UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT 1.1
[●], 2023
The Benchmark Company, LLC
000 Xxxx 00xx Xx, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10155
Axiom Capital Management, Inc.
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
New York, NY 10118
As Representatives of the several Underwriters named on Schedule 1 attached hereto
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The undersigned, WF International Limited, an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Company”), hereby confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with The Benchmark Company, LLC and Axiom Capital Management, Inc. (each, the “Representative”, and collectively, the “Representatives”) and with the other underwriters, if any, named on Schedule 1 hereto for which the Representatives are acting as Representative (the Representatives and such other underwriters being collectively called the “Underwriters” or, individually, an “Underwriter”) as follows:
1. Purchase and Sale of Shares.
(a) Firm Shares.
(i) Nature and Purchase of Firm Shares.
(A) On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained, but subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell to the several Underwriters an aggregate of [●] ordinary shares (“Firm Shares”), par value $0.000001 (the “Ordinary Shares”).
(B) The Underwriters, severally and not jointly, agree to purchase from the Company the number of Firm Shares set forth opposite their respective names on Schedule 1 attached hereto and made a part hereof at a purchase price of $[●] (the “Purchase Price”) per Firm Share (93% of the public offering price per Firm Share. The Firm Shares are to be offered initially to the public at the offering price set forth on the cover page of the Prospectus (as defined in Section 2(a)(i)(A) hereof).
(ii) Share Payment and Delivery.
(A) Issuance, delivery and payment for the Firm Shares shall be made prior to 2:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the second (2nd) Business Day following the date hereof (the “Effective Date”) (or the third (3rd) Business Day following the Effective Date if this Agreement is executed after 4:01 p.m., Eastern time) or at such earlier time as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company, at the offices of ArentFox Schiff LLP, 0000 X Xxxxxx XX, Xxxxxxxxxx XX 00000 (“Representatives’ Counsel”), or at such other place (or by electronic transmission) as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company. The hour and date of delivery and payment for the Firm Shares is called the “Closing Date.”
(B) Payment for the Firm Shares shall be made on the Closing Date by wire transfer in federal (same day) funds, payable to the order of the Company upon delivery of the Firm Shares (in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters), for the account of the Underwriters. The securities comprising the Firm Shares shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denominations as the Representatives may request in writing prior to the Closing Date. The term “Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday or a day on which banking institutions are authorized or obligated by law to close in New York, New York.
(b) Over-Allotment Option.
(i) Option Shares. For the purposes of covering any over-allotments in connection with the distribution and sale of the Ordinary Shares, the Representatives are hereby granted an option (the “Over-Allotment Option”) to purchase, in the aggregate, up to [●] Ordinary Shares (15% of the Firm Shares) at the Purchase Price (the “Option Shares” and together with the Firm Shares, the “Shares”). The Firm Shares and the Option Shares are collectively referred to as the “Public Securities.” The Public Securities shall be issued directly by the Company and shall have the rights and privileges described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus referred to below. The offering and sale of the Public Securities is hereinafter referred to as the “Offering.”
(ii) Exercise of Over-Allotment Option. The Over-Allotment Option granted pursuant to this Section 1(b) may be exercised by the Representatives as to all (at any time) or any part (from time to time) of the Option Shares within 30 days after the effective date of the Registration Statement. An Underwriter will not be under any obligation to purchase any Option Shares prior to the exercise of the Over-Allotment Option by the Representatives. The Over-Allotment Option granted hereby may be exercised by the giving of oral notice to the Company from the Representatives, which must be confirmed in writing by overnight mail or by email or other electronic transmission setting forth the number of Option Shares to be purchased and the date and time for delivery of and payment for the Option Shares (each, an “Option Closing Date”), which will not be earlier than one (1) Business Day nor later than three (3) full Business Days after the date of the notice or such other time as shall be agreed upon by the Company and the Representatives, at the offices of the Representatives’ Counsel, or at such other place (including remotely by electronic transmission) as shall be agreed upon by the Company and the Representatives. If such delivery and payment for the Option Shares does not occur on the Closing Date, each Option Closing Date will be as set forth in the notice. Upon exercise of the Over-Allotment Option, the Company will become obligated to convey to the Underwriters, and, subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Underwriters will become obligated to purchase, the number of Option Shares specified in such notice. The Representatives may cancel the Over-Allotment Option at any time prior to the expiration of the Over-Allotment Option by written notice to the Company (except to the extent the Representatives have exercised the Over-Allotment Option in accordance herewith).
(iii) Payment and Delivery. Payment for the Option Shares shall be made on the Option Closing Date by wire transfer in federal (same day) funds, payable to the order of the Company upon delivery of the certificates (in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters) representing the Option Shares (or via DWAC) for the account of the Underwriters. The Option Shares shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denominations as the Representatives may request in writing prior to the Option Closing Date.
(c) Representatives’ Warrant.
(i) Representatives’ Warrant. The Company hereby agrees to issue to the Representatives (and /or their designees) on the Closing Date warrants for the purchase of an aggregate number of Ordinary Shares equal to 5% of the number of Ordinary Shares issued in the Offering, pursuant to a warrant agreement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Representatives’ Warrants”), at an initial exercise price of $[●], which is equal to 100% of the public offering price for one Ordinary Share. The Representatives’ Warrant and the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Representatives’ Warrants are hereinafter referred to together as the “Representatives’ Securities.” The Representatives understand and agree that there are significant restrictions pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110 against transferring the Representatives’ Warrants and the underlying securities during the one hundred eighty (180) days after the Effective Date and by its acceptance thereof shall agree that it will not sell, transfer, assign, pledge or hypothecate the Representatives’ Securities, or any portion thereof, or be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the effective economic disposition of such securities for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days following the Effective Date to anyone other than (i) an Underwriter or a selected dealer in connection with the Offering, or (ii) a bona fide officer or partner of the Representatives or of any such Underwriter or selected dealer; or as otherwise expressly permitted by Rule 5110(g), and only if any such transferee agrees to the foregoing lock-up restrictions.
(ii) Delivery. Delivery of the Representatives’ Warrant shall be made on the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as applicable, and shall be issued in the name or names and in such authorized denominations as the Representatives may request.
2. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to the Underwriters as of the Applicable Time (as defined below) and as of the Closing Date, as follows:
(a) Registration Matters.
(i) Pursuant to the Securities Act.
(A) The Company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement, and an amendment or amendments thereto, on Form F-1 (File No. 333-[•]), including any related prospectus or prospectuses, for the registration of the Public Securities and the Representatives’ Securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), which registration statement and amendment or amendments have been prepared by the Company in conformity in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Securities Act (the “Securities Act Regulations”) and will contain all material statements that are required to be stated therein in accordance with the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations. Except as the context may otherwise require, such registration statement, as amended, on file with the Commission at the time the registration statement became effective (including the Preliminary Prospectus included in the registration statement, financial statements, schedules, exhibits and all other documents filed as a part thereof or incorporated therein by reference and all information deemed to be a part thereof as of the Effective Date pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 430A of the Securities Act Regulations (the “Rule 430A Information”)), is referred to herein as the “Registration Statement.” If the Company files any registration statement pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act Regulations, then after such filing, the term “Registration Statement” shall include such registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b). The Registration Statement has been declared effective by the Commission on or prior to the date hereof.
(B) Each prospectus used prior to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, and each prospectus that omitted the Rule 430A Information that was used after such effectiveness and prior to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, is herein called a “Preliminary Prospectus.” The Preliminary Prospectus, subject to completion, dated [●], 2023, that was included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to the Applicable Time is hereinafter called the “Pricing Prospectus.” The final prospectus in the form first furnished to the Underwriters for use in the Offering is hereinafter called the “Prospectus.” Any reference to the “most recent Preliminary Prospectus” shall be deemed to refer to the latest Preliminary Prospectus included in the Registration Statement.
(C) The term “Pricing Disclosure Package” means (i) the Preliminary Prospectus, as most recently amended or supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined herein), (ii) the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses (as defined below), if any, identified in Schedule I hereto, (iii) any other Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) that the parties hereto shall hereafter expressly agree to treat as part of the Pricing Disclosure Package, and (iv) the information included on Schedule 2 of this Agreement.
(D) “Applicable Time” means [●] p.m., Eastern time, on the date of this Agreement.
(E) “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any issuer free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 433 of the Securities Act Regulations. The term “Free Writing Prospectus” means any free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act Regulations.
(ii) Pursuant to the Exchange Act. The Company has filed with the Commission a Form 8-A providing for the registration pursuant to Section 12(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), of the Ordinary Shares. The registration of the Ordinary Shares under the Exchange Act has been declared effective by the Commission on or prior to the date hereof. The Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Ordinary Shares under the Exchange Act, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission is contemplating terminating such registration.
(b) Stock Exchange Listing. The Ordinary Shares are approved for listing on Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Exchange”) and the Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, delisting the Ordinary Shares from the Exchange, nor has the Company received any notification that the Exchange is contemplating terminating such listing.
(c) No Stop Orders, etc. Neither the Commission nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any state regulatory authority has issued any order preventing or suspending the use of the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or has instituted or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened to institute, any proceedings with respect to such an order. The Company has complied with each request (if any) from the Commission for additional information.
(d) Organization; Subsidiaries; Good Standing. Each of the Company and each of the Company’s subsidiaries have been duly incorporated and are validly existing as entities in good standing under the laws of jurisdictions of their respective organization, with power and authority to own, lease and operate their respective properties and conduct their respective businesses as described in the Preliminary Prospectus, and have been duly qualified as foreign corporations for the transaction of business and are in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which they own or lease properties or conduct any business so as to require such qualification, except where the failure so to qualify or be in good standing would not have a Material Adverse Change (as defined in Section 2(f)(i)); all of the issued and outstanding capital stock (or other ownership interests) of such subsidiaries has been validly issued and duly paid in accordance with their respective articles of association and is owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity. Unless otherwise set forth, all references in this Section 2 to the “Company” shall include references to all such subsidiaries. Neither the Company nor any subsidiary is in violation or default of any of the provisions of its respective certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents.
(e) Disclosures in Registration Statement.
(i) Compliance with Securities Act and 10b-5 Representation.
(A) Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became effective, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations. Each Preliminary Prospectus, including the prospectus filed as part of the Registration Statement as originally filed or as part of any amendment or supplement thereto, and the Prospectus, at the time each was filed with the Commission, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations. Each Preliminary Prospectus delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with this Offering and the Prospectus was or will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to XXXXX, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(B) Neither the Registration Statement nor any amendment thereto, at its respective effective time, contained, contains or will contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to the Underwriters’ Information (as defined below).
(C) The Pricing Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, at the Closing Date or at any Option Closing Date, did not, does not, and will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit 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; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, or the Prospectus, and each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together with the Preliminary Prospectus as of the Applicable Time, did not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements made or statements omitted in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company with respect to the Underwriters by the Representatives expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto. The parties acknowledge and agree that such information provided by or on behalf of any Underwriter consists solely of the following disclosure contained in the following paragraphs in the “Underwriting” section of the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus, the Pricing Disclosure Package, or the Prospectus: (i) the names of the several underwriters, (ii) the table of underwriters in the first paragraph of the section; (iii) the third paragraph of the section (iv) the information under the subsections “Discounts, Commissions and Expenses”; “Right First Refusal”; and “Stabilization” (the “Underwriters’ Information”).
(D) Neither the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto (including any prospectus wrapper), as of its issue date, at the time of any filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b), or at the Closing Date, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit 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; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to the Underwriters’ Information.
(ii) Disclosure of Agreements. The agreements and documents described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus conform in all material respects to the descriptions thereof contained therein and there are no agreements or other documents required by the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations to be described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or to be filed with the Commission as exhibits to the Registration Statement, that have not been so described or filed. Each agreement or other instrument (however characterized or described) to which the Company is a party or by which it is or may be bound or affected and (i) that is referred to in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and (ii) is material to the Company’s business, has been duly authorized and validly executed by the Company, is in full force and effect in all material respects and is enforceable against the Company and, to the Company’s knowledge, the other parties thereto, in accordance with its terms, except (w) for such agreements or instruments for enforceability of which would not reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Change, (x) as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, (y) as enforceability of any indemnification or contribution provision may be limited under the federal and state securities laws, and (z) that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to the equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought. None of such agreements or instruments has been assigned by the Company, and neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any other party is in material default thereunder and, to the Company’s knowledge, no event has occurred that, with the lapse of time or the giving of notice, or both, would constitute a material default thereunder, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, or which would not reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Change. To the Company’s knowledge, performance by the Company of the material provisions of such agreements or instruments will not result in a violation of any existing applicable law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any governmental agency or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its assets or businesses (each, a “Governmental Entity”), including, without limitation, those relating to environmental laws and regulations, except such violations which would not reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Change.
(iii) Prior Securities Transactions. Since the beginning of the last two full fiscal years, no securities of the Company have been sold by the Company or by or on behalf of, or for the benefit of, any person or persons controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Company, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Preliminary Prospectus.
(iv) Regulations. The disclosures in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus concerning the effects of federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules and regulations relating to the Company’s business as currently contemplated are correct in all material respects and no other such regulations are required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus which are not so disclosed.
(f) Changes After Dates in Registration Statement.
(i) No Material Adverse Change. Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, except as otherwise specifically stated therein: (i) there has been no material adverse change in the financial position or results of operations of the Company, nor any change or development that, singularly or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to involve a material adverse change in or affecting the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, business or assets of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole (a “Material Adverse Change”); (ii) there have been no material transactions entered into by the Company, other than as contemplated pursuant to this Agreement; and (iii) no officer or director of the Company has resigned from any position with the Company.
(ii) Recent Securities Transactions, etc. Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and except as may otherwise be indicated or contemplated herein or disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company has not: (i) issued any securities or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, for borrowed money; or (ii) declared or paid any dividend or made any other distribution on or in respect to its capital stock.
(g) Independent Accountants. To the knowledge of the Company, ZH CPA LLC, during such time as it was engaged by the Company (the “Auditors”), has been and is an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. During such time period in which the Auditors served as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, the Auditors did not or have not, during the periods covered by the financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, provided to the Company any non-audit services, as such term is used in Section 10A(g) of the Exchange Act.
(h) Financial Statements, etc. The financial statements, including the notes thereto and supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, fairly present in all material respects the financial position and the results of operations of the Company at the dates and for the periods to which they apply; and such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (“GAAP”), except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto and except that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP, and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, immaterial, year-end audit adjustments. The financial statements, including the notes thereto and supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, fairly present in all material respects the financial position and the results of operations of the Company at the dates and for the periods to which they apply; and such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP, consistently applied throughout the periods involved (provided that unaudited interim financial statements are subject to year-end audit adjustments that are not expected to be material in the aggregate and do not contain all footnotes required by GAAP); and the supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects the information required to be stated therein. Except as included therein, no historical or pro forma financial statements are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus under the Securities Act or the Securities Act Regulations. The pro forma and pro forma as adjusted financial information and the related notes, if any, included in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus have been properly compiled and prepared in accordance with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations and present fairly in all material respects the information shown therein, and the assumptions used in the preparation thereof are reasonable and the adjustments used therein are appropriate to give effect to the transactions and circumstances referred to therein. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission), if any, comply with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the Securities Act, to the extent applicable. Each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus discloses all material off-balance sheet transactions, arrangements, obligations (including contingent obligations), and other relationships of the Company with unconsolidated entities or other persons that may have a material current or future effect on the Company’s financial condition, changes in financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures, capital resources, or significant components of revenues or expenses. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (a) the Company has not incurred any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent, or entered into any material transactions other than in the ordinary course of business, (b) the Company has not declared or paid any dividends or made any distribution of any kind with respect to its capital stock, (c) there has not been any change in the capital stock of the Company, and (d) there has not been any Material Adverse Change in the Company’s long-term or short-term debt.
(i) Authorized Capital; Options, etc. The Company had, at the date or dates indicated in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the duly authorized, issued and outstanding share capital as set forth therein. Based on the assumptions stated in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company will have on the Closing Date the adjusted share capital set forth therein. Except as set forth in, or contemplated by, the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, on the Effective Date, as of the Applicable Time, and on the Closing Date, there will be no share options, warrants, or other rights to purchase or otherwise acquire any authorized, but unissued Ordinary Shares or any security convertible or exercisable into Ordinary Shares, or any contracts or commitments to issue or sell Ordinary Shares or any such options, warrants, rights or convertible securities.
(j) Valid Issuance of Securities, etc.
(i) Outstanding Securities. All issued and outstanding securities of the Company issued prior to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement have been duly authorized, validly issued and duly paid in accordance with their respective articles of association and non-assessable; the holders thereof have no rights of rescission with respect thereto, and are not subject to personal liability by reason of being such holders; and none of such securities were issued in violation of the preemptive rights of any holders of any security of the Company or similar contractual rights granted by the Company. The offers and sales of the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares were at all relevant times either registered under the Securities Act and the applicable state securities or “blue sky” laws or, based in part on the representations and warranties of the purchasers of such shares, exempt from such registration requirements. The authorized Ordinary Shares and other issued and outstanding securities conform in all material respects to all statements relating thereto contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(ii) Securities Sold Pursuant to this Agreement. The Public Securities and the Representatives’ Securities have been duly authorized for issuance and sale and, when issued and paid for in accordance with this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable; the holders thereof are not and will not be subject to personal liability by reason of being such holders; the Public Securities and Representatives’ Securities are not and will not be subject to the preemptive rights of any holders of any security of the Company or similar contractual rights granted by the Company; and all corporate action required to be taken for the authorization, issuance and sale of the Public Securities and Representatives’ Securities has been duly and validly taken. The Public Securities and Representatives’ Securities conform in all material respects to all statements with respect thereto contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(k) Registration Rights of Third Parties. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, no holders of any securities of the Company or any rights exercisable for or convertible or exchangeable into securities of the Company have the right to require the Company to register any such securities of the Company under the Securities Act or to include any such securities in a registration statement to be filed by the Company (except for any such rights that have been waived or with respect to securities covered by any effective registration statement).
(l) Validity and Binding Effect of Agreements. This Agreement and the Representatives’ Warrants have been duly and validly authorized by the Company and when executed and delivered, will constitute, the valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its respective terms, except: (i) as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally; (ii) as enforceability of any indemnification or contribution provision may be limited under the federal and state securities laws; and (iii) that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to the equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(m) No Conflicts, etc. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the Representatives’ Warrant and all ancillary documents, the consummation by the Company of the transactions herein and therein contemplated and the compliance by the Company with the terms hereof and thereof do not and will not, with or without the giving of notice or the lapse of time or both: (i) result in a material breach of, or conflict with any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a material default under, or result in the creation, modification, termination or imposition of any material lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company pursuant to the terms of any agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party; (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the Company’s memorandum and articles of association (as the same may be amended or restated from time to time, the “Charter”); or (iii) violate any existing law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any Governmental Entity as of the date hereof, except in the case of clauses (i) and (iii) above for any such breaches, conflicts or violations which would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.
(n) Regulatory. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus or as would not reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Change: (i) the Company has not received notice from any Governmental Entity alleging or asserting noncompliance with any Applicable Laws (as defined in clause (ii) below) or Authorizations (as defined in clause (iii) below); (ii) to the Company’s knowledge, the Company is and has been in material compliance with federal, state or foreign statutes, laws, ordinances, rules and regulations applicable to the Company (collectively, “Applicable Laws”); (iii) to the Company’s knowledge, the Company possesses all licenses, certificates, approvals, clearances, consents, authorizations, qualifications, registrations, permits, and supplements or amendments thereto required by any such Applicable Laws and/or to carry on its businesses as now conducted (“Authorizations”) and such Authorizations are valid and in full force and effect and the Company is not in violation of any term of any such Authorizations, except for any violations which would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Change; (iv) the Company has not received notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from any Governmental Entity or third party alleging that any product, operation or activity is in violation of any Applicable Laws or Authorizations or has any knowledge that any such Governmental Entity or third party is considering any such claim, litigation, arbitration, action, suit, investigation or proceeding, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, has there been any material noncompliance with or violation of any Applicable Laws by the Company that could reasonably be expected to require the issuance of any such communication or result in an investigation, corrective action, or enforcement action by any Governmental Entity; and (v) the Company has not received notice that any Governmental Entity has taken, is taking or intends to take action to limit, suspend, modify or revoke any Authorizations or has any knowledge that any such Governmental Entity has threatened or is considering such action. Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its directors, officers, employees or agents has been convicted of any crime under any Applicable Laws.
(o) No Defaults; Violations. No default exists in the due performance and observance of any term, covenant or condition of any material license, contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, note, loan or credit agreement, or any other agreement or instrument evidencing an obligation for borrowed money, or any other material agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company may be bound or to which any of the properties or assets of the Company is subject, except as would not reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Change. The Company is not (i) in violation of any term or provision of its Charter, or (ii) except as would not reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Change, in violation of any franchise, license, permit, applicable law, rule, regulation, judgment or decree of any Governmental Entity applicable to the Company.
(p) Corporate Power; Licenses; Consents.
(i) Conduct of Business. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company has all requisite corporate power and authority, and has all necessary authorizations, approvals, orders, licenses, certificates and permits of and from all governmental regulatory officials and bodies that it needs as of the date hereof to conduct its business purpose as described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(ii) Transactions Contemplated Herein. The Company has all corporate power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to carry out the provisions and conditions hereof, and all consents, authorizations, approvals and orders required in connection therewith have been obtained. No consent, authorization or order of, and no filing with, any court, government agency or other body is required for the valid issuance, sale and delivery of the Public Securities and the consummation of the transactions and agreements contemplated by this Agreement and as contemplated by the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, except with respect to applicable federal and state securities laws, the rules and regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and the rules and regulations of the Exchange, and except with respect to such consent, authorization, order or filing that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Change.
(q) Litigation; Governmental Proceedings. There is no material action, suit, proceeding, inquiry, arbitration, investigation, litigation or governmental proceeding pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened against, or involving the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any executive officer or director which has not been disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or in connection with the Company’s listing application for the additional listing of the Shares on the Exchange.
(r) Insurance. The Company will carry insurance in such amounts and covering such risks which the Company believes are reasonably adequate and as is customary for companies engaged in similar businesses in similar industries. The Company has no reason to believe that it will not be able (i) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (ii) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its business as now conducted and at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.
(s) Transactions Affecting Disclosure to FINRA.
(i) Finder’s Fees. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and 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 any executive officer or director of the Company (each, an, “Insider”) with respect to the sale of the Public Securities hereunder or any other arrangements, agreements or understandings of the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its shareholders that may affect the Underwriters’ compensation, as determined by FINRA.
(ii) Payments Within Six (6) Months. 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) any FINRA member; or (iii) any person or entity that has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any FINRA member, within the 180 days prior to the date of the initial filing of the Registration Statement, other than the payment to the Underwriters as provided hereunder in connection with the Offering.
(iii) Use of Proceeds. None of the net proceeds of the Offering will be paid by the Company to any participating FINRA member or its affiliates, except as specifically authorized herein.
(iv) FINRA Affiliation. There is no (i) officer or director of the Company, (ii) beneficial owner of 10% or more of any class of the Company’s securities or (iii) beneficial owner of the Company’s unregistered equity securities which were acquired during the 180-day period immediately preceding the filing of the Registration Statement that, in each such case, is an affiliate or associated person of a FINRA member participating in the Offering (as determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of FINRA).
(v) Information. To the Company’s knowledge, all information provided by the Company’s officers and directors in their FINRA Questionnaires to Representatives’ Counsel specifically for use by Representatives’ Counsel in connection with its Public Offering System filings (and related disclosure) with FINRA is true, correct and complete in all material respects.
(t) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company (acting in such capacity) or any other person acting on behalf of the Company (acting in such capacity), has, directly or indirectly, given or agreed to give any money, gift or similar benefit (other than legal price concessions to customers in the ordinary course of business) to any customer, supplier, employee or agent of a customer or supplier, or official or employee of any governmental agency or instrumentality of any government (domestic or foreign) or any political party or candidate for office (domestic or foreign) or other person who was, is, or may be in a position to help or hinder the business of the Company (or assist it in connection with any actual or proposed transaction) that (i) might subject the Company to any damage or penalty in any civil, criminal or governmental litigation or proceeding, (ii) if not given in the past, might reasonably been expected to have had a Material Adverse Change or (iii) if not continued in the future, might adversely affect the assets, business, operations or prospects of the Company. The Company has taken reasonable steps to ensure that its accounting controls and procedures are sufficient to cause the Company to comply in all material respects with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.
(u) Compliance with OFAC. Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company (acting in such capacity) or any other person acting on behalf of the Company (acting in such capacity), is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”).
(v) Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in compliance in all material respects with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Entity (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”); and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any Governmental Entity involving the Company with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(w) Officers’ Certificate. Any certificate signed by any duly authorized officer of the Company and delivered to the Representatives or to Representatives’ Counsel shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to the Underwriters as to the matters covered thereby.
(x) Related Party Transactions. There are no business relationships or related party transactions involving the Company or any other person required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus that have not been described as required.
(y) Board of Directors. The qualifications of the persons serving as board members and the overall composition of the board comply with the Exchange Act, the Exchange Act Regulations, the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act”) applicable to the Company and the listing rules of the Exchange. At least one member of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as such term is defined under Regulation S-K and the listing rules of the Exchange.
(z) Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Compliance.
(i) Disclosure Controls. The Company has developed and currently maintains disclosure controls and procedures that will comply with Rule 13a-15 or 15d-15 under the Exchange Act Regulations applicable to it, and such controls and procedures are effective to ensure that all material information concerning the Company will be made known on a timely basis to the individuals responsible for the preparation of the Company’s Exchange Act filings and other public disclosure documents.
(ii) Compliance. The Company is in compliance with the provisions of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act applicable to it, and has implemented or will implement such programs and taken reasonable steps to ensure the Company’s future compliance (not later than the relevant statutory and regulatory deadlines therefor) with all of the provisions of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act.
(aa) Accounting Controls. The Company maintains systems of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined under Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act Regulations) that comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act and have been designed by, or under the supervision of, its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP, including, but not limited to, internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal controls. The Auditors and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company have been advised of: (i) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses, if any, in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which are known to the Company’s management and that have adversely affected or are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Company’ ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and (ii) any fraud, if any, known to the Company’s management, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting.
(bb) No Investment Company Status. The Company is not and, after giving effect to the Offering and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, will not be, required to register as an “investment company,” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
(cc) No Labor Disputes. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent.
(dd) Intellectual Property Rights. To the Company’s knowledge, the Company has, or can acquire on reasonable terms, ownership of and/or license to, or otherwise has the right to use, all inventions, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), patents and patent rights trademarks, service marks and trade names, copyrights, (collectively “Intellectual Property”) material to carrying on its businesses as described in the Pricing Prospectus. The Company has not received any correspondence relating to any Intellectual Property, including notice of: (A) infringement or misappropriation of, or conflict with, any Intellectual Property of a third party; (B) asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property of the Company; (C) assertions that any Intellectual Property of the Company is invalid or otherwise inadequate to protect the interest of the Company, that in each case (if the subject of any unfavorable decision, ruling or finding), individually or in the aggregate, would have or would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Change. There are no third parties who have been able to establish any material rights to any Intellectual Property, except for the retained rights of the owners or licensors of any Intellectual Property that is licensed to the Company. There is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others: (A) challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of any Intellectual Property of the Company in any material respect or (B) challenging the Company’s rights in or to any Intellectual Property in any material respect or (C) that the Company materially infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates or conflicts with any Intellectual Property or other proprietary rights of others. The Company has complied in all material respects with the terms of each agreement described in the Registration Statement, Pricing Disclosure Package or Prospectus pursuant to which any Intellectual Property is licensed to the Company, and all such agreements related to products currently made or sold by the Company, or to product candidates currently under development, are in full force and effect. All patents issued in the name of, or assigned to, the Company, and all patent applications made by or on behalf of the Company (collectively, the “Company Patents”) have been duly and properly filed, except for such failures to file as would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change. The Company is not aware of any material information that was required to be disclosed to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “PTO”) but that was not disclosed to the PTO with respect to any issued Company Patent, or that is required to be disclosed and has not yet been disclosed in any pending application in the Company Patents and that would preclude the grant of a patent on such application. To the Company’s knowledge, the Company is the sole owner of the Company Patents.
(ee) Taxes. The Company has filed all returns (as hereinafter defined) required to be filed with taxing authorities prior to the date hereof or has duly obtained extensions of time for the filing thereof. The Company has paid all taxes (as hereinafter defined) shown as due on such returns that were filed and has paid all taxes imposed on or assessed against the Company, except (i) such taxes the Company is challenging in good faith and (ii) for such exceptions as could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Change. The provisions for taxes payable, if any, shown on the financial statements filed with or as part of the Registration Statement are sufficient for all material accrued and unpaid taxes, whether or not disputed, and for all periods to and including the dates of such consolidated financial statements. Except as would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change, (i) no issues have been raised (and are currently pending) by any taxing authority in connection with any of the returns or taxes asserted as due from the Company, and (ii) no waivers of statutes of limitation with respect to the returns or collection of taxes have been given by or requested from the Company. The term “taxes” mean all federal, state, local, foreign and other net income, gross income, gross receipts, sales, use, ad valorem, transfer, franchise, profits, license, lease, service, service use, withholding, payroll, employment, excise, severance, stamp, occupation, premium, property, windfall profits, customs, duties or other taxes, fees, assessments or charges of any kind whatever, together with any interest and any penalties, additions to tax or additional amounts with respect thereto. The term “returns” means all returns, declarations, reports, statements and other documents required to be filed in respect to taxes.
(ff) Employee Benefit Laws. The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Employee Benefit Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or its subsidiaries with respect to the Employee Benefit Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(gg) Compliance with Laws. The Company: (A) to its knowledge, is and at all times has been in compliance with all Applicable Laws, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Change; (B) to its knowledge, has not received any correspondence from any Governmental Entity alleging or asserting noncompliance with any Applicable Laws or any Authorizations; (C) possesses all material Authorizations and such Authorizations are valid and in full force and effect and the Company is not in material violation of any term of any such Authorizations, in each case except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Change; (D) has not received written notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from any Governmental Entity or third party alleging that any product operation or activity is in violation of any Applicable Laws or Authorizations and has no knowledge that any such Governmental Entity or third party is considering any such claim, litigation, arbitration, action, suit, investigation or proceeding; (E) has not received written notice that any Governmental Entity has taken, is taking or intends to take action to limit, suspend, modify or revoke any Authorizations; and (F) has filed, obtained, maintained or submitted all material reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any Applicable Laws or Authorizations and that all such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were complete and correct in all material respects on the date filed (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission).
(hh) Ineligible Issuer. At the time of filing the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time of effectiveness of the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) of the Securities Act Regulations) of the Public Securities and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405, without taking account of any determination by the Commission pursuant to Rule 405 that it is not necessary that the Company be considered an ineligible issuer.
(ii) Industry Data. The statistical and market-related data included in each of the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably and in good faith believes are reliable and accurate or represent the Company’s good faith estimates that are made on the basis of data derived from such sources.
(jj) Forward-Looking Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.
(kk) Reserved.
(ll) Reserved.
(mm) Margin Securities. The Company owns no “margin securities” as that term is defined in Regulation U of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”), and none of the proceeds of Offering will be used, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of purchasing or carrying any margin security, for the purpose of reducing or retiring any indebtedness which was originally incurred to purchase or carry any margin security or for any other purpose which might cause any of the Ordinary Shares to be considered a “purpose credit” within the meanings of Regulation T, U or X of the Federal Reserve Board.
(nn) Integration. Neither the Company, nor any of its affiliates, nor any person acting on its or their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would cause the Offering to be integrated with prior offerings by the Company for purposes of the Securities Act that would require the registration of any such securities issued in such prior offerings under the Securities Act.
(oo) Confidentiality and Non-Competition. To the Company’s knowledge, no director, officer, key employee or consultant of the Company is subject to any confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-competition agreement or non-solicitation agreement with any employer (other than the Company or any subsidiary thereof) or prior employer that could reasonably be expected to materially affect his ability to be and act in his respective capacity of the Company or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.
(pp) Export and Import Laws. The Company, and, to the Company’s knowledge, each of its affiliates, and any director, officer, agent or employee of, or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company, has acted at all times in compliance with applicable Export and Import Laws (as defined below) and there are no claims, complaints, charges, investigations or proceedings pending or expected or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened between the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and any governmental authority under any Export or Import Laws. The term “Export and Import Laws” means the Arms Export Control Act, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended, the Export Administration Regulations, and all other laws and regulations of the United States government regulating the provision of services to non-U.S. parties or the export and import of articles or information from and to the United States of America, and all similar laws and regulations of any foreign government regulating the provision of services to parties not of the foreign country or the export and import of articles and information from and to the foreign country to parties not of the foreign country.
(qq) Foreign Private Issuer Status. The Company is a “foreign private issuer” within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Act.
(rr) PRC Representation and Warranties.
(i) Foreign Tax Compliance. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, no transaction, stamp, capital or other issuance, registration, transaction, transfer or withholding taxes or duties are payable in PRC, Hong Kong or Cayman Islands to any PRC, Hong Kong or Cayman Islands taxing authority in connection with the issuance, sale and delivery of the Public Securities, and the delivery of the Public Securities to or for the account of the Underwriters.
(ii) Compliance with PRC Overseas Investment and Listing Rules and Regulations. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries have taken reasonable steps and requisite steps to cause each of the Company’s principal shareholders, directors and officers that is, or directly or indirectly controlled by, a PRC resident or citizen, to comply with any applicable rules and regulations of relevant PRC government agencies (including but not limited to the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”)), and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”)) relating to overseas investment by PRC residents and citizens (collectively, the “PRC Overseas Investment and Listing Rules and Regulations”), including, without limitation, taking reasonable steps to require each such person that is, or is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by, a PRC resident or citizen, to complete any registration, to timely report material changes, and to complete other procedures required by any relevant PRC government agencies under any applicable PRC Oversea Investment and Listing Rules and Regulations.
(iii) M&A Rules. The Company is aware of and has been advised as to the content of the Rules on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors jointly promulgated by the Ministry of Commerce, the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the State Tax Administration, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the CSRC and SAFE on August 8, 2006, and amended on June 22, 2009 (the “M&A Rules”), in particular the relevant provisions thereof that purport to require offshore special purpose vehicles formed for the purpose of obtaining a stock exchange listing outside of the PRC and controlled directly or indirectly by companies or natural persons of the PRC, to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to the listing and trading of their securities on a stock exchange located outside of the PRC; the Company has received legal advice specifically with respect to the M&A Rules from its PRC counsel and based on such legal advice, the Company confirms with the Underwriters:
(A) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the issuance and sale of the Public Securities, the listing and trading of the Public Securities on the Nasdaq Capital Market and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are not and will not be, as of the date hereof or at the Closing Date or the Option Closing Date, materially affected by the M&A Rules or any official clarifications, guidance, interpretations or implementation rules in connection with or related to the M&A Rules as amended as of the date hereof (collectively, the “M&A Rules and Related Clarifications”).
(B) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as of the date hereof, the M&A Rules and Related Classifications did not and do not require the Company to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to the issuance and sale of the Public Securities, the listing and trading of the Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(iv) CSRC Overseas Offering and Listing Rules. The Company and its subsidiaries have taken reasonable and requisite steps to comply with the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies released by the CSRC on February 17, 2023 and effective as of March 31, 2023, and its No. 1 to No. 5 Supporting Guidance Rules, the Notes on the Trial Measures, the Notice on Administration Arrangements for the Filing of Overseas Listings by Domestic Companies and the relevant CSRC Answers to Reporter Questions (collectively, the “CSRC Overseas Offering and Listing Rules”), including, without limitation, to submit and complete the required filing with CSRC in connection with the Offering in accordance with the CSRC Overseas Offering and Listing Rules (the “CSRC Filing”), and to complete other procedures if required by the CSRC or any relevant PRC government agencies under the CSRC Overseas Offering and Listing Rules. The Company has delivered to the Representatives copies of the documents submitted to the CSRC for CSRC Filing purposes (including any amendment or supplement thereto, collectively, the “CSRC Filing Documents,” the CSRC Filing Documents, together with any and all supportive documents evidencing the truthfulness, accuracy and completeness thereof, shall be hereinafter referred to as the “CSRC Filing Materials”), in such quantities and at such places as the Representatives have reasonably requested. The CSRC Filing Documents are identical in content to the copy thereof delivered to the Representatives in connection with the CSRC Filing. Each of the CSRC Filing Materials does not contain any untrue statement of a fact or omit to state a fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or incomplete. No CSRC Filing Materials include any information that conflicts with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein that has not been superseded or modified.
3. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees as follows:
(a) Amendments to Registration Statement. The Company shall deliver to the Representatives, prior to filing, any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus proposed to be filed after the Effective Date and not file any such amendment or supplement to which the Representatives shall reasonably object in writing; provided however, that this Section 3(a) shall not be applicable with respect to any supplements to the Registration Statement filed solely for the purpose of supplementing the Registration Statement or Prospectus with a report filed with the Commission by the Company pursuant to the Exchange Act.
(b) Federal Securities Laws.
(i) Compliance. The Company shall comply with the requirements of Rule 430A of the Securities Act Regulations, and will notify the Representatives promptly, and confirm the notice in writing, (i) when any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus shall have been filed; (ii) of the receipt of any comments from the Commission related to the Prospectus or Offering; (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or for additional information; (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, or of the suspension of the qualification of the Public Securities and Representatives’ Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatening, of any proceedings for any of such purposes or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the Securities Act concerning the Registration Statement; and (v) if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act in connection with the Offering of the Public Securities and Representatives’ Securities. The Company shall effect all filings required under Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act Regulations, in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)), and shall take such steps as it deems necessary to ascertain promptly whether the form of prospectus transmitted for filing under Rule 424(b) was received for filing by the Commission and, in the event that it was not, it will promptly file such prospectus. The Company shall use its best efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order, prevention or suspension and, if any such order is issued, to obtain the lifting thereof at the earliest possible moment.
(ii) Continued Compliance. The Company shall comply with the Securities Act, the Securities Act Regulations, the Exchange Act and the Exchange Act Regulations so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Public Securities as contemplated in this Agreement and in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. If at any time when a prospectus relating to the Public Securities is (or, but for the exception afforded by Rule 172 of the Securities Act Regulations (“Rule 172”), would be) required by the Securities Act to be delivered in connection with sales of the Public Securities, any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters or for the Company, to (i) amend or supplement the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus in order that the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, as the case may be, will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances existing at the time it is delivered to a purchaser or (ii) amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, as the case may be, in order to comply with the requirements of the Securities Act or the Securities Act Regulations, the Company will promptly (A) give the Representatives notice of such event; (B) prepare any amendment or supplement as may be necessary to correct such statement or omission or to make the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus comply with such requirements and, a reasonable amount of time prior to any proposed filing or use, furnish the Representatives with copies of any such amendment or supplement and (C) file with the Commission any such amendment or supplement; provided that the Company shall not file or use any such amendment or supplement to which the Representatives or counsel for the Representatives shall reasonably object. The Company will furnish to the Underwriters such number of copies of such amendment or supplement as the Underwriters may reasonably request. The Company has given the Representatives notice of any filings made pursuant to the Exchange Act or the Exchange Act Regulations within 48 hours prior to the Applicable Time. The Company shall give the Representatives notice of its intention to make any such filing from the Applicable Time until the later of the Closing Date and the exercise in full or expiration of the Over-allotment Option specified in Section 1(b) hereof.
(iii) Exchange Act Registration. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the registration of the Ordinary Shares under the Exchange Act.
(iv) Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Representatives, it shall not make any offer relating to the Public Securities that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” or a portion thereof, required to be filed by the Company with the Commission or retained by the Company under Rule 433; provided that the Representatives shall be deemed to have consented to each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any “road show that is a written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i) that is set forth on Schedule I. The Company represents that it has treated or agrees that it will treat each such free writing prospectus consented to, or deemed consented to, by the Underwriters as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433,
and that it has complied and will comply with the applicable requirements of Rule 433 with respect thereto, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping. If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Underwriters and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.
(c) Delivery to the Underwriters of Registration Statements. The Company has delivered or made available or shall deliver or make available to the Representatives and counsel for the Representatives, without charge, signed copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed and each amendment thereto (including exhibits filed therewith) and signed copies of all consents and certificates of experts, and will also deliver to the Underwriters, without charge, a conformed copy of the Registration Statement as originally filed and each amendment thereto (without exhibits) for each of the Underwriters. The copies of the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to XXXXX, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(d) Delivery to the Underwriters of Prospectuses. The Company has delivered or made available or will deliver or make available to each Underwriter, without charge, as many copies of each Preliminary Prospectus as such Underwriter reasonably requested, and the Company hereby consents to the use of such copies for purposes permitted by the Securities Act. The Company will furnish to each Underwriter, without charge, during the period when a prospectus relating to the Public Securities is (or, but for the exception afforded by Rule 172, would be) required to be delivered under the Securities Act, such number of copies of the Prospectus (as amended or supplemented) as such Underwriter may reasonably request. The Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to XXXXX, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(e) Events Requiring Notice to the Representatives. During the period when a prospectus relating to the Public Securities is (or, but for the exception afforded by Rule 172, would be) required by the Securities Act to be delivered in connection with sales of the Public Securities, the Company shall notify the Representatives immediately and confirm the notice in writing: (i) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of the initiation, or to the Company’s knowledge, the threatening, of any proceeding for that purpose; (ii) of the issuance by any state securities commission of any proceedings for the suspension of the qualification of the Public Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction or of the initiation, or to the Company’s knowledge, the threatening, of any proceeding for that purpose; (iii) of the delivery to the Commission for filing of any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus; (iv) of the receipt of any comments or request for any additional information from the Commission related to the Prospectus; and (v) of the happening of any event during the period described in this Section 3(e) that, in the judgment of the Company, makes any statement of a material fact made in the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus untrue or that requires the making of any changes in in the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. If the Commission or any state securities commission shall enter a stop order or suspend such qualification at any time, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain promptly the lifting of such order.
(f) Listing. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the listing of the Ordinary Shares on the Exchange for a period of three (3) years.
(g) Transfer Agent. The Company shall maintain a transfer agent and registrar for the Ordinary Shares.
(h) Payment of Expenses.
(i) The Company hereby agrees to pay on each of the Closing Date, all expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement, including, but not limited to: (a) all filing fees and expenses relating to the registration of the Public Securities with the Commission; (b) all FINRA Public Offering filing fees; (c) all fees and expenses relating to the listing of the Public Securities on the Nasdaq Stock Market; (d) all fees, expenses and disbursements relating to the registration or qualification of the Public Securities under the “blue sky” securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions as the Underwriter may reasonably designate (including, without limitation, all filing and registration fees,
and the reasonable fees and disbursements of “blue sky” counsel); (e) all fees, expenses and disbursements relating to the registration, qualification or exemption of the Public Securities under the securities laws of such foreign jurisdictions as the Underwriter may reasonably designate; (f) the costs of all mailing and printing of the Offering documents; (g) transfer and/or stamp taxes, if any, payable upon the transfer of Public Securities from the Company to the Underwriters; (h) the fees and expenses of the Company’s accountants; and (i) all other fees and expenses of the Underwriters, including, without limitation, the fees of Representatives’ Counsel, such fees and expenses not to exceed $182,500. The Representatives may deduct from the net proceeds of the Offering payable to the Company on the Closing Date, the expenses set forth herein (less any amounts previously advanced against such actual reimbursable expense) to be paid by the Company to the Underwriters, provided, however, that in the event that the Offering is terminated, the Company agrees to reimburse the Underwriters pursuant to Section 8(c) hereof.
(ii) Non-accountable Expenses. The Company further agrees that, in addition to the expenses payable pursuant to Section 3(h)(h), on the Closing Date it shall pay to the Representative, by deduction from the net proceeds of the Offering contemplated herein, a non-accountable expense allowance equal to 1.0% of the gross proceeds received by the Company from the sale of the Public Securities.
(i) Application of Net Proceeds. The Company shall apply the net proceeds from the Offering received by it in a manner consistent with the application thereof described under the caption “Use of Proceeds” in the Prospectus.
(j) Rule 158. The Company will timely file such reports pursuant to the Exchange Act as are necessary in order to make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable an earnings statement for the purposes of, and to provide to the Underwriters the benefits contemplated by, Rule 158(a) under Section 11(a) of the Securities Act.
(k) Stabilization. Neither the Company nor, to its knowledge, any of its employees, directors or shareholders (without the consent of the Representatives) has taken or shall take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that has constituted or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under Regulation M of the Exchange Act, or otherwise, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Public Securities.
(l) FINRA. For a period of 90 days from the later of the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, the Company shall advise the Representatives (who shall make an appropriate filing with FINRA) if it is or becomes aware that (i) any officer or director of the Company, (ii) any beneficial owner of 10% or more of any class of the Company’s securities or (iii) any beneficial owner of the Company’s unregistered equity securities which were acquired during the 180 days immediately preceding the filing of the Registration Statement is or becomes an affiliate or associated person of a FINRA member participating in the Offering (as determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of FINRA).
(m) No Fiduciary Duties. The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters’ responsibility to the Company is solely contractual in nature and that none of the Underwriters or their affiliates or any selling agent shall be deemed to be acting in a fiduciary capacity, or otherwise owes any fiduciary duty to the Company or any of its affiliates in connection with the Offering and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(n) Reporting Requirements. The Company, during the period when a prospectus relating to the Public Securities is (or, but for the exception afforded by Rule 172, would be) required to be delivered under the Securities Act, will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act within the time periods required by the Exchange Act and Exchange Act Regulations.
(o) OFAC. The Company will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the Offering hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.
(p) Company Lock-Up Agreement. The Company, on behalf of itself and any successor entity, agrees that, without the prior written consent of the Representatives, it will not, for a period of six months after the date of this Agreement (the “Lock-Up Period”), (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of capital stock of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of the Company; (ii) file or caused to be filed any registration statement with the Commission relating to the offering of any shares of capital stock of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of the Company; or (iii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of capital stock of the Company, whether any such transaction described in clause (i), (ii) or (iii) above is to be settled by delivery of shares of capital stock of the Company or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The restrictions contained in this Section 3(p) shall not apply to (i) the Ordinary Shares to be sold hereunder and the issuance of the Representatives’ Securities, (ii) the issuance by the Company of Ordinary Shares upon the exercise of a stock option or warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date hereof and disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, and (iii) the issuance by the Company, or the filing of the Company of a registration statement related thereto, of stock options or shares of capital stock of the Company under any equity compensation plan of the Company; and (iv) securities issued pursuant to acquisitions or strategic transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested directors of the Company, provided that such securities are issued as “restricted securities” (as defined in Rule 144) and carry no registration rights that require or permit the filing of any registration statement in connection therewith during the Lock-Up Period and provided that any such issuance shall only be to a Person (or to the equity holders of a Person) which is, itself or through its subsidiaries, an operating company or an owner of an asset of in a business synergistic with the business of the Company and shall provide to the Company additional benefits in addition to the investment of funds, but shall not include a transaction in which the Company is issuing securities primarily for the purpose of raising capital.
4. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligations of the Underwriters to purchase and pay for the Public Securities, as provided herein, shall be subject to (i) the continuing accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company as of the date hereof and as of each of the Closing Date, and any Option Closing Date; (ii) the accuracy of the statements of officers of the Company made pursuant to the provisions hereof; (iii) the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder; and (iv) the following conditions:
(a) Regulatory Matters.
(i) Effectiveness of Registration Statement. The Registration Statement has become effective not later than 5:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the date of this Agreement or such later date and time as shall be consented to in writing by the Representatives, and, at each of the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto shall have been issued under the Securities Act, no order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall have been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, contemplated by the Commission. The Company has complied with each request (if any) from the Commission for additional information. The Prospectus containing the Rule 430A Information shall have been filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time frame required by Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)) or a post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been filed with, and declared effective by, the Commission in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430A.
(ii) FINRA Clearance. On or before the Closing Date, the Representatives shall have received a letter of no objections from FINRA as to the amount of compensation allowable or payable to the Underwriters as described in the Registration Statement.
(iii) Exchange Stock Market Clearance. On the Closing Date, the Company shall have received notice from the Exchange that it has approved the listing of the Ordinary Shares.
(b) Company Counsel Matters.
(i) Closing Date Opinion of Counsel. On the Closing Date, the Representatives shall have received: (A) the favorable opinion and negative assurance letter of Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx & Schole LLP, U.S. counsel to the Company, (B) the favorable opinion of Xxxx Xxx Law Offices, PRC counsel to the Company, and (C) the favorable opinion of Xxxxxx and Xxxxxx (Hong Kong) LLP, Cayman Island counsel to the Company, each dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Representatives, substantially in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.
(ii) Option Closing Date Opinion of Counsel. On each Option Closing Date, if any, the Representatives shall have received: (A) the favorable opinion and negative assurance letter of Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx & Schole LLP, U.S. counsel to the Company, (B) the favorable opinion of Xxxx Xxx Law Offices, PRC counsel to the Company, and (C) the favorable opinion of Xxxxxx and Xxxxxx (Hong Kong) LLP, Cayman Island counsel to the Company, each dated the Option Closing Date, addressed to the Representatives and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, confirming as of the Option Closing Date, the statements made by such counsel in its respective opinions delivered on the Closing Date.
(iii) Reliance. In rendering such opinions, such counsel may rely: (i) as to matters involving the application of laws other than the laws of the United States and jurisdictions in which they are admitted, to the extent such counsel deems proper and to the extent specified in such opinion, if at all, upon an opinion or opinions (in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives) of other counsel reasonably acceptable to the Representatives, familiar with the applicable laws; and (ii) as to matters of fact, to the extent they deem proper, on certificates or other written statements of officers of the Company and officers of departments of various jurisdictions having custody of documents respecting the corporate existence or good standing of the Company, provided that copies of any such statements or certificates shall be delivered to Representatives’ Counsel if requested.
(c) Comfort Letters.
(i) Comfort Letter. At the time this Agreement is executed the Representatives shall have received a cold comfort letter from the Auditors containing statements and information of the type customarily included in accountants’ comfort letters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, addressed to the Representatives and in form and substance satisfactory in all respects to the Representatives and to the Auditor, dated as of the date of this Agreement.
(ii) Bring-down Comfort Letter. At the Closing Date and on each Option Closing Date (if any), the Representatives shall have received from the Auditors a letter, dated as of the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as applicable, to the effect that such Auditor reaffirms the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to Section 4(c)(i), except that with respect to the initial comfort letter the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three (3) business days prior to the Closing Date.
(d) Officers’ Certificates.
(i) Officers’ Certificate. The Company shall have furnished to the Representatives a certificate, dated the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, of its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer stating (not in an individual capacity) that (i) such officers have carefully examined the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and, to their knowledge, the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto, as of the Applicable Time and as of the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as applicable, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and the Pricing Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time and as of the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as applicable, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus as of its date and as of the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as applicable, the Prospectus and each amendment or supplement thereto, as of the respective date thereof and as of the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as applicable, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading, (ii) since the effective date of the Registration Statement, no event has occurred which should have been set forth in a supplement or amendment to the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, (iii) to their knowledge after reasonable investigation, as of the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as applicable, the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct in all material respects (or, in the case of a relevant representation or warranty that contains a materiality concept, true in all respects) and the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as applicable, and (iv) there has not been, subsequent to the date of the most recent audited financial statements included in the Pricing Disclosure Package, any Material Adverse Change, or any change or development that, singularly or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to involve a Material Adverse Change, except as set forth in the Prospectus.
(ii) Secretary’s Certificate. At each of the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as applicable, the Representatives shall have received a certificate of the Company signed by the Secretary of the Company, dated the Closing Date, or Option Closing Date, as applicable, certifying: (i) that the Charter is true and complete, has not been modified and is in full force and effect; (ii) that the resolutions of the Company’s Board of Directors relating to the Offering are in full force and effect and have not been modified; (iii) the good standing of the Company and its subsidiaries; and (iv) as to the incumbency of the officers of the Company. The documents referred to in such certificate shall be attached to such certificate.
(e) No Material Changes. Prior to and on each of the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as applicable: (i) there shall have been no Material Adverse Change or any change or development that, singularly or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to involve a Material Adverse Change, from the latest dates as of which such condition is set forth in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; (ii) no action, suit or proceeding, at law or in equity, shall have been pending or threatened against the Company or any Insider before or by any court or federal or state commission, board or other administrative agency wherein an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change, except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; (iii) no stop order shall have been issued under the Securities Act and no proceedings therefor shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and (iv) the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto shall contain all material statements which are required to be stated therein in accordance with the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations and shall conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations, and neither the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package nor the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto shall contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(f) Lock-Up Agreements. The Company has caused each of its officers and directors to deliver to the Representatives an executed Lock-Up Agreement, in a form substantially similar to that attached hereto as Exhibit B (the “Lock-Up Agreement”), prior to the execution of this Agreement.
(g) Indemnification Escrow. On the Closing Date, the Company will execute an escrow agreement (the “Escrow Agreement”) with [●], as escrow agent, pursuant to which $300,000 of the proceeds of the Offering (including any accrued interests thereof, if any, the “Escrow Funds”) will be deposited by the Company, in connection with the payments of the Company’s indemnification obligations pursuant to Section 5 hereof. $100,000 of the Escrow Funds that are not subject to an indemnification claim will be returned to the Company on the 12 month anniversary of the Closing Date and the balance of the Escrow Funds that are not subject to any indemnification claim will be returned to the Company on the 18 month anniversary of the Closing Date, in accordance with the terms of the Escrow Agreement. The Company shall pay the reasonable fees and expenses of the escrow agent.
(h) Additional Documents. At the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as applicable, Representatives’ Counsel shall have been furnished with such documents and opinions as they may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling Representatives’ Counsel to deliver an opinion to the Underwriters, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, herein contained; and all proceedings taken by the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of the Public Securities and Representatives’ Securities as herein contemplated shall be satisfactory in form and substance to the Representatives and Representatives’ Counsel.
5. Indemnification.
(a) Indemnification of the Underwriters. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates and each person controlling such Underwriter (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act), and the directors, officers, agents and employees of each Underwriter, its affiliates and each such controlling person (each Underwriter, and each such entity or person hereafter is referred to as an “Indemnified Person”) from and against any losses (other than losses of profits), claims, damages, judgments, assessments, costs and other liabilities (collectively, the “Liabilities”),
and shall reimburse each Indemnified Person for all fees and expenses (including the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for the Indemnified Persons, except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement) (collectively, the “Expenses”) and agrees to advance payment of such Expenses as they are incurred by an Indemnified Person in investigating, preparing, pursuing or defending any actions, whether or not any Indemnified Person is a party thereto, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in (i) the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or in any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (as from time to time each may be amended and supplemented); (ii) any materials or information provided to investors by, or with the approval of, the Company in connection with the marketing of the Offering, including any “road show” or investor presentations made to investors by the Company (whether in person or electronically); or (iii) any application or other document or written communication (in this Section 5, collectively called “application”) executed by the Company or based upon written information furnished by the Company in any jurisdiction in order to qualify the Public Securities and Representatives’ Securities under the securities laws thereof or filed with the Commission, any state securities commission or agency, the Exchange or any other national securities exchange; or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, unless such statement or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, the Underwriters’ Information.
(b) Procedure. Upon receipt by an Indemnified Person of notice of an action against such Indemnified Person with respect to which indemnity may reasonably be expected to be sought under this Agreement, such Indemnified Person shall promptly notify the Company in writing; provided that failure by any Indemnified Person so to notify the Company shall not relieve the Company from any obligation or liability which the Company may have on account of this Section 5 or otherwise to such Indemnified Person, except to the extent the Company is materially prejudiced as a proximate result of such failure. An Indemnified Person shall have the right to require the Company to assume the defense of any such action (including the employment of counsel designated by the Company and reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives). Any Indemnified Person shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and participate in the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Indemnified Person unless: (i) the Company has failed promptly to assume the defense and employ counsel satisfactory to the Representatives for the benefit of the Underwriters and the other Indemnified Persons or (ii) such Indemnified Person shall have been advised that in the opinion of counsel that there is an actual or potential conflict of interest that prevents (or makes it imprudent for) the counsel engaged by the Company for the purpose of representing the Indemnified Person, to represent both such Indemnified Person and any other person represented or proposed to be represented by such counsel. The Company shall not be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate counsel (together with local counsel), representing all Indemnified Persons who are parties to such action, which counsel (together with any local counsel) for the Indemnified Persons shall be selected by the Representatives. The Company shall not be liable for any settlement of any action effected without its written consent (which shall not be unreasonably withheld). In addition, the Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the Underwriters, settle, compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in or otherwise seek to terminate any pending or threatened action in respect of which advancement, reimbursement, indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not such Indemnified Person is a party thereto) unless such settlement, compromise, consent or termination (i) includes an unconditional release of each Indemnified Person, acceptable to such Indemnified Party, from all Liabilities arising out of such action for which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any Indemnified Person. The advancement, reimbursement, indemnification and contribution obligations of the Company required hereby shall be made by periodic payments of the amount thereof during the course of the investigation or defense, as every Liability and Expense is incurred and is due and payable, and in such amounts as fully satisfy each and every Liability and Expense as it is incurred (and in no event later than 30 days following the date of any invoice therefore).
(c) Indemnification of the Company. Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, its officers who signed the Registration Statement and persons who control the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act against any and all Liabilities, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Disclosure Package or Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, in reliance upon,
and in strict conformity with, the Underwriters’ Information. In case any action shall be brought against the Company or any other person so indemnified based on any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, and in respect of which indemnity may be sought against any Underwriter, such Underwriter shall have the rights and duties given to the Company, and the Company and each other person so indemnified shall have the rights and duties given to the several Underwriters by the provisions of Section 5(b). The Company agrees promptly to notify the Representatives of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against the Company or any of its officers, directors or any person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, in connection with the issuance and sale of the Public Securities or in connection with the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus; provided that failure by the Company so to notify the Representatives shall not relieve any Underwriter from any obligation or liability which such Underwriter may have on account of this Section 5 or otherwise to the Company, except to the extent such Underwriter is materially prejudiced as a proximate result of such failure.
(d) Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in this Section 5 shall for any reason be unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under Section 5(a) or 5(c) in respect of any Liabilities and Expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party, contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such Liabilities and Expenses, (i) in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and each of the Underwriters, on the other hand, from the Offering, 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 hand, in connection with the matters as to which such Liabilities or Expenses relate, 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 hand, with respect to such Offering shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total proceeds from the Offering purchased under this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discount and commissions actually received by the Underwriters in connection with the Offering, 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 the Underwriters, on the other hand, and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement, omission, act or failure to act; provided that the parties hereto agree that the written information furnished to the Company through the Representatives by or on behalf of any Underwriter for use in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto, consists solely of the Underwriters’ Information. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this subsection (d) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (d). Notwithstanding the above, no person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act shall be entitled to contribution from a party who was not guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation.
(e) Limitation. The Company also agrees that no Indemnified Person shall have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract or tort or otherwise) to the Company for or in connection with advice or services rendered or to be rendered by any Indemnified Person pursuant to this Agreement, the transactions contemplated thereby or any Indemnified Person’s actions or inactions in connection with any such advice, services or transactions, except to the extent that a court of competent jurisdiction has made a finding that Liabilities (and related Expenses) of the Company have resulted primarily from such Indemnified Person’s gross negligence or willful misconduct in connection with any such advice, actions, inactions or services.
(f) Survival. The advancement, reimbursement, indemnity and contribution obligations set forth in this Section 5 shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any termination of, or the completion of any Indemnified Person’s services under or in connection with, this Agreement. Each Indemnified Person is an intended third-party beneficiary of this Section 5, and has the right to enforce the provisions of Section 5 as if he/she/it was a party to this Agreement.
6. Default by an Underwriter.
(a) Default Not Exceeding 10% of Shares. If any Underwriter or Underwriters shall default in its or their obligations to purchase the Shares, and if the number of the Shares with respect to which such default relates does not exceed in the aggregate 10% of the number of Shares that all Underwriters have agreed to purchase hereunder, then such Shares to which the default relates shall be purchased by the non-defaulting Underwriters in proportion to their respective commitments hereunder.
(b) Default Exceeding 10% of Shares. In the event that the default addressed in Section 6(a) relates to more than 10% of the Shares, the Representatives may in their discretion arrange for itself or for another party or parties to purchase such Shares to which such default relates on the terms contained herein. If, within one (1) Business Day after such default relating to more than 10% of the Shares, the Representatives do not arrange for the purchase of such Shares, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of one (1) Business Day within which to procure another party or parties satisfactory to the Representatives to purchase said Shares on such terms. In the event that neither the Representatives nor the Company arrange for the purchase of the Shares to which a default relates as provided in this Section 6, this Agreement will automatically be terminated by the Representatives or the Company without liability on the part of the Company (except as provided in Sections 3(f) and 5 hereof) or the several Underwriters (except as provided in Section 5 hereof); provided that if any such default occurs with respect to any Option Shares, this Agreement will not terminate in respect of the Firm Shares; and provided, further, that nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter of its liability, if any, to the other Underwriters and to the Company for damages occasioned by its default hereunder.
(c) Postponement of Closing Date. In the event that the Shares to which the default relates are to be purchased by the non-defaulting Underwriters, or are to be purchased by another party or parties as aforesaid, the Representatives or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Closing Date for a reasonable period, but not in any event exceeding five (5) Business Days, in order to effect whatever changes may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or in any other documents and arrangements, and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendment to the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus that in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriter may thereby be made necessary. The term “Underwriter” as used in this Agreement shall include any party substituted under this Section 6 with like effect as if it had originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such Securities.
7. Additional Covenants.
(a) Prohibition on Press Releases and Public Announcements. The Company shall not issue press releases or engage in any other publicity, without the Representatives’ prior written consent, for a period ending at 5:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the first (1st) Business Day following the 30th day after the Closing Date, other than normal and customary releases issued in the ordinary course of the Company’s business.
(b) Right of First Refusal. During the period ending 12 months after the Closing Date, if and only if the closing of the purchase of the Firm Shares hereunder actually occurs, the Company grants the Representatives the right of first refusal to act as lead or joint investment bankers, lead or joint book runners, lead or joint placement agents, and/or investment banker/advisor, for each and every future public and private equity and debt offering, including all equity linked financings, and for each proposed or contemplated merger or acquisition transaction whereby the Company will be merged into or acquired by another company or entity, for the Company, or any successor to or any subsidiary of the Company during such period, on customary terms. The Representatives shall have the sole right to determine whether or not any other broker dealer shall have the right to participate in any such offering and the economic terms of any such participation.
8. Effective Date of this Agreement and Termination Thereof.
(a) Effective Date. This Agreement shall become effective when both the Company and the Representatives have executed the same and delivered counterparts of such signatures to the other party.
(b) Termination. The Representatives shall have the right to terminate this Agreement at any time prior to any Closing Date, (i) if any domestic or international event or act or occurrence has materially disrupted, or in Representatives’ opinion will in the immediate future materially disrupt, general securities markets in the United States; or (ii) if trading on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC shall have been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading shall have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices for securities shall have been required by FINRA or by order of the Commission or any other government authority having jurisdiction; or (iii) if the United States shall have become involved in a new war or an increase in major hostilities; or (iv) if a banking moratorium has been declared by a New York State or federal authority; or (v) if a moratorium on foreign exchange trading has been declared which materially adversely impacts the United States securities markets; or (vi) if the Company shall have sustained a material loss by fire, flood, accident, hurricane, earthquake, theft, sabotage or other calamity or malicious act which, whether or not such loss shall have been insured, will, in the Representatives’ opinion, make it inadvisable to proceed with the delivery of the Shares; or (vii) if the Company is in material breach of its representations, warranties or covenants hereunder; or (viii) in the event the Exchange refuses to initiate trading or ceases trading of the Ordinary Shares in advance of settlement, the Representatives shall have the right to terminate the Offering and return all funds invested in the Offering to the investors; or (ix) if the Representatives shall have become aware after the date hereof of such a Material Adverse Change in the conditions or prospects of the Company, or such adverse material change in general market conditions, in each case, as in the Representatives’ judgment would make it impracticable to proceed with the offering, sale and/or delivery of the Public Securities or to enforce contracts made by the Underwriters for the sale of the Public Securities. Section 5 of this Agreement shall survive any termination of this Agreement.
(c) Expenses. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, except in the case of a default by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 6(b) above, in the event that this Agreement shall not be carried out for any reason whatsoever, within the time specified herein or any extensions thereof pursuant to the terms herein, the Company shall be obligated to pay to the Underwriters their actual and accountable out-of-pocket expenses related to the transactions contemplated herein then due and payable and upon demand the Company shall pay the full amount thereof to the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters, up to the amounts set forth in Section 3(h)(h); and provided, however, that such expense cap in no way limits or impairs the indemnification and contribution provisions of this Agreement.
(d) Indemnification. Notwithstanding any contrary provision contained in this Agreement, any election hereunder or any termination of this Agreement, and whether or not this Agreement is otherwise carried out, the provisions of Section 5 shall remain in full force and effect and shall not be in any way affected by, such election or termination or failure to carry out the terms of this Agreement or any part hereof.
(e) Representations, Warranties, Agreements to Survive. All representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement or in certificates of officers of the Company submitted pursuant hereto, shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or its affiliates or selling agents, any person controlling any Underwriter, its officers or directors or any person controlling the Company or (ii) delivery of and payment for the Public Securities.
9. Miscellaneous.
(a) Notices. All communications hereunder, except as herein otherwise specifically provided, shall be in writing and shall be mailed (registered or certified mail, return receipt requested), or personally delivered and shall be deemed given when so delivered or if mailed, three (3) days after such mailing.
If to the Representatives:
The Benchmark Company, LLC
150 Xxxx 00xx Xx, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10155
Attention: [●]
Axiom Capital Management, Inc.
350 Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
New York, NY 10118
Attention: [●]
If to the Company:
WF International Limited
No. 0000, 00xx Xxxxx, Unxx 0, Xxxxxxxx 0, Xx. 000, Xxxxxxx Xxxx
Chengdu, Sichuan, China, 610041
Attention: Chief Executive Officer
(b) Headings. The headings contained herein are for the sole purpose of convenience of reference, and shall not in any way limit or affect the meaning or interpretation of any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement.
(c) Amendment. This Agreement may only be amended by a written instrument executed by each of the parties hereto.
(d) Entire Agreement. This Agreement (together with the other agreements and documents being delivered pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement) constitutes the entire agreement of the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings of the parties, oral and written, with respect to the subject matter hereof.
(e) Binding Effect. This Agreement shall inure solely to the benefit of and shall be binding upon the Representatives, the Underwriters, each Indemnified Person referred to in Section 5, the Company and the controlling persons, directors and officers referred to in Section 5 hereof, and their respective successors, legal representatives, heirs and assigns, and no other person shall have or be construed to have any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of or by virtue of this Agreement or any provisions herein contained. The term “successors and assigns” shall not include a purchaser, in its capacity as such, of securities from any of the Underwriters.
(f) Governing Law; Consent to Jurisdiction; Trial by Jury. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to conflict of laws principles thereof. The Company hereby agrees that any action, proceeding or claim against it arising out of, or relating in any way to this Agreement (each, a “Related Proceeding”) shall be brought and enforced in the state and federal courts sitting in New York, New York, and irrevocably submits to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be exclusive. The Company hereby waives any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. To the extent that the Company has or hereafter may acquire any immunity (on the grounds of sovereignty or otherwise) from the jurisdiction of any court or from any legal process with respect to itself or its property, the Company irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, such immunity in respect of any such suit, action or proceeding. The Company hereby irrevocably appoints [●], with offices at [●] as its agent for service of process in any Related Proceeding and agrees that service of process in any such Related Proceeding may be made upon it at the office of such agent. The Company and the Underwriters agree that the prevailing party(ies) in any such action shall be entitled to recover from the other party(ies) all its reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses relating to such action or proceeding and/or incurred in connection with the preparation therefor as determined in a final judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction. The Company and the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waive, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
(g) Execution in Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, and by the different parties hereto in separate counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement, and shall become effective when one or more counterparts has been signed by each of the parties hereto and delivered to each of the other parties hereto. Delivery of a signed counterpart of this Agreement by email/pdf transmission shall constitute valid and sufficient delivery thereof.
(h) Waiver, etc. The failure of any of the parties hereto to at any time enforce any of the provisions of this Agreement shall not be deemed or construed to be a waiver of any such provision, nor to in any way effect the validity of this Agreement or any provision hereof or the right of any of the parties hereto to thereafter enforce each and every provision of this Agreement. No waiver of any breach, non-compliance or non-fulfillment of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be effective unless set forth in a written instrument executed by the party or parties against whom or which enforcement of such waiver is sought; and no waiver of any such breach, non-compliance or non-fulfillment shall be construed or deemed to be a waiver of any other or subsequent breach, non-compliance or non-fulfillment.
[Signature Page Follows]
[Signature Page]
WF International Limited – Underwriting Agreement
If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Underwriters and the Company, please so indicate in the space.
Very truly yours, | ||
WF International Limited | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: |
Confirmed as of the date first written above mentioned, on behalf of itself and as Representatives of the several Underwriters named on Schedule 1 hereto:
The Benchmark Company, LLC | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: | ||
On behalf of each of the Underwriters |
Axiom Capital Management, Inc. | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: | ||
On behalf of each of the Underwriters |
SCHEDULE 1
Underwriter | Total Number of Firm Shares to be Purchased | Total Number of Option Shares to be Purchased |
The Benchmark Company, LLC | [●] | [●] |
Axiom Capital Management, Inc. | [●] | [●] |
Total: | [●] | [●] |
SCHEDULE 2
Pricing Information
Number of Firm Shares: [●]
Number of Option Shares: [●]
Public Offering Price Share: $[●]
Underwriting Discount per Share: $[●] (7% per Share)
Non-Accountable Expense Allowance per Share: $[●] (1% per Share)
SCHEDULE I
Issuer Use Free Writing Prospectuses
None.
EXHIBIT A
Form of Representatives’ Warrant
THE REGISTERED HOLDER OF THIS PURCHASE WARRANT BY ITS ACCEPTANCE HEREOF AGREES THAT IT WILL NOT (A) SELL, TRANSFER, ASSIGN, PLEDGE OR HYPOTHECATE THIS PURCHASE WARRANT FOR A PERIOD OF ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS FOLLOWING [●], 2023, WHICH IS THE COMMENCEMENT DATE OF SALES IN THE COMPANY’S INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING, TO ANYONE OTHER THAN (I) THE BENCHMARK COMPANY LLC, AXIOM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC. OR AN UNDERWRITER OR SELECTED DEALER IN CONNECTION WITH THE OFFERING FOR WHICH THIS PURCHASE WARRANT WAS ISSUED TO THE UNDERWRITER AS CONSIDERATION IN EACH CASE IN ACCORDANCE WITH FINRA CONDUCT RULE 5110(E)(1), OR (II) THE OFFICERS OR PARTNERS, REGISTERED PERSONS OR AFFILIATES OF THE BENCHMARK COMPANY LLC, AXIOM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC. OR OF ANY SUCH UNDERWRITER OR SELECTED DEALER, IN EACH CASE IN ACCORDANCE WITH FINRA CONDUCT RULE 5110(E)(1); OR (B) CAUSE THIS PURCHASE WARRANT OR THE SECURITIES ISSUABLE HEREUNDER TO BE THE SUBJECT OF ANY HEDGING, SHORT SALE, DERIVATIVE, PUT OR CALL TRANSACTION THAT WOULD RESULT IN THE EFFECTIVE ECONOMIC DISPOSITION OF THIS PURCHASE WARRANT OR THE SECURITIES HEREUNDER FOR A PERIOD OF ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS FOLLOWING [●], 2023, WHICH IS THE COMMENCEMENT DATE OF SALES IN THE COMPANY’S INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED FOR IN FINRA RULE 5110(E)(2).
ORDINARY SHARES PURCHASE WARRANT
WF International Limited
Warrant Shares: [●] | Initial Exercise Date: [●], 2023 | |
Issue Date: [●], 2023 |
THIS ORDINARY SHARES PURCHASE WARRANT (the ”Warrant”) certifies that, for value received, [●] or its assignees assigns (the ”Holder”) are entitled, upon the terms and subject to the limitations on exercise and the conditions hereinafter set forth, at any time on or after [●], 2023 (the ”Initial Exercise Date”) and on or prior to 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on [●], 2028 (the ”Termination Date”) but not thereafter, to subscribe for and purchase from WF International Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability (the ”Company”), up to [●] Ordinary Shares (as defined below)(as subject to adjustment hereunder, the ”Warrant Shares”). The purchase price of one Ordinary Share under this Warrant shall be equal to the Exercise Price, as defined in Section 2(b).
Section 1. Definitions. In addition to the terms defined elsewhere in this Warrant, the following terms have the meanings indicated in this Section 1:
“Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person, as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
“Bid Price” means, for any date, the price determined by the first of the following clauses that applies: (a) if the Ordinary Share is then listed or quoted on a Trading Market, the bid price of the Ordinary Share for the time in question (or the nearest preceding date) on the Trading Market on which the Ordinary Share is then listed or quoted as reported by Bloomberg L.P. (based on a Trading Day from 9:30 a.m. (New York City time) to 4:02 p.m. (New York City time)), (b) if the OTCQB Venture Market (the “OTCQB”) or the OTCQX Best Market (the “OTCQX”) is not a Trading Market, the volume weighted average price of the Ordinary Share for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on OTCQB or OTCQX as applicable,
(c) if the Ordinary Share is not then listed or quoted for trading on OTCQB or OTCQX and if prices for the Ordinary Share are then reported on the Pink Open Market (or a similar organization or agency succeeding to its functions of reporting prices), the most recent bid price per Ordinary Share so reported, or (d) in all other cases, the fair market value of one Ordinary Share as determined by an independent appraiser selected in good faith by the Holders of a majority in interest of the Warrants then outstanding and reasonably acceptable to the Company, the fees and expenses of which shall be paid by the Company.
“Board of Directors” means the board of directors of the Company.
“Business Day” means any day other than Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in The City of New York are authorized or required by law to remain closed; provided, however, for clarification, commercial banks shall not be deemed to be authorized or required by law to remain closed due to “stay at home”, “shelter-in-place”, “non-essential employee” or any other similar orders or restrictions or the closure of any physical branch locations at the direction of any governmental authority so long as the electronic funds transfer systems (including for wire transfers) of commercial banks in The City of New York generally are open for use by customers on such day.
“Commission” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
“Ordinary Share” means the ordinary shares of the Company, $0.000001 par value, and any other class of securities into which such securities may hereafter be reclassified or changed.
“Ordinary Share Equivalents” means any securities of the Company or the Subsidiaries which would entitle the holder thereof to acquire at any time Ordinary Shares, including, without limitation, any debt, preferred share, right, option, warrant or other instrument that is at any time convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or otherwise entitles the holder thereof to receive, Ordinary Shares.
“Person” means an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind.
“Registration Statement” means the Company’s registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-[●]), as amended.
“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
“Subsidiary” means any subsidiary of the Company and shall, where applicable, also include any direct or indirect subsidiary of the Company formed or acquired after the date hereof.
“Trading Day” means a day on which the Ordinary Share is traded on a Trading Market.
“Trading Market” means any of the following markets or exchanges on which the Ordinary Share is listed or quoted for trading on the date in question: the NYSE American, the Nasdaq Capital Market, the Nasdaq Global Market, the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the New York Stock Exchange, OTCQB or OTCQX (or any successors to any of the foregoing).
“Transfer Agent” means [●], located at [●], and any successor transfer agent of the Company.
“Underwriting Agreement” means the underwriting agreement, dated as of [●], 2023 among the Company, The Benchmark Company, LLC and Axiom Capital Management, Inc. as the representatives of the underwriters named therein, as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time in accordance with its terms.
“VWAP” means, for any date, the price determined by the first of the following clauses that applies: (a) if the Ordinary Share is then listed or quoted on a Trading Market, the daily volume weighted average price of the Ordinary Share for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on the Trading Market on which the Ordinary Share is then listed or quoted as reported by Bloomberg L.P. (based on a Trading Day from 9:30 a.m. (New York City time) to 4:02 p.m. (New York City time)), (b) if OTCQB or OTCQX is not a Trading Market, the volume weighted average price of the Ordinary Share for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on OTCQB or OTCQX as applicable, (c) if the Ordinary Share is not then listed or quoted for trading on OTCQB or OTCQX and if prices for the Ordinary Share is then reported on the Pink Open Market (or a similar organization or agency succeeding to its functions of reporting prices), the most recent bid price per Ordinary Share so reported, or (d) in all other cases, the fair market value of an Ordinary Share as determined by an independent appraiser selected in good faith by the holders of a majority in interest of the Warrants then outstanding and reasonably acceptable to the Company, the fees and expenses of which shall be paid by the Company.
“Warrants” means this Warrant and any new Warrant or Warrants to be issued upon division, combination or partial exercise of this Warrant.
Section 2. Exercise.
a) Exercise of Warrant. Subject to the provisions of Section 2(e) herein, exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant may be made, in whole or in part, at any time or times on or after the Initial Exercise Date and on or before the Termination Date, by delivery to the Company of a duly executed PDF copy submitted by e-mail (or e-mail attachment) of the Notice of Exercise in the form annexed hereto as Annex A (the ”Notice of Exercise”), provided, however, that a Notice of Exercise shall only be deemed to have been delivered to the Company upon the delivery of the aggregate Exercise Price of the Warrant Shares specified in the applicable Notice of Exercise as specified in this Section 2(a). Within the earlier of (i) two (2) Trading Days and (ii) the number of Trading Days comprising the Standard Settlement Period (as defined in Section 2(d)(i) herein) following the date of exercise as aforesaid, the Holder shall deliver the aggregate Exercise Price for the Warrant Shares specified in the applicable Notice of Exercise by wire transfer of immediately available funds or cashier’s check drawn on a United States bank unless the cashless exercise procedure specified in Section 2(c) below is specified in the applicable Notice of Exercise. No ink-original Notice of Exercise shall be required, nor shall any medallion guarantee (or other type of guarantee or notarization) of any Notice of Exercise be required. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Holder shall not be required to physically surrender this Warrant to the Company until the Holder has purchased all of the Warrant Shares available hereunder and the Warrant has been exercised in full, in which case, the Holder shall surrender this Warrant to the Company for cancellation within three (3) Trading Days of the date on which the final Notice of Exercise is delivered to the Company. Partial exercises of this Warrant resulting in purchases of a portion of the total number of Warrant Shares available hereunder shall have the effect of lowering the outstanding number of Warrant Shares purchasable hereunder in an amount equal to the applicable number of Warrant Shares purchased. The Holder and the Company shall maintain records showing the number of Warrant Shares purchased and the date of such purchases. The Company shall deliver any objection to any Notice of Exercise within one (1) Trading Day of receipt of such notice. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to any Notice(s) of Exercise delivered on or prior to 4:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the Trading Date prior to the Initial Exercise Date, which may be delivered at any time after the time of execution of the Underwriting Agreement, the Company agrees to deliver the Warrant Shares subject to such notice(s) by 4:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the Initial Exercise Date and the Initial Exercise Date shall be the Warrant Share Delivery Date for purposes hereunder, provided that payment of the aggregate Exercise Price (other than in the case of a cashless exercise) is received by such Warrant Share Delivery Date. The Holder and any assignee, by acceptance of this Warrant, acknowledge and agree that, by reason of the provisions of this paragraph, following the purchase of a portion of the Warrant Shares hereunder, the number of Warrant Shares available for purchase hereunder at any given time may be less than the amount stated on the face hereof.
b) Exercise Price. The exercise price per Ordinary Share under this Warrant shall be $[●], subject to adjustment hereunder (the ”Exercise Price”).
c) Cashless Exercise. This Warrant may be exercised, in whole or in part, at such time by means of a “cashless exercise” in which the Holder shall be entitled to receive a number of Warrant Shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing [(A-B) (X)] by (A), where:
(A) = | as applicable: (i) the VWAP on the Trading Day immediately preceding the date of the applicable Notice of Exercise if such Notice of Exercise is (1) both executed and delivered pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof on a day that is not a Trading Day or (2) both executed and delivered pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof on a Trading Day prior to the opening of “regular trading hours” (as defined in Rule 600(b)(68) of Regulation NMS promulgated under the federal securities laws) on such Trading Day, (ii) at the option of the Holder, either (y) the VWAP on the Trading Day immediately preceding the date of the applicable Notice of Exercise or (z) the Bid Price of the Ordinary Share on the principal Trading Market as reported by Bloomberg L.P. as of the time of the Holder’s execution of the applicable Notice of Exercise if such Notice of Exercise is executed during “regular trading hours” on a Trading Day and is delivered within two (2) hours thereafter (including until two (2) hours after the close of “regular trading hours” on a Trading Day) pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof or (iii) the VWAP on the date of the applicable Notice of Exercise if the date of such Notice of Exercise is a Trading Day and such Notice of Exercise is both executed and delivered pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof after the close of “regular trading hours” on such Trading Day; | |
(B) = | the Exercise Price of this Warrant, as adjusted hereunder; and | |
(X) = | the number of Warrant Shares that would be issuable upon exercise of this Warrant in accordance with the terms of this Warrant if such exercise were by means of a cash exercise rather than a cashless exercise. |
If Warrant Shares are issued in such a cashless exercise, the parties acknowledge and agree that in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, the Warrant Shares shall take on the registered characteristics of the Warrants being exercised. The Company agrees not to take any position contrary to this Section 2(c).
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, on the Termination Date, this Warrant shall be automatically exercised via cashless exercise pursuant to this Section 2(c).
d) Mechanics of Exercise.
i. Delivery of Warrant Shares Upon Exercise. The Company shall cause the Warrant Shares purchased hereunder to be transmitted by the Transfer Agent to the Holder by crediting the account of the Holder’s or its designee’s balance account with The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit or Withdrawal at Custodian system (“DWAC”) if the Company is then a participant in such system and there is an effective registration statement permitting the issuance of the Warrant Shares to or resale of the Warrant Shares by Holder or (B) this Warrant is being exercised via cashless exercise, and otherwise by physic al delivery of a certificate, registered in the Company’s share register in the name of the Holder or its designee, for the number of Warrant Shares to which the Holder is entitled pursuant to such exercise to the address specified by the Holder in the Notice of Exercise by the date that is the earliest of (i) three (3) Trading Days after the delivery to the Company of the Notice of Exercise, (ii) two (2) Trading Days after delivery of the aggregate Exercise Price to the Company and (iii) the number of Trading Days comprising the Standard Settlement Period after the delivery to the Company of the Notice of Exercise (such date, the “Warrant Share Delivery Date”). Upon delivery of the Notice of Exercise with payment to the Company of the Exercise Price (or by cashless exercise) the Holder shall be deemed for all corporate purposes to have become the holder of record of the Warrant Shares with respect to which this Warrant has been exercised, irrespective of the date of delivery of the Warrant Shares. If the Company fails for any reason to deliver to the Holder the Warrant Shares subject to a Notice of Exercise by the Warrant Share Delivery Date, the Company shall pay to the Holder,
in cash, as liquidated damages and not as a penalty, for each $1,000 of Warrant Shares subject to such exercise (based on the VWAP of the Ordinary Share on the date of the applicable Notice of Exercise), $10 per Trading Day (increasing to $20 per Trading Day on the fifth Trading Day after such liquidated damages begin to accrue) for each Trading Day after such Warrant Share Delivery Date until such Warrant Shares are delivered or Holder rescinds such exercise. The Company agrees to maintain a transfer agent that is a participant in the FAST program so long as this Warrant remains outstanding and exercisable. As used herein, “Standard Settlement Period” means the standard settlement period, expressed in a number of Trading Days, on the Company’s primary Trading Market with respect to the Ordinary Share as in effect on the date of delivery of the Notice of Exercise.
ii. Delivery of New Warrants Upon Exercise. If this Warrant shall have been exercised in part, the Company shall, at the request of a Holder and upon surrender of this Warrant certificate, at the time of delivery of the Warrant Shares, deliver to the Holder a new Warrant evidencing the rights of the Holder to purchase the unpurchased Warrant Shares called for by this Warrant, which new Warrant shall in all other respects be identical with this Warrant.
iii. Rescission Rights. If the Company fails to cause the Transfer Agent to transmit to the Holder the Warrant Shares pursuant to Section 2(d)(i) by the Warrant Share Delivery Date, then the Holder will have the right to rescind such exercise.
iv. Compensation for Buy-In on Failure to Timely Deliver Warrant Shares Upon Exercise. In addition to any other rights available to the Holder, if the Company fails to cause the Transfer Agent to transmit to the Holder the Warrant Shares in accordance with the provisions of Section 2(d)(i) above pursuant to an exercise on or before the Warrant Share Delivery Date, and if after such date the Holder is required by its broker to purchase (in an open market transaction or otherwise) or the Holder’s brokerage firm otherwise purchases, Ordinary Share to deliver in satisfaction of a sale by the Holder of the Warrant Shares which the Holder anticipated receiving upon such exercise (a ”Buy-In”), then the Company shall (A) pay in cash to the Holder the amount, if any, by which (x) the Holder’s total purchase price (including brokerage commissions, if any) for the Ordinary Share so purchased exceeds (y) the amount obtained by multiplying (1) the number of Warrant Shares that the Company was required to deliver to the Holder in connection with the exercise at issue times (2) the price at which the sell order giving rise to such purchase obligation was executed, and (B) at the option of the Holder, either reinstate the portion of the Warrant and equivalent number of Warrant Shares for which such exercise was not honored (in which case such exercise shall be deemed rescinded) or deliver to the Holder the number of Ordinary Shares that would have been issued had the Company timely complied with its exercise and delivery obligations hereunder. For example, if the Holder purchases Ordinary Shares having a total purchase price of $11,000 to cover a Buy-In with respect to an attempted exercise of Ordinary Shares with an aggregate sale price giving rise to such purchase obligation of $10,000, under clause (A) of the immediately preceding sentence the Company shall be required to pay the Holder $1,000. The Holder shall provide the Company written notice indicating the amounts payable to the Holder in respect of the Buy-In and, upon request of the Company, evidence of the amount of such loss. Nothing herein shall limit a Xxxxxx’s right to pursue any other remedies available to it hereunder, at law or in equity including, without limitation, a decree of specific performance and/or injunctive relief with respect to the Company’s failure to timely deliver Ordinary Shares upon exercise of the Warrant as required pursuant to the terms hereof.
v. No Fractional Shares or Scrip. No fractional shares or scrip representing fractional shares shall be issued upon the exercise of this Warrant. As to any fraction of a share which the Holder would otherwise be entitled to purchase upon such exercise, the Company shall, at its election, either pay a cash adjustment in respect of such final fraction in an amount equal to such fraction multiplied by the Exercise Price or round up to the next whole share.
vi. Charges, Taxes and Expenses. Issuance of Warrant Shares shall be made without charge to the Holder for any issue or transfer tax or other incidental expense in respect of the issuance of such Warrant Shares, all of which taxes and expenses shall be paid by the Company, and such Warrant Shares shall be issued in the name of the Holder or in such name or names as may be directed by the Holder; provided, however, that, in the event that Warrant Shares are to be issued in a name other than the name of the Holder, this Warrant when surrendered for exercise shall be accompanied by the Assignment Form attached hereto as Annex B duly executed by the Holder and the Company may require, as a condition thereto, the payment of a sum sufficient to reimburse it for any transfer tax incidental thereto. The Company shall pay all Transfer Agent fees required for same-day processing of any Notice of Exercise and all fees to the Depository Trust Company (or another established clearing corporation performing similar functions) required for same-day electronic delivery of the Warrant Shares.
vii. Closing of Books. The Company will not close its shareholder books or records in any manner which prevents the timely exercise of this Warrant, pursuant to the terms hereof.
e) Xxxxxx’s Exercise Limitations. The Company shall not effect any exercise of this Warrant, and a Holder shall not have the right to exercise any portion of this Warrant, pursuant to Section 2 or otherwise, to the extent that after giving effect to such issuance after exercise as set forth on the applicable Notice of Exercise, the Holder (together with the Holder’s Affiliates, and any other Persons acting as a group together with the Holder or any of the Holder’s Affiliates (such Persons, ”Attribution Parties”)), would beneficially own in excess of the Beneficial Ownership Limitation (as defined below). For purposes of the foregoing sentence, the number of Ordinary Shares beneficially owned by the Holder and its Affiliates and Attribution Parties shall include the number of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of this Warrant with respect to which such determination is being made, but shall exclude the number of Ordinary Shares which would be issuable upon (i) exercise of the remaining, nonexercised portion of this Warrant beneficially owned by the Holder or any of its Affiliates or Attribution Parties and (ii) exercise or conversion of the unexercised or nonconverted portion of any other securities of the Company (including, without limitation, any other Ordinary Share Equivalents) subject to a limitation on conversion or exercise analogous to the limitation contained herein beneficially owned by the Holder or any of its Affiliates or Attribution Parties. Except as set forth in the preceding sentence, for purposes of this Section 2(e), beneficial ownership shall be calculated in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, it being acknowledged by the Holder that the Company is not representing to the Holder that such calculation is in compliance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the Holder is solely responsible for any schedules required to be filed in accordance therewith. To the extent that the limitation contained in this Section 2(e) applies, the determination of whether this Warrant is exercisable (in relation to other securities owned by the Holder together with any Affiliates and Attribution Parties) and of which portion of this Warrant is exercisable shall be in the sole discretion of the Holder, and the submission of a Notice of Exercise shall be deemed to be the Holder’s determination of whether this Warrant is exercisable (in relation to other securities owned by the Holder together with any Affiliates and Attribution Parties) and of which portion of this Warrant is exercisable, in each case subject to the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, and the Company shall have no obligation to verify or confirm the accuracy of such determination. In addition, a determination as to any group status as contemplated above shall be determined in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. For purposes of this Section 2(e), in determining the number of outstanding Ordinary Shares, a Holder may rely on the number of outstanding Ordinary Shares as reflected in (A) the Company’s most recent periodic or annual report filed with the Commission, as the case may be, (B) a more recent public announcement by the Company or (C) a more recent written notice by the Company or the Transfer Agent setting forth the number of Ordinary Shares outstanding. Upon the written or oral request of a Holder, the Company shall within one Trading Day confirm orally and in writing to the Holder the number of Ordinary Shares then outstanding. In any case, the number of outstanding Ordinary Shares shall be determined after giving effect to the conversion or exercise of securities of the Company, including this Warrant, by the Holder or its Affiliates or Attribution Parties since the date as of which such number of outstanding Ordinary Shares was reported. The ”Beneficial Ownership Limitation” shall be 4.99% of the number of Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of this Warrant. The Holder, upon notice to the Company, may increase or decrease the Beneficial Ownership Limitation provisions of this Section 2(e), provided that the Beneficial Ownership Limitation in no event exceeds 9.99% of the number of Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of Ordinary Shares upon exercise of this Warrant held by the Holder and the provisions of this Section 2(e) shall continue to apply. Any increase in the Beneficial Ownership Limitation will not be effective until the 61st day after such notice is delivered to the Company. The provisions of this paragraph shall be construed and implemented in a manner otherwise than in strict conformity with the terms of this Section 2(e) to correct this paragraph (or any portion hereof) which may be defective or inconsistent with the intended Beneficial Ownership Limitation herein contained or to make changes or supplements necessary or desirable to properly give effect to such limitation. The limitations contained in this paragraph shall apply to a successor holder of this Warrant.
Section 3. Certain Adjustments.
a) Stock Dividends and Splits. If the Company, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding: (i) pays a stock dividend or otherwise makes a distribution or distributions on Ordinary Shares or any other equity or equity equivalent securities payable in Ordinary Shares (which, for avoidance of doubt, shall not include any Ordinary Share issued by the Company upon exercise of this Warrant), (ii) subdivides outstanding Ordinary Shares into a larger number of shares, (iii) combines (including by way of reverse stock split) outstanding Ordinary Shares into a smaller number of shares, or (iv) issues by reclassification of Ordinary Shares any shares of capital stock of the Company, then in each case the Exercise Price shall be multiplied by a fraction of which the numerator shall be the number of Ordinary Shares (excluding treasury shares, if any) outstanding immediately before such event and of which the denominator shall be the number of Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately after such event, and the number of shares issuable upon exercise of this Warrant shall be proportionately adjusted such that the aggregate Exercise Price of this Warrant shall remain unchanged. Any adjustment made pursuant to this Section 3(a) shall become effective immediately after the record date for the determination of shareholders entitled to receive such dividend or distribution and shall become effective immediately after the effective date in the case of a subdivision, combination or re-classification.
b) Reserved.
c) Subsequent Rights Offerings. In addition to any adjustments pursuant to Section 3(a) above, if at any time the Company grants, issues or sells any Ordinary Share Equivalents or rights to purchase stock, warrants, securities or other property pro rata to all (or substantially all) of the record holders of any class of Ordinary Shares (the ”Purchase Rights”), then the Holder will be entitled to acquire, upon the terms applicable to such Purchase Rights, the aggregate Purchase Rights which the Holder could have acquired if the Holder had held the number of Ordinary Shares acquirable upon complete exercise of this Warrant (without regard to any limitations on exercise hereof, including without limitation, the Beneficial Ownership Limitation) immediately before the date on which a record is taken for the grant, issuance or sale of such Purchase Rights, or, if no such record is taken, the date as of which the record holders of Ordinary Shares are to be determined for the grant, issue or sale of such Purchase Rights (provided, however, that, to the extent that the Holder’s right to participate in any such Purchase Right would result in the Holder exceeding the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, then the Holder shall not be entitled to participate in such Purchase Right to such extent (or beneficial ownership of such Ordinary Shares as a result of such Purchase Right to such extent) and such Purchase Right to such extent shall be held in abeyance for the Holder until such time, if ever, as its right thereto would not result in the Holder exceeding the Beneficial Ownership Limitation).
d) Pro Rata Distributions. During such time as this Warrant is outstanding, if the Company shall declare or make any dividend or other distribution of its assets (or rights to acquire its assets) to all (or substantially all) of holders of Ordinary Shares, by way of return of capital or otherwise (including, without limitation, any distribution of cash, stock or other securities, property or options by way of a dividend, spin off, reclassification, corporate rearrangement, scheme of arrangement or other similar transaction) (a ”Distribution”), at any time after the issuance of this Warrant, then, in each such case, the Holder shall be entitled to participate in such Distribution to the same extent that the Holder would have participated therein if the Holder had held the number of Ordinary Shares acquirable upon complete exercise of this Warrant (without regard to any limitations on exercise hereof, including without limitation, the Beneficial Ownership Limitation) immediately before the date of which a record is taken for such Distribution, or, if no such record is taken, the date as of which the record holders of Ordinary Shares are to be determined for the participation in such Distribution (provided, however, that, to the extent that the Holder’s right to participate in any such Distribution would result in the Holder exceeding the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, then the Holder shall not be entitled to participate in such Distribution to such extent (or in the beneficial ownership of any Ordinary Shares as a result of such Distribution to such extent) and the portion of such Distribution shall be held in abeyance for the benefit of the Holder until such time, if ever, as its right thereto would not result in the Holder exceeding the Beneficial Ownership Limitation).
e) Fundamental Transaction. If, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding, (i) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions effects any merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another Person, (ii) the Company, directly or indirectly, effects any sale, lease, license, assignment, transfer, conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all of its assets in one or a series of related transactions, (iii) any, direct or indirect, purchase offer, tender offer or exchange offer (whether by the Company or another Person) is completed pursuant to which holders of Ordinary Shares are permitted to sell, tender or exchange their shares for other securities, cash or property and has been accepted by the holders of 50% or more of the outstanding Ordinary Shares, (iv) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions effects any reclassification, reorganization or recapitalization of the Ordinary Shares or any compulsory share exchange pursuant to which the Ordinary Shares are effectively converted into or exchanged for other securities, cash or property, or (v) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions consummates a stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination (including, without limitation, a reorganization, recapitalization, spin-off, merger or scheme of arrangement) with another Person or group of Persons whereby such other Person or group acquires more than 50% of the outstanding Ordinary Shares (not including any Ordinary Shares held by the other Person or other Persons making or party to, or associated or affiliated with the other Persons making or party to, such stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination) (each a ”Fundamental Transaction”), then, upon any subsequent exercise of this Warrant, the Holder shall have the right to receive, for each Warrant Share that would have been issuable upon such exercise immediately prior to the occurrence of such Fundamental Transaction, at the option of the Holder (without regard to any limitation in Section 2(e) on the exercise of this Warrant), the number of Ordinary Shares of the successor or acquiring corporation or of the Company, if it is the surviving corporation, and any additional consideration (the ”Alternate Consideration”) receivable as a result of such Fundamental Transaction by a holder of the number of Ordinary Shares for which this Warrant is exercisable immediately prior to such Fundamental Transaction (without regard to any limitation in Section 2(e) on the exercise of this Warrant). For purposes of any such exercise, the determination of the Exercise Price shall be appropriately adjusted to apply to such Alternate Consideration based on the amount of Alternate Consideration issuable in respect of one Ordinary Share in such Fundamental Transaction, and the Company shall apportion the Exercise Price among the Alternate Consideration in a reasonable manner reflecting the relative value of any different components of the Alternate Consideration. If holders of Ordinary Shares are given any choice as to the securities, cash or property to be received in a Fundamental Transaction, then the Holder shall be given the same choice as to the Alternate Consideration it receives upon any exercise of this Warrant following such Fundamental Transaction. The Company shall cause any successor entity in a Fundamental Transaction in which the Company is not the survivor (the ”Successor Entity”) to assume in writing all of the obligations of the Company under this Warrant in accordance with the provisions of this Section 3(e) pursuant to written agreements in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Holder and approved by the Holder (without unreasonable delay) prior to such Fundamental Transaction and shall, at the option of the Holder, deliver to the Holder in exchange for this Warrant a security of the Successor Entity evidenced by a written instrument substantially similar in form and substance to this Warrant which is exercisable for a corresponding number of shares of capital stock of such Successor Entity (or its parent entity) equivalent to the Ordinary Shares acquirable and receivable upon exercise of this Warrant (without regard to any limitations on the exercise of this Warrant) prior to such Fundamental Transaction, and with an exercise price which applies the exercise price hereunder to such shares of capital stock (but taking into account the relative value of the Ordinary Shares pursuant to such Fundamental Transaction and the value of such shares of capital stock, such number of shares of capital stock and such exercise price being for the purpose of protecting the economic value of this Warrant immediately prior to the consummation of such Fundamental Transaction), and which is reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Holder. Upon the occurrence of any such Fundamental Transaction, the Successor Entity shall succeed to, and be substituted for (so that from and after the date of such Fundamental Transaction, the provisions of this Warrant referring to the “Company” shall refer instead to the Successor Entity), and may exercise every right and power of the Company and shall assume all of the obligations of the Company under this Warrant with the same effect as if such Successor Entity had been named as the Company herein.
f) Calculations. All calculations under this Section 3 shall be made to the nearest cent or the nearest 1/100th of a share, as the case may be. For purposes of this Section 3, the number of Ordinary Shares deemed to be issued and outstanding as of a given date shall be the sum of the number of Ordinary Shares (excluding treasury shares, if any) issued and outstanding.
g) Notice to Holder.
i. Adjustment to Exercise Price. Whenever the Exercise Price is adjusted pursuant to any provision of this Section 3, the Company shall promptly deliver to the Holder by email a notice setting forth the Exercise Price after such adjustment and any resulting adjustment to the number of Warrant Shares and setting forth a brief statement of the facts requiring such adjustment.
ii. Notice to Allow Exercise by Xxxxxx. If (A) the Company shall declare a dividend (or any other distribution in whatever form) on the Ordinary Shares, (B) the Company shall declare a special nonrecurring cash dividend on or a redemption of the Ordinary Shares, (C) the Company shall authorize the granting to all holders of the Ordinary Share rights or warrants to subscribe for or purchase any shares of capital stock of any class or of any rights, (D) the approval of any shareholders of the Company shall be required in connection with any reclassification of the Ordinary Shares, any consolidation or merger to which the Company (or any of its Subsidiaries) is a party, any sale or transfer of all or substantially all of its assets, or any compulsory share exchange whereby the Ordinary Shares are converted into other securities, cash or property, or (E) the Company shall authorize the voluntary or involuntary dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the affairs of the Company, then, in each case, the Company shall cause to be delivered by email to the Holder at its last email address as it shall appear upon the Warrant Register of the Company, at least 20 calendar days prior to the applicable record or effective date hereinafter specified, a notice (unless such information is filed with the Commission, in which case a notice shall not be required) stating (x) the date on which a record is to be taken for the purpose of such dividend, distribution, redemption, rights or warrants, or if a record is not to be taken, the date as of which the holders of the Ordinary Shares of record to be entitled to such dividend, distributions, redemption, rights or warrants are to be determined or (y) the date on which such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or share exchange is expected to become effective or close, and the date as of which it is expected that holders of the Ordinary Shares of record shall be entitled to exchange their Ordinary Shares for securities, cash or other property deliverable upon such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or share exchange; provided that the failure to deliver such notice or any defect therein or in the delivery thereof shall not affect the validity of the corporate action required to be specified in such notice. To the extent that any notice provided in this Warrant constitutes, or contains, material, non-public information regarding the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, the Company shall simultaneously file such notice with the Commission pursuant to a Report on Form 8-K. The Holder shall remain entitled to exercise this Warrant during the period commencing on the date of such notice to the effective date of the event triggering such notice except as may otherwise be expressly set forth herein.
h) Voluntary Adjustment By Company. Subject to the rules and regulations of the Trading Market, the Company may at any time during the term of this Warrant, subject to the prior written consent of the Holder, reduce the then current Exercise Price to any amount and for any period of time deemed appropriate by the board of directors of the Company.
Section 4. Transfer of Warrant.
a) Transferability. The Holder of this Warrant agrees by its acceptance hereof, that such Holder will not: (a) sell, transfer, assign, pledge or hypothecate this Warrant for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days following [●], 2023 (the “Commencement Date”) to anyone other than: (i) The Benchmark Company, LLC (“Benchmark”), Axiom Capital Management, Inc. (“Axiom”) or a FINRA member participating in the Company’s initial public offering, or (ii) an officer, partner, registered person or affiliate of Benchmark, Axiom or of any such FINRA member, in each case in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), or (b) cause this Warrant or the securities issuable hereunder to be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the effective economic disposition of this Warrant or the securities hereunder for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days following the Commencement Date, except as provided for in FINRA Rule 5110(e)(2). After 180 days after the Commencement Date,
transfers to others may be made subject to compliance with or exemptions from applicable securities laws. Subject to the foregoing, this Warrant and all rights hereunder are transferable, in whole or in part, upon surrender of this Warrant at the principal office of the Company or its designated agent, together with a written assignment of this Warrant substantially in the form attached hereto duly executed by the Holder or its agent or attorney and funds sufficient to pay any transfer taxes payable upon the making of such transfer. Upon such surrender and, if required, such payment, the Company shall execute and deliver a new Warrant in the name of the assignee or assignees, as applicable, and in the denomination or denominations specified in such instrument of assignment, and shall issue to the assignor a new Warrant evidencing the portion of this Warrant not so assigned, and this Warrant shall promptly be cancelled. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Holder shall not be required to physically surrender this Warrant to the Company unless the Holder has assigned this Warrant in full, in which case, the Holder shall surrender this Warrant to the Company within three (3) Trading Days of the date on which the Holder delivers an assignment form to the Company assigning this Warrant in full. The Warrant, if properly assigned in accordance herewith, may be exercised by a new holder for the purchase of Warrant Shares without having a new Warrant issued.
b) New Warrants. If this Warrant is not held in global form through DTC (or any successor depositary), this Warrant may be divided or combined with other Warrants upon presentation hereof at the aforesaid office of the Company, together with a written notice specifying the names and denominations in which new Warrants are to be issued, signed by the Holder or its agent or attorney. Subject to compliance with Section 4(a), as to any transfer which may be involved in such division or combination, the Company shall execute and deliver a new Warrant or Warrants in exchange for the Warrant or Warrants to be divided or combined in accordance with such notice. All Warrants issued on transfers or exchanges shall be dated the initial issuance date of this Warrant and shall be identical with this Warrant except as to the number of Warrant Shares issuable pursuant thereto.
Section 5. Reserved
Section 6. Miscellaneous.
a) No Rights as Shareholders until Exercise; No Settlement in Cash. This Warrant does not entitle the Holder to any voting rights, dividends or other rights as a shareholder of the Company prior to the exercise hereof as set forth in Section 2(d)(i), except as expressly set forth in Section 3. Without limiting any rights of a Holder to receive Warrant Shares on a “cashless exercise” pursuant to Section 2(c) or to receive cash payments pursuant to Section 2(d)(i) and Section 2(d)(iv) herein, including if the Company is for any reason unable to issue and deliver Warrant Shares upon exercise of this Warrant as required pursuant to the terms hereof, in no event shall the Company be required to net cash settle an exercise of this Warrant or cash settle in any other form.
b) Loss, Theft, Destruction or Mutilation of Warrant. The Company covenants that upon receipt by the Company of evidence reasonably satisfactory to it of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of this Warrant or any share certificate relating to the Warrant Shares, and in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to it (which, in the case of the Warrant, shall not include the posting of any bond), and upon surrender and cancellation of such Warrant or share certificate, if mutilated, the Company will make and deliver a new Warrant or share certificate of like tenor and dated as of such cancellation, in lieu of such Warrant or share certificate.
c) Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, etc. If the last or appointed day for the taking of any action or the expiration of any right required or granted herein shall not be a Business Day, then such action may be taken or such right may be exercised on the next succeeding Business Day.
d) Authorized Shares.
The Company covenants that, during the period the Warrant is outstanding, it will reserve from its authorized and unissued Ordinary Shares a sufficient number of shares to provide for the issuance of the Warrant Shares upon the exercise of any purchase rights under this Warrant. The Company further covenants that its issuance of this Warrant shall constitute full authority to its officers who are charged with the duty of issuing the necessary Warrant Shares upon the exercise of the purchase rights under this Warrant. The Company will take all such reasonable action as may be necessary to assure that such Warrant Shares may be issued as provided herein without violation of any applicable law or regulation,
or of any requirements of the Trading Market upon which the Ordinary Shares may be listed. The Company covenants that all Warrant Shares which may be issued upon the exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant will, upon exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant and payment for such Warrant Shares in accordance herewith, be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free from all taxes, liens and charges created by the Company in respect of the issue thereof (other than taxes in respect of any transfer occurring contemporaneously with such issue).
Except and to the extent as waived or consented to by the Holder, the Company shall not by any action, including, without limitation, amending its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or through any reorganization, transfer of assets, consolidation, merger, dissolution, issue or sale of securities or any other voluntary action, avoid or seek to avoid the observance or performance of any of the terms of this Warrant, but will at all times in good faith assist in the carrying out of all such terms and in the taking of all such actions as may be necessary or appropriate to protect the rights of Holder as set forth in this Warrant against impairment. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company will (i) not increase the par value of any Warrant Shares above the amount payable therefor upon such exercise immediately prior to such increase in par value, (ii) take all such action as may be necessary or appropriate in order that the Company may validly and legally issue fully paid and nonassessable Warrant Shares upon the exercise of this Warrant and (iii) use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain all such authorizations, exemptions or consents from any public regulatory body having jurisdiction thereof, as may be, necessary to enable the Company to perform its obligations under this Warrant.
Before taking any action which would result in an adjustment in the number of Warrant Shares for which this Warrant is exercisable or in the Exercise Price, the Company shall obtain all such authorizations or exemptions thereof, or consents thereto, as may be necessary from any public regulatory body or bodies having jurisdiction thereof.
e) Governing Law. All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of this Warrant shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law thereof. Each party agrees that all legal proceedings concerning the interpretations, enforcement and defense of the transactions contemplated by this Warrant (whether brought against a party hereto or their respective affiliates, directors, officers, shareholders, partners, members, employees or agents) shall be commenced exclusively in the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection herewith or with any transaction contemplated hereby or discussed herein, and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is improper or is an inconvenient venue for such proceeding. Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof via registered or certified mail or overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Warrant and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law. If either party shall commence an action, suit or proceeding to enforce any provisions of this Warrant, the prevailing party in such action, suit or proceeding shall be reimbursed by the other party for their reasonable attorneys’ fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such action or proceeding. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this paragraph shall limit or restrict the federal district court in which a Holder may bring a claim under the federal securities laws.
f) Restrictions. The Holder acknowledges that the Warrant Shares acquired upon the exercise of this Warrant, if not registered, and the Holder does not utilize cashless exercise, will have restrictions upon resale imposed by state and federal securities laws.
g) Nonwaiver and Expenses. No course of dealing or any delay or failure to exercise any right hereunder on the part of Holder shall operate as a waiver of such right or otherwise prejudice the Holder’s rights, powers or remedies. No provision of this Warrant shall be construed as a waiver by the Holder of any rights which the Holder may have under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Without limiting any other provision of this Warrant, if the Company willfully and knowingly fails to comply with any provision of this Warrant, which results in any material damages to the Holder, the Company shall pay to the Holder such amounts as shall be sufficient to cover any costs and expenses including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees, including those of appellate proceedings, incurred by the Holder in collecting any amounts due pursuant hereto or in otherwise enforcing any of its rights, powers or remedies hereunder.
h) Notices. Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries to be provided by the Holders hereunder including, without limitation, any Notice of Exercise, shall be in writing and delivered personally, by e-mail, or sent by a nationally recognized overnight courier service, addressed to the Company, at [●], Atten: [●], email: [●], or such other email address or address as the Company may specify for such purposes by notice to the Holders, with a copy to Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx & Schole LLP, 0000 Xxxxxx xx xxx Xxxxxxxx, Xxxx: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Esq., Email: xxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx. Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries to be provided by the Company hereunder shall be in writing and delivered personally, by e-mail, or sent by a nationally recognized overnight courier service addressed to each Holder at the e-mail address or address of such Holder appearing on the books of the Company, with a copy to ArentFox Schiff, LLP, 0000 X Xxxxxx, XX, Xxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000, Attn: Xxxxx Xx Xxxxxxx, Esq., Email: xxxxx.xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx. Any notice or other communication or deliveries hereunder shall be deemed given and effective on the earliest of (i) the time of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via e-mail at the e-mail address set forth in this Section prior to 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any date, (ii) the next Trading Day after the time of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via e-mail at the e-mail address set forth in this Section on a day that is not a Trading Day or later than 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any Trading Day, (iii) the second Trading Day following the date of mailing, if sent by U.S. nationally recognized overnight courier service, or (iv) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such notice is required to be given. To the extent that any notice provided hereunder constitutes, or contains, material, non-public information regarding the Company or any Subsidiaries, the Company shall simultaneously file such notice with the Commission pursuant to a Report on Form 6-K.
i) Limitation of Liability. No provision hereof, in the absence of any affirmative action by the Holder to exercise this Warrant to purchase Warrant Shares, and no enumeration herein of the rights or privileges of the Holder, shall give rise to any liability of the Holder for the purchase price of any Ordinary Shares or as a shareholder of the Company, whether such liability is asserted by the Company or by creditors of the Company.
j) Remedies. The Holder, in addition to being entitled to exercise all rights granted by law, including recovery of damages, will be entitled to specific performance of its rights under this Warrant. The Company agrees that monetary damages would not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of a breach by it of the provisions of this Warrant and hereby agrees to waive and not to assert the defense in any action for specific performance that a remedy at law would be adequate.
k) Successors and Assigns. Subject to applicable securities laws, this Warrant and the rights and obligations evidenced hereby shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the successors and permitted assigns of the Company and the successors and permitted assigns of Holder. The provisions of this Warrant are intended to be for the benefit of any Holder from time to time of this Warrant and shall be enforceable by the Holder or holder of Warrant Shares.
l) Amendment. This Warrant may be modified or amended or the provisions hereof waived with the written consent of the Company, on the one hand, and the Holder, on the other hand.
m) Severability. Wherever possible, each provision of this Warrant shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Warrant shall be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision shall be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of such provisions or the remaining provisions of this Warrant.
n) Headings. The headings used in this Warrant are for the convenience of reference only and shall not, for any purpose, be deemed a part of this Warrant.
********************
(Signature Page Follows)
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Warrant to be executed by its officer thereunto duly authorized as of the [●] day of [●], 2023.
WF International Limited | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: |
ANNEX A
NOTICE OF EXERCISE
TO: | WF International Limited (the “Company”) |
(1) The undersigned hereby elects to purchase Warrant Shares of the Company pursuant to the terms of the attached Warrant (only if exercised in full), and tenders herewith payment of the Exercise Price in full, together with all applicable transfer taxes, if any.
(2) Payment shall take the form of (check applicable box):
☐ in lawful money of the United States; or
☐ the cancellation of such number of Warrant Shares as is necessary, in accordance with the formula set forth in subsection 2(c), to exercise this Warrant with respect to the maximum number of Warrant Shares purchasable pursuant to the cashless exercise procedure set forth in subsection 2(c).
(3) Please issue said Warrant Shares in the name of the undersigned or in such other name as is specified below:
_________________________________
The Warrant Shares shall be delivered to the following DWAC Account Number:
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
[SIGNATURE OF HOLDER]
Name of Investing Entity:
Signature of Authorized Signatory of Investing Entity:
Name of Authorized Signatory:
Title of Authorized Signatory:
Date:
ANNEX B
ASSIGNMENT FORM
(To assign the foregoing Warrant, execute this form and supply required information. Do not use this form to purchase shares.)
FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the foregoing Warrant and all rights evidenced thereby are hereby assigned to:
Name: | ||
(Please Print) | ||
Address: | ||
(Please Print) | ||
Phone Number: | ||
Email Address: | ||
Dated: ______, _____ |
Holder’s Signature: | ||||
Holder’s Address: |
(Signature Guaranteed): | Date: _____, ______ |
Signature to be guaranteed by an authorized officer of a chartered bank, trust company or medallion guaranteed by an investment dealer who is a member of a recognized stock exchange.
EXHIBIT B
Form of Lock-Up Agreement
______, 2023
The Benchmark Company, LLC
000 Xxxx 00xx Xxxxxx, 17th Floor
New York, New York 10155
Axiom Capital Management, Inc.
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
New York, NY 10118
As Representatives of the several Underwriters
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The undersigned, a holder of ordinary shares, par value $0.000001 (“Shares”) of WF International Limited (the “Company”) understands that you, as Representatives of the several Underwriters, propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with the Company, providing for the public offering (the “Public Offering”) by the several Underwriters named a schedule to the Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriters”), of Shares of the Company (the “Securities”). Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings set forth in the Underwriting Agreement.
In consideration of the Underwriters’ agreement to enter into the Underwriting Agreement and to proceed with the Public Offering of the Securities, and for other good and valuable consideration receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned hereby agrees for the benefit of the Company, you and the other Underwriters that, without the prior written consent of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters, the undersigned will not, during the period commencing on the date hereof and ending six months after the date of the final prospectus (the “Prospectus”) relating to the Public Offering (the “Lock-Up Period”), (1) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, grant, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any Shares, any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Shares, whether now owned or hereafter acquired by the undersigned or with respect to which the undersigned has or hereafter acquires the power of disposition (collectively, the “Lock-Up Securities”); (2) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Lock-Up Securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Lock-Up Securities, in cash or otherwise; (3) make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to the registration of any Lock-Up Securities; or (4) publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge or disposition, or to enter into any transaction, swap, hedge or other arrangement relating to any Lock-Up Securities.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, and subject to the conditions below, the undersigned may transfer Lock-Up Securities without the prior written consent of the Representatives in connection with (a) transactions relating to Lock-Up Securities acquired in open market transactions after the completion of the Public Offering; (b) transfers of Lock-Up Securities as a bona fide gift, by will or intestacy or to a family member or trust for the benefit of a family member (for purposes of this lock-up agreement, “family member” means any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin); (c) transfers of Lock-Up Securities to a charity or educational institution; or (d) if the undersigned, directly or indirectly, controls a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other business entity, any transfers of Lock-Up Securities to any shareholder, partner or member of, or owner of similar equity interests in, the undersigned, as the case may be; (e) a sale or surrender to the Company of any options or Shares of the Company underlying options in order to pay the exercise price or taxes associated with the exercise of options; or (f) transfers or distributions pursuant to any bona fide third-party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction made to all holders of the Company’s Shares involving a Change of Control of the Company,
provided that in the event that such tender offer, merger, consolidation or other such transaction is not completed, the Lock-Up Securities held by the undersigned shall remain subject to the provisions of this lock-up agreement; provided that in the case of any transfer pursuant to the foregoing clauses (b), (c) or (d), (i) any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, (ii) each transferee shall sign and deliver to the Representatives a lock-up agreement substantially in the form of this lock-up agreement and (iii) no filing under Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) shall be required or shall be voluntarily made. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “Change of Control” shall mean any transaction or series of related transactions pursuant to which any “person” or “group” (as such terms are used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act) becomes the “beneficial owner” (as such term is defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the total voting power of the Shares of the Company on a fully diluted basis. The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the undersigned’s Lock-Up Securities except in compliance with this lock-up agreement.
Any release or waiver granted by the Representatives hereunder shall only be effective two (2) business days after the publication date of a press release announcing such release or waiver. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if (a) the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer of Lock-Up Securities not for consideration and (b) the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this lock-up agreement to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of such transfer.
No provision in this agreement shall be deemed to restrict or prohibit the exercise, exchange or conversion by the undersigned of any securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into Shares, as applicable; provided that the undersigned does not transfer the Shares acquired on such exercise, exchange or conversion during the Lock-Up Period, unless otherwise permitted pursuant to the terms of this lock-up agreement. In addition, no provision herein shall be deemed to restrict or prohibit the entry into or modification of a so-called “10b5-1” plan at any time (other than the entry into or modification of such a plan in such a manner as to cause the sale of any Lock-Up Securities within the Lock-Up Period).
The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters are relying upon this lock-up agreement in proceeding toward consummation of the Public Offering. The undersigned further understands that this lock-up agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned’s heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns.
The undersigned understands that, if the Underwriting Agreement is not executed within three months of the date hereof, or if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Shares to be sold thereunder, then this lock-up agreement shall be void and of no further force or effect.
Whether or not the Public Offering actually occurs depends on a number of factors, including market conditions. Any Public Offering will only be made pursuant to an Underwriting Agreement, the terms of which are subject to negotiation between the Company and the Underwriters.
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Very truly yours,
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(Name - Please Print)
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(Signature)
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(Name of Signatory, in the case of entities - Please Print)
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(Title of Signatory, in the case of entities - Please Print)
Address: ______________________________________
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