ARRANGEMENT AGREEMENT Dated as of December 23, 2010 BY AND BETWEEN MAGNUM HUNTER RESOURCES CORPORATION AND NGAS RESOURCES, INC.
Dated
as of December 23, 2010
BY
AND BETWEEN
MAGNUM
HUNTER RESOURCES CORPORATION
AND
NGAS
RESOURCES, INC.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Page
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ARTICLE
1
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DEFINITIONS
|
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1
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1.1
|
Certain
Defined Terms
|
1
|
|
ARTICLE
2
|
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THE
ARRANGEMENT
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11
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2.1
|
Plan
of Arrangement
|
11
|
|
2.2
|
Interim
Order and Company Meeting
|
12
|
|
2.3
|
Effective
Date
|
12
|
|
2.4
|
Closing
|
13
|
|
2.5
|
Final
Order
|
13
|
|
2.6
|
Management
and Board of Directors
|
13
|
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ARTICLE
3
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REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
|
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14
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3.1
|
Organization,
Standing and Power; Subsidiaries
|
14
|
|
3.2
|
Capitalization
|
15
|
|
3.3
|
Authority
|
17
|
|
3.4
|
Regulatory
Matters; Reports
|
18
|
|
3.5
|
Financial
Statements
|
20
|
|
3.6
|
Undisclosed
Liabilities
|
21
|
|
3.7
|
Compliance
with Applicable Law; Permits
|
22
|
|
3.8
|
Legal
Proceedings
|
22
|
|
3.9
|
Taxes
|
22
|
|
3.10
|
Certain
Agreements
|
25
|
|
3.11
|
Benefit
Plans
|
27
|
|
3.12
|
Severance
and Change of Control Agreements
|
29
|
|
3.13
|
Absence
of Certain Changes or Events
|
30
|
|
3.14
|
Board
Approval
|
30
|
|
3.15
|
Intellectual
Property
|
30
|
|
3.16
|
Properties
|
31
|
|
3.17
|
Environmental
Matters
|
31
|
ii
Page
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3.18
|
Labor
and Employment Matters
|
32
|
|
3.19
|
Insurance
|
32
|
|
3.20
|
Title
to Oil and Gas Interests
|
32
|
|
3.21
|
Oil
and Gas Operations
|
33
|
|
3.22
|
Production
Allowables and Production Penalties
|
33
|
|
3.23
|
Lease
Provisions
|
33
|
|
3.24
|
Sale
Contracts
|
34
|
|
3.25
|
Drilling
Partnerships
|
34
|
|
3.26
|
Consents;
Preferential Rights
|
34
|
|
3.27
|
AFEs
|
35
|
|
3.28
|
Imbalances
|
35
|
|
3.29
|
Plugging
and Abandonment
|
35
|
|
3.30
|
No
Expenses Owed and Delinquent
|
35
|
|
3.31
|
Payout
Balances
|
35
|
|
3.32
|
Condition
of Personalty
|
35
|
|
3.33
|
Revenues
|
36
|
|
3.34
|
Gold
and Silver Mine Letter of Intent
|
36
|
|
3.35
|
Non-Arm’s
Length Transactions
|
36
|
|
3.36
|
Opinion
of Financial Advisor; Brokers
|
36
|
|
3.37
|
Full
Disclosure
|
36
|
|
3.38
|
Taxable
Transaction
|
36
|
|
3.39
|
Central
Bank Promissory Note
|
37
|
|
3.40
|
No
Additional Representations
|
37
|
|
ARTICLE
4
|
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REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF ACQUIROR
|
|||
37
|
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4.1
|
Organization,
Standing and Power
|
37
|
|
4.2
|
Capital
Structure
|
38
|
|
4.3
|
Authority
|
38
|
|
4.4
|
SEC
Documents
|
39
|
|
4.5
|
Compliance
with Applicable Laws and Reporting Requirements
|
40
|
|
4.6
|
Legal
Proceedings
|
40
|
|
4.7
|
Non-contravention
|
40
|
|
4.8
|
Absence
of Certain Changes or Events
|
40
|
iii
Page
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4.9
|
No
Shareholder Vote Required
|
41
|
|
4.10
|
Brokers
or Finders
|
41
|
|
4.11
|
Financing
|
41
|
|
4.12
|
Acquiror
Common Stock
|
41
|
|
ARTICLE
5
|
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COVENANTS
RELATING TO CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
|
|||
41
|
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5.1
|
Covenants
of the Company
|
41
|
|
5.2
|
Control
of Company’s Business
|
45
|
|
5.3
|
Advice
of Changes; Government Filings
|
45
|
|
ARTICLE
6
|
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ADDITIONAL
AGREEMENTS
|
|||
46
|
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6.1
|
Proxy
Circular and Company Meeting
|
46
|
|
6.2
|
Amendments
|
48
|
|
6.3
|
Final
Order
|
48
|
|
6.4
|
Filing
to Effect Arrangement
|
48
|
|
6.5
|
Copy
of Documents
|
48
|
|
6.6
|
Access
to Information; Confidentiality
|
49
|
|
6.7
|
Reasonable
Best Efforts
|
49
|
|
6.8
|
No
Solicitation
|
51
|
|
6.9
|
Fees
and Expenses
|
54
|
|
6.10
|
Indemnification
|
55
|
|
6.11
|
Public
Announcements
|
55
|
|
6.12
|
Amendments
to Severance and Change of Control Agreements
|
56
|
|
6.13
|
Compliance
with 409A
|
56
|
|
6.14
|
Delaware
Continuance
|
57
|
|
6.15
|
Employee
Benefits
|
57
|
|
6.16
|
Company
Options and Warrants
|
58
|
|
6.17
|
Opinion
of Financial Advisor; Brokers
|
58
|
|
6.18
|
Preferential
Rights
|
58
|
|
6.19
|
Seminole
Agreements
|
58
|
|
6.20
|
Bank
Extension
|
58
|
|
6.21
|
Additional
Agreements
|
59
|
iv
Page
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ARTICLE
7
|
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CONDITIONS
PRECEDENT
|
|||
59
|
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7.1
|
Conditions
to Each Party’s Obligation to Effect the Arrangement
|
59
|
|
7.2
|
Conditions
to Obligations of Acquiror
|
60
|
|
7.3
|
Conditions
to Obligations of the Company
|
62
|
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ARTICLE
8
|
|||
TERMINATION
AND AMENDMENT
|
|||
63
|
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8.1
|
Termination
|
63
|
|
8.2
|
Effect
of Termination
|
65
|
|
8.3
|
Amendment
|
67
|
|
8.4
|
Amendment
to the Plan of Arrangement
|
67
|
|
8.5
|
Extension;
Waiver
|
67
|
|
ARTICLE
9
|
|||
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
|
|||
67
|
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9.1
|
Non-survival
of Representations, Warranties and Agreements
|
67
|
|
9.2
|
Notices
|
67
|
|
9.3
|
Interpretation
|
68
|
|
9.4
|
Counterparts
|
69
|
|
9.5
|
Entire
Agreement; No Third Party Beneficiaries
|
69
|
|
9.6
|
Governing
Law
|
69
|
|
9.7
|
Severability
|
69
|
|
9.8
|
Assignment
|
69
|
|
9.9
|
Submission
to Jurisdiction
|
70
|
|
9.10
|
Enforcement
|
70
|
|
9.11
|
WAIVER
OF JURY TRIAL
|
70
|
v
THIS
ARRANGEMENT AGREEMENT dated as of December 23, 2010 (this “Agreement”) by and
between Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation, a corporation existing under the
laws of Delaware (“Acquiror”) and NGAS
Resources, Inc., a company existing under the laws of British Columbia (the
“Company” and
together with Acquiror, the “Parties”).
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS,
each of the respective Boards of Directors of Acquiror and the Company has
approved, and deemed it advisable and in the best interests of its shareholders
to implement the acquisition by Acquiror of all of the issued and outstanding
Company Shares, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth
herein;
WHEREAS,
the Parties intend to carry out the transactions contemplated herein by way of a
plan of arrangement under the provisions of the BCBCA;
WHEREAS,
as an inducement and condition to Acquiror entering into this Agreement, certain
shareholders of the Company are entering into support agreements with Acquiror,
substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A,
simultaneously with the execution of this Agreement (the “Support Agreements”),
whereby, among other things, such shareholders have agreed, upon the terms and
subject to the conditions set forth therein, (i) to vote all voting securities
of the Company beneficially owned by them in favor of the approval and adoption
of this Agreement and the Arrangement and the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement and (ii) to support actions necessary to consummate the
Arrangement;
WHEREAS,
Acquiror and the Company desire to make certain representations, warranties,
covenants and agreements in connection with the Arrangement and also to
prescribe certain conditions precedent; and
WHEREAS,
the Parties have entered into this Agreement to provide for the matters referred
to in the foregoing recitals and for other matters relating to such
Arrangement.
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the respective representations,
warranties, covenants and agreements set forth herein, and for other good and
valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby
acknowledged by each of the Parties hereto, the Parties hereto hereby covenant
and agree as follows:
ARTICLE
1
DEFINITIONS
1.1 Certain Defined
Terms. As used in this Agreement, the following terms have the
following meanings:
“6% Amortizing Convertible
Notes” means the Company’s
outstanding 6% convertible notes due May 1, 2012 that were issued in January
2010 and had an initial aggregate principal amount of $28.7
million.
“Acquiror” shall have
the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
1
“Acquiror Common
Stock” means common stock, par value U.S.$0.01 per share, of
Acquiror.
“Acquiror Credit
Facility” means the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated
February 12, 2010, as amended (and related documents), among Acquiror, the
guarantors party thereto, the lenders party thereto, Bank of Montreal, as
Administrative Agent, and Capital One, N.A., as Syndication Agent.
“Acquiror Disclosure
Schedule” shall have the meaning set forth in Article 4.
“Acquiror Information”
means the information to be included in the Proxy Circular describing Acquiror
and its business, operations and affairs.
“Acquiror Material Adverse
Effect” means any change, event, violation, development, circumstance,
effect or other matters that, individually or in the aggregate, have, or could
reasonably be expected to have, a material adverse effect on (a) the business,
condition (financial or otherwise), capitalization, assets, liabilities,
operations or financial performance of Acquiror and its Subsidiaries, taken as a
whole, excluding any such change, event, violation, development, circumstance,
effect or other matter resulting from or arising out of (i) any adverse effect
(including any loss of or adverse change in the relationship of Acquiror with
its employees, customers, distributors, licensors, partners, suppliers or
similar relationship) arising out of or related to the announcement, pendency or
consummation of the Arrangement, (ii) changes in the financial or securities
markets or general economic or political conditions in the world (so long as the
Acquiror and its Subsidiaries are not materially and disproportionately affected
thereby), (iii) general conditions in the industry in which Acquiror operates
(so long as the Acquiror and its Subsidiaries are not materially and
disproportionately affected thereby), (iv) any changes (after the date hereof)
in GAAP or any Laws, (v) the commencement, occurrence or continuation of any
war, armed hostility or act of terrorism, (vi) any failure of Acquiror to take
any action as a result of restrictions or other prohibitions pursuant to this
Agreement, (vii) any failure of Acquiror to meet internal or analysts’
expectations or projections (provided that the underlying
cause of any such failure may be considered in determining whether there has
been an Acquiror Material Adverse Effect), (viii) any changes in the price of
oil or natural gas, (ix) any Proceeding made or brought by any third party other
than a Governmental Entity arising out of or related to this Agreement or any of
the transactions contemplated hereby, or (x) the taking of any action, or
failure to take action, to which the Company has consented or approved in
writing, or (b) the ability of Acquiror to consummate the Arrangement or any of
the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
“Acquiror Options”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
4.2(a).
“Acquiror Permits”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
4.5(a).
“Acquiror Preferred
Stock” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
4.2(a).
“Acquiror SEC
Documents” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
4.4.
“Acquiror Warrants”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
4.2(a).
“Acquisition Proposal”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
6.8(i).
2
“Agreement” shall have
the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“Applicable Canadian
Securities Laws,” in the context that refers to one or more Persons,
means, collectively, and as the context may require, the securities legislation
of each of the provinces and territories of Canada including the rules of any
applicable stock exchange, and the rules, regulations and policies published
and/or promulgated thereunder, as such may be amended from time to time prior to
the Effective Date that apply to such Person or Persons or its or their
business, undertaking, property or securities and emanate from a Person having
jurisdiction over the Person or Persons or its or their business, undertaking,
property or securities.
“Applicable Laws,” in
the context that refers to one or more Persons, means the Laws that apply to and
are binding on such Person or Persons or its or their business, undertaking,
property or securities and emanate from a Person having jurisdiction over the
Person or Persons or its or their business, undertaking, property or
securities.
“Arrangement” means
the arrangement under the provisions of sections 288 to 299 of the BCBCA on the
terms and conditions set forth in the Plan of Arrangement, subject to any
amendment or supplement thereto made in accordance therewith or in accordance
with Section
2.1 of this Agreement or made at the direction of the Court in the Final
Order.
“Arrangement
Resolution” means the special resolution in respect of the Arrangement to
be considered at the Company Meeting.
“Audit” means any
audit, assessment, or other examination relating to Taxes by any Tax Authority
or any judicial or administrative proceedings relating to Taxes.
“Bank Waiver” means
the Limited Waiver Agreement and Fifth Amendment to the Credit Agreement, dated
November 19, 2010, and First Amendment to Limited Waiver Agreement, dated
December 14, 2010, as subsequently amended or modified from time to time, which
amended the Company Credit Agreement.
“BCBCA” means the
Business Corporation
Act (British Columbia), as amended, and the rules, regulations and
policies made thereunder.
“Benefit Plans” shall
have the meaning set forth in Section
3.11(a).
“Business Day” means
any day other than a day on which banks in the Province of British Columbia or
the State of Texas are required or authorized by Applicable Law to be
closed.
“CBT Note” shall have
the meaning set forth in Section
3.39.
“Change in Company Board
Recommendation” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
6.1(l).
“Closing” shall have
the meaning set forth in Section
2.4.
“Closing Date” shall
have the meaning set forth in Section
2.4.
3
“Code” means the U.S.
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder.
“Company” shall have
the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“Company Balance Sheet
Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.6.
“Company Benefit Plan”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.11(a).
“Company Board
Recommendation” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.14.
“Company Capitalization
Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.2(a).
“Company Credit
Agreement” shall mean that certain Amended and Restated Credit Agreement
dated as of May 30, 2008, as subsequently amended, by and among the Company,
NGAS Production Co., KeyBank National Association, as administrative agent for
the lenders thereto, and the lenders named therein.
“Company Disclosure
Schedule” shall have the meaning set forth in Article
3.
“Company Drilling
Commitments” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.23.
“Company ERISA
Affiliate” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.11(a).
“Company Financial
Advisor” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.36.
“Company Financial
Statements” means the financial statements and related notes contained in
the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30,
2010 filed with the SEC.
“Company Governing
Documents” means the articles and notice of articles of the
Company.
“Company Material Adverse
Effect” means any change, event, violation, development, circumstance,
effect or other matters that, individually or in the aggregate, have, or could
reasonably be expected to have, a material adverse effect on (a) the business,
condition (financial or otherwise), capitalization, assets, liabilities,
operations or financial performance of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries,
individually or taken as a whole, excluding any such change, event, violation,
development, circumstance, effect or other matter resulting from or arising out
of (i) any adverse effect (including any loss of or adverse change in the
relationship of the Company and its Subsidiaries with their respective
employees, customers, distributors, licensors, partners, suppliers or similar
relationship) arising out of or related to the announcement, pendency or
consummation of the Arrangement, (ii) changes in the financial or
securities markets or general economic or political conditions in the world (so
long as the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is not materially and
disproportionately affected thereby), (iii) general conditions in the
industry in which the Company and its Subsidiaries operate (so long as the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries is not materially and disproportionately
affected thereby), (iv) any changes (after the date hereof) in GAAP or any Laws,
(v) the commencement, occurrence or continuation of any war, armed hostility or
act of terrorism, (vi) any failure of the Company and its Subsidiaries to
take any action as a result of restrictions or other prohibitions pursuant to
this Agreement, (vii) any failure of the Company to meet internal or analysts’
expectations or projections (provided that the underlying
cause of any such failure may be considered in determining whether there has
been a Company Material Adverse Effect), (viii) any change in the
price of oil or natural gas, (ix) any Proceeding made or brought by a Company
shareholder (including on such holder’s own behalf or on behalf of the Company)
arising out of or related to this Agreement or any of the transactions
contemplated hereby, or (x) the taking of any action, or failure to take action,
to which Acquiror has consented or approved in writing, (b) the ability of the
Company or its Subsidiaries to consummate the Arrangement or any of the other
transactions contemplated by this Agreement, or (c) Acquiror’s ability to vote,
receive dividends with respect to or otherwise exercise ownership rights with
respect to the capital stock of the Company following the Effective
Time.
4
“Company Meeting”
means the special meeting of Company Shareholders to be held to consider the
Arrangement Resolution and any related matters, and any adjournment
thereof.
“Company Options”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.2(a).
“Company Permitted
Liens” means (A) statutory Liens securing payments not yet due or
payments which are being properly contested by the Company or one of its
Subsidiaries in good faith and by proper legal Proceedings and for which
adequate reserves related thereto are maintained on the Company Financial
Statements, (B) such imperfections, defects or irregularities of title, and
easements as do not affect the use of the properties or assets subject thereto
or affected thereby or otherwise impair business operations at such properties,
and (C) Liens expressly referred to in the Company Financial Statements
(except such Liens which have been satisfied or otherwise discharged in the
ordinary course of business since the date of the Company Financial
Statements).
“Company Preferred
Stock” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.2(a).
“Company Regulatory
Agreement” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.4(b).
“Company Reserve
Reports” means the U.S. and Canadian reserve reports evaluating the
proved reserves of the Company and its Subsidiaries, dated February 11, 2010 and
prepared by Xxxxxx & Company, Inc., and dated September 1, 2010 and November
12, 2010 and prepared by the Company, and provided to Acquiror by the
Company.
“Company Shares” means
all of the shares of common stock, no par value, of the Company.
“Company Shareholders”
means the registered holders of Company Shares from time to time.
“Company SEC
Documents” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.4(c).
“Company Warrants”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.2(a).
“Confidentiality
Agreement” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
6.6(b).
5
“Continuing Employees”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
6.15(a).
“Contract” means a
note, bond, mortgage, indenture, deed of trust, license, lease, franchise,
Permit, agreement, arrangement, commitment, understanding, bylaw, contract or
other instrument or obligation.
“Conversion Period”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.2(a).
“Court” means the
Supreme Court of British Columbia.
“CSA” means the
Canadian Securities Administrators.
“Damages Fee” shall
have the meaning set forth in Section
8.2(b).
“Derivative Agreement”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
5.1(a).
“Drilling Partnership”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.25.
“Effective Date” means
the date set by Acquiror and the Company as being the effective date in respect
of the Arrangement, which shall be the Closing Date, which date should occur
after the date on which the last of all documents necessary to effect the
Arrangement have been filed with the Registrar.
“Effective Time” means
12:01 a.m., Vancouver, British Columbia time on the Effective Date.
“Environmental Claim”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.17(a).
“Environmental Laws”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.17(a).
“Environmental
Permits” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.17(a).
“ERISA” shall have the
meaning set forth in Section
3.11(a).
“Exchange” means the
NYSE Amex, the New York Stock Exchange or any other national exchange on which
the Acquiror Common Stock is listed.
“Exchange Act” shall
have the meaning set forth in Section
4.3(c).
“Final Order” means
the order of the Court approving the Arrangement pursuant to clause 291(4)(a) of
the BCBCA, as such order may be affirmed, amended or modified by any court of
competent jurisdiction.
“GAAP” means U.S.
generally accepted accounting principles or, for the Company’s fiscal periods
ended on and before December 31, 2005, Canadian generally accepted accounting
principles.
“Gold and Silver Mine
Disposition” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.34.
“Governmental Entity”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.3(c).
6
“Hydrocarbon” means
any oil, condensate, gas, casinghead gas and other liquid or gaseous
hydrocarbon.
“Indemnified Party”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
6.10(a).
“Injunction” shall
have the meaning set forth in Section
7.1(g).
“Intellectual
Property” means all U.S. and foreign (a) patents, and patentable
inventions; (b) copyrights; (c) trademarks, service marks, trade names, trade
dress and the goodwill of the business associated therewith; (d) trade secrets,
proprietary know-how and confidential information and (e) applications and
registrations for any of the foregoing, and rights to obtain renewals,
extensions, continuations, continuations-in-part, divisions or similar
proceedings.
“Interim Order” means
the interim order of the Court under subsection 291(2) of the BCBCA containing
declarations and directions with respect to the Arrangement, as such order may
be affirmed, amended or modified by any court of competent
jurisdiction.
“Intervening Event”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
6.8(f).
“Knowledge” means,
with respect to either Party, the (i) actual knowledge of such Party’s chief
executive officer, president or chief financial officer and (ii) the knowledge a
prudent individual in such a position could be expected to discover or otherwise
become aware of in the course of conducting a reasonably comprehensible
investigation regarding the accuracy of such Party’s representations and
warranties or would otherwise become aware in the ordinary course of his or her
duties.
“Laws” means all laws,
statutes, regulations, by-laws, statutory rules, Orders, ordinances, protocols,
codes, guidelines, notices, directions (including all Applicable Canadian
Securities Laws and U.S. Securities Laws), and terms and conditions of any grant
of approval, permission, authority or license of any court, Governmental Entity,
statutory body or self-regulatory authority (including the NASDAQ and the
Exchange, as applicable).
“Lease Burdens” means the royalties,
overriding royalties, production payments, net profit interests, and all similar
interests burdening the Mineral Leases or production therefrom, that are legally
binding and enforceable at law or in equity.
“Lien” means any
mortgage, pledge, security interest, deed of trust, encumbrance, covenant,
condition, restriction, option, lien or charge of any kind (including any
agreement to give any of the foregoing), any conditional sale or other title
retention agreement, any lease in the nature thereof or the filing of or
agreement to give any financing statement under the Uniform Commercial Code or
any comparable statute of any other applicable jurisdiction, including, but not
limited to, the Personal Property Security Act (British Columbia).
“Matching Agreement”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
6.8(g).
“Material Contract”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3.10(a).
7
“Mineral Leases” means
all oil and gas leases including any leaseholds, record title and operating
rights, royalty interests or overriding royalty interests owned by the Company
or any Subsidiary of the Company in such leases and all farmout, participation,
and other joint venture agreements providing for the assignment of Oil and Gas
Interests to the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company by a counterparty to
such an agreement.
“Modified Superior
Proposal” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
6.8(g).
“NASDAQ” shall have
the meaning set forth in Section
3.3(c).
“Net Revenue
Interest” means the decimal
ownership of the lessee, farmee or other assignee in production from a Mineral
Lease or Well, after deducting all applicable Lease Burdens.
“Notice of Superior
Proposal” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
6.8(g).
“Oil and Gas
Interest(s)” means: (a) direct and indirect interests in and rights with
respect to oil, gas, mineral and related properties and assets of any kind and
nature, direct or indirect, including working, leasehold, royalty and overriding
royalty interests, production payments, operating rights, net profits interests,
other non-working interests and non-operating interests; (b) interests in
and rights with respect to Hydrocarbons and other minerals or revenues therefrom
and contracts in connection therewith and claims and rights thereto (including
oil and gas leases, operating agreements, unitization and pooling agreements and
Orders, division orders, transfer orders, mineral deeds, royalty deeds, oil and
gas sales, exchange and processing contracts and agreements and, in each case,
interests thereunder), surface interests, fee interests, reversionary interests,
reservations and concessions; (c) easements, rights of way, licenses, permits,
leases, and other interests associated with, appurtenant to, or necessary for
the operation of any of the foregoing; and (d) interests in equipment and
machinery (including well equipment and machinery), oil and gas production,
gathering, transmission, compression, treating, processing and storage
facilities (including tanks, tank batteries, pipelines and gathering systems),
pumps, water plants, electric plants, gasoline and gas processing plants,
refineries and other tangible personal property and fixtures associated with,
appurtenant to, or necessary for the operation of any of the
foregoing.
“Order” means any
judgment, order, stipulation, arbitration, decision, award, injunction, decree
or regulatory restriction of any court or Governmental Entity, federal, foreign,
provincial, state or local.
“Ownership Interests”
means the ownership interests of the Company and its Subsidiaries in their
proved and probable reserves.
“Parties” shall have
the meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“Permit” means any and
all permits, licenses, authorizations, certificates, franchises, registrations
or other approvals granted by any Governmental Entity.
“Person” means an
individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association,
trust or other entity or organization, including a government or political
subdivision or an agency or instrumentality thereof.
8
“Plan of Arrangement”
means the plan of arrangement under the BCBCA substantially in the form and
content of Exhibit
B attached hereto pursuant to which Acquiror will, directly or
indirectly, acquire all of the issued and outstanding Company Shares on the
terms and conditions described herein, as such plan of arrangement may be
amended or supplemented from time to time in accordance with the terms hereof
and thereof.
“Proceeding” means any
suit, claim, litigation, arbitration, action, proceeding (including any civil,
criminal, governmental, enforcement, administrative, investigative or appellate
proceeding), hearing, audit, examination or investigation commenced, brought,
conducted or heard by or before, or otherwise involving, any court or other
Governmental Entity or any arbitrator or arbitration panel.
“Proxy Circular” means
the information circular and proxy statement to be prepared and sent to the
Company Shareholders as is required pursuant to the Interim Order and Applicable
Laws in connection with the Company Meeting.
“Registrar” means the
registrar appointed pursuant to section 400 of the BCBCA.
“Required Company
Vote” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
2.2(d).
“Requisite Regulatory
Approvals” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
7.1(f).
“SEC” means the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Securities Act” shall
have the meaning set forth in Section
3.2(d).
“Seminole” means
Seminole Energy Services, L.L.C., an Oklahoma limited liability company and
Seminole Gas Company, L.L.C., an Oklahoma limited liability
company.
“Seminole Agreements”
means the definitive agreements to be entered into by and among Acquiror, the
Company, certain of the Company’s Subsidiaries, and Seminole as contemplated by
the Seminole Letter of Intent.
“Seminole Letter of
Intent” means the Letter of Intent, dated as of December 23, 2010, among
the Acquiror, the Company, NGAS Production Co. and Seminole.
“SOX” means the
Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002, and the regulations promulgated
thereunder.
“Subsidiary,” when
used with respect to any Party, means any corporation or other organization,
whether incorporated or unincorporated, (x) of which such Party or any
direct or indirect Subsidiary of such Party is a general partner, (y) at
least a majority of the securities or other interests of which, that have by
their terms ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors
or others performing similar functions with respect to such corporation or other
organization, or (z) over which such Party exercises control, is directly
or indirectly owned or controlled by such Party or by any one or more of its
direct or indirect Subsidiaries, or by such Party and one or more of its direct
or indirect Subsidiaries. For the avoidance of doubt, the Drilling
Partnerships shall be considered Subsidiaries of the Company.
9
“Superior Proposal”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
6.8(j).
“Support Agreement”
shall have the meaning set forth in the recitals.
“Takeover Statute”
means the restrictions on “business combinations” contained in the BCBCA (if
any) or any other “moratorium,” “control share,” “fair price,” “takeover” or
“interested stockholder” Law.
“Tax” (including, with
correlative meaning, the term “Taxes”) means (i) all Canadian and U.S. federal,
state, provincial, local, territorial and foreign income, profits, franchise,
gross receipts, payroll, sales, employment, use, property, production,
withholding, excise, occupancy and other taxes, duties or assessments of any
nature whatsoever, including any applicable Canadian pension plan and provincial
pension plan contributions, unemployment insurance premiums and workers’
compensation premiums, together with any installments with respect thereto and
all interest, penalties and additions imposed with respect to such amounts, (ii)
liability for the payment of any amounts of the type described in clause (i) as
a result of being or having been a member of an affiliated, consolidated,
combined or unitary group, and (iii) liability for the payment of any amounts as
a result of being party to any tax sharing agreement or as a result of any
express or implied obligation to indemnify any other Person with respect to the
payment of any amounts of the type described in clause (i) or (ii) and foreign
taxes, and other assessments of a similar nature (whether imposed directly or
through withholding), including any interest, additions to tax, or penalties
applicable thereto, imposed by any Tax Authority.
“Tax Authority”
(including, with correlative meaning, the term “Taxing
Authorities”) means the United States Internal Revenue Service and
any other domestic or foreign governmental authority responsible for the
administration of any Taxes.
“Tax Return” means any
return, report or similar statement required to be filed with respect to any Tax
(including any attached schedules), including, without limitation, any
information return, election form, claim for refund, amended return or
declaration of estimated Tax.
“Third Party” means
any Person or group other than the Company, Acquiror or any affiliate
thereof.
“Third Party
Beneficiaries” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
6.10(b).
“Transaction
Consideration” means 0.0846 shares of Acquiror Common Stock per Company
Share, subject to adjustment as provided in the Plan of
Arrangement.
“Transaction Expenses”
shall have the meaning set forth in Section
8.2(c).
“Treasury Regulations”
means the regulations promulgated by the United States Treasury Department under
Title 26 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations.
“U.S. Securities Laws”
means the federal and state securities legislation of the United States and all
rules, regulations and Orders promulgated thereunder, as amended from time to
time.
10
“Violation” shall have
the meaning set forth in Section
3.3(b).
“Voting Debt” shall
have the meaning set forth in Section
3.2(b).
“Xxxxx” means all of
the oil, gas, disposal and injector xxxxx in which the Company or any of its
Subsidiary has a Working Interest, royalty interest, overriding royalty interest
or any other interest entitling the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to a
share of production from such xxxxx.
“Working Interest”
means that interest that bears a share of all costs and expenses proportionate
to the interest owned, associated with the exploration, development and
operation of a Mineral Lease and the Xxxxx associated therewith, that the
lessee, farmee or assignee under a Mineral Lease is required to bear and pay by
reason thereof, expressed as a decimal.
ARTICLE
2
THE
ARRANGEMENT
2.1 Plan of
Arrangement.
(a) The
Parties agree to carry out the Arrangement in accordance with the Plan of
Arrangement, substantially in the form and content of Exhibit B attached
hereto, pursuant to which (among other things) Acquiror will acquire all of the
Company Shares and the Company Shareholders shall receive, for each Company
Share held, the Transaction Consideration. The Parties hereby
covenant and agree, if and as required, to amend the Plan of Arrangement, as may
be necessary or desirable in order to implement the transactions contemplated
hereby. No certificates representing fractional shares of Acquiror
Common Stock shall be issued under the Arrangement. In lieu of any
fractional share of Acquiror Common Stock, each Company Shareholder otherwise
entitled to a fractional interest in Acquiror Common Stock shall receive the
nearest whole number of shares of Acquiror Common Stock (with fractions equal to
exactly 0.5 being rounded up).
(b) As
soon as is reasonably practicable after the date of execution of this Agreement,
the Company will file, proceed with and diligently prosecute, and Acquiror shall
assist with, an application for an Interim Order on terms and conditions
acceptable to Acquiror, acting reasonably, providing for, among other things,
the calling and holding of the Company Meeting for the purpose of considering
and approving the Arrangement Resolution at the Company Meeting. The
Company shall not file the Interim Order without the prior approval of Acquiror,
which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. The Company
shall provide Acquiror with reasonable opportunity to review and comment upon
drafts of all material to be filed by the Company with the Court, the Registrar,
or any securities regulatory authority in connection with the Arrangement
(including the Proxy Circular) prior to the service (if applicable) and/or
filing of that material and give reasonable consideration to such
comments. The Company shall name Acquiror as a respondent to the
application and the motion for the Interim Order and shall also provide to
Acquiror on a timely basis copies of any court documents served on the Company
or its counsel in respect of the application for the Final Order or any appeal
therefrom and of any notice, whether written or oral, received by the Company
indicating any intention to appeal the Final Order.
11
(c) Subject
to obtaining the approvals as contemplated by the Interim Order and as may be
directed by the Court in the Interim Order, the Company shall, with the
cooperation and assistance of Acquiror and subject to the terms of this
Agreement, take all steps necessary or desirable to submit the Arrangement to
the Court and to apply for the Final Order.
(d) Upon
issuance of the Final Order and subject to the conditions precedent in Article 7, each of
the Parties shall execute and deliver such closing documents and instruments and
forthwith proceed on the Effective Date to file the Final Order and such other
documents as may be required to give effect to the Arrangement with the
Registrar pursuant to Sections 292 and 294, if applicable, of the BCBCA,
whereupon the transactions comprising the Arrangement shall occur and shall be
deemed to have occurred in the order set out therein without any further act or
formality.
2.2 Interim Order and Company
Meeting. The petition, notices of motion and related materials
for the applications referred to in this section shall be in a form satisfactory
to Acquiror, acting reasonably. The application to the Court for the
Interim Order, shall request that the Interim Order provide, among other
things:
(a) for
the Persons to whom notice is to be provided in respect of the Arrangement for
the Company Meeting and for the manner in which such notice is to be
provided;
(b) that
the only securities of the Company for which holders shall be entitled to vote
on the Arrangement Resolution at the Company Meeting shall be the Company
Shares;
(c) that
the Company Shareholders shall be entitled to vote on the Arrangement Resolution
with each Company Shareholder being entitled to one vote for each Company Share
held by such holder;
(d)
that the requisite approval of the Company Shareholders for
the Arrangement shall be two-thirds of the votes cast thereon by the Company
Shareholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Company Meeting
(the “Required Company
Vote”);
(e) for
the grant of dissenters’ rights; and
(f) for
the notice requirements with respect to the application to the Court for the
Final Order.
2.3 Effective
Date. The Arrangement shall become effective at the Effective
Time on the Effective Date. The Parties shall use their reasonable commercial
efforts to cause the Effective Date to occur on or prior to March 28, 2011 or as
soon thereafter as reasonably practicable and in any event by March 31, 2011, or
April 15, 2011, as contemplated by Section
6.20.
12
2.4 Closing. Unless
this Agreement is terminated pursuant to the provisions hereof, closing of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement (the “Closing”) shall occur
at the offices of Fulbright & Xxxxxxxx, L.L.P., 0000 Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx
0000, Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000 at 9:00 a.m. (Vancouver, British Columbia
time), as soon as practicable, and in any event not later than the third
Business Day following the date on which the conditions to the Closing set forth
in Article 7 (excluding conditions that, by their terms, cannot be satisfied
until the Closing, but subject to the satisfaction or waiver of such conditions
at the Closing) have been satisfied or waived or at such other place, time and
date as the Parties may agree in writing (the “Closing
Date”). Each of the Parties shall deliver to the other
Party:
(a) the
documents required or contemplated to be delivered by it hereunder to complete
the Arrangement and the other transactions contemplated hereby, provided that
each such document required to be dated the Effective Date shall be dated as of,
or become effective on, the Effective Date and shall be held in escrow to be
released upon the Arrangement becoming effective; and
(b) written
confirmation as to the satisfaction or waiver of all of the conditions in its
favor contained in this Agreement.
2.5 Final
Order. Subject to the rights of termination contained in Article 8 hereof,
upon the Company Shareholders approving the Arrangement in accordance with the
Interim Order, the Parties obtaining the Final Order and the other conditions
contained in Article
7 hereof being complied with or waived, the Parties shall on the Closing
Date jointly file the Final Order with the Registrar together with such other
documents as may be required in order to effect the Arrangement.
2.6 Management and Board of
Directors. Concurrently with the completion of the Arrangement
(i) all of the directors of the Company at or prior to the Effective Time shall
resign as directors of the Company effective as of the Effective Time and Xxxx
X. Xxxxx and Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx shall become the directors of the Company, and
(ii) the officers of the Company prior to the Effective Time shall resign as
officers of the Company effective as of the Effective Time and the officers of
the Company shall be as follows:
Name
|
Title
|
|
Xxxx
X. Xxxxx
|
Chief
Executive Officer
|
|
Xxxxx
X. Xxxxx
|
President
|
|
Xxxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
|
Chief
Financial Officer
|
|
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxxx
|
Vice
President
|
|
Xxxx
X. Xxxxxxxx
|
|
Secretary
|
13
ARTICLE
3
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
Except
with respect to any subsection of this Article 3, as
disclosed in the identified subsection of the disclosure schedule delivered by
the Company to Acquiror concurrently herewith (the “Company Disclosure
Schedule”) (it being understood by the parties that the information
disclosed in one subsection of the Company Disclosure Schedule shall be deemed
to be included in each other subsection of the Company Disclosure Schedule in
which the relevance of such information thereto would be reasonably apparent on
the face thereof), the Company hereby makes the representations and warranties
set forth in this Article 3 to and in
favor of Acquiror and acknowledges that Acquiror is relying upon such
representations and warranties in connection with the matters contemplated by
this Agreement:
3.1 Organization, Standing and
Power; Subsidiaries.
(a) The
Company is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing
under the laws of British Columbia, Canada, has all requisite power and
authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on its business
as now being conducted, and is duly registered, licensed or otherwise qualified
and in good standing to do business in each jurisdiction in which the nature of
its business or the ownership or leasing of its properties requires it to be so
registered, licensed or otherwise qualified, other than in such other
jurisdictions where the failure to be so registered, licensed or otherwise
qualified and to be in such standing would not, either individually or in the
aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse
Effect. The Company Governing Documents, copies of which were
previously provided to Acquiror by the Company, are true, complete and correct
copies of such documents as in effect on the date of this
Agreement.
(b) Section 3.1(b) of the
Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth a complete and correct list of each
direct and indirect Subsidiary of the Company with its (i) place of
organization, (ii) the type of entity, and (iii) the nature and percentage of
outstanding interests held by the Company, or any Subsidiary of the Company, in
such entity. Each Subsidiary of the Company is a corporation, limited
liability company or partnership duly organized, validly existing and (where
applicable) in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of formation,
has all requisite power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties
and to carry on its business as now being conducted, and is duly registered,
licensed or otherwise qualified and in good standing to do business in each
jurisdiction in which the nature of its business or the ownership or leasing of
its properties requires it to be so registered, licensed or otherwise qualified,
other than in such jurisdictions where the failure to be so registered, licensed
or otherwise qualified would not, either individually or in the aggregate,
reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect. All
of the shares of capital stock or other equity interests of each of the
Subsidiaries held by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are fully paid and
nonassessable and are owned by the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company free
and clear of any Lien, except for Liens in favor of the lenders under the
Company Credit Agreement.
14
3.2 Capitalization.
(a) The
authorized capital stock of the Company consists of 100,000,000 Company Shares,
and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, without par value (the “Company Preferred
Stock”). As of December 23, 2010 (the “Company Capitalization
Date”), (i) 49,918,230 Company Shares were issued and outstanding, all of
which are duly authorized, validly issued, fully-paid and nonassessable and free
from preemptive rights, (ii) 21,100 Company Shares were held in the treasury of
the Company, and (iii) no shares of Company Preferred Stock were issued and
outstanding. No Company Shares or Company Preferred Stock are
reserved for issuance, other than 4,394,431 Company Shares reserved for issuance
pursuant to Company Benefit Plans, 4,609,038 Company Shares reserved
for issuance pursuant to Company Warrants (as defined below) and the variable
number of Company Shares required to be reserved for issuance upon conversion
of, and payments of principal with respect to, the 6% Amortizing Convertible
Notes. As of the Company Capitalization Date, there were (i) options
exercisable for an aggregate of 635,000 Company Shares and having the exercise
prices and expiration dates set forth in Section 3.2(a) of the
Company Disclosure Schedule (the “Company Options”);
(ii) warrants exercisable, subject to antidilution adjustments specifically
provided for in such warrants, for an aggregate of 4,609,038 Company Shares and
having the exercise prices and expiration dates set forth in Section 3.2(a) of the
Company Disclosure Schedule (the “Company Warrants”);
and (iii) 6% Amortizing Convertible Notes convertible into and payable as to
principal in Company Shares at the variable rates determined thereunder by
reference to market prices of the Company Shares. Between the Company
Capitalization Date and the date hereof, no Company Shares have been issued by
the Company. On December 14, 2010, the Company entered into
agreements with the holders of the 6% Amortizing Convertible Notes that limit
the holders’ conversion rights to an aggregate of up to 32,000,000 Company
Shares from November 15, 2010 through the fifth trading day prior to any Company
shareholder vote on a qualifying transaction (the “Conversion Period”),
and the holders have agreed not to convert any portion of the 6% Amortizing
Convertible Notes into Company Shares after the Conversion Period. In
connection with this Agreement, the Arrangement or the transaction contemplated
hereby, no “Additional Shares” (as defined in Section 5(c) of the 6% Amortizing
Convertible Notes) are required to be issued by the Company under Section 5(c)
of the 6% Amortizing Convertible Notes.
(b) Except
for the 6% Amortizing Convertible Notes, no bonds, debentures, notes or other
indebtedness or debt securities of the Company that have the right to vote (or
that are convertible into, or exchangeable for, securities having the right to
vote) on any matters on which shareholders of the Company may vote (“Voting Debt”) are
outstanding. Except as set forth above, no shares of capital stock or
other voting securities of the Company are issued or
outstanding. Section 3.2(b) of the
Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth a true, complete and correct list of all
rights or obligations to purchase or redeem any Voting Debt, including the 6%
Amortizing Convertible Notes, issued or unissued capital stock of the Company
and its Subsidiaries, or obligating the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to
issue, grant or sell any Voting Debt, shares of capital stock of, or other
equity interests in, or securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity
interests in, the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. Other than the
Company Options and Company Warrants, no other options or warrants to purchase
Company Shares or any other equity based awards are
outstanding.
15
(c) From
the Company Capitalization Date, the Company has not (i) issued or repurchased
any Company Shares, Company Preferred Stock, Voting Debt or other equity
securities of Company, other than the issuance of Company Shares (A) in payment
of principal, and upon conversion at the default reset rate set forth in, the 6%
Amortizing Convertible Notes, (B) upon the exercise of Company Options, and (C)
upon the exercise of Company Warrants, in accordance with their respective
terms, or (ii) issued or awarded any options, stock appreciation rights,
restricted shares, restricted stock units, deferred equity units, awards based
on the value of Company capital stock or any other equity based awards under any
of the Company Benefit Plans or otherwise. All Company Shares subject
to issuance as described above shall, upon issuance on the terms and conditions
specified in the instruments pursuant to which they are issuable, be duly
authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free from
preemptive rights.
(d) Except
as set forth on Section 3.2(b) of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, there are no obligations of the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any Voting Debt,
Company Shares or any capital stock of any of the Subsidiaries of the Company or
any securities representing the right to purchase or otherwise receive any
Voting Debt, Company Shares or any capital stock of any of the Subsidiaries of
the Company, make any investment (in the form of a loan, capital contribution or
otherwise) in any of the Subsidiaries of the Company or any other Person, or
pursuant to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is or could be required
to register Company Shares, Voting Debt or other securities under the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities
Act”). There are no voting trusts, proxies or other
agreements, commitments or understandings of any character to which the Company
or any Company Subsidiary is a party or by which any of them is bound with
respect to the holding, voting or disposition of any shares of capital stock of
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(e) All
of the outstanding shares of capital stock and voting securities of each
wholly-owned Company Subsidiary are owned, directly or indirectly, by the
Company and are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable
and free from preemptive rights, and those shares of capital stock and voting
securities of each of the Subsidiaries of the Company owned by the Company,
directly or indirectly, are free and clear of all Liens, other than Liens in
favor of the lenders under the Company Credit Facility, and all other
limitations or restrictions (including any restriction on the right to vote,
sell or otherwise dispose of such capital stock or other voting securities or
ownership interests). All of the shares of capital stock and voting
securities of each other Company Subsidiary owned, directly or indirectly, by
the Company (including all Drilling Partnerships) are duly authorized, validly
issued, fully paid and nonassessable, except as set forth in Section 3.2(e) of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, and free from preemptive rights, and those shares
of capital stock and voting securities of each of the Subsidiaries of the
Company owned by the Company, directly or indirectly, are free and clear of all
Liens and all other limitations or restrictions (including any restriction on
the right to vote, sell or otherwise dispose of such capital stock or other
voting securities or ownership interests), except for restrictions on
dispositions under the partnership agreements of the Drilling
Partnerships. Except as otherwise set forth in this Section 3.2 or in
Section 3.2(a)
and Section
3.2(b), of the Company Disclosure Schedule, there are no outstanding
subscriptions, options, warrants, puts, calls, rights, exchangeable or
convertible securities or other commitments or agreements of any character
relating to the issued or unissued capital stock or other securities of any
Company Subsidiary, or otherwise obligating the Company or any Company
Subsidiary to issue, transfer, sell, purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any
such securities.
16
(f) Except
as set forth in Section 3.2(f) of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
owns, or has any contractual or other obligation to acquire, any equity
securities or other securities of any Person (other than Company Subsidiaries)
or any direct or indirect equity or ownership interest in any other
business.
(g) The
Company has not adopted (or taken any affirmative steps towards adopting or
preparing) a shareholder rights plan or similar arrangement relating to
accumulations of beneficial ownership of common shares or a change in control of
the Company.
3.3 Authority.
(a) The
Company has all requisite corporate power and authority to enter into this
Agreement and, subject in the case of the consummation of the Arrangement to the
adoption of this Agreement by the Required Company Vote, to consummate the
transactions contemplated hereby. The execution and delivery of this
Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby,
including, but not limited to, the Arrangement, have been duly authorized by all
necessary corporate action on the part of the Company, subject in the case of
the consummation of the Arrangement to the Required Company
Vote. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the
Company and, assuming due authorization, execution and delivery by Acquiror,
constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against
the Company in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency,
fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws of general
applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general
equitable principles. The Board of Directors of the Company has taken
all actions necessary so that the restrictions on business combinations and
stockholder vote requirements contained in any Applicable Law will not apply
with respect to or as a result of the Arrangement, this Agreement, the Support
Agreements and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. The
Required Company Vote is the only vote of the holders of any securities of the
Company necessary in connection with the consummation of the Arrangement and the
other transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(b) The
execution and delivery of this Agreement does not, and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby will not, (A) conflict with, or result in
any violation of, or constitute a default (with or without notice or lapse of
time, or both) under, or give rise to a right of termination, consent,
cancellation, modification or acceleration of any obligation or the loss of a
material benefit under, or the creation of a Lien on any assets (any such
conflict, violation, default, right of termination, consent, cancellation,
modification or acceleration, loss or creation, a “Violation”) pursuant
to any provision of the Company Governing Documents or any governing documents
of any Subsidiary of the Company, or (B) subject to obtaining or making the
consents, approvals, Orders, authorizations, registrations, declarations and
filings referred to in Section
3.3(c) below, and except as set forth on Section 3.3(b) of the
Company Disclosure Schedule result in any Violation of any loan or credit
agreement, note, mortgage, indenture, lease, any Company Benefit Plan or other
agreement, obligation, instrument, permit, judgment, or Law applicable to the
Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or their respective properties or
assets.
17
(c) No
consent, approval, Order or authorization of, or registration, declaration or
filing with, any (i) Canadian, U.S., multinational, federal, provincial, state,
regional, municipal, local or other government or any governmental or public
department, court, tribunal, arbitral body, commission, board, bureau or agency;
(ii) any subdivision, agent, commission, board or authority of any of the
foregoing; or (iii) any quasi-governmental or private body exercising any
regulatory, expropriation or taxing authority under or for the account of any of
the foregoing (each of the entities referenced in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii)
above, a “Governmental
Entity”), is required by or with respect to the Company or any Subsidiary
of the Company in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement
by the Company or the consummation by the Company of the transactions
contemplated hereby, except for (A) the granting of the
Interim Order and the Final Order by the Court, (B) the filing with the SEC of
the Proxy Circular in definitive form related to the Company Meeting to be
prepared in accordance with Regulation 14A promulgated by the SEC pursuant to
the Exchange Act, and (C) such filings with and approvals of the NASDAQ
Global Select Market (the “NASDAQ”) as may be
required.
3.4 Regulatory Matters;
Reports.
(a) The
Company has filed all reports, schedules, forms, registrations, statements and
certifications, together with any amendments required to be made with respect
thereto, that they were required to file since December 31, 2007 with
(i) the SEC, (ii) NASDAQ, and (iii) the British Columbia Securities
Commission and paid all fees and assessments due and payable in connection
therewith. No Governmental Entity has initiated since December 31,
2007 or has pending any Proceeding into the business, disclosures or operations
of Company or any of its Subsidiaries. Since December 31, 2007, no
Governmental Entity has resolved any Proceeding into the business, disclosures
or operations of Company or any of its Subsidiaries. To the Knowledge
of the Company, there is no unresolved or threatened criticism, comment,
exception or stop order by any Governmental Entity with respect to any report or
statement relating to any examinations or inspections of Company or any of its
Subsidiaries. Since December 31, 2007, there have been no formal or
informal inquiries by, or disagreements or disputes with, any Governmental
Entity with respect to the business, operations, policies or procedures of
Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
18
(b) Neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is subject to any cease-and-desist or
other Order or formal or informal enforcement action issued by, or is a party to
any written agreement, consent agreement or memorandum of understanding with, or
is a party to any commitment letter or similar undertaking to, or is subject to
any directive by, or has been ordered to pay any civil money penalty by, or has
adopted any policies, procedures or board resolutions at the request or
suggestion of, any Governmental Entity that currently restricts or affects in
any material respect the conduct of its business (or that, upon consummation of
the Arrangement and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement, would
restrict in any material respect the conduct of the business of Acquiror or any
of its Subsidiaries), or that in any material manner relates to its ability to
pay dividends, its credit, risk management or compliance policies, its internal
controls, its management or its business, other than those of general
application that apply to similarly situated companies or their Subsidiaries
(each item in this sentence, a “Company Regulatory
Agreement”), nor has the Company or any of its Subsidiaries been advised
since December 31, 2007 by any Governmental Entity that it is considering
issuing, initiating, ordering, or requesting any such Company Regulatory
Agreement.
(c) An
accurate, complete and correct copy of each (i) registration statement,
prospectus, schedule, proxy statement, form, document and report filed with or
furnished (other than on a supplement basis) to the SEC by the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries since December 31, 2007 (together with the exhibits and other
information incorporated therein, the “Company SEC
Documents”), and (ii) communication mailed by the Company to its
stockholders since December 31, 2007, can be accessed on
xxx.xxx.xxx. No such Company SEC Document or communication, at the
time filed, furnished or communicated (and in the case of registration
statements and proxy statements, on the dates of effectiveness and the dates of
relevant meetings, respectively) contained any untrue statement of a material
fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except that
information as of a later date (but before the date of this Agreement) shall be
deemed to modify information as of an earlier date. As of their
respective dates of filing with the SEC (or, if amended or superseded by a
filing prior to the date hereof, as of the date of such filing), all Company SEC
Documents complied as to form in all material respects with the Regulations of
the SEC with respect thereto. No executive officer of the Company has
failed in any respect to make the certifications required of him or her under
Sections 302 or 906 of SOX and, at the time of filing or submission of each such
certification, such certification was true and accurate and complied with
SOX.
(d) The
Company has provided to Acquiror copies of all comment letters received by the
Company from the SEC since December 31, 2007 relating to the Company SEC
Documents, together with all written responses of the Company
thereto. There are no outstanding or unresolved comments in any such
comment letters received by the Company from the SEC. To the
Knowledge of the Company, none of the Company SEC Documents is the subject of
any ongoing review by the SEC.
(e) One
of the Company Reserve Reports was prepared by Xxxxxx & Company, Inc., an
independent petroleum engineering firm, and all of the Company Reserve Reports
were prepared in accordance with generally accepted petroleum engineering
practices and, in the case of the U.S. report, all applicable rules of the SEC,
including without limitation Securities Act Industry Guide 2, Rules 1201 through
1208, inclusive, of Regulation S-K and Rule 4.10(a) of Regulation S-X, and, in
the case of the Canadian report, all applicable rules of Canada and British
Columbia. The proved reserves, the estimates of future net revenue
and the present values thereof set forth in the Company Reserve Reports were
accurate in all material respects as of the dates of such reports and, except
for subsequently reported revisions and the production of Hydrocarbons since the
date as of which such reports were prepared, remain accurate in all material
respects.
19
3.5 Financial
Statements.
(a) Each
of the consolidated financial statements of the Company and its Subsidiaries
included (or incorporated by reference) in the Company SEC Documents (including
the related notes, where applicable) (i) have been prepared from, and are
in accordance with, the books and records of the Company and its consolidated
Subsidiaries in all material respects, (ii) fairly present in all material
respects the consolidated results of operations, cash flows, changes in
stockholders’ equity and consolidated financial position of the Company and its
consolidated Subsidiaries for the respective fiscal periods or as of the
respective dates therein set forth (subject in the case of unaudited statements
to recurring year-end audit adjustments normal in nature and amount),
(iii) complied as to form, as of their respective dates of filing with the
SEC, in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and with
the published rules and regulations of the SEC with respect thereto (except, in
the case of unaudited statements, as permitted by Form 10-Q of the SEC), and
(iv) have been prepared in accordance with GAAP consistently applied during
the periods involved, except, in each case, as indicated in such statements or
in the notes thereto. The books and records of the Company and its
Subsidiaries have been, and are being, maintained in all material respects in
accordance with GAAP and any other applicable legal and accounting
requirements. Hall, Xxxxxxx & Company LLP has not resigned or
been dismissed as independent public accountants of the Company as a result of
or in connection with any disagreements with the Company on a matter of
accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing
scope or procedure.
(b) The
records, systems, controls, data and information of the Company and its
Subsidiaries are recorded, stored, maintained and operated under means
(including any electronic, mechanical or photographic process, whether
computerized or not) that are under the exclusive ownership and direct control
of the Company or its Subsidiaries or accountants (including all means of access
thereto and therefrom), except for any non-exclusive ownership and non-direct
control that would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect
on the system of internal accounting controls described below in this Section
3.5(b). The Company (x) has implemented and maintains
disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange
Act) to ensure that material information relating to the Company, including the
Subsidiaries of the Company, is made known to the chief executive officer and
the chief financial officer of the Company by others within those entities, and
(y) has disclosed, based on its most recent evaluation prior to the date
hereof, to the Company’s outside auditors and the audit committee of the Company
Board (i) any significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in
Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) which are reasonably like to adversely
affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial
information and (ii) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s
internal controls over financial reporting. These disclosures were
made in writing by management to the Company’s auditors and audit committee, a
copy of which has previously been provided to Acquiror by the
Company. There is no reason to believe that the Company’s outside
auditors, chief executive officer and chief financial officer will not be able
to give the certifications and attestations required pursuant to the rules and
regulations adopted pursuant to Section 404 of SOX, without qualification, when
next due.
20
(c) Since
December 31, 2007, neither the principal executive officer nor the principal
financial officer of the Company has become aware of any fact, circumstance or
change that is reasonably likely to result in a “significant deficiency” or a
“material weakness” in the Company’s internal controls over financial
reporting.
(d) The
audit committee of the Company Board includes an Audit Committee Financial
Expert, as defined by Item 407 (d)(5)(ii) of Regulation S-K.
(e) The
Company has adopted a code of ethics, as defined by Item 406(b) of Regulation
S-K, for senior financial officers, applicable to its principal financial
officer, comptroller or principal accounting officer, or Persons performing
similar functions. The Company has promptly disclosed any change in
or waiver of the Company’s code of ethics with respect to any such Persons, as
required by Section 406(b) of SOX. To the Knowledge of the Company,
there have been no violations of provisions of the Company’s code of ethics by
any such Persons since the adoption thereof .
(f) Since
December 31, 2007, (i) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries nor,
to the Knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, employee, auditor,
accountant or representative of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has
received or otherwise had or obtained knowledge of any material complaint,
allegation, assertion or claim, whether written or oral, regarding the
accounting or auditing practices, procedures, methodologies or methods of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries or their respective internal accounting
controls, including any material complaint, allegation, assertion or claim that
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has engaged in questionable accounting or
auditing practices, and (ii) no attorney representing the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries, whether or not employed by the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, has reported evidence of a material violation of securities Laws,
breach of fiduciary duty or similar violation by the Company or any of its
officers, directors, employees or agents to the Company Board or any committee
thereof or to any director or officer the Company.
3.6 Undisclosed
Liabilities. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
has any liability or obligation of any nature whatsoever (whether absolute,
accrued, contingent, determined, determinable or otherwise and whether due or to
become due), except for (i) those liabilities that are reflected or
reserved against on the consolidated balance sheet of the Company included in
its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30,
2010 (the “Company
Balance Sheet Date”) (including any notes thereto), (ii) liabilities
incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice since
September 30, 2010, or (iii) liabilities in connection with this Agreement and
the transactions contemplated hereby. Except as set forth in Section 3.6 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is
a party to, or has any commitment to become a party to, any joint venture,
off-balance sheet partnership or any similar Contract or arrangement (including
any Contract or arrangement relating to any transaction or relationship between
or among the Company and any of the Subsidiaries of the Company, on the one
hand, and any unconsolidated affiliate, including any structured finance,
special purpose or limited purpose entity or Person, on the other hand, or any
“off-balance sheet arrangement” (as defined in Item 303(a) of Regulation
S-K)).
21
3.7 Compliance with Applicable
Law; Permits.
(a) The
Company and the Company Subsidiaries have complied in all material respects with
all applicable Laws, and are not in material default or violation of, and have
not received any notices of violation with respect to, any Laws in connection
with the conduct of their respective businesses or the ownership or operation of
their respective businesses, assets and properties.
(b) The
Company and its Subsidiaries (i) have obtained and hold all Permits, easements,
consents, waivers and Orders that (A) are necessary to own, lease, hold, use or
operate their properties, rights and other assets and to carry on their
businesses as they are now being conducted, and (B) are necessary for the lawful
conduct of their respective businesses, and (ii) have complied in all respects
with, and are not in default or in violation in any respect of, any Laws or
legal requirements applicable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, except
where the failure so to hold or comply, individually or in the aggregate, would
not reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse
Effect. Such Permits, easements, consents, waivers and Orders are in
full force and effect and there are no Proceedings pending or, to the Knowledge
of the Company, threatened that seek the revocation, cancellation, suspension or
adverse modification thereof. The consummation of the Arrangement or
any of the transactions contemplated herein would not cause any revocation,
modification or cancellation of any such Permit, easement, consent, waiver and
Order.
3.8 Legal
Proceedings. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
is a party to any, and there is no pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company,
threatened, Proceeding of any nature against the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries or to which any of their assets are subject that would reasonably
be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material
Adverse Effect. There is no Order or settlement agreement imposed
upon the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or the assets of the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries (or that, upon consummation of the Arrangement and the other
transactions contemplated by this Agreement, would apply to Acquiror or any of
its Subsidiaries) having, or which would reasonably be expected to have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse
Effect.
3.9 Taxes.
(a) The
Company and its Subsidiaries have (i) timely filed (or there have been filed on
their behalf) with the appropriate Tax Authorities all material Tax Returns
required to be filed by them (giving effect to all extensions) on or prior to
the date hereof, and such Tax Returns are true, correct and complete in all
material respects, and (ii) timely paid in full or made provision in accordance
with GAAP (or there has been paid or provision has been made on their behalf)
for the payment of all material Taxes (whether or not reflected on a Tax Return)
for all periods ending through the date hereof.
22
(b) There
are no Liens for Taxes upon any property or assets of the Company or any
Subsidiary thereof, except for Liens for Taxes not yet due and for which
adequate reserves have been established in accordance with GAAP.
(c) Neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has made any change in accounting
methods, received a ruling from any Tax Authority or signed an agreement with
regard to Taxes likely to have a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(d) No
federal, state, local, or foreign Audits or other proceedings are presently
pending with regard to any material Taxes or Tax Returns of the Company or its
Subsidiaries and none of the Company or its Subsidiaries have received any
written notice of any material proposed claim, audit or proceeding with respect
to Taxes.
(e) No
Canadian federal income tax returns of the Company have been examined by the
applicable Taxing Authorities. The applicable statutes of limitation
for the assessment of Taxes for periods ending prior to 2004 have
expired.
(f) There
are no outstanding requests, agreements, consents or waivers to extend the
statutory period of limitations applicable to the assessment of any Taxes of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries, and no power of attorney granted by either
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with respect to any Taxes is currently in
force.
(g) Neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, is a party to any agreement providing
for the allocation, indemnification, or sharing of Taxes that will remain in
effect after the Closing Date (other than any such agreement between or among
the Company and any of its Subsidiaries).
(h) The
Company and each Company Subsidiary has complied in all material respects with
all applicable Laws relating to the payment or withholding of Taxes and has,
within the time and in the manner prescribed by applicable Law, withheld from
and paid over to the relevant Tax Authority all Taxes required to have been
withheld and paid in connection with amounts paid or owing to any employee,
independent contractor, stockholder, creditor, non-resident or any Third
Party.
(i) During
the three-year period ending on the date hereof, neither the Company nor any of
the Company Subsidiaries was a “distributing corporation” or a “controlled
corporation” in a transaction intended to be governed by Section 355 of the
Code.
(j) Neither
the Company nor any of the Company Subsidiaries has participated in any “listed
transaction” within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.6011-4(b)(2)
or Section 301.6111-2(b)(2) or any corresponding provision of state, local or
foreign Laws.
(k) Neither
the Company nor any of the Company Subsidiaries is or has been a member of an
affiliated group of corporations within the meaning of Section 1504 of the Code
or any group that has filed a combined, consolidated or unitary Tax Return
(other than the group of which the Company or a Subsidiary is or was the common
parent); and (ii) neither the Company nor any of the Company Subsidiaries
has any liability for the Taxes of any Person (other than the Company or its
Subsidiaries) under Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-6 (or any similar
provision of provincial, state, local or foreign Law), as a transferee or
successor, by contract or otherwise.
23
(l)
The Company
Financial Statements reflect an adequate reserve, in accordance with GAAP, for
all Taxes payable by the Company and its Subsidiaries accrued through the date
of such financial statements and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
has incurred any material Taxes since the date of such statements other than in
the ordinary course of business.
(m) No
claim has ever been made in writing by a Tax Authority in a jurisdiction where
the Company or its Subsidiaries do not file Tax Returns that the Company or any
of its Subsidiaries is or may be subject to taxation by that
jurisdiction.
(n) Neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is now a party to or bound by any
contract, agreement or other arrangement (whether or not written) that (a)
requires the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to make any material Tax payment
to or for the account of any other Person, (b) affords any other Person the
benefit of any net operating loss, net capital loss, investment Tax credit,
foreign Tax credit, charitable deduction or any other credit or Tax attribute
which could reduce Taxes (including, without limitation, deductions and credits
related to alternative minimum Taxes) of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries,
or (c) requires or permits the transfer or assignment of income, revenues,
receipts or gains to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries from any other
Person, other than payments made to the Company and its Subsidiaries in the
ordinary course of business.
(o) The
aggregate tax pools of the Company and its Subsidiaries are not less than
Canadian$23,812,205. For the purposes of this provision, “aggregate tax pools”
means, in respect of the Company and its Subsidiaries, the total of the
following balances for the taxation year ended December 31, 2009: undepreciated
capital cost of all classes of depreciable property, cumulative Canadian
exploration expense balance, cumulative Canadian development expense balance,
cumulative Canadian oil and gas property expense balance, previously undeducted
noncapital loss carry-forward balances for each year, cumulative eligible
capital balance and previously undeducted financing expense balance for the
purpose of paragraph 20(1)(e) of the Income Tax Act (Canada), as all such terms
are defined for the purpose of the Income Tax Act (Canada).
(p) The
Company and its Subsidiaries have duly and timely collected or caused to be
collected all amounts on account of sales or transfer Taxes, including goods and
services, harmonized sales and provincial or territorial sales Taxes, required
by Law to be collected by it and has duly and timely remitted to the applicable
Governmental Entity any such amounts required by Law to be remitted by
it.
(q) The
current paid-up capital (as defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada)) of the
Company Shares is not less than Canadian$147,588,000.
24
(r)
Neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries has agreed to make or is required to make any material adjustments
for any taxable year after the Closing Date under Section 481 of the
Code.
(s) There
is no basis for any material amount of penalties and interest to be assessed by
the Internal Revenue Service against the Company or any Subsidiary arising out
of or in connection with the Drilling Partnerships.
3.10 Certain
Agreements.
(a) Except
as set forth in Section 3.10(a) of
the Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
is a party to, bound by or subject to any Contract (whether written or oral) (i)
that is a “material contract” (within the meaning of Item 601(b)(10) of the
SEC’s Regulation S-K) to be performed after the date of this Agreement that has
not been filed or incorporated by reference in the Company SEC Reports filed
after January 1, 2010 and prior to the date hereof, (ii) that contains a
non-compete or client or customer non-solicit requirement or other provision
that restricts in any material respect the conduct of, or the manner of
conducting, any line of business by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or
upon consummation of the Arrangement and the other transactions contemplated by
this Agreement could restrict in any material respect the ability of Acquiror,
the Company or any of their respective Subsidiaries to engage in any line of
business, (iii) that obligates the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to
conduct business on an exclusive or preferential basis with any Third Party or
containing “most favored nation” rights or upon consummation of the Arrangement
and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement will obligate
Acquiror, the Company or any of their respective Subsidiaries to conduct
business with any Third Party on an exclusive or preferential basis or pursuant
to “most favored nation” rights, (iv) with or to a labor union or guild
(including any collective bargaining agreement), (v) that creates a partnership,
joint venture, strategic alliance or similar arrangement with respect to any
material business of the Company, (vi) that is an indenture, credit agreement,
loan agreement, security agreement, guarantee, note, mortgage or other Contract
providing for or guaranteeing indebtedness in excess of U.S.$200,000, (vii)
that, individually or together with related Contracts, provides for the
acquisition, disposition, license, use, distribution or outsourcing, after the
date of this Agreement, of assets, services, rights or properties with a value
or requiring annual fees in excess of U.S.$200,000, (viii) that involves
aggregate payments by or to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in excess of
U.S.$200,000 in any twelve month period or more than U.S.$200,000 through the
remaining term of the Contract, except for any Contract that may be cancelled
without penalty by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries upon notice of 60 days
or less, (ix) that includes an indemnification obligation of the Company or any
of its Subsidiaries with a maximum potential liability in excess of
U.S.$200,000, (x) concerning Intellectual Property (other than generally
commercially available, non-custom, off-the-shelf software licenses having a
retail acquisition price of less than U.S.$200,000), (xi) which would prevent,
delay or impede the consummation, or otherwise reduce in any material respect
the contemplated benefits, of any of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement, including any poison pill or shareholder rights plan, (xii) with
respect to the service of any directors, officers, employees, or independent
contractors or consultants that are natural persons, involving the payment of
U.S.$200,000 or more in any 12 month period, (xiii) with respect to the service
of any directors, officers, employees, or independent contractors or consultants
that are natural persons, involving any retention, severance or change of
control payment, (xiv) constituting Derivative Agreements, (xv) constituting oil
and gas operating agreements, (xvi) constituting gas purchase agreements, (xvii)
constituting gas balancing agreements; oil, gas, and condensate purchase and
sale agreements; joint venture agreements; exploration agreements; farmout
agreements; farmin agreements; dry hole agreements; bottom hole agreements;
acreage contribution agreements; area of mutual interest agreements; saltwater
disposal agreements; servicing contracts; production purchase, gathering and
processing agreements; third party contractor or supplier agreements; marketing
agreements; seismic licenses and agreements; non-competition agreements and
other contracts principally related to real property or oil and gas interests,
(xviii) that contains a change of control provision which would be triggered by
the Arrangement, or (xix) the loss of which would reasonably be expected to have
a Company Material Adverse Effect. Each Contract of the type
described in this Section 3.10(a) is
referred to herein as a “Material
Contract.” True and complete copies of all Material Contracts
are listed as exhibits to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
period ended December 31, 2009 filed and any subsequent Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q or Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC or have been provided to
Acquiror by the Company prior to the date hereof.
25
(b) (i)
Each Material Contract is valid and binding on the Company or any of the Company
Subsidiaries, as applicable, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms
and is in full force and effect, (ii) the Company or any of the Company
Subsidiaries, as applicable, and, to the Knowledge of the Company, each other
party thereto has duly performed all obligations required to be performed by it
under each Material Contract, and (iii) no event or condition exists that
constitutes or, after notice or lapse of time or both, will constitute, a
breach, violation or default on the part of the Company or any of the Company
Subsidiaries or, to the Knowledge of the Company, any other party thereto, under
any such Material Contract, except to the extent the failure of such
representation in clause (i), (ii) or (iii) above, individually or in the
aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse
Effect. There are no disputes pending or to the Knowledge of the
Company, threatened with respect to any Material Contract.
(c) Except
as set forth on Section 3.10(c) of
the Company Disclosure Schedule, there are no on-going renegotiations of, or
attempts to renegotiate, any amounts paid or payable to the Company under any of
the Material Contracts and no party has made written demand for such
renegotiations. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.8(c), there are no
commissions due (or to become due) to any broker or other party as a result of
the purchase or sale of Hydrocarbons under any of the Material
Contracts. Except as set forth on Section 3.10(c) of
the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company has not, with respect to the
Material Contracts: (i) become overproduced as to any Oil and Gas Interest so as
to have a balancing obligation relative thereto, nor has it otherwise received
any quantity of natural gas or liquids, condensate or crude oil to be paid for
thereafter other than in the normal cycle of billing; or (ii) received
prepayments, advance payments or loans which will require the performance of
services or provision of natural gas or liquids, condensate or crude oil under
such Material Contracts on or after the Closing Date without being currently
paid therefor other than in the normal cycle of billing. Except as
set forth on Section
3.10(c) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company is not obligated,
by virtue of prepayment arrangement, make up right under production sales
contract containing a “take or pay” or similar provision, gas balancing
agreement, production payment or any other arrangement to deliver Hydrocarbons,
or proceeds from the sale thereof, attributable to the Mineral Leases at some
future time without then or thereafter receiving the full contract price
therefor. Except as set forth on Section 3.10(c) of
the Company Disclosure Schedule or in any Material Contract, there is no call
upon, option to purchase or similar right to obtain Hydrocarbons from the
Mineral Leases in favor of any Person other than pursuant to renewal rights or
automatic renewal provisions contained in existing contracts for the sale of
Hydrocarbons.
26
3.11 Benefit
Plans.
(a) Section 3.11(a)
of the Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth a true and complete list of each
Company Benefit Plan. A “Company Benefit Plan”
is any “employee benefit plan,” as defined in Section 3(3) of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), any
multiemployer plan within the meaning of ERISA Section 3(37)) and each
stock purchase, stock option, severance, employment, change-in-control, fringe
benefit, collective bargaining, bonus, incentive or deferred compensation plan,
agreement, program, policy or other arrangement, whether qualified or
nonqualified, written or unwritten, or subject to ERISA (all the foregoing being
herein called “Benefit
Plans”) (i) maintained, entered into or contributed to by the
Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or any trade or business, whether or not
incorporated, that together with the Company would be deemed a “single employer”
within the meaning of section 4001(b) of ERISA (a “Company ERISA
Affiliate”) under which any present or former employee, director,
independent contractor or consultant of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
has any present or future right to benefits or (ii) under which the
Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or any Company ERISA Affiliate has or could
reasonably be expected to have any present or future liability.
(b) With
respect to each Company Benefit Plan, the Company has made available to Acquiror
a current, correct and complete copy thereof, and (where applicable):
(i) the related trust agreement or other funding instrument; (ii) the
most recent determination letter or opinion letter, if applicable;
(iii) the summary plan description (including any summaries of material
modifications) and other written communications (or a description of any
material oral communications) by the Company or its Subsidiaries to the
participants and/or beneficiaries concerning the benefits provided thereunder;
(iv) the insurance policies, certificates of coverage, and related
documents; (v) for the four years preceding the date of this Agreement (A) the
Annual Report (Form 5500 Series) and accompanying schedules, (B) audited
financial statements, (C) actuarial valuation reports, and (D) all notices
issued by the IRS, Department of Labor, or other governmental agency to the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries; and (vi) all contracts with Third Party
administrators, actuaries, investment managers, consultants, and other
independent contractors.
27
(c) With
respect to the Company Benefit Plans, individually and in the aggregate, (i) no
event has occurred and, to the Knowledge of the Company, there exists no
condition or set of circumstances in connection with which the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries could be subject to any material liability under ERISA, the
Code or any other Applicable Law; (ii) no actions, suits or claims (other than
routine claims for benefits in the ordinary course) are pending or to the
Knowledge of the Company, threatened; and (iii) no administrative investigation,
audit or other administrative proceeding by the Department of Labor, the Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the IRS or other governmental agency is pending or
to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(d) Except
as set forth in Section 3.11(d)
of the Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the execution and delivery of this
Agreement or any other document contemplated hereby, nor the consummation of the
Arrangement or any other transaction contemplated hereby (either alone or upon
the occurrence of any additional or subsequent events), will result in the
acceleration or creation of any rights of any Person to benefits under any
Company Benefit Plan (including, but not limited to, the acceleration of the
vesting or exercisability of any stock options or similar equity-based
compensation, the acceleration of the vesting of any restricted stock or similar
equity-based compensation, the acceleration of the accrual or vesting of any
benefits under any pension plan or the acceleration or creation of any rights
under any employment, severance, parachute or change in control
agreement). Except as set forth in Section 3.11(d)
of the Company Disclosure Schedule, each Company Benefit Plan can be merged,
amended or terminated, without payment of any additional contribution or amount
and without the vesting or acceleration of any benefits.
(e) No
liability under Title IV or section 302 of ERISA has been incurred by the
Company or by any Company ERISA Affiliate that has not been satisfied in full,
and no condition exists that presents a risk to the Company or any Company ERISA
Affiliate of incurring any such liability.
(f) No
Company Benefit Plan is subject to Section 302 or Title IV of ERISA or
Section 412 or 4971 of the Code. Neither the Company nor any
other Company ERISA Affiliate participates or has participated in, or
contributes or has contributed to a multi-employer plan within the meaning of
ERISA Section 3(37)(A). Neither the Company nor any other Company
ERISA Affiliate sponsors or has sponsored, participates or has participated in,
or contributes or has contributed to a voluntary employees’ beneficiary
association within the meaning of Code Section 501(c)(9). Neither the Company nor
any of its Subsidiaries has incurred any current or projected liability in
respect of post-employment or post-retirement health, medical or life insurance
benefits, except as required to avoid an excise Tax under Code Section
4980B. No Company Benefit Plan is a “multiemployer plan” within the
meaning of ERISA Section 4001(a)(3).
(g) All
filings required by ERISA and the Code as to each Company Benefit Plan have been
timely filed, and all notices and disclosures to participants, participant
spouses and beneficiaries required by ERISA or the Code have been timely
provided.
(h) The
Company has no formal plan or commitment, whether legally binding or not, to
create any additional Company Benefit Plan or modify or change any existing
Company Benefit Plan that would affect any employee of the Company, or any
spouse, dependent or beneficiary thereof.
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(i)
The Company and each of its
Subsidiaries have performed all of their obligations under all Company Benefit
Plans and have made appropriate entries in their financial records and
statements for all obligations and liabilities under the Company Benefit Plans
that have accrued as of the date of this Agreement. Each Company
Benefit Plan is, in form and operation, in full compliance with ERISA, the Code,
and other Applicable Laws. No transaction prohibited by ERISA Section
406 and no “prohibited transaction” under Code Section 4975(c) has occurred with
respect to any Company Benefit Plan.
(j)
All contributions and payments made or
accrued with respect to all Employee Benefit Plans are deductible under Code
Section 162 or 404. No amount, or any asset of any Employee Benefit
Plan is subject to tax as unrelated business taxable income.
(k) No
payment that is owed or may become due to any director, officer, employee, or
agent of the Company will be non-deductible by the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries under Code Section 280G or 4999; nor will the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries be required to “gross up” or otherwise compensate any such Person
because of the imposition of any excise tax on a payment to such
Person.
(l)
Each Company Benefit Plan that provides for nonqualified
deferred compensation within the meaning of Code Section 409A complies in form
and operation with the requirements of Code Section 409A.
(m) No
Company Benefit Plan is maintained outside the jurisdiction of the United
States, or covers any employee residing or working outside the jurisdiction of
the United States.
3.12 Severance and Change of
Control Agreements. Section 3.12 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth a true and complete list of (i) all
severance agreements, change of control agreements, employment agreements,
retention agreements, incentive plans or other similar plans or arrangements,
together with all amendments thereto, between the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries and any director, officer, employee or independent contractor of
the Company or its Subsidiaries, and (ii) the amount payable under such
agreement, plan or arrangement (including the name of the Person to whom such
obligation is owed, the amount of the obligation and the date or
event on which such payment obligation may become due) in connection with (A)
the consummation of the Arrangement and the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement, (B) the termination of any such Person’s relationship with the
Company or its Subsidiaries, or (C) the retention or continued employment of any
such Person.
29
3.13 Absence of Certain Changes
or Events. Except in the case of the events reported on the
Company’s Form 10-Q for the three month period ended September 30, 2010 filed
with the SEC on November 9, 2010 and the Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K,
filed with the SEC on November 19, 2010 and December 15, 2010, and actions taken
after the date hereof and permitted by Section 5.1, since
September 30, 2010, (i) the Company and its Subsidiaries have conducted
their respective businesses in the ordinary course consistent with their past
practices and (ii) there has not been any change, circumstance or event
(including any event involving a prospective change) which, individually or in
the aggregate, has had, or would reasonably be expected to have, a Company
Material Adverse Effect. In addition, since September 30, 2010 and
through the date of this Agreement, neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries has not taken any action that would, if such action were taken
after the date of this Agreement, require the prior written consent of Acquiror
pursuant to Section
5.1.
3.14 Board
Approval. The Company’s Board of Directors, by resolutions
duly adopted on or prior to the date hereof, has (i) determined that this
Agreement and the Arrangement are in the best interests of the Company and its
shareholders, (ii) adopted a resolution approving this Agreement and
declaring its advisability, (iii) recommended that the shareholders of the
Company approve this Agreement and vote in favor of the Arrangement Resolution
(the “Company Board
Recommendation”) and directed that such matter be submitted to the
Company Shareholders for consideration at the Company Meeting.
3.15 Intellectual
Property.
(a) Section 3.15(a) of
the Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth a complete and accurate list of all
Intellectual Property registrations and applications owned or licensed (other
than under commercially available “off the shelf” licenses) by the Company and
its Subsidiaries. The Company and its Subsidiaries own or possess
sufficient and legally enforceable licenses or other rights to use, any and all
Intellectual Property necessary for the conduct of the business and operations
of the Company and its Subsidiaries as currently conducted, and the Intellectual
Property registrations and applications owned or licensed by the Company and its
Subsidiaries are subsisting and unexpired and there are no claims challenging
the validity or enforceability of the Intellectual Property owned by the Company
or its Subsidiaries.
(b) Except
as set forth on Section 3.15(b) of
the Company Disclosure Schedule, (i) the conduct of the business of the Company
and its Subsidiaries does not infringe, conflict with or otherwise violate any
Intellectual Property of any Person, and none of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries has received written notice (including cease and desist letters or
invitations to take a patent or other Intellectual Property license) or has
Knowledge of any such infringement, conflict or other violation and (ii) to the
Company’s Knowledge no Person is infringing, conflicting or otherwise violating
the Intellectual Property owned by the Company and its
Subsidiaries.
(c) Except
as set forth on Section 3.15(c) of
the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company and its Subsidiaries have taken all
commercially reasonable steps to protect and maintain (i) their confidential
information and trade secrets; (ii) their sole ownership of material proprietary
Intellectual Property and (iii) the security and integrity of their material
systems and software.
30
3.16 Properties. Except
as set forth on Section 3.16 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company or one of its Subsidiaries (i) has
good and marketable title to all the properties and assets reflected in the
Company Financial Statements as being owned by the Company or one of its
Subsidiaries or acquired after the date thereof (except properties sold or
otherwise disposed of since the date thereof in the ordinary course of
business), free and clear of all Liens of any nature whatsoever, except Company
Permitted Liens, and (ii) is the lessee, farmee or assignee under Mineral
Leases for all leasehold estates reflected in the Company Financial Statements
or acquired after the date thereof (except for Mineral Leases that have expired
by their terms since the date thereof) and is in possession of the properties
purported to be leased, farmed out or assigned thereunder, and each such Mineral
Lease is valid without default thereunder by the lessee, farmee or assignee or,
to the Company’s Knowledge, the lessor, farmor or assignor.
3.17 Environmental
Matters.
(a) (A) The
Company and its Subsidiaries hold, and are currently, and at all prior times
have been, in continuous compliance with all Permits, licenses, registrations
and other governmental authorizations required under all applicable Canadian and
U.S., foreign, federal, provincial, state and local Laws relating to
contamination, pollution or protection of human health, natural resources or the
environment (“Environmental Laws”)
for the Company to conduct its operations (“Environmental
Permits”), and are currently, and at all prior times have been, otherwise
in continuous compliance with all applicable Environmental Laws and, to the
Knowledge of the Company, there is no condition that would reasonably be
expected to prevent or interfere with compliance with all applicable
Environmental Laws and all applicable Environmental Permits in the future,
(B) the Company and its Subsidiaries have not received any written notice,
claim, demand, action, suit, complaint, proceeding or other communication by any
Person alleging any violation of, or any actual or potential liability under,
any Environmental Laws (an “Environmental
Claim”), and the Company has no Knowledge of any pending or threatened
Environmental Claim, (C) no hazardous, dangerous or toxic substance,
including without limitation, petroleum (including without limitation crude oil
or any fraction thereof), asbestos and asbestos-containing materials,
polychlorinated biphenyls, radon, fungus, mold, urea-formaldehyde insulation or
any other material that is regulated pursuant to any Environmental Laws or that
could result in liability under any Environmental Laws has been generated,
transported, treated, stored, installed, disposed of, arranged to be disposed
of, released or threatened to be released at, on, from or under any of the
properties or facilities currently or formerly owned, leased or otherwise used
by the Company or its Subsidiaries, in violation of, or in a manner or to a
location that could give rise to liability to the Company or its Subsidiaries
under Environmental Laws, (D) the Company and its Subsidiaries have not
assumed, contractually, any liabilities or obligations under or relating to any
Environmental Laws, and (E) the Company and its Subsidiaries have operated their
respective businesses at all times and have generated, received, handled, used,
stored, treated, shipped, recycled and disposed of all waste and contaminants in
compliance with Environmental Laws.
(b) The
Company has not received notice of any proposed environmental or royalty
policies or Laws which could have a material adverse effect on any oil and gas
exploration, development or production operations of the Company, other than
those that apply to the oil and gas industry generally.
31
3.18 Labor and Employment
Matters. Except as set forth in Section 3.18 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the Company nor its Subsidiaries are (i) a
party to any policy, agreement, obligation, understanding or undertaking
providing for severance, bonus, change of control or termination payments to any
former or current director, officer, employee, independent contractor or
consultant, as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or
otherwise, (ii) is a party to or bound by any other policy, agreement,
understanding or undertaking or requirements of Applicable Laws in respect of
any employee, former employee, independent contractor or consultant, including
any contract for the employment or statutorily required re-employment of any
employee, (iii) is a party to or bound by, either directly or by operation of
Applicable Law, any collective bargaining agreement, labor contract, letter of
understanding, letter of intent, voluntary recognition agreement, or legally
binding commitment to any labor union, trade union or employee organization in
respect of or affecting employees or independent contractors nor is the Company
or any Subsidiary subject to any union organization effort or (iv) is a party to
any application, complaint or other Proceeding under any Applicable Law relating
to employees or former employees nor is the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
aware of any factual or legal basis on which such a Proceeding may be
commenced. There are no and there never have been any Canadian
employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
3.19 Insurance. Section 3.19 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule describes the insurance policies of the Company and
its Subsidiaries in effect on the date of the Agreement. All
insurance policies of the Company and its Subsidiaries are in full force and
effect and provide insurance in such amounts and against such risks as the
management of the Company reasonably has determined to be prudent in accordance
with industry practices or as is required by Law and having regard to the size
of the Company and its operations. Neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries is in breach or default, and neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries has taken any action or failed to take any action which, with
notice or the lapse of time or both, would constitute a material breach or
default, or permit termination or modification, of any material insurance
policies.
3.20 Title to Oil and Gas
Interests.
(a) The
Company, or one of its Subsidiaries, has good and marketable title, free of any
Liens except the Company Permitted Liens, to the Oil and Gas Interests of the
Company included or reflected in the Ownership Interests set forth on Section
3.20(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, such that, as to Net Revenue
Interests and Working Interests, (i) the Company, or one of its Subsidiaries, is
entitled to receive throughout the duration of the productive life of each
Mineral Lease, Well or other Oil and Gas Interest, a Net Revenue Interest of not
less than the Net Revenue Interest set forth on Section 3.20(a) of
the Company Disclosure Schedule for such Mineral Lease, Well or other Oil and
Gas Interest, and (ii) the Company, or one of its Subsidiaries, is entitled to
receive throughout the duration of the productive life of each Mineral Lease,
Well or other Oil and Gas Interest, a Working Interest of not greater than the
Working Interest set forth on Section 3.20(a) of
the Company Disclosure Schedule for such Mineral Lease, Well or other Oil and
Gas Interest.
(b) The
Company or one of the Company’s Subsidiaries own all rights of way and surface
damage agreements associated therewith that are currently used with and which
are reasonably sufficient for the operation of the Company’s or its Subsidiary’s
Oil and Gas Interests or the production, treatment, storage, sale or disposal of
Hydrocarbons, water or other minerals or substances produced from the Mineral
Leases, and all of same are assignable.
32
3.21 Oil and Gas
Operations. All Xxxxx included in the Oil and Gas Interests of
the Company and its Subsidiaries have been drilled and (if completed) completed,
operated and produced (and if plugged and abandoned) plugged and abandoned, each
and all in accordance with generally accepted oil and gas field practices and in
compliance with applicable oil and gas joint operating agreements, leases and
other contractual obligations, and Applicable Laws, rules and
regulations.
3.22 Production Allowables and
Production Penalties. Except as would not have a Company
Material Adverse Effect:
(a) None
of the Xxxxx has been produced in excess of applicable production allowables
imposed by any Laws or Governmental Entity and the Company has no Knowledge of
any impending change in production allowables imposed by any Laws or
Governmental Entity that may be applicable to any of the Xxxxx in which it holds
an interest, other than changes of general application in the jurisdiction in
which such Xxxxx are situated.
(b) Neither
the Company nor its Subsidiaries have received notice of any production penalty
or similar production restriction of any nature imposed or to be imposed by any
Governmental Entity, including gas-oil ratio, off-target and overproduction
penalties imposed by any Governmental Entity that may be applicable, and, to the
Company’s Knowledge, none of the Xxxxx is subject to any such penalty or
restriction.
3.23 Lease
Provisions. Section 3.23 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule (i) sets forth a true and complete list of all of
the Company’s Mineral Leases, and (ii) indicates those Mineral Leases that
require the satisfaction of drilling commitments to maintain and perpetuate the
Oil and Gas Interests of the Company or one of its Subsidiaries in the
undeveloped acreage and or depths covered thereby (“Company Drilling
Commitments”). All of the Company’s Mineral Leases are valid,
in force and effect and are maintained by their terms, whether within or beyond
each such Mineral Lease’s term, subject to satisfaction of the Company Drilling
Commitments for the current measuring period thereunder. Section 3.20(a) of
the Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth a true, correct and complete
identification of the Mineral Leases, drilling units on the Mineral Leases and a
list of the Xxxxx located on the lands associated with and subject to the
Mineral Leases (other than Xxxxx having a present value of discounted future net
revenues below Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000)), together with the Company’s (or
its Subsidiary’s) Net Revenue Interest and Working Interest therein, expressed
as a decimal in accordance with industry practice. Except as set
forth in Section
3.23 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, none of the Mineral Leases
provide for payment of delay rentals or shut-in royalty payments in order to
maintain the same in force and effect. Except as set forth on Section 3.23 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, all rentals, royalties, overriding royalty
interests and other payments due under each of the Mineral Leases have been
timely and accurately paid, except amounts that are being held in suspense as a
result of title issues in circumstances that do not provide any Third Party a
right to terminate any such Mineral Lease. Section 3.23 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule lists the accrued suspense funds as of November 30,
2010.
33
3.24 Sale
Contracts. Except as set forth on Section 3.24 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule and for (a) contracts governing the sale of oil or
gas in the ordinary course which are terminable by the Company (or a Subsidiary
of the Company) without penalty on sixty (60) or fewer days’ notice, or (b) the
disposition in the ordinary course of equipment no longer suitable for or used
in oil and gas field operations, there are no contracts, agreements or options
to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are a party outstanding for the
sale, exchange or transfer of any of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ interest
in the Oil and Gas Interests or any portion thereof.
3.25 Drilling
Partnerships. Section 3.25 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth a true and complete list of each joint
venture or partnership in which the Company participates or holds an interest,
or previously participated or held an interest (each a “Drilling
Partnership”), together with a true and complete list of (i) the nature
of the interest held by the Company in each Drilling Partnership, (ii) each
joint venture, partnership, limited liability company or other operating
agreement with respect to such Drilling Partnerships, and (iii) the name of each
Drilling Partnership, date of formation, original capitalization, number of
xxxxx and payout status (% cash returned). True and complete copies
of all such agreements and all other material documents relating to the Drilling
Partnerships have been provided to Acquiror by the Company prior to the date
hereof. Any securities directly or indirectly offered, promoted or
sold by the Company or a Company Subsidiary in or with respect to the Drilling
Partnerships have been offered pursuant to a valid exemption from registration
under the Securities Act and all applicable blue sky Laws. In
connection with any such offerings, the Company or a Company Subsidiary provided
appropriate disclosure materials to all potential investors in the Drilling
Partnerships and such disclosure materials did not (i) contain any
representation, warranty or information that was false or misleading with
respect to any material fact, or (ii) omit to state any material fact
necessary in order to make the information contained therein (in the light of
the circumstances under which such information was provided) not false or
misleading. All equity and partnership interests in the Drilling
Partnerships are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable
and free from preemptive rights. Except as otherwise set forth in
Section 3.25 of
the Company Disclosure Schedule, there are no outstanding subscriptions,
options, warrants, puts, calls, rights, exchangeable or convertible securities
or other commitments or agreements of any character relating to the issued or
unissued equity interest or other securities of any Drilling Partnership, or
otherwise obligating the Company or any Company Subsidiary to issue, transfer,
sell, purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any such securities.
3.26 Consents; Preferential
Rights.
(a) Except
as set forth on Section 3.26(a) of
the Company Disclosure Schedule, there are no preferential rights to purchase
with respect to any of the Oil and Gas Interests owned by Company or one of its
Subsidiaries that would be triggered by the Arrangement.
(b) Except
as set forth on Section 3.26(b) of
the Company Disclosure Schedule, there are no consents, approvals or
authorizations of any Person with respect to the transfer of any of the Oil and
Gas Interests owned by the Company or one of its Subsidiaries that would be
triggered by the Arrangement.
34
3.27 AFEs. Except
as set forth on Section 3.27 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, there are no outstanding calls or payments under
authorities for expenditures for payments or other capital commitments relating
to the Company’s or one of its Subsidiary’s Oil and Gas Interests which exceed
U.S.$200,000 (net to Company’s or one of its Subsidiaries’ interest) and which
are due or which the Company has committed to make which have not been
made.
3.28 Imbalances. Except
as set forth on Section 3.28 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, there are no wellhead imbalances or other
imbalances attributable to the Company’s or one of its Subsidiaries’ Oil and Gas
Interests for which Acquiror would be responsible following the Effective
Time.
3.29 Plugging and
Abandonment. Except as set forth on Section 3.29 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, there are no Xxxxx located on the Mineral Leases
that:
(a) the
Company or one of its Subsidiaries has received an order from any Governmental
Entity requiring that such Well be plugged and abandoned;
(b) were
producing as of the date of this Agreement but between the date hereof and the
Effective Time, will be shut-in and have been for more than five (5) days, or
temporarily abandoned; provided, that the Company or one of its Subsidiaries may
shut-in a Well for more than five (5) days following the tendering notice to
Acquiror and if the Company or one of its Subsidiaries deems such shutting-in
necessary and advisable as a reasonable and prudent operator, or as otherwise
permitted under Section 5.1(a);
or
(c) have
been plugged and abandoned but have not been plugged in accordance with all
applicable requirements of each Governmental Entity having jurisdiction over the
Oil and Gas Interests.
3.30 No Expenses Owed and
Delinquent. No material expenses (including bills for labor,
materials, supplies used or furnished for use in connection with the Company’s
or one of its Subsidiaries’ Oil and Gas Interests) are owed and delinquent in
payment by Company or one of its Subsidiaries.
3.31 Payout
Balances. Section 3.31 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule contains a complete and accurate list of the status
of any “payout” balance (net to the Company’s or one of its Subsidiaries’
interest), as of the dates shown in such Schedule, for each Mineral Lease or
Well that is subject to a reversion or other adjustment at some level of cost
recovery or payout.
3.32 Condition of
Personalty. Except as set forth on Section 3.32 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, all material fixtures, facilities and equipment
that are reasonably necessary to conduct normal operations on the Company’s or
one of its Subsidiaries’ Oil and Gas Interests have been maintained in
accordance with standard industry practice and in a manner consistent with the
past practices of Company, normal wear and tear excepted.
35
3.33 Revenues. The
Company or one of the Company’s Subsidiaries is receiving all revenues
attributable to sales of production from Oil and Gas Interests owned by the
Company or one of the Company’s Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business
without suspense.
3.34 Gold and Silver Mine Letter
of Intent. The Company has provided Acquiror with a true,
correct and complete copy of the letter of intent dated October 5, 2010 by and
between NGAS Production Co. and Infinity Gold Mining, Inc. executed with respect
to the disposition of mineral interests in properties spanning 381 acres on Unga
Island and Popof Island in the Aleutian Chain (the “Gold and Silver Mine
Disposition”). Such letter of intent
has not been amended, modified, supplemented or revised in any way since the
date of its execution. The Company has entered into no other
contract, agreement or arrangement with respect to the Gold and Silver Mine
Disposition. The interests being transferred pursuant to the Gold and
Silver Mine Disposition are the only gold and silver interests held by the
Company or its Subsidiaries.
3.35 Non-Arm’s Length
Transactions. Neither the Company nor its Subsidiaries has
entered into any transactions (including any acquisition or disposition of
assets or the receipt or provision of any services) with a Person with whom it
did not deal at arm’s length for purposes of Applicable Laws with respect to
Taxes where such transactions were not for fair market value consideration and
on arm’s length terms and conditions.
3.36 Opinion of Financial
Advisor; Brokers. The Company has received the opinion of
KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. (the “Company Financial
Advisor”), dated as of the date hereof, to the effect that, as of the
date hereof, and based upon and subject to the factors and assumptions set forth
therein, the Transaction Consideration is fair, from a financial point of view,
to the Company Shareholders. As of the date hereof, such opinion has
not been amended or rescinded. The Company has furnished to Acquiror
copies of all Contracts to which the Company or any Company Subsidiary and the
Company Financial Advisor is a party pursuant to which the Company Financial
Advisor would be entitled to any payment relating to the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement. Other than the Company Financial
Advisor, no broker, finder, investment banker or other Person is entitled to any
brokerage, finder’s or other fee or commission in connection with the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
3.37 Full
Disclosure. This Agreement (including the Company Disclosure
Schedule) does not, and the certificate referred to in Section 7.2(a) will
not, (i) contain any representation, warranty or information that is false
or misleading with respect to any material fact, or (ii) omit to state any
material fact necessary in order to make the representations, warranties and
information contained and to be contained herein and therein (in the light of
the circumstances under which such representations, warranties and information
were or will be made or provided) not false or misleading.
3.38 Taxable
Transaction. The Company acknowledges that the Arrangement and
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement may result in the Transaction
Consideration payable to the Company Shareholders upon consummation of the
Arrangement being taxable to such shareholders.
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3.39 Central Bank Promissory
Note. Section 3.39 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule sets forth all material terms of the promissory note
issued June 8, 2009 by NGAS Production Co. to Central Bank & Trust Co. (the
“CBT Note”),
including without limitation, the amount outstanding as of the date of this
Agreement, the payment terms, whether the CBT Note is collateralized and if so
by what assets, and all outstanding personal guarantees securing the performance
of the CBT Note. The Company has provided to the Acquiror a copy of
such CBT Note and all outstanding personal guarantees securing the performance
of the CBT Note.
3.40 No Additional
Representations. Except for representations and warranties
made by the Company in this Article 3 and as set
forth in the certificate delivered by the Company to Acquiror pursuant to Section 7.2(a),
neither the Company nor any other Person makes any express or implied
representation or warranty with respect to the Company or its Subsidiaries or
their respective businesses, operations, assets, liabilities, conditions
(financial or otherwise) or prospects in connection with this Agreement or the
transactions contemplated hereby, and the Company hereby disclaims any such
other representations or warranties. In particular, without limiting
the foregoing disclaimer, neither the Company nor any other Person makes or has
made any representation or warranty to Acquiror or any of its affiliates or
representatives with respect to (a) any financial projection, forecast,
estimate, budget or prospect information relating to the Company, any of its
Subsidiaries or their respective businesses, or (b) any oral or, except for the
representations and warranties made by the Company in this Article 3 and as set
forth in the certificate delivered by the Company to Acquiror pursuant to Section 7.2(a),
written information presented to Acquiror or any of its affiliates or
representatives in the course of their due diligence investigation of the
Company, the negotiation of the Agreement or in the course of the transactions
contemplated hereby.
ARTICLE
4
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF ACQUIROR
Except
with respect to any subsection of this Article 4, as set
forth in the correspondingly identified subsection of the disclosure schedule
delivered by Acquiror to the Company concurrently herewith (the “Acquiror Disclosure
Schedule”), Acquiror hereby makes the representations and warranties set
forth in this Article
4 to and in favor of the Company and acknowledges that the Company is
relying upon such representations and warranties in connection with the matters
contemplated by this Agreement:
4.1 Organization, Standing and
Power.
(a) Acquiror
is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the
Laws of the State of Delaware. Acquiror has all requisite power and
authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on its business
as now being conducted, and is duly qualified and in good standing to do
business in each jurisdiction in which the nature of its business or the
ownership or leasing of its properties makes such qualification necessary, other
than in such other jurisdictions where the failure so to qualify and be in such
standing would not, either individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be
expected to have an Acquiror Material Adverse Effect. The Certificate
of Incorporation and Bylaws of Acquiror, copies of which were previously
provided to the Company by Acquiror, are true, complete and correct copies of
such documents as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
37
(b) Each
Subsidiary of Acquiror is a corporation, limited liability company or
partnership duly organized, validly existing and (where applicable) in good
standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of formation, has all requisite
power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on its
business as now being conducted, and is duly registered, licensed or otherwise
qualified and in good standing to do business in each jurisdiction in which the
nature of its business or the ownership or leasing of its properties requires it
to be so registered, licensed or otherwise qualified, other than in such
jurisdictions where the failure to be so registered, licensed or otherwise
qualified would not, either individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be
expected to have an Acquiror Material Adverse Effect. All of the
shares of capital stock or other equity interests of each of the Subsidiaries
held by Acquiror any of its Subsidiaries are fully paid and nonassessable and
are owned by Acquiror or a Subsidiary of Acquiror free and clear of any Lien,
other than Liens under the Acquiror Credit Facility.
4.2 Capital
Structure.
(a) As
of December 20, 2010, the authorized capital stock of Acquiror consists of (i)
10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value U.S.$.001 per share (the “Acquiror Preferred
Stock”) and (ii) 150,000,000 shares of Acquiror Common
Stock. As of the date of this Agreement there are (i) 2,629,673
shares of Acquiror Preferred Stock issued and outstanding and no shares held in
treasury; (ii) 71,150,446 shares of Acquiror Common Stock issued and outstanding
and 914,952 shares of Acquiror Common Stock held in treasury; (iii) options and
stock appreciation rights that could be exercisable for an aggregate of
12,790,907 shares of Acquiror Common Stock (the “Acquiror Options”);
and (iv) warrants exercisable for an aggregate of 963,034 shares of Acquiror
Common Stock (the “Acquiror
Warrants”). Except as set forth in Section 4.2 of the Acquiror
Disclosure Schedule, as of December 20, 2010, no shares of Acquiror Common Stock
or Acquiror Preferred Stock are reserved for issuance.
(b) All
outstanding shares of the Acquiror Common Stock or the Acquiror Preferred Stock
have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and
non-assessable and are free from preemptive rights.
(c) Acquiror
has no Voting Debt outstanding. Except as set forth above, no shares
of capital stock or other voting securities of Acquiror are issued or
outstanding on the date hereof. Other than the Acquiror Options and
the Acquiror Warrants, no other options or warrants to purchase Acquiror Common
Stock or any other equity based awards are outstanding on the date
hereof.
4.3 Authority.
(a) Acquiror
has all requisite corporate power and authority to enter into this Agreement and
to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, including the issuance of
shares of Acquiror Common Stock in the Arrangement. The execution and
delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part
of Acquiror. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by
Acquiror and, assuming due authorization, execution and delivery by the Company,
constitutes a valid and binding obligation of Acquiror, enforceable against
Acquiror in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency,
fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and similar Laws of general
applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general
equitable principles.
38
(b) The
execution and delivery of this Agreement does not, and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby will not, (A) result in any Violation
pursuant to any provision of the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of
Acquiror or any Subsidiary of Acquiror, or (B) subject to obtaining or
making the consents, approvals, Orders, authorizations, registrations,
declarations and filings referred to in Section 4.3(c),
result in any Violation of any loan or credit agreement, note, mortgage,
indenture, lease, Benefit Plan of Acquiror or other agreement, obligation,
instrument, Permit, judgment or Law applicable to Acquiror or any Subsidiary of
Acquiror or their respective properties or assets.
(c) No
consent, approval, Order or authorization of, or registration, declaration or
filing with, any Governmental Entity is required by or with respect to Acquiror
or any Subsidiary of Acquiror in connection with the execution and delivery of
this Agreement by Acquiror or the consummation by Acquiror of the transactions
contemplated hereby, except for (A) the filing with the SEC of any filings
required under the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the “Exchange
Act”) as may be required in connection with this Agreement and the
transactions contemplated hereby, (B) such filings and approvals as are
required to be made or obtained under the securities or blue sky Laws of various
states in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (C)
the filing of an additional shares listing application or similar documents
covering the Transaction Consideration with the Exchange, (D) the filing of a
notice under the Investment Canada Act, (E) if required, the filing of a notice
of change of corporate structure with the applicable Canadian securities
commission and (F) if required, oil and gas related filings and consents that
are customarily filed or obtained post-Closing.
4.4 SEC
Documents. Acquiror has filed all required reports, schedules,
registration statements, financial statements and other documents with the SEC
since December 31, 2009 (the “Acquiror SEC
Documents”). As of their respective dates of filing with the
SEC (or, if amended or superseded by a filing prior to the date hereof, as of
the date of such filing), the Acquiror SEC Documents complied in all material
respects with the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as the
case may be, and the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder applicable to
such Acquiror SEC Documents, and none of the Acquiror SEC Documents when filed
contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein,
in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading. The financial statements of Acquiror included in the
Acquiror SEC Documents complied as to form, as of their respective dates of
filing with the SEC, in all material respects with all applicable accounting
requirements and with the published rules and regulations of the SEC with
respect thereto (except, in the case of unaudited statements, as permitted by
Form 10-Q of the SEC), have been prepared in accordance with GAAP applied on a
consistent basis during the periods involved (except as may be disclosed
therein) and fairly present in all material respects the consolidated financial
position of Acquiror and its consolidated Subsidiaries and the consolidated
results of operations, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows of such
companies as of the dates and for the periods shown. There are no
outstanding comments from the staff of the SEC with respect to any of the
Acquiror SEC Documents.
39
4.5 Compliance with Applicable
Laws and Reporting Requirements.
(a) Acquiror
and its Subsidiaries hold all Permits, exemptions, Orders and approvals of all
Governmental Entities that (1) are necessary to own, lease, hold, use or operate
their properties, rights and other assets and to carry on their businesses as
they are now being conducted, and (2) are necessary for the lawful conduct of
their respective businesses, (the “Acquiror Permits”),
and Acquiror and its Subsidiaries are and have been in compliance with the terms
of the Acquiror Permits and all Applicable Laws and regulations and their own
privacy policies, except where the failure so to hold or comply, individually or
in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have an Acquiror Material
Adverse Effect. Such Acquiror Permits are in full force and effect
and there are no Proceedings pending or, to the Knowledge of Acquiror,
threatened that seek the revocation, cancellation, suspension or adverse
modification thereof. The consummation of the Arrangement or any of
the transactions contemplated herein would not cause any revocation,
modification or cancellation of any such Acquiror Permit.
(b) The
businesses of Acquiror and its Subsidiaries are not being and have not been
conducted in violation of any Law (including SOX), except for possible
violations which, individually or in the aggregate, do not have, and would not
reasonably be expected to have, an Acquiror Material Adverse
Effect.
4.6 Legal
Proceedings. There is no Proceeding in existence or pending
or, to the Knowledge of Acquiror, threatened, against or affecting Acquiror or
any Subsidiary of Acquiror or to which any of their assets are subject as to
which there is a significant possibility of an adverse outcome which would,
individually or in the aggregate, have an Acquiror Material Adverse Effect, nor
is there any injunction, rule, award, settlement or Order of or subject to any
Governmental Entity or arbitrator outstanding against Acquiror or any Subsidiary
of Acquiror having, or which would reasonably be expected to have, individually
or in the aggregate, an Acquiror Material Adverse Effect. No
investigation by any Governmental Entity with respect to Acquiror or any of its
Subsidiaries is pending or to the Knowledge of Acquiror, threatened, other than,
in each case, those the outcome of which, individually or in the aggregate,
would not reasonably be expected to have an Acquiror Material Adverse
Effect.
4.7 Non-contravention. Except
as set forth in Section 4.7 of the
Acquiror Disclosure Schedule, neither Acquiror nor any of its Subsidiaries is a
party to or bound by any contract, arrangement, commitment or understanding
which would prevent, delay or impede the consummation, or otherwise reduce in
any material respect the contemplated benefits, of any of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
4.8 Absence of Certain Changes
or Events. Except as disclosed in the Acquiror Disclosure
Schedule, since September 30, 2010, there has not been any change, circumstance
or event (including any event involving a prospective change) which,
individually or in the aggregate, has had, or would reasonably be expected to
have, an Acquiror Material Adverse Effect.
40
4.9 No Shareholder Vote
Required. No vote or consent of the holders of any class
or series or capital stock of Acquiror is required to approve this Agreement or
the transactions contemplated hereby (including the Arrangement).
4.10 Brokers or
Finders. No agent, broker, investment banker, financial
advisor or other firm or Person is or will be entitled to any broker’s or
finder’s fee or any other similar commission or fee in connection with any of
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement except BMO Capital Markets, the
fees of which are the responsibility of Acquiror.
4.11 Financing. Acquiror
has received a commitment letter from the Bank of Montreal for financing and has
furnished a copy of such commitment letter to the Company.
4.12 Acquiror Common
Stock. The Acquiror Common Stock that may be issued by
Acquiror in connection with payments described in Section 6.12 will be
freely tradable, if the Final Order approving the Plan of Arrangement approves
the issuance of the Acquiror Common Stock to certain officers and employees of
the Company pursuant to Section 3.1(d) of the Plan of Arrangement.
ARTICLE
5
COVENANTS
RELATING TO CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
5.1 Covenants of the
Company. During the period from the date of this Agreement and
continuing until the Effective Time, the Company agrees as to itself and its
Subsidiaries that, except as expressly contemplated or permitted by this
Agreement or to the extent that Acquiror shall otherwise consent in
writing:
(a) Ordinary
Course. The Company and its Subsidiaries shall carry on their
respective businesses in the usual, regular and ordinary course consistent with
past practice and use all commercially reasonable efforts to preserve intact
their present business organizations, maintain their rights, franchises,
licenses and other authorizations issued by Governmental Entities and preserve
their relationships with employees, customers, suppliers and others having
business dealings with them to the end that their goodwill and ongoing
businesses shall not be impaired in any material respect at the Effective
Time. The Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its
Subsidiaries to, (i) enter into (including via any acquisition) any new line of
business, (ii) make any material change to its or its Subsidiaries’
businesses, except as required by applicable legal requirements,
(iii) enter into, terminate or fail to renew any material lease, contract,
license or agreement, or make any change to any existing material leases,
contracts, licenses or agreements other than in the ordinary course of business
and consistent with past practice, (iv) make any capital expenditures,
other than capital expenditures which, in the aggregate, do not exceed the sum
of (A) 20% of all subscription proceeds received after the date hereof from the
offering of interests in the “NGAS Partners 2010 A, Ltd.” Drilling Partnership
and (B) U.S.$1,000,000, (v) pay any bonus, fee, distribution, remuneration or
other compensation to any Person (other than salaries, wages or bonuses paid or
payable to employees in the ordinary course of business in accordance with
current compensation levels and practices, and in accordance with the bonuses
set forth in Section
5.1(a) of Company Disclosure Schedule) for any reason, including as a
result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, or (vi) enter into,
or materially modify or terminate, any “swap agreement” (as defined in 11 U.S.C.
§ 101, as in effect from time to time, or any successor statute), including,
without limitation, any rate swap agreement, forward rate agreement, hedging
agreement, commodity swap, commodity option, interest rate option, forward
foreign exchange agreement, spot foreign exchange agreement, rate cap agreement,
rate floor agreement, rate collar agreement, currency swap agreement,
cross-currency rate swap agreement, currency option and any other similar
agreement (each a “Derivative
Agreement”).
41
(b) Dividends; Changes in
Stock. Except for Company Shares issued as payment for
principal and upon conversion at the default reset rate on the 6% Amortizing
Convertible Notes, the Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of its
Subsidiaries to, or propose to, (i) declare or pay any dividends on or make
other distributions in respect of any of its capital stock, except for dividends
by a wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company, (ii) split, combine or
reclassify any of its capital stock or issue or authorize or propose the
issuance or authorization of any other securities in respect of, in lieu of or
in substitution for, shares of its capital stock, or (iii) repurchase,
redeem or otherwise acquire, or permit any Subsidiary to redeem, purchase or
otherwise acquire, any shares of its capital stock or any securities convertible
into or exercisable for any shares of its capital stock.
(c) Issuance of
Securities. The Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of
its Subsidiaries to, issue, deliver or sell, or authorize or propose the
issuance, delivery or sale of, any shares of its capital stock of any class, any
Voting Debt, any stock appreciation rights, or any securities convertible into
or exercisable or exchangeable for, or any rights, warrants or options to
acquire, any such shares or Voting Debt, or enter into any agreement with
respect to any of the foregoing, other than the issuance of the Company Shares
required to be issued upon the exercise, settlement, payment of principal or
conversion at the default reset rate of the Company Options, Company Warrants
and 6% Amortizing Convertible Notes, respectively, outstanding on the date
hereof and in accordance with the respective terms thereof. The
Company shall make all payments of principal, if any are made, on the 6%
Amortizing Convertible Notes in Company Shares and shall make no such payments
in cash.
(d) Governing Documents,
Etc. The Company shall not (i) amend or propose to amend the
Company Governing Documents or, except as expressly permitted by this Agreement,
enter into, or permit any Subsidiary to enter into, a plan of consolidation,
merger, amalgamation or reorganization with any Person other than a wholly-owned
Subsidiary of the Company, or (ii) otherwise take any action to exempt any
Person (other than Acquiror or its Subsidiaries) or any action taken by any
Person from any Takeover Statute or similarly restrictive provisions of the
Company Governing Documents or terminate, amend or waive any provisions of any
confidentiality or standstill agreements in place with any Third Parties unless
in compliance with Section
6.8.
(e) No
Acquisitions. The Company shall not, and shall not permit its
Subsidiaries to, acquire or agree to acquire, by merging or consolidating with,
by purchasing a substantial equity interest in or a substantial portion of the
assets of, by forming a partnership or joint venture with, or by any other
manner, any business or any corporation, partnership, association or other
business organization or division thereof or otherwise acquire or agree to
acquire any assets, rights or properties.
42
(f) No
Dispositions. Other than (i) sales of Hydrocarbon production
of the Company and its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business or (ii)
pursuant to the Contracts listed on Section 5.1(f) of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company shall not, and shall not permit its
Subsidiaries to, sell, lease, assign, encumber or otherwise dispose of, or agree
to sell, lease, assign, encumber or otherwise dispose of, any of its or their
assets, rights or properties (including capital stock of its Subsidiaries,
indebtedness of others held by the Company and its Subsidiaries or any rights
held by the Company or its Subsidiaries to operate assets or
properties). For the avoidance of doubt, the Company shall not enter
into any definitive agreement with respect to the Gold and Silver Mine
Disposition unless and until such agreement has been approved by
Acquiror.
(g) Indebtedness. The
Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, incur,
create or assume any long term indebtedness for borrowed money (or modify any of
the material terms of any such outstanding long-term indebtedness), guarantee
any such long term indebtedness or issue or sell any long term debt securities
or warrants or rights to acquire any long term debt securities of the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries or guarantee any long term debt securities of others,
other than (i) indebtedness of the Company’s Subsidiary to the Company or
(ii) indebtedness in connection with any costs or expenditures permitted
under this Agreement.
(h) Press
Releases. The Company shall consult with Acquiror before
issuing any press release or otherwise making any public statement regarding the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or its or their business, properties or
assets.
(i) Other
Actions. The Company shall not, and shall not permit any of
its Subsidiaries to, intentionally take any action that would, or reasonably
might be expected to, result in any of its representations and warranties set
forth in this Agreement being or becoming untrue, or in any of the conditions
precedent set forth in Article 7 not being
satisfied or in a violation of any provision of this Agreement.
(j) Accounting Methods; Tax
Matters. The Company shall not change its methods of
accounting in effect as of the date hereof, except as required by GAAP and
concurred to by the Company’s independent auditors. The Company shall
not (i) change its annual tax accounting period and (ii) make any tax
election that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be likely to
have a Company Material Adverse Effect or to have a material adverse effect on
Acquiror or its Subsidiaries after the Effective Time.
43
(k) Compensation and Benefit
Plans. During the period from the date of this Agreement and
continuing until the Effective Time, the Company agrees as to itself and its
Subsidiaries that, except as required by Applicable Law or as provided in Section 6.12 of this
Agreement, it will not: (i) enter into, adopt, amend, or terminate any Company
Benefit Plan, (ii) increase in any manner the compensation or fringe benefits of
any director, officer or employee, or pay any benefit not required by any
Company Benefit Plan as in effect as of the date hereof or enter into any
contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement to do any of the foregoing, (iii)
increase in any manner the rate of compensation or amount of fringe benefits of
any independent contractor or consultant or pay any benefit not required by any
Company Benefit Plan as in effect as of the date hereof or enter into any
contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement to do any of the foregoing, (iv)
enter into or renew any contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement (other
than a renewal occurring in accordance with the terms of an the applicable
Company Benefit Plan) providing for the payment to any director, officer,
employee, independent contractor or consultant of compensation or benefits
contingent, or the terms of which are materially altered, upon (A) the
occurrence of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (B) any
change of control of the Company, (C) the termination or severance of such
individual’s relationship with the Company, or (D) the retention or continued
employment of any such individual, except as required pursuant to Section 6.12 of this
Agreement, or (v) provide for the accelerated vesting or any other modification
to any stock option, restricted stock, restricted stock unit, long-term
incentive award or other performance-based or equity-based award upon the
occurrence of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except as
required pursuant to Section 6.12 of this
Agreement.
(l)
No
Liquidation. Except pursuant to an internal reorganization,
the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, adopt a
plan of complete or partial liquidation or resolutions providing for or
authorizing such a liquidation or a dissolution, restructuring, recapitalization
or reorganization.
(m) Litigation. The
Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, settle or
compromise any litigation other than settlements or compromises of litigation
where the amount paid does not exceed U.S.$200,000.
(n) No Amendment to Material
Contracts or Restrictions on Business. The Company shall not,
and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, (i) enter into, amend or
otherwise modify or violate in any material respects the material terms of, or
terminate, cancel or fail to renew, any Contract that is a Material Contract or
would be a Material Contract if existing on the date of this Agreement, or
waive, release, cancel, convey, encumber or otherwise assign any material rights
or claim thereunder, or (ii) create, renew or amend any Contract containing (A)
any material restriction on the ability of the Company to conduct its business
as it is presently being conducted or (B) any material restriction on the
ability of the Company to engage in any type of activity or
business.
(o) Notice of Company
Meeting. The Company shall provide notice to Acquiror of the
Company Meeting and allow Acquiror’s representatives to attend such
meeting.
(p) Postponement of Company
Meeting. In the event that the Company provides a Notice of
Superior Proposal on a date which is less than five Business Days prior to the
Company Meeting, Acquiror shall be entitled to require the Company to adjourn or
postpone the Company Meeting to a date that is not more than ten Business Days
after the date of such notice.
44
(q) Proxy
Circular. Subject to compliance by Acquiror with Section 6.1(a), the
Company will ensure that the Proxy Circular complies, in all respects, with
Applicable Canadian Securities Laws and any other Applicable Laws and shall
include or incorporate by reference, without limitation the unanimous
determination of the Company’s Board of Directors that the Arrangement is fair
to Company Shareholders and is in the best interests of the Company and the
Company Shareholders, and the unanimous recommendation of the Company’s Board of
Directors that the Company Shareholders vote in favor of the Arrangement
Resolution; provided that, notwithstanding
the covenants of Company in this subsection, prior to the completion of the
Arrangement, the Company’s Board of Directors may withdraw, modify or change the
recommendation regarding the Arrangement if, in the opinion of the Company’s
Board of Directors, acting reasonably, having received the advice of its outside
legal counsel which is reflected in minutes of the meeting of the Company’s
Board of Directors, such withdrawal, modification or change is required to act
in a manner consistent with the fiduciary duties of the Company’s Board of
Directors and, if applicable, provided the Company’s Board of Directors shall
have complied with the provisions of Section
6.8. Subject to the proviso in the immediately preceding
sentence, the Company’s Board of Directors shall not take any action or make any
statement that is inconsistent with the Company Board
Recommendation.
(r)
Other
Agreements. The Company shall not, and shall not permit any of
its Subsidiaries to, agree to, or make any commitment to, take, or authorize,
any of the actions prohibited by this Section 5.1.
5.2 Control of Company’s
Business. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall give
Acquiror, directly or indirectly, the right to control or direct the operations
of the Company prior to the Effective Time. Prior to the Effective
Time, the Company shall exercise, consistent with the terms and conditions of
this Agreement, complete control and supervision over its and its Subsidiaries’
respective operations.
5.3 Advice of Changes;
Government Filings. The Company shall confer on a regular and
frequent basis with Acquiror, and promptly advise Acquiror orally and in writing
of any change or event of which the Company has Knowledge having, or which would
reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect, or which would
cause or constitute a material breach of any of the representations, warranties
or covenants of the Company contained herein. The Company shall
promptly advise Acquiror orally and in writing of any material deficiencies in
the internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in National
Instrument 52-109 Certification of Disclosure in Issuers’ Annual and Interim
Filings) of the Company identified by the Company or its
auditors. Each of the Company and Acquiror shall have the right to
review in advance, and to the extent practicable, each will consult with the
other, in each case subject to Applicable Laws relating to the exchange of
information, with respect to all the information relating to the other Party,
and any of their respective Subsidiaries, which appears in any filing made with,
or written materials submitted to, any Third Party or any Governmental Entity in
connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. In
exercising the foregoing right, each of the Parties hereto agrees to act
reasonably and as promptly as practicable. Each Party hereto agrees
that to the extent practicable it will consult with the other Party hereto with
respect to the obtaining of all permits, consents, approvals and authorizations
of all Third Parties and Governmental Entities necessary or advisable to
consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and each Party will
keep the other Party reasonably apprised of the status of matters relating to
completion of the transactions contemplated hereby.
45
ARTICLE
6
ADDITIONAL
AGREEMENTS
6.1 Proxy Circular and Company
Meeting. As promptly as practicable following the execution of
this Agreement and in compliance with the Interim Order and Applicable
Laws:
(a) As
soon as is reasonably practicable after the date of execution of this Agreement,
the Company will file, proceed with and diligently prosecute, and Acquiror shall
assist with, an application for an Interim Order in accordance with Section 2.1 and Section
2.2;
(b) The
Company shall carry out such terms of the Interim Order as are required under
the terms thereof to be carried out by the Company;
(c) Acquiror
shall prepare the Acquiror Information, in accordance with Applicable Canadian
Securities Laws, for inclusion in the Proxy Circular, including any pro forma
financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and Applicable Laws,
as is reasonably requested by the Company or required by the Interim Order or
Applicable Laws for inclusion in the Proxy Circular and provide the Acquiror
Information to Company in a reasonably timely and expeditious
manner. Acquiror shall also use commercially reasonable efforts to
obtain any necessary consents from any of its auditors and any other advisors to
the use of any financial, technical or other expert information required to be
included in the Proxy Circular;
(d) As
soon as practicable after the date hereof (but in no event later than twenty
(20) Business Days after the date of this Agreement) and subject to Acquiror’s
compliance with Section 6.1(c), the
Company shall prepare, in consultation with Acquiror, and file the preliminary
Proxy Circular (which shall be in a form and substance satisfactory to Acquiror,
acting reasonably), together with any other documents required by Applicable
Laws in connection with the Company Meeting, with the SEC and in all
jurisdictions where the Proxy Circular is required to be filed and in the form
and containing the information required by all Applicable Laws, including all
applicable corporate and securities legislation and requirements;
(e) Prior
to the filing of the Proxy Circular (or any amendment or supplement thereto)
with the SEC, and during the course of its preparation, the Company shall
provide Acquiror and its legal and other advisors with reasonable opportunity to
review and comment on it and the Company shall include in such document any
comments reasonably proposed by Acquiror and its counsel;
(f) The
Company shall (i) as promptly as practicable after receipt thereof, provide
Acquiror and its counsel with copies of any written comments, and advise
Acquiror and its counsel of any oral comments, with respect to the Proxy
Circular (or any amendment or supplement thereto) received from the SEC or its
staff, (ii) provide Acquiror and its counsel a reasonable opportunity to
review the Company’s proposed response to such comments, (iii) include in
the Company’s written response to such comments any comments reasonably proposed
by Acquiror and its counsel, and (iv) provide Acquiror and its counsel a
reasonable opportunity to participate in any discussions or meetings with the
SEC;
46
(g) Without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company shall ensure that the
Proxy Circular does not contain any misrepresentations or any untrue statements
of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated
therein or necessary to make the statements contained therein not misleading in
light of the circumstances in which they are made (other than with respect to
the Acquiror Information);
(h) Acquiror
shall ensure that the Acquiror Information does not contain any
misrepresentations or any untrue statements of a material fact or omit to state
a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements contained therein not misleading in light of the circumstances in
which they are made;
(i)
The Company and the Acquiror shall each promptly
notify each other if at any time before the Effective Date either becomes aware
that the Proxy Circular contains a misrepresentation, or that otherwise requires
an amendment or supplement to the Proxy Circular and the Parties shall cooperate
in the preparation of any amendment or supplement to the Proxy Circular as
required or appropriate, and the Company shall promptly mail or otherwise
publicly disseminate any amendment or supplement to the Proxy Circular to
Company Shareholders and, if required by the Court or Applicable Laws, file the
same with any Governmental Entity and as otherwise required;
(j)
As soon as practicable after the filing of the
definitive Proxy Circular with the SEC, the Company shall mail to the Company
Shareholders and such other securityholders of Company or other Third Parties as
may be required pursuant to the Interim Order and Applicable Laws, the Proxy
Circular (but in no event prior to the clearance of the Proxy Circular by the
SEC or later than three (3) Business Days following clearance of the Proxy
Circular by the SEC) and all other proxy materials for the Company Meeting, and
if necessary in order to comply with applicable securities laws, after the Proxy
Circular shall have been so mailed, promptly circulate amended, supplemental or
supplemented proxy material, and, if required in connection therewith,
re-solicit proxies. The Company shall cause the Proxy Circular to be
mailed in all jurisdictions where the same is required to be
mailed;
(k) The
Company shall (i) convene and hold the Company Meeting as soon as practicable,
and shall use its reasonable commercial efforts to do so by March 28, 2011 or
such later date that may be mutually agreed upon with Acquiror, as provided in
the Interim Order, (ii) solicit proxies to be voted at the Company Meeting in
favour of the Arrangement, and (iii) not adjourn, postpone or cancel (or propose
to adjourn, postpone or cancel) the Company Meeting without the prior written
consent of Acquiror, except as required for quorum purposes (in which case the
Company Meeting shall be adjourned and not cancelled) or by Applicable Law or by
a Governmental Entity;
47
(l) The
Company’s Board of Directors shall include the Company Board Recommendation in
the Proxy Circular and shall not (x) withdraw or modify in any manner
adverse to Acquiror, the Company Board Recommendation or (y) publicly
propose to, or publicly announce that the Company’s Board of Directors has
resolved to, take any such action (any of the foregoing, a “Change in Company Board
Recommendation”), except as and to the extent expressly permitted by
Sections 5.1(q) and
6.8. Notwithstanding any Change in Company Board
Recommendation, unless earlier terminated in accordance with Section 8.1,
this Agreement shall be submitted to the Company Shareholders at the Company
Meeting for the purpose of adopting this Agreement and nothing contained herein
shall be deemed to relieve the Company of such obligation;
(m) The
Company shall provide notice to Acquiror of the Company Meeting and allow
representatives of Acquiror to attend the Company Meeting;
(n) The
Company shall conduct the Company Meeting in accordance with the Interim Order,
the BCBCA, the Company Governing Documents and as otherwise required by
Applicable Laws; and
(o) The
Company shall take all such actions as may be required under the BCBCA in
connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Plan of
Arrangement.
6.2
Amendments. In
a timely and expeditious manner, the Company shall prepare, (in consultation
with Acquiror), and file any mutually agreed (or as otherwise required by
Applicable Laws) amendments or supplements to the Proxy Circular (which
amendments or supplements shall be in a form satisfactory to Acquiror, acting
reasonably) with respect to the Company Meeting and mail such amendments or
supplements, as required by the Interim Order and in accordance with all
Applicable Laws, in and to all jurisdictions where such amendments or
supplements are required to be mailed, complying in all material respects with
all Applicable Laws on the date of the mailing thereof.
6.3 Final
Order. Subject to the approval of the Arrangement at the
Company Meeting in accordance with the provisions of the Interim Order, the
Company shall file, proceed with and diligently prosecute an application for the
Final Order, which application shall be in a form and substance satisfactory to
the Parties, acting reasonably.
6.4 Filing to Effect
Arrangement. The Company shall carry out the terms of the
Interim Order and the Final Order and, following the issue of the Final Order
and the satisfaction, fulfillment or waiver of the conditions in favor of the
Company and Acquiror set forth herein, at a time and on a date to be agreed by
Acquiror and the Company, file the Final Order and other documents with the
Registrar in order for the Arrangement to become effective.
6.5 Copy of
Documents. Except for proxies and other non-substantive
communications, the Company shall furnish promptly to Acquiror a copy of each
notice, report, schedule or other document or communication delivered, filed or
received by the Company in connection with this Agreement, the Arrangement, the
Interim Order or the Company Meeting or any other meeting at which all the
Company Shareholders are entitled to attend, any filings made under any
applicable Law and any dealings or communications with any Governmental Entity
or stock exchange in connection with, or in any way affecting, the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
48
6.6 Access to Information;
Confidentiality.
(a) Upon
reasonable notice, the Company shall (and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries
to) afford to the duly authorized representatives of Acquiror, access, during
normal business hours during the period prior to the Effective Time, to all its
properties, books, contracts, records and officers and, during such period, the
Company shall (and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to) make available to
Acquiror such information concerning its business, properties and personnel as
Acquiror may reasonably request.
(b) The
Parties will hold any information that is nonpublic in confidence to the extent
required by, and in accordance with, the provisions of the Mutual
Confidentiality Agreement between the Parties dated June 30, 2010 (the “Confidentiality
Agreement”), which Confidentiality Agreement will remain in full force
and effect.
(c) No
such investigation by Acquiror shall affect the representations and warranties
of the Company.
6.7 Reasonable Best
Efforts.
(a) Subject
to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, each Party will use its
reasonable best efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions and to do, or
cause to be done, all things necessary, proper or advisable under this Agreement
and Applicable Laws to consummate the Arrangement and the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement as soon as practicable after the date hereof,
including preparing and filing as promptly as practicable all documentation to
effect all necessary applications, notices, filings and other documents and to
obtain as promptly as practicable all Requisite Regulatory Approvals and all
other consents, waivers, Orders, approvals, Permits, rulings, authorizations and
clearances necessary or advisable to be obtained from any Third Party or any
Governmental Entity in order to consummate the Arrangement or any of the other
transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(b) Each
of Acquiror and the Company shall, in connection with the efforts referenced in
Section 6.7(a),
use its reasonable best efforts to (i) cooperate in all respects with each
other in connection with any filing or submission and in connection with any
investigation or other inquiry, including any Proceeding initiated by a private
party challenging the Arrangement, (ii) promptly inform the other Party of
the status of any of the matters contemplated hereby, including providing the
other Party with a copy of any written communication (or summary of oral
communications) received by such Party from, or given by such Party to, any
Governmental Entity and of any written communication (or summary of oral
communications) received or given in connection with any Proceeding by a private
party challenging the Arrangement, in each case regarding any of the
transactions contemplated hereby, and (iii) to the extent practicable,
consult with each other in advance of any meeting or conference with any such
Governmental Entity or, in connection with any Proceeding by a private party
challenging the Arrangement, with any such other Person, and to the extent
permitted by any such Governmental Entity or other Person, give the other Party
the opportunity to attend and participate in such meetings and
conferences.
49
(c) In
furtherance and not in limitation of the covenants of the Parties contained in
this Section 6.7, if
(i) any objections are asserted with respect to the transactions
contemplated hereby under any Law, (ii) any administrative or judicial
action or Proceeding is instituted (or threatened to be instituted) by any
Governmental Entity or private party challenging the Arrangement or the other
transactions contemplated hereby as violative of any Law or which would
otherwise prevent, delay or impede the consummation, or otherwise materially
reduce the contemplated benefits, of the Arrangement or the other transactions
contemplated hereby, or (iii) any Law is enacted, entered, promulgated or
enforced by a Governmental Entity which would make the Arrangement or the other
transactions contemplated hereby illegal or would otherwise prevent, delay or
impede the consummation, or otherwise materially reduce the contemplated
benefits, of the Arrangement or the other transactions contemplated hereby, then
each of the Company and Acquiror shall use its reasonable best efforts to
resolve any such objections, actions or Proceedings so as to permit the
consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(d) In
furtherance and not in limitation of the covenants of the Parties contained in
this Section 6.7, but
subject to first complying with the obligations of Section 6.7(c),
if any of the events specified in Section 6.7(c)(ii) or
(iii) occurs, then each of Acquiror and the Company shall cooperate in
all respects with each other and use its reasonable best efforts to contest and
resist any such administrative or judicial action or Proceeding and to have
vacated, lifted, reversed or overturned any judgment, injunction or other Order,
whether temporary, preliminary or permanent, that is in effect and that
prevents, materially delays or materially impedes the consummation, or otherwise
materially reduces the contemplated benefits, of the Arrangement or the other
transactions contemplated by this Agreement and to have such Law repealed,
rescinded or made inapplicable so as to permit consummation of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, and each of Acquiror and the Company shall use
its reasonable best efforts to defend, at its own cost and expense, any such
administrative or judicial actions or Proceedings.
(e) Notwithstanding
the foregoing or any other provision of this Agreement, nothing in this Section 6.7
shall limit a Party’s right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Sections 8.1(b) or
8.1(c) so long as such Party has otherwise complied with its obligations
under this Section 6.7
prior to such termination.
(f) Each
of the Company and Acquiror and their respective Boards of Directors shall, if
any Takeover Statute becomes applicable to this Agreement, the Arrangement, or
any other transactions contemplated hereby, use its reasonable best efforts to
ensure that the Arrangement and the other transactions contemplated by this
Agreement may be consummated as promptly as practicable on the terms
contemplated hereby and otherwise to minimize the effect of such Takeover
Statute on this Agreement, the Arrangement and the other transactions
contemplated hereby.
50
6.8 No
Solicitation.
(a) The
Company shall not, directly or indirectly, through any of its officers or
directors or any employee, representative or agent of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries (including any investment banker, attorney or accountant retained
by it or any of its Subsidiaries) acting, directly or indirectly, at the
direction of any officer or director of the Company, (i) initiate, solicit, or
knowingly encourage inquiries or proposals with respect to an Acquisition
Proposal other than from Acquiror, (ii) engage in any discussions or
negotiations concerning, or provide any confidential information or data to any
Third Party in connection with an Acquisition Proposal (except to notify such
Person as to the existence of the provisions of this Section 6.8), or
knowingly take any other action with the purpose or intention of facilitating
any other inquiries or the making of any proposal that constitutes, or that
reasonably may be expected to lead to, any Acquisition Proposal, or (iii) except
as permitted by Section 6.8(g) below,
enter into any agreement (other than a confidentiality agreement permitted by
Section 6.8(b)
below) with respect to any Acquisition Proposal or approve or resolve to approve
any Acquisition Proposal. Neither the Company nor the Company’s Board
of Directors shall approve or take any action to render inapplicable to any
Acquisition Proposal any Takeover Statutes or any restrictive provision or any
applicable anti-takeover provision in the Company Governing
Documents.
(b) Notwithstanding
the foregoing, prior to the Effective Date, the Company may, in response to an
unsolicited Acquisition Proposal received by the Company which did not result
from a breach of this Section 6.8, furnish
information to, or enter into discussions or negotiations with, or waive any
standstill with, any Person that has made an unsolicited bona fide written
Acquisition Proposal if, and only to the extent that (A) such Acquisition
Proposal, if consummated, would constitute a Superior Proposal or the Company’s
Board of Directors, after consulting with the Company’s outside legal advisors,
determines in good faith that such Acquisition Proposal, after furnishing such
information and entering into such discussions or negotiations, could reasonably
be expected to result in a Superior Proposal, (B) the Company and its
Subsidiaries are otherwise in compliance with this Section 6.8
(including, prior to furnishing such information to, or entering into
discussions or negotiations with, such Person, by providing written notice to
Acquiror to the effect that it is furnishing information to, or entering into
discussions or negotiations with, such Person), (C) prior to furnishing such
information, the Company receives from such Person an executed confidentiality
agreement with terms substantially similar to and no less favorable to the
Company than those contained in the Confidentiality Agreement (it being
understood and hereby agreed that such confidentiality agreement need not
contain a “standstill” or similar provision that prohibits such Person from
making an Acquisition Proposal, acquiring the Company or taking any other
related action); provided, however, that the Company may
enter into discussions or negotiations solely with respect to entering into such
confidentiality agreement without breaching this Section 6.8, and (D)
the Company keeps Acquiror informed, on a reasonably current basis, of the
status of any such discussions or negotiations as provided above. In
the event that the Company provides any information to such Person that the
Company has not previously provided to Acquiror, the Company shall promptly
provide such information to Acquiror. The Company shall notify
Acquiror within twenty-four (24) hours after the receipt of any unsolicited
Acquisition Proposal, and the Company shall not disclose any of the terms of the
Seminole Letter of Intent, the Seminole Agreements, or any of the proposed
arrangements among Acquiror, the Company and Seminole to any Person in
connection with the furnishing of information pursuant to this Section 6.8(b), an
Acquisition Proposal or otherwise.
51
(c) The
Company shall promptly (and, in any event, within one Business Day) (i) notify
Acquiror of the existence of any proposal, discussion, negotiation or inquiry
received by the Company with respect to any Acquisition Proposal, the material
terms and conditions of any proposal, discussion, negotiation or inquiry that it
may receive and the identity of the Person making such proposal or inquiry, and
any modification of or amendment thereto and (ii) provide Acquiror a copy of any
such proposal or inquiry and any modification of or amendment
thereto. The Company will keep Acquiror reasonably apprised of any
related developments, discussions, and negotiations.
(d) Except
as provided herein, the Company shall immediately cease and cause to be
terminated any existing discussions or negotiations with any Persons (other than
Acquiror) conducted heretofore with respect to any Acquisition
Proposal.
(e) Nothing
contained in this Section 6.8 shall
prohibit the Company or the Company’s Board of Directors from making any
disclosure to the Company’s shareholders if, in the good faith judgment of the
Company’s Board of Directors, after consultation with outside counsel, failure
to make such disclosure would be inconsistent with Applicable Law.
(f) Except
as set forth in this Section 6.8(f),
neither the Company’s Board of Directors nor any committee thereof shall (i)
approve or recommend, or propose to approve or recommend, any Acquisition
Proposal, (ii) cause or permit the Company to enter into any letter of intent,
agreement in principle, acquisition agreement or similar agreement with respect
to any Acquisition Proposal or (iii) in connection with an Acquisition Proposal
withdraw or modify in a manner adverse to Acquiror, or publicly propose to
withdraw or modify in a manner adverse to Acquiror, the Company Board
Recommendation. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this
Section 6.8(f),
the Company’s Board of Directors may, at any time, make a Change in Company
Board Recommendation (i) if the Company’s Board of Directors receives a Superior
Proposal, and has concluded in good faith, after consultation with the Company’s
outside legal advisors, that in light of the Superior Proposal the failure of
the Company’s Board of Directors to effect a Change in Company Board
Recommendation would be inconsistent with the directors’ exercise of their
fiduciary obligations under Applicable Law; or (ii) in response to any material
event, development, circumstance, occurrence or change in circumstances or facts
not related to an Acquisition Proposal that was not known to the Board of
Directors or senior management of the Company on the date hereof, that would
have a material highly favorable impact on the business, condition (financial or
otherwise), capitalization, assets, liabilities, operations or financial
performance of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole (an “Intervening Event”),
and the Company’s Board of Directors has concluded in good faith, after
consultation with the Company’s outside legal advisors, that in light of the
Intervening Event, the failure of the Company’s Board of Directors to effect a
Change in Company Board Recommendation would be inconsistent with the directors’
exercise of their fiduciary obligations under Applicable Law; provided, however,
that the following shall not constitute an Intervening Event: changes in the
financial or securities markets or general economic or political conditions in
the world, general conditions in the industry in which the Company and its
Subsidiaries operates, any change in the price of oil or natural gas, discovery
of successful xxxxx, or any oil and gas discovery.
52
(g) At
any time prior to the Effective Date, the Company may, in response to a Superior
Proposal that did not result from a breach of this Section 6.8,
terminate this Agreement by written notice to Acquiror and concurrently with
such termination enter into a definitive agreement providing for the
transactions contemplated by such Superior Proposal; provided, however, that the Company
shall not terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 6.8(g), and
any purported termination pursuant to Section 6.8(g) shall
be void and of no force or effect, unless, the Company shall have complied with
all the provisions of this Section 6.8,
including the notification provisions in this Section 6.8(g), and
with all applicable requirements of Section 8.2(b)
(including the payment of the Damages Fee in accordance therewith) in connection
with such Superior Proposal; and provided further, however, that the Company
shall not exercise its right to terminate this Agreement pursuant hereto: (1)
until after the fourth Business Day following actual receipt by Acquiror of
written notice from the Company advising Acquiror that the Company has received
a Superior Proposal, specifying the material terms and conditions of the
Superior Proposal and attaching the most current versions of the definitive
agreement, all exhibits and other attachments thereto and agreements (such as
shareholder agreements) ancillary thereto to effect such Superior Proposal, and
identifying the Person making such Superior Proposal (a “Notice of Superior
Proposal”) and stating that the Company’s Board of Directors intends to
cause the Company to exercise its right to terminate this Agreement pursuant
hereto (it being understood and agreed that, prior to any termination pursuant
to this Section
6.8(g) taking effect, any amendment to the price or any other material
term of a Superior Proposal (such amended Superior Proposal, a “Modified Superior
Proposal”) shall require a new Notice of Superior Proposal and a new four
Business Day period with respect to such Modified Superior Proposal) and (2)
unless either (A) on or before the expiration of the five Business Day period
following the actual receipt by Acquiror of any Notice of Superior Proposal,
Acquiror does not make such adjustments in the terms and conditions of this
Agreement so that such Acquisition Proposal ceases to constitute a Superior
Proposal (a “Matching
Agreement”) in response to such Superior Proposal or (B) following
receipt of a Matching Agreement within the five Business Day period, the
Company’s Board of Directors (or any duly constituted committee thereof)
concludes in good faith, after consultation with the Company’s outside legal
advisors and after taking into consideration the Matching Agreement, that the
Superior Proposal to which the Notice of Superior Proposal relates continues to
be a Superior Proposal.
53
(h) Nothing
contained in this Agreement shall prevent the Company or the Company’s Board of
Directors from (1) complying with Rule 14d-9 and Rule 14e-2(a) or Item 1012(a)
of Regulation M-A under the 1934 Act or any analogous Canadian laws, (2)
disclosing factual information regarding the business, financial condition or
results of operations of Acquiror or the Company or the fact that an Acquisition
Proposal has been made, the identity of the party making such proposal or the
material terms of such proposal in the Proxy Circular or otherwise, to the
extent that Company or the Company’s Board of Directors in good faith determines
that such information, facts, identity or terms is required to be disclosed
under Applicable Law or that failure to make such disclosure would be
inconsistent with its fiduciary duties under Applicable Law or (3) from making
any required disclosure to the Company’s Shareholders if the Company’s Board of
Directors determines in good faith, after consultation with outside counsel,
that such action is necessary for the Company’s Board of Directors to comply
with its fiduciary duties under Applicable Law; provided, however, that any statement
or disclosure made by or on behalf of the Company’s Board of Directors (other
than a “stop, look and listen communication” of the type contemplated by Rule
14d-9(f) under the Exchange Act, and within the time period contemplated by Rule
14d-9(f)(3)) shall be deemed to be a Change in Company Board Recommendation
unless it is accompanied by a statement of the Company’s Board of Directors
expressly reaffirming the Company Board Recommendation in connection with such
statement or disclosure.
(i) “Acquisition Proposal”
means any inquiry, proposal or offer whether in writing or otherwise, with
respect to (a) any purchase of an equity interest (including by means of a
tender or exchange offer) representing more than 20% of the voting power in the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (b) a merger, plan of arrangement,
takeover bid, amalgamation, consolidation, other business combination,
reorganization, recapitalization, dissolution, liquidation or similar
transaction involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or (c) any
purchase of assets, businesses, securities or ownership interests (including the
securities of any Subsidiary of the Company) representing more than 20% of the
consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries.
(j) For
purposes of this Agreement, “Superior Proposal”
means an unsolicited, bona fide written Acquisition Proposal made by a Third
Party which the Company’s Board of Directors concludes in good faith, after
receipt of a written fairness opinion of an independent financial advisor, and
after consultation with the Company’s outside legal counsel, taking into account
the legal, financial, regulatory, timing and other aspects of the proposal and
the Person making the proposal (including any break-up fees, expense
reimbursement provisions and conditions to consummation): (i) is more favorable
to the shareholders of the Company from a financial point of view, than the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement (after giving effect to any
adjustments to the terms and provisions of this Agreement committed to in
writing by Acquiror in response to such Acquisition Proposal) and (ii) is fully
financed or the Company’s Board of Directors has received a commitment letter
that such Acquisition Proposal will be fully financed, reasonably likely to
receive all required governmental approvals on a timely basis and otherwise
reasonably capable of being completed on the terms proposed; provided that, for purposes
of this definition of “Superior Proposal,” the term Acquisition Proposal shall
have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 6.8(h),
except that (i) the reference to “more than 20%” in clause (a) of the
definition of “Acquisition Proposal” shall be deemed to be a reference to “all,”
(ii) the reference to “more than 20%” in clause (c) of the definition of
“Acquisition Proposal” shall be deemed to be a reference to “substantially all,”
and (iii) “Acquisition Proposal” shall only be deemed to refer to a transaction
involving the Company.
6.9 Fees and
Expenses. Whether or not the Arrangement is consummated, all
costs and expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement and the
transactions contemplated hereby shall be paid by the Party incurring such
expense, except as otherwise provided in Section 8.2.
54
6.10 Indemnification.
(a) From
and after the Effective Time, Acquiror shall, to the fullest extent permitted by
Applicable Law, indemnify, defend and hold harmless, and provide advancement of
expenses to, each Person who is now, or has been at any time prior to the date
hereof or who becomes prior to the Effective Time, an officer, director or
employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (each an “Indemnified Party”)
against all losses, claims, damages, costs, expenses, liabilities or judgments
or amounts that are paid in settlement of or in connection with any Proceeding
based in whole or in part on or arising in whole or in part out of the fact that
such Person is or was a director, officer or employee of the Company or any
Subsidiary of the Company, and pertaining to any matter existing or occurring,
or any acts or omissions occurring, at or prior to the Effective Time, whether
asserted or claimed prior to, or at or after, the Effective Time (including
matters, acts or omissions occurring in connection with the approval of this
Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby) to the
same extent such Persons are indemnified or have the right to advancement of
expenses as of the date of this Agreement by the Company pursuant to the Company
Governing Documents.
(b) The
provisions of this Section 6.10 are
intended to be for the benefit of, and shall be enforceable by, each Indemnified
Party, his or her heirs, executors, administrators and other representatives
(collectively, “Third
Party Beneficiaries”) and are in addition to, and not in substitution
for, any other rights to indemnification or contribution that any such Person
may have by contract or otherwise. Acquiror shall hold the rights and
benefits of this Section 6.10 in trust
for and on behalf of the Third Party Beneficiaries and Acquiror hereby accepts
such trust and agrees to hold the benefit of and enforce performance of such
covenants on behalf of the Third Party Beneficiaries.
(c) Prior
to the Effective Time and conditioned on the occurrence of the Closing, Acquiror
shall purchase a director and officer “tail” policy in respect of acts or
omissions occurring prior to the Effective Time covering each Indemnified Party
currently covered by the Company’s officers’ and directors’ liability insurance
policy for six (6) years after the Effective Time on terms with respect to
coverage and amount generally comparable to those of such policy in effect on
the date hereof; provided,
however, that the aggregate total premium shall not exceed $275,000 and
that Acquiror shall have the right to select the insurance broker for, and make
all arrangements relating to, such coverage.
6.11 Public
Announcements. Except in respect of any announcement required
by Applicable Law or by obligations pursuant to any listing agreement with or
rules of the Exchange or the NASDAQ in which it is impracticable to consult with
each other, Acquiror and the Company shall consult with each other before
issuing any press release or, to the extent practical, otherwise making any
public statement with respect to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated
hereby. In addition to the foregoing, except to the extent disclosed
in or consistent with the Proxy Circular in accordance with the provisions of
Section 6.1 or
as otherwise permitted under Section 5.2, no
Party shall issue any press release or otherwise make any public statement or
disclosure concerning the other Party or the other Party’s business, financial
condition or results of operations without the consent of such other Party,
which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
55
6.12 Amendments to Severance and
Change of Control Agreements. Subject to the further
provisions of this Section 6.12, the
Company shall take all necessary actions in order to validly amend, effective as
of and subject to the Closing, any applicable retention agreements, severance
agreements, change of control agreements, employment agreements, incentive plans
and other similar plans and arrangements, including without limitation those
agreements that have been listed on Section 3.12 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule (including obtaining any necessary consents or
signature counterparts to amendments from any director, officer, employee or
independent contractor party to any such agreement, plan or arrangement) such
that (i) the aggregate payments made since December 1, 2010 or to be made within
five (5) years after the date of this Agreement (or any longer period within
which an actual change or control payment is required to be made) to all of the
directors, officers, employees and independent contractors of the Company and
any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to any such agreements, plans or arrangements
in connection with (A) the occurrence of any of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement, (B) any change of control of the Company, (C) the termination or
severance of such individual’s relationship with the Company, or (D) the
retention or continued employment of any such individual, and (ii) the aggregate
amount, if any, of the forgiveness of any of the Company’s outstanding loans
made to its executive officers (such amounts that have been forgiven shall be
set forth on Section 6.12 of the Company’s Disclosure Schedule), shall not
exceed U.S.$5,000,000. The amount of any payments made pursuant to
Section 3.12(i)
will be paid in shares of Acquiror Common Stock or in cash or in any combination
thereof, as determined by Acquiror in its sole discretion, except that the
payment of up to $705,000 in the aggregate to those employees listed under (and
in the amounts specified as “Cash Settled Agreement” on Section 6.12 of the
Company Disclosure Schedule, will be paid in cash. The Company shall
not make any amendment to any retention agreement, severance agreement, change
of control agreement, employment agreement, incentive plan or other similar plan
or arrangement without Acquiror’s prior written approval of the form and
substance of such amendment; provided that the Company's
Board of Directors may, at its discretion, make amendments to such agreements
solely to allocate the severance dollar amounts to comply with the
U.S.$5,000,000 cap, in the form of amendment that is reasonably acceptable to
Acquiror. Within thirty (30) days after the execution of this
Agreement, the Company will furnish to Acquiror a list of how the Company will
allocate the severance dollar amounts in compliance with the U.S.$5,000,000
cap. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the shares of Acquiror Common
Stock are not registered and are restricted securities under the Securities Act,
at least $150,000 (after withholding taxes) of the payments made pursuant to
Section 3.12(i)
for each of Xx. Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx and Xx. Xxxxxxx X. Xxxx III shall be paid
in cash in equal installments over a six-month time period.
6.13 Compliance with
409A. The Company shall take all necessary action to amend or
modify each Company Benefit Plan that (a) provides for nonqualified deferred
compensation within the meaning of Code Section 409A and (b) is not in
compliance with Code Section 409A, so as to ensure that such Company Benefit
Plan complies in form and operation with the requirements of Code Section 409A;
provided that the
Company shall not make any amendment to any Company Benefit Plan without
Acquiror’s prior written approval of the form and substance of such
amendment.
56
6.14 Delaware
Continuance. Prior to the Effective Time, the Company shall
cooperate with Acquiror to prepare and finalize (subject only to the completion
of the Arrangement) all documentation required in connection with the
continuance and reincorporation of the Company into the State of Delaware
immediately following the Effective Time, including applying for, proceeding
with and diligently prosecuting any necessary consents and approvals from
Governmental Entities or other Third Parties. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, the Parties acknowledge that the Company Shareholders shall not be
asked to vote on the reincorporation of the Company into Delaware in the Proxy
Circular or at the Company Meeting.
6.15 Employee
Benefits.
(a) For
a period of one (1) year following the Effective Time, Acquiror agrees that,
subject to any transition period of not more than ninety (90) days and subject
to any applicable plan provisions, contractual requirements or Applicable Law,
all employees of the Company who continue employment with Acquiror after the
Effective Time (“Continuing
Employees”) shall be eligible to participate in Acquiror’s benefit plans,
to substantially the same extent as, and not more favorably than, similarly
situated employees of Acquiror.
(b) Acquiror
shall, to the extent permitted by Acquiror benefits plans, (i) waive, or shall
cause to be waived, any applicable pre-existing condition exclusions and waiting
periods with respect to participation and coverage requirements in any
replacement or successor welfare benefit plan in which any Continuing Employee
is eligible to participate following the Closing to the extent such exclusions
or waiting periods were inapplicable to, or had been satisfied by, such
Continuing Employee immediately prior to the Closing under the analogous Company
Benefit Plan in which such Continuing Employee participated, (ii) provide, or
cause to be provided, each Continuing Employee with credit for any co-payments
and deductibles paid prior to the Closing (to the same extent such credit was
given under the analogous Company Benefit Plan prior to the Closing) in
satisfying any applicable deductible or out-of-pocket requirements and (iii)
recognize service prior to the Closing with the Company and any of its
Subsidiaries for purposes of eligibility to participate and vesting (and, in
respect of vacation benefits, determination of level of benefits) to the same
extent such service was recognized by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
under the analogous Company Benefit Plan in which such Continuing Employee
participated immediately prior to the Closing (excluding severance benefits
which the Parties agree shall be covered pursuant to Section 6.12); provided that the foregoing
shall not apply to the extent it would result in any duplication of benefits for
the same period of service, provided further, that the foregoing
shall not apply to the extent the consent of any third party is required, if
Acquiror has used its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain the consent of
such third party and such third party has denied their consent or providing such
benefits would cause Acquiror to incur significant additional
costs.
57
6.16 Company Options and
Warrants. The Company shall take all necessary action in order
to ensure that any Company Warrants and Company Options that are not exercised
and remain outstanding as of the Effective Time will entitle the holder thereof
to acquire shares of Acquiror Common Stock in accordance with the terms
contained in the Company Warrants and Company Options, provided that, in lieu of the
number of Company Shares otherwise issuable upon the exercise thereof, the
holder shall be entitled to receive the number of shares of Acquiror Common
Stock which the holder would have been entitled to receive as a result of the
transactions contemplated by this Plan of Arrangement if, immediately prior to
the Effective Time, such holder had been the registered holder of the number of
Company Shares to which such holder was theretofore entitled upon such exercise,
and to the extent provided for in the terms of the Company Option or Company
Warrant, there shall be a corresponding proportionate adjustment of the exercise
price of any such Company Option or Company Warrant; provided, further, that, to the extent that the
Company has the right to terminate or cancel any Company Options or Company
Warrants for no consideration pursuant to and in accordance to the respective
terms thereof, the Company shall take all necessary action to terminate or
cancel such Company Options and Company Warrants.
6.17 Opinion of Financial
Advisor; Brokers. The Company shall provide to Acquiror a copy
of the written opinion of the Company Financial Advisor that states that, as of
the date hereof, and based upon and subject to the factors and assumptions set
forth therein, the Transaction Consideration is fair, from a financial point of
view, to the Company Shareholders, as soon as practicable after the opinion
becomes available to the Company.
6.18 Preferential
Rights.
(a) To
the extent the transactions contemplated hereby trigger any preferential rights
to purchase, consents, approvals or authorizations with respect to any of the
Oil and Gas Interests owned by the Company or one of its Subsidiaries, the
Company or one of its applicable Subsidiaries shall use commercially reasonable
efforts to secure waivers of such preferential rights or to obtain any such
consents, approvals or authorizations.
(b) Within
forty-five (45) days after the execution of this Agreement, the Company will
furnish to Acquiror a list of all preferential rights to purchase, consents,
approvals or authorizations with respect to any of the Oil and Gas Interests
owned by the Company or one of its Subsidiaries.
6.19 Seminole
Agreements. The Company and its Subsidiaries shall enter into
the Seminole Agreements, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to
Acquiror, as contemplated by the Seminole Letter of Intent. The
Company has furnished true and correct copies of all existing agreements with
Seminole, including any amendments or modifications thereof, and the Company and
its Subsidiaries will not change, modify, or amend any of the existing
agreements with Seminole without the prior written consent of Acquiror, except
as provided in the immediately preceding sentence.
6.20 Bank
Extension. The Company shall use commercially reasonable best
efforts to extend the deadlines set forth in the Bank Waiver, including but not
limited to the deadlines in Section 2 and Section 5.2 of the Bank Waiver, from
March 31, 2011 to April 15, 2011.
58
6.21 Additional
Agreements. In case at any time after the Effective Time any
further action is necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of this
Agreement, the proper officers and directors of each Party shall take all such
necessary action.
ARTICLE
7
CONDITIONS
PRECEDENT
7.1 Conditions to Each Party’s
Obligation to Effect the Arrangement. The respective
obligation of each of the Parties to effect the Arrangement shall be subject to
the satisfaction of the following conditions on or prior to the Effective Date
or such other date specified:
(a) Interim
Order. The Interim Order shall have been granted in form and
substance satisfactory to each of Acquiror and the Company, acting reasonably,
and such order shall not have been set aside or modified in a manner
unacceptable to Acquiror and the Company, acting reasonably, on appeal or
otherwise.
(b) Arrangement
Resolution. The Arrangement Resolution shall have been
approved by the Company Shareholders in accordance with the Interim Order, the
BCBCA and the requirements of any applicable regulatory authority, and in form
and substance satisfactory to the Acquiror and the Company acting
reasonably.
(c) Final
Order. The Final Order shall have been granted in form and
substance satisfactory to Acquiror and the Company, acting
reasonably.
(d) Effective
Date. The Effective Date shall be on or before March 31, 2011,
or April 15, 2011, as contemplated by Section
6.20.
(e) Exchange
Listing. The shares of Acquiror Common Stock to be issued
under the Arrangement shall have been authorized for listing on the Exchange,
subject to official notice of issuance.
(f) Requisite Regulatory
Approvals. The authorizations, consents, Orders or approvals
of, or declarations or filings with, and the expirations of waiting periods
required from a Governmental Entity set forth in Section 7.1(f)
of the Acquiror Disclosure Schedule shall have been filed, have occurred or been
obtained (all such authorizations, Orders, declarations, approvals, filings and
consents and the lapse of all such waiting periods being referred to as the
“Requisite Regulatory
Approvals”), and all such Requisite Regulatory Approvals shall be in full
force and effect.
(g) No Injunctions or
Restraints; Illegality. No temporary restraining Order,
preliminary or permanent injunction or other Order issued by any court of
competent jurisdiction or other legal restraint or prohibition (an “Injunction”)
preventing the consummation of the Arrangement shall be in effect.
(h) Burdensome
Condition. There shall not be (i) any action taken, or
any Law enacted, entered, enforced or deemed applicable to the Arrangement or
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement by any Governmental Entity of
competent jurisdiction, or (ii) any circumstance arising, or transaction,
agreement, arrangement or instrument entered into, or which would be necessary
to be entered into, in connection with the Arrangement or the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, which, in either case:
59
(i)
makes illegal or otherwise directly or indirectly restrains, enjoins or
prohibits the Arrangement or any other transactions contemplated herein;
or
(ii) results
in a judgment or assessment of material damages directly or indirectly relating
to the transactions contemplated herein.
The
foregoing conditions are for the mutual benefit of the Company and Acquiror and
may be asserted or waived by the Company and Acquiror (with respect to such
Party) in their sole discretion, in whole or in part, at any time and from time
to time without prejudice to any other rights which the Company and Acquiror may
have.
7.2 Conditions to Obligations of
Acquiror. The obligation of Acquiror to effect the Arrangement
is subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions on or prior to the
Effective Date or such other date specified:
(a) Representations and
Warranties. Each of the representations and warranties of the
Company set forth in this Agreement shall be true and correct as of the date
hereof and as of the Effective Date as though made on and as of the Effective
Date (except for such representations and warranties made only as of a specified
date, which shall be true and correct as of the specified date), except for such
failures of representations and warranties to be so true and correct (for this
purpose disregarding any qualification or limitation as to materiality or
Company Material Adverse Effect) that do not have, and would not reasonably be
expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse
Effect, and Acquiror shall have received a certificate signed on behalf of the
Company by an authorized executive officer of the Company to such
effect.
(b) Performance of Obligations
of the Company. The Company shall have performed in all
material respects all obligations, and complied in all material respects with
the agreements and covenants, required to be performed by or complied with by it
under this Agreement at or prior to the Effective Time, and Acquiror shall have
received a certificate signed on behalf of the Company by an authorized
executive officer of the Company to such effect.
(c) Proxy
Circular. The Company shall have mailed the Proxy Circular and
other documentation required in connection with the Company Meeting to the
Company Shareholders no later than three (3) Business Days following clearance
of the Proxy Circular by the SEC.
(d) Dissent
Rights. Holders of not greater than five percent (5%) of the
outstanding Company Shares shall have validly exercised rights of dissent in
respect of the Arrangement that have not been withdrawn as of the Effective
Time.
60
(e) Mutual Releases and
Resignations. Executed mutual releases and resignations in a
form acceptable to Acquiror acting reasonably shall have been received by
Acquiror on or prior to the Effective Time from each director and officer of the
Company or its Subsidiaries who, as a consequence of the Arrangement, is no
longer a director or officer of the Company or its Subsidiaries.
(f) No Convertible
Securities. Acquiror shall be satisfied, acting reasonably,
that there will be no options, warrants or other rights (including any Company
Options, Company Warrants or 6% Amortizing Convertible Notes) requiring the
issuance of any securities of the Company or its Subsidiaries or any securities
convertible into, or exchangeable for, or otherwise evidencing a right to
acquire any securities of the Company or its Subsidiaries after giving effect to
the Arrangement.
(g) Resolutions. The
Company shall have furnished Acquiror with:
(i)
certified copies of the resolutions duly passed by the Company’s Board of
Directors approving this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby; and
(ii) certified
copies of the resolutions of the Company Shareholders duly passed at the Company
Meeting, approving the Arrangement Resolution.
(h) No
Litigation. Other than a Proceeding brought by a Company
Shareholder (including on such holder’s own behalf or on behalf of the Company),
no Proceeding shall be pending or threatened: (i) challenging or seeking to
restrain or prohibit the consummation of the Arrangement or the other
transactions contemplated by this Agreement; (ii) seeking to prohibit or
limit in any material respect Acquiror’s ability to vote, receive dividends with
respect to or otherwise exercise ownership rights with respect to the stock of
the Company; (iii) which would materially and adversely affect the right of
the Company to own the assets or operate the business of the Company; or
(iv) seeking to compel Acquiror or the Company or any of their respective
Subsidiaries to dispose of or hold separate any material assets as a result of
the Arrangement or the other transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
(i)
Burdensome Condition with
Respect to Acquiror. There shall not be (i) any action
taken, or any Law enacted, entered, enforced or deemed applicable to the
Arrangement or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement by any
Governmental Entity of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) any circumstance
arising, or transaction, agreement, arrangement or instrument entered into, or
which would be necessary to be entered into, in connection with the Arrangement
or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, which, in either case,
imposes any term, condition, obligation or restriction upon Acquiror or its
Subsidiaries which, individually or the aggregate, would reasonably be expected
to have an Acquiror Material Adverse Effect after the Effective
Time.
(j)
Severance and Change of
Control Benefits. The Company shall have complied with Section
6.12.
(k) Seminole
Agreements. The Seminole Agreements, in form and substance
reasonably acceptable to Acquiror, as contemplated by the Seminole Letter of
Intent, shall have been entered into, executed and delivered to Acquiror by the
Company, its Subsidiaries, and Seminole.
61
(l)
Non-Compete. Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxxxxx and Xxxxxxx X. Xxxx III shall have agreed not to compete with the
Company in the Southern Appalachian Basin for a period of six (6) months
following the Closing Date.
(m) Resignation of Directors and
Officers. The Company shall obtain and deliver to Acquiror on
the Closing Date, to be effective as of the Effective Time, duly signed
resignations of all of the officers and directors of the Company and, as
requested by Acquiror, all officers and directors of each of the Company’s
Subsidiaries, and the directors of the Company after the Effective Time shall be
Xxxx X. Xxxxx and Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx.
(n) Opinion of Financial
Advisor; Brokers. The Acquiror shall have received a copy of
the written opinion of the Company Financial Advisor referenced in Section 3.36 and such
written opinion shall not have been amended or rescinded.
(o) Forbearance under the
Company Credit Agreement. The Acquiror shall have received a
copy of the Bank Waiver (or any amendments, waivers, or modifications thereto
thereto) whereby the lenders under the Company Credit Agreement have agreed to
forbear from exercising any rights or remedies with respect to any breach or
default by the Company under the Company Credit Agreement, and such waiver shall
not have been amended or rescinded.
(p) 6% Amortizing Convertible
Notes. Since November 15, 2010, no more than 32,000,000
Company Shares have been or will be issued to the holders of the 6% Amortizing
Convertible Notes.
(q) Material Adverse
Change. From and after the date hereof and prior to the
Effective Time, no event, circumstance, fact or change shall have occurred that,
individually or in the aggregate, has had, or is reasonably expected to have, a
Company Material Adverse Effect.
The
conditions in this Section 7.2 are for
the exclusive benefit of Acquiror and may be asserted or waived by Acquiror in
its sole discretion, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time
without prejudice to any other rights which Acquiror may have.
7.3 Conditions to Obligations of
the Company. The obligation of the Company to effect the
Arrangement is subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions on or
prior to the Effective Date or such other date specified:
(a) Representations and
Warranties. Each of the representations and warranties of
Acquiror set forth in this Agreement shall be true and correct as of the date
hereof and as of the Effective Date as though made on and as of the Effective
Date (except for such representations and warranties made only as of a specified
date, which shall be true and correct as of the specified date), except for such
failures of representations and warranties to be so true and correct (for this
purpose disregarding any qualification or limitation as to materiality or
Acquiror Material Adverse Effect) that do not have, and would not reasonably be
expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, an Acquiror Material Adverse
Effect, and the Company shall have received a certificate signed on behalf of
Acquiror by an authorized executive officer of Acquiror to such
effect.
62
(b) Performance of Obligations
of Acquiror. Acquiror shall have performed in all material
respects all obligations, and complied in all material respects with the
agreements and covenants, required to be performed by or complied with by it
under this Agreement at or prior to the Effective Time, and the Company shall
have received a certificate signed on behalf of Acquiror by an authorized
executive officer of Acquiror to such effect.
(c) Resolutions. Acquiror
shall have furnished the Company with certified copies of the resolutions duly
passed by the Board of Directors of Acquiror approving this Agreement and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
(d) 6% Amortizing Convertible
Notes. Acquiror shall have paid in full any unconverted
principal amount of the 6% Amortizing Convertible Notes at a price in cash equal
to 125% of the sum of such unconverted principal amount plus accrued and unpaid
interest and late charges due through the date of payment.
(e) Company Credit
Agreement. Acquiror shall enable and cause the Company,
concurrently with the Closing, to pay in full all amounts owed by NGAS
Production Co. under the Company Credit Agreement or have made other
arrangements that are satisfactory to the lenders under the Company Credit
Agreement.
(f) Certain Obligations
Satisfied. All outstanding personal guarantees securing the
performance of the CBT Note shall have been released.
(g) Material Adverse
Change. From and after the date hereof and prior to the
Effective Time, no event, circumstance, fact or change shall have occurred that,
individually or in the aggregate, has had, or is reasonably expected to have, an
Acquiror Material Adverse Effect.
The
conditions in this Section 7.3 are for
the exclusive benefit of the Company and may be asserted or waived by the
Company in its sole discretion, in whole or in part, at any time and
from time to time without prejudice to any other rights which the
Company may have.
ARTICLE
8
TERMINATION
AND AMENDMENT
8.1 Termination. This
Agreement may be terminated at any time prior to the Effective Time, by action
taken or authorized by the Board of Directors of the terminating Party or
Parties, whether before or after the Court grants an Interim Order or Final
Order or the Required Company Vote has been obtained:
(a) by
mutual consent of Acquiror and the Company in a written
instrument;
63
(b) by
either Acquiror or the Company, upon written notice to the other Party, if a
Governmental Entity of competent jurisdiction that must grant a Requisite
Regulatory Approval has denied granting of such Requisite Regulatory Approval
and such denial has become final and non-appealable; or any Governmental Entity
of competent jurisdiction shall have issued an Order or ruling or taken any
other action permanently restraining, enjoining or otherwise prohibiting the
Arrangement, and such injunction, Order or ruling or other action has become
final and non-appealable; provided, however, that (i) the Party
seeking to terminate this Agreement shall have used its reasonable best efforts
to remove or lift such injunction, Order or ruling and (ii) the right to
terminate this Agreement under this Section 8.1(b)
shall not be available to any Party whose failure to comply with Section 6.7 or
any other provision of this Agreement has been the cause of, or resulted in, the
denial of the Requisite Regulatory Approval or such Order, ruling or other
action;
(c) by
either Acquiror or the Company, upon written notice to the other Party, if the
Arrangement shall not have been consummated on or before March 31, 2011, or
April 15, 2011, as contemplated by Section 6.20; provided, however, that the right to
terminate this Agreement under this Section 8.1(c)
shall not be available to any Party whose failure to comply with any provision
of this Agreement has been the cause of, or resulted in, the failure of the
Effective Time to occur on or before such date;
(d) by
either Acquiror or the Company, if the Required Company Vote has not been
obtained by reason of the failure to obtain the required vote upon a final vote
taken at the Company Meeting (or any adjournment or postponement thereof); provided, however, that the Company
shall not be entitled to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 8.1(d) if any
of the shareholders party to a Support Agreement shall have breached any of
their obligations thereunder, and either Party shall not be entitled to
terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 8.1(d) if
such Party’s failure to comply with any provision of this Agreement has been the
cause of, or resulted in, the failure to obtain the required vote upon a final
vote taken at the Company Meeting;
(e) by
Acquiror, upon written notice to the Company, if:
(i)
(A) the Company Board fails to make or has withdrawn or changed the
Company Board Recommendation in any manner adverse to Acquiror, (B) the Company
shall have entered into any agreement with respect to any Acquisition Proposal,
or (C) the Company Board shall have resolved to do any of the foregoing or
publicly announced its intention to do any of the foregoing;
(ii)
a bona fide Acquisition Proposal is publicly announced,
proposed, offered or made to the Company Shareholders or to the Company and not
publicly withdrawn and the Company Shareholders do not approve the Arrangement
as required in the Interim Order or the Arrangement is not submitted for their
approval;
(iii) the
Company accepts, recommends, approves or enters into an agreement to implement a
Superior Proposal, or publicly announces its intention to do any of the
foregoing;
(iv) the
Company has breached any of the covenants and agreements set forth in Section 6.8;
or
64
(v)
any of the Company or its Subsidiaries has
voluntarily filed a bankruptcy petition or initiated insolvency proceedings, or
involuntary bankruptcy proceedings or insolvency proceedings have been brought
against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(f)
by the Company in accordance with the terms and conditions of Section 6.8(g);
and
(g) if
any of the conditions precedent set forth in Sections 7.1, 7.2 or
7.3 hereof shall have not been satisfied or waived by the Party or
Parties for whose benefit such condition is provided on or before the date
required for the performance thereof, by the Party for whose benefit the
condition precedent is provided upon written notice to the other
Party. Such notice shall specify in reasonable detail all breaches of
covenants, representations and warranties or other matters which the Party
delivering such notice is asserting as the basis for the non-fulfillment of the
applicable condition precedent.
8.2 Effect of
Termination.
(a) In
the event of termination of this Agreement by either the Company or Acquiror as
provided in Section 8.1,
this Agreement shall forthwith become void, and there shall be no liability or
obligation on the part of Acquiror or the Company, except with respect to Section 6.6
(Access to Information; Confidentiality), Section 6.9
(Fees and Expenses), this Section 8.2
(Effect of Termination), and Article 9 (General
Provisions), which shall survive such termination and except that no Party shall
be relieved or released from any liabilities or damages arising out of its
willful breach of this Agreement.
(b) If
at any time after the execution of this Agreement and prior to its
termination:
(i) the
Board of Directors fails to make or has withdrawn or changed the Company Board
Recommendation referred to in Section 3.14 in a
manner adverse to Acquiror or shall have resolved to do so or publicly announced
its intention to do so prior to the Effective Date;
(ii) prior
to the termination of this Agreement, a bona fide Acquisition Proposal is
publicly announced, proposed, offered or made to the Company Shareholders or to
the Company and not publicly withdrawn and the Company Shareholders do not
approve the Arrangement as required in the Interim Order or the Arrangement is
not submitted for their approval, and (whether prior to or following the
termination of this Agreement) such Acquisition Proposal, an amended version
thereof or any other Acquisition Proposal relating to the Company is consummated
within twelve (12) months of the date the first Acquisition Proposal is publicly
announced, proposed, offered or made (provided that for purposes of this Section 8.2(b)(ii),
each reference to “20%” in the definition of Acquisition Proposal shall be
deemed to reference “50%” for an arrangement, amalgamation, merger or stock
acquisition and “50%” for an assets acquisition);
65
(iii) the
Company accepts, recommends, approves or enters into an agreement to implement a
Superior Proposal, or publicly announces its intention to do any of the
foregoing; or
(iv) the
Company is in breach of its covenants in Section 6.8, and the
Company fails to cure such breach within five (5) Business Days after receipt of
written notice thereof from Acquiror (except that no cure period shall be
provided for a breach which by its nature cannot be cured and, in no event,
shall any cure period extend beyond March 31, 2011, or April 15, 2011, as
contemplated by Section
6.20),
then in
the event of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 8.1, the
Company shall pay to Acquiror in immediately available funds to an account
designated by Acquiror on the later of the date of termination of this Agreement
or within ten (10) Business Days after the first to occur of the events
described above, and after such event but prior to payment of such amount, the
Company shall be deemed to hold such funds in trust for Acquiror, U.S.$4,000,000
(the “Damages
Fee”).
(c) If
at any time after the execution of this Agreement and prior to its termination,
(i) the Required Company Vote has not been obtained by reason of the failure to
obtain the required vote upon a final vote taken at the Company Meeting (or any
adjournment or postponement thereof), and (ii) none of the circumstances in
Section 8.2(b) exist, then in the event of the termination of this Agreement
pursuant to Section
8.1, the Company shall pay to Acquiror its reasonable, properly
documented expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement and the proposed
Arrangement and related matters, including without limitation attorneys’ fees
and expenses (the “Transaction
Expenses”), in immediately available funds to an account designated by
Acquiror within ten (10) Business Days after the occurrence of the event
described above, and after such event but prior to payment of such amount, the
Company shall be deemed to hold the Transaction Expenses in trust for Acquiror;
provided, however, that
the Transaction Expenses shall not exceed the amount of the Damages
Fee.
(d) Each
of the Parties acknowledges and agrees that the payment amounts set out in Section 8.2(b) and
Section 8.2(c)
includes a payment of liquidated damages which is a genuine pre-estimate of the
damages that Acquiror will suffer or incur as a result of the event giving rise
to such damages and resultant termination of this Agreement and is not a
penalty. The Company irrevocably waives any right it may have to raise as a
defense that any such liquidated damages are excessive or
punitive. For greater certainty, each of the Parties agrees that the
payment of the applicable amounts pursuant to Section 8.2(b) or
Section 8.2(c),
as applicable, is the sole monetary remedy of Acquiror for the occurrence of
events or circumstances covered by Section 8.2(b) or
Section 8.2(c),
provided however, that
this limitation shall not apply in the event of fraud or willful breach of this
Agreement by the Company. Furthermore, nothing herein shall preclude
a Party from seeking injunctive relief to restrain any breach or threatened
breach of the covenants or agreements set forth in this Agreement or the
Confidentiality Agreement or otherwise to obtain specific performance of any of
such acts, covenants or agreements, without the necessity of posting bond or
security in connection therewith or to pursue other judicial remedies for
breaches of the provisions of this Agreement other than those covered by Section 8.2(b) or
Section
8.2(c).
66
8.3 Amendment. This
Agreement may be amended by the Parties, by action taken or authorized by their
respective Boards of Directors, at any time before or after approval of the
matters presented in connection with this Agreement by the shareholders of the
Company, but, after any such approval, no amendment shall be made which by Law
requires further approval by such shareholders without such further
approval. This Agreement may not be amended except by an instrument
in writing signed on behalf of each of the Parties hereto.
8.4 Amendment to the Plan of
Arrangement. The Parties may agree to amend the Plan of
Arrangement as set forth in Article 6 of the Plan of Arrangement.
8.5 Extension;
Waiver. At any time prior to the Effective Time, the Parties,
by action taken or authorized by their respective Board of Directors, may, to
the extent permitted by Applicable Law, (i) extend the time for the
performance of any of the obligations or other acts of the other Party,
(ii) waive any inaccuracies in the representations and warranties contained
herein or in any document delivered pursuant hereto, and (iii) waive
compliance with any of the agreements or conditions contained
herein. Any agreement on the part of a Party hereto to any such
extension or waiver shall be valid only if set forth in a written instrument
signed on behalf of such Party. The failure of a Party to assert any
of its rights under this Agreement or otherwise shall not constitute a waiver of
those rights. No single or partial exercise of any right, remedy,
power or privilege hereunder shall preclude any other or further exercise
thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power or
privilege. Any waiver shall be effective only in the specific
instance and for the specific purpose for which given and shall not constitute a
waiver to any subsequent or other exercise of any right, remedy, power or
privilege hereunder.
ARTICLE
9
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
9.1 Non-survival of
Representations, Warranties and Agreements. None of the
representations, warranties, covenants and agreements in this Agreement or in
any instrument delivered pursuant to this Agreement, including any rights
arising out of any breach of such representations, warranties, covenants, and
agreements, shall survive the Effective Time, except for Section 6.10 and
those covenants and agreements that by their terms apply or are to be performed
in whole or in part after the Effective Time.
9.2 Notices. All
notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be
deemed duly given (a) on the date of delivery if delivered personally, or
by facsimile, upon confirmation of receipt, (b) on the first business day
following the date of dispatch if delivered by a recognized next day courier
service, or (c) on the fifth Business Day following the date of mailing if
delivered by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage
prepaid. All notices hereunder shall be delivered as set forth below,
or pursuant to such other instructions as may be designated in writing by the
Party to receive such notice.
67
(a)
|
if
to Acquiror, to
|
|
Magnum
Hunter Resources Corporation
|
||
770
Xxxx Xxx Xxxx, Xxxxx 000
|
||
Xxxxxxx,
Xxxxx 00000
|
||
Attention:
|
Xxxx
X. Xxxxxxxx,
|
|
Senior
Vice President and General Counsel
|
||
Facsimile
No.:
|
(000)
000-0000
|
|
Email
Address:
|
xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
|
|
with
copies (which shall not constitute notice) to
|
||
Fulbright
& Xxxxxxxx L.L.P.
|
||
2200
Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
|
||
Xxxxxx,
Xxxxx 00000-0000
|
||
Facsimile
No.:
|
(000)
000-0000
|
|
Attention:
|
Xxxxx
X. Xxxxxxxx
|
|
(b)
|
if
to the Company, to
|
|
NGAS
Resources, Inc.
|
||
120
Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx 000
|
||
Xxxxxxxxx,
Xxxxxxxx 00000-0000
|
||
Attention:
|
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxx, III
|
|
Vice
President
|
||
Facsimile
No.:
|
(000)
000-0000
|
|
with
a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to
|
||
Skadden,
Arps, Slate, Xxxxxxx & Xxxx LLP
|
||
520
Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
|
||
Xxxx
Xxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000
|
||
Attention:
|
Xxxxxx
Xxxx
|
|
Facsimile
No:
|
(000)
000-0000
|
9.3 Interpretation. When
a reference is made in this Agreement to Sections, Exhibits or Schedules, such
reference shall be to a Section of or Exhibit or Schedule to this Agreement
unless otherwise indicated. The table of contents and headings
contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect
in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. Whenever
the words “include,” “includes” or “including” are used in this Agreement, they
shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation.” The
phrase “made available” in this Agreement shall mean that the information
referred to has been made available by the Party to whom such information is to
be made available. The phrases “herein,” “hereof,” “hereunder” and
words of similar import shall be deemed to refer to this Agreement as a whole,
including the Exhibits and Schedules hereto, and not to any particular provision
of this Agreement. The word “or” shall be inclusive and not
exclusive. Any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine,
feminine and neuter forms. An “affiliate” of, or a Person
“affiliated” with, a specified Person, is a Person that directly, or indirectly
through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under
common control with, the Person specified.
68
9.4 Counterparts. This
Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which shall be considered one
and the same agreement and this Agreement shall become effective when such
counterparts have been signed by each of the Parties and delivered to the other
Parties, it being understood that the Parties need not sign the same
counterpart.
9.5 Entire Agreement; No Third
Party Beneficiaries. This Agreement (including the documents
and the instruments referred to herein) (a) constitutes the entire
agreement and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, both written
and oral, between the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, other
than the Confidentiality Agreement, which shall survive the execution and
delivery of this Agreement and (b) except as provided in Section 6.10 (which
is intended for the benefit of only the Persons specified therein), is not
intended to confer upon any Person other than the Parties hereto any rights or
remedies hereunder. Neither this Agreement nor any other document delivered in
connection with this Agreement shall create or be deemed to create or permit any
personal liability or obligation on the part of any officer or director of
either Party or any of their Subsidiaries, absent any act of fraud.
9.6 Governing
Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in
accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware, except with respect to the
provisions regarding the mechanics and consummation of the Arrangement, which
shall be governed by the laws of the Province of British Columbia.
9.7 Severability. Any
term or provision of this Agreement which is invalid or unenforceable in any
jurisdiction shall, as to that jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of
such invalidity or unenforceability and, unless the effect of such invalidity or
unenforceability would prevent the Parties from realizing the major portion of
the economic benefits of the Arrangement that they currently anticipate
obtaining therefrom, shall not render invalid or unenforceable the remaining
terms and provisions of this Agreement or affect the validity or enforceability
of any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement in any other
jurisdiction. If any provision of this Agreement is so broad as to be
unenforceable, the provision shall be interpreted to be only so broad as is
enforceable.
9.8 Assignment. Neither
this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests or obligations of the Parties
hereunder shall be assigned by either of the Parties hereto (whether by
operation of law or otherwise) without the prior written consent of the other
Party, and any attempt to make any such assignment without such consent shall be
null and void. Subject to the preceding sentence, this Agreement will
be binding upon, inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by the Parties and
their respective successors and permitted assigns.
69
9.9 Submission to
Jurisdiction. Each Party hereto irrevocably submits to the
jurisdiction of the courts located in Delaware, for the purposes of any suit,
action or other Proceeding arising out of this Agreement or any transaction
contemplated hereby. Each Party hereto agrees to commence any
Proceeding relating hereto only in the courts in Delaware. Each Party
hereto irrevocably and unconditionally waives any objection to the laying of
venue of any Proceeding arising out of this Agreement or the transactions
contemplated hereby in any court in Delaware, and hereby further irrevocably and
unconditionally waives and agrees not to plead or claim in any such court that
any such Proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an
inconvenient forum. Each Party hereto further irrevocably consents to
the service of process out of any of the aforementioned courts in any such suit,
action or other Proceeding by the mailing of copies thereof by mail to such
Party at its address set forth in this Agreement, such service of process to be
effective upon acknowledgment of receipt of such registered mail; provided that nothing in this
Section 9.9
shall affect the right of any Party to serve legal process in any other manner
permitted by law. The consent to jurisdiction set forth in this Section 9.9
shall not constitute a general consent to service of process in Delaware and
shall have no effect for any purpose except as provided in this
Section. The Parties hereto agree that a final judgment in any such
Proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other jurisdictions by
suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by Law.
9.10 Enforcement. The
Parties agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that any of the
provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their
specific terms on a timely basis or were otherwise breached. It is
accordingly agreed that the Parties shall be entitled to an injunction or other
equitable relief to prevent breaches of this Agreement and to enforce
specifically the terms and provisions of this Agreement in any court identified
in the Section 9.9
above, this being in addition to any other remedy to which they are entitled at
law or in equity.
9.11 WAIVER OF JURY
TRIAL. EACH OF THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVES TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY
JUDICIAL PROCEEDING INVOLVING, DIRECTLY, IN ANY MATTERS (WHETHER SOUNDING IN
TORT, CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE) IN ANY WAY ARISING OUT OF, RELATED TO, OR CONNECTED
WITH, THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
[Remainder
of this page intentionally left blank]
70
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, Acquiror and the Company have caused this Agreement to be
signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, all as of the
date first set forth above.
ACQUIROR:
|
|||
MAGNUM
HUNTER RESOURCES
|
|||
CORPORATION
|
|||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxx X.
Xxxxxx
|
||
Name:
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
|
|||
Title:
Executive Vice President and
|
|||
Chief Financial Officer
|
|||
COMPANY:
|
|||
NGAS
RESOURCES, INC.
|
|||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxxx X.
Xxxxxxxxx
|
||
Name:
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx
|
|||
Title:
President &
CEO
|
[Signature
Page to Arrangement Agreement]