Interim Operations Except as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth in Section 5.01 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or as consented to in writing by Parent, the Company covenants and agrees that during the period from the date of this Agreement to the Effective Time (or until termination of this Agreement in accordance with Article 7 hereof):
(a) the business and operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries shall be conducted, and the books and records of the Company and its Subsidiaries shall be maintained, only in the ordinary course of business and the Company and its Subsidiaries shall use their commercially reasonable best efforts to preserve intact their current business organizations, keep available the services of their current officers and employees and preserve their relationships with their material customers, suppliers, licensors, licensees, advertisers, distributors and other material third parties having business dealings with them and to preserve the goodwill of their respective businesses;
(b) the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (i) authorize for issuance, issue, deliver, sell or agree or commit to issue, sell or deliver (whether through the issuance or granting of options, commitments, subscriptions, rights to purchase or otherwise), pledge or otherwise encumber any shares of its capital stock or the capital stock of any of its Subsidiaries, any other securities or any securities convertible or exercisable into, or any rights, warrants or options to acquire, any such shares, securities or convertible securities or any other securities or equity equivalents (including, without limitation, stock appreciation rights or phantom interests), except for issuances of Common Shares upon the exercise of Options outstanding as of the date hereof; (ii) repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of the capital stock or other equity interests of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (including, without limitation, securities exchangeable for, or options, warrants, calls, commitments or rights of any kind to acquire, capital stock or other equity interests of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries); or (iii) amend, modify or waive any term of any outstanding security of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except (A) as required by this Agreement, (B) as set forth in Section 5.01(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, in connection with accelerating the vesting schedules of the Options to the extent required by the Stock Plans or the agreements pursuant to which such Options were granted or (C) in connection with terminating the Options and the Stock Plans;
(c) the Company shall not (i) sell, transfer or pledge, or agree to sell, transfer or pledge, any equity interest owned by it in any of its Subsidiaries or alter through merger, liquidation, reorganization, restructuring or in any other fashion the corporate structure or ownership of any of its Subsidiaries, (ii) amend or otherwise change its certificate of incorporation or bylaws or permit any of its Subsidiaries to amend its articles of incorporation, or bylaws or (iii) split, combine or reclassify any shares of its capital stock, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to split, combine or reclassify any shares of its capital stock;
(d) other than quarterly dividends not in excess of $0.075 per Common Share declared and paid consistent with past practices, the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, declare, set aside or pay any dividends on (whether in cash, stock or other property), or make any other distributions in respect of, any of its capital stock (except for dividends paid by direct or indirect wholly owned Subsidiaries to the Company or to other wholly owned Subsidiaries of the Company consistent with past practices);
(e) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries shall (i) grant or agree to any increase in any manner the compensation or benefits of any current or former director, officer or employee, except increases in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, increases and bonuses expressly required under existing employment agreements, bonus plans and other agreements and arrangements listed or described in Section 5.01(e) of the Company Disclosure Schedule and except in connection with accelerating the vesting schedules of the Options and terminating the Options and the Stock Plans, (ii) enter into any new or materially amend any existing Contract, transaction, commitment or arrangement with any current or former director, officer, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or (iii) except as set forth in Section 5.01(e) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, as may be required to comply with applicable Law and as provided or otherwise contemplated in this Agreement (including, without limitation, Section 2.02 hereof), become obligated under any Benefit Plan that was not in existence on the date hereof or amend or modify or terminate, or pay any benefit that is not required by, any Benefit Plan or other employee benefit plan or any agreement, arrangement, plan or policy for the benefit of any current or former director, officer or employee in existence on the date hereof;
(f) the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (x) enter into any new line of business, or acquire or agree to acquire, including, without limitation, by merging or consolidating with, or purchasing the assets or capital stock or other equity interests of, or by any other manner, any business or any corporation, partnership, association or other business organization or division thereof other than acquisitions or purchases made with the prior written consent of the Parent (each an “Approved Acquisition”) and other than non-taxable transfers by or among the Company and the Company’s Subsidiaries; or (y) establish or acquire (i) any Subsidiary other than wholly-owned Subsidiaries or (ii) Subsidiaries organized outside of the United States and its territorial possessions;
(g) the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (x) incur, assume, be responsible for or pre-pay any Indebtedness, enter into any agreement to, incur, assume, be responsible for or pre-pay any Indebtedness, guarantee, or agree to guarantee, any such Indebtedness or Liabilities or obligations of another person, issue or sell, or agree to issue or sell, any debt securities or options, warrants or calls or rights to acquire any debt securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, guarantee any debt securities of others, enter into any “keep well” or other agreement to maintain any financial statement condition of another person or enter into any arrangement having the economic effect of any of the foregoing; or (y) sell, lease, license or subject to any Lien or otherwise dispose of, or agree to sell, lease or subject to any Lien or otherwise dispose of, any of its properties or assets in excess of $25,000 individually or $50,000 in the aggregate other than (i) pursuant to existing contracts and commitments described in Section 5.01(g) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, (ii) immaterial properties or assets (or immaterial portions of properties or assets described in Section 5.01(g) of the Company Disclosure Schedule), (iii) Permitted Liens, (iv) Liens relating to Taxes that are not yet due and payable or otherwise being contested in good faith and as to which appropriate reserves have been established by the Company in accordance with GAAP and (v) other than non-taxable transfers by or among the Company and the Company’s Subsidiaries;
(h) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries shall adopt or put into effect a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (other than any transaction specifically contemplated by this Agreement);
(i) except as set forth in Section 5.01(i) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (i) enter into, or materially amend, modify or supplement any Contract outside the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice under which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries shall have monetary obligations in excess of $25,000 (except as may be necessary for the Company to comply with its obligations hereunder), or (ii) waive, release, grant, assign, modify or transfer any of its material rights or claims (whether such rights or claims arise under a Contract or otherwise);
(j) the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, authorize or make any capital expenditures (other than pursuant to commitments prior to the date hereof or other planned capital expenditures in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices disclosed in Section 5.01(j) of the Company Disclosure Schedule by category) or make any commitments with respect to capital expenditures or other planned capital expenditures other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices in excess of $500,000 in the aggregate;
(k) the Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, (i) continue in force insurance with good and responsible insurance companies adequately covering risks of such types and in such amounts as are consistent with the Company’s and its Subsidiaries’ past practices, (ii) use reasonable best efforts not to permit any insurance policy naming it as beneficiary or loss payable payee to be canceled or terminated, (iii) maintain all Leased Real Property (including, without limitation, the furniture, fixtures, equipment and systems therein) in its current condition in all material respects, subject to reasonable wear and tear and subject to any casualty or condemnation and Permitted Liens, subject to the expiration of real property leases in accordance with their terms, and (iv) pay, prior to the imposition of any Lien or material penalty all taxes, water and sewage rents, assessments and insurance premiums affecting such real property or contest them in good faith;
(l) except as set forth in Section 5.01(l) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (i) materially amend any currently existing labor or collective bargaining agreement, memorandum or understanding, grievance settlement or any other agreement or commitment to or relating to any labor union, or (ii) enter into any labor or collective bargaining agreement, memorandum or understanding, grievance settlement or any other agreement or commitment to or relating to any labor union which is different in any material respect with any currently existing collective bargaining agreement, memorandum or understanding, grievance settlement or commitment, except, in each case, as required by Law;
(m) the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, change any of the accounting policies, practices or procedures (including tax accounting policies, practices and procedures) used by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries as of the date hereof, except as may be required as a result of a change in applicable Law or in GAAP;
(n) the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, take, or agree or commit to take, any action that would, or is reasonably likely to, make any representation or warranty of the Company contained in this Agreement inaccurate in any material respect at, or as of any time prior to, the Effective Time or result in any of the conditions set forth in Article 6 not being satisfied, or omit, or agree to omit, to take any action necessary to prevent any such representation or warranty from being inaccurate in any material respect at any such time or to prevent any such condition from not being satisfied;
(o) the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, make or change any material tax election or change an annual accounting period with respect to Taxes, file any amended Tax Return, enter into any closing agreement, settle or compromise any Tax claim, assessment or liability relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or surrender any right to claim a refund of Taxes, except as set forth in Section 5.01(o) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, consent to any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to any Tax claim or assessment relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or take any other similar action, or omit to take any action relating to the filing of any Tax Return or the payment of any Tax, if such election, adoption, change, amendment, agreement, settlement, surrender, consent or other action or omission would have the effect of materially increasing the present or future Tax liability or materially decreasing any present or future Tax benefit of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries;
(p) the Company shall (i) use its commercially reasonable efforts to, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to use their respective commercially reasonable efforts to, prevent the termination of any Contract with any Significant Customer, (ii) not, and shall cause its Subsidiaries not to, amend or modify any Contract with any Significant Customer, other than on terms substantially equivalent to, or more beneficial on balance to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries than, the terms of such Contract prior to the making of such amendment or modification, and (iii) not, and shall cause its Subsidiaries not to, enter into, or materially amend, modify or supplement, any Lease or other Material Contract under which the costs or obligations of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries resulting from such amendment, modification or supplement would exceed $25,000 per annum individually or $100,000 per annum for all such amendments, modifications and supplements in the aggregate; and
(q) the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, agree or commit to do any of the foregoing.
