ESCROW AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT 4.3
This Escrow Agreement (the “Agreement”) dated as of , 2006 is by
and between Agassiz Energy, LLC, a Minnesota limited liability company (the “Company”) and
(the “Escrow Agent”), (the “Escrow Agent” and the “Company” may also be
hereinafter referred to as the “Parties”).
A. | The Escrow Agent shall send a written notice acknowledging the receipt of the Deposited Funds every seven days to the Company. |
B. | The Escrow Agent shall give the Company prompt written notice when the Deposited Funds equal $4,250,000 (exclusive of interest). Following receipt of such notice, the Company will advise the purchasers of Units to remit to the Escrow Agent the balance of the purchase price within thirty (30) days. Thereafter, Escrow Agent shall give the Company written notice acknowledging the receipt of the Deposited Funds every seven days. The Escrow Agent shall give the Company prompt written notice when the Deposited Funds total $42,500,000 (exclusive of interest). |
C. | At the time (and in the event) that: (a) the Deposited Funds shall, during the term of this Agreement, equal $42,500,000 in subscription proceeds (exclusive of interest) (the “Minimum Escrow Deposit”); (b) the Escrow Agent shall have received written confirmation from the Company that the Company has obtained a written debt financing commitment for debt financing ranging from a minimum of approximately $50,000,000 to a maximum of $66,000,000; (c) the Company has affirmatively elected in writing to terminate this Agreement; and (d) the Escrow Agent shall have provided the states in which the Company has registered an affidavit stating that the foregoing requirements (a), (b) and (c) of this subsection 8C have been satisfied, then this Agreement shall terminate, and the Escrow Agent shall promptly disburse the funds on deposit, including interest, to the Company to be used in accordance with the provisions set out in the Registration Statement. The Company will deliver a copy of the Registration Statement to the Escrow Agent upon execution of this Agreement. The Escrow Agent will have no responsibility to examine the Registration Statement with regard to the Escrow Account or otherwise, nor shall Escrow Agent have any duty to ensure that Company complies with the Registration Statement. Upon the making of such disbursement, the Escrow Agent shall be completely discharged and released of any and all further responsibilities hereunder. | ||
D. | In the event the Deposited Funds do not equal or exceed the Minimum Escrow Deposit on or before the Termination Date or if the Company has not received a written debt financing commitment as described herein on or before the Termination Date, the Escrow Agent shall return to each of the purchasers of the Units in the Offering, as promptly as possible after such Termination Date and on the basis of its records pertaining to the Escrow Account: (a) the sum which each purchaser initially paid in on account of purchases of the Units in the Offering and (b) each purchaser’s portion of the total interest earned on the Escrow Account as of the Termination Date, (c) reduced by the transaction fees provided in paragraph 10 hereof. Computation of any purchaser’s share of the net interest earned will be a weighted average based on the proportion of such purchaser’s deposit in the Escrow Account from the Offering to all such purchasers’ deposits held by the Escrow Agent and upon the length of time in days such deposit was held in the Escrow Account as compared to all such deposits. All computations with respect to each purchaser’s allocable share of net interest shall be made by the Escrow Agent, which determinations shall be final and conclusive. Any amount paid or payable to a purchaser pursuant to this paragraph shall be deemed to be the property of such purchaser, free and clear of any and all claims of the Company or its agents or creditors; and the respective purchases of the Units made and entered into in the Offering shall thereupon be deemed, ipso facto, to be cancelled without any further liability of the purchasers or any of them to pay for the Units purchased. At such time as the Escrow Agent shall have made all the payments called for in this paragraph, the Escrow Agent shall be completely discharged and |
released of any and all further responsibilities hereunder, and the Units reserved (as provided in paragraph 5) shall be released from such reservation, except that Escrow Agent shall be required to prepare and issue a single IRS Form 1099 to each investor in the event that funds are returned to investors. |
9. LIABILITY OF ESCROW AGENT: In performing any duties under the Escrow Agreement, the
Escrow Agent shall not be liable to the Company, any subscriber/purchaser or any Party for damages,
losses, or expenses, except for gross negligence or willful misconduct on the part of the Escrow
Agent. The Escrow Agent shall not incur any such liability for (I) any act or failure to act made
or omitted in good faith, or (II) any action taken or omitted in reliance upon any instrument,
including any written statement or affidavit provided for in this Agreement that the Escrow Agent
shall in good faith believe to be genuine, nor will the Escrow Agent be liable or responsible for
forgeries, fraud, impersonations, or determining the scope of any representative’s authority. In
addition, the Escrow Agent may consult with legal counsel in connection with the Escrow Agent’s
duties under this Agreement and shall be fully protected in any action taken, suffered, or
permitted by it in good faith in accordance with the advice of counsel. The Escrow Agent is not
responsible for determining and verifying the authority of any person acting or purporting to act
on behalf of any party to this Agreement.
authorized to deposit with the clerk of the court all documents and funds held in escrow, except
all costs, expenses, charges and reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Escrow Agent due to the
interpleader action and which the Company agrees to pay. Upon initiating such action, the Escrow
Agent shall be fully released and discharged of and from all obligations and liability imposed by
the terms of this Agreement.
13. RESIGNATION OF ESCROW AGENT: The Escrow Agent may resign at any time upon giving
at least (30) days written notice to the Company provided, however, that no such resignation shall
become effective until the appointment of a successor escrow agent which shall be accomplished as
follows: The Company shall use its best efforts to obtain a successor escrow agent within thirty
(30) days after receiving such notice. If the Company fails to agree upon a successor escrow agent
within such time, the Escrow Agent shall have the right to appoint a successor escrow agent
authorized to do business in the state of Minnesota. The successor escrow agent shall execute and
deliver an instrument accepting such appointment and it shall without further acts, be vested with
all the estates, properties, rights, powers, and duties of the predecessor escrow agent as if
originally named as escrow agent. The Escrow Agent shall thereupon be discharged from any further
duties and liability under this Agreement.
15. MISCELLANEOUS:
(a) | GOVERNING LAWS: This Agreement is to be construed and interpreted according to Minnesota law. |
(b) | COUNTERPART: This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. The exchange of copies of this Agreement and of signature pages by facsimile transmission shall constitute effective execution and delivery of this Agreement as to the parties and may be used in lieu of the original Agreement for all purposes. Signatures of the parties |
transmitted by facsimile shall be deemed to be their original signatures for all purposes. |
(c) | NOTICES: All instructions, notices and demands herein provided for shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given (a) on the date of service if served personally on the party to whom notice is to be given; (b) on the day of transmission if sent by facsimile transmission to the facsimile number given below and telephonic confirmation of receipt is promptly obtained after completion of transmission; (c) on the next day on which such deliveries are made in Crookston, Minnesota, when delivery is to Federal Express or similar overnight courier or the Express Mail service maintained by the United States Postal Service; or (d) on the fifth day after mailing if mailed to the party to whom notice is to be given, by first class mail, registered or certified, postage prepaid and properly addressed, return receipt requested, to the party as follows: |
If to the Company:
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If to the Escrow Agent: | |
000 Xxxxxx Xxxx 00 |
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Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxx |
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Xxxxxxxxx, XX 00000 |
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(000) 000-0000 |
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With a required copy to: |
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Xxxx X. Xxxxxx, Esq. |
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Xxxxxxx, O’Brien |
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Xxxxxxx, Xxxx & Xxxxx, Ltd. |
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000 Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx |
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Xxxxx 0000 |
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Xxxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000 |
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(000) 000-0000 |
(d) | AMENDMENTS: This Agreement may be amended or modified and any of the terms, covenants, representations, warranties or conditions hereof may be waived, only by a written instrument executed by the parties hereto, or in the case of a waiver, by the party waiving compliance. Any waiver by any party of any condition or of the breach of any provision, term, covenant, representation or warranty contained in the Agreement, in any one or more instances, shall not be deemed to be nor construed as further or continuing waiver of any such conditions or of the breach of any other provision, term, covenant, representation or warranty of this Agreement. |
(e) | ENTIRE AGREEMENT: This Agreement contains the entire understanding among the parties hereto with respect to the escrow contemplated hereby and supersedes and replaces all prior and contemporaneous agreements and understandings, oral or written, with regard to such escrow. |
(f) | NON-ENDORSEMENT: The Company represents and agrees that it has not made nor will it in the future make any representation that states or implies that the Escrow Agent has endorsed, recommended or guaranteed the purchase, value, or repayment of the Securities offered for sale by the Company. The Company further agrees that it will insert in any prospectus, offering circular, advertisement, subscription agreement or other document made available to prospective purchasers of the Securities the following statement in bold face type: “ is acting only as an escrow agent in connection with the Offering described herein, and has not endorsed, recommended or guaranteed the purchase, value or repayment of such Securities,” and will furnish to the Escrow Agent a copy of each such prospectus, offering circular, advertisement, subscription agreement or other document at least 5 business days prior to its distribution to prospective Subscribers. |
The undersigned acknowledges that is acting only as an escrow agent in
connection with the offering of the Securities described herein, and has not endorsed, recommended
or guaranteed the purchase, value or repayment of such Securities.
The Company | Escrow Agent | |||||
Agassiz Energy, LLC | ||||||
By:
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By: | |
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Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx, President | ||||||
Its: | |
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