Certain Transactions and Agreements To the Knowledge of the Company ----------------------------------- and the Shareholders, none of the directors or shareholders of the Company, nor any member of their immediate families, has any direct or indirect ownership interest in any firm or corporation that competes with the Company (except with respect to any interest in less than one percent of the stock of any corporation whose stock is publicly traded). None of said officers directors, shareholders or employees, nor any member of their immediate families, is directly or indirectly interested in any contract or informal arrangement with the Company, except for normal compensation for services as an officer, director or shareholder thereof. None of said officers, directors, shareholders or employees nor any member of their immediate families has any interest in any property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, including any Intellectual Property Rights, used in or pertaining to the business of the Company, except for the normal rights of a shareholder of the Company.
Fund Transactions The Advisor is authorized to select the brokers or dealers that will execute the purchases and sales of portfolio securities for the Fund. With respect to brokerage selection, the Advisor shall seek to obtain the best overall execution for fund transactions, which is a combination of price, quality of execution and other factors. The Advisor may, in its discretion, purchase and sell portfolio securities from and to brokers and dealers who provide the Advisor with brokerage, research, analysis, advice and similar services, and the Advisor may pay to these brokers and dealers, in return for such services, a higher commission or spread than may be charged by other brokers and dealers, provided that the Advisor determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in terms either of that particular transaction or of the overall responsibility of the Advisor to the Fund and its other clients and that the total commission paid by the Fund will be reasonable in relation to the benefits to the Fund and its other clients over the long-term. The Advisor will promptly communicate to the officers and the trustees of the Trust such information relating to portfolio transactions as they may reasonably request.
Merger, Consolidation, Acquisition and Sale of Assets (a) Enter into any merger, consolidation or other reorganization with or into any other Person or acquire all or a substantial portion of the assets or stock of any Person or permit any other Person to consolidate with or merge with it.
Options and Futures Transactions (a) Puts and Calls Traded on Securities Exchanges, NASDAQ or Over-the-Counter.
(i) The Bank shall take action as to put options ("puts") and call options ("calls") purchased or sold (written) by the Fund regarding escrow or other arrangements (i) in accordance with the provisions of any agreement entered into upon receipt of Proper Instructions among the Bank, any broker-dealer registered with the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (the "NASD"), and, if necessary, the Fund, relating to the compliance with the rules of the Options Clearing Corporation and of any registered national securities exchange, or of any similar organization or organizations.
(ii) Unless another agreement requires it to do so, the Bank shall be under no duty or obligation to see that the Fund has deposited or is maintaining adequate margin, if required, with any broker in connection with any option, nor shall the Bank be under duty or obligation to present such option to the broker for exercise unless it receives Proper Instructions from the Fund. The Bank shall have no responsibility for the legality of any put or call purchased or sold on behalf of the Fund, the propriety of any such purchase or sale, or the adequacy of any collateral delivered to a broker in connection with an option or deposited to or withdrawn from a Segregated Account (as defined in subsection 6.10 below). The Bank specifically, but not by way of limitation, shall not be under any duty or obligation to: (i) periodically check or notify the Fund that the amount of such collateral held by a broker or held in a Segregated Account is sufficient to protect such broker or the Fund against any loss; (ii) effect the return of any collateral delivered to a broker; or (iii) advise the Fund that any option it holds, has or is about to expire. Such duties or obligations shall be the sole responsibility of the Fund.
(b) Puts, Calls and Futures Traded on Commodities Exchanges
(i) The Bank shall take action as to puts, calls and futures contracts ("Futures") purchased or sold by the Fund in accordance with the provisions of any agreement entered into upon the receipt of Proper Instructions among the Fund, the Bank and a Futures Commission Merchant registered under the Commodity Exchange Act, relating to compliance with the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and/or any Contract Market, or any similar organization or organizations, regarding account deposits in connection with transactions by the Fund.
(ii) The responsibilities of the Bank as to futures, puts and calls traded on commodities exchanges, any Futures Commission Merchant account and the Segregated Account shall be limited as set forth in subparagraph (a)(ii) of this Section 6.9 as if such subparagraph referred to Futures Commission Merchants rather than brokers, and Futures and puts and calls thereon instead of options.
Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets (a) The Issuer will not consolidate with or merge with or into, or sell, convey, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of its property and assets (as an entirety or substantially an entirety in one transaction or a series of related transactions) to, any Person or permit any Person to merge with or into the Issuer unless:
(1) the Issuer shall be the continuing Person, or the Person (if other than the Issuer) formed by such consolidation or into which the Issuer is merged or that acquired or leased such property and assets of the Issuer shall be a corporation, general or limited partnership, limited liability company or other entity (other than an individual) organized and validly existing under the laws of the United States of America or any state or jurisdiction thereof and shall expressly assume, by a supplemental indenture, executed and delivered to the Trustee, all of the obligations of the Issuer on the Notes and under this Indenture;
(2) immediately after giving effect to such transaction, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing;
(3) immediately after giving effect to such transaction on a pro forma basis the Issuer, or any Person becoming the successor obligor of the Notes, as the case may be, could Incur at least $1.00 of Indebtedness under paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of Section 4.07; provided, however, that this clause (3) shall not apply to a consolidation or merger with or into a Wholly Owned Subsidiary with a positive net worth; provided further, however, that, in connection with any such merger or consolidation, no consideration (other than Capital Stock (other than Disqualified Stock) in the surviving Person or the Issuer) shall be issued or distributed to the holders of Capital Stock of the Issuer; and
(4) the Issuer delivers to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate (attaching the arithmetic computations to demonstrate compliance with clause (3) above) and an Opinion of Counsel, in each case stating that such consolidation, merger or transfer and such supplemental indenture complies with this Section 5.01 and that all conditions precedent provided for herein relating to such transaction have been complied with; provided, however, that clause (3) above does not apply if, in the good faith determination of the Board of Directors of the Issuer, whose determination shall be evidenced by a Board Resolution, the principal purpose of such transaction is to change the state of domicile of the Issuer; provided further, however, that any such transaction shall not have as one of its purposes the evasion of the foregoing limitations.
(b) Except as provided in Section 10.04, no Subsidiary Guarantor may consolidate with or merge with or into (whether or not such Subsidiary Guarantor is the surviving Person) another Person, unless:
(1) either such Subsidiary Guarantor shall be the continuing Person or the Person (if other than such Subsidiary Guarantor) formed by such consolidation or into which such Subsidiary Guarantor is merged shall be a corporation or other legal entity organized and validly existing under the laws of the United States of America or any state or jurisdiction thereof and shall expressly assume, by a supplemental indenture, executed and delivered to the Trustee, all of the obligations of such Subsidiary Guarantor under the Subsidiary Guarantee of such Subsidiary Guarantor and under this Indenture; and
(2) immediately after giving effect to such transaction, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing.
(c) For purposes of the foregoing, the transfer (by lease, assignment, sale or otherwise, in a single transaction or series of transactions) of all or substantially all of the properties or assets of one or more Subsidiary Guarantors, the Capital Stock of which constitutes all or substantially all of the properties and assets of the Issuer, will be deemed to be the transfer of all or substantially all of the properties and assets of the Issuer.
(d) Upon any such consolidation, combination or merger of the Issuer or a Subsidiary Guarantor, or any such sale, conveyance, transfer, lease or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Issuer in accordance with this Section 5.01, in which the Issuer or such Subsidiary Guarantor is not the continuing obligor under the Notes or its Subsidiary Guarantee, the surviving entity formed by such consolidation or into which the Issuer or such Subsidiary Guarantor is merged or the entity to which the sale, conveyance, transfer, lease or other disposition is made will succeed to, and be substituted for, and may exercise every right and power of, the Issuer or such Subsidiary Guarantor under this Indenture, the Notes and the Subsidiary Guarantees with the same effect as if such surviving entity had been named therein as the Issuer or such Subsidiary Guarantor and, except in the case of a lease, the Issuer or such Subsidiary Guarantor, as the case may be, will be released from the obligation to pay the principal of and interest on the Notes or in respect of its Subsidiary Guarantee, as the case may be, and all of the Issuer’s or such Subsidiary Guarantor’s other obligations and covenants under the Notes, this Indenture and its Subsidiary Guarantee, if applicable.
(e) Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Subsidiary Guarantor may (i) consolidate with or merge with or into the Issuer or another Subsidiary Guarantor or (ii) convert into a corporation, general or limited partnership, limited liability company or trust organized under the laws of such Subsidiary Guarantor’s jurisdiction of organization or the laws of the United States of America or any state or jurisdiction thereof.
Liquidations, Mergers, Consolidations, Acquisitions Holdings shall not, and shall not permit any of its Material Subsidiaries to, dissolve, liquidate, or wind-up its affairs, or become a party to any amalgamation, merger or consolidation, or acquire by purchase, lease, or otherwise all or substantially all of the assets or capital stock of or other ownership interest in any other Person, provided that
(1) any Material Subsidiary may consolidate, amalgamate or merge into Holdings or any other Material Subsidiary provided that the Company may not merge, amalgamate or consolidate with Holdings, and the Company may only merge, amalgamate or consolidate with another Material Subsidiary if the Company is the surviving entity of such merger, amalgamation or consolidation; and
(2) Holdings or any Material Subsidiary may acquire, whether by purchase, by amalgamation or by merger, (A) all of the ownership interests of another Person or (B) substantially all of the assets of another Person or of a business or division of another Person (each a “Permitted Acquisition”), provided that each of the following requirements is met:
(i) if Holdings or any Material Subsidiary is acquiring the ownership interests in such Person and such Person meets the criteria for a Material Subsidiary set forth in the definition of such term at Section 1.01, such Person shall execute a Guarantor Joinder and join this Agreement as a Guarantor pursuant to Section 10.18 [Joinder of Guarantors] on or before the date of such Permitted Acquisition;
(ii) the board of directors or other equivalent governing body of such Person shall have approved such Permitted Acquisition and Holdings or the relevant Material Subsidiary shall have delivered to the Banks written evidence of such approval of the board of directors (or equivalent body) of such Person for such Permitted Acquisition;
(iii) the business acquired, or the business conducted by the Person whose ownership interests are being acquired, as applicable, shall be substantially the same as, or otherwise complementary or related to, one or more lines of business conducted by Holdings or any Material Subsidiary, or otherwise incidental to the business of a financial services company, and shall comply with Section 7.02(j) [Continuation of or Change in Business];
(iv) no Potential Default or Event of Default shall exist immediately prior to and after giving effect to such Permitted Acquisition; and
(v) upon the reasonable request of Agent, Holdings or the relevant Material Subsidiary shall deliver to the Agent at least five (5) Business Days before such Permitted Acquisition such information about such Person or its assets as Agent may reasonably require.
Consolidation, Merger or Certain Other Transactions The voluntary sale, conveyance, lease, exchange or transfer (for cash, shares of stock, securities or other consideration) of all or substantially all of the property or assets of the Partnership to, or the consolidation or merger or other business combination of the Partnership with or into, any corporation, trust or other entity (or of any corporation, trust or other entity with or into the Partnership) shall not be deemed to constitute a liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Partnership.
Transactions Affecting Disclosure to Finra 2.18.1. Except as described in the Preliminary Prospectus and/or the Prospectus, there are no claims, payments, arrangements, agreements or understandings relating to the payment of a finder’s, consulting or origination fee by the Company or the Initial Shareholders with respect to the sale of the Securities hereunder or any other arrangements, agreements or understandings of the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, the Initial Shareholders that may affect the Underwriters’ compensation, as determined by FINRA.
2.18.2. The Company has not made any direct or indirect payments (in cash, securities or otherwise) to: (i) any person, as a finder’s fee, consulting fee or otherwise, in consideration of such person raising capital for the Company or introducing to the Company persons who raised or provided capital to the Company; (ii) to any FINRA member; or (iii) to any person or entity that has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any FINRA member, within the twelve (12) months prior to the Effective Date, other than payments to the Representative.
2.18.3. No officer, director, or beneficial owner of any class of the Company’s securities (whether debt or equity, registered or unregistered, regardless of the time acquired or the source from which derived) (any such individual or entity, a “Company Affiliate”) is a member, a person associated, or affiliated with a member of FINRA.
2.18.4. No Company Affiliate is an owner of stock or other securities of any member of FINRA (other than securities purchased on the open market).
2.18.5. No Company Affiliate has made a subordinated loan to any member of FINRA.
2.18.6. No proceeds from the sale of the Public Securities (excluding underwriting compensation) or the Placement Securities or Additional Placement Securities will be paid to any FINRA member, or any persons associated or affiliated with a member of FINRA, except as specifically authorized herein and in the Subscription Agreements.
2.18.7. The Company has not issued any warrants or other securities, or granted any options, directly or indirectly to anyone who is a potential underwriter in the Offering or a related person (as defined by FINRA rules) of such an underwriter within the 180-day period prior to the initial filing date of the Registration Statement.
2.18.8. No person to whom securities of the Company have been privately issued within the 180-day period prior to the initial filing date of the Registration Statement has any relationship or affiliation or association with any member of FINRA.
2.18.9. No FINRA member intending to participate in the Offering has a conflict of interest with the Company. For this purpose, a “conflict of interest” exists when a member of FINRA and its associated persons, parent or affiliates in the aggregate beneficially own 10% or more of the Company’s outstanding subordinated debt or common equity, or 10% or more of the Company’s preferred equity. “Members participating in the Offering” include managing agents, syndicate group members and all dealers which are members of FINRA.
2.18.10. Except with respect to the Representative in connection with the Offering, the Company has not entered into any agreement or arrangement (including, without limitation, any consulting agreement or any other type of agreement) during the 180-day period prior to the initial filing date of the Registration Statement, which arrangement or agreement provides for the receipt of any item of value and/or the transfer of any warrants, options, or other securities from the Company to a FINRA member, any person associated with a member (as defined by FINRA rules), any potential underwriters in the Offering and any related persons.
Capitalization and Related Matters (a) The Company has an authorized capital consisting of 230,000,000,000 shares of Common Stock and 25,000,000 shares in total of Series A-2 Convertible Preferred Stock, Series D Convertible Preferred Stock, Series C Preferred Stock and collectively with the Series E Preferred Stock, “Preferred Stock”, of which 13,489,918,237 shares of Common Stock and 3,000 shares of Preferred Stock are issued and outstanding as of the date hereof (after giving effect to the transactions contemplated hereby) as set forth on Schedule 3.2(a) hereto. All of the outstanding shares of the Company’s capital stock are, and immediately after the Closing will be, validly issued and outstanding, fully paid and non-assessable. No such stock (i) was issued in violation of the preemptive rights of any shareholder or (ii) is held as treasury stock. All of the outstanding capital stock of the Company was issued in compliance with all applicable federal and state securities or “blue sky” laws and regulations.
(b) Except as set forth on Schedule 3.2(b) hereto, there are no outstanding securities convertible into Common Stock or any other capital stock of the Company nor any rights to subscribe for or to purchase, or any options for the purchase of, or any agreements providing for the issuance (contingent or otherwise) of, or any calls, commitments or claims of any character relating to, such capital stock or securities convertible into such capital stock (collectively, “Securities Rights”). Except as set forth on Schedule 3.2 hereto the Company (i) is not subject to any obligation (contingent or otherwise) to repurchase or otherwise acquire or retire any of its capital stock; or (ii) has no liability for dividends or other distributions declared or accrued, but unpaid, with respect to any capital stock.
(c) Except as set forth on Schedule 3.2(c) hereto, the Company is not a party to any agreement, understanding or arrangement, direct or indirect, relating to any class or series of the Company’s capital stock, including, without limitation, any voting agreement, restriction on resale, shareholder agreement or registration rights agreement.
Consolidation, Merger, Sale of Assets (a) Neither the Borrower nor any of its Material Subsidiaries (in one transaction or series of transactions) will wind up, liquidate or dissolve its affairs, or enter into any transaction of merger or consolidation, except any merger, consolidation, dissolution or liquidation (i) in which the Borrower is the surviving entity or if the Borrower is not a party to such transaction then a Subsidiary is the surviving entity or the successor to the Borrower has unconditionally assumed in writing all of the payment and performance obligations of the Borrower under this Agreement and the other Fundamental Documents, (ii) in which the surviving entity becomes a Subsidiary of the Borrower immediately upon the effectiveness of such merger, consolidation, dissolution or liquidation, or (iii) involving a Subsidiary in connection with a transaction permitted by Section 6.4(b); provided, however, that immediately prior to and on a Pro Forma Basis after giving effect to any such transaction described in any of the preceding clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) no Default or Event of Default has occurred and is continuing.
(b) The Borrower and its Subsidiaries (either individually or collectively and whether in one transaction or series of related transactions) will not sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
