Due Incorporation and Good Standing AVRS is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the state of Nevada.
Incorporation and Good Standing of the Company and its Subsidiaries The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement. Each subsidiary of the Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization and has the requisite power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Prospectus. Each of the Company and the subsidiaries is duly qualified as a foreign corporation or foreign partnership to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except for such jurisdictions where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change. Except as described in the Prospectus, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock or other equity interests of the subsidiaries have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and are owned by the Company free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or adverse claim. The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than the subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year and other than (i) those subsidiaries not required to be listed on Exhibit 21.1 by Item 601 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act and (ii) those subsidiaries formed or acquired since the last day of the most recently ended fiscal year.
Incorporation and Good Standing of the Company The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation and has the corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement. The Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in the State of California and each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to qualify would not result in a Material Adverse Change.
Organization and Good Standing of the Company The Company has been duly incorporated, is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Maryland, has the corporate power and authority to own or lease, as the case may be, its property and to conduct its business as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which the conduct of its business or its ownership or leasing of property requires such qualification, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or be in good standing would not have a material adverse effect on the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business, properties, operations, or prospects of the Company, the Operating Partnership and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole (a “Material Adverse Effect”).
Due Incorporation and Organization The Adviser is duly organized and is in good standing under the laws of the State of Connecticut and is fully authorized to enter into this Agreement and carry out its duties and obligations hereunder.
Conduct of Business; Regulatory Permits Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of any term of or in default under its Certificate of Incorporation, any certificate of designation, preferences or rights of any other outstanding series of preferred stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or Bylaws or their organizational charter, certificate of formation, memorandum of association, articles of association, Certificate of Incorporation or certificate of incorporation or bylaws, respectively. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of any judgment, decree or order or any statute, ordinance, rule or regulation applicable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries will conduct its business in violation of any of the foregoing, except in all cases for possible violations which could not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company is not in violation of any of the rules, regulations or requirements of the Principal Market and has no knowledge of any facts or circumstances that could reasonably lead to delisting or suspension of the Common Stock by the Principal Market in the foreseeable future. During the two years prior to the date hereof, (i) the Common Stock has been listed or designated for quotation on the Principal Market, (ii) trading in the Common Stock has not been suspended by the SEC or the Principal Market and (iii) the Company has received no communication, written or oral, from the SEC or the Principal Market regarding the suspension or delisting of the Common Stock from the Principal Market. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries possess all certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses, except where the failure to possess such certificates, authorizations or permits would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, and neither the Company nor any such Subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such certificate, authorization or permit. There is no agreement, commitment, judgment, injunction, order or decree binding upon the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party which has or would reasonably be expected to have the effect of prohibiting or materially impairing any business practice of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, any acquisition of property by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or the conduct of business by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries as currently conducted other than such effects, individually or in the aggregate, which have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
Conduct of Business by the Company The Company agrees that between the date of this Agreement and the earlier of the Effective Time and the termination of this Agreement in accordance with Section 8.1, except (1) as set forth in Section 5.1 of the Company Disclosure Letter, (2) as specifically permitted or required by this Agreement, (3) as required by Law or (4) as consented to in writing by Parent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), (a) the Company shall and shall cause each Company Subsidiary to conduct its business in all material respects in the ordinary course of business, including by using reasonable best efforts to preserve intact its and their present business organizations, insurance coverage, relationships with Governmental Entities and with customers, suppliers and other Persons with whom it and they have material business relations, and retain the services of its present officers and directors and key employees and (b) without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company shall not, and shall not permit any Company Subsidiary to:
(i) authorize or pay any dividends on or make any distribution with respect to its outstanding shares of capital stock (whether in cash, assets, shares or other securities of the Company or any Company Subsidiary), except dividends and distributions paid or made by a wholly owned Company Subsidiary to the Company or another wholly owned Company Subsidiary, distributions under the Company ESPP and distributions resulting from the vesting or exercise of Company Stock Options or the vesting and settlement of Company RSU Award;
(ii) split, combine, reduce or reclassify any of its capital stock, or issue or authorize the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for, shares of its capital stock;
(iii) in each case except as required by the provisions of the Company Benefit Plans as in effect on the date hereof or the provisions of this Agreement: (A) establish, adopt, amend or terminate any Company Benefit Plan (other than offer letters that contemplate “at will” employment with severance, change in control or retention benefits consistent with current arrangements with similarly situated employees) or amend the terms of any outstanding equity-based awards, (B) grant or provide any severance or termination payments or benefits to any director, officer, employee or other service provider of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries, (C) increase the compensation, bonus or pension, welfare, severance or other benefits of or pay any bonus to any director, officer, employee or other service provider of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries, (D) take any action to accelerate the vesting or payment, or fund or in any other way secure the payment, of compensation or benefits under any Company Benefit Plan (including any equity-based awards), (E) forgive any loans to directors, officers or employees of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries, or (F) hire or terminate the employment or services of (other than for cause) any officer, employee, independent contractor, or consultant who has target annual compensation (i.e., base salary and target annual bonus opportunity) greater than $200,000; provided, that nothing contained herein shall prohibit the Company from (x) increasing or otherwise modifying or supplementing salaries, wages, benefits or other compensation in the ordinary course of business; (y) granting any rights to equity or equity-related compensation to those individuals or with respect to those positions, and up to the amounts, set forth in Section 5.1(a)(iii) of the Company Disclosure Letter or (z) hiring an employee or entering into a contract for services to be provided by a consultant to replace an employee or consultant of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries whose employment or consulting relationship is terminated for any reason on or after the date hereof, so long as the terms of the salary, target annual bonus opportunity and other benefits offered to such replacement employee or consultant are substantially similar, or not materially different than, those of the employee or consultant of the Company or the Company Subsidiary whose employment or consulting relationship has been terminated;
(iv) make any change in financial accounting policies, principles, practices or procedures or any of its methods of reporting income, deductions or other material items for financial accounting purposes, except as required by GAAP, applicable Law or SEC policy;
(v) acquire, including by merger, consolidation or acquisition of stock or assets or any other business combination or by any other manner, any corporation, partnership, other business organization or any business, division or equity interest thereof;
(vi) amend or propose to amend the Company Governing Documents or any of the equivalent organizational documents of any Company Subsidiary;
(vii) issue, deliver, grant, sell, pledge, dispose of or encumber, or authorize the issuance, delivery, grant, sale, pledge, disposition or encumbrance of, any shares in its capital stock, voting securities or other equity interest in the Company or any Company Subsidiary or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any such shares, voting securities or equity interest, or any rights, warrants or options to acquire any such shares in its capital stock, voting securities or equity interest or any “phantom” stock, “phantom” stock rights, stock appreciation rights or stock based performance units or take any action to cause to be exercisable any otherwise unexercisable Company Equity Award under any existing Company Equity Plan (except as otherwise required by the express terms of any Company Equity Award outstanding on the date hereof), other than issuances of shares of Company Common Stock in respect of the Company ESPP or any exercise of Company Stock Options or the vesting or settlement of Company Equity Awards outstanding on the date hereof and in accordance with their respective present terms;
(viii) directly or indirectly, purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares in its capital or any rights, warrants or options to acquire any such shares in its capital, except for (A) acquisitions of shares of Company Common Stock tendered by holders of Company Equity Awards in order to satisfy obligations to pay the exercise price and/or Tax withholding obligations with respect thereto and (B) the acquisition by the Company of Company Equity Awards in connection with the forfeiture of such awards;
(ix) redeem, repurchase, prepay, defease, incur, assume, endorse, guarantee or otherwise become liable for or modify in any material respect the terms of any Indebtedness for borrowed money or issue or sell any debt securities or calls, options, warrants or other rights to acquire any debt securities (directly, contingently or otherwise), except for transactions at the stated maturity of such Indebtedness and required amortization or mandatory prepayments;
(x) make any loans to any other Person, except for loans among the Company and its wholly owned Company Subsidiaries or among the Company’s wholly owned Company Subsidiaries;
(xi) (A) sell, lease, license, transfer, exchange, swap or otherwise dispose of, or subject to any Lien (other than Company Permitted Liens), any of its material properties or assets (including shares of capital stock or other equity interests of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries), except for sales of inventory, or dispositions of obsolete or worthless equipment, in each case, in the ordinary course of business or (B) waive or assign any claims or rights of material value;
(xii) (A) compromise or settle any claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding, in each case made or pending by or against the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries (for the avoidance of doubt, including any compromise or settlement with respect to matters in which any of them is a plaintiff), or any of their employees, officers or directors in their capacities as such, other than the compromise or settlement of claims, litigation, investigations or proceedings that: (1) are for an amount not to exceed $500,000, individually or in the aggregate, (2) do not involve an admission of guilt or impose any injunctive relief or a material restriction on the Company and the Company Subsidiaries and (3) do not provide for the license of any material Intellectual Property Right or (B) commence any material claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding, other than in the ordinary course of business;
(xiii) make, revoke or change any material Tax election, change any Tax accounting period or method for purposes of a material Tax or material method of Tax accounting, file any material amended Tax Return, settle or compromise any audit or proceeding relating to a material amount of Taxes, except in the ordinary course of business agree to an extension or waiver of the statute of limitations with respect to a material amount of Taxes, enter into any “closing agreement” within the meaning of Section 7121 of the Code (or any similar provision of state, local, or non-U.S. Law) with respect to any material Tax, or surrender any right to claim a material Tax refund;
(xiv) except for $100,000 in capital expenditures incurred in the ordinary course of business, make any new capital expenditure or expenditures, or commit to do so;
(xv) except in the ordinary course of business or in connection with any transaction to the extent specifically permitted by any other subclause of this Section 5.1(b), (A) enter into any Contract that would, if entered into prior to the date hereof, be a Material Contract, or (B) materially modify, materially amend or terminate any Material Contract or waive, release or assign any material rights or claims thereunder; or
(xvi) agree, in writing or otherwise, to take any of the foregoing actions.
Conduct of Business by Parent (a) From and after the date hereof until the earlier of the Effective Time and the Termination Date, and except (i) as may be required by applicable Law or the regulations or requirements of any stock exchange or regulatory organization applicable to Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, (ii) as may be agreed in writing by the Company (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), (iii) as may be contemplated or required by this Agreement or (iv) as set forth in Section 5.2(a) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, Parent covenants and agrees that the business of Parent and its Subsidiaries shall be conducted in the ordinary course of business, and Parent shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, use their commercially reasonable efforts to preserve intact their present lines of business, maintain their rights, franchises and Parent Permits and preserve their relationships with customers and suppliers; provided, however, that no action by Parent or its Subsidiaries with respect to matters specifically addressed by any provision of Section 5.2(b) shall be deemed a breach of this sentence unless such action would constitute a breach of such other provision.
(b) Parent agrees with the Company, on behalf of itself and its Subsidiaries, that from the date hereof and prior to the earlier of the Effective Time and the Termination Date, except (i) as may be required by applicable Law or the regulations or requirements of any stock exchange or regulatory organization applicable to Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, (ii) as may be consented to by the Company (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), (iii) as may be contemplated or required by this Agreement or (iv) as set forth in Section 5.2(b) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, Parent:
(A) shall not adopt any material amendments to the Parent Organizational Documents or the organizational documents and governance arrangement of Parent GP;
(B) shall not, and shall not permit any of their Subsidiaries to, split, combine or reclassify any of their equity interests or other ownership interests or issue or authorize the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for shares of its capital stock or equity interests, except for any such transaction by a wholly owned Subsidiary of Parent which remains a wholly owned Subsidiary after consummation of such transaction;
(C) except in the ordinary course of business, shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries that is not wholly owned by Parent or wholly owned Subsidiaries of any such Subsidiaries to, authorize or pay any dividends on or make any distribution with respect to its outstanding equity securities (whether in cash, assets, partnership units, stock or other securities of Parent or its Subsidiaries), except (1) dividends or distributions by any Subsidiaries only to Parent or any Subsidiary of Parent in the ordinary course of business, (2) dividends or distributions required under the applicable organizational documents of such entity in effect on the date of this Agreement, and (3) regular quarterly cash distributions with respect to the Common Units and the Energy Transfer Operating Preferred Units as set forth in Section 5.2(b)(C) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule;
(D) shall not, and shall not permit any of its material Subsidiaries to, adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization, other than the Merger and other than any merger, consolidation, restructuring or reorganization solely among Parent and its Subsidiaries or among Parent’s Subsidiaries or in connection with an acquisition not prohibited by clause (E) of this Section 5.2(b);
(E) shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, make any acquisition of any other person or business or make loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other person that would reasonably be expected to prevent, materially impede or materially delay the consummation of the Merger;
(F) shall not issue, sell, pledge, dispose of or encumber, or authorize the issuance, sale, pledge, disposition or encumbrance of, any equity interest or other ownership interest in Parent or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any such equity interest or other ownership interest, or any rights, warrants or options to acquire any such equity interest, ownership interest or convertible or exchangeable securities or take any action to cause to be exercisable any otherwise unexercisable option under any existing Parent Benefit Plans (except as otherwise provided by the terms of this Agreement or the express terms of any unexercisable or unexercised options or warrants outstanding on the date hereof), other than (1) as set forth in Section 5.2(b)(F) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, (2) issuances of Common Units in respect of any exercise of Parent equity awards and settlement of any Parent equity awards outstanding on the date hereof or as may be granted after the date hereof as permitted under this Section 5.2(b), (3) the sale of Common Units pursuant to the exercise of options to purchase Common Units if necessary to effectuate an option direction upon exercise or for withholding of Taxes, (4) the grant of equity compensation awards under the Parent Equity Plans, or (5) for transactions among Parent and its Subsidiaries or among Parent’s Subsidiaries;
(G) shall not directly or indirectly, purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any equity securities of Parent or any rights, warrants or options to acquire any such equity securities, except (1) as set forth on Section 5.2(b)(G) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule or (2) for transactions among Parent and its Subsidiaries or among Parent’s Subsidiaries;
(H) shall not take any action or fail to take any action that would reasonably be expected to cause Parent to be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as a corporation; and
(I) shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, agree, in writing or otherwise, to take any of the foregoing actions that are prohibited pursuant to clauses (A) through (H) of this Section 5.2(b).
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.
Organization and Ownership of Shares of Subsidiaries (a) Schedule 5.4 contains (except as noted therein) complete and correct lists of the Company’s Restricted and Unrestricted Subsidiaries as of the Execution Date, showing, as to each Subsidiary, the correct name thereof, the jurisdiction of its organization and, with respect to each Material Subsidiary, the percentage of shares of each class of its Capital Stock outstanding owned by the Company and each other Subsidiary.
(b) All of the outstanding shares of Capital Stock of each Subsidiary owned by the Company and its Subsidiaries have been validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and are owned by the Company or another Subsidiary free and clear of any Lien (except as otherwise disclosed in Schedule 5.4).
(c) Each Subsidiary is a corporation or other legal entity duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization, and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation or other legal entity and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required by law, other than those jurisdictions as to which the failure to be so qualified or in good standing could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Each such Subsidiary has the corporate or other power and authority to own or hold under lease the properties it purports to own or hold under lease and to transact the business it transacts and proposes to transact.
(d) No Subsidiary is a party to, or otherwise subject to, any legal, regulatory, contractual or other restriction (other than this Agreement, the agreements listed on Schedule 5.4 and customary limitations imposed by corporate law or similar statutes) restricting its ability to make Restricted Payments to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that owns outstanding shares of Capital Stock of such Subsidiary, except for such restrictions that do not impair the Company’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement, including, without limitation, its obligation to make payments hereunder and under the Notes.
