AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER BY AND AMONG A. SCHULMAN, INC., WILDCAT SPIDER, LLC AND ICO, INC. Dated as of December 2, 2009
EXECUTION
VERSION
AGREEMENT
AND PLAN OF MERGER
BY
AND AMONG
X.
XXXXXXXX, INC.,
WILDCAT
SPIDER, LLC
AND
ICO,
INC.
Dated as
of December 2, 2009
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
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Page
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ARTICLE
I THE MERGER
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1
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Section
1.1
|
The
Merger
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1
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Section
1.2
|
Closing
|
2
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||
Section
1.3
|
Effective
Time
|
2
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||
Section
1.4
|
Effects
of the Merger
|
2
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||
Section
1.5
|
Certificate
of Formation and Limited Liability Company
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Agreement
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2
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Section
1.6
|
Managers
and Officers of the Surviving Company
|
2
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||
Section
1.7
|
Tax
Consequences
|
3
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ARTICLE
II EFFECT OF THE MERGER ON THE CAPITAL STOCK OF THE
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CONSTITUENT
CORPORATIONS; EXCHANGE OF CERTIFICATES
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AND
PAYMENT
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3
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Section
2.1
|
Effect
on Capital Stock
|
3
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Section
2.2
|
Exchange
of Certificates
|
4
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Section
2.3
|
Certain
Adjustments
|
8
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||
Section
2.4
|
Dissenters’
Rights
|
8
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||
Section
2.5
|
Further
Assurances
|
9
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||
Section
2.6
|
Withholding
Rights
|
9
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||
ARTICLE
III REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
|
9
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Section
3.1
|
Representations
and Warranties of the Company
|
9
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||
Section
3.2
|
Representations
and Warranties of Parent and Merger Sub
|
26
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ARTICLE
IV COVENANTS RELATING TO CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
|
42
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Section
4.1
|
Conduct
of Business
|
42
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Section
4.2
|
No
Solicitation by the Company
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47
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ARTICLE
V ADDITIONAL AGREEMENTS
|
50
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Section
5.1
|
Preparation
of the Form S-4 and the Proxy Statement; Company
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Stockholders
Meeting
|
50
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Section
5.2
|
Access
to Information; Confidentiality
|
52
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||
Section
5.3
|
Reasonable
Best Efforts; Cooperation
|
53
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Section
5.4
|
Stock
Options and Restricted Stock
|
55
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Section
5.5
|
Indemnification
|
56
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||
Section
5.6
|
Public
Announcements
|
58
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||
Section
5.7
|
Nasdaq
Listing
|
58
|
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Section
5.8
|
Stockholder
Litigation
|
58
|
- i -
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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(continued)
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Page
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Section 5.9
|
Tax Treatment
|
58
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Section 5.10
|
Standstill Agreements; Confidentiality
Agreements
|
59
|
||
Section 5.11
|
Section 16(b)
|
59
|
||
Section 5.12
|
Employee Benefit Matters
|
59
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Section 5.13
|
Parent Board of Directors
|
61
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Section 5.14
|
Parent Actions
|
61
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ARTICLE VI CONDITIONS
PRECEDENT
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62
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Section 6.1
|
Conditions to Each Party’s Obligation to Effect
the Merger
|
62
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Section 6.2
|
Conditions to Obligations of Parent and Merger
Sub
|
62
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||
Section 6.3
|
Conditions to Obligations of the
Company
|
63
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||
Section 6.4
|
Frustration of Closing
Conditions
|
64
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ARTICLE VII TERMINATION
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64
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Section 7.1
|
Termination
|
64
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Section 7.2
|
Effect of Termination
|
65
|
||
Section 7.3
|
Fees and Expenses
|
66
|
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ARTICLE VIII GENERAL
PROVISIONS
|
67
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Section 8.1
|
Nonsurvival of Representations and Warranties;
Scope of
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Representations and
Warranties
|
67
|
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Section 8.2
|
Notices
|
68
|
||
Section 8.3
|
Interpretation
|
69
|
||
Section 8.4
|
Counterparts
|
72
|
||
Section 8.5
|
Entire Agreement; No Third-Party
Beneficiaries
|
72
|
||
Section 8.6
|
Governing Law
|
73
|
||
Section 8.7
|
Assignment
|
73
|
||
Section 8.8
|
Consent to Jurisdiction
|
73
|
||
Section 8.9
|
Specific Enforcement
|
74
|
||
Section 8.10
|
Amendment
|
74
|
||
Section 8.11
|
Extension; Waiver
|
74
|
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Section 8.12
|
Severability
|
74
|
- ii -
·
TABLE OF DEFINED TERMS
|
|
Term
|
Page
|
2010
Incentive Plan
|
61
|
Acquisition
Agreement
|
49
|
Adjustment
Event
|
8
|
affiliate
|
69
|
Agreement
|
1
|
Antitrust
Law
|
69
|
Average
Closing Price
|
7
|
Book-Entry
Shares
|
4
|
Business
Day
|
70
|
Cash
Consideration
|
3
|
Cash
Pool
|
3
|
CBA
Company Employees
|
60
|
Certificate
of Merger
|
2
|
Closing
|
2
|
Closing
Date
|
2
|
Code
|
1
|
Company
|
1
|
Company
Adverse Recommendation Change
|
49
|
Company
Benefit Plans
|
16
|
Company
Bylaws
|
10
|
Company
Certificate
|
4
|
Company
Charter
|
10
|
Company
Common Stock
|
1
|
Company
Credit Agreement
|
11
|
Company
Disclosure Letter
|
10
|
Company
Employees
|
59
|
Company
Entities
|
10
|
Company
ERISA Affiliate
|
17
|
Company
Foreign Plan
|
19
|
Company
Intellectual Property
|
23
|
Company
Leased Real Property
|
22
|
Company
Leases
|
22
|
Company
Material Contract
|
25
|
Company
Owned Real Property
|
22
|
Company
Representatives
|
47
|
Company
SEC Documents
|
13
|
Company
Stock Options
|
11
|
Company
Stock Plans
|
11
|
Company
Stockholder Approval
|
25
|
Company
Stockholders Meeting
|
51
|
Company
Subsidiaries
|
10
|
- iii -
Term
|
Page
|
Company
Takeover Proposal
|
48
|
Company
Termination Fee
|
66
|
Confidentiality
Agreement
|
52
|
Dissenting
Shares
|
8
|
Effective
Time
|
2
|
employee
|
19,
35
|
Environment
|
70
|
Environmental,
Health and Safety Claim
|
70
|
Environmental
Condition
|
70
|
Environmental,
Health and Safety Laws
|
70
|
Environmental
Permit
|
70
|
ERISA
|
16
|
Exchange
Act
|
12
|
Exchange
Agent
|
5
|
Exchange
Fund
|
5
|
Exchange
Ratio
|
3
|
Exercise
Period
|
55
|
Fixed
Parent Stock Number
|
4
|
Form
X-0
|
00
|
XXXX
|
13
|
Governmental
Entity
|
12
|
Hazardous
Substance
|
70
|
HSR
Act
|
12
|
Indemnified
Parties
|
56
|
knowledge
|
71
|
Law
|
71
|
Liens
|
71
|
material
adverse change
|
71
|
material
adverse effect
|
71
|
Maximum
Premium
|
57
|
Merger
|
1
|
Merger
Consideration
|
3
|
Merger
Sub
|
1
|
Multiemployer
Plan
|
18
|
Multiple
Employer Plan
|
18
|
Nasdaq
|
12
|
Notice
of Adverse Recommendation
|
49
|
Out-of-Pocket
Expenses
|
67
|
Outside
Date
|
64
|
Outstanding
Shares
|
3
|
Parent
|
1
|
Parent
Benefit Plans
|
32
|
Parent
Bylaws
|
27
|
Parent
Charter
|
27
|
Parent
Common Stock
|
3
|
Parent
Disclosure Letter
|
26
|
Parent
Entities
|
27
|
|
- iv -
|
Term
|
Page
|
|
|
Parent
ERISA Affiliate
|
33
|
Parent
Foreign Plan
|
35
|
Parent
Intellectual Property
|
39
|
Parent
Leased Real Property
|
38
|
Parent
Leases
|
38
|
Parent
Material Contract
|
40
|
Parent
Owned Real Property
|
38
|
Parent
Plan
|
60
|
Parent
SEC Documents
|
29
|
Parent
Stock Options
|
27
|
Parent
Stock Plans
|
27
|
Parent
Subsidiaries
|
27
|
PBGC
|
17
|
PCBs
|
70
|
Permits
|
15
|
Permitted
Liens
|
71
|
person
|
72
|
Post-Closing
Tax Period
|
20
|
Pre-Closing
Tax Period
|
20
|
Prior
Plan
|
60
|
Proxy
Statement
|
12
|
Recent
Parent SEC Reports
|
29
|
Recent
SEC Reports
|
13
|
Release
|
72
|
Restricted
Share
|
55
|
Retention
Pool
|
61
|
SEC
|
12
|
Securities
Act
|
12
|
Series
A Special Stock
|
27
|
Special
Stock
|
27
|
Stock
Consideration
|
3
|
subsidiary
|
72
|
Successor
Plan
|
60
|
Superior
Proposal
|
48
|
Surviving
Company
|
2
|
Takeover
Statute
|
25
|
Tax
Certificates
|
54
|
Tax
Return
|
72
|
Taxes
|
72
|
XXXX
|
00
|
XXXX
|
1
|
Texas
Secretary of State
|
2
|
Transferee
|
5
|
Treasury
Regulations
|
1
|
|
- v -
AGREEMENT
AND PLAN OF MERGER
AGREEMENT
AND PLAN OF MERGER (this “Agreement”),
dated as of December 2, 2009, by and among X. Xxxxxxxx, Inc., a Delaware
corporation (“Parent”),
Wildcat Spider, LLC, a Texas limited liability
company and wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger
Sub”), and ICO, Inc., a Texas corporation (the “Company”).
W
I T N E S S E T H:
WHEREAS,
the respective Boards of Directors of the Company and Parent have each
determined that a business combination between Parent and the Company is in the
best interests of their respective companies and stockholders and, accordingly,
have agreed to effect the merger of the Company with and into the Merger Sub
(the “Merger”), upon
the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement and in
accordance with the Texas Business Organizations Code (the “TBOC”),
whereby each issued and outstanding share of common stock, no par value per
share, of the Company (“Company Common
Stock”), other
than Dissenting Shares and any shares of Company Common Stock owned by Parent or
any direct or indirect subsidiary of Parent or held in the treasury of the
Company, will be converted into the right to receive the Merger Consideration
(as defined in Section
2.1);
WHEREAS,
the Board of Directors of the Company has determined that the Merger is
advisable, fair to and in the best interests of the Company and its
stockholders;
WHEREAS,
the Company, Parent and Merger Sub desire to make certain representations,
warranties, covenants and agreements in connection with the Merger and also to
prescribe various conditions to the Merger; and
WHEREAS,
for federal income tax purposes, it is intended that (i) the Merger will qualify
as a reorganization under the provisions of Section 368(a) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) and the
treasury regulations promulgated thereunder (the “Treasury
Regulations”), and
any comparable provisions of state or local Law, (ii) Merger Sub be disregarded
as an entity separate from Parent and (iii) this Agreement be and is adopted as
a “plan of reorganization” for purposes of Sections 354, 361 and 368 of the Code
and Treasury Regulations.
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual representations, warranties, covenants
and agreements contained in this Agreement, and for other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, and
upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, the parties
hereto agree as follows:
ARTICLE
I
THE
MERGER
Section 1.1 The
Merger. On the terms and subject to the conditions set forth
herein, and in accordance with the TBOC, the Company will be merged with and
into Merger Sub at the Effective Time, and the separate corporate existence of
the Company will thereupon
- 1 -
·
cease. Following
the Effective Time, Merger Sub will be the surviving company (the “Surviving
Company”).
Section 1.2 Closing. The
closing of the Merger (the “Closing”)
will take place at a time and on a date to be specified by the parties hereto,
which is to be no later than the second Business Day after satisfaction or (to
the extent permitted by applicable Law) waiver by the party entitled to the
benefit thereof of the conditions (excluding conditions that, by their terms,
cannot be satisfied until the Closing Date, but subject to the fulfillment or
(to the extent permitted by applicable Law) waiver by the party entitled to the
benefit of those conditions) set forth in Article VI, unless
another time or date is agreed to by the parties hereto. The Closing
will be held at the offices of Xxxxx Day, 000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxx
00000, or such other location to which the parties hereto agree in
writing. The date on which the Closing occurs is hereinafter referred
to as the “Closing
Date.”
Section 1.3 Effective
Time. On the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in
this Agreement, (i) as soon as practicable on the Closing Date, the parties
shall cause the Merger to be consummated by delivering to the Secretary of State
of the State of Texas (the “Texas Secretary
of State”) a certificate of merger (the “Certificate of
Merger”) in such form as is required
by and executed in accordance with Section 10.151 of the TBOC and (ii) as soon
as practicable on or after the Closing Date, the parties shall make all other
filings or recordings required under the TBOC. The Merger will become
effective when the Certificate of Merger is accepted by the Texas Secretary of
State or at such later date and time or on the occurrence of a future event or
fact as the Company, Parent and Merger Sub agree and specify in the Certificate
of Merger (the date and time the Merger becomes effective is hereinafter
referred to as the “Effective
Time”).
Section 1.4 Effects of the
Merger. The Merger will have the effects set forth in Section
10.008 of the TBOC and all other applicable provisions of the
TBOC. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, and subject
thereto, at the Effective Time, all the property, rights, privileges, powers and
franchises of the Company and Merger Sub will be vested in the Surviving
Company, and all debts, liabilities and duties of the Company and Merger Sub
will become the debts, liabilities and duties of the Surviving
Company.
Section 1.5 Certificate of Formation and
Limited Liability Company Agreement. Subject to Section 5.5, at the
Effective Time, the certificate of formation and limited liability company
agreement of Merger Sub, as in effect immediately before the Effective Time,
will be the certificate of formation and limited liability company agreement of
the Surviving Company, until thereafter changed or amended as provided therein
or by applicable Law.
Section 1.6 Managers and Officers of the
Surviving Company. The managers of Merger Sub immediately
prior to the Effective Time will be the managers of the Surviving Company, until
the earlier of their death, resignation or removal or until their respective
successors are duly elected and qualified, as the case may be. The
officers of Merger Sub immediately prior to the
Effective Time will be the officers of the Surviving Company, until the earlier
of their death, resignation or removal or until their respective successors are
duly elected and qualified, as the case may be.
- 2 -
Section 1.7 Tax
Consequences. It is intended by the parties hereto that (i)
the Merger shall constitute a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section
368(a) of the Code and Treasury Regulations, and any comparable provisions of
applicable state or local Law, and (ii) Merger Sub be disregarded as an entity
separate from Parent. The parties hereto adopt this Agreement as a
“plan of reorganization” within the meaning of Sections 354, 361 and
368 of the Code and Sections 1.368-2(g) and 1.368-3(a) of the Treasury
Regulations, and for all relevant tax purposes.
ARTICLE
II
EFFECT
OF THE MERGER ON THE CAPITAL STOCK OF THE CONSTITUENT CORPORATIONS; EXCHANGE OF
CERTIFICATES AND PAYMENT
Section 2.1 Effect on Capital
Stock. At the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and
without any action on the part of Parent, in its capacity as the sole member of
Merger Sub, or the holder of any shares of capital stock of the Company or
Parent:
(a) Merger Sub’s Membership
Interests. The issued and outstanding membership interests in
Merger Sub outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time will remain
outstanding as the membership interests of the Surviving Company.
(b) Cancellation of Treasury
Stock and Parent Owned Stock. Each share of Company Common
Stock that is owned by Parent or any direct or indirect subsidiary of Parent or
the Company immediately prior to the Effective Time and any Company Common Stock
held in the treasury of the Company immediately prior to the Effective Time will
automatically be canceled and retired and will cease to exist, and no
consideration will be delivered in exchange therefor.
(c) Conversion of Company Common
Stock. Subject to Section 2.2(e), each
issued and outstanding share of Company Common Stock, other than shares of
Company Common Stock to be canceled in accordance with Section 2.1(b) and
Dissenting Shares, will be converted into the right to receive (i) the Cash
Consideration, without interest and (ii) a number of validly issued, fully paid,
nonassessable shares of common stock, par value $1.00 per share, of Parent
(“Parent
Common Stock”) equal to the Exchange Ratio (the “Stock
Consideration”). The Cash
Consideration and the Stock Consideration, and cash in lieu of fractional shares
of Parent Common Stock as contemplated by Section 2.2(e) are
referred to collectively as the “Merger
Consideration.” The “Cash
Consideration” shall be
equal to the quotient, rounded down to the nearest whole cent, obtained by
dividing the Cash Pool by the Outstanding Shares as of immediately prior to the
Effective Time. The “Exchange
Ratio” shall be
equal to the quotient obtained by dividing the Fixed Parent Stock Number by the
Outstanding Shares as of immediately prior to the Effective Time. The
“Outstanding
Shares” shall
(A) for purposes of this Section 2.1(c), be
the number of shares of Company Common Stock issued and outstanding as of the
time of such calculation (ignoring for this purpose any shares of Company Common
Stock canceled pursuant to Section 2.1(b)) less
the number of Dissenting Shares and (B) for purposes of Section 2.1(e), be
the number of shares of Company Common Stock issued and outstanding as of the
time of such calculation (ignoring for this purpose any shares of Company Common
Stock canceled pursuant to Section 2.1(b)),
calculated on a fully diluted basis using the treasury stock method, less the
number of Dissenting Shares. “Cash
Pool” shall
(A) for
- 3 -
purposes
of this Section
2.1(c), be equal to $105,000,000 less any cash amounts paid or to be paid
pursuant to Section
2.1(e) (including any applicable withholding in respect thereof) and less
any cash amounts paid by the Company to purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire
any Company Common Stock or other equity securities (including Company Stock
Options) of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, in each case, after the date
of this Agreement and prior to the Effective Time; provided, that the
Cash Pool shall be reduced by the product of the number of any Dissenting Shares
multiplied by the sum of (x) the Cash Consideration calculated as if there were
no such Dissenting Shares and (y) the product of the Exchange Ratio calculated
as if there were no such Dissenting Shares multiplied by the Average Closing
Price and (B) for purposes of Section 2.1(e), be
equal to $105,000,000 less any cash amounts paid by the Company to purchase,
redeem or otherwise acquire any Company Common Stock or other equity securities
(including Company Stock Options) of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, in
each case, after the date of this Agreement and prior to the Effective Time;
provided, that
the Cash Pool shall be reduced by the product of the number of any Dissenting
Shares multiplied by the sum of (x) the Cash Consideration calculated as if
there were no such Dissenting Shares (or, for the avoidance of doubt, cash
amounts paid or to be paid pursuant to Section 2.1(e)
(including any applicable withholding in respect thereof)) and (y) the product
of the Exchange Ratio calculated as if there were no such Dissenting Shares
multiplied by the Average Closing Price. “Fixed Parent
Stock Number” shall be
equal to 5,100,000. For the avoidance of doubt, in no event shall (i)
the aggregate amount of cash paid pursuant to this Section 2.1 exceed
$105,000,000 and (ii) the aggregate number of shares of Parent Common Stock
issued pursuant to this Section 2.1 exceed
the Fixed Parent Stock Number.
(d) Cancellation of Shares of
Company Common Stock. As of the Effective Time, all shares of
Company Common Stock, other than Dissenting Shares, shall no longer be
outstanding and will automatically be canceled and retired and shall cease to
exist, and each holder of a certificate formerly representing any shares of
Company Common Stock (a “Company
Certificate”) or book-entry shares (“Book-Entry
Shares”) shall cease to have any rights with respect thereto, except the
right to receive the Merger Consideration, certain dividends or other
distributions, if any, upon surrender of such Company Certificate or Book-Entry
Shares, in each case, in accordance with this Article II, without
interest.
(e) Treatment of Outstanding
Company Stock Options. Each holder of a Company Stock Option
that is not exercised prior to the Effective Time shall have the right,
following the termination of the holder’s unexercised Company Stock Options as
of the Effective Time, to receive from the Surviving Company in respect thereof
an amount in cash equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of Company
Common Stock previously subject to such Company Stock Option, and (ii) the
excess, if any, of the Merger Consideration Value over the exercise price per
share previously subject to such Company Stock Option, without interest and
reduced by any applicable withholding. For this purpose, “Merger
Consideration Value” equals the sum of (i) the Cash Consideration and
(ii) the product of the Average Closing Price and the Exchange
Ratio.
Section 2.2 Exchange of
Certificates
.
(a) Exchange
Agent. Prior to the Effective Time, Parent will designate a
national bank or trust company, that is reasonably satisfactory to the Company,
to act as agent of Parent for purposes of, among other things, mailing and
receiving transmittal letters and
- 4
-
distributing
the Merger Consideration to the Company stockholders (the “Exchange
Agent”). Parent
and the Exchange Agent shall enter into an agreement which will provide that
Parent shall deposit with the Exchange Agent as of the Effective Time, for the
benefit of the holders of shares of Company Common Stock, for exchange in
accordance with this Article II, through
the Exchange Agent, (i) immediately available funds sufficient to pay the
aggregate Cash Consideration for all of the Outstanding Shares and (ii)
certificates representing the shares of Parent Common Stock (such cash and such
shares of Parent Common Stock, together with any dividends or distributions with
respect thereto with a record date after the Effective Time and any cash payable
in lieu of any fractional shares of Parent Common Stock, being hereinafter
referred to as the “Exchange
Fund”)
issuable pursuant to Section 2.1 in
exchange for all of the Outstanding Shares.
(b) Exchange
Procedures.
(i) As
soon as reasonably practicable after the Effective Time and in any case within
five Business Days thereafter, Parent shall cause the Exchange Agent to mail to
each holder of record of a Company Certificate or Book-Entry Share whose shares
of Company Common Stock were converted into the right to receive the Merger
Consideration (A) a letter of transmittal (which will specify that delivery will
be effected, and risk of loss and title to the Company Certificates will pass,
only upon proper delivery of the Company Certificates to the Exchange Agent or,
in the case of Book-Entry Shares, upon adherence to the procedures set forth in
the letter of transmittal, and such letter of transmittal will be in such
customary form and have such other provisions as Parent may reasonably specify
consistent with this Agreement) and (B) instructions for use in effecting the
surrender of the Company Certificates or, in the case of Book-Entry Shares, the
surrender of such Book-Entry Shares in exchange for the Merger
Consideration.
(ii) After
the Effective Time, and upon surrender in accordance with this Article II of a
Company Certificate or Book-Entry Shares for cancellation to the Exchange Agent,
together with such letter of transmittal, duly executed, and such other
documents as may reasonably be required by the Exchange Agent, the holder of
such Company Certificate or Book-Entry Shares will be entitled to receive in
exchange therefor the Merger Consideration in the form of (A) a certificate or
book-entry share representing that number of whole shares of Parent Common Stock
that such holder has the right to receive pursuant to the provisions of this
Article II,
after taking into account all the shares of Company Common Stock then held by
such holder under all such Book-Entry Shares or Company Certificates so
surrendered and (B) a cash payment for the full amount of cash that such holder
has the right to receive pursuant to the provisions of this Article II, including
the Cash Consideration, cash in lieu of fractional shares and certain dividends
or other distributions, if any, in accordance with Section 2.2(c), and
the Company Certificate or Book-Entry Shares so surrendered will forthwith be
canceled. In the event of a transfer of ownership of shares of
Company Common Stock that is not registered in the transfer records of the
Company, payment may be issued to a person other than the person in whose name
the Company Certificate or Book-Entry Share so surrendered is registered (the
“Transferee”) if such
Company Certificate or Book-Entry Share is properly endorsed or otherwise in
proper form for transfer and the Transferee pays any transfer or other Taxes
required by reason of such payment to a person other
- 5 -
than the
registered holder of such Company Certificate or Book-Entry Shares or
establishes to the satisfaction of the Exchange Agent that such Tax has been
paid or is not applicable. Until surrendered as contemplated by this
Section 2.2(b),
each Company Certificate and each Book-Entry Share will be deemed at any time
after the Effective Time to represent only the right to receive upon such
surrender the Merger Consideration that the holder thereof has the right to
receive in respect of such Company Certificate pursuant to the provisions of
this Article II
and certain dividends or other distributions, if any, in accordance with Section 2.2(c). No
interest will be paid or will accrue on any Merger Consideration payable to
holders of Company Certificates or Book-Entry Shares pursuant to the provisions
of this Article
II.
(c) Dividends; Other
Distributions. No dividends or other distributions with
respect to Parent Common Stock with a record date after the Effective Time will
be paid to the holder of any unsurrendered Company Certificate or Book-Entry
Shares with respect to the shares of Parent Common Stock represented thereby and
no cash payment in lieu of fractional shares will be paid to any such holder
pursuant to Section
2.2(e), and all such dividends, other distributions and cash in lieu of
fractional shares of Parent Common Stock will be paid by Parent to the Exchange
Agent and will be included in the Exchange Fund, in each case until the
surrender of such Company Certificate or Book-Entry Share in accordance with
this Article
II. Subject to the effect of applicable escheat or similar
Laws, following surrender of any such Company Certificate or Book-Entry Share in
accordance herewith, there will be paid to the holder of the certificate
representing whole shares of Parent Common Stock issued in exchange therefor,
without interest, in addition to all other amounts to which such holder is
entitled under this Article II, (i) at
the time of such surrender, the amount of dividends or other distributions with
a record date after the Effective Time theretofore paid with respect to such
whole shares of Parent Common Stock and the amount of any cash payable in lieu
of a fractional share of Parent Common Stock to which such holder is entitled
pursuant to Section
2.2(e) and (ii) at the appropriate payment date, the amount of dividends
or other distributions with a record date after the Effective Time but prior to
such surrender and with a payment date subsequent to such surrender payable with
respect to such whole shares of Parent Common Stock.
(d) No Further Ownership Rights
in Company Common Stock. All shares of Parent Common Stock
issued and all Cash Consideration paid upon the surrender for exchange of
Company Certificates or Book-Entry Shares in accordance with the terms of this
Article II (and
any cash paid pursuant to Section 2.2(c) and
Section 2.2(e))
will be deemed to have been issued or paid, as the case may be, in full
satisfaction of all rights pertaining to the shares of Company Common Stock
theretofore represented by such Company Certificates and such Book-Entry Shares,
subject, however, to the Surviving Company’s obligation to pay any dividends or
make any other distributions, in each case with a record date (i) prior to the
Effective Time that may have been declared or made by the Company on such shares
of Company Common Stock in accordance with the terms of this Agreement or (ii)
prior to the date of this Agreement, and in each case which remain unpaid at the
Effective Time, and
there will be no further registration of transfers on the stock transfer books
of the Surviving Company of the shares of Company Common Stock that were
outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time. If, after the
Effective Time, Company Certificates or Book-Entry Shares are presented to
Parent, the Surviving Company or the Exchange Agent for any reason, they will be
canceled and exchanged as provided in this Article
II.
- 6 -
(e) No Fractional
Shares.
(i) No
certificates or scrip representing fractional shares of Parent Common Stock will
be issued upon the surrender for exchange of Company Certificates or Book-Entry
Shares, no dividend or distribution of Parent will relate to such fractional
share interests and such fractional share interests will not entitle the owner
thereof to vote or to any rights of a stockholder of Parent.
(ii) Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Agreement, each holder of shares of Company Common
Stock converted pursuant to the Merger who would otherwise be entitled to
receive a fraction of a share of Parent Common Stock (after taking into account
all shares of Company Common Stock held at the Effective Time by such holder)
shall receive, in lieu thereof, an amount in cash (rounded up to the nearest
whole cent and without interest) equal to the product obtained by multiplying
(A) the fractional share interest to which such former holder would otherwise be
entitled (rounded up to the nearest ten thousandth when expressed in decimal
form) by (B) the average closing price for a share of Parent Common Stock as
reported on the Nasdaq (as reported in The Wall Street
Journal, or, if not reported thereby, any other authoritative source) for
the ten consecutive trading days ending with the fifth complete trading day
prior to, but not including, the Closing Date (the “Average Closing
Price”).
(iii) As
soon as practicable after the determination of the amount of cash, if any, to be
paid to holders of Company Certificates or Book-Entry Shares formerly
representing shares of Company Common Stock with respect to any fractional share
interests, the Exchange Agent shall make available such amounts to such holders
of Company Certificates or Book-Entry Shares formerly representing shares of
Company Common Stock subject to and in accordance with the terms of Section
2.2(c).
(iv) The
parties hereto acknowledge that the payment of cash in lieu of fractional shares
is solely for the purpose of avoiding the expense and inconvenience to Parent of
issuing and maintaining fractional shares and does not represent separately
bargained for consideration.
(f) Termination of Exchange
Fund. Any portion of the Exchange Fund that remains
undistributed to the holders of the Company Certificates or Book-Entry Shares
for twelve months after the Effective Time will be delivered to Parent, upon
demand, and any holders of Company Certificates or Book-Entry Shares who have
not theretofore complied with this Article II may
thereafter look only to Parent for payment of their claim for Merger
Consideration and dividends or distributions, if any, with respect to Parent
Common Stock and any cash in lieu of fractional shares of Parent Common
Stock.
(g) No
Liability. None of Parent, the Surviving Company or the
Exchange Agent will be liable to any person in respect of any shares of Parent
Common Stock, any dividends or distributions with respect thereto, any cash in
lieu of fractional shares of Parent Common Stock or any cash from the Exchange
Fund, in each case, delivered to a public official pursuant to any applicable
abandoned property, escheat or similar Law.
- 7 -
(h) Investment of Exchange
Fund. The Exchange Agent shall invest any cash included in the
Exchange Fund as directed by Parent, on a daily basis, provided, that, (i) no
such investment or losses thereon shall affect the amount of Merger
Consideration payable to the holders of shares of Company Common Stock and (ii)
such investments shall be in short-term obligations of or guaranteed by the
United States of America with maturities of no more than 30 days, or in
commercial paper obligations rated A-1 or P-1 or better by Xxxxx’x Investor
Services, Inc. or Standard & Poor’s Corporation,
respectively. The Exchange Fund shall not be used for any other
purpose, except as provided in this Agreement. Any interest and other
income resulting from such investments will be paid to Parent. If for
any reason (including losses) the cash in the Exchange Fund shall be
insufficient to fully satisfy all of the payment obligations to be made in cash
by the Exchange Agent hereunder, Parent shall promptly deposit cash into the
Exchange Fund in an amount which is equal to the deficiency in the amount of
cash required to fully satisfy such cash payment obligations.
(i) Lost
Certificates. If any Company Certificate has been lost, stolen
or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the person
claiming such Company Certificate to be lost, stolen or destroyed and, if
required by Parent or the Surviving Company, as the case may be, the posting by
such person of a bond in such reasonable amount as Parent or the Surviving
Company, as the case may be, may direct as indemnity against any claim that may
be made against it with respect to such Company Certificate, the Exchange Agent
shall issue, in exchange for such lost, stolen or destroyed Company Certificate,
the Merger Consideration and, if applicable, any unpaid dividends and
distributions on shares of Parent Common Stock deliverable in respect thereof
and any cash in lieu of fractional shares of Parent Common Stock, in each case,
due to such person pursuant to this Agreement.
Section 2.3 Certain
Adjustments. If, after the date of this Agreement and at or
prior to the Effective Time, the outstanding shares of Parent Common Stock or
Company Common Stock are changed into a different number of shares or type of
securities by reason of any reclassification, recapitalization, split-up, stock
split, subdivision, combination or exchange of shares, or any dividend payable
in stock or other securities is declared thereon or rights issued in respect
thereof with a record date within such period, or any similar event occurs (any
such action, an “Adjustment
Event”), the Merger Consideration will be adjusted accordingly to provide
to the holders of Company Common Stock the same economic effect as contemplated
by this Agreement prior to such Adjustment Event.
Section 2.4 Dissenters’
Rights. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the
contrary, the shares of Company Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately
prior to the Effective Time that are held by any person that is entitled to
demand and properly demands payment of the fair value of such shares of Company
Common Stock pursuant to, and that complies in all respects with, the provisions
of Section 10.356 of the TBOC, and does not properly withdraw such demand in
accordance with Section 10.357 of the TBOC or otherwise become ineligible for
such payment pursuant to Section 10.367 of the TBOC, in each case prior to the
Effective Time (the “Dissenting Shares”), shall
not be converted into the right to receive the Merger Consideration as provided
in Section
2.1(c), but, instead, such person shall be entitled to such rights (but
only such rights) as are granted by Section 10.354 of the TBOC. At
the Effective Time, all Dissenting Shares shall no longer be outstanding and
automatically shall be cancelled and shall cease to exist and, except as
otherwise provided by applicable Law, each
- 8 -
holder of
Dissenting Shares shall cease to have any rights with respect to the Dissenting
Shares, other than such rights as are granted by Section 10.354 of the
TBOC. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any such person (i) shall
have failed to establish entitlement to relief as a dissenting stockholder as
provided in Section 10.361 of the TBOC, (ii) shall have effectively withdrawn
demand for relief as a dissenting stockholder with respect to such Dissenting
Shares under Section 10.357 of the TBOC or lost the right to relief as a
dissenting stockholder under Section 10.356 of the TBOC or (iii) shall have
failed to file a petition with the appropriate court seeking relief as to the
determination of the value of all such Dissenting Shares within the time
provided in Section 10.361 of the TBOC, such person shall forfeit or, in the
event a court of competent jurisdiction shall determine that such person is not
entitled to the relief provided by Section 10.361 of the TBOC, lose the right to
relief as a dissenting stockholder with respect to such Dissenting Shares, and
such Dissenting Shares shall be deemed to have been converted at the Effective
Time into, and shall have become, the right to receive the Merger Consideration
as provided in Section
2.1(c) without interest. The Company shall give prompt notice
to Parent of any demands for appraisal of any shares of Company Common Stock and
any attempted withdrawals of such demands and any other instruments served
pursuant to the TBOC and received by the Company relating to stockholder dissent
rights, and Parent shall have the opportunity to participate in all negotiations
and proceedings with respect to such demands. Prior to the Effective
Time, the Company shall not, without the prior written consent of Parent, make
any payment with respect to, or settle or offer to settle, any such demands, or
agree to do any of the foregoing.
Section 2.5 Further
Assurances. At and after the Effective Time, the officers and
directors of the Surviving Company will be authorized to execute and deliver, in
the name and on behalf of the Company or Merger Sub, any deeds, bills of sale,
assignments or assurances and to take and do, in the name and on behalf of the
Company or Merger Sub, any other actions and things to vest, perfect or confirm
of record or otherwise in the Surviving Company any and all right, title and
interest in, to and under any of the rights, properties or assets acquired or to
be acquired by the Surviving Company as a result of, or in connection with, the
Merger.
Section 2.6 Withholding
Rights. The Surviving Company, Parent or the Exchange Agent,
as the case may be, shall be entitled to deduct and withhold from the
consideration otherwise payable pursuant to this Agreement to any person such
amounts, if any, as it is required to deduct and withhold with respect to the
making of such payment under the Code, or any provision of state, local or
foreign tax Law. To the extent that amounts are properly withheld and
remitted to the appropriate taxing authority by the Surviving Company, Parent or
the Exchange Agent, as the case may be, such amounts withheld shall be treated
for all purposes of this Agreement as having been paid to such person in respect
of which such deduction and withholding was made by the Surviving Company,
Parent or the Exchange Agent, as the case may be. Parent shall pay,
or shall cause to be paid, all amounts so withheld to the appropriate taxing
authority within the period required under applicable Law.
ARTICLE
III
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES
Section 3.1 Representations and
Warranties of the Company. Subject only to those
exceptions and qualifications listed and described (including an identification
by section
- 9 -
reference
to the representations and warranties to which such exceptions and
qualifications relate) on the disclosure letter delivered by the Company to
Parent prior to the execution of this Agreement (the “Company
Disclosure Letter”), provided, however, that a matter disclosed in the
Company Disclosure Letter with respect to one representation or warranty shall
also be deemed to be disclosed with respect to each other representation or
warranty to the extent it is reasonably apparent from the text of such
disclosure that such disclosure applies to or qualifies such other
representation or warranty, and except as set forth in the Recent SEC Reports,
the Company hereby represents and warrants to Parent and Merger Sub as
follows:
(a) Organization, Standing and
Corporate Power. The Company and each of the Company
Subsidiaries is a corporation or other legal entity duly organized, validly
existing and in good standing (with respect to jurisdictions that recognize such
concept) under the Laws of the jurisdiction in which it is organized and has the
requisite corporate or other power, as the case may be, and authority to carry
on its business as now being conducted. The Company and each of the
Company Subsidiaries is duly qualified or licensed to do business and is in good
standing (with respect to jurisdictions that recognize such concept) in each
jurisdiction in which the nature of its business or the ownership, leasing or
operation of its properties makes such qualification or licensing necessary,
except for those jurisdictions where the failure to be so qualified or licensed
or to be in good standing, individually or in the aggregate, would not
reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on the
Company. The Company has made available to Parent prior to the
execution of this Agreement complete and correct copies of the Amended and
Restated Articles of Incorporation of the Company, as amended to date (the “Company
Charter”) and the Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company, as amended
to date (the “Company
Bylaws”).
(b) Subsidiaries. All
outstanding shares of capital stock of, or other equity interests in, each
subsidiary of the Company (collectively, the “Company
Subsidiaries” and,
together with the Company, the “Company
Entities”) (i)
have been validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable, (ii) are free and
clear of all Liens other than Permitted Liens and (iii) are free of any other
restriction (including any restriction on the right to vote, sell or otherwise
dispose of such capital stock or other ownership interests). All
outstanding shares of capital stock (or equivalent equity interests of entities
other than corporations) of each of the Company Subsidiaries are beneficially
owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company. The Company does not,
directly or indirectly, own more than 20% but less than 100% of the capital
stock or other equity interest in any person.
(c) Capital
Structure. The authorized capital stock of the Company
consists entirely of (i) 50,500,000 shares of Company Common Stock, and (ii)
500,000 shares of preferred stock, no par value per share. At the
close of business on November 27, 2009: (i) 27,704,950 shares of
Company Common Stock were issued and outstanding (including 538,486 shares of
Restricted Stock); (ii) 578,081 shares of Company Common Stock were held by the
Company in its treasury; and (iii) 221,268 shares of Company Common Stock were
subject to issued and outstanding options to purchase Company Common Stock
granted under the Company First Amended and Restated 1996 Stock Option Plan,
662,513 shares of Company Common Stock were subject to issued and outstanding
options to purchase Company Common Stock granted under the Third Amended and
Restated Company 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, and 80,000 shares of Company Common
Stock were subject to issued and outstanding options to
- 10 -
purchase
Company Common Stock granted under the First Amended and Restated 2008 Equity
Incentive Plan for Non-Employee Directors of the Company (collectively, the
“Company
Stock Plans” and such
stock options collectively, the “Company Stock
Options”). The
Company has made available to Parent a list, as of the close of business on
November 27, 2009, of the holders of outstanding Company Stock Options,
restricted stock, and other stock awards and the number, exercise prices,
vesting schedules, performance targets, expiration dates and other forfeiture
provisions of each grant to such holders. All outstanding shares of
capital stock of the Company are, and all shares that may be issued will be,
when issued, duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and
not subject to or issued in violation of preemptive rights. Except as
otherwise provided in this Section 3.1(c), there
are not issued, reserved for issuance or outstanding (i) any shares of capital
stock or other voting securities of the Company, (ii) any securities convertible
into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of capital stock or voting
securities of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, or (iii) any warrants,
calls, options or other rights to acquire from the Company or any Company
Subsidiary any capital stock, voting securities or securities convertible into
or exchangeable or exercisable for capital stock or voting securities of the
Company or any Company Subsidiary. Except as otherwise provided in
this Section
3.1(c), there are no outstanding obligations of the Company or any
Company Subsidiary to (i) issue, deliver or sell, or cause to be issued,
delivered or sold, any capital stock, voting securities or securities
convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for capital stock or voting
securities of the Company or any Company Subsidiary or (ii) repurchase, redeem
or otherwise acquire any such securities. Neither the Company nor any
Company Subsidiary is a party to any voting agreement with respect to the voting
of any such securities. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 3.1(c) and
for payments under Company Benefit Plans, there are no agreements, arrangements
or commitments of any character (contingent or otherwise) pursuant to which any
person is or may be entitled to receive from the Company or a Company Subsidiary
any payment based on the revenues, earnings or financial performance of the
Company or any Company Subsidiary or assets or calculated in accordance
therewith.
Except
for the Credit Agreement dated October 27, 2006, as amended, among the Company,
Bayshore Industrial L.P., ICO Polymers North America, Inc., Xxxxx Fargo Bank,
National Association, KeyBank, National Association, and the other lending
institutions named therein (the “Company Credit
Agreement”), and
except for the other agreements set forth on Section 3.1(c) of the
Company Disclosure Letter, no indebtedness for borrowed money of the Company or
any Company Subsidiary contains any restrictions (other than customary notice
provisions) upon (i) the prepayment of any indebtedness of the Company or any
Company Subsidiary, (ii) the incurrence by the Company or any Company Subsidiary
of any indebtedness for borrowed money, or (iii) the ability of the Company or
any Company Subsidiary to grant any Lien on the properties or assets of the
Company or any Company Subsidiary.
(d) Authority;
Noncontravention. The Company has all requisite corporate
power and authority to enter into this Agreement and, subject to the Company
Stockholder Approval, to consummate the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement. The execution and delivery of this Agreement by the
Company and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated
hereby have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part
of the Company, subject, in the case of the Merger, to the Company Stockholder
Approval. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the
Company and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery by Parent
and Merger Sub, constitutes
- 11 -
the
legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the
Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be
limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or
similar Laws generally affecting the rights of creditors and subject to general
equity principles. The execution and delivery of this Agreement does
not, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and
compliance with the provisions of this Agreement will not, (i) conflict with the
certificate of incorporation or bylaws (or comparable organizational documents)
of any of the Company Entities, (ii) result in any breach, violation or default
(with or without notice or lapse of time, or both) under, or give rise to a
right of termination, cancellation or creation or acceleration of any obligation
or right of a third party or loss of a benefit under, or result in the creation
of any Lien upon any of the properties or assets of any of the Company Entities
under, any loan or credit agreement, note, bond, mortgage, indenture, lease or
other agreement, instrument, permit, concession, franchise, license or similar
authorization applicable to any of the Company Entities or their respective
properties or assets or (iii) subject to the governmental filings and other
matters referred to in the following sentence, conflict with or violate any
judgment, order, decree or Law applicable to any of the Company Entities or
their respective properties or assets, other than, in the case of clauses (ii)
and (iii), any such conflicts, breaches, violations, defaults, rights, losses or
Liens that, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected
to have or result in a material adverse effect on the Company. No
consent, approval, order or authorization of, action by or in respect of, or
registration, declaration or filing with, any federal, state or local or foreign
government, any court, administrative, regulatory or other governmental agency,
commission or authority or any non-governmental United States or foreign
self-regulatory agency, commission or authority or any arbitral tribunal (each,
a “Governmental
Entity”) or any
third party is required by 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: (i) the filing with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) of (A)
a proxy statement/prospectus relating to the
Company Stockholders Meeting (such proxy
statement/prospectus, as amended or supplemented from time to time, the “Proxy
Statement”) and (B)
such reports under Section 13(a), 13(d), 15(d) or 16(a) or such other
applicable sections of 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; (ii) the filing with the Texas Secretary of State of the Certificate of
Merger; (iii) the filing of a premerger notification and report form by the
Company under the Xxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as
amended (the “HSR
Act”); (iv)
notifications to The NASDAQ Stock Market (the “Nasdaq”); and
(v) such consents, approvals, orders or authorizations the failure of which to
be made or obtained, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be
expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on the
Company.
|
(e)
|
SEC Reports and
Financial Statements; Undisclosed Liabilities; Internal
Controls.
|
(i) The
Company has timely filed all required reports, schedules, forms, statements and
other documents (including exhibits and all other information incorporated
therein) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities
Act”) and the
Exchange Act with the SEC since September 30, 2007 (as such reports, schedules,
forms, statements and documents have been amended since the time of
their
- 12 -
filing,
collectively, the “Company SEC
Documents”). As
of their respective dates, or if amended prior to the date of this Agreement, as
of the date of the last such amendment, the Company 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
promulgated thereunder applicable to such Company SEC Documents, and none of the
Company SEC Documents when filed, or as so amended, 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 therein, in light of
the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. As of
the date of this Agreement, there are no outstanding or unresolved comments in
comment letters received from the staff of the SEC.
(ii) The
financial statements of the Company included in the Company SEC Documents comply
as to form, as of their respective date of filing with the SEC, in all material
respects with applicable accounting requirements and the published rules and
regulations of the SEC with respect thereto, have been prepared in accordance
with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”)
(except, in the case of unaudited statements, as permitted by Form 10-Q of the
SEC) applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (except as may be
indicated in the notes thereto), and fairly present in all material respects the
consolidated financial position of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries as
of the dates thereof and the consolidated statements of income, cash flows and
stockholders’ equity for the periods then ended (subject, in the case of
unaudited statements, to normal recurring year-end audit
adjustments). No Company Subsidiary is required to make any filings
with the SEC. Except as disclosed in the Company SEC Documents filed
since September 30, 2008 and prior to the date of this Agreement (the “Recent SEC
Reports”), since
September 30, 2008, the Company and the Company Subsidiaries have not incurred
any liabilities (direct, contingent or otherwise) that are of a nature that
would be required to be disclosed on a balance sheet of the Company and the
Company Subsidiaries or the footnotes thereto prepared in conformity with GAAP,
other than (A) liabilities incurred in the ordinary course of business and
(B) liabilities that, individually or in the aggregate, would not
reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on the
Company.
(iii) The
records, systems, controls, data and information of the Company and the Company
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 the Company Subsidiaries or their 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 or result
in a material adverse effect on the system of internal accounting controls
described in the following sentence. As and to the extent described
in the Company SEC Documents, the Company and the Company Subsidiaries have
devised and maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to
provide reasonable assurances regarding the reliability of financial reporting
and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with
GAAP. The Company (A) has implemented and maintains disclosure
controls and procedures (as required by Rule 13a-15(a) of the Exchange Act)
designed to ensure that material
- 13 -
information
relating to the Company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known
to the management of the Company by others within those entities, and (B) has
disclosed, based on its most recent evaluation prior to the date hereof, to the
Company’s auditors and the audit committee of the Company’s Board of Directors
(1) any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or
operation of internal controls which are reasonably likely to adversely affect
in any material respect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and
report financial data and has identified for the Company’s auditors any material
weaknesses in internal controls and (2) any fraud, whether or not material, that
involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the
Company’s internal controls. The Company has made available to Parent
a summary of any such disclosure made by Company management to the Company’s
auditors or audit committee of the Company’s Board of Directors since September
30, 2007.
(f) Information
Supplied. None of the information supplied or to be supplied
by the Company specifically for inclusion or incorporation by reference in (i)
the registration statement on Form S-4 to be filed with the SEC by Parent in
connection with the issuance of Parent Common Stock in the Merger (the “Form
S-4”) will,
at the time the Form S-4 becomes effective under the Securities Act, contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required
to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of
the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading, or (ii) the Proxy
Statement will, at the date it is first mailed to the Company’s stockholders or
at the time of the Company Stockholders Meeting, contain any untrue statement of
a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein
or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the
circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. The Proxy
Statement will comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements
of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, except that no
representation or warranty is made by the Company with respect to statements
made or incorporated by reference therein based on information supplied by
Parent or Merger Sub specifically for inclusion or incorporation by reference in
the Proxy Statement.
(g) Absence of Certain Changes
or Events. Except for liabilities incurred in connection with
this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, since September 30,
2008, (i) each of the Company Entities has conducted its respective operations
only in the ordinary course consistent with past practice, (ii) there has not
been any event, circumstance, change, occurrence or state of facts that has had
or would reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect
on the Company, and (iii) no Company Entity has engaged in any material
transaction or entered into any material agreement or commitment outside the
ordinary course of business (except for the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement).
(h) Compliance with Applicable
Laws; Litigation.
(i) Since
January 1, 2007, the operations of the Company Entities have not been and are
not being conducted in violation of any Law (including the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of
2002 and the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001) or any Permit necessary for the conduct of
their respective businesses as currently conducted, except where such
violations, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected
to have or result in a material adverse effect on the Company. None
of the Company
- 14 -
Entities
has received any written notice, or has knowledge, of any claim alleging any
such violation.
(ii) The
Company Entities hold all licenses, permits, variances, consents,
authorizations, waivers, grants, franchises, concessions, exemptions, orders,
registrations and approvals of Governmental Entities or other persons (“Permits”)
necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as currently conducted,
except where the failure to hold such Permits, individually or in the aggregate,
would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect
on the Company. None of the Company Entities has received written
notice that any such Permit will be terminated or modified or cannot be renewed
in the ordinary course of business, and the Company has no knowledge of any
reasonable basis for any such termination, modification or nonrenewal, except
for such terminations, modifications or nonrenewals as, individually or in the
aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a material
adverse effect on the Company. The execution, delivery and
performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby do not and will not violate any such Permit, or result in
any termination, modification or nonrenewals thereof, except for such
violations, terminations, modifications or nonrenewals thereof as, individually
or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a
material adverse effect on the Company.
(iii) There
is no suit, action or proceeding by or before any Governmental Entity pending
or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, except for any such suit,
action or proceeding that challenges or seeks to prohibit the execution,
delivery or performance of this Agreement or any of the transactions
contemplated hereby, to which the Company or any Company Subsidiary is a party
or against the Company or any Company Subsidiary or any of their properties or
assets that would reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse
effect on the Company. As of the date of this Agreement, there is no suit,
action or proceeding by or before any Governmental Entity pending or, to the
knowledge of the Company, threatened, against the Company or any Company
Subsidiary challenging or seeking to prohibit the execution, delivery or
performance of this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated
hereby.
(i) Employee Benefit
Plans.
(i) The
Company has made available to Parent a true and complete list of (A) each
material bonus, pension, profit sharing, deferred compensation, incentive
compensation, stock ownership, stock purchase, stock option, equity
compensation, retirement, vacation, employment, disability, death benefit,
hospitalization, medical insurance, life insurance, welfare, severance or other
employee benefit plan, agreement, arrangement or understanding maintained by the
Company or any Company Subsidiary or to which the Company or any Company
Subsidiary contributes or is obligated to contribute or with respect to which
the Company or any Company Subsidiary has any material liability, and (B) each
change of control agreement and each material employment or severance agreement
providing benefits (other than those benefits required by applicable Law or
customarily provided in such jurisdiction) to any current or former employee,
officer or director of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, to
- 15 -
which the
Company or any Company Subsidiary is a party or by which the Company or any
Company Subsidiary is bound (collectively, the “Company Benefit
Plans”). With
respect to each Company Benefit Plan, no event has occurred and there exists no
condition or set of circumstances in connection with which the Company or any
Company Subsidiary could be subject to any liability that, individually or in
the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have or result in a material
adverse effect on the Company. Neither the Company nor any Company
Subsidiary has any liability (including contingent liability) with respect to
any plan, agreement, arrangement or understanding of the type described in this
paragraph other than the Company Benefit Plans, other than liability which,
individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have or
result in a material adverse effect on the Company.
(ii) Each
Company Benefit Plan has been administered in accordance with its terms, all
applicable Laws, including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,
as amended (“ERISA”), and
the Code, and the terms of all applicable collective bargaining agreements,
except for any failures so to administer any Company Benefit Plan that,
individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have or
result in a material adverse effect on the Company. The Company and
all Company Benefit Plans are in compliance with the applicable provisions of
ERISA, the Code and all other applicable Laws and the terms of all applicable
collective bargaining agreements, except for any failures to be in such
compliance that, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be
expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on the
Company. Each Company Benefit Plan that is intended to be qualified
under Section 401(a), 401(k) or 4975(e)(7) of the Code has received a favorable
determination and/or opinion letter from the IRS as to its qualified status and,
to the knowledge of the Company, there exist no facts or circumstances that have
caused or could cause a failure to be so qualified under Section 401(a), 401(k)
or 4975(e)(7) of the Code. No fact or event has occurred which is
reasonably likely to affect adversely the qualified status of any such Company
Benefit Plan or the exempt status of any such trust, except for any occurrence
that, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have
or result in a material adverse effect on the Company. All
contributions to, and payments from, the Company Benefit Plans that are required
to have been made in accordance with such Company Benefit Plans, ERISA or the
Code have been timely made other than any failures that, individually or in the
aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a material
adverse effect on the Company. All trusts providing funding for
Company Benefit Plans that are intended to comply with Section 501(c)(9) of the
Code are exempt from federal income taxation and, together with any other
welfare benefit funds (as defined in Section 419(e)(1) of the Code) maintained
in connection with any of the Company Benefit Plans, have been operated and
administered in compliance with all applicable requirements such that neither
the Company, any Company Subsidiary, any Company Benefit Plan nor such trust or
fund is subject to any taxes, penalties or other liabilities imposed as a
consequence of failure to comply with such requirements. No welfare
benefit fund (as defined in Section 419(e)(1) of the Code) maintained in
connection with any of the Company Benefit Plans has provided any “disqualified
benefit” (as defined in Section4976(b)(1) of the Code) for which the Company or
any Company Subsidiary has or had any liability for the excise tax imposed by
Section 4976 of the Code which has not been paid in full.
- 16 -
(iii) Other
than as would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse
effect on the Company, neither the Company nor any trade or business, whether or
not incorporated, which, together with the Company, would be deemed to be a
“single employer” within the meaning of Section 4001(b) of ERISA or
Section 414(b) or 414(c) of the Code (a “Company ERISA
Affiliate”) has
incurred any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than for premiums pursuant
to Section 4007 of ERISA which have been timely paid) or Section 4971
of the Code, and no condition exists that presents a risk to the Company or any
Company ERISA Affiliate of incurring any such liability or
failure. Each Company Benefit Plan (other than a Multiemployer Plan)
to which Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA applies has satisfied
the requirements of Sections 412, 430 and 436 of the Code and Sections 302 and
303 of ERISA, and no such Company Benefit Plan is in “at-risk status” within the
meaning of Section 430(i)(4) of the Code or Section 303(i)(4) of ERISA or
subject to the limitations of Section 436 of the Code. No Company
Benefit Plan has or has incurred an accumulated funding deficiency within the
meaning of Section 302 of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code, nor has
any waiver of the minimum funding standards of Section 302 of ERISA and
Section 412 of the Code been requested of or granted by the Internal
Revenue Service with respect to any Company Benefit Plan, nor has any Lien in
favor of any Company Benefit Plan arisen under Sections 412(n) or 430(k) of
the Code or Sections 302(f) or 303(k) of ERISA. Neither the
Company nor any Company ERISA Affiliate has been required to provide security to
any defined benefit pension plan pursuant to Section 401(a)(29) of the Code
or Sections 306 or 307 of ERISA. With respect to each Company Benefit
Plan that is subject to Title IV or Section 302 of ERISA or
Sections 412 or 4971 of the Code that is not a Multiemployer Plan, the fair
market value of the assets of such Company Benefit Plan equals or exceeds the
actuarial present value of all accrued benefits under such Company Benefit Plan
(whether or not vested), based upon the actuarial assumptions used to prepare
the most recent actuarial report for such Company Benefit Plan and, to the
knowledge of the Company, no event has occurred which would be reasonably
expected to change any such funded status. There has been no
“reportable event” within the meaning of Section 4043 of ERISA and the
regulations and interpretations thereunder which has not been fully and
accurately reported in a timely fashion, as required, or which, whether or not
reported, would constitute grounds for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
(the “PBGC”) to
institute termination proceedings with respect to any Company Benefit
Plan. The PBGC has not instituted proceedings to terminate any
Company Benefit Plan.
(iv) Except
as would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse
effect on the Company, no Company Benefit Plan provides medical or life
insurance benefits (whether or not insured) with respect to current or former
employees or officers or directors after retirement or other termination of
service, other than any such coverage required by Law, and the Company and the
Company Subsidiaries have reserved all rights necessary to amend or terminate
each of the Company Benefit Plans without the consent of any other
person.
(v) The
consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not, either
alone or in combination with another event, (A) entitle any current or former
employee, officer or director of the Company or the Company
- 17 -
Subsidiaries
to severance pay, unemployment compensation or any other payment, except as
expressly provided in this Agreement, or (B) accelerate the time of payment
or vesting, or increase the amount of compensation due any such employee,
officer or director.
(vi) Neither
the Company nor any Company Subsidiary is a party to any agreement, contract or
arrangement (including this Agreement) that could result, separately or in the
aggregate, in the payment of any “excess parachute payments” within the meaning
of Section 280G of the Code. No Company Benefit Plan provides
for the reimbursement of excise taxes under Section 4999 of the Code or any
income taxes under the Code. The deductions taken by the Company or
any Company Subsidiary related to compensation paid to its named executive
officers under any Company Benefit Plan have been made in material compliance
with or pursuant to exceptions from the limitations set forth in Section 162(m)
of the Code.
(vii) With
respect to each Company Benefit Plan, the Company has delivered or made
available to Parent a true and complete copy of: (A) each writing
constituting a part of such Company Benefit Plan, including all Company Benefit
Plan documents and trust agreements; (B) the three most recent Annual Reports
(Form 5500 Series) and accompanying schedules, if any; (C) the most recent
annual financial report, if any; (D) the most recent actuarial report, if any;
and (E) the most recent determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service,
if any. Except as specifically provided in the foregoing documents
delivered or made available to Parent, there are no material amendments to any
Company Benefit Plan that have been adopted or approved nor has the Company or
any Company Subsidiary undertaken to make any such material amendments or to
adopt or approve any new Company Benefit Plan.
(viii) No
Company Benefit Plan is a multiemployer plan (as defined in
Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA) (a “Multiemployer
Plan”) or a
plan that has two or more contributing sponsors at least two of whom are not
under common control, within the meaning of Section 4063 of ERISA (a “Multiple
Employer Plan”). None
of the Company, the Company Subsidiaries nor any of their respective Company
ERISA Affiliates has, at any time during the last six years, contributed to or
been obligated to contribute to any Multiemployer Plan or Multiple Employer
Plan. None of the Company, the Company Subsidiaries nor any of their
respective Company ERISA Affiliates has incurred any material withdrawal
liability under a Multiemployer Plan that has not been satisfied in full, nor
does the Company have any material contingent liability with respect to any
withdrawal from any Multiemployer Plan. None of the Company, the
Company Subsidiaries nor any of their respective Company ERISA Affiliates would
incur any material withdrawal liability (within the meaning of Part 1 of
Subtitle E of Title I of ERISA) if the Company, the Company Subsidiaries or any
of their respective Company ERISA Affiliates withdrew (within the meaning of
Part 1 of Subtitle E of Title I of ERISA) on or prior to the Closing Date from
each Multiemployer Plan to which the Company, the Company Subsidiaries or any of
their respective Company ERISA Affiliates has an obligation to contribute on the
date of this Agreement. No Multiemployer Plan to which the Company,
the Company Subsidiaries or any of their respective Company ERISA Affiliates
contributes or otherwise has any liability (contingent or otherwise) has
incurred an accumulated funding deficiency within the
- 18 -
meaning
of Section 431(a) of the Code or Section 304(a) of ERISA, is insolvent, is in
reorganization (within the meaning of Section 4241 of ERISA), is reasonably
likely to commence reorganization, is in “endangered” or “critical” status (as
such terms are defined in Section 432 of the Code) or is reasonably likely to be
in endangered or critical status.
(ix) There
are no pending or threatened claims (other than claims for benefits in the
ordinary course), lawsuits or arbitrations that have been asserted or
instituted, or to the Company’s knowledge, no set of circumstances exists that
may reasonably give rise to a claim or lawsuit, against the Company Benefit
Plans, any fiduciaries thereof with respect to their duties to the Company
Benefit Plans or the assets of any of the trusts under any of the Company
Benefit Plans that could reasonably be expected to result in any material
liability of the Company or any Company Subsidiaries to the PBGC, the United
States Department of Treasury, the United States Department of Labor, any
Multiemployer Plan, any Company Benefit Plan, any participant in a Company
Benefit Plan, any employee benefit plan with respect to which the Company or any
Company Subsidiary has any contingent liability, or any participant in an
employee benefit plan with respect to which the Company or any Company
Subsidiary has any contingent liability.
(x) There
have been no prohibited transactions or breaches of any of the duties imposed on
“fiduciaries” (within the meaning of Section 3(21) of ERISA) by ERISA with
respect to the Company Benefit Plans that could result in any liability or
excise tax under ERISA or the Code being imposed on the Company or any of the
Company Subsidiaries, except as would not reasonably be expected to have or
result in a material adverse effect on the Company.
(xi) All
contributions, transfers and payments for the benefit of U.S. employees in
respect of any Company Benefit Plan, other than transfers incident to an
incentive stock option plan within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code,
have been or are fully deductible under the Code, except as would not reasonably
be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on the
Company.
(xii) With
respect to any insurance policy that has, or does, provide funding for benefits
under any Company Benefit Plan, to the knowledge of the Company, no insurance
company issuing any such policy is in receivership, conservatorship, liquidation
or similar proceeding and, to the knowledge of the Company, no such proceedings
with respect to any insurer are imminent.
(xiii) For
purposes of this Section 3.1(i)
only, the term “employee” will be
considered to include individuals rendering personal services to the Company or
any Company Subsidiary as independent contractors.
(xiv) “Company Foreign
Plan” means
any Company Benefit Plan that is maintained outside of the United
States. Each Company Foreign Plan complies with all applicable Law
(including applicable Law regarding the form, funding and operation of the
Foreign Plan), except as would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a
material adverse effect on the Company. The financial statements of
the Company
- 19 -
included
in the Company SEC Documents accurately reflect the Company Foreign Plan
liabilities and accruals for contributions required to be paid to the Company
Foreign Plans, in accordance with applicable generally accepted accounting
principles consistently applied, except as would not reasonably be expected to
have or result in a material adverse effect on the Company. All
contributions required to have been made to all Company Foreign Plans as of the
Closing will have been made as of the Closing. There are no actions,
suits or claims pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened with respect
to the Company Foreign Plans (other than routine claims for benefits), except as
would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect
on the Company. There have not occurred, nor are there continuing any
transactions or breaches of fiduciary duty under applicable Law with respect to
any Company Foreign Plan which would reasonably be expected to have or result in
a material adverse effect on the Company.
(j) Taxes. (i)
The Company and each Company Subsidiary has filed all Tax Returns required to be
filed, and all such returns are materially correct and
complete; (ii) the Company and each Company Subsidiary has paid all
Taxes due whether or not shown on any Tax Return; (iii) there are no
pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, audits, examinations,
investigations or other proceedings in respect of Taxes relating to the Company
or any Company Subsidiary; (iv) there are no Liens for Taxes upon the
assets of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, other than Liens for Taxes not
yet due and Liens for Taxes that are being contested in good faith by
appropriate proceedings; (v) neither the Company nor any of the Company
Subsidiaries has any liability for Taxes of any person (other than the Company
and the Company Subsidiaries) under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1502-6
(or any comparable provision of Law), as a transferee or successor, by contract,
or otherwise; (vi) neither the Company nor any Company Subsidiary is a
party to any agreement or arrangement relating to the allocation, sharing or
indemnification of Taxes; (vii) neither the Company nor any Company
Subsidiary has taken any action or knows of any fact, agreement, plan or other
circumstance that is reasonably likely to prevent the Merger from qualifying as
a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code and Treasury
Regulations; (viii) no deficiencies for any Taxes have been proposed,
asserted or assessed against the Company or any Company Subsidiary for which
adequate reserves in accordance with GAAP have not been created; (ix)
neither the Company nor any Company Subsidiary will be required to include any
adjustment in taxable income for any Tax period ending after the Closing Date (a
“Post-Closing Tax
Period”) under
Section 481(c) of the Code (or any comparable provision of Law) as a result
of a change in method of accounting for any Tax period (or portion thereof)
ending prior to the Closing Date (a “Pre-Closing Tax
Period”) or
pursuant to the provisions of any agreement entered into with any taxing
authority with regard to the Tax liability of the Company or any Company
Subsidiary for any Pre-Closing Tax Period; (x) the financial statements
included in the Company SEC Documents reflect an adequate reserve in accordance
with GAAP for all Taxes for which the Company or any Company Subsidiary may be
liable for all taxable periods and portions thereof through the date
hereof; (xi) no person has granted any extension or waiver of the statute
of limitations period applicable to any Tax of the Company or any Company
Subsidiary or any affiliated, combined or unitary group of which the Company or
any Company Subsidiary is or was a member, which period (after giving effect to
such extension or waiver) has not yet expired, and there is no currently
effective “closing agreement” pursuant to Section 7121 of the Code (or any
similar provision of foreign, state or local Law); (xii) the Company and
each Company
- 20 -
Subsidiary
have withheld and remitted to the appropriate taxing authority all Taxes
required to have been withheld and remitted in connection with any amounts paid
or owing to any employee, independent contractor, creditor, stockholder, or
other third party; (xiii) neither the Company nor any Company Subsidiary
has distributed the stock of another person or has had its stock distributed by
another person, in a transaction that was purported or intended to be governed
in whole or in part by Section 355 of the Code; (xiv) neither the Company
nor any Company Subsidiary has participated in any transaction that has been
identified by the Internal Revenue Service in any published guidance as a
reportable transaction; and (xv) the consolidated federal income Tax
Returns of the Company have been examined, or the statute of limitations has
closed, with respect to all taxable years through and including
2005.
(k) Environmental
Matters.
(i) Except
where noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be
expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on the Company, the
Company Entities are and have been for the past three years in compliance with
all applicable Environmental, Health and Safety Laws and Environmental
Permits.
(ii) There
are no written Environmental, Health and Safety Claims pending or, to the
knowledge of the Company, threatened, against the Company or any Company
Subsidiary and, to the knowledge of the Company, there are no existing
conditions, circumstances or facts which could give rise to an Environmental,
Health and Safety Claim, other than Environmental, Health and Safety Claims or
conditions, circumstances or facts as would not reasonably be expected to have
or result in a material adverse effect on the Company.
(iii) The
Company has made available to Parent all material information, including such
studies, reports, correspondence, notices of violation, requests for
information, audits, analyses and test results and any other documents, in the
possession, custody or control of the Company Entities relating to (A) the
Company Entities’ compliance or noncompliance with Environmental, Health and
Safety Laws and Environmental Permits within the previous three years, and
(B) Environmental Conditions on, under or about any of the properties or
assets owned, leased, operated or otherwise used by any of the Company Entities
at the present time or for which any of the Company Entities may be responsible
or liable.
(iv) No
Hazardous Substance has been generated, treated, stored, disposed of, used,
handled or manufactured at, or transported, shipped or disposed of from,
currently or previously owned, leased, operated or otherwise used properties in
violation of applicable Environmental, Health and Safety Laws or Environmental
Permits that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to
have or result in a material adverse effect on the Company, and there have been
no Releases of any Hazardous Substance in, on, under, from or affecting any
currently or previously owned, leased, operated or otherwise used properties
that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have or
result in a material adverse effect on the Company.
(v) None
of the Company or the Company Subsidiaries has received from any Governmental
Entity or other third party any written (or, to the knowledge of
- 21 -
the
Company, other) notice that any of them or any of their predecessors is or may
be a potentially responsible party in respect of, or may otherwise bear
liability for, any actual or threatened Release of any Hazardous Substance at
any site or facility that is, has been or could reasonably be expected to be
listed on the National Priorities List, the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Information System, the National Corrective
Action Priority System or any similar or analogous federal, state, provincial,
territorial, municipal, county, local or other domestic or foreign list,
schedule, inventory or database of Hazardous Substance sites or
facilities.
(vi) Neither
this Agreement nor the transactions contemplated hereby will result in any
requirement for environmental disclosure, investigation, cleanup, removal or
remedial action, or notification to or consent of any Governmental Entity or
third party, with respect to any property owned, leased, operated or otherwise
used by the Company or any Company Subsidiary, pursuant to any Environmental,
Health and Safety Law, including any so-called “property transfer
law.”
(vii) None
of the Company or the Company Subsidiaries has assumed, undertaken or otherwise
become subject to any liability of any other person relating to or arising from
Environmental, Health and Safety Laws, except as would not reasonably be
expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on the
Company.
(viii) There
exist no Environmental Conditions relating to any currently or previously owned,
leased, operated or otherwise used properties which, individually or in the
aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse
effect on the Company.
(l) Real Property;
Assets.
(i) The
Company or a Company Subsidiary has good and marketable title to each parcel of,
or interest in, real property owned by the Company or a Company Subsidiary (the
“Company
Owned Real Property”).
(ii) The
Company Owned Real Property and all real property leased by the Company and the
Company Subsidiaries (the “Company Leased
Real Property”) constitute all of the real property occupied or used by
the Company and the Company Subsidiaries in connection with the operation of
their respective businesses as currently conducted. The Company or a
Company Subsidiary has a valid leasehold interest in or valid rights to all
material Company Leased Real Property. The Company has made available
to Parent true and complete copies of all material leases of the Company Leased
Real Property (the “Company
Leases”). No
option, extension or renewal has been exercised under any Company Lease except
options, extensions or renewals that would not have a material and adverse
impact on the Company’s ability to conduct its operations as a whole or whose
exercise has been evidenced by a written document, a true and complete copy of
which has been made available to Parent with the corresponding Company
Lease. Each of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries has complied
in all material respects with the terms of all Company Leases to which it is a
party and under which it is in occupancy, and all such Company Leases are in
full force and effect. To the knowledge of the Company, the lessors
under the Company Leases to
- 22 -
which the
Company or a Company Subsidiary is a party have complied in all material
respects with the terms of their respective Company Leases. Each of
the Company and the Company Subsidiaries enjoys peaceful and undisturbed
possession under all such Company Leases, except where a failure to do so,
individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have or
result in a material adverse effect on the Company.
(iii) None
of the Company Owned Real Property or Company Leased Real Property is subject to
any Liens (whether absolute, accrued, contingent or otherwise), except Permitted
Liens.
(iv) The
Company Entities have good and marketable title to all properties, assets and
rights relating to or used or held for use in connection with the business of
the Company Entities and such properties, assets and rights comprise all of the
assets required for the conduct of the business of the Company Entities as now
being conducted. All such properties, assets and rights are in all
material respects adequate for the purposes for which such assets are currently
used or held for use, and are in reasonably good repair and operating condition
(subject to normal wear and tear), except where such failure would not
reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on the
Company.
(m) Company Intellectual
Property.
(i) The
term “Company
Intellectual Property” means
all of the following that is owned by, issued or licensed to the Company or the
Company Subsidiaries or used in the business of the Company or the Company
Subsidiaries, including: (A) all patents, trademarks, trade names,
trade dress, assumed names, service marks, logos, copyrights, Internet domain
names and corporate names together with all applications, registrations,
renewals and all goodwill associated therewith; (B) all trade secrets and
confidential information (including customer lists, know-how, formulae,
manufacturing and production processes, research, financial business information
and marketing plans); (C) information technologies (including software
programs, data and related documentation); and (D) other intellectual property
rights and all copies and tangible embodiments of any of the foregoing in
whatever form or medium.
(ii) (A)
The Company or the Company Subsidiaries own and possess all right, title and
interest in and to, or have a valid and enforceable license to use, the Company
Intellectual Property necessary for the operation of their respective businesses
as currently conducted; (B) no claim by any third party contesting the validity,
enforceability, use or ownership of any of the Company Intellectual Property has
been made, is currently outstanding or is threatened and, to the knowledge of
the Company, there are no grounds for the same; (C) neither the Company nor any
of the Company Subsidiaries has received any written notices of, or is aware of
any facts which indicate a likelihood of, any infringement or misappropriation
by, or other conflict with, any third party with respect to the Company
Intellectual Property; (D) to the knowledge of the Company, neither the Company
nor the Company Subsidiaries nor the conduct of their respective businesses has
infringed, misappropriated or otherwise conflicted with any intellectual
property rights or other rights of any third parties and neither the Company nor
any of the Company Subsidiaries is aware of any infringement, misappropriation
or
- 23 -
conflict
which will occur as a result of the continued operation of the Company’s and the
Company Subsidiaries’ respective businesses as currently conducted, except, with
respect to clauses (A), (B), (C) and (D), as would not reasonably be expected to
have or result in, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect
on the Company.
(iii) (A)
The transactions contemplated by this Agreement are not reasonably expected to
have or result in a material adverse effect on the right, title and interest of
the Company and the Company Subsidiaries in and to the Company Intellectual
Property; and (B) the Company or each of the Company Subsidiaries, as the case
may be, has taken all necessary action to maintain and protect the material
Company Intellectual Property and, until the Effective Time, shall continue to
maintain and protect the material Company Intellectual Property.
(n) Labor Agreements and
Employee Issues. The Company and the Company Subsidiaries have
made available to Parent all collective bargaining agreements or other
agreements with any union or labor organization to which the Company or any of
the Company Subsidiaries is a party. The Company and the Company
Subsidiaries are in material compliance with each such collective bargaining
agreement or other agreement. The Company is unaware of any effort,
activity or proceeding of any labor organization (or representative thereof) to
organize any other of its or their employees. The Company and the
Company Subsidiaries are not, and have not since September 30, 2007, been
subject to any pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened
(i) unfair labor practice charges and/or complaint, (ii) grievance
proceeding or arbitration proceeding arising under any collective bargaining
agreement or other labor agreement to which the Company or any Company
Subsidiary is a party, (iii) claim, suit, action or governmental investigation
relating to employees, including discrimination, wrongful discharge, or
violation of any state and/or federal statute relating to employment practices,
(iv) strike, lockout or dispute, slowdown or work stoppage or (v) claim,
suit, action or governmental investigation, in respect of which any director,
officer, employee or agent of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries is
or may be entitled to claim indemnification from the Company or any Company
Subsidiary, except for the foregoing which, in the case of clauses (i), (ii),
(iii), (iv) and (v), would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be
expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on the
Company. Neither the Company nor the Company Subsidiaries is a party
to, or is otherwise bound by, any consent decree with any Governmental Entity
relating to employees or employment practices of the Company or the Company
Subsidiaries.
(o) Certain
Contracts. Section 3.1(o) of the
Company Disclosure Letter sets forth a true and correct list of each contract,
arrangement, commitment or understanding to which the Company or a Company
Subsidiary is a party to or is bound (i) which is a “material contract” (as such
term is defined in Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K of the SEC); (ii) that
contains covenants that limit the ability of the Company or any of the Company
Subsidiaries (or which, following the consummation of the Merger, could restrict
the ability of the Surviving Company or any of its affiliates) to compete in any
business or with any person or in any geographic area or distribution or sales
channel, or to sell, supply or distribute any service or product, in each case,
that could reasonably be expected to be material to the business of the Company
and the Company Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; (iii) for each business unit of
the Company and its subsidiaries that is a top five customer or a top five raw
material supplier, in
- 24 -
each case
in terms of dollar amount, relating to making payments or receipt of payments
during fiscal year 2009, and in each case without identifying the name of the
third party; or (iv) which would prohibit or delay the consummation of any of
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (each of the foregoing, a “Company Material
Contract”). Each
Company Material Contract is valid and binding on the Company and any Company
Subsidiary that is a party thereto and, to the knowledge of the Company, each
other party thereto and is in full force and effect. There is no
default under any Company Material Contract by the Company or any Company
Subsidiary or, to the knowledge of the Company, by any other party, and no event
has occurred that with the lapse of time or the giving of notice or both would
constitute a default thereunder by the Company or any Company Subsidiary, or, to
the knowledge of the Company, by any other party, in each case except as would
not reasonably be expected to have or result in, individually or in the
aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company. All contracts,
agreements, arrangements or understandings of any kind between any affiliate of
the Company (other than any wholly owned Company Subsidiary), on the one hand,
and the Company or any Company Subsidiary, on the other hand, are on terms no
less favorable to the Company or to such Company Subsidiary than would be
obtained with an unaffiliated third party on an arm’s-length basis.
(p) Insurance. The
Company has made available to Parent copies of all insurance policies in force
as of, and covering matters as of, the date of this Agreement that are owned by
the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries or which names the Company or any
of the Company Subsidiaries as an insured (or loss payee), including those which
pertain to the Company’s or any of the Company Subsidiaries’ assets, employees
or operations. All such insurance policies are in full force and
effect, are in such amounts and cover such losses and risks as are consistent
with industry practice and, in the reasonable judgment of senior management of
the Company, are adequate to protect the properties and businesses of the
Company and the Company Subsidiaries and all premiums due thereunder have been
paid. Neither the Company nor any of the Company Subsidiaries has
received notice of permanent cancellation of any such insurance
policies.
(q) Interested Party
Transactions. No event has occurred since December 31, 2007
that would be required to be reported by the Company pursuant to Item 404(a) of
Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act.
(r) Voting
Requirement. The affirmative vote at the Company Stockholders
Meeting of at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by the holders
of outstanding shares of Company Common Stock to approve this Agreement is the
only vote of the holders of any class or series of the Company’s capital stock
necessary to adopt and approve this Agreement and the Merger and the
transactions contemplated hereby (collectively, the “Company
Stockholder Approval”).
(s) State Takeover
Statutes. The Board of Directors of the Company has taken all
necessary action so that no “fair price,” “moratorium,” “control share
acquisition” or other anti-takeover Law (each, a “Takeover
Statute”)
(including the interested stockholder provisions codified in Article 13.03 of
the Texas Business Corporation Act (the “TBCA”)) or
any anti-takeover provision in the Company Charter or the Company Bylaws is
applicable to this Agreement, the Merger and the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement. The Board of Directors of the Company has
(i) duly and validly approved this Agreement, (ii) determined
that
- 25 -
the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement are advisable and in the best
interests of the Company and its stockholders, (iii) unanimously resolved
to recommend to such stockholders that they vote in favor of the approval of
this Agreement and the Merger and (iv) taken all corporate action required
to be taken by the Board of Directors of the Company for the consummation of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(t) Opinion of Financial
Advisor. The Company has received the opinion of X.X. Xxxxxx
Securities, Inc. to the effect that, as of the date thereof, the Merger
Consideration to be received by holders of shares of Company Common Stock is
fair, from a financial point of view, to such holders, a written copy of which
opinion will be provided solely for information purposes to Parent upon receipt
by the Company.
(u) Brokers. Except
for X.X. Xxxxxx Securities, Inc., no broker, investment banker, financial
advisor or other person is entitled to any broker’s, finder’s, financial
advisor’s or other similar fee or commission in connection with the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement based upon arrangements made by or on behalf of
the Company. The Company has furnished to Parent true and complete
copies of all agreements under which any such fees, commissions or expenses are
payable and all indemnification and other agreements related to the engagement,
in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, of the
persons to whom such fees, commissions or expenses are payable.
(v) Absence of Indemnifiable
Claims. As of the date of this Agreement, there are no pending
suits, actions or proceedings by or before any Governmental Entity that would
reasonably entitle any director or officer of the Company or any Company
Subsidiary to indemnification by the Company or any Company Subsidiary under
applicable Law, the Company Charter, the Company Bylaws or the certificate of
incorporation or bylaws or other organizational or governance documents of any
of the Company’s Subsidiaries, any issuance policy maintained by the Company or
any Company Subsidiary or any indemnity or similar agreements of the Company or
any Company Subsidiary.
Section 3.2 Representations and
Warranties of Parent and Merger Sub. Subject only to those
exceptions and qualifications listed and described (including an identification
by section reference to the representations and warranties to which such
exceptions and qualifications relate) on the disclosure letter delivered by
Parent and Merger Sub to the Company prior to the execution of this Agreement
(the “Parent
Disclosure Letter”), provided, however, that a
matter disclosed in the Parent Disclosure Letter with respect to one
representation or warranty shall also be deemed to be disclosed with respect to
each other representation or warranty to the extent it is reasonably apparent
from the text of such disclosure that such disclosure applies to or qualifies
such other representation or warranty, and except as set forth in the Recent
Parent SEC Reports, each of Parent and Merger Sub hereby represents and warrants
to the Company as follows:
(a) Organization, Standing and
Corporate Power. Parent is a corporation and Merger Sub is a
limited liability company, and each of them is duly organized, validly existing
and in good standing (with respect to jurisdictions that recognize such concept)
under the Laws of the jurisdiction in which it is organized and has the
requisite corporate or limited liability company power, as the case may be, and
authority to carry on its business as now being conducted. Each of
Parent and Merger Sub is duly qualified or licensed to do business and is
in
- 26 -
good
standing (with respect to jurisdictions that recognize such concept) in each
jurisdiction in which the nature of its business or the ownership, leasing or
operation of its properties makes such qualification or licensing necessary,
except for those jurisdictions where the failure to be so qualified or licensed
or to be in good standing, individually or in the aggregate, would not
reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent. Parent has made available to the Company prior to the
execution of this Agreement complete and correct copies of the Amended and
Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Parent, as amended to date (the “Parent
Charter”) and
the Amended and Restated Bylaws of Parent, as amended to date (the “Parent
Bylaws”).
(b) Subsidiaries. All
outstanding shares of capital stock of, or other equity interests in, each
subsidiary of Parent (collectively, the “Parent
Subsidiaries” and,
together with Parent, the “Parent
Entities”) (i)
have been validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable, (ii) are free and
clear of all Liens other than Permitted Liens and (iii) are free of any other
restriction (including any restriction on the right to vote, sell or otherwise
dispose of such capital stock or other ownership interests). All
outstanding shares of capital stock (or equivalent equity interests of entities
other than corporations) of each of the Parent Subsidiaries are beneficially
owned, directly or indirectly, by Parent. Parent does not, directly
or indirectly, own more than 20% but less than 100% of the capital stock or
other equity interest in any person.
(c) Capital
Structure. The authorized capital stock of Parent consists
entirely of (i) 75,000,000 shares of Parent Common Stock, (ii) 10,707
shares of preferred stock, par value $100 per share, of Parent, and
(iii) 1,000,000 shares of special stock, without par value, of Parent
(“Special
Stock”), of
which 100,000 shares have been designated as Series A Junior Participating
Special Stock (“Series A Special
Stock”). At
the close of business on November 27, 2009: (i) 26,602,173
shares of Parent Common Stock were issued and outstanding (including 752,320
shares of restricted stock); (ii) 16,207,011 shares of Parent Common Stock
were held by Parent in its treasury; (iii) no shares of Special Stock or
Series A Special Stock were issued and outstanding; and (iv) 12,000 shares of
Parent Common Stock were subject to issued and outstanding options to purchase
Parent Common Stock granted under Parent’s 1992 Non-Employee Directors’ Stock
Option Plan, as amended, 469,955 shares of Parent Common Stock were subject to
issued and outstanding options under Parent’s 2002 Equity Incentive
Plan (the “Parent Stock
Plan” and such
stock options, the “Parent Stock
Options”). Parent
has made available to the Company a list, as of the close of business on
November 27, 2009, of the holders of outstanding Parent Stock Options,
restricted stock, performance shares or units, deferred shares, stock units and
other stock awards and the number, exercise prices, vesting schedules,
performance targets, expiration dates and other forfeiture provisions of each
grant to such holders. All outstanding shares of capital stock of
Parent are, and all shares that may be issued will be, when issued, duly
authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and not subject to or
issued in violation of preemptive rights. Except as otherwise
provided in this Section 3.2(c), there
are not issued, reserved for issuance or outstanding (i) any shares of
capital stock or other voting securities of Parent, (ii) any securities
convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of capital stock or
voting securities of Parent or any Parent Subsidiary, or (iii) any
warrants, calls, options or other rights to acquire from Parent or any Parent
Subsidiary any capital stock, voting securities or securities convertible into
or exchangeable or exercisable for capital stock or voting securities of Parent
or any Parent Subsidiary. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 3.2(c), there
are no outstanding obligations of Parent or any Parent
- 27 -
Subsidiary
to (i) issue, deliver or sell, or cause to be issued, delivered or sold,
any capital stock, voting securities or securities convertible into or
exchangeable or exercisable for capital stock or voting securities of Parent or
any Parent Subsidiary or (ii) repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any
such securities. Neither Parent nor any Parent Subsidiary is a party
to any voting agreement with respect to the voting of any such
securities. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 3.2(c) and
for payments under Parent Benefit Plans, there are no agreements, arrangements
or commitments of any character (contingent or otherwise) pursuant to which any
person is or may be entitled to receive from Parent or a Parent Subsidiary any
payment based on the revenues, earnings or financial performance of Parent or
any Parent Subsidiary or assets or calculated in accordance
therewith.
(d) Authority;
Noncontravention. Each of Parent and Merger Sub has all
requisite corporate or limited liability company power, as the case may be, and
authority to enter into this Agreement and to consummate the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement. The execution and delivery of this
Agreement by Parent and Merger Sub and the consummation by Parent and Merger Sub
of the transactions contemplated hereby have been duly authorized by all
necessary corporate or limited liability company action, as the case may be, on
the part of Parent and Merger Sub, respectively. This Agreement has
been duly executed and delivered by each of Parent and Merger Sub and, assuming
the due authorization, execution and delivery by the Company, constitutes the
legal, valid and binding obligation of Parent and Merger Sub enforceable against
Parent and Merger Sub in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement
thereof may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization,
moratorium or similar Laws generally affecting the rights of creditors and
subject to general equity principles. The execution and delivery of
this Agreement does not, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
by this Agreement and compliance with the provisions of this Agreement will not,
(i) conflict with the articles of incorporation or bylaws (or comparable
organizational documents) of any of the Parent Entities, (ii) result in any
breach, violation or default (with or without notice or lapse of time, or both)
under, or give rise to a right of termination, cancellation or creation or
acceleration of any obligation or right of a third party or loss of a benefit
under, or result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the properties or
assets of any of the Parent Entities under any loan or credit agreement, note,
bond, mortgage, indenture, lease or other agreement, instrument, permit,
concession, franchise, license or similar authorization applicable to any of the
Parent Entities or their respective properties or assets, or (iii) subject
to the governmental filings and other matters referred to in the following
sentence, conflict with or violate any judgment, order, decree or Law applicable
to any of the Parent Entities or their respective properties or assets, other
than, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), any such conflicts, breaches,
violations, defaults, rights, losses or Liens that, individually or in the
aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a material
adverse effect on Parent. No consent, approval, order or
authorization of, action by or in respect of, or registration, declaration or
filing with, any Governmental Entity or third party is required by Parent or
Merger Sub in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement by
Parent and Merger Sub or the consummation by Parent and Merger Sub of the
transactions contemplated hereby, except for: (i) the filing with the SEC of (A)
the Form S-4 and the Proxy Statement and (B) such reports under Section 13(a),
13(d), 15(d) or 16(a) or such other applicable sections of the Exchange Act as
may be required in connection with this Agreement and the transactions
contemplated hereby; (ii) the filing with the Texas Secretary of State of the
Certificate of Merger; (iii) the filing of a premerger notification and report
form by Parent under the HSR Act; (iv) filings with and
- 28 -
approvals
of the Nasdaq to permit the shares of Parent Common Stock that are to be issued
in the Merger to be listed on the Nasdaq; and (v) such consents, approvals,
orders or authorizations the failure of which to be made or obtained,
individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have or
result in a material adverse effect on Parent.
|
(e)
|
SEC Reports and
Financial Statements; Undisclosed Liabilities; Internal
Controls.
|
(i) Parent
has timely filed all required reports, schedules, forms, statements and other
documents (including exhibits and all other information incorporated therein)
under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act with the SEC since August 31, 2008
(as such reports, schedules, forms, statements and documents have been amended
since the time of their filing, collectively, the “Parent SEC
Documents”). As
of their respective dates, or if amended prior to the date of this Agreement, as
of the date of the last such amendment, the Parent 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 promulgated
thereunder applicable to such Parent SEC Documents, and none of the Parent SEC
Documents when filed, or as so amended, 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 therein, in light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. As of the
date of this Agreement, there are no outstanding or unresolved comments in
comment letters received from the staff of the SEC.
(ii) The
financial statements of Parent included in the Parent SEC Documents comply as to
form, as of their respective date of filing with the SEC, in all material
respects with applicable accounting requirements and the published rules and
regulations of the SEC with respect thereto, have been prepared in accordance
with GAAP (except, in the case of unaudited statements, as permitted by Form
10-Q of the SEC) applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved
(except as may be indicated in the notes thereto), and fairly present in all
material respects the consolidated financial position of Parent and the Parent
Subsidiaries as of the dates thereof and the consolidated statements of income,
cash flows and stockholders’ equity for the periods then ended (subject, in the
case of unaudited statements, to normal recurring year-end audit
adjustments). No Parent Subsidiary is required to make any filings
with the SEC. Except as disclosed in the Parent SEC Documents filed
since August 31, 2009 and prior to the date of this Agreement (the “Recent Parent
SEC Reports”), since
August 31, 2009, Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries have not incurred any
liabilities (direct, contingent or otherwise) that are of a nature that would be
required to be disclosed on a balance sheet of Parent and the Parent
Subsidiaries or the footnotes thereto prepared in conformity with GAAP, other
than (x) liabilities incurred in the ordinary course of business and
(y) liabilities that, individually or in the aggregate, would not
reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent.
(iii) The
records, systems, controls, data and information of Parent and the Parent
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 Parent or the Parent
- 29 -
Subsidiaries
or their 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 or result in a material adverse effect on the
system of internal accounting controls described in the following
sentence. As and to the extent described in the Parent SEC Documents,
Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries have devised and maintain a system of
internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of
financial statements in accordance with GAAP. Parent (A) has
implemented and maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as required by
Rule 13a-15(a) of the Exchange Act) designed to ensure that material information
relating to Parent, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to
the management of Parent by others within those entities, and (B) has disclosed,
based on its most recent evaluation prior to the date hereof, to Parent’s
auditors and the audit committee of Parent’s Board of Directors (1) any
significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the design or operation of
internal controls which are reasonably likely to adversely affect in any
material respect Parent’s ability to record, process, summarize and report
financial data and has identified for Parent’s auditors any material weaknesses
in internal controls and (2) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees who have a significant role in Parent’s internal
controls. Parent has made available to the Company a summary of any
such disclosure made by the Parent management to the Parent’s auditors or audit
committee of the Parent’s Board of Directors since August 31, 2008.
(f) Information
Supplied. None of the information supplied or to be supplied
by Parent or Merger Sub specifically for inclusion or incorporation by reference
in (i) the Form S-4 will, at the time the Form S-4 becomes effective under the
Securities Act, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state
any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not
misleading, or (ii) the Proxy Statement will, at the date it is first mailed to
the Company’s stockholders or at the time of the Company Stockholders Meeting,
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not
misleading. The Form S-4 and the Proxy Statement will comply as to
form in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and
the rules and regulations thereunder, except that no representation or warranty
is made by Parent or Merger Sub with respect to statements made or incorporated
by reference therein based on information supplied by the Company specifically
for inclusion or incorporation by reference in the Form S-4 or the Proxy
Statement, as the case may be.
(g) Absence of Certain Changes
or Events. Except for liabilities incurred in connection with
this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, since August 31, 2009,
(i) each of the Parent Entities has conducted its respective operations only in
the ordinary course consistent with past practice, (ii) there has not been
any event, circumstance, change, occurrence or state of facts that has had or
would reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent, and (iii) no Parent Entity has engaged in any material transaction or
entered into any material agreement or commitment outside the ordinary course of
business (except for the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement).
- 30 -
(h) Compliance with Applicable
Laws; Litigation.
(i) Since
January 1, 2007, the operations of the Parent Entities have not been and are not
being conducted in violation of any Law (including the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of
2002 and the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001) or any Permit necessary for the conduct of
their respective businesses as currently conducted, except where such
violations, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected
to have or result in a material adverse effect on Parent. None of the
Parent Entities has received any written notice, or has knowledge, of any claim
alleging any such violation.
(ii) The
Parent Entities hold all Permits necessary for the conduct of their respective
businesses as currently conducted, except where the failure to hold such
Permits, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to
have or result in a material adverse effect on Parent. None of the
Parent Entities has received written notice that any such Permit will be
terminated or modified or cannot be renewed in the ordinary course of business,
and Parent has no knowledge of any reasonable basis for any such termination,
modification or nonrenewal, except for such terminations, modifications or
nonrenewals as, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be
expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and
the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby do not and will not
violate any such Permit, or result in any termination, modification or
nonrenewals thereof, except for such violations, terminations, modifications or
nonrenewals thereof as, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably
be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent.
(iii) There
is no suit, action or proceeding by or before any Governmental Entity pending
or, to the knowledge of Parent, threatened, except for any such suit, action or
proceeding that challenges or seeks to prohibit the execution, delivery or
performance of this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated hereby, to
which Parent or any Parent Subsidiary is a party or against Parent or any Parent
Subsidiary or any of their properties or assets that would reasonably be
expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on Parent. As of the
date of this Agreement, there is no suit, action or proceeding by or before any
Governmental Entity pending or, to the knowledge of Parent, threatened, against
Parent or any Parent Subsidiary challenging or seeking to prohibit the
execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement or any of the transactions
contemplated hereby.
(i) Employee Benefit
Plans.
(i) Parent
has made available to the Company a true and complete list of (A) each material
bonus, pension, profit sharing, deferred compensation, incentive compensation,
stock ownership, stock purchase, stock option, equity compensation, retirement,
vacation, employment, disability, death benefit, hospitalization, medical
insurance, life insurance, welfare, severance or other employee benefit plan,
agreement, arrangement or understanding maintained by Parent or any Parent
Subsidiary or to which Parent or any Parent Subsidiary contributes or is
obligated to contribute or with respect to which Parent or any Parent Subsidiary
has any material liability, and (B) each change of control agreement and each
material employment or severance agreement providing
- 31 -
benefits
(other than those benefits required by applicable Law or customarily provided in
such jurisdiction) to any current or former employee, officer or director of
Parent or any Parent Subsidiary, to which Parent or any Parent Subsidiary is a
party or by which Parent or any Parent Subsidiary is bound (collectively, the
“Parent
Benefit Plans”). With
respect to each Parent Benefit Plan, no event has occurred and there exists no
condition or set of circumstances in connection with which Parent or any Parent
Subsidiary could be subject to any liability that, individually or in the
aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse
effect on Parent. Neither Parent nor any Parent Subsidiary has any
liability (including contingent liability) with respect to any plan, agreement,
arrangement or understanding of the type described in this paragraph other than
the Parent Benefit Plans, other than liability which, individually or in the
aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a material
adverse effect on Parent.
(ii) Each
Parent Benefit Plan has been administered in accordance with its terms, all
applicable Laws, including ERISA and the Code, and the terms of all applicable
collective bargaining agreements, except for any failures so to administer any
Parent Benefit Plan that, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably
be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent. Parent and all Parent Benefit Plans are in compliance with
the applicable provisions of ERISA, the Code and all other applicable Laws and
the terms of all applicable collective bargaining agreements, except for any
failures to be in such compliance that, individually or in the aggregate, would
not reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent. Each Parent Benefit Plan that is intended to be qualified
under Section 401(a), 401(k) or 4975(e)(7) of the Code has received a
favorable determination and/or opinion letter from the IRS as to its qualified
status and, to the knowledge of Parent, there exist no facts or circumstances
that have caused or could cause a failure to be so qualified under
Section 401(a), 401(k) or 4975(e)(7) of the Code. No fact or
event has occurred which is reasonably likely to affect adversely the qualified
status of any such Parent Benefit Plan or the exempt status of any such trust,
except for any occurrence that, individually or in the aggregate, would not
reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent. All contributions to, and payments from, the Parent Benefit
Plans that are required to have been made in accordance with such Parent Benefit
Plans, ERISA or the Code have been timely made other than any failures that,
individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have or
result in a material adverse effect on Parent. All trusts providing
funding for Parent Benefit Plans that are intended to comply with
Section 501(c)(9) of the Code are exempt from federal income taxation and,
together with any other welfare benefit funds (as defined in
Section 419(e)(1) of the Code) maintained in connection with any of the
Parent Benefit Plans, have been operated and administered in compliance with all
applicable requirements such that neither Parent, any Parent Subsidiary, any
Parent Benefit Plan nor such trust or fund is subject to any taxes, penalties or
other liabilities imposed as a consequence of failure to comply with such
requirements. No welfare benefit fund (as defined in
Section 419(e)(1) of the Code) maintained in connection with any of the
Parent Benefit Plans has provided any “disqualified benefit” (as defined in
Section 4976(b)(1) of the Code) for which Parent or any Parent Subsidiary
has or had any liability for the excise tax imposed by Section 4976 of the
Code which has not been paid in full.
- 32 -
(iii) Other
than as would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse
effect on Parent, neither Parent nor any trade or business, whether or not
incorporated, which, together with Parent, would be deemed to be a “single
employer” within the meaning of Section 4001(b) of ERISA or
Section 414(b) or 414(c) of the Code (a “Parent ERISA
Affiliate”) has
incurred any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than for premiums pursuant
to Section 4007 of ERISA which have been timely paid) or Section 4971
of the Code, and no condition exists that presents a risk to Parent or any
Parent ERISA Affiliate of incurring any such liability or
failure. Each Parent Benefit Plan (other than a Multiemployer Plan)
to which Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA applies has satisfied
the requirements of Sections 412, 430 and 436 of the Code and Sections 302 and
303 of ERISA, and no such Parent Benefit Plan is in “at-risk status” within the
meaning of Section 430(i)(4) of the Code or Section 303(i)(4) of ERISA or
subject to the limitations of Section 436 of the Code. No Parent
Benefit Plan has or has incurred an accumulated funding deficiency within the
meaning of Section 302 of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code, nor has
any waiver of the minimum funding standards of Section 302 of ERISA and
Section 412 of the Code been requested of or granted by the Internal
Revenue Service with respect to any Parent Benefit Plan, nor has any Lien in
favor of any Parent Benefit Plan arisen under Sections 412(n) or 430(k) of
the Code or Sections 302(f) or 303(k) of ERISA. Neither Parent
nor any Parent ERISA Affiliate has been required to provide security to any
defined benefit pension plan pursuant to Section 401(a)(29) of the Code or
Sections 306 or 307 of ERISA. With respect to each Parent Benefit
Plan that is subject to Title IV or Section 302 of ERISA or
Sections 412 or 4971 of the Code that is not a Multiemployer Plan, the fair
market value of the assets of such Parent Benefit Plan equals or exceeds the
actuarial present value of all accrued benefits under such Parent Benefit Plan
(whether or not vested), based upon the actuarial assumptions used to prepare
the most recent actuarial report for such Parent Benefit Plan and, to the
knowledge of Parent, no event has occurred which would be reasonably expected to
change any such funded status. There has been no “reportable event”
within the meaning of Section 4043 of ERISA and the regulations and
interpretations thereunder which has not been fully and accurately reported in a
timely fashion, as required, or which, whether or not reported, would constitute
grounds for the PBGC to institute termination proceedings with respect to any
Parent Benefit Plan. The PBGC has not instituted proceedings to
terminate any Parent Benefit Plan.
(iv) Except
as would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse
effect on Parent, no Parent Benefit Plan provides medical or life insurance
benefits (whether or not insured) with respect to current or former employees or
officers or directors after retirement or other termination of service, other
than any such coverage required by Law, and Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries
have reserved all rights necessary to amend or terminate each of the Parent
Benefit Plans without the consent of any other person.
(v) The
consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not, either
alone or in combination with another event, (A) entitle any current or former
employee, officer or director of Parent or the Parent Subsidiaries to severance
pay, unemployment compensation or any other payment, except as
expressly
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provided
in this Agreement, or (B) accelerate the time of payment or vesting, or
increase the amount of compensation due any such employee, officer or
director.
(vi) Neither
Parent nor any Parent Subsidiary is a party to any agreement, contract or
arrangement (including this Agreement) that could result, separately or in the
aggregate, in the payment of any “excess parachute payments” within the meaning
of Section 280G of the Code. No Parent Benefit Plan provides for
the reimbursement of excise taxes under Section 4999 of the Code or any
income taxes under the Code. The deductions taken by Parent or any
Parent Subsidiary related to compensation paid to its named executive officers
under any Parent Benefit Plan have been made in material compliance with or
pursuant to exceptions from the limitations set forth in Section 162(m) of the
Code.
(vii) With
respect to each Parent Benefit Plan, Parent has delivered or made available to
the Company a true and complete copy of: (A) each writing constituting a
part of such Parent Benefit Plan, including all Parent Benefit Plan documents
and trust agreements; (B) the three most recent Annual Reports (Form 5500
Series) and accompanying schedules, if any; (C) the most recent annual financial
report, if any; (D) the most recent actuarial report, if any; and (E) the most
recent determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service, if
any. Except as specifically provided in the foregoing documents
delivered or made available to the Company, there are no material amendments to
any Parent Benefit Plan that have been adopted or approved nor has Parent or any
Parent Subsidiary undertaken to make any such material amendments or to adopt or
approve any new Parent Benefit Plan.
(viii) No
Parent Benefit Plan is a Multiemployer Plan or a Multiple Employer
Plan. None of Parent, the Parent Subsidiaries nor any of their
respective Parent ERISA Affiliates has, at any time during the last six years,
contributed to or been obligated to contribute to any Multiemployer Plan or
Multiple Employer Plan. None of Parent, the Parent Subsidiaries nor
any of their respective Parent ERISA Affiliates has incurred any material
withdrawal liability under a Multiemployer Plan that has not been satisfied in
full, nor does Parent have any material contingent liability with respect to any
withdrawal from any Multiemployer Plan. None of Parent, the Parent
Subsidiaries nor any of their respective Parent ERISA Affiliates would incur any
material withdrawal liability (within the meaning of Part 1 of Subtitle E of
Title I of ERISA) if Parent, the Parent Subsidiaries or any of their respective
Parent ERISA Affiliates withdrew (within the meaning of Part 1 of Subtitle E of
Title I of ERISA) on or prior to the Closing Date from each Multiemployer Plan
to which Parent, the Parent Subsidiaries or any of their respective Parent ERISA
Affiliates has an obligation to contribute on the date of this
Agreement. No Multiemployer Plan to which Parent, the Parent
Subsidiaries or any of their respective Parent ERISA Affiliates contributes or
otherwise has any liability (contingent or otherwise) has incurred an
accumulated funding deficiency within the meaning of Section 431(a) of the Code
or Section 304(a) of ERISA, is insolvent, is in reorganization (within the
meaning of Section 4241 of ERISA), is reasonably likely to commence
reorganization, is in “endangered” or “critical” status (as such terms are
defined in Section 432 of the Code) or is reasonably likely to be in endangered
or critical status.
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(ix) There
are no pending or threatened claims (other than claims for benefits in the
ordinary course), lawsuits or arbitrations that have been asserted or
instituted, or to Parent’s knowledge, no set of circumstances exists that may
reasonably give rise to a claim or lawsuit, against the Parent Benefit Plans,
any fiduciaries thereof with respect to their duties to the Parent Benefit Plans
or the assets of any of the trusts under any of the Parent Benefit Plans that
could reasonably be expected to result in any material liability of Parent or
any Parent Subsidiaries to the PBGC, the United States Department of Treasury,
the United States Department of Labor, any Multiemployer Plan, any Parent
Benefit Plan, any participant in a Parent Benefit Plan, any employee benefit
plan with respect to which Parent or any Parent Subsidiary has any contingent
liability, or any participant in an employee benefit plan with respect to which
Parent or any Parent Subsidiary has any contingent liability.
(x) There
have been no prohibited transactions or breaches of any of the duties imposed on
“fiduciaries” (within the meaning of Section 3(21) of ERISA) by ERISA with
respect to the Parent Benefit Plans that could result in any liability or excise
tax under ERISA or the Code being imposed on Parent or any of the Parent
Subsidiaries, except as would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a
material adverse effect on Parent.
(xi) All
contributions, transfers and payments for the benefit of U.S. employees in
respect of any Parent Benefit Plan, other than transfers incident to an
incentive stock option plan within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code,
have been or are fully deductible under the Code, except as would not reasonably
be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent.
(xii) With
respect to any insurance policy that has, or does, provide funding for benefits
under any Parent Benefit Plan, to the knowledge of Parent, no insurance company
issuing any such policy is in receivership, conservatorship, liquidation or
similar proceeding and, to the knowledge of Parent, no such proceedings with
respect to any insurer are imminent.
(xiii) For
purposes of this Section 3.2(i)
only, the term “employee” will be
considered to include individuals rendering personal services to Parent or any
Parent Subsidiary as independent contractors.
(xiv) “Parent Foreign
Plan” means
any Parent Benefit Plan that is maintained outside of the United
States. Each Parent Foreign Plan complies with all applicable Law
(including applicable Law regarding the form, funding and operation of the
Foreign Plan), except as would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a
material adverse effect on Parent. The financial statements of the
Parent included in the Parent SEC Documents accurately reflect the Parent
Foreign Plan liabilities and accruals for contributions required to be paid to
the Parent Foreign Plans, in accordance with applicable generally accepted
accounting principles consistently applied, except as would not reasonably be
expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent. All contributions required to have been made to all Parent
Foreign Plans as of the Closing will have been made as of the
Closing. There are no actions, suits or claims pending or, to the
Parent’s knowledge, threatened with respect to the Parent Foreign Plans (other
than
- 35 -
routine
claims for benefits), except as would not reasonably be expected to have or
result in a material adverse effect on Parent. There have not
occurred, nor are there continuing any transactions or breaches of fiduciary
duty under applicable Law with respect to any Parent Foreign Plan which would
reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent.
(j) Taxes. (i)
Parent and each Parent Subsidiary has filed all Tax Returns required to be
filed, and all such returns are materially correct and complete;
(ii) Parent and each Parent Subsidiary has paid all Taxes due whether or
not shown on any Tax Return; (iii) there are no pending or, to the knowledge of
Parent, threatened, audits, examinations, investigations or other proceedings in
respect of Taxes relating to Parent or any Parent Subsidiary; (iv) there
are no Liens for Taxes upon the assets of Parent or any Parent Subsidiary, other
than Liens for Taxes not yet due and Liens for Taxes that are being contested in
good faith by appropriate proceedings; (v) neither Parent nor any of the Parent
Subsidiaries has any liability for Taxes of any person (other than Parent and
the Parent Subsidiaries) under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1502-6 (or any
comparable provision of Law), as a transferee or successor, by contract, or
otherwise; (vi) neither Parent nor any Parent Subsidiary is a party to any
agreement or arrangement relating to the allocation, sharing or indemnification
of Taxes; (vii) neither Parent nor any Parent Subsidiary has taken any
action or knows of any fact, agreement, plan or other circumstance that is
reasonably likely to prevent the Merger from qualifying as a reorganization
within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code and Treasury Regulations;
(viii) no deficiencies for any Taxes have been proposed, asserted or assessed
against Parent or any Parent Subsidiary for which adequate reserves in
accordance with GAAP have not been created; (ix) neither Parent nor any Parent
Subsidiary will be required to include any adjustment in taxable income for any
Post-Closing Tax Period under Section 481(c) of the Code (or any comparable
provision of Law) as a result of a change in method of accounting for any
Pre-Closing Tax Period or pursuant to the provisions of any agreement entered
into with any taxing authority with regard to the Tax liability of Parent or any
Parent Subsidiary for any Pre-Closing Tax Period; (x) the financial statements
included in the Parent SEC Documents reflect an adequate reserve in accordance
with GAAP for all Taxes for which Parent or any Parent Subsidiary may be liable
for all taxable periods and portions thereof through the date hereof; (xi) no
person has granted any extension or waiver of the statute of limitations period
applicable to any Tax of Parent or any Parent Subsidiary or any affiliated,
combined or unitary group of which Parent or any Parent Subsidiary is or was a
member, which period (after giving effect to such extension or waiver) has not
yet expired, and there is no currently effective “closing agreement” pursuant to
Section 7121 of the Code (or any similar provision of foreign, state or local
Law); (xii) Parent and each Parent Subsidiary have withheld and remitted to the
appropriate taxing authority all Taxes required to have been withheld and
remitted in connection with any amounts paid or owing to any employee,
independent contractor, creditor, stockholder, or other third party; (xiii)
neither Parent nor any Parent Subsidiary has distributed the stock of another
person or has had its stock distributed by another person, in a transaction that
was purported or intended to be governed in whole or in part by Section 355 or
Section 361 of the Code; (xiv) neither Parent nor any Parent Subsidiary has
participated in any transaction that has been identified by the Internal Revenue
Service in any published guidance as a reportable transaction; (xv) the
consolidated federal income Tax Returns of Parent have been examined, or the
statute of limitations has closed, with respect to all taxable years through and
including 2005; and (xvi) for United States federal tax purposes, Merger
Sub
- 36 -
is an
entity disregarded as separate from Parent under Treasury Regulations Section
301.7701-3(b)(1)(ii).
(k) Environmental
Matters.
(i) Except
where noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be
expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on Parent, the Parent
Entities are and have been for the past three years in compliance with all
applicable Environmental, Health and Safety Laws and Environmental
Permits.
(ii) There
are no written Environmental, Health and Safety Claims pending or, to the
knowledge of Parent, threatened, against Parent or any Parent Subsidiary and, to
the knowledge of Parent, there are no existing conditions, circumstances or
facts which could give rise to an Environmental, Health and Safety Claim, other
than Environmental, Health and Safety Claims or conditions, circumstances or
facts as would not reasonably be expected to have or result in a material
adverse effect on Parent.
(iii) Parent
has made available to the Company all material information, including such
studies, reports, correspondence, notices of violation, requests for
information, audits, analyses and test results and any other documents, in the
possession, custody or control of the Parent Entities relating to (A) the Parent
Entities’ compliance or noncompliance with Environmental, Health and Safety Laws
and Environmental Permits within the previous three years, and
(B) Environmental Conditions on, under or about any of the properties or
assets owned, leased, operated or otherwise used by any of the Parent Entities
at the present time or for which any of the Parent Entities may be responsible
or liable.
(iv) No
Hazardous Substance has been generated, treated, stored, disposed of, used,
handled or manufactured at, or transported, shipped or disposed of from,
currently or previously owned, leased, operated or otherwise used properties in
violation of applicable Environmental, Health and Safety Laws or Environmental
Permits that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to
have or result in a material adverse effect on Parent, and there have been no
Releases of any Hazardous Substance in, on, under, from or affecting any
currently or previously owned, leased, operated or otherwise used properties
that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have or
result in a material adverse effect on Parent.
(v) None
of Parent or the Parent Subsidiaries has received from any Governmental Entity
or other third party any written (or, to the knowledge of Parent, other) notice
that any of them or any of their predecessors is or may be a potentially
responsible party in respect of, or may otherwise bear liability for, any actual
or threatened Release of any Hazardous Substance at any site or facility that
is, has been or could reasonably be expected to be listed on the National
Priorities List, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and
Liability Information System, the National Corrective Action Priority System or
any similar or analogous federal, state, provincial, territorial, municipal,
county, local or other domestic or foreign list, schedule, inventory or database
of Hazardous Substance sites or facilities.
- 37 -
(vi) Neither
this Agreement nor the transactions contemplated hereby will result in any
requirement for environmental disclosure, investigation, cleanup, removal or
remedial action, or notification to or consent of any Governmental Entity or
third party, with respect to any property owned, leased, operated or otherwise
used by Parent or any Parent Subsidiary, pursuant to any Environmental, Health
and Safety Law, including any so-called “property transfer law.”
(vii) None
of Parent or the Parent Subsidiaries has assumed, undertaken or otherwise become
subject to any liability of any other person relating to or arising from
Environmental, Health and Safety Laws, except as would not reasonably be
expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on Parent.
(viii) There
exist no Environmental Conditions relating to any currently or previously owned,
leased, operated or otherwise used properties which, individually or in the
aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse
effect on Parent.
(l) Real Property;
Assets.
(i) The
Parent or a Parent Subsidiary has good and marketable title to each parcel of,
or interest in, real property owned by Parent or a Parent Subsidiary (the “Parent Owned
Real Property”).
(ii) The
Parent Owned Real Property and all real property leased by Parent and the Parent
Subsidiaries (the “Parent Leased
Real Property”) constitute all of the real property occupied or used by
Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries in connection with the operation of their
respective businesses as currently conducted. Parent or a Parent
Subsidiary has a valid leasehold interest in or valid rights to all material
Parent Leased Real Property. Parent has made available to the Company
true and complete copies of all material leases of the Parent Leased Real
Property (the “Parent
Leases”). No
option, extension or renewal has been exercised under any Parent Lease except
options, extensions or renewals that would not have a material and adverse
impact on Parent’s ability to conduct its operations as a whole or whose
exercise has been evidenced by a written document, a true and complete copy of
which has been made available to the Company with the corresponding Parent
Lease. Each of Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries has complied in all
material respects with the terms of all Parent Leases to which it is a party and
under which it is in occupancy, and all such Parent Leases are in full force and
effect. To the knowledge of Parent, the lessors under the Parent
Leases to which Parent or a Parent Subsidiary is a party have complied in all
material respects with the terms of their respective Parent
Leases. Each of Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries enjoys peaceful
and undisturbed possession under all such Parent Leases, except where a failure
to do so, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to
have or result in a material adverse effect on Parent.
(iii) None
of the Parent Owned Real Property or Parent Leased Real Property is subject to
any Liens (whether absolute, accrued, contingent or otherwise), except Permitted
Liens.
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(iv) The
Parent Entities have good and marketable title to all properties, assets and
rights relating to or used or held for use in connection with the business of
the Parent Entities and such properties, assets and rights comprise all of the
assets required for the conduct of the business of the Parent Entities as now
being conducted. All such properties, assets and rights are in all
material respects adequate for the purposes for which such assets are currently
used or held for use, and are in reasonably good repair and operating condition
(subject to normal wear and tear), except where such failure would not
reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent.
(m) Parent Intellectual
Property.
(i) The
term “Parent
Intellectual Property” means
all of the following that is owned by, issued or licensed to Parent or the
Parent Subsidiaries or used in the business of Parent or the Parent
Subsidiaries, including: (A) all patents, trademarks, trade names,
trade dress, assumed names, service marks, logos, copyrights, Internet domain
names and corporate names together with all applications, registrations,
renewals and all goodwill associated therewith; (B) all trade secrets and
confidential information (including customer lists, know-how, formulae,
manufacturing and production processes, research, financial business information
and marketing plans); (C) information technologies (including software
programs, data and related documentation); and (D) other intellectual property
rights and all copies and tangible embodiments of any of the foregoing in
whatever form or medium.
(ii) (A)
Parent or the Parent Subsidiaries own and possess all right, title and interest
in and to, or have a valid and enforceable license to use, the Parent
Intellectual Property necessary for the operation of their respective businesses
as currently conducted; (B) no claim by any third party contesting the validity,
enforceability, use or ownership of any of the Parent Intellectual Property has
been made, is currently outstanding or is threatened and, to the knowledge of
Parent, there are no grounds for the same; (C) neither Parent nor any of the
Parent Subsidiaries has received any written notices of, or is aware of any
facts which indicate a likelihood of, any infringement or misappropriation by,
or other conflict with, any third party with respect to the Parent Intellectual
Property; (D) to the knowledge of Parent, neither Parent nor the Parent
Subsidiaries nor the conduct of their respective businesses has infringed,
misappropriated or otherwise conflicted with any intellectual property rights or
other rights of any third parties and neither Parent nor any of the Parent
Subsidiaries is aware of any infringement, misappropriation or conflict which
will occur as a result of the continued operation of Parent’s and the Parent
Subsidiaries’ respective businesses as currently conducted, except, with respect
to clauses (A), (B), (C) and (D), as would not reasonably be expected to have or
result in, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on
Parent.
(iii) (A)
The transactions contemplated by this Agreement are not reasonably expected to
have or result in a material adverse effect on the right, title and interest of
Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries in and to the Parent Intellectual Property;
and (B) Parent or each of the Parent Subsidiaries, as the case may be, has taken
all necessary action to maintain and protect the material Parent Intellectual
Property and,
- 39 -
until the
Effective Time, shall continue to maintain and protect the material Parent
Intellectual Property.
(n) Labor Agreements and
Employee Issues. Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries have made
available to the Company all collective bargaining agreements or other
agreements with any union or labor organization to which Parent or any of the
Parent Subsidiaries is a party. Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries
are in material compliance with each such collective bargaining agreement or
other agreement. Parent is unaware of any effort, activity or
proceeding of any labor organization (or representative thereof) to organize any
other of its or their employees. Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries
are not, and have not since August 31, 2008, been subject to any pending,
or, to the knowledge of Parent, threatened (i) unfair labor practice
charges and/or complaint, (ii) grievance proceeding or arbitration proceeding
arising under any collective bargaining agreement or other labor agreement to
which Parent or any Parent Subsidiary is a party, (iii) claim, suit, action or
governmental investigation relating to employees, including discrimination,
wrongful discharge, or violation of any state and/or federal statute relating to
employment practices, (iv) strike, lockout or dispute, slowdown or work
stoppage or (v) claim, suit, action or governmental investigation, in respect of
which any director, officer, employee or agent of Parent or any of the Parent
Subsidiaries is or may be entitled to claim indemnification from Parent or any
Parent Subsidiary, except for the foregoing which, in the case of clauses (i),
(ii), (iii), (iv) and (v), would not, individually or in the aggregate,
reasonably be expected to have or result in a material adverse effect on
Parent. Neither Parent nor the Parent Subsidiaries is a party to, or
is otherwise bound by, any consent decree with any Governmental Entity relating
to employees or employment practices of Parent or the Parent
Subsidiaries.
(o) Certain
Contracts. Section 3.2(o) of the
Parent Disclosure Letter sets forth a true and correct list of each contract,
arrangement, commitment or understanding to which Parent or a Parent Subsidiary
is a party to or is bound (i) which is a “material contract” (as such term is
defined in Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K of the SEC); (ii) that contains
covenants that limit the ability of Parent or any of the Parent Subsidiaries (or
which, following the consummation of the Merger, could restrict the ability of
the Surviving Company or any of its affiliates) to compete in any business or
with any person or in any geographic area or distribution or sales channel, or
to sell, supply or distribute any service or product, in each case, that could
reasonably be expected to be material to the business of Parent and the Parent
Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; (iii) for each business unit of Parent and its
subsidiaries that is a top five customer or a top five raw material supplier, in
each case in terms of dollar amount, relating to making payments or receipt of
payments during the 12-month period prior to the date hereof, and in each case
without identifying the name of the third party; or (iv) which would prohibit or
delay the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement
(each of the foregoing, a “Parent Material
Contract”). Each
Parent Material Contract is valid and binding on Parent and any Parent
Subsidiary that is a party thereto and, to the knowledge of Parent, each other
party thereto and is in full force and effect. There is no default
under any Parent Material Contract by Parent or any Parent Subsidiary or, to the
knowledge of Parent, by any other party, and no event has occurred that with the
lapse of time or the giving of notice or both would constitute a default
thereunder by Parent or any Parent Subsidiary, or, to the knowledge of Parent,
by any other party, in each case except as would not reasonably be expected to
have or result in, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect
on Parent. All contracts,
- 40 -
agreements,
arrangements or understandings of any kind between any affiliate of Parent
(other than any wholly owned Parent Subsidiary), on the one hand, and Parent or
any Parent Subsidiary, on the other hand, are on terms no less favorable to
Parent or to such Parent Subsidiary than would be obtained with an unaffiliated
third party on an arm’s-length basis.
(p) Insurance. Parent
has made available to the Company copies of all insurance policies in force as
of, and covering matters as of, the date of this Agreement that are owned by
Parent or any of the Parent Subsidiaries or which names Parent or any of the
Parent Subsidiaries as an insured (or loss payee), including those which pertain
to Parent’s or any of the Parent Subsidiaries’ assets, employees or
operations. All such insurance policies are in full force and effect,
are in such amounts and cover such losses and risks as are consistent with
industry practice and, in the reasonable judgment of senior management of
Parent, are adequate to protect the properties and businesses of Parent and the
Parent Subsidiaries and all premiums due thereunder have been
paid. Neither Parent nor any of the Parent Subsidiaries has received
notice of permanent cancellation of any such insurance policies.
(q) Interested Party
Transactions. No event has occurred since December 31,
2007 that would be required to be reported by Parent pursuant to Item 404(a) of
Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act.
(r) Brokers. Except
for UBS Securities LLC, no broker, investment banker, financial advisor or other
person is entitled to any broker’s, finder’s, financial advisor’s or other
similar fee or commission in connection with the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement based upon arrangements made by or on behalf of
Parent. Parent has furnished to the Company true and complete copies
of all agreements under which any such fees, commissions or expenses are payable
and all indemnification and other agreements related to the engagement, in
connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, of the persons
to whom such fees, commissions or expenses are payable.
(s) No
Vote. No vote or approval of the holders of any class of
securities of Parent is necessary to approve this Agreement, the Merger or the
transactions contemplated hereby, including any consent as may be required by
the listing requirements of the Nasdaq.
(t) Availability of
Funds. Parent will have at the Effective Time available cash
in an amount sufficient for Parent and Merger Sub to timely pay the Cash
Consideration and all fees, expenses and other amounts contemplated to be paid
by Parent or its affiliates by this Agreement.
(u) Absence of Indemnifiable
Claims. As of the date of this Agreement, there are no pending
suits, actions or proceedings by or before any Governmental Entity that would
reasonably entitle any director or officer of Parent or any Parent Subsidiary to
indemnification by Parent or any Parent Subsidiary under applicable Law, the
Parent Charter, the Parent Bylaws or the certificate of incorporation or bylaws
or other organizational or governance documents of any of the Parent’s
Subsidiaries, any issuance policy maintained by Parent or any Parent Subsidiary
or any indemnity or similar agreements of Parent or any Parent
Subsidiary.
- 41 -
ARTICLE
IV
COVENANTS
RELATING TO CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
Section 4.1 Conduct of
Business.
(a) Conduct of Business by the
Company. Except (v) as set forth on Section 4.1(a)
of the Company Disclosure Letter, (w) as required by applicable Law, (x) as
permitted or contemplated by this Agreement, (y) as consented to in writing by
Parent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned) or
(z) for transactions between or among the Company and the Company Subsidiaries,
during the period from the date of this Agreement to the Effective Time, the
Company shall, and shall cause the Company Subsidiaries to, carry on their
respective businesses in all material respects in accordance with their ordinary
course consistent with past practice and in compliance in all material respects
with all applicable Laws and, to the extent consistent therewith, use reasonable
best efforts to preserve intact their current business organizations, keep
available the services of their key officers and other significant managers and
preserve their business relationships with significant customers, suppliers,
distributors and other persons having business dealings with them; provided, however, that no
action by the Company or any Company Subsidiary with respect to matters
specifically addressed by any other provision of this Section 4.1 shall be
deemed a breach of this sentence unless such action would constitute a breach of
such other provision. Without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, except (v) as set forth on Section 4.1(a)
of the Company Disclosure Letter, (w) as required by applicable Law, (x) as
otherwise contemplated by this Agreement, (y) as consented to in writing by
Parent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned) or
(z) for transactions between or among the Company and the Company Subsidiaries,
during the period from the date of this Agreement to the Effective Time, the
Company shall not and shall not permit any Company Subsidiary to:
(i) (A)
other than dividends and distributions by a direct or indirect wholly owned
Company Subsidiary to its parent, and other than quarterly cash dividends with
respect to Company Common Stock to the extent of the Company’s net income per
share of Company Common Stock for the applicable prior fiscal quarter but in no
event in excess of $0.05 per share of Company Common Stock per quarter, declare,
set aside or pay any dividends on, or make any other distributions in respect
of, any of its capital stock, (B) split, combine or reclassify any of its
capital stock or (C) except pursuant to agreements entered into with respect to
the Company Stock Plans that are in effect as of the close of business on the
date of this Agreement, purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of
capital stock of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries or any other
securities thereof or any rights, warrants or options to acquire any such shares
or other securities which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall not restrict any
cashless exercises or similar transactions pursuant to an exercise of Company
Stock Options or other awards issued and outstanding under the Company Stock
Plans;
(ii) issue
or authorize the issuance of, deliver, sell, pledge or otherwise encumber or
subject to any Lien (except Permitted Liens), any shares of its capital stock
(or any other securities in respect of, in lieu of, or in substitution for,
shares of its capital stock), any other voting securities or any securities
convertible into, or any rights, warrants or options to acquire, any such
shares, voting securities or convertible securities,
- 42 -
other
than (A) the issuance and delivery of shares of Company Common Stock upon the
exercise of the Company Stock Options under the Company Stock Plans, (B) in
connection with other awards under the Company Stock Plans outstanding as of the
date of this Agreement, and in accordance with their present terms or (C) the
authorization, issuance and delivery of Company Stock Options and/or Restricted
Shares with respect to not more than 200,000 shares of Company Common
Stock;
(iii) (A)
amend its certificate of incorporation or bylaws (or other comparable
organizational documents), except for such amendments made to conform to or
comply with the TBOC, or (B) merge or consolidate with any person other
than another Company Entity;
(iv) except
for hedging agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business
consistent with past practice and dispositions of inventory or equipment in the
ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, sell, lease, license,
mortgage or otherwise encumber or subject to any Lien (except Permitted Liens)
or otherwise dispose of any of its properties or assets having a value in excess
of $500,000 per fiscal quarter plus any amounts permitted but not used in prior
fiscal quarters (beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31,
2009);
(v) enter
into commitments for capital expenditures involving more than $500,000 per
fiscal quarter plus any amounts permitted but not used in prior fiscal quarters
(beginning with the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2009), except (A) in
accordance with the capital expenditure budget set forth in Section 4.1(a) of the
Company Disclosure Letter, (B) as may be required on an emergency basis or as
may be otherwise necessary for the maintenance of existing facilities, machinery
and equipment in good operating condition and repair in the ordinary course of
business, as reflected in the capital plan of the Company previously provided to
Parent or (C) to the extent covered by insurance proceeds;
(vi) other
than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, incur any
net increase in long-term indebtedness (whether evidenced by a note or other
instrument, pursuant to a financing lease, sale-leaseback transaction, or
otherwise) from that existing on the date hereof or incur any net increase in
short-term indebtedness from that existing on the date hereof other than up to
$1 million in the aggregate of (A) short-term indebtedness under lines of credit
existing on the date of this Agreement, (B) letters of credit, surety bonds,
guarantees of indebtedness for borrowed money and security time deposits and (C)
indebtedness relating to the reborrowing of amounts repaid;
(vii) other
that the creation of and payment in respect of the Retention Pool and the
payment of 2009 annual bonuses to Company Employees on December 15, 2009 as
described in Section
5.12(e), other than to the extent required under Company Benefit Plans in
effect on the date hereof, and other than as permitted by Section 4.1(a)(ii),
(A) grant any increase in the compensation or benefits payable or to become
payable by the Company or any Company Subsidiary to any current or former
director or consultant of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, (B) other than
in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, grant any increase in
the compensation
- 43 -
or
benefits payable or to become payable by the Company or any Company Subsidiary
to any officer or employee of the Company or any Company Subsidiary,
(C) adopt, enter into, amend or otherwise increase, reprice or accelerate
the payment or vesting of the amounts, benefits or rights payable or accrued or
to become payable or accrued under any Company Benefit Plan, (D) enter into or
amend any employment, bonus, severance, change in control, retention or any
similar agreement or any collective bargaining agreement or, grant any
severance, bonus, termination, or retention pay to any officer, director,
consultant or employee of the Company or any Company Subsidiaries (other than
amendments to a Company Benefit Plan that do not individually or in the
aggregate materially increase the cost to the Company or any Company Subsidiary
of maintaining such Company Benefit Plan) or (E) pay or award any pension,
retirement allowance or other non-equity incentive awards, or other employee or
director benefit not required by any outstanding Company Benefit
Plan;
(viii) change
the accounting principles used by it unless required by GAAP, applicable Law or
regulatory guidelines (or, if applicable with respect to foreign subsidiaries,
the relevant foreign generally accepted accounting principles);
(ix) acquire
by merging or consolidating with, by purchasing any equity interest in or a
portion of the assets of, or by any other manner, any business or any
corporation, partnership, association or other business organization or division
thereof, or otherwise acquire any material amount of assets of any other person
(other than the purchase of assets from suppliers or vendors in the ordinary
course of business consistent with past practice);
(x) except
in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, make, change
or rescind any material express or deemed election with respect to Taxes, settle
or compromise any material claim or action relating to Taxes, or change any of
its methods of accounting or of reporting income or deductions for Tax purposes
in any material respect;
(xi) satisfy
any claims or liabilities, other than satisfaction in the ordinary course of
business consistent with past practice, or in an amount not to exceed the sum of
$250,000 (net of insurance and indemnification payments payable to the Company
or any Company Subsidiary) per fiscal quarter plus the amount of the aggregate
liabilities reflected or reserved against in, or contemplated by, the
consolidated financial statements (or the notes thereto) of the Company included
in the Recent SEC Reports or incurred in the ordinary course of business
consistent with past practice since the date of the Recent SEC
Reports;
(xii) make
any loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other
person, except (A) loans, advances, capital contributions or investments between
any wholly owned Company Subsidiary and the Company or another wholly owned
Company Subsidiary, (B) advances for employees, contractors and consultants in
the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (C) as
required by existing contracts;
- 44 -
(xiii) other
than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (A)
modify, amend or terminate any Company Material Contract (for purposes of this
clause (xiii), “Company Material Contract” shall mean each contract,
arrangement, commitment or understanding to which the Company or a Company
Subsidiary is a party to or is bound (w) which is a “material contract” (as such
term is defined in Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K of the SEC); (x) that
contains covenants that limit the ability of the Company or any of the Company
Subsidiaries (or which, following the consummation of the Merger, could restrict
the ability of the Surviving Company or any of its affiliates) to compete in any
business or with any person or in any geographic area or distribution or sales
channel, or to sell, supply or distribute any service or product, in each case,
that could reasonably be expected to be material to the business of the Company
and the Company Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; (y) for the top three business
units of the Company and its subsidiaries that is a top three customer or a top
three raw material supplier, in each case in terms of dollar amount, relating to
making payments or receipt of payments during fiscal year 2009; or (z) which
would prohibit or delay the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated
by this Agreement), (B) waive, release, relinquish or assign any Company
Material Contract (or any of the Company’s or any Company Subsidiary’s rights
thereunder) or any right or claim that is material to the Company and the
Company Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (C) cancel or forgive any
indebtedness owed to the Company or any Company Subsidiary; provided, however, that,
subject to Section
5.10, the Company may not under any circumstance waive or release any of
its rights under any confidentiality agreement to which it is a party that was
not entered into in the ordinary course of business consistent with past
practice and/or any standstill agreement to which it is a party;
(xiv) except
to the extent necessary or customary to take any actions that the Company or any
third party would otherwise be permitted to take pursuant to Section 4.2 (and in
each case only in accordance with the terms of Section 4.2), take
any action to exempt or not make subject to the provisions of Article 13.03 of
the TBCA or Section 21.606 of the TBOC, as applicable, or any other state
takeover Law or state Law that purports to limit or restrict business
combinations or the ability to acquire or vote shares, any person (other than
Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries), or any action taken thereby, which person
or action would have otherwise been subject to the restrictive provisions
thereof and not exempt therefrom; or
(xv) authorize,
commit or agree to take any of the foregoing actions.
(b) Conduct of Business by
Parent. Except (v) as set forth on Section 4.1(b)
of the Parent Disclosure Letter, (w) as required by applicable Law, (x) as
permitted or contemplated by this Agreement, (y) as consented to in writing by
the Company (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or
conditioned) or (z) for transactions between or among Parent and the Parent
Subsidiaries, during the period from the date of this Agreement to the Effective
Time, Parent shall, and shall cause the Parent Subsidiaries to, carry on their
respective businesses in all material respects in accordance with their ordinary
course consistent with past practice and in compliance in all material respects
with all applicable Laws and, to the extent consistent therewith, use reasonable
best efforts to preserve intact their current business organizations, keep
available the services of their key officers and other significant managers
and
- 45 -
preserve
their business relationships with significant customers, suppliers, distributors
and other persons having business dealings with them; provided, however, that no
action by Parent or any Parent Subsidiary with respect to matters specifically
addressed by any other provision of this Section 4.1 shall be
deemed a breach of this sentence unless such action would constitute a breach of
such other provision. Without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, except (v) as set forth on Section 4.1(b)
of the Parent Disclosure Letter, (w) as required by applicable Law, (x) as
otherwise contemplated by this Agreement, (y) as consented to in writing by
Company (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned)
or (z) for transactions between or among Parent and the Parent Subsidiaries,
during the period from the date of this Agreement to the Effective Time, Parent
shall not and shall not permit any Parent Subsidiary to:
(i) (A)
other than dividends and distributions by a direct or indirect wholly owned
Parent Subsidiary to its parent, and other than regular quarterly cash dividends
with respect to Parent Common Stock not in excess of $0.15 per share of Parent
Common Stock, declare, set aside or pay any dividends on, or make any other
distributions in respect of, any of its capital stock, (B) split, combine or
reclassify any of its capital stock or (C) except pursuant to agreements
entered into with respect to the Parent Stock Plan that is in effect as of the
close of business on the date of this Agreement, purchase, redeem or otherwise
acquire any shares of capital stock of Parent or any of the Parent Subsidiaries
or any other securities thereof or any rights, warrants or options to acquire
any such shares or other securities which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall not
restrict any cashless exercises or similar transactions pursuant to an exercise
of Parent Stock Options or other awards issued and outstanding under the Parent
Stock Plan;
(ii) issue
or authorize the issuance of, deliver, sell, pledge or otherwise encumber or
subject to any Lien (except Permitted Liens), any shares of its capital stock
(or any other securities in respect of, in lieu of, or in substitution for,
shares of its capital stock), any other voting securities or any securities
convertible into, or any rights, warrants or options to acquire, any such
shares, voting securities or convertible securities, other than the issuance and
delivery of shares of Parent Common Stock upon the exercise of the Parent Stock
Options under the Parent Stock Plan or in connection with other awards under the
Parent Stock Plan outstanding as of the date of this Agreement, and in
accordance with their present terms;
(iii) (A)
amend its certificate of incorporation or bylaws (or other comparable
organizational documents), or (B) in the case of Parent, merge or
consolidate with any person other than another Parent Entity;
(iv) change
the accounting principles used by it unless required by GAAP, applicable Law or
regulatory guidelines (or, if applicable with respect to foreign subsidiaries,
the relevant foreign generally accepted accounting principles);
(v) except
in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, make, change
or rescind any material express or deemed election with respect to Taxes, settle
or compromise any material claim or action relating to Taxes, or change any of
its methods of accounting or of reporting income or deductions for Tax purposes
in any material respect, or take any action (or fail to take any action) that
could reasonably result in Merger Sub being treated for United States federal
tax purposes as an entity that
- 46 -
is not
disregarded as separate from Parent under Treasury Regulations Section
301.7701-3(b)(1)(ii);
(vi) satisfy
any claims or liabilities, other than satisfaction in the ordinary course of
business consistent with past practice, or in an amount not to exceed the sum of
$750,000 in the aggregate (net of insurance and indemnification payments payable
to Parent or any Parent Subsidiary) plus the amount of the aggregate liabilities
reflected or reserved against in, or contemplated by, the consolidated financial
statements (or the notes thereto) of Parent included in the Recent Parent SEC
Reports or incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past
practice since the date of the Recent Parent SEC Reports; or
(vii) authorize,
commit or agree to take any of the foregoing actions.
(c) Conduct of Business by
Merger Sub. During the period from the date of this Agreement
to the Effective Time, Merger Sub shall not engage in any activities of any
nature except as provided in or contemplated by this Agreement.
(d) Advice of
Changes. Each of the Company, Parent and Merger Sub shall
promptly advise the other parties to this Agreement orally and in writing to the
extent it has knowledge of any change or event having, or which, insofar as can
reasonably be foreseen would reasonably be expected to have or result in a
material adverse effect on such party or the ability of the conditions set forth
in Article VI to be
satisfied before the Outside Date; provided, however, that no such
notification will affect the representations, warranties, covenants or
agreements of the parties (or remedies with respect thereto) or the conditions
to the obligations of the parties under this Agreement and no failure to comply
with this Section
4.1(d) shall be taken into account for purposes of determining whether
the conditions to Closing have been satisfied.
Section 4.2 No Solicitation by the
Company.
(a) Company Takeover
Proposal. The Company shall, and shall cause the Company
Subsidiaries and its and their respective officers, directors, employees,
financial advisors, attorneys, accountants and other advisors, investment
bankers, representatives and agents (collectively, the “Company
Representatives”) to,
immediately cease and cause to be terminated immediately all existing
activities, discussions and negotiations with any parties conducted heretofore
with respect to, or that could reasonably be expected to lead to, any Company
Takeover Proposal. From and after the date of this Agreement, the
Company shall not, nor shall it permit any of the Company Subsidiaries to, nor
shall it authorize or permit any of the Company Representatives to, directly or
indirectly, (i) solicit, initiate or knowingly encourage (including by way
of furnishing nonpublic information), or take any other action designed to
facilitate, any inquiries or the making of any proposal that constitutes, or
could reasonably be expected to lead to, a Company Takeover Proposal, (ii) enter
into any Acquisition Agreement or enter into any agreement, arrangement or
understanding requiring it to abandon, terminate or fail to consummate the
Merger or any other transaction contemplated by this Agreement, or
(iii) initiate or participate in any way in any discussions or negotiations
regarding, or furnish or disclose to any person (other than a party hereto) any
nonpublic information with respect to, or take any other action to knowingly
facilitate or further any inquiries or the making of any
- 47 -
proposal
that constitutes, or could reasonably be expected to lead to, any Company
Takeover Proposal (other than contacting or engaging in discussions with the
person making a Company Takeover Proposal or its representatives for the sole
purpose of clarifying such Company Takeover Proposal); provided, however, that, at any
time prior to obtaining the Company Stockholder Approval, in response to an
unsolicited bona fide written Company Takeover Proposal that the Board of
Directors of the Company determines in good faith (after consultation with
outside counsel and a financial advisor of nationally recognized reputation)
constitutes or could reasonably be expected to lead to a Superior Proposal, and
which Company Takeover Proposal was made after the date hereof and did not
otherwise result from a breach of this Section 4.2 (other
than from an immaterial breach of this Section 4.2, the
effect of which is not material), the Company may, subject to compliance with
Section 4.2(c),
(i) furnish information with respect to the Company and the Company Subsidiaries
to the person making such Company Takeover Proposal (and its representatives)
pursuant to a customary confidentiality agreement not less restrictive of such
person than the Confidentiality Agreement; provided, however, that the
substance of all such information has previously been provided to Parent or is
provided to Parent prior to or substantially concurrent with the time it is
provided to such person, (ii) participate in discussions or negotiations with
the person making such Company Takeover Proposal (and its representatives)
regarding such Company Takeover Proposal and (iii) take any action permitted by
Section
5.10. Without limiting the foregoing, the parties agree that
any violation of the restrictions set forth in this Section 4.2(a) by any
Company Representative, whether or not such person is purporting to act on
behalf of the Company or any Company Subsidiary or otherwise, shall be deemed to
be a breach of this Section 4.2 by the
Company.
(b) Definitions. As
used herein, (i) “Superior
Proposal” means a
bona fide written proposal from any person to acquire, directly or indirectly,
including pursuant to a tender offer, exchange offer, merger, consolidation,
business combination, recapitalization, liquidation, dissolution or similar
transaction, for consideration consisting of cash and/or securities, at least
75% of the combined voting power of the Company then outstanding or 75% of the
assets of the Company (including stock of its subsidiaries) that the Board of
Directors of the Company determines in its good faith judgment (after consulting
with outside counsel and a nationally recognized investment banking firm),
taking into account all legal, financial and regulatory and other aspects of the
proposal and the person making the proposal (including any break-up fees,
expense reimbursement provisions and conditions to consummation), would be more
favorable to the stockholders of the Company than the transactions contemplated
by this Agreement (including any adjustment to the terms and conditions proposed
by Parent in response to such Company Takeover Proposal) and is reasonably
capable of being consummated on the terms proposed and (ii) “Company Takeover
Proposal” means
any inquiry, proposal or offer from any person (other than Parent and its
affiliates) relating to any (A) direct or indirect acquisition or purchase
of a business that constitutes 25% or more of the net revenues, net income or
the assets of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, (B)
direct or indirect acquisition or purchase of 25% or more of any class of equity
securities of the Company, (C) any tender offer or exchange offer that if
consummated would result in any person beneficially owning 25% or more of the
voting equity securities of the Company, or (D) any merger, consolidation,
business combination, asset purchase, recapitalization or similar transaction
involving the Company, in each case, other than the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement.
- 48 -
(c) Actions by the
Company. Neither the Board of Directors of the Company nor any
committee thereof shall (i) (A) withdraw (or modify in a manner adverse to
Parent), or publicly propose to withdraw (or modify in a manner adverse to
Parent), the approval, recommendation or declaration of advisability by such
Board of Directors or any such committee thereof of this Agreement, the Merger
or the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement or (B) recommend, adopt
or approve, or propose publicly to recommend, adopt or approve, any Company
Takeover Proposal (any action described in this clause (i) being referred to as
a “Company
Adverse Recommendation Change”) or (ii) approve or recommend, or propose
publicly to approve or recommend, or allow the Company or any of the Company
Subsidiaries to execute or enter into, any letter of intent, memorandum of
understanding, agreement in principle, merger agreement, acquisition agreement,
option agreement, joint venture agreement, partnership agreement or other
similar agreement constituting or related to, or that is intended to or could
reasonably be expected to lead to, any Company Takeover Proposal (other than a
confidentiality agreement referred to in Section 4.2(a)) (an
“Acquisition
Agreement”). Notwithstanding
anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if, prior to obtaining the Company
Stockholder Approval, the Board of Directors of the Company determines in good
faith that the failure to do so would be reasonably likely to be inconsistent
with its fiduciary duties under applicable Law, it may (A) terminate this
Agreement pursuant to Section 7.1(d)(ii)
and cause the Company to enter into an Acquisition Agreement with respect to a
Superior Proposal (which was made after the date hereof and did not otherwise
result from a breach of this Section 4.2) or
(B) make a Company Adverse Recommendation Change, if: (i) the Company
provides written notice (a “Notice of
Adverse Recommendation”) advising Parent that the Board of Directors of
the Company intends to take such action and specifying the reasons therefor,
including, if applicable, the terms and conditions of any Superior Proposal that
is the basis of the proposed action by the Board of Directors (it being
understood and agreed that any amendment to the financial terms or any other
material term of such Superior Proposal shall require a new Notice of Adverse
Recommendation); (ii) for a period of five Business Days following Parent’s
receipt of a Notice of Adverse Recommendation the Company negotiates with Parent
in good faith to make such adjustments to the terms and conditions of this
Agreement as would enable the Company to proceed with its recommendation of this
Agreement and the Merger and not make such Company Adverse Recommendation Change
(it being understood that such negotiation need not be exclusive); and (iii) if
applicable, at the end of such five Business Day period, the Board of Directors
of the Company continues to believe that the Company Takeover Proposal, if any,
constitutes a Superior Proposal (after taking into account such adjustments to
the terms and conditions of this Agreement). No Company Adverse
Recommendation Change shall change the approval of the Board of Directors of the
Company for purposes of causing any state takeover Law (including Article 13.03
of the TBCA or Section 21.606 of the TBOC) or other similar state Law that
purports to limit or restrict business combinations to be inapplicable to the
Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(d) Notice of Company Takeover
Proposal. From and after the date of this Agreement, the
Company shall promptly (but in any event within two calendar days) notify Parent
and Merger Sub in writing of the receipt, directly or indirectly, of a Company
Takeover Proposal, any request for non-public information relating to any of the
Company Entities by any person that informs the Company or any Company
Representative that such person is considering making, or has made, a Company
Takeover Proposal, or any request for discussions or negotiations relating to a
possible Company Takeover Proposal. Such notice shall be
made
- 49 -
orally
and confirmed in writing, and shall indicate the material terms and conditions
thereof and the identity of the other party or parties involved and promptly
furnish to Parent and Merger Sub a copy of any such written inquiry, request or
proposal. The Company agrees that it shall keep Parent reasonably
informed in all material respects of the status (including amendments or
proposed amendments) of any such request, Company Takeover Proposal or inquiry
and keep Parent fully informed in all material respects as to any information
requested of or provided by the Company and as to all discussions or
negotiations with respect to any such request, Company Takeover Proposal or
inquiry, including by providing a copy of all material documentation or
correspondence relating thereto.
(e) Rule 14e-2(a), Rule 14d-9
and Other Applicable Law. Nothing contained in this Section 4.2 shall
prohibit the Company or its Board of Directors from (i) taking and
disclosing to its stockholders a position contemplated by Rule 14e-2(a) or Rule
14d-9 promulgated under the Exchange Act or (ii) making any disclosure to the
stockholders of the Company if, in the good faith judgment of the Board of
Directors (after consultation with outside counsel), the failure to make such
disclosure would be reasonably likely to violate the Company’s or the Board of
Directors’ obligations under applicable Law; provided, however, that
compliance with such rules and Laws shall not in any way limit or modify the
effect that any action taken pursuant to such rules and Laws has under any other
provision of this Agreement, including that such compliance could result in a
Company Adverse Recommendation Change; provided, that
notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, any “stop-look-and-listen”
communication to the Company’s stockholders pursuant to Rule 14d-9(f) under the
Exchange Act shall not in and of itself be considered a Company Adverse
Recommendation Change.
(f) Return or Destruction of
Confidential Information. The Company agrees that within five
Business Days following the execution of this Agreement it shall request each
person which has at any time after January 1, 2009 executed a confidentiality
agreement in connection with such person’s consideration of acquiring the
Company to return or destroy all confidential information heretofore furnished
to such person by or on the Company’s behalf.
ARTICLE
V
ADDITIONAL
AGREEMENTS
|
Section 5.1 Preparation
of the Form S-4 and the Proxy Statement; Company Stockholders
Meeting.
|
(a) Form S-4 and Proxy
Statement. As promptly as practicable following the date of
this Agreement, and in any event within 20 Business Days following the date of
this Agreement, the
Company and Parent shall prepare and file with the SEC the Proxy Statement and
Parent shall prepare and file with the SEC the Form S-4, in which the Proxy
Statement will be included as a prospectus. Each of the Company and
Parent shall use reasonable best efforts to have the Form S-4 declared effective
under the Securities Act as promptly as practicable after such filing and to
maintain the effectiveness of the Form S-4 through the Effective Time and to
ensure that it complies in all material respects with the applicable provisions
of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. The Company shall use
reasonable best efforts to cause the Proxy Statement to be mailed to the
Company’s stockholders as promptly as practicable after the Form S-4 is declared
effective under the Securities Act. Parent shall also take any action
(other than
- 50 -
qualifying
to do business in any jurisdiction in which it is not now so qualified or to
file a general consent to service of process) required to be taken under any
applicable state securities Laws in connection with the issuance of Parent
Common Stock in the Merger and the Company shall furnish all information
concerning the Company and the holders of the Company Common Stock as may be
reasonably requested in connection with any such action. The Company,
in connection with a Company Adverse Recommendation Change, may amend or
supplement the Form S-4 or Proxy Statement (including by incorporation by
reference) to effect such a Company Adverse Recommendation Change. No
filing of, or amendment or supplement to, the Form S-4 will be made by Parent,
and no filing of, or amendment or supplement to the Proxy Statement will be made
by the Company or Parent, in each case, without providing the other party and
its respective counsel the reasonable opportunity to review and comment thereon
and giving due consideration to such comments. The parties shall notify each
other promptly of the receipt of any comments from the SEC or its staff and any
request by the SEC or its staff for amendments or supplements to the Proxy
Statement or the Form S-4 or for additional information and shall supply each
other with copies of all correspondence between such party or any of its
representatives, on the one hand, and the SEC or its staff on the other hand,
with respect to the Proxy Statement, the Form S-4 or the
Merger. Parent will advise the Company, promptly after it receives
notice thereof, of the time when the Form S-4 has become effective, the issuance
of any stop order or the suspension of the qualification of the Parent Common
Stock issuable in connection with the Merger for offering or sale in any
jurisdiction. If at any time prior to the Effective Time any
information relating to the Company or Parent, or any of their respective
affiliates, officers or directors, should be discovered by the Company or Parent
which should be set forth in an amendment or supplement to the Form S-4 or the
Proxy Statement, so that any of such documents would not include any
misstatement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to
make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were
made, not misleading, the party which discovers such information shall promptly
notify the other parties hereto and an appropriate amendment or supplement
describing such information must be promptly filed with the SEC and, to the
extent required by Law, disseminated to the stockholders of the
Company.
(b) Company Stockholders
Meeting.
The
Company shall, as soon as practicable following the date of this Agreement, duly
call, give notice of, convene and hold, at its option, either an annual or
special meeting of its stockholders (the “Company
Stockholders Meeting”) in
accordance with applicable Law, the Company Charter and Company Bylaws for the
purpose of obtaining the Company Stockholder Approval and, in the case of an
annual meeting of stockholders, for the such other purposes as may be
appropriate for an annual meeting of stockholders. Subject to Section 4.2(c), the
Company shall, (A) through the Board of Directors of the Company, recommend
to its stockholders the approval and adoption of this Agreement, the Merger and
the other transactions contemplated hereby and include in the Proxy Statement
such recommendation and (B) use its reasonable best efforts to solicit and
obtain such approval and adoption. The Company shall ensure that the
Company Stockholders Meeting is called, noticed, convened, held and conducted,
and that all proxies solicited in connection with the Company Stockholders
Meeting are solicited in compliance with applicable Law, the rules of the Nasdaq
and the Company Charter and the Company Bylaws. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, subject to its rights under Section 4.2(c),
the Company agrees that its obligations pursuant to the first sentence of
this
- 51 -
Section 5.1(b)
shall not be affected by any Company Adverse Recommendation Change or the
commencement, public proposal, public disclosure or communication to the Company
or its stockholders of any Company Takeover Proposal. The Company
shall provide Parent with the Company’s stockholder list as and when requested
by Parent, including at any time and from time to time following a Company
Adverse Recommendation Change.
Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, the Company, after
consultation with Parent, may adjourn or postpone the Company Stockholders
Meeting (A) to the extent it believes in good faith it is necessary to ensure
that any required supplement or amendment to the Proxy Statement is provided to
its stockholders, (B) if, as of the time for which the Company Stockholders
Meeting is originally scheduled (as set forth in the Proxy Statement) there are
insufficient shares of Company Common Stock, as applicable, represented (either
in person or by proxy) to constitute a quorum necessary to conduct business at
such meeting or (C) to the extent it believes in good faith it is necessary to
solicit additional votes in order to obtain the Company Stockholder Approval;
provided, however, that any
such adjournment or postponement shall not exceed ten Business
Days.
Section 5.2 Access to Information;
Confidentiality.
(a) To
the extent permitted by applicable Law and subject to the agreement, dated June
30, 2009, between the Company and Parent (the “Confidentiality
Agreement”), the
Company shall, and shall cause the Company Subsidiaries to, afford to the Parent
Representatives reasonable access, during normal business hours during the
period prior to the Effective Time, to all of the Company Entities’ properties,
books, contracts, commitments, personnel and records and all other information
concerning their business, properties and personnel as Parent or Merger Sub may
reasonably request. Parent and Merger Sub shall hold, and shall cause
their respective affiliates and the Parent Representatives to hold, any
nonpublic information in accordance with the terms of the Confidentiality
Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither the Company nor any
Company Subsidiary shall be obligated to provide any such access or information
to the extent that doing so (x) may cause a waiver of an attorney-client
privilege or loss of attorney work product protection, (y) would violate a
confidentiality obligation to any person or (z) would be materially disruptive
to the business or operations of the Company or the Company Subsidiaries,
provided, that the Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to provide
such access or information in a manner that avoids or removes the impediments
described in clauses (x), (y) and (z). Parent agrees that it shall
not, and shall cause its respective representatives not to, use any information
obtained pursuant to this Section 5.2 for any
purpose unrelated to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
(b) To
the extent permitted by applicable Law and subject to the Confidentiality
Agreement, Parent shall, and shall cause the Parent Subsidiaries to, afford to
the Company Representatives reasonable access, during normal business hours
during the period prior to the Effective Time, to all of the Parent Entities’
properties, books, contracts, commitments, personnel and records and all other
information concerning their business, properties and personnel as the Company
may reasonably request. The Company shall hold, and shall cause their
respective affiliates and the Parent Representatives to hold, any nonpublic
information in accordance with the terms of the Confidentiality
Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither Parent nor any
Parent Subsidiary shall be obligated to provide any such access or information
to the extent that doing so (x) may cause a waiver of an attorney-client
privilege
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or loss
of attorney work product protection, (y) would violate a confidentiality
obligation to any person or (z) would be materially disruptive to the business
or operations of Parent, provided, that Parent shall use commercially reasonable
efforts to provide such access or information in a manner that avoids or removes
the impediments described in clauses (x), (y) and (z). The Company
agrees that it shall not, and shall cause its respective representatives not to,
use any information obtained pursuant to this Section 5.2 for any
purpose unrelated to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
Section 5.3 Reasonable Best Efforts;
Cooperation.
(a) Reasonable Best
Efforts. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set
forth in this Agreement, including Section 5.3(d),
each of the parties agrees to use reasonable best efforts to take, or cause to
be taken, all actions, and to do, or cause to be done, and to assist and
cooperate with the other parties in doing, all things necessary, proper or
advisable to consummate and make effective, in the most expeditious manner
practicable, the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this
Agreement and to obtain satisfaction of the conditions precedent to the Merger,
including (i) the obtaining of all necessary actions or nonactions, waivers,
clearances, consents and approvals from Governmental Entities and the making of
all necessary registrations and filings and the taking of all steps as may be
necessary to obtain an approval or waiver from, or to avoid an action or
proceeding by, any Governmental Entity, (ii) the obtaining of all necessary
consents, approvals or waivers from third parties, and (iii) the execution and
delivery of any additional instruments necessary to consummate the transactions
contemplated by, and to fully carry out the purposes of, this
Agreement. For purposes of this Agreement, reasonable best efforts
shall not require the parties to (i) sell, hold separate or otherwise dispose of
or conduct the business of the Company, Parent and/or any of their respective
affiliates in a manner which would resolve such objections or suits, (ii) agree
to sell, hold separate or otherwise dispose of or conduct the business of the
Company, Parent and/or any of their respective affiliates in a manner which
would resolve such objections or suits, (iii) permit the sale, holding separate
or other disposition of, any of the assets of the Company, Parent and/or any of
their respective affiliates or the execution of any agreement or order to do so,
and (iv) conduct the business of the Company, Parent and/or any of their
respective affiliates in a manner which would resolve such objections or suits,
except to the extent any such action described in clauses (i) through (iv) would
not reasonably be expected to materially impair the benefits each of Parent and
the Company reasonably expects to be derived from the combination of Parent and
the Company through the Merger. In furtherance and not in limitation
of the foregoing, each of Parent and the Company agrees to make an appropriate
filing under HSR with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby as
promptly as practicable and in any event within fifteen Business Days following
the date hereof and to supply as promptly as practicable any additional
information and documentary material that may be requested pursuant to the HSR
Act and to take all other actions necessary to cause the expiration or
termination of the applicable waiting periods under the HSR Act as soon as
practicable.
(b) No Takeover Statutes
Apply. In connection with and without limiting the foregoing,
the Company, Parent and Merger Sub shall (i) take all action reasonably
necessary to ensure that no Takeover Statute or similar Law is or becomes
applicable to the Merger, this Agreement or any of the other transactions
contemplated hereby and (ii) if any Takeover Statute or similar Law becomes
applicable to the Merger, this Agreement or any of the other
transactions
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contemplated
hereby, take all action reasonably necessary to ensure that the Merger and the
other transactions contemplated hereby may be consummated as promptly as
practicable on the terms contemplated by this Agreement and otherwise to
minimize the effect of such Law on the Merger and the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
(c) Opinions Regarding Tax
Treatment. Parent and the Company shall cooperate with each
other in obtaining the opinions of Xxxxx Day, counsel to Parent, for the benefit
of Parent, and Xxxxx Xxxxx L.L.P., counsel to the Company, for the benefit of
the Company’s stockholders, respectively, dated as of the Closing Date, to the
effect that the Merger will constitute a reorganization within the meaning of
Section 368(a) of the Code and Treasury Regulations. In
connection therewith, each of Parent and the Company shall deliver to Xxxxx Day
and Xxxxx Xxxxx L.L.P. customary representation letters in form and substance
reasonably satisfactory to such counsel, and at such time or times that may be
reasonably requested by such counsel (the representation letters referred to in
this sentence are collectively referred to as the “Tax
Certificates”).
(d) Information
Cooperation. In connection with the efforts referenced in
Section 5.3(a)
to obtain all requisite approvals and authorizations for the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement under the HSR Act, and to obtain all such
approvals and authorizations under any other applicable Antitrust Law, including
those contemplated by Section 6.1(e), each
of Parent and the Company shall 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, (ii) keep the other party promptly informed in all
material respects of any material communication (and, if in writing, provide a
copy of such communication) received by such party from, or given by such party
to, the Federal Trade Commission, the Antitrust Division of the Department of
Justice or any other Governmental Entity and of any material communication (and
if in writing, provide a copy of such communication) received or given in
connection with any proceeding by a private party, in each case regarding any of
the transactions contemplated hereby, (iii) permit the other party to review any
material communication given by it to, and 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, (iv) consult and cooperate with the
other party and consider in good faith the views of the other party in
connection with any analyses, appearances, presentations, memoranda, briefs,
arguments, opinions or proposals made or submitted by or on behalf of the
Company, Parent or any of their respective affiliates to any such Governmental
Entity or private party and (v) not participate in any substantive meeting or
have any substantive communication with any Governmental Entity unless it has
given the other parties a reasonable opportunity to consult with it in advance
and, to the extent permitted by such Governmental Entity, gives the other the
opportunity to attend and participate therein. Subject to the
Confidentiality Agreement and any attorney-client, work product or other
privilege, each of the parties hereto will coordinate and cooperate fully with
the other parties hereto in exchanging such information and providing such
assistance as such other parties may reasonably request in connection with the
foregoing and in seeking early termination of any applicable waiting periods
under the HSR Act. Any competitively sensitive information that is
disclosed pursuant to this Section 5.3(d) will
be limited to each of Parent’s and the Company’s respective counsel pursuant to
a separate customary confidentiality agreement.
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(e) In
furtherance and not in limitation of the covenants of the parties contained in
this Section
5.3, if any objections are asserted with respect to the transactions
contemplated hereby under any Antitrust Law or if any suit is instituted or
threatened to be instituted by any Governmental Entity or any private party
challenging any of the transactions contemplated hereby as violative of any Law
or which would otherwise prevent, impede or delay the consummation of the Merger
or the other transactions contemplated hereby, each of Parent, Merger Sub and
the Company shall use reasonable best efforts to resolve any such objections or
suits so as to permit the consummation of the Merger and the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement as promptly as reasonably
practicable. Neither the Company nor Parent shall, and they shall
cause their respective subsidiaries not to, acquire or agree to acquire any
assets, business, securities, person or subdivision thereof, if the entering
into of a definitive agreement relating to or the consummation of such
acquisition could reasonably be expected to materially delay or materially
increase the risk of not obtaining the applicable action, nonaction, waiver,
clearance, consent or approval with respect to the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement under any Antitrust Laws.
Section 5.4 Stock Options and Restricted
Stock.
(a) Prior
to the Effective Time, the Company and the Company Board of Directors will take
(or will cause to be taken) all actions necessary (including providing such
notices, adopting such amendments to the Company Stock Plans and taking such
other actions as are reasonably requested by Parent) such that:
(i) All
Company Stock Options that are not otherwise exercisable will become exercisable
and, if elected by the holder, will be exercised effective as of immediately
prior to the Effective Time, with the effect that the Company Common Stock into
which they are converted will be deemed for all purposes to be issued and
outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time.
(ii) Without
limiting the generality or effect of Section 5.4(a)(i),
the holders of all Company Stock Options will be notified that Company Stock
Options may be exercised at any time during the period that commences on the
date of this Agreement and ends on the day before the Effective Time (the “Exercise
Period”), provided that (A) any such exercise, to the extent that it
relates to a Company Stock Option that would become exercisable only at the
Effective Time, will be contingent until, and will become effective only upon,
the occurrence of the Effective Time and (B) no Company Stock Option may be
exercised after the Exercise Period.
(iii) Company
Stock Options that are not exercised before the end of the Exercise Period will
terminate at the Effective Time and the holders thereof will be entitled to the
payments provided for in Section
2.1(e).
(iv) All
Company Stock Plans will terminate at the Effective Time.
(b) Restricted
Shares. At the Effective Time, each outstanding unvested share
of restricted Company Common Stock issued under a Company Stock Plan (each, a
“Restricted
Share”) shall become vested and no longer subject to restrictions, and as
a result shall be considered a share of Company Common Stock for purposes of
Section
2.1.
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(c) Withholding. All
amounts payable pursuant to this Section 5.4 shall be
subject to any required withholding of federal, state, local or foreign taxes
and shall be paid without interest.
Section 5.5 Indemnification.
(a) Rights Assumed by Surviving
Company. Parent agrees that all rights to indemnification and
exculpation from liabilities for acts or omissions occurring at or prior to the
Effective Time (including any matters arising in connection with the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement) now existing in favor of the
current or former directors, officers or employees of the Company and the
Company Subsidiaries as provided in their respective articles of incorporation,
bylaws (or comparable organizational documents) or in any agreement between the
Company or any Company Subsidiary, on the one hand, and any current or former
director, officer or employee of the Company or any Company Subsidiary, on the
other hand, will be assumed by the Surviving Company without further action, as
of the Effective Time, and will survive the Merger and will continue in full
force and effect in accordance with their terms and such rights will not be
amended, or otherwise modified for a period of six years after the Effective
Time in any manner that would adversely affect the rights of individuals who on
or prior to the Effective Time were directors, officers, employees or agents of
the Company, unless such modification is required by Law. In the
event that any claim for indemnification is asserted or made prior to the
Effective Time or within such six-year period, all rights to indemnification in
respect of such claim shall continue until the final disposition of such
claim.
(b) Indemnification Under this
Agreement. From and after the Effective Time, Parent and the
Surviving Company shall, to the fullest extent permitted under applicable Law in
effect on the date hereof or provided under the articles of incorporation,
bylaws (or comparable organizational documents) or agreements of the type
described in Section
5.5(a) as of the Effective Time, indemnify, defend, hold harmless and
advance expenses to each present and former director and officer of the Company
(including any director or officer of the Company who is or was serving at the
request of the Company as a director, officer, partner, venturer, proprietor,
trustee, employee, agent, or similar functionary of another corporation,
partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, trust, employee benefit plan or
other enterprise) (collectively, the “Indemnified
Parties”) against
all costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines,
losses, claims, damages, inquiries, liabilities and settlement amounts paid in
connection with any threatened or actual claim, action, suit, proceeding or
investigation (whether arising before or after the Effective Time), whether
civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, arising out of or pertaining
to any action or omission in their capacity as such (including any claim arising
out of this Agreement, the Merger or any of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement), whether occurring before or after the Effective Time, whether
asserted or claimed prior to, at or after the Effective Time, for a period of
six years after the Effective Time (and shall pay any expenses in advance of the
final disposition of any such action or proceeding to each Indemnified Party to
the fullest extent permitted under applicable Law, upon receipt from the
Indemnified Party to whom expenses are advanced of any undertaking to repay such
advances required under applicable Law). In the event of any such
claim, action, suit, proceeding or investigation, (i) the Indemnified Parties
may retain counsel (including local counsel) satisfactory to them, the
reasonable fees and expenses of which shall be paid by Parent and the Surviving
Company promptly after statements therefor are received and
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(ii)
Parent and the Surviving Company shall cooperate in or use reasonable best
efforts in the vigorous defense of any such matter; provided, however, that Parent
and the Surviving Company shall not be liable for any settlement effected
without their respective written consent (which consent shall not be
unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned); and provided, further, that the
Surviving Company shall not be obligated pursuant to this subsection (b) to pay
the reasonable fees and expenses of more than one counsel (plus appropriate
local counsel) for all Indemnified Parties in any single action unless there is,
as determined by counsel to the Indemnified Parties, under applicable standards
of professional conduct, a conflict or a reasonable likelihood of a conflict on
any significant issue between the positions of any two or more Indemnified
Parties, in which case such additional counsel (including local counsel) as may
be required to avoid any such conflict or likely conflict may be retained by the
Indemnified Parties at the expense of the Surviving Company. The Surviving
Company shall pay all reasonable expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees,
that may be incurred by any Indemnified Party in enforcing the indemnity and
other obligations provided in this Section
5.5.
(c) Successors and Assigns of
Surviving Company. In the event that the Surviving Company or
any of its successors or assigns (i) consolidates with or merges into any other
person and is not the continuing or surviving corporation or entity of such
consolidation or merger or (ii) transfers or conveys all or substantially all of
its properties and assets to any person, then, and in each such case, proper
provision will be made so that the successors and assigns of the Surviving
Company assume the obligations set forth in this Section 5.5.
(d) Continuing
Coverage. From the Effective Time and for a period of six
years thereafter, Parent and the Surviving Company shall maintain in effect
directors’ and officers’ liability insurance covering acts or omissions
occurring prior to the Effective Time with respect to those persons who are
currently covered by the Company’s directors’ and officers’ liability insurance
policy (a copy of which has been heretofore delivered to Parent) on terms with
respect to such coverage and amount no less favorable than those of such current
insurance coverage; provided, however, that in no
event will Parent or the Surviving Company be required to expend in any one year
an amount in excess of 300% of the annual premiums currently paid by the Company
for such insurance (the “Maximum
Premium”); and provided, further, that, if the
annual premiums of such insurance coverage exceed such amount, Parent will be
obligated to obtain a policy with the greatest coverage available for a cost not
exceeding such amount; and provided, further, however, that at
Parent’s option in lieu of the foregoing insurance coverage, the Surviving
Company or Parent may purchase six-year “tail” insurance coverage that provides
coverage identical in all material respects to the coverage described
above. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if two
Business Days prior to the Effective Time, Parent has not completed the actions
contemplated by the last proviso of the preceding sentence, the Company may,
with prior notice to Parent, purchase six-year “tail” insurance coverage that
provides coverage identical in all material respects to the coverage described
above, provided that the Company does not pay in excess of the Maximum
Premium.
(e) Intended
Beneficiaries. The provisions of this Section 5.5 are
(i) intended to be for the benefit of, and will be enforceable by, each
Indemnified Party, his or her heirs and his or her representatives and, in the
case of Section
5.5(a), current and former directors and officers of the Company and (ii)
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. The
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provisions
of this Section
5.5 shall survive the consummation of the Merger and expressly are
intended to benefit each of the Indemnified Parties.
Section 5.6 Public
Announcements. Parent and the Company shall consult with each
other before holding any press conferences, analysts calls or other meetings or
discussions and before issuing any press release or other public announcements
with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the
Merger. The parties will provide each other the opportunity to review
and comment upon any press release or other public announcement or statement
with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the
Merger, and shall not issue any such press release or other public announcement
or statement prior to such consultation, except as may be required by applicable
Law, court process or by obligations pursuant to any listing agreement with any
national securities exchange, including the Nasdaq. The parties agree
that the initial press release or releases to be issued with respect to the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall be mutually agreed upon prior
to the issuance thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Parent and
the Company may respond to inquiries from securities analysts and the news media
to the extent necessary to respond to such inquiries, provided that such
responses are in compliance with applicable securities laws and inform the other
party of such discussion.
Section 5.7 Nasdaq
Listing. Parent shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause
the Parent Common Stock issuable to the Company’s stockholders as contemplated
by this Agreement to be approved for listing on the Nasdaq, subject to official
notice of issuance, as promptly as practicable after the date of this Agreement,
and in any event prior to the Closing Date.
Section 5.8 Stockholder
Litigation. The parties to this Agreement shall cooperate and
consult with one another, to the fullest extent possible, subject to entering
into a customary joint defense agreement, in connection with any stockholder
litigation against any of them or any of their respective directors or officers
with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. In
furtherance of and without in any way limiting the foregoing, each of the
parties shall upon the terms and subject to the conditions contained in this
Agreement use its respective reasonable best efforts to prevail in such
litigation so as to permit the consummation of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement in the manner contemplated by this
Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company agrees that it
will not compromise or settle any litigation commenced against it or its
directors or officers relating to this Agreement or the transactions
contemplated hereby (including the Merger) for payments in excess of $500,000
from any source (including insurance) without Parent’s prior written consent,
which shall not be unreasonably withheld.
Section 5.9 Tax
Treatment. Each of Parent, Merger Sub and the Company shall
use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Merger to qualify as a
reorganization under the provisions of Section 368(a) of the Code and
Treasury Regulations and to obtain the opinions of counsel referred to in Sections 6.2(d)
and 6.3(d),
including forbearing from taking any action (or failing to take any action) that
could reasonably be expected to cause the Merger to fail to so qualify or that
could reasonably be expected to cause to be untrue, incorrect or incomplete any
statement or representation made in their respective Tax
Certificates. Parent, Merger Sub and the Company agree to file all
Tax Returns consistent with the treatment of the Merger as a reorganization
within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code and, in particular, as
a
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transaction
described in Section 368(a)(1)(A) of the Code and Treasury Regulations Section
1.368-2(b)(1)(ii).
Section 5.10 Standstill Agreements;
Confidentiality Agreements. During the period from the date of
this Agreement through the Effective Time, neither Parent nor the Company shall
terminate, amend, modify or waive any provision of any confidentiality or
standstill agreement to which Parent or any of the Parent Subsidiaries, or the
Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries, as applicable, is a party, other
than (a) the
Confidentiality Agreement, pursuant to its terms or by written agreement of the
parties thereto, (b) confidentiality agreements under which Parent or the
Company, as applicable, does not provide any confidential information to third
parties, (c) standstill agreements that do not relate to the equity securities
of Parent or any of the Parent Subsidiaries, or the Company or any of the
Company Subsidiaries, as applicable or (d) to the extent consistent with or
necessary to take any actions that the Company or any third party would
otherwise be permitted to take pursuant to Section 4.2. During
such period, except to the extent any such agreement is terminated, amended,
modified or any provision thereof waived in accordance with the preceding
sentence, Parent and the Company shall enforce, to the fullest extent permitted
under applicable Law, the provisions of any such agreement, including by
obtaining injunctions to prevent any breaches of such agreements and by
enforcing specifically the terms and provisions thereof in any court of
competent jurisdiction.
Section 5.11 Section 16(b). Parent
and the Company shall take all steps reasonably necessary to cause the
transactions contemplated hereby and any other dispositions of equity securities
of the Company (including derivative securities) or acquisitions of Parent
equity securities (including derivative securities) in connection with this
Agreement by each individual who is a director or officer of the Company to be
exempt under Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act.
Section 5.12 Employee
Benefit Matters.
(a) Company
Obligations. The Company shall adopt such amendments to the
Company Benefit Plans as requested by Parent and as may be necessary to ensure
that Company Benefit Plans cover only employees and former employees (and their
dependents and beneficiaries) of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries
following the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement. With respect to any Company Common Stock held by any
Company Benefit Plan as of the date of this Agreement or thereafter, the Company
shall take all actions necessary or appropriate (including such actions as are
reasonably requested by Parent) to ensure that all participant voting procedures
contained in the Company Benefit Plans relating to such shares, and all
applicable provisions of ERISA, are complied with in full.
(b) Compensation and Benefits;
Severance. For the period commencing at the Effective Time and
ending on December 31, 2010, the Parent shall cause to be maintained on behalf
of the employees of the Surviving Company and any Company Subsidiary at the
Effective Time, considered by business unit, other than individuals covered by a
collective bargaining agreement (the “Company
Employees”), compensation opportunities and employee benefits that are
substantially comparable, in the aggregate, to the compensation opportunities
and employee benefits provided by the Company or the Company Subsidiaries, as
applicable to such Company Employees immediately prior to the Effective
Time. Any Company Employee whose employment is terminated
involuntarily other than for cause on or after the Effective Time
but
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prior to
December 31, 2010 shall be entitled to severance benefits at least as valuable
as the severance benefits provided under the applicable Company Benefit Plan
immediately prior to the Effective Time. Parent hereby acknowledges
that a “Change in Control” within the meaning of the Company’s Change in Control
Severance Plan will occur at the Effective Time, and Parent shall assume and
honor all of the terms and conditions of the Change in Control Severance
Plan.
(c) Service
Credit. If Company Employees are included in any benefit
plan maintained by Parent or any Parent Subsidiary (a “Parent
Plan” ) following the Effective Time, such Company Employees shall
receive credit for service with the Company and the Company Subsidiaries and
their predecessors prior to the Effective Time to the same extent such service
was counted under similar Company Benefit Plans for purposes of eligibility,
vesting, and level of benefits under such Parent Plan, or if there is no such
similar Company Benefit Plan, to the same extent such service was recognized
under the applicable Company’s retirement or savings plan immediately prior to
the Effective Time, provided that (i) such recognition of service shall not
operate to duplicate any benefits payable to the Company Employee with respect
to the same period of service, (ii) service of the employees of the Surviving
Company and any Company Subsidiary at the Effective Time subject to collective
bargaining agreements or obligations (the “CBA Company
Employees”) shall be determined under such collective bargaining
agreements or obligations, (iii) in no event will such recognition of service
for purposes of benefit levels apply for any purpose under a defined benefit
pension plan of Parent or any Parent Subsidiary except to the extent that the
Company Employee participates in a defined benefit plan of the Company or any
Company Subsidiary as of the Closing Date and only with respect to such defined
benefit plan, (iv) in no event will such recognition of service be taken into
account for purposes of determining a Company Employee’s eligibility to
participate in a retiree medical benefit plan maintained by Parent or any Parent
Subsidiary, and (v) this Section 5.12(c) shall
not require that any Company Employee or CBA Company Employee who terminates
employment with the Company or any Company Subsidiary or any affiliate thereof
post-Closing following the Effective Time and after a period of nonemployment
with the Company and its affiliates subsequently becomes
employed by the Company, any Company Subsidiary, Parent or any affiliate thereof
receive credit for service with the Company and the Company Subsidiaries and
their predecessors prior to the Effective Time.
(d) Welfare
Benefits. If Company Employees or their dependents are
included in any medical, dental or health plan of Parent or any of its
affiliates (a “Successor
Plan” ) other than the plan or plans in which they participated
immediately prior to the Effective Time (a “Prior
Plan” ), any such Successor Plan shall not include any restrictions or
limitations with respect to pre-existing condition exclusions or any
actively-at-work requirements (except to the extent such exclusions were
applicable under any similar Prior Plan at the Effective Time) and if the
Successor Plan has the same plan year as the Prior Plan any eligible expenses
incurred by any Company Employee and his or her covered dependents during the
portion of the plan year of such Prior Plan ending on the date such Company
Employee’s participation in such Successor Plan begins shall be taken into
account under such Successor Plan for purposes of satisfying all deductible,
coinsurance and maximum out-of-pocket requirements applicable to such Company
Employee and his or her covered dependents for the applicable plan year as if
such amounts had been paid in accordance with such Successor Plan; provided
however, that the rights under a Successor Plan of any CBA Company Employee
subject to collective bargaining agreements or obligations shall be determined
pursuant to such collective bargaining agreements or obligations.
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(e) Retention Pool; Annual
Bonuses. The Company may provide up to $700,000 as a retention
pool (the “Retention
Pool”) for the purpose of retaining the services of key Company
Employees. The Retention Pool shall be distributed to the key Company
Employees listed on Schedule 5.12(e) on
the basis and substantially in the ranges set forth on such
schedule. In addition, the Company may pay to each Company Employee
eligible to participate in an annual incentive program an annual bonus in
respect of the Company’s fiscal year ended September 30, 2009 on or before
December 15, 2009 in an amount not to exceed $1,100,000 in the
aggregate. Parent agrees that it shall maintain an annual incentive
program for Company Employees for the Company’s fiscal year 2010 as described in
Section
4.1(a)(vii) of the Company Disclosure Letter (the “2010 Incentive
Plan”). All of the bonus payments under the 2010 Incentive
Plan shall be made following the completion of the Company’s 2010 fiscal year in
a manner consistent with past practice. Any Company Employee whose
employment with the Company and all of its affiliates is terminated by the
Company or any of its affiliates (other than for cause, as defined in the ICO
Severance Policy) prior to the completion of the Company’s 2010 fiscal year
shall be entitled to receive, based on the number of days worked by the Company
Employee in fiscal year 2010 prior to such termination, the pro rata portion of
the bonus payment, if any, that such Company Employee would have received had
such Company Employee remained employed by the Company through the completion of
fiscal year 2010.
(f) No Third-Party
Beneficiaries. Nothing in this Section 5.12
shall (i) confer any rights upon any person, including any Company Employee or
former employees of the Company, other than the parties hereto and their
respective successors and permitted assigns, (ii) constitute or create an
employment agreement, or (iii) constitute or be treated as the amendment,
modification or adoption of any employee benefit plan of Parent, the Company of
any of their Affiliates.
Section 5.13 Parent Board of
Directors. As of the Effective Time, the board of directors of
Parent shall take all actions, including expanding the size of the board of
directors, as may be required to appoint Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx and Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx to
vacancies or newly-created seats on such board of directors, to serve until such
persons’ respective successor shall have been duly elected and qualified or
until the earlier of such persons’ death, resignation or removal in accordance
with the amended certificate of incorporation and bylaws of Parent and
applicable Law (it being understood that if such appointment takes place prior
to the 2010 Annual Meeting of stockholders of Parent, then such person shall
also be nominated by the Board for reelection at such Annual
Meeting). The directors designated pursuant to this Section 5.13
shall meet the independence standards of the listing standards of the
Nasdaq. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if, prior to the Effective
Time, any such designee shall decline or be unable to serve, Parent and the
Company shall agree on mutually acceptable replacement designees.
Section 5.14 Parent
Actions. Parent agrees to take all action necessary to cause
Merger Sub to perform all of Merger Sub’s, and the Surviving Company to perform
all of the Surviving Company’s agreements, covenants and obligations under this
Agreement and to consummate the Merger on the terms and subject to the
conditions set forth in this Agreement. Parent shall be liable for
any breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement of Merger Sub
in this Agreement and for any breach of this covenant.
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ARTICLE
VI
CONDITIONS
PRECEDENT
Section 6.1 Conditions to Each Party’s
Obligation to Effect the Merger. The respective obligation of
each party to effect the Merger is subject to the satisfaction or waiver on or
prior to the Closing Date of the following conditions:
(a) Stockholders
Approval. The Company Stockholder Approval shall have been
obtained.
(b) Governmental and Regulatory
Approvals. All consents, approvals and actions of, filings
with and notices to any Governmental Entity required to consummate the Merger
and the other transactions contemplated hereby, the failure of which to be made
or obtained is reasonably expected to have or result in, individually or in the
aggregate, a material adverse effect on Parent or the Company, shall have been
made or obtained.
(c) No Injunctions or
Restraints. No judgment, order, decree or Law entered,
enacted, promulgated, enforced or issued by any court or other Governmental
Entity of competent jurisdiction or other legal restraint or prohibition shall
be in effect preventing the consummation of the Merger.
(d) Form
S-4. The Form S-4 shall have become effective under the
Securities Act and will not be the subject of any stop order or proceedings
seeking a stop order.
(e) Antitrust. The
waiting period (including any extension thereof) applicable to the consummation
of the Merger under the HSR Act shall have expired or been
terminated.
(f) Nasdaq
Listing. The shares of Parent Common Stock issuable to the
Company’s stockholders as contemplated by this Agreement shall have been
approved for listing on the Nasdaq, subject to official notice of
issuance.
Section 6.2 Conditions to Obligations of
Parent and Merger Sub. The obligation of Parent and Merger Sub
to effect the Merger is further subject to satisfaction or waiver of the
following conditions:
(a) Representations and
Warranties. (i) The representations and warranties of the
Company contained in Section 3.1(g)(ii)
shall be true and correct in all respects when made and as of the Closing Date,
(ii) the representations and warranties of the Company contained in Section 3.1(c)
shall be true and correct in all respects (except for any de minimis
inaccuracies therein) both when made and as of the Closing Date as though made
on and as of the Closing Date (except to the extent expressly made as of an
earlier date, in which case as of such date) and (iii) all other representations
and warranties of the Company set forth herein shall be true and correct in all
respects (without giving effect to any materiality or material adverse effect
qualifications contained therein) both when made and as of the Closing Date as
though made on and as of the Closing Date (except to the extent expressly made
as of an earlier date, in which case as of such date), except where the failure
of such other representations and warranties to be
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so true
and correct would not reasonably be expected to have or result in, individually
or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company.
(b) Performance of Obligations
of the Company. The Company shall have performed in all
material respects all of its obligations required to be performed by it under
this Agreement at or prior to the Closing Date.
(c) Officer’s
Certificate. The Company shall have furnished Parent with a
certificate dated the Closing Date signed on its behalf by an executive officer
to the effect that the conditions set forth in Sections 6.2(a) and
6.2(b) have
been satisfied.
(d) Tax
Opinion. Parent shall have received from Xxxxx Day, counsel to
Parent, an opinion dated as of the Closing Date, to the effect that the Merger
will constitute a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of
the Code and Treasury Regulations, and Parent and the Company will each be a
party to such reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(b) of the
Code. In rendering such opinion, counsel for Parent may require
delivery of, and rely upon, the Tax Certificates.
Section 6.3 Conditions to Obligations of
the Company. The obligation of the Company to effect the
Merger is further subject to satisfaction or waiver of the following
conditions:
(a) Representations and
Warranties. (i) The representations and warranties of Parent
and Merger Sub contained in Section 3.2(g)(ii)
shall be true and correct in all respects when made and as of the Closing Date,
(ii) the representations and warranties of Parent and Merger Sub contained in
Section 3.2(c)
shall be true and correct in all respects (except for any de minimis
inaccuracies therein) both when made and as of the Closing Date as though made
on and as of the Closing Date (except to the extent expressly made as of an
earlier date, in which case as of such date) and (iii) all other representations
and warranties of Parent and Merger Sub set forth herein shall be true and
correct in all respects (without giving effect to any materiality or material
adverse effect qualifications contained therein) both when made and as of the
Closing Date as though made on and as of the Closing Date (except to the extent
expressly made as of an earlier date, in which case as of such date), except
where the failure of such other representations and warranties to be so true and
correct would not reasonably be expected to have or result in, individually or
in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on Parent and Merger
Sub.
(b) Performance of Obligations
of Parent and Merger Sub. Each of Parent and Merger Sub shall
have performed in all material respects all obligations required to be performed
by it under this Agreement at or prior to the Closing Date.
(c) Officer’s
Certificate. Each of Parent and Merger Sub shall have
furnished the Company with a certificate dated the Closing Date signed on its
behalf by an executive officer to the effect that the conditions set forth in
Sections 6.3(a)
and 6.3(b) have
been satisfied.
(d) Tax
Opinion. The Company shall have received from Xxxxx Xxxxx
L.L.P., counsel to the Company, an opinion dated as of the Closing Date, to the
effect that the Merger will constitute a “reorganization” within the meaning of
Section 368(a) of the Code and Treasury Regulations, and Parent and the Company
will each be a party to such reorganization within the
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meaning
of Section 368(b) of the Code. In rendering such opinion,
counsel for the Company may require delivery of, and rely upon, the Tax
Certificates.
Section 6.4 Frustration of Closing
Conditions. Neither Parent, Merger Sub nor the Company may
rely on the failure of any condition set forth in Section 6.1, 6.2 or 6.3, as the case may
be, to be satisfied as a grounds for termination under Article VII if such
failure was caused by such party’s failure to comply with the terms of this
Agreement, including Section 5.3.
ARTICLE
VII
TERMINATION
Section 7.1
Termination.
(a) Termination by Mutual
Consent. This Agreement may be terminated at any time prior to
the Effective Time, whether before or after the Company Stockholder Approval, by
mutual written consent of Parent, Merger Sub and the Company (with any
termination by Parent also being an effective termination by Merger
Sub).
(b) Termination by Parent or the
Company. This Agreement may be terminated at any time prior to
the Effective Time, whether before or after the Company Stockholder Approval, by
either Parent or the Company (with any termination by Parent also being an
effective termination by Merger Sub):
(i) if
the Merger has not been consummated by July 1, 2010, or such later date, if any,
as Parent and the Company agree upon in writing (as such date may be extended,
the “Outside Date”);
provided, however, that the
right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 7.1(b)(i)
is not available to any party whose breach of any provision of this Agreement
has been the cause of, or resulted in, the failure of the Merger to be
consummated by such time ; provided further,
however, that
if on the Outside Date the conditions to the Closing set forth in Sections 6.1(b) or
6.1(e) shall
not be fulfilled but all other conditions to the Closing shall be fulfilled or
shall be capable of being fulfilled, then the Outside Date shall be extended to
September 1, 2010 and such date shall become the Outside Date for the purposes
of this Agreement; or
(ii) if
the Company Stockholders Meeting (including any adjournment or postponement
thereof) has concluded, the Company’s stockholders have voted, and the Company
Stockholder Approval was not obtained.
(c) Termination by
Parent. This Agreement may be terminated at any time prior to
the Effective Time, whether before or after the Company Stockholder Approval, by
written notice of Parent:
(i) (A)
if the Company has breached or failed to perform any of its covenants or other
agreements contained in this Agreement (other than as set forth in Section 7.1(c)(ii))
to be complied with by the Company such that the closing condition set forth in
Section 6.2(b)
would not be satisfied or (B) there exists a breach of any representation or
warranty of the Company contained in this Agreement such that the
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closing
condition set forth in Section 6.2(a) would
not be satisfied and, in the case of both (A) and (B), such breach or failure to
perform (1) is not cured within 30 days after receipt of written notice thereof
or (2) is incapable of being cured by the Company by the Outside Date;
or
(ii) if
(A) the Board of Directors of the Company or any committee thereof has made a
Company Adverse Recommendation Change or (B) the Company has breached Section 4.2 in
any material respect or breached the provisions of Section 5.1(b)
(other than immaterial breaches of the first sentence thereof), (C) within ten
Business Days of the public announcement of a Company Takeover Proposal, the
Board of Directors of the Company fails to reaffirm (publicly, if so requested
by Parent) its recommendation in favor of the adoption of this Agreement and the
approval of the Merger, or (D) within ten Business Days after a tender or
exchange offer relating to securities of the Company has first been published or
announced, the Company shall not have sent or given to the Company stockholders
pursuant to Rule 14e-2 promulgated under the Securities Act a statement
disclosing that the Board of Directors of the Company recommends rejection of
such tender or exchange offer; provided, however, that the ten
Business Day time period set forth in the foregoing clauses (C) and (D) may be
extended by not more than five Business Days in the aggregate upon written
notice by the Company to Parent that such Company Takeover Proposal, such tender
or exchange offer relating to the securities of the Company or the consideration
to be paid by Parent pursuant to this Agreement, as the case may be, has been
materially revised prior to the expiration of such 10 Business Day time
period.
(d) Termination by the
Company. This Agreement may be terminated at any time prior to
the Effective Time, whether before or after the Company Stockholder Approval, by
written notice of the Company:
(i) (A)
if either Parent or Merger Sub has breached or failed to perform any of its
covenants or other agreements contained in this Agreement to be complied with by
Parent or Merger Sub such that the closing condition set forth in Section 6.3(b) would
not be satisfied, or (B) there exists a breach of any representation or warranty
of Parent or Merger Sub contained in this Agreement such that the closing
condition set forth in Section 6.3(a) would
not be satisfied and, in the case of both (A) and (B), such breach or failure to
perform (1) is not cured within 30 days after receipt of written notice thereof
or (2) is incapable of being cured by Parent by the Outside Date;
or
(ii) if
the Board of Directors of the Company shall have approved, and the Company shall
concurrently with such termination enter into an Acquisition Agreement providing
for the implementation of the transactions contemplated by, a Superior Proposal;
provided, however, that the
Company has not breached Section 4.2 in any
material respect or breached the provisions of Section 5.1(b) (other
than immaterial breaches of the first sentence thereof); provided further,
however, that
such termination shall not be effective until such time as payment of the
Termination Fee required by Section 7.3(b) shall
have been made by the Company.
Section 7.2 Effect of
Termination. In the event of termination of this Agreement by
either the Company or Parent as provided in Section 7.1,
this Agreement will
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forthwith
become void and have no effect, without any liability or obligation on the part
of Parent, Merger Sub or the Company, other than the provisions of
Confidentiality Agreement, this Section 7.2,
Section 7.3, and
Article VIII,
which provisions shall survive such termination; provided, however, that nothing
herein will relieve any party from any liability for any willful and material
breach by such party of this Agreement, and in the case of a willful and
material breach of this Agreement by Parent or Merger Sub, the damages sought by
the Company may be based on the consideration payable to the stockholders of the
Company pursuant to this Agreement and may include the benefit of the bargain
lost by the stockholders of the Company, including lost stockholder
premium.
Section 7.3 Fees and Expenses.
(a) Division of Fees and
Expenses. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
Agreement, all fees and expenses incurred in connection with the Merger, this
Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby will be paid by the party
incurring such fees or expenses, whether or not the Merger is
consummated. For the avoidance of doubt, (i) the Company will bear
and pay all of the costs and expenses incurred in connection with the printing
and mailing of the Form S-4 and the Proxy Statement and (ii) Parent will bear
and pay all of the SEC filing fees in respect of the Form S-4 and the Proxy
Statement and all of the fees of the proxy solicitor (which shall be retained by
the Company in consultation with Parent) in connection with the solicitation of
proxies from the Company’s stockholders.
(b) Event of
Termination.
In the
event that this Agreement (i) is terminated pursuant to Section 7.1(c)(ii),
(ii) is terminated pursuant to Section 7.1(d)(ii),
or (iii) is terminated pursuant to Section 7.1(b)(i),
Section 7.1(b)(ii)
or Section
7.1(c)(i) and (A) prior to such termination, a Company Takeover Proposal
shall have been made directly to its stockholders or any person shall have
publicly announced its intention (whether or not conditional) to make a Company
Takeover Proposal and (B) within 12 months of such termination the Company or
any of the Company Subsidiaries enters into a definitive agreement with respect
to, or consummates, any Company Takeover Proposal, then the Company shall (1) in
the case of termination pursuant to clause (i) of this Section 7.3(b),
promptly, but in no event later than two Business Days after the date of such
termination, (2) in the case of termination pursuant to clause (ii) of this
Section 7.3(b),
on the date of termination of this Agreement, or (3) in the case of termination
pursuant to clause (iii) of this Section 7.3(b), upon
the earlier to occur of the execution of such definitive agreement and such
consummation, pay Parent a non-refundable fee equal to $6,800,000 (the “Company
Termination Fee”),
payable by wire transfer of same day funds to an account designated in writing
to the Company by Parent.
(c) Other
Expenses. In the event of a termination of this Agreement
pursuant to Section
7.1(b)(ii) or Section 7.1(c)(i) (in
either case other than in any circumstance in which a Company Termination Fee is
paid pursuant to Section 7.3(b)), the
Company shall pay, or cause to be paid, to Parent the Out-of-Pocket Expenses of
Parent by wire transfer of same day funds to an account designated in writing to
the Company by Parent promptly, but in no event later than two Business Days
after the date of such termination. In the event of a termination of
this Agreement pursuant to Section 7.1(d)(i),
Parent shall pay, or cause to be paid, to the Company the Out-of-Pocket Expenses
of the Company by wire transfer of same day funds to an account
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designated
in writing to Parent by the Company promptly, but in no event later than two
Business Days after the date of such termination. “Out-of-Pocket
Expenses” means, with respect to any party hereto, all of out-of-pocket
expenses and fees (including all fees and expenses payable to all legal,
accounting, financial, public relations and other professional advisors arising
out of in connection with or related to the Merger or the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement) of such party up to a maximum of $1,000,000 in
the aggregate. In the event the payment of a Company Termination Fee
is required and the Company is reimbursing or has already reimbursed Parent for
its Out-of-Pocket Expenses pursuant to this Section 7.3(c), the
amount of such Out-of-Pocket Expenses so reimbursed will be offset against the
Company Termination Fee payable.
(d) Failure to Pay Fees and
Expenses. Each party acknowledges that the agreements
contained in this Section 7.3 are
an integral part of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and that,
without these agreements, neither party would enter into this
Agreement. Accordingly, if either party fails to pay promptly the
amounts due pursuant to this Section 7.3,
and, in order to obtain such payment, the other party commences a suit that
results in a judgment against such party for the Company Termination Fee or the
Out-of-Pocket Expenses, as applicable, such party shall pay to the other party
its costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses) in
connection with such suit, together with interest on the amount of the Company
Termination Fee or Out-of-Pocket Expenses, as applicable.
ARTICLE
VIII
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
|
Section 8.1 Nonsurvival of
Representations and Warranties; Scope of Representations and
Warranties.
|
(a) None
of the representations, warranties, covenants and agreements in this Agreement
or in any instrument delivered pursuant to this Agreement will survive the
Effective Time, except (a) each of the covenants and agreements contained in
this Agreement that by its terms contemplate performance after the Effective
Time, including Articles II and VIII and in Sections 5.4 and
5.5, will
survive the Merger and (b) each of the covenants and agreements contained in
Article VIII,
Sections 5.6,
7.2 and 7.3 and the second
and last sentences of Sections 5.2(a) and
5.2(b) shall
survive the termination of this Agreement.
(b) Except
as and to the extent expressly set forth in this Agreement, the Company makes
no, and disclaims any, representations or warranties whatsoever, whether express
or implied, and Parent and Merger Sub confirm they are not relying upon any such
representation or warranty not expressly set forth in this Agreement. The
Company disclaims all liability or responsibility for any other statement or
information made or communicated (orally or in writing) to Merger Sub, Parent,
their affiliates or any stockholder, officer, director, employee,
representative, consultant, attorney, agent, lender or other advisor of Merger
Sub, Parent or their affiliates (including any opinion, information or advice
which may have been provided to any such person by any representative of the
Company or any other person or contained in the files or records of the
Company), wherever and however made, including any documents, projections,
forecasts or other material made available to Parent and the Parent
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Subsidiaries
in certain “data rooms” or management presentations in expectation of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(c) Except
as and to the extent expressly set forth in this Agreement, neither Parent nor
Merger Sub makes, and each disclaims any, representations or warranties
whatsoever, whether express or implied, and the Company confirms it is not
relying upon any such representation or warranty not expressly set forth in this
Agreement. Each of Parent and Merger Sub disclaims all liability or
responsibility for any other statement or information made or communicated
(orally or in writing) to the Company, its affiliates or any stockholder,
officer, director, employee, representative, consultant, attorney, agent, lender
or other advisor of the Company or its affiliates (including any opinion,
information or advice which may have been provided to any such person by any
representative of Parent or Merger Sub or any other person or contained in the
files or records of Parent or Merger Sub), wherever and however made, including
any documents, projections, forecasts or other material made available to the
Company and the Company Subsidiaries in certain “data rooms” or management
presentations in expectation of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
Section 8.2 Notices. Except
for notices that are specifically required by the terms of this Agreement to be
delivered orally, all notices, requests, claims, demands and other
communications under this Agreement must be in writing and will be deemed given
if delivered personally, facsimiled (which is confirmed) or sent by a nationally
recognized overnight courier service (providing proof of delivery) to the
parties at the following addresses (or at such other address for a party as is
specified by like notice):
if to
Parent or Merger Sub, to:
X.
Xxxxxxxx, Inc.
0000 X.
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxx,
Xxxx 00000
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
Attention:
General Counsel
with a
copy to:
Xxxxx
Day
Xxxxx
Xxxxx
000
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxx,
Xxxx 00000
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxxx
X. Xxxxxx
Xxxxx X.
Xxxxxxxxx; and
- 68 -
if to the
Company, to:
ICO,
Inc.
0000
Xxxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx 000
Xxxxxxx,
Xxxxx 00000
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
Attention: General
Counsel
with a
copy to:
Xxxxx
Xxxxx L.L.P.
One Shell
Plaza
000
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx,
Xxxxx 00000-0000
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxxx
X. Xxxxxx
Xxxx X.
Xxxxxxxx
Section 8.3 Interpretation. When
a reference is made in this Agreement to an Article, Section or Exhibit,
such reference is to an Article or Section of, or an Exhibit to, this
Agreement unless otherwise indicated. The table of contents, table of
defined terms and headings contained in this Agreement are for reference
purposes only and do 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 will be deemed to be followed by the words
“without limitation.” The words “hereof,” “herein” and “hereunder”
and words of similar import when used in this Agreement will refer to this
Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this
Agreement. All terms defined in this Agreement will have the defined
meanings when used in any certificate or other document made or delivered
pursuant hereto unless otherwise defined therein. The definitions
contained in this Agreement are applicable to the singular as well as the plural
forms of such terms and to the masculine as well as to the feminine and neuter
genders of such term. Any statute defined or referred to herein means
such statute as from time to time amended, modified or supplemented, including
by succession of comparable successor statutes. References to “this
Agreement” include any schedules, exhibits or other attachments
hereto. The parties hereto have participated jointly in the
negotiating and drafting of this Agreement and, in the event an ambiguity or
question of intent arises, this Agreement shall be construed as jointly drafted
by the parties hereto and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring
or disfavoring any party by virtue of the authorship of any provision of this
Agreement. For purposes of this Agreement:
(a) “affiliate” of any
person means another person that directly or indirectly, through one or more
intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with,
such first person, where “control” means the possession, directly or indirectly,
of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management policies of a
person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or
otherwise;
(b) “Antitrust
Law” means
the Xxxxxxx Act, as amended, the Xxxxxxx Act, as amended, the HSR Act, the
Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended, and all other Laws that
- 69 -
are
designed or intended to prohibit, restrict or regulate actions having the
purpose or effect of monopolization or restraint of trade or lessening of
competition through merger or acquisition;
(c) “Business
Day” means
any day other than Saturday, Sunday or any day on which banking and savings and
loan institutions are authorized or required by Law to be closed;
(d) “Environment” means
soil, surface waters, ground water, land, stream sediment, surface and
subsurface strata, ambient air, indoor air or indoor air quality, including any
material or substance used in the physical structure of any building or
improvement;
(e) “Environmental
Condition” means
any contamination, damage, injury or other condition related to Hazardous
Substances or workplace safety and includes any present or former Hazardous
Substance treatment, storage, disposal or recycling units, underground storage
tanks, wastewater treatment or management systems, wetlands, sumps, lagoons,
impoundments, landfills, ponds, incinerators, xxxxx, asbestos-containing
materials, or PCB-containing articles;
(f) “Environmental,
Health and Safety Claim” means
any written or other claim, demand, suit, action, proceeding, order,
investigation or notice to any of the Company Entities or the Parent Entities,
as applicable, by any person alleging any potential liability (including
potential liability for investigatory costs, risk assessment costs, cleanup
costs, removal costs, remedial costs, operation and maintenance costs,
governmental response costs, natural resource damages, or penalties) arising out
of, based on, or resulting from (1) alleged noncompliance with any
Environmental, Health and Safety Law or Environmental Permit, (2) alleged injury
or damage arising from exposure to Hazardous Substances, or (3) the presence,
Release or threatened Release into the Environment, of any Hazardous Substance
at or from any location, whether or not owned, leased, operated or otherwise
used by the Company or any Company Subsidiary, or Parent or any Parent
Subsidiary, as applicable;
(g) “Environmental,
Health and Safety Laws” means
all Laws relating to (1) pollution or protection of the Environment, (2)
emissions, discharges, Releases or threatened Releases of Hazardous Substances,
(3) threats to human health or ecological resources arising from exposure to
Hazardous Substances, (4) the manufacture, generation, processing, distribution,
use, sale, treatment, receipt, storage, disposal, transport or handling of
Hazardous Substances, or (5) employee health and safety, and includes the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the
Resource Conversation and Recovery Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act,
the Water Pollution Control Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the
Occupational Safety and Health Act and any similar foreign, state or local
Laws;
(h) “Environmental
Permit” means
all Permits and the timely submission of applications for Permits, as required
under applicable Environmental, Health and Safety Laws;
(i) “Hazardous
Substance” means
(1) chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, hazardous wastes, toxic
substances, toxic mold, radiation and radioactive materials, (2) any substance
that is or contains asbestos, urea formaldehyde foam insulation, polychlorinated
biphenyls (“PCBs”),
petroleum or petroleum-derived substances or wastes, leaded paints, radon gas or
related materials, (3) any substance that requires removal or remediation
under any
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applicable
Environmental, Health and Safety Law, or is defined, listed or identified as a
“hazardous waste” or “hazardous substance” thereunder, or (4) any substance
that is regulated under any applicable Environmental, Health and Safety
Law;
(j) “knowledge” of any
person that is not an individual means the knowledge after due inquiry of such
person’s executive officers and employees with direct responsibility for the
subject matter to which such knowledge relates;
(k) “Law” means
any foreign, federal, state or local law, statute, code, ordinance, regulation,
rule, principle of common law or other legally enforceable obligation imposed by
a court or other Governmental Entity;
(l) “Liens” means
all pledges, claims, liens, options, charges, easements, restrictions,
covenants, conditions of record, encroachments, encumbrances and security
interests of any kind or nature whatsoever;
(m) “material adverse
change” or “material adverse
effect” means,
when used in connection with Parent or the Company, any event, circumstance,
change, occurrence or state of facts that (i) has a material adverse effect on
the business, financial condition or results of operations of such party and its
subsidiaries, taken as a whole (other than events, circumstances, changes,
occurrences or any state of facts relating to (A) changes in industries relating
to such party and its subsidiaries in general and not specifically relating to
such party and its subsidiaries, other than the effects of any such changes
which adversely affect such party and its subsidiaries to a materially greater
extent than their competitors in the applicable industries in which such party
and its subsidiaries compete, (B) general legal, regulatory, political,
business, economic, financial or securities market conditions in the United
States or elsewhere, other than the effects of any such changes which adversely
affect such party and its subsidiaries to a materially greater extent than its
competitors in the applicable industries in which such party and its
subsidiaries compete, (C) the execution or the announcement of this Agreement,
or the undertaking and performance of the obligations contemplated by this
Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement, including the impact thereof on relationships with customers,
suppliers, distributors, partners or employees, or any litigation arising
relating principally to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement, (D) acts of war, insurrection, sabotage or terrorism (or the
escalation of the foregoing), (E) changes in GAAP, applicable Law, including the
accounting rules or regulations of the SEC, or (F) the fact, in and of itself
(and not the underlying causes thereof), that such party or any of its
Subsidiaries failed to meet any projections, forecasts, or revenue or earnings
predictions, or (ii) prevents or materially delays the ability of such party to
consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(n) “Permitted
Liens” means
(i) statutory liens securing payments not yet due, (ii) such imperfections or
irregularities of title, claims, liens, charges, security interests, easements,
covenants and other restrictions or encumbrances as would not reasonably be
expected to materially impair property or assets to which they relate, (iii)
mortgages, or deeds of trust, security interests or other encumbrances on title
related to indebtedness reflected on the consolidated financial statements (x)
of the Company set forth in Section 8.3(n) of the
Company Disclosure Letter or (y) of Parent set forth in Section 8.3(n) of the
Parent Disclosure Letter, (iv) Liens for Taxes not yet due and payable or that
are being contested in good faith and by
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appropriate
proceedings, (v) mechanics’, materialmen’s or other Liens or security interests
arising by operation of law that secure a liquidated amount that are being
contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings and for which adequate
reserves have been maintained in accordance with GAAP, (vi) any other Liens that
would not reasonably be expected to materially impair the use or operation of
the property or assets the subject thereof, (vii) pledges or deposits to secure
obligations under workers’ compensation Laws or similar legislation or to secure
public or statutory obligations, and (viii) pledges and deposits to secure the
performance of bids, trade contracts, leases, surety and appeal bonds,
performance bonds and other obligations of a similar nature, in each case in the
ordinary course of business;
(o) “person” means an
individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture,
association, trust, unincorporated organization or other entity (including its
permitted successors and assigns);
(p) “Release” means
any releasing, disposing, discharging, injecting, spilling, leaking, pumping,
dumping, emitting, escaping, emptying, migration, placing and the like, or
otherwise entering into the Environment (including the abandonment or discarding
of barrels, containers, and other closed receptacles containing any Hazardous
Substances and any condition that results in exposure of a person to a Hazardous
Substance);
(q) “subsidiary” of any
person means another person, an amount of the voting securities, other voting
ownership or voting partnership interests of which is sufficient to elect at
least a majority of its Board of Directors or other governing body (or, if there
are no such voting interests, 50% or more of the equity interest of which) is
owned directly or indirectly by such first person;
(r) “Taxes” includes
all federal, state or local or foreign net and gross income, alternative or
add-on minimum, environmental, gross receipts, ad valorem, value added,
goods and services, capital stock, profits, license, single business,
employment, severance, stamp, unemployment, customs, property, sales, excise,
use, occupation, service, transfer, payroll, franchise, withholding and other
taxes or similar governmental duties, charges, fees, levies or other
assessments, including any interest, penalties or additions with respect
thereto; and
(s) “Tax
Return” shall
mean any return, report, statement or information required to be filed with any
Governmental Entity with respect to Taxes, including any supplement thereto or
amendment thereof.
Section 8.4 Counterparts. This
Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which will be
considered one and the same agreement and will become effective when one or more
counterparts have been signed by each of the parties and delivered to the other
parties.
Section 8.5 Entire Agreement; No
Third-Party Beneficiaries. This Agreement, including the
Company Disclosure Letter, the Parent Disclosure Letter and the Confidentiality
Agreement, (a) constitutes the entire agreement, and supersedes all prior
agreements and understandings, both written and oral, among the parties with
respect to the subject matter of this Agreement and (b) except for the
provisions of Section 5.5, is
not intended to confer upon any
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person
other than the parties hereto any rights or remedies, other than (i) the right
of the stockholders of the Company to receive the Merger Consideration after the
Closing (a claim with respect to which may not be made unless and until the
Effective Time shall have occurred) and (ii) the right of such party on behalf
of its security holders to pursue damages in the event of the other party’s
willful and material breach of this Agreement. For the avoidance of
doubt, the rights granted pursuant to the foregoing clause (ii) shall be
enforceable only by the Company in its sole and absolute discretion, on behalf
of the stockholders of the Company.
Section 8.6 Governing
Law. This Agreement is to be governed by, and construed in
accordance with, the Laws of the State of Delaware (other than with respect to
matters governed by TBCA or TBOC, with respect to which such laws apply),
regardless of the Laws that might otherwise govern under applicable principles
of conflict of Laws thereof.
Section 8.7 Assignment. Neither
this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests or obligations under this
Agreement may be assigned, in whole or in part, by operation of Law or otherwise
by any of the parties hereto without the prior written consent of the other
parties. Any assignment in violation of this Section 8.7 will
be void and of no effect. Subject to the preceding two sentences,
this Agreement is binding upon, inures to the benefit of, and is enforceable by,
the parties and their respective successors and assigns.
Section 8.8 Consent to Jurisdiction.
(a) Each
of the parties hereto (i) consents to submit itself to the personal jurisdiction
of any federal court located in the State of Delaware or any Delaware state
court in the event any dispute arises out of this Agreement or any of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (ii) agrees that it will not
attempt to deny or defeat such personal jurisdiction by motion or other request
for leave from any such court, (iii) agrees that it will not bring any
action relating to this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement in any court other than a federal court sitting in the State of
Delaware or a Delaware state court, and (iv) to the fullest extent permitted by
Law, consents to service being made through the notice procedures set forth in
Section
8.2.
(b) EACH
PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT ANY CONTROVERSY WHICH MAY ARISE UNDER THIS
AGREEMENT IS LIKELY TO INVOLVE COMPLICATED AND DIFFICULT ISSUES, AND THEREFORE
IT HEREBY IRREVOCABLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A
TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY LITIGATION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT
OF, RELATING TO OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY OF THE AGREEMENTS
DELIVERED IN CONNECTION HEREWITH OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR
THEREBY. EACH PARTY CERTIFIES AND ACKNOWLEDGES THAT (I) NO
REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF ANY OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY
OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF LITIGATION, SEEK
TO ENFORCE EITHER OF SUCH WAIVERS, (II) IT UNDERSTANDS AND HAS CONSIDERED THE
IMPLICATIONS OF SUCH WAIVERS, (III) IT MAKES SUCH WAIVERS VOLUNTARILY, AND (IV)
IT HAS BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE
MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION
8.8(b).
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Section 8.9 Specific
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 or were otherwise
breached. The parties accordingly agree that the parties will be
entitled to an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches of this Agreement
and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions of this Agreement in any
federal court located in the State of Delaware or a Delaware state court, this
being in addition to any other remedy to which they are entitled at law or in
equity or under this Agreement.
Section 8.10 Amendment. This
Agreement may be amended by the parties at any time before or after the Company
Stockholder Approval; provided, however, that, after
such approval, there is not to be made any amendment that by Law requires
further approval by the stockholders of the Company without further approval of
such stockholders. This Agreement may not be amended except by an
instrument in writing signed on behalf of each of the parties.
Section 8.11 Extension;
Waiver. At any time prior to the Effective Time, the Company,
on one hand, and Parent and Merger Sub, on the other hand, may (a) extend the
time for the performance of any of the obligations or other acts of the other
party, (b) waive any inaccuracies in the representations and warranties of the
other party contained in this Agreement or in any document delivered pursuant to
this Agreement or (c) subject to the proviso of Section 8.10,
waive compliance by the other parties with any of the agreements or conditions
contained in this Agreement. Any agreement on the part of a party to
any such extension or waiver will be valid only if set forth in an instrument in
writing signed on behalf of such party. The failure of any party to
this Agreement to assert any of its rights under this Agreement or otherwise
will not constitute a waiver of such rights.
Section 8.12 Severability. If
any term or other provision of this Agreement is invalid, illegal or incapable
of being enforced by any rule of Law or public policy, all other conditions and
provisions of this Agreement will nevertheless remain in full force and
effect. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is
invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the parties hereto shall
negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original
intent of the parties as closely as possible to the fullest extent permitted by
applicable Law in an acceptable manner to the end that the transactions
contemplated hereby are fulfilled to the extent possible.
(Signatures
are on the following page.)
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IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be signed by
their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, all as of the date first
written above.
X.
XXXXXXXX, INC.
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||
By:
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/s/
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
|
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Name: Xxxxxx
X. Xxxxx
|
||
Title: Chairman,
CEO, and President
|
||
WILDCAT
SPIDER, LLC
|
||
By:
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/s/
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
|
|
Name: Xxxxxx
X. Xxxxx
|
||
Title: President
|
||
ICO,
INC.
|
||
By:
|
/s/
A. Xxxx Xxxxx, Jr.
|
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Name: A.
Xxxx Xxxxx, Jr.
|
||
Title: President
and CEO
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