Reports by the Company (a) The Company will at all times comply with Section 314(a) of the Trust Indenture Act. The Company covenants and agrees to provide (which delivery may be via electronic mail) to the Trustee within 30 days, after the Company files the same with the Commission, copies of the annual reports and of the information, documents and other reports (or copies of such portions of any of the foregoing as the Commission may from time to time by rules and regulations prescribe) that the Company is required to file with the Commission pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act; provided, however, the Company shall not be required to deliver to the Trustee any correspondence filed with the Commission or any materials for which the Company has sought and received confidential treatment by the Commission; and provided further, that so long as such filings by the Company are available on the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (XXXXX), or any successor system, such filings shall be deemed to have been filed with the Trustee for purposes hereof without any further action required by the Company. For the avoidance of doubt, a failure by the Company to file annual reports, information and other reports with the Commission within the time period prescribed thereof by the Commission shall not be deemed a breach of this Section 5.03.
(b) Delivery of reports, information and documents to the Trustee under Section 5.03 is for informational purposes only and the information and the Trustee’s receipt of the foregoing shall not constitute constructive notice of any information contained therein, or determinable from information contained therein including the Company’s compliance with any of their covenants thereunder (as to which the Trustee is entitled to rely exclusively on an Officer’s Certificate). The Trustee is under no duty to examine any such reports, information or documents delivered to the Trustee or filed with the Commission via XXXXX to ensure compliance with the provision of this Indenture or to ascertain the correctness or otherwise of the information or the statements contained therein. The Trustee shall have no responsibility or duty whatsoever to ascertain or determine whether the above referenced filings with the Commission on XXXXX (or any successor system) has occurred.
Payments by the Company The Company shall use its best efforts to obtain effectiveness of the Registration Statement as soon as practicable. If (i) the Registration Statement(s) covering the Registrable Securities required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof is not filed by the Filing Date or declared effective by the SEC on or prior to one hundred and twenty (120) days from the Filing Date, or (ii) after the Registration Statement has been declared effective by the SEC, sales of all of the Registrable Securities cannot be made pursuant to the Registration Statement, or (iii) the Common Stock is not listed or included for quotation on the Nasdaq National Market ("NASDAQ"), the Nasdaq SmallCap Market ("NASDAQ SMALLCAP"), the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") or the American Stock Exchange (the "AMEX") after being so listed or included for quotation, or (iv) the Common Stock ceases to be traded on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board (the "OTCBB") or any equivalent replacement exchange prior to being listed or included for quotation on one of the aforementioned markets, then the Company will make payments to the Investors in such amounts and at such times as shall be determined pursuant to this Section 2(c) as partial relief for the damages to the Investors by reason of any such delay in or reduction of their ability to sell the Registrable Securities (which remedy shall not be exclusive of any other remedies available at law or in equity). The Company shall pay to each holder of the Notes or Registrable Securities an amount equal to the then outstanding principal amount of the Notes (and, in the case of holders of Registrable Securities, the principal amount of Notes from which such Registrable Securities were converted) ("OUTSTANDING PRINCIPAL AMOUNT"), multiplied by the Applicable Percentage (as defined below) times the sum of: (i) the number of months (prorated for partial months) after the Filing Date or the end of the aforementioned one hundred and twenty (120) day period and prior to the date the Registration Statement is declared effective by the SEC, provided, however, that there shall be excluded from such period any delays which are solely attributable to changes required by the Investors in the Registration Statement with respect to information relating to the Investors, including, without limitation, changes to the plan of distribution, or to the failure of the Investors to conduct their review of the Registration Statement pursuant to Section 3(h) below in a reasonably prompt manner; (ii) the number of months (prorated for partial months) that sales of all of the Registrable Securities cannot be made pursuant to the Registration Statement after the Registration Statement has been declared effective (including, without limitation, when sales cannot be made by reason of the Company's failure to properly supplement or amend the prospectus included therein in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, but excluding any days during an Allowed Delay (as defined in Section 3(f)); and (iii) the number of months (prorated for partial months) that the Common Stock is not listed or included for quotation on the OTCBB, Nasdaq, Nasdaq SmallCap, NYSE or AMEX or that trading thereon is halted after the Registration Statement has been declared effective. The term "APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE" means two hundredths (.02). (For example, if the Registration Statement becomes effective one (1) month after the end of such one hundred and twenty (120) day period, the Company would pay $5,000 for each $250,000 of Outstanding Principal Amount. If thereafter, sales could not be made pursuant to the Registration Statement for an additional period of one (1) month, the Company would pay an additional $5,000 for each $250,000 of Outstanding Principal Amount.) Such amounts shall be paid in cash or, at the Company's option, in shares of Common Stock priced at the Conversion Price (as defined in the Notes) on such payment date.
Certain Additional Payments by the Company (a) Anything in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding and except as set forth below, in the event it shall be determined that any payment or distribution by the Company to or for the benefit of Executive (whether paid or payable or distributed or distributable pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or otherwise, but determined without regard to any additional payments required under this Section 5) (a “Payment”) would be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code or any interest or penalties are incurred by Executive with respect to such excise tax (such excise tax, together with any such interest and penalties, are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Excise Tax”), then Executive shall be entitled to receive an additional payment (a “Gross-Up Payment”) in an amount such that after payment by Executive of all taxes (including any interest or penalties imposed with respect to such taxes), including, without limitation, any income taxes (and any interest and penalties imposed with respect thereto) and Excise Tax imposed upon the Gross-Up Payment, and taking into account any withholding obligation on the part of the Company, Executive retains an amount of the Gross-Up Payment equal to the Excise Tax imposed upon the Payments.
(b) Subject to the provisions of Section 5(c), all determinations required to be made under this Section 5, including whether and when a Gross-Up Payment is required and the amount of such Gross-Up Payment and the assumptions to be used in arriving at such determination, shall be made by the Company’s regular independent accounting firm (the “Accounting Firm”) which shall provide detailed supporting calculations both to the Company and Executive within 15 business days of the receipt of notice from Executive that there has been a Payment, or such earlier time as is requested by the Company. All fees and expenses of the Accounting Firm shall be borne solely by the Company. Any Gross-Up Payment, as determined pursuant to this Section 5, shall be paid by the Company to Executive, net of any of the Company’s federal or state withholding obligations with respect to such Payment, within five days of the receipt of the Accounting Firm’s determination. Any determination by the Accounting Firm shall be binding upon the Company and Executive. As a result of the uncertainty in the application of Section 4999 of the Code at the time of the initial determination by the Accounting Firm hereunder, it is possible that Gross-Up Payments which will not have been made by the Company should have been made (each, an “Underpayment”), consistent with the calculations required to be made hereunder. In the event that the Company exhausts its remedies pursuant to Section 5(c) and Executive thereafter is required to make a payment of any Excise Tax, the Accounting Firm shall determine the amount of the Underpayment that has occurred and any such Underpayment shall be promptly paid by the Company to or for the benefit of Executive.
(c) Executive shall notify the Company in writing of any claim by the Internal Revenue Service that, if successful, would require the payment by the Company of a Gross-Up Payment (or an additional Gross-Up Payment). Such notification shall be given as soon as practicable but no later than 10 business days after Executive is informed in writing of such claim and shall apprise the Company of the nature of such claim and the date on which such claim is requested to be paid. Executive shall not pay such claim prior to the expiration of the 30-day period following the date on which it gives such notice to the Company (or such shorter period ending on the date that any payment of taxes with respect to such claim is due). If the Company notifies Executive in writing prior to the expiration of such period that it desires to contest such claim, Executive shall:
(i) give the Company any information reasonably requested by the Company relating to such claim,
(ii) take such action in connection with contesting such claim as the Company shall reasonably request in writing from time to time, including, without limitation, accepting legal representation with respect to such claim by an attorney reasonably selected by the Company,
(iii) cooperate with the Company in good faith in order to effectively contest such claim, and
(iv) permit the Company to participate in any proceedings relating to such claim; provided, however, that the Company shall bear and pay directly all costs and expenses (including additional interest and penalties) incurred in connection with such contest and shall indemnify and hold Executive harmless, on an after-tax basis, for any Excise Tax or income tax (including interest and penalties with respect thereto) imposed as a result of such representation and payment of costs and expenses. Without limitation of the foregoing provisions of this Section 5(c), the Company shall control all proceedings taken in connection with such contest (to the extent applicable to the Excise Tax and the Gross-Up Payment) and, at its sole option, may pursue or forgo any and all administrative appeals, proceedings, hearings and conferences with the taxing authority in respect of such claim and may, at its sole option, either direct Executive to pay the tax claimed and xxx for a refund or contest the claim in any permissible manner, and Executive agrees to prosecute such contest to a determination before any administrative tribunal, in a court of initial jurisdiction and in one or more appellate courts, as the Company shall determine; provided, however, that if the Company directs Executive to pay such claim and xxx for a refund, the Company shall advance the amount of such payment to Executive, on an interest-free basis and shall indemnify and hold Executive harmless, on an after-tax basis, from any Excise Tax or income tax (including interest or penalties with respect thereto) imposed with respect to such advance or with respect to any imputed income with respect to such advance; and further provided that any extension of the statute of limitations relating to payment of taxes for the taxable year of Executive with respect to which such contested amount is claimed to be due is limited solely to such contested amount. Furthermore, the Company’s control of the contest shall be limited to issues with respect to which a Gross-Up Payment would be payable hereunder and Executive shall be entitled to settle or contest, as the case may be, any other issue raised by the Internal Revenue Service or any other taxing authority.
(d) If, after the receipt by Executive of an amount advanced by the Company pursuant to Section 5(c), Executive becomes entitled to receive any refund with respect to such claim, Executive shall (subject to the Company’s complying with the requirements of Section 5(c)) promptly pay (in no more than five business days) to the Company the amount of such refund (together with any interest paid or credited thereon after taxes applicable thereto). If, after the receipt by Executive of an amount advanced by the Company pursuant to Section 5(c), a determination is made that Executive shall not be entitled to any refund with respect to such claim and the Company does not notify Executive in writing of its intent to contest such denial of refund prior to the expiration of 30 days after such determination, then such advance shall be forgiven and shall not be required to be repaid and the amount of such advance shall offset, to the extent thereof, the amount of Gross-Up Payment required to be paid.
Actions by the Company Any action, election or determination by the Board or any committee thereof pursuant to or relating to this Agreement will be effective if, and only if, it is taken or made by (or with the prior approval of) a majority of the members of the Board who are not at the time employees of Holdings or any of its Subsidiaries.
Deliveries by the Company (a) At the Closing, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to Purchaser Sub:
(i) a certificate, dated as of the Closing Date, executed by the Company confirming the satisfaction of the conditions specified in Section 7.2(a) and Section 7.2(b);
(ii) a certification of non-foreign status reasonably acceptable to Parent, for purposes of Section 897 and 1445 of the Code;
(iii) duly executed counterparts by the Company or any Affiliate of the Company to each of the Ancillary Agreements applicable to the Closing; and
(iv) an Operational Duplicate IT System Certificate, executed by the Company, dated as of the Closing Date.
(b) At each Subsequent Closing and at the Distribution Center Closing, as applicable, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to Purchaser Sub:
(i) the certificate described in Section 2.1(b)(i), dated as of each Subsequent Closing Date or Distribution Center Closing Date, as applicable, executed by the Company, each reference therein to “Closing Date” shall be deemed to be such Subsequent Closing Date or Distribution Center Closing Date, as applicable, solely with respect to the Acquired Stores or Distribution Centers (and Purchased Assets related thereto) to be transferred at such Subsequent Closing and the Distribution Center Closing (as applicable);
(ii) a certificate dated as of each Subsequent Closing Date or Distribution Center Closing Date, as applicable, executed by the Company regarding the accuracy of the matters set forth in Section 7.2(b) and, solely with respect to the first Subsequent Closing, Section 7.2(d) and where, for purposes of this Section 2.3(b)(ii), each reference therein to “Closing Date” in Section 7.2(b) and, solely with respect to the first Subsequent Closing, Section 7.2(d), as applicable, shall be deemed to be such Subsequent Closing Date or Distribution Center Closing Date, as applicable, solely with respect to the Acquired Stores or Distribution Centers (and Purchased Assets therein) to be transferred at such Subsequent Closing and the Distribution Center Closing (as applicable);
(iii) solely with respect to the first Subsequent Closing, the Operational Duplicate IT System Certificate, executed by the Company, dated as of the first Subsequent Closing Date;
(iv) a certification of non-foreign status reasonably acceptable to Parent, for purposes of Section 897 and 1445 of the Code; and
(v) duly executed counterparts by the Company or any Affiliate of the Company to each of the Ancillary Agreements applicable to such Subsequent Closing and the Distribution Center Closing.
Conduct of Business by the Company Pending the Closing The Company covenants and agrees that, between the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time, except as set forth in Section 6.1 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or as permitted by any other provision of this Agreement, unless Parent will otherwise agree in writing (which agreement will not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), the Company will, and will cause each Company Subsidiary to, conduct its operations in the ordinary course of business and use commercially reasonable efforts to preserve substantially intact its business organization and maintain existing relations and goodwill with customers, suppliers and employees in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice. Without limiting the foregoing, and as an extension thereof, except as set forth in Section 6.1 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or as permitted by any other provision of this Agreement, the Company will not (unless required by applicable Law), and will not permit any Company Subsidiary to, between the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time, directly or indirectly, do, or agree to do, any of the following without the prior written consent of Parent (which consent will not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned):
(a) amend or otherwise change its certificate of incorporation or bylaws or equivalent organizational documents;
(b) issue, sell, pledge, dispose of, grant, transfer or encumber, or authorize the issuance, sale, pledge, disposition, grant, transfer, or encumbrance of, any shares of capital stock of, or other Equity Interests in, the Company or any Company Subsidiary of any class, or securities convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, any shares of such capital stock or other Equity Interests, or any options, warrants or other rights of any kind to acquire any shares of such capital stock or other Equity Interests or such convertible or exchangeable securities, or any other ownership interest (including, without limitation, any such interest represented by Contract right), of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, other than the issuance of Shares (i) upon the vesting of Company RSUs or Company Restricted Shares, (ii) the exercise of Company Options outstanding as of the date hereof in accordance with their terms or (iii) in connection with the Top-Up Option;
(c) sell, pledge, dispose of, let lapse, abandon, assign, transfer, lease, license, guarantee or encumber any material property or assets of the Company or any Company Subsidiary (including any Registered Intellectual Property and unregistered Owned Intellectual Property), except (i) to the extent required pursuant to Contracts in effect prior to the date hereof, (ii) pursuant to the sale, purchase or licensing of inventory, raw materials, equipment, goods, or other supplies in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice or (iii) for non-exclusive licenses in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice with a fair market value not in excess of $2,500,000 in the aggregate;
(d) declare, set aside, make or pay any dividend or other distribution (whether payable in cash, stock, property or a combination thereof) with respect to any of its capital stock (other than dividends paid by a wholly-owned Company Subsidiary to the Company or another wholly-owned Company Subsidiary) or enter into any agreement with respect to the voting or registration of its capital stock;
(e) reclassify, combine, split, subdivide or amend the terms of, or redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire, directly or indirectly, any of its capital stock, other Equity Interests or any other securities, or authorize or propose the issuance of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for shares of its capital stock or other securities, in each case other than in connection with the Top-Up Option;
(f) merge or consolidate the Company or any Company Subsidiary with any Person or adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation or resolutions providing for a complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, or otherwise enter into any agreements imposing material restrictions on the assets, operations or businesses of the Company or any Company Subsidiary;
(g) enter into a new line of business (other than currently-projected extensions of existing product lines);
(h) acquire (including, without limitation, by merger, consolidation, or acquisition of stock or assets) any interest in any Person or any division thereof or any assets, other than acquisitions of assets (including, without limitation, the purchase of inventory, raw materials, equipment, goods, or other supplies) in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and any other acquisitions for consideration that is individually not in excess of $2,500,000, or in the aggregate not in excess of $5,000,000;
(i) incur any indebtedness for borrowed money or issue any debt securities or assume, guarantee or endorse, or otherwise become responsible for the obligations of any Person (other than a wholly-owned Company Subsidiary) for borrowed money;
(j) make any loans, advances, guarantees or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person (other than any wholly-owned Company Subsidiary) in excess of $2,500,000 in the aggregate;
(k) terminate, cancel or amend any Company Material Contract, or cancel, modify or waive any rights thereunder, or enter into or amend any Contract that, if existing on the date hereof, would be a Company Material Contract;
(l) make or authorize any capital expenditure in excess of the Company’s capital expenditure budget as disclosed to Parent prior to the date hereof, other than capital expenditures that are not, in the aggregate, in excess of $2,500,000;
(m) except to the extent required by (i) applicable Law, (ii) the existing terms of any Company Benefit Plan, (iii) contractual commitments or corporate policies with respect to severance or termination pay as in existence on the date hereof and listed on Section 6.1(m) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or (iv) as otherwise provided on Section 6.1(m) of the Company Disclosure Schedule: (A) increase in any manner the compensation, bonus or benefits payable or to become payable to its Service Providers (except for increases in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice in base salaries or base wages of employees of the Company or any Company Subsidiary); (B) grant any additional rights to severance or termination pay to, or enter into any severance agreement with, any Service Provider, or establish, adopt, enter into or amend any Company Benefit Plan; (C) grant any new awards under any Company Benefit Plan, (D) amend or modify any outstanding award under any Company Benefit Plan, (E) take any action to amend, waive or accelerate the vesting criteria or vesting requirements of payment of any compensation or benefit under any Company Benefit Plan or remove any existing restrictions in any Company Benefit Plans or awards made thereunder, (F) take any action to accelerate the payment, or to fund or in any other way secure the payment, of compensation or benefits under any Company Benefit Plan, to the extent not already provided in any such Company Benefit Plan or (G) change any actuarial or other assumptions used to calculate funding obligations with respect to any Company Benefit Plan or to change the manner in which contributions to such plans are made or the basis on which such contributions are determined, except as may be required by GAAP or applicable laws;
(n) forgive any loans to Service Providers or any of their respective affiliates;
(o) make any material change in accounting policies, practices, principles, methods or procedures, other than as required by GAAP or by a Governmental Entity;
(p) encourage customers to make payments earlier than would otherwise reasonably be expected (based on past practice) to be made to the Company or the Company Subsidiaries, or agree to payment terms or conditions with suppliers that are not consistent in all material respects with past practice;
(q) compromise, settle or agree to settle any Proceeding (including any Proceeding relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby) other than compromises, settlements or agreements in the ordinary course of business that involve only the payment of monetary damages not in excess of $2,500,000 individually or $5,000,000 in the aggregate, in any case without the imposition of equitable relief on, or the admission of wrongdoing by, the Company or any Company Subsidiary;
(r) (i) make, change, or rescind any material Tax election, (ii) file any material amended Tax Return of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries, (iii) or adopt or change any material method or period of Tax accounting, (iv) settle or compromise any material claim relating to Taxes; (v) surrender any material claim for a refund of Taxes; (vi) enter into any “closing agreement” as described in Section 7121 of the Code with respect to material Taxes; or (vii) consent to any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to any material Tax claim or assessment (other than pursuant to extensions of time to file Tax Returns obtained in the ordinary course of business);
(s) write up, write down or write off the book value of any assets, except for depreciation and amortization and normal valuation adjustments to accounts receivable and inventory in accordance with GAAP consistently applied;
(t) pre-pay any long-term debt; or
(u) authorize or enter into any Contract or otherwise make any commitment, in each case to do any of the foregoing in clauses (a) through (t).
Conduct of Business by the Company (a) From and after the date hereof and prior to the Effective Time or the date, if any, on which this Agreement is earlier terminated pursuant to Section 7.1 (the “Termination Date”), and except (w) as may be required by applicable Law, (x) with the prior written consent of Parent, (y) as expressly contemplated or permitted by this Agreement or (z) as disclosed in Section 5.1 of the Company Disclosure Letter, the Company shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to (i) conduct its business in the ordinary course consistent with past practices, (ii) use reasonable best efforts to maintain and preserve intact its business organization to maintain its rights, franchises, licenses and other authorizations issued by Governmental Entities and to retain the services of its key officers and key employees and (iii) take no action which would reasonably be expected to materially impair or materially delay the ability of any of the parties hereto from obtaining any necessary approvals of any regulatory agency or other Governmental Entity required for the transactions contemplated hereby, performing its covenants and agreements under this Agreement or consummating the transactions contemplated hereby.
(b) The Company agrees with Parent, on behalf of itself and its Subsidiaries, that between the date hereof and the Effective Time, except as set forth in Section 5.1(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter or expressly contemplated by this Agreement, the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, without the prior written consent of Parent:
(i) adjust, split, combine or reclassify any capital stock or otherwise amend the terms of its capital stock or other equity interests;
(ii) make, declare or pay any dividend, or make any other distribution on, or directly or indirectly redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire or encumber, any shares of its capital stock or other equity interests or any securities or obligations convertible (whether currently convertible or convertible only after the passage of time or the occurrence of certain events) into or exchangeable for any shares of its capital stock or other equity interests, except in connection with cashless exercises or similar transactions pursuant to the exercise of stock options issued and outstanding as of the date hereof under the Company Stock Plan;
(iii) grant any person any right to acquire any shares of its capital stock or other equity interests;
(iv) issue any additional shares of capital stock or other equity interests except pursuant to the exercise of stock options issued under the Company Stock Plans issued and outstanding as of the date hereof and listed on Section 3.2(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter and in accordance with the terms of such instruments;
(v) purchase, sell, transfer, mortgage, encumber or otherwise dispose of any properties or assets having a value in excess of $5 million in the aggregate;
(vi) make any investment or acquisition of another person or business, whether by purchase of stock or securities, contributions to capital, property transfers, or purchases of property or assets in excess of $5 million in the aggregate;
(vii) make any capital expenditures not contemplated by the capital expenditure budget having an aggregate value in excess of $5 million for any 12 consecutive month period;
(viii) incur, assume, guarantee, or become obligated with respect to, any debt, which, when taken together with all other debt of the Company and its Subsidiaries, would result in there being indebtedness of the Company and its Subsidiaries greater than $180 million in the aggregate outstanding at any given time (excluding intercompany debt), or any debt which contains covenants that restrict the Merger or that are inconsistent with the Financing Commitments;
(ix) enter into, renew, extend, amend or terminate (A) any Company Material Contract or Contract which if entered into prior to the date hereof would be a Company Material Contract, in each case, other than any Contract relating to indebtedness that would not be prohibited under clause (viii) of this Section 5.1(b), or (B) any Contracts not in the ordinary course, involving the commitment or transfer of value in excess of $5 million in the aggregate in any year;
(x) enter into, amend or terminate any material reinsurance, coinsurance, modified coinsurance or any similar Contract (including any surplus relief or financial reinsurance Contract), whether as reinsurer or reinsured;
(xi) except to the extent required by Law or by Contracts in existence as of the date hereof (complete copies of which have been provided or made available to Parent prior to the date hereof), (A) increase in any manner the compensation or benefits of any of its employees, directors, consultants, independent contractors or service providers, except, with respect to non-officer employees, in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (B) pay any pension, severance or retirement benefits not required by any existing plan or agreement to any such employees, directors, consultants, independent contractors or service providers, (C) except to comply with Sections 2.3 or 5.12, enter into, amend, alter, adopt, implement or otherwise commit itself to any compensation or benefit plan, program, policy, arrangement or agreement including any pension, retirement, profit-sharing, bonus or other employee benefit or welfare benefit plan, policy, arrangement or agreement or employment or consulting agreement with or for the benefit of any employee, director, consultant, independent contractor or service provider, (D) cause the funding of any rabbi trust or similar arrangement or take any action to fund or in any other way secure the payment of compensation or benefits under any Company Benefit Plan, or (E) materially change any actuarial or other assumptions used to calculate funding obligations with respect to any Company Benefit Plan or change the manner in which contributions to such plans are made or the basis on which such contributions are determined, except as may be required by GAAP or applicable Law;
(xii) waive, release, assign, settle or compromise any claim, action or proceeding, other than waivers, releases, assignments, settlements or compromises that involve only the payment of monetary damages not in excess of $1 million in the aggregate, or otherwise pay, discharge or satisfy any claims, liabilities or obligations in excess of such amount, in each case, other than in the ordinary course consistent with past practice;
(xiii) amend or waive any provision of, or modify, the Company Charter Documents or Subsidiary Documents;
(xiv) take or omit to take any action that is intended or would reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, result in any of the conditions to the Merger set forth in Article VI not being satisfied or satisfaction of those conditions being materially delayed in violation of any provision of this Agreement;
(xv) enter into any “non-compete” or similar agreement that would materially restrict the businesses of the Surviving Corporation or its Subsidiaries following the Effective Time or that would in any way restrict the businesses of Parent or its Affiliates (excluding the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries) or take any action that may impose new or additional regulatory requirements on any Affiliate of Parent (excluding the Surviving Corporation and its Subsidiaries);
(xvi) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of such entity;
(xvii) implement or adopt any material change in its existing underwriting, claim handling, loss control, investment, actuarial (or any material assumption underlying an actuarial practice or policy) or Tax or financial accounting principles, practices or methods, other than as required by GAAP, applicable Law or regulatory guidelines;
(xviii) (A) enter into any closing agreement with respect to material Taxes, (B) settle or compromise any material liability for Taxes, (C) make, revoke or change any material Tax election, (D) file or surrender any claim for a material refund of Taxes, (E) file any amended Tax Return involving a material amount of Taxes, or (F) prepare any Tax Returns in a manner which is not consistent in all material respects with the past practice of the Company and its Subsidiaries;
(xix) enter into any new, or materially amend or otherwise materially alter any current, Affiliate Transaction or transaction which would be an Affiliate Transaction if such transaction occurred prior to the date hereof; or
(xx) agree to take, make any commitment to take, or adopt any resolutions of its Board of Directors in support of, any of the actions prohibited by this Section 5.1(b). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, any action or failure to act by any of Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx, Xx., Xxx X. Xxxxx or Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx, III, or at their direction, will not be deemed to be actions of the Company for purposes of this Section 5.1 unless such action or failure to act was taken with the support of a majority of the independent members of the Board of Directors of the Company.
Lists of Holders and Reports by the Company and the Trustee Section 5.01. Lists of Holders 27 Section 5.02. Preservation and Disclosure of Lists 27
Conduct of Business by the Company Pending the Merger From the date of this Agreement until the Merger Effective Time, except as required by this Agreement, as may be required by applicable Law or as set forth in Section 6.01 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or except with the prior written consent of Parent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned (provided that consent of Parent shall be deemed to have been given if Parent does not object within three (3) Business Days after request for such consent is actually received by Parent), the Company shall, and shall cause each of the Company Subsidiaries to, conduct its business in the ordinary course consistent with past practice and shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to preserve substantially intact the business, assets and organization of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries and to preserve the current beneficial relationships of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries with any Person with which the Company or any Company Subsidiary has material business relations (including customers, suppliers, directors, officers and key employees). Except as required by this Agreement, as may be required by applicable Law or as set forth in Section 6.01 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the Company nor any Company Subsidiary shall, between the date of this Agreement and the Merger Effective Time, do any of the following without the prior written consent of Parent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned; provided, however, that consent of Parent shall be deemed to have been given if Parent does not object within three (3) Business Days after request for such consent is actually received by Parent.
(a) amend or otherwise change any provision of the Company Charter or Company Bylaws, or similar organizational or governance documents;
(b) (i) authorize for issuance, issue, sell, pledge, dispose of, grant or transfer or agree or commit to issue, sell, dispose of, grant or transfer any shares of any class of capital stock of the Company or any Company Subsidiary or any options, warrants, convertible securities or other rights of any kind to acquire any shares of such capital stock, or any other ownership interest, of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, other than the issuance of Company Common Shares issuable pursuant to Company Stock Awards outstanding on the date hereof, (ii) repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any securities or equity equivalents except in connection with the exercise of Company Stock Options or the vesting of Company Stock Awards, (iii) declare, set aside or pay any dividends on, or make any other actual, constructive or deemed distributions (whether in cash, shares, property or otherwise) in respect of, any shares of the Company’s capital stock or the shares of stock or other equity interests in any Company Subsidiary that is not directly or indirectly wholly owned by the Company, other than (A) dividends by any direct or indirect wholly owned Company Subsidiary to the Company or any other Company Subsidiary and (B) dividend equivalents already accrued as of the date hereof and paid with respect to Company Stock Awards outstanding on the date hereof and set forth in Section 6.01(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or (iv) split, combine or reclassify any shares, stock or other equity interests of the Company or any Company Subsidiary or issue or authorize the issuance of any securities in respect of, in lieu of or in substitution for shares of such shares, stock or other equity interests;
(c) merge or consolidate with any other Person or adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any Company Subsidiary (other than the Merger), except (i) that a Company Subsidiary may merge with another Company Subsidiary or (ii) for acquisitions (including by way of merger, consolidation, acquisition of equity interests or assets or any other business combination) by the Company or any Company Subsidiary of any Person providing for purchase price consideration (including any related amounts or promissory notes) of an amount less than Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) individually or Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000) in the aggregate;
(d) sell, lease, license, subject to a Lien (other than a Permitted Lien) or otherwise surrender, relinquish or dispose of any assets or property of the Company or any Company Subsidiary other than in the ordinary course of business, except for (i) sales of investment assets by the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (ii) transfers and pledges of assets in connection with the conduct of the insurance business, including pursuant to reinsurance, coinsurance, ceding of insurance, assumption of insurance or indemnification with respect to insurance and similar arrangements, in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (iii) sales or transfers of assets between wholly owned Company Subsidiaries, (iv) pursuant to existing written contracts or commitments as set forth in Section 6.01(d) of the Company Disclosure Schedule or (v) in an amount not in excess of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) in the aggregate;
(e) incur any indebtedness for borrowed money or issue any debt securities or assume, guarantee or endorse, or otherwise as an accommodation become responsible for, the obligations of any person (other than a Company Subsidiary) for borrowed money, other than indebtedness for borrowed money incurred in the ordinary course of business and pursuant to any credit agreement to which the Company or any Company Subsidiary is a party as of the date of this Agreement (which shall be deemed to include draws or standby letters of credit under the Company’s line of credit facility or other similar lines of credit);
(f) except as required by the terms of the Plans or awards made thereunder prior to the date of this Agreement, (i) increase the compensation or benefits payable to its directors, officers or employees (other than increases for employees or officers below the level of senior vice president made in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice), (ii) amend, change, terminate or waive any rights under any Employment Agreement or (iii) establish, adopt, enter into or amend to materially increase benefits under any collective bargaining, bonus, profit sharing, thrift, compensation, stock option, restricted stock, pension, retirement, deferred compensation, employment, loan, retention, consulting, indemnification, termination, severance or other similar plan, agreement, trust, fund, policy or arrangement with any director, officer or employee (other than with respect to (A) agreements for new hires of non-executive officers in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice that do not provide any change in control benefits and (B) each award under the Company’s Performance Incentive Plan and the Company’s Long Term Incentive Plan;
(g) pre-pay any long-term debt (which shall be deemed to include pre-payments or repayments of lines of credit facilities or other similar lines of credit or payments made in respect of any termination or settlement of any interest rate swap or other similar hedging instrument relating thereto) in an amount exceeding Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) in the aggregate for the Company and the Company Subsidiaries taken as a whole, except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and in accordance with the terms of such debt;
(h) except as required by Law or changes in GAAP or SAP which become effective after the date of this Agreement, materially change any of its accounting policies (whether for financial accounting or Tax purposes);
(i) authorize, or enter into any commitment for, any new material capital expenditures (such authorized or committed new material capital expenditures being referred to hereinafter as the “Capital Expenditures”) in an amount in excess of Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000) in the aggregate;
(j) pay, discharge, settle or satisfy any material litigation, arbitrations, proceedings, claims, liabilities or obligations other than any payment, discharge, settlement or satisfaction in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice (which includes payment of policyholders’ claims) where the amounts paid or to be paid, except in the case of policyholder claims, (i) are covered by insurance coverage maintained by the Company or (ii) are in an amount less than Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) in the aggregate;
(k) take any action that would cause any of the representations or warranties of the Company contained herein to become inaccurate in any material respect or any of the covenants of the Company to be breached in any material respect or result in the failure to be satisfied of any of the conditions set forth in Section 8.02;
(l) create or have any subsidiary of the Company other than the Company Subsidiaries as of the date of this Agreement;
(m) (A) amend, change, cancel, terminate or waive or release, in any material respect, any rights under any Company Material Contract that was required to be filed as an exhibit to the Company SEC Reports pursuant to Regulation S-K of the Securities Act or (B) enter into any new contract, agreement or arrangement that would be required to be filed as an exhibit to the Company SEC Reports pursuant to Regulation S-K of the Securities Act;
(n) (i) settle or compromise any material Tax audit, (ii) make or change any material Tax election or file any material amendment to a material Tax Return, except, in each case, as required by applicable Law, or (iii) surrender any right to claim a material refund of Taxes;
(o) enter into (i) any agreement or arrangement that would be required to be reported by the Company pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC or (ii) any agreement or arrangement with Alleghany Corporation or its Affiliates; or
(p) enter into any agreement or otherwise make a commitment to do any of the foregoing.
Suits by the Corporation The Corporation shall have the right to enforce full payment of the Exercise Price of all Common Shares issued by the Warrant Agent to a Registered Warrantholder hereunder and shall be entitled to demand such payment from the Registered Warrantholder or alternatively to instruct the Warrant Agent to cancel the share certificates and amend the securities register accordingly.
