AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER BY AND BETWEEN SKYWIDE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED AND SINOENERGY CORPORATION DATED AS OF OCTOBER 12, 2009
BY
AND BETWEEN
SKYWIDE
CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED
AND
SINOENERGY
CORPORATION
DATED
AS OF OCTOBER 12, 2009
1
|
||
1.1
|
Certain Defined Terms
|
1
|
1.2
|
Other Defined Terms
|
6
|
ARTICLE
II THE MERGER
|
6
|
|
2.1
|
Effective Time of the
Merger
|
6
|
2.2
|
Closing
|
7
|
2.3
|
Effects of the Merger
|
7
|
2.4
|
Directors and Officers
|
7
|
ARTICLE
III CONVERSION OF SECURITIES
|
7
|
|
3.1
|
Conversion of Capital Stock
|
7
|
3.2
|
Exchange of Certificates, Company Stock Options
and Company Stock Purchase Warrants
|
8
|
ARTICLE
IV REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
|
10
|
|
4.1
|
Organization, Standing and Power;
Subsidiaries.
|
10
|
4.2
|
Capitalization.
|
11
|
4.3
|
Authority; No Conflict; Required Filings and
Consents.
|
13
|
4.4
|
SEC Filings; Financial Statements; Reporting
Requirements.
|
14
|
4.5
|
No Undisclosed Liabilities;
Indebtedness
|
16
|
4.6
|
Absence of Certain Changes or
Events
|
17
|
4.7
|
Taxes
|
17
|
4.8
|
Owned and Occupied Real
Properties
|
17
|
4.9
|
Intellectual Property
|
17
|
4.1
|
Agreements, Contracts and Commitments; Government
Contracts.
|
17
|
4.11
|
Litigation; Product Liability; Product
Recalls
|
18
|
4.12
|
Environmental Matters
|
18
|
4.13
|
Employee Benefit Plans
|
18
|
4.14
|
Compliance With Laws
|
18
|
4.15
|
Labor Matters
|
18
|
4.16
|
Opinions of Financial
Advisors
|
18
|
4.17
|
Insurance
|
18
|
4.18
|
Brokers
|
18
|
4.19
|
Certain Approvals
|
19
|
4.2
|
Unlawful Payments
|
19
|
4.21
|
Affiliate Transactions
|
19
|
4.22
|
Guaranteed Senior Notes
|
19
|
4.23
|
No Other Representations or
Warranties.
|
19
|
i
ARTICLE
V REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE
BUYER
|
20
|
|
5.1
|
Organization, Standing and
Power
|
20
|
5.2
|
Authority; No Conflict; Required Filings and
Consents.
|
20
|
5.3
|
Information Provided
|
21
|
5.4
|
Financing
|
21
|
5.5
|
Brokers
|
21
|
5.6
|
Shares
|
21
|
ARTICLE
VI CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
|
22
|
|
6.1
|
Covenants of the Company
|
22
|
ARTICLE VII
ADDITIONAL AGREEMENTS
|
24
|
|
7.1
|
No Solicitation.
|
24
|
7.2
|
Proxy Statement.
|
26
|
7.3
|
Nasdaq Quotation
|
27
|
7.4
|
Access to Information
|
27
|
7.5
|
Shareholders Meeting
|
27
|
7.6
|
Cooperation; Further
Action.
|
28
|
7.7
|
Public Disclosure
|
29
|
7.8
|
Company Stock Plans.
|
29
|
7.9
|
Shareholder Litigation
|
29
|
7.1
|
Notification of Certain
Matters
|
30
|
7.11
|
Directors’ and Officers’ Indemnification and
Insurance.
|
30
|
7.12
|
Loans to Company Employees, Officers and
Directors
|
31
|
7.13
|
Takeover Statutes and Laws
|
31
|
7.14
|
Standstill Agreements; Confidentiality
Agreements
|
32
|
ARTICLE
VIII CONDITIONS TO MERGER
|
32
|
|
8.1
|
Conditions to Each Party’s Obligation To Effect
the Merger
|
32
|
8.2
|
Additional Conditions to Obligations of the
Buyer
|
32
|
8.3
|
Additional Conditions to Obligations of the
Company
|
34
|
ARTICLE
IX TERMINATION AND AMENDMENT
|
35
|
|
9.1
|
Termination | 35 |
9.2 | Effect of Termination | 36 |
9.3 | Fees and Expenses | 36 |
ARTICLE X
MISCELLANEOUS
|
38
|
|
10.1
|
Amendment
|
38
|
10.2
|
Extension; Waiver
|
38
|
10.3
|
Non−Survival of Representations, Warranties and
Agreements
|
38
|
10.4
|
Notices
|
38
|
10.5
|
Entire Agreement
|
39
|
10.6
|
No Third Party
Beneficiaries
|
39
|
10.7
|
Assignment
|
40
|
10.8
|
Severability
|
40
|
10.9
|
Counterparts and Signature
|
40
|
10.1
|
Interpretation
|
40
|
10.11
|
Governing Law
|
41
|
10.12
|
Remedies
|
41
|
10.13
|
Submission to
Jurisdiction
|
41
|
10.14
|
Waiver Of Jury Trial
|
41
|
ii
THIS
AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER (this “Agreement”), dated as
of October 12, 2009, is by and between Skywide Capital Management Limited, a
company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the British Virgin
Islands (the “Buyer”) and
Sinoenergy Corporation, a corporation organized under the laws of the state of
Nevada (the “Company”).
WHEREAS,
the Board of Directors and members of Buyer and the Board of Directors of the
Company deem it advisable and in the best interests of each Party and their
respective members and shareholders that the Buyer acquire the Company in order
to advance the long-term business interests of the Buyer and the
Company;
WHEREAS,
the acquisition of the Company shall be effected through a merger (the “Merger”) of the
Company with and into the Buyer in accordance with the terms of this Agreement
and the NGCL and the BVIBCA.
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the respective representations,
warranties, covenants and agreements set forth below, the Buyer and the Company
agree as follows:
ARTICLE
I
DEFINITIONS
1.1 Certain Defined
Terms. As used in this Agreement, the following terms have the
meanings ascribed thereto in this Article:
Action means any
claim, action, suit, arbitration, mediation, inquiry, proceeding or
investigation by or before any Governmental Entity, arbitrator or
mediator.
Affiliate when used
with respect to any party shall mean any person who is an “affiliate” of that
party within the meaning of Rule 405 promulgated under the Securities Act; provided, that for
purposes of this Agreement, Buyer shall not be deemed an Affiliate of the
Company and the Company shall not be deemed an Affiliate of Buyer.
Agreement has the
meaning attributed thereto in the Preamble.
Business Day means
any day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday or other day on which banks are
required or authorized by Law to be closed in The City of New York.
Buyer has the meaning
attributed thereto in the Preamble.
Buyer Material Adverse
Effect means any material adverse change, event, circumstance
or development with respect to, or any material adverse effect on, (i) the
business, assets, liabilities, capitalization, prospects, condition (financial
or otherwise), or results of operations of the Buyer and its Subsidiaries, taken
as a whole or (ii) the ability of the Buyer to consummate the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, the
parties agree that the terms “material”, “materially” or “materiality” as used
in this Agreement with an initial lower case “m” shall have their respective
customary and ordinary meanings, without regard to the meanings ascribed to
Buyer Material Adverse Effect or Company Material Adverse
Effect.
1
BVIBCA means the
British Virgin Islands Business Companies Act, 2004, as amended.
Company has the
meaning attributed thereto in the Preamble.
Company Balance Sheet
means the consolidated, audited balance sheet of the Company as of
September 30, 2008.
Company Board means
the Board of Directors of the Company.
Company Disclosure
Schedule has the meaning attributable thereto in the first paragraph of
Article IV.
Company Material Adverse
Effect means any change in, or effect on, the business, operations,
assets, liabilities or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and its
Subsidiaries which, when considered either individually or in the aggregate
together with all other adverse changes or effects with respect to which such
phrase is used in this Agreement, is, or is reasonably likely to be, materially
adverse to the business, operations, assets, liabilities or condition (financial
or otherwise) of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, excluding
effects resulting from (i) changes in general economic conditions or in the
securities markets in general that do not affect the Company and its
Subsidiaries in a materially disproportionate manner relative to other companies
in the same industry, (ii) changes in the industries in which the Company and
its Subsidiaries operate (including legal and regulatory changes) that do not
specifically relate to the Company and its Subsidiaries and that do not affect
the Company and its Subsidiaries in a materially disproportionate manner
relative to other companies in such industry, (iii) acts taken pursuant to or in
accordance with this Agreement at the request of the Buyer, or (iv) acts of
terrorism or war (whether or not declared); provided, however, that the
Buyer recognizes that the Company has incurred net losses for the three and nine
months ended June 30, 2009, and that the financial statements at June 30, 2009
and for the nine months then ended include an explanatory paragraph stating that
the financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis and do not
include any adjustments that might result from the uncertainties described in
the third paragraph of Note 2 of the notes to such consolidated financial
statements (the “Uncertainties
Paragraph”) and the continuation of losses substantially consistent with
such losses and the continuation of the matters described in the Uncertainties
Paragraph shall not be deemed a Company Material Adverse Effect.
Company Unaudited Balance
Sheet means the consolidated, unaudited balance sheet of the Company as
of June 30, 2009.
Encumbrance means any
security interest, pledge, mortgage, lien, charge, hypothecation, option to
purchase or lease or otherwise acquire any interest, conditional sales
agreement, claim, restriction, covenant, easement, right of way, title defect,
adverse claim of ownership or use, transfer restriction, voting agreement, proxy
or other limitation on voting rights, or other encumbrance of any kind, other
than any obligation to accept returns of inventory in the ordinary course of
business and other than those arising by reason of restrictions on transfers
under federal, state and foreign securities Laws.
2
Exchange Act means
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Governmental Entity
means any court, arbitrational tribunal, administrative agency or commission or
other governmental or regulatory authority, agency or instrumentality of any
nation, state or other political subdivision thereof, or any stock market or
stock exchange on which the Shares are listed for trading.
Governmental Order
means any order, writ, judgment, injunction, decree, stipulation, determination
or award entered by or with any Governmental Entity.
Indebtedness means,
with respect to any Person, without duplication, (A) all obligations of such
Person for borrowed money, or with respect to deposits or advances of any kind
to such Person, (B) all obligations of such Person evidenced by bonds,
debentures, notes or similar instruments, (C) all obligations of such Person
upon which interest charges are customarily paid, (D) all obligations of such
Person under conditional sale or other title retention agreements relating to
property purchased by such Person, (E) all obligations of such Person issued or
assumed as the deferred purchase price of property or services (excluding
obligations of such Person or creditors for raw materials, inventory, services
and supplies incurred in the Ordinary Course of Business), (F) all capitalized
lease obligations of such Person, (G) all obligations of others secured by any
lien on property or assets owned or acquired by such Person, whether or not the
obligations secured thereby have been assumed, (H) all obligations of such
Person under interest rate or currency hedging transactions (valued at the
termination value thereof), (I) all letters of credit issued for the account of
such Person and (J) all guarantees and arrangements having the economic effect
of a guarantee by such Person of any Indebtedness of any other
Person.
Intellectual Property
means the rights associated with or arising out of any of the
following: (i) domestic and foreign patents and patent applications,
together with all reissuances, divisionals, continuations,
continuations-in-part, revisions, renewals, extensions, and reexaminations
thereof, and any identified invention disclosures (“Patents”); (ii) trade
secret rights and corresponding rights in confidential information and other
non-public information (whether or not patentable), including ideas, formulas,
compositions, inventor’s notes, discoveries and improvements, know-how,
manufacturing and production processes and techniques, testing information,
research and development information, inventions, invention disclosures,
unpatented blueprints, drawings, specifications, designs, plans, proposals and
technical data, business and marketing plans, market surveys, market know-how
and customer lists and information (“Trade Secrets”);
(iii) all copyrights, copyrightable works, rights in databases, data
collections, “moral” rights, mask works, copyright registrations and
applications therefore and corresponding rights in works of authorship (“Copyrights”); (iv)
all trademarks, service marks, logos, trade dress and trade names and domain
names indicating the source of goods or services, and other indicia of
commercial source or origin (whether registered, common law, statutory or
otherwise), all registrations and applications to register the foregoing
anywhere in the world and all goodwill associated therewith (“Trademarks”); (v) all
computer software and code, including assemblers, applets, compilers, source
code, object code, development tools, design tools, user interfaces and data, in
any form or format, however fixed (“Software”); and (vi)
all Internet electronic addresses, uniform resource locators and alphanumeric
designations associated therewith and all registrations for any of the foregoing
(“Domain
Names”).
3
Knowledge means, with
respect to any particular matter pertaining to the Company or any Subsidiary,
the actual knowledge of the chief executive officer, the executive vice
president or the chief financial officer of the Company regarding such matter;
provided that
such officers shall be deemed to have made due and diligent inquiry of those
employees, agents, consultants or other Persons whom such officers reasonably
believe would have knowledge of the matters represented.
Law means any
statute, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, code, principle of common law and
equity or other requirement of law of a Governmental Entity or any Governmental
Order.
Merger has the
meaning attributed thereto in the Preamble.
NGCL means the Nevada
General Corporation Law (NRS §§ 78.010, et seq. and NRS
§§ 92A.005, et
seq.) , as amended.
Ordinary Course of
Business, with respect to any action, means such action is:
(i) consistent
with the recent past practices of such Person and is taken in the ordinary
course of the normal day-to-day operations of such Person; and
(ii) not
required to be authorized by the board of directors of such Person.
Person means any
individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association, trust, unincorporated
organization, Governmental Authority, joint venture, limited liability company
or other entity.
SEC means the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Securities
Act means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Shares means the
$.001 par value common stock of the Company.
Subsidiary means,
with respect to a party, any corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited
liability company or other business association or entity, whether incorporated
or unincorporated, of which (i) such party or any other Subsidiary of such
party is a general partner or a managing member (excluding partnerships, the
general partnership interests of which held by such party and/or one or more of
its Subsidiaries do not have a majority of the voting interest in such
partnership), (ii) such party and/or one or more of its Subsidiaries holds
voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors or other governing
body performing similar functions, or (iii) such party and/or one or more of its
Subsidiaries, directly or indirectly, owns or controls more than 50% of the
equity, membership, partnership or similar interests.
4
Taxes means all
taxes, charges, fees, levies or other similar assessments or liabilities,
including income, gross receipts, ad valorem, premium, value-added, excise, real
property, personal property, sales, use, services, transfer, withholding,
employment, payroll and franchise taxes imposed by the United States of America
or any state, local or foreign government, or any agency thereof, or other
political subdivision of the United States of America or any such government,
and any interest, fines, penalties, assessments or additions to tax resulting
from, attributable to or incurred in connection with any tax or any contest or
dispute thereof.
Tax Returns means all
reports, returns, declarations, statements or other information required to be
supplied to a taxing authority in connection with Taxes.
A Triggering Event
shall be deemed to have occurred if: (a) the Company Board shall have
failed to recommend that the Company’s shareholders vote to approve the
Agreement, or shall have withdrawn or modified (without the consent of the
Buyer) in a manner adverse to the Buyer the Company Board Recommendation (it
being understood and agreed that any “stop-look-and-listen” communication by the
Company Board to the shareholders of the Company pursuant to Rule 14d-9(f) of
the Exchange Act shall not be deemed to constitute a withdrawal, modification or
change of its recommendation of this Agreement); (b) the Company shall have
failed to include in the Proxy Statement the Company Board Recommendation; (c)
the Company Board fails to reaffirm the Company Board Recommendation, or fails
to reaffirm its determination that the Merger is fair to and in the best
interests of the Company’s shareholders, in a press release if so requested by
the Buyer, within 10 days after the Buyer requests in writing that such
recommendation or determination be reaffirmed; (d) the Company Board shall have
approved, endorsed or recommended any Acquisition Proposal; (e) the Company
shall have entered into any letter of intent or similar document or any Contract
relating to any Acquisition Proposal, other than confidentiality agreements that
the Company is required or permitted to enter into pursuant Section 7.1 of the
Agreement; (f) a tender or exchange offer relating to securities of the Company
shall have been commenced and the Company shall not have sent to its security
holders, or filed with the SEC, within 10 Business Days after the commencement
of such tender or exchange offer, a statement disclosing that the Company
recommends rejection of such tender or exchange offer; or (g) the Company or any
Representative of the Company shall have breached in any material respect any
material obligations set forth in Section 7.1 of this Agreement.
5
1.2 Other Defined
Terms. The following terms have the meanings defined for such
terms in the Sections set forth below:
Term Section
Acquisition
Proposal
|
|
Articles
of Merger
|
|
BMC
|
|
Certificates
|
|
Closing
|
|
Closing
Date
|
|
Code
|
|
Company
Board Recommendation
|
|
Company
Convertible Notes
|
|
Company
Material Contracts
|
|
Company
SEC Reports
|
|
Company
Shareholder Approval
|
|
Company
Shareholders Meeting
|
|
Company
Stock Options
|
|
Company
Stock Plans
|
|
Company
Stock Purchase Warrants
|
|
Company
Voting Proposal
|
|
Costs
|
|
Effective
Time
|
|
Exchange
Agent
|
|
Exchange
Fund
|
|
Expenses
|
|
GAAP
|
|
Indemnified
Directors and Officers
|
|
Instruments
of Indebtedness
|
|
Material
Contract
|
|
Merger
Consideration
|
|
Option
Consideration
|
|
Outside
Date
|
|
Proxy
Statement
|
|
Registrar
|
|
Regulation
M-A Filing
|
|
Representatives
|
|
Requisite
Regulatory Approvals
|
|
Regulation
M-A Filing
|
|
Reverse
Termination Fee
|
|
Superior
Proposal
|
|
Surviving
Company
|
|
Termination
Fee
|
|
Uncertainties
Paragraph
|
|
ARTICLE
II
THE
MERGER
2.1 Effective Time of the
Merger. Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, prior to
the Closing, the Buyer shall prepare, and on the Closing Date or as soon as
practicable thereafter the Buyer shall cause to be filed with the Secretary of
State of the State of Nevada, and with the Registrar of Corporate Affairs of the
British Virgin Islands (the “Registrar”), articles
of merger (in each case, the “Articles of Merger”)
in such form as is required by, and executed by the Surviving Company in
accordance with, the relevant provisions of the NGCL and the BVIBCA and shall
make all other filings or recordings required under the NGCL and
BVIBCA. The Merger shall become effective upon the filing of the
Articles of Merger with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada and with
the Registrar, or at such later time as is established by the Buyer and the
Company and set forth in the Articles of Merger (the “Effective
Time”).
6
2.2 Closing. The
closing of the Merger (the “Closing”) shall take
place at 10:00 a.m., Eastern time, on a date to be specified by the Buyer
and the Company (the “Closing Date”), which
shall be no later than the second Business Day after satisfaction or waiver of
the conditions set forth in Article VII (other than delivery of items to be
delivered at the Closing and other than satisfaction of those conditions that by
their nature are to be satisfied at the Closing, it being understood that the
occurrence of the Closing shall remain subject to the delivery of such items and
the satisfaction or waiver of such conditions at the Closing), at the offices of
Arent Fox LLP, 0000 Xxxxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, unless
another date, place or time is agreed to in writing by the Buyer and the
Company.
2.3 Effects of the
Merger. At the Effective Time (i) the separate existence
of the Company shall cease and the Company shall be merged with and into the
Buyer (the Buyer following the Merger is sometimes referred to herein as the
“Surviving
Company”) and (ii) the memorandum and articles of association of the
Buyer as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be the
memorandum and articles of association of the Surviving Company, until further
amended in accordance with the BVIBCA. The Merger shall have the
effects set forth in Section 92A.250 of the NGCL and Sections 173 and 174 of the
BVIBCA.
2.4 Directors and
Officers. The directors of the Buyer immediately prior to the
Effective Time shall be the initial directors of the Surviving Company and
officers of the Company immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be the
officers of the Surviving Company, each to hold office in accordance with the
articles of association of the Surviving Company.
ARTICLE
III
CONVERSION
OF SECURITIES
3.1 Conversion of Capital
Stock. As of the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and
without any action on the part of the holder of any shares of the capital stock
of the Company or authorized shares of the Buyer:
(a) Each of
the Shares issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (other
than Shares held in the Company’s treasury or by any wholly-owned Subsidiary of
the Company and Shares owned beneficially by the Buyer or any wholly-owned
Subsidiary of the Buyer) shall be converted into and represent the right to
receive $1.90 in cash per share of the Shares, without any interest thereon (the
“Merger
Consideration”).
(b) Cancellation of Stock Owned
by the Parties and Their Subsidiaries. All of the Shares that
are owned by the Company as treasury stock or by any wholly-owned Subsidiary of
the Company and any Shares owned by the Buyer, any shareholder of the Buyer or
any wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Buyer immediately prior to the Effective Time
shall be cancelled and shall cease to exist and no shares of the Buyer or other
consideration shall be delivered in exchange therefor.
7
(c) Treatment of Company Stock
Options and Common Stock Purchase Warrants. Prior to the
Effective Time, the Company Board (and/or, if appropriate, the Compensation
Committee thereof) shall adopt appropriate resolutions and take all other
actions necessary to provide that each Company Stock Option and each Company
Stock Purchase Warrant, whether or not then vested or exercisable, shall, at the
Effective Time, be cancelled, and each holder thereof, other than the Buyer, any
shareholder of the Buyer or any wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Buyer, shall be
entitled to receive a payment in cash as provided in Section 7.8(b) hereof (subject to any applicable withholding
taxes). As provided herein, unless otherwise determined by the Buyer,
the Company Stock Plans (and any feature of any other Benefit Plans or other
plan, program or arrangement providing for the issuance or grant of any other
interest in respect of the capital stock of the Company) shall terminate as of
the Effective Time. After the date hereof, the Company will not issue
any Company Stock Options, Company Stock Purchase Warrants or other options,
warrants, rights or agreements which would entitle any person to acquire any
capital stock of the Company or, except as otherwise provided in this Section 3.1(c) or in Section 7.8,
to receive any payment in respect thereof.
3.2 Exchange of Certificates,
Company Stock Options and Company Stock Purchase Warrants. The
procedures for exchanging outstanding Shares for Merger Consideration, and
outstanding Company Stock Options and Company Stock Purchase Warrants for Option
Consideration, pursuant to the Merger are as follows:
(a) Exchange
Agent. As of the Effective Time, the Buyer shall deposit with
the Company’s transfer agent or another bank or trust company designated by the
Buyer and reasonably acceptable to the Company (the “Exchange Agent”), for
the benefit of the holders of Shares, Company Stock Options and Company Stock
Purchase Warrants, for exchange in accordance with this Section 3.2, through the Exchange Agent, cash in an amount
sufficient to pay the aggregate Merger Consideration and the aggregate Option
Consideration (such aggregate consideration being hereinafter referred to as the
“Exchange
Fund”), payable pursuant to Section 3.1
to holders of certificates which immediately prior to the Effective Time
represented outstanding Shares (the “Certificates”), and
pursuant to Sections 3.1(c) and 7.8(b) to the holders of Company Stock Options and
Company Stock Purchase Warrants.
(b) Exchange
Procedures. As soon as reasonably practicable after the
Effective Time, the Exchange Agent shall mail to each holder of record of a
Certificate, Company Stock Option and Company Stock Purchase Warrant (i) a
letter of transmittal (which shall specify that delivery shall be effected, and
risk of loss and title to the Certificates, Company Stock Options and Company
Stock Purchase Warrants shall pass, only upon delivery of the Certificates,
Company Stock Options and Company Stock Purchase Warrants to the Exchange Agent
and shall be in such form and have such other provisions as the Buyer may
reasonably specify) and (ii) instructions for effecting the surrender of
the Certificates, Company Stock Options and Company Stock Purchase Warrants in
exchange for each holder’s respective Merger Consideration or Option
Consideration. Upon surrender of a Certificate, Company Stock Option
or Company Stock Purchase Warrant for cancellation to the Exchange Agent or to
such other agent or agents as may be appointed by the Buyer, together with such
letter of transmittal, duly executed, and such other documents as may reasonably
be required by the Exchange Agent, the holder of each Certificate, Company Stock
Option and Company Stock Purchase Warrant shall be entitled to receive in
exchange therefor cash representing (i) that number of whole Shares evidenced by
such Certificate multiplied by the Merger Consideration, and the Certificate so
surrendered shall immediately be cancelled; and/or (ii) the Option Consideration
payable with respect to the surrendered Company Stock Option or Company Stock
Purchase Warrant. In the event of a transfer of ownership of Shares
which is not registered in the transfer records of the Company, the payment
representing the Merger Consideration payable to the registered holder may be
paid to a person other than the person in whose name the Certificate so
surrendered is registered, if such Certificate is presented to the Exchange
Agent, accompanied by all documents required to evidence and effect such
transfer and by evidence that any applicable stock transfer taxes have been
paid. Until surrendered as contemplated by this Section 3.2, each Certificate, Company Stock Option and
Company Stock Purchase Warrant shall be deemed at any time after the Effective
Time to represent only the right to receive upon such surrender the payment
contemplated by this Section 3.2 or Section 7.8(b), as the case may be.
8
(c) No Further Ownership Rights
in Shares. All payments upon the surrender for exchange of
Certificates in accordance with the terms hereof shall be deemed to have been
paid in full satisfaction of all rights pertaining to such Shares, and from and
after the Effective Time there shall be no further registration of transfers on
the share transfer books or register of members of the Surviving Company of the
Shares which were outstanding immediately prior to the Effective
Time. If, after the Effective Time, Certificates are presented to the
Surviving Company or the Exchange Agent for any reason, they shall be cancelled
and exchanged as provided in this Article II.
(d) Termination of Exchange
Fund. Subject to any applicable escheat or similar Law, any
portion of the Exchange Fund which remains undistributed to the holders of
Shares 180 days after the Effective Time shall be delivered to the Buyer, upon
demand, and any holder of Shares who has not previously complied with this
Section 3.2 shall thereafter look only to the
Buyer, as a general unsecured creditor, for payment of his, her or its claim for
Merger Consideration.
(e) Investment of Exchange
Fund The Exchange Agent shall invest cash included in the
Exchange Fund, as directed by the Buyer, on a daily basis, provided that no such
investment or loss thereon shall affect the amounts payable pursuant to the
provisions of this Article III. Any interest and other income
resulting from such investments shall be paid to the Buyer.
(f) No
Liability. To the extent permitted by applicable Law, none of
the Buyer, the Company, the Surviving Company or the Exchange Agent shall be
liable to any holder of Shares delivered to a public official pursuant to any
applicable abandoned property, escheat or similar Law. If any
Certificate shall not have been surrendered prior to one year after the
Effective Time (or immediately prior to such earlier date on which any cash
payable to the holder of such Certificate pursuant to this Article III would
otherwise escheat to or become the property of any Governmental Entity), any
such cash in respect of such Certificate shall, to the extent permitted by
applicable Law, become the property of the Surviving Company, free and clear of
all claims or interest of any person previously entitled thereto.
(g) Withholding
Rights. Each of the Buyer and the Surviving Company shall be
entitled to deduct and withhold from the consideration otherwise payable
pursuant to this Agreement to any holder of Shares such amounts as it reasonably
determines that it is required to deduct and withhold with respect to the making
of such payment under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), or any other
applicable provision of Law. To the extent that amounts are so
withheld by the Surviving Company or the Buyer, as the case may be, such
withheld amounts shall be treated for all purposes of this Agreement as having
been paid to the holder of the Shares in respect of which such deduction and
withholding was made by the Surviving Company or the Buyer, as the case may
be.
9
(h) Lost
Certificates. If any Certificate shall have been lost, stolen
or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the person
claiming such Certificate to be lost, stolen or destroyed and, if required by
the Surviving Company, the posting by such person of a bond in such reasonable
amount as the Surviving Company may direct as indemnity against any claim that
may be made against it with respect to such Certificate, the Exchange Agent
shall issue in exchange for such lost, stolen or destroyed Certificate, the
Merger Consideration deliverable in respect thereof pursuant to this
Agreement.
ARTICLE
IV
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
The
Company represents and warrants to the Buyer that the statements contained in
this Article IV are true and correct, subject to the exceptions set forth
in the disclosure schedule delivered by the Company to the Buyer on or before
the execution and delivery of this Agreement (the “Company Disclosure
Schedule”). The Company Disclosure Schedule shall be arranged
in paragraphs corresponding to the numbered and lettered paragraphs contained in
this Article IV that contain references to such Company Disclosure
Schedule; provided, however, that any
information contained in response to any numbered or lettered section of this
Article IV shall constitute disclosure pursuant to this Article
IV. For purposes of this Agreement, each statement or other item of
information set forth in the Company Disclosure Schedule shall be deemed to be a
representation and warranty made by the Company in Article IV.
4.1 Organization, Standing and
Power; Subsidiaries.
(a) Each of
the Company and its Subsidiaries is a corporation duly organized, validly
existing and in good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its
incorporation, has all requisite corporate power and authority to own, lease and
operate its properties and assets and to carry on its business as now being
conducted, except for such failures to be so organized, qualified or in good
standing, individually or in the aggregate, that have not had, and could not
reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse
Effect. There is no jurisdiction in the United States in which the
nature of the business conducted by the Company or property owned by it requires
qualification as a foreign corporation.
(b) Section
4.1(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule sets
forth a complete and accurate list of (i) all of the Company’s Subsidiaries and
the Company’s direct or indirect equity interest therein and (ii) the Company’s
interest in any Person which is not a Subsidiary, including any Person in which
the Company has a non-controlling equity interest.
(c) The
Company has delivered to the Buyer complete and accurate copies of the
certificate of incorporation and by-laws of the Company and of the charter,
by-laws or other organizational documents of each Subsidiary of the Company, in
each case as amended to date. The Company is not in default under, or
in violation of, its certificate of incorporation or by-laws, and each of its
Subsidiaries is not in violation of its comparable organizational
documents.
10
4.2 Capitalization.
(a) The
authorized capital stock of the Company consists of 10,000,000 shares of
preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, none of which are outstanding or
authorized for issuance, and 50,000,000 Shares. The rights and
privileges of each class of the Company’s capital stock are as set forth in the
Company’s certificate of incorporation. As of the date of this
Agreement, 15,942,336 Shares were issued and outstanding, and no Shares were
held in the treasury of the Company or by Subsidiaries of the
Company.
(b) Section
4.2(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule lists the
number of Shares reserved for issuance pursuant to outstanding convertible
notes, stock options and stock purchase warrants, as of the date of this
Agreement and any plans or other arrangements under which additional notes,
options and warrants may be issued or granted (collectively, the “Company Stock Plans”)
and sets forth a complete and accurate list of all holders of outstanding notes
convertible into, and options and warrants to purchase, Shares (such outstanding
notes, options and warrants, respectively, the “Company Convertible
Notes,” “Company Stock
Options” and the “Company Stock Purchase
Warrants”), whether or not granted under the Company Stock Plans, and the
number of Shares issuable pursuant to each Company Convertible Note, each
Company Stock Option and each Company Stock Purchase Warrant, and the
conversion, exercise or purchase price, the date of grant or issuance, the
repurchase price payable per unvested Share, and the expiration date thereof.
The Company has provided to the Buyer accurate and complete copies of all
Company Stock Plans, and the forms of all convertible note, stock option and
common stock warrant agreements evidencing Company Convertible Notes, Company
Stock Options and Company Stock Purchase Warrants, and there are no agreements,
understandings or commitments to amend, modify or supplement such documents,
which documents include any applicable provisions relating to adjustments in the
number of Shares which may be issued pursuant thereto.
(c) Except
(x) as set forth in this Section 4.2, and (y) as
reserved for future grants under Company Stock Plans, (i) there are no equity
securities of any class of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (other than
equity securities of any such Subsidiary that are directly or indirectly owned
by the Company), or any security exchangeable into or exercisable for such
equity securities, issued, reserved for issuance or outstanding and (ii) there
are no options, warrants, equity securities, calls, rights, commitments or
agreements of any character to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a
party or by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound obligating the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries to issue, exchange, transfer, deliver or
sell, or cause to be issued, exchanged, transferred, delivered or sold,
additional shares of capital stock or other equity interests of the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries or any security or rights convertible into or
exchangeable or exercisable for any such shares or other equity interests, or
obligating the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to grant, extend, accelerate
the vesting of, otherwise modify or amend or enter into any such option,
warrant, equity security, call, right, commitment or
agreement. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has
outstanding any stock appreciation rights, phantom stock, performance-based
rights or similar rights or obligations.
11
There are
no obligations, contingent or otherwise, of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of the
capital stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or to provide funds to
or make any investment (in the form of a loan, capital contribution or
otherwise) in the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or any other entity,
other than guarantees of bank obligations of Subsidiaries of the Company entered
into in the Ordinary Course of Business or as disclosed in the Company SEC
Reports. Neither the Company nor any of its Affiliates is a party to
or is bound by any, and to the Knowledge of the Company, there are no,
agreements or understandings with respect to the voting (including voting trusts
and proxies) or sale or transfer (including agreements imposing transfer
restrictions) of any shares of capital stock or other equity interests of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries not disclosed in the Company SEC Reports.
There are no registration rights, and there is no rights agreement, “poison
pill” anti-takeover plan or other agreement or understanding to which the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which it or they are bound
with respect to any equity security of any class of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries or with respect to any equity security, partnership interest or
similar ownership interest of any class of any of its Subsidiaries not disclosed
in the Company SEC Reports.
(d) Shareholders
of the Company are not entitled to dissenters’ or appraisal rights under
applicable state Law in connection with the Merger.
(e) All
outstanding Shares are, and all Shares subject to issuance as specified in
Section 4.2(b) above, upon issuance on the terms
and conditions specified in the instruments pursuant to which they are issuable,
will be, duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and not
subject to or issued in violation of any Encumbrance, purchase option, call
option, right of first refusal, preemptive right, subscription right or any
similar right under any provision of the NGCL, the Company’s certificate of
incorporation or by-laws or any agreement to which the Company is a
party.
(f) All of
the outstanding shares of the Capital Stock of each of the Company’s
Subsidiaries are owned as set forth in Note 1(d) of the Notes to Consolidated
Financial Statements in the Company’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30,
2009 and have been issued in accordance with applicable law and the governing
instruments of the Subsidiary, and are owned free and clear of any Encumbrances,
except as disclosed in the Company SEC Reports. There are no outstanding
options, warrants, calls, stock appreciation rights, or other rights or
commitments or any other agreements of any character relating to the sale,
issuance or voting of, or the granting of rights to acquire any shares of the
capital stock of any of the Company’s Subsidiaries, or any securities or other
instruments convertible into, exchangeable for or evidencing the right to
purchase any shares of the capital stock of any of the Company’s Subsidiaries
except as disclosed in the Company SEC Reports.
(g) All
Company Stock Options, all Company Stock Purchase Warrants and all issued and
outstanding Shares have been issued in compliance with the Securities Act and
any applicable state blue sky Laws. Any consents of the holders of
Company Stock Options and Company Stock Purchase Warrants which are required in
connection with the actions contemplated by Section 7.8 have been obtained, and such actions so
contemplated comport with the requirements of the documents underlying any such
derivative securities.
12
4.3 Authority; No Conflict;
Required Filings and Consents.
(a) The
Company has all requisite corporate power and authority to enter into this
Agreement and, subject only to the adoption of this Agreement and the approval
of the Merger (the “Company Voting
Proposal”) by the Company’s shareholders under the NGCL (the “Company Shareholder
Approval”), to consummate the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the
Company Board, at a meeting duly called and held, by the unanimous vote of all
directors and upon the approval and recommendation of a special committee of the
Company Board comprised solely of four independent directors (i) determined that
the Merger is fair and in the best interests of the Company and its
shareholders, (ii) adopted this Agreement in accordance with the provisions of
the NGCL, (iii) directed that this Agreement and the Merger be submitted to the
shareholders of the Company for their adoption and approval and resolved to
recommend that the shareholders of the Company vote in favor of the adoption of
this Agreement and the approval of the Merger and (iv) to the extent necessary,
adopted a resolution having the effect of causing the Company not to be subject
to any provision of the NGCL relating to a merger with interested stockholders
(including, without limitation, a “fair price,” “moratorium,” or “control share
acquisition” statute) that might otherwise apply to the Merger and any other
transactions contemplated by this Agreement. The execution and
delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
by this Agreement by the Company have been duly authorized by all necessary
corporate action on the part of the Company, subject only to the required
receipt of the Company Shareholder Approval. This Agreement has been
duly executed and delivered by the Company and constitutes the valid and binding
obligation of the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to
applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization,
moratorium and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights and remedies generally
and to general principles of equity.
(b) The
execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Company do not, and the
consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement
shall not, (i) conflict with, or result in any violation or breach of, any
provision of the articles of incorporation or by-laws of the Company or of the
charter, by-laws, or other organizational document of any Subsidiary of the
Company, (ii) conflict with, or result in any violation or breach of, or
constitute (with or without notice or lapse of time, or both) a default (or give
rise to a right of termination, cancellation or acceleration of any obligation
or loss of any benefit) under, or require a consent or waiver under, constitute
a change in control under, require the payment of a penalty under or result in
the imposition of any Encumbrance on the Company’s or any of its Subsidiaries’
assets under, any of the terms, conditions or provisions of any material note,
bond, mortgage, indenture, lease, license, contract or other agreement,
instrument or obligation to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a
party or by which any of them or any of their properties or assets may be bound,
(iii) subject to obtaining the Company Shareholder Approval and compliance
with the requirements specified in clauses (i) through (iv) of Section 4.3(c) below, conflict with or violate any permit,
concession, franchise, license, judgment, injunction, order, decree or Law
applicable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any of its or their
properties or assets, or (iv) result in the creation of a material lien on
any of the material properties or assets of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, except in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) of this
Section 4.3(b) for any such conflicts,
violations, breaches, defaults, terminations, cancellations, accelerations or
losses that, individually or in the aggregate, could not constitute or could not
reasonably be expected to constitute a Company Material Adverse
Effect. There are no consents, waivers or approvals under any of the
Company’s or any of its Subsidiaries’ agreements, licenses or leases required to
be obtained in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby.
13
(c) No
consent, approval, license, permit, order or authorization of, or registration,
declaration, notice or filing with any Governmental Entity is required by or
with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in connection with the
execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Company or the consummation by
the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except for (i)
the filing of Articles of Merger with the Secretary of State of the State of
Nevada and with the Registrar, (ii) the filing of the Proxy Statement with the
SEC in accordance with the Exchange Act, (iii) the filing of such reports,
schedules or materials under Section 13, Rule 14a-12 or other relevant sections
under the Exchange Act as may be required in connection with this Agreement and
the transactions contemplated hereby and (iv) such consents, approvals, orders,
authorizations, registrations, declarations and filings as may be required under
applicable state securities Laws and the securities Laws of any foreign
country.
(d) The
affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Shares on the
record date for the Company Shareholders Meeting is the only vote of the holders
of any class or series of the Company’s capital stock or other securities
necessary for the adoption of this Agreement and for the consummation by the
Company of the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement
and the Support Agreements. There are no bonds, debentures, notes or
other indebtedness of the Company having the right to vote (or convertible into,
or exchangeable for, securities having the right to vote) on any matters on
which shareholders of the Company may vote.
4.4 SEC Filings; Financial
Statements; Reporting Requirements.
(a) The
Company has filed all registration statements, forms, reports and other
documents required to be filed by the Company with the SEC and/or the Nasdaq
Stock Market since June 1, 2006 pursuant to the Exchange Act (the “Company SEC
Reports”), all of which are publicly available on the SEC’s XXXXX system;
provided, however, that the
Company has not filed a proxy statement on Schedule 14A or an information
statement on Schedule 14C since September 8, 2006. Prior to the
Closing, the Company will have furnished to the Buyer a true, correct and
complete copy of any additional Company SEC Reports filed with the SEC or the
Nasdaq Stock Market on or after the date hereof but prior to the
Closing. The Company SEC Reports (i) were or will be filed on a
timely basis, provided, however, that no
representation is made that each current report on Form 8-K was filed on a
timely basis, (ii) at the time filed, were, to the Company’s Knowledge at the
time of such filing, or will be prepared in compliance in all material respects
with the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act, and the rules and
regulations of the SEC thereunder applicable to such Company SEC Reports
including the provision of all statements and certifications required by (x)
Rule 13a-14 or 15d-14 under the Exchange Act or (y) 18 U.S.C. §1350 (Section 906
of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002), and (iii) did not or will not at the time
they were or are filed contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit
to state a material fact required to be stated in such Company SEC Report or
necessary in order to make the statements in such Company SEC Report, in the
light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading. No Subsidiary of the Company is subject to the reporting
requirements of Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange
Act. There are no off-balance sheet or securitization structures or
transactions with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that would
be required to be reported or set forth in the Company SEC Reports and were not
reflected therein. As used in this Section 4.4, the term “file” and variations thereof shall be
broadly construed to include any manner in which a document or information is
furnished, supplied or otherwise made available to the SEC.
14
(b) Each of
the consolidated financial statements (including, in each case, any related
notes and schedules) contained or to be contained in or incorporated by
reference in the Company SEC Reports at the time filed (i) complied or will
comply as to form in all material respects with applicable accounting
requirements and the published rules and regulations of the SEC with respect
thereto and (ii) were or will be prepared in accordance with United States
generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a
consistent basis throughout the periods involved (except as may be indicated in
the notes to such financial statements or as otherwise reflected in the Company
SEC Reports or, in the case of unaudited interim financial statements, as
permitted by the SEC on Form 10-QSB or Form 10-Q under the Exchange
Act). Each of the consolidated balance sheets (including, in each
case, any related notes and schedules) contained or to be contained or
incorporated by reference in the Company SEC Reports at the time filed fairly
presented or will fairly present the consolidated financial position of the
Company and its Subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and each of the
consolidated statements of operations, shareholders’ equity and cash flows
contained or to be contained or incorporated by reference in the Company SEC
Reports (including, in each case, any related notes and schedules) fairly
presents, or will fairly present, the results of operations, changes in
shareholders’ equity and cash flows, as the case may be, of the Company and its
Subsidiaries for the periods set forth therein, except that the unaudited
interim financial statements were or are subject to normal and recurring
year-end adjustments which were not or are not expected to be material in
amount.
(c) The
business, property, management and financial condition of the Company is
disclosed in the Company SEC Reports. The Company SEC Reports, taken
together, do not contain any statement which, at such time and in light of the
circumstances under which it was made, is false or misleading with respect to
any material fact, or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make
the statements made in the Company SEC Reports, taken together, not false or
misleading.
(d) The
information to be supplied by or on behalf of the Company for inclusion in any
filing pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (each a “Regulation M-A
Filing”), shall not at the time any Regulation M-A Filing is filed with
the SEC, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the
statements therein not misleading. The Proxy Statement will comply as
to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act and
the rules and regulations thereunder, except that no representation or warranty
is made by the Company with respect to statements made based on information
supplied by the Buyer specifically for inclusion therein. The
information to be supplied by or on behalf of the Company for inclusion in the
proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”) to
be sent to the shareholders of the Company in connection with the meeting of the
Company’s shareholders to consider the Company Voting Proposal (the “Company Shareholders
Meeting”), which shall be deemed to include all information about or
relating to the Company, the Company Voting Proposal and the Company Shareholder
Meeting, shall not, on the date the Proxy Statement is first mailed to
shareholders of the Company, or at the time of the Company Shareholders Meeting
or at the Effective Time, contain any statement which, at such time and in light
of the circumstances under which it shall be made, is false or misleading with
respect to any material fact, or omit to state any material fact necessary in
order to make the statements made in the Proxy Statement not false or
misleading; or omit to state any material fact necessary to correct any
statement in any earlier communication with respect to the solicitation of
proxies for the Company Shareholders Meeting which has become false or
misleading. If at any time prior to the Effective Time any fact or
event relating to the Company or any of its Affiliates which should be set forth
in an amendment or supplement to the Proxy Statement should be discovered by the
Company or should occur, the Company shall promptly inform the Buyer of such
fact or event.
15
(e) During
the periods subsequent to June 1, 2006 that the Company was subject to such
requirements, the Company has been and is in compliance in all material respects
with (i) the applicable provisions of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 and (ii)
the applicable listing and corporate governance rules and regulations of The
Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.
(f) The
Company has designed disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material
information relating to the Company, including its consolidated Company
Subsidiaries, is made known to the chief executive officer and the chief
financial officer of the Company by others within those entities.
(g) The
Company has disclosed in the Company SEC Reports any significant deficiencies
and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over
financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect in any
material respect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report
financial information. The Company knows of no fraud or allegation of
fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who
have a significant role in the Company’s internal controls over financial
reporting.
(h) As of the
date hereof, to the Knowledge of the Company, the Company has not identified any
material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over
financial reporting not disclosed in the Company SEC Reports. To the
Knowledge of the Company, there is no reason to believe that chief executive
officer and chief financial officer will not be able to give the certifications
and attestations required pursuant to the rules and regulations adopted pursuant
to Section 404 of the Sarbanes−Oxley Act of 2002 when next due. Buyer
understands that the attestation by the Company’s registered independent public
accounting firm is not required.
(i) None of
the Company’s Subsidiaries is subject to the reporting requirements of Sections
13(a) or 15(d) under the Exchange Act.
4.5 No Undisclosed Liabilities;
Indebtedness. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
has any liabilities or obligations of any nature, whether or not accrued,
contingent or otherwise, except for (i) liabilities and obligations that are
specifically disclosed in type and amount on the Company Unaudited Balance Sheet
or in the notes thereto and (ii) liabilities and obligations incurred in the
Ordinary Course of Business since June 30, 2009, that are not and could not,
individually or in the aggregate with all other liabilities and obligations of
the Company and its Subsidiaries, reasonably be expected to have a Company
Material Adverse Effect.
16
4.6 Absence of Certain Changes
or Events. Since the date of the Company Unaudited Balance
Sheet, the Company and its Subsidiaries have conducted their respective
businesses only in the Ordinary Course of Business and, since such date, there
has not been (i) any change, event, circumstance, development or effect (whether
or not covered by insurance) that, individually or in the aggregate, has had, or
could reasonably be expected to have, a Company Material Adverse Effect or (ii)
any other action or event that would have required the consent of the Buyer
pursuant to Section 6.1 of this Agreement had
such action or event occurred after the date of this Agreement.
4.7 Taxes. Due
to the Buyer’s familiarity with the Company’s operations, the Company makes no
warranties or representations with regard to Taxes.
4.8 Owned and Occupied Real
Properties. Due to the Buyer’s familiarity with the Company’s
operations, the Company makes no warranties or representations with regard to
the premises owned and/or occupied by the Company.
4.9 Intellectual
Property. Due to the Buyer’s familiarity with the Company’s
operations, the Company makes no warranties or representations with regard to
Intellectual Property.
4.10 Agreements, Contracts and
Commitments; Government Contracts.
(a) Except as
set forth in the exhibit indices for the Company’s Company SEC Reports, neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to or bound by (i) any
agreement relating to the incurring of Indebtedness by the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries in an amount in excess in the aggregate of $50,000, including any
such agreement which contains provisions that restrict, or may restrict, the
conduct of business of the issuer thereof as currently conducted (collectively,
“Instruments of
Indebtedness”), or (ii) any “Material Contract”
(as such term is defined in Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K of the
SEC). The contracts and agreements described in this Section 4.10(a) are referred to as “Company Material
Contracts.”
(b) Each
Company Material Contract is valid and binding on the Company (or, to the extent
a Subsidiary of the Company is a party, such Subsidiary) and, to the Knowledge
of the Company, any other party thereto, and each Company Material Contract is
in written form and in full force and effect. Neither the Company nor
any of its Subsidiaries is in breach or default under any Company Material
Contract or is aware of any condition that with the passage of time or the
giving of notice or both could result in such a breach or default, except in
each case where any such breaches or defaults could not, except as disclosed in
the Company SEC Reports, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be
expected to result in a Company Material Adverse Effect. Neither the
Company nor any Subsidiary of the Company knows of, or has received written
notice of, any breach or default under any Company Material Contract by any
other party thereto. Prior to the date hereof, the Company has made
available to the Buyer true and complete copies of all Company Material
Contracts.
17
4.11 Litigation; Product
Liability; Product Recalls. There is no Action pending or, to
the Knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company or any
of its Subsidiaries that: (i) individually or in the aggregate,
constitute or could reasonably be expected to constitute a Company Material
Adverse Effect; or (ii) seek to delay, alter or prevent the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby.
4.12 Environmental
Matters. Due to the Buyer’s familiarity with the Company’s
operations, the Company makes no warranties or representations with regard to
the Company’s compliance with and/or obligations pursuant to applicable Laws
pertaining to environmental regulation.
4.13 Employee Benefit
Plans. Due to the Buyer’s familiarity with the Company’s
operations, the Company makes no warranties or representations with regard to
the Company’s compliance with and/or obligations pursuant to applicable Laws
pertaining to employee benefits.
4.14 Compliance With
Laws. The Company, each of its Subsidiaries and their
respective businesses as previously conducted and as now, to the Knowledge of
the Company, being conducted have complied and do comply with, were not and are
not in violation of, and have not received any notice alleging any violation
with respect to, any applicable provisions of any Law with respect to the
conduct of its business, or the ownership or operation of its properties or
assets, except for failures to comply or violations that, individually or in the
aggregate, have not had a Company Material Adverse Effect.
4.15 Labor
Matters. Due to the Buyer’s familiarity with the Company’s
operations, the Company makes no warranties or representations with regard to
the Company’s compliance with and/or obligations pursuant to applicable Laws
pertaining to employment and employment practices.
4.16 Opinions of Financial
Advisors. Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Carret & Co., LLC. (“BMC”) has delivered
to the Company Board its written opinion (or oral opinion to be confirmed in
writing), dated as of the date hereof, that, as of such date, the Merger
Consideration is fair, from a financial point of view, to the holders of the
Shares, and such opinion has not been withdrawn or modified. The
Company has made available to the Buyer accurate and complete copies of all
agreements under which fees, commissions or other amounts have been paid or may
become payable and all indemnification and other agreements related to the
engagement of BMC.
4.17 Insurance. Due
to the Buyer’s familiarity with the Company’s operations, the Company makes no
warranties or representations with regard to matters pertaining to property,
casualty and other insurance.
4.18 Brokers. No
agent, broker, investment banker, financial advisor or other Person is or shall
be entitled, as a result of any action, agreement or commitment of the Company
or any of its Affiliates, to any broker’s, finder’s, financial advisor’s or
other similar fee or commission in connection with any of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
18
4.19 Certain
Approvals. The Company has taken all necessary action to
ensure that no provisions of the NGCL relating to transactions with control
parties would adversely affect the ability of the Company (assuming the Merger
receives stockholder approval) to consummate the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement, including the Merger.
4.20 Unlawful
Payments. Neither the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, any
director, officer, employee, shareholder, agent or representative of the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries, nor any Person associated with or acting for or on
behalf of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, has directly or indirectly
made any contribution, gift, bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback,
or other payment to any Person, private or public, regardless of what form,
whether in money, property, or services (i) to obtain favorable treatment for
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or to secure contracts, (ii) to pay for
favorable treatment for the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or for contracts
secured, (iii) to obtain special concessions for the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries or for special concessions already obtained or (iv) in violation of
any legal requirement.
4.21 Affiliate
Transactions. Other than this Agreement and the transactions
disclosed in the Company SEC Reports, there are no transactions, agreements,
arrangements or understandings between (i) the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, on the one hand, and (ii) any Affiliate of the Company (other than
the Company Subsidiaries), on the other hand, of the type that would be required
to be disclosed under Item 404 of Regulation S−K under the Securities
Act.
4.22 Guaranteed Senior
Notes. The indentures governing the Company’s 12% Guaranteed
Senior Notes Due 2012 in the aggregate principal amount of $16,000,000 and the
Company’s 3.0% guaranteed senior convertible notes due 2012 in the principal
amount of $14,000,000 contain provisions entitling the holders thereof to
accelerate the maturity of such notes upon consummation of a transaction such as
the Merger. The Company has entered into an agreement with the
holders of such notes that provides for such noteholders’ forbearance or waiver
of such rights on and subject to the conditions set forth therein.
4.23 No Other Representations or
Warranties.
(a) Except
for the representations and warranties contained in this Article IV of this
Agreement, in the Company Disclosure Schedule or any certificate or instrument
furnished by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to this Agreement
or the disclosures in the Company SEC Reports, the Buyer acknowledges that
neither the Company nor any other Person on behalf of the Company makes any
other express or implied representation or warranty with respect to the Company
with respect to any other information provided to the Buyer. Except in the case
of fraud or willful misrepresentation, neither the Company nor any other Person
will have or be subject to any liability or indemnification obligation to the
Buyer or any other Person resulting from the distribution to the Buyer, or use
by the Buyer of, any such information, including any information, documents,
projections, forecasts or other material made available to the Buyer in the
online data room to which the Buyer was given access, and pursuant to the
confidential information memorandum and management presentations provided by the
Company to the Buyer, in each case prior to the date of execution of this
Agreement.
19
(b) In
connection with investigation by the Buyer of the Company and its Subsidiaries,
the Buyer has received or may receive from the Company and/or its Subsidiaries
certain projections, forward-looking statements and other forecasts and certain
business plan information. the Buyer acknowledges that there are uncertainties
inherent in attempting to make such estimates, projections and other forecasts
and plans, that the Buyer is familiar with such uncertainties, that the Buyer is
taking full responsibility for making its own evaluation of the adequacy and
accuracy of all estimates, projections and other forecasts and plans so
furnished to it (including the reasonableness of the assumptions underlying such
estimates, projections, forecasts or plans), and that, absent fraud or willful
misrepresentation, the Buyer shall have no claim against anyone with respect
thereto. Accordingly, the Buyer acknowledges that the Company makes no
representation or warranty with respect to such estimates, projections,
forecasts or plans (including the reasonableness of the assumptions underlying
such estimates, projections, forecasts or plans).
ARTICLE
V
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF THE BUYER
The Buyer
represents and warrants to the Company that the statements contained in this
Article V are true and correct.
5.1 Organization, Standing and
Power. The Buyer is a corporation duly organized, validly
existing and in good standing under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its
incorporation, has all requisite corporate power and authority to own, lease and
operate its properties and assets and to carry on its business as now being
conducted and as proposed to be conducted, and is duly qualified to do business
and is in good standing as a foreign corporation in each jurisdiction in which
the character of the properties it owns, operates or leases or the nature of its
activities makes such qualification necessary, except for such failures to be so
organized, qualified or in good standing, individually or in the aggregate, that
have not had, and could not reasonably be expected to have, a Buyer Material
Adverse Effect.
5.2 Authority; No Conflict;
Required Filings and Consents.
(a) The Buyer
has all requisite corporate power and authority to enter into this Agreement and
to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. The
execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement by the Buyer have been duly
authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the
Buyer. This Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the
Buyer and constitutes the valid and binding obligation of the Buyer, enforceable
in accordance with its terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency,
fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws affecting
creditors’ rights and remedies generally and to general principles of
equity.
20
(b) The
execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Buyer does not, and the
consummation by the Buyer of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement
shall not, (i) conflict with, or result in any violation or breach of, any
provision of the memorandum or articles of association of the Buyer,
(ii) impair or threaten to impair in any manner the ability of the Buyer to
provide the Merger Consideration required by this Agreement or otherwise perform
its obligation under this Agreement, or (iii) subject to compliance with
the requirements specified in clause (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of Section 5.2(c), conflict with or violate any permit,
concession, franchise, license, judgment, injunction, order, decree, statute,
Law, ordinance, rule or regulation applicable to the Buyer or any of its or
their properties or assets, except in the case of clause (iii) of this
Section 5.2(b) for any such conflicts,
violations, breaches, defaults, terminations, cancellations, accelerations or
losses that, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected
to have a Buyer Material Adverse Effect.
(c) No
consent, approval, license, permit, order or authorization of, or registration,
declaration, notice or filing with, any Governmental Entity is required by or
with respect to the Buyer in connection with the execution and delivery of this
Agreement by the Buyer or the consummation by the Buyer of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, except for (i) the filing of the Articles of
Merger with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada, (ii) the filing of
Articles of Merger and any amendment to the memorandum and articles of
association of the Surviving Company with the Registrar; (iii) the
issuance of a certificate of merger by the Registrar pursuant to Section 171 of
the BVIBCA; (iv) the filings of such reports, schedules or materials under the
Exchange Act as may be required in connection with this Agreement and the
transactions contemplated hereby and (v) such consents, approvals, orders,
authorizations, registrations, declarations and filings as may be required under
applicable state securities Laws and the securities Laws of any foreign
country.
5.3 Information
Provided. None of the information supplied or to be supplied
by the Buyer in writing specifically for inclusion in any Regulation M-A Filing
or the Proxy Statement shall at the time the Regulation M-A Filing is filed with
the SEC or the Proxy Statement is sent to shareholders of the Company to
consider the Company Voting Proposal (as applicable), contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be
stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not
misleading. If at any time prior to the Effective Time any fact or
event relating to the Buyer or any of its Affiliates which should be set forth
in an amendment or supplement to the Proxy Statement should be discovered by the
Buyer or should occur, the Buyer shall promptly inform the Company of such fact
or event.
5.4 Financing. The
Buyer has possession of, or has available to it under existing lines of credit,
sufficient funds to consummate the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
5.5 Brokers. No agent,
broker, finder or investment banker is entitled to any brokerage, finder’s or
other fee or commission in connection with the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement based upon arrangements made by or on behalf of the Buyer for which
the Company could have any liability if the Closing does not occur.
5.6 Shares. The Buyer is
an “interested stockholder” of the Company as defined in Section 78.3787 of the
NGCL, assuming that the Company is an issuing corporation as defined in Section
78.3787 of the NGCL. The Buyer is not a party to any agreement,
arrangement or understanding for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting or
disposing of, in each case, any shares of capital stock of the Company (other
than as contemplated by this Agreement or as disclosed in the Company SEC
Reports).
21
ARTICLE
VI
CONDUCT
OF BUSINESS
6.1 Covenants of the
Company. Except as expressly provided herein or as consented
to in writing by the Buyer, from and after the date of this Agreement until the
earlier of the termination of this Agreement in accordance with its terms or the
Effective Time, the Company shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to,
act and carry on its business in the usual, regular and ordinary course in
substantially the same manner as previously conducted, pay its debts and Taxes
and perform its other obligations when due (subject to good faith disputes over
such debts, Taxes or obligations, and the continuation subsequent to June 30,
2009 of defaults in financial covenants as described in Note 2 of the Notes to
Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended June 30, 2009), comply with all applicable Laws, rules and
regulations, and use best efforts, consistent with past practices, to maintain
and preserve its and each Subsidiary’s business organization, assets and
properties, keep available the services of its present officers and employees
and preserve its advantageous business relationships with customers, strategic
partners, suppliers, distributors and others having business dealings with it to
the end that its goodwill and ongoing business shall be unimpaired at the
Effective Time. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, and
except as otherwise expressly required by this Agreement or in the Ordinary
Course of Business, the Company will not, and will not permit any of its
Subsidiaries to, prior to the Effective Time, without the prior written consent
of the Buyer:
(a) adopt any
amendment to its certificate of incorporation or by-laws or comparable charter
or organizational documents;
(b) sell,
transfer, dispose of, pledge, hypothecate, grant a security interest in or
otherwise encumber any capital stock owned by it in any of its
Subsidiaries;
(c) (i)
issue, reissue or sell, or authorize the issuance, reissuance or sale of
(A) shares of capital stock of any class, or securities convertible into
capital stock of any class, or any rights, warrants or options to acquire any
convertible securities or capital stock, of such Person other than the issuance
by the Company of Shares pursuant to the exercise of Company Stock Options or
Company Stock Purchase Warrants or Company Convertible Securities outstanding on
the date hereof in accordance with the terms of such instruments or (B) any
other securities in respect of, in lieu of, or in substitution for, capital
stock outstanding on the date hereof, or (ii) make any other changes in its
capital structure; it being understood that the issuance of certificates for
Shares upon the transfer of outstanding Shares shall not be deemed to be a
reissuance prohibited by this Section 6.1(c);
(d) declare,
set aside or pay any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, securities
or property or any combination thereof) in respect of any class or series of its
capital stock except for dividends by any wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company
to the Company or another wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company;
22
(e) split,
combine, subdivide, reclassify or redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire, or
propose to redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire, any capital stock, or any of
its other securities;
(f) sell,
transfer, lease, mortgage, encumber, license, pledge, abandon, cancel,
surrender, allow to lapse or expire, or otherwise dispose of, encumber or
subject to any material Lien, any assets or property (including Intellectual
Property);
(g) acquire
(whether by merger, consolidation, acquisition of stock or assets or any other
form of transaction) any corporation, partnership or other business organization
or division thereof or any assets;
(h) incur,
guarantee, or modify in any material respect, any Indebtedness or make any
loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, any other Person
(other than a Subsidiary of the Company), enter into, renew or amend in any
material respect any contract or agreement which is or would be a Material
Contract or would be material to the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a
whole, authorize any material new capital expenditures, or take any actions to
materially change in a manner adverse to the Company or its Subsidiaries,
relationships with material product vendors and suppliers;
(i) sublease,
license, grant any material easement affecting and/or transfer any interest in
any land use rights, or materially amend or terminate any leasehold interest in
any land use rights;
(j) except
(i) as contemplated by this Agreement, or (ii) as required by applicable Law,
(A) increase or decrease the compensation or fringe benefits of, or pay any
bonus to, any current or former director, officer, employee or consultant of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (B) adopt or enter into any new employee
benefit plan, arrangement or employment contract or (C) hire or terminate any
officer other than termination for cause;
(k) enter
into any transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding between (i) the
Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, on the one hand, and (ii) any
Affiliate of the Company (other than the Company Subsidiaries), on the other
hand, of the type that would be required to be disclosed under Item 404 of
Regulation S−K;
(l) settle or
dismiss any Action threatened against, relating to or involving the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries in connection with any business, asset or property of
the Company and any of its Subsidiaries, but not in a manner that would prohibit
or materially restrict the Company from operating as it has
historically;
(m) surrender
any right to claim a material Tax refund;
(n) make any
changes in accounting policies or procedures other than as required by GAAP or a
Governmental Entity unless such change is recommended by the Company’s
registered independent accounting firm;
23
(o) agree to
take, make any commitment to take, or adopt any resolutions of the Company Board
or any board of directors or similar body of any Subsidiary in support of, any
of the actions prohibited by this Section 6.1.
ARTICLE
VII
ADDITIONAL
AGREEMENTS
7.1 No
Solicitation.
(a) No Solicitation or
Negotiation. Except as expressly permitted in this Section 7.1, the Company shall not, nor shall it authorize or
permit any of its Subsidiaries or any of its or their directors, officers,
employees, investment bankers, attorneys, accountants or other advisors or
representatives (such directors, officers, employees, investment bankers,
attorneys, accountants, other advisors and representatives, collectively, “Representatives”) to
directly or indirectly:
(i) solicit,
initiate, encourage or take any other action to facilitate any inquiries or the
making of any proposal or offer that constitutes, or could reasonably be
expected to lead to, any Acquisition Proposal, including without limitation,
amending or granting any waiver or release under any standstill or similar
agreement with respect to any Shares;
(ii) enter
into, continue or otherwise participate in any discussions or negotiations
regarding, furnish to any Person any information with respect to, assist or
participate in any effort or attempt by any Person with respect to, or otherwise
cooperate in any way with, any Acquisition Proposal; or
(iii) make or
authorize any statement, recommendation or solicitation in support of any
Acquisition Proposal.
The
Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to take the necessary steps
promptly to inform the Persons described in the first sentence of this Section
7.1(a) of the obligations undertaken under this
Section.
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, nothing contained in this Agreement shall prevent the Company or
the Company Board from (i) taking and disclosing to its shareholders a position
contemplated by Rule 14d-9 and Rule 14e-2(a) promulgated under the Exchange Act
(or any similar communication to shareholders in connection with the making or
amendment of a tender offer or exchange offer) or from making any legally
required disclosure to shareholders with regard to an Acquisition Proposal
(provided that
neither the Company nor its Company Board may recommend any Acquisition Proposal
unless permitted by Section 7.1(b) below and the
Company may not fail to make or withdraw, modify or change in a manner adverse
to the Buyer all or any portion of the Company Board Recommendation unless
permitted by Section 7.5 (in which case the Buyer
shall have the right to terminate this Agreement as set forth in Section 7.1(b)(ii)), and provided further that,
notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, any “stop-look-and-listen”
communication by the Company or the Company Board to the shareholders of the
Company pursuant to Rule 14d-9(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act shall not
be considered a failure to make, or a withdrawal, modification or change in any
manner adverse to the Buyer of, all or a portion of the Company Board
Recommendation) or (ii) prior to the adoption of this Agreement by the Company’s
shareholders in accordance with this Agreement, (A) providing access to its
properties, books and records and providing information or data in response to a
request therefor by a Person who has made an unsolicited bona fide written
Acquisition Proposal if the Company Board receives from the Person so requesting
such information an executed confidentiality agreement, or (B) engaging in any
negotiations or discussions with any Person who has made an unsolicited bona
fide written Acquisition Proposal, if and only to the extent that prior to
taking any of the actions set forth in clauses (A) or (B) of clause (ii), (x)
the Company Board shall have determined in good faith, after consultation with
its outside legal counsel and financial advisors, that such action is necessary
in order for the Company Board to comply with its fiduciary duties under
applicable Law and that such Acquisition Proposal will, or would reasonably be
expected to, result in, a Superior Proposal, and (y) the Company shall have
informed the Buyer promptly following (and in no event later than 24 hours
after) the taking by it of any such action.
24
(b) Receipt of an Unsolicited
Acquisition Proposal. Notwithstanding anything in this Section
7.1 to the contrary, if, at any time prior to the
approval of this Agreement by the Company’s shareholders in accordance with this
Agreement, the Company, the Company Board or any of the Representatives receives
a bona fide written Acquisition Proposal that was unsolicited and that did not
otherwise result from a material breach of Section 7.1(a):
(i) the
Company shall (A) promptly (and in no event later than 48 hours after receipt of
an Acquisition Proposal) notify (which notice shall be provided orally and in
writing and shall identify the Person making the Acquisition Proposal and set
forth in reasonable detail its material terms and conditions) the Buyer that it
has received an Acquisition Proposal and thereafter shall keep the Buyer
reasonably informed of the status and material terms and conditions of any
proposals or offers; and (B) make available to the Buyer (to the extent it has
not already done so) all material non-public information made available to any
Person making an Acquisition Proposal at substantially the same time as it
provides it to such other Person; and
(ii) if the
Company Board determines in good faith, after consultation with its financial
advisors and outside legal counsel, in response to such bona fide written
Acquisition Proposal, that such proposal is a Superior Proposal and that
terminating this Agreement to accept such Superior Proposal and/or recommending
such Superior Proposal to the shareholders of the Company is necessary in order
for the Company Board to comply with its fiduciary duties under applicable Law,
the Company may terminate this Agreement and/or the Company Board may approve or
recommend such Superior Proposal to its shareholders, and immediately prior to
or concurrently with the termination of this Agreement, enter into any
agreement, understanding, letter of intent or arrangement with respect to such
Superior Proposal, as applicable; provided, however, that the
Company shall not terminate this Agreement pursuant to this sentence, and any
purported termination pursuant to this sentence shall be void and of no force or
effect, unless concurrently with such termination pursuant to this Section 7.1(b)(ii) the Company pays to the Buyer the
Termination Fee payable pursuant to Section 9.3(b);
and provided,
further,
however, that the Company shall not exercise its right to terminate this
Agreement and the Company Board shall not recommend a Superior Proposal to its
shareholders pursuant to this Section 7.1(b) unless
the Company shall have delivered to the Buyer a prior written notice advising
the Buyer that the Company or the Company Board intends to take such action with
respect to a Superior Proposal, specifying in reasonable detail the material
terms and conditions of the Superior Proposal, this notice to be delivered not
less than three Business Days prior to the time the action is taken, and, during
this three Business Day period, the Company and its advisors shall negotiate in
good faith with the Buyer to make such adjustments in the terms and conditions
of this Agreement such that such Acquisition Proposal would no longer constitute
a Superior Proposal.
25
(c) Termination of All Pending
Discussions. The Company shall immediately cease and cause to
be terminated any existing activities, discussions or negotiations with any
Persons conducted heretofore with respect to any Acquisition Proposal. The
Company also shall, if it has not already done so, promptly request, to the
extent it has a contractual right to do so, that each Person, if any, that has
heretofore executed a confidentiality agreement within the 12 months prior to
the date of this Agreement in connection with its consideration of any
Acquisition Proposal shall return or destroy all confidential information or
data heretofore furnished to any Person by or on behalf of it or any of its
Subsidiaries.
(d) Definitions. For
purposes of this Agreement:
(i) “Acquisition Proposal”
means any inquiry, proposal or offer from any Person (other than from the Buyer
and its Affiliates) relating to a tender offer or exchange offer, merger,
reorganization, share exchange, consolidation or other business combination
involving the Company and its Subsidiaries (or any of them) or any proposal or
offer to acquire in any manner an equity interest representing a 20% or greater
economic or voting interest in the Company, or the assets, securities or other
ownership interests of or in the Company or any of its Subsidiaries representing
20% or more of the consolidated assets, revenues or earnings of the Company and
its Subsidiaries, other than the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
(ii) “Superior Proposal”
means an Acquisition Proposal (provided that for
purposes of the definition of Superior Proposal, the term Acquisition Proposal
shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7.1(d)(i), except that references to “20% or greater”
and “20% or more” shall be deemed to be references to “90% or greater” and “90%
or more,” respectively) that is reasonably capable of being consummated, taking
into account all legal, financial, regulatory, timing, and similar aspects of,
and conditions to, the proposal, the likelihood of obtaining necessary financing
and the Person making the proposal, and, if consummated, would result in a
transaction more favorable to the Company’s shareholders from a financial point
of view than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (after giving
effect to any adjustments to the terms and provisions of this Agreements
committed to in writing by the Buyer in response to such Acquisition
Proposal).
7.2 Proxy
Statement.
(a) As
promptly as practicable after the execution of this Agreement, the Company shall
prepare and file the Proxy Statement with the SEC.
26
(b) Each of
the Buyer and the Company shall respond to any comments of the SEC, if any, and
the Company shall use its best efforts to cause the Proxy Statement to be
cleared under the Exchange Act and, as promptly as practicable after such
filing, mailed to its shareholders at the earliest practicable time
thereafter. Each of the Buyer and the Company shall notify the other
promptly upon the receipt of any comments from the SEC or its staff or any other
government officials and of any request by the SEC or its staff or any other
government officials for amendments or supplements to the Proxy Statement or any
filing pursuant to this Section or for additional information and shall supply
the other with copies of all correspondence between such party or any of its
representatives, on the one hand, and the SEC, or its staff or any other
government officials, on the other hand, with respect to the Proxy Statement,
the Merger or any filing pursuant to this Section. The Company shall
use its best efforts to cause all documents that it is responsible for filing
with the SEC or other regulatory authorities under this Section to comply
in all material respects with all applicable requirements of Law and the rules
and regulations promulgated thereunder. Whenever any event occurs
which is required to be set forth in an amendment or supplement to the Proxy
Statement or any filing pursuant to this Section, the Buyer or the Company, as
the case may be, shall promptly inform the other of such occurrence and
cooperate in filing with the SEC or its staff or any other government officials,
and/or mailing to shareholders of the Company, such amendment or
supplement.
(c) The Buyer
and the Company shall promptly make all necessary filings with respect to the
Merger under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, applicable state blue sky
Laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
7.3 Nasdaq
Quotation. The Company agrees not to take or permit to be
taken on its behalf any action which would result in the quotation of the Shares
no longer being continued on The Nasdaq Capital Market during the term of this
Agreement.
7.4 Access to
Information. Subject to applicable Law, the Company shall (and
shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to) afford to the Buyer’s officers,
employees, accountants, counsel and other representatives, full access, during
normal business hours during the period prior to the Effective Time, to all its
properties, books, contracts, commitments, personnel and records and, during
such period, the Company shall (and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to)
furnish promptly to the Buyer (a) a copy of each report, schedule,
registration statement and other document filed or received by it during such
period pursuant to the requirements of federal or state securities Laws,
(b) the internal or external reports prepared by it or its Subsidiaries in
the Ordinary Course of Business that are reasonably required by the Buyer
promptly after such reports are made available to the Company’s personnel, and
(c) all other information concerning its business, properties, assets and
personnel as the Buyer may reasonably request. The Buyer will hold
any such information which is nonpublic in confidence. No information
or knowledge obtained in any investigation pursuant to this Section or otherwise
shall affect or be deemed to modify any representation or warranty contained in
this Agreement or the conditions to the obligations of the parties to consummate
the Merger.
7.5 Shareholders
Meeting. As soon as reasonably practicable following the date
of this Agreement, the Company, acting through the Company Board, and in
accordance with applicable Law, shall (i) duly call, give notice of, convene and
hold the Shareholders Meeting and (ii) (A) include in the Proxy Statement the
recommendation of the Company Board that the terms of this Agreement are fair to
and in the best interest of the shareholders of the Company, declaring this
Agreement advisable and that the shareholders of the Company vote in favor of
the adoption of this Agreement (the “Company Board
Recommendation”) and (B) use its reasonable best efforts to obtain the
necessary approval of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement by the
shareholders of the Company; provided, that the
Company Board may fail to make or may withdraw, modify or change in a manner
adverse to the Buyer all or any portion of the Company Board Recommendation
and/or may fail to use such efforts if it shall have determined in good faith,
after consultation with outside counsel to the Company, that such action is
necessary in order for the Company Board to comply with its fiduciary duties
under applicable Law.
27
7.6 Cooperation; Further
Action.
(a) The
Company and the Buyer shall each use its reasonable best efforts (subject to,
and in accordance with applicable Laws) to (i) take, or cause to be taken, all
actions, and do, or cause to be done, and to assist and cooperate with the other
parties in doing, all things necessary, proper or advisable to consummate and
make effective the transactions contemplated hereby as promptly as practicable,
(ii) as promptly as practicable, obtain from any Governmental Entity or any
other third party any consents, licenses, permits, waivers, approvals,
authorizations, actions or non-actions, or orders required to be obtained or
made by the Company or the Buyer or any of their Subsidiaries in connection with
the authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation
of the transactions contemplated hereby, (iii) as promptly as practicable, make
all necessary filings, and thereafter make any other required submissions, with
respect to this Agreement and the Merger required under (A) the Securities Act
and the Exchange Act, and any other applicable federal or state securities Laws,
and (B) any other applicable Law, (iv) defend any lawsuits or other legal
proceedings, whether judicial or administrative, challenging this Agreement or
the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, (v) publicly support
this Agreement and the Merger and (vi) execute or deliver any additional
instruments necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated by, and to
fully carry out the purposes of, this Agreement. The Company and the
Buyer shall consult and cooperate with each other in connection with obtaining
such consents, licenses, permits, waivers, approvals, authorizations, or orders,
including, without limitation, keeping the other apprised of the status of
matters relating to the completion of the transactions contemplated hereby and
providing copies of written notices or other communications received by such
party or any of its respective Subsidiaries with respect to the transactions
contemplated hereby and, subject to applicable Laws relating to the sharing of
information, providing copies in advance of any proposed filing to the
non-filing party and its advisors prior to filing and, if requested, accepting
all reasonable additions, deletions or changes suggested in connection
therewith. The Company and the Buyer shall use their respective
reasonable best efforts to furnish to each other all information required for
any application or other filing to be made pursuant to the rules and regulations
of any applicable Law (including all information required to be included in the
Proxy Statement) in connection with the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement. The Company shall not permit any of its officers or any
other representatives or agents to participate in any meeting or proceeding with
any Governmental Entity in respect of any filings, investigation or other
inquiry in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement
unless it consults with the Buyer in advance and, to the extent permitted by
such Governmental Entity, gives the Buyer and its outside counsel the
opportunity to attend and participate at such meeting or proceeding; provided, however, that this
Section 7.6(a) shall not be construed to prohibit
the Company from discussing with the SEC staff any comments raised by the staff
in its review of the Proxy Statement.
28
(b) Each of
the Company and the Buyer shall give (or shall cause their respective
Subsidiaries to give) any notices to third parties, and use, and cause their
respective Subsidiaries to use, their reasonable best efforts to obtain any
third party consents related to or required in connection with the Merger that
are (A) necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, (B)
disclosed or required to be disclosed in the Company Disclosure Schedule or (C)
required to prevent the occurrence of an event that has had or may have a
Company Material Adverse Effect or a Buyer Material Adverse Effect prior to or
after the Effective Time.
7.7 Public
Disclosure. Except as may be required by Law or stock market
regulations, (i) the press release announcing the execution of this Agreement
shall be issued only in such form as shall be mutually agreed upon by the
Company and the Buyer and (ii) the Buyer and the Company shall consult with and
obtain the consent of the other party before issuing any other press release or
otherwise making any public statement with respect to the Merger or this
Agreement.
7.8 Company Stock
Plans.
(a) Prior to
the Effective Time, the Company Board (or, if appropriate, any committee
administering the Company Stock Plans) shall adopt such resolutions or take such
other actions as are required to effect the transactions contemplated by Section
3.1(c) in respect of all outstanding Company Stock
Options and Company Stock Purchase Warrants, and thereafter the Company Board
(or any such committee) shall adopt any such additional resolutions and take
such additional actions as are required in furtherance of the
foregoing.
(b) Payments in Respect of
Company Stock Options and Company Stock Purchase
Warrants. Each Company Stock Option and Company Stock Purchase
Warrant cancelled pursuant to Section 3.1(c) shall,
upon cancellation, be converted into the right to receive an amount in cash
equal to the product of (i) the number of Shares subject to such Company Stock
Option, whether or not then exercisable, and (ii) the excess, if any, of the
Merger Consideration over the exercise price per share subject or related to
such Company Stock Option or Company Stock Purchase Warrant (the “Option
Consideration”), provided, however, that none of
the Buyer, any shareholder of the Buyer or any wholly-owned Subsidiary of the
Buyer, shall be entitled to receive payment of any Option Consideration with
respect to any Company Stock Option and/or Company Stock Purchase Warrant which
any of them may hold.
(c) Time of
Payment. The cash amount described in paragraph (b) of this Section 7.8
shall be paid as promptly as is practicable after the Effective
Time.
(d) Withholding. All
amounts payable pursuant to Section 3.1(c) and
Section 7.8(b) and (c)
shall be subject to any required withholding of taxes and shall be paid without
interest.
7.9 Shareholder
Litigation. Until the earlier of the termination of this
Agreement in accordance with its terms or the Effective Time, the Company shall
give the Buyer the opportunity to participate in the defense or settlement of
any shareholder litigation against the Company or the Company Board relating to
this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and
shall not settle any such litigation without the Buyer’s prior written consent,
which will not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
29
7.10 Notification of Certain
Matters. The Buyer shall give prompt notice to the Company,
and the Company shall give prompt notice to the Buyer, of (a) the occurrence, or
failure to occur, of any event, which occurrence or failure to occur could be
reasonably likely to cause (i) (x) any representation or warranty of such party
contained in this Agreement that is qualified as to materiality to be untrue or
inaccurate in any respect or (y) any other representation or warranty of such
party contained in this Agreement to be untrue or inaccurate in any material
respect, in each case at any time from and after the date of this Agreement
until the Effective Time, (ii) any failure of the Buyer or the Company, as the
case may be, or of any officer, director, employee or agent thereof, to comply
with or satisfy any covenant, condition or agreement to be complied with or
satisfied by it under this Agreement or (iii) any actions, suits, claims,
investigations or proceedings commenced or threatened in writing against,
relating to or involving such party or any of its Subsidiaries that relate to
the consummation of the Merger, or (b) any notice or other communication from
any third party alleging that the consent of such third party is or may be
required in connection with the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement. Notwithstanding the above, the delivery of any notice
pursuant to this Section will not limit or otherwise affect the remedies
available hereunder to the party receiving such notice or the conditions to such
party’s obligation to consummate the Merger.
7.11 Directors’ and Officers’
Indemnification and Insurance.
(a) Without
limiting any additional rights that any employee, officer or director may have
under any employment agreement or Benefit Plan or under the Company’s
certificate of incorporation or bylaws, after the Effective Time, the Buyer
shall, and shall cause the Surviving Company to, indemnify and hold harmless
each present (as of the Effective Time) and each former officer or director of
the Company and its Subsidiaries (the “Indemnified Directors and
Officers”), against all Actions, losses, liabilities, damages, judgments,
inquiries, fines and reasonable fees, costs and expenses, including, attorneys’
fees and disbursements (collectively, “Costs”), incurred in
connection with any Action, whether civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative, arising out of actions taken by them in their capacity as
officers or directors at or prior to the Effective Time (including this
Agreement and the transactions and actions contemplated hereby), or taken by
them at the request of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries,
whether asserted or claimed prior to, at or after the Effective Time, to the
fullest extent permitted under applicable Law for a period of six years from the
Effective Time. Each Indemnified Director and Officer will be entitled to
advancement of expenses incurred in the defense of any Action from the Surviving
Company within ten Business Days of receipt by the Surviving Company from the
Indemnified Director or Officer of a request therefor; provided that any Person to whom
expenses are advanced provides an undertaking, if and only to the extent
required by the NGCL, to repay such advances if it is ultimately determined that
such person is not entitled to indemnification. The Surviving Company shall not
settle, compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any proceeding or
threatened Action (and in which indemnification could be sought by such
Indemnified Director or Officer hereunder), unless such settlement, compromise
or consent includes an unconditional release of such Indemnified Director or
Officer from all liability arising out of such Action or such Indemnified
Director or Officer otherwise consents.
30
(b) The
memorandum of association and articles of association of the Surviving Company
shall contain provisions no less favorable with respect to indemnification,
advancement of expenses and exculpation of former or present directors and
officers than are presently set forth in the Company’s certificate of
incorporation and by-laws, and the applicable provisions of the NGCL, which
provisions shall not be amended, repealed or otherwise modified for a period of
six years from the Effective Time in any manner that would adversely affect the
rights thereunder of any such individuals.
(c) Prior to
the Effective Time, the Company shall endeavor to (and if it is unable to, the
Buyer shall cause the Surviving Company to after the Effective Time) obtain and
fully pay in one payment for “tail” insurance policies (providing only for the
Side A coverage for Indemnified Directors and Officers where the existing
policies also include coverage for the Company) with a claims period of at least
six years from the Effective Time from an insurance carrier with the same or
better credit rating as the Company’s current insurance carrier with respect to
directors’ and officers’ liability insurance in an amount and scope at least as
favorable as the Company’s existing policies with respect to matters existing or
occurring at or prior to the Effective Time. The Buyer shall, and shall cause
the Surviving Company to, honor and perform under all indemnification agreements
entered into by the Company or any Company Subsidiary set forth in Section 7.11
of the Company Disclosure Schedule.
(d) Notwithstanding
anything herein to the contrary, if any Action (whether arising before, at or
after the Closing Date) is made against any Indemnified Director or Officer or
any other party covered by directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, on or
prior to the sixth anniversary of the Effective Time, the provisions of this
Section 7.11 shall continue in effect until the
final disposition of such Action.
(e) The
covenants contained in this Section 7.11 are
intended to be for the benefit of, and shall be enforceable by, each of the
Indemnified Directors and Officers and their respective heirs and legal
representatives. The indemnification provided for herein shall not be deemed
exclusive of any other rights to which an Indemnified Director or Officer is
entitled, whether pursuant to Law, contract or otherwise.
7.12 Loans to Company Employees,
Officers and Directors. Prior to the Effective Time, all loans
by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any of their employees, officers or
directors shall have been repaid in full by the applicable
borrowers.
7.13 Takeover Statutes and
Laws. If any anti-takeover Law (including, without limitation,
a “fair price,” “moratorium,” or “control share acquisition” statute) becomes
applicable to the Merger, or any of the other transactions contemplated by
hereby or thereby, the Company and the Company Board shall, to the extent it may
legally do so at such time, grant such approvals and take such actions as are
necessary so that such transactions may be consummated as promptly as
practicable on the terms contemplated by this Agreement or by the Merger and
otherwise act to eliminate or minimize the effects of such Law on such
transactions.
31
7.14 Standstill Agreements;
Confidentiality Agreements. During the period from the date of
this Agreement through the Effective Time, the Company shall not terminate,
amend, modify or waive any provision of any confidentiality or standstill
agreement to which it or any of its respective Subsidiaries is a party and which
relates to the confidentiality or information regarding the Company or its
Subsidiaries or which relate to securities of the Company, other than client and
customer agreements entered into by the Company or its Subsidiaries in the
Ordinary Course of Business. During such period, the Company shall
use reasonable best efforts to enforce, to the fullest extent permitted under
applicable Law, the provisions of any such agreement, including by using
reasonable best efforts to obtain injunctions to prevent any breaches of such
agreements and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions thereof in any
court having jurisdiction.
ARTICLE
VIII
CONDITIONS
TO MERGER
8.1 Conditions to Each Party’s
Obligation To Effect the Merger. The respective obligations of
each party to this Agreement to effect the Merger shall be subject to the
satisfaction on or prior to the Closing Date of the following
conditions:
(a) Shareholder
Approval. The Company Voting Proposal shall have been duly
approved and adopted at the Company Shareholders Meeting, at which a quorum is
present, by the requisite vote of the shareholders of the Company under
applicable Law and the Company’s certificate of incorporation and
by-laws.
(b) Governmental
Approvals. Other than the filing of the Articles of Merger,
all authorizations, consents, orders or approvals of, or declarations, notices
or filings with, or expirations of waiting periods imposed by, any Governmental
Entity in connection with the Merger and the consummation of the other
transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the failure of which to file,
obtain or occur would proscribe or prohibit the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby (all such authorizations, consents, orders or approvals of,
or declarations, notices or filings with, or expirations of waiting periods
imposed by, collectively, the “Requisite Regulatory
Approvals”) shall have been filed, obtained or occurred.
(c) Proxy
Statement. No stop order suspending, or similar proceeding
relating to, the Proxy Statement shall have been initiated or threatened in
writing by the SEC or its staff.
(d) No
Injunctions. No Governmental Entity of competent jurisdiction
shall have enacted, issued, promulgated, enforced or entered any order,
executive order, stay, decree, judgment or injunction (preliminary or permanent)
or statute, rule or regulation which is in effect and which has the effect of
making the Merger illegal or otherwise prohibiting consummation of the Merger or
the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
8.2 Additional Conditions to
Obligations of the Buyer. The obligations of the Buyer to
effect the Merger shall be subject to the satisfaction on or prior to the
Closing Date of each of the following additional conditions, any of which may be
waived, in writing, exclusively by the Buyer:
32
(a) Representations and
Warranties. (i) The representations and warranties of the
Company set forth in Sections 4.2(c), (e) and (f), 4.3, 4.18 and 4.19 shall be true and correct in all material
respects as of the Closing Date as though made on and as of such date (unless
any such representation or warranty is made only as of a specific date, in which
event such representation and warranty shall be true and correct as of such
specified date), (ii) the representations and warranties of the Company set
forth in Section 4.2(a) shall be true and correct
as of the Closing Date as though made on and as of such date (unless any such
representation or warranty is made only as of a specific date, in which event
such representation and warranty shall be true and correct as of such specified
date), and (ii) the other representations and warranties of the Company
contained in this Agreement (disregarding any Company Material Adverse Effect
qualifiers therein) shall be true and correct as of the Closing Date as though
made on and as of such date (unless any such representation or warranty is made
only as of a specific date, in which event such representation and warranty
shall be true and correct as of such specified date), except in the case of this
clause (ii) where the failure of any such representations and warranties to be
so true and correct, in the aggregate, has not had a Company Material Adverse
Effect; and the Buyer shall have received a certificate signed on behalf of the
Company by the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer of the
Company to such effect.
(b) Performance of Obligations
of the Company. The Company shall have performed in all
material respects all obligations required to be performed by it under this
Agreement on or prior to the Closing Date; and the Buyer shall have received a
certificate signed on behalf of the Company by the chief executive officer and
the chief financial officer of the Company to such effect.
(c) Governmental
Approvals. Other than the filing of the Articles of Merger,
all authorizations, consents, orders or approvals of, or declarations, notices
or filings with, or expirations of waiting periods imposed by, any Governmental
Entity required on the part of the Buyer or any of its Subsidiaries in
connection with the Merger and the consummation of the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, the failure of which to file, obtain or occur,
individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to have, directly
or indirectly, a Buyer Material Adverse Effect or a Company Material Adverse
Effect, shall have been filed, been obtained or occurred on terms and conditions
which, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to
have a Buyer Material Adverse Effect or a Company Material Adverse
Effect.
(d) Third Party
Consents. The Company shall have obtained any required consent
or approval of any third party (other than a Governmental Entity) listed or
described on Section 8.2(d) of the Company Disclosure Schedule which section of
the Disclosure Schedule shall be updated to reflect any Company Material
Agreements entered into between the date of this Agreement and the Closing
Date.
(e) No
Restraints. There shall not be instituted or pending any
action or proceeding by any Governmental Entity (i) seeking to restrain,
prohibit or otherwise interfere with the ownership or operation by the Buyer or
any of its Subsidiaries of all or any portion of the business of the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries or of the Buyer or any of its Subsidiaries or to compel
the Buyer or any of its Subsidiaries to dispose of or hold separate all or any
portion of the business or assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or
of the Buyer or any of its Subsidiaries, (ii) seeking to impose or confirm
limitations on the ability of the Buyer or any of its Subsidiaries effectively
to exercise full rights of ownership of the Shares (or shares of stock of the
Surviving Company) including the right to vote any such shares on any matters
properly presented to shareholders, (iii) seeking to require divestiture by the
Buyer or any of its Subsidiaries of any such shares or (iv) seeking to obtain
from the Company or the Buyer any material damages.
33
(f) Absence of Company Material
Adverse Effect. No Company Material Adverse Effect shall have
occurred, and there shall exist no change, event, circumstance, development or
effect that could, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to
have, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(g) Resignations. Unless
otherwise specified in a notice given by the Buyer to the Company not less than
three Business Days prior to the Closing, the Buyer shall have received copies
of the resignations, effective as of the Effective Time, of each director of the
Company and its Subsidiaries; provided, however, that the
failure of the Company to obtain the resignation of any of such directors shall
not affect the provisions of Section 2.4 of this
Agreement, and the term of any director of the Company or any Subsidiary whose
position as a director does not continue pursuant to said Section 2.4 shall expire on and as of the
Closing.
8.3 Additional Conditions to
Obligations of the Company. The obligation of the Company to
effect the Merger shall be subject to the satisfaction on or prior to the
Closing Date of each of the following additional conditions, any of which may be
waived, in writing, exclusively by the Company:
(a) Representations and
Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Buyer
set forth in this Agreement and in any certificate or other writing delivered by
the Buyer pursuant hereto shall be true and correct (i) as of the date of this
Agreement (except in the case of this clause (i), to the extent such
representations and warranties are specifically made as of a particular date, in
which case such representations and warranties shall be true and correct as of
such date) and (ii) as of the Closing Date as though made on and as of the
Closing Date (except in the case of this clause (ii), (x) to the extent such
representations and warranties are specifically made as of a particular date, in
which case such representations and warranties shall be true and correct as of
such date, and (y) where the failure to be true and correct (without regard to
any materiality, Buyer Material Adverse Effect qualifications contained
therein), individually or in the aggregate, has not had, and could not
reasonably be expected to have, a Buyer Material Adverse Effect); and the
Company shall have received a certificate signed on behalf of the Buyer by the
chief executive officer or the chief financial officer of the Buyer to such
effect.
(b) Performance of Obligations
of the Buyer. The Buyer shall have performed in all material
respects all obligations required to be performed by them under this Agreement
on or prior to the Closing Date; and the Company shall have received a
certificate signed on behalf of the Buyer by the chief executive officer or the
chief financial officer of the Buyer to such effect.
34
(c) Governmental
Approvals. Other than the filing of the Articles of Merger,
all authorizations, consents, orders or approvals of, or declarations, notices
or filings with, or expirations of waiting periods imposed by, any Governmental
Entity required on the part of the Buyer in connection with the Merger and the
consummation of the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the
failure of which to file, obtain or occur, individually or in the aggregate,
could reasonably be expected to have, directly or indirectly, a Buyer Material
Adverse Effect or a Company Material Adverse Effect, shall have been filed,
shall have been obtained or shall have occurred on terms and conditions which,
individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to have a
Buyer Material Adverse Effect or a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(d) Merger
Consideration. The Buyer shall have provided for the delivery,
by wire transfer to the Exchange Agent, of the Merger Consideration and the
Option Consideration.
(e) Absence of Buyer Material
Adverse Effect. No Buyer Material Adverse Effect shall have
occurred, and there shall exist no change, event, circumstance, development or
effect that could, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to
have, a Buyer Material Adverse Effect.
ARTICLE
IX
TERMINATION
AND AMENDMENT
9.1 Termination. This
Agreement may be terminated at any time prior to the Effective Time (with
respect to Sections 9.1(b) through 9.1(f), by written notice by the terminating party to
the other party, specifying the provision of this Agreement pursuant to which
such termination is effected), whether before or, subject to the terms hereof,
after adoption of this Agreement by the shareholders of the Company and the
Buyer:
(a) by mutual
written consent of the Buyer and the Company; or
(b) by either
the Buyer or the Company if the Merger shall not have been consummated by
January 31, 2010 (the “Outside Date”), provided that the right to
terminate this Agreement under this Section 9.1(b)
shall not be available to any party whose failure to fulfill its obligations
under this Agreement in any material respect has been a principal cause of or
resulted in the failure of the Merger to occur on or before the Outside Date)
and, provided further that, in the
event that the conditions set forth in Sections 8.1(d) or 8.2(c) above shall not have been satisfied
by the Outside Date, either the Buyer or the Company may unilaterally extend the
Outside Date until March 15, 2010 upon written notice to the other by the
Outside Date, in which case the Outside Date shall be deemed for all purposes to
be March 15, 2010; or
(c) by either
the Buyer or the Company if (i) a Governmental Entity of competent jurisdiction
shall have issued a nonappealable final order, decree or ruling or taken any
other nonappealable final action, in each case having any of the effects set
forth in Section 8.1(d) or (ii) a Governmental
Entity that must grant a Requisite Regulatory Approval has denied the applicable
Requisite Regulatory Approval and such denial has become final and
nonappealable, provided that in the
case of clause (i) or (ii) the party seeking to terminate this Agreement has
complied with its obligations in Section 7.6;
or
35
(d) by either
the Buyer or the Company if at the Company Shareholders Meeting (including any
adjournment or postponement thereof permitted by this Agreement) at which a vote
on the Company Voting Proposal is taken, the requisite vote of the shareholders
of the Company in favor of the Company Voting Proposal shall not have been
obtained; or
(e) by the
Buyer (i) if there shall have been a material breach of any representation,
warranty, covenant or agreement on the part of the Company contained in this
Agreement such that the conditions set forth in Section 8.2(a) or 8.2(b) would
not be satisfied and which shall not have been cured prior to the earlier of (A)
10 business days following notice of such breach and (B) the Termination Date;
provided that Buyer shall not
have the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 9.1(e) if the Buyer is then in material breach of any
of its covenants or agreements contained in this Agreement, or (ii) if a
Triggering Event shall have occurred; or
(f) by the
Company (i) if there shall have been a material breach of any representation,
warranty, covenant or agreement on the part of the Buyer contained in this
Agreement such that the condition set forth in Section 8.3(a) or 8.3(b) would
not be satisfied and which shall not have been cured prior to the earlier of (A)
10 Business Days following notice of such breach and (B) the Outside Date; provided that the Company shall
not have the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 9.1(f) if the Company is then in material
breach of any of its covenants or agreements contained in this Agreement, or
(ii) prior to the approval of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement by
the shareholders of the Company in accordance with this Agreement, pursuant to,
and subject to the terms and conditions of, Section 7.1(b)(ii).
9.2 Effect of
Termination. In the event of termination of this Agreement as
provided in Section 9.1, this Agreement shall
immediately become void and there shall be no liability or obligation on the
part of the Buyer, the Company or their respective officers, directors,
shareholders or Affiliates; provided that (i) any
such termination shall not relieve any party from liability for any willful
breach of this Agreement (which includes, without limitation, the making of any
representation or warranty by a party in this Agreement that the party knew was
not true and accurate when made) and (ii) the provisions of Section 9.3, this Section 9.2 and
Article X shall remain in full force and effect and survive any termination of
this Agreement.
9.3 Fees and
Expenses.
(a) Except as
set forth in this Section 9.3, all Expenses
incurred in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated
hereby shall be paid by the party incurring such fees and expenses, whether or
not the Merger is consummated; provided, however, that the
Company and the Buyer shall share equally all fees paid under the applicable
Antitrust Laws of other jurisdictions which impose pre-merger notification
requirements upon parties to a merger or acquisition transaction. For
purposes of this Agreement, “Expenses” shall mean
all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (including, without limitation, all fees
and expenses of counsel, accountants, investment bankers, experts and
consultants to a party hereto and its Affiliates) incurred by a party or on its
behalf in connection with or related to the authorization, preparation,
negotiation, execution and performance of this Agreement and the transactions
contemplated hereby.
36
(b) In the
event that this Agreement is terminated by the Buyer pursuant to clause (i) or
(ii) of Section 9.1(e) or by the Company pursuant
to clause (i) or (ii) of Section 9.1(f), then the
Company shall pay to the Buyer $500,000 (the “Termination Fee”), at
or prior to the time of, and as a pre-condition to the effectiveness of,
termination in the case of a termination pursuant to Section 9.1(f) or as promptly as practicable (but in any event
within two Business Days) in the case of a termination pursuant to Section 9.1(e), payable by wire transfer of same day
funds.
(c) In the
event that this Agreement is terminated by the Company pursuant to Section 9.1(f)(i) (if at the time of such termination there is
no state of facts or circumstances (other than a state of facts or circumstances
caused by or arising out of a breach of Buyer’s representations, warranties,
covenants or other agreements set forth in this Agreement) that would reasonably
be expected to cause the conditions set forth in Section 8.3(a) and Section 8.3(b)
not to be satisfied on or prior to the Outside Date), Buyer shall pay $500,000
(the “Reverse
Termination Fee”) to, or as directed by, the Company, as promptly as
reasonably practicable (and, in any event, within two business days following
such termination) by wire transfer of same day funds.
(d) If: (i)
this Agreement is terminated by the Buyer or the Company pursuant to Section 9.1(d); (ii) at or prior to the time of the
termination of this Agreement an Acquisition Proposal shall have been disclosed,
announced, commenced, submitted or made; and (iii) on or prior to the date 12
months after the date of termination of this Agreement, either: (A) an
Acquisition Proposal is consummated; or (B) a definitive agreement with respect
to an Acquisition Proposal is entered into by the Company (or any other
Acquisition Proposal among or involving the parties to such definitive agreement
or any of such parties’ controlled or controlling Affiliates) is consummated,
then, prior to the consummation of such Acquisition Proposal, the Company shall
pay to the Buyer the Termination Fee as promptly as practicable (but in any
event within two Business Days of any such event), provided that any
fees paid by the Buyer under Section 9.3(b) shall
be credited against the fee to be paid under this Section 9.3(d).
(e) The
parties acknowledge that the agreements contained in this Section 9.3 are an integral part of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, and that, without these agreements, the parties
would not enter into this Agreement. In the event that the Company
shall fail to pay the Termination Fee when due or Buyer shall fail to pay the
Reverse Termination Fee when due, the Company or Buyer, as the case may be,
shall reimburse the other party for all reasonable costs and expenses actually
incurred or accrued by such other party (including reasonable fees and expenses
of counsel) in connection with any action (including the filing of any Action)
taken to collect payment of such amounts, together with interest on such unpaid
amounts at the prime lending rate prevailing during such period as published in
The Wall Street Journal, calculated on a daily basis from the date such amounts
were required to be paid to the date of actual payment.
37
ARTICLE
X
MISCELLANEOUS
10.1 Amendment. This
Agreement may be amended by the parties hereto, by action taken or authorized by
their respective Boards of Directors, at any time before or after approval of
the matters presented in connection with the Merger by the shareholders of the
Company or the Buyer, provided, however, that, after
any such approval, no amendment shall be made which by Law requires further
approval by such shareholders without such further approval. This
Agreement may not be amended except by an instrument in writing signed on behalf
of each of the parties hereto.
10.2 Extension;
Waiver. At any time prior to the Effective Time, the parties
hereto, by action taken or authorized by their respective boards of directors,
may, to the extent legally allowed, (i) extend the time for the performance
of any of the obligations or other acts of the other parties hereto,
(ii) waive any inaccuracies in the representations and warranties contained
herein or in any document delivered pursuant hereto and (iii) subject to the
proviso in Section 10.1, waive compliance with
any of the agreements or conditions contained herein. Any agreement
on the part of a party hereto to any such extension or waiver shall be valid
only if set forth in a written instrument signed on behalf of such
party. Such extension or waiver shall not be deemed to apply to any
time for performance, inaccuracy in any representation or warranty, or
noncompliance with any agreement or condition, as the case may be, other than
that which is specified in the extension or waiver. The failure of
any party to this Agreement to assert any of its rights under this Agreement or
otherwise shall not constitute a waiver of such rights.
10.3 Non−Survival of
Representations, Warranties and Agreements. None of the representations,
warranties, covenants and agreements in this Agreement or in any instrument
delivered pursuant to this Agreement, and the other agreements and documents
contemplated to be delivered in connection herewith, including any rights
arising out of any breach of such representations, warranties, covenants and
agreements, shall survive the Effective Time, except for (i) those covenants and
agreements contained herein that by their terms apply or are to be performed in
whole or in part at or after the Effective Time and (ii) this Article
X.
10.4 Notices. Any
and all notices or other communications or deliveries required or permitted to
be provided hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given and
effective on the earliest of (i) the date of transmission, if such notice or
communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile telephone number
specified in this Section 10.4 prior to 5:00 p.m.
(New York time) on a Business Day, (ii) the Business Day after the date of
transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile at the
facsimile telephone number specified in this Agreement later than 5:00 p.m. (New
York time) on any date and earlier than 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on such date,
(iii) when received, if sent by nationally recognized overnight courier service,
or (iv) if delivered in any other manner, upon actual receipt by the party to
whom such notice is required to be given. The address for such notices and
communications shall be as follows:
38
(a) if to the
Buyer, to
Skywide
Capital Management Limited
1603-1604
Tower B Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx Xx Xxxx
Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx,
Xxxxx 000000
Attn: Deng
Tianzhou, Director
Telephone:
Facsimile:
x00 00 00000000
with a
copy to:
Xxxxx
& Fraade, PC
000
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxx
X. Xxxxxx
Telephone
No: (000) 000-0000
Facsimile
No: (000)
000-0000
(b) if to the
Company, to
Sinoenergy
Corporation.
1603-1604
Tower B Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx Xx Xxxx
Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx,
Xxxxx 000000
Attn: Xxxxx
Xxxx Sheng, Chief Financial Officer
Telephone: x00
00 000000000-000
Facsimile:
x00 00 00000000
with a
copy to:
Arent Fox
LLP
0000
Xxxxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
XX 00000
Attn: Xxxxxx
X. Xxxxxx, Esq.
Telephone: (000)
000-0000
Facsimile:
(000) 000-0000
10.5 Entire
Agreement. This Agreement (including the Schedules and
Exhibits hereto and the documents and instruments referred to herein that are to
be delivered at the Closing) constitutes the entire agreement among the parties
to this Agreement and supersedes any prior understandings, agreements or
representations by or among the parties hereto, or any of them, written or oral,
with respect to the subject matter hereof.
10.6 No Third Party
Beneficiaries. Except for Section 7.11, this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure
solely to the benefit of the parties hereto and their permitted assigns and
nothing herein, express or implied, is intended to or shall confer upon any
other Person any legal or equitable right, benefit or remedy of any nature
whatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement, other than, following the
Effective Time, the right of each shareholder to receive the Merger
Consideration and the right of each holder of a Company Stock Option or Company
Stock Purchase Warrant to receive the Option Consideration.
39
10.7 Assignment. No
party may assign any of its rights or delegate any of its performance
obligations under this Agreement, in whole or in part, by operation of Law or
otherwise without the prior written consent of the other parties, and any such
assignment without such prior written consent shall be null and void, except
that from and after the Effective time, this Agreement may be assigned (in whole
but not in part) to an Affiliate of a party hereto. Any purported
assignment of rights or delegation of performance obligations in violation of
this Section 10.7 is void.
10.8 Severability. Any
term or provision of this Agreement that is invalid or unenforceable in any
situation in any jurisdiction shall not affect the validity or enforceability of
the remaining terms and provisions hereof or the validity or enforceability of
the offending term or provision in any other situation or in any other
jurisdiction. If the final judgment of a court of competent
jurisdiction declares that any term or provision hereof is invalid or
unenforceable, the parties hereto agree that the court making such determination
shall have the power to limit the term or provision, to delete specific words or
phrases, or to replace any invalid or unenforceable term or provision with a
term or provision that is valid and enforceable and that comes closest to
expressing the intention of the invalid or unenforceable term or provision, and
this Agreement shall be enforceable as so modified. In the event such
court does not exercise the power granted to it in the prior sentence, the
parties hereto agree to replace such invalid or unenforceable term or provision
with a valid and enforceable term or provision that will achieve, to the extent
possible, the economic, business and other purposes of such invalid or
unenforceable term.
10.9 Counterparts and
Signature. This Agreement may be executed in two or more
counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original but all of which
together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become
effective when counterparts have been signed by each of the parties hereto and
delivered to the other parties, it being understood that all parties need not
sign the same counterpart. The exchange of a fully executed Agreement
(in counterparts or otherwise) by facsimile or by electronic delivery in PDF
format shall be sufficient to bind the parties to the terms and conditions of
this Agreement.
10.10 Interpretation. When
reference is made in this Agreement to an Article or a Section, such reference
shall be to an Article or Section of this Agreement, unless otherwise
indicated. The table of contents and headings contained in this
Agreement are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect in any way
the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. The language used in
this Agreement shall be deemed to be the language chosen by the parties hereto
to express their mutual intent, and no rule of strict construction shall be
applied against any party. Whenever the context may require, any
pronouns used in this Agreement shall include the corresponding masculine,
feminine or neuter forms, and the singular form of nouns and pronouns shall
include the plural, and vice versa. Any reference to any federal,
state, local or foreign statute or Law shall be deemed also to refer to all
rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, unless the context requires
otherwise. Whenever the words “include”, “includes” or “including”
are used in this Agreement, they shall be deemed to be followed by the words
“without limitation”. No summary of this Agreement prepared by any
party shall affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.
40
10.11 Governing
Law. All matters arising out of or relating to this Agreement
and the transactions contemplated hereby (including without limitation its
interpretation, construction, performance and enforcement) shall be governed by
and construed in accordance with the internal Laws of the State of New York
without giving effect to any choice or conflict of Law provision or rule
(whether of the State of New York or any other jurisdiction) that would cause
the application of Laws of any jurisdictions other than those of the State of
New York to be applied, provided, however, that the
NGCL shall govern the filing of the Articles of Merger in, and the effects of
the Merger in, Nevada and the BVIBCA shall govern the filing of the Articles of
Merger in, and the effects of the Merger in, the British Virgin
Islands.
10.12 Remedies. Except
as otherwise provided herein, any and all remedies herein expressly conferred
upon a party will be deemed cumulative with and not exclusive of any other
remedy conferred hereby, or by Law or equity upon such party, and the exercise
by a party of any one remedy will not preclude the exercise of any other
remedy. The parties hereto agree that irreparable damage would occur
in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in
accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. It
is accordingly agreed that the parties shall be entitled to an injunction or
injunctions to prevent breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically
the terms and provisions of this Agreement, this being in addition to any other
remedy to which they are entitled at Law or in equity.
10.13 Submission to
Jurisdiction. Each of the parties to this Agreement
(a) consents to submit itself to the personal jurisdiction of any state or
federal court sitting in the State of New York in any action or proceeding
arising out of or relating to this Agreement or any of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, (b) agrees that all claims in respect of
such action or proceeding may be heard and determined in any such court, (c)
agrees that it shall not attempt to deny or defeat such personal jurisdiction by
motion or other request for leave from any such court, and (d) agrees not
to bring any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement
or any of the transaction contemplated by this Agreement in any other
court. Each of the parties hereto waives any defense of inconvenient
forum to the maintenance of any action or proceeding so brought and waives any
bond, surety or other security that might be required of any other party with
respect thereto. Any party hereto may make service on another party
by sending or delivering a copy of the process to the party to be served at the
address and in the manner provided for the giving of notices in Section 10.4. Nothing in this Section 10.13, however, shall affect the right of any party to
serve legal process in any other manner permitted by Law.
10.14 Waiver Of Jury
Trial. EACH OF THE BUYER AND THE COMPANY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY
WAIVES ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION, PROCEEDING OR COUNTERCLAIM
(WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO
THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR THE ACTIONS OF THE
BUYER OR THE COMPANY IN THE NEGOTIATION, ADMINISTRATION, PERFORMANCE AND
ENFORCEMENT OF THIS AGREEMENT.
[REMAINDER
OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]
41
Agreement
and Plan of Merger – Signature Page
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the Buyer and the Company have caused this Agreement to be
signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized as of the date
first written above.
Skywide
Capital Management Limited
By: /s/ Tianzhou
Deng
Tianzhou Deng, Director
By: /s/ Bo
Xxxxx
Xx Xxxxx, Director
Sinoenergy
Corporation
By: /s/ Xxxxx
Xxxxx
Xxxxx Xxxxx, Vice
President
EXHIBIT
A
TO
THE MERGER AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
SKYWIDE
CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED
AND
SINOENERGY
CORPORATION
Dated as
of October 12, 2009
The
information set forth below, dated as of October 12, 2009, has been given
pursuant to the Merger Agreement dated October 12, 2009 (the “Merger Agreement”)
by and between Skywide Capital Management Limited and Sinoenergy
Corporation. The section numbers set forth herein correspond to the
section numbers in the Merger Agreement. Any information disclosed in
any section of this Schedule shall qualify only such specifically enumerated
section of the Merger Agreement and any other section thereof to which an
explicit and clear cross-reference has been made.
Definitions
used in the Merger Agreement shall have the same meanings when used in this
Schedule as when used in the Merger Agreement unless the context otherwise
requires.
Section
4.1(b) List
of Subsidiaries
A. Subsidiaries
included in consolidated financial statements
Name
|
Percent
|
Sinoenergy
Holding Limited
|
100%
|
Qingdao
Sinogas General Machinery Limited Corporation (“Sinogas”)
|
75.05%
|
Qingdao
Sinogas Yuhan
|
81%*
|
Wuhan
Sinoenergy Gas Company Limited
|
80%**
|
Pingdingshan
Sinoenergy Gas Company Limited
|
90%
|
Jiaxing
Lixun Automotive Electronic Company Limited
|
81%*
|
Hubei
Gather Energy Company Limited
|
80%
|
Xuancheng
Sinoenergy Vehicle Gas Company Limited
|
100%
|
Qingdao
Jingrun General Machiner Company Limited
|
100%
|
Qingdao
Sinoenergy General Machinery Company Limited
|
100%
|
Nanjing
Sinoenergy Gas Company Limited
|
90%
|
* These
subsidiaries are owned 75% by Sinogas and 25% by Sinoenergy Holding
Limited.
** This
subsidiary is owned 40% by Sinogas and 50% by Sinoenergy Holding
Limited.
B. Companies
in which the Company has a minority interest.
Name
|
Percent
|
Anhui
Gather Energy Company
|
20%
|
Sinogas
General Luxi Natural Gas Facilities Co., Ltd.
|
40%
|
Section
4.2(b)
Set forth
below is information as to the number of shares of common stock issuable upon
conversion or exercise or outstanding Company Convertible Notes, Company Stock
Options and Company Stock Purchase Warrants.
A. Company
Convertible Notes
The
Company has outstanding 3.0% senior convertible notes due 2012 in the principal
amount of $14,000,000. If these notes are not converted prior to
maturity the Company is required to redeem the convertible notes at the amount
which results in a yield to maturity of 13.8% per annum, net of interest
previously received, plus any interest accrued on overdue principal (and, to the
extent lawful, on overdue interest) and premium, if any, at a rate which is 3%
per annum in excess of the rate of interest then in effect. At
present, 3,333,333 shares are issuable upon conversion of the notes. The
agreement has provisions which may increase the number of shares issuable upon
conversion of the note if the Company fails to meet certain earnings tests for
2008 and 2009. The calculation for 2008 has not been
made.
B. Company
Stock Options
The
following table sets forth information as to shares issuable pursuant to the
terms of options granted by the Company, whether or not pursuant to any option
plan.
Price
|
No. of Shares Subject to
Options
|
Expiration Date
|
$1.30
|
60,000
|
June
1, 2009
|
$4.06
|
10,000
|
April
1, 2012
|
$4.00
|
590,000
|
April
9, 2012
|
$8.20
|
60,000
|
January
9, 2013
|
$6.20
|
40,000
|
March
9, 2013
|
$5.80
|
10,000
|
April
1, 2013
|
C. Company
Stock Purchase Warrants
The
following table sets forth information as to shares issuable pursuant to the
terms of common stock purchase warrants issued by the Company.
Price
|
No. of Shares Subject to
Options
|
Expiration Date
|
$1.70
|
85,715
|
June
2, 2011
|
$2.40
|
369,644
|
June
2, 2011
|
$4.20
|
75,000
|
February
17, 2010
|
$8.00
|
25,000
|
March
1, 2012
|