Negative Covenants of the Company Except as otherwise required or expressly contemplated by this Agreement or consented to in writing by Buyer, the Company will not and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, from the date hereof until the Effective Time:
(a) split, combine, or reclassify any shares of its capital stock or make any other changes in its equity capital structure;
(b) purchase, redeem, or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any shares of its capital stock or any options, rights, or warrants to purchase any such capital stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any such capital stock;
(c) declare, set aside, or pay any dividend or make any other distribution in respect of shares of its capital stock;
(d) amend its charter, bylaws, or similar organizational documents;
(e) issue any shares of its capital stock or any options, rights, or warrants to purchase any such capital stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any such capital stock, except for issuances of shares of Company Common Stock upon the exercise of any options or of any Rights under the Rights Agreement, or designate any class or series of capital stock from its authorized but undesignated preferred stock;
(f) purchase any capital assets or make any capital expenditures (except as set forth in the Company's current capital expenditures budget, a copy of which has been delivered to Buyer) in excess of $250,000 in the aggregate, purchase any business, purchase any stock of any corporation, or merge or consolidate with any person;
(g) sell, lease, license, encumber or otherwise dispose of any assets or properties, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, which sales, leases, licenses, encumbrances or other dispositions of assets other than inventory, in any event, are not material to the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole;
(h) incur, assume, or guarantee any indebtedness for money borrowed other than (i) borrowings incurred for working capital purposes under the Company's existing revolving credit facility or (ii) intercompany indebtedness;
(i) enter into any new Benefit Plan or program or severance or employment agreement, modify in any respect any existing Benefit Plan or program (except as required by law) or any existing employment or severance agreement, or, except as required under existing agreements or in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, grant any increases in compensation or benefits of any Company Employee, officer or director;
(j) enter into any collective bargaining agreement or enter into any substantive negotiations with respect to any collective bargaining agreement, except as required by law;
(k) change or modify in any material respect any existing accounting method, principle, or practice, other than as required by GAAP;
(l) enter into any new Company Material Contract (other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice), or modify in any respect adverse to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries any existing Company Material Contract;
(m) fund or take any action to cause a rabbi trust to be funded;
(n) agree to pay R. Xxxxx Xxxxxx a transaction bonus of more than $5,000;
(o) except as expressly provided in the amendment thereto dated May 30, 2001, change, modify or commence a new phase pursuant to the Company Stock Purchase Plan;
(p) (i) pay, discharge, settle or satisfy any material claims against the Company or its Subsidiaries (including claims of shareholders), liabilities or obligations (whether absolute, accrued, contingent or otherwise), other than (x) the payment, discharge, settlement or satisfaction of such claim, liability or obligation in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (y) modifications, refinancings or renewals of existing indebtedness as permitted by the terms thereof as in effect on the date of this Agreement, or (z) the payment, discharge, settlement or satisfaction of claims, liabilities or obligations reflected or reserved against in the most recent audited financial statements (or the notes thereto) of the Company included in the Company SEC Reports (for amounts not in excess of such reserves) or incurred since the date of such financial statements in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, or (ii) waive, release, grant or transfer any right of material value, other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(q) enter into any agreement with any of their respective affiliates (other than wholly owned Subsidiaries of the Company);
(r) (i) relinquish, waive or release any material contractual or other right or claim of the Company or its Subsidiaries, or (ii) knowingly dispose of or permit to lapse any rights in any material Company Proprietary Rights or knowingly disclose to any person not an employee of, or consultant or adviser to, the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of the Company or otherwise knowingly dispose of any trade secret, process or knowhow not a matter of public knowledge prior to the date of this Agreement, except pursuant to judicial order or process or commercially reasonable disclosures in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or pursuant to any existing contract or agreement;
(s) except pursuant to the fiduciary duties of the Board of Directors of the Company as set forth in Sections 7.01(a) and (b), or as expressly permitted pursuant to Sections 7.02 or 9.01, take any action or omit to take any action that would or is reasonably likely to (i) result in any of the conditions to the Merger set forth in Article VIII not being satisfied, or (ii) prevent, materially delay or materially impede the consummation of the Merger; or
(t) enter into any commitment to do any of the foregoing.
Certain Negative Covenants So long as any Recovery Bonds are Outstanding, the Issuer shall not:
(a) except as expressly permitted by this Indenture and the other Basic Documents, sell, transfer, exchange or otherwise dispose of any of the properties or assets of the Issuer, including those included in the Recovery Bond Collateral, unless directed to do so by the Indenture Trustee in accordance with Article V;
(b) claim any credit on, or make any deduction from the principal or premium, if any, or interest payable in respect of, the Recovery Bonds (other than amounts properly withheld from such payments under the Code or other tax laws) or assert any claim against any present or former Holder by reason of the payment of the taxes levied or assessed upon any part of the Recovery Bond Collateral;
(c) terminate its existence or dissolve or liquidate in whole or in part, except in a transaction permitted by Section 3.10;
(i) permit the validity or effectiveness of this Indenture or the other Basic Documents to be impaired, or permit the Lien of this Indenture and the Series Supplement to be amended, hypothecated, subordinated, terminated or discharged, or permit any Person to be released from any covenants or obligations with respect to the Recovery Bonds under this Indenture except as may be expressly permitted hereby, (ii) permit any Lien (other than the Lien of this Indenture or of the Series Supplement) to be created on or extend to or otherwise arise upon or burden the Recovery Bond Collateral or any part thereof or any interest therein or the proceeds thereof (other than tax liens arising by operation of law with respect to amounts not yet due), or (iii) permit the Lien of this Indenture or of the Series Supplement not to constitute a valid first priority perfected security interest in the Recovery Bond Collateral;
(e) elect to be classified as an association taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes or otherwise take any action, file any tax return, or make any election inconsistent with the treatment of the Issuer, for purposes of federal taxes and, to the extent consistent with applicable State tax law, State income and franchise tax purposes, as a disregarded entity that is not separate from the sole owner of the Issuer;
(f) change its name, identity or structure or the location of its chief executive office, unless at least ten (10) Business Days’ prior to the effective date of any such change the Issuer delivers to the Indenture Trustee (with copies to the Rating Agencies) such documents, instruments or agreements, executed by the Issuer, as are necessary to reflect such change and to continue the perfection of the security interest of this Indenture and the Series Supplement;
(g) take any action which is subject to a Rating Agency Condition without satisfying the Rating Agency Condition;
(h) except to the extent permitted by applicable law, voluntarily suspend or terminate its filing obligations with the SEC as described in Section 3.07(g); or
(i) issue any recovery bonds under the Wildfire Financing Law or any similar law (other than the Recovery Bonds).
