Operation of Business (a) Except as expressly contemplated by this Agreement or consented to by the Buyer in writing (which consent will not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), during the period from the date of this Agreement to the Closing or the earlier termination of this Agreement in accordance with Article XI hereof (the “Pre-Closing Period”), the Company shall, and shall cause each Consolidated Subsidiary to, conduct its operations only in the Ordinary Course of Business and in compliance with all applicable Laws and, to the extent consistent therewith, use its Reasonable Best Efforts to preserve intact its current business organization, keep available the services of its current officers and employees and preserve its relationships with customers, vendors and independent contractors and consultants. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, and except as expressly contemplated by this Agreement, during the Pre-Closing Period the Company shall not, and shall cause each Consolidated Subsidiary not to, without the written consent of the Buyer (which consent will not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed):
(i) issue or sell any stock or other securities of the Company or any Consolidated Subsidiary or any options, warrants or rights to acquire any such stock or other securities;
(ii) split, combine or reclassify any shares of its capital stock; or declare, set aside or pay any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, stock or property or any combination thereof) in respect of its capital stock;
(iii) create, incur or assume any Indebtedness in excess of $*** per occurrence or $*** in the aggregate, except accounts payable arising in the Ordinary Course of Business; assume, guarantee, endorse or otherwise become liable or responsible (whether directly, contingently or otherwise) for the obligations of any other Person; or make any loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person, other than in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(iv) except as required to comply with applicable Law or agreements, plans or arrangements existing on the date of this Agreement and listed in the Disclosure Schedule (A) take any action with respect to, adopt, enter into, terminate or amend any Employee Benefit Plan or any collective bargaining agreement (other than matters with respect to lxxxxxxxx unions in Canada, following consultation with Buyer) (B) increase the compensation or benefits of, or pay or promise any bonus to, any director or officer, or materially modify their terms of employment or engagement, (C) amend or accelerate the payment, right to payment or vesting of any compensation or benefits, including any outstanding equity compensation, except in the Ordinary Course of Business, (D) hire any new officers or (except in the Ordinary Course of Business) any new employees, (E) grant any awards under any bonus, incentive, performance or other compensation plan or arrangement or benefit plan, including the grant of performance units or the removal of existing restrictions in any benefit plans or agreements or awards made thereunder, or (F) take any action to fund or in any other way secure the payment of compensation or benefits under any employee plan, agreement, contract or arrangement or benefit plan; *** Represents material omitted per the registrant's Confidential Treatment Request and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 24b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
(v) acquire, sell, lease, license or dispose of any material assets or property (including any shares or other equity interests in or securities of any Consolidated Subsidiary or any other corporation, partnership, association or other business organization or division thereof), other than (A) acquisition of capital assets permitted by subsection (xii) below, and (B) sales of obsolete or worn-out inventory or assets in the Ordinary Course of Business and having a fair market value of not more than $*** in the aggregate;
(vi) mortgage or pledge any of its property or assets or subject any such property or assets to any Lien (other than Permitted Encumbrances);
(vii) amend its charter, bylaws, certificate of formation, limited liability company agreement or other organizational documents;
(viii) change the flag or registry of a Vessel;
(ix) change its accounting methods, principles or practices, except insofar as may be required by a generally applicable change in GAAP;
(x) make or change any Tax election, change an annual accounting period, file any amended Tax Return, enter into any closing agreement, waive or extend any statute of limitation with respect to Taxes, settle or compromise any Tax Liability, claim or assessment, surrender any right to claim a refund of Taxes or take any other similar action relating to the filing of any Tax Return or the payment of any Tax;
(xi) enter into, amend, terminate, take or omit to take any action that would constitute a violation of or default under, or waive any rights under, any contract or agreement of a nature required to be listed in Section 5.17 of the Disclosure Schedule, except in the Ordinary Course of Business, provided, for avoidance of doubt, amendments, modifications and termination of ocean service contracts with customers shall be deemed to be in the Ordinary Course of Business;
(xii) make or commit to make any capital expenditures in an aggregate amount exceeding by more than *** the year-to-date budgeted expenditures set forth on Schedule 6.3(a)(xii);
(xiii) institute or settle any material Legal Proceeding, except in the Ordinary Course of Business, provided for avoidance of doubt, settlements of cargo damage and loss claims by customers and claims of salvors or declaration and settlement of any general average shall be deemed in the Ordinary Course of Business; or
(xiv) agree in writing or otherwise to take any of the foregoing actions. *** Represents material omitted per the registrant's Confidential Treatment Request and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 24b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, certain business conducted by the Company and Consolidated Subsidiaries may be in competition with business conducted by one or more subsidiaries of Buyer (such businesses referred to herein as the “Competing Trades”). Nothing in this Agreement is intended to restrict the Company, the Consolidated Subsidiaries or the Buyer and its subsidiaries from continuing to engage in business in competition with each other.
Cessation of Business Any Obligor suspends or ceases to carry on (or threatens to suspend or cease to carry on) all or a material part of its business.
Termination of Business Relationship If the Optionee's Business Relationship with the Company and all Related Corporations is terminated, other than by reason of death, disability or dissolution as defined in Section 5, no further installments of this option shall become exercisable, and this option shall terminate (and may no longer be exercised) after the passage of 90 days from the date the Business Relationship ceases, but in no event later than the scheduled expiration date. In such a case, the Optionee's only rights hereunder shall be those which are properly exercised before the termination of this option.
Non-Solicitation of Business The Participant agrees and acknowledges that by virtue of the Participant’s employment with, or service to, the Employer, the Participant has developed or will develop relationships with and/or had or will have access to Confidential Information about Customers and agents, brokers and similar key business partners (“Key Business Partners”) and is, therefore, capable of significantly and adversely impacting existing relationships that the Company or an Affiliate has with them. The Participant further agrees and acknowledges that the Company and/or its Affiliates have invested in its and the Participant’s relationship with Customers and Key Business Partners and the goodwill that has been developed with them; therefore, the Company and/or its Affiliates have a legitimate business interest in protecting these relationships against solicitation and/or interference by the Participant for a reasonable period of time after the Participant’s employment with, or provision of services to, the Employer ends. Accordingly, during the Participant’s employment with the Employer and during the Restricted Period, the Participant shall not use or rely in any manner on any Confidential Information to directly or indirectly initiate, contact or engage in any contact or communication, of any kind whatsoever, that has the purpose or effect of: (A) inviting, assisting, encouraging or requesting any Customer or Key Business Partner to (1) transfer the Participant’s business from the Company or an Affiliate to the Participant, the Participant’s subsequent employer or any other third party, or (2) otherwise diminish, divert, discontinue or terminate Customer’s patronage and/or business relationship with the Company or an Affiliate; or (B) inviting, assisting, encouraging or requesting any Customer to purchase any products or services from the Participant, the Participant’s subsequent employer or any other third party that are or may be competitive with the products or services of the Company or an Affiliate, or use any products or services of the Participant, the Participant’s subsequent employer or of any other third party that are or may be competitive with the products or services of the Company or an Affiliate.
Continuity of Business Enterprise Except as set forth on Schedule 3.4, and except as contemplated by this Agreement, there has not been any sale, distribution or spin-off of significant assets of the Company or any of its Affiliates other than in the ordinary course of business within the two (2) year period preceding the date of this Agreement.
Preservation of Business The Seller will keep its business and properties substantially intact, including its present operations, physical facilities, working conditions, and relationships with lessors, licensors, suppliers, customers, and employees.
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.
Change of business The Company shall procure that no substantial change is made to the general nature of the business of the Company or the Group from that carried on at the date of this Agreement.
Character of Business Change the general character of business as conducted at the date hereof, or engage in any type of business not reasonably related to its business as presently conducted.
Continuation of Business Neither the Transfer of any Partnership Interest pursuant to Article 8 hereof nor the bankruptcy or withdrawal of a Partner shall cause the dissolution or termination of the Partnership or have any effect upon the continuance of the Partnership business. No Partner shall have a right to withdraw from the Partnership or to abandon any Partnership Interest.
