Statement; provided, that the failure of the Company and Acquiror to reach such mutual agreement will not give any party the right to terminate this Agreement or otherwise delay or fail to close the Stock Purchase or the other transactions contemplated hereunder.
(iii) Acquiror shall be entitled to rely on the accuracy of the Estimated Closing Statement and the Payment Schedule in all respects in making any payments pursuant to this Agreement, and all obligations to make such payments shall be deemed fulfilled to the extent such payments are made in accordance with this Agreement, the Payment Schedule, and the Estimated Closing Statement, including the Earn-Out Payment. None of Acquiror or any of its Affiliates (including, after the Closing, the Company) or the Seller Representative shall have any liability or obligation to any Person, including the Sellers and the Seller Guarantors, for any Damages arising from or relating to any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the calculations of the portion of any amounts payable to any Seller or any other Person or any other errors, omissions or inaccuracy in the information set forth on the Estimated Closing Statement or the Payment Schedule.
