NAVA HEALTH MD, INC. (a Maryland corporation) 1,350,000 Shares of Common Stock UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
Exhibit 1.1
XXXX HEALTH MD, INC.
(a Maryland corporation)
1,350,000 Shares of Common Stock
[--], 0000
XXXXXXXX CAPITAL, INC.
As Representative of the
several Underwriters listed
in Schedule A hereto
c/o WestPark Capital, Inc.
1900 Avenue of the Stars, Xxxxx 000
Xxx Xxxxxxx, XX 00000
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Xxxx Health MD, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement with Westpark Capital, Inc. (“Westpark”) and each of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto (collectively, the “Underwriters,” which term shall also include any underwriter substituted as hereinafter provided in Section 10 hereof), for whom Westpark is acting as representative (in such capacity, the “Representative”), with respect to (i) the sale by the Company and the purchase by the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the respective numbers of shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (“Common Stock”) set forth in Schedule A hereto and (ii) the grant by the Company to the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the option described in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any part of 202,500 additional shares of Common Stock. The aforesaid shares of Common Stock (the “Initial Securities”) to be purchased by the Underwriters and all or any part of the 202,500 shares of Common Stock subject to the option described in Section 2(b) hereof (the “Option Securities”) are herein called, collectively, the “Securities.”
The Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Securities as soon as the Representative deem advisable after this Agreement has been executed and delivered.
The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-268022), including the related preliminary prospectus or prospectuses, covering the registration of the sale of the Securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Promptly after execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file a prospectus in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430A (“Rule 430A”) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the 1933 Act (the “1933 Act Regulations”) and Rule 424(b) (“Rule 424(b)”) of the 1933 Act Regulations. The information included in such prospectus that was omitted from such registration statement at the time it became effective but that is deemed to be part of such registration statement at the time it became effective pursuant to Rule 430A(b) is herein called the “Rule 430A Information.” Such registration statement, including the amendments thereto, the exhibits thereto and any schedules thereto, at the time it became effective, and including the Rule 430A Information, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” Any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the 1933 Act Regulations is herein called the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement” and, after such filing, the term “Registration Statement” shall include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. Each prospectus used prior to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, and each prospectus that omitted the Rule 430A Information that was used after such effectiveness and prior to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, is herein called a “preliminary prospectus.” The final prospectus, in the form first furnished to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offering of the Securities, is herein called the “Prospectus.” For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system or any successor system (“XXXXX”).
As used in this Agreement:
“Applicable Time” means [--] P.M., New York City time, on [--], 202__ or such other time as agreed by the Company and the Representative.
“General Disclosure Package” means any Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectuses issued at or prior to the Applicable Time, the most recent preliminary prospectus that is distributed to investors prior to the Applicable Time and the information included on Schedule B-1 hereto, all considered together.
“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 433”), including without limitation any “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 405”)) relating to the Securities that is (i) required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (ii) a “road show that is a written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i), whether or not required to be filed with the Commission, or (iii) exempt from filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Securities or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g).
“Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is intended for general distribution to prospective investors (other than a “bona fide electronic road show,” as defined in Rule 433), as evidenced by its being specified in Schedule B-2 hereto.
“Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not an Issuer General Use Free Writing Prospectus.
“Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Section 5(d) of the 1933 Act.
“Written Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the 1933 Act.
SECTION 1. Representations and Warranties.
(a) Representations and Warranties by the Company. The Company represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, the Applicable Time, the Closing Time (as defined below) and any Date of Delivery (as defined below), and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:
(i) Registration Statement and Prospectuses. Each of the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto has become effective under the 1933 Act. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto has been issued under the 1933 Act, no order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, contemplated. The Company has complied with each request (if any) from the Commission for additional information.
Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became effective, the Applicable Time, the Closing Time and any Date of Delivery complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations. Each preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, at the time each was filed with the Commission, and, in each case, at the Applicable Time, the Closing Time and any Date of Delivery complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations. Each preliminary prospectus delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with this offering and the Prospectus was or will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to XXXXX, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(ii) Accurate Disclosure. Neither the Registration Statement nor any amendment thereto, at its effective time, at the Closing Time or at any Date of Delivery, contained, contains or will contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. At the Applicable Time and any Date of Delivery, none of (A) the General Disclosure Package, (B) any individual Issuer Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package nor (C) any individual Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. Neither the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto, as of its issue date, at the time of any filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b), at the Closing Time or at any Date of Delivery, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use therein. For purposes of this Agreement, the only information so furnished shall be the information in the sections entitled “Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids” and the information in the section entitled “Electronic Distribution” under the heading “Underwriting” contained in the Prospectus (collectively, the “Underwriter Information”).
(iii) Testing-the-Waters Materials. The Company has not engaged in any Testing-the-Waters Communication, other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with entities that the Company reasonably believes to be qualified institutional buyers within the meaning of Rule 144A under the 1933 Act or institutions that are accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 501 under the 1933 Act. The Company reconfirms that the Representative has been authorized to act on its behalf in undertaking Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company has not distributed any Written Testing-the-Waters Communications, other than those listed on Schedule B-3 hereto.
(iv) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. No Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified. The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
(v) Company Not Ineligible Issuer. At the time of filing the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations) of the Securities and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405, without taking account of any determination by the Commission pursuant to Rule 405 that it is not necessary that the Company be considered an ineligible issuer.
(vi) Independent Accountants. To the knowledge of the Company, M&K CPAs, PLLC, the accountants who certified the financial statements and supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are independent public accountants as required by the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
(vii) Financial Statements; Pro Forma Financial Measures; Non-GAAP Financial Measures. The financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position and results of operations of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates and for the periods to which they apply; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved (provided that unaudited interim financial statements are subject to year-end audit adjustments that are not expected to be material in the aggregate and do not contain all footnotes required by GAAP). The supporting schedules, if any, present fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein. The selected financial data and the summary financial information included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus present fairly, in all material respects, the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included therein. Except as included therein, no other historical or pro forma financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus under the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the 1933 Act, to the extent applicable.
(viii) No Material Adverse Change in Business. Except as otherwise stated therein, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, (A) there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (B) there have been no transactions entered into by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, other than those in the ordinary course of business or as contemplated by this Agreement, which are material with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, and (C) there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock.
(ix) Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Maryland and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement and the Underwriter Warrants (as defined below); and the Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(x) Good Standing of Subsidiaries. Each “significant subsidiary” of the Company (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X) (each, a “Subsidiary” and, collectively, the “Subsidiaries”) has been duly organized and is validly existing in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, has corporate or similar power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of each Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully paid and non-assessable and is owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity. None of the outstanding shares of capital stock of any Subsidiary were issued in violation of any preemptive or similar rights of any securityholder of such Subsidiary. The only subsidiaries of the Company are (A) the subsidiaries listed on Exhibit 21 to the Registration Statement and (B) certain other subsidiaries which, considered in the aggregate as a single subsidiary, do not constitute a “significant subsidiary” as defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X.
(xi) Capitalization. The authorized, issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus in the column entitled “Actual” under the caption “Capitalization” (except for subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant to this Agreement, pursuant to reservations, agreements or employee benefit plans referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or pursuant to the exercise of convertible securities or options referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus). The outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable. None of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company were issued in violation of any preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company that have not been complied with or validly waived.
(xii) Authorization of Agreement. This Agreement and the Underwriter Warrants have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(xiii) Authorization and Description of Securities. The Securities to be purchased by the Underwriters from the Company have been duly authorized for issuance and sale to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company pursuant to this Agreement against payment of the consideration set forth herein, will be validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable; and the issuance of the Securities is not subject to any preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company. The shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Underwriter Warrants (the “Underwriter Warrant Shares”), when issued, paid for and delivered upon due exercise of the Underwriter Warrants, as applicable, will be duly authorized and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, will be issued in compliance with all applicable securities laws, and will be free of preemptive, registration or similar rights. The Underwriter Warrant Shares have been reserved for issuance. The Underwriter Warrants, when issued, will conform in all material respects to the descriptions thereof set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus. The Common Stock conforms, in all material respects, to all statements relating thereto contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and such description conforms, in all material respects, to the rights set forth in the instruments defining the same. No holder of Securities will be subject to personal liability solely by reason of being such a holder.
(xiv) Registration Rights. There are no persons with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities registered for sale pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise registered for sale or sold by the Company under the 1933 Act pursuant to this Agreement, other than those rights that have been disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and have been waived.
(xv) Absence of Violations, Defaults and Conflicts. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (A) in violation of its charter, by-laws or similar organizational document, (B) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound or to which any of the properties or assets of the Company or any subsidiary is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”), except for such defaults that would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or (C) in violation of any law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties, assets or operations (each, a “Governmental Entity”), except for such violations that would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Underwriter Warrants and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein and in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (including the issuance and sale of the Securities and the use of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described therein under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) and compliance by the Company with its obligations hereunder and thereunder have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any properties or assets of the Company or any subsidiary pursuant to, the Agreements and Instruments (except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults or Repayment Events or liens, charges or encumbrances that would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect), nor will such action result in any violation of (x) the provisions of the charter, by-laws or similar organizational document of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (y) any law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any Governmental Entity, except, in the case of clause (y), for such violations as would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any of its subsidiaries.
(xvi) Absence of Labor Dispute. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or any subsidiary’s principal suppliers, manufacturers, customers or contractors, which, in either case, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xvii) Absence of Proceedings. There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any Governmental Entity now pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries, which would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or which would reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect their respective properties or assets or the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement or the Underwriter Warrants or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and thereunder; and the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any such subsidiary is a party or of which any of their respective properties or assets is the subject which are not described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xviii) [Intentionally left blank.]
(xix) Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any Governmental Entity is necessary or required for the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering, issuance or sale of the Securities hereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have been already obtained or as may be required under the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the rules of the Nasdaq, state securities laws or the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”).
(xx) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Company and its subsidiaries possess or qualify for an exemption from any applicable requirement to obtain, such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate Governmental Entities necessary to conduct the business now operated by them, except where the failure so to possess would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. All of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except where the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xxi) Title to Property. The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all real property owned by them and good title to all other properties owned by them, in each case, free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests, claims, restrictions or encumbrances of any kind except such as (A) are described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or (B) do not, singly or in the aggregate, materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company or any of its subsidiaries; and all of the leases and subleases material to the business of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, and under which the Company or any of its subsidiaries holds properties described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, are in full force and effect, and neither the Company nor any such subsidiary is aware of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any subsidiary under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company or such subsidiary to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease.
(xxii) Intellectual Property. Except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries own, otherwise have, or can acquire on reasonable terms, valid, enforceable and adequate rights to use all patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, software, technology, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names, trade dress, domain names, social media identifiers and accounts, and other intellectual property and proprietary rights of any kind or nature in any and all applicable jurisdictions throughout the world (including all goodwill associated with, and all registrations of and applications for registration of, the foregoing) (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) used or held for use in, or otherwise necessary for or material to the conduct of their respective businesses as currently conducted and as proposed to be conducted as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. Except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, the Intellectual Property owned by the Company and its subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of the Company, the Intellectual Property licensed to the Company and its subsidiaries have not been adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part. Except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, to the knowledge of the Company, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor the conduct of their respective businesses, infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates, or has infringed, misappropriated or violated, any Intellectual Property of others. Except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, written threat of action, suit, proceeding or claim (A) challenging the Company’s or any subsidiary of the Company’s rights in or to any Intellectual Property owned by or licensed to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (B) alleging that the Company or any of its subsidiaries has infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated or conflicted with any Intellectual Property of any third party, or (C) challenging the ownership, validity, scope or enforceability of any Intellectual Property owned by or exclusively licensed to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any written notice of, or is otherwise aware of any facts that would form the basis for, any such action, suit, proceeding or claim. Except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, all Intellectual Property owned by the Company or its subsidiaries is owned solely by the Company or its subsidiaries, is owned free and clear of all liens and encumbrances, and to the knowledge of the Company, no third party is infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating, or has infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated, any Intellectual Property owned by or exclusively licensed to the Company or any of its subsidiaries. To the Company’s knowledge, no employee of the Company is in or has ever been in violation in any material respect of any term of any employment contract, patent disclosure agreement, invention assignment agreement, non-competition agreement, nonsolicitation agreement, nondisclosure agreement or any restrictive covenant to or with a former employer. The Company and its subsidiaries take, and have taken, commercially reasonable steps in accordance with customary industry practice to maintain the confidentiality of all Intellectual Property, the value of which to the Company or any of its subsidiaries is contingent upon maintaining the confidentiality thereof. To the Company’s knowledge, all material technical information developed by and belonging to the Company which has not been patented has been kept confidential.
(xxiii) Environmental Laws. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (A) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any federal, state, local or foreign laws, rules, regulations, decisions or 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”), (B) the Company and its subsidiaries have received and are in compliance with all permits, authorizations and approvals required under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and (C) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has 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.
(xxiv) Accounting Controls. The Company maintains effective internal control over financial reporting (as defined under Rules 13-a15 and 15d-15 under the rules and regulations of the Commission under the 1934 Act (the “1934 Act Regulations”)) and a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (1) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (2) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially and adversely affected, or is reasonably likely to materially and adversely affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
(xxv) Compliance with the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act. The Company has taken all necessary actions to ensure that, upon the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, it will be in compliance in all material respects with all provisions of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or implementing the provisions thereof (the “Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act”) that are then in effect and with which the Company is required to comply as of the effectiveness of the Registration Statement.
(xxvi) Payment of Taxes. All United States federal income tax returns of the Company and its subsidiaries required by law to be filed have been filed and all taxes shown by such returns or otherwise assessed, which are due and payable, have been paid, except assessments against which appeals have been or will be promptly taken and as to which adequate reserves have been provided and except insofar as the failure to pay such taxes would not reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and its subsidiaries have filed all other tax returns that are required to have been filed by them pursuant to applicable foreign, state, local or other law except insofar as the failure to file such returns would not reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, and has paid all taxes due pursuant to such returns or pursuant to any assessment received by the Company and its subsidiaries, except for such taxes, if any, as are being contested in good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been established by the Company and except insofar as the failure to pay such taxes would not reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company in respect of any income tax liability for any years not finally determined are adequate to meet any assessments or re-assessments for additional income tax for any years not finally determined, except to the extent of any inadequacy that would not reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xxvii) Insurance. The Company and its subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the business in which the Company and its subsidiaries are engaged. Neither the Company or its subsidiaries has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverages when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business and at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xxviii) Investment Company Act. The Company is not required, and upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus will not be required, to register as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).
(xxix) Absence of Manipulation. None of the Company or any controlled affiliate of the Company, or to the knowledge of the Company, any non-controlled affiliate of the Company has taken, nor will the Company or any controlled affiliate of the Company, or to the knowledge of the Company, any non-controlled affiliate take, directly or indirectly, any action which is designed, or would reasonably be expected, to cause or result in, or which constitutes, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities or to result in a violation of Regulation M under the 1934 Act.
(xxx) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “FCPA”), including, without limitation, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and the Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, its affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA.
(xxxi) 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 applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Entity (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”); and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any Governmental Entity involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(xxxii) OFAC. None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or representative of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is an individual or entity (“Person”) currently the subject or target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the United States Government, including, without limitation, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor is the Company located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions; and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the sale of the Securities, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiaries, joint venture partners or other Person, to fund any activities of or business with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is the subject of Sanctions or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any Person (including any Person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions.
(xxxiii) Lending Relationship. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company (i) does not have any material lending or other relationship with any bank or lending affiliate of any Underwriter and (ii) does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of any Underwriter.
(xxxiv) Statistical and Market-Related Data. Any statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably believes to be reliable and accurate in all material respects and, to the extent required, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources.
(xxxv) Emerging Growth Company Status. From the time of the initial confidential submission of the Registration Statement to the Commission (or, if earlier, the first date on which the Company engaged directly or through any Person authorized to act on its behalf in any Testing-the-Waters Communication) through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the 1933 Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”).
(xxxvi) IT Systems and Data. Except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Company and its subsidiaries own or have a valid right to access and use all information technology assets and computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, data and databases (including the Protected Data (as defined below) and other data and information of their respective users, customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third party data maintained, stored or otherwise processed by the Company and its subsidiaries, and any such data processed or stored by third parties on behalf of the Company and its subsidiaries), equipment and technology used in their respective businesses (collectively, “IT Systems and Data”); (ii) the IT Systems and Data (A) are adequate for, and operate and perform as required in connection with, the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently conducted and as proposed to be conducted in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (B) have not malfunctioned or failed in a manner that has not been materially remediated prior to the date hereof, and (C) to the knowledge of the Company, are free and clear of all bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, back doors, drop dead devices, malware and other corruptants, including software or hardware components that are designed to interrupt use of, permit unauthorized access to or disable, damage or erase the IT Systems and Data. To the Company’s knowledge, neither the Company nor its subsidiaries have been notified of, and each of them have no knowledge of any event or condition that would be reasonably expected to result in, any security breach or incident, unauthorized access or disclosure or other compromise to the IT Systems and Data. The Company and its subsidiaries have established, implemented and maintained controls, policies, procedures, and technological safeguards designed to maintain and protect their confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of the IT Systems and Data according to commercially reasonable standards and practices and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulatory standards.
(xxxvii) Data Protection Compliance. The Company and its subsidiaries are presently in compliance in all material respects with, and at all prior times during the past three years, have been in compliance in all material respects with, all of their internal and external privacy policies and notices, contractual obligations binding upon any of them, and applicable laws, statutes, judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or other governmental or regulatory authority, and all other legal obligations applicable to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, in each case, relating to the collection, use, transfer, import, export, storage, protection, disposal, disclosure or other processing by or on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries of personal, personally identifiable, confidential or regulated data or information (collectively, “Data Protection Obligations,” and such data or information, “Protected Data”). Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries have received any written notification of or complaint regarding or are otherwise aware of any facts that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably indicate non-compliance by the Company or any of its subsidiaries with any Data Protection Obligation. There is no action, suit, investigation or proceeding against the Company or any of its subsidiaries by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened in writing, against the Company or any of its subsidiaries, alleging non-compliance with any Data Protection Obligations by the Company or any of its subsidiaries.
(xxxviii) Open Source. The Company and its subsidiaries use and have used any and all software and other materials distributed under a “free,” “open source,” or similar licensing model (including, but not limited to, the MIT License, Apache License, GNU General Public License, GNU Lesser General Public License and GNU Affero General Public License) (collectively, “Open Source Software”) in compliance in all material respects with all license terms applicable to such Open Source Software and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries have used or distributed any Open Source Software in a manner that requires or has required (i) the Company or any of its subsidiaries to permit reverse engineering of any products or services of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any software code or other technology owned by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or (ii) any products or services of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any software code or other technology owned by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, to be (A) disclosed or distributed in source code form, (B) licensed for the purpose of making derivative works, or (C) redistributed at no charge.
(xil) Ratings. Neither the Company nor its subsidiaries have any debt securities or preferred stock that are rated by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the 1934 Act).
(b) Officer’s Certificates. Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries delivered to the Representative or to counsel for the Underwriters shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to each Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.
SECTION 2. Sale and Delivery to Underwriters; Closing.
(a) Initial Securities. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to sell to each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Company, at the price per share set forth in Schedule A, that number of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter, plus any additional number of Initial Securities which such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 hereof, subject, in each case, to such adjustments among the Underwriters as the Representative in its sole discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional shares.
(b) Option Securities. In addition, on the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company hereby grants an option to the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, to purchase up to an additional 202,500 shares of Common Stock, at the price per share set forth in Schedule A, less an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Initial Securities but not payable on the Option Securities. The option hereby granted may be exercised for 45 days after the date hereof and may be exercised in whole or in part at any time from time to time upon notice by the Representative to the Company setting forth the number of Option Securities as to which the several Underwriters are then exercising the option and the time and date of payment and delivery for such Option Securities. Any such time and date of delivery (a “Date of Delivery”) shall be determined by the Representative, but shall not be later than seven full business days after the exercise of said option, nor in any event prior to the Closing Time. If the option is exercised as to all or any portion of the Option Securities, each of the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, will purchase that proportion of the total number of Option Securities then being purchased which the number of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Initial Securities, subject, in each case, to such adjustments as the Representative in its sole discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional shares.
(c) Payment. Payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of certificates or security entitlements for, the Initial Securities shall be made at the offices of Manatt, Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx, LLP, 000 Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx, Xxxxx Xxxx, XX 00000, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company, at 9:00 A.M. (New York City time) on the second (third, if the pricing occurs after 4:30 P.M. (New York City time) on any given day) business day after the date hereof (unless postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 10), or such other time not later than ten business days after such date as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company (such time and date of payment and delivery being herein called “Closing Time”).
In addition, in the event that any or all of the Option Securities are purchased by the Underwriters, payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of certificates or security entitlements for, such Option Securities shall be made at the above-mentioned offices, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representative and the Company, on each Date of Delivery as specified in the notice from the Representative to the Company.
Payment shall be made to the Company by wire transfer of immediately available funds to a bank account designated by the Company against delivery to the Representative for the respective accounts of the Underwriters of certificates or security entitlements for the Securities to be purchased by them. It is understood that each Underwriter has authorized the Representative, for its account, to accept delivery of, receipt for, and make payment of the purchase price for, the Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, which it has agreed to purchase. Westpark, individually and not as representative of the Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment of the purchase price for the Initial Securities or the Option Securities, if any, to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds have not been received by the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, but such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from its obligations hereunder.
(d) Underwriter Warrants. At the Closing Time, the Company shall issue to the Representative or its designee warrants (the “Underwriter Warrants”), substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C, to purchase that number of shares of Common Stock of the Company, equal to 7.5% of the aggregate number of Initial Securities or Option Securities issued and sold at such time, as applicable. The Underwriter Warrants shall be exercisable, in whole or in part, for five (5) years from the effective date of the offering at an initial exercise price per share of Common Stock of $[●], which is equal to 130% of the public offering price of the Securities.
SECTION 3. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants with each Underwriter as follows:
(a) Compliance with Securities Regulations and Commission Requests. The Company, subject to Section 3(b), will comply with the requirements of Rule 430A, and will notify the Representative promptly, and confirm the notice in writing (which may be by email), (i) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement shall become effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus shall have been filed, (ii) of the receipt of any comments from the Commission, (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or for additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, or of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the 1933 Act concerning the Registration Statement and (v) if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act in connection with the offering of the Securities. The Company will effect all filings required under Rule 424(b), in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)), and will take such steps as it deems necessary to ascertain promptly whether the form of prospectus transmitted for filing under Rule 424(b) was received for filing by the Commission and, in the event that it was not, it will promptly file such prospectus. The Company will make every reasonable effort to prevent the issuance of any stop order, prevention or suspension and, if any such order is issued, to obtain the lifting thereof as soon as practicable.
(b) Continued Compliance with Securities Laws. The Company will comply with the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Securities as contemplated in this Agreement and in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. If at any time when a prospectus relating to the Securities is (or, but for the exception afforded by Rule 172 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 172”), would be) required by the 1933 Act to be delivered in connection with sales of the Securities, any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters or for the Company, to (i) amend the Registration Statement in order that the Registration Statement will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus in order that the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, as the case may be, will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances existing at the time it is delivered to a purchaser or (iii) amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, as the case may be, in order to comply with the requirements of the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations, the Company will promptly (A) give the Representative notice of such event, (B) prepare any amendment or supplement as may be necessary to correct such statement or omission or to make the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus comply with such requirements and, a reasonable amount of time prior to any proposed filing or use, furnish the Representative with copies of any such amendment or supplement and (C) file with the Commission any such amendment or supplement; provided that the Company shall not file or use any such amendment or supplement to which the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object. The Company will furnish to the Underwriters such number of copies of such amendment or supplement as the Underwriters may reasonably request. The Company has given the Representative notice of any filings made pursuant to the 1934 Act or 1934 Act Regulations within 48 hours prior to the Applicable Time; the Company will give the Representative notice of its intention to make any such filing from the Applicable Time to the Closing Time and will furnish the Representative with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document to which the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object.
(c) Delivery of Registration Statements. The Company has furnished or will deliver to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters, if requested, without charge, signed copies of the Registration Statement as originally filed and each amendment thereto (including exhibits filed therewith) and signed copies of all consents and certificates of experts, and will also deliver to the Representative, without charge, a conformed copy of the Registration Statement as originally filed and each amendment thereto (without exhibits) for each of the Underwriters. The copies of the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to XXXXX, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(d) Delivery of Prospectuses. The Company has delivered to each Underwriter, without charge, as many copies of each preliminary prospectus as such Underwriter reasonably requested, and the Company hereby consents to the use of such copies for purposes permitted by the 1933 Act. The Company will furnish to each Underwriter, without charge, during the period when a prospectus relating to the Securities is (or, but for the exception afforded by Rule 172, would be) required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, such number of copies of the Prospectus (as amended or supplemented) as such Underwriter may reasonably request. The Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to XXXXX, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(e) Blue Sky Qualifications. The Company will use its reasonable best efforts, in cooperation with the Underwriters, to qualify the Securities for offering and sale under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Representative may designate and to maintain such qualifications in effect so long as required to complete the distribution of the Securities; provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject.
(f) Rule 158. The Company will timely file such reports pursuant to the 1934 Act as are necessary in order to make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable an earnings statement for the purposes of, and to provide to the Underwriters the benefits contemplated by, the last paragraph of Section 11(a) of the 1933 Act.
(g) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Securities in the manner specified in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under “Use of Proceeds.”
(h) Listing. The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to effect and maintain the listing of the Common Stock (including the Securities) on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
(i) Restriction on Sale of Securities. During a period of one (1) year from the date of the Prospectus, the Company will not, without the prior written consent of the Representative, (i) offer, issue, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of capital stock of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of the Company, (ii) file or caused to be filed any registration statement with the Commission relating to the offering of any shares of capital stock of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of the Company, (iii) complete any offering of debt securities of the Company, other than entering into a line of credit or term facility with a traditional bank or (iv) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers to another entity, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of capital stock of the Company, whether any such transaction described in clause (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) above is to be settled by delivery of shares of capital stock of the Company or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Securities to be sold hereunder and the issuance of the Underwriter Warrants and the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of such Underwriter Warrants, (B) any shares of Common Stock issued by the Company upon the exercise of an option or warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date hereof and referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (C) the reacquisition or withholding of all or a portion of shares of Common Stock subject to a stock award to satisfy a tax withholding obligation of the Company in connection with the vesting or exercise of such stock award or to satisfy the purchase price or exercise price of such stock award, (D) the grant of compensatory equity-based awards, and/or the issuance of shares of Common Stock with respect thereto, made pursuant to compensatory equity-based plans referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (E) the filing of a registration statement on Form S-8 or any successor form thereto with respect to the registration of securities to be offered or granted pursuant to existing employee benefit or equity incentive plans of the Company referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (F) any shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to any non-employee director stock plan or dividend reinvestment plan referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, or (G) the issuance of shares of Common Stock, restricted stock awards or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock in connection with (i) the acquisition of the securities, business, property or other assets of another Person or pursuant to any employee benefit plan assumed in connection with any such acquisition, (ii) joint ventures, (iii) commercial relationships or (iv) other strategic transactions, provided that the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock, restricted stock awards and shares of Common Stock issuable upon the conversion, exercise or exchange of securities (on an as converted or as exercised basis, as the case may be) issued pursuant to this clause (G) shall not exceed 10% of the total number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately following the issuance and sale of the Securities at the Closing Time pursuant hereto; and provided, further, that each recipient of shares of Common Stock, restricted stock awards or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock pursuant to this clause agrees to be bound by the terms of the lock-up or shall execute a lock-up agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the Company shall cause an option holder who is not a holder of any shares of Common Stock to execute a lock-up agreement in the form of Exhibit A hereto at the time such holder exercises his or her option during a period of one (1) year from the date of the Prospectus.
(j) Waiver Press Release. If the Representative, in its sole discretion, agrees to release or waive the restrictions set forth in a lock-up agreement described in Section 5(j) hereof for an officer or director of the Company and provides the Company with notice of the impending release or waiver at least three business days before the effective date of the release or waiver, the Company agrees to announce the impending release or waiver by a press release substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver.
(k) Reporting Requirements. The Company, during the period when a Prospectus relating to the Securities is (or, but for the exception afforded by Rule 172, would be) required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the 1934 Act within the time periods required by the 1934 Act and 1934 Act Regulations. Additionally, the Company shall report the use of proceeds from the issuance of the Securities as may be required under Rule 463 under the 1933 Act.
(l) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Representative, it will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” or a portion thereof, required to be filed by the Company with the Commission or retained by the Company under Rule 433; provided that the Representative will be deemed to have consented to the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses listed on Schedule B-2 hereto and any “road show that is a written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i) that has been reviewed by the Representative. The Company represents that it has treated or agrees that it will treat each such free writing prospectus consented to, or deemed consented to, by the Representative as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and that it has complied and will comply with the applicable requirements of Rule 433 with respect thereto, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping. If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, which has not been superseded or modified, or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representative and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.
(m) Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners. The Company will deliver to the Representative, on the date of execution of this Agreement, a properly completed and executed Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers, together with copies of identifying documentation, and the Company undertakes to provide such additional supporting documentation as the Representative may reasonably request in connection with the verification of the foregoing certification.
(o) Testing-the-Waters Materials. If at any time following the distribution of any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representative and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication to eliminate or correct such untrue statement or omission.
(p) Emerging Growth Company Status. The Company will promptly notify the Representative if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the later of (i) completion of the distribution of the Securities within the meaning of the 1933 Act and (ii) completion of the one (1) year restricted period referred to in Section 3(i).
SECTION 4. Payment of Expenses.
(a) Expenses. The Company will pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement (including financial statements and exhibits) as originally filed and each amendment thereto, (ii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of each preliminary prospectus, each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing by the Underwriters to investors, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates or security entitlements for the Securities to the Underwriters, including any stock transfer and/or stamp taxes, if any, payable upon transfer of the Securities to the Underwriters, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the Company’s counsel, accountants and other advisors, (v) the filings fees and expenses for the qualification of the Securities under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(e) hereof, (vi) the fees and expenses of any transfer agent or registrar for the Securities, (vii) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” (including any costs associated with the use of a third-party electronic road show service) undertaken in connection with the marketing of the Securities, including without limitation, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged by the Company in connection with the road show presentations, travel and lodging expenses of the Representative and officers of the Company and any such consultants, (viii) the filing fees incident to the review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Securities, (ix) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the Securities on the Nasdaq Capital Markets; (x) the costs and expenses related to deal tracking software, reproduction costs; (xi) cost of directors’ and officers’ background check(s) and investigations; (xii) out-of-pocket costs of an escrow agent or clearing agent, as applicable; (xiii) tombstones and marketing-related expenses; and (xiv) the costs and expenses (including, without limitation, any damages or other amounts payable in connection with legal or contractual liability) associated with the reforming of any contracts for sale of the Securities made by the Underwriters caused by a breach of the representation contained in the third sentence of Section 1(a)(ii). Except as provided for by this Agreement, the Underwriters will pay all of their own expenses, provided, that on the Closing Time the Company shall reimburse the Representative for up to $175,000 for all of its expenses including legal fees and expenses of Representative’s own counsel, expenses under subsections 4(a)(i)-(xiv) and other reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the offering by deduction from the net proceeds of the Offering contemplated herein. The Company further agrees that, in addition to the expenses payable pursuant to this Section 4(a), on the Closing Time it shall pay to the Representative, by deduction from the net proceeds of the Offering contemplated herein, a non-accountable expense allowance equal to 1.0% of the gross proceeds received by the Company from the sale of the Securities. Any advance received by the Representative will be reimbursed to the Company to the extent not actually incurred in compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(4)(A).
(b) Termination of Agreement. If this Agreement is terminated by the Representative in accordance with the provisions of Section 5, Section 9(a)(i) or (iii) or Section 10 hereof, the Company shall reimburse the Underwriters for their reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses that were actually incurred, including the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters; provided that, if this Agreement is terminated by the Representative pursuant to Section 10 hereof, the Company will have no obligation to reimburse any defaulting Underwriter; provided further that, any reimbursement owed pursuant to this subsection 4(b) shall remain subject to the limitations on reimbursement provided for in subsection 4(a) hereof.
SECTION 5. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligations of the several Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein or in certificates of any officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries delivered pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder, and to the following further conditions:
(a) Effectiveness of Registration Statement; Rule 430A Information. The Registration Statement, including any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, has become effective and, at the Closing Time, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto has been issued under the 1933 Act, no order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, contemplated; and the Company has complied with each request (if any) from the Commission for additional information. A prospectus containing the Rule 430A Information shall have been filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time frame required by Rule 424(b) without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) or a post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been filed with, and declared effective by, the Commission in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430A.
(b) Opinion and Negative Assurance Letters of Counsel for Company.
(i) Opinion of Xxxxxxx LLP. At the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the opinion, dated the Closing Time, of Xxxxxxx LLP, counsel for the Company, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters.
(ii) Negative Assurance Letter of Xxxxxxx LLP. At the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received a negative assurance letter, dated the Closing Time, of Xxxxxxx LLP, counsel for the Company, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters.
(iii) Negative Assurance Letter of Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx LLC. At the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received a negative assurance letter addressing healthcare regulatory disclosures, dated the Closing Time, of Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx LLC, healthcare regulatory counsel for the Company, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters.
(c) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. At the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received the opinion, dated the Closing Time, of Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx, LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the underwriters.
(d) Officers’ Certificate. At the Closing Time, there shall not have been, since the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, and the Representative shall have received a certificate of the Chief Executive Officer or the President of the Company and of the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Company, dated the Closing Time, to the effect that (i) there has been no such material adverse change, (ii) to the best of their knowledge after reasonable investigation, the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct in all material respects (except for those representations and warranties qualified as to materiality, which shall be true and correct in all respects and except for those representations and warranties which refer to facts existing at a specific date, which shall be true and correct as of such date) with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of the Closing Time, (iii) to the best of their knowledge after reasonable investigation, the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Time, and (iv) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement under the 1933 Act has been issued, no order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to their knowledge, contemplated.
(e) Secretary’s Certificate. At the date of this Agreement and at the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received a certificate, dated as of the applicable time, of the Secretary of the Company, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters, as the case may be, respectively, certifying on behalf of the Company and not in an individual capacity: (i) that each of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation (as the same may be amended or restated from time to time, the “Charter”) or the by-laws of the Company (the “Bylaws”) is true and complete, has not been modified and is in full force and effect; (ii) that the resolutions of the Company’s Board of Directors (and any pricing committee thereof) relating to the Offering are in full force and effect and have not been modified; (iii) as to the accuracy and completeness of all correspondence between the Company or its counsel and the Commission; and (iv) as to the incumbency of the officers of the Company. The documents referred to in such certificate shall be attached to such certificate
(f) Chief Financial Officer’s Certificate. At the date of this Agreement and at the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received a certificate, dated as of the applicable time, of the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters, as to the accuracy of certain data contained in the preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus, respectively.
(g) Accountant’s Comfort Letter. At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Representative shall have received from M&K CPAs, PLLC a letter, dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(h) Bring-down Comfort Letter. At the Closing Time, the Representative shall have received from M&K CPAs, PLLC a letter, dated as of the Closing Time, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to subsection (g) of this Section, except that the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three business days prior to the Closing Time.
(i) Approval of Listing. At the Closing Time, the Securities shall have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Markets, subject only to official notice of issuance.
(j) No Objection. FINRA has confirmed that it has not raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements relating to the offering of the Securities.
(k) Lock-up Agreements. At the date of this Agreement, the Representative shall have received lock-up agreements, substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto, signed respectively by the persons and entities listed on Schedule C hereto. For the avoidance of doubt, the lock-up agreements signed by the retail stockholders shall be effected through the Company sending email notifications to the retail stockholders, with such notifications specifying the end date of the lock-up period (which is one (1) year from the date of the Prospectus).
(l) Conditions to Purchase of Option Securities. In the event that the Underwriters exercise their option provided in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any portion of the Option Securities, the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein and the statements in any certificates furnished by the Company and any of its subsidiaries hereunder shall be true and correct as of each Date of Delivery, and, at the relevant Date of Delivery, the Representative shall have received:
(i) Officers’ Certificate. A certificate, dated such Date of Delivery, of the chief executive officer, President or a Vice President of the Company and of the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Company confirming that the certificate delivered at the Closing Time pursuant to Section 5(d) hereof remains true and correct as of such Date of Delivery.
(ii) Opinion of Xxxxxxx LLP. The opinion of Xxxxxxx LLP, counsel for the Company, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(b)(i) hereof.
(iii) Negative Assurance Letter of Xxxxxxx LLP. The negative assurance letter of Xxxxxxx LLP, counsel for the Company, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the negative assurance letter required by Section 5(b)(ii) hereof.
(iv) Negative Assurance Letter of Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx LLC. The negative assurance letter of Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx LLC, healthcare regulatory counsel for the Company, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the negative assurance letter required by Section 5(b)(iii) hereof.
(v) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. The opinion of Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx, LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(c) hereof.
(vi) Secretary’s Certificate. The certificate of the Secretary of the Company, dated such Date of Delivery, to the same effect as the certificate required by Section 5(e) hereof.
(vii) Chief Financial Officer’s Certificate. The certificate of the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, dated such Date of Delivery, to the same effect as the certificate required by Section 5(f) hereof
(viii) Bring-down Comfort Letter. If requested by the Representative, a letter from M&K CPAs, PLLC in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative and dated such Date of Delivery, substantially in the same form and substance as the letter furnished to the Representative pursuant to Section 5(g) hereof, except that the “specified date” in the letter furnished pursuant to this paragraph shall be a date not more than three business days prior to such Date of Delivery.
(m) Additional Documents. At the Closing Time and at each Date of Delivery (if any) counsel for the Underwriters shall have been furnished with such documents and certificates as they may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, herein contained; and all proceedings taken by the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated shall be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters.
(n) [Intentionally left blank.]
SECTION 6. Indemnification.
(a) Indemnification of Underwriters. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule 501(b) under the 1933 Act (each, an “Affiliate”)), its selling agents and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act (the “Underwriter Indemnified Parties”) as follows:
(i) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included (A) in any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or (B) in any materials or information provided to investors by, or with the approval of, the Company in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Securities (“Marketing Materials”), including any roadshow or investor presentations made to investors by the Company (whether in person or electronically), or the omission or alleged omission in any preliminary prospectus, Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, Prospectus or in any Marketing Materials of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
(ii) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company;
(iii) against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by Westpark), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under (i) or (ii) above (the “Expenses”) and further agrees wherever and whenever possible to advance payment of the Expenses as they are incurred by an Underwriter Indemnified Party under this Section 6 (a)(iii);
provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
(b) Indemnification of Company, Directors and Officers. Each Underwriter severally agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, each of its officers who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act, against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in subsection (a) of this Section, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
(c) Actions against Parties; Notification. Each indemnified party shall give notice as promptly as reasonably practicable to each indemnifying party of any action commenced against it in respect of which indemnity may be sought hereunder, but failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder to the extent it is not materially prejudiced as a result thereof and in any event shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have otherwise than on account of this indemnity agreement. In the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(a) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by Westpark, and, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(b) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Company. An indemnifying party may participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action; provided, however, that counsel to the indemnifying party shall not (except with the consent of the indemnified party) also be counsel to the indemnified party. In no event shall the indemnifying parties be liable for fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for all indemnified parties in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 6 or Section 7 hereof (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(d) [Intentionally left blank.]
SECTION 7. Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in Section 6 hereof is for any reason unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount of such losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by such indemnified party, as incurred, (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement 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) above but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and of the Underwriters, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions, which resulted in such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.
The relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, in connection with the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company, on the one hand, and the total underwriting discount received by the Underwriters, on the other hand, in each case as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus, bear to the aggregate initial public offering price of the Securities as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus.
The relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
The 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 which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this Section 7. The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified party and referred to above in this Section 7 shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the underwriting commissions received by such Underwriter in connection with the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public.
No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the 0000 Xxx) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.
For purposes of this Section 7, each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act and each Underwriter’s Affiliates and selling agents shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company. The Underwriters’ respective obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7 are several in proportion to the number of Initial Securities set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule A hereto and not joint.
SECTION 8. Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive. All representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement or in certificates of officers of the Company or any of its subsidiaries submitted pursuant hereto, shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or its Affiliates or selling agents, any person controlling any Underwriter, its officers or directors or any person controlling the Company or (ii) delivery of and payment for the Securities.
SECTION 9. Termination of Agreement.
(a) Termination. The Representative may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, at any time at or prior to the Closing Time (i) if there has been, in the judgment of the Representative, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, or (ii) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representative, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the completion of the offering or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities, or (iii) if trading in any securities of the Company has been suspended or materially limited by the Commission or the Nasdaq, or (iv) if trading generally on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq stock market has been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by any of said exchanges or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any other governmental authority, or (v) a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States or with respect to Clearstream or Euroclear systems in Europe, or (vi) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either Federal or New York authorities.
(b) Liabilities. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section, such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 hereof, and provided further that Sections 6 and 7 shall survive such termination and remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 10. Default by One or More of the Underwriters. If one or more of the Underwriters shall fail at the Closing Time or a Date of Delivery to purchase the Securities which it or they are obligated to purchase under this Agreement (the “Defaulted Securities”), then:
(i) if the number of Defaulted Securities does not exceed 10% of the number of Securities to be purchased on such date, each of the non-defaulting Underwriters shall be obligated, severally and not jointly, to purchase the full amount thereof in the proportions that their respective underwriting obligations hereunder bear to the underwriting obligations of all non-defaulting Underwriters, or
(ii) if the number of Defaulted Securities exceeds 10% of the number of Securities to be purchased on such date, the Representative shall have the right, within one (1) business day thereafter, to make arrangements for one or more of the non-defaulting Underwriters, or any other underwriters, to purchase all, but not less than all, of the Defaulted Securities in such amounts as may be agreed upon and upon the terms herein set forth; if, however, the Representative shall not have completed such arrangements within such 24-hour period, then the Company shall be entitled to a further one (1) business day period to procure another party or parties to purchase the Defaulted Securities upon the terms herein set forth. If neither the Representative or nor the Company is able to procure a purchaser for the Defaulted Securities, this Agreement or, with respect to any Date of Delivery which occurs after the Closing Time, the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase, and the Company to sell, the Option Securities to be purchased and sold on such Date of Delivery shall terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter and the Company, except that the obligations with respect to expenses to be paid or reimbursed pursuant to Section 4 and Sections 6 and 7, shall not terminate and shall remain in full force and effect.
No action taken pursuant to this Section shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of its default.
In the event of any such default which does not result in a termination of this Agreement or, in the case of a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, which does not result in a termination of the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase and the Company to sell the relevant Option Securities, as the case may be, either the (i) Representative or (ii) the Company shall have the right to postpone Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, for a period not exceeding seven days in order to effect any required changes in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements. As used herein, the term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for an Underwriter under this Section 10.
SECTION 11. Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of telecommunication. Notices to the Underwriters shall be directed to Westpark Capital, Inc., 0000 Xxxxxx xx xxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx 000, Xxx Xxxxxxx, XX 00000, attention of Chief Executive Officer with copies to Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx, LLP, 000 Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx, Xxxxx Xxxx, XX 00000 attention of Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx, Esq. Notices to the Company shall be directed to it at Xxxx Health MD, Inc., attention of Chief Executive Officer, with copies to Xxxxxxx LLP, 000 Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 000, Xxxxxxxxx, XX 00000, attention of Xxxx X. Xxxxx, Esq.
SECTION 12. No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (a) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the initial public offering price of the Securities and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, and does not constitute a recommendation, investment advice, or solicitation of any action by the Underwriters, (b) in connection with the offering of the Securities and the process leading thereto, each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, any of its subsidiaries or its respective stockholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (c) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering of the Securities or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company or any of its subsidiaries on other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the Company with respect to the offering of the Securities except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company, and (e) the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory, investment or tax advice with respect to the offering of the Securities and the Company has consulted its own respective legal, accounting, financial, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate, and (f) none of the activities of the Underwriters in connection with the transactions contemplated herein constitutes a recommendation, investment advice or solicitation of any action by the Underwriters with respect to any entity or natural person.
SECTION 13. [Intentionally left blank.]
SECTION 14. Parties. This Agreement shall each inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters and the Company and their respective successors. Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, firm or corporation, other than the Underwriters and the Company and their respective successors and the controlling persons and officers and directors referred to in Sections 6 and 7 and their heirs and legal representative, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained. This Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Underwriters and the Company and their respective successors, and said controlling persons and officers and directors and their heirs and legal representative, and for the benefit of no other person, firm or corporation. No purchaser of Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor by reason merely of such purchase.
SECTION 15. Trial by Jury. The Company (on its behalf and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, on behalf of its stockholders and affiliates) and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
SECTION 16. GOVERNING LAW. THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY CLAIM, CONTROVERSY OR DISPUTE ARISING UNDER OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF, THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO ITS CHOICE OF LAW PROVISIONS.
SECTION 17. Consent to Jurisdiction; Waiver of Immunity. Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby (“Related Proceedings”) shall be instituted in (i) the federal courts of the United States of America located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan or (ii) the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any such court (a “Related Judgment”), as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.
SECTION 18. TIME. TIME SHALL BE OF THE ESSENCE OF THIS AGREEMENT. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SET FORTH HEREIN, SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME.
SECTION 19. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same Agreement. Electronic signatures complying with the New York Electronic Signatures and Records Act (N.Y. State Tech. §§301-309), as amended from time to time, or other applicable law will be deemed original signatures for purposes of this Agreement. Transmission by telecopy, electronic mail or other transmission method of an executed counterpart of this Agreement will constitute due and sufficient delivery of such counterpart.
SECTION 20. Effect of Headings. The Section headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.
If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Underwriters and the Company, please so indicate in the space
Very truly yours | |
XXXX HEALTH MD, INC. | |
By: | |
Name: | |
Title: |
Confirmed as of the date first written above,
on behalf of itself and as Representative
of the several Underwriters named on Schedule A
hereto:
WESTPARK CAPITAL, INC. | |
By: | |
Name: | |
Title: |
SCHEDULE A
The initial public offering price per share for the Securities shall be $[--].
The purchase price per share for the Securities to be paid by the several Underwriters shall be $[--], being an amount equal to the initial public offering price set forth above less $[--] per share, subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 2(b) for dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Initial Securities but not payable on the Option Securities.
Name of Underwriter | Number
of Initial Securities | |||
WestPark Capital, Inc. | 1,350,000 | |||
Total | 1,350,000 |
SCHEDULE B-1
Pricing Terms
1. | The Company is selling 1,350,000 shares of Common Stock. |
2. | The Company has granted an option to the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, to purchase up to an additional 202,500 shares of Common Stock. |
3. | The initial public offering price per share for the Securities shall be $[--]. |
SCHEDULE B-2
Free Writing Prospectuses
SCHEDULE B-3
Written Testing-the-Waters Communications
SCHEDULE C
List of Persons and Entities Subject to Lock-up
Exhibit A
FORM OF LOCK-UP AGREEMENT
________________, 202_
WESTPARK CAPITAL, INC.
As Representative of the
several Underwriters listed
in Schedule A hereto
c/o WestPark Capital, Inc.
1900 Avenue of the Stars, Xxxxx 000
Xxx Xxxxxxx, XX 00000
Re: | Proposed Initial Public Offering by Xxxx Health MD, Inc. |
Dear Ladies & Gentlemen:
The undersigned, a stockholder and/or an officer and/or director of Xxxx Health MD, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), understands that WestPark Capital, Inc. (“Westpark”) proposes to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with the Company providing for the public offering (the “Public Offering”) of shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”). In recognition of the benefit that the Public Offering will confer upon the undersigned as a stockholder and/or an officer and/or director of the Company, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees with each underwriter to be named in the Underwriting Agreement that, during the period beginning on the date hereof and ending on the date that is one (1) year from the date of the Underwriting Agreement (the “Lock-Up Period”), the undersigned will not, without the prior written consent of Westpark, (i) directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock, whether now owned or hereafter acquired by the undersigned or with respect to which the undersigned has or hereafter acquires the power of disposition (collectively, the “Lock-Up Securities”), or exercise any right with respect to the registration of any of the Lock-up Securities, or file, cause to be filed or cause to be confidentially submitted any registration statement in connection therewith, under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of the Lock-Up Securities, whether any such swap or transaction is to be settled by delivery of shares of Common Stock or other securities, in cash or otherwise. If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, the undersigned further agrees that the foregoing provisions shall be equally applicable to any issuer-directed securities the undersigned may purchase in the Public Offering.
If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, (1) Westpark agrees that, at least three business days before the effective date of any release or waiver of the foregoing restrictions in connection with a transfer of shares of Common Stock, Westpark will notify the Company of the impending release or waiver, and (2) the Company has agreed in the Underwriting Agreement to announce the impending release or waiver by press release through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver. Any release or waiver granted by Westpark hereunder to any such officer or director shall only be effective two business days after the publication date of such press release. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if (i) the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer not for consideration and (ii) the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this lock-up agreement to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of the transfer.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, and subject to the conditions below, the undersigned may, without the prior written consent of Westpark:
a) | transfer Lock-Up Securities, provided that (1) Westpark receives a signed lock-up agreement for the balance of the Lock-Up Period from each donee, trustee, distributee, or transferee, as the case may be, (2) any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, (3) in the case of clauses (i) through (iv) below, such transfers are not required to be reported during the Lock-Up Period with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on Form 4 in accordance with Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and (4) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any public filing or report regarding such transfers during the Lock-Up Period: |
(i) | as a bona fide gift or gifts; or |
(ii) | to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned (for purposes of this lock-up agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin); or |
(iii) | as a distribution to limited partners, members, stockholders or other equity holders of the undersigned; or |
(iv) | to the undersigned’s affiliates or to any investment fund or other entity that, directly or indirectly, controls or manages, is controlled or managed by, or is under common control or management with, the undersigned; or |
(v) | by will or intestate succession upon the death of the undersigned, provided that, any filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act made during the Lock-Up Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the circumstances described above; or |
(vi) | pursuant to a court or regulatory agency order, a qualified domestic order or in connection with a divorce settlement provided that, any filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act made during the Lock-Up Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that the filing relates to the circumstances described above; |
b) | exercise any rights to purchase, exchange or convert any stock options granted to the undersigned pursuant to the Company’s equity incentive plans referred to in the prospectus relating to the Public Offering, or any warrants or other securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock, which warrants or other securities are described in the prospectus relating to the Public Offering, provided that (1) any filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act made during the Lock-Up Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that (A) the filing relates to the circumstances described above and (B) the underlying shares of Common Stock continue to be subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth in this lock-up agreement and (2) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any other public filings or reports regarding such exercise during the Lock-Up Period; |
c) | sell or otherwise transfer Lock-Up Securities to the Company in connection with the termination of the undersigned’s employment or other service with the Company, provided that, (1) any filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act made during the Lock-Up Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that (A) the filing relates to the circumstances described above and (B) no Lock-Up Securities were sold by the reporting person other than such transfers to the Company as described above and (2) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any other public filings or reports regarding such transfers during the Lock-Up Period; |
d) | transfer Lock-Up Securities pursuant to a bona fide third-party tender offer, or in connection with a merger, consolidation or other similar transaction approved by the Company’s board of directors, made to all holders of the Company’s capital stock involving a change of control of the Company; provided that, in the event that such tender offer, merger, consolidation or other transaction is not completed, such securities shall remain subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth in this lock-up agreement (for purposes hereof, “change of control” shall mean the transfer (whether by tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction), in one transaction or a series of related transactions, to a person or group of affiliated persons, of shares of capital stock of the Company if, after such transaction or transactions, such person or group of affiliated persons would hold more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Company (or the surviving entity)); |
e) | convert shares of preferred stock of the Company into shares of Common Stock in connection with the consummation of the Public Offering, provided that any shares of Common Stock received upon such conversion shall be subject to the terms of this lock-up agreement; and |
f) | transfer Lock-Up Securities to the Company upon (i) a vesting event of any equity award granted under any equity incentive plan or stock purchase plan of the Company described in the prospectus relating to the Public Offering, or (ii) upon the exercise by the undersigned of options or warrants in accordance with clause (b) above, in each case, on a “net” or “cashless” exercise basis, and/or to cover tax withholding obligations of the undersigned in connection therewith, provided, in each case, that (1) any filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act made during the Lock-Up Period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that (A) the filing relates to the circumstances described above, as applicable, and (B) no Lock-Up Securities were sold by the reporting person other than such transfers to the Company as described above and (2) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any other public filings or reports regarding such transfers during the Lock-Up Period. |
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, nothing in this lock-up agreement shall prevent the undersigned from establishing a 10b5-l trading plan that complies with Rule 10b5-l under the Exchange Act (“10b5-l Trading Plan”) or from amending an existing 10b5-l Trading Plan so long as there are no sales of Lock-Up Securities under such plan during the Lock-Up Period; and provided that, the establishment of a 10b5-1 Trading Plan or the amendment of a 10b5-l Trading Plan, in either case, providing for sales of Lock-Up Securities shall only be permitted if (i) the establishment or amendment of such plan is not required to be reported in any public report or filing with the Commission or other public announcement during the Lock-Up Period, and (ii) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any public filing, report or announcement regarding the establishment or amendment of such plan during the Lock-Up Period. Furthermore, the undersigned may sell shares of Common Stock purchased by the undersigned from the underwriters in the Public Offering (other than any issuer-directed shares of Common Stock purchased in the Public Offering by an officer or director of the Company) or on the open market following the Public Offering if and only if (i) such sales are not required to be reported during the Lock-Up Period in any public report or filing with the Commission or other public announcement and (ii) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any public filing or report regarding such sales during the Lock-Up Period.
The undersigned acknowledges and agrees that the underwriters have not provided any recommendation or investment advice nor have the underwriters solicited any action from the undersigned with respect to the Public Offering of the shares and the undersigned has consulted their own legal, accounting, financial, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent deemed appropriate.
The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the Lock-Up Securities except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.
The undersigned understands that, if (1) the execution of the Underwriting Agreement in connection with the Public Offering shall not have occurred on or before March 31, 2023, (2) the Company files an application to withdraw the registration statement relating to the Public Offering, (3) the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for and delivery of the Common Stock to be sold thereunder, (4) Westpark, on behalf of the underwriters, advises the Company, or the Company advises Westpark, in each case in writing, prior to the execution of the Underwriting Agreement, that they have determined not to proceed with the Public Offering, the undersigned shall be released from all obligations under this lock-up agreement; provided, however, that in the case of (1), the Company may, by written notice to the undersigned prior to such date, extend such date for a period of up to three additional months. This lock-up agreement may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including pdf or any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., xxx.xxxxxxxx.xxx or xxx.xxxxxxxx.xxx) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.
[Signature page as follows]
Very truly yours, | ||
Signature: | ||
Print Name: | ||
Entity Name, if applicable: | ||
[Signature Page to the Lock-Up Agreement]
Exhibit B
FORM OF PRESS RELEASE
TO BE ISSUED PURSUANT TO SECTION 3(j)
[Date]
Xxxx Health MD, Inc. (the “Company”) announced today that Westpark Capital, Inc., the lead book-running manager in the Company’s recent public sale of [--] shares of common stock, is [waiving] [releasing] a lock-up restriction with respect to [--] shares of the Company’s common stock held by [certain officers or directors] [an officer or director] of the Company. The [waiver] [release] will take effect on [--], 20[--], and the shares may be sold on or after such date.
This press release is not an offer for sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such offer is prohibited, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.