Matters Requiring Investor Director Approval So long as either (x) the holders of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to elect one or more Series A Directors or (y) the holders of the Series B Preferred Stock are entitled to elect one or more Series B Directors, the Company hereby covenants and agrees with each of the Investors that it shall not, nor shall it permit any subsidiary of the Company to, without approval of the Board, which approval must include the affirmative vote of a majority of the Preferred Directors (which majority shall include a Series B Director), or the approval of the Requisite Holders:
(a) make, or permit any subsidiary to make, any loan or advance to, or own any stock or other securities of, any subsidiary or other corporation, partnership, or other entity unless it is wholly owned by the Company;
(b) make, or permit any subsidiary to make, any loan or advance to any Person, including, without limitation, any employee or director of the Company or any subsidiary, in excess of $100,000 (in the case of individuals) or $500,000 (in the case of Persons that are not individuals), except advances and similar expenditures in the ordinary course of business or under the terms of an employee stock or option plan approved by the Board;
(c) guarantee, directly or indirectly, or permit any subsidiary to guarantee, directly or indirectly, any indebtedness of any third party, except for trade accounts of the Company or any subsidiary arising in the ordinary course of business;
(d) make any investment inconsistent with any investment policy approved by the Board;
(e) incur any aggregate indebtedness in excess of $500,000 that is not already included in a budget approved by the Board, other than trade credit incurred in the ordinary course of business;
(f) enter into or be a party to any transaction with any stockholder, director or officer of the Company or any “associate” (as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of any such Person, except for transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Purchase Agreement or transactions (including agreements related to the compensation of the Company’s executive officers) made in the ordinary course of business upon fair and reasonable terms that are approved by a majority of the disinterested members of the Board;
(g) increase the shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Company’s equity incentive plan or adopt any other equity incentive plan;
(h) hire or terminate the chief executive officer;
(i) enter into any corporate strategic relationship involving the payment, contribution, or assignment of money or assets which exceeds $5,000,000 in any single transaction or in the aggregate ten percent (10%) of the aggregate value of the Company’s net assets on a consolidated basis in any consecutive twelve-month period;
(j) sell, lease, transfer, exclusively license or otherwise dispose of material assets and/or intellectual property of the Company or its subsidiaries, in one or a series of related transactions, the aggregate value of which exceeds $5,000,000 in any single transaction or in the aggregate ten percent (10%) of the aggregate value of the Company’s net assets on a consolidated basis in any consecutive twelve-month period;
(k) acquire (by merger or stock or asset purchase or otherwise) any Person, business or asset in one or a series of related transactions, the aggregate value of which exceeds $5,000,0000 in any such one or series of related transactions or in the aggregate ten percent (10%) of the aggregate value of the Company’s net assets on a consolidated basis in any consecutive twelve-month period;
(l) make any material change in the business plan or business scope;
(m) settle any material litigation, arbitration or legal disputes;
(n) appoint or remove the Company’s auditor or change materially in accounting policies and standards, including financial year or tax year of the Company;
(o) effect any single capital expenditure, the value of which exceeds $5,000,000 in any single transaction or in the aggregate ten percent (10%) of the aggregate value of the Company’s net assets in any fiscal year; or
(p) enter into an agreement to do any of the foregoing. For purposes of this Section 5.4, the value of any net assets shall be the value as determined by the Company in good faith. Upon the request of any Investor, the Company shall provide such Investor with reasonable written documentation supporting the basis of such determination of value, and provide such Investor with reasonable access to the personnel, properties, books and records of the Company for the purpose of evaluating the foregoing determination. If such Investor raises any reasonable objections to the foregoing determination, the Company shall consider in good faith such objections and make such revisions to the final determination of value as may be mutually agreed between the Company and such Investor. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 5.4, such approval of the Board or the Requisite Holders shall not be required with respect to actions contemplated by any agreements entered into between the Company and its stockholder(s) on or prior to the date hereof.
Shareholder Approvals Each of South State and CenterState shall call, give notice of, establish a record date for, convene and hold a meeting of its shareholders (the “South State Meeting” and the “CenterState Meeting,” respectively) to be held as soon as reasonably practicable after the S-4 is declared effective, for the purpose of obtaining (a) in the case of CenterState, the Requisite CenterState Vote, and in the case of South State, the Requisite South State Vote, and (b) if so desired and mutually agreed, a vote upon other matters of the type customarily brought before a meeting of shareholders in connection with the approval of a merger agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby, and each of CenterState and South State shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause such meetings to occur as soon as reasonably practicable and on the same date. Each of South State and CenterState and their respective Boards of Directors shall use its reasonable best efforts to obtain from the shareholders of South State and CenterState, as applicable, the Requisite South State Vote and the Requisite CenterState Vote, as applicable, including by communicating to the respective shareholders of South State and CenterState its recommendation (and including such recommendation in the Joint Proxy Statement) that, in the case of South State, the shareholders of South State adopt and approve this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby and approve the South State Articles Amendment (the “South State Board Recommendation”), and, in the case of CenterState, the shareholders of CenterState adopt and approve this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby (the “CenterState Board Recommendation”). Each of South State and CenterState and their respective Boards of Directors shall not (i) withhold, withdraw, modify or qualify in a manner adverse to the other party the South State Board Recommendation, in the case of South State, or the CenterState Board Recommendation, in the case of CenterState, (ii) fail to make the South State Board Recommendation, in the case of South State, or the CenterState Board Recommendation, in the case of CenterState, in the Joint Proxy Statement, (iii) adopt, approve, recommend or endorse an Acquisition Proposal or publicly announce an intention to adopt, approve, recommend or endorse an Acquisition Proposal, (iv) fail to publicly and without qualification (A) recommend against any Acquisition Proposal or (B) reaffirm the South State Board Recommendation, in the case of South State, or the CenterState Board Recommendation, in the case of CenterState, in each case within ten (10) business days (or such fewer number of days as remains prior to the South State Meeting or the CenterState Meeting, as applicable) after an Acquisition Proposal is made public or any request by the other party to do so, or (v) publicly propose to do any of the foregoing (any of the foregoing a “Recommendation Change”). However, subject to Section 8.1 and Section 8.2, if the Board of Directors of South State or CenterState, after receiving the advice of its outside counsel and, with respect to financial matters, its financial advisors, determines in good faith that it would more likely than not result in a violation of its fiduciary duties under applicable law to make or continue to make the South State Board Recommendation or the CenterState Board Recommendation, as applicable, such Board of Directors may, in the case of South State, prior to the receipt of the Requisite South State Vote, and in the case of CenterState, prior to the receipt of the Requisite CenterState Vote, submit this Agreement to its shareholders without recommendation (although the resolutions approving this Agreement as of the date hereof may not be rescinded or amended), in which event such Board of Directors may communicate the basis for its lack of a recommendation to its shareholders in the Joint Proxy Statement or an appropriate amendment or supplement thereto to the extent required by law; provided that such Board of Directors may not take any actions under this sentence unless it (A) gives the other party at least three (3) business days’ prior written notice of its intention to take such action and a reasonable description of the event or circumstances giving rise to its determination to take such action (including, in the event such action is taken in response to an Acquisition Proposal, the latest material terms and conditions and the identity of the third party in any such Acquisition Proposal, or any amendment or modification thereof, or describe in reasonable detail such other event or circumstances) and (B) at the end of such notice period, takes into account any amendment or modification to this Agreement proposed by the other party and, after receiving the advice of its outside counsel and, with respect to financial matters, its financial advisors, determines in good faith that it would nevertheless more likely than not result in a violation of its fiduciary duties under applicable law to make or continue to make the South State Board Recommendation or CenterState Board Recommendation, as the case may be. Any material amendment to any Acquisition Proposal will be deemed to be a new Acquisition Proposal for purposes of this Section 6.3 and will require a new notice period as referred to in this Section 6.3. Neither South State nor CenterState shall adjourn or postpone the South State Meeting or the CenterState Meeting, as the case may be, except that South State or CenterState (1) shall be permitted to adjourn or postpone the South State Meeting or the CenterState Meeting, as the case may be, to allow reasonable additional time for the filing and mailing of any supplemental or amended disclosure which the South State Board or the CenterState Board, as the case may be, has determined in good faith after consultation with outside counsel is necessary under applicable law and for such supplemental or amended disclosure to be disseminated and reviewed by such party’s shareholders prior to the South State Meeting or the CenterState Meeting, as the case may be and (2) shall adjourn or postpone the South State Meeting or the CenterState Meeting, as the case may be, if, as of the time for which such meeting is originally scheduled there are insufficient shares of South State Common Stock or CenterState Common Stock, as the case may be, represented (either in person or by proxy) to constitute a quorum necessary to conduct the business of such meeting, or if on the date of such meeting CenterState or South State, as applicable, has not received proxies representing a sufficient number of shares necessary to obtain the Requisite CenterState Vote or the Requisite South State Vote; provided that, without the prior written consent of the other party, neither South State nor CenterState shall adjourn or postpone the South State Meeting or the CenterState Meeting, as the case may be, under this clause (2) for more than five (5) business days in the case of any individual adjournment or postponement or more than twenty (20) business days in the aggregate. If the CenterState Meeting or the South State Meeting is adjourned or postponed, South State and CenterState will use their reasonable best efforts to cause the South State Meeting or the CenterState Meeting, as the case may be, to also be adjourned or postponed such that the meetings occur on the same date. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, unless this Agreement has been terminated in accordance with its terms, (x) the South State Meeting shall be convened and this Agreement shall be submitted to the shareholders of South State at the South State Meeting and (y) the CenterState Meeting shall be convened and this Agreement shall be submitted to the shareholders of CenterState at the CenterState Meeting, and nothing contained herein shall be deemed to relieve either South State or CenterState of such obligation.
