First Mercury Financial Corporation (a Delaware Corporation) [•] Shares1 Common Stock ($0.01 par value) Underwriting Agreement
Exhibit 1.1
First Mercury Financial Corporation
(a Delaware Corporation)
(a Delaware Corporation)
[•] Shares1
Common Stock
($0.01 par value)
Common Stock
($0.01 par value)
, 2006
X.X. Xxxxxx Securities Inc.
Xxxxx, Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx
Xxxxx, Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx
As Representatives of the several Underwriters listed in Schedule 1 hereto | ||
c/o
|
X.X. Xxxxxx Securities Inc. | |
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx | ||
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000 | ||
and |
||
c/o
|
Keefe, Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx | |
000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, 0xx Xxxxx | ||
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000 |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
First Mercury Financial Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes to issue
and sell to the several Underwriters listed in Schedule 1 hereto (the “Underwriters”), for whom you
are acting as representatives (the “Representatives”), an aggregate of [•] shares of common stock,
par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the “Underwritten Shares”) and, at the option of the
Underwriters, up to an additional [•] shares of Common Stock of the Company (the “Option Shares”).
The Underwritten Shares and the Option Shares are herein referred to as the “Shares.” The shares
of Common Stock of the Company to be outstanding after giving effect to the sale of the Shares are
herein referred to as the “Stock.”
The Company hereby confirms its agreement with the several Underwriters concerning the
purchase and sale of the Shares, as follows:
1. Registration Statement. The Company has prepared and filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules
and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), a registration
statement (File No. 333-13457) including a prospectus, relating to the Shares.
1 | Plus an option to purchase from the Company, up to [•] additional Shares to cover over-allotments. |
Such registration statement, as amended at the time it becomes effective, including the
information, if any, deemed pursuant to Rule 430A, 430B or 430C under the Securities Act to be part
of the registration statement at the time of its effectiveness (“Rule 430 Information”), is
referred to herein as the “Registration Statement”; and as used herein, the term “Preliminary
Prospectus” means each prospectus included in such registration statement (and any amendments
thereto) before it becomes effective, any prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule
424(a) under the Securities Act and the prospectus included in the Registration Statement at the
time of its effectiveness that omits Rule 430 Information, and the term “Prospectus” means the
prospectus in the form first used (or made available upon request of purchasers pursuant to Rule
173 under the Securities Act) in connection with confirmation of sales of the Shares. Capitalized
terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus.
At or prior to the time when sales of the Shares were first made (the “Time of
Sale”), the Company had prepared the following information (collectively with the pricing
information set forth on Annex A, the “Time of Sale Information”): a Preliminary Prospectus dated
, 2006, and each “free-writing prospectus” (as defined pursuant to Rule 405 under the
Securities Act) listed on Annex B hereto.
2. Purchase of the Shares by the Underwriters.
(a) The Company agrees to issue and sell the Shares to the several Underwriters as
provided in this Agreement, and each Underwriter, on the basis of the representations,
warranties and agreements set forth herein and subject to the conditions set forth herein,
agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company the respective number of
Underwritten Shares set forth opposite such Underwriter’s name in Schedule 1 hereto at a
price per share (the “Purchase Price”) of $[•].
In addition, the Company agrees to issue and sell the Option Shares to the
several Underwriters as provided in this Agreement, and the Underwriters, on the basis of
the representations, warranties and agreements set forth herein and subject to the
conditions set forth herein, shall have the option to purchase, severally and not jointly,
from the Company the Option Shares at the Purchase Price.
If any Option Shares are to be purchased, the number of Option Shares to be purchased
by each Underwriter shall be the number of Option Shares which bears the same ratio to the
aggregate number of Option Shares being purchased as the number of Underwritten Shares set
forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule 1 hereto (or such number increased
as set forth in Section 10 hereof) bears to the aggregate number of Underwritten Shares
being purchased from the Company by the several Underwriters, subject, however, to such
adjustments to eliminate any fractional Shares as the Representatives in their sole
discretion shall make.
The Underwriters may exercise the option to purchase the Option Shares at any time in
whole, but not more than twice, on or before the thirtieth day following the date of this
Agreement, by written notice from the Representatives to the Company. Such notice
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shall set forth the aggregate number of Option Shares as to which the option is being
exercised and the date and time when the Option Shares are to be delivered and paid for
which may be the same date and time as the Closing Date (as hereinafter defined) but shall
not be earlier than the Closing Date nor later than the tenth full business day (as
hereinafter defined) after the date of such notice (unless such time and date are postponed
in accordance with the provisions of Section 10 hereof). Any such notice shall be given at
least two Business Days prior to the date and time of delivery specified therein.
The option with respect to the Option Shares may only be exercised to cover
over-allotments in the sale of the Underwritten Shares by the Underwriters.
(b) The Company understands that the Underwriters intend to make a public offering of
the Shares as soon after the effectiveness of this Agreement as in the judgment of the
Representatives is advisable, and initially to offer the Shares on the terms set forth in
the Prospectus. The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters may offer and
sell Shares to or through any affiliate of an Underwriter and that any such affiliate may
offer and sell Shares purchased by it to or through any Underwriter.
Approximately [•] Underwritten Shares (“Directed Shares”) will initially be
reserved by the several Underwriters for offer and sale to employees and persons, who have
heretofore delivered to Xxxxx, Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx, Inc. (“KBW”) offers or indications of
interest to purchase Directed Shares in form reasonably satisfactory to KBW, having business
relationships with the Company and its subsidiaries (“Directed Share Participants”) upon the
terms and conditions set forth in the most recent Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus
(the “Directed Share Program”) and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., and any allocation of such Directed Shares
among such persons will be made in accordance with timely directions received by KBW from
the Company. Under no circumstances will KBW or any Underwriter be liable to the Company or
to any Directed Share Participant for any action taken or omitted to be taken by KBW in good
faith in connection with such Directed Share Program, except for losses, claims, damages and
liabilities (or expenses related thereto) that are finally judicially determined to have
resulted from the bad faith or gross negligence of KBW or its affiliates, directors or
officers. To the extent that any Directed Shares are not affirmatively reconfirmed for
purchase by any Directed Share Participant on or immediately after the date of this
Agreement, such Directed Shares may be offered to the public as part of the public offering
contemplated hereby.
(c) Payment for the Shares shall be made by wire transfer in immediately available
funds to the account specified by the Company to the Representatives in the case of the
Underwritten Shares, at the offices of XxXxxxxxx Will & Xxxxx LLP at 9:00 A.M. Chicago time
on , 2006, or at such other time or place on the same or such other date, not later
than the fifth business day thereafter, as the Representatives and the Company may agree
upon in writing or, in the case of the Option Shares, on the date and at the time and place
specified by the Representatives in the written notice of the Underwriters’ election to
purchase such Option Shares. The time and date of such
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payment for the Underwritten Shares is referred to herein as the “Closing Date” and the
time and date for such payment for the Option Shares, if other than the Closing Date, is
herein referred to as the “Additional Closing Date.”
Payment for the Shares to be purchased on the Closing Date or the Additional
Closing Date, as the case may be, shall be made against delivery to the Representatives for
the respective accounts of the several Underwriters of the Shares to be purchased on such
date, in definitive form registered in such names and in such denominations as the
Representatives shall request in writing not later than two full business days prior to the
Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, with any transfer taxes
payable in connection with the sale of the Shares duly paid by the Company. The
certificates for the Shares will be made available for inspection and packaging by the
Representatives at the office of X.X. Xxxxxx Securities Inc. (“JPMorgan”) set forth above
not later than 1:00 P.M., New York City time, on the business day prior to the Closing Date
or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be.
(d) The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters are acting solely in the
capacity of an arm’s length contractual counterparty to the Company with respect to the
offering of Shares contemplated hereby (including in connection with determining the terms
of the offering) and not as a financial advisor or a fiduciary to, or an agent of, the
Company or any other person. Additionally, neither the Representatives nor any other
Underwriter is advising the Company or any other person as to any legal, tax, investment,
accounting or regulatory matters in any jurisdiction. The Company shall consult with its
own advisors concerning such matters and shall be responsible for making its own independent
investigation and appraisal of the transactions contemplated hereby, and the Underwriters
shall have no responsibility or liability to the Company with respect to advising the
Company as to tax, investment, accounting or regulation matters in any jurisdiction. Any
review by the Underwriters of the Company, the transactions contemplated hereby or other
matters relating to such transactions will be performed solely for the benefit of the
Underwriters and shall not be on behalf of the Company.
3. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants
to each Underwriter that:
(a) Preliminary Prospectus. No order preventing or suspending the use of any
Preliminary Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus,
at the time of filing thereof, complied in all material respects with the Securities Act and
did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the
light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided that
the Company makes no representation and warranty with respect to any statements or omissions
made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter
furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives
expressly for use in any Preliminary Prospectus.
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(b) Time of Sale Information. The Time of Sale Information, at the Time of Sale did
not, and at the Closing Date and as of the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, will
not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under
which they were made, not misleading; provided that the Company makes no
representation and warranty with respect to any statements or omissions made in reliance
upon and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company
in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use in such Time of
Sale Information. No statement of material fact included in the Prospectus has been omitted
from the Time of Sale Information and no statement of material fact included in the Time of
Sale Information that is required to be included in the Prospectus has been omitted
therefrom.
(c) Issuer Free Writing Prospectus. Other than the Preliminary Prospectus and the
Prospectus, the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than the
Underwriters in their capacity as such) has not made, used, prepared, authorized, approved
or referred to and will not prepare, make, use, authorize, approve or refer to any “written
communication” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) that constitutes an offer
to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the Shares (each such communication by the
Company or its agents and representatives (other than a communication referred to in clause
(i) below) an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”) other than (i) any communication not
constituting a prospectus pursuant to Section 2(a)(10)(a) of the Securities Act or Rule 134
under the Securities Act or (ii) the documents listed on Annex B hereto and other written
communications approved in writing in advance by the Representatives. Each such Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus complied in all material respects with the Securities Act, has been filed
in accordance with the Securities Act (to the extent required thereby) and, when taken
together with the Preliminary Prospectus accompanying, or delivered prior to delivery of,
such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, did not, and at the Closing Date and as of the
Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, will not, contain any untrue statement of a
material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
provided that the Company makes no representation and warranty with respect to any
statements or omissions made in each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon
and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in
writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use in any Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus.
(d) Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Registration Statement has been
declared effective by the Commission. No order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement has been issued by the Commission and no proceeding for that purpose
or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act against the Company or related to the
offering of the Shares has been initiated or threatened by the Commission; as of the
applicable effective date of the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto, the
Registration Statement complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities
Act, and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the
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statements therein not misleading; and as of the applicable date of the Prospectus and
any amendment or supplement thereto and as of the Closing Date and as of the Additional
Closing Date, as the case may be, the Prospectus (as amended or supplemented as of such
date) will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in
the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided
that the Company makes no representation and warranty with respect to any statements or
omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any
Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the
Representatives expressly for use in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and any
amendment or supplement thereto.
(e) Financial Statements. The financial statements and the related notes thereto of
the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries included in the Registration Statement, the
Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus comply in all material respects with the
applicable requirements of the Securities Act and present fairly in all material respects
the financial position of the Company and its subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the
results of their operations and the changes in their cash flows for the periods specified;
such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods covered thereby
(except as expressly set forth therein), and the supporting schedules included in the
Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects the information required to
be stated therein; and the other financial information included in the Registration
Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus has been derived from the
accounting records of the Company and its subsidiaries and presents fairly in all material
respects the information shown thereby; and the pro forma financial information and the
related notes thereto included in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information
and the Prospectus comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the
Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the assumptions underlying such pro
forma financial information are reasonable and are set forth in the Registration Statement,
the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus.
(f) No Material Adverse Change. Since the date of the most recent financial statements
of the Company included in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus, (i) there has not been any material change in the capital stock or long-term
debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries except as described in the Prospectus, or any
dividend or distribution of any kind declared, set aside for payment, paid or made by the
Company on any class of capital stock, or any material adverse change, or any development
involving a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the business, properties,
management, financial position, stockholders’ equity, results of operations or prospects of
the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; (ii) neither the Company nor any of its
subsidiaries has entered into any transaction or agreement that is material to the Company
and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or
contingent, that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and (iii)
neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained any material loss or
interference with its business from fire,
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explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any
labor disturbance or dispute or any action, order or decree of any court or arbitrator or
governmental or regulatory authority, except in each case as otherwise disclosed in the
Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus.
(g) Organization and Good Standing. The Company and each of its subsidiaries have been
duly organized and are validly existing and in good standing under the laws of their
respective jurisdictions of organization, are duly qualified to do business and are in good
standing in each jurisdiction in which their respective ownership or lease of property or
the conduct of their respective businesses requires such qualification, and have all power
and authority necessary to own or hold their respective properties and to conduct the
businesses in which they are engaged, except where the failure to be so qualified or have
such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse
effect on the business, properties, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity,
results of operations or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole (a
“Material Adverse Effect”). The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly,
any corporation, association or other entity other than the subsidiaries listed in Exhibit
21 to the Registration Statement.
(h) Capitalization. On the Closing Date, the Company shall have the authorized
capitalization as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and
the Prospectus under the heading “Capitalization”; all the outstanding shares of capital
stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and
non-assessable and are not subject to any pre-emptive or similar rights, except as set forth
in the Prospectus; except as described in or expressly contemplated by the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus, there are no outstanding rights (including, without
limitation, pre-emptive rights), warrants or options to acquire, or instruments convertible
into or exchangeable for, any shares of capital stock or other equity interest in the
Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any contract, commitment, agreement, understanding or
arrangement of any kind relating to the issuance of any capital stock of the Company or any
such subsidiary, any such convertible or exchangeable securities or any such rights,
warrants or options; the capital stock of the Company conforms in all material respects to
the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus; all the outstanding shares of capital stock or other equity
interests of each subsidiary of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and
issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned directly or indirectly by the
Company, free and clear of any lien, charge, encumbrance, security interest, restriction on
voting or transfer or any other claim of any third party, except for transfer restrictions
imposed by the Securities Act or state securities law.
(i) Due Authorization. The Company has full right, power and authority to execute and
deliver this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder; and all action required to
be taken for the due and proper authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement and
the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby has been duly and validly taken.
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(j) Underwriting Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and
delivered by the Company.
(k) The Shares. The Shares to be issued and sold by the Company hereunder have been
duly authorized by the Company and, when issued and delivered and paid for as provided
herein, will be duly and validly issued and will be fully paid and nonassessable and will
conform to the descriptions thereof in the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus; and
the issuance of the Shares is not subject to any preemptive or similar rights. The Shares
are approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, subject to official notice of
issuance and evidence of satisfactory distribution the certificates for the Shares are in
valid and sufficient form.
(l) No Violation or Default. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (i) in
violation of its charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents; (ii) in default,
and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such
a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained
in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument
to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of
its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of
its subsidiaries is subject; or (iii) in violation of any law or statute or any judgment,
order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory
authority, except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such default or
violation that would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a
Material Adverse Effect.
(m) No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of each of
this Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Shares and the consummation by the Company of
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not (i) conflict with or result in a
breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, or
result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or
assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, any indenture, mortgage, deed
of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its
subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to
which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject,
(ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws or similar
organizational documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (iii) result in the
violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or
arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of clauses (i) and
(iii) above, for any such conflict, breach, violation, default, lien, charge or encumbrance
that would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material
Adverse Effect.
(n) No Consents Required. No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or
qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority is
required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the
issuance and sale of the Shares and the consummation by
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the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby, except for the registration of the
Shares under the Securities Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders and
registrations or qualifications as may be required under applicable state securities laws or
the New York Stock Exchange in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares
by the Underwriters and for such consents that have been obtained.
(o) Legal Proceedings. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of
Sale Information and the Prospectus, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory
investigations, actions, suits or proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its
subsidiaries is a party or to which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries
is subject that, individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company or
any of its subsidiaries, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or
materially and adversely affect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under
this Agreement; no such investigations, actions, suits or proceedings are, to the knowledge
of the Company, threatened or contemplated by any governmental or regulatory authority or
threatened by others; and (i) there are no current or pending legal, governmental or
regulatory actions, suits or proceedings that are required under the Securities Act to be
described in the Registration Statement that are not so described in the Registration
Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus and (ii) there are no statutes,
regulations or contracts or other documents that are required under the Securities Act to be
filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or described in the Registration Statement
or the Prospectus that are not so filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or
described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus.
(p) Independent Accountants. BDO Xxxxxxx, LLP, who have certified certain financial
statements of the Company and its subsidiaries are an independent registered public
accounting firm with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries within the applicable rules
and regulations adopted by the Commission and the Public Accounting Oversight Board and as
required by the Securities Act.
(q) Title to Real and Personal Property. The Company or its subsidiaries have good
title in fee simple to, or have valid rights to lease or otherwise use, all items of real
and personal property that are material to the respective businesses of the Company and its
subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims and defects and
imperfections of title except those that (i) do not materially interfere with the use made
and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries or (ii) would
not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse
Effect.
(r) Title to Intellectual Property. The Company or its subsidiaries own or possess
adequate rights to use all material patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks,
trade names, trademark registrations, service xxxx registrations, copyrights, licenses and
know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or
confidential information, systems or procedures) necessary for the conduct of their
respective businesses; and the conduct of their respective businesses does not conflict
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in any material respect with any such rights of others, and the Company and its
subsidiaries have not received any notice of any claim of infringement or conflict with any
such rights of others, which, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding,
would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material
Adverse Effect.
(s) No Undisclosed Relationships. No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between
or among the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and the directors,
officers, stockholders, customers or suppliers of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on
the other, that is required by the Securities Act to be described in the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus and that is not so described in such documents and in the Time
of Sale Information.
(t) Investment Company Act. The Company is not and, after giving effect to the
offering and sale of the Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in
the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, will not be
required to register as an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment
company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules
and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, “Investment Company Act”).
(u) Taxes. The Company and its subsidiaries have paid all material federal, state,
local and foreign taxes and filed all material tax returns required to be paid or filed
through the date hereof, except for the payment of those taxes (i) currently payable without
penalty or interest or (ii) being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings and
for which in either case, adequate reserves have been established on the books and records
of the Company; and except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Time of
Sale Information and the Prospectus, there is no material tax deficiency that has been, or
would reasonably be expected to be, asserted against the Company or any of its subsidiaries
or any of their respective properties or assets.
(v) Licenses and Permits. The Company and its subsidiaries possess all licenses,
certificates, permits and other authorizations issued by, and have made all declarations and
filings with, the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory
authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or
the conduct of their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement, the
Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, except where the failure to possess or make the
same would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material
Adverse Effect; and except as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale
Information and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received
notice of any revocation or modification of any such license, certificate, permit or
authorization or has any reason to believe that any such license, certificate, permit or
authorization will not be renewed in the ordinary course, except where the failure to renew
such license, certificate, permit or authorization would not reasonably be expected,
individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.
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(w) No Labor Disputes. No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the
Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is
contemplated or threatened.
(x) Compliance With Environmental Laws. The Company and its subsidiaries (i) are in
compliance with any and all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules,
regulations, decisions and orders relating to the protection of human health and safety, the
environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants
(collectively, “Environmental Laws”); (ii) have received and are in compliance with all
permits, licenses, certificates or other authorizations or approvals required of them under
applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses; and (iii) have not
received notice of any actual or potential liability for the investigation or remediation of
any disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or
contaminants, except for any such failure to comply, or failure to receive required permits,
licenses or approvals, or cost or liability, as would not reasonably be expected,
individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(y) Compliance With ERISA. Except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or
in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, each employee benefit plan, within the
meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended
(“ERISA”), that is maintained, administered or contributed to by the Company or any of its
affiliates for employees or former employees of the Company and its affiliates has been
maintained in compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes,
orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to ERISA and the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”); no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of
Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred with respect to any such plan
excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; and for
each such plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section
302 of ERISA, no “accumulated funding deficiency” as defined in Section 412 of the Code has
been incurred, whether or not waived, and the fair market value of the assets of each such
plan (excluding for these purposes accrued but unpaid contributions) exceeds the present
value of all benefits accrued under such plan determined using reasonable actuarial
assumptions, except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate,
to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(z) Compliance with Insurance Laws. Except where such violations or failures would
not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect, the Company and each of its subsidiaries that is engaged in the business of
insurance (each, an “Insurance Subsidiary”) is duly licensed or registered as a holding
company or as an insurer, as the case may be, under the insurance laws (including laws that
relate to companies that control insurance companies) and the rules, regulations and
interpretations of the insurance regulator authorities thereunder (collectively, “Insurance
Laws”), of each jurisdiction in which the conduct of its business as described in the
Registration Statement or the Prospectus requires such licensing (each such license,
11
an “Insurance License”) or registration. Each of the Company and its Insurance
Subsidiaries has made all required filings under applicable Insurance Laws in each
jurisdiction where such filings are required. Each Insurance Subsidiary has all other
necessary authorizations, approvals, orders, consents, certificates, permits, registrations
and qualifications of and from all insurance regulatory authorities (together with the
Insurance Licenses, the “Insurance Licenses and Authorizations”) necessary to conduct its
business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and all of the
foregoing are in full force and effect. Each Insurance Subsidiary has fulfilled and
performed all obligations necessary to maintain the Insurance Licenses and Authorizations.
There is no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened action, suit, proceeding
or investigation that would result in the revocation, termination or suspension of any of
the Insurance Licenses and Authorizations. None of the Company or any of its Insurance
Subsidiaries has received any notification from any insurance regulatory authority or other
governmental authority to the effect that any additional Insurance Licenses and
Authorizations are needed to be obtained by either the Company or any of its Insurance
Subsidiaries.
(aa) Insurance Reserving. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, the Company and its
Insurance Subsidiaries have made no material change in their insurance reserving practices
since December 31, 2005.
(bb) Reinsurance. All reinsurance treaties, contracts and arrangements to which any
Insurance Subsidiary is a party are in full force and effect and no Insurance Subsidiary is
in violation of, or in default in the performance, observance or fulfillment of, any
obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained therein, except for such failures to
be in full force and effect and such violations or defaults which could not, individually or
in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No Insurance
Subsidiary has received any notice that any of the other parties to such treaties, contracts
or arrangements intends not to, or will be unable to, perform such treaty, contract or
arrangement and, to the knowledge of the Company and the Insurance Subsidiaries, none of the
other parties to such treaties or arrangements will be unable to perform such treaty,
contract or arrangement except to the extent adequately and properly reserved for in the
audited historical financial statements of the Company included in the Prospectus.
(cc) Statutory Financial Statements. All statutory financial statements of the
Insurance Subsidiaries from which certain ratios and other data contained in the
Registration Statement and the Prospectus have been derived have been prepared for each
relevant period in conformity with statutory accounting principles or practices required or
permitted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and by the Insurance Laws
of the jurisdiction of domicile of each Insurance Subsidiary (and the statutory financial
statements of the Insurance Subsidiaries are not required to be prepared pursuant to the
Insurance Laws of any other jurisdiction), and such statutory accounting practices have been
applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved, except as may otherwise be
indicated therein or in the notes thereto, and present fairly in all material respects the
statutory financial position of the Insurance Subsidiaries as of the dates
thereof, and the statutory basis results of operations of the Insurance Subsidiaries
for the periods covered thereby.
12
(dd) Insurance Ratings. The Company has no knowledge of any threatened or pending
downgrading of the Company’s or any of its subsidiary’s financial strength rating by A.M.
Best Company, Inc., or any other “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as
such term is defined by the Commission for purposes of Rule 436(g)(2) under the 1933 Act,
that rates the claims paying ability or financial strength of the Company or any of its
subsidiaries.
(ee) Disclosure Controls. The Company and its subsidiaries maintain an effective
system of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) that is designed to ensure
that information that will be required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it
will be required to file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized
and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms,
including controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated
and communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions
regarding required disclosure.
(ff) Accounting Controls. The Company and its subsidiaries maintain a system of
internal controls that provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial
reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles, including, but not limited to internal
accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are
executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii)
transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in
conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset
accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s
general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is
compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken
with respect to any differences. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the
Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries are not aware
of any material weakness in such internal controls.
(gg) Insurance. The Company and its subsidiaries have insurance covering their
respective properties, operations, personnel and businesses, including business interruption
insurance, which insurance is in amounts and insures against such losses and risks in such
amounts as are customary in the businesses in which they are engaged; and neither the
Company nor any of its subsidiaries has (i) received notice from any insurer or agent of
such insurer that capital improvements or other expenditures are required or necessary to be
made in order to continue such insurance or (ii) any reason to believe that it will not be
able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain
similar coverage at reasonable cost from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue
its business.
13
(hh) No Unlawful Payments. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the
knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or other person associated
with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (i) used any
corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense
relating to political activity; (ii) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any
foreign or domestic government official or employee from corporate funds; (iii) violated or
is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977; or (iv) made
any bribe, illegal rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment.
(ii) Compliance with Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its
subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable
financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions
Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions, the
rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or
guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the
“Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or
governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its
subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of
the Company, threatened.
(jj) Compliance with OFAC. None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries or, to the
knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or Affiliate of the Company
or any of its subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the
Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”); and the
Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares
hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary,
joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities
of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.
(kk) No Restrictions on Subsidiaries. Except as set forth in the Prospectus, no
subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, under any
agreement or other instrument to which it is a party or is subject, from paying any
dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such subsidiary’s capital
stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the
Company or from transferring any of such subsidiary’s properties or assets to the Company or
any other subsidiary of the Company.
(ll) No Broker’s Fees. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is a party to
any contract, agreement or understanding with any person (other than this Agreement) that
would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any
Underwriter for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the
offering and sale of the Shares.
14
(mm) No Registration Rights. No person has the right to require the Company or any of
its subsidiaries to register any securities for sale under the Securities Act by reason of
the filing of the Registration Statement with the Commission or the issuance and sale of the
Shares, except for such rights of Glencoe Capital, LLC and Xxxxxx Xxxx as have been
effectively waived.
(nn) No Stabilization. The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action
designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or
manipulation of the price of the Shares.
(oo) Business With Cuba. The Company has complied with all provisions of Section
517.075, Florida Statutes (Chapter 92-198, Laws of Florida) relating to doing business with
the Government of Cuba or with any person or affiliate located in Cuba.
(pp) Margin Rules. Neither the issuance, sale and delivery of the Shares nor the
application of the proceeds thereof by the Company as described in the Registration
Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus will violate Regulation T, U or X
of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any other regulation of such
Board of Governors.
(qq) Forward-Looking Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the
Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus has been made or
reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.
(rr) Statistical and Market Data. Nothing has come to the attention of the Company
that has caused the Company to believe that the statistical and market-related data included
in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus is not based
on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects.
(ss) Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act. There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company
or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all
material respects with any applicable provision of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 and the
rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith (the “Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act”),
including Section 402 related to loans.
(tt) Status under the Securities Act. The Company is not an ineligible issuer as
defined under the Securities Act, in each case at the times specified in the Securities Act
in connection with the offering of the Shares.
(uu) Directed Share Program. Each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale
Information, the Prospectus and the most recent Preliminary Prospectus comply, and any
amendments or supplements thereto will comply, with any applicable laws or regulations of
jurisdictions in which the Time of Sale Information, the Prospectus or the most recent
Preliminary Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, are
15
distributed in connection with the Directed Share Program; no consent, approval,
authorization, order or qualification of or with any court or governmental or regulatory
authority, other than those already obtained, is required in connection with the offering of
the Directed Shares in any jurisdiction where the Directed Shares are being offered, except,
in each of the foregoing cases, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, (A)
materially and adversely affect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under
this Agreement or (B) have a Material Adverse Effect; the Company has not offered, or caused
KBW to offer, Shares to any person pursuant to the Directed Share Program with the specific
intent to unlawfully influence (i) a customer or supplier of the Company to alter the
customer’s or supplier’s level or type of business with the Company, or (ii) a trade
journalist or publication to write or publish favorable information about the Company or its
products.
The Company has not distributed and, prior to the later to occur of the Closing Date or
an Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, and completion of the distribution of the
Shares, will not distribute any offering materials in connection with the offering and sale
of the Shares other than the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus and, in connection
with the Directed Share Program, the enrollment materials prepared by KBW
4. Further Agreements of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees with each
Underwriter that:
(a) Required Filings. The Company will file the final Prospectus with the Commission
within the time periods specified by Rule 424(b) and Rule 430A, 430B or 430C under the
Securities Act, will file any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to the extent required by Rule
433 under the Securities Act; and the Company will furnish copies of the Prospectus and each
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (to the extent not previously delivered) to the Underwriters
in New York City prior to 10:00 A.M., New York City time, on the business day next
succeeding the date of this Agreement in such quantities as the Representatives may
reasonably request.
(b) Delivery of Copies. The Company will deliver, without charge, (i) to the
Representatives, two signed copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed and
each amendment thereto, in each case including all exhibits and consents filed therewith;
and (ii) to each Underwriter (A) a conformed copy of the Registration Statement as
originally filed and each amendment thereto (without exhibits) and (B) during the Prospectus
Delivery Period (as defined below), as many copies of the Prospectus (including all
amendments and supplements thereto) and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus as the
Representatives may reasonably request. As used herein, the term “Prospectus Delivery
Period” means such period of time after the first date of the public offering of the Shares
as in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters a prospectus relating to the Shares is
required by law to be delivered (or required to be delivered but for Rule 172 under the
Securities Act) in connection with sales of the Shares by any Underwriter or dealer.
16
(c) Amendments or Supplements, Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. Before preparing,
using, authorizing, approving, referring to or filing any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus,
and before filing any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus, the Company will furnish to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters
a copy of the proposed Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, amendment or supplement for review
and will not prepare, use, authorize, approve, refer to or file any such Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus or file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which the Representatives
reasonably objects.
(d) Notice to the Representatives. The Company will advise the Representatives
promptly, and confirm such advice in writing, (i) when the Registration Statement has become
effective; (ii) when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes
effective; (iii) when any supplement to the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus
or any amendment to the Prospectus has been filed; (iv) of any request by the Commission for
any amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus
or the receipt of any comments from the Commission relating to the Registration Statement or
any other request by the Commission for any additional information; (v) of the issuance by
the Commission of any order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or
preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or the
initiation or threatening of any proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of
the Securities Act; (vi) of the occurrence of any event within the Prospectus Delivery
Period as a result of which the Prospectus, the Time of Sale Information or any Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a
material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in
order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when the
Prospectus, the Time of Sale Information or any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus is
delivered to a purchaser, not misleading; and (vii) of the receipt by the Company of any
notice with respect to any suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offer and sale
in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; and
the Company will use its reasonable best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such order
suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, preventing or suspending the use
of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or suspending any such qualification of the
Shares and, if any such order is issued, will obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal
thereof.
(e) Ongoing Compliance. (1) If during the Prospectus Delivery Period (i) any event
shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or
supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances existing when the Prospectus is delivered to a
purchaser, not misleading or (ii) it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to
comply with law, the Company will promptly notify the Representatives thereof and forthwith
prepare and, subject to paragraph (c) above, file with the Commission and furnish to the
Underwriters and to such dealers as the Representatives may designate, such amendments or
supplements to the Prospectus as may be necessary
17
so that the statements in the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not, in the
light of the circumstances existing when the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, be
misleading or so that the Prospectus will comply with law and (2) if at any time prior to
the Closing Date (i) any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the
Time of Sale Information as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement
of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the
statements therein, in the light of the circumstances, not misleading or (ii) it is
necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Information to comply with law, the
Company will promptly notify the Underwriters thereof and forthwith prepare and, subject to
paragraph (c) above, file with the Commission (to the extent required) and furnish to the
Underwriters and to such dealers as the Representatives may reasonably designate, such
amendments or supplements to the Time of Sale Information as may be necessary so that the
statements in the Time of Sale Information as so amended or supplemented will not, in the
light of the circumstances, be misleading or so that the Time of Sale Information will
comply with law.
(f) Blue Sky Compliance. The Company will qualify the Shares for offer and sale under
the securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives shall
reasonably request and will continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for
distribution of the Shares; provided that the Company shall not be required to (i)
qualify as a foreign corporation or other entity or as a dealer in securities in any such
jurisdiction where it would not otherwise be required to so qualify, (ii) file any general
consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction or (iii) subject itself to taxation
in any such jurisdiction if it is not otherwise so subject.
(g) Earning Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security
holders and the Representatives as soon as practicable an earning statement that satisfies
the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 of the Commission
promulgated thereunder covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first
fiscal quarter of the Company occurring after the “effective date” (as defined in Rule 158)
of the Registration Statement.
(h) Clear Market. For a period of 180 days after the date hereof, the Company will not
(i) offer, pledge, announce the intention to sell, sell, contract to sell, sell any option
or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or
warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares
of Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Stock or (ii)
enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the
economic consequences of ownership of the Stock, whether any such transaction described in
clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Stock or such other securities, in
cash or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the Representatives, other than the
Shares to be sold hereunder and any shares of Stock of the Company issued upon the exercise
of options granted under existing employee stock option plans or the granting of any options
to purchase Common Stock under employee stock option plans described in the Prospectus and
the exercise thereof and any shares of Common Stock issued to Glencoe as set forth in the
Prospectus. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1)
18
during the last 17 days of the 180-day restricted period, the Company issues an
earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs; or (2)
prior to the expiration of the 180-day restricted period, the Company announces that it will
release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the 180-day
period, the restrictions imposed by this Agreement shall continue to apply until the
expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the
occurrence of the material news or material event.
(i) Use of Proceeds. The Company will apply the net proceeds from the sale of the
Shares as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus under the heading “Use of Proceeds”.
(j) No Stabilization. The Company will not take, directly or indirectly, any action
designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or
manipulation of the price of the Shares.
(k) Exchange Listing. The Company will use its best efforts to list, subject to notice
of issuance, the Shares on the New York Stock Exchange (the “Exchange”).
(l) Reports. For two years after the date hereof, the Company will furnish to the
Representatives, as soon as they are available, copies of all reports or other
communications (financial or other) furnished to holders of the Shares, and copies of any
reports and financial statements furnished to or filed with the Commission or any national
securities exchange or automatic quotation system, provided that this covenant shall be
satisfied by any filing or furnishing to the Commission of a document which is publicly
available.
(m) Record Retention. The Company will, pursuant to reasonable procedures developed in
good faith, retain copies of each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not filed with the
Commission in accordance with Rule 433 under the Securities Act.
(n) Filings. The Company will file with the Commission such reports as may be required
by Rule 463 under the Securities Act.
(o) Restriction of Directed Shares. In connection with the Directed Share Program, the
Company will ensure that the Directed Shares will be restricted to the extent required by
the NASD or the rules of such association from sale, transfer, assignment, pledge or
hypothecation for a period of 180 days following the date of this Agreement, and KBW will
notify the Company as to which Directed Share Participants will need to be so restricted. At
the request of KBW, the Company will direct the transfer agent to place stop transfer
restrictions upon such securities for such period of time.
(p) Directed Shares Compliance. The Company will comply with all securities and other
laws, rules and regulations that are applicable to the Company in each jurisdiction in which
the Directed Shares are offered in connection with the Directed Share Program.
19
5. Certain Agreements of the Underwriters. Each Underwriter hereby represents and
agrees that:
(a) It has not and will not use, authorize use of, refer to, or participate in the
planning for use of, any “free writing prospectus”, as defined in Rule 405 under the
Securities Act (which term includes use of any written information furnished to the
Commission by the Company and not incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement
and any press release issued by the Company) other than (i) a free writing prospectus that
contains no “issuer information” (as defined in Rule 433(h)(2) under the Securities Act)
that was not included (including through incorporation by reference) in the Preliminary
Prospectus or a previously filed Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, (ii) any Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus listed on Annex B or prepared pursuant to Section 3(c) or Section 4(c)
above, or (iii) any free writing prospectus prepared by such underwriter and approved by the
Company in advance in writing (each such free writing prospectus referred to in clauses (i)
or (iii), an “Underwriter Free Writing Prospectus”).
(b) It has not and will not distribute any Underwriter Free Writing Prospectus referred
to in clause (a)(i) in a manner reasonably designed to lead to its broad unrestricted
dissemination.
(c) It has not and will not, without the prior written consent of the Company, use any
free writing prospectus that contains the final terms of the Shares unless such terms have
previously been included in a free writing prospectus filed with the Commission; provided
that Underwriters may use a term sheet substantially in the form of Annex A hereto without
the consent of the Company; provided further that any Underwriter using such term sheet
shall notify the Company, and provide a copy of such term sheet to the Company, prior to, or
substantially concurrently with, the first use of such term sheet.
(d) It will, pursuant to reasonable procedures developed in good faith, retain copies
of each free writing prospectus used or referred to by it, in accordance with Rule 433 under
the Securities Act.
(e) It is not subject to any pending proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act
with respect to the offering (and will promptly notify the Company if any such proceeding
against it is initiated during the Prospectus Delivery Period).
6. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligation of each Underwriter to
purchase the Underwritten Shares on the Closing Date or the Option Shares on the Additional Closing
Date, as the case may be, as provided herein is subject to the performance by the Company of its
covenants and other obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions:
(a) Registration Compliance; No Stop Order. No order suspending the effectiveness of
the Registration Statement shall be in effect, and no proceeding for such purpose or
pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act shall be pending before or
20
threatened by the Commission; the Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus
shall have been timely filed with the Commission under the Securities Act (in the case of an
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, to the extent required by Rule 433 under the Securities Act)
and in accordance with Section 4(a) hereof; and all requests by the Commission for
additional information shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the
Representatives.
(b) Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Company
contained herein shall be true and correct on the date hereof and on and as of the Closing
Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be; and the statements of the Company
and its officers made in any certificates delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall be true
and correct on and as of the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may
be.
(c) No Downgrade. Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, (i) no
downgrading shall have occurred in (A) the rating accorded any securities or preferred stock
of or guaranteed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries by any “nationally recognized
statistical rating organization,” as such term is defined by the Commission for purposes of
Rule 436(g)(2) under the Securities Act or (B) the Company’s or any subsidiary’s financial
strength rating by A.M. Best Company, Inc. or claims paying ability rating any such rating
organization and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under
surveillance or review, or has changed its outlook with respect to, its rating of any
securities or preferred stock of or guaranteed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries or
any such financial strength or claims paying ability rating (other than an announcement with
positive implications of a possible upgrading).
(d) No Material Adverse Change. No event or condition of a type described in Section
3(f) hereof shall have occurred or shall exist, which event or condition is not described in
the Time of Sale Information (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto) and the
Prospectus (excluding any amendment or supplement thereto) and the effect of which in the
judgment of the Representatives makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the
offering, sale or delivery of the Shares on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date,
as the case may be, on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Time
of Sale Information and the Prospectus.
(e) Officer’s Certificate. The Representatives shall have received on and as of the
Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, a certificate of the chief
financial officer and chief accounting officer of the Company (i) confirming that such
officers have reviewed the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus and, to the knowledge of such officers, the representations set forth in Sections
3(b) and 3(d) hereof are true and correct, (ii) confirming, to their knowledge, that the
other representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct
and that the Company has complied in all material respects with all agreements and satisfied
all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder
at or prior to such Closing Date or Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, and
(iii) to the effect set forth in paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) above.
21
(f) Comfort Letters. On the date of this Agreement and on the Closing Date or the
Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, BDO Xxxxxxx LLP shall have furnished to the
Representatives, at the request of the Company, letters, dated the respective dates of
delivery thereof and addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably
satisfactory to the Representatives, containing statements and information of the type
customarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the
financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration
Statement, the Time of Sale Information and the Prospectus; provided, that the letter
delivered on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, shall use
a “cut-off” date no more than three business days prior to such Closing Date or such
Additional Closing Date, as the case may be.
(g) Opinion of Counsel for the Company. XxXxxxxxx Will & Xxxxx, LLP and Xxxxx and
Lardner LLP, each counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to the Representatives, at
the request of the Company, their written opinions, dated the Closing Date or the Additional
Closing Date, as the case may be, and addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance
reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, to the effect set forth in Annex C hereto.
(h) Opinion of Counsel for the Underwriters. The Representatives shall have received
on and as of the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, an opinion
of Mayer, Brown, Xxxx & Maw LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, with respect to such matters
as the Representatives may reasonably request, and such counsel shall have received such
documents and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such
matters.
(i) No Legal Impediment to Issuance. No action shall have been taken and no statute,
rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any federal, state
or foreign governmental or regulatory authority that would, as of the Closing Date or the
Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, prevent the issuance or sale of the Shares; and
no injunction or order of any federal, state or foreign court shall have been issued that
would, as of the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, prevent
the issuance or sale of the Shares.
(j) Good Standing. The Representatives shall have received on and as of the Closing
Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, satisfactory evidence of the good
standing of the Company and its subsidiaries in their respective jurisdictions of
organization and their good standing as foreign entities in such other jurisdictions as the
Representatives may reasonably request, in each case in writing or any standard form of
telecommunication from the appropriate Governmental Authorities of such jurisdictions.
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(k) Exchange Listing. The Shares to be delivered on the Closing Date or Additional
Closing Date, as the case may be, shall have been approved for listing on the New York Stock
Exchange, subject to official notice of issuance.
(l) Lock-up Agreements. The “lock-up” agreements, each substantially in the form of
Exhibit A hereto, between you and certain shareholders, officers and directors of the
Company relating to sales and certain other dispositions of shares of Stock or certain other
securities, delivered to you on or before the date hereof, shall be full force and effect on
the Closing Date or Additional Closing Date, as the case may be.
(m) Additional Documents. On or prior to the Closing Date or the Additional Closing
Date, as the case may be, the Company shall have furnished to the Representatives such
further certificates and documents as the Representatives may reasonably request.
All opinions, letters, certificates and evidence mentioned above or elsewhere in this
Agreement shall be deemed to be in compliance with the provisions hereof only if they are in form
and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters.
7. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) Indemnification of the Underwriters. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold
harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates, directors and officers and each person, if any,
who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or
Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and
liabilities (including, without limitation, legal fees and other expenses reasonably
incurred in connection with any suit, action or proceeding or any claim asserted, as such
fees and expenses are incurred), joint or several, that arise out of, or are based upon, (i)
any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the
Registration Statement or caused by any omission or alleged omission to state therein a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements
therein, not misleading, (ii) or any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a
material fact contained in the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), any
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Time of Sale Information (including any Time of Sale
Information that has subsequently been amended), or caused by any omission or alleged
omission to state therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein,
in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in each case
except insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise out of, or are based
upon, any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in
reliance upon and in conformity with any information relating to any Underwriter furnished
to the Company in writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use
therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any
Underwriter consists of the information described as such in subsection (b) below.
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The Company also agrees to indemnify and hold harmless KBW, its affiliates, directors
and officers and each person, if any, who controls KBW within the meaning of Section 15 of
the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, from and against any and all losses,
claims, damages and liabilities (including, without limitation, legal fees and other
expenses reasonably incurred in connection with any suit, action or proceeding or any claim
asserted, as such fees and expenses are incurred), that (i) arise out of, or are based upon,
any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any
material prepared by or with the approval of the Company for distribution to Directed Share
Participants in connection with the Directed Share Program, or caused by any omission or
alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary
in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they
were made, not misleading, (ii) arise out of, or are based upon, the failure of the Directed
Share Participant to pay for and accept delivery of Directed Shares that the Directed Share
Participant agreed to purchase or (iii) is otherwise related to a claim by any Directed
Share Participant for any action taken or omitted to be taken by KBW in good faith in
connection with such Directed Share Program, other than losses, claims, damages and
liabilities (or expenses related thereto) that are finally judicially determined to have
resulted from the bad faith or gross negligence of KBW or its affiliates, directors or
officers.
(b) Indemnification of the Company. Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not
jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, its officers who signed
the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the
meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act to the same
extent as the indemnity set forth in paragraph (a) above, but only with respect to any
losses, claims, damages or liabilities that arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue
statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in
conformity with any information relating to such Underwriter furnished to the Company in
writing by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use in the
Registration Statement, the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), any Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus or any Time of Sale Information, it being understood and agreed upon
that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the following
information in the Prospectus furnished on behalf of each Underwriter: the concession and
reallowance figures appearing in the third paragraph under the caption “Underwriting” and
the information contained in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth paragraphs under the caption
“Underwriting”.
(c) Notice and Procedures. If any suit, action, proceeding (including any governmental
or regulatory investigation), claim or demand shall be brought or asserted against any
person in respect of which indemnification may be sought pursuant to either paragraph (a) or
(b) above, such person (the “Indemnified Person”) shall promptly notify the person against
whom such indemnification may be sought (the “Indemnifying Person”) in writing;
provided that the failure to notify the Indemnifying Person shall not relieve it
from any liability that it may have under this Section 7 except to the extent that it has
been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by
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such failure; and provided, further, that the failure to notify the
Indemnifying Person shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an
Indemnified Person otherwise than under this Section 7. If any such proceeding shall be
brought or asserted against an Indemnified Person and it shall have notified the
Indemnifying Person thereof, the Indemnifying Person shall retain counsel reasonably
satisfactory to the Indemnified Person (who shall not, without the consent of the
Indemnified Person, be counsel to the Indemnifying Person) to represent the Indemnified
Person in such proceeding and shall pay the fees and expenses of such counsel related to
such proceeding, as incurred. In any such proceeding, any Indemnified Person shall have the
right to retain its own counsel, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the
expense of such Indemnified Person unless (i) the Indemnifying Person and the Indemnified
Person shall have mutually agreed to the contrary or (ii) the Indemnifying Person has failed
within a reasonable time to retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified
Person. It is understood and agreed that the Indemnifying Person shall not, in connection
with any proceeding or related proceeding in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the fees
and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any local counsel) for all
Indemnified Persons, and that all such fees and expenses shall be paid or reimbursed as they
are incurred;
(d) Any such separate firm for any Underwriter, its affiliates, directors and officers
and any control persons of such Underwriter shall be designated in writing by the
Representatives, any such separate firm for the Company, its directors, its officers who
signed the Registration Statement and any control persons of the Company shall be designated
in writing by the Company. The Indemnifying Person shall not be liable for any settlement
of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or
if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the Indemnifying Person agrees to indemnify
each Indemnified Person from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement
or judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an Indemnified Person
shall have requested that an Indemnifying Person reimburse the Indemnified Person for fees
and expenses of counsel as contemplated by this paragraph, the Indemnifying Person shall be
liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such
settlement is entered into more than 60 days after receipt by the Indemnifying Person of
such request and (ii) the Indemnifying Person shall not have reimbursed the Indemnified
Person in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement. No
Indemnifying Person shall, without the written consent of the Indemnified Person, effect any
settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any Indemnified
Person is or could have been a party and indemnification could have been sought hereunder by
such Indemnified Person, unless such settlement (x) includes an unconditional release of
such Indemnified Person, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such Indemnified
Person, from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such proceeding and (y)
does not include any statement as to or any admission of fault, culpability or a failure to
act by or on behalf of any Indemnified Person.
(e) Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in paragraphs (a) and (b) above
is unavailable to an Indemnified Person or insufficient in respect of any losses,
25
claims, damages or liabilities referred to therein, then each Indemnifying Person under
such paragraph, in lieu of indemnifying such Indemnified Person thereunder, shall contribute
to the amount paid or payable by such Indemnified Person as a result of such losses, claims,
damages or liabilities (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative
benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, from
the offering of the Shares or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted
by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative
benefits referred to in clause (i) but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one
hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, in connection with the statements or omissions
that resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities, as well as any other relevant
equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand,
and the Underwriters, on the other, shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions
as the net proceeds (before deducting expenses) received by the Company from the sale of the
Shares and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters in
connection therewith, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover of the Prospectus,
bear to the aggregate offering price of the Shares. The relative fault of the Company, on
the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other, shall be determined by reference to, among
other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the
omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the
Company or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to
information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
(f) Limitation on Liability. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not
be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were determined by
pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for
such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the
equitable considerations referred to in paragraph (d) above. The amount paid or payable by
an Indemnified Person as a result of the losses, claims, damages and liabilities referred to
in paragraph (d) above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth
above, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Indemnified Person in
connection with any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7,
in no event shall an Underwriter be required to contribute any amount in excess of the
amount by which the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by such
Underwriter with respect to the offering of the Shares exceeds the amount of any damages
that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged
untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent
misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be
entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent
misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7
are several in proportion to their respective purchase obligations hereunder and not joint.
(g) Non-Exclusive Remedies. The remedies provided for in this Section 7 are not
exclusive and shall not limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available to any
Indemnified Person at law or in equity.
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8. Effectiveness of Agreement. This Agreement shall become effective upon the
execution and delivery hereof by the parties hereto.
9. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated in the absolute discretion of the
Representatives, by notice to the Company, if after the execution and delivery of this Agreement
and prior to the Closing Date or, in the case of the Option Shares, prior to the Additional Closing
Date (i) trading generally shall have been suspended or materially limited on or by any of the New
York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq National Market; (ii) trading of any
securities issued or guaranteed by the Company shall have been suspended on any exchange or in any
over-the-counter market; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities shall have
been declared by federal or New York State authorities; or (iv) there shall have occurred any
outbreak or escalation of hostilities or any change in financial markets or any calamity or crisis,
either within or outside the United States, that, in the judgment of the Representatives, is
material and adverse and makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering, sale
or delivery of the Shares on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be,
on the terms and in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, the Time of Sale Information and the
Prospectus.
10. Defaulting Underwriter.
(a) If, on the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, any
Underwriter defaults on its obligation to purchase the Shares that it has agreed to purchase
hereunder on such date, the non-defaulting Underwriters may in their discretion arrange for
the purchase of such Shares by other persons satisfactory to the Company on the terms
contained in this Agreement. If, within 36 hours after any such default by any Underwriter,
the non-defaulting Underwriters do not arrange for the purchase of such Shares, then the
Company shall be entitled to a further period of 36 hours within which to procure other
persons satisfactory to the non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase such Shares on such
terms. If other persons become obligated or agree to purchase the Shares of a defaulting
Underwriter, either the non-defaulting Underwriters or the Company may postpone the Closing
Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, for up to five full business days
in order to effect any changes that in the opinion of counsel for the Company or counsel for
the Underwriters may be necessary in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or in any
other document or arrangement, and the Company agrees to promptly prepare any amendment or
supplement to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus that effects any such changes.
As used in this Agreement, the term “Underwriter” includes, for all purposes of this
Agreement unless the context otherwise requires, any person not listed in Schedule 1 hereto
that, pursuant to this Section 10, purchases Shares that a defaulting Underwriter agreed but
failed to purchase.
(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a
defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters and the Company as
provided in paragraph (a) above, the aggregate number of Shares that remain unpurchased on
the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be does not exceed
one-eleventh of the aggregate number of Shares to be purchased on such date, then the
Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to
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purchase the number of Shares that such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder on
such date plus such Underwriter’s pro rata share (based on the number of Shares that such
Underwriter agreed to purchase on such date) of the Shares of such defaulting Underwriter or
Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made.
(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a
defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the non-defaulting Underwriters and the Company as
provided in paragraph (a) above, the aggregate number of Shares that remain unpurchased on
the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, exceeds one-eleventh of
the aggregate amount of Shares to be purchased on such date, or if the Company shall not
exercise the right described in paragraph (b) above, then this Agreement or, with respect to
any Additional Closing Date, the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase Shares on the
Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, shall terminate without liability on the part
of the non-defaulting Underwriters. Any termination of this Agreement pursuant to this
Section 10 shall be without liability on the part of the Company, except that the Company
will continue to be liable for the payment of expenses as set forth in Section 11 hereof and
except that the provisions of Section 7 hereof shall not terminate and shall remain in
effect.
(d) Nothing contained herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter of any liability it
may have to the Company or any non-defaulting Underwriter for damages caused by its default.
11. Payment of Expenses.
(a) Whether or not the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are consummated or
this Agreement is terminated, the Company will pay or cause to be paid all costs and
expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder, including without
limitation, (i) the costs incident to the authorization, issuance, sale, preparation and
delivery of the Shares and any taxes payable in that connection; (ii) the costs incident to
the preparation, printing and filing under the Securities Act of the Registration Statement,
the Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Time of Sale Information
and the Prospectus (including all exhibits, amendments and supplements thereto) and the
distribution thereof; (iii) the fees and expenses of the Company’s counsel and independent
accountants; (iv) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the registration or
qualification and determination of eligibility for investment of the Shares under the laws
of such jurisdictions as the Representatives may designate and the preparation, printing and
distribution of a Blue Sky Memorandum, not to exceed $5,000; (v) the cost of preparing stock
certificates; (vi) the costs and charges of any transfer agent and any registrar; (vii) all
expenses and application fees incurred in connection with any filing with, and clearance of
the offering by, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.; (viii) all expenses
incurred by the Company in connection with any “road show” presentation to potential
investors; (ix) all expenses and application fees related to the listing of the Shares on
the New York Stock Exchange and (x) all costs and expenses of the Underwriters relating to
the Directed Share Program, including the fees and
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disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters and any stamp duties or other taxes
incurred by the Underwriters in connection therewith.
(b) If (i) this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 9, (ii) the Company fails
to tender the Shares for delivery to the Underwriters (other than due to the failure by the
Underwriters to make payment for the Shares pursuant to Section 2) or (iii) the Underwriters
decline to purchase the Shares for any reason permitted under this Agreement, the Company
agrees to reimburse the Underwriters for all out-of-pocket costs and expenses (including the
fees and expenses reasonably incurred by their counsel) reasonably incurred by the
Underwriters in connection with this Agreement and the offering contemplated hereby.
12. Persons Entitled to Benefit of Agreement. This Agreement shall inure to the
benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and the officers
and directors and any controlling persons referred to in Section 7 hereof. Nothing in this
Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any other person any legal or equitable right,
remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision contained herein. No
purchaser of Shares from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor merely by reason of such
purchase.
13. Survival. The respective indemnities, rights of contribution, representations,
warranties and agreements of the Company and the Underwriters contained in this Agreement or made
by or on behalf of the Company or the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement or any certificate
delivered pursuant hereto shall survive the delivery of and payment for the Shares and shall remain
in full force and effect, regardless of any termination of this Agreement or any investigation made
by or on behalf of the Company or the Underwriters.
14. Certain Defined Terms. For purposes of this Agreement, (a) except where otherwise
expressly provided, the term “affiliate” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities
Act; (b) the term “business day” means any day other than a day on which banks are permitted or
required to be closed in New York City; and (c) the term “subsidiary” has the meaning set forth in
Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
15. Miscellaneous.
(a) Authority of the Representatives. Any action by the Underwriters hereunder may be
taken by JPMorgan on behalf of the Underwriters, and any such action taken by JPMorgan shall
be binding upon the Underwriters.
(b) Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and
shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted and confirmed by any
standard form of telecommunication. Notices to the Underwriters shall be given to the
Representatives c/o X.X. Xxxxxx Securities Inc., 000 Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
(fax: (000) 000-0000), Attention: Equity Syndicate Desk and c/o Keefe, Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx,
Inc., 000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, 0xx Xxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
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(fax: ), Attention: . Notices to the Company shall be given to
it at 00000 Xxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000 (fax:___), Attention: Chief
Financial Officer.
(c) Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the
laws of the State of New York.
(d) Counterparts. This Agreement may be signed in counterparts (which may include
counterparts delivered by any standard form of telecommunication), each of which shall be an
original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
(e) Amendments or Waivers. No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement, nor any
consent or approval to any departure therefrom, shall in any event be effective unless the same
shall be in writing and signed by the parties hereto.
(f) Headings. The headings herein are included for convenience of reference only and are not
intended to be part of, or to affect the meaning or interpretation of, this Agreement.
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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please indicate your acceptance of
this Agreement by signing in the space provided below.
Very truly yours, FIRST MERCURY FINANCIAL CORPORATION |
||||
By | ||||
Title: | ||||
Accepted: , 200__ | ||||
X.X. XXXXXX SECURITIES INC. | ||||
XXXXX, XXXXXXXX & XXXXX, INC. | ||||
For themselves and on behalf of the several | ||||
Underwriters listed in Schedule 1 hereto. | ||||
BY: X.X. XXXXXX SECURITIES INC. | ||||
By |
||||
Authorized Signatory | ||||
BY: XXXXX, XXXXXXXX & XXXXX, INC. | ||||
By |
||||
Authorized Signatory |
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