2,409,639 Units ASPENBIO PHARMA, INC. PLACEMENT AGENT AGREEMENT
Exhibit 1.1
Execution
Copy
2,409,639
Units
April 30,
2010
LAZARD
CAPITAL MARKETS LLC
00
Xxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Dear
Sirs:
1. Introduction. AspenBio
Pharma, Inc., a Colorado corporation (the “Company”), proposes to issue
and sell to the purchasers, pursuant to the terms and conditions of this
Placement Agent Agreement (this “Agreement”) and the
Subscription Agreements in the form of Exhibit A attached
hereto (the “Subscription
Agreements”) entered into with the purchasers identified therein (each a
“Purchaser” and,
collectively, the “Purchasers”), up to an
aggregate of 2,409,639 units (the “Units”), with each Unit
consisting of (i) one share of common stock (a “Share” and, collectively, the
“Shares”), no par value
per share (the “Common
Stock”) of the Company and (ii) one warrant to purchase .285 of a share
of Common Stock (the “Warrants”). Units
will not be issued or certificated. The Shares and Warrants are
immediately separable and will be issued separately. The terms and
conditions of the Warrants are set forth in the form of Exhibit B attached
hereto. The Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants are
referred to herein as the “Warrant Shares” and, together
with the Units, the Shares and the Warrants, are referred to herein as the
“Securities.” The
Company hereby confirms that Lazard Capital Markets LLC (“LCM” or the “Placement Agent”) acted as the
Placement Agent in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof.
2. Agreement
to Act as Placement Agent; Placement of Units. On
the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company
herein contained, and subject to all the terms and conditions of this
Agreement:
2.1 The
Company has authorized and hereby acknowledges that the Placement Agent has
acted as its exclusive agent to solicit offers for the purchase of all or part
of the Units from the Company in connection with the proposed offering of the
Units (the “Offering”). Until
the Closing Date (as defined in Section 4 hereof),
the Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the Placement Agent,
solicit or accept offers to purchase Units otherwise than through the Placement
Agent. LCM may utilize the expertise of Lazard Frères & Co. LLC
in connection with LCM’s placement agent activities.
2.2 The
Company hereby acknowledges that the Placement Agent, as agent of the Company,
used its reasonable best efforts to solicit offers to purchase the Units from
the Company on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the
Prospectus (as defined below). The Placement Agent shall use commercially
reasonable efforts to assist the Company in obtaining performance by each
Purchaser whose offer to purchase Units was solicited by the Placement Agent and
accepted by the Company, but the Placement Agent shall not, except as otherwise
provided in this Agreement, be obligated to disclose the identity of any
potential purchaser or have any liability to the Company in the event any such
purchase is not consummated for any reason. Under no circumstances will the
Placement Agent be obligated to underwrite or purchase any Units for its own
account and, in soliciting purchases of Units, the Placement Agent acted solely
as the Company’s agent and not as principal. Notwithstanding the
foregoing and except as otherwise provided in Section 2.3, it is
understood and agreed that the Placement Agent (or its affiliates) may, solely
at its discretion and without any obligation to do so, purchase Units from the
Company as principal and any such purchases by the Placement Agent (or its
affiliates) shall be disclosed to the Company (including the identity of such
purchaser).
2.3 Subject
to the provisions of this Section 2, offers for
the purchase of Units were solicited by the Placement Agent as agent for the
Company at such times and in such amounts as the Placement Agent deemed
advisable. The Placement Agent communicated to the Company, orally or
in writing, each reasonable offer to purchase Units received by it as agent of
the Company. The Company shall have the sole right to accept offers
to purchase the Units and may reject any such offer, in whole or in
part. The Placement Agent has the right, in its discretion reasonably
exercised, without notice to the Company, to reject any offer to purchase Units
received by it, in whole or in part, and any such rejection shall not be deemed
a breach of this Agreement.
2.4 The Units
are being sold to the Purchasers at a price of $4.15 per Unit. The
purchases of the Units by the Purchasers shall be evidenced by the execution of
the Subscription Agreements by the parties thereto.
2.5 As
compensation for services rendered, on the Closing Date (as defined in Section 4 hereof),
the Company shall pay to the Placement Agent by wire transfer of immediately
available funds to an account or accounts designated by the Placement Agent, an
aggregate amount (the “Placement Fee”) equal to six
and one-half percent (6.5%) of the gross proceeds received by the Company from
the sale of the Units on such Closing Date.
2.6 No Units
which the Company has agreed to sell pursuant to this Agreement and the
Subscription Agreements shall be deemed to have been purchased and paid for, or
sold by the Company, until such Shares and Warrants included in the Units shall
have been delivered to the Purchaser thereof against payment by such Purchaser.
If the Company shall default in its obligations to deliver the Shares and
Warrants to a Purchaser with whom it has entered into a binding Subscription
Agreement, the Company shall indemnify and hold the Placement Agent harmless
against any loss, claim, damage or expense arising from or as a result of such
default by the Company in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 8(c)
herein.
3. Representations
and Warranties of the Company. The
Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Placement Agent and the
Purchasers that:
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(a) The
Company has prepared and filed in conformity with the requirements of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and
published rules and regulations thereunder (the “Rules and Regulations”)
adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a “shelf”
Registration Statement (as hereinafter defined) on Form S-3 (File No.
333-159249), which became effective as of June 4, 2009 (the “Effective Date”), including a
base prospectus relating to the Shares (the “Base Prospectus”), and such
amendments and supplements thereto as may have been required to the date of this
Agreement. The term “Registration Statement” as
used in this Agreement means the registration statement (including all exhibits,
financial schedules and all documents and information deemed to be a part of the
Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430A of the Rules and Regulations), as
amended and/or supplemented to the date of this Agreement, including the Base
Prospectus. The Registration Statement is effective under the
Securities Act and no stop order preventing or suspending the effectiveness of
the Registration Statement or suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus
has been issued by the Commission and no proceedings for that purpose have been
instituted or, to the knowledge of the Company, are threatened by the
Commission. The Company, if required by the Rules and Regulations of
the Commission, will file the Prospectus (as defined below), with the Commission
pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations. The term “Prospectus” as used in this
Agreement means the prospectus, in the form in which it is to be filed with the
Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations, or, if the
prospectus is not to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b), the
prospectus in the form included as part of the Registration Statement as of the
Effective Date, except that if any revised prospectus or prospectus supplement
shall be provided to the Placement Agent by the Company for use in connection
with the offering and sale of the Units which differs from the Prospectus
(whether or not such revised prospectus or prospectus supplement is required to
be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations),
the term “Prospectus”
shall refer to such revised prospectus or prospectus supplement, as the case may
be, from and after the time it is first provided to the Placement Agent for such
use. Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus subject to completion included in
the Registration Statement or filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 of
the Rules and Regulations is hereafter called a “Preliminary
Prospectus.” Any reference herein to the Registration
Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer
to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item
12 of Form S-3 which were filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the “Exchange
Act”), on or before the last to occur of the Effective Date, the date of
the Preliminary Prospectus, or the date of the Prospectus, and any reference
herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment,” or “supplement” with respect to the
Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be
deemed to refer to and include (i) the filing of any document under the Exchange
Act after the Effective Date, the date of such Preliminary Prospectus or the
date of the Prospectus, as the case may be, which is incorporated by reference
and (ii) any such document so filed. If the Company has filed an abbreviated
registration statement to register additional securities pursuant to Rule 462(b)
under the Rules and Regulations (the “462(b) Registration
Statement”), then any reference herein to the Registration Statement
shall also be deemed to include such 462(b) Registration Statement.
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(b) The
conditions to the use of Form S-3 in connection with the offering and sale of
the Securities as contemplated hereby have been satisfied. The Registration
Statement meets, and the offering and sale of the Securities as contemplated
hereby complies with, the requirements of Rule 415 under the Securities Act
(including, without limitation, Rule 415(a)(4) and (a)(5) of the Rules and
Regulations).
(c) As of the
Applicable Time (as defined below) and as of the Closing Date, neither (i) any
General Use Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) issued at or prior to the
Applicable Time, and the Pricing Prospectus (as defined below) and the
information included on Schedule A hereto,
all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”),
(ii) any individual Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below)
issued at or prior to the Applicable Time nor (iii) the bona fide electronic
road show (as defined in Rule 433(h)(5) of the Rules and Regulations), if any,
that has been made available without restriction to any person, when considered
together with the General Disclosure Package, included or will include, any
untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or as of the Closing Date will
omit, to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading; provided,
however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to
information contained in or omitted from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in
reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the
Company by the Placement Agent specifically for inclusion therein, which
information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Placement Agent’s
Information (as defined in Section
17). As used in this paragraph (b) and
elsewhere in this Agreement:
“Applicable
Time” means 8:30 A.M., New York time, on the date of this
Agreement.
“General Use Free
Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is
identified on Schedule
A to this Agreement.
“Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing
prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the Rules and Regulations relating
to the Units in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or,
if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records
pursuant to Rule 433(g) of the Rules and Regulations.
“Limited Use Free
Writing Prospectuses” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is
not a General Use Free Writing Prospectus.
“Pricing
Prospectus” means the Preliminary Prospectus, if any, and the Base
Prospectus, each as amended and supplemented immediately prior to the Applicable
Time, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any
prospectus supplement deemed to be a part thereof.
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(d) No order
preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus relating to the Offering has been issued by
the Commission, and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of
the Securities Act has been instituted or threatened by the Commission, and each
Preliminary Prospectus (if any), at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all
material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and
Regulations, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit
to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were
made, not misleading; provided, however, that the
Company makes no representations or warranties as to information contained in or
omitted from any Preliminary Prospectus, in reliance upon, and in conformity
with, written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent
specifically for inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto agree
is limited to the Placement Agent’s Information (as defined in Section
17).
(e) At the
time the Registration Statement became or becomes effective, at the date of this
Agreement and at the Closing Date, the Registration Statement conformed and will
conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and
the Rules and Regulations and did not and will not contain any untrue statement
of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated
therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; the
Prospectus, at the time the Prospectus was issued and at the Closing Date,
conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the
Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations and did not and will not contain an
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under
which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the
foregoing representations and warranties in this paragraph (e) shall
not apply to information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement
or the Prospectus in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information
furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent specifically for inclusion
therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Placement
Agent’s Information (as defined in Section
17).
(f) Each
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if any, as of its issue date and at all
subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the
Units or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies the
Placement Agent as described in Section 5(e), did
not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or
will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement,
Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by
reference therein and any prospectus supplement deemed to be a part thereof that
has not been superseded or modified, or includes an untrue statement of a
material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact required to be
stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the
light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading. The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or
omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon, and in
conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Placement
Agent specifically for inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto
agree is limited to the Placement Agent’s Information (as defined in Section
17).
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(g) The
documents incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, when they became
effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in
all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange
Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder
and none of such documents contained any untrue statement of a material fact or
omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to
make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were
made, not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by
reference in the Prospectus, when such documents become effective or are filed
with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects
to the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable,
and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and will not contain
any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in
light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading.
(h) The
Company has not, directly or indirectly, distributed and will not distribute any
offering material in connection with the Offering other than any Preliminary
Prospectus, the Prospectus and other materials, if any, permitted under the
Securities Act and consistent with Section 5(b) below.
The Company is not an “ineligible issuer” in connection with the offering
pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Securities Act. The Company will
file with the Commission all Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses (other than a
“road show,” as defined in Rule 433(d)(8) of the Rules and Regulations), if any,
in the time and manner required under Rules 163(b)(2) and 433(d) of the Rules
and Regulations.
(i)
The
Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing and in good standing
under the laws of the State of Colorado. The Company is duly
qualified to do business and is in good standing as foreign corporation in each
jurisdiction in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its
business requires such qualification and has all power and authority (corporate
or other) necessary to own or hold its properties and to conduct the business in
which it is engaged, except where the failure to so qualify or have such power
or authority (i) would not have, singularly or in the aggregate, a material
adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations,
assets, business or prospects of the Company, or (ii) impair in any material
respect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this
Agreement or to consummate any transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the
General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (any such effect as described in
clauses (i) or (ii), a “Material Adverse
Effect”). The Company has no subsidiaries, and the Company
does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any shares of capital stock of
any other corporation or any interest in any partnership, trust, joint venture,
limited liability company, association or other business entity.
(j) The
Company has the full right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement,
each of the Subscription Agreements and the Warrants, and to perform and to
discharge its obligations hereunder and thereunder; and each of this Agreement,
the Warrants and each of the Subscription Agreements has been duly authorized,
executed and delivered by the Company, and constitutes a valid and binding
obligation of the Company enforceable in accordance with its terms.
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(k) The
Shares and the Warrants to be issued and sold by the Company to the Purchasers
hereunder and under the Subscription Agreements have been duly and validly
authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided
herein and in the Subscription Agreements, and the Warrant Shares, when issued
and delivered against payment therefor as provided in the Warrants, will be duly
and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free of any preemptive or
similar rights and will conform to the description thereof contained in the
General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. Neither the filing of
the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto) nor the offering or sale
of the Securities as contemplated by this Agreement gives rise to any rights,
other than those which have been waived or satisfied, for or relating to the
registration of any shares of Common Stock.
(l) The
Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus,
and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company
have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and
non-assessable, have been issued in compliance with federal and state securities
laws, and conform to the description thereof contained in the General Disclosure
Package and the Prospectus. As of March 31, 2010, there were
37,668,685 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding and no shares of
Preferred Stock, no par value of the Company issued and outstanding and
5,865,519 shares of Common Stock were issuable upon the exercise of all options,
warrants and convertible securities outstanding as of such date. Since such
date, the Company has not issued any securities, other than Common Stock of the
Company issued pursuant to the exercise of stock options previously outstanding
under the Company’s stock option plans or the issuance of Common Stock pursuant
to employee stock purchase plans. All of the Company’s options,
warrants and other rights to purchase or exchange any securities for shares of
the Company’s capital stock have been duly authorized and validly issued and
were issued in compliance with US federal and state securities
laws. None of the outstanding shares of Common Stock was issued in
violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar
rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company. There
are no authorized or outstanding shares of capital stock, options, warrants,
preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase, or
equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for,
any capital stock of the Company other than those described above or accurately
described in the General Disclosure Package. The description of the
Company’s stock option, stock bonus and other stock plans or arrangements, and
the options or other rights granted thereunder, as described in the General
Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, accurately and fairly present the
information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements,
options and rights.
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(m) The
execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, the Subscription
Agreements and the Warrants by the Company, the issue and sale of the Units by
the Company and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and
thereby will not (with or without notice or lapse of time or both) conflict with
or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of,
constitute a material default or Debt Repayment Triggering Event (as defined
below) under, give rise to any right of termination or other right or the
cancellation or acceleration of any right or obligation or loss of a benefit
under, or give rise to the creation or imposition of any lien, encumbrance,
security interest, claim or charge upon any property or assets of the Company
pursuant to, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other
agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company
is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company is subject,
nor will such actions result in any violation of the provisions of (A) the
charter or by-laws (or analogous governing instruments, as applicable) of the
Company or (B) any law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of
any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, having
jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties or assets. A
“Debt Repayment Triggering Event” means any event or condition that gives, or
with the giving of notice or lapse of time would give the holder of any note,
debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such
holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of
all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company.
(n) Except
for the registration of the Units under the Securities Act and such consents,
approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required
under the Exchange Act and applicable state or foreign securities laws, the
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and the Nasdaq Capital
Market (the “Nasdaq CM”)
in connection with the offering and sale of the Units by the Company, no
consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing, qualification or
registration with, any court or governmental agency or body, foreign or
domestic, which has not been made, obtained or taken and is not in full force
and effect, is required for the execution, delivery and performance of this
Agreement, the Subscription Agreements and the Warrants by the Company, the
offer or sale of the Units or the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby or thereby.
(o) To the
Company’s knowledge, GHP Xxxxxxx, P.C., who has audited certain financial
statements and related schedules included or incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and
has audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and
management’s assessment thereof, is an independent registered public accounting
firm as required by the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations and the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”). Except as
pre-approved in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 10A of the
Exchange Act, GHP Xxxxxxx, P.C. has not been engaged by
the Company to perform any “prohibited activities” (as defined in Section 10A of
the Exchange Act).
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(p) The
financial statements, together with the related notes and schedules, included or
incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus and
in the Registration Statement fairly present the financial position and the
results of operations and changes in financial position of the Company at the
respective dates or for the respective periods therein
specified. Such statements and related notes and schedules have been
prepared in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles in the
United States (“GAAP”)
applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved except as may be
set forth in the related notes included or incorporated by reference in the
General Disclosure Package. The financial statements, together with
the related notes and schedules, included or incorporated by reference in the
General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus comply in all material respects
with the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and the Rules and Regulations and the
rules and regulations under the Exchange Act. No other financial
statements or supporting schedules or exhibits are required by the Securities
Act or the Rules and Regulations to be described, or included or incorporated by
reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the
Prospectus. There is no pro forma or as adjusted financial
information which is required to be included in the Registration Statement, the
General Disclosure Package, or and the Prospectus or a document incorporated by
reference therein in accordance with the Securities Act and the Rules and
Regulations which has not been included or incorporated as so
required.
(q) The
Company has not sustained, since the date of the latest audited financial
statements included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure
Package, any material loss or interference with its business from fire,
explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from
any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise
than as set forth or contemplated in the General Disclosure Package; and, since
such date, there has not been any change in the capital stock or long-term debt
of the Company, or any material adverse changes, or any development involving a
prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the business, assets,
general affairs, management, financial position, prospects, stockholders’ equity
or results of operations of the Company, otherwise than as set forth or
contemplated in the General Disclosure Package.
(r) Except as
set forth in the General Disclosure Package, there is no legal or governmental
action, suit, claim or proceeding pending to which the Company is a party or of
which any property or assets of the Company is the subject which is required to
be described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or
the Prospectus or a document incorporated by reference therein and is not
described therein, or which, singularly or in the aggregate, if determined
adversely to the Company, could have a Material Adverse Effect or prevent or
adversely affect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under
this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby; and
to the best of the Company’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or
contemplated by governmental authorities or threatened by others.
(s) The
Company is not in (i) violation of its charter or by-laws (or analogous
governing instrument, as applicable), (ii) default in any respect, and no event
has occurred which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such
a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or
condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement,
lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is
bound or to which any of its property or assets is subject or (iii) violation in
any respect of any statute, law, ordinance, governmental rule, regulation or
court order, decree or judgment to which it or its property or assets may be
subject except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph (s), for
any violations or defaults which, singularly or in the aggregate, would not have
a Material Adverse Effect.
9
(t) The
Company possesses all licenses, certificates, authorizations and permits issued
by, and has made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate local,
state, federal or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies which are necessary or
desirable for the ownership of its properties or the conduct of its business
(including, without limitation, those administered by the Food and Drug
Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the “FDA”) or by any foreign,
federal, state or local governmental or regulatory authority performing
functions similar to those performed by the FDA) as described in the General
Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (collectively, the “Governmental Permits”) except
where any failures to possess or make the same, singularly or in the aggregate,
would not have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company is in
compliance with all such Governmental Permits; all such Governmental Permits are
valid and in full force and effect, except where the validity or failure to be
in full force and effect would not, singularly or in the aggregate, have a
Material Adverse Effect. All such Governmental Permits are free and
clear of any restriction or condition that are in addition to, or materially
different from those normally applicable to similar licenses, certificates,
authorizations and permits. The Company has not received written notification of
any revocation or modification (or proceedings related thereto) of any such
Governmental Permit and the Company has no reason to believe that any such
Governmental Permit will not be renewed.
(u) The
clinical trials conducted by or on behalf of or sponsored by the Company or in
which the Company or its product candidates have participated that are described
in the General Disclosure Package and Prospectus or the results of which are
referred to in the General Disclosure Package or Prospectus were and, if still
pending, are being conducted in all material respects in accordance with medical
and scientific research procedures that the Company reasonably believes are
appropriate. The descriptions in the General Disclosure Package and Prospectus
of the results of such clinical trials are accurate and fairly present the data
derived from such clinical trials, and the Company has no knowledge of any
studies or tests performed by or on behalf of the Company the results of which
are materially inconsistent with or otherwise materially call into question the
results described or referred to in the General Disclosure Package and
Prospectus. Except to the extent disclosed in the General Disclosure
Package and the Prospectus, the Company has not received any notices or other
correspondence from the FDA or any other governmental agency requiring the
termination, suspension or modification of any clinical trials that are
described in the General Disclosure Package or Prospectus or the results of
which are referred to in the General Disclosure Package or
Prospectus.
(v) The
Company is not, and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the
Securities, including the issuance, offering and sale of the Warrant Shares, and
the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the General Disclosure
Package and the Prospectus, will not become an “investment company” within the
meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and
regulations of the Commission thereunder.
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(w) Neither
the Company, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of the Company’s officers,
directors or affiliates has taken or will take, directly or indirectly, any
action designed or intended to stabilize or manipulate the price of any security
of the Company, or which caused or resulted in, or which might in the future
reasonably be expected to cause or result in, stabilization or manipulation of
the price of any security of the Company.
(x) Except as
disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and
Prospectus, the Company owns or possesses the right to use all patents,
trademarks, trademark registrations, service marks, service xxxx registrations,
trade names, copyrights, licenses, inventions, software, databases, know-how,
Internet domain names, trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable
proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures, and other
intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”)
necessary to carry on its business as currently conducted, and as proposed to be
conducted and described in the General Disclosure Package and
the Prospectus, and the Company is not aware of any claim to the
contrary or any challenge by any other person to the rights of the Company with
respect to the foregoing except for those that could not have a Material Adverse
Effect. The Intellectual Property licenses described in the General
Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are valid, binding upon, and enforceable
by or against the parties thereto in accordance to its terms. The
Company has complied in all material respects with, and is not in breach nor has
received any asserted or threatened claim of breach of, any Intellectual
Property license, and the Company has no knowledge of any breach or anticipated
breach by any other person to any Intellectual Property license. The
Company’s business as now conducted and as proposed to be conducted does not and
will not infringe or conflict with any patents, trademarks, service marks, trade
names, copyrights, trade secrets, licenses or other Intellectual Property or
franchise right of any person. No claim has been made against the
Company alleging the infringement by the Company of any patent, trademark,
service xxxx, trade name, copyright, trade secret, license in or other
intellectual property right or franchise right of any person. The
Company has taken all reasonable steps to protect, maintain and safeguard its
rights in all Intellectual Property, including the execution of appropriate
nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements. The consummation of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not result in the loss or
impairment of or payment of any additional amounts with respect to, nor require
the consent of any other person in respect of, the Company’s right to own, use,
or hold for use any of the Intellectual Property as owned, used or held for use
in the conduct of the business as currently conducted.
(y) The
Company does not own any real property. The Company has good and
marketable title in fee simple to, or have valid rights to lease or otherwise
use, all items of personal property, as described in the General Disclosure
Package, which are material to the business of the Company, in each case free
and clear of all liens, encumbrances, security interests, claims and defects
that do not, singularly or in the aggregate, materially affect the value of such
property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such
property by the Company; and all of the leases and subleases material to the
business of the Company, and under which the Company holds properties described
in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are in full force and
effect, and the Company has not received any notice of any material claim of any
sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company under
any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the
rights of the Company to the continued possession of the leased or subleased
premises under any such lease or sublease.
11
(z) No labor
dispute with the employees of the Company exists or, to the knowledge of the
Company, is imminent that could have a Material Adverse Effect. The
Company is not aware that any key employee or significant group of employees of
the Company plans to terminate employment with the Company.
(aa)
No
“prohibited transaction” (as defined in Section 406 of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, including the regulations and published
interpretations thereunder (“ERISA”), or Section 4975 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time (the “Code”)) or “accumulated
funding deficiency” (as defined in Section 302 of ERISA) or any of the events
set forth in Section 4043(b) of ERISA (other than events with respect to which
the thirty (30)-day notice requirement under Section 4043 of ERISA has been
waived) has occurred or could reasonably be expected to occur with respect to
any employee benefit plan of the Company which could, singularly or in the
aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Each employee benefit plan
of the Company is in compliance in all material respects with applicable law,
including ERISA and the Code. The Company has not incurred and could not
reasonably be expected to incur liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect
to the termination of, or withdrawal from, any pension plan (as defined in
ERISA). Each pension plan for which the Company would have any
liability that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is
so qualified, and nothing has occurred, whether by action or by failure to act,
which could, singularly or in the aggregate, cause the loss of such
qualification.
(bb)
Except as
disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the
Prospectus and in each case as would not individually or in the aggregate have a
Material Adverse Effect, (a)(i) the Company is not in violation of, and does not
have any liability under, any federal, state, local or non-U.S. statute, law,
rule, regulation, ordinance, code, other requirement or rule of law (including
common law), or decision or order of any governmental agency, governmental body
or court, relating to pollution, to the use, handling, transportation,
treatment, storage, discharge, disposal or release of Hazardous Substances, to
the protection or restoration of the environment or natural resources (including
biota), to health and safety including as such relates to exposure to Hazardous
Substances, and to natural resource damages (collectively, “Environmental Laws”),
(ii) the Company does not own, occupy, operate or use any real
property contaminated with Hazardous Substances, (iii) the Company is not
conducting or funding any investigation, remediation, remedial action or
monitoring of actual or suspected Hazardous Substances in the environment,
(iv) the Company is not liable or allegedly liable for any release or
threatened release of Hazardous Substances, including at any off-site treatment,
storage or disposal site, (v) the Company is not subject to any claim by any
governmental agency or governmental body or person relating to Environmental
Laws or Hazardous Substances, and (vi) the Company has received and is in
compliance with all, and has no liability under any, permits, licenses,
authorizations, identification numbers or other approvals required under
applicable Environmental Laws to conduct its business; and (b) there are no
facts or circumstances that would reasonably be expected to result in a
violation of, liability under, or claim pursuant to any Environmental
Law. For purposes of this Section (bb) “Hazardous Substances” means
(A) petroleum and petroleum products, by-products or breakdown products,
radioactive materials, asbestos-containing materials, polychlorinated biphenyls
and mold, and (B) any other chemical, material or substance defined or regulated
as toxic or hazardous or as a pollutant, contaminant or waste under
Environmental Laws.
12
(cc)
The
Company (i) has timely filed all necessary federal, state, local and foreign tax
returns that are required to be filed, and all such returns were true, complete
and correct, (ii) has paid all federal, state, local and foreign taxes,
assessments, governmental or other charges due and payable for which it is
liable, including, without limitation, all sales and use taxes and all taxes
which the Company is obligated to withhold from amounts owing to employees,
creditors and third parties, and (iii) does not have any tax deficiency or
claims outstanding or assessed or, to the best of its knowledge, proposed
against any of them, except those, in each of the cases described in clauses
(i), (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph (cc), that
would not, singularly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse
Effect. The Company has not engaged in any transaction which is a
corporate tax shelter or which could be characterized as such by the Internal
Revenue Service or any other taxing authority. The accruals and
reserves on the books and records of the Company in respect of tax liabilities
for any taxable period not yet finally determined are adequate to meet any
assessments and related liabilities for any such period, and since December 31,
2009, the Company each has not incurred any liability for taxes other than in
the ordinary course.
(dd)
The
Company carries, or is covered by, insurance provided by recognized, financially
sound and reputable institutions with policies in such amounts and covering such
risks as is adequate for the conduct of its business and the value of its
properties and as is customary for companies engaged in similar businesses in
similar industries. All policies of insurance and fidelity or surety
bonds insuring the Company or its business, assets, employees, officers and
directors are in full force and effect; and the Company is in compliance with
the terms of such policies and instruments in all respects.
(ee)
The
Company maintains a system of internal accounting and other controls sufficient
to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in
accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii)
transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial
statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets;
(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 existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is
taken with respect to any differences. Except as described in the
General Disclosure Package, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited
fiscal year, there has been (A) no material weakness in the Company’s internal
control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (B) 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.
13
(ff)
The
minute books of the Company have been made available to the Placement Agent and
counsel for the Placement Agent, and such books (i) contain a complete summary
of all meetings and actions of the board of directors (including each board
committee) as of March 11, 2010 and shareholders of the Company (or analogous
governing bodies and interest holders, as applicable), since the time of its
incorporation or organization through the date of the latest meeting and action,
and (ii) accurately in all material respects reflect all transactions referred
to in such minutes. There are no material transactions, agreements or
other actions of the Company that are not properly approved and/or recorded in
the minute books of the Company.
(gg)
There is
no franchise, lease, contract, agreement or document required by the Securities
Act or by the Rules and Regulations to be described in the General Disclosure
Package and in the Prospectus or a document incorporated by reference therein or
to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement or a document
incorporated by reference therein which is not described or filed therein as
required; and all descriptions of any such franchises, leases, contracts,
agreements or documents contained in the Registration Statement or in a document
incorporated by reference therein are accurate and complete descriptions of such
documents in all material respects. Other than as described in the
General Disclosure Package, no such franchise, lease, contract or agreement has
been suspended or terminated for convenience or default by the Company or any of
the other parties thereto, and the Company has not received notice nor does the
Company have any other knowledge of any such pending or threatened suspension,
termination or non-renewal, except for such pending or threatened suspensions,
terminations or non-renewals that would not reasonably be expected to,
singularly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.
(hh)
No
relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company on the one
hand, and the directors, officers, stockholders (or analogous interest holders),
customers or suppliers of the Company or any of their affiliates on the other
hand, which is required to be described in the General Disclosure Package and
the Prospectus or a document incorporated by reference therein and which is not
so described.
(ii)
No person
or entity has the right to require registration of shares of Common Stock or
other securities of the Company because of the filing or effectiveness of the
Registration Statement or otherwise, except for persons and entities who have
expressly waived such right in writing or who have been given timely and proper
written notice and have failed to exercise such right within the time or times
required under the terms and conditions of such right. Except as
described in the General Disclosure Package, there are no persons with
registration rights or similar rights to have any securities registered by the
Company under the Securities Act.
(jj)
The
Company does not own any “margin securities” as that term is defined in
Regulation U of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”), and
none of the proceeds of the sale of the Units will be used, directly or
indirectly, for the purpose of purchasing or carrying any margin security, for
the purpose of reducing or retiring any indebtedness which was originally
incurred to purchase or carry any margin security or for any other purpose which
might cause any of the Units to be considered a “purpose credit” within the
meanings of Regulation T, U or X of the Federal Reserve Board.
14
(kk)
The
Company is not a party to any contract, agreement or understanding with any
person that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or the
Placement Agent for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in
connection with the offering and sale of the Units or any transaction
contemplated by this Agreement, the Registration Statement, the General
Disclosure Package or the Prospectus.
(ll)
No
forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities
Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in either the General
Disclosure Package or the Prospectus has been made without a reasonable basis or
has been disclosed other than in good faith.
(mm)
The
Company is subject to and in compliance in all material respects with the
reporting requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange
Act. The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the
Exchange Act and is listed on the Nasdaq CM, and the Company has taken no action
designed to, or reasonably likely to have the effect of, terminating the
registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act or delisting the Common
Stock from the Nasdaq CM, nor has the Company received any notification that the
Commission or the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC is contemplating terminating such
registration or listing. No consent, approval, authorization or order
of, or filing, notification or registration with, the Nasdaq CM is required for
the listing and trading of the shares of Common Stock on the Nasdaq CM, except
for (i) a Notification Form: Listing of Additional Shares and (ii) a
Notification Form: Change in the Number of Shares Outstanding.
(nn)
The
Company is in material compliance with all applicable provisions of the
Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 and all applicable rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder or implementing the provisions thereof (the “Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx
Act”).
(oo)
The
Company is in material compliance with all applicable corporate governance
requirements set forth in the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules.
15
(pp)
Each of
the Company and its officers, directors, agents, or employees has not violated
and its participation in the Offering will not violate any of the following
laws: (a) anti-bribery laws, including but not limited to, any applicable law,
rule, or regulation of any locality, including but not limited to any law, rule,
or regulation promulgated to implement the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery
of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, signed
December 17, 1997, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 or
any other law, rule or regulation of similar purpose and scope, (b) anti-money
laundering laws, including but not limited to, applicable federal, state,
international, foreign or other laws, regulations or government guidance
regarding anti-money laundering, including, without limitation, Title 18 U.S.
Code section 1956 and 1957, the Patriot Act, the Bank Secrecy Act, and
international anti-money laundering principals or procedures by an
intergovernmental group or organization, such as the Financial Action Task Force
on Money Laundering, of which the United States is a member and with which
designation the United States representative to the group or organization
continues to concur, all as amended, and any Executive order, directive, or
regulation pursuant to the authority of any of the foregoing, or any orders or
licenses issued thereunder, or (c) laws and regulations imposing U.S. economic
sanctions measures, including, but not limited to, the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act, the Trading with the Enemy Act, the United Nations
Participation Act, and the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Act,
all as amended, and any Executive order, directive, or regulation pursuant to
the authority of any of the foregoing, including the regulations of the United
States Treasury Department set forth under 31 CFR, Subtitle B, Chapter V, as
amended, or any orders or licenses issued thereunder.
(qq)
There are
no transactions, arrangements or other relationships between and/or among the
Company, any of its affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule 405 of the
Securities Act) and any unconsolidated entity, including, but not limited to,
any structured finance, special purpose or limited purpose entity that could
reasonably be expected to materially affect the Company’s liquidity or the
availability of or requirements for their capital resources required to be
described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or a document
incorporated by reference therein which have not been described as
required.
(rr)
There are
no outstanding loans, advances (except normal advances for business expenses in
the ordinary course of business) or guarantees or indebtedness by the Company to
or for the benefit of any of the officers or directors of the Company or any of
their respective family members, except as disclosed in the Registration
Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(ss)
The
statistical, industry-related and market-related data included in the
Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are
based on or derived from sources which the Company reasonably and in good faith
believes are reliable and accurate, and such data agree with the sources from
which they are derived.
(tt)
To the
Company’s knowledge, neither the Company nor any of its affiliates (within the
meaning of FINRA Conduct Rule 2720(b)(1)(a)) directly or indirectly controls,
are controlled by, or is under common control with, or is an associated person
(within the meaning of Article I, Section 1(ee) of the By-laws of FINRA) of, any
member firm of FINRA.
(uu)
The
Company satisfies the pre-1992 eligibility requirements for the use of a
registration statement on Form S-3 in connection with the Offering contemplated
thereby (the pre-1992 eligibility requirements for the use of the registration
statement on Form S-3 include (i) having a non-affiliate, public common equity
float of at least $150 million or a non-affiliate, public common equity float of
at least $100 million and annual trading volume of at least three million shares
and (ii) having been subject to the Exchange Act reporting requirements for a
period of 36 months).
16
(vv)
No
approval of the shareholders of the Company under the rules and regulations of
Nasdaq (including Rule 5635 of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules) is required for the
Company to issue and deliver to the Purchasers the Units.
Any
certificate signed by or on behalf of the Company and delivered to the Placement
Agent or to counsel for the Placement Agent shall be deemed to be a
representation and warranty by the Company to the Placement Agent and the
Purchasers as to the matters covered thereby.
4. The
Closing. The
time and date of closing and delivery of the documents required to be delivered
to the Placement Agent pursuant to Sections 5 and 7
hereof shall be at 10:00 A.M., New York time, on May 5, 2010 (the “Closing Date”) at the office
of Xxxxxxx Xxxxx LLP, 0000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx
Xxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000.
5. Further
Agreements of the Company. The
Company agrees with the Placement Agent and the Purchasers:
(a) To
prepare the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if necessary, in a form approved
by the Placement Agent and file such Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with the
Commission on the date hereof; to prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by
the Placement Agent containing information previously omitted at the time of
effectiveness of the Registration Statement in reliance on rules 430A, 430B and
430C of the Rules and Regulations and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule
424(b) of the Rules and Regulations not later than the second (2nd)
business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement or, if
applicable, such earlier time as may be required by Rule 430A of the Rules and
Regulations; to notify the Placement Agent immediately of the Company’s
intention to file or prepare any supplement or amendment to any Registration
Statement or to the Prospectus and to make no amendment or supplement to the
Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or to the Prospectus to
which the Placement Agent shall reasonably object by notice to the Company after
a reasonable period to review; to advise the Placement Agent, promptly after it
receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to any Registration
Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any supplement to the General
Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or any amended Prospectus has been filed
and to furnish the Placement Agent copies thereof; to file promptly all material
required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d)
or 163(b)(2), as the case may be; to file promptly all reports and any
definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company
with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the
Exchange Act subsequent to the date of the Prospectus and for so long as the
delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule
173(a) of the Rules and Regulations) is required in connection with the offering
or sale of the Units; to advise the Placement Agent, promptly after it receives
notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any
order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus, of the suspension of the
qualification of the Units for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the
initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any
request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration
Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or for additional
information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order
preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus or suspending any such qualification, and
promptly to use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such
order.
17
(b) The
Company represents and agrees that it has not made and, unless it obtains the
prior consent of the Placement Agent, it will not, make any offer relating to
the Units that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule
405 of the Rules and Regulations unless the prior written consent of the
Placement Agent has been received (each, a “Permitted Free Writing
Prospectus”); provided that the prior
written consent of the Placement Agent hereto shall be deemed to have been given
in respect of the Issuer Free Writing Prospectus(es) included in Schedule A
hereto. The Company represents that it has treated and agrees that it
will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus, comply with the requirements of Rules 164 and 433 of the Rules and
Regulations applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including the
requirements relating to timely filing with the Commission, legending and record
keeping and will not take any action that would result in the Placement Agent or
the Company being required to file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d)
of the Rules and Regulations a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf
of the Placement Agent that the Placement Agent otherwise would not have been
required to file thereunder.
(c) If at any
time when a Prospectus relating to the Units is required to be delivered under
the Securities Act, any event occurs or condition exists as a result of which
the Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented, would include any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order
to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they
were made, not misleading, or the Registration Statement, as then amended or
supplemented, would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading,
or if for any other reason it is necessary at any time to amend or supplement
any Registration Statement or the Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act
or the Exchange Act, the Company will promptly notify the Placement Agent, and
upon the Placement Agent’s request, the Company will promptly prepare and file
with the Commission, at the Company’s expense, an amendment to the Registration
Statement or an amendment or supplement to the Prospectus that corrects such
statement or omission or effects such compliance and will deliver to the
Placement Agent, without charge, such number of copies thereof as the Placement
Agent may reasonably request. The Company consents to the use of the
Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto by the Placement
Agent.
18
(d) If the
General Disclosure Package is being used to solicit offers to buy the Units at a
time when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and any
event shall occur as a result of which, in the judgment of the Company or in the
reasonable opinion of the Placement Agent, it becomes necessary to amend or
supplement the General Disclosure Package in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading, or to make the statements therein not conflict with the information
contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement then on
file and not superseded or modified, or if it is necessary at any time to amend
or supplement the General Disclosure Package to comply with any law, the Company
promptly will either (i) prepare, file with the Commission (if required) and
furnish to the Placement Agent and any dealers an appropriate amendment or
supplement to the General Disclosure Package or (ii) prepare and file with the
Commission an appropriate filing under the Exchange Act which shall be
incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package so that the General
Disclosure Package as so amended or supplemented will not, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, be misleading or conflict with the
Registration Statement then on file, or so that the General Disclosure Package
will comply with law.
(e) If at any
time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or
occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus conflicted or will conflict with the information contained in the
Registration Statement, Pricing Prospectus or Prospectus, including any document
incorporated by reference therein and any prospectus supplement deemed to be a
part thereof and not superseded or modified or included or would include an
untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading, the Company has promptly notified or will promptly notify the
Placement Agent so that any use of such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus may cease
until it is amended or supplemented and has promptly amended or will promptly
amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to
eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission. The
foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written
information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent specifically for
inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the
Placement Agent’s Information (as defined in Section
17).
(f) To the
extent not available on the Commission’s XXXXX system, to furnish promptly to
the Placement Agent and to counsel for the Placement Agent a signed copy of the
Registration Statement as originally filed with the Commission, and of each
amendment thereto filed with the Commission, including all consents and exhibits
filed therewith.
19
(g) To the
extent not available on the Commission’s XXXXX system, to deliver promptly to
the Placement Agent in New York City such number of the following documents as
the Placement Agent shall reasonably request: (i) conformed
copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed with the Commission (in
each case excluding exhibits), (ii) each Preliminary Prospectus (if any), (iii)
any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, (iv) the Prospectus (the delivery of the
documents referred to in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of this paragraph (g)
to be made not later than 10:00 A.M., New York time, on the business day
following the execution and delivery of this Agreement), (v) conformed copies of
any amendment to the Registration Statement (excluding exhibits), (vi) any
amendment or supplement to the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (the
delivery of the documents referred to in clauses (v) and (vi) of this paragraph (g) to be
made not later than 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the business day
following the date of such amendment or supplement) and (vii) any document
incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus
(excluding exhibits thereto) (the delivery of the documents referred to in
clause (vi) of this paragraph (g) to be
made not later than 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the business day
following the date of such document).
(h) To make
generally available to its shareholders as soon as practicable, but in any event
not later than eighteen (18) months after the effective date of each
Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) of the Rules and Regulations),
an earnings statement of the Company (which need not be audited) complying with
Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations (including, at
the option of the Company, Rule 158); and to furnish to its shareholders as soon
as practicable after the end of each fiscal year an annual report (including a
balance sheet and statements of income, shareholders’ equity and cash flows of
the Company certified by independent public accountants) and as soon as possible
after each of the first three fiscal quarters of each fiscal year (beginning
with the first fiscal quarter after the effective date of such Registration
Statement), consolidated summary financial information of the Company for such
quarter in reasonable detail.
(i) To take
promptly from time to time such actions as the Placement Agent may reasonably
request to qualify the Units for offering and sale under the securities or Blue
Sky laws of such jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Placement Agent may
designate and to continue such qualifications in effect, and to comply with such
laws, for so long as required to permit the offer and sale of the Securities in
such jurisdictions; provided
that the Company shall not be obligated to qualify as a foreign
corporation in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to file a
general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction.
(j) To the
extent not available on the Commission’s XXXXX system, upon request, during the
period of five (5) years from the date hereof, to deliver to the Placement Agent
upon request, (i) as soon as they are available, copies of all reports or other
communications furnished to shareholders, and (ii) as soon as they are
available, copies of any reports and financial statements furnished or filed
with the Commission or any national securities exchange or automatic quotation
system on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted.
20
(k) That the
Company will not, for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of the
Prospectus, (the “Lock-Up
Period”) without the prior written consent of the Placement Agent,
directly or indirectly offer, sell, assign, transfer, pledge, contract to sell,
or otherwise dispose of, any shares of Common Stock or any securities
convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, other than (i)
the Company’s sale of the Units (including the Shares and the Warrants included
in the Units) hereunder, and (ii) the issuance of restricted Common Stock or
options to acquire Common Stock pursuant to the Company’s employee benefit
plans, qualified stock option plans or other employee compensation plans as such
plans are in existence on the date hereof and described in the Prospectus and
the issuance of Common Stock pursuant to the valid exercises of options,
warrants or rights outstanding on the date hereof. The Company will
cause each executive officer, director, shareholder, option-holder and
warrantholder listed in Schedule B to
furnish to the Placement Agent, prior to the Closing Date, a letter,
substantially in the form of Exhibit C hereto,
pursuant to which each such person shall agree, among other things, not to
directly or indirectly offer, sell, assign, transfer, pledge, contract to sell,
or otherwise dispose of, any shares of Common Stock or any securities
convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, not to engage
in any swap or other agreement or arrangement that transfers, in whole or in
part, directly or indirectly, the economic risk of ownership of Common Stock or
any such securities and not to engage in any short selling of any Common Stock
or any such securities, during the Lock-Up Period, without the prior written
consent of the Placement Agent. The Company also agrees that during
such period, the Company will not file any registration statement, preliminary
prospectus or prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, under the
Securities Act for any such transaction or which registers, or offers for sale,
Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable
for Common Stock, except for a registration statement on Form S-8 relating to
employee benefit plans. The Company hereby agrees that (i) if it
issues an earnings release or material news, or if a material event relating to
the Company occurs, during the last seventeen (17) days of the Lock-Up Period,
or (ii) if prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, the Company announces
that it will release earnings results during the sixteen (16)-day period
beginning on the last day of the Lock-Up Period, the restrictions imposed by
this paragraph
(k) or the letter shall continue to apply until the expiration of the
eighteen (18)-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or
the occurrence of the material news or material event.
(l) To supply
the Placement Agent with copies of all correspondence to and from, and all
documents issued to and by, the Commission in connection with the registration
of the Units under the Securities Act or the Registration Statement, any
Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto
or document incorporated by reference therein.
(m) Prior to
the Closing Date, to furnish to the Placement Agent, as soon as they have been
prepared, copies of any unaudited interim consolidated financial statements of
the Company for any periods subsequent to the periods covered by the financial
statements appearing in the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus.
(n) Prior to
the Closing Date, not to issue any press release or other communication directly
or indirectly or hold any press conference with respect to the Company, its
condition, financial or otherwise, or earnings, business affairs or business
prospects (except for routine oral marketing communications in the ordinary
course of business and consistent with the past practices of the Company and of
which the Placement Agent is notified), without the prior written consent of the
Placement Agent, unless in the judgment of the Company and its counsel, and
after notification to the Placement Agent, such press release or communication
is required by law.
21
(o) Until the
Placement Agent shall have notified the Company of the completion of the
offering of the Units, that the Company will not, and will cause its affiliated
purchasers (as defined in Regulation M under the Exchange Act) not to, either
alone or with one or more other persons, bid for or purchase, for any account in
which it or any of its affiliated purchasers has a beneficial interest, any
Units, or attempt to induce any person to purchase any Units; and not to, and to
cause its affiliated purchasers not to, make bids or purchase for the purpose of
creating actual, or apparent, active trading in or of raising the price of the
Units.
(p) Not to
take any action prior to the Closing Date which would require the Prospectus to
be amended or supplemented pursuant to Section
5.
(q) To at all
times comply with all applicable provisions of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act in effect
from time to time.
(r)
To apply
the net proceeds from the sale of the Units as set forth in the Registration
Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the heading
“Use of Proceeds.”
(s) To use
its reasonable best efforts to list, effect and maintain, subject to notice of
issuance, the Common Stock on the Nasdaq CM.
(t)
To use
its reasonable best efforts to assist the Placement Agent and its counsel with
any filings with FINRA and obtaining clearance from FINRA as to the amount of
compensation allowable or payable to the Placement Agent.
(u) To use
its best efforts to do and perform all things required to be done or performed
under this Agreement by the Company prior to the Closing Date and to satisfy all
conditions precedent to the delivery of the Units.
6. Payment
of Expenses . The
Company agrees to pay, or reimburse if paid by the Placement Agent, upon
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby a: (a) the costs incident
to the authorization, issuance, sale, preparation and delivery of the Units to
the Purchasers and any taxes payable in that connection; (b) the costs incident
to the Registration of the Units under the Securities Act; (c) the costs
incident to the preparation, printing and distribution of the Registration
Statement, the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any
amendments, supplements and exhibits thereto or any document incorporated by
reference therein and the costs of printing, reproducing and distributing any
transaction document by mail, telex or other means of communications; (d) if
applicable, the fees and expenses (including related fees and expenses of
counsel for the Placement Agent) incurred in connection with securing any
required review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Units and any filings
made with FINRA; (e) any applicable listing, quotation or other fees; (f) the
fees and expenses (including related fees and expenses of counsel to the
Placement Agent) of qualifying the Units under the securities laws of the
several jurisdictions as provided in Section 5(i) and of
preparing, printing and distributing wrappers, Blue Sky Memoranda and Legal
Investment Surveys; (g) the cost of preparing and printing stock certificates;
(h) all fees and expenses of the registrar and transfer agent of the Units; (i)
the reasonable fees, disbursements and expenses of counsel to the Placement
Agent and (j) all other costs and expenses incident to the offering of the Units
or the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement
(including, without limitation, the fees and expenses of the Company’s counsel
and the Company’s independent accountants and the travel and other expenses
incurred by Company personnel in connection with any “road show”, if any,
including, without limitation, any expenses advanced by the Placement Agent on
the Company’s behalf (which will be promptly reimbursed)); provided that, except to the
extent otherwise provided in this Section 6
and in Sections 8
and 10
, the Placement Agent shall pay
its own costs and expenses, including the fees and expenses of its
counsel. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event will the payment
of expenses under this Section 6 and the Placement Fee result in underwriter’s
compensation (as defined in FINRA Rule 5110) in excess of 8%; and in no event
shall the Company be obligated to reimburse the Placement Agent pursuant to this
Section 6 in an amount in excess of $100,000 in the aggregate without the
Company’s prior written consent.
22
7. Conditions
to the Obligations of the Placement Agent and the Purchasers, and the Sale of
the Units. The
respective obligations of the Placement Agent hereunder and the Purchasers under
the Subscription Agreements, and the Closing of the sale of the Units, are
subject to the accuracy, when made and as of the Applicable Time and on the
Closing Date, of the representations and warranties of the Company contained
herein, to the accuracy of the statements of the Company made in any
certificates pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the
Company of its obligations hereunder, and to each of the following additional
terms and conditions:
(a)
No stop
order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part
thereof, preventing or suspending the use of any Base Prospectus, any
Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus
or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose
or pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act shall have been initiated or
threatened by the Commission, and all requests for additional information on the
part of the Commission (to be included or incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement or the Prospectus or otherwise) shall have been complied
with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Placement Agent; the Rule 462(b)
Registration Statement, if any, each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if any, and
the Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable
time period prescribed for such filing by, and in compliance with, the Rules and
Regulations and in accordance with 5(a)
, and the Rule 462(b)
Registration Statement, if any, shall have become effective immediately upon its
filing with the Commission; and FINRA shall have raised no objection to the
fairness and reasonableness of the terms of this Agreement or the transactions
contemplated hereby.
(b)
The
Placement Agent shall not have discovered and disclosed to the Company on or
prior to the Closing Date that the Registration Statement or any amendment or
supplement thereto contains an untrue statement of a fact which, in the opinion
of counsel for the Placement Agent, is material or omits to state any fact
which, in the opinion of such counsel, is material and is required to be stated
therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or that
the General Disclosure Package, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the
Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto contains an untrue statement
of fact which, in the opinion of such counsel, is material or omits to state any
fact which, in the opinion of such counsel, is material and is necessary in
order to make the statements, in the light of the circumstances in which they
were made, not misleading.
23
(c)
All
corporate proceedings and other legal matters incident to the authorization,
form and validity of each of this Agreement, the Subscription Agreements, the
Warrants, the Units, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package,
each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if any, and the Prospectus and all other
legal matters relating to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated
hereby shall be reasonably satisfactory in all material respects to counsel for
the Placement Agent, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel all
documents and information that they may reasonably request to enable them to
pass upon such matters.
(d)
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx LLP, as counsel to the Company, shall have furnished to the Placement
Agent such counsel’s written opinion and negative assurances statement, as
counsel to the Company, addressed to the Placement Agent, dated the Closing
Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Placement
Agent.
(e)
The
Placement Agent shall have received from Proskauer Rose LLP, counsel for the
Placement Agent, such opinion or opinions and negative assurances statement,
addressed to the Placement Agent, dated the Closing Date, with respect to such
matters as the Placement Agent may reasonably require, and the Company shall
have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for enabling them
to pass upon such matters.
(f)
At the
time of the execution of this Agreement, the Placement Agent shall have received
from GHP Xxxxxxx, P.C. a letter, addressed to the Placement Agent, executed and
dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Placement Agent (i)
confirming that they are an independent registered accounting firm with respect
to the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Rules and
Regulations and PCAOB and (ii) stating the conclusions and findings of such
firm, of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to
underwriters, with respect to the financial statements and certain financial
information contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration
Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(g)
On the
effective date of any post-effective amendment to any Registration Statement and
on the Closing Date, the Placement Agent shall have received a letter (the
“Bring-Down Letter”)
from GHP Xxxxxxx, P.C. addressed to the
Placement Agent and dated the Closing Date confirming, as of the date of the
Bring-Down Letter (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments
since the respective dates as of which specified financial information is given
in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as the case may be, as of
a date not more than three (3) business days prior to the date of the Bring-Down
Letter), the conclusions and findings of such firm, of the type ordinarily
included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters, with respect to the
financial information and other matters covered by its letter delivered to the
Placement Agent concurrently with the execution of this Agreement pursuant to
paragraph (f) this Section 7
.
24
(h) The
Company shall have furnished to the Placement Agent a certificate, dated the
Closing Date, of its Chief Executive Officer, its President or a Vice President
and its chief financial officer stating that (i) such officers have carefully
examined the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, any
Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and, in their opinion, the
Registration Statement and each amendment thereto, at the Applicable Time and as
of the date of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date did not include any
untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not
misleading, and the General Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time and as
of the Closing Date, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as of its date and as
of the Closing Date, the Prospectus and each amendment or supplement thereto, as
of the respective date thereof and as of the Closing Date, did not include any
untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact
necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances in which they were made, not misleading, (ii) since the effective
date of the initial Registration Statement, no event has occurred
which should have been set forth in a supplement or amendment to the
Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, (iii)
to the best of their knowledge after reasonable investigation, as of the Closing
Date, the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are
true and correct and the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied
all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to
the Closing Date, and (iv) there has not been, subsequent to the date of the
most recent audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference
in the General Disclosure Package, any material adverse change in the financial
position or results of operations of the Company, or any change or development
that, singularly or in the aggregate, would involve a material adverse change or
a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the condition (financial
or otherwise), results of operations, business, assets or prospects of the
Company, except as set forth in the Prospectus.
(i) Since the
date of the latest audited financial statements included in the General
Disclosure Package or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure
Package as of the date hereof, (i) the Company shall not have sustained any loss
or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity,
whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or
governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth in the General
Disclosure Package, and (ii) there shall not have been any change in the capital
stock or long-term debt of the Company, or any change, or any development
involving a prospective change, in or affecting the business, general affairs,
management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of
the Company, otherwise than as set forth in the General Disclosure Package, the
effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii) of this paragraph (i)
is, in the judgment of the
Placement Agent, so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or
inadvisable to proceed with the sale or delivery of the Units on the terms and
in the manner contemplated in the General Disclosure Package.
25
(j) No action
shall have been taken and no law, statute, rule, regulation or order shall have
been enacted, adopted or issued by any governmental agency or body which would
prevent the issuance or sale of the Units or materially and adversely affect or
potentially materially and adversely affect the business or operations of the
Company; and no injunction, restraining order or order of any other nature by
any federal or state court of competent jurisdiction shall have been issued
which would prevent the issuance or sale of the Units or materially and
adversely affect or potentially materially and adversely affect the business or
operations of the Company.
(k) Subsequent
to the execution and delivery of this Agreement there shall not have occurred
any of the following: (i) trading in securities generally on the New
York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq CM or the American Stock Exchange or in the
over-the-counter market, or trading in any securities of the Company on any
exchange or in the over-the-counter market, shall have been suspended or
materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices or maximum range for prices
shall have been established on any such exchange or such market by the
Commission, by such exchange or market or by any other regulatory body or
governmental authority having jurisdiction, (ii) a banking moratorium shall have
been declared by Federal or state authorities or a material disruption has
occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in
the United States, (iii) the United States shall have become engaged in
hostilities, or the subject of an act of terrorism, or there shall have been an
outbreak of or escalation in hostilities involving the United States, or there
shall have been a declaration of a national emergency or war by the United
States or (iv) there shall have occurred such a material adverse change in
general economic, political or financial conditions (or the effect of
international conditions on the financial markets in the United States shall be
such) as to make it, in the judgment of the Placement Agent, impracticable or
inadvisable to proceed with the sale or delivery of the Units on the terms and
in the manner contemplated in the General Disclosure Package and the
Prospectus.
(l) The
Company shall have filed a Notification Form: Listing of Additional Shares with
the Nasdaq CM and shall have received no objection thereto from the Nasdaq
CM.
(m)
The
Company shall have entered into and caused to be delivered to the Purchasers the
Warrants on the Closing Date.
(n) The
Placement Agent shall have received the written agreements, substantially in the
form of Exhibit
C hereto, of the executive officers, directors, shareholders,
optionholders and warrantholders of the Company listed in Schedule B to
this Agreement.
(o) The
Company shall have entered into Subscription Agreements with each of the
Purchasers and such agreements shall be in full force and effect.
(p) The
Placement Agent shall have received any required clearance from FINRA as to the
amount of compensation allowable or payable to the Placement Agent as described
in the Pricing Prospectus.
26
(q) Prior to
the Closing Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Placement Agent such
further information, opinions, certificates (including a Secretary’s
Certificate), letters or documents as the Placement Agent shall have reasonably
requested.
All
opinions, letters, evidence and certificates mentioned above or elsewhere in
this Agreement shall be deemed to be in compliance with the provisions hereof
only if they are in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for
the Placement Agent.
8. Indemnification
and Contribution.
(a) The
Company shall indemnify and hold harmless the Placement Agent, its affiliates
and each of its and their respective directors, officers, members, employees,
representatives and agents (including, without limitation Lazard Frères &
Co. LLC, (which will provide services to the Placement Agent) and its
affiliates, and each of its and their respective directors, officers, members,
employees, representatives and agents and each person, if any, who controls
Lazard Frères & Co. LLC within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities
Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act) and each person, if any, who controls the
Placement Agent within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act of or
Section 20 of the Exchange Act (collectively, the “Placement Agent Indemnified
Parties,” and each a “Placement Agent Indemnified
Party”) against any loss, claim, damage, expense or liability whatsoever
(or any action, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof), joint or
several, to which such Placement Agent Indemnified Party may become subject,
under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage,
expense, liability, action, investigation or proceeding arises out of or is
based upon (A) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material
fact contained in any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus, any “issuer information” f27iled or required to be filed pursuant to
Rule 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations, any Registration Statement or the
Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto or document incorporated
by reference therein, (B) the omission or alleged omission to state in any
Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “issuer
information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules
and Regulations, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any
amendment or supplement thereto or document incorporated by reference therein, a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements
therein not misleading or (C) any breach of the representations and warranties
of the Company contained herein, failure of the Company to perform its
obligations hereunder or pursuant to any law, any act or failure to act, or any
alleged act or failure to act, by the Placement Agent in connection with, or
relating in any manner to, the Securities or the Offering, and which is included
as part of or referred to in any loss, claim, damage, expense, liability,
action, investigation or proceeding arising out of or based upon matters covered
by subclause (A), (B) or (C) above of this Section 8(a) (provided that the Company
shall not be liable in the case of any matter covered by this subclause (C) to
the extent that it is determined in a final judgment by a court of competent
jurisdiction that such loss, claim, damage, expense or liability
resulted directly from any such act or failure to act undertaken or omitted to
be taken by such Placement Agent through its gross negligence or willful
misconduct), and shall reimburse the Placement Agent Indemnified Party promptly
upon demand for any legal fees or other expenses reasonably incurred by that
Placement Agent Indemnified Party in connection with investigating, or preparing
to defend, or defending against, or appearing as a third party witness in
respect of, or otherwise incurred in connection with, any such loss, claim,
damage, expense, liability, action, investigation or proceeding, as such fees
and expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the
Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss,
claim, damage, expense or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue
statement or alleged untrue statement in, or omission or alleged omission from
any Preliminary Prospectus, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or any
such amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made
in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the
Company by the Placement Agent specifically for use therein, which information
the parties hereto agree is limited to the Placement Agent’s Information (as
defined in Section
17). This indemnity agreement is not exclusive and will be in
addition to any liability, which the Company might otherwise have and shall not
limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available at law or in
equity to each Placement Agent Indemnified Party.
27
(b) The
Placement Agent shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors,
its officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who
controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or
Section 20 of the Exchange Act (collectively, the “Company Indemnified Parties,”
and each a “Company Indemnified
Party”) against any loss, claim, damage, expense or liability whatsoever
(or any action, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof), joint or
several, to which such Company Indemnified Party may become subject, under the
Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, expense,
liability, action, investigation or proceeding arises out of or is based upon
(i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact
contained in any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any
“issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of
the Rules and Regulations, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in
any amendment or supplement thereto, or (ii) the omission or alleged omission to
state in any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any
“issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of
the Rules and Regulations, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in
any amendment or supplement thereto, a material fact required to be stated
therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, but in each
case only to the extent that the untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or
omission or alleged omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with
written information furnished to the Company by the Placement Agent specifically
for use therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the
Placement Agent’s Information as defined in Section 17, and shall
reimburse the Company for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by
such party in connection with investigating or preparing to defend or defending
against or appearing as third party witness in connection with any such loss,
claim, damage, liability, action, investigation or proceeding, as such fees and
expenses are incurred. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8(b) in no
event shall any indemnity by the Placement Agent under this Section 8(b)
exceed the total compensation
received by the Placement Agent in accordance with Section
2.5.
28
(c) Promptly
after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 8
of notice of the commencement of
any action, the indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be
made against an indemnifying party under this Section 8
, notify such indemnifying party
in writing of the commencement of that action; provided, however, that the
failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability
which it may have under this Section 8
except to the extent it has been
materially prejudiced by such failure; and, provided, further, that the
failure to notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability
which it may have to an indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 8
. If any such action
shall be brought against an indemnified party, and it shall notify the
indemnifying party thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to
participate therein and, to the extent that it wishes, jointly with any other
similarly notified indemnifying party, to assume the defense of such action with
counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party (which counsel shall
not, except with the written consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the
indemnifying party). After notice from the indemnifying party to the
indemnified party of its election to assume the defense of such action, except
as provided herein, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to the
indemnified party under Section 8
for any legal or other expenses
subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense of
such action other than reasonable costs of investigation; provided, however, that any
indemnified party shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such
action and to participate in the defense of such action but the fees and
expenses of such counsel (other than reasonable costs of investigation) shall be
at the expense of such indemnified party unless (i) the employment thereof has
been specifically authorized in writing by the Company in the case of a claim
for indemnification under Section 8(a)
or Section 2.6
or LCM in the case of a claim for
indemnification under Section 8(a)
, (ii) such indemnified party
shall have been advised by its counsel that there may be one or more legal
defenses available to it which are different from or additional to those
available to the indemnifying party, or (iii) the indemnifying party has failed
to assume the defense of such action and employ counsel reasonably satisfactory
to the indemnified party within a reasonable period of time after notice of the
commencement of the action or the indemnifying party does not diligently defend
the action after assumption of the defense, in which case, if such indemnified
party notifies the indemnifying party in writing that it elects to employ
separate counsel at the expense of the indemnifying party, the indemnifying
party shall not have the right to assume the defense of (or, in the case of a
failure to diligently defend the action after assumption of the defense, to
continue to defend) such action on behalf of such indemnified party and the
indemnifying party shall be responsible for legal or other expenses subsequently
incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense of such
action; provided,
however, that the indemnifying party shall not, in connection with any
one such action or separate but substantially similar or related actions in the
same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances,
be liable for the reasonable fees and expenses of more than one separate firm of
attorneys at any time for all such indemnified parties (in addition to any local
counsel), which firm shall be designated in writing by LCM if the indemnified
parties under this Section 8(c), the
amount payable by an indemnifying party under Section 8 shall
include, but not be limited to, (x) reasonable legal fees and expenses of
counsel to the indemnified party and any other expenses in investigating, or
preparing to defend or defending against, or appearing as a third party witness
in respect of, or otherwise incurred in connection with, any action,
investigation, proceeding or claim, and (y) all amounts paid in settlement of
any of the foregoing. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior
written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to
the entry of judgment with respect to any pending or threatened action or any
claim whatsoever, in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be
sought under this Section 8
(whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties
thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an
unconditional release of each indemnified party in form and substance reasonably
satisfactory to such indemnified party from all liability arising out of such
action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of
fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified
party. Subject to the provisions of the following sentence, no
indemnifying party shall be liable for settlement of any pending or threatened
action or any claim whatsoever that is effected without its written consent
(which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), but if settled
with its written consent, if its consent has been unreasonably withheld or
delayed or if there be a judgment for the plaintiff in any such matter, the
indemnifying party agrees to indemnify and hold harmless any indemnified party
from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or
judgment. In addition, if at any time an indemnified party shall have
requested that an indemnifying party reimburse the indemnified party for fees
and expenses of counsel, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable
for any settlement of the nature contemplated herein effected without its
written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than forty-five (45)
days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the request for reimbursement,
(ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such
settlement at least thirty (30) days prior to such settlement being entered into
and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified
party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such
settlement.
29
(d) If the
indemnification provided for in this Section 8
is unavailable or insufficient to
hold harmless an indemnified party under Section 8(a)
or Section 8(b)
, then each indemnifying party
shall, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party, contribute to the amount
paid, payable or otherwise incurred by such indemnified party as a result of
such loss, claim, damage, expense or liability (or any action, investigation or
proceeding in respect thereof), as incurred, (i) in such proportion as shall be
appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one
hand and the Placement Agent on the other hand from the offering of the Units,
or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) of this Section 8(d)
is not permitted by applicable
law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative
benefits referred to in clause (i) of this Section 8(d)
but also the relative fault of
the Company on the one hand and the Placement Agent on the other with respect to
the statements, omissions, acts or failures to act which resulted in such loss,
claim, damage, expense or liability (or any action, investigation or proceeding
in respect thereof) as well as any other relevant equitable
considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the
one hand and the Placement Agent on the other with respect to such offering
shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the
offering of the Units purchased under this Agreement (before deducting expenses)
received by the Company bear to the total Placement Fee received by the
Placement Agent in connection with the Offering, in each case as set forth in
the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault of
the Company on the one hand and the Placement Agent on the other shall be
determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged
untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state
a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand
or the Placement Agent on the other, the intent of the parties and their
relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent
such untrue statement, omission, act or failure to act; provided that the parties
hereto agree that the written information furnished to the Company by the
Placement Agent for use in any Preliminary Prospectus, any Registration
Statement or the Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto, consists
solely of the Placement Agent’s Information as defined in Section
17. The Company and the Placement Agent agree that it would
not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 8(d)
were to be determined by pro rata
allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account
the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or
payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, damage, expense,
liability, action, investigation or proceeding referred to above in this Section 8(d)
shall be deemed to include, for
purposes of this Section 8(d), any
legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in
connection with investigating, preparing to defend or defending against or
appearing as a third party witness in respect of, or otherwise incurred in
connection with, any such loss, claim, damage, expense, liability, action,
investigation or proceeding. Notwithstanding the provisions of this
Section 8(d)
, the Placement Agent shall not
be required to contribute any amount in excess of the total compensation
received by the Placement Agent in accordance with Section 2.5
less the amount of any damages
which the Placement Agent has otherwise paid or become liable to pay by reason
of any untrue or alleged untrue statement, omission or alleged omission, act or
alleged act or failure to act or alleged failure to act. 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.
30
9. Termination. The
obligations of the Placement Agent and the Purchasers hereunder and under the
Subscription Agreements may be terminated by the Placement Agent, in its
absolute discretion by notice given to the Company prior to delivery of and
payment for the Units if, prior to that time, any of the events described in
Sections 7(i),
7(l) or 7(k)
have occurred or if the Purchasers shall decline to purchase the Units for any
reason permitted under this Agreement or the Subscription
Agreements.
10. Reimbursement
of Placement Agent’s Expenses. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this Agreement, if (a) this Agreement shall have
been terminated pursuant to Section 9, (b) the
Company shall fail to tender the Units for delivery to the Purchasers for any
reason not permitted under this Agreement, (c) the Purchasers shall decline to
purchase the Units for any reason permitted under this Agreement or (d) the sale
of the Units is not consummated because any condition to the obligations of the
Purchasers or the Placement Agent set forth herein is not satisfied or because
of the refusal, inability or failure on the part of the Company to perform any
agreement herein or to satisfy any condition or to comply with the provisions
hereof, then, in addition to the payment of any amounts in accordance with Section 6, the
Company shall reimburse the Placement Agent for the fees and expenses of the
Placement Agent’s counsel and for such other accountable out-of-pocket expenses
as shall have been reasonably incurred by them in connection with this Agreement
and the proposed purchase of the Units, and upon demand the Company shall pay
the full amount thereof to the Placement Agent.
11. Absence
of Fiduciary Relationship. The
Company acknowledges and agrees that:
(a) the
Placement Agent’s responsibility to the Company is solely contractual in nature,
the Placement Agent has been retained solely to act as Placement Agent in
connection with the Offering and no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship
between the Company and the Placement Agent has been created in respect of any
of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether the
Placement Agent or Lazard Frères & Co. LLC has advised or is advising the
Company on other matters;
(b) the price
of the Units set forth in this Agreement was established by the Company
following discussions and arms-length negotiations with the Placement Agent, and
the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding, and understands and
accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement;
(c) it has
been advised that the Placement Agent and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC and their
affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve
interests that differ from those of the Company and that the Placement Agent has
no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by
virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and
31
(d) it
waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against
the Placement Agent for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary
duty and agrees that the Placement Agent shall have no liability (whether direct
or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any
person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company,
including stockholders, employees or creditors of the Company.
12. Successors;
Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement. This
Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Placement Agent,
the Company, and their respective successors and assigns. This
Agreement shall also inure to the benefit of Lazard Frères & Co. LLC, the
Purchasers, and each of their respective successors and assigns, which shall be
third party beneficiaries hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, as
provided in the Subscription Agreements, the determination as to whether any
condition in Section
7 hereof shall have been satisfied, and the waiver of any condition in
Section 7
hereof, may be made by the Placement Agent in its sole discretion, and any such
determination or waiver shall be binding on each of the Purchasers and shall not
require the consent of any Purchaser. Nothing expressed or mentioned
in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, other
than the persons mentioned in the preceding sentences, any legal or equitable
right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement, or any provisions
herein contained, this Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof being
intended to be and being for the sole and exclusive benefit of such persons and
for the benefit of no other person; except that the representations, warranties,
covenants, agreements and indemnities of the Company contained in this Agreement
shall also be for the benefit of the Placement Agent Indemnified Parties and the
indemnities of the Placement Agent shall be for the benefit of the Company
Indemnified Parties. It is understood that the Placement Agent’s
responsibility to the Company is solely contractual in nature and the Placement
Agent does not owe the Company, or any other party, any fiduciary duty as a
result of this Agreement.
13. Survival
of Indemnities, Representations, Warranties, etc. The
respective indemnities, covenants, agreements, representations, warranties and
other statements of the Company and the Placement Agent, as set forth in this
Agreement or made by them respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain
in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf
of the Placement Agent, the Company, the Purchasers or any person controlling
any of them and shall survive delivery of and payment for the
Units. Notwithstanding any termination of this Agreement, including
without limitation any termination pursuant to Sections 9 or 10, the indemnity and contribution
agreements contained in Section 8 and the
covenants, representations, warranties set forth in this Agreement shall not
terminate and shall remain in full force and effect at all times.
14. Notices. All
statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing,
and:
(a) if to the
Placement Agent, shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex, facsimile
transmission or email to Lazard Capital Markets LLC, Attention: General
Counsel, Fax: 000-000-0000; and
32
(b) if to the
Company, shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex, facsimile transmission or
email to AspenBio Pharma, Inc., 0000 Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx xxxx, XX 00000,
Attention: Xxxx
XxXxxxxxx, Chief Financial Officer (Fax: 000-000-0000), with a copy to: Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx LLP, 0000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx
Xxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000, Attention: Xxxx X.
Xxxxxxx, Esq. (Fax: 000-000-0000).
provided, however, that any
notice to the Placement Agent pursuant to Section 8 shall be
delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the Placement
Agent at its address set forth in its acceptance telex to the Placement Agent,
which address will be supplied to any other party hereto by the Placement Agent
upon request. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements
shall take effect at the time of receipt thereof, except that any such
statement, request, notice or agreement delivered or sent by email shall take
effect at the time of confirmation of receipt thereof by the recipient
thereof.
15. Definition
of Certain Terms. For
purposes of this Agreement, (a) “business day” means any day on
which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. is open for trading and (b) “knowledge” means the knowledge
of the directors and officers of the Company after reasonable
inquiry.
16. Governing
Law, Agent for Service and Jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be governed by
and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, including
without limitation Section 5-1401 of the New York General Obligations
Law. No legal proceeding may be commenced, prosecuted or
continued in any court other than the courts of the State of New York located in
the City and County of New York or in the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York, which courts shall have jurisdiction over the
adjudication of such matters, and the Company and the Placement Agent each
hereby consent to the jurisdiction of such courts and personal service with
respect thereto. The Company and the Placement Agent each hereby
waive all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding (whether based upon
contract, tort or otherwise) in any way arising out of or relating to this
Agreement. The Company agrees that a final judgment in any such legal
proceeding brought in any such court shall be conclusive and binding upon the
Company and the Placement Agent and may be enforced in any other courts in the
jurisdiction of which the Company is or may be subject, by suit upon such
judgment.
17. Placement
Agent’s Information. The
parties hereto acknowledge and agree that, for all purposes of this Agreement,
the Placement Agent’s Information consists solely of the following information
in the Prospectus: (i) the last paragraph on the front cover page concerning the
terms of the offering by the Placement Agent; and (ii) the statements concerning
the Placement Agent contained in the first paragraph and concerning the
Placement Agent and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC in the sixth paragraph, in each
case under the heading “Plan of Distribution.”
18. Partial
Unenforceability. The
invalidity or unenforceability of any section, paragraph, clause or provision of
this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other
section, paragraph, clause or provision hereof. If any section,
paragraph, clause or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to
be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes
(and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and
enforceable.
33
19. General. This
Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties to this Agreement and
supersedes all prior written or oral and all contemporaneous oral agreements,
understandings and negotiations with respect to the subject matter
hereof. In this Agreement, the masculine, feminine and neuter genders
and the singular and the plural include one another. The section
headings in this Agreement are for the convenience of the parties only and will
not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement. This
Agreement may be amended or modified, and the observance of any term of this
Agreement may be waived, only by a writing signed by the Company and the
Placement Agent.
20. Counterparts. This
Agreement may be signed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an
original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon
the same instrument and such signatures may be delivered by
facsimile.
[Signature Page to
Follow]
34
If the
foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of the agreement between the
Company and the Placement Agent, kindly indicate your acceptance in the space
provided for that purpose below.
Very
truly yours,
|
|||
|
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxxx X. XxXxxxxxx | |
Name: Xxxxxxx X. XxXxxxxxx | |||
Title: Chief Financial Officer | |||
Accepted
as of the date
first
above written:
LAZARD
CAPITAL MARKETS LLC
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxx Xxxxx
|
|
Name:
Xxxxxx Xxxxx
|
|
Title:
General Counsel
|
35
General
Use Free Writing Prospectuses
None.
List
of officers and directors subject to Section
5
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx
Xxxxx X.
Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx
Xxxx X.
Xxxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx
X. Helper
Xxxxx X.
Xxxxx
Xxxx X.
Ratain, MD
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
Xxxx X.
Xxxxxx
Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx, MD
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx
X. XxXxxxxxx
Xxxx
Xxxxxx, PhD
Form
of Subscription Agreement
Form
of Warrant
EXHIBIT
C
Form
of Lock Up Agreement
April 30,
2010
LAZARD
CAPITAL MARKETS LLC
00
Xxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Re: AspenBio Pharma, Inc.
offering of 2,409,639 Units
Dear
Sirs:
In order
to induce Lazard Capital Markets LLC (“Lazard”), to enter in to a
certain placement agent agreement with AspenBio Pharma, Inc., a Colorado
corporation (the “Company”), with respect to the
public offering of units consisting of the Company’s Common Stock, no par value
per share (“Common
Stock”) and warrants to purchase the Common Stock (the “Units”), the undersigned
hereby agrees that for a period (the “lock-up period”) of ninety
(90) days following the date of the final prospectus filed by the Company with
the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with such public offering,
the undersigned will not, without the prior written consent of Lazard, directly
or indirectly, (i) offer, sell, assign, transfer, pledge, contract to sell, or
otherwise dispose of, any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into
or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock (including, without limitation,
shares of Common Stock or any such securities which may be deemed to be
beneficially owned by the undersigned in accordance with the rules and
regulations promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as the same may be
amended or supplemented from time to time (such shares or securities, the “Beneficially Owned Shares”)),
(ii) enter into any swap, hedge or other agreement or arrangement that transfers
in whole or in part, the economic risk of ownership of any Beneficially Owned
Shares, Common Stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or
exchangeable for Common Stock, or (iii) engage in any short selling of any
Beneficially Owned Shares, Common Stock or securities convertible into or
exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock.
If (i)
the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a material event
relating to the Company occurs during the last seventeen (17) days of the
lock-up period, or (ii) prior to the expiration of the lock-up period, the
Company announces that it will release earnings results during the sixteen
(16)-day period beginning on the last day of the lock-up period, the
restrictions imposed by this Agreement shall continue to apply until the
expiration of the eighteen (18)-day period beginning on the issuance of the
earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material
event.
Anything
contained herein to the contrary notwithstanding, any person to whom shares of
Common Stock, securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for
Common Stock or Beneficially Owned Shares are transferred from the undersigned
shall be bound by the terms of this Agreement.
In
addition, the undersigned hereby waives, from the date hereof until the
expiration of the ninetieth (90th) day
following the date of the Company’s final prospectus, any and all rights, if
any, to request or demand registration pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, of any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or
exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock that are registered in the name of
the undersigned or that are Beneficially Owned Shares. In order to
enable the aforesaid covenants to be enforced, the undersigned hereby consents
to the placing of legends and/or stop transfer orders with the transfer agent of
the Common Stock with respect to any shares of Common Stock, securities
convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or Beneficially
Owned Shares.
[Signatory] | |||
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By:
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Name | |||
Title | |||