1
EXHIBIT 1.1
4,300,000 Shares
3-D GEOPHYSICAL, INC.
Common Stock
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
December , 1996
XXXXX XXXXXX INC.
XXXXXXXX XXXXXX REFSNES, INC.
XXXXXXX & COMPANY INTERNATIONAL
As Representatives of the Several Underwriters
c/o XXXXX XXXXXX INC.
000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Dear Sirs:
3-D Geophysical, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"),
proposes to issue and sell an aggregate of 4,300,000 shares (the "Firm Shares")
of its common stock, $0.01 par value per share (the "Common Stock"), to the
several Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the "Underwriters"). The
Company also proposes to sell to the Underwriters, upon the terms and
conditions set forth in Section 2 hereof, up to an additional 645,000 shares
(the "Additional Shares") of Common Stock. The Firm Shares and the Additional
Shares are hereinafter collectively referred to as the "Shares".
The Company wishes to confirm as follows its agreement with you (the
"Representatives") and the other several Underwriters on whose behalf you are
acting, in connection with the several purchases of the Shares by the
Underwriters.
1. Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company has
prepared and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission") in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder
(collectively, the "Act"), a registration statement on Form S-1 (Registration
No. 333-13665) under the Act (the "registration statement"), including a
prospectus subject to completion relating to the Shares. The term
"Registration Statement" as used in this Agreement means the registration
statement (including all financial schedules and exhibits), as amended at the
time it becomes effective, or, if the registration statement became effective
prior to the execution of this Agreement, as supplemented or amended prior to
the execution of this Agreement. If it is contemplated, at the time this
Agreement is executed, that a post-effective amendment to the registration
statement or a new registration statement pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Act
will be filed and must be declared effective before the offering of the Shares
may commence, the term "Registration Statement" as used in this Agreement means
the registration statement as amended by said post-effective amendment or such
new registration statement. The term "Prospectus" as used in this Agreement
means the prospectus in the form included in the Registration Statement, or, if
the prospectus included in the Registration Statement omits information in
reliance on Rule 430A under the Act and such information is
2
included in a prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b)
under the Act, the term "Prospectus" as used in this Agreement means the
prospectus in the form included in the Registration Statement as supplemented
by the addition of the Rule 430A information contained in the prospectus filed
with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b). The term "Prepricing Prospectus"
as used in this Agreement means the prospectus subject to completion in the
form included in the registration statement at the time of the initial filing
of the registration statement with the Commission, and as such prospectus shall
have been amended from time to time prior to the date of the Prospectus.
2. Agreements to Sell and Purchase. The Company hereby agrees,
subject to all the terms and conditions set forth herein, to issue and sell to
each Underwriter and, upon the basis of the representations, warranties and
agreements of the Company herein contained and subject to all the terms and
conditions set forth herein, each Underwriter agrees, severally and not
jointly, to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price of $________ per
Share (the "purchase price per share"), the number of Firm Shares set forth
opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto (or such number of
Firm Shares increased as set forth in Section 10 hereof).
The Company also agrees, subject to all the terms and conditions set
forth herein, to sell to the Underwriters, and, upon the basis of the
representations, warranties and agreements of the Company herein contained and
subject to all the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Underwriters
shall have the right to purchase from the Company, at the purchase price per
share, pursuant to an option (the "over-allotment option") which may be
exercised at any time and from time to time prior to 9:00 P.M., New York City
time, on the 30th day after the date of the Prospectus (or, if such 30th day
shall be a Saturday or Sunday or a holiday, on the next business day thereafter
when the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading), up to an aggregate of
600,000 Additional Shares. Additional Shares may be purchased only for the
purpose of covering over-allotments made in connection with the offering of the
Firm Shares. Upon any exercise of the over-allotment option, each Underwriter,
severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Company the number of
Additional Shares (subject to such adjustments as you may determine in order to
avoid fractional shares) which bears the same proportion to the number of
Additional Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters as the number of Firm
Shares set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto (or
such number of Firm Shares increased as set forth in Section 10 hereof) bears
to the aggregate number of Firm Shares.
3. Terms of Public Offering. The Company has been advised by you
that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of their respective
portions of the Shares as soon after the Registration Statement and this
Agreement have become effective as in your judgment is advisable and initially
to offer the Shares upon the terms set forth in the Prospectus.
4. Delivery of the Shares and Payment Therefor. Delivery to the
Underwriters of and payment for the Firm Shares shall be made at the office of
Fulbright & Xxxxxxxx L.L.P., 000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, at 10:00 A.M.,
New York City time, on , 1996 (the "Closing Date"). The place of
closing for the Firm Shares and the Closing Date may be varied by agreement
between you and the Company.
Delivery to the Underwriters of and payment for any Additional Shares
to be purchased by the Underwriters shall be made at the aforementioned office
of Xxxxx Xxxxxx Inc. at such time on such date (the "Option Closing Date"),
which may be the same as the Closing Date but shall in no event be earlier than
the Closing Date nor earlier than two nor later than ten business days after
the giving of the notice hereinafter referred to, as shall be specified in a
written notice from you on
-2-
3
behalf of the Underwriters to the Company of the Underwriters' determination to
purchase a number, specified in such notice, of Additional Shares. The place
of closing for any Additional Shares and the Option Closing Date for such
Shares may be varied by agreement between you and the Company.
Certificates for the Firm Shares and for any Additional Shares to be
purchased hereunder shall be registered in such names and in such denominations
as you shall request prior to 9:30 A.M., New York City time, on the second
business day preceding the Closing Date or any Option Closing Date, as the case
may be. Such certificates shall be made available to you in New York City for
inspection and packaging not later than 9:30 A.M., New York City time, on the
business day next preceding the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the
case may be. The certificates evidencing the Firm Shares and any Additional
Shares to be purchased hereunder shall be delivered to you on the Closing Date
or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, against payment of the purchase
price therefor in immediately available funds.
5. Agreements of the Company. The Company agrees with the
several Underwriters as follows:
(a) If, at the time this Agreement is executed and
delivered, it is necessary for the Registration Statement, a post-effective
amendment thereto or a new registration statement filed under Rule 462(b) to be
declared effective before the offering of the Shares may commence, the Company
will endeavor to cause the Registration Statement or such post-effective
amendment or new registration statement to become effective as soon as possible
and will advise you promptly and, if requested by you, will confirm such advice
in writing, when the Registration Statement or such post-effective amendment or
new registration statement has become effective.
(b) The Company will advise you promptly and, if
requested by you, will confirm such advice in writing: (i) of any request by
the Commission for amendment of or a supplement to the Registration Statement,
any Prepricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or for additional information; (ii)
of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the
effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of the suspension of
qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction or the
initiation of any proceeding for such purpose; and (iii) within the period of
time referred to in paragraph (f) below, of any change in the Company's
condition (financial or other), business, prospects, properties, net worth or
results of operations, or of the happening of any event, which makes any
statement of a material fact made in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus (as then amended or supplemented) untrue or which requires the
making of any additions to or changes in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus (as then amended or supplemented) in order to state a material fact
required by the Act or the regulations thereunder to be stated therein or
necessary in order to make the statements therein (with respect to the
Prospectus, in light of the circumstances under which they were made) not
misleading, or of the necessity to amend or supplement the Prospectus (as then
amended or supplemented) to comply with the Act or any state securities law.
If at any time the Commission shall issue any stop order suspending the
effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the Company will make every
reasonable effort to obtain the withdrawal of such order at the earliest
possible time.
(c) The Company will furnish to you, without charge, four
signed copies of the registration statement as originally filed with the
Commission and of each amendment thereto, including financial statements and
all exhibits thereto, and will also furnish to you, without charge,
-3-
4
such number of conformed copies of the registration statement as originally
filed and of each amendment thereto, but without exhibits, as you may request.
(d) The Company will not (i) file any amendment to the
Registration Statement or make any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus of
which you shall not previously have been advised or to which you shall
reasonably object after being so advised or (ii) so long as, in the opinion of
counsel for the Underwriters, a Prospectus is required to be delivered in
connection with sales of Shares by any Underwriter or dealer, file any
information, documents or reports pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), without delivering a copy of such
information, documents or reports to you, as Representatives of the
Underwriters, prior to or concurrently with such filing.
(e) Prior to the execution and delivery of this
Agreement, the Company has delivered to you, without charge, in such quantities
as you have reasonably requested, copies of each form of the Prepricing
Prospectus. The Company consents to the use, in accordance with the provisions
of the Act and with the securities or Blue Sky laws of the jurisdictions in
which the Shares are offered by the several Underwriters and by dealers, prior
to the date of the Prospectus, of each Prepricing Prospectus so furnished by
the Company.
(f) As soon after the execution and delivery of this
Agreement as possible and thereafter from time to time for such period as in
the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters a prospectus is required by the Act
to be delivered in connection with sales of Shares by any Underwriter or
dealer, the Company will expeditiously deliver to each Underwriter and each
dealer, without charge, as many copies of the Prospectus (and of any amendment
or supplement thereto) as you may request. The Company consents to the use of
the Prospectus (and of any amendment or supplement thereto) in accordance with
the provisions of the Act and with the securities or Blue Sky laws of the
jurisdictions in which the Shares are offered by the several Underwriters and
by all dealers to whom Shares may be sold, both in connection with the offering
and sale of the Shares and for such period of time thereafter as the Prospectus
is required by the Act to be delivered in connection with sales of Shares by
any Underwriter or dealer. If during such period of time any event shall occur
that in the judgment of the Company or in the opinion of counsel for the
Underwriters is required to be set forth in the Prospectus (as then amended or
supplemented) or should be set forth therein in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading, or if it is necessary to supplement or amend the Prospectus to
comply with the Act or any state securities law, the Company will forthwith
prepare and, subject to the provisions of paragraph (d) above, file with the
Commission an appropriate supplement or amendment thereto, and will
expeditiously furnish to the Underwriters and dealers a reasonable number of
copies thereof. In the event that the Company and you, as Representatives of
the several Underwriters, agree that the Prospectus should be amended or
supplemented, the Company, if requested by you, will promptly issue a press
release announcing or disclosing the matters to be covered by the proposed
amendment or supplement.
(g) The Company will cooperate with you and with counsel
for the Underwriters in connection with the registration or qualification of
the Shares for offering and sale by the several Underwriters and by dealers
under the securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions as you may
designate and will file such consents to service of process or other documents
necessary or appropriate in order to effect such registration or qualification;
provided that in no event shall the Company be obligated to qualify to do
business in any jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified
-4-
5
or to take any action which would subject it to service of process in suits,
other than those arising out of the offering or sale of the Shares, in any
jurisdiction where it is not now so subject.
(h) The Company will make generally available to its
security holders a consolidated earnings statement, which need not be audited,
covering a twelve-month period commencing after the effective date of the
Registration Statement and ending not later than 15 months thereafter, as soon
as practicable after the end of such period, which consolidated earnings
statement shall satisfy the provisions of Section ll(a) of the Act.
(i) During the period of five years hereafter, the
Company will furnish to you (i) as soon as available, a copy of each report of
the Company mailed to stockholders or filed with the Commission, and (ii) from
time to time such other information concerning the Company as you may
reasonably request.
(j) If this Agreement shall terminate or shall be
terminated after execution pursuant to any provisions hereof (otherwise than
pursuant to the second paragraph of Section 10 hereof or by notice given by you
terminating this Agreement pursuant to Section 10 or Section 11 hereof) or if
this Agreement shall be terminated by the Underwriters because of any failure
or refusal on the part of the Company to comply with the terms or fulfill any
of the conditions of this Agreement, the Company agrees to reimburse the
Representatives for all out-of-pocket expenses (including reasonable fees and
expenses of counsel for the Underwriters) incurred by you in connection
herewith.
(k) The Company will apply the net proceeds from the sale
of the Shares substantially in accordance with the description set forth in the
Prospectus.
(l) If Rule 430A of the Act is employed, the Company will
timely file the Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act and will
advise you of the time and manner of such filing.
(m) Except as provided in this Agreement, the Company
will not sell, offer to sell, solicit an offer to buy, contract to sell or
otherwise transfer or dispose of any shares of Common Stock or any securities
convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for or any rights to purchase
or acquire, shares of Common Stock, or grant any options or warrants to
purchase Common Stock (other than the grant of options under the 3-D
Geophysical, Inc. 1995 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan, as amended (the
"Plan"), and Common Stock issuable upon exercise of options granted under the
Plan or otherwise to officers, directors and key employees of the Company), for
a period of 120 days after the date of the Prospectus, without the prior
written consent of Xxxxx Xxxxxx Inc.
(n) The Company has furnished to you "lock-up" letters,
in form and substance satisfactory to you, signed by each of its current
officers and directors.
(o) Except as stated in this Agreement and in the
Prepricing Prospectus and Prospectus, the Company has not taken, nor will it
take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might reasonably
be expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of
the Common Stock to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares.
-5-
6
(p) The Company will use its best efforts to have the
Shares listed, subject to notice of issuance, on the Nasdaq National Market
concurrently with the effectiveness of the registration statement.
6. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company
represents and warrants to each Underwriter that:
(a) Each Prepricing Prospectus included as part of the
registration statement as originally filed or as part of any amendment or
supplement thereto, or filed pursuant to Rule 424 under the Act, complied when
so filed in all material respects with the provisions of the Act. The
Commission has not issued any order preventing or suspending the use of any
Prepricing Prospectus.
(b) The registration statement in the form in which it
became or becomes effective and also in such form as it may be when any
post-effective amendment thereto shall become effective and the Prospectus and
any supplement or amendment thereto when filed with the Commission under Rule
424(b) under the Act, complied or will comply in all material respects with the
provisions of the Act and did not or will not at any such times contain an
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required
to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (with respect
to the Prospectus, in light of the circumstances under which they were made)
not misleading, except that this representation and warranty does not apply to
statements in or omissions from the registration statement or the Prospectus
made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the
Company in writing by or on behalf of any Underwriter through you expressly for
use therein.
(c) All the outstanding shares of Common Stock of the
Company have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and
nonassessable and are free of any preemptive or similar rights; the Shares have
been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered to the Underwriters against
payment therefor in accordance with the terms hereof, will be validly issued,
fully paid and nonassessable and free of any preemptive or similar rights; and
the capital stock of the Company conforms to the description thereof in the
Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
(d) The Company is a corporation duly organized and
validly existing in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware with
full corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and
to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus, and is duly registered and qualified to conduct its business and is
in good standing in each jurisdiction or place where the nature of its
properties or the conduct of its business requires such registration or
qualification, except where the failure so to register or qualify does not have
a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or other), business,
properties, net worth or results of operations of the Company and the
Subsidiaries (as hereinafter defined) taken as a whole (a "Material Adverse
Effect").
(e) All the Company's subsidiaries (collectively, the
"Subsidiaries") (other than those Subsidiaries not required to be listed
pursuant to Item 601(a)(21)(ii) of Regulation S-K) are listed in an exhibit to
the Registration Statement. Each Subsidiary is listed on Schedule II hereto
and is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing in
the jurisdiction of its incorporation, with full corporate power and authority
to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as
described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and is duly
registered and qualified to conduct its business and is in good standing in
each jurisdiction or place
-6-
7
where the nature of its properties or the conduct of its business requires such
registration or qualification, except where the failure so to register or
qualify does not have a Material Adverse Effect; all the outstanding shares of
capital stock of each of the Subsidiaries have been duly authorized and validly
issued, are fully paid and nonassessable, and are owned by the Company
directly, or indirectly through one of the other Subsidiaries, free and clear
of any lien, adverse claim, security interest, equity or other encumbrance.
(f) There are no legal or governmental proceedings
pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against the Company or
any of the Subsidiaries, or to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, or
to which any of their respective properties is subject, that are required to be
described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus but are not described
as required, and there are no agreements, contracts, indentures, leases or
other instruments that are required to be described in the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus or to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration
Statement that are not described or filed as required by the Act.
(g) Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is in
violation of its certificate or articles of incorporation or by-laws, or other
organizational documents, or of any law, ordinance, administrative or
governmental rule or regulation applicable to the Company or any of the
Subsidiaries or of any decree of any court or governmental agency or body having
jurisdiction over the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, or in default in the
performance of any obligation, agreement or condition contained in any bond,
debenture, note or any other evidence of indebtedness or in any agreement,
indenture, lease or other instrument to which the Company or any of the
Subsidiaries is a party or by which any of them or any of their respective
properties may be bound, except such violations or defaults which would not,
either singly or in the aggregate, be reasonably likely to result in a Material
Adverse Effect.
(h) Neither the issuance and sale of the Shares, the
execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement by the Company, nor the
consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby (i)
requires any consent, approval, authorization or other order of or registration
or filing with any court, regulatory body, administrative agency or other
governmental body, agency or official (except such as may be required for the
registration of the Shares under the Act and compliance with the securities or
Blue Sky laws of various jurisdictions, all of which have been or will be
effected in accordance with this Agreement) or conflicts or will conflict with
or constitutes or will constitute a breach of, or a default under, the
certificate or articles of incorporation or bylaws, or other organizational
documents, of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or (ii) conflicts or will
conflict with or constitutes or will constitute a breach of, or a default
under, any material agreement, indenture, lease or other instrument to which
the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is a party or by which any of them or
any of their respective properties may be bound, or violates or will violate
any statute, law, regulation or filing or judgment, injunction, order or decree
applicable to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any of their respective
properties, or will result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or
encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of the
Subsidiaries pursuant to the terms of any agreement or instrument to which any
of them is a party or by which any of them may be bound or to which any of the
property or assets of any of them is subject.
(i) The accountants, Coopers & Xxxxxxx L.L.P. and Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx, who have certified or shall certify the financial statements included
in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (or any amendment or
supplement thereto) are independent public accountants as required by the Act.
-7-
8
(j) The consolidated historical and pro forma financial
statements, together with related schedules and notes, included in the
Registration Statement and the Prospectus (and any amendment or supplement
thereto) comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements of
the Act. Such historical financial statements present fairly the consolidated
financial position, results of operations and changes in financial position of
the Company and the Subsidiaries on the basis stated in the Registration
Statement at the respective dates or for the respective periods to which they
apply and have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles ("GAAP") consistently applied throughout the periods involved,
except as disclosed therein. The financial statements of Northern Geophysical
of America, Inc. (Land-based Seismic Data Operations) ("Northern"), Paragon
Geophysical, Inc. ("Paragon") and J.R.S. Exploration Company Limited
("J.R.S."), together with related schedules and notes, included in the
Registration Statement and the Prospectus (and any amendments or supplement
thereto) comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements of
the Act. Such historical financial statements present fairly the financial
position, results of operations and changes in financial position of Northern,
Paragon and J.R.S., respectively, on the basis stated in the Registration
Statement at the respective dates and for the respective periods to which they
apply and have been prepared in accordance with GAAP consistently applied
throughout the periods involved, except as disclosed therein. The pro forma
consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a basis consistent with
the historical consolidated financial statements of the Company and the
Subsidiaries and the historical financial statements of Northern, Paragon, and
Xxxx Geophysical Corporation, except for the pro forma adjustments specified
therein, and give effect to assumptions made on a reasonable basis and present
fairly the historical and proposed transactions contemplated by the Prospectus.
The other financial and statistical information and data included in the
Registration Statement and the Prospectus (and any amendment or supplement
thereto) are accurately presented and prepared on a basis consistent with such
financial statements and the books and records of the Company and the
Subsidiaries.
(k) The execution and delivery of, and the performance by
the Company of its obligations under, this Agreement have been duly and validly
authorized by the Company, and this Agreement has been duly executed and
delivered by the Company and constitutes the valid and legally binding
agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with
its terms, except as (i) the enforceability thereof may be limited by
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent conveyance or
other similar laws affecting the rights of creditors generally and by general
equitable principles and (ii) to the extent that rights to indemnity and
contribution hereunder may be limited by federal or state securities laws.
(l) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and
the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), subsequent to the
respective dates as of which such information is given in the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), neither
the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has incurred any liability or
obligation, direct or contingent, or entered into any transaction, not in the
ordinary course of business, that is material to the Company and the
Subsidiaries taken as a whole, and there has not been any change in the capital
stock, or material increase in the short-term debt or long-term debt, of the
Company or any of the Subsidiaries, or any material adverse change, or any
development involving or which may reasonably be expected to involve, a
prospective material adverse change, in the condition (financial or other),
business, net worth or results of operations of the Company and the
Subsidiaries taken as a whole.
(m) Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries has good and
marketable title to all property (real and personal) described in the
Prospectus as being owned by it, free and clear of
-8-
9
all liens, claims, security interests or other encumbrances except such as are
described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or in a document
filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and all the material property
described in the Prospectus as being held under lease by each of the Company
and the Subsidiaries is held by it under valid, subsisting and enforceable
leases.
(n) The Company has not distributed and, prior to the
later to occur of (i) the Closing Date and (ii) completion of the distribution
of the Shares, will not distribute any offering material in connection with the
offering and sale of the Shares other than the Registration Statement, the
Prepricing Prospectus, the Prospectus or other materials, if any, permitted by
the Act.
(o) The Company and each of the Subsidiaries has such
permits, licenses, franchises and authorizations of governmental or regulatory
authorities ("permits") as are necessary to own its respective properties and
to conduct its business in the manner described in the Prospectus, subject to
such qualifications as may be set forth in the Prospectus, except for such
permits the absence of which would not, either singly or in the aggregate, be
reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect; the Company and each
of the Subsidiaries has fulfilled and performed all its material obligations
with respect to such permits and no event has occurred which allows, or after
notice or lapse of time would allow, revocation or termination thereof or
results in any other material impairment of the rights of the holder of any
such permit, subject in each case to such qualification as may be set forth in
the Prospectus; and, except as described in the Prospectus, none of such
permits contains any restriction that is materially burdensome to the Company
or any of the Subsidiaries.
(p) The Company and each of the Subsidiaries are in
material compliance with all Environmental Laws (defined below). To the
Company's knowledge under current law, there are no existing circumstances that
would prevent, interfere with or increase the cost of such compliance in the
future, which prevention, interference or increase in cost is reasonably likely
to result in a Material Adverse Effect. As used in this Agreement,
"Environmental Laws" means all United States or foreign federal, state, local
or municipal laws, rules, regulations, statutes, ordinances or orders of any
governmental entity relating to (i) the control of any potential pollutant or
protection of the air, water or land, (ii) solid, gaseous or liquid waste
generation, handling, treatment, storage, disposal or transportation, and (iii)
exposure to hazardous, toxic or other substances alleged to be harmful.
(q) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and
the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), there is no material
claim under any Environmental Law, including common law, pending or, to the
Company's knowledge, threatened against the Company or any of the Subsidiaries
("Environmental Claim") and, to the Company's best knowledge, under applicable
law, there are no past or present actions, activities, circumstances, events or
incidents, including, without limitation, releases of any material into the
environment that is reasonably likely to form the basis of any claim against
the Company or any of the Subsidiaries that, if determined adversely to the
Company or any of the Subsidiaries, is reasonably likely to result in a
Material Adverse Effect.
(r) The Company maintains a system of internal accounting
controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are
executed in accordance with management's general or specific authorization;
(ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial
statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to
maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in
accordance with management's
-9-
10
general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for
assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate
action is taken with respect to any differences.
(s) To the Company's knowledge, neither the Company nor
any of its Subsidiaries nor any employee or agent of the Company or any
Subsidiary has made any payment of funds of the Company or any Subsidiary or
received or retained any funds in violation of any law, rule or regulation,
which payment, receipt or retention of funds is of a character required to be
disclosed in the Prospectus.
(t) The Company and each of the Subsidiaries have filed
all tax returns required to be filed, which returns are complete and correct,
and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in default in the payment of any
taxes which were payable pursuant to said returns or any assessments with
respect thereto.
(u) No holder of any security of the Company has any
right to require registration of shares of Common Stock or any other security
of the Company because of the filing of the registration statement or
consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(v) The Company and the Subsidiaries own or possess all
patents, trademarks, trademark registrations, service marks, service xxxx
registrations, trade names, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets and
rights described in the Prospectus as being owned by them or any of them or
necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses, and the Company is
not aware of any claim to the contrary or any challenge by any other person to
the rights of the Company and the Subsidiaries with respect to the foregoing.
(w) The Company is not now, and after sale of the Shares
to be sold by it hereunder and application of the net proceeds from such sale
as described in the Prospectus under the caption "Use of Proceeds" will not be,
an "investment company" within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended.
(x) The Company has filed in a timely manner each
document or report required to be filed by it pursuant to the Exchange Act and
the rules and regulations thereunder; each such document or report at the time
it was filed conformed to the requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules
and regulations thereunder; and none of such documents or reports contained an
untrue statement of any material fact or omitted to state any material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not
misleading.
(y) The Company has complied with all provisions of
Florida Statutes, Section 517.075, relating to issuers doing business with
Cuba.
7. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless
each of you and each other Underwriter and each person, if any, who controls
any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of
the Exchange Act from and against any and all losses, claims, damages,
liabilities and expenses (including reasonable costs of investigation) arising
out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a
material fact contained in any Prepricing Prospectus or in the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus or in any amendment or supplement thereto, or
arising out of or based upon any omission or alleged omission to state therein
a material
-10-
11
fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein
not misleading, except insofar as such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or
expenses arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or omission or
alleged untrue statement or omission which has been made therein or omitted
therefrom in reliance upon and in conformity with the information furnished in
writing to the Company by or on behalf of any Underwriter through you expressly
for use in connection therewith; provided, however, that the indemnification
contained in this paragraph (a) with respect to any Prepricing Prospectus shall
not inure to the benefit of any Underwriter (or to the benefit of any person
controlling such Underwriter) on account of any such loss, claim, damage,
liability or expense arising from the sale of the Shares by such Underwriter to
any person if a copy of the Prospectus shall not have been delivered or sent to
such person within the time required by the Act and the regulations thereunder,
and the untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged
omission of a material fact contained in such Prepricing Prospectus was
corrected in the Prospectus, provided that the Company has delivered the
Prospectus to the several Underwriters in requisite quantity on a timely basis
to permit such delivery or sending. The foregoing indemnity agreement shall be
in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have.
(b) If any action, suit or proceeding shall be brought
against any Underwriter or any person controlling any Underwriter in respect of
which indemnity may be sought against the Company, such Underwriter or such
controlling person shall promptly notify the Company, and the Company shall
assume the defense thereof, including the employment of counsel and payment of
all fees and expenses. Such Underwriter or any such controlling person shall
have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action, suit or
proceeding and to participate in the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses
of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Underwriter or such controlling
person unless (i) the Company has agreed in writing to pay such fees and
expenses, (ii) the Company has failed to assume the defense and employ counsel,
or (iii) the named parties to any such action, suit or proceeding (including
any impleaded parties) include both such Underwriter or such controlling person
and the Company and such Underwriter or such controlling person shall have been
advised by its counsel that representation of such indemnified party and the
Company by the same counsel would be inappropriate under applicable standards
of professional conduct (whether or not such representation by the same counsel
has been proposed) due to actual or potential differing interests between them
(in which case the Company shall not have the right to assume the defense of
such action, suit or proceeding on behalf of such Underwriter or such
controlling person). It is understood, however, that the Company shall, in
connection with any one such action, suit or proceeding or separate but
substantially similar or related actions, suits or proceedings in the same
jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances, be
liable for the reasonable fees and expenses of only one separate firm of
attorneys (in addition to any local counsel) at any time for all such
Underwriters and controlling persons not having actual or potential differing
interests with you or among themselves, which firm shall be designated in
writing by Xxxxx Xxxxxx Inc., and that all such fees and expenses shall be
reimbursed as they are incurred. The Company shall not be liable for any
settlement of any such action, suit or proceeding effected without its written
consent, but if settled with such written consent, or if there be a final
judgment for the plaintiff in any such action, suit or proceeding, the Company
agrees to indemnify and hold harmless any Underwriter, to the extent provided
in the preceding paragraph, and any such controlling person from and against
any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense by reason of such settlement or
judgment.
(c) Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly,
to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, its officers who
sign the Registration Statement, and any person who controls the Company within
the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the
-11-
12
Exchange Act, to the same extent as the foregoing indemnity from the Company to
each Underwriter, but only with respect to information furnished in writing by
or on behalf of such Underwriter through you expressly for use in the
Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Prepricing Prospectus, or any
amendment or supplement thereto. If any action, suit or proceeding shall be
brought against the Company, any of its directors, any such officer, or any
such controlling person based on the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or
any Prepricing Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, and in
respect of which indemnity may be sought against any Underwriter pursuant to
this paragraph (c), such Underwriter shall have the rights and duties given to
the Company by paragraph (b) above (except that if the Company shall have
assumed the defense thereof such Underwriter shall not be required to do so,
but may employ separate counsel therein and participate in the defense thereof,
but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at such Underwriter's
expense), and the Company, its directors, any such officer, and any such
controlling person shall have the rights and duties given to the Underwriters
by paragraph (b) above. The foregoing indemnity agreement shall be in addition
to any liability which the Underwriters may otherwise have.
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 7
is unavailable to an indemnified party under paragraphs (a) or (c) hereof in
respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to
therein, then an indemnifying party, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified
party, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party
as a result of such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses (i) in
such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by
the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand from the
offering of the Shares, or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above
is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to
reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also
the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the
other in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such
losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses, as well as any other relevant
equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the
one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same
proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting
expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and
commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the
table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault of the Company
on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand shall be determined by
reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue
statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a
material fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or
by the Underwriters on the other hand and the parties' relative intent,
knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such
statement or omission.
(e) The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would
not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were
determined by a pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as
one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not
take account of the equitable considerations referred to in paragraph (d)
above. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the
losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses referred to in paragraph (d)
above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above,
any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in
connection with investigating any claim or defending any such action, suit or
proceeding. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, no Underwriter
shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the
total price of the Shares underwritten by it and distributed to the public
exceeds the amount of any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise
-12-
13
been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or
omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation
(within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to
contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent
misrepresentation. The Underwriters' obligations to contribute pursuant to
this Section 7 are several in proportion to the respective numbers of Firm
Shares set forth opposite their names in Schedule I hereto (or such numbers of
Firm Shares increased as set forth in Section 10 hereof) and not joint.
(f) No indemnifying party shall, without the prior
written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement of any pending
or threatened action, suit or proceeding in respect of which any indemnified
party is or could have been a party and indemnity could have been sought
hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement includes an
unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on claims
that are the subject matter of such action, suit or proceeding.
(g) Any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses
for which an indemnified party is entitled to indemnification or contribution
under this Section 7 shall be paid by the indemnifying party to the indemnified
party as such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses are incurred.
The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in this Section 7 and the
representations and warranties of the Company set forth in this Agreement shall
remain operative and in full force and effect, regardless of (i) any
investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any person controlling
any Underwriter, the Company, its directors or officers, or any person
controlling the Company, (ii) acceptance of any Shares and payment therefor
hereunder, and (iii) any termination of this Agreement. A successor to any
Underwriter or any person controlling any Underwriter, or to the Company, its
directors or officers, or any person controlling the Company, shall be entitled
to the benefits of the indemnity, contribution and reimbursement agreements
contained in this Section 7.
8. Conditions of Underwriters' Obligations. The several
obligations of the Underwriters to purchase the Firm Shares hereunder are
subject to the following conditions:
(a) If, at the time this Agreement is executed and
delivered, it is necessary for the registration statement or a post-effective
amendment thereto or a new registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b)
under the Act to be declared effective before the offering of the Shares may
commence, the registration statement or such post-effective amendment or such
new registration statement shall have become effective not later than 5:30
P.M., New York City time, on the date hereof, or at such later date and time as
shall be consented to in writing by you, and all filings, if any, required by
Rules 424 and 430A under the Act shall have been timely made; no stop order
suspending the effectiveness of the registration statement shall have been
issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been instituted or, to the
knowledge of the Company or any Underwriter, threatened by the Commission, and
any request of the Commission for additional information (to be included in the
Registration Statement or the Prospectus or otherwise) shall have been complied
with to your satisfaction.
(b) Subsequent to the effective date of this Agreement,
there shall not have occurred (i) any change, or any development involving a
prospective change, in or affecting the condition (financial or other),
business, properties, net worth, or results of operations of the Company and
the Subsidiaries taken as a whole not contemplated by the Prospectus, which in
your reasonable opinion, as Representatives of the several Underwriters, would
materially, adversely affect the market for the Shares, or (ii) any event or
development relating to or involving the Company or any officer
-13-
14
or director of the Company which makes any statement made in the Prospectus
untrue or which, in the opinion of the Company and its counsel or the
Underwriters and their counsel, requires the making of any addition to or
change in the Prospectus in order to state a material fact required by the Act
or any other law to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the
statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were
made, not misleading, if amending or supplementing the Prospectus to reflect
such event or development would, in your reasonable opinion, as Representatives
of the several Underwriters, materially adversely affect the market for the
Shares.
(c) You shall have received on the Closing Date, an
opinion of Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Xxxxxxx, counsel for the Company, dated
the Closing Date and addressed to you, as Representatives of the several
Underwriters, to the effect that:
(i) The Company is a corporation duly
incorporated and validly existing in good standing under the laws of the State
of Delaware with full corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate
its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus (and any amendment or supplement thereto), and is
duly registered and qualified to conduct its business and is in good standing
in each jurisdiction or place where the nature of its properties or the conduct
of its business requires such registration or qualification, except where the
failure so to register or qualify does not have a material adverse effect on
the condition (financial or other), business, properties, net worth or results
of operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole;
(ii) Each of the Subsidiaries, with the exception
of Geoevaluaciones, S.A. de C.V. and Procesos Interactivos Avanzados, S.A. de
C.V. (the "Mexican Subsidiaries"), and 3-D Geophysical of Latin America, Inc.
("3-D of Latin America"), is a corporation duly organized and validly existing
in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with
full corporate power and authority to own, lease, and operate its properties
and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus (and any amendment or supplement thereto); and all the outstanding
shares of capital stock of each of the Subsidiaries, with the exception of the
Mexican Subsidiaries and 3-D of Latin American, have been duly authorized
and validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable, and all of the
outstanding shares of capital stock of each of the Subsidiaries are owned by the
Company directly, or indirectly through one of the other Subsidiaries, free and
clear of any perfected security interest;
(iii) The authorized and outstanding capital stock
of the Company is as set forth under the caption "Capitalization" in the
Prospectus; and the authorized capital stock of the Company conforms in all
material respects as to legal matters to the description thereof contained in
the Prospectus under the caption "Description of Capital Stock";
(iv) All the shares of capital stock of the
Company outstanding prior to the issuance of the Shares have been duly
authorized and validly issued, and are fully paid and nonassessable;
(v) The Shares have been duly authorized and,
when issued and delivered to the Underwriters against payment therefor in
accordance with the terms hereof, will be validly issued, fully paid and
nonassessable and free of any statutory, or to the knowledge of such counsel
after reasonable inquiry, other similar preemptive rights;
-14-
15
(vi) The form of certificates for the Shares
conforms to the requirements of the Delaware General Corporation Law;
(vii) The Registration Statement and all
post-effective amendments, if any, have become effective under the Act and, to
the knowledge of such counsel after reasonable inquiry, no stop order
suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued and
no proceedings for that purpose are pending before or contemplated by the
Commission; and any required filing of the Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b)
has been made in accordance with Rule 424(b);
(viii) The Company has corporate power and authority
to enter into this Agreement and to issue, sell and deliver the Shares to the
Underwriters as provided herein, and this Agreement has been duly authorized,
executed and delivered by the Company and is a valid, legal and binding
agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with
its terms, except as enforcement of rights to indemnity and contribution
hereunder may be limited by federal or state securities laws or principles of
public policy and subject to the qualification that the enforceability of the
Company's obligations hereunder may be limited by bankruptcy, fraudulent
conveyance, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws relating to
or affecting creditors' rights generally and by general equitable principles;
(ix) Neither the Company nor any of the
Subsidiaries, with the exception of the Mexican Subsidiaries and 3-D of Latin
America, is in violation of its respective certificate or articles of
incorporation or bylaws, or other organizational documents;
(x) Neither the offer, sale or delivery of the
Shares, the execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement, compliance by
the Company with the provisions hereof nor consummation by the Company of the
transactions contemplated hereby conflicts with or constitutes a breach of, or a
default under, the certificate or articles of incorporation or bylaws, or other
organizational documents, of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, with the
exception of the Mexican Subsidiaries and 3-D of Latin America, or any
agreement, indenture, lease or other instrument to which the Company or any of
the Subsidiaries, with the exception of the Mexican Subsidiaries and 3-D of
Latin America, is a party or by which any of them or any of their respective
properties is bound that is an exhibit to the Registration Statement, or is
known to such counsel after reasonable inquiry, or will result in the creation
or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of
the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, nor will any such action result in any
violation of any existing law, regulation, ruling (assuming compliance with all
applicable federal and state securities and Blue Sky laws) of the United States,
the State of New York or the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware,
judgment, injunction, order or decree known to such counsel after reasonable
inquiry, applicable to the Company, the Subsidiaries or any of their respective
properties;
(xi) No consent, approval, authorization or other
order of, or registration or filing with, any court, regulatory body,
administrative agency or other governmental body, agency, or official is
required on the part of the Company (except as have been obtained under the Act
or such as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws governing
the purchase and
-15-
16
distribution of the Shares) for the valid issuance and sale of the Shares to
the Underwriters as contemplated by this Agreement;
(xii) The Registration Statement and the Prospectus
and any supplements or amendments thereto (except for the financial statements
and the notes thereto and the schedules and other financial and statistical
data included therein, as to which such counsel need not express any opinion)
comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Act;
(xiii) To the knowledge of such counsel after
reasonable inquiry, (A) other than as described or contemplated in the
Prospectus (or any supplement thereto), there are no legal or governmental
proceedings pending or threatened against the Company or any of the
Subsidiaries, or to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, or any of
their property, is subject, which are required to be described in the
Registration Statement or Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto)
and (B) there are no agreements, contracts, indentures, leases or other
instruments that are required to be described in the Registration Statement or
the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) or to be filed as an
exhibit to the Registration Statement that are not described or filed as
required, as the case may be;
(xiv) The statements in the Registration Statement
and Prospectus, insofar as they are descriptions of contracts, agreements or
other legal documents, or refer to statements of law or legal conclusions, are
accurate and present fairly the information required to be shown;
Such counsel shall also state that although counsel
has not undertaken, except as otherwise indicated in their opinion, to
determine independently, and does not assume any responsibility for, the
accuracy or completeness of the statements in the Registration Statement, such
counsel has participated in the preparation of the Registration Statement and
the Prospectus, including review and discussion of the contents thereof, and
nothing has come to the attention of such counsel that has caused it to believe
that the Registration Statement at the time the Registration Statement became
effective, or the Prospectus, as of its date and as of the Closing Date or the
Option Closing Date, as the case may be, contained an untrue statement of a
material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein
or necessary to make the statements therein (as to the Prospectus, in the light
of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading or that any
amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, as of its respective date, and as of
the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, as the case may be, contained any
untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact
necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading (it being understood
that such counsel need make no statement with respect to the financial
statements and the notes thereto and the schedules and other financial and
statistical data included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus).
-16-
17
In rendering their opinion as aforesaid, counsel may rely upon an
opinion or opinions, each dated the Closing Date, of other counsel retained by
them or the Company as to laws of any jurisdiction other than the United States
or the State of New York, provided that (A) each such local counsel is
acceptable to the Representatives, (B) such reliance is expressly authorized by
each opinion so relied upon and a copy of each such opinion is delivered to the
Representatives and is, in form and substance satisfactory to them and their
counsel, and (C) counsel shall state in their opinion that they believe that
they and the Underwriters are justified in relying thereon.
(d) You shall have received on the Closing Date, an
opinion of De Xxxxxx x Xxxxxxxx del Campo, S.C., counsel for the Mexican
Subsidiaries, dated the Closing Date and addressed to you, as Representatives
of the several Underwriters, as to the Mexican Subsidiaries with respect to the
matters referred to in clauses (ii), (ix), (x), (xiii) and (xiv) of the
foregoing paragraph 8.(c) and such other related matters as you may request.
(e) You shall have received on the Closing Date an
opinion of Fulbright & Xxxxxxxx L.L.P., counsel for the Underwriters, dated the
Closing Date and addressed to you, as Representatives of the several
Underwriters, with respect to the matters referred to in clauses (v), (vii),
(viii) and (xii) and the penultimate paragraph of Section 8(c) above and such
other related matters as you may request.
(f) You shall have received letters addressed to you, as
Representatives of the several Underwriters, and dated the date hereof and the
Closing Date from Coopers & Xxxxxxx L.L.P. and Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, independent
certified public accountants, substantially in the forms heretofore approved by
you.
(g)(i) No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement shall have been issued and no proceedings for that
purpose shall have been taken or, to the knowledge of the Company, shall be
contemplated by the Commission at or prior to the Closing Date; (ii) there
shall not have been any change in the capital stock of the Company (except
upon the grant of options under the Company's 1995 Long-Term Incentive
Compensation Plan or the exercise of options) nor any material increase in the
short-term or long-term debt of the Company (other than in the ordinary course
of business) from that set forth or contemplated in the Registration Statement
or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto); (iii) there shall
not have been, since the respective dates as of which information is given in
the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement
thereto), except as may otherwise be stated in the Registration Statement and
Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), any material adverse
change in the condition (financial or other), business, prospects, properties,
net worth or results of operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as
a whole; (iv) the Company and the Subsidiaries shall not have any liabilities
or obligations, direct or contingent (whether or not in the ordinary course of
business), that are material to the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a
whole, other than those reflected in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto); and (v) all the
representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement shall
be true and correct on and as of the date hereof and on and as of the Closing
Date as if made on and as of the Closing Date, and you shall have received a
certificate, dated the Closing Date and signed by the chief executive officer
and the chief financial officer of the Company (or such other officers as are
acceptable to you), to the effect set forth in this Section 8(g) and in Section
8(h) hereof.
-17-
18
(h) The Company shall not have failed at or prior to the
Closing Date to have performed or complied with any of its agreements herein
contained and required to be performed or complied with by it hereunder at or
prior to the Closing Date.
(i) The Shares shall have been listed or approved for
listing upon notice of issuance on the Nasdaq National Market.
(j) The Company shall have furnished or caused to be
furnished to you such further certificates and documents as you shall have
reasonably requested.
All such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents will be
in compliance with the provisions hereof only if they are reasonably
satisfactory in form and substance to you and your counsel.
Any certificate or document signed by any officer of the Company and
delivered to you, as Representatives of the Underwriters, or to counsel for the
Underwriters, in connection with the Closing hereunder shall be deemed a
representation and warranty by the Company to each Underwriter as to the
statements made therein.
The several obligations of the Underwriters to purchase Additional
Shares hereunder are subject to the satisfaction on and as of any Option
Closing Date of the conditions set forth in this Section 8, except that, if any
Option Closing Date is other than the Closing Date, the certificates, opinions
and letters referred to in paragraphs (c) through (f) shall be dated the Option
Closing Date in question and the opinions called for by paragraphs (c) and (d)
shall be revised to reflect the sale of Additional Shares.
9. Expenses. The Company agrees to pay the following costs and
expenses and all other costs and expenses incident to the performance by it of
its obligations hereunder: (i) the preparation, printing or reproduction and
filing with the Commission of the registration statement (including financial
statements and exhibits thereto), each Prepricing Prospectus, the Prospectus,
and each amendment or supplement to any of them; (ii) the printing (or
reproduction) and delivery (including postage, air freight charges and charges
for counting and packaging) of such copies of the registration statement, each
Prepricing Prospectus, the Prospectus, and all amendments or supplements to any
of them as may be reasonably requested for use in connection with the offering
and sale of the Shares; (iii) the preparation, printing, authentication,
issuance and delivery of certificates for the Shares, including any stamp taxes
in connection with the original issuance and sale of the Shares; (iv) the
printing (or reproduction) and delivery of this Agreement, the preliminary and
supplemental Blue Sky Memoranda and all other agreements or documents printed
(or reproduced) and delivered in connection with the offering of the Shares;
(v) the listing of the Shares on the Nasdaq National Market; (vi) the
registration or qualification of the Shares for offer and sale under the
securities or Blue Sky laws of the several states as provided in Section 5(g)
hereof (including the reasonable fees, expenses and disbursements of counsel
for the Underwriters relating to the preparation, printing or reproduction, and
delivery of the preliminary and supplemental Blue Sky Memoranda and such
registration and qualification); (vii) the filing fees and the reasonable fees
and expenses of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with any filings
required to be made with the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.;
(viii) the transportation and other expenses incurred by or on behalf of
Company representatives in connection with presentations to prospective
purchasers of the Shares; (ix) the fees and expenses of the Company's
accountants and the fees and expenses of counsel (including local and special
counsel) for the Company.
-18-
19
10. Effective Date of Agreement. This Agreement shall become
effective: (a) upon the execution and delivery hereof by the parties hereto; or
(b) if, at the time this Agreement is executed and delivered, it is necessary
for the registration statement or a post-effective amendment thereto to be
declared effective before the offering of the Shares may commence or a new
registration statement to be filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Act, when
notification of the effectiveness of the registration statement or such
post-effective amendment has been released by the Commission or when such new
registration statement has been filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Act.
Until such time as this Agreement shall have become effective, it may be
terminated by the Company, by notifying you, or by you, as Representatives of
the several Underwriters, by notifying the Company.
If any one or more of the Underwriters shall fail or refuse to
purchase Shares which it or they are obligated to purchase hereunder on the
Closing Date, and the aggregate number of Shares which such defaulting
Underwriter or Underwriters are obligated but fail or refuse to purchase is not
more than one-tenth of the aggregate number of Shares which the Underwriters
are obligated to purchase on the Closing Date, each non-defaulting Underwriter
shall be obligated, severally, in the proportion which the number of Firm
Shares set forth opposite its name in Schedule I hereto bears to the aggregate
number of Firm Shares set forth opposite the names of all non-defaulting
Underwriters or in such other proportion as you may specify in accordance with
Section 20 of the Master Agreement Among Underwriters of Xxxxx Xxxxxx Inc., to
purchase the Shares which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters are
obligated, but fail or refuse, to purchase. If any one or more of the
Underwriters shall fail or refuse to purchase Shares which it or they are
obligated to purchase on the Closing Date and the aggregate number of Shares
with respect to which such default occurs is more than one-tenth of the
aggregate number of Shares which the Underwriters are obligated to purchase on
the Closing Date and arrangements satisfactory to you and the Company for the
purchase of such Shares by one or more non-defaulting Underwriters or other
party or parties approved by you and the Company are not made within 36 hours
after such default, this Agreement will terminate without liability on the part
of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company. In any such case which does
not result in termination of this Agreement, either you or the Company shall
have the right to postpone the Closing Date, but in no event for longer than
seven days, in order that the required changes, if any, in the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus or any other documents or arrangements may be
effected. Any action taken under this paragraph shall not relieve any
defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of any such default of any
such Underwriter under this Agreement. The term "Underwriter" as used in this
Agreement includes, for all purposes of this Agreement, any party not listed in
Schedule I hereto who, with your approval and the approval of the Company,
purchases Shares which a defaulting Underwriter is obligated, but fails or
refuses, to purchase.
Any notice under this Section 10 may be given by telegram, telecopy or
telephone but shall be subsequently confirmed by letter.
11. Termination of Agreement. This Agreement shall be subject to
termination in your absolute discretion, without liability on the part of any
Underwriter to the Company, by notice to the Company, if prior to the Closing
Date or any Option Closing Date (if different from the Closing Date and then
only as to the Additional Shares), as the case may be, (i) trading in
securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock
Exchange or the Nasdaq National Market shall have been suspended or materially
limited, (ii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities in New York
or Colorado shall have been declared by either federal or state authorities, or
(iii) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities or
other international or domestic calamity, crisis or change in political,
financial or economic conditions, the effect of which
-19-
20
on the financial markets of the United States is such as to make it, in your
reasonable judgment, impracticable or inadvisable to commence or continue the
offering of the Shares at the offering price to the public set forth on the
cover page of the Prospectus or to enforce contracts for the resale of the
Shares by the Underwriters. Notice of such termination may be given to the
Company by telegram, telecopy or telephone and shall be subsequently confirmed
by letter.
12. Information Furnished by the Underwriters. The statements set
forth in the last paragraph on the cover page, the stabilization legend on the
inside cover page, and the statements in the first and third paragraphs under
the caption "Underwriting" in any Prepricing Prospectus and in the Prospectus,
constitute the only information furnished by or on behalf of the Underwriters
through you as such information is referred to in Sections 6(b) and 7 hereof.
13. Miscellaneous. Except as otherwise provided in Sections 5, 10
and 11 hereof, notice given pursuant to any provision of this Agreement shall
be in writing and shall be delivered (a) if to the Company, at the office of
the Company at 0000 Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxx, Xxxxxxxx X, Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000,
Attention: Xxxxxxx Xxxxx, President and Chief Executive Officer; or (ii) if to
you, as Representatives of the several Underwriters, care of Xxxxx Xxxxxx Inc.,
000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, Attention: Manager, Investment
Banking Division.
This Agreement has been and is made solely for the benefit of the
several Underwriters, the Company, its directors and officers, and the other
controlling persons referred to in Section 7 hereof and their respective heirs,
personal representatives, successors and assigns, to the extent provided
herein, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue
of this Agreement. Neither the term "successor" nor the term "successors and
assigns" as used in this Agreement shall include a purchaser from any
Underwriter of any of the Shares in his status as such purchaser.
14. Applicable Law; Counterparts. This Agreement shall be
governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York
applicable to contracts made and to be performed within the State of New York.
This Agreement may be signed in various counterparts which together
constitute one and the same instrument. If signed in counterparts, this
Agreement shall not become effective unless at least one counterpart hereof
shall have been executed and delivered on behalf of each party hereto.
-20-
21
Please confirm that the foregoing correctly sets forth the agreement
between the Company and the several Underwriters.
Very truly yours,
3-D GEOPHYSICAL, INC.
By______________________________________
Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
Chairman of the Board
Confirmed as of the date first
above mentioned on behalf of
themselves and the other several
Underwriters named in Schedule I
hereto.
XXXXX XXXXXX INC.
XXXXXXXX XXXXXX REFSNES, INC.
XXXXXXX & COMPANY INTERNATIONAL
As Representatives of the Several Underwriters
By XXXXX XXXXXX INC.
By___________________________
Managing Director
-21-
22
SCHEDULE I
NAME OF COMPANY
Number Number
of Firm of Firm
Underwriter Shares Underwriter Shares
------------------------------------- ------------- ---------------------------------- -------------
Xxxxx Xxxxxx Inc.
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx Refsnes, Inc.
Xxxxxxx & Company International
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . =============
23
SCHEDULE II
LIST OF SUBSIDIARIES OF 3-D GEOPHYSICAL, INC.
Subsidiary Jurisdiction of Incorporation
---------------------------------------------- -----------------------------
Geo Acquisition Sub, Inc. Delaware
Geoevaluaciones, S.A. de C.V. Mexico
Xxxx Geophysical Corporation Texas
Northern Geophysical of America, Inc. Delaware
Paragon Geophysical, Inc. Delaware
Procesos Interactivos Avanzados, S.A. de C.V. Mexico
3-D Geophysical of Canada, Inc. Canada
3-D Geophysical of Latin America, Inc. Cayman Islands