ZIONS BANCORPORATION Common Stock (no par value) EQUITY DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
Exhibit 99.3
Execution Version
ZIONS BANCORPORATION
Common Stock
(no par value)
February 10, 2011
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx & Co.
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Zions Bancorporation, a Utah corporation (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell from time to time through or to Xxxxxxx, Sachs & Co., as sales agent and/or principal (the “Manager”), shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, no par value (the “Common Stock”), having an aggregate offering price of up to $200,000,000 on the terms set forth in Section 2 of this Equity Distribution Agreement (the “Agreement”). The Company has also entered into an equity distribution agreement (the “Additional Equity Distribution Agreement”), dated the date hereof, with Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (the “Joint Manager”).
Section 1. Representations and Warranties. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Manager that as of the date of this Agreement, any applicable Registration Statement Amendment Date (as defined in Section 3 below), each Company Periodic Report Date (as defined in Section 3 below), each Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(c) below) and each Settlement Date (as defined in Section 2 below):
(a) An “automatic shelf registration statement” as defined under Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), on Form S-3 (File No. 333-158319), in respect of the Company’s debt securities, Common Stock (including the Shares) and other securities (collectively, the “Securities”) was filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; such registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, became effective on filing; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such registration statement or any part thereof has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission, and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of such form of registration statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act has been received by the Company (the base prospectus filed as part of such registration statement, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the “Basic Prospectus”; the various parts of such registration statement, excluding any Form T-1 but including all exhibits thereto and any prospectus supplement relating to the Shares that is filed with the Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B to be part of such registration statement, each as amended at the time such part of the registration statement became effective, are hereinafter collectively called the “Registration Statement”; the prospectus supplement specifically relating to the Shares prepared and filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act and in accordance with Section 6(a) hereof is hereinafter called the “Prospectus Supplement”; the Basic Prospectus, as amended and supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, is hereinafter called the “Prospectus”; any reference herein to the Basic Prospectus, the
Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Act, as of the date of such prospectus; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement relating to the Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act and any documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and incorporated therein, in each case after the date of the Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus, as the case may be; any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to refer to and include any annual report of the Company filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; and any “issuer free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433 under the Act relating to the Shares is hereinafter called an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”);
(b) No order preventing or suspending the use of the Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and the Basic Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by the Manager expressly for use therein;
(c) For the purposes of this Agreement, the “Applicable Time” means, with respect to any Shares, the time of sale of such Shares pursuant to this Agreement; the Prospectus and the applicable Issuer Free Writing Prospectus(es) issued at or prior to such Applicable Time, taken together (collectively, and, with respect to any Shares, together with the public offering price of such Shares, the “Disclosure Package”) as of each Applicable Time and each Settlement Date, will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each applicable Issuer Free Writing Prospectus will not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus and each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together with the Disclosure Package as of such Applicable Time, will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by the Manager expressly for use therein;
(d) The documents incorporated by reference in the Prospectus Supplement and the Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in all material respects to the applicable requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and none of such documents, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto, when such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the applicable requirements of the Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and will not contain an untrue statement of a material
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fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by the Manager expressly for use therein; no such documents were filed with the Commission since the Commission’s close of business on the business day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement and prior to the execution of this Agreement; and the financial statements of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus Supplement and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods shown in such financial statements and, except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus Supplement and the Prospectus, such financial statements have been prepared or will be prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States applied on a consistent basis;
(e) The Registration Statement conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement and as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by the Manager expressly for use therein;
(f) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement as amended as of each Applicable Time, the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, there has not been any change in the capital stock (other than (i) repurchases of common stock of the Company in an aggregate amount that is less than 2% of the number of outstanding shares of common stock as of the time this representation is given or deemed given, (ii) as contemplated by the transactions described in the Disclosure Package and (iii) issuances of or other transfers of capital stock in the ordinary course of business pursuant to the Company’s employee benefit plans or awards issued thereunder or its dividend reinvestment plan) or long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the financial condition, results of operations, shareholders’ equity, business or properties of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, otherwise than as disclosed, set forth or contemplated in the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package;
(g) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package;
(h) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Prospectus, and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and have been issued in compliance in all material respects with applicable federal and state securities laws. None of the outstanding shares of Common Stock were issued in
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violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and except with respect to equity awards issued under the Company’s equity incentive plans or pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement, by and among the Company and the United States Department of the Treasury under the Troubled Asset Relief Program Capital Purchase Program (the “CPP Agreement”), there are no outstanding options, warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase, or equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, any capital stock of the Company;
(i) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company;
(j) The Shares have been duly authorized, and, when issued and delivered pursuant to this Agreement, such Shares will have been duly and validly issued and will be fully paid and non-assessable; the Shares conform to the descriptions thereof contained in the Disclosure Package and Prospectus;
(k) Except as contemplated by the CPP Agreement, there are no persons with registration or other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities registered for sale under the Registration Statement or included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement, except for such rights as have been duly waived;
(l) Other than the Manager, there is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company any brokerage or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(m) The issue and sale of the Shares, the execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement, the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of the Shares and this Agreement, and the consummation of the transactions herein and therein contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under (or, with the giving of notice or lapse of time, constitute a default under), (i) any indenture, loan agreement or mortgage, deed of trust or other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company is subject, (ii) the Restated Articles of Incorporation, as amended, or the Restated Bylaws of the Company or (iii) any statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties, except where, for purposes of clauses (i) and (iii), such conflict, breach, violation or default would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the current or future financial condition, results of operations, shareholders’ equity, business or properties of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole (a “Material Adverse Effect”); and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the issuance and sale of the Shares, the execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement, or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have been obtained under the Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the sale of the Shares by the Manager;
(n) The statements set forth in the Prospectus under the captions “Description of Our Capital Stock,” insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Shares, and under the captions “Certain United States Tax Consequences to Non-U.S. Holders of Common Stock,” “United States Taxation,” and “Plan of Distribution,” insofar as they purport to describe the provisions of the laws and documents referred to therein, are accurate, complete and fair;
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(o) Neither the Company nor any of its significant subsidiaries (as defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X of the Commission) (each, a “Significant Subsidiary”) is (i) in violation of the Restated Articles of Incorporation, as amended, or the Restated Bylaws of the Company, or the charter or bylaws of such Significant Subsidiary, as applicable, (ii) in default (or, with the giving of notice or lapse of time would be in default) in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, loan agreement, mortgage, deed of trust or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound or (iii) in violation of any statute, law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company or any of the Significant Subsidiaries, except where, for purposes of clauses (ii) and (iii), such default or violation would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;
(p) Other than as set forth in the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject which, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or threatened by others;
(q) (A) (i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus) and (iii) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Act) made any offer relating to the Shares in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Act, the Company was a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; and (B) at the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Act) of the Shares, the Company was not an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act;
(r) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares as herein contemplated and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, will not be an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended;
(s) Ernst & Young LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, and have audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting, are independent public accountants as required by the Act and the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder;
(t) The Company has been duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any business so as to require such qualification or is subject to no material liability or disability by reason of the failure to be so qualified in any such jurisdiction;
(u) The Company is a financial holding company registered under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended; and each of the Company’s banking subsidiaries holds the requisite authority from its respective banking regulatory authority to do business as a national banking association under the laws of the United States or as a state-chartered banking corporation under the laws of such subsidiary’s jurisdiction of incorporation, as the case may be;
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(v) Each Significant Subsidiary of the Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation; and all of the issued shares of capital stock of each such Significant Subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable, and (except for directors’ qualifying shares) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims;
(w) The Company maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act and has been designed by the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or under their supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting would have been effective as of December 31, 2009, but for the material weakness disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, which has been corrected. The Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting;
(x) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially adversely affected, or is reasonably likely to materially adversely affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting;
(y) The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act; such disclosure controls and procedures have been designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company and its subsidiaries is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities; and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective;
(z) The Company has not taken and will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might be reasonably expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares;
(aa) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent or employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (in their capacity as such) is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds, to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC;
(bb) The Company and its Significant Subsidiaries are in compliance with all applicable laws administered by and regulations of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and any other federal or state bank regulatory authority with jurisdiction over the Company or any such Significant Subsidiary, other than where such failures to comply would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;
(cc) The Company and its subsidiaries possess all certificates, licenses, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such certificate, license, authorization or permit, in each case except for such certificates, licenses, authorizations and permits which the failure to
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have or the revocation or modification of which would not, individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect;
(dd) There are no written agreements or other written statements as described under 12 U.S.C. 1818(u) between any federal banking agency and the Company or any of its subsidiaries (whether or not such federal banking agency has determined that publication would be contrary to the public interest) and there are no agreements, memoranda of understanding, cease and desist orders, orders of prohibition or suspension or consent decrees between any federal or state regulatory authority and the Company or any of its subsidiaries, in each case other than such agreements, memoranda of understanding, cease and desist orders, orders of prohibition or suspension or consent decrees as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;
(ee) The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with all applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and the applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company and its subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”), except where the failure to so comply would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened that would, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;
(ff) The Common Stock is an “actively-traded security” exempted from the requirements of Rule 101 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act by subsection (c)(1) of such rule; and
(gg) Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company delivered to the Manager or to counsel for the Manager pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to the Manager as to the matters covered thereby as of the date or dates indicated in such certificate.
Section 2. Sale and Delivery of Shares.
(a) Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Company agrees to issue and sell through the Manager, as sales agent, and the Manager agrees to use its reasonable efforts to sell as sales agent for the Company, the Shares.
(b) The Shares are to be sold on a daily basis or otherwise as shall be agreed to by the Company and the Manager on any trading day (other than a day on which the Nasdaq Global Select Market (the “Exchange”) is scheduled to close prior to its regular weekday closing time) (each, a “Trading Day”) that the Company has instructed the Manager to make such sales as sales agent. On any Trading Day, the Company may instruct the Manager by telephone (confirmed promptly by telecopy or email, which confirmation will be promptly acknowledged by the Manager) as to the maximum number of Shares to be sold by the Manager on such day (in any event not in excess of the number available for issuance under the Prospectus and the currently effective Registration Statement) and the minimum price per Share at which such Shares may be sold. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Manager shall use its reasonable efforts to sell all of the Shares so designated by the Company.
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(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not authorize the issuance and sale of, and the Manager shall not be obligated to use its reasonable efforts to sell, any Shares (i) at a price lower than the minimum price therefor authorized from time to time, or (ii) in a number in excess of the number of Shares authorized from time to time to be issued and sold under this Agreement, in each case, by the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof, and notified to the Manager in writing. In addition, the Company or the Manager may, upon notice to the other party hereto by telephone (confirmed promptly by telecopy or email, which confirmation will be promptly acknowledged by the Manager), suspend the offering of the Shares for any reason and at any time; provided, however, that such suspension or termination shall not affect or impair the parties’ respective obligations with respect to the Shares sold hereunder prior to the giving of such notice.
(d) The Company agrees that any offer to sell, any solicitation of an offer to buy, or any sales of Shares shall only be effected by or through only one of the Manager or the Joint Manager on any single given day, but in no event by both, and the Company shall in no event request that the Manager and the Joint Manager sell Shares on the same day. Under no circumstances shall the aggregate offering price or number, as the case may be, of Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement and the Additional Equity Distribution Agreement exceed the aggregate offering price or number, as the case may be, of Shares (i) set forth in the preamble paragraph of this Agreement or (ii) available for issuance under the Prospectus and the then currently effective Registration Statement.
(e) If either party has reason to believe that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the Exchange Act (applicable to securities with an average daily trading volume of $1,000,000 that are issued by an issuer whose common equity securities have a public float value of at least $150,000,000) are not satisfied with respect to the Company or the Shares, it shall promptly notify the other party and sales of Shares under this Agreement shall be suspended until that or other exemptive provisions have been satisfied in the judgment of each party.
(f) The gross sales price of any Shares sold by the Manager as sales agent hereunder shall be the market price for shares of the Company’s Common Stock sold by the Manager under this Agreement on the Exchange at the time of such sale. The compensation payable to the Manager for sales of Shares with respect to which the Manager acts as sales agent hereunder shall be equal to 1.50% of the gross sales price of the Shares for amounts of Shares sold by the Manager pursuant to this Agreement. The Company may sell Shares to the Manager as principal at a price agreed upon at the relevant Applicable Time. The remaining proceeds, after further deduction for any transaction fees imposed by any governmental, regulatory or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales, shall constitute the net proceeds to the Company for such Shares (the “Net Proceeds”). The Manager shall notify the Company as promptly as practicable if any deduction referenced in the preceding sentence will be required.
(g) If acting as sales agent hereunder, the Manager shall provide written confirmation to the Company following the close of trading on the Exchange each day in which Shares are sold under this Agreement setting forth the number of Shares sold on such day, the gross sales prices of the Shares, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to the Manager with respect to such sales.
(h) Settlement for sales of Shares will occur on the third business day that is also a trading day following the trade date on which such sales are made, unless another date shall be agreed to by the Company and the Manager (each such day, a “Settlement Date”). On each Settlement Date, the Shares sold through or to the Manager for settlement on such date shall be issued and delivered by the Company to the Manager against payment of the Net Proceeds from the sale of such Shares. Settlement for all such Shares shall be effected by free delivery of the Shares by the Company or its transfer agent to the Manager’s or its designee’s account at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and
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Withdrawal at Custodian System or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto which in all cases shall be freely tradable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form, in return for payments in same day funds delivered to the account designated by the Company. If the Company or its transfer agent (if applicable) shall default on its obligation to deliver Shares on any Settlement Date, the Company shall (i) indemnify and hold the Manager harmless against any loss, claim or damage arising from or as a result of such default by the Company and (ii) pay the Manager any commission, discount or other compensation to which it would otherwise be entitled absent such default.
(i) If the Company wishes to issue and sell the Shares to the Manager as principal pursuant to this Agreement (each, a “Placement”), it will notify the Manager of the proposed terms of such Placement. If the Manager, acting as principal, wishes to accept such proposed terms (which it may decline to do for any reason in its sole discretion) or, following discussions with the Company wishes to accept amended terms, the Manager and the Company will enter into a terms agreement setting forth the terms of such Placement. The terms set forth in a terms agreement will not be binding on the Company or the Manager unless and until the Company and the Manager have each executed such terms agreement accepting all of the terms of such terms agreement. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a terms agreement, the terms of such terms agreement will control. The Manager shall be under no obligation to purchase Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement, except as otherwise specifically agreed by the Manager and the Company in a terms agreement.
Section 3. Covenants. The Company agrees with the Manager:
(a) During any period when the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required in connection with the offering or sale of Shares, to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus prior to any Settlement Date which shall be disapproved by the Manager promptly after reasonable notice thereof and to advise the Manager, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish the Manager with copies thereof; to file promptly all other material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act; to file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during any period when the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required in connection with the offering or sale of Shares; during any period when the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required in connection with the offering or sale of Shares, to advise the Manager, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Shares, of any notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the form of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act, of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus in respect of the Shares or suspending any such qualification, to promptly use its reasonable best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order; and in the event of any such issuance of a notice of objection, promptly to take such reasonable steps as may be necessary to permit offers and sales of the Shares by the Manager, which may include, without limitation, amending the Registration Statement or filing a new registration statement, at the Company’s expense (references herein to the Registration Statement shall include any such amendment or new registration statement);
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(b) Promptly from time to time to take such action as the Manager may reasonably request to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as the Manager may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the sale of the Shares, provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction;
(c) During any period when the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required under the Act in connection with the offering or sale of Shares, the Company will make available to the Manager, as soon as practicable after the execution of this Agreement, and thereafter from time to time furnish to the Manager, copies of the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented in such quantities and at such locations as the Manager may reasonably request for the purposes contemplated by the Act. During any period when the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required under the Act in connection with the offering or sale of Shares, and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act any document incorporated by reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the Act or the Exchange Act, to notify the Manager and upon its request to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to the Manager as many written and electronic copies as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance;
(d) To make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than sixteen months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158);
(e) To pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Shares within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1) under the Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the Act;
(f) To use the Net Proceeds received by it from the sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement in the manner specified in the Disclosure Package;
(g) In connection with the offering and sale of the Shares, to file with the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. all documents and notices, and make all certifications, required by the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. of companies that have securities that are listed on the Exchange;
(h) To not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or result in, or that has constituted or might reasonably be expected to constitute, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any securities of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares;
(i) At each Applicable Time, each Settlement Date, each Registration Statement Amendment Date (as defined below) and each Company Periodic Report Date (as defined below), the Company shall be deemed to have affirmed each representation, warranty, covenant and other agreement contained in
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this Agreement. Promptly after each date on which the Company shall file an Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (each such date and any date on which an amendment to any such document is filed, a “Company Periodic Report Date”), in respect of any quarter in which sales of Shares were made by the Manager under this Agreement, the Company shall file a prospectus supplement to the Prospectus under the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) of the Act, which prospectus supplement shall set forth, with regard to such quarter, the number of Shares sold through the Manager under this Agreement and through the Joint Manager under the Additional Equity Distribution Agreement, the Net Proceeds received by the Company and the compensation paid by the Company to the Manager with respect to sales of Shares pursuant to this Agreement and to the Joint Manager with respect to sales of Shares pursuant to the Additional Equity Distribution Agreement and (iii) deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus supplement to the Exchange (which may be satisfied by filing with XXXXX if permitted by the rules of the Exchange).
(j) Upon commencement of the offering of Shares under this Agreement and promptly after each (i) date the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be amended or supplemented (other than (1) by an amendment or supplement providing solely for the determination of the terms of the Shares, (2) in connection with the filing of a prospectus supplement that contains solely the information set forth in Section 3(i), (3) in connection with the filing of any report or other document under Section 13, 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act) or (4) by a prospectus supplement relating to the offering of other securities (including, without limitation, other shares of Common Stock) (each such date, a “Registration Statement Amendment Date”)), (ii) Company Periodic Report Date and (iii) time the Shares are delivered to the Manager as principal on a Settlement Date (each such time, a “Placement Settlement Time”), the Company will furnish or cause to be furnished forthwith to the Manager a certificate dated the date of effectiveness of such amendment, the date of filing with the Commission of such supplement or other document or the applicable Settlement Date, as the case may be, in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Manager to the effect that the statements contained in the certificate referred to in Section 6(e) of this Agreement which were last furnished to the Manager are true and correct at the time of such amendment, supplement or filing or the applicable Placement Settlement Time, as the case may be, as though made at and as of such time (except that such statements shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented to such time) or, in lieu of such certificate, a certificate of the same tenor as the certificate referred to in said Section 6(e), but modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented, to the document incorporated by reference into the Prospectus or to the applicable Placement Settlement Time, to the time of delivery of such certificate. As used in this paragraph, to the extent there shall be an Applicable Time on or following the date referred to in clause (i) or (ii) above, promptly shall be deemed to be on or prior to the next succeeding Applicable Time.
(k) Upon commencement of the offering of Shares under this Agreement, and promptly after each (i) Registration Statement Amendment Date, (ii) Company Periodic Report Date and (iii) Placement Settlement Time, the Company will furnish or cause to be furnished to the Manager and to counsel to the Manager the written opinion and letter of each Company Counsel or other counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Manager, dated the date of effectiveness of such amendment or the date of filing with the Commission of such supplement or other document, as the case may be, in a form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Manager and its counsel, of the same tenor as the opinions and letters referred to in Section 6(c) of this Agreement, but modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented, to the document incorporated by reference into the Prospectus, or to the applicable Placement Settlement Time, to the time of delivery of such opinion and letter or, in lieu of such opinion and letter, counsel last furnishing such letter to the Manager shall furnish such Agent with a letter substantially to the effect that the Manager may rely on such last opinion and letter to the same extent as though each were dated the date of such letter authorizing reliance (except that statements in such last letter shall be deemed to relate to the
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Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented to the time of delivery of such letter authorizing reliance). As used in this paragraph, to the extent there shall be an Applicable Time on or following the date referred to in clause (i) or (ii) above, promptly shall be deemed to be on or prior to the next succeeding Applicable Time.
(l) Upon commencement of the offering of Shares under this Agreement, and promptly after each (i) Registration Statement Amendment Date, (ii) Company Periodic Report Date and (iii) Placement Settlement Time, the Company will cause Ernst & Young LLP, or other independent accountants reasonably satisfactory to the Manager, to furnish to the Manager a letter, dated the date of effectiveness of such amendment or the date of filing of such supplement or other document with the Commission or the applicable Placement Settlement Time, as the case may be, in form reasonably satisfactory to the Manager and its counsel, of the same tenor as the letter referred to in Section 6(d) hereof, but modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented, to the document incorporated by reference into the Prospectus, or to the applicable Placement Settlement Time, to the date of such letter. As used in this paragraph, to the extent there shall be an Applicable Time on or following the date referred to in clause (i) or (ii) above, promptly shall be deemed to be on or prior to the next succeeding Applicable Time.
(m) The Company consents to the Manager trading in the Company’s Common Stock for the Manager’s own account and for the account of its clients at the same time as sales of Shares occur pursuant to this Agreement.
(n) If to the knowledge of the Company, all filings required by Rule 424 in connection with this offering shall not have been made or the representation in Section 1(a) shall not be true and correct on the applicable Settlement Date, the Company will offer to any person who has agreed to purchase Shares from the Company as the result of an offer to purchase solicited by the Manager the right to refuse to purchase and pay for such Shares.
(o) The Company will disclose in its Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as applicable, the number of Shares sold through the Manager under this Agreement and through the Joint Manager under the Additional Equity Distribution Agreement, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation paid by the Company with respect to sales of Shares pursuant to this Agreement and the Additional Equity Distribution Agreement during the relevant quarter.
(p) The Company will cooperate timely with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by the Manager or its counsel from time to time in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, and upon reasonable notice providing information and making available documents and appropriate corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as the Manager may reasonably request.
(q) The Company will not, without (i) giving the Manager at least five business days’ prior written notice (or two business days’ prior written notice on any Trading Day with respect to which the Company has not instructed the Manager to make sales and which does not occur in any period when the delivery of a prospectus is required in connection with the offering or sale of Shares) specifying the nature of the proposed sale and the date of such proposed sale and (ii) the Manager suspending activity under this program (which the Manager shall do promptly if so requested) for such period of time as requested by the Company or as deemed appropriate by the Manager in light of the proposed sale, (A) offer, pledge, announce the intention to sell, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant for the sale of, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for or repayable with Common Stock, or file any
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registration statement under the Act with respect to any of the foregoing (other than a shelf registration statement under Rule 415 under the Act or a registration statement on Form S-8) or (B) enter into any swap or other agreement or any transaction that transfers in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, any of the economic consequence of ownership of the Common Stock, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for or repayable with Common Stock, whether any such swap or transaction described in clause (A) or (B) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (w) the Shares to be offered and sold through the Manager pursuant to this Agreement or through the Joint Manager pursuant to the Additional Equity Distribution Agreement, (x) Common Stock issuable pursuant to the Company’s dividend reinvestment plan as it may be amended or replaced from time to time, (y) Common Stock issuable pursuant to any rights outstanding as of the date hereof, including under the CPP Agreement and (z) equity incentive awards approved by the board of directors of the Company or the compensation committee thereof or the issuance of Common Stock upon exercise thereof.
Section 4. Free Writing Prospectus.
(a) (i) The Company represents and agrees that without the prior consent of the Manager, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; and
(ii) the Manager represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a free writing prospectus required to be filed with the Commission.
(b) The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (including any free writing prospectus identified in Section 4(a) hereof), including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending.
Section 5. Payment of Expenses. The Company covenants and agrees with the Manager that the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Shares under the Act and all other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Manager; (ii) the cost of printing or producing this Agreement, any Blue Sky and Legal Investment Memoranda, closing documents (including any compilations thereof) and any other documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares; (iii) all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Shares for offering and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 3(b) hereof, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Manager in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky and Legal Investment Surveys; (iv) any filing fees incident to, and the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Manager in connection with, any required review by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. of the terms of the sale of the Shares; (v) all fees and expenses in connection with listing the Shares on the Exchange; (vi) the cost of preparing the Shares; (vii) the costs and charges of any transfer agent or registrar or any dividend distribution agent; and (viii) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section. It is understood, however, that, except as provided in this Section, and Section 7 hereof, the Manager will pay all of their own costs and expenses, including the fees of their counsel, transfer taxes on resale of any of the Shares by them, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.
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Section 6. Conditions of Agent’s Obligation. The obligations of the Manager hereunder with respect to any order submitted to the Manager by the Company to sell Shares or any agreement by the Manager to purchase Shares as principal shall be subject, in its discretion, to the condition that (i) all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company herein or in certificates of any officer of the Company delivered pursuant to the provisions hereof are true and correct, (ii) the Company shall have performed all of its obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed and (iii) the following additional conditions:
(a) The Prospectus Supplement shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act on or prior to the date hereof and in accordance with Section 3(a) hereof, any other material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time periods prescribed for such filings by Rule 433, and any prospectus supplement required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Section 3(i) hereof shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act within the applicable time period required by Section 3(i); no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the form of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Act shall have been received; no stop order suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Manager;
(b) On every date specified in Section 3(k) hereof, Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP, counsel for the Manager, shall have furnished to the Manager such written opinion or opinions, dated as of such date, with respect to such matters as the Manager may reasonably request, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;
(c) On every date specified in Section 3(k) hereof, each of Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP and Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx & XxXxxxxxxx, a Professional Corporation, counsels for the Company (together, “Company Counsels”), shall have furnished to the Manager written opinions, dated as of such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Manager, substantially in the form of Exhibits X-0, X-0, X-0 and B-2 hereto, respectively;
(d) At the dates specified in Section 3(l) hereof, the independent accountants of the Company who have certified the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall have furnished to the Manager a letter dated as of the date of delivery thereof and addressed to the Manager in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Manager and its counsel, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement;
(e) (i) Upon commencement of the offering of Shares under this Agreement, the Company will furnish or cause to be furnished promptly to the Manager a certificate of an officer in a form satisfactory to the Manager stating the minimum price for the sale of such Shares pursuant to this Agreement and the maximum number of Shares that may be issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement or, alternatively, maximum gross proceeds from such sales, as authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof or, in connection with any amendment, revision or modification of such minimum price or maximum Share number or amount, a new certificate with respect thereto and (ii) on each date specified in Section 3(j), the Manager shall have received a certificate of
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executive officers of the Company, one of whom shall be the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, Treasurer or Executive Vice President – Capital Markets & Investments, dated as of the date thereof, to the effect that (A) there has been no Material Adverse Effect since the date as of which information is given in the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented, (B) the representations and warranties in Section 1 hereof are true and correct as of such date, and (C) the Company has complied with all of the agreements entered into in connection with the transaction contemplated herein and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied;
(f) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements then included or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus and the Disclosure Package, no Material Adverse Effect shall have occurred; and
(g) The Company shall have complied with the provisions of Section 3(c) hereof with respect to the timely furnishing of prospectuses.
Section 7. Indemnification.
(a) The Company will indemnify and hold harmless the Manager against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which the Manager may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse the Manager for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Manager in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Manager expressly for use therein.
(b) The Manager will indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus, or any such amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Manager expressly for use therein; and will reimburse the Company for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred.
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made
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against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the omission so to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party otherwise than under such subsection except and then only to the extent such indemnifying party is materially prejudiced thereby. In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the indemnifying party), and, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under this Section 7 for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 7 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Manager on the other from the offering of the Shares to which such loss, claim, damage or liability (or action in respect thereof) relates. If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law or if the indemnified party failed to give the notice required under subsection (c) above, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Manager on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Manager on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total commissions received by the Manager. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or the Manager on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Manager agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection (d) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (d). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d), the Manager shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Shares sold by it to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which the Manager has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue
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or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.
(e) The obligations of the Company under this Section 7 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to the directors and officers of the Manager and to each person, if any, who controls the Manager within the meaning of the Act and each broker dealer affiliate of the Manager; and the obligations of the Manager under this Section 7 shall be in addition to any liability which the Manager may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each officer and director of the Company and to each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Act.
Section 8. Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive Delivery. The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company and the Manager, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of the Manager or any controlling person of the Manager, or the Company, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.
Section 9. No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the Manager is acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length contractual counterparty to the Company with respect to the offering of Shares contemplated hereby (including in connection with determining the terms of such offering) and (ii) the Manager has not assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether the Manager has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iii) the Company has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate. The Company agrees that it will not claim that the Manager has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.
Section 10. Termination.
(a) The Company shall have the right, by giving written notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that (i) with respect to any pending sale through the Manager for the Company, the obligations of the Company, including in respect of compensation of the Manager, shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination and (ii) the provisions of Section 1, Section 7 and Section 8 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(b) The Manager shall have the right, by giving written notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 1, Section 7 and Section 8 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(c) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect until the unless terminated pursuant to Section 10(a) or (b) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided that any such termination by mutual agreement or pursuant to this clause (c) shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 1, Section 7 and Section 8 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
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(d) Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by the Manager or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Shares, such sale shall settle in accordance with the provisions of Section 2(h) hereof.
Section 11. Notices. All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the Manager shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to:
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx & Co.
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Fax No.: 000-000-0000
Attention: Registration Department
and if to the Company shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the address of the Company set forth in the Registration Statement, Attention: General Counsel. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.
Section 12. Parties. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Manager and the Company and, to the extent provided in Sections 7 and 8 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and the Manager and each person who controls the Company or the Manager, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of Shares through the Manager shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.
Section 13. Time of the Essence. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term “business day” shall mean any day when the Commission’s office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.
Section 14. Governing Law. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
Section 15. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto and thereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such respective counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument. This Agreement may be delivered by any party by facsimile or other electronic transmission.
Section 16. Severability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other Section, paragraph or provision hereof. If any Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and enforceable.
Section 17. Disclosure of Tax Matters. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company is authorized to disclose to any persons the U.S. federal and state income tax treatment and tax structure of the potential transaction and all materials of any kind (including tax opinions and other tax analyses) provided to the Company relating to that treatment and structure, without the Manager imposing any limitation of any kind. However, any information relating to the tax treatment and tax structure shall remain confidential (and the foregoing sentence shall not apply) to the extent necessary to enable any
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person to comply with securities laws. For this purpose, “tax structure” is limited to any facts that may be relevant to that treatment.
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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement between the Manager and the Company in accordance with its terms.
| Very truly yours,
| ||
| ZIONS BANCORPORATION | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
Accepted as of the date hereof:
| XXXXXXX, SACHS & CO. |
| (Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx & Co.) |
Equity Distribution Agreement
