Interim Covenants (a) Except with the prior written consent of Purchaser (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), as otherwise contemplated or permitted by this Agreement or as required by the Bankruptcy Code or other applicable Law, during the period prior to and up to Closing, Seller shall operate the Yu-Gi-Oh! Business in compliance in all material respects with all Laws applicable to the operation of its business. From the date hereof through the Closing Date, or as otherwise required by applicable Law, Seller shall use commercially reasonable efforts to:
(i) maintain the Purchased Assets in a manner consistent with past practices, reasonable wear and tear excepted and maintain the types and levels of insurance currently in effect in respect of the Purchased Assets;
(ii) preserve intact the Yu-Gi-Oh! Business, to keep available the services of its current employees and agents and to maintain its relations and goodwill with its suppliers, customers, distributors and any others with whom or with which it has business relations;
(iii) upon any damage, destruction or loss to any Purchased Asset, apply any insurance proceeds received with respect thereto to the prompt repair, replacement and restoration thereof to the condition of such Purchased Asset before such event or, if required, to such other (better) condition as may be required by applicable Law;
(iv) promptly advise Purchaser in writing of the occurrence of any event that has had, or would reasonably be expected to have, a Material Adverse Change; and
(v) consult with Purchaser on all material aspects of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Business as may be reasonably requested from time to time by Purchaser, including, but not limited to, personnel, accounting and financial functions.
(b) Except as otherwise contemplated or permitted by this Agreement or by applicable Law, during the period prior to and up to Closing, Seller shall not, without the prior written consent of Purchaser:
(i) enter into, terminate or amend or reject any of the Transferred Agreements, or cancel, modify or waive any material claims held in respect of the Purchased Assets or waive any material rights of value;
(ii) do any act or fail to do any act that will cause a material breach or default under any of the Transferred Agreements;
(iii) sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of the Purchased Assets;
(iv) modify any of its sales practices or receivables collections practices from those in place on the date hereof, including offering any discounts, incentives or other accommodations for early payment;
(v) conduct any “going out of business,” liquidation, bankruptcy, or similar sales or take any action to fashion its business as going out of business, liquidating or closing;
(vi) dispose of or fail to keep in effect any material rights in, to, or for the use of any of the Intellectual Property, except for rights which expire or terminate in accordance with their terms;
(vii) subject any Purchased Assets to any Liens;
(viii) enter into, or negotiate any licenses or grant any party any rights or license in any of the Purchased Assets; or
(ix) authorize any of the foregoing, or commit or agree to take actions, whether in writing or otherwise, to do any of the foregoing.
(c) Seller take all action to properly and timely (i) exercise its option for the next season of Yu-Gi-Oh! such that the expiration dates of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Grant Agreements at Closing shall be August 31, 2019 for broadcast and home video rights in the United States, August 31, 2020 for broadcast and home video rights in the territory described therein outside of the United States, and August 31, 2019 with respect to merchandising rights and (ii) make any required payments under the Yu-Gi-Oh Grant Agreements.
Joint Covenants Buyer and Seller hereby covenant and agree as follows:
Parent Covenants Except as otherwise provided below, during the time period from the Agreement Date until the earlier to occur of (a) the Effective Time or (b) the termination of this Agreement in accordance with the provisions of Article 9, Parent covenants and agrees with the Company as follows:
Operating Covenants From the Execution Date until the Closing or, if earlier, the termination of this Agreement as contemplated hereby, except (t) as required by this Agreement or any other Transaction Document, (u) as required by any lease, Contract, or instrument listed on any Annex, Disclosure Schedule or Schedule, as applicable, (v) as required by any Applicable Law or any Governmental Authority (including by order or directive of the Bankruptcy Court or fiduciary duty of the board of managers of any Seller or its Affiliates) or any requirements or limitations resulting from the Bankruptcy Cases, (w) to the extent related solely to Excluded Assets and/or Excluded Liabilities, (x) for renewal of expiring insurance coverage in the Ordinary Course of Business, (y) for emergency operations or (z) as otherwise consented to in writing by Buyer (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed):
(a) Sellers will:
(i) subject to any Bankruptcy Court order to the contrary, operate the Assets in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(ii) maintain or cause its Affiliates to maintain the books of account and records relating to the Assets in the usual, regular and ordinary manner, in accordance with its usual accounting practices;
(iii) give written notice to Buyer as soon as is practicable of any material damage or casualty to or destruction or condemnation of any Asset of which Sellers have Knowledge;
(iv) use reasonable best efforts to maintain insurance coverage on the Assets in the amounts and types described on Disclosure Schedule 3.10; and
(v) use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain or cause its Affiliates to maintain all Permits (including Environmental Permits) required for the operation of the Assets as presently conducted; and
(b) no Seller shall:
(i) sell, lease or otherwise transfer any Asset, or otherwise voluntarily divest or relinquish any right or asset, other than (A) sales or other dispositions of materials, supplies, machinery, equipment, improvements or other personal property or fixtures in the Ordinary Course of Business which have been replaced with an item of substantially equal suitability and (B) dispositions of Excluded Assets;
(ii) enter into any material Contract that if entered into prior to the Execution Date would be required to be listed in Disclosure Schedule 3.05(a) other than (A) Contracts of the type described in Section 3.05(a)(iii) and Section 3.05(a)(viii) entered into in the Ordinary Course of Business (provided that Sellers shall use commercially reasonable efforts to notify Buyer of the terms of any such Contract prior to the execution thereof), (B) confidentiality agreements entered into in accordance with the Bid Procedures Order, (C) contracts or agreements entered into in connection with the Bankruptcy Cases (including any in connection with an Alternative Transaction) and (D) Contracts that would not adversely affect the Assets in any material respect;
(iii) amend or modify in any material respect or terminate any Purchased Contract (other than termination or expiration in accordance with its terms) or any Permits (including Environmental Permits) required for the operation of the Assets as presently conducted;
(iv) change the methods of accounting or accounting practice by Sellers, except as required by concurrent changes in Applicable Law or GAAP as agreed to by its independent public accountants; or
(v) to the extent any of the following would reasonably have the effect of increasing the Non-Income Tax liability of Buyer for any period after the Closing Date, (A) make any settlement of or compromise any Non-Income Tax liability with respect to the Assets, (B) change any Non-Income Tax election or Non-Income Tax method of accounting or make any new Non-Income Tax election or adopt any new Non-Income Tax method of accounting with respect to the Assets; (C) surrender any right to claim a refund of Non-Income Taxes with respect to the Assets; or (D) consent to any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to any Non-Income Tax claim or assessment with respect to the Assets.
Non-Compete Covenant For a period of 2 years after the effective date of this Agreement, NC will not directly or indirectly engage in any business that competes with ARS. This covenant shall apply to the geographical area that includes North America.
Nonpetition Covenant Each party hereto agrees that, prior to the date which is one year and one day after payment in full of all obligations of each Bankruptcy Remote Party in respect of all securities issued by any Bankruptcy Remote Party (i) such party hereto shall not authorize any Bankruptcy Remote Party to commence a voluntary winding-up or other voluntary case or other Proceeding seeking liquidation, reorganization or other relief with respect to such Bankruptcy Remote Party or its debts under any bankruptcy, insolvency or other similar law now or hereafter in effect in any jurisdiction or seeking the appointment of an administrator, a trustee, receiver, liquidator, custodian or other similar official with respect to such Bankruptcy Remote Party or any substantial part of its property or to consent to any such relief or to the appointment of or taking possession by any such official in an involuntary case or other Proceeding commenced against such Bankruptcy Remote Party, or to make a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors generally, any party hereto or any other creditor of such Bankruptcy Remote Party, and (ii) such party shall not commence, join with any other Person in commencing or institute with any other Person, any Proceeding against such Bankruptcy Remote Party under any bankruptcy, reorganization, liquidation or insolvency law or statute now or hereafter in effect in any jurisdiction. This Section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Voting Covenant Stockholder hereby agrees that, prior to the Expiration Date, at any meeting of the stockholders of the Company, however called, and in any written action by consent of stockholders of the Company, unless otherwise directed in writing by Parent, Stockholder shall cause any issued and outstanding shares of Company Common Stock Owned by Stockholder as of the record date with respect to such meeting or consent to be voted:
(a) in favor of: (i) the execution and delivery by the Company of the Merger Agreement; (ii) the adoption of the Merger Agreement; and (iii) each of the other actions contemplated by the Merger Agreement; and
(b) against the following actions (other than the Merger and the Contemplated Transactions): (i) any extraordinary corporate transaction, such as a merger, consolidation or other business combination involving any Acquired Corporation; (ii) any sale, lease, sublease, license, sublicense or transfer of a material portion of the rights or other assets of any Acquired Corporation; (iii) any reorganization, recapitalization, dissolution or liquidation of any Acquired Corporation; (iv) any change in a majority of the board of directors of the Company; (v) any amendment to the Company’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws; (vi) any material change in the capitalization of the Company or the Company’s corporate structure; and (vii) any other action which is intended, or would reasonably be expected, to impede, interfere with, delay, postpone, discourage or adversely affect the Merger or any of the other Contemplated Transactions. Prior to the Expiration Date, Stockholder shall not enter into any agreement or understanding with any Person to vote or give instructions in any manner inconsistent with clause “(a)”, clause “(b)” or clause “(c)” of the preceding sentence.
Non-Competition Covenant Employee acknowledges that the covenants set forth in this Section 4.3 are reasonable in scope and essential to the preservation of the Business of the Company (as defined herein). Employee also acknowledges that the enforcement of the covenant set forth in this Section 4.3 will not preclude Employee from being gainfully employed in such manner and to the extent as to provide a standard of living for himself or herself, the members of his or her family and the others dependent upon Employee of at least the level to which Employee and they have become accustomed and may expect. In addition, Employee acknowledges that the Company has obtained an advantage over its competitors as a result of its name, location and reputation that is characterized by near permanent relationships with vendors, customers, principals and other contacts which it has developed at great expense. Furthermore, Employee acknowledges that competition by him or her following the termination or expiration of his or her employment would impair the operation of the Company beyond that which would arise from the competition of an unrelated third party with similar skills. Employee hereby agrees that he or she shall not, during his or her employment and for a period of one (1) year after the end of his or her employment, directly or indirectly, engage in or become directly or indirectly interested in any proprietorship, partnership, firm, trust, company, limited liability company or other entity, other than the Company (whether as owner, partner, trustee, beneficiary, stockholder, member, officer, director, employee, independent contractor, agent, servant, consultant, lessor, lessee or otherwise) that competes with the Company in the Business of the Company in the Restricted Territory (as defined herein), other than owning an interest in a company listed on a recognized stock exchange in an amount which does not exceed five percent (5%) of the outstanding stock of such corporation. For purposes of this Agreement, (i) the term "Business of the Company" shall include all business activities and ventures related to providing telecommunications services or products in which the Company is engaged, plans to engage in the next twelve (12) months following termination of Employee's employment or has engaged in during the prior twelve (12) months, as determined at any time during the employment of the Employee; and (ii) the term "Restricted Territory" means the geographical area consisting of a seventy mile radius surrounding each city (and including such city) in which the Company maintains either an office or a telecommunications facility.
Noncompetition Covenant The Executive agrees that, during the Term, including any extension thereof, and for a period of one year following the Executive’s termination of employment, other than a termination pursuant to Section 4, the Executive shall not, without the express written consent of the Company:
(a) Be engaged, directly or indirectly, in any county where the Company has an office at the time of Executive’s termination, as a partner, officer, director, employee, consultant, independent contractor, security holder, or owner of any entity engaged in any business activity competitive with that of the Company or its Affiliates; provided, however, nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the Executive from owning or acquiring an interest in any entity engaged in any competitive business activity if such interest does not constitute “control” as defined in 12 C.F.R. Section 303.81(c);
(b) Call upon or solicit, either for the Executive or for any other person or firm that engages in competition with any business operation actively conducted by the Company or any Affiliate during the Term, any customer with whom the Company or any Affiliate directly conducts business during the Term; or interfere with any relationship, contractual or otherwise, between the Company or any Affiliate and any customer with whom the Company or any Affiliate directly conducts business during the Term; or
(c) Induce or solicit any person who is at the date of termination or was during the 12 months preceding termination an employee, officer or agent of the Company or any Affiliate to terminate said relationship. In the event of a breach by the Executive of any covenant set forth in this Section 9, the term of such covenant will be extended by the period of the duration of such breach and such covenant will survive any termination of this Agreement but only for the limited period of such extension. The restrictions on competition provided herein shall be in addition to any restrictions on competition contained in any other agreement between the Company and the Executive and may be enforced by the Company and/or any successor thereto, by an action to recover payments made under this Agreement, an action for injunction, and/or an action for damages. The provisions of this Section 9 constitute an essential element of this Agreement, without which the Company would not have entered into this Agreement. Notwithstanding any other remedy available to the Company at law or at equity, the parties hereto agree that the Company or any successor thereto, will have the right, at any and all times, to seek injunctive relief in order to enforce the terms and conditions of this Section 9. If the scope of any restriction contained in this Section 9 is too broad to permit enforcement of such restriction to its fullest extent, then such restriction will be enforced to the maximum extent permitted by law, and the Executive hereby consents and agrees that such scope may be judicially modified accordingly in any proceeding brought to enforce such restriction.
CONTINUING COVENANTS The Competitive Supplier agrees and covenants to perform each of the following obligations during the term of this ESA.
