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Draft 5/10/98
EXHIBIT 1
PHYSICIANS' SPECIALTY CORP.
2,114,000 Shares(1)
Common Stock
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
May __, 0000
XXXXXXXXX & XXXXX LLC
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX & COMPANY, LLC
BARINGTON CAPITAL GROUP, L.P.
x/x Xxxxxxxxx & Xxxxx LLC
Xxx Xxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxxxxxxx, XX 00000
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Physicians' Specialty Corp., a Delaware corporation (herein called the
Company), proposes to issue and sell 2,000,000 shares of its authorized but
unissued Common Stock, $.001 par value (herein called the Common Stock), and
the stockholders of the Company named in Schedule II hereto (herein
collectively called the Selling Securityholders) propose to sell an aggregate
of 114,000 shares of Common Stock of the Company (said 2,114,000 shares of
Common Stock being herein called the Underwritten Stock). The Company proposes
to grant to the Underwriters (as hereinafter defined) an option to purchase up
to 317,100 additional shares of Common Stock (herein called the Option Stock
and with the Underwritten Stock herein collectively called the Stock). The
Common Stock is more fully described in the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus hereinafter mentioned.
The Company and the Selling Securityholders severally hereby confirm the
agreements made with respect to the purchase of the Stock by the several
underwriters, for whom you are acting, named in Schedule I hereto (herein
collectively called the Underwriters, which term shall also include any
underwriter purchasing Stock pursuant to Section 3(b) hereof). You represent
and warrant that you have been authorized by each of the other Underwriters to
enter into this Agreement on its behalf and to act for it in the manner herein
provided.
1. REGISTRATION STATEMENT. The Company has filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (herein called the Commission) a registration statement on
Form S-1 (No.
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(1) Plus an option to purchase from the Company up to 317,000 additional
shares to cover over-allotments.
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333-50419), including the related preliminary prospectus, for the registration
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (herein called the Securities Act)
of the Stock. Copies of such registration statement and of each amendment
thereto, if any, including the related preliminary prospectus (meeting the
requirements of Rule 430A of the rules and regulations of the Commission)
heretofore filed by the Company with the Commission have been delivered to you.
The term Registration Statement as used in this agreement shall mean such
registration statement, including all exhibits and financial statements, all
information omitted therefrom in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in the
Prospectus referred to below, in the form in which it became effective, and any
registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the rules and
regulations of the Commission with respect to the Stock (herein called a Rule
462(b) registration statement), and, in the event of any amendment thereto
after the effective date of such registration statement (herein called the
Effective Date), shall also mean (from and after the effectiveness of such
amendment) such registration statement as so amended (including any Rule 462(b)
registration statement). The term Prospectus as used in this Agreement shall
mean the prospectus relating to the Stock first filed with the Commission
pursuant to Rule 424(b) and Rule 430A (or if no such filing is required, as
included in the Registration Statement) and, in the event of any supplement or
amendment to such prospectus after the Effective Date, shall also mean (from
and after the filing with the Commission of such supplement or the
effectiveness of such amendment) such prospectus as so supplemented or amended.
The term Preliminary Prospectus as used in this Agreement shall mean each
preliminary prospectus included in such registration statement prior to the
time it becomes effective.
The Registration Statement has been declared effective under the
Securities Act, and no post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement
has been filed as of the date of this Agreement. The Company has caused to be
delivered to you copies of each Preliminary Prospectus and has consented to the
use of such copies for the purposes permitted by the Securities Act.
2. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY AND THE SELLING
SECURITYHOLDERS.
(a) The Company hereby represents and warrants as follows:
(i) Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has been duly
incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing
under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, has full
corporate power and authority to own or lease its properties and conduct
its business as described in the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus and as being conducted, and is duly qualified as a foreign
corporation and in good standing in all jurisdictions in which the
character of the property owned or leased or the nature of the business
transacted by it makes qualification necessary (except where the failure
to be so qualified would not have a material adverse effect on the
business, properties, financial condition or results of operations of the
Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole).
(ii) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in
the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there has not been any
materially adverse change in the
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business, properties, financial condition or results of operations
of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, whether or not
arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, other than
as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and since
such dates, except in the ordinary course of business, neither the
Company nor any of its subsidiaries has entered into any material
transaction not referred to in the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus.
(iii) The Registration Statement and the Prospectus comply, and on
the Closing Date (as hereinafter defined) and any later date on which
Option Stock is to be purchased, the Prospectus will comply, in all
material respects, with the provisions of the Securities Act and the
rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder; on the Effective
Date, the Registration Statement did not contain any untrue statement of
a material fact and did not omit to state any material fact required to
be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein
not misleading; and, on the Effective Date the Prospectus did not and, on
the Closing Date and any later date on which Option Stock is to be
purchased, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or
omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made,
not misleading; provided, however, that none of the representations and
warranties in this subparagraph (iii) shall apply to statements in, or
omissions from, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus made in
reliance upon and in conformity with information herein or otherwise
furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of the Underwriters
for use in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.
(iv) The Stock is duly and validly authorized, is (or, in the case
of shares of the Stock to be sold by the Company, will be, when issued
and sold to the Underwriters as provided herein) duly and validly issued,
fully paid and nonassessable and conforms to the description thereof in
the Prospectus. No further approval or authority of the stockholders or
the Board of Directors of the Company will be required for the transfer
and sale of the Stock to be sold by the Selling Securityholders or the
issuance and sale of the Stock as contemplated herein.
(v) The Stock to be sold by the Selling Securityholders is listed
and duly admitted to trading on the Nasdaq National Market, and prior to
the Closing Date the Stock to be issued and sold by the Company will be
authorized for listing by the Nasdaq National Market upon official notice
of issuance.
(vi) The Company has authorized and outstanding capital stock as set
forth under the heading "Capitalization" in the Prospectus. The issued
and outstanding shares of Common Stock have been duly authorized and
validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable, have been issued in
compliance with all federal and state securities laws, and were not
issued in violation of or subject to any preemptive rights or other
rights to subscribe for or purchase securities. All issued and
outstanding shares of capital stock of each subsidiary of the Company
have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and
nonassessable. Except as disclosed in or contemplated by the Prospectus
and the financial statements of the Company and the related notes thereto
included in the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any subsidiary has
any outstanding options to
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purchase, or any preemptive rights or other rights to subscribe for or to
purchase, any securities or obligations convertible into, or any
contracts or commitments to issue or sell, shares of its capital stock or
any such options, rights, convertible securities or obligations. The
description of the Company's stock option, stock bonus and other stock
plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights granted and
exercised thereunder, set forth in the Prospectus accurately and fairly
presents the information required by the Securities Act and the Rules and
Regulations to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements, options
and rights.
(vii) The Stock to be sold by the Company will be sold to the
Underwriters free and clear of any pledge, lien, security interest,
encumbrance, claim or equitable interest, and will conform in all
material respects to the description thereof contained in the Prospectus.
No preemptive right, co-sale right, registration right, right of first
refusal or other similar right to subscribe for or purchase securities of
the Company exists with respect to the issuance and sale of the Stock by
the Company pursuant to this Agreement. No stockholder of the Company
has any right which has not been waived, or complied with, to require the
Company to register the sale of any shares owned by such stockholder
under the Securities Act in the public offering contemplated by this
Agreement.
(viii) The Company has full corporate power and authority to enter
into this Agreement and perform the transactions contemplated hereby.
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the
Company and constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Company,
enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as enforceability may be
limited by general equitable principles, bankruptcy, insolvency,
reorganization, moratorium laws affecting creditors' rights generally and
except as to those provisions relating to indemnity or contribution for
liabilities arising under federal and state securities laws. The making
and performance of this Agreement by the Company and the consummation of
the transactions contemplated hereby (i) will not violate any provisions
of the Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws or other organizational
documents of the Company or any of PSC Management Corp., PSC Acquisition
Corp., ENT & Allergy Associates, Inc., South Florida Otolaryngology,
Inc., ENT Center of Atlanta, Inc., Atlanta ENT Center for Physicians,
Inc. and Atlanta-AHP, Inc. [any other material subsidiaries] (the
"Material Subsidiaries"), and (ii) will not conflict with, result in a
material breach or violation of, or constitute, either by itself or upon
notice or the passage of time or both, a material default under (A) any
agreement, mortgage, deed of trust, lease, franchise, license, indenture,
permit or other instrument to which the Company or any of its Material
Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its Material
Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties may be bound or
affected, or (B) any statute or any authorization, judgment, decree,
order, rule or regulation of any court or any regulatory body,
administrative agency or other governmental body applicable to the
Company or any of its Material Subsidiaries or any of their respective
properties. No consent, approval, authorization or other order of any
court, regulatory body, administrative agency or other governmental body
that has not already been obtained is required for the execution and
delivery of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, except for compliance with the Securities
Act, the Blue Sky laws applicable to the public offering of the Stock by
the several
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Underwriters and the clearance of such offering with the National
Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (the "NASD").
(ix) The consolidated financial statements and schedules of the
Company and the related notes thereto included in the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus present fairly on a consolidated basis the
financial position of the Company and its subsidiaries as of the
respective dates of such financial statements and schedules, and the
results of operations and cash flows of the Company and its subsidiaries
for the respective periods covered thereby. Such statements, schedules
and related notes have been prepared in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis throughout
the periods specified, as certified by the independent accountants named
in Section 9(f). No other financial statements or schedules are required
to be included in the Registration Statement. The selected financial
data set forth in the Prospectus under the captions "Capitalization" and
"Selected Consolidated Financial Information" fairly present the
information set forth therein on the basis stated in the Registration
Statement.
(x) The Company maintains a system of internal accounting controls
sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are
executed in accordance with management's general or specific
authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit
preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles and to maintain accountability for assets, (iii)
access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management's
general or specific authorization, and (iv) the recorded accountability
for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and
appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.
(xi) Neither the Company nor any of its Material Subsidiaries is (i)
in violation or default of any provision of its Certificate of
Incorporation, Bylaws or other organizational documents, or (ii) in
material breach of or default with respect to any provision of any
agreement, judgment, decree, order, mortgage, deed of trust, lease,
franchise, license, indenture, permit or other instrument to which it is
a party or by which it or any of its properties are bound, except for
such breaches or defaults which would not have a material adverse effect
on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole; and there does not
exist any state of facts which, with notice or lapse of time or both
would constitute such a material breach or default on the part of the
Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
(xii) There are no contracts or other documents required to be
described in the Registration Statement or to be filed as exhibits to the
Registration Statement by the Securities Act or by the Rules and
Regulations which have not been described or filed as required. Except
as otherwise set forth in the Prospectus, the contracts so described in
the Prospectus are in full force and effect on the date hereof.
(xiii) Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, there are no legal or
governmental actions, suits or proceedings pending or, to the Company's
knowledge, threatened to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is
or, to the Company's knowledge, is threatened to be made a party or of
which property owned or leased by the Company or
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any of its subsidiaries is or is threatened to be made the subject, which
actions, suits or proceedings could, individually or in the aggregate,
prevent or adversely affect the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement or result in a material adverse change in the business,
business prospects, properties, condition (financial or otherwise), or
results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a
whole; and no labor disturbance by the employees of the Company or any of
its subsidiaries exists or is imminent which could materially adversely
affect the business, business prospects, properties, condition (financial
or otherwise), or results of operations of the Company and its
subsidiaries taken as a whole. Neither the Company nor any of its
subsidiaries is a party or subject to the provisions of any material
injunction, judgment, decree or order of any court, regulatory body,
administrative agency or other governmental body, except for such
violations that would not have a material adverse effect on the Company
and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole. Except as disclosed in the
Prospectus, there are no material legal or governmental actions, suits or
proceedings pending or, to the Company's knowledge, threatened against
any executive officers or directors of the Company in their capacity as
executive officers or directors, respectively.
(xiv) Except as described in the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus, the Company or the applicable subsidiary has good and
marketable title to all the properties and assets reflected as owned in
the financial statements hereinabove described (or elsewhere in the
Prospectus), subject to no lien, mortgage, pledge, charge or encumbrance
of any kind except (i) those, if any, reflected in such financial
statements (or elsewhere in the Prospectus), or (ii) those which are not
material in amount to the Company or its subsidiaries, and do not
materially adversely affect the use made and proposed to be made of such
property by the Company or its subsidiaries. The Company or the
applicable subsidiary holds its leased properties under valid and binding
leases. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, the Company owns or
leases all such properties as are necessary to its operations as now
conducted or as proposed to be conducted.
(xv) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in
the Registration Statement and Prospectus, and except as described in or
specifically contemplated by the Prospectus: (i) the Company and its
subsidiaries have not (A) incurred any liabilities or obligations,
indirect, direct or contingent, or (B) entered into any oral or written
agreement or other transaction, which in the case of (A) or (B) is not in
the ordinary course of business; (ii) the Company and its subsidiaries
have not sustained any material loss or interference with their
respective businesses or properties from fire, flood, windstorm, accident
or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance; (iii) the Company
and its subsidiaries have not paid or declared any dividends or other
distributions with respect to their respective capital stock and the
Company and its subsidiaries are not in default in the payment of
principal or interest on any outstanding debt obligations; (iv) there has
not been any change in the capital stock of the Company or its
subsidiaries (other than upon the sale of the Stock hereunder or upon the
exercise of any options or warrants disclosed in the Prospectus); (v)
there has not been any material increase in the short- or long-term debt
of the Company and its subsidiaries; and (vi) there has not been any
material adverse change or any development involving or which may
reasonably be expected to involve a prospective material adverse change,
in the business,
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business prospects, condition (financial or otherwise), properties, or
results of operations of the Company or its subsidiaries.
(xvi) The Company and its subsidiaries have filed all necessary
federal, state and foreign income and franchise tax returns, and all such
tax returns are complete and correct in all material respects, and the
Company and its subsidiaries have not failed to pay any taxes which were
payable pursuant to said returns or any assessments with respect thereto.
The Company has no knowledge of any tax deficiency which has been or is
likely to be threatened or asserted against the Company or its
subsidiaries which would have a material adverse effect on the Company
and its subsidiaries taken as a whole.
(xvii) The Company has not taken and will not take, directly or
indirectly, any action designed to or that might be reasonably expected
to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of the
Common Stock to facilitate the sale or resale of the Stock.
(xiiii) Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, (i) the Company and
its subsidiaries are in compliance with all rules, laws and regulation
relating to the regulation of the heath care industry ("Heathcare
Regulations") which are applicable to their business, except for such non
compliance as would not have a material adverse effect on the business,
business prospects, properties, condition (financial or otherwise), or
results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a
whole, (ii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received
any notice from any governmental authority or third party of an asserted
claim under any Healthcare Regulations and (iii) no facts currently exist
that will require the Company or any of its subsidiaries to make future
material capital expenditures to comply with Heathcare Regulations.
(b) Each of the Selling Securityholders hereby represents and warrants as
follows:
(i) Such Selling Securityholder has good and marketable title to
all the shares of Stock to be sold by such Selling Securityholder
hereunder, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities, security
interests and claims whatsoever, with full right and authority to deliver
the same hereunder, subject, in the case of each Selling Securityholder,
to the rights of _______________, as Custodian (herein called the
Custodian), and that upon the delivery of and payment for such shares of
the Stock hereunder, assuming the Underwriters acquire their interests in
such shares in good faith and without notice of any adverse claims, the
several Underwriters will receive good and marketable title thereto, free
and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities, security interests and
claims whatsoever.
(ii) Certificates in negotiable form for the shares of the Stock to
be sold by such Selling Securityholder have been placed in custody under
a Custody Agreement for delivery under this Agreement with the Custodian;
such Selling Securityholder specifically agrees that the shares of the
Stock represented by the certificates so held in custody for such Selling
Securityholder are subject to the interests of the several Underwriters
and the Company, that the arrangements made by such Selling
Securityholder for such custody, including the Power of Attorney provided
for in such Custody Agreement, are to that
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extent irrevocable, and that the obligations of such Selling
Securityholder shall not be terminated by any act of such Selling
Securityholder or by operation of law, whether by the death or incapacity
of such Selling Securityholder (or, in the case of a Selling
Securityholder that is not an individual, the dissolution or liquidation
of such Selling Securityholder) or the occurrence of any other event; if
any such death, incapacity, dissolution, liquidation or other such event
should occur before the delivery of such shares of the Stock hereunder,
certificates for such shares of the Stock shall be delivered by the
Custodian in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement
as if such death, incapacity, dissolution, liquidation or other event had
not occurred, regardless of whether the Custodian shall have received
notice of such death, incapacity, dissolution, liquidation or other
event.
(iii) All information in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, relating to such
Selling Securityholder (including without limitation the information
relating to the Selling Securityholder which is set forth in the
Prospectus under the caption "Principal and Selling Stockholders"), and
all representations and warranties of such Selling Securityholder in the
Custody Agreement are true and correct in all respects and do not contain
any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the information
in the light of the circumstances under which they were made not
misleading. The sale of the Stock by such Selling Securityholder
pursuant hereto is not prompted by such Selling Securityholder's
knowledge of any material information concerning the Company or any
subsidiary which is not set forth in the Prospectus.
(iv) Such Selling Securityholder has full power and authority to
enter into this Agreement and the Custody Agreement and perform the
transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. This Agreement and the
Custody Agreement have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by or
on behalf of such Selling Securityholder and the form of such Agreement
has been delivered to you.
(v) The making and performance of this Agreement and the Custody
Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby
and thereby will not result in a breach or violation by such Selling
Securityholder of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a
default by such Selling Securityholder under, any indenture, mortgage,
deed of trust, trust (constructive or other), loan agreement, lease,
franchise,
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license or other agreement or instrument to which such Selling
Securityholder is a party or by which such Selling Securityholder or any
of its properties is bound, any statute, or any judgment, decree, order,
rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body applicable
to such Selling Securityholder or any of its properties.
(vii) Such Selling Securityholder has not taken and will not take,
directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might reasonably
be expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the
price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of
the Stock.
3. PURCHASE OF THE STOCK BY THE UNDERWRITERS.
(a) On the basis of the representations and warranties and subject to the
terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell
2,000,000 shares of the Underwritten Stock to the several Underwriters, each
Selling Securityholder agrees to sell to the several Underwriters the number of
shares of the Underwritten Stock set forth in Schedule II opposite the name of
such Selling Securityholder, and each of the Underwriters agrees to purchase
from the Company and the Selling Securityholders the respective aggregate
number of shares of Underwritten Stock set forth opposite its name in Schedule
I. The price at which such shares of Underwritten Stock shall be sold by the
Company and the Selling Securityholders and purchased by the several
Underwriters shall be $____ per share. The obligation of each Underwriter to
the Company and each of the Selling Securityholders shall be to purchase from
the Company and the Selling Securityholders that number of shares of the
Underwritten Stock which represents the same proportion of the total number of
shares of the Underwritten Stock to be sold by each of the Company and the
Selling Securityholders pursuant to this Agreement as the number of shares of
the Underwritten Stock set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in
Schedule I hereto represents of the total number of shares of the Underwritten
Stock to be purchased by all Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement, as
adjusted by you in such manner as you deem advisable to avoid fractional
shares. In making this Agreement, each Underwriter is contracting severally
and not jointly; except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this Section
3, the agreement of each Underwriter is to purchase only the respective number
of shares of the Underwritten Stock specified in Schedule I.
(b) If for any reason one or more of the Underwriters shall fail or refuse
(otherwise than for a reason sufficient to justify the termination of this
Agreement under the provisions of Section 8 or 9 hereof) to purchase and pay
for the number of shares of the Stock agreed to be purchased by such
Underwriter or Underwriters, the Company or the Selling Securityholders shall
immediately give notice thereof to you, and the non-defaulting Underwriters
shall have the right within 24 hours after the receipt by you of such notice to
purchase, or procure one or more other Underwriters to purchase, in such
proportions as may be agreed upon between you and such purchasing Underwriter
or Underwriters and upon the terms herein set forth, all or any part of the
shares of the Stock which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed to
purchase. If the non-defaulting Underwriters fail so to make such arrangements
with respect to all such shares and portion, the number of shares of the Stock
which each non-defaulting Underwriter is otherwise obligated to purchase under
this Agreement shall be automatically increased on a pro rata basis to absorb
the remaining shares and portion which the defaulting Underwriter or
Underwriters agreed
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to purchase; provided, however, that the non-defaulting Underwriters shall not
be obligated to purchase the shares and portion which the defaulting
Underwriter or Underwriters agreed to purchase if the aggregate number of such
shares of the Stock exceeds 10% of the total number of shares of the Stock
which all Underwriters agreed to purchase hereunder. If the total number of
shares of the Stock which the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed to
purchase shall not be purchased or absorbed in accordance with the two
preceding sentences, the Company and the Selling Securityholders shall have the
right, within 24 hours next succeeding the 24-hour period above referred to, to
make arrangements with other underwriters or purchasers satisfactory to you for
purchase of such shares and portion on the terms herein set forth. In any such
case, either you or the Company and the Selling Securityholders shall have the
right to postpone the Closing Date determined as provided in Section 5 hereof
for not more than seven business days after the date originally fixed as the
Closing Date pursuant to said Section 5 in order that any necessary changes in
the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any other documents or
arrangements may be made. If neither the non-defaulting Underwriters nor the
Company and the Selling Securityholders shall make arrangements within the
24-hour periods stated above for the purchase of all the shares of the Stock
which the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed to purchase hereunder,
this Agreement shall be terminated without further act or deed and without any
liability on the part of the Company or the Selling Securityholders to any
non-defaulting Underwriter and without any liability on the part of any
non-defaulting Underwriter to the Company or the Selling Securityholders.
Nothing in this paragraph (b), and no action taken hereunder, shall relieve any
defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of any default of such
Underwriter under this Agreement.
(c) On the basis of the representations, warranties and covenants herein
contained, and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the
Company grants an option to the several Underwriters to purchase, severally and
not jointly, up to 324,375 shares in the aggregate of the Option Stock from the
Company at the same price per share as the Underwriters shall pay for the
Underwritten Stock. Said option may be exercised only to cover over-allotments
in the sale of the Underwritten Stock by the Underwriters and may be exercised
in whole or in part at any time (but not more than once) on or before the
thirtieth day after the date of this Agreement upon written or telegraphic
notice by you to the Company setting forth the aggregate number of shares of
the Option Stock as to which the several Underwriters are exercising the
option. Delivery of certificates for the shares of Option Stock, and payment
therefor, shall be made as provided in Section 5 hereof. The number of shares
of the Option Stock to be purchased by each Underwriter shall be the same
percentage of the total number of shares of the Option Stock to be purchased by
the several Underwriters as such Underwriter is purchasing of the Underwritten
Stock, as adjusted by you in such manner as you deem advisable to avoid
fractional shares.
4. OFFERING BY UNDERWRITERS.
(a) The terms of the initial public offering by the Underwriters of the
Stock to be purchased by them shall be as set forth in the Prospectus. The
Underwriters may from time to time change the public offering price after the
closing of the initial public offering and increase or decrease the concessions
and discounts to dealers as they may determine.
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(b) The information set forth in the last paragraph on the front cover
page, the legend on page 2 of the Prospectus, under "Underwriting" in the
Registration Statement and the identity of counsel to the Underwriters under
"Legal Matters", any Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus relating to the
Stock filed by the Company (insofar as such information relates to the
Underwriters) constitutes the only information furnished by the Underwriters to
the Company for inclusion in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary
Prospectus and the Prospectus, and you on behalf of the respective Underwriters
represent and warrant to the Company that the statements made therein are
correct.
5. DELIVERY OF AND PAYMENT FOR THE STOCK.
(a) Delivery of certificates for the shares of the Underwritten Stock and
the Option Stock (if the option granted by Section 3(c) hereof shall have been
exercised not later than 7:00 A.M., San Francisco time, on the date two
business days preceding the Closing Date), and payment therefor, shall be made
at the office of Xxxxxx, Xxxx & Xxxxxxxx, 000 Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx,
at 7:00 a.m., San Francisco time, on the [fourth](2) business day after the date
of this Agreement, or at such time on such other day, not later than seven full
business days after such [fourth] business day, as shall be agreed upon in
writing by the Company, the Selling Securityholders and you. The date and hour
of such delivery and payment (which may be postponed as provided in Section
3(b) hereof) are herein called the Closing Date.
(b) If the option granted by Section 3(c) hereof shall be exercised after
7:00 a.m., San Francisco time, on the date two business days preceding the
Closing Date, delivery of certificates for the shares of Option Stock, and
payment therefor, shall be made at the office of Xxxxxx, Xxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP,
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx, at 7:00 a.m., San Francisco time, on the
third business day after the exercise of such option.
(c) Payment for the Stock purchased from the Company shall be made to the
Company or its order, and payment for the Stock purchased from the Selling
Securityholders shall be made to the Custodian, for the account of the Selling
Securityholders, in each case by one or more certified or official bank check
or checks in same day funds. Such payment shall be made upon delivery of
certificates for the Stock to you for the respective accounts of the several
Underwriters against receipt therefor signed by you. Certificates for the
Stock to be delivered to you shall be registered in such name or names and
shall be in such denominations as you may request at least one business day
before the Closing Date, in the case of Underwritten Stock, and at least one
business day prior to the purchase thereof, in the case of the Option Stock.
Such certificates will be made available to the Underwriters for inspection,
checking and packaging at the offices of Lewco Securities Corporation, 0
Xxxxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000 on the
-----------------
(2) This assumes that the transaction will be priced after the close of market
and that T+4 will apply to the transaction. If the pricing took place
before or during market hours (which will generally not be the case), the
closing would be three business days after pricing.
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business day prior to the Closing Date or, in the case of the Option Stock, by
3:00 p.m., New York time, on the business day preceding the date of purchase.
It is understood that you, individually and not on behalf of the
Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment to the Company
and the Selling Securityholders for shares to be purchased by any Underwriter
whose check shall not have been received by you on the Closing Date or any
later date on which Option Stock is purchased for the account of such
Underwriter. Any such payment by you shall not relieve such Underwriter from
any of its obligations hereunder.
6. FURTHER AGREEMENTS OF THE COMPANY AND THE SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS.
Each of the Company and the Selling Securityholders respectively covenants and
agrees as follows:
(a) The Company will (i) prepare and timely file with the Commission
under Rule 424(b) a Prospectus containing information previously omitted
at the time of effectiveness of the Registration Statement in reliance on
Rule 430A and (ii) not file any amendment to the Registration Statement
or supplement to the Prospectus of which you shall not previously have
been advised and furnished with a copy or to which you shall have
reasonably objected in writing or which is not in compliance with the
Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission.
(b) The Company will promptly notify you in the event of (i) the
request by the Commission for amendment of the Registration Statement or
for supplement to the Prospectus or for any additional information, (ii)
the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the
effectiveness of the Registration Statement, (iii) the institution or
notice of intended institution of any action or proceeding for that
purpose, (iv) the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect
to the suspension of the qualification of the Stock for sale in any
jurisdiction, or (v) the receipt by it of notice of the initiation or
threatening of any proceeding for such purpose. The Company will make
every reasonable effort to prevent the issuance of such a stop order and,
if such an order shall at any time be issued, to obtain the withdrawal
thereof at the earliest possible moment.
(c) The Company will (i) on or before the Closing Date, deliver to
you a signed copy of the Registration Statement as originally filed and
of each amendment thereto filed prior to the time the Registration
Statement becomes effective and, promptly upon the filing thereof, a
signed copy of each post-effective amendment, if any, to the Registration
Statement (together with, in each case, all exhibits thereto unless
previously furnished to you) and will also deliver to you, for
distribution to the Underwriters, a sufficient number of additional
conformed copies of each of the foregoing (but without exhibits) so that
one copy of each may be distributed to each Underwriter, (ii) as promptly
as possible deliver to you and send to the several Underwriters, at such
office or offices as you may designate, as many copies of the Prospectus
as you may reasonably request, and (iii) thereafter from time to time
during the period in which a prospectus is required by law to be
delivered by an Underwriter or dealer, likewise send to the Underwriters
as many additional copies of the Prospectus and as many copies of any
supplement to the
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Prospectus and of any amended prospectus, filed by the Company with the
Commission, as you may reasonably request for the purposes contemplated
by the Securities Act.
(d) If at any time during the period in which a prospectus is
required by law to be delivered by an Underwriter or dealer any event
relating to or affecting the Company, or of which the Company shall be
advised in writing by you, shall occur as a result of which it is
necessary, in the opinion of counsel for the Company or of counsel for
the Underwriters, to supplement or amend the Prospectus in order to make
the Prospectus not misleading in the light of the circumstances existing
at the time it is delivered to a purchaser of the Stock, the Company will
forthwith prepare and file with the Commission a supplement to the
Prospectus or an amended prospectus so that the Prospectus as so
supplemented or amended will not contain any untrue statement of a
material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to
make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing
at the time such Prospectus is delivered to such purchaser, not
misleading. If, after the initial public offering of the Stock by the
Underwriters and during such period, the Underwriters shall propose to
vary the terms of offering thereof by reason of changes in general market
conditions or otherwise, you will advise the Company in writing of the
proposed variation, and, if in the opinion either of counsel for the
Company or of counsel for the Underwriters such proposed variation
requires that the Prospectus be supplemented or amended, the Company will
forthwith prepare and file with the Commission a supplement to the
Prospectus or an amended prospectus setting forth such variation. The
Company authorizes the Underwriters and all dealers to whom any of the
Stock may be sold by the several Underwriters to use the Prospectus, as
from time to time amended or supplemented, in connection with the sale of
the Stock in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Securities
Act and the applicable rules and regulations thereunder for such period.
(e) Prior to the filing thereof with the Commission, the Company
will submit to you, for your information, a copy of any post-effective
amendment to the Registration Statement and any supplement to the
Prospectus or any amended prospectus proposed to be filed.
(f) The Company will cooperate, when and as requested by you, in the
qualification of the Stock for offer and sale under the securities or
blue sky laws of such jurisdictions as you may designate and, during the
period in which a prospectus is required by law to be delivered by an
Underwriter or dealer, in keeping such qualifications in good standing
under said securities or blue sky laws; provided, however, that the
Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of
process or to qualify as a foreign corporation in any jurisdiction in
which it is not so qualified. The Company will, from time to time,
prepare and file such statements, reports and other documents as are or
may be required to continue such qualifications in effect for so long a
period as you may reasonably request for distribution of the Stock.
(g) During a period of five years commencing with the date hereof,
the Company will furnish to you, and to each Underwriter who may so
request in writing, copies of all periodic and special reports furnished
to stockholders of the Company.
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(h) Not later than the 45th day following the end of the fiscal
quarter first occurring after the first anniversary of the Effective
Date, the Company will make generally available to its security holders
an earnings statement in accordance with Section 11(a) of the Securities
Act and Rule 158 thereunder.
(i) The Company and the Selling Securityholders jointly and
severally agree to pay all costs and expenses incident to the performance
of their obligations under this Agreement, including all costs and
expenses incident to (i) the preparation, printing and filing with the
Commission and the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.
("NASD") of the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus and
the Prospectus, (ii) the furnishing to the Underwriters of copies of any
Preliminary Prospectus and of the several documents required by paragraph
(c) of this Section 6 to be so furnished, (iii) the printing of this
Agreement and related documents delivered to the Underwriters, (iv) the
preparation, printing and filing of all supplements and amendments to the
Prospectus referred to in paragraph (d) of this Section 6, (v) the
furnishing to you and the Underwriters of the reports and information
referred to in paragraph (g) of this Section 6 and (vi) the printing and
issuance of stock certificates, including the transfer agent's fees. The
Selling Securityholders will pay any transfer taxes incident to the
transfer to the Underwriters of the shares the Stock being sold by the
Selling Securityholders.
(j) The Company and the Selling Securityholders jointly and
severally agree to reimburse you, for the account of the several
Underwriters, for blue sky fees and related disbursements (including
counsel fees and disbursements and cost of printing memoranda for the
Underwriters) paid by or for the account of the Underwriters or their
counsel in qualifying the Stock under state securities or blue sky laws
and in the review of the offering by the NASD.
(k) The provisions of paragraphs (i) and (j) of this Section 6 are
intended to relieve the Underwriters from the payment of the expenses and
costs which the Company and the Selling Securityholders hereby agree to
pay and shall not affect any agreement which the Company and the Selling
Securityholders may make, or may have made, for the sharing of any such
expenses and costs.
(l) The Company and each of the Selling Securityholders hereby
agrees that, without the prior written consent of Xxxxxxxxx & Xxxxx LLC
on behalf of the Underwriters, the Company or such Selling
Securityholder, as the case may be, will not, for a period of 180 days
following the commencement of the public offering of the Stock by the
Underwriters, directly or indirectly, (i) sell, offer, contract to sell,
make any short sale, pledge, sell any option or contract to purchase,
purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or
warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of any shares of
Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or
exercisable for or any rights to purchase or acquire Common Stock or (ii)
enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in
part, any of the economic consequences or ownership of Common Stock,
whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to
be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash
or otherwise. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Stock to
be sold to the
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Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement, (B) shares of Common Stock
issued by the Company upon the exercise of options granted under the
stock option or stock purchase plans of the Company (the "Option Plans"),
(C) shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants to
purchase common stock issued in connection with the Company's initial
public offering, (D) issuance of shares pursuant to acquisitions by the
Company and (E) options to purchase Common Stock granted under the Option
Plans.
7. INDEMNIFICATION AND CONTRIBUTION.
(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (f) of this Section 7, the
Company and the Selling Securityholders jointly and severally agree to
indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter and each person (including each
partner or officer thereof) who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of
Section 15 of the Securities Act from and against any and all losses, claims,
damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such indemnified parties or
any of them may become subject under the Securities Act, the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (herein called the Exchange Act), or the
common law or otherwise, and the Company and the Selling Securityholders
jointly and severally agree to reimburse each such Underwriter and controlling
person for any legal or other expenses (including, except as otherwise
hereinafter provided, reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel) incurred by
the respective indemnified parties in connection with defending against any
such losses, claims, damages or liabilities or in connection with any
investigation or inquiry of, or other proceeding which may be brought against,
the respective indemnified parties, in each case arising out of or based upon
(i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact
contained in the Registration Statement (including the Prospectus as part
thereof and any Rule 462(b) registration statement) or any post-effective
amendment thereto (including any Rule 462(b) registration statement), or the
omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be
stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or
(ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact
contained in any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus (as amended or as
supplemented if the Company shall have filed with the Commission any amendment
thereof or supplement thereto) or the omission or alleged omission to state
therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in
the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
provided, however, that (1) the indemnity agreements of the Company and the
Selling Securityholders contained in this paragraph (a) shall not apply to any
such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses if such statement or
omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished
as herein stated or otherwise furnished in writing to the Company by or on
behalf of any Underwriter for use in any Preliminary Prospectus or the
Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any such amendment thereof or
supplement thereto, (2) the indemnity agreement contained in this paragraph (a)
with respect to any Preliminary Prospectus shall not inure to the benefit of
any Underwriter from whom the person asserting any such losses, claims,
damages, liabilities or expenses purchased the Stock which is the subject
thereof (or to the benefit of any person controlling such Underwriter) if at or
prior to the written confirmation of the sale of such Stock a copy of the
Prospectus (or the Prospectus as amended or supplemented) was not sent or
delivered to such person and the untrue statement or omission of a material
fact contained in such Preliminary Prospectus was corrected in the Prospectus
(or the Prospectus as amended or supplemented) unless the failure is the result
of
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noncompliance by the Company with paragraph (c) of Section 6 hereof, and (3)
each Selling Securityholder shall only be liable under this paragraph with
respect to (A) information pertaining to such Selling Securityholder furnished
by or on behalf of such Selling Securityholder expressly for use in any
Preliminary Prospectus or the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any
such amendment thereof or supplement thereto or (B) facts that would constitute
a breach of any representation or warranty of such Selling Securityholder set
forth in Section 2(b) hereof. The indemnity agreements of the Company and the
Selling Securityholders contained in this paragraph (a) and the representations
and warranties of the Company and the Selling Securityholders contained in
Section 2 hereof shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless
of any investigation made by or on behalf of any indemnified party and shall
survive the delivery of and payment for the Stock.
(b) Each Underwriter severally agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the
Company, each of its officers who signs the Registration Statement on his own
behalf or pursuant to a power of attorney, each of its directors, each other
Underwriter and each person (including each partner or officer thereof) who
controls the Company or any such other Underwriter within the meaning of
Section 15 of the Securities Act, and the Selling Securityholders from and
against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several,
to which such indemnified parties or any of them may become subject under the
Securities Act, the Exchange Act or the common law or otherwise and to
reimburse each of them for any legal or other expenses (including, except as
otherwise hereinafter provided, reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel)
incurred by the respective indemnified parties in connection with defending
against any such losses, claims, damages or liabilities or in connection with
any investigation or inquiry of, or other proceeding which may be brought
against, the respective indemnified parties, in each case arising out of or
based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material
fact contained in the Registration Statement (including the Prospectus as part
thereof and any Rule 462(b) registration statement) or any post-effective
amendment thereto (including any Rule 462(b) registration statement) or the
omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be
stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or
(ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact
contained in the Prospectus (as amended or as supplemented if the Company shall
have filed with the Commission any amendment thereof or supplement thereto) or
the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary in
order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under
which they were made, not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in
reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished as herein stated or
otherwise furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of such
indemnifying Underwriter for use in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus or any such amendment thereof or supplement thereto. The indemnity
agreement of each Underwriter contained in this paragraph (b) shall remain
operative and in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by
or on behalf of any indemnified party and shall survive the delivery of and
payment for the Stock.
(c) Each party indemnified under the provision of paragraphs (a) and (b)
of this Section 7 agrees that, upon the service of a summons or other initial
legal process upon it in any action or suit instituted against it or upon its
receipt of written notification of the commencement of any investigation or
inquiry of, or proceeding against, it in respect of which indemnity may be
sought on account of any indemnity agreement contained in such paragraphs, it
will promptly give
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written notice (herein called the Notice) of such service or notification to
the party or parties from whom indemnification may be sought hereunder. No
indemnification provided for in such paragraphs shall be available to any party
who shall fail so to give the Notice if the party to whom such Notice was not
given was unaware of the action, suit, investigation, inquiry or proceeding to
which the Notice would have related and was prejudiced by the failure to give
the Notice, but the omission so to notify such indemnifying party or parties of
any such service or notification shall not relieve such indemnifying party or
parties from any liability which it or they may have to the indemnified party
for contribution or otherwise than on account of such indemnity agreement. Any
indemnifying party shall be entitled at its own expense to participate in the
defense of any action, suit or proceeding against, or investigation or inquiry
of, an indemnified party. Any indemnifying party shall be entitled, if it so
elects within a reasonable time after receipt of the Notice by giving written
notice (herein called the Notice of Defense) to the indemnified party, to
assume (alone or in conjunction with any other indemnifying party or parties)
the entire defense of such action, suit, investigation, inquiry or proceeding,
in which event such defense shall be conducted, at the expense of the
indemnifying party or parties, by counsel chosen by such indemnifying party or
parties and reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party or parties;
provided, however, that (i) if the indemnified party or parties reasonably
determine that there may be a conflict between the positions of the
indemnifying party or parties and of the indemnified party or parties in
conducting the defense of such action, suit, investigation, inquiry or
proceeding or that there may be legal defenses available to such indemnified
party or parties different from or in addition to those available to the
indemnifying party or parties, then counsel for the indemnified party or
parties shall be entitled to conduct the defense to the extent reasonably
determined by such counsel to be necessary to protect the interests of the
indemnified party or parties and (ii) in any event, the indemnified party or
parties shall be entitled to have counsel chosen by such indemnified party or
parties participate in, but not conduct, the defense. If, within a reasonable
time after receipt of the Notice, an indemnifying party gives a Notice of
Defense and the counsel chosen by the indemnifying party or parties is
reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party or parties, the indemnifying
party or parties will not be liable under paragraphs (a) through (c) of this
Section 7 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by the
indemnified party or parties in connection with the defense of the action,
suit, investigation, inquiry or proceeding, except that (A) the indemnifying
party or parties shall bear the legal and other expenses incurred in connection
with the conduct of the defense as referred to in clause (i) of the proviso to
the preceding sentence and (B) the indemnifying party or parties shall bear
such other expenses as it or they have authorized to be incurred by the
indemnified party or parties. If, within a reasonable time after receipt of
the Notice, no Notice of Defense has been given, the indemnifying party or
parties shall be responsible for any legal or other expenses incurred by the
indemnified party or parties in connection with the defense of the action,
suit, investigation, inquiry or proceeding.
(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 7 is unavailable
or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under paragraph (a) or
(b) of this Section 7, then each indemnifying party, in lieu of indemnifying
such indemnified party, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such
indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities
referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of this Section 7 (i) in such proportion as
is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by each indemnifying
party from the offering of the Stock or (ii) if the allocation provided by
clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such
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proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred
to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of each indemnifying party
in connection with the statements or omissions that resulted in such losses,
claims, damages or liabilities, or actions in respect thereof, as well as any
other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the
Company and the Selling Securityholders on the one hand and the Underwriters on
the other shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total
net proceeds from the offering of the Stock received by the Company and the
Selling Securityholders and the total underwriting discount received by the
Underwriters, as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus,
bear to the aggregate public offering price of the Stock. Relative fault shall
be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or
alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission
to state a material fact relates to information supplied by each indemnifying
party and the parties' relative intent, knowledge, access to information and
opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement or omission.
The parties agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions
pursuant to this paragraph (d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation
(even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by
any other method of allocation which does not take into account the equitable
considerations referred to in the first sentence of this paragraph (d). The
amount paid by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages
or liabilities, or actions in respect thereof, referred to in the first
sentence of this paragraph (d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other
expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with
investigation, preparing to defend or defending against any action or claim
which is the subject of this paragraph (d). Notwithstanding the provisions of
this paragraph (d), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount
in excess of the underwriting discount applicable to the Stock purchased by
such Underwriter. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the
meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to
contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent
misrepresentation. The Underwriters' obligations in this paragraph (d) to
contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting
obligations and not joint.
Each party entitled to contribution agrees that upon the service of a
summons or other initial legal process upon it in any action instituted against
it in respect of which contribution may be sought, it will promptly give
written notice of such service to the party or parties from whom contribution
may be sought, but the omission so to notify such party or parties of any such
service shall not relieve the party from whom contribution may be sought from
any obligation it may have hereunder or otherwise (except as specifically
provided in paragraph (c) of this Section 7).
(e) No indemnifying party will, without the prior written consent of the
indemnified party, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment
in any pending or threatened claim, action, suit or proceeding in respect of
which indemnification may be sought hereunder (whether or not such indemnified
party or any person who controls such indemnified party within the meaning of
Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act is a party
to such claim, action, suit or proceeding) unless such settlement, compromise
or consent includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party and each
such controlling person from all liability arising out of such claim, action,
suit or proceeding.
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(f) The liability of each Selling Securityholder under the indemnity and
reimbursement agreements contained in the provisions of this Section 7 and
Section 11 hereof shall be limited to an amount equal to the net proceeds
received by such Selling Securityholder of the stock sold by such Selling
Securityholder to the Underwriters. The Company and the Selling
Securityholders may agree, as among themselves and without limiting the rights
of the Underwriters under this Agreement, as to the respective amounts of such
liability for which they each shall be responsible.
8. TERMINATION. This Agreement may be terminated by you at any time prior
to the Closing Date by giving written notice to the Company and the Selling
Securityholders if after the date of this Agreement trading in the Common Stock
shall have been suspended, or if there shall have occurred (i) the engagement
in hostilities or an escalation of major hostilities by the United States or
the declaration of war or a national emergency by the United States on or after
the date hereof, (ii) any outbreak of hostilities or other national or
international calamity or crisis or change in economic or political conditions
if the effect of such outbreak, calamity, crisis or change in economic or
political conditions in the financial markets of the United States would, in
the Underwriters' reasonable judgment, make the offering or delivery of the
Stock impracticable, (iii) suspension of trading in securities generally or a
material adverse decline in value of securities generally on the New York Stock
Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or The Nasdaq Stock Market, or
limitations on prices (other than limitations on hours or numbers of days of
trading) for securities on either such exchange or system, (iv) the enactment,
publication, decree or other promulgation of any federal or state statute,
regulation, rule or order of, or commencement of any proceeding or
investigation by, any court, legislative body, agency or other governmental
authority which in the Underwriters' reasonable opinion materially and
adversely affects or will materially or adversely affect the business or
operations of the Company, (v) declaration of a banking moratorium by either
federal or New York State authorities or (vi) the taking of any action by any
federal, state or local government or agency in respect of its monetary or
fiscal affairs which in the Underwriters' reasonable opinion has a material
adverse effect on the securities markets in the United States. If this
Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to this Section 8, there shall be no
liability of the Company or the Selling Securityholders to the Underwriters and
no liability of the Underwriters to the Company or the Selling Securityholders;
provided, however, that in the event of any such termination the Company and
the Selling Securityholders agree to indemnify and hold harmless the
Underwriters from all costs or expenses incident to the performance of the
obligations of the Company and the Selling Securityholders under this
Agreement, including all costs and expenses referred to in paragraphs (i) and
(j) of Section 6 hereof.
9. CONDITIONS OF UNDERWRITERS' OBLIGATIONS. The obligations of the
several Underwriters to purchase and pay for the Stock shall be subject to the
performance by the Company and by the Selling Securityholders of all their
respective obligations to be performed hereunder at or prior to the Closing
Date or any later date on which Option Stock is to be purchased, as the case
may be, and to the following further conditions:
(a) The Registration Statement shall have become effective; and no
stop order suspending the effectiveness thereof shall have been issued
and no proceedings therefor shall be pending or threatened by the
Commission.
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(b) The legality and sufficiency of the sale of the Stock hereunder
and the validity and form of the certificates representing the Stock, all
corporate proceedings and other legal matters incident to the foregoing,
and the form of the Registration Statement and of the Prospectus (except
as to the financial statements contained therein), shall have been
approved at or prior to the Closing Date by Xxxxxx, Xxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP,
counsel for the Underwriters.
(c) You shall have received from Bachner, Tally, Xxxxxxx & Xxxxxx
LLP, counsel for the Company and the Selling Securityholders, and from
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx, regulatory counsel for the Company, opinions, addressed
to the Underwriters and dated the Closing Date, covering the matters set
forth in Annex A and Annex B hereto, respectively, and if Option Stock is
purchased at any date after the Closing Date, additional opinions from
each such counsel, addressed to the Underwriters and dated such later
date, confirming that the statements expressed as of the Closing Date in
such opinions remain valid as of such later date.
(d) You shall be satisfied that (i) as of the Effective Date, the
statements made in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus were
true and correct and neither the Registration Statement nor the
Prospectus omitted to state any material fact required to be stated
therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein,
respectively, not misleading, (ii) since the Effective Date, no event has
occurred which should have been set forth in a supplement or amendment to
the Prospectus which has not been set forth in such a supplement or
amendment, (iii) since the respective dates as of which information is
given in the Registration Statement in the form in which it originally
became effective and the Prospectus contained therein, there has not been
any material adverse change or any development involving a prospective
material adverse change in or affecting the business, properties,
financial condition or results of operations of the Company and its
subsidiaries, taken as a whole, whether or not arising from transactions
in the ordinary course of business, and, since such dates, except in the
ordinary course of business, neither the Company nor any of its
subsidiaries has entered into any material transaction not referred to in
the Registration Statement in the form in which it originally became
effective and the Prospectus contained therein, (iv) neither the Company
nor any of its subsidiaries has any material contingent obligations which
are not disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (v)
there are not any pending or known threatened legal proceedings to which
the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which property of
the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject which are material
and which are not disclosed in the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus, (vi) there are not any franchises, contracts, leases or other
documents which are required to be filed as exhibits to the Registration
Statement which have not been filed as required, (vii) the
representations and warranties of the Company herein are true and correct
in all material respects as of the Closing Date or any later date on
which Option Stock is to be purchased, as the case may be, and (viii)
there has not been any material change in the market for securities in
general or in political, financial or economic conditions from those
reasonably foreseeable as to render it impracticable in your reasonable
judgment to make a public offering of the Stock, or a material adverse
change in market levels for securities in
20
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general (or those of companies in particular) or financial or economic
conditions which render it inadvisable to proceed.
(e) You shall have received on the Closing Date and on any later
date on which Option Stock is purchased a certificate, dated the Closing
Date or such later date, as the case may be, and signed by the President
and the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, stating that the
respective signers of said certificate have carefully examined the
Registration Statement in the form in which it originally became
effective and the Prospectus contained therein and any supplements or
amendments thereto, and that the statements included in clauses (i)
through (vii) of paragraph (d) of this Section 9 are true and correct.
(f) You shall have received from Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx LLP, a letter or
letters, addressed to the Underwriters and dated the Closing Date and any
later date on which Option Stock is purchased, confirming that they are
independent public accountants with respect to the Company within the
meaning of the Securities Act and the applicable published rules and
regulations thereunder and based upon the procedures described in their
letter delivered to you concurrently with the execution of this Agreement
(herein called the Original Letter), but carried out to a date not more
than three business days prior to the Closing Date or such later date on
which Option Stock is purchased (i) confirming, to the extent true, that
the statements and conclusions set forth in the Original Letter are
accurate as of the Closing Date or such later date, as the case may be,
and (ii) setting forth any revisions and additions to the statements and
conclusions set forth in the Original Letter which are necessary to
reflect any changes in the facts described in the Original Letter since
the date of the Original Letter or to reflect the availability of more
recent financial statements, data or information. The letters shall not
disclose any change, or any development involving a prospective change,
in or affecting the business or properties of the Company or any of its
subsidiaries which, in your sole judgment, makes it impractical or
inadvisable to proceed with the public offering of the Stock or the
purchase of the Option Stock as contemplated by the Prospectus.
(g) You shall have been furnished evidence in usual written or
telegraphic form from the appropriate authorities of the several
jurisdictions, or other evidence satisfactory to you, of the
qualification referred to in paragraph (f) of Section 6 hereof.
(h) Prior to the Closing Date, the Stock to be issued and sold by
the Company shall have been duly authorized for listing by the Nasdaq
National Market upon official notice of issuance.
(j) On or prior to the Closing Date, you shall have received from
all directors, officers, and beneficial holders of more than 5% of the
outstanding Common Stock agreements, in form reasonably satisfactory to
Xxxxxxxxx & Xxxxx LLC, stating that without the prior written consent of
Xxxxxxxxx & Xxxxx LLC on behalf of the Underwriters, such person or
entity will not, for a period of 180 days following the commencement of
the public offering of the Stock by the Underwriters, directly or
indirectly, (i) sell, offer, contract to sell, make any short sale,
pledge, sell any option or
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contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any
option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of
any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or
exchangeable or exercisable for or any rights to purchase or acquire
Common Stock or (ii) enter into any swap or other agreement that
transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences or
ownership of Common Stock, whether any such transaction described in
clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or
such other securities, in cash or otherwise.
All the agreements, opinions, certificates and letters mentioned above or
elsewhere in this Agreement shall be deemed to be in compliance with the
provisions hereof only if Xxxxxx, Xxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP, counsel for the
Underwriters, shall be satisfied that they comply in form and scope.
In case any of the conditions specified in this Section 9 shall not be
fulfilled, this Agreement may be terminated by you by giving notice to the
Company and to the Selling Securityholders. Any such termination shall be
without liability of the Company or the Selling Securityholders to the
Underwriters and without liability of the Underwriters to the Company or the
Selling Securityholders; provided, however, that (i) in the event of such
termination, the Company and the Selling Securityholders agree to indemnify and
hold harmless the Underwriters from all costs or expenses incident to the
performance of the obligations of the Company and the Selling Securityholders
under this Agreement, including all costs and expenses referred to in
paragraphs (i) and (j) of Section 6 hereof, and (ii) if this Agreement is
terminated by you because of any refusal, inability or failure on the part of
the Company or the Selling Securityholders to perform any agreement herein, to
fulfill any of the conditions herein, or to comply with any provision hereof
other than by reason of a default by any of the Underwriters, the Company will
reimburse the Underwriters severally upon demand for all out-of-pocket expenses
(including reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel) that shall have been
incurred by them in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby.
10. CONDITIONS OF THE OBLIGATION OF THE COMPANY AND THE SELLING
SECURITYHOLDERS. The obligation of the Company and the Selling Securityholders
to deliver the Stock shall be subject to the conditions that (a) the
Registration Statement shall have become effective and (b) no stop order
suspending the effectiveness thereof shall be in effect and no proceedings
therefor shall be pending or threatened by the Commission.
In case either of the conditions specified in this Section 10 shall not be
fulfilled, this Agreement may be terminated by the Company and the Selling
Securityholders by giving notice to you. Any such termination shall be without
liability of the Company and the Selling Securityholders to the Underwriters
and without liability of the Underwriters to the Company or the Selling
Securityholders; provided, however, that in the event of any such termination
the Company and the Selling Securityholders jointly and severally agree to
indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriters from all costs or expenses
incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company and the Selling
Securityholders under this Agreement, including all costs and expenses referred
to in paragraphs (i) and (j) of Section 6 hereof.
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11. Reimbursement of Certain Expenses. In addition to their other
obligations under Section 7 of this Agreement (and subject, in the case of a
Selling Securityholder, to the provisions of paragraph (f) of Section 7), the
Company and the Selling Securityholders hereby jointly and severally agree to
reimburse on a quarterly basis the Underwriters for all reasonable legal and
other expenses incurred in connection with investigating or defending any
claim, action, investigation, inquiry or other proceeding arising out of or
based upon any statement or omission, or any alleged statement or omission,
described in paragraph (a) of Section 7 of this Agreement, notwithstanding the
absence of a judicial determination as to the propriety and enforceability of
the obligations under this Section 11 and the possibility that such payments
might later be held to be improper; provided, however, that (i) to the extent
any such payment is ultimately held to be improper, the persons receiving such
payments shall promptly refund them and (ii) such persons shall provide to the
Company, upon request, reasonable assurances of their ability to effect any
refund, when and if due.
12. PERSONS ENTITLED TO BENEFIT OF AGREEMENT. This Agreement shall inure
to the benefit of the Company, the Selling Securityholders and the several
Underwriters and, with respect to the provisions of Section 7 hereof, the
several parties (in addition to the Company, the Selling Securityholders and
the several Underwriters) indemnified under the provisions of said Section 7,
and their respective personal representatives, successors and assigns. Nothing
in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give to any other
person, firm or corporation any legal or equitable remedy or claim under or in
respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained. The term
"successors and assigns" as herein used shall not include any purchaser, as
such purchaser, of any of the Stock from any of the several Underwriters.
13. NOTICES. Except as otherwise provided herein, all communications
hereunder shall be in writing or by telegraph and, if to the Underwriters,
shall be mailed, telegraphed or delivered to Xxxxxxxxx & Xxxxx LLC, Xxx Xxxx
Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000; and if to the Company, shall be
mailed, telegraphed or delivered to it at its office, 0000 Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx,
Xxxxx 000, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx 00000, Attention: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx; and if to
the Selling Securityholders, shall be mailed, telegraphed or delivered to the
Selling Securityholders in care of Xxxxx X. Xxxxx, M.D. care of the Company, at
0000 Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx 000, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx 00000. All notices given
by telegraph shall be promptly confirmed by letter.
14. MISCELLANEOUS. The reimbursement, indemnification and contribution
agreements contained in this Agreement and the representations, warranties and
covenants in this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect regardless of
(a) any termination of this Agreement, (b) any investigation made by or on
behalf of any Underwriter or controlling person thereof, or by or on behalf of
the Company or the Selling Securityholders or their respective directors or
officers, and (c) delivery and payment for the Stock under this Agreement;
provided, however, that if this Agreement is terminated prior to the Closing
Date, the provisions of paragraph (l) of Section 6 hereof shall be of no
further force or effect.
This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which
shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and
the same instrument.
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This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the
laws of the State of New York.
24
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Please sign and return to the Company and to the Selling Securityholders
in care of the Company the enclosed duplicates of this letter, whereupon this
letter will become a binding agreement among the Company, the Selling
Securityholders and the several Underwriters in accordance with its terms.
Very truly yours,
PHYSICIANS' SPECIALTY CORP.
By __________________________
Name:
Title:
SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS:
By __________________________
Name:
Attorney-in-Fact
The foregoing Agreement is hereby confirmed
and accepted as of the date first above written.
XXXXXXXXX & XXXXX LLC
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX & COMPANY LLC
BARINGTON CAPITAL GROUP, L.P.
By Xxxxxxxxx & Xxxxx LLC
By __________________________
Managing Director
Acting on behalf of the several Underwriters,
including themselves, named in Schedule I hereto.
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SCHEDULE I
UNDERWRITERS
NUMBER OF SHARES TO BE
UNDERWRITERS PURCHASED
------------ ---------
Xxxxxxxxx & Xxxxx LLC..................
Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx & Company, LLC......
Barington Capital Group, L.P...........
---------
Total................................
=========
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SCHEDULE II
SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS
NUMBER OF
NAME AND ADDRESS SHARES TO BE
OF SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS SOLD
-------------------------- ----
XXXXX XXXXXXX, M.D.
XXXX LIVINGSTORN, M.D.
XXXXX X. XXXXXX, M.D.
XXX XXXXXXXX, M.D.
XXXX XXXXXXX, M.D.
XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX, M.D.
---------
Total...................
=========
28
ANNEX A
MATTERS TO BE COVERED IN THE OPINION OF BACHNER, TALLY, XXXXXXX & XXXXXX LLP
COUNSEL FOR THE COMPANY
AND THE SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS
(i) Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has been duly incorporated
and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the
jurisdiction of its incorporation, is duly qualified as a foreign corporation
and in good standing in each state of the United States of America in which its
ownership or leasing of property requires such qualification (except where the
failure to be so qualified would not have a material adverse effect on the
business, properties, financial condition or results of operations of the
Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole), and has full corporate power
and authority to own or lease its properties and conduct its business as
described in the Registration Statement; all the issued and outstanding capital
stock of each of the subsidiaries of the Company has been duly authorized and
validly issued and is fully paid and nonassessable, and is owned by the Company
free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and security interests, and to the
best of such counsel's knowledge, no options, warrants or other rights to
purchase, agreements or other obligations to issue or other rights to convert
any obligations into shares of capital stock or ownership interests in such
subsidiaries are outstanding;
(ii) the authorized capital stock of the Company consists of 10,000
shares of Preferred Stock, $1.00 par value, of which no shares are outstanding,
and 50,000,000 shares of Common Stock, $.001 par value; proper corporate
proceedings have been taken validly to authorize such authorized capital stock;
all of the outstanding shares of such capital stock (including the Underwritten
Stock and the shares of Option Stock issued, if any) have been duly and validly
issued and are fully paid and nonassessable; and no preemptive rights of, or
rights of refusal in favor of, stockholders exist with respect to the Stock, or
the issue and sale thereof, pursuant to the Certificate of Incorporation or
Bylaws of the Company and, to the knowledge of such counsel, there are no
contractual preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or rights of co-sale
that have not been waived which exist with respect to the Stock being sold by
the Selling Securityholders or the issue and sale of the Stock;
(iii) the Registration Statement has become effective under the
Securities Act and, to the best of such counsel's knowledge, no stop order
suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or suspending or
preventing the use of the Prospectus is in effect and no proceedings for that
purpose have been instituted or are pending or threatened by the Commission;
(iv) the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (except as to the
financial statements and schedules and other financial data included or
required to be included therein, as to which such counsel need express no
opinion) comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements of
the Securities Act and with the rules and regulations of the Commission
thereunder;
(v) although such counsel has not undertaken to determine independently,
and does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the
statements in the Registration
29
Statement and Prospectus, nothing has come to such counsel's attention to cause
such counsel to have reason to believe that the Registration Statement at the
Effective Date contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to
state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein not misleading, or that the Prospectus as of its date or at
the Closing Date (or any later date on which Option Stock is purchased),
contained or contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or
omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading (except that such counsel need express not opinion or belief with
respect to (i) to the financial statements and schedules and other financial
data contained or required to be contained in the Registration Statement or
Prospectus or (ii) regulatory matters) ;
(vi) the information required to be set forth in the Registration
Statement in answer to Items 9, 10 (insofar as it relates to such counsel) and
11(c) of Form S-1 is to the best of such counsel's knowledge accurately and
adequately set forth therein in all material respects or no response is
required with respect to such Items, and the description of the Company's stock
option and stock purchase plans and the options and shares granted and which
may be granted thereunder in the Prospectus accurately and fairly presents the
information required to be shown with respect to said plans and options to the
extent required by the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the
Commission thereunder;
(vii) such counsel do not know of any franchises, contracts, leases,
documents or legal proceedings, pending or threatened, which in the opinion of
such counsel are of a character required to be described or summarized in the
Registration Statement or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the
Registration Statement, which are not described or summarized and filed as
required;
(viii) the Underwriting Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and
delivered by the Company;
(ix) based insofar as factual matters are concerned solely upon
certificates of the Selling Securityholders, the accuracy of which we have no
reason to question, (A) the Underwriting Agreement has been duly executed and
delivered by or on behalf of each of the Selling Securityholders; (B) the
Custody Agreement between the Selling Securityholders and ____________, as
Custodian, and the Power of Attorney referred to in such Custody Agreement have
been duly executed and delivered by such Selling Securityholder; (C) the
Custody Agreement entered into by, and the Power of Attorney given by, such
Selling Securityholder is valid and binding on such Selling Securityholder; and
(D) each Selling Securityholder has full legal right and authority to enter
into the Underwriting Agreement and to sell, transfer and deliver in the manner
provided in the Underwriting Agreement the shares of Stock sold by such Selling
Securityholder hereunder;
(x) the issue and sale by the Company of the shares of Stock sold by the
Company as contemplated by the Underwriting Agreement will not conflict with,
or result in a breach of, the Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws of the
Company or any agreement or instrument known to such counsel to which the
Company is a party or any applicable law or regulation, or so far as is known
to such counsel, any order, writ, injunction or decree, of any jurisdiction,
court or
30
governmental instrumentality, except where such breaches in the aggregate
would not have a material adverse effect on the Company and its subsidiaries,
taken as a whole;
(xi) all holders of securities of the Company having rights to the
registration of shares of Common Stock, or other securities, because of the
filing of the Registration Statement by the Company have waived such rights or
such rights have expired by reason of lapse of time following notification of
the Company's intent to file the Registration Statement or have been satisfied;
(xii) good and marketable title to the shares of Stock sold by the
Selling Securityholders under the Underwriting Agreement, free and clear of all
liens, encumbrances, equities, security interests and claims, has been
transferred to the Underwriters who have severally purchased such shares of
Stock under the Underwriting Agreement, assuming for the purpose of this
opinion that the Underwriters purchased the same in good faith without notice
of any adverse claims; and
(xiii) based insofar as factual matters with respect to the stock to be
sold by the Selling Securityholders are concerned solely upon certificates of
the Selling Securityholders, the accuracy of which such counsel have no reason
to question, no consent, approval, authorization or order of any court or
governmental agency or body is required for the consummation of the
transactions contemplated in the Underwriting Agreement, except such as have
been obtained under the Securities Act and such as may be required under state
securities or blue sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of
the Stock by the Underwriters.
____________________________________
Counsel rendering the foregoing opinion may rely as to questions of law
not involving the laws of the United States or of the State of New York, upon
opinions of local counsel satisfactory in form and scope to counsel for the
Underwriters. Copies of any opinions so relied upon shall be delivered to the
Representatives and to counsel for the Underwriters and the foregoing opinion
shall also state that counsel knows of no reason the Underwriters are not
entitled to rely upon the opinions of such local counsel.
31
ANNEX B
MATTERS TO BE COVERED IN THE OPINION OF XXXXXXXX XXXXXXX
REGULATORY COUNSEL FOR THE COMPANY
Such counsel are familiar with the governmental regulation of the
heathcare industry ("Healthcare Regulation") to which the Company and its
subsidiaries are subject and have read the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus, including particularly the portions of the Registration Statement
and the Prospectus referring to Heathcare Regulation and:
(i) The statements in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus under
the captions "Risk Factors --Antitrust Risks, --Government Regulation, --Heath
Care Reform" and "Business --Government Regulation," are accurate and complete
statements or summaries of the matters therein set forth and nothing has come
to such counsel's attention that causes such counsel to believe that the
above-described portions of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading;
(ii) to the best of such counsel's knowledge, there are no legal or
governmental proceedings pending against the Company or any of its subsidiaries
relating to Heath Care Regulation, and to the best of such counsel's knowledge
no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities
or others; and
(iii) such counsel do not know of any contracts or other documents,
relating to governmental regulation affecting the Company or any of its
subsidiaries of a character required to be filed as an exhibit to the
Registration Statement or required to be described in the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus that are not filed or described as required.