Shares VERACYTE, INC. COMMON STOCK, PAR VALUE $0.001 PER SHARE UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
Exhibit 1.1
Shares
COMMON STOCK, PAR VALUE $0.001 PER SHARE
, 2013
, 2013
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC
Leerink Xxxxx LLC
As representatives of the several Underwriters
named in Schedule I to the Underwriting
Agreement referred to below
c/o Morgan Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC
0000 Xxxxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
c/o Leerink Xxxxx LLC
Xxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Veracyte, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes to issue and sell to the several Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”), for whom you are acting as representatives (the “Representatives”), shares of its common stock, $0.001 par value per share, of the Company (the “Firm Shares”). The Company also proposes to issue and sell to the several Underwriters not more than an additional shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, of the Company (the “Additional Shares”) if and to the extent that you, as managers of the offering, shall have determined to exercise, on behalf of the Underwriters, the right to purchase such shares of common stock granted to the Underwriters in Section 2 hereof. The Firm Shares and the Additional Shares are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Shares.” The shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, of the Company to be outstanding after giving effect to the sales contemplated hereby are hereinafter referred to as the “Common Stock.”
The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement, including a prospectus, relating to the Shares. The registration statement as amended at the time it becomes effective, including the information (if any) deemed to be part of the registration statement at the time of effectiveness pursuant to Rule 430A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), is hereinafter referred to as the “Registration Statement”; the prospectus in the form first used to confirm sales of Shares (or in the form first made available to the Underwriters by the Company to meet requests of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173 under the Securities Act) is hereinafter referred to as the “Prospectus.” If the Company has filed an abbreviated registration statement to register additional shares of Common Stock pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act (the “Rule 462 Registration Statement”), then any reference herein to the term “Registration Statement” shall be deemed to include such Rule 462 Registration Statement.
For purposes of this Agreement, “free writing prospectus” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, “Time of Sale Prospectus” means the preliminary prospectus identified in Schedule II hereto together with the documents and pricing information set forth in Schedule II hereto, and “broadly available road show” means a “bona fide electronic road show” as defined in Rule 433(h)(5) under the Securities Act that has been made available without restriction to any person. As used herein, the terms “Registration Statement,” “preliminary prospectus,” “Time of Sale Prospectus” and “Prospectus” shall include the documents, if any, incorporated by reference therein as of the date hereof.
1. Representations and Warranties. The Company represents and warrants to and agrees with each of the Underwriters that:
(a) The Registration Statement has become effective; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement is in effect, and no proceedings for such purpose are pending before or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened by the Commission.
(b) (i) The Registration Statement, when it became effective, did not contain and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not contain, as of the date of such amendment or supplement, any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) the Registration Statement and the Prospectus comply and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will, as of the date of such amendment or supplement, comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, (iii) the Time of Sale Prospectus does not, and at the time of each sale of the Shares in connection with the offering when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and at the Closing Date (as defined in Section 4), the Time of Sale Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented by the Company, if applicable, will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, (iv) each broadly available road show, if any, when considered together with the Time of Sale Prospectus, does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading and (v) the Prospectus does not contain and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not contain, as of its date and as of the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date (as defined in Section 4), any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except that the representations and warranties set forth in this paragraph do not apply to statements or omissions in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus based upon information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through you expressly for use therein.
(c) The Company is not an “ineligible issuer” in connection with the offering pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Securities Act. Any free writing prospectus that the Company is required to file pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act has been, or will be, filed with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Each free writing prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act or that was prepared by or on behalf of or used or referred to by the Company complies or will, as of the time of such filing, comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Except for the free writing prospectuses, if any, identified in Schedule II hereto, and electronic road shows, if any, each furnished to you before first use, the Company has not prepared, used or referred to, and will not, without your prior consent, prepare, use or refer to, any free writing prospectus.
(d) The Company has been duly incorporated, is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, has the corporate power and authority to own its property and to conduct its business as described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which the conduct of its business or its ownership or leasing of property requires such qualification, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or be in good standing would not have a material adverse effect on the Company. The Company does not have any subsidiaries.
(e) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(f) As of the Closing Date and any Option Closing Date, the authorized capital stock of the Company will conform as to legal matters to the description thereof contained in each of the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus.
(g) The shares of Common Stock outstanding prior to the issuance of the Shares have been duly authorized and are validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.
(h) The Shares have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, and the issuance of such Shares will not be subject to any preemptive or similar rights.
(i) The execution and delivery by the Company of, and the performance by the Company of its obligations under, this Agreement will not contravene any provision of (i) applicable law, (ii) the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of the Company, (iii) any agreement or other instrument binding upon
the Company that is material to the Company or (iv) any judgment, order or decree of any governmental body, agency or court having jurisdiction over the Company, except that in the case of clauses (i), (iii) and (iv) as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company or on the power and ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement, and no consent, approval, authorization or order of, or qualification with, any governmental body or agency is required for the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement, except such as may have been previously obtained or may be required by the securities or Blue Sky laws of the various states or foreign jurisdictions or the rules and regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares.
(j) There has not occurred any material adverse change, or, any development reasonably likely to result in a prospective material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business or operations of the Company from that set forth in the Time of Sale Prospectus.
(k) There are no legal or governmental proceedings pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened to which the Company is a party or to which any of the properties of the Company is subject (i) other than proceedings accurately described in all material respects in the Time of Sale Prospectus or proceedings that would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company or on the power or ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Time of Sale Prospectus or (ii) that are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus and are not so described in all material respects; and there are no statutes, regulations, contracts or other documents that are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement that are not described in all material respects or filed as required.
(l) Each preliminary prospectus filed as part of the Registration Statement as originally filed or as part of any amendment thereto, or filed pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act, complied when so filed in all material respects with the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
(m) The Company is not, and after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Prospectus will not be, required to register as an “investment company” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
(n) The Company (i) is in compliance with any and all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (“Environmental Laws”), (ii) has received all
permits, licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses and (iii) is in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval, except where such noncompliance with Environmental Laws, failure to receive required permits, licenses or other approvals or failure to comply with the terms and conditions of such permits, licenses or approvals would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company.
(o) There are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws or any permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties) which would, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company.
(p) Except as described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person granting such person the right to require the Company to file a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any securities of the Company or to require the Company to include such securities with the Shares registered pursuant to the Registration Statement.
(q) Neither the Company nor any director or officer, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any employee, agent, affiliate or representative of the Company, has taken (or has any plans to take) any action in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of the payment or giving of money, property, gifts or anything else of value, directly or indirectly, to any “government official” (including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office) to illegally influence official action or secure an improper advantage for the Company; and the Company has conducted its business in compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws and has instituted and maintains (and has no intent to discontinue) policies and procedures designed to promote and achieve compliance with such laws.
(r) The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with all applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and the applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company conducts business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any
governmental agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(s) (i) Neither the Company nor any director or officer thereof, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any employee, agent, affiliate or representative of the Company, is an individual or entity (“Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by a Person that is:
(A) the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union (“EU”), Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor
(B) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions (including, without limitation, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria).
(ii) The Company will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person:
(A) to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of Sanctions; or
(B) in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the offering, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise).
(iii) For the past 5 years, the Company has not knowingly engaged in, is not now knowingly engaged in, and will not knowingly engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions.
(t) Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, (i) the Company has not incurred any material liability or obligation, direct or contingent, nor entered into any material transaction; (ii) the Company has not purchased any of its outstanding capital stock (other than pursuant to agreements that permit the Company to repurchase Common Stock upon an employee or service provider’s termination of employment or services or in exercise of the Company’s right of first refusal upon a proposed transfer), nor declared, paid or otherwise made any dividend or distribution of any kind on its capital stock other than ordinary and customary dividends; and (iii) there has not
been any material change in the capital stock, short-term debt or long-term debt of the Company, except in each case as described in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, respectively.
(u) The Company does not own any real property. The Company has good and marketable title to all personal property owned by it that is material to the business of the Company, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as are described in the Time of Sale Prospectus or such as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company; and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company are held by it under valid, subsisting and, to the Company’s knowledge, enforceable leases with such exceptions as are not material and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property and buildings by the Company, in each case except as described in the Time of Sale Prospectus.
(v) The Company owns or possesses, or can acquire on commercially reasonable terms, valid and enforceable rights to use all material patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks and trade names (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) reasonably necessary for the conduct of its business as currently conducted or as currently proposed to be conducted and, except as described in the Time of Sale Prospectus, (i) the Company has not received any notice of infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any of the foregoing and (ii) to the Company’s knowledge, the conduct of the Company’s business as currently conducted does not, and the Company’s business as currently proposed to be conducted would not reasonably be expected to, infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate in any material respect any such rights of others, which in either case, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company.
(w) No material labor dispute with the employees of the Company exists, except as described in the Time of Sale Prospectus, or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent; and the Company is not aware of any existing, threatened or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its principal suppliers, manufacturers or contractors (including, without limitation, Thyroid Cytopathology Partners, P.A. (“TCP”)) that would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company.
(x) The Company is insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, prudent and customary in the business in which it is engaged; the Company has not been refused any insurance coverage sought or applied for; and the Company does not have any reason to believe that it
will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that would not have a material adverse effect on the Company, except as described in the Time of Sale Prospectus.
(y) The Company possesses and, to the knowledge of the Company, TCP possesses, all licenses, certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct its business, including, without limitation, all such certificates, authorizations and permits required by any federal, state or foreign agencies or bodies engaged in regulation of clinical laboratories, except where the failure to obtain such certificates, authorizations or permits would not, singly or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company; and the Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, TCP, have not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such license, certificate, authorization or permit nor does the Company have any reason to believe that any such license, certificate, authorization or permit will not be renewed in the future, which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company, except as described in the Time of Sale Prospectus.
(z) The Company maintains a system of 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 U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. 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 described in the Time of Sale Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (i) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (ii) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
(aa) Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Company has not sold, issued or distributed any shares of Common Stock during the six-month period preceding the date hereof, including any sales pursuant to Rule 144A under, or Regulation D or S of, the Securities Act, other than shares issued pursuant to employee benefit plans, stock option plans or other employee compensation plans or pursuant to outstanding options, rights or warrants.
(bb) The Company has filed all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns required to be filed through the date of this Agreement or has requested
extensions thereof (except where the failure to file would not, individually or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company) and have paid all taxes required to be paid thereon (except for cases in which the failure to pay would not be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company or except as are currently being contested in good faith and for which reserves required by U.S. GAAP have been created in the financial statements of the Company), and no unpaid tax deficiency has been determined adversely to the Company which has had (nor does the Company have any notice or knowledge of any unpaid tax deficiency which could reasonably be expected to be determined adversely to the Company and which would reasonably be expected to have) a material adverse effect on the Company.
(cc) From the time of initial confidential submission of the Registration Statement to the Commission (or, if earlier, the first date on which the Company engaged directly or through any person authorized to act on its behalf in any Testing-the-Waters Communication) through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”). “Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Securities Act.
(dd) The Company (i) has not alone engaged in any Testing-the-Waters Communication other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with the consent of the Representatives with entities that are qualified institutional buyers within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Securities Act or institutions that are accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 501 under the Securities Act and (ii) has not authorized anyone other than Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC and Leerink Xxxxx LLC to engage in Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company reconfirms that Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC and Leerink Xxxxx LLC have been authorized to act on its behalf in undertaking Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company has not distributed any Written Testing-the-Waters Communications. “Written Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
(ee) As of the time of each sale of the Shares in connection with the offering when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers, none of (A) the Time of Sale Prospectus, (B) any free writing prospectus, when considered together with the Time of Sale Prospectus, and (C) any individual Written Testing-the-Waters Communication and any materials presented to potential investors in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Securities Act and furnished to the Commission, when considered together with the Time of Sale Prospectus, 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.
(ff) The Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, TCP, have operated and currently are in compliance with the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1998 and other applicable rules and regulations of federal, state and foreign governmental agencies or bodies engaged in regulation of clinical laboratories or biohazardous materials and, except where the failure to so operate or be in compliance would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company, and the Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, TCP, have not received, and are not aware of, any notice from any such governmental agencies or bodies requiring the termination, suspension, clinical hold or material modification of any tests, studies or trials conducted by or on behalf of the Company, which termination, suspension, clinical hold or material modification would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company. The clinical studies and tests and clinical trials conducted by on behalf of the Company that are described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus were and are being conducted in all material respects in accordance with experimental protocols, procedures and controls pursuant to any applicable professional and scientific standards for products and product candidates comparable to those being developed by the Company, and the description of such studies, tests or trials, and the results thereof contained in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus are accurate and complete in all material respects. The Company is not aware of any tests, studies or trials not described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus, the results of which reasonably call into question the results of the tests, studies and trials described in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus.
(gg) To the extent required under applicable rules, the Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act (as defined below)), that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act; such disclosure controls and procedures have been designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer in accordance with any such applicable requirements; and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective in all material respects.
(hh) There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company, and to the Company’s knowledge, any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with the provisions of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith (the “Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act”) currently applicable to it, and the Company is taking steps to ensure that it will be in compliance with the provisions of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act that are, or will become, applicable to the Company after the date hereof.
(ii) The financial statements of the Company filed with the Commission as part of the Registration Statement and included in each of the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus present fairly the financial position of the Company as of the dates indicated therein and the results of its operations and
cash flows for the periods specified therein. Such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP and applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved.
(jj) The statistical, industry related and market related data included in the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources which the Company reasonably and in good faith believes are reliable and are accurate, and such data is consistent with the sources from which they are derived.
(kk) The Shares have been approved for listing, subject to notice of issuance, on The NASDAQ Stock Market.
(ll) The Company has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that could reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares.
2. Agreements to Sell and Purchase. The Company hereby agrees to sell to the several Underwriters, and each Underwriter, upon the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained, but subject to the conditions hereinafter stated, agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company the respective numbers of Firm Shares set forth in Schedule I hereto opposite its name at $ a share (the “Purchase Price”).
On the basis of the representations and warranties contained in this Agreement, and subject to its terms and conditions, the Company agrees to sell to the Underwriters the Additional Shares, and the Underwriters shall have the right to purchase, severally and not jointly, up to Additional Shares at the Purchase Price, provided, however, that the amount paid by the Underwriters for any Additional Shares shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends declared by the Company and payable on the Firm Shares but not payable on such Additional Shares. You may exercise this right on behalf of the Underwriters in whole or from time to time in part by giving written notice not later than 30 days after the date of this Agreement. Any exercise notice shall specify the number of Additional Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters and the date on which such shares are to be purchased. Each purchase date must be at least one business day after the written notice is given and may not be earlier than the closing date for the Firm Shares nor later than ten business days after the date of such notice. Additional Shares may be purchased as provided in Section 4 hereof solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments made in connection with the offering of the Firm Shares. On each day, if any, that Additional Shares are to be purchased (an “Option Closing Date”), each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase the number of Additional Shares (subject to such adjustments to eliminate fractional shares as you may determine) that bears the same proportion to the total number of Additional Shares to be purchased on such Option Closing Date as the number of Firm Shares set forth in Schedule I hereto opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Firm Shares.
3. Terms of Public Offering. The Company is advised by you that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of their respective portions of the Shares as soon after the Registration Statement and this Agreement have become effective as in your judgment is advisable. The Company is further advised by you that the Shares are to be offered to the public initially at $ a share (the “Public Offering Price”) and to certain dealers selected by you at a price that represents a concession not in excess of $ a share under the Public Offering Price, and that any Underwriter may allow, and such dealers may reallow, a concession, not in excess of $ a share, to any Underwriter or to certain other dealers.
4. Payment and Delivery. Payment for the Firm Shares shall be made to the Company in Federal or other funds immediately available in New York City against delivery of such Firm Shares for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on , 2013, or at such other time on the same or such other date, not later than , 2013, as shall be designated in writing by you. The time and date of such payment are hereinafter referred to as the “Closing Date.”
Payment for any Additional Shares shall be made to the Company in Federal or other funds immediately available in New York City against delivery of such Additional Shares for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the date specified in the corresponding notice described in Section 2 or at such other time on the same or on such other date, in any event not later than , 2013, as shall be designated in writing by you.
The Firm Shares and Additional Shares shall be registered in such names and in such denominations as you shall request in writing not later than one full business day prior to the Closing Date or the applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be. The Firm Shares and Additional Shares shall be delivered to you on the Closing Date or an Option Closing Date, as the case may be, for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters, with any transfer taxes payable in connection with the transfer of the Shares to the Underwriters duly paid, against payment of the Purchase Price therefor.
5. Conditions to the Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligations of the Company to sell the Shares to the Underwriters and the several obligations of the Underwriters to purchase and pay for the Shares on the Closing Date are subject to the condition that the Registration Statement shall have become effective not later than (New York City time) on the date hereof.
The several obligations of the Underwriters are subject to the following further conditions:
(a) Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement and prior to the Closing Date:
(i) there shall not have occurred any downgrading, nor shall any notice have been given of any intended or potential downgrading or of any review
for a possible change that does not indicate the direction of the possible change, in the rating accorded any of the securities of the Company by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”); and
(ii) there shall not have occurred any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business or operations of the Company from that set forth in the Time of Sale Prospectus that, in your judgment, is material and adverse and that makes it, in your judgment, impracticable to market the Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Time of Sale Prospectus.
(b) The Underwriters shall have received on the Closing Date a certificate, dated the Closing Date and signed by an executive officer of the Company, to the effect set forth in Section 5(a)(i) above and to the effect that the representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement are true and correct as of the Closing Date and that the Company has complied with all of the agreements and satisfied all of the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder on or before the Closing Date.
The officer signing and delivering such certificate may rely upon the best of his or her knowledge as to proceedings threatened.
(c) The Underwriters shall have received on the Closing Date an opinion letter of Pillsbury Xxxxxxxx Xxxx Xxxxxxx LLP, outside counsel for the Company, dated the Closing Date, in the form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.
(d) The Underwriters shall have received on the Closing Date an opinion letter of Xxxxx, Xxxxxx & XxXxxxxx P.C., special regulatory counsel for the Company, dated the Closing Date, in the form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.
(e) The Underwriters shall have received on the Closing Date an opinion and negative assurance letter of Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, each dated the Closing Date, each in form and substance satisfactory to you.
With respect to Sections 5(c), 5(d) and 5(e) above, Pillsbury Xxxxxxxx Xxxx Xxxxxxx LLP, Xxxxx, Xxxxxx & XxXxxxxx, P.C. and Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP may state that their opinions and beliefs are based upon their participation in the preparation of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto and review and discussion of the contents thereof, but are without independent check or verification, except as specified.
The opinions of Pillsbury Xxxxxxxx Xxxx Xxxxxxx LLP and Xxxxx, Xxxxxx & XxXxxxxx, P.C. described in Sections 5(c) and 5(d), respectively, above shall be rendered to the Underwriters at the request of the Company and shall so state therein.
(f) The Underwriters shall have received, on each of the date hereof and the Closing Date, a letter dated the date hereof or the Closing Date, as the case may be, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters, from Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, independent public accountants, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectus; provided that the letter delivered on the Closing Date shall use a “cut-off date” not earlier than the date hereof.
(g) The “lock-up” agreements, each substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto, between you and the shareholders, officers and directors of the Company relating to sales and certain other dispositions of shares of Common Stock or certain other securities, delivered to you on or before the date hereof, shall be in full force and effect on the Closing Date.
(h) The chief financial officer of the Company shall have delivered to the Underwriters on each of the date hereof and the Closing Date a certificate in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives.
The several obligations of the Underwriters to purchase Additional Shares hereunder are subject to the delivery to you on the applicable Option Closing Date of such documents as you may reasonably request with respect to the good standing of the Company, the due authorization and issuance of the Additional Shares to be sold on such Option Closing Date and other matters related to the issuance of such Additional Shares.
6. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants with each Underwriter as follows:
(a) To furnish to you, without charge, five signed copies of the Registration Statement (including exhibits thereto) and for delivery to each other Underwriter a conformed copy of the Registration Statement (without exhibits thereto) and to furnish to you in New York City, without charge, prior to 10:00 a.m. New York City time on the business day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and during the period mentioned in Section 6(e) or 6(f) below, as many copies of the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus and any supplements and amendments thereto or to the Registration Statement as you may reasonably request.
(b) Before amending or supplementing the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus, to furnish to you a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement and not to file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which you reasonably object, and to file with the Commission
within the applicable period specified in Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act any prospectus required to be filed pursuant to such Rule.
(c) To furnish to you a copy of each proposed free writing prospectus to be prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company and not to use or refer to any proposed free writing prospectus to which you reasonably object.
(d) Not to take any action that would result in an Underwriter or the Company being required to file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of the Underwriter that the Underwriter otherwise would not have been required to file thereunder.
(e) If the Time of Sale Prospectus is being used to solicit offers to buy the Shares at a time when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances, not misleading, or if any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which the Time of Sale Prospectus conflicts with the information contained in the Registration Statement then on file, or if, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters, it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Prospectus to comply with applicable law, forthwith to prepare, file with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriters and to any dealer upon request, either amendments or supplements to the Time of Sale Prospectus so that the statements in the Time of Sale Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances when the Time of Sale Prospectus is delivered to a prospective purchaser, be misleading or so that the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will no longer conflict with the Registration Statement, or so that the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with applicable law.
(f) If, during such period after the first date of the public offering of the Shares as in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Securities Act) is required by law to be delivered in connection with sales by an Underwriter or dealer, any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Securities Act) is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading, or if, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters, it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with applicable law, forthwith to prepare, file with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriters and to the dealers (whose names and addresses you will furnish to the Company) to which Shares may have been sold by you on behalf of the Underwriters and to any other dealers upon request, either amendments or supplements to the
Prospectus so that the statements in the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the circumstances when the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Securities Act) is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with applicable law.
(g) To endeavor to qualify the Shares for offer and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions as you shall reasonably request.
(h) To make generally available to the Company’s security holders and to you as soon as practicable an earning statement covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company occurring after the date of this Agreement which shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
(i) Whether or not the transactions contemplated in this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, to pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and the Company’s accountants in connection with the registration and delivery of the Shares under the Securities Act and all other fees or expenses in connection with the preparation and filing of the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus, any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company and amendments and supplements to any of the foregoing, including all printing costs associated therewith, and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters and dealers, in the quantities hereinabove specified, (ii) all costs and expenses related to the transfer and delivery of the Shares to the Underwriters, including any transfer or other taxes payable thereon, (iii) the cost of printing or producing any Blue Sky or Legal Investment memorandum in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares under state securities laws and all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Shares for offer and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 6(g) hereof, including filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky or Legal Investment memorandum, (iv) all filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriters incurred in connection with the review and qualification of the offering of the Shares by FINRA, (v) all fees and expenses in connection with the preparation and filing of the registration statement on Form 8-A relating to the Common Stock and all costs and expenses incident to listing the Shares on The NASDAQ Stock Market, (vi) the cost of printing certificates representing the Shares, (vii) the costs and charges of any transfer agent, registrar or depositary, (viii) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Shares, including, without limitation, expenses associated with the preparation or dissemination of any electronic road
show, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations with the prior approval of the Company, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and any such consultants, and 50% of the cost of any aircraft chartered in connection with the road show (with the remaining 50% of such costs to be paid by the Underwriters), (ix) the document production charges and expenses associated with printing this Agreement and (x) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company hereunder for which provision is not otherwise made in this Section. It is understood, however, that except as provided in this Section, Section 8 entitled “Indemnity and Contribution” and the last paragraph of Section 10 below, the Underwriters will pay all of their costs and expenses, including fees and disbursements of their counsel, stock transfer taxes payable on resale of any of the Shares by them and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.
(j) The Company will promptly notify the Representatives if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the later of (a) completion of the distribution of the Shares within the meaning of the Securities Act and (b) completion of the Restricted Period (as defined in this Section 6).
(k) If at any time following the distribution of any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication 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 Representatives and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication to eliminate or correct such untrue statement or omission.
The Company also covenants with each Underwriter that, without the prior written consent of the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters, it will not, during the period ending 180 days after the date of the Prospectus (the “Restricted Period”), (1) 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 Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or (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 Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise or (3) file any registration statement with the Commission relating to the offering of any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock.
The restrictions contained in the preceding paragraph shall not apply to (a) the Shares to be sold hereunder, (b) the issuance by the Company of shares of Common Stock upon the exercise of an option or warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date hereof and described in the Time of Sale Prospectus, (c) the issuance by the Company of shares of Common Stock or other securities convertible into or exercisable for shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Company’s equity incentive plans in effect on the date hereof and described in the Time of Sale Prospectus; provided, that, prior to the issuance of any such shares of Common Stock or other securities where the shares of Common Stock or other securities vest within the Restricted Period, the Company shall cause each recipient of such grant or issuance to execute and deliver to you a lock-up agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto, (d) the filing by the Company of a registration statement on Form S-8 with respect to the Company’s equity incentive plans in effect on the date hereof and described in the Time of Sale Prospectus, (e) the sale or issuance of or entry into an agreement providing for the issuance of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable for shares of Common Stock in connection with the acquisition by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of the securities, business or assets of another person or entity or pursuant to an employee benefit plan assumed by the Company in connection with such acquisition, or in connection with joint ventures, commercial relationships or other strategic transactions; provided, that the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that the company may sell or issue or agree to sell or issue pursuant to this clause (e) shall not exceed 5% of the total number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately following the completion of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and provided further, that the Company shall cause each recipient of such shares or other securities to execute and deliver to you, on or prior to such issuance, a lock-up agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto, or (f) establishment of a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of shares of Common Stock, provided that (i) such plan does not provide for the transfer of Common Stock during the Restricted Period and (ii) to the extent a public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act, if any, is required of or voluntarily made by the Company regarding the establishment of such plan, such announcement or filing shall include a statement to the effect that no transfer of Common Stock may be made under such plan during the Restricted Period.
If the Representatives, in their sole discretion, agree to release or waive the restrictions set forth in a lock-up letter described in Section 5(g) hereof for an officer or director of the Company and provides the Company with notice of the impending release or waiver (substantially in the form of Exhibit B) at least three business days before the effective date of the release or waiver, the Company agrees to announce the impending release or waiver by a press release substantially in the form of Exhibit C hereto through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver.
7. Covenants of the Underwriters. Each Underwriter severally covenants with the Company not to take any action that would result in the Company being required to file with the Commission under Rule 433(d) a free writing prospectus prepared by or
on behalf of such Underwriter that otherwise would not be required to be filed by the Company thereunder, but for the action of the Underwriter.
8. Indemnity and Contribution. (a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act and each affiliate of any Underwriter within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with defending or investigating any such action or claim) caused by any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or any amendment thereof, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, any issuer free writing prospectus as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Securities Act, any Company information that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act, any road show as defined in Rule 433(h) under the Securities Act (a “road show”), the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication or any materials presented to potential investors in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Securities Act and furnished to the Commission, or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, except insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities are caused by any such untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission based upon information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through you expressly for use therein.
(b) Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, its officers who sign the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act to the same extent as the foregoing indemnity from the Company to such Underwriter, but only with reference to information relating to such Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through you expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, any issuer free writing prospectus, road show or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication.
(c) In case any proceeding (including any governmental investigation) shall be instituted involving any person in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to Section 8 or 8(b), such person (the “indemnified party”) shall promptly notify the person against whom such indemnity may be sought (the “indemnifying party”) in writing and the indemnifying party, upon request of the indemnified party, shall retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party and any others the indemnifying party may designate in such proceeding and shall pay the fees and disbursements of such counsel related to such proceeding. In any such proceeding, any indemnified
party shall have the right to retain its own counsel, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (i) the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have mutually agreed to the retention of such counsel or (ii) the named parties to any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the indemnifying party and the indemnified party and representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between them. It is understood that the indemnifying party shall not, in respect of the legal expenses of any indemnified party in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any local counsel) for all such indemnified parties and that all such fees and expenses shall be reimbursed as they are incurred. Such firm shall be designated in writing by Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC and Leerink Xxxxx LLC, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 8(a), and by the Company, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 8(b). The indemnifying party shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify the indemnified party from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by the second and third sentences of this paragraph, the indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request and (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such proceeding.
(d) To the extent the indemnification provided for in Section 8(a) or 8(b) is unavailable to an indemnified party or insufficient in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein, then each indemnifying party under such paragraph, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party thereunder, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand from the offering of the Shares or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause 8(d)(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 8(d)(i) above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Underwriters on the other hand in
connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, 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 in connection with the offering of the Shares shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the net proceeds from the offering of the Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover of the Prospectus, bear to the aggregate Public Offering Price of the Shares. 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 or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Underwriters’ respective obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 8 are several in proportion to the respective number of Shares they have purchased hereunder, and not joint.
(e) The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just or equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 8 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 that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in Section 8(d). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to in Section 8(d) shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Shares underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The remedies provided for in this Section 8 are not exclusive and shall not limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available to any indemnified party at law or in equity.
(f) The indemnity and contribution provisions contained in this Section 8 and the representations, warranties and other statements of the Company contained in this Agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any termination of this Agreement, (ii) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter, any person controlling any Underwriter or any affiliate of any Underwriter or by or on behalf of the Company, its officers or directors or any person controlling the Company and (iii) acceptance of and payment for any of the Shares.
9. Termination. The Underwriters may terminate this Agreement by notice given by you to the Company, if after the execution and delivery of this Agreement and prior to the Closing Date (i) trading generally shall have been suspended or materially limited on, or by, as the case may be, any of the New York Stock Exchange, the NYSE MKT or The NASDAQ Global Market, (ii) trading of any securities of the Company shall have been suspended on any exchange or in any over-the-counter market, (iii) a material disruption in securities settlement, payment or clearance services in the United States shall have occurred, (iv) any moratorium on commercial banking activities shall have been declared by Federal or New York State authorities or (v) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities, or any change in financial markets or any calamity or crisis that, in your judgment, is material and adverse and which, singly or together with any other event specified in this clause (v), makes it, in your judgment, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offer, sale or delivery of the Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Time of Sale Prospectus or the Prospectus.
10. Effectiveness; Defaulting Underwriters. This Agreement shall become effective upon the execution and delivery hereof by the parties hereto.
If, on the Closing Date or an Option Closing Date, as the case may be, any one or more of the Underwriters shall fail or refuse to purchase Shares that it has or they have agreed to purchase hereunder on such date, and the aggregate number of Shares which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed or refused to purchase is not more than one-tenth of the aggregate number of the Shares to be purchased on such date, the other Underwriters shall be obligated severally in the proportions that the number of Firm Shares set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule I bears to the aggregate number of Firm Shares set forth opposite the names of all such non-defaulting Underwriters, or in such other proportions as you may specify, to purchase the Shares which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed or refused to purchase on such date; provided that in no event shall the number of Shares that any Underwriter has agreed to purchase pursuant to this Agreement be increased pursuant to this Section 10 by an amount in excess of one-ninth of such number of Shares without the written consent of such Underwriter. If, on the Closing Date, any Underwriter or Underwriters shall fail or refuse to purchase Firm Shares and the aggregate number of Firm Shares with respect to which such default occurs is more than one-tenth of the aggregate number of Firm Shares to be purchased on such date, and arrangements satisfactory to you and the Company for the purchase of such Firm Shares are not made within 36 hours after such default, this Agreement shall terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company. In any such case either you or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Closing Date, but in no event for longer than seven days, in order that the required changes, if any, in the Registration Statement, in the Time of Sale Prospectus, in the Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements may be effected. If, on an Option Closing Date, any Underwriter or Underwriters shall fail or refuse to purchase Additional Shares and the aggregate number of Additional Shares with respect to which such default occurs is more than one-tenth of the aggregate number of Additional Shares to be purchased on such Option Closing Date, the non-defaulting Underwriters shall have the option to (i)
terminate their obligation hereunder to purchase the Additional Shares to be sold on such Option Closing Date or (ii) purchase not less than the number of Additional Shares that such non-defaulting Underwriters would have been obligated to purchase in the absence of such default. Any action taken under this paragraph shall not relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of any default of such Underwriter under this Agreement.
If this Agreement shall be terminated by the Underwriters, or any of them, because of any failure or refusal on the part of the Company to comply with the terms or to fulfill any of the conditions of this Agreement, or if for any reason the Company shall be unable to perform its obligations under this Agreement, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters or such Underwriters as have so terminated this Agreement with respect to themselves, severally, for all out-of-pocket expenses (including the fees and disbursements of their counsel) reasonably incurred by such Underwriters in connection with this Agreement or the offering contemplated hereunder.
11. Entire Agreement. (a) This Agreement, together with any contemporaneous written agreements and any prior written agreements (to the extent not superseded by this Agreement) that relate to the offering of the Shares, represents the entire agreement between the Company and the Underwriters with respect to the preparation of any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectus, the conduct of the offering, and the purchase and sale of the Shares.
(b) The Company acknowledges that in connection with the offering of the Shares: (i) the Underwriters have acted at arm’s length, are not agents of, and owe no fiduciary duties to, the Company or any other person, (ii) the Underwriters owe the Company only those duties and obligations set forth in this Agreement and prior written agreements (to the extent not superseded by this Agreement), if any, and (iii) the Underwriters may have interests that differ from those of the Company. The Company waives to the full extent permitted by applicable law any claims it may have against the Underwriters arising from an alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the offering of the Shares.
12. Counterparts. This Agreement may be signed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument.
13. Applicable Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York.
14. Headings. The headings of the sections of this Agreement have been inserted for convenience of reference only and shall not be deemed a part of this Agreement.
15. Notices. All communications hereunder shall be in writing and effective only upon receipt and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered, mailed or sent to you in care of Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC, 0000 Xxxxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000,
Attention: Equity Syndicate Desk, with a copy to the Legal Department, and Leerink Xxxxx LLC, Xxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000, Attention: Syndicate; and if to the Company shall be delivered, mailed or sent to 0000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx 000, Xxxxx Xxx Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000, Attention: Chief Financial Officer.
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Accepted as of the date hereof
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC
Leerink Xxxxx LLC
Acting severally on behalf of themselves and
the several Underwriters named in
Schedule I hereto.
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[Signature Page to the Underwriting Agreement]
SCHEDULE I
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Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC |
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Leerink Xxxxx LLC |
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Xxxxxxx Xxxxx & Company, L.L.C. |
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Xxxxx and Company, LLC |
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SCHEDULE II
Time of Sale Prospectus
1. Preliminary Prospectus issued , 2013
2. [all free writing prospectuses filed by the Company under Rule 433(d) of the Securities Act]
3. The Public Offering Price and the number of Firm Shares.
EXHIBIT A
[FORM OF LOCK-UP LETTER]
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC
Leerink Xxxxx LLC
Xxxxxxx Xxxxx & Company, L.L.C.
Xxxxx and Company, LLC
c/o Morgan Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC
0000 Xxxxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
c/o Leerink Xxxxx LLC
Xxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxx, XX 00000
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The undersigned understands that Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC (“Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx”) and Leerink Xxxxx LLC (“Leerink”), together as representatives of the several Underwriters (as defined below), propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with Veracyte, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), providing for the public offering (the “Public Offering”) by the several Underwriters, including Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx and Leerink (the “Underwriters”), of shares (the “Shares”) of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the Company (the “Common Stock”).
To induce the Underwriters that may participate in the Public Offering to continue their efforts in connection with the Public Offering, the undersigned hereby agrees that, without the prior written consent of Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx and Leerink Xxxxx on behalf of the Underwriters, it will not, during the period commencing on the date hereof and ending 180 days after the date of the final prospectus (the “Restricted Period”) relating to the Public Offering (the “Prospectus”), (1) 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 Common Stock beneficially owned (as such term is used in Rule 13d-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), by the undersigned or any other securities so owned convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or (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 Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in clause (1) or (2) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise.
The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (a) transfers of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock (i) as a bona fide gift, (ii) to an immediate family member or a trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or such immediate family member of the undersigned, or (iii) by will or intestacy, (b) (i) if the undersigned is a partnership, limited liability company or a corporation, distributions of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock to limited partners, limited liability company members or stockholders of the undersigned or transfers of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock to another corporation, partnership or other business entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with the undersigned or (ii) if the undersigned is a trust, transfers of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock to a trustee or beneficiary of the trust; provided that in the case of any transfer or distribution pursuant to clause (a) or (b), (i) each transferee, donee or distributee shall sign and deliver a lock-up letter substantially in the form of this letter agreement and (ii) no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of shares of Common Stock, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Restricted Period, (c) transactions related to shares of Common Stock or other securities acquired in open market transactions after the completion of the Public Offering; provided that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Restricted Period in connection with subsequent sales of Common Stock or other securities acquired in such open market transactions, (d) the establishment of a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of shares of Common Stock, provided that (i) such plan does not provide for the transfer of Common Stock during the Restricted Period and (ii) to the extent a public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act, if any, is required of or voluntarily made by or on behalf of the undersigned or the Company regarding the establishment of such plan, such announcement or filing shall include a statement to the effect that no transfer of Common Stock may be made under such plan during the Restricted Period, (e) the transfer of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into Common Stock to the Company upon a vesting event of the Company’s securities or upon the exercise of options to purchase the Company’s securities, in each case on a “cashless” or “net exercise” basis or to cover tax withholding obligations of the undersigned in connection with such vesting or exercise; provided that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act reporting a disposition of shares of Common Stock or other public announcement shall be required or shall be made voluntarily in connection with such vesting or exercise (for the avoidance of doubt, it being understood that any subsequent transfer or distribution of the shares of Common Stock or other securities issued upon any exercise, conversion or vesting event shall be subject to the restrictions set forth in this letter agreement), (f) the transfer of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock to the Company pursuant to agreements under which the Company has the option to repurchase such shares or a right of first refusal with respect to transfers of such shares, (g) the transfer of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock that occurs pursuant to a qualified domestic order or in connection with a divorce settlement;
provided that (i) each transferee shall sign and deliver a lock-up letter substantially in the form of this letter agreement and (ii) no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Restricted Period, or (h) the transfer of shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock pursuant to a bona fide third party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction made to all holders of the Common Stock involving a change of control of the Company; provided that in the event that the tender offer, merger, consolidation or other such transaction is not completed, the Common Stock owned by the undersigned shall remain subject to the restrictions contained in this letter agreement; provided further that for purposes of clause (h), “change of control” shall mean the consummation of any bona fide third party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction the result of which is that any “person” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), or group of persons, other than the Company or its subsidiaries, becomes the beneficial owner (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act) of more than 50% of total voting power of the voting stock of the Company.
In addition, the undersigned agrees that, without the prior written consent of Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx and Leerink on behalf of the Underwriters, it will not, during the Restricted Period, make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any shares of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock. 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 shares of Common Stock except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.
If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, the undersigned further agrees that the foregoing provisions shall be equally applicable to any issuer-directed Shares the undersigned may purchase in the offering.
If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, (i) each of Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx and Leerink agrees that, at least three business days before the effective date of any release or waiver of the foregoing restrictions in connection with a transfer of shares of Common Stock, Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx and Leerink will notify the Company of the impending release or waiver, and (ii) the Company has agreed in the Underwriting Agreement to announce the impending release or waiver by press release through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver. Any release or waiver granted by Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx and Leerink hereunder to any such officer or director shall only be effective two business days after the publication date of such press release. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if (a) the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer not for consideration and (b) the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this letter agreement to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of the transfer.
The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters are relying upon this agreement in proceeding toward consummation of the Public Offering. The
undersigned further understands that this agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned’s heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns.
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.
This letter agreement shall automatically terminate upon the earliest to occur, if any, of (a) the date that the Company advises Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx and Leerink, in writing, prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, that it has determined not to proceed with the Public Offering, (b) the date of termination of the Underwriting Agreement if prior to the closing of the Public Offering, or (c) June 30, 2014 if the Public Offering of the Shares has not been completed by such date.
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Very truly yours, |
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(Name) |
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(Address) |
EXHIBIT B
FORM OF WAIVER OF LOCK-UP
, 20
[Name and Address of
Officer or Director
Requesting Waiver]
Dear Mr./Ms. [Name]:
This letter is being delivered to you in connection with the offering by Veracyte, Inc. (the “Company”) of shares of common stock, $0.001 par value (the “Common Stock”), of the Company and the lock-up letter dated , 2013 (the “Lock-up Letter”), executed by you in connection with such offering, and your request for a [waiver] [release] dated , 20 , with respect to shares of Common Stock (the “Shares”).
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC and Leerink Xxxxx LLC hereby agree to [waive] [release] the transfer restrictions set forth in the Lock-up Letter, but only with respect to the Shares, effective , 20 ; provided, however, that such [waiver] [release] is conditioned on the Company announcing the impending [waiver] [release] by press release through a major news service at least two business days before effectiveness of such [waiver] [release]. This letter will serve as notice to the Company of the impending [waiver] [release].
Except as expressly [waived] [released] hereby, the Lock-up Letter shall remain in full force and effect.
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Very truly yours, | |
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Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC | |
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Leerink Xxxxx LLC | |
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Acting severally on behalf of themselves and the several Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto | |
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By: |
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FORM OF PRESS RELEASE
, 2013
Veracyte, Inc. (the “Company”) announced today that Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. LLC and Leerink Xxxxx LLC, on behalf of the underwriters in the Company’s recent public sale of shares of common stock is [waiving][releasing] a lock-up restriction with respect to shares of the Company’s common stock held by [certain officers or directors] [an officer or director] of the Company. The [waiver][release] will take effect on , 20 , and the shares may be sold on or after such date.
This press release is not an offer for sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such offer is prohibited, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
