AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER By and Among PERFICIENT, INC. PFT MERGECO III, INC. E TECH SOLUTIONS, INC. each of the PRINCIPALS OF E TECH SOLUTIONS, INC. and Gary Rawding, as REPRESENTATIVE Dated as of February 20, 2007
Execution
Copy
EXHIBIT
2.1
AGREEMENT
AND PLAN OF MERGER
By
and Among
PERFICIENT,
INC.
PFT
MERGECO III, INC.
E
TECH SOLUTIONS, INC.
each
of the PRINCIPALS OF E TECH SOLUTIONS, INC.
and
Xxxx
Xxxxxxx, as REPRESENTATIVE
Dated
as of February 20, 2007
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Page
|
||
ARTICLE
I
DEFINITIONS
|
||
1.01
|
Definitions
|
1
|
ARTICLE
II
THE
MERGER
|
||
2.01
|
The
Merger
|
11
|
2.02
|
Plan
of Merger
|
12
|
2.03
|
Effective
Time
|
12
|
2.04
|
Effect
of the Merger
|
12
|
2.05
|
Conversion
of Company Common Stock
|
12
|
2.06
|
Conversion
of Merger Sub Stock
|
12
|
2.07
|
Working
Capital Determination
|
13
|
2.08
|
Escrowed
Consideration
|
14
|
2.09
|
Certificate
of Incorporation
|
15
|
2.10
|
Bylaws
|
15
|
2.11
|
Officers
and Directors
|
15
|
2.12
|
LLC
Sub Merger
|
15
|
ARTICLE
III
PAYMENT
OF MERGER CONSIDERATION
|
||
3.01
|
Exchange
of Shares
|
15
|
3.02
|
Withholding
|
16
|
ARTICLE
IV
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY AND PRINCIPALS
|
||
4.01
|
Organizational
Matters
|
16
|
4.02
|
Capital
Structure
|
17
|
4.03
|
Authority
and Due Execution
|
18
|
4.04
|
Non-Contravention
and Consents
|
19
|
4.05
|
Financial
Statements
|
19
|
4.06
|
Indebtedness
|
20
|
4.07
|
Litigation
|
20
|
4.08
|
Taxes
|
20
|
4.09
|
Title
to Property and Assets
|
22
|
4.10
|
Intellectual
Property
|
23
|
4.11
|
Accounts
Receivable
|
25
|
4.12
|
Compliance;
Permits
|
26
|
4.13
|
Brokers’
and Finders’ Fees
|
26
|
4.14
|
Restrictions
on Business Activities
|
26
|
4.15
|
Employment
Matters
|
26
|
4.16
|
Employee
Benefit Plans
|
27
|
i
4.17
|
Environmental
Matters
|
31
|
4.18
|
Material
Contracts
|
31
|
4.19
|
Insurance
|
32
|
4.20
|
Transactions
with Related Parties
|
32
|
4.21
|
Books
and Records
|
33
|
4.22
|
Absence
of Changes
|
33
|
4.23
|
Product
Warranties; Services
|
34
|
4.24
|
Customers
and Supplier
|
35
|
4.25
|
Disclosures
|
35
|
ARTICLE
V
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF PARENT AND MERGER SUB
|
||
5.01
|
Organization,
Standing and Power
|
36
|
5.02
|
Authority
|
36
|
5.03
|
Non-Contravention
and Consents
|
36
|
5.04
|
Litigation
|
37
|
5.05
|
Parent
Common Stock
|
37
|
5.06
|
Brokers’
and Finders’ Fees
|
37
|
5.07
|
Reports
|
37
|
5.08
|
Single
Member Disregarded Entity
|
38
|
ARTICLE
VI
COVENANTS
RELATING TO CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
|
||
6.01
|
Covenants
of the Company
|
38
|
6.02
|
No
Solicitation of Transactions
|
40
|
6.03
|
All
Necessary Action
|
40
|
ARTICLE
VII
ADDITIONAL
AGREEMENTS
|
||
7.01
|
Regulatory
Matters
|
40
|
7.02
|
Securities
Matters
|
41
|
7.03
|
Registration
Rights
|
41
|
7.04
|
Stockholder
Approval
|
46
|
7.05
|
Access
to Information; Confidentiality
|
46
|
7.06
|
Legal
Conditions to Merger
|
47
|
7.07
|
Notification;
Disclosure Supplements
|
47
|
7.08
|
Tax
Matters
|
47
|
7.09
|
Tax
Reporting Documentation
|
49
|
7.10
|
Company
Employees and Independent Contractors
|
50
|
7.11
|
Employee
Benefit Plans
|
50
|
7.12
|
Stock
Restriction and Non-Compete Agreement
|
50
|
7.13
|
Publicity
|
50
|
7.14
|
Indemnification
|
51
|
7.15
|
Insurance
|
51
|
7.16
|
Access
to Books and Records
|
51
|
ARTICLE
VIII
CONDITIONS
PRECEDENT
|
||
8.01
|
Conditions
to Each Party’s Obligation to Effect the Merger
|
51
|
8.02
|
Conditions
to Obligations of Parent and Merger Sub
|
52
|
8.03
|
Conditions
to Obligations of the Company
|
54
|
ii
ARTICLE
IX
TERMINATION
AND AMENDMENT
|
||
9.01
|
Termination
|
54
|
9.02
|
Effect
of Termination
|
55
|
9.03
|
Expenses
|
55
|
9.04
|
Amendment
|
55
|
9.05
|
Extension;
Waiver
|
56
|
ARTICLE
X
INDEMNIFICATION
|
||
10.01
|
Agreement
to Indemnify
|
56
|
10.02
|
Survival
of Indemnity
|
57
|
10.03
|
Additional
Provisions
|
58
|
10.04
|
Claim
Notice; Definitions; Third Party Claim Procedures
|
59
|
ARTICLE
XI
REPRESENTATIVE
|
||
11.01
|
Appointment
of Representative
|
61
|
11.02
|
Authority
|
61
|
11.03
|
Reliance
|
61
|
11.04
|
Indemnification
of Parent Indemnified Persons
|
62
|
11.05
|
Indemnification
of Representative
|
62
|
ARTICLE
XII
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
|
||
12.01
|
Notices
|
63
|
12.02
|
Interpretation
|
64
|
12.03
|
Counterparts
and Facsimile Execution
|
65
|
12.04
|
Entire
Agreement
|
65
|
12.05
|
Governing
Law
|
65
|
12.06
|
Enforcement
of Agreement
|
65
|
12.07
|
Severability
|
65
|
12.08
|
Assignment
|
65
|
12.09
|
Amendment
|
66
|
iii
EXHIBIT
LIST
EXHIBIT
A Form
of
Contractor Services Agreement
EXHIBIT
B Form
of
Escrow Agreement
EXHIBIT
C Form
of
Letter of Transmittal
EXHIBIT
D Form
of
Stock Restriction Agreement
EXHIBIT
E Form
of
Stock Restriction and Non-Compete Agreement
EXHIBIT
F Form
of
LLC Sub Merger Agreement
EXHIBIT
G Form
of
Irrevocable Proxy
EXHIBIT
H Form
of
Opinion of Counsel to the Company
iv
AGREEMENT
AND PLAN OF MERGER
AGREEMENT
AND PLAN OF MERGER (the “Agreement”)
dated
as of February 20, 2007, by and among Perficient, Inc., a Delaware corporation
(“Parent”),
PFT
MergeCo III, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of
Parent (“Merger
Sub”),
e
tech solutions, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”),
each
Principal (as defined in Section 1.01)
and
Xxxx
Xxxxxxx (“Representative”).
WHEREAS,
Parent and the Company have determined to engage in a strategic business
combination whereby Merger Sub will be merged with and into the Company, with
the Company continuing as the surviving corporation in such merger as a direct
wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (the “Merger”);
WHEREAS,
Parent and the Company have determined that immediately after the effectiveness
of the Merger, the Company shall be merged with and into a wholly owned limited
liability company subsidiary of Parent (“LLC
Sub,”
and
such merger being referred to herein as the “LLC
Sub Merger”),
with
LLC Sub continuing as the surviving entity in the LLC Sub Merger (the
“Surviving
Entity”)
as a
direct wholly owned subsidiary of Parent;
WHEREAS,
for federal income tax purposes, it is intended that (i) this Agreement and
the LLC Sub Merger Agreement constitute a “plan of reorganization” within the
meaning of Treasury Regulation Section 1.368-2(g), (ii) the Merger and the
LLC Sub Merger constitute an integrated plan described in Rev. Rul. 2001-46,
2001-2 C.B. 321 and (iii) to the extent possible, the Merger and LLC Sub
Merger constitute a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(a) of
the
Code;
WHEREAS,
Parent, Merger Sub, the Company, and the Principals desire to make certain
representations, warranties and covenants in connection with the
Merger.
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants, representations, warranties
and agreements contained herein, and intending to be legally bound hereby,
the
parties agree as follows:
ARTICLE
I
DEFINITIONS
DEFINITIONS
1.01 Definitions.
As
used
in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth or
referenced below:
“Affiliate”
means,
with respect to any Person, any other Person controlling, controlled by or
under
common control with such Person. For purposes of this definition and this
Agreement, the term “control”
(and
correlative terms) means the power, whether by contract, equity ownership or
otherwise, to direct the policies or management of a Person.
“Agreement”
has
the
meaning set forth in the Preamble.
1
“Applicable
Laws”
means
all laws, statutes, constitutions, rules, regulations, principles of common
law,
resolutions, codes, ordinances, requirements, judgments, orders, decrees,
injunctions, and writs of any Governmental Entity which has, or the Company
believes is reasonably likely to have, jurisdiction over the Company or the
businesses, operations or assets of the Company, as they may be in effect on
or
prior to the Closing.
“Arbitrating
Accountant”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.07(e).
“Backlog”
means
expected revenue committed under signed customer Contracts but not yet
recognized as revenue under GAAP.
“Certificate”
means
a
certificate representing outstanding shares of Company Common
Stock.
“Certificate
of Merger”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.03.
“Charter
Documents”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.01(b).
“Claim
Notice”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
10.04(a).
“Closing”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.03.
“Closing
Cash Consideration”
means
$6,087,500, subject to adjustment pursuant to Section
2.07.
“Closing
Date”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.03.
“Closing
Date Dispute Notice”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.07(b).
“Closing
Date Statement”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.07(b).
“Closing
Stock Consideration”
means
that number of shares of Parent Common Stock equal to the quotient of $4,250,000
divided by the Parent Stock Per Share Price, rounded to the nearest whole
share.
“Code”
means
the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. All references
to
the Code, U.S. Treasury regulations or other governmental pronouncements shall
be deemed to include references to any applicable successor regulations or
amending pronouncement.
“Commercially
Reasonable Efforts” means
the
commercially reasonable efforts that a prudent person desirous of achieving
a
result and having an incentive to and interest in achieving such result would
use in similar circumstances to achieve that result as expeditiously as
reasonably possible.
“Company”
has
the
meaning set forth in the preamble.
“Company
Benefit Plans”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.16(a).
2
“Company
Common Stock”
means
the common stock, no par value per share, of the Company.
“Company
Disclosure Schedule”
has
the
meaning set forth in ARTICLE
IV.
“Company
Material Adverse Effect”
means
any event, circumstance, condition, development or occurrence causing, resulting
in or having (or with the passage of time likely to cause, result in or have)
a
material adverse effect on the business or financial condition of the Company,
taken as a whole; provided, however, that in no event shall any of the following
be deemed to constitute or be taken into account in determining a Company
Material Adverse Effect: any event, circumstance, change or effect that results
from (i) changes affecting the economy or industry generally, (ii) the public
announcement or pending nature of this Agreement and the transactions
contemplated hereunder, or (iii) the Company’s compliance with the terms of this
Agreement.
“Confidential
Information”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.10(h).
“Consents”
means
all consents and approvals of third parties or Governmental Entities, in each
case that are necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated
hereby.
“Continuing
Employees”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
7.10.
“Continuing
Independent Contractors”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
7.10.
“Contract”
means
any written, oral or other agreement, contract, subcontract, settlement
agreement, lease, binding understanding, instrument, note, option, warranty,
purchase order, license, sublicense, insurance policy, benefit plan or legally
binding commitment or undertaking of any nature to which the Company is a party
or by which the Company, or any of its properties or assets, is
bound.
“Contractor
Services Agreement”
means
the Contractor Services Agreement to be entered into by and between Parent
and
each of the Continuing Independent Contractors, in the form attached as
Exhibit
A.
“Damages”
means
any and all claims, demands, suits, proceedings, judgments, losses, charges,
Taxes, penalties and fees, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’
fees and expenses) sustained, suffered or incurred by an Indemnified Party
in
connection with, or related to, any matter which is the subject to the
indemnification provisions hereof, subject to the limitations on indemnification
set forth in Sections
10.02
and
10.03.
“Damages”
shall
not include (i) any incidental, consequential, indirect, special or
punitive damages, (ii) any amount for which reimbursement is received by
Parent, Merger Sub, the Surviving Entity, the Company or a Stockholder, as
the
case may be, pursuant to insurance policies or third-party payments by virtue
of
indemnification or subrogation received by such party, and (iii) shall be
determined net of any tax benefit actually realized by the Indemnified Party
as
a result of the claim.
“Delaware
Secretary”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.03.
“DGCL”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.01.
3
“Effective
Date”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.03.
“Effective
Time”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.03.
“Employee
Benefit Plan”
means
(i) any nonqualified deferred compensation or retirement plan or arrangement
that is an Employee Pension Benefit Plan, (ii) any qualified defined
contribution retirement plan or arrangement that is an Employee Pension Benefit
Plan, (iii) any qualified defined benefit retirement plan or arrangement that
is
an Employee Pension Benefit Plan (including any Multiemployer Plan), (iv) any
Employee Welfare Benefit Plan or fringe benefit plan or program, (v) any profit
sharing, bonus, stock option, stock purchase, consulting, employment, severance
or incentive plan, agreement or arrangement or (vi) any plan, agreement or
arrangement providing benefits related to clubs, vacation, childcare, parenting,
sabbatical or sick leave that is sponsored, maintained or contributed to by
the
Company or any ERISA Affiliate for the benefit of the employees, former
employees, independent contractors or agents of the Company or any ERISA
Affiliate or has been so sponsored, maintained or contributed to at any time
prior to the Closing Date.
“Employee
Pension Benefit Plan”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section 3(2) of ERISA.
“Employee
Welfare Benefit Plan”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section 3(1) of ERISA.
“Environmental
Law”
means
any Applicable Law relating or pertaining to the public health and safety or
the
environment or otherwise governing the generation, use, handling, collection,
treatment, storage, transportation, recovery, recycling, removal, discharge
or
disposal of Hazardous Materials, including (i) the Solid Waste Disposal Act,
42
U.S.C. 6901 et seq., as amended, (ii) the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq., as amended, (iii) the
Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., as amended, (iv) the Clean Air Act,
42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq., as amended, (v) the Toxic Substances Control Act, 15
U.S.C. § 2601 et seq., as amended, (vi) the Emergency Planning and Community
Right To Know Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq., as amended, and (vii) the
Occupational Safety and Health Act, 29 U.S.C. § 651 et seq., as
amended.
“ERISA”
means
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.
“ERISA
Affiliate”
means
any subsidiary or other entity that would be considered a single employer with
the Company or a subsidiary within the meaning of Section 414 of the
Code.
“Escrow
Agent”
means
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
“Escrow
Agreement”
means
the Escrow Agreement to be entered into among Parent, the Representative and
the
Escrow Agent, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit
B,
with
such modifications as may be reasonably acceptable to Parent and the
Representative, as requested by the Escrow Agent.
“Escrowed
Consideration”
means
that number of shares of Parent Common Stock equal to the quotient of
$1,837,500, divided by the Parent Stock Per Share Price, rounded to the nearest
whole share.
4
“Estimated
Closing Date Balance Sheet”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.07(a).
“Estimated
Net Working Capital”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.07(a).
“Estimated
Statement”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.07(a).
“Exchange
Act”
means
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
“Fiduciary”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section 3(21) of ERISA.
“Filing
Date”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
7.03.
“Financial
Statements”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.05.
“GAAP”
means
generally accepted accounting principles.
“Governmental
Entity”
means
any national, state, municipal, local or foreign government, any
instrumentality, subdivision, court, administrative agency or commission or
other governmental authority or instrumentality, or any quasi governmental
or
private body exercising any regulatory, taxing, importing or other governmental
or quasi governmental authority.
“Hazardous
Material”
means
any substance regulated or as to which liability might arise under any
applicable Environmental Law and including, without limitation: (i) any
chemical, compound, material, product, byproduct, substance or waste defined
as
or included in the definition or meaning of “hazardous substance,” “hazardous
material,” “hazardous waste,” “solid waste,” “toxic waste,” “extremely hazardous
substance,” “toxic substance,” “contaminant,” “pollutant,” or words of similar
meaning or import found in any applicable Environmental Law; (ii) petroleum
hydrocarbons, petroleum products, petroleum substances, natural gas, oil, oil
and gas waste, crude oil, and any components, fractions, or derivatives thereof;
and (iii) radioactive materials, asbestos containing materials, polychlorinated
biphenyls or radon.
“Holdback
Amount”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section 2.07(a).
“Indebtedness”
without
duplication, means (i) all indebtedness (including the principal amount thereof
or, if applicable, the accreted amount thereof and the amount of accrued and
unpaid interest thereon) of the Company, whether or not represented by bonds,
debentures, notes or other securities, for the repayment of money borrowed,
whether owing to banks, financial institutions, on equipment leases or
otherwise, (ii) all deferred indebtedness of the Company for the payment of
the
purchase price of property or assets purchased, (iii) all obligations of the
Company to pay rent or other payment amounts under a lease of real or Personal
Property which is required to be classified as a capital lease or a liability
on
the face of a balance sheet prepared in accordance with GAAP, (iv) any
outstanding reimbursement obligation of the Company with respect to letters
of
credit, bankers’ acceptances or similar facilities issued for the account of the
Company, (v) any payment obligation of the Company under any interest rate
swap
agreement, forward rate agreement, interest rate cap or collar agreement or
other financial agreement or arrangement entered into for the purpose of
limiting or managing interest rate risks, (vi) all indebtedness for borrowed
money secured by any Lien existing on property owned by the
5
Company,
whether or not indebtedness secured thereby
shall have been assumed, (vii) all guaranties, endorsements, assumptions and
other contingent obligations of the Company in respect of, or to purchase or
to
otherwise acquire, indebtedness for borrowed money of others, and (viii) all
premiums, penalties and change of control payments required to be paid or
offered in respect of any of the foregoing as a result of the consummation
of
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement regardless if any of such are
actually paid.
“Indemnified
Party”
means
a
Person who is entitled to indemnification pursuant to ARTICLE
X.
“Indemnifying
Party”
means
a
Person hereto who is required to provide indemnification under ARTICLE
X.
“Injunction”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
8.01(b).
“Intellectual
Property”
means
any or all of the following and all rights in, arising out of or associated
therewith: (i) all United States, international and foreign patents and
applications therefor and all reissues, divisions, renewals, extensions,
provisionals, continuations and continuations-in-part thereof, (ii) all
inventions (whether patentable or not), invention disclosures, improvements,
trade secrets, proprietary information, know how, technology, technical data
and
customer lists and all documentation relating to any of the foregoing,
(iii) all copyrights, copyright registrations and applications therefor and
all other rights corresponding thereto throughout the world, (iv) all
Software, (v) all industrial designs and any registrations and applications
therefor throughout the world, (vi) all maskworks and any registrations and
applications therefor throughout the world, (vii) all trade names, logos,
URLs, common law trademarks and service marks, trademark and service xxxx
registrations and applications therefor throughout the world, (viii) all
databases and data collections and all rights therein throughout the world,
(ix) all moral and economic rights of authors and inventors, however
denominated, throughout the world and (x) any similar or equivalent rights
to any of the foregoing anywhere in the world.
“Lease
Agreements”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.09(b).
“Leased
Real Property”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.09(b).
“Letter
of Transmittal”
means
the Letter of Transmittal in the form attached as Exhibit C.
“Licensed
Software”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.10(b).
“Lien”
(or
“Liens”)
means
any pledges, claims, liens, charges, encumbrances, options and security
interests of any kind or nature whatsoever.
“LLC
Sub Merger”
has
the
meaning set forth in the Recitals.
“LLC
Sub”
has
the
meaning set forth in the Recitals.
“Material
Contract”
means
any of the following:
6
(i) Any
Contract that requires or may require future expenditures by the Company in
excess of $75,000
or that
might result in payments to the Company in excess of $75,000;
(ii) Any
Contract to which the Company is a party that is not terminable without penalty
on notice of 60 days or less;
(iii) Each
Lease Agreement and each Contract or other right pursuant to which the Company
uses or possesses any Personal Property (other than Personal Property owned
by
the Company);
(iv) Any
Contract with the Stockholders or any Principal, director or officer of the
Company, or any Affiliate of any of such Persons, including any Contract
providing for the furnishing of services by, rental of real or personal property
from or otherwise requiring payments to any such Person;
(v) Any
Contract relating to the Intellectual Property of the Company, any Third Party
Intellectual Property Rights or any Confidential Information;
(vi) Any
Contract containing any covenant (x) limiting the right of the Company to engage
in any line of business, make use of any Intellectual Property, Third Party
Intellectual Property Rights or any Confidential Information or compete with
any
Person in any line of business, (y) granting any exclusive distribution or
supply rights or (z) otherwise having an adverse effect on the right of the
Company to sell, distribute or manufacture any products or services or to
purchase or otherwise obtain any software, components, parts or
subassemblies;
(vii) Any
Contract between the Company and any current or former employee, consultant
or
director of the Company pursuant to which benefits would vest or amounts would
become payable or the terms of which would otherwise be altered by virtue of
the
consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any other
Transaction Document to which the Company is a party (whether alone or upon
the
occurrence of any additional or subsequent events);
(viii) Any
Contract that requires a consent to a change of control, merger or an assignment
by operation of law, either before or after the Closing Date; or
(ix) Any
other
Contract, or group of Contracts, the termination or breach of which would have,
or would be reasonably expected to have, a Company Material Adverse
Effect.
“Merger”
has
the
meaning set forth in the Recitals.
“Merger
Consideration”
means
the Closing Cash Consideration, the Closing Stock Consideration and the Escrowed
Consideration.
“Merger
Shares”
means
the Closing Stock Consideration and the Escrowed Consideration.
7
“Merger
Sub”
has
the
meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“Multiemployer
Plan”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section 3(37) of ERISA.
“Net
Working Capital”
means
the (i) the sum of (a) cash, (b) accounts receivable, including
accounts receivable related to completed but unbilled work (net of allowances
for doubtful accounts) of the Company and (c) prepaid assets, less
(ii) the liabilities of the Company, all as reflected on the Estimated
Statement, as finally determined by the Closing Date Statement or pursuant
to
the procedures set forth in Section
2.07.
“Net
Working Capital Threshold Amount”
means
$1,545,823.
“Non-Control
Party”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section 10.04(b).
“Owned
Software”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.10(b).
“Parent”
has
the
meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“Parent
Common Stock”
means
the Parent’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share.
“Parent
Disclosure Schedule”
has
the
meaning set forth in ARTICLE
V.
“Parent
Indemnification Basket”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
10.01(a).
“Parent
Indemnified Person”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
10.01(a).
“Parent
Indemnified Taxes”
means
any and all Taxes, (1) imposed on the Company or for which the Company may
be
liable for any Pre-Closing Period and the portion of any Straddle Period ending
on (and including) the Closing Date (determined in accordance with Section
7.08(c),
(2) resulting from the breach of the representations and warranties set
forth in Section
4.08
(determined without regard to any materiality or knowledge qualifiers or any
scheduled items) or covenants set forth in Section
7.08,
(3)
that are social security, medicare, unemployment or other employment Taxes
due
as a result of any payments made to the Stockholders pursuant to this Agreement,
(4) that are Transfer Taxes, (5) of any member of an affiliated, consolidated,
combined or unitary group of which the Company (or any predecessor) is or was
a
member on or prior to the Closing Date by reason of the liability of the Company
pursuant to Treasury Regulation § 1.1502-6(a) or any analogous or similar state,
local or foreign law, or (6) for which the Company may be liable as transferee
or successor, by contract or otherwise. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
“Parent
Indemnified Taxes”
shall
not include any Tax that was included as a liability in the computation of
Net
Working Capital as finally determined based upon the Closing Date
Statement.
“Parent
Material Adverse Effect”
means
any event, circumstance, condition, development or occurrence causing, resulting
in or having (or with the passage of time likely to cause, result in or have)
a
material adverse effect on the business or financial condition of the Parent,
taken as a whole; provided, however, that in no event shall any of the following
be deemed to constitute or be taken into account in determining a Parent
Material Adverse Effect: any event, circumstance, change or effect that results
from (i) changes affecting the economy generally, (ii) the public announcement
or pending nature of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereunder,
or (iii) Parent’s compliance with the terms of this Agreement.
8
“Parent
SEC Filings”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
5.07.
“Parent
Stock Per Share Price”
means
the average closing sale price of one share of Parent Common Stock as reported
on the Nasdaq Global Select Market for the thirty (30) consecutive trading
days
ending on the date that is one (1) trading day immediately preceding the Closing
Date (as adjusted as appropriate to reflect any stock splits, stock dividends,
combinations, reorganizations, reclassifications or similar
events).
“PBGC”
means
the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
“Permits”
means
all licenses, permits, authorizations, certificates, franchises, variances,
waivers, consents and other approvals from any Governmental Entity relating
to
the operation of the Business, other than qualifications to do business as
a
foreign corporation.
“Per
Share Closing Cash Consideration”
means
an amount equal to the quotient of the Closing Cash Consideration divided by
the
total number of shares of Company Common Stock outstanding immediately prior
to
the Effective Time.
“Per
Share Closing Stock Consideration”
means
such number of shares of Parent Common Stock equal to the quotient of the
Closing Stock Consideration divided by the total number of shares of Company
Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, rounded to
the
nearest whole share.
“Per
Share Escrow Stock Distribution Amount”
means
such number of shares of Parent Common Stock equal to the quotient of the
Escrowed Consideration distributed by the Escrow Agent pursuant to the Escrow
Agreement divided by the total number of shares of Company Common Stock
outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time.
“Person”
means
an individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association,
trust, unincorporated organization, or other entity.
“Personal
Property”
means
all of the machinery, equipment, computer hardware, tools, motor vehicles,
furniture, furnishings, leasehold improvements, office equipment, inventories,
supplies, plant, spare parts, and other tangible personal property that is
owned
or leased by the Company and which are used or held for use in its business
or
operations as of the Closing Date.
“Pre-Closing
Period”
means
any Taxable period that ends on or before the Closing Date.
“Principals”
means
Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxx Xxxxxxx, and Xxxx Xxxxxxx.
“Prohibited
Transaction”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the
Code.
“Real
Property”
means
all land, buildings, structures, improvements, and fixtures thereon, together
with all rights of way, easements, privileges, and appurtenances pertaining
or
belonging thereto, that are owned or leased by Company and which are used or
held for use in its business or operations as of the Closing Date.
9
“Registration
Period”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
7.03(a)(ii).
“Registration
Statement”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
7.03(a).
“Representative”
has
the
meaning set forth in the Preamble.
“Requisite
Regulatory Approvals”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
8.01(a).
“Related
Party Transactions”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.20.
“Securities
Act”
means
the Securities Act of 1933.
“Software”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.10(b).
“Stockholders”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.02(a)(ii).
“Stockholder
Indemnitees”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
10.01(b).
“Stock
Restriction Agreement”
means
the Stock Restriction Agreement in the form attached as Exhibit
D.
“Stock
Restriction and Non-Compete Agreement”
means
the Stock Restriction and Non-Compete Agreement in the form attached as
Exhibit
E.
“Straddle
Period”
means
any Taxable period that begins on or before the Closing Date and ends after
the
Closing Date.
“Surviving
Corporation”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
2.01.
“Surviving
Entity”
has
the
meaning set forth in the Recitals.
“Tax”
and
“Taxes”
means
(i) any and all taxes, charges, fees, levies or other assessments, including,
without limitation, all net income, gross income, gross receipts, premium,
sales, use, ad valorem, value added, transfer, franchise, profits, license,
withholding, payroll, employment, excise, estimated, severance, stamp,
occupation, property or other taxes, fees, assessments or charges of any kind
whatsoever, together with any interest and any penalties (including penalties
for failure to file in accordance with applicable information reporting
requirements), and additions to tax by any authority, whether federal, state,
local, domestic or foreign and whether disputed or not and, (ii) any liability
of the Company for the payment of any amounts of the type described in clause
(i) as a result of being a member of an affiliated, consolidated, combined
or
unitary group for any period, as a result of any tax sharing, tax indemnity
or
tax allocation agreement, arrangement or understanding, or as a result of being
liable for another Person’s taxes as a transferee or successor, by contract or
otherwise.
“Tax
Authority”
means
any entity, body, instrumentality, division, bureau or department of any
federal, state or local or any foreign Governmental Authority, or any agent
thereof (third party or otherwise), legally authorized to assess, lien, levy
or
otherwise collect, litigate or administer Taxes.
10
“Tax
Items”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.08(a).
“Tax
Proceeding”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
7.08(d).
“Tax
Reporting Documentation”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
7.09.
“Tax
Return”
means
any report, return, form, declaration or other document or information required
to be supplied to any Tax Authority or any person in connection with Taxes
including any schedules or attachments thereto or any amendment
thereof.
“Third
Party Claim”
means
any claim, action, suit, proceeding, investigation or like matter which is
asserted or threatened by a party other than the parties to this Agreement,
their successors and permitted assigns, against any Indemnified Party or to
which any Indemnified Party is subject.
“Third
Party Intellectual Property Rights”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
4.10(c).
“to
the knowledge of the Company”
has
the
meaning set forth in ARTICLE
IV.
“to
the knowledge of the Parent”
has
the
meaning set forth in ARTICLE
V.
“Transaction
Documents”
means
this Agreement and all other documents to be executed by any of the parties
to
this Agreement in connection with the consummation of the transactions
contemplated in this Agreement.
“Transfer
Taxes”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section
7.08(g).
ARTICLE
II
THE
MERGER
2.01 The
Merger.
Upon the
terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, at the
Effective Time, Merger Sub shall be merged with and into the Company in
accordance with the DGCL. Following the Merger, the Company shall continue
as
the surviving corporation in the Merger (sometimes hereinafter referred
to as
the “Surviving
Corporation”)
and
the
separate corporate existence of Merger Sub shall cease. The corporate existence
of the Company, with all its purposes, rights, privileges, franchise powers
and
objects shall continue unaffected and unimpaired by the Merger and, as
the
Surviving Corporation, it shall be governed by the laws of the State of
Delaware.
2.02 Plan
of Merger.
This
Agreement shall constitute an agreement and plan of merger for purposes
of the
DGCL.
2.03 Effective
Time.
As
promptly as practicable, but in no event later than the third business
day after
all of the conditions set forth in ARTICLE
VIII
shall
have been satisfied or waived by the party or parties entitled to the benefit
of
the same, the Company and Merger Sub shall duly execute and file certificates
of
merger (collectively, the “Certificates
of Merger”)
with
the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware (the “Delaware
Secretary”)
in
accordance with the DGCL. The Merger shall become effective on the date
(the
“Effective
Date”
or
the
“Closing
Date”)
and at
the later of such time (the “Effective
Time”)
as the
Certificates of Merger are filed with the Delaware Secretary or at such
later
date and time as is specified in such Certificates of Merger. Subject to
the
terms and conditions of this Agreement, the closing of the Merger (the
“Closing”)
shall
be held at the offices of Xxxxxx & Xxxxxx L.L.P., Terrace 7, 0000 Xxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 000, Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000 or such other location as the parties
may mutually agree upon.
11
2.04 Effect
of the Merger.
At the
Effective Time, the effect of the Merger shall be as provided herein and
as set
forth in Section 259 of the DGCL. Without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, and subject thereto, at the Effective Time, (a) all the property,
rights, privileges, powers and franchises of Merger Sub and the Company
shall
vest in the Surviving Corporation, (b) all debts, liabilities, obligations,
restrictions, disabilities and duties of Merger Sub and the Company shall
become
the debts, liabilities, obligations, restrictions, disabilities and duties
of
the Surviving Corporation and (c) the Surviving Corporation shall become
a
wholly owned subsidiary of Parent.
2.05 Conversion
of Company Common Stock. At
the
Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part
of
Parent, Merger Sub, the Company or the Stockholders, each issued and outstanding
share of Company Common Stock shall be canceled and extinguished and
automatically convert into the right to receive and be exchangeable for
(a) at
the Effective Time, the Per Share Closing Cash Consideration; (b) at the
Effective Time, the Per Share Closing Stock Consideration, and (c) on each
date any Escrowed Consideration is distributed, the Per Share Escrow Stock
Distribution Amount. Each share of Company Common Stock held in the treasury
of
the Company immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be canceled and
retired without any conversion thereof, and no payment or distribution
shall be
made with respect thereto.
2.06 Conversion
of Merger Sub Stock.
At the
Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part
of
Parent, Merger Sub, or the Company, each share of common stock, par value
$0.001
per share, of Merger Sub issued and outstanding immediately prior to the
Effective Time shall be converted and exchanged for one validly issued,
fully
paid and nonassessable share of common stock, par value $0.001 per share,
of the
Surviving Corporation. The stock certificate evidencing shares of common
stock
of Merger Sub shall then evidence ownership of the outstanding shares of
common
stock of the Surviving Corporation, and after the Effective Time, Parent
shall
be the holder of all the issued and outstanding shares of the common stock
of
the Surviving Corporation.
2.07 Working
Capital Determination.
(a) No
more
than three business days prior to the Closing Date, the Company will prepare
and
deliver to Parent (i) an estimated balance sheet of the Company as of the
Closing Date, together with supporting or back-up schedules and documentation
reasonably requested by Parent (the “Estimated
Closing Date Balance Sheet”)
and
(ii) a calculation and statement of its estimated Net Working Capital as of
the Closing Date calculated from the Estimated Closing Date Balance Sheet
(the
“Estimated
Statement”).
The
Company will prepare
12
the
Estimated Closing Date Balance Sheet and Estimated Statement in good faith
and
all assets, liabilities and other amounts included on the Estimated Statement
shall be determined in accordance with GAAP consistently applied, subject
to
Parent’s good faith review and reasonable satisfaction. If the Net Working
Capital set forth on the Estimated Statement (the “Estimated
Net Working Capital”)
is
less than the Net Working Capital Threshold Amount, then the Closing Cash
Consideration will be reduced by the amount of such deficiency.
If the
Estimated Net Working Capital is more than the Net Working Capital Threshold
Amount, then the Closing Cash Consideration will be increased by the amount
of
such excess, provided that such amount (the “Holdback
Amount”)
shall
be held back by Parent until such time as the Net Working Capital is finally
determined based on the Closing Date Statement pursuant to this Section 2.07.
(b) As
soon
as practicable but in no event later than 90 days following the Closing
Date,
Parent will prepare and deliver to the Representative a calculation and
statement of the Net Working Capital as of the Closing Date (the “Closing
Date Statement”).
Parent will prepare the Closing Date Statement in good faith and all assets,
liabilities and other amounts included on the Closing Date Statement shall
be
determined in accordance with GAAP consistently applied, subject to the
Representative’s good faith review and reasonable satisfaction. To the extent
the Closing Date Statement varies from the Estimated Statement, Parent
will
furnish to Representative with the Closing Date Statement such supporting
or
back-up schedules and documentation as may be reasonably necessary to confirm
such variances. The Principals agree to cooperate with Parent in the preparation
of the Closing Date Statement, including providing Parent with supporting
or
back-up schedules and documentation reasonably requested by Parent. After
delivery of the Closing Date Statement, Representative and his and the
Company’s
accountants shall be granted reasonable access by Parent to the books,
records
and personnel of Parent, the Surviving Corporation and the Surviving Entity
responsible for the preparation of the Closing Date Statement for purposes
of
verifying the accuracy of the calculation and statement of Net Working
Capital
in the Closing Date Statement. The Representative may submit to Parent,
not
later than 15 days from the receipt of the Closing Date Statement from
Parent, a
list of any components of the Closing Date Statement with which the
Representative disagrees, if any (a “Closing
Date Dispute
Notice”),
in
which case the disagreement shall be resolved pursuant to the procedures
set
forth in paragraph (e) below. If the Representative does not issue a Closing
Date Dispute Notice prior to such date, the Closing Date Statement, as
supplied
to the Representative, shall be deemed to have been accepted and agreed
to by
the Representative, and shall be final and binding on the parties to this
Agreement.
(c) If
Net
Working Capital, as finally determined based upon the Closing Date Statement
or
pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section
2.07(e),
is less
than the Estimated Net Working Capital then the amount of such deficiency shall
be released promptly from the Holdback Amount, if any, and paid to Parent.
If
the amount of such deficiency owed to Parent is less than the Holdback
Amount,
the remaining balance of the Holdback Amount shall be distributed to the
Stockholders, pro rata in accordance with their ownership of Company Common
Stock. In the event that the Holdback Amount is insufficient to satisfy
the
amount of such deficiency, the Principals shall immediately tender to Parent,
in
cash, an amount equal to such deficiency, pro rata in accordance with their
ownership of Company Common Stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Parent
may
elect, in its sole discretion, to claim any remaining portion of such shortfall
as Damages pursuant to Section 10.01.
If
Parent so elects, the
13
Representative
and Parent covenant and agree to
jointly instruct the Escrow Agent in writing as soon as reasonably practicable
after the final determination of the Net Working Capital to make any
disbursement required by this Section 2.07(c).
(d) If
the
Net Working Capital, as finally determined based upon the Closing Date
Statement
or pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section
2.07(e),
is
greater than the Estimated Net Working Capital, Parent shall release the
Holdback Amount, if any, and the Closing Cash Consideration will be further
increased by the amount of such additional excess and the Holdback Amount
and
such additional excess shall be distributed to the Representative, for
distribution to the Stockholders, pro rata in accordance with their ownership
of
Company Common Stock.
(e) In
the
event a Closing Date Dispute Notice is timely delivered to Parent by the
Representative, Parent and the Representative shall thereafter for a period
of
up to 30 days negotiate in good faith to resolve any items of dispute.
Any items
of dispute which are not so resolved shall be submitted to an accounting
firm
with whom the Parent and Company have no relationship, who shall serve
as an
arbitrator hereunder (the “Arbitrating
Accountant”).
In
connection with the resolution of any dispute, the Arbitrating Accountant
shall
have access to all documents, records, work papers, facilities and personnel
necessary to perform its function as arbitrator. The Arbitrating Accountant
so
selected shall render a written decision as promptly as practicable, but
in no
event later than 30 days after submission of the matter to the Arbitrating
Accountant. The decision of the Arbitrating Accountant shall be final and
binding upon the parties, and judgment may be entered on such decision
in a
court of competent jurisdiction. To the extent not otherwise provided herein,
the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association
as in
effect at the time of any arbitration shall govern such arbitration in
all
respects. Each
party shall bear its fees and expenses with respect to any proceeding under
this
paragraph, and the fees and expenses of the Arbitrating Accountant in connection
with the resolution of disputes pursuant to this paragraph shall be paid
by the
non-prevailing party, who shall be determined by the Arbitrating
Accountant.
2.08 Escrowed
Consideration. On
or
prior to the Closing, the Representative, Parent and the Escrow Agent shall
enter into the Escrow Agreement. Upon receipt of evidence from the Delaware
Secretary of the filing of the Certificate of Merger, Parent shall deposit
the
Escrowed Consideration with the Escrow Agent to be held in escrow for a
period
of one year from the Closing Date, subject to the provisions of ARTICLE
X.
The
Escrowed Consideration shall be used solely to satisfy Damages, if any,
for
which the Parent Indemnified Persons are entitled to indemnification pursuant
to
ARTICLE
X,
including any payment obligations set forth in Section 2.07(c).
2.09 Certificate
of Incorporation.
Unless
otherwise agreed to by the parties prior to the Effective Time, at and
after the
Effective Time, the Certificate of Incorporation of Merger
Sub shall
be
the Certificate of Incorporation of the Surviving Corporation, until thereafter
amended as provided by law and such Certificate of Incorporation.
2.10 Bylaws.
Unless
otherwise agreed to by the parties prior to the Effective Time, at and
after the
Effective Time, the Bylaws of the
Merger Sub shall
be
the Bylaws of the Surviving Corporation, until thereafter amended as provided
by
law, the Certificate of Incorporation of the Surviving Corporation and
such
Bylaws.
14
2.11 Officers
and Directors.
Unless
otherwise agreed to by the parties prior to the Effective Time, the officers
and
directors of Merger
Sub immediately
prior to the Effective Time shall be the officers and directors of the
Surviving
Corporation immediately after the Effective Time, until thereafter elected
as
provided by law and the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws of the
Surviving
Corporation.
2.12 LLC
Sub Merger.
Immediately following the Effective Time, Parent shall cause the Surviving
Corporation to merge with and into LLC Sub, with LLC Sub continuing as
the
surviving entity in such merger as a direct wholly owned subsidiary of
parent,
substantially in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement (the
“LLC
Sub Merger Agreement”)
attached hereto as Exhibit
F.
From
and after such merger, LLC Sub shall be the Surviving Entity for purposes
of
this Agreement. When the LLC Sub Merger occurs, Parent shall own all the
membership interests and other equity in LLC Sub, and LLC Sub shall be
disregarded as an entity separate from Parent for United States federal
and
applicable state income tax purposes.
ARTICLE
III
PAYMENT
OF MERGER CONSIDERATION
3.01 Exchange
of Shares.
(a) Upon
receipt of evidence from the Delaware Secretary of the filing of the Certificate
of Merger and upon surrender of Certificates representing all issued and
outstanding shares of Company Common Stock to Parent (or affidavits and
bonds
relating thereto in accordance with Section
3.01(c)),
together with a properly completed Letter of Transmittal, Parent shall
deliver
the Closing Cash Consideration and the Closing Stock Consideration to the
Stockholders.
(b) After
the
date of this Agreement, there shall be no transfers on the stock transfer
books
of the Company of the shares of Company Common Stock which were issued
and
outstanding immediately prior to the date hereof.
(c) In
the
event any Certificate shall have been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the
making
of an affidavit of that fact by the Stockholder claiming such Certificate
to be
lost, stolen or destroyed and, if required by Parent, the posting by such
Stockholder of a bond in such amount as Parent may direct as indemnity
against
any claim that may be made against it with respect to such Certificate,
Parent
will deliver in exchange for such lost, stolen or destroyed Certificate,
the
Merger Consideration specified in Section
3.01(a).
3.02 Withholding.
Each of
Parent, Merger Sub, the Company and the Surviving Entity shall be entitled
to
deduct and withhold from the consideration otherwise payable to the Stockholders
pursuant to this Agreement any amounts required to be deducted and withheld
under any provision of federal, foreign, state or local Tax law. If any
of
Parent, Merger Sub, the Company and the Surviving Entity so withholds amounts
and such amount is paid to the applicable taxing authority on any Stockholder’s
behalf, such amounts shall be treated for all purposes of this Agreement
as
having been paid to the Stockholder from whom such deduction or withholding
was
made.
15
ARTICLE
IV
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
AND PRINCIPALS
The
Company and each Principal hereby, jointly and severally represent and
warrant
to Parent and Merger Sub that the statements contained below are true and
correct, except as set forth in the disclosure schedule or any supplemental
disclosure letter (the “Company
Disclosure Schedule”)
delivered by the Company and the Principals to Parent and Merger Sub, on
the
date hereof and as of the Effective Date. The disclosures in any section
or
subsection of the Company Disclosure Schedule shall qualify other sections
and
subsections in this ARTICLE
IV
where it
should be reasonably apparent that such disclosure relates to other such
sections and subsections. When used herein, the term “to
the knowledge of the Company”
shall
mean the actual knowledge of one or more of the Principals after having
conducted a commercially reasonable inquiry.
4.01 Organizational
Matters.
(a) Organization,
Standing and Power to Conduct Business.
The
Company is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing
under the laws of the State of Delaware; has the requisite power and authority
to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on its business as
now
being conducted; and is duly qualified and in good standing to do business
in
each jurisdiction in which the nature of the Company’s business and operations
or the character or location of the properties and assets owned by it and
used
in the Company’s business and operations makes such qualification necessary,
which jurisdictions are set forth on Schedule
4.01(a)
and such
jurisdictions are the only jurisdictions in which the nature of its business
or
operations or the ownership or leasing of its properties and assets makes
such
qualification necessary,
except
where failure to be so qualified could not reasonably be expected to result
in a
Company Material Adverse Effect.
(b) Charter
Documents.
The
Company has delivered to the Parent true and complete copies of the certificate
of incorporation and bylaws of the Company, in each case as amended to
date and
currently in effect (such instruments and documents, the “Charter
Documents”).
The
Company is not in violation of any of the provisions of its Charter
Documents.
(c) No
Subsidiaries.
Except
as set forth on Schedule
4.01(c),
the
Company does not own, hold or have any interest in any capital stock of
or other
equity interests in, or rights or obligations to acquire capital stock
of or
other equity interests in, any Person, nor is the Company a general partner
of
any partnership, a member or manager of any limited liability company or
in any
similar function with respect to any Person.
(d) Powers
of Attorney.
There
are no outstanding powers of attorney executed by or on behalf of the
Company.
16
4.02 Capital
Structure.
(a) Capital
Stock.
(i) The
authorized capital stock of the Company consists of 1,500 shares of Company
Common Stock.
(ii) At
the
date hereof, (A) there are 4,464.8116
shares
of Company Common Stock issued and outstanding, all of which are owned
by the
holders and in the amounts as set forth on Schedule
4.02
(the
“Stockholders”)
and
(B) there are no other issued or outstanding shares of capital stock of the
Company. All of the issued and outstanding shares of Company Common Stock
are
held beneficially and of record by the Stockholders free and clear of all
Liens.
All of such Company Common Stock has been duly authorized and validly issued
and
is fully paid, non-assessable and not subject to any preemptive
rights.
(iii) Except
as
set forth in Schedule
4.02(a)(iii),
no
shares of Company Common Stock or other capital stock of the Company are
held as
treasury stock or are owned by the Company. No
shares
of Company Common Stock are held of record or beneficially by any Person
other
than the Stockholders. No Person will be entitled to receive a portion
of the
consideration hereunder, or any other payment or consideration as a result
of
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any other Transaction
Document, other than the Stockholders.
(b) Other
Securities.
Except
for the shares of Company Common Stock held by the Stockholders, and except
as
set forth on Schedule
4.02(b),
there
are no capital stock or other securities, options, warrants, calls, rights,
commitments, agreements, arrangements or undertakings of any kind to which
the
Company is a party or by which it is bound obligating the Company to
(i) issue, deliver or sell, or cause to be issued, delivered or sold,
shares of capital stock or other voting securities of the Company,
(ii) issue, grant, extend or enter into any such security, option, warrant,
call, right, commitment, agreement, arrangement or undertaking or
(iii) issue or distribute to holders of any shares of capital stock of the
Company any evidences of indebtedness or assets of the Company. Except
as set
forth on Schedule
4.02(b),
the
Company is not under any obligation to purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire
any
shares of its capital stock or any interest therein or to pay any dividend
or
make any other distribution with respect thereto.
(c) No
Agreements.
There
are no agreements, written or oral, between the Company and any Stockholder
relating to the acquisition (including rights of first refusal or preemptive
rights), disposition, registration under the Securities Act, or voting
of the
capital stock of the Company.
(d) Compliance
with Laws.
All
issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been
issued
in compliance with all applicable securities laws and all other Applicable
Laws.
4.03 Authority
and Due Execution.
(a) Authority.
The
Company has all requisite corporate power and authority to enter into this
Agreement and the other Transaction Documents to which it is a party, to
perform
its obligations hereunder and thereunder and to consummate the transactions
contemplated hereby or thereby. The execution, delivery and performance
of this
Agreement and the other Transaction Documents to which the Company is a
party by
the Company,
17
and
the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby
and
thereby, have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on
the part
of the Company and no other corporate proceedings on the part of the Company
are
necessary to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of this
Agreement
and the other Transaction Documents by the Company or to consummate the
transactions contemplated hereby or thereby. The execution and delivery
of this
Agreement by each Principal, the performance by each Principal of their
respective obligations hereunder and the consummation by each Principal
of the
transactions contemplated hereby have been duly authorized by all requisite
action on the part of each Principal.
(b) Due
Execution.
This
Agreement and each other Transaction Document to which the Company is a
party
have been duly executed and delivered by the Company and, assuming due
execution
and delivery by the Parent and other parties hereto and thereto, constitute
the
valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company
in
accordance with their terms, subject to the effect of any applicable bankruptcy,
reorganization, insolvency (including, without limitation, all laws relating
to
fraudulent transfers), moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights
and remedies generally and subject, as to enforceability, to the effect
of
general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability
is
considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).
This
Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by each Principal and constitutes
a legal, valid and binding obligation of each Principal enforceable against
each
of them in accordance with its terms, subject to the effect of any applicable
bankruptcy, reorganization, insolvency (including, without limitation,
all laws
relating to fraudulent transfers), moratorium or similar laws affecting
creditors’ rights and remedies generally and subject, as to enforceability, to
the effect of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such
enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).
4.04 Non-Contravention
and Consents.
(a) Non-Contravention.
The
execution and delivery of this Agreement and each other Transaction Document
by
the Company does not, and the performance of this Agreement and each other
Transaction Document by the Company will not, (i) conflict with or violate
the Charter Documents of the Company, (ii) conflict with or violate any
Applicable Laws or (iii) result in any breach or violation of or constitute
a default (or any event that with notice or lapse of time or both would
constitute a default) under, or impair the rights of the Company or alter
the
rights or obligations of any third party under, or give to others any rights
of
termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation of, or result in the
creation of a Lien on any of the properties or assets of the Company pursuant
to, any Material Contract.
(b) Contractual
Consents.
Except
as set forth on Schedule 4.04(b),
no
Consent under any Contract is required to be obtained in connection with
the
execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement or any other Transaction
Document by the Company or the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby or thereby.
18
(c) Governmental
Consents.
Other
than the filing of the Certificates of Merger, no Consent of any Governmental
Entity is required to be obtained or made by the Company in connection
with the
execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement or any other Transaction
Document by the Company or the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby or thereby.
4.05 Financial
Statements.
The
Company has delivered to the Parent its unaudited financial statements
(consisting of a balance sheet, statement of operations and statement of
cash
flows) for the year ended December 31, 2006 and for each of the three-month
periods ended March 31, 2006, June 30, 2006, September 30, 2006 and
December 31, 2006 (collectively, the “Financial
Statements”).
The
Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP (except
that the
quarterly Financial Statements do not contain all notes required by GAAP
and are
subject to normal year end adjustments which are not material in amount
or
significance in the aggregate) consistently applied and in accordance with
historic past practices throughout the periods involved and fairly present
the
financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Company
as of
the dates, and for the periods, indicated therein. Except as set forth
in the
Financial Statements, the Company has no material liabilities, contingent
or
otherwise, other than (a) liabilities incurred in the ordinary course of
business subsequent to the date of the most recent Financial Statements
and
(b) obligations under contracts and commitments incurred in the ordinary
course of business and not required under GAAP to be reflected in the Financial
Statements, which, in both cases, are not material to the financial condition
or
operating results of the Company.
None of
the assets of the Company secure the guaranty or indemnification of any
indebtedness of any other Person.
4.06 Indebtedness.
The
Company does not have any Indebtedness of any type (whether accrued, absolute,
contingent, matured, unmatured or other and whether or not required to
be
reflected in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP) that
is not
fully reflected on Schedule 4.06.
Schedule 4.06
lists
each item of Indebtedness identifying the creditor including name and address,
the type of instrument under which the Indebtedness is owed and the amount
of
the Indebtedness as of the business day immediately prior to the date hereof.
With respect to each item of Indebtedness, the Company is not in default,
no
payments are past due, and to the knowledge of the Company, no circumstance
exists that, with notice, the passage of time or both, could constitute
a
default by the Company under any item of Indebtedness. The Company has
not
received any notice of a default, alleged failure to perform or any offset
or
counterclaim with respect to any item of Indebtedness that has not been
fully
remedied and withdrawn. The consummation of the transactions contemplated
by
this Agreement or any other Transaction Document to which the Company is
a party
will not cause a default, breach or an acceleration, automatic or otherwise,
of
any conditions, covenants or any other terms of any item of Indebtedness.
The
Company is not a guarantor or otherwise liable for any liability or obligation
(including indebtedness) of any other Person.
4.07 Litigation.
There is
no claim, action, suit or proceeding, or governmental inquiry or investigation,
pending, or to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against the Company
or
any Principal, nor to the knowledge of the Company is there any basis for
any
such claim, action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation. There is
no
judgment, decree or order against the Company. Schedule 4.07
lists
all litigation that the Company has pending or threatened against other
parties.
19
4.08 Taxes.
(a) (i) Except
as set forth on Schedule
4.08(a),
all Tax
Returns which were required to be filed by or with respect to the Company
have
been duly and timely filed, (ii) all items of income, gain, loss, deduction
and credit or other items (“Tax
Items”)
required to be included in each such Tax Return have been so included and
all
such Tax Items and any other information provided in each such Tax Return
is
true, correct and complete, (iii) all Taxes owed by the Company which are
or have become due have been timely paid in full, (iv) no penalty, interest
or other charge is or will become due with respect to the late filing of
any
such Tax Return or late payment of any such Tax, (v) all Tax withholding
and deposit requirements imposed on or with respect to the Company have
been
satisfied in full in all respects, (vi) there are no Liens on any of the
assets of the Company that arose in connection with any failure (or alleged
failure) to pay any Tax, and (vii) the Company is not liable for any Tax as
a transferee or successor.
(b) Schedule
4.08(b)
lists
all federal, state, local and foreign income Tax Returns filed with respect
to
the Company for the five (5) taxable years ending prior to the Closing
Date, indicates those Tax Returns that have been audited, indicates those
Tax
Returns that are currently the subject of audit, and indicates those Tax
Returns
whose audits have been closed.
(c) There
is
no claim against the Company for any Taxes, and no assessment, deficiency
or
adjustment has been asserted, proposed, or, to the knowledge of the Company,
threatened with respect to any Tax Return of or with respect to the Company,
other than those disclosed on Schedule
4.08(c).
(d) Schedule
4.08(d)
lists
all jurisdictions to which any Tax is properly payable by the Company.
Except as
set forth in Schedule
4.08(d),
no
claim has ever been made by an authority in a jurisdiction where the Company
does not file Tax Returns that it is or may be subject to taxation in that
jurisdiction.
(e) Except
as
set forth Schedule
4.08(e),
there
is not in force any extension of time with respect to the due date for
the
filing of any Tax Return of or with respect to the Company or any waiver
or
agreement for any extension of time for the assessment or payment of any
Tax of
or with respect to the Company.
(f) There
are
no Tax allocation, sharing or indemnity agreements or arrangements affecting
the
Company. No payments are due or will become due by the Company pursuant
to any
such agreement or arrangement.
(g) Except
as
set forth on Schedule
4.08(g),
none of
the property of the Company is held in an arrangement that could be classified
as a partnership for Tax purposes, and the Company does not own any interest
in
any controlled foreign corporation (as defined in section 957 of the Code),
passive foreign investment company (as defined in section 1297 of the Code)
or other entity the income of which is or could be required to be included
in
the income of the Company.
20
(h) None
of
the property of the Company is subject to a safe-harbor lease (pursuant
to
section 168(f)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 as in effect after
the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and before the Tax Reform Act of
1986) or
is “tax-exempt use property” (within the meaning of section 168(h) of the
Code) or “tax-exempt bond financed property” (within the meaning of
section 168(g)(5) of the Code).
(i) The
Company (or the Surviving Entity as successor to the Company by merger)
will not
be required to include any amount in income for any taxable period ending
after
the Closing Date as a result of a change in accounting method for any taxable
period beginning on or before the Closing Date or pursuant to any agreement
with
any Tax authority with respect to any such taxable period. The Surviving
Entity,
as successor to the Company by merger, will not be required to include
in any
period ending after the Closing Date any income that accrued in a prior
period
but was not recognized in any prior period as a result of the installment
method
of accounting, the completed contract method of accounting, the long-term
contract method of accounting or the cash method of accounting.
(j) The
Company does not have any liability for the Taxes of any Person under Treasury
Regulations Section 1.1502-6 (or any corresponding provisions of state,
local or foreign Tax law), or as a transferee or successor, or by contract
or
otherwise. The Company is not and has never been a member of an affiliated,
consolidated, combined or unitary group filing for federal or state income
tax
purposes.
(k) The
Company has not entered into any agreement or arrangement with any Taxing
Authority that requires the Company (or any successor by merger) to take
any
action or to refrain from taking any action. The Company is not a party
to any
agreement with any Taxing Authority that would be terminated or adversely
affected as a result of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
(l) To
the
extent applicable, the Company has properly and in a timely manner documented
its transfer pricing methodology in compliance with Section 6662(e) (and
any related sections) of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated
thereunder and any comparable provisions of state, local, domestic or foreign
Tax law.
(m) The
Company has not participated, within the meaning of Treasury Regulations
Section 1.6011-4(c), in (i) any
“reportable transaction” within the meaning of Section 6011 of the Code and
the Treasury Regulations thereunder, (ii) any
“confidential corporate tax shelter” within the meaning of Section 6111 of
the Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder, or (iii) any
“potentially abusive tax shelter” within the meaning of Section 6112 of the
Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder. The Company has disclosed
on its
Tax Returns all positions taken therein that could give rise to a substantial
understatement of Tax within the meaning of Section 6662 of the Code (or
any similar provision of state, local or foreign law).
(n) For
the
purpose of this Section
4.08,
references to the Company shall be deemed to include any predecessor thereof
or
any Person from which the Company incurs a liability for Taxes as a result
of
transferee liability.
21
4.09 Title
to Property and Assets.
(a) The
Company has good and marketable title to, or valid leasehold interests
in, all
Personal Property owned, held or used by the Company. Such Personal Property
constitutes all Personal Property necessary or useful to conduct the business
of
the Company as it is presently conducted. None of such Personal Property
is
owned by any other Person without a valid and enforceable right of the
Company
to use and possess such Personal Property. None of such Personal Property
is
subject to any Lien of any nature whatsoever.
(b) The
Company does not own any real property, nor has the Company ever owned
any real
property. Schedule
4.09(b)
sets
forth a list of all real property currently leased by the Company or otherwise
used or occupied by the Company (the “Leased
Real Property”),
the
name of the lessor, the date of the lease and each amendment thereto and
the
aggregate annual rental payable under any such lease. The Company has delivered
to the Parent true and complete copies of all leases, lease guaranties,
subleases or other agreements for the leasing, use or occupancy of, or
otherwise
granting a right in or relating to, the Leased Real Property, including
all
amendments, terminations and modifications thereof (the “Lease
Agreements”).
The
consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any
other
Transaction Document to which the Company is a party will not affect the
rights
of the Company to the continued use and possession of the Leased Real Property.
To the knowledge of the Company, the Leased Real Property is in good operating
condition and repair, free from structural, physical and mechanical defects,
is
maintained in a manner consistent with standards generally followed with
respect
to similar properties and is structurally sufficient and otherwise suitable
for
the conduct of the business as presently conducted.
(c) Schedule
4.09(c)
lists
all material items of equipment owned or leased by the Company. Such equipment
is adequate for the conduct of the business of the Company as currently
conducted and in good operating condition, regularly and property maintained,
subject to normal wear and tear.
(d) The
Company has sole and exclusive ownership, free and clear of any Liens,
or the
valid right to use, unrestricted by contract, all customer lists, customer
contact information, customer correspondence and customer licensing and
purchasing histories relating to current and former customers of the Company.
No
Person other than the Company possesses any licenses, claims or rights
with
respect to the use of any such customer information owned by the
Company.
4.10 Intellectual
Property.
(a) The
Company owns, is licensed or otherwise possesses legally transferable and
enforceable rights to use all Intellectual Property which is necessary
for the
conduct of, or used in, the business of the Company as presently conducted,
and
such rights will not be adversely affected by the consummation of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any other Transaction Document
to
which the Company is a party. The Company has not licensed any of its
Intellectual Property, including in source code form, to any party or entered
into any exclusive or non-exclusive licenses or agreements relating to
any of
its Intellectual Property with any party.
22
(b) Schedule
4.10(b)
sets
forth a true, correct and complete list of (i) all computer programs
(source code or object code) owned by the Company (collectively, the
“Owned
Software”),
and
(ii) all computer programs (source code or object code) licensed to the
Company by any third party (other than any off-the-shelf computer program
that
is so licensed under a shrink wrap license) that is material to the business
of
the Company (collectively, the “Licensed
Software”
and,
together with the Owned Software, the “Software”).
The
Company has good, marketable and exclusive title to, and the valid and
enforceable power and unqualified right to sell, license, lease, transfer,
use
or otherwise exploit, all versions and releases of the Owned Software and
all
copyrights thereof, free and clear of all Liens. The Company is in actual
possession of the source code and object code for each computer program
included
in the Owned Software. The Company is in actual possession of the object
code
and user manuals (if any) for each computer program included in the Licensed
Software. No person other than the Company has any right or interest of
any kind
or nature in or with respect to the Owned Software or any portion thereof
or any
rights to sell, license, lease, transfer, use or otherwise exploit the
Owned
Software or any portion thereof.
(c) Schedule 4.10(c)
sets
forth a true and complete list of (i) all patents and patent applications,
all registered and unregistered trademarks, tradenames, service marks and
copyrights and all maskworks included in the Intellectual Property of the
Company, showing the jurisdictions in which each such Intellectual Property
right has been issued or registered or in which any application for such
issuance or registration has been filed, (ii) all licenses, sublicenses and
other agreements to which the Company is a party and pursuant to which
any
person is authorized to use any Intellectual Property of the Company and
(iii) all third party patents, trademarks or copyrights including Licensed
Software (collectively, “Third
Party Intellectual Property Rights”)
that
are incorporated in, are or form a part of any product or service offering
of
the Company, including products or service offerings that are currently
under
development,
and the
Company has entered into legally enforceable licenses, sublicenses or other
agreements authorizing the use of such Third Party Intellectual Property
Rights
by the Company, each of which is listed on Schedule
4.10(c).
(d) To
the
knowledge of the Company, there is no, and there never has been any,
unauthorized use, disclosure, infringement or misappropriation, or any
allegation made thereof, of any Intellectual Property rights of the Company
by
any third party, including any employee or former employee of the Company.
To
the knowledge of the Company, there is no, and there never has been any,
unauthorized use, disclosure, infringement or misappropriation, or any
allegation made thereof, of any Intellectual Property rights of any third
party
by the Company or by any employee of the Company. There is no, and there
never
has been any, unauthorized use, disclosure, infringement or misappropriation
of
any Third Party Intellectual Property Rights by the Company, by any employee
of
the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, by any former employee
of the
Company. The Company has not entered into any agreement to indemnify any
other
person against any charge of infringement of any Intellectual Property
or Third
Party Intellectual Property Rights.
(e) The
Company is not or, as a result of the execution, delivery or performance
of this
Agreement or any other Transaction Document by the Company or the consummation
of any transaction contemplated hereby or thereby, will not be in breach
of any
license, sublicense or other agreement relating to the Intellectual Property or
Third Party Intellectual Property Rights.
23
(f) All
patents, registered trademarks, service marks and copyrights held by the
Company
are valid and subsisting. The Company (i) has not been sued in any action,
suit or proceeding that involves, nor has it otherwise been notified of,
an
objection or claim of infringement of any of its Intellectual Property
or any
patents, trademarks, service marks or copyrights or violation of any trade
secret or other proprietary right of any third party, (ii) has no knowledge
that the manufacturing, marketing, licensing or sale of its products or
service
offerings infringes, or is claimed to infringe, any patent, trademark,
service
xxxx, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary right of any third party
and
(iii) has not brought any action, suit or proceeding for infringement of
Intellectual Property or breach of any license or agreement involving
Intellectual Property against any third party.
(g) The
Company has secured valid written assignments from all Persons who contributed
to the creation or development of the Intellectual Property of the Company
of
the rights to such contributions that are not already owned by the Company
by
operation of law.
(h) The
Company has taken all commercially reasonable steps to protect and preserve
the
confidentiality of all Intellectual Property of the Company not otherwise
protected by patents, patent applications or copyright (collectively,
“Confidential
Information”).
All
use, disclosure or appropriation of Confidential Information owned by the
Company by or to a third party has been pursuant to the terms of a written
agreement between the Company and such third party. All use, disclosure,
or
appropriation of Confidential Information not owned by the Company has
been
pursuant to the terms of a written agreement between the Company and the
owner
of such Confidential Information or is otherwise lawful.
4.11 Accounts
Receivable. Schedule
4.11
sets
forth a list of all accounts receivable of the Company as of the date of
this
Agreement, with a range of days elapsed since the invoice date for each
such
account receivable, and the aggregate amount of reserves or allowances
for
doubtful accounts, and all completed but unbilled services of the Company
as of
January 31, 2007 on a project-by-project basis. All such accounts receivable
are
bona fide, arose in the ordinary course of business and are collectible
in the
book amounts thereof, less the allowance for doubtful accounts and returns
which
are adequate and have been determined in accordance with GAAP and consistent
with the past practices of the Company as reflected in the Financial Statements.
None of such accounts receivable is subject to any material claim of offset
or
recoupment or counterclaim, subject to allowances and accruals for bad
debt as
reflected in the Financial Statements, and the Company has no knowledge
of any
specific facts that would reasonably be expected to give rise to any such
claim.
No material amount of such accounts receivable is contingent upon the
performance by the Company of any obligation which will not have been performed
by the Company prior to the Closing. No agreement for deduction or discount
with
respect to any such accounts receivable has been made with any third party.
No
Person has any Lien on any of such accounts receivable, and no request
or
agreement for deduction or discount has been made with respect to any of
such
accounts receivable.
24
4.12 Compliance;
Permits.
(a) Compliance.
The
Company is not in conflict with, or in default or in violation of, any
Applicable Laws, which would result in a Company Material Adverse Effect.
No
investigation or review by any Governmental Entity is pending, or to the
knowledge of the Company, has been threatened, against the Company. There
is no
agreement, commitment, judgment, injunction, order or decree by or with
any
Governmental Entity binding upon the Company.
(b) Permits.
The
Company holds, to the extent required by Applicable Law, all Permits for
the
operation of the business of the Company as presently conducted. Schedule
4.12(b)
is a
complete list of all such Permits. No suspension or cancellation of any
such
Permit is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, and
the
Company is in compliance in all material respects with the terms of such
Permits.
4.13 Brokers’
and Finders’ Fees.
Except
for the fees, expenses and costs of Strategic Advisors Enterprises (all
of which
shall have been paid by the Company prior to Closing, or, to the extent
not so
paid, shall appear on the Estimated Statement), the Company has not incurred,
nor will it incur, directly or indirectly, any liability for brokerage
or
finders’ fees or agents’ commissions or any similar charges in connection with
this Agreement or any other Transaction Document to which the Company is
a party
or any transaction contemplated hereby or thereby.
4.14 Restrictions
on Business Activities.
Neither
the Company nor any Principal has entered into any agreement under which
the
Company is, or the Parent, the Surviving Entity or any of their subsidiaries
after the Closing would reasonably be expected to be, restricted from selling,
licensing or otherwise distributing any of its technology or products or
from
providing services to customers or potential customers or any class of
customers, in any geographic area, during any period of time or in any
segment
of any market.
4.15 Employment
Matters.
(a) To
the
knowledge of the Company, without inquiry or investigation, no employee
or
independent contractor has any plan or intention to terminate employment
with
the Company. Schedule
4.15(a)
contains
a true and complete list of all persons employed by the Company, including
the
respective dates of hire of each, a description of material compensation
arrangements (other than employee benefit plans set forth in Schedule
4.16),
a list
of other terms of any and all material agreements affecting such persons,
and
whether such person is classified as exempt or non-exempt, whether each
such
person is actively at work or on inactive or leave status, the reason for
such
inactive or leave status, the date the inactive or leave status started,
and the
anticipated date of such person’s return to work from such inactive or leave
status.
(b) Except
as
set forth on Schedule
4.15(b),
none of
the employees of the Company are party to or are bound by any agreement
or
commitment, or subject to any restriction, including agreements related
to
previous employment, containing confidentiality, non-compete or similar
restrictive covenants, which now or in the future may adversely affect
the
business of the Company or the Surviving Entity or the performance by any
of the
Continuing Employees of their duties for the Surviving Entity. No employee
of
the Company is
25
in
default under any agreement set forth on Schedule
4.15(b)
to which
such employee is a party and no fact or circumstance exists that, with
notice,
the passage of time or both, could constitute a default under any such
agreement. No employee of the Company party to an agreement set forth on
Schedule
4.15(b)
has
received any notice of default or alleged failure to comply with such agreement.
The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company
does
not and shall not conflict with, breach, violate or cause a default under
any
agreement, contract or instrument to which any employee of the Company
is a
party to or bound by or any judgment, order or decree to which any employee
of
the Company is subject.
(c) None
of
the employees of the Company is represented by a labor union, and the Company
is
not subject to any collective bargaining or similar agreement with respect
to
any of its employees. There is no labor dispute, strike, work stoppage
or other
labor trouble (including any organizational drive) against the Company
pending
or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(d) None
of
the Company, nor to the knowledge of the Company, any employee or representative
of the Company, has committed or engaged in any unfair labor practice in
connection with the conduct of the business of the Company, and there is
no
action, suit, claim, charge or complaint against the Company pending or,
to the
knowledge of the Company, threatened or reasonably anticipated relating
to any
labor, safety or discrimination matters involving any employee of the Company,
including charges of unfair labor practices or discrimination
complaints.
4.16 Employee
Benefit Plans.
(a) Schedule
4.16
lists
each Employee Benefit Plan that the Company or any ERISA Affiliate maintains
or
to which the Company or any ERISA Affiliate contributes or is a participating
employer (collectively, the “Company
Benefit Plans”).
With
respect to each Company Benefit Plan, the Company has delivered to the
Parent
true and complete copies of the plan documents and summary plan descriptions,
the most recent determination letter (or opinion letter) received from
the
Internal Revenue Service, the most recent Form 5500 Annual Report, the most
recent actuarial reports (including any estimates of retiree medical
liabilities), the most recent PBGC Form 1 and all related trust agreements,
insurance contracts and other funding agreements associated with such Company
Benefit Plan.
(b) With
respect to each Company Benefit Plan (and each related trust, insurance
contract
or fund), no event has occurred and there exists no condition or set of
circumstances, in connection with which the Company or any ERISA Affiliate
would
be subject to any liability under ERISA, the Code or any other Applicable
Law.
(c) Each
Company Benefit Plan (and each related trust, insurance contract or fund)
has
been administered and operated in accordance with the terms of the applicable
controlling documents and with the applicable provisions of ERISA, the
Code and
all other Applicable Laws. Each Company Benefit Plan (including any material
amendments thereto) that is capable of approval by, or registration for
or
qualification for special tax status with, the appropriate taxation, social
security or supervisory authorities in the relevant jurisdiction has received
such approval, registration or qualification or there remains a period
of time
in which to obtain such approval, registration or qualification retroactive
to
the date of any material amendment that has not previously received such
approval, registration or qualification.
26
(d) All
required reports, descriptions and disclosures have been filed or distributed
appropriately with respect to each Company Benefit Plan. The requirements
of
Part 6 of Subtitle B of Title I of ERISA and of
Section 4980B of the Code have been met with respect to each Employee
Welfare Benefit Plan that is a group health plan.
(e) All
contributions (including all employer contributions and employee salary
reduction contributions) that are due and owing have been paid to each
Company
Benefit Plan (or related trust or held in the general assets of the Company
or
one or more ERISA Affiliates or accrued, as appropriate), and all contributions
for any period ending on or before the Closing Date that are not yet due
have
been paid to each Company Benefit Plan or accrued in accordance with the
past
custom and practice of the Company and the ERISA Affiliates. All premiums
or
other payments for all periods ending on or before the Closing Date have
been
paid with respect to each Company Benefit Plan that is an Employee Welfare
Benefit Plan.
(f) Each
Company Benefit Plan that is an Employee Pension Benefit Plan and that
is
intended to meet the requirements of a “qualified plan” under
Section 401(a) of the Code meets such requirements and has either received
or applied for (or has time remaining to apply for) a favorable determination
letter (or, in the case of a prototype plan, an opinion letter) from the
Internal Revenue Service within the applicable remedial amendment
periods.
(g) With
respect to each Company Benefit Plan, subject to the minimum funding
requirements of Section 412 of the Code or Title IV of
ERISA:
(i) The
Company or an ERISA Affiliate has paid all premiums (and interest charges
and
penalties for late payment, as applicable) due and owing the PBGC with
respect
to such Company Benefit Plan and each plan year thereof for which such
premiums
are required;
(ii) There
has
been no “reportable event” (as defined in Section 4043(b) of ERISA and the
regulations of the PBGC thereunder) for which the thirty (30)-day notice is
not waived;
(iii) The
termination of, or withdrawal from, any Company Benefit Plan on or prior
to the
Closing Date has not and will not subject the Company or any ERISA Affiliate
to
any liability to the PBGC or any other Person;
(iv) No
filing
has been made by the Company or any ERISA Affiliate with the PBGC (and
no
proceeding has been commenced by the PBGC) to terminate any Company Benefit
Plan;
(v) No
amendment has occurred that has required the Company or any ERISA Affiliate
to
provide security to any Company Benefit Plan under Section 401(a)(29) of
the Code;
27
(vi) All
installment contributions required pursuant to Section 412(m) of the Code
have been paid by the Company or one or more ERISA Affiliates before the
due
date for such contribution as set forth in Section 412(m) of the Code for
each Company Benefit Plan;
(vii) No
partial termination has occurred prior to the Closing Date or is reasonably
expected to occur thereafter; and
(viii) The
assets of such Company Benefit Plan equal or exceed the actuarial present
value
of the benefit liabilities, within the meaning of Section 4041 of ERISA,
under the plan, based upon reasonable actuarial assumptions and the asset
valuation principles established by the PBGC.
(h) Each
trust intended to be exempt from federal income taxation pursuant to
Section 501(c)(9) of the Code that is part of any Company Benefit Plan
satisfies the requirements of such section and has received a favorable
determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service regarding such exempt
status and has not, since receipt of the most recent favorable determination
letter, been amended or operated in a way that would adversely affect such
exempt status.
(i) Neither
the Company nor any ERISA Affiliate maintains or contributes to, nor has
the
Company or any ERISA Affiliate ever maintained or contributed to, any Employee
Welfare Benefit Plan providing medical, health or life insurance or other
welfare-type benefits for current or future retired or terminated employees,
their spouses or their dependents (other than in accordance with
Section 4980B of the Code) that cannot be unilaterally terminated by the
Company or an ERISA Affiliate.
(j) Neither
the Company nor any ERISA Affiliate, nor to the knowledge of the Company,
any
employee or representative of the Company or any ERISA Affiliate, has made
any
oral or written representation or commitment with respect to any aspect
of any
Company Benefit Plan that is not in accordance with the written or otherwise
preexisting terms and provisions of such Company Benefit Plan. Neither
the
Company nor any ERISA Affiliate has entered into any agreement, arrangement
or
understanding, whether written or oral, with any trade union, works council
or
other employee representative body or any number or category of its employees
that would prevent, restrict or impede the implementation of any lay-off,
redundancy, severance or similar program within its or their respective
workforces (or any part of them).
(k) There
are
no unresolved claims or disputes under the terms of, or in connection with,
any
Company Benefit Plan (other than routine undisputed claims for benefits),
and no
action, legal or otherwise, has been commenced with respect to any such
claim or
dispute.
(l) With
respect to each Company Benefit Plan that the Company or any ERISA Affiliate
maintains or ever has maintained or to which any of them contributes or
has ever
contributed:
(i) There
have been no Prohibited Transactions with respect to any such Company Benefit
Plan that would subject the Company or any ERISA Affiliate to a tax or
penalty
imposed pursuant to Section 4975 of the Code or Section 502(c), (i) or
(l) of ERISA.
28
(ii) Neither
the Company nor any ERISA Affiliate (by way of indemnification, directly
or
otherwise) nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any Fiduciary has any
liability
for breach of fiduciary duty or any failure to act or comply in connection
with
the administration or investment of the assets of any Company Benefit
Plan.
(iii) No
action, suit, proceeding, hearing or investigation with respect to the
administration or the investment of the assets of any Company Benefit Plan
(other than routine claims for benefits) is pending or, to the knowledge
of the
Company, threatened, and to the knowledge of the Company, there is no basis
for
any such action, suit, proceeding, hearing or investigation.
(iv) Neither
the Parent nor the Company has or will have after the Closing Date any
liability
relating to any Employee Benefit Plan maintained by an ERISA Affiliate
except
the Company Benefit Plans.
(m) Neither
the Company nor any ERISA Affiliate contributes to or has ever contributed
to
any multiple employer plan or Multiemployer Plan or has any liability (including
withdrawal liability) under any Multiemployer Plan.
(n) No
Company Benefit Plan provides health benefits (whether or not insured),
with
respect to employees after retirement or other termination of service (other
than coverage mandated by Applicable Laws).
(o) Except
as
set forth on Schedule
4.16(o),
the
execution of this Agreement and any other Transaction Document by the Company
and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby
will not
(either alone or upon the occurrence of any additional or subsequent events)
constitute an event under any Company Benefit Plan that will or may result
in
any payment (whether of severance pay or otherwise), acceleration of payment,
forgiveness of indebtedness, vesting, distribution, increase in benefits
or
obligation to fund benefits with respect to any employee of the Company
or any
ERISA Affiliate. Except as set forth in Schedule 4.16(o),
there
is no contract, agreement, plan or arrangement with an employee to which
the
Company or any ERISA Affiliate is a party that, individually or collectively
and
as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any other
Transaction Document to which the Company is a party (whether alone or
upon the
occurrence of any additional or subsequent events), would reasonably be
expected
to give rise to the payment of any amount that would not be deductible
pursuant
to Section 280G of the Code.
(p) Except
as
set forth on Schedule
4.16(p),
neither
the execution and delivery of this Agreement or any other Transaction Document
to which the Company is a party nor the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby or thereby will (i) result in any payment (including
severance, unemployment compensation, golden parachute, bonus or otherwise)
becoming due to any officer, director or employee of the Company,
(ii) materially increase any benefits otherwise payable by the Company or
(iii) result in the acceleration of the time of payment or vesting of any
such benefits.
29
4.17 Environmental
Matters.
(a) The
Company is and has at all times been in compliance with all Environmental
Laws
in all material respects, and no action, suit, proceeding, hearing,
investigation, charge, complaint, claim, demand or notice has been made,
given,
filed or commenced (or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened) by
any
person against the Company alleging any failure to comply with any Environmental
Law or seeking contribution towards, or participation in, any remediation
of any
contamination of any property or thing with Hazardous Materials. The Company
has
obtained, and is and has at all times been in compliance in all material
respects with all of the terms and conditions of, all permits, licenses
and
other authorizations that are required under any Environmental Law and
has at
all times complied with all other limitations, restrictions, conditions,
standards, prohibitions, requirements, obligations, schedules and timetables
that are contained in any applicable Environmental Law.
(b) To
the
knowledge of the Company, no physical condition exists on or under any
property
that may have been caused by or impacted by the operations or activities
of the
Company that could give rise to any investigative, remedial or other obligation
under any Environmental Law or that could result in any kind of liability
to any
third party claiming damage to person or property as a result of such physical
condition.
(c) All
properties and equipment used in the business of the Company are and have
been
free of Hazardous Materials,
except
for batteries, computers and other items normally found in an
office.
(d) The
Company has provided to the Parent true and complete copies of all internal
and
external environmental audits and studies in its possession or control
relating
to the Company and all correspondence on substantial environmental matters
relating to the Company.
4.18 Material
Contracts. Schedule
4.18
sets
forth a list of all Material Contracts including the name of the parties
thereto, the date of each such Material Contract and each amendment thereto.
All
Material Contracts are in full force and effect. All Material Contracts
are
valid and enforceable and not in default, no payments or other obligations
are
past due, and no circumstance exists that, with notice, the passage of
time or
both, could constitute a default under any Material Contract by the Company
or,
to the knowledge of the Company, by any other party thereto. The Company
has not
received any notice of a default, alleged failure to perform or any offset
or
counterclaim with respect to any Material Contract that has not been fully
remedied and withdrawn. The consummation of the transactions contemplated
by
this Agreement or any other Transaction Document to which the Company is
a party
will not affect the enforceability against any Person of any such Material
Contract. The Company has provided the Parent with true and complete copies
of
all Material Contracts including all amendments, terminations and modifications
thereof.
4.19 Insurance.
(a) At
all
times since the date of incorporation of the Company, the Company has been
covered by insurance in scope and amount customary and reasonable for the
businesses in which they have been engaged during such period.
30
(b) Schedule
4.19(b)
sets
forth the following information with respect to each insurance policy (including
policies providing property, casualty, liability or workers’ compensation
coverage and bond and surety arrangements) to which the Company has been
a
party, a named insured or otherwise the beneficiary of coverage at any
time
since January 1, 2003: (i) the name, address and telephone number
of the agent; (ii) the name of the insurer, the name of the policyholder
and the name of each covered insured; (iii) the policy number and the
period of coverage; (iv) the scope and amount of coverage (including an
indication of whether the coverage was on a claims made, occurrence or
other
basis and a description of how deductibles and ceilings are calculated
and
operate); and (v) a description of any retroactive premium adjustments or
other loss-sharing arrangements. Each of such insurance policies currently
in
effect is legal, valid, binding, enforceable and in full force and effect
and
will continue to be legal, valid, binding, enforceable and in full force
and
effect on identical terms following consummation of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement and any other Transaction Document. The
Company
does not have any liability for unpaid premiums or premium adjustments
for such
policies of insurance which are not properly reflected in the Financial
Statements. Neither the Company, nor to the knowledge of the Company, any
other
Person, is in breach or default under any such insurance policy (including
with
respect to the payment of premiums or the giving of notices), and to the
knowledge of the Company, no event has occurred that, with notice or the
lapse
of time or both, would constitute such a breach or default, or permit
termination, modification or acceleration, under any such insurance policy.
All
claims under such insurance policies have been duly and timely filed. To
the
knowledge of the Company, no party to any such insurance policy has repudiated
any provision thereof.
(c) Schedule
4.19(c)
describes any self-insurance arrangements affecting the Company.
4.20 Transactions
with Related Parties.
Except
as set forth in Schedule
4.20,
no
employee, officer, director or Principal, nor any member of his or her
immediate
family, is indebted to the Company, nor is the Company indebted (or committed
to
make loans or extend or guarantee credit) to any of them. Except as set
forth in
Schedule
4.20,
none of
such Persons has any direct or indirect ownership interest in (a) any
Person with which the Company is affiliated or with which the Company has
a
business relationship or (b) any Person that competes with the Company
(other than the ownership of less than five percent (5%) of the outstanding
class of publicly traded stock in publicly traded companies that may compete
with the Company). Except as set forth on Schedule
4.20
(the
“Related
Party Transactions”),
no
officer, director or stockholder, nor any member of his or her immediate
family,
is, directly or indirectly, a party to or interested in any Contract with
the
Company or any of their Affiliates.
The
Related Party Transactions were each entered into on an arm’s-length basis on
terms no less favorable to the Company than any Contract entered into by
the
Company with persons other than an officer, director or stockholder of
the
Company, or any member of his or her immediate family.
4.21 Books
and Records.
The
minute books of the Company contain complete and accurate records of all
meetings and other corporate actions of the stockholders and board of directors
(including committees thereof) of the Company. The stock ledger of the
Company
is complete and reflects all issuances, transfers, repurchases and cancellations
of shares of capital stock of the Company. True and complete copies of
the
minute books and the stock ledger of the Company have been made available
to the
Parent and will be delivered to the Parent at the Closing.
31
4.22 Absence
of Changes.
Since
December 31, 2006, there has not occurred, and to the knowledge of the
Company
there is not, any Company Material Adverse Effect. Except as set forth
on
Schedule
4.22,
from
such date, the Company has conducted its business only in the ordinary
course of
business consistent with past practices, and the Company has not:
(a) failed
to
preserve intact the Company’s present business organization and to keep
available the services of its present officers, managerial personnel and
key
employees or independent contractors and preserve its relationships with
customers and suppliers; or
(b) failed
to
maintain its assets in their then current condition, except for ordinary
wear
and tear, or failed to repair, maintain, or replace any of its equipment
in
accordance with the normal standards of maintenance applicable in the industry;
or
(c) amended,
terminated, or failed to renew any Material Contract; or
(d) entered
into any Contract either involving more than $75,000
or
outside the ordinary course of business; or
(e) accelerated,
terminated, modified, or canceled, or received notice of such from any
other
Person, any Material Contract (or series of related Contracts) to which
the
Company is a party or by which the Company or its assets are bound;
or
(f) granted
any license or sublicense of any rights under or with respect to any of
its
Intellectual Property except in the ordinary course of business; or
(g) made
or
pledged to make any charitable or other capital contribution; or
(h) adopted
or amended any Employee Benefit Plan, or increased in any manner the
compensation or benefits of any officer, director, or employee or other
personnel (whether employees or independent contractors); or
(i) terminated
any employee; or
(j) acquired
(including, without limitation, by merger, consolidation, or the acquisition
of
any equity interest or assets) or sold (whether by merger, consolidation,
or the
sale of an equity interest or assets), leased, or disposed of any assets
except
in the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practice or,
even if
in the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practices,
whether
in one or more transactions, in no event involving assets having an aggregate
fair market value in excess of $75,000;
or
(k) mortgaged,
pledged, or subjected to any Lien any of its assets; or
(l) changed
any of the accounting principles or practices used by it; or
32
(m) paid,
discharged or satisfied any claims, liabilities or obligations (absolute,
accrued, asserted or unasserted, contingent or otherwise), other than in
the
ordinary course of business and consistent with past practices of the Company;
or
(n) changed
its practices and procedures with respect to the collection of accounts
receivable or offered to discount the amount of any account receivable
or
extended any other incentive (whether to the account debtor or any employee
or
third party responsible for the collection of receivables) with respect
thereto;
or
(o) paid
any
dividend or otherwise made any other distribution to any stockholder to
purchase
or acquire any shares of capital stock or other securities of the Company;
or
(p) incurred
any Indebtedness not in the ordinary course of business or, whether or
not in
the ordinary course of business, incurred any Indebtedness greater than
$25,000;
or
(q) failed
to
pay any Indebtedness or any other accounts payable as it became due, or
changed
its existing practices and procedures for the payment of Indebtedness or
other
accounts payable; or
(r) incurred
or committed to incur any capital expenditures except to the extent necessary
to
operate the Company’s business and in the ordinary course of business consistent
with past practices; or
(s) entered
into any Contracts that are performable after the Closing other than Contracts
entered into in the ordinary course of business consistent with past
practices;
(t) agreed
to
or made any commitment, orally or in writing, to take any actions prohibited
by
this Agreement.
4.23 Product
Warranties; Services.
Except
as set forth in Schedule
4.23,
(a) there are no warranties express or implied, written or oral, with
respect to the products or services of the Company, and (b) there are no
pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened claims with respect
to
any such warranty, and the Company has no liability with respect to any
such
warranty, whether known or unknown, absolute, accrued, contingent or otherwise
and whether due or to become due.
The
Company has no knowledge of any specific facts that would reasonably be
expected
to give rise to any warranty claims or warranty liability in the future.
4.24 Customers
and Supplier.
(a) Schedule
4.24(a)
lists
the Company’s customers for calendar years 2005 and 2006 and sets forth opposite
the name of each such customer the dollar amount of sales attributable
to such
customer for such periods. The Company has a fully executed contract or
other
evidence of agreement to material terms with each such customer. Except
as set
forth on Schedule 4.24(a),
the
Company is not engaged in any material dispute with any current customer
and no
such customer has notified the Company that it intends to terminate or
reduce
its business relations with the Company and to the knowledge of the Company,
without inquiry or
33
investigation,
there is no reason why such customer would not continue such business
relationship with Parent or the Surviving Entity after the Closing; provided,
however,
that
the Company makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, that
any
such customer will remain as a customer of Parent or the Surviving Entity
after
the Closing Date or will not terminate or reduce its business relations
with
Parent or the Surviving Entity after Closing.
(b) Schedule
4.24(b)
lists
the Company’s vendors for calendar years 2005 and 2006. Except as set forth on
Schedule 4.24(b),
the
Company is not engaged in any material dispute with any current vendor
and no
such vendor has notified the Company that it intends to terminate or reduce
its
business relations with the Company and to the knowledge of the Company,
without
inquiry or investigation, there is no reason why such vendor would not
continue
such business relations with Parent or the Surviving Entity after the Closing;
provided, however, that the Company makes no representation or warranty,
express
or implied, that any such vendor will remain as a vendor of Parent or the
Surviving Entity after the Closing Date or will not terminate or reduce
its
business relations with Parent or the Surviving Entity after
Closing.
(c) Schedule
4.24(c)
lists
all Backlog of the Company as of the date of the Agreement, on a customer
by
customer basis.
4.25 Disclosures.
Neither
this Agreement (including any Exhibit or Schedule hereto) nor any other
Transaction Document to which the Company is a party nor any report, certificate
or instrument furnished to the Parent in connection with the transactions
contemplated in this Agreement or any other Transaction Document to which
the
Company is a party, when read together, contains any untrue statement of
a
material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make
the
statements contained herein or therein, in light of the circumstances under
which they were made, not misleading. To the knowledge of the Company,
there is
no information or fact that has or would have a Company Material Adverse
Effect
that has not been disclosed to the Parent in this Agreement (including
the
Exhibits and Schedules hereto).
ARTICLE
V
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF PARENT AND MERGER SUB
The
Parent and Merger Sub hereby, jointly and severally, represent and warrant
to
the Company that the statements contained below are true and correct, except
as
set forth in the disclosure schedule (the “Parent
Disclosure Schedule”)
delivered by the Parent and Merger Sub to Company, on the date hereof and
as of
the Effective Date. The disclosures in any section or subsection of the
Parent
Disclosure Schedule shall qualify other sections and subsections in this
ARTICLE
V
where it
should be reasonably apparent such disclosure relates to other such sections
and
subsections. When used herein, the term “to
the knowledge of the Parent”
shall
mean the actual knowledge of the executive officers of the Parent.
5.01 Organization,
Standing and Power.
Each of
the Parent and the Merger Sub is a corporation duly organized, validly
existing,
and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has all
requisite power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties
and to
carry on its business as now being conducted.
34
5.02 Authority.
Each of
the Parent and the Merger Sub has all requisite corporate power and authority
to
enter into this Agreement and any other Transaction Documents to which
it is a
party and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby.
The
execution and delivery of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents
to
which the Parent or the Merger Sub is a party and the consummation by the
Parent
or the Merger Sub of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby have
been
duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Parent
and
the Merger Sub. The Transaction Documents to which the Parent or the Merger
Sub
is a party have been, or upon execution and delivery will be, duly executed
and
delivered and constitute, or upon execution and delivery will constitute,
the
valid and binding obligations of the Parent or the Merger Sub enforceable
against it in accordance with their respective terms.
5.03 Non-Contravention
and Consents.
(a) Non-Contravention.
The
execution and delivery of this Agreement and each other Transaction Document
by
the Parent and the Merger Sub does not, and the performance of this Agreement
and each other Transaction Document by the Parent and the Merger Sub will
not,
(i) conflict with or violate the Parent’s or the Merger Sub’s Certificate
of Incorporation or Bylaws, in each case as amended to date and currently
in
effect, or (ii) conflict with or violate any Applicable Laws or
(iii) result in any breach of or constitute a default (or an event that
with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or
impair
the rights of the Parent or the Merger Sub or alter the rights or obligations
of
any third party under, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment,
acceleration or cancellation of, or result in the creation of a Lien on
any of
the Parent’s or the Merger Sub’s assets or properties pursuant to, any
obligation to which the Parent or the Merger Sub is a party or by which
the
Parent or the Merger Sub may be bound.
(b) Contractual
Consents.
Except
for the filing of the Certificates of Merger, no Consent under any agreement
to
which the Parent or the Merger Sub is a party is required to be obtained
in
connection with the execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement
or any
other Transaction Document by the Parent or the Merger Sub or the consummation
of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby.
(c) Governmental
Consents.
No
Consent of any Governmental Entity is required to be obtained or made by
the
Parent or the Merger Sub in connection with the execution, delivery and
performance of this Agreement or any other Transaction Document by the
Parent or
the Merger Sub or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby
or
thereby.
5.04 Litigation.
As of
the Closing Date, there is no claim, action, suit, inquiry, judicial or
administrative proceeding, grievance, or arbitration pending or, to the
knowledge of the Parent or the Merger Sub, threatened against the Parent
or the
Merger Sub relating to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement
or any
other Transaction Document to which the Parent or the Merger Sub is a
party.
5.05 Parent
Common Stock.
The
Closing Stock Consideration and the Escrowed Stock Consideration, when
issued in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement, will be duly authorized, validly
issued, fully paid and non-assessable and not subject to any preemptive
rights
and issued in compliance with all applicable securities laws and all other
Applicable Laws.
35
5.06 Brokers’
and Finders’ Fees.
Except
for the fees, expenses and costs of DecisionPoint International, Inc.,
for which
Parent shall be solely responsible, neither the Parent nor the Merger Sub
has
incurred, nor will it incur, directly or indirectly, any liability for
brokerage
or finders’ fees or agents’ commissions or any similar charges in connection
with this Agreement or any other Transaction Document to which the Parent
or the
Merger Sub is a party or any transaction contemplated hereby or
thereby.
5.07 Reports.
Parent
has timely made all filings required to be made by it with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”)
since
January 1, 2004 (such filings, the “Parent
SEC Filings”).
As of
their respective dates, the Parent SEC Filings complied as to form in all
material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange
Act, as the case may be. As of the date of this Agreement, no event or
circumstance has occurred or information exists with respect to Parent
or its
business, properties, operations or financial conditions, which, under
the
Securities Act, the Exchange Act or any other applicable rule or regulation,
requires public disclosure or announcement by Parent at or before the date
of
this Agreement but which has not been so publicly announced or
disclosed.
5.08 Single
Member Disregarded Entity.
Parent
will maintain LLC Sub as a single member disregarded entity for federal
and
applicable state income tax purposes, in accordance with the provisions
of the
Code and comparable applicable state tax provisions, and will make no elections
or filings inconsistent with such status.
ARTICLE
VI
COVENANTS
RELATING TO CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
6.01 Covenants
of the Company.
During
the period from the date of this Agreement and continuing until the Effective
Time, except as expressly contemplated or permitted by this Agreement or
with
the prior written consent of Parent, the Company shall carry on its business
in
the ordinary course consistent with past practice. The Company shall use
all
reasonable efforts to preserve its business organization, keep available
the
present services of its employees, continue to make regularly scheduled
payments
on all of its existing debt and to preserve for itself and Parent the goodwill
of the customers of the Company and others with whom business relationships
exist, including, but not limited to all Material Contracts. Without limiting
the generality of the foregoing, and except as otherwise contemplated by
this
Agreement, disclosed in schedules hereto, or consented to in writing by
Parent,
the Company shall not:
(a) declare
or pay any dividends on, or make other distributions in respect of, any
of its
capital stock;
(b) (i)
split, combine or reclassify any shares of its capital stock; or issue
or
authorize or propose the issuance of any other securities in respect of,
in lieu
of or in substitution for shares of its capital stock except upon the exercise
or fulfillment of rights or options issued or existing pursuant to employee
benefit plans, programs or arrangements, all to the extent outstanding
and in
existence on the date of this Agreement, or (ii) repurchase, redeem or
otherwise
acquire, any shares of the capital stock of the Company, or any securities
convertible into or exercisable for any shares of the capital stock of
the
Company;
36
(c) issue,
deliver or sell, or authorize or propose the issuance, delivery or sale
of, any
shares of its capital stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable
for, or any rights, warrants or options to acquire, any such shares, or
enter
into any agreement with respect to any of the foregoing;
(d) amend
its
Charter Documents;
(e) make
any
capital expenditures in excess of $10,000;
(f) enter
into any new line of business;
(g) acquire
or agree to acquire, by merging or consolidating with, or by purchasing
a equity
interest in or a portion of the assets of or by any other manner, any business
or any corporation, partnership, association or other business organization
or
division thereof, or otherwise acquire any assets other than in the ordinary
course of business;
(h) change
its methods of accounting in effect at December
31, 2006,
except
as required by changes in GAAP or regulatory accounting principles as concurred
to by the Company’s independent auditors;
(i) except
as
contemplated hereby or as set forth on Schedule
6.01(i)
hereto,
enter into, adopt, amend, renew or terminate any Company Benefit Plan or
any
agreement, arrangement, plan or policy between the Company and one or more
of
its current or former directors, officers or employees, or increase in
any
manner compensation or fringe benefits of any director, officer or employee
or
pay any benefit not required by any plan or agreement as in effect as of
the
date hereof (including, without limitation, the granting of stock options,
stock
appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units or performance
units or shares), excluding, however, any increase in compensation or benefits
for any employees in the ordinary course of business and specifically approved
in writing by Parent; or enter into, modify or renew any employment, severance
or other agreement with any director, officer or employee of the Company
or
establish, adopt, enter into, or amend any collective bargaining, bonus,
profit
sharing, thrift, compensation, stock option, restricted stock, pension,
retirement, deferred compensation, employment, termination, severance or
other
plan, agreement, trust, fund, policy or arrangement providing for any benefit
to
any director, officer or employee (whether or not legally binding);
(j) incur
any
Indebtedness, assume, guarantee, endorse or otherwise as an accommodation
become
responsible for the obligations of any other individual, corporation or
other
entity except in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices
of the Company;
(k) sell,
lease, encumber, assign or otherwise dispose of, or agree to sell, lease,
encumber, assign or otherwise dispose of, any of its assets, properties
or other
rights or agreements other than in the ordinary course of business;
37
(l) make
any
Tax election, or settle or compromise any federal, state, local or foreign
Tax
liability or file or amend any Tax Return;
(m) pay,
discharge or satisfy any claim, liability or obligation other than payments
in
the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practices of the
Company, liabilities incurred in connection with the Merger and the transactions
expressly contemplated hereby, or liabilities reflected or reserved against
in
the Financial Statements, or subsequently incurred in the ordinary course
of
business and consistent with past practices of the Company;
(n) enter
into or renew, amend or terminate, or give notice of a proposed renewal,
amendment or termination, or make any commitment with respect to, regardless
of
whether consistent with past practices, any Material Contract;
(o) waive
any
material right, whether in equity or at law; or
(p) agree
to
do any of the foregoing.
6.02 No
Solicitation
of Transactions. Neither
the Company, nor its directors, officers, employees, stockholders,
representatives, agents and advisors nor other persons controlled by the
Company
shall solicit or hold discussions or negotiations with, or assist or provide
any
information to, any person, entity or group (other than Parent, Merger
Sub and
their Affiliates and representatives) concerning (a) any merger, consolidation,
business combination, share exchange, or other similar transaction involving
the
Company or the Stockholders; (b) any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge,
license transfer or other disposition of any shares of Company Common Stock,
significant assets of the Company or any interests in any Stockholder;
or (c)
the issuance of any new shares of capital stock of the Company or interests
in
any Stockholder or any options, warrants or other rights to acquire shares
of
capital stock of the Company or any interests in any Stockholder. The Company
will promptly communicate to Parent, Merger Sub and their Affiliates and
representatives the terms of any proposal, discussion, negotiation or inquiry
relating to a merger or disposition of a significant portion of its capital
stock or assets or similar transaction involving the Company and the identity
of
the party making such proposal or inquiry, which it may receive with respect
to
any such transaction.
6.03 All
Necessary Action.
Each of
the parties hereto shall use all reasonable efforts to take, or cause to
be
taken, all action and to do, or cause to be done, all things necessary,
proper
or advisable to consummate the transaction contemplated hereby as soon
as
practicable. No party shall intentionally perform any act which, if performed,
or omit to perform any act which, if omitted to be performed, would prevent
or
excuse the performance of this Agreement by any party hereto or which would
result in any representation or warranty herein contained of such party
being
untrue in any material respect as if originally made on and as of the Closing
Date.
ARTICLE
VII
ADDITIONAL
AGREEMENTS
7.01 Regulatory
Matters.
The
parties hereto shall cooperate with each other and use all reasonable efforts
promptly to prepare and file all necessary documentation, to effect all
applications, notices, petitions and filings, and to obtain as promptly
as
practicable all permits, Consents, approvals and authorizations of all
third
parties and Governmental Entities which are
38
necessary
or advisable to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement
(including without limitation the Merger). The Company and Parent shall
have the
right to review in advance, and to the extent practicable each will consult
with
the other on, in each case subject to applicable laws relating to the exchange
of information, all the information relating to the Company, Parent or
Merger
Sub, as the case may be, which appear in any filing made with or written
materials submitted to, any third party or any Governmental Entity in connection
with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. In exercising the
foregoing right, each of the parties hereto shall act reasonably and as
promptly
as practicable. The parties hereto agree that they will consult with each
other
with respect to the obtaining of all permits, Consents, approvals and
authorizations of all third parties and Governmental Entities necessary
or
advisable to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement
and each
party will keep the other apprised of the status of matters relating to
completion of the transactions contemplated herein. Parent (or Merger Sub
as the
case may be) and the Company shall promptly furnish each other with copies
of
written communications received by Parent, Merger Sub or the Company, as
the
case may be, from or delivered by any of the foregoing to, any Governmental
Entity in respect of the transactions contemplated hereby.
7.02 Securities
Matters.
(a) Each
of
the parties hereto acknowledge that the shares of Parent Common Stock to
be
issued to the Stockholders pursuant to this Agreement are intended to be
issued
pursuant to the “private placement” exemption from registration under Section
4(2) of the Securities Act and/or Regulation D promulgated under the Securities
Act and the Principals agree to fully cooperate with Parent in its efforts
to
ensure that such shares of Parent Common Stock may be issued pursuant to
such
private placement exemption.
(b) During
the two year period following the Closing Date, Parent shall (i) use its
best
efforts to make current public information available in accordance with
Rule
144(c) under the Securities Act and to maintain the continued listing of
its
shares of Parent Common Stock for trading on the Nasdaq Global Market and
(ii)
furnish to any Stockholder upon written request, (x) a written statement
as to
its compliance with the requirements of Rule 144(c) and the reporting
requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and (y) a copy
of the
most recent annual or quarterly report of Parent.
(c) Parent
grants as of the Closing each Stockholder certain registration rights as
set
forth in Section
7.03.
(d) Each
Principal will have executed and delivered to Parent at Closing a Stock
Restriction and Non-Compete Agreement and each other Stockholder will have
executed and delivered to Parent at Closing a Stock Restriction
Agreement.
7.03 Registration
Rights.
(a) Parent
shall file, within 60 days after the Closing Date (the “Filing
Date”),
a
registration statement (the “Registration
Statement”)
on
Form S-3, or other appropriate registration form, with the SEC under the
Securities Act with respect to the offer and sale by the Stockholders pursuant
to Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act of all the Merger Shares
39
and
will
use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to cause (i) the Registration Statement
to be declared effective as soon as practicable thereafter, and (ii) the
Merger Shares to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market.
Notwithstanding the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the sale
of any
shares of Parent Common Stock by a Stockholder under the Registration Statement
shall be subject to any transfer restrictions contained in any Stock Restriction
Agreement or Stock Restriction and Non-Compete Agreement between Parent
and such
Stockholder.
(i) Notwithstanding
any provision of this Section 7.03
to the
contrary, if the Parent shall furnish to the Representative a certificate
signed
by the president or chief executive officer of the Parent stating that
(x) in the good faith judgment of the board of directors of the Parent it
would be seriously detrimental to the Parent and its stockholders (including
the
Principals) for such Registration Statement to be filed, or (y) audited
financial statements of the Company are required to be included in the
Registration Statement and are not otherwise available, the Parent shall
have
the right to defer the filing of the Registration Statement for so long
as
reasonably necessary, but no later than 150 days from the Filing
Date.
(ii) Parent
shall prepare and file with the SEC such amendments and supplements to
such
Registration Statement and any prospectus contained therein and any amendment
or
supplement thereto used in connection with the Registration Statement as
may be
necessary to comply with the provisions of the Securities Act with respect
to
the disposition of all of the Merger Shares and shall use its Commercially
Reasonable Efforts to keep such Registration Statement continuously effective
until the earlier of such time as (i) all registered Merger Shares have
been
sold under the Registration Statement or (ii) all Merger Shares may be
immediately sold without registration, and without restriction as to the
number
of securities to be sold, pursuant to Rule 144 of the Securities Act (such
period being called the “Registration
Period”).
(iii) Parent
shall use its Commercially Reasonable Efforts to register and qualify the
Merger
Shares for offer and sale under such securities or blue sky laws of such
jurisdictions as shall be reasonably requested by the Stockholders; provided
that Parent shall not be required in connection with such registration
and
qualification or as a condition to such registration and qualification
(i) to
qualify to do business or to file a general consent to service of process
in any
such states or jurisdictions or (ii) to subject itself to taxation in any
jurisdiction.
(b) Parent
shall furnish to the Representative, prior to the filing thereof with the
SEC, a
copy of any Registration Statement, and each amendment thereof and each
amendment or supplement, if any, to the prospectus included therein and
provide
the Representative an opportunity to make comments thereto. The Stockholders,
collectively, may retain counsel, at Parent’s expense in an amount not to exceed
$5,000, in connection with these registration rights.
(c) Parent
shall ensure that:
(i) any
Registration Statement and any amendment thereto and any prospectus contained
therein and any amendment or supplement thereto complies in all material
respects with the Securities Act;
40
(ii) any
Registration Statement and any amendment thereto does not when it becomes
effective, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state
a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements
therein not misleading; and
(iii) any
prospectus forming part of any Registration Statement, including any amendment
or supplement to such Prospectus, when filed does not include an untrue
statement of a material fact or omit 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.
(d) Parent
shall furnish to the Representative such number of conformed copies of
the
Registration Statement and of each amendment and supplement thereto (in
each
case including all exhibits and documents incorporated by reference), such
number of copies of the prospectus contained in such registration statement
(including each preliminary prospectus and any prospectus supplement) and
any
other prospectus filed under Rule 424 promulgated under the Securities
Act
relating to the Merger Shares included in the Registration
Statement.
(e) Parent
shall promptly notify the Representative:
(i) when
the
Registration Statement or any prospectus used in connection therewith,
or any
amendment or supplement thereto, has been filed and, with respect to such
Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, when the
same
has become effective;
(ii) of
any
request by the SEC for amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement
or prospectus included therein or for supplemental information;
(iii) of
the
issuance by the SEC of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that
purpose;
(iv) of
the
receipt by Parent of any notification with respect to the suspension of
the
qualification of the Merger Shares for sale under the applicable securities
or
blue sky laws of any jurisdiction; and
(v) of
the
happening of any event that requires the making of any changes in the
Registration Statement or the prospectus.
(f) Upon
receipt of any notice under Section 7.03(e)(v)
above,
each Stockholder will forthwith discontinue such Stockholder’s disposition of
Merger Shares pursuant to the Registration Statement until such Stockholder
receives copies of a supplemented or amended prospectus from Parent and,
if so
directed by Parent, shall deliver to Parent (at Parent’s expense) all copies,
other than permanent file copies, then in such Principal’s possession of the
prospectus relating to such Registration Statement current at the time
of
receipt of such notice.
(g) Parent
shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to obtain the withdrawal of any
order
suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, or of any order
suspending or preventing the use of any related prospectus or suspending
the
qualification of the Merger Shares for sale in any jurisdiction at the
earliest
possible time.
41
(h) Parent
may require any Stockholder to, and each such Stockholder, shall, furnish
Parent
with such information regarding such Stockholder and the distribution of
the
Merger Shares as Parent may from time to time reasonably request in writing
and
to otherwise cooperate in connection with such registration. At any time
during
the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, if such Stockholder becomes
aware of any change materially affecting the accuracy of the information
contained in such Registration Statement or the prospectus (as then amended
or
supplemented) relating to such Stockholder, including but not limited to
the
sale or disposition of all Merger Shares owned by each such Stockholder,
he or
it will promptly notify Parent of such change.
(i) All
expenses, including any underwriting discounts, incurred in effecting the
registration under the Registration Statement and the offer and sale of
the
Merger Shares shall be borne by Parent; provided however that the Representative
and Parent must consent prior to the engagement of any underwriter in connection
with these registration rights. All selling commissions and stock transfer
taxes
relating to the Merger Shares shall be borne by the Stockholders pro rata
on the
basis of the number of shares of Merger Shares registered on their
behalf.
(j) Parent
shall, to the full extent permitted by law, indemnify and hold harmless
the
Stockholders against any expenses, claims, losses, damages or liabilities
to
which the Stockholders may become subject under the Securities Act or otherwise,
insofar as such expenses, claims, losses, damages or liabilities or actions
in
respect thereof arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement of
any
material fact contained in the Registration Statement, final prospectus,
preliminary prospectus, or prospectus supplement contained therein or filed
with
the SEC, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any omission to state
therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make
the
statements therein (in the case of a prospectus, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made) not misleading; provided, that
Parent
shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss (or
actions in respect thereof) arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement
or omission made in any such Registration Statement, final prospectus,
amendment
or supplement in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished
in
writing to Parent by any Stockholder and stated to be specifically for
use
therein.
(k) Each
Stockholder shall, to the full extent permitted by law, indemnify and hold
harmless Parent, its directors, officers, employees, agents and each other
person, if any, who controls Parent within the meaning of the Securities
Act,
against any expenses, claims, losses, damages or liabilities to which Parent
or
any such director, officer, employee, agent or controlling person may become
subject under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such expenses,
claims,
losses, damages or liabilities arise out of or are based upon any untrue
statement of any material fact contained in the Registration Statement,
final
prospectus or prospectus supplement contained therein or filed with the
SEC, or
any amendment or supplement thereto, or any omission to state therein a
material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements
therein
(in the case of a prospectus, in the light of the circumstances under which
they
were made) not misleading, if such untrue statement or omission was made
in
reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to Parent
by
such Principal specifically stating that it is for use in the preparation
of
such Registration Statement, final prospectus, amendment or supplement;
provided, however, that the obligation to provide
42
indemnification
pursuant to this Section 7.03(k)
shall be
several among such indemnifying parties on the basis of the number of shares
of
Parent Common Stock of each such indemnifying party included in the Registration
Statement, and shall not exceed the value as of the date hereof of the
shares of
Merger Shares received by such Stockholder pursuant to this Agreement.
The
foregoing indemnity shall remain in full force and effect regardless of
any
investigation made by or on behalf of Parent or any such director, officer,
employee, agent or controlling person and shall survive the transfer of
such
securities by such Principal. Each Stockholder shall also indemnify each
other
stockholder of Parent who participates in the offering or sale under the
Registration Statement, their officers, directors, employees, agents and
each
other person, if any, who controls any such participating person within
the
meaning of the Securities Act to the same extent as provided above with
respect
to Parent.
(l) Promptly
after receipt by any party of notice of the commencement of any action
or
proceeding involving a claim referred to in Section 7.03(j)
or
Section 7.03(k),
such
party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against another
party
pursuant to such paragraphs, give written notice to the latter of the
commencement of such action, provided that any failure of any person to
give
notice as provided therein shall not relieve any other person of its obligations
under Section 7.03(j)
or
Section 7.03(k),
as the
case may be, except to the extent that such other person is actually prejudiced
by such failure. In case any such action is brought, the party obligated
to
indemnify pursuant to Section 7.03(j)
or
Section 7.03(k),
as the
case may be, shall be entitled to participate in and, unless, in the reasonable
judgment of counsel to any indemnified party, a conflict of interest between
such indemnified party and any indemnifying party exists with respect to
such
claim, to assume the defense thereof, jointly with any other indemnifying
party
similarly notified to the extent that it may wish, with counsel reasonably
satisfactory to such indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying
party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense
thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified
party
for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by the latter in
connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of
investigation; provided that the indemnified party may participate in such
defense at the indemnified party’s expense. Without the consent of the
indemnified party, no indemnifying party shall consent to entry of any
judgment
or enter into any settlement which does not include as an unconditional
term
thereof the giving by the claimant or plaintiff to each indemnified party
of a
release from all liability in respect to such claim or litigation. No
indemnifying party shall be subject to any liability for any settlement
made
without its consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably
withheld.
(m) If
the
indemnity and reimbursement obligation provided for in Section 7.03(j)
or
Section 7.03(k)
is
unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless a party entitled to indemnification
hereunder in respect of any expenses, claims, losses, damages or liabilities
(or
actions with respect thereto) referred to therein, the party obligated
to
indemnify hereunder shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by the
indemnified party as a result of such expenses, claims, losses, damages
or
liabilities (or actions) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect
the
relative fault of the indemnifying party on the one hand and the indemnified
party on the other hand in connection with statements or omissions which
resulted in such expenses, claims, losses, damages or liabilities as well
as any
other relevant equitable considerations; provided, however, that the obligation
to provide contribution pursuant to this Section 7.03(m) shall be several
among
the contributing Stockholders on the basis of the number of shares of Parent
43
Common
Stock of each such contributing Stockholder included in the Registration
Statement, and shall not exceed the value as of the date hereof of the
Merger
Shares received by such Stockholder pursuant to this Agreement. Relative
fault
shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue
or
alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged
omission
to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the indemnifying
party or the indemnified party and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge,
access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue
statement or omission. The parties hereto agree that it would not be just
and
equitable if contributions pursuant to this paragraph were-to be determined
by
pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not
take
account of the equitable considerations referred to in the first sentence
of
this paragraph. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation within
the
meaning of the Securities Act shall be entitled to contribution from any
person
not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.
7.04 Stockholder
Approval.
(a) Immediately
upon signing this Agreement, and in accordance with applicable law and
the
Company’s Charter Documents, the Company shall solicit approval from the
Stockholders to obtain their approval and adoption of this Agreement, the
Merger
and the other transactions contemplated hereby. The Company shall ensure
that
such approval is solicited and obtained from the Stockholders in compliance
with
Delaware General Corporation Law and the Company’s Charter Documents. The
Company agrees to use all reasonable efforts to take all action necessary
or
advisable to secure the necessary votes required by Delaware General Corporation
Law and the Company’s Charter Documents to effect the Merger.
(b) Each
Principal acknowledges and agrees that by signing this Agreement, it will
vote
all of its shares of Company Common Stock in favor of the approval and
adoption
of this Agreement, the Merger and all aspects of the transactions contemplated
hereby, that such approval is irrevocable and cannot be rescinded, it will
waive
any rights of appraisal under the DGCL,
that it
irrevocably agrees that it will vote or cause to be voted (in person or
by
proxy) all its shares of Company Common Stock at any meeting in which such
matters are considered and subject to a vote in favor of any such other
matters
that come before such meeting concerning the Agreement, the Merger and
the
transactions contemplated thereby and that it has executed and delivered
to the
Company an Irrevocable Proxy in the form attached as Exhibit
G.
7.05 Access
to Information;
Confidentiality.
(a) Subject
to Section
7.05(b),
the
Company shall afford to Parent, and shall cause its independent accountants
to
afford to Parent and Parent’s accountants, counsel and other representatives,
reasonable access during normal business hours during the period prior
to the
Closing to all of the Company’s assets, properties, books, Material Contracts
and records, and the Company shall permit Parent and its representatives
to make
abstracts from and copies of such books and records. During such period,
the
Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to furnish promptly to Parent
all
other information concerning the business, properties and personnel of
the
Company as Parent may reasonably request.
(b) No
party
(or its representatives, agents, counsel, accountants or investment bankers)
hereto shall use for any purpose other than the Merger or disclose to any
third
party,
44
other
than either party’s representatives, agents, counsel, accountants, bankers or
investment bankers, any confidential or proprietary information about the
business, assets or operations of the other parties to this Agreement or
the
transactions contemplated hereby, except as contemplated hereby and as
may be
required by applicable law. The parties hereto agree that the remedy at
law for
any breach of the requirements of this subsection will be inadequate and
that
any breach would cause such immediate and permanent damage as would be
impossible to ascertain, and, therefore, the parties hereto agree and consent
that in the event of any breach of this subsection, in addition to any
and all
other legal and equitable remedies available for such breach, including
a
recovery of damages, the non-breaching parties shall be entitled to obtain
preliminary or permanent injunctive relief without the necessity of proving
actual damage by reason of such breach and, to the extent permissible under
applicable law, a temporary restraining order may be granted immediately
on
commencement of such action.
7.06 Legal
Conditions to Merger.
Each of
Parent, Merger Sub and the Company shall use all reasonable efforts (a)
to take,
or cause to be taken, all actions necessary, proper or advisable to comply
promptly with all legal requirements which may be imposed on such party
with
respect to the Merger and, subject to the conditions set forth in ARTICLE
VIII
hereof,
to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and (b) to
obtain
(and to cooperate with the other party to obtain) any Consent, authorization,
order or approval of or any exemption by, any Governmental Entity and any
other
third party which is required to be obtained by Parent, Merger Sub or the
Company in connection with the Merger and the other transactions contemplated
by
this Agreement.
7.07 Notification;
Disclosure Supplements.
Each
party shall promptly give the other party written notice of the existence
or
occurrence of any condition which would make any representation or warranty
herein contained of either party untrue or which might reasonably be expected
to
prevent the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
Prior to
the Effective Time, each party will supplement or amend the applicable
Disclosure Schedule delivered in connection with the execution of this
Agreement
to reflect any matter which, if existing, occurring or known at the date
of this
Agreement, would have been required to be set forth or described in such
Disclosure Schedule or which is necessary to correct any information in
such
Disclosure Schedule which has been rendered inaccurate thereby. No supplement
or
amendment to such Disclosure Schedule shall have any effect for the purposes
of
determining satisfaction of the conditions set forth in Section
8.02(b)
hereof
or the compliance by the Company with the covenants set forth in Section
6.01
hereof
(unless Parent consents in writing to such satisfaction of conditions or
compliance or elects to waive such matter by closing the transactions
contemplated hereby) or for the purposes of determining satisfaction of
the
conditions set forth in Section
8.03(a)
hereof
(unless the Company consents to such satisfaction of conditions or elects
to
waive such matter by closing the transactions contemplated hereby).
7.08 Tax
Matters.
(a) Pre-Closing
Tax Returns.
The
Representative shall prepare or cause to be prepared all Tax Returns for
the
Company for all Taxable periods ending on or prior to the Closing Date
which are
required to be filed after the Closing Date. Parent shall cause the Surviving
Corporation, or the Surviving Entity, as the case may be, to the extent
such
personnel remain employed by the Surviving Corporation, or Surviving Entity,
as
the case may be, to make
45
available
without charge the same personnel that were responsible at the Company
for the
preparation of such Tax Returns or schedules and work papers used in the
preparation thereof, and all records and other documents relating thereto
as
they may be required in the preparation of such Tax Returns. No later than
(i)
the Closing Date or (ii) 30 days prior to the due date for filing any such
Tax
Return, whichever is the later to occur, the Representative shall deliver
a copy
of such Tax Return, together with all supporting documentation and workpapers,
to Parent for its review. Parent may submit to the Representative, not
later
than 15 days from the receipt of such Tax Return, a list of any components
of
such Tax Return with which the Parent disagrees. In the event a notice
of
dispute is timely delivered to the Representative by Parent, Parent and
the
Representative shall thereafter for a period of 15 days negotiate in good
faith
to resolve any items of dispute. Any items of dispute which are not so
resolved
shall be submitted for resolution to an Arbitrating Accountant in accordance
with the procedures set forth in Section 2.07.
Parent
will cause such Tax Return (as finally resolved pursuant to any dispute
procedures) to be timely filed and will provide a copy to the Representative.
Not less than five days prior to the due date for payment of Taxes with
respect
to any such Tax Return, the Stockholders shall pay to Parent the amount
of any
Parent Indemnified Taxes with respect to such Tax Return.
(b) Straddle
Period Tax Returns.
With
respect to any Tax Return covering a Straddle Period that is filed after
the
Closing Date with respect to the Company, the Parent shall cause such Tax
Return
to be prepared. Not later than 30 days prior to the due date of each such
Tax
Return, the Parent shall deliver a copy of such Tax Return to the Representative
together with a statement of the amount of Parent Indemnified Taxes with
respect
to such Tax Return. Not later than five days prior to the due date for
payment of Taxes with respect to any such Tax Return, the Stockholders
shall pay
to the Parent the amount of any Parent Indemnified Taxes with respect to
such
Tax Return.
(c) Proration
of Straddle Period Taxes.
In the
case of Taxes that are payable with respect to any Straddle Period, the
portion
of any such Tax that is attributable to the portion of the period ending
on and
including the Closing Date shall be:
(i) in
the
case of Taxes that are either (A) based upon or related to income or
receipts, or (B) imposed in connection with any sale or other transfer or
assignment of property (real or personal, tangible or intangible), deemed
equal
to the amount that would be payable if the Taxable period of the Company
ended
with (and included) the Closing Date; provided that exemptions, allowances
or
deductions that are calculated on an annual basis (including depreciation
and
amortization deductions) shall be allocated between the period ending on
the
Closing Date and the period ending after the Closing Date in proportion
to the
number of days in each period; and
(ii) in
the
case of Taxes that are imposed on a periodic basis with respect to the
assets of
the Company, deemed to be the amount of such Taxes for the entire Straddle
Period (or, in the case of such Taxes determined on an arrears basis, the
amount
of such Taxes for the immediately preceding period), multiplied by a fraction
the numerator of which is the number of calendar days in the portion of
the
period ending on and including the Closing Date and the denominator of
which is
the number of calendar days in the entire period.
46
(d) Tax
Proceedings.
The
Parent and the Representative shall cooperate fully as and to the extent
reasonably requested by the other party, in connection with the filing
of Tax
Returns and any audit, litigation or other proceeding (each a “Tax
Proceeding”)
with
respect to Taxes imposed on or with respect to the assets, operations or
activities of the Company, and Parent shall promptly notify the Representative
with respect thereto. Such cooperation shall include the retention and
(upon the
other party’s request) the provision of records and information which are
reasonably relevant to any such Tax Proceeding and making employees available
on
a mutually convenient basis to provide additional information and explanation
of
any material provided hereunder. The Representative further agrees, upon
request, to use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to obtain any certificate
or
other document from any Governmental Entity or any other Person as may
be
necessary to mitigate, reduce or eliminate any Tax that could be imposed
on the
Parent or the Company (including, but not limited to, with respect to the
transactions contemplated hereby).
(e) Amended
Tax
Returns.
Parent
shall not file, without the written consent of the Representative, which
will
not be unreasonably withheld, any amended Tax Return that includes the
Company
for any Taxable period ending on or prior to the Closing Date if such amendment
would have the effect of materially increasing the amount of Parent Indemnified
Taxes for which the Stockholders are liable to indemnify the Parent Indemnified
Persons.
(f) Pre-Closing
Tax Refunds.
Any
refund of Tax of the Company received by Parent after the Closing Date
which is
attributable to a Taxable Period ending on or prior to the Closing Date
other
than a refund of Tax which (i) was included as an asset or a contra-liability
in
Net Working Capital, as finally determined, or (ii) results from a carry
back of
any Tax attribute from a Taxable period ending after the Closing Date,
net of
any costs or expenses incurred after the Closing Date in procuring such
refund,
shall be paid to the Representative for the benefit of the Stockholders
within
five (5) business days after receipt by Parent of such refund.
(g) Transfer
Taxes.
The
Stockholders shall be responsible for the payment of all state and local
transfer, sales, use, stamp, registration or other similar Taxes (the
“Transfer
Taxes”)
resulting from the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any other
Transaction Document.
7.09 Tax
Reporting Documentation.
Each
Principal hereby agrees to provide, and shall cause each Stockholder to
provide,
Parent and the Escrow Agent with a certified tax identification number
by
furnishing an appropriate Form W-9 (or Form W-8, in the case of a non-U.S.
person) and other forms and documents that Parent or the Escrow Agent may
reasonably request (collectively, “Tax
Reporting Documentation”).
The
Representative and each Principal understands that if such Tax Reporting
Documentation is not provided, Parent or the Escrow Agent, as applicable,
may be
required by the Code, as amended and as it may be amended from time to
time, to
withhold a portion of any payment of Merger Consideration or interest or
other
income earned on the investment of monies or other property held by the
Escrow
Agent pursuant to the terms of the Escrow Agreement.
7.10 Company
Employees
and Independent Contractors.
Parent
will offer employment by the Parent as of and following the Closing Date
to each
person listed on Schedule
7.10
(the
“Continuing
Employees”)
and
offer to enter into Parent’s standard
47
Contractor
Services Agreement with each independent contractor listed on Schedule
7.10
(the
“Continuing
Independent Contractors”).
It
shall be a condition to the contractual arrangement of each Continuing
Independent Contractor with Parent that such person execute and deliver
to
Parent a Contractor Services Agreement at or prior to the Closing.
7.11 Employee
Benefit Plans.
From and
after the Effective Time, all Continuing Employees shall continue in their
existing benefit plans until such time as, in Parent’s sole discretion, an
orderly transition can be accomplished to employee benefit plans and programs
maintained by Parent for its and its affiliate’s employees in the United States.
Parent shall take as promptly as reasonably practical after the Closing
Date,
and with respect to the health and welfare benefits programs no later than
90
days after the Closing Date, and to the extent permitted by Parent’s benefit
programs, such reasonable actions as are necessary to allow eligible Continuing
Employees to participate in the health, welfare and other benefits programs
of
Parent or alternative benefits programs that, in the aggregate, are
substantially equivalent to those applicable to employees of Parent in
similar
functions and positions on similar terms. Pending such action, Parent shall
maintain the effectiveness of the Company’s benefit plans, except as otherwise
provided herein.
7.12 Stock
Restriction and Non-Compete Agreement.
As
additional consideration for Parent, and as a material inducement for Parent
and
Merger Sub to enter into this Agreement and to consummate the Merger,
(a) each Principal shall enter into a Stock Restriction and Non-Compete
Agreement with Parent, on or before the Closing Date, pursuant to which
each
such person shall agree to certain matters, including, but not limited
to
certain transfer restrictions related to the Merger Shares and certain
noncompetition and nonsolicitation provisions as mutually agreed to between
Parent and such Principal, and (b) each Stockholder other than the Principals
shall enter into a Stock Restriction Agreement with Parent, on or before
the
Closing Date, pursuant to which each such person shall agree to certain
matters,
including, but not limited to certain transfer restrictions related to
the
Merger Shares.
7.13 Publicity.
Parent,
Merger Sub, the Company, the Principals and the Representative agree that,
except as otherwise required by law, they (a) will make no public comment
concerning or announcement regarding the Merger and (b) institute procedures
to
restrict knowledge of the proposed transaction to those who need to know.
In
addition, the parties acknowledge that Parent, as a publicly held company,
is
subject to certain disclosure requirements under federal securities laws.
Accordingly, Parent reserves the right to disclose the Merger, including
financial information regarding the Company and the status of negotiations,
at
any time it decides that such disclosure is appropriate under the securities
laws or the rules of any stock exchange, provided, however, that Parent
shall
provide the Company and its counsel a reasonable time to review and comment
upon
such disclosure.
Except
as otherwise required by law or the rules of the Nasdaq Global Select Market
and
notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, so long as
this
Agreement is in effect, none of Parent, Merger Sub or the Company shall,
or
shall permit any of their subsidiaries, if applicable, to issue or cause
the
publication of any press release or other public announcement with respect
to,
or otherwise make any public statement concerning, the transactions contemplated
by this Agreement without the consent of the other party.
48
7.14 Indemnification.
Parent
agrees that it will, after the Effective Time, provide to those individuals
who
have served as directors or officers of the Company indemnification equivalent
to that provided by the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws of the
Company
with respect to matters occurring prior to the Effective Time, for a period
of
six years from the Effective Time (or, in the case of matters occurring
before
the Effective Time which have not been resolved prior to the sixth anniversary,
until such matters are finally resolved); provided that the amount of such
indemnification shall not exceed the maximum amounts payable to such directors
or officers of the Company under the Company’s directors and officers insurance
policy in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time. To the extent
permitted by law, Parent will advance expenses in connection with the foregoing
indemnification. In the event Parent or any of its successors or assigns
(a)
consolidates with or merges into any other person and Parent shall not
be the
continuing or surviving corporation or entity of such consolidation or
merger or
(b) transfers all or substantially all of its properties and assets or
any
person, then and in each such case, proper provision shall be made so that
the
successors and assigns of Parent shall assume the obligations set forth
in this
Section
7.14.
7.15 Insurance.
Following the Closing, Parent shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts
to cause
each Continuing Employee to be covered by Parent’s errors and omissions
insurance policy.
7.16 Access
to Books and Records.
Following the Closing, Parent, the Surviving Corporation and the Surviving
Entity shall permit the Representative and his and the Company’s authorized
representatives, at the Representative’s expense, reasonable access during
normal business hours from time to time to inspect and copy such books
of
account and records of the Company and its assets and liabilities as of
and
prior to the Closing Date as necessary with respect to matters arising
under
Section
7.08
hereof.
ARTICLE
VIII
CONDITIONS
PRECEDENT
8.01 Conditions
to Each Party’s Obligation to Effect the Merger.
The
respective obligation of each party to effect the Merger shall be subject
to the
satisfaction at or prior to the Closing of the following
conditions:
(a) Regulatory
Approvals.
All
necessary approvals, authorizations and Consents of all Governmental Entities
required to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby shall have
been
obtained and shall remain in full force and effect and all statutory waiting
periods in respect thereof shall have expired or been terminated (all such
approvals and the expiration of all such waiting periods being referred
to
herein as the “Requisite
Regulatory Approvals”).
(b) No
Injunctions or Restraints; Illegality.
No
order, injunction or decree issued by any court or agency of competent
jurisdiction or other legal restraint or prohibition (an “Injunction”)
preventing the consummation of the Merger or any of the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement shall be in effect and no proceeding initiated
by
any Governmental Entity seeking an injunction shall be pending. No statute,
rule, regulation, order, injunction or decree shall have been enacted,
entered,
promulgated or enforced by any Governmental Entity which prohibits, restricts
or
makes illegal consummation of the Merger, or any of the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
49
8.02 Conditions
to Obligations of Parent and Merger Sub.
The
obligation of Parent and Merger Sub to effect the Merger is also subject
to the
satisfaction or waiver by Parent or Merger Sub, at or prior to the Effective
Time, of the following conditions:
(a) Stockholder
Approval.
This
Agreement shall have been approved and adopted by the vote of the Stockholders
in accordance with the DGCL and
the
Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws.
(b) Representations
and Warranties.
The
representations and warranties of the Company and the Principals set forth
in
this Agreement shall be true and correct in all material respects as of
the date
of this Agreement and as of the Closing Date as though made on and as of
the
Closing Date (except to the extent such representations and warranties
speak as
of an earlier date), except to the extent that such representations and
warranties are qualified by the term “material” or contain terms such as
“Company Material Adverse Effect” in which case such representations and
warranties shall be true and correct in all respects as of the date of
this
Agreement and at and as of the Closing Date (except to the extent such
representations and warranties speak as of an earlier date). Parent shall
receive at Closing a certificate signed on behalf of the Company by an
authorized officer and by each Principal to the foregoing effect.
(c) Performance
of Obligations of the Company and Principals.
The
Company and each Principal shall have performed all obligations required
to be
performed by it under this Agreement at or prior to the Closing Date,
and Parent
shall receive at Closing a certificate signed on behalf of the Company
by an
authorized officer and by each Principal to such effect.
(d) Consents
Under Agreements.
The
consent, approval, waiver or amendment of each person (other than the
Governmental Entities) set forth on Schedule 8.02(d)
hereto
shall have been obtained and shall be reasonably satisfactory to
Parent.
(e) Stock
Restriction and Non-Compete Agreements.
Each of
the Principals shall have executed and delivered to Parent a Stock Restriction
and Non-Compete Agreement.
(f) Stock
Restriction Agreements.
Each
Stockholder other than the Principals shall have executed and delivered
a Stock
Restriction Agreement.
(g) Contractor
Services Agreements.
Each
Continuing Independent Contractor shall have executed and delivered a Contractor
Services Agreement.
(h) Non-Foreign
Status.
Each
Stockholder shall
have provided to Parent a certificate of non-foreign status which meets
the
requirements of Treasury Regulation section 1.1445-2(b)(2).
(i) Resignations.
The
Company shall have received written letters of resignation from each of
the
current members of the board of directors of the Company, and each officer
of
the Company shall resign from such office, effective at the Effective
Time.
50
(j) Termination
of the Company’s Agreements.
Parent
shall have been furnished evidence satisfactory to it that all rights granted
by
the Company to Principals and in effect prior to the Closing, including,
but not
limited to, rights of co-sale, voting, registration, first refusal, first
offer,
preemptive, board observation or information or operational covenants,
shall
have been terminated or shall terminate as of the Effective Time.
(k) Opinion
of Counsel for Company.
The
Parent and Merger Sub shall have received a limited Opinion of Counsel
of the
Company in substantially the form attached as Exhibit H
or
otherwise in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the parties.
(l) Escrow
Agreement.
The
Parent, Merger Sub, Representative and the Escrow Agent shall each have
executed
and delivered the Escrow Agreement.
(m) Estoppel
Letter.
Strategic Advisors Enterprises and Xxxxxxxx Ronon Xxxxxxx & Xxxxx, LLP each
shall have delivered to the Company and Parent an estoppel letter certifying
its
respective fees and expenses with respect to the transactions contemplated
by
this Agreement and certifying that no further fees and expenses shall be
incurred with respect hereto.
(n) No
Material Adverse Changes.
During
the period between the execution of this Agreement and the Closing Date,
there
shall not have been any Company Material Adverse Effect and no fact or
condition
specific to the Company shall exist which has had or would reasonably be
expected to cause such a Company Material Adverse Effect after the
Closing.
8.03 Conditions
to Obligations of the Company.
The
obligations of the Company to effect the Merger is also subject to the
satisfaction, or waiver by the Company, at or prior to the Closing of the
following conditions:
(a) Representations
and Warranties.
The
representations and warranties of Parent and Merger Sub set forth in this
Agreement shall be true and correct in all material respects as of the
date of
this Agreement and as of the Closing Date as though made on and as of the
Closing Date (except to the extent such representations and warranties
speak as
of an earlier date), except to the extent that such representations and
warranties are qualified by the term “material” or contain terms such as “Parent
Material Adverse Effect” in which case such representations and warranties shall
be true and correct in all respects as of the date of this Agreement and
at and
as of the Closing Date (except to the extent such representations and warranties
speak as of an earlier date). The Company shall receive at Closing a certificate
signed on behalf of Parent by an authorized officer to the foregoing
effect.
(b) Performance
of Obligations of Parent and Merger Sub.
Parent
and Merger Sub shall have each performed all obligations required to be
performed by them under this Agreement at or prior to the Closing Date,
and the
Company shall receive at Closing a certificate signed on behalf of Parent
and
Merger Sub by an authorized officer of each company to such effect.
(c) Opinion
of Counsel for the Parent and Merger Sub.
The
Company shall have received a limited opinion of counsel of Parent and
Merger
Sub in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the parties.
51
(d) Escrow
Agreement.
The
Company, Parent, Merger Sub, Representative and the Escrow Agent shall
each have
executed and delivered the Escrow Agreement.
(e) No
Material Adverse Changes.
During
the period between the execution of this Agreement and the Closing Date,
there
shall not have been any Parent Material Adverse Effect and no fact or condition
specific to the Company shall exist which has had or would reasonably be
expected to cause such a Parent Material Adverse Effect after the Closing.
ARTICLE
IX
TERMINATION
AND AMENDMENT
9.01 Termination.
This
Agreement may be terminated and the Merger abandoned at any time prior
to the
Effective Time:
(a) by
mutual
written consent of Parent and the Company;
(b) by
either
Parent or the Company (provided, however, that the right to terminate this
Agreement under this clause shall not be available to any party whose breach
or
failure to fulfill any of its obligations under this Agreement has been
the
cause of or resulted in the failure of the Closing to occur) if there shall
have
been any material breach of any of the covenants or agreements set forth
in this
Agreement on the part of Merger Sub or Parent, on the one hand, or the
Company,
on the other hand, or any of the representations and warranties of such
party
shall cease to be materially true and correct, such that the provisions
of
Sections
8.02(b)
and
8.02(c)
or
Sections
8.03(a)
and
8.03(b),
as the
case may be, would not be satisfied and such breach has not been cured
within
ten days after notice thereof to the breaching party; provided, however,
that no
cure period shall be required for a breach which by its nature cannot be
cured;
or
(c) by
either
Parent or the Company if the Closing shall not have occurred by February
28,
2007; provided, however, such date may be increased by an additional 30
days at
the request of a party if the Closing is delayed solely because any Requisite
Regulatory Approval has not been obtained and such party is diligently
undertaking such efforts required to obtain the same; provided, further,
that
the right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 9.01(c)
shall
not be available to any party whose actions or failure to act has been
a primary
cause of, or resulted in, the failure of the Merger to occur on or before
such
date and such action or failure to act constitutes a breach of this
Agreement.
9.02 Effect
of Termination.
In the
event of termination of this Agreement by either Parent or the Company
as
provided in Section
9.01,
this
Agreement shall forthwith become void and have no effect, except that
Section 7.05(b)
shall
survive any termination of this Agreement for a period of two years following
such termination, and there shall be no further obligation on the part
of
Parent, Merger Sub, the Company, or their respective officers or directors
except for the obligations under such provisions. Notwithstanding anything
to
the contrary contained in this Agreement, no party shall be relieved or
released
from any liabilities or damages arising out of its intentional breach of
any
provision of this Agreement.
9.03 Expenses.
Regardless of whether the transactions contemplated by this Agreement close,
each party shall bear its own costs and expenses incurred in connection
with
this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby; provided that
the
Company shall bear the costs and expenses of the Principals hereunder only
to
the extent such costs and expenses are reflected on the Closing Date
Statement.
52
9.04 Amendment.
This
Agreement may not be amended except by an instrument in writing signed
on behalf
of each of the parties hereto.
9.05 Extension;
Waiver.
Any
agreement on the part of a party hereto to (a) extend the time for the
performance of any of the obligations or other acts of the other parties
hereto,
(b) waive any inaccuracies in the representations and warranties contained
herein or in any document delivered pursuant hereto or (c) waive compliance
with
any of the agreements or conditions contained herein shall be valid only
if set
forth in a written instrument signed on behalf of such party, but such
extension
or waiver shall nor operate as a waiver of, or estoppel with respect to,
any
subsequent or other failure.
ARTICLE
X
INDEMNIFICATION
10.01 Agreement
to Indemnify.
Following the Closing and subject to the limitations set forth
herein,
(a) the
Stockholders shall severally, on a pro rata basis in accordance with their
ownership of Company Common Stock, indemnify and agree to defend and hold
harmless Parent, the Merger Sub, for periods prior to Closing, and the
Surviving
Entity, for periods after Closing (and their respective Affiliates, officers,
directors, employees, representatives and agents) (“Parent
Indemnified Persons”
and,
singularly, a “Parent
Indemnified Person”)
against and in respect of any and all Damages, by reason of or otherwise
arising
out of:
(i) Parent
Indemnified Taxes;
(ii) any
amount Parent is entitled to claim as Damages calculated in accordance
with
Section
2.07(c);
(iii) any
claim
by an employee, former employee, independent contractor or former independent
contractor of the Company, or any other person or entity, based upon (A)
such
employee’s or former employee’s employment or such independent contractor’s or
former independent contractor’s contract with the Company prior to the Effective
Time, (B) the termination of employment of current or former employees or
current or former independent contractors of the Company prior to the Effective
Time, or (C) any severance arrangements or payments or any benefit, salary,
bonus, commission or other compensation payments made or required to be
made in
connection with such terminations prior to the Effective Time;
(iv) any
claim
by a Stockholder or former stockholder of the Company, or any other
person or
entity, against the Company or any of its Affiliates, officers, directors,
employees or agents, based upon any rights of a stockholder (other
than the
right of the Stockholders to receive Merger Consideration pursuant
to this
Agreement), including appraisal rights under the applicable provisions
of the
DGCL,
any
option, preemptive rights or rights to notice or to vote;
53
(v) any
expenses incurred by the Company in connection with this Agreement and
the
transactions contemplated hereby which are not paid by the Company prior
to the
Closing and which are not reflected on the Closing Date Statement;
(vi) a
breach
of a representation, warranty or covenant contained in this
Agreement
made by
the Company;
or
(vii) a
breach
of a representation, warranty or covenant contained in this Agreement made
by
such Principal.
provided,
that, the Parent Indemnified Persons will not be entitled to indemnification
pursuant to this Section
10.01(a)
unless
the aggregate amount of all Damages for which indemnification is sought
by the
Parent Indemnified Persons exceeds $100,000 (the “Parent
Indemnification Basket”),
in
which case the Parent Indemnified Persons will be entitled to indemnification
for the full amount of such Damages; provided, further, that the Parent
Indemnification Basket shall not apply to any claim for indemnification
based on
items (i),
(ii),
(iii),
(iv),
(v)
and
(vii)
above or
any claim for indemnification under item (vi) above to the extent such
claim
relates to a breach of representation, warranty or covenant under Section
4.01,
Section
4.02,
Section
4.06,
Section 4.08,
Section
4.09,
Section
4.11,
Section
4.13
or
Section 4.17.
It is
understood and agreed by the Parent Indemnified Persons that indemnification
hereunder is provided only severally by the Stockholders, and, except as
provided to the extent they are Stockholders, is not provided, directly
or
indirectly, jointly or severally, by the Principals based upon their making
representations, warranties or covenants hereunder or their execution of
this
Agreement or otherwise. The alleged breach or breach of a Stock Restriction
and
Non-Compete Agreement by a Stockholder shall not be an indemnifiable claim
hereunder.
(b) Parent
shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Stockholders and their respective
affiliates, representatives and agents (the “Stockholder
Indemnitees”)
against and in respect of any and all Damages by reason of or otherwise
arising
out of
a breach
by Parent or Merger Sub of any representation, warranty or covenant contained
in
this Agreement; provided, that, the Stockholder Indemnitees will not be
entitled
to indemnification pursuant to this Section
10.01(b)
unless
the aggregate amount of all Damages for which indemnification is sought
by the
Stockholder Indemnitees exceeds $100,000, in which case the Stockholder
Indemnitees will be entitled to indemnification for the full amount of
such
Damages.
10.02 Survival
of Indemnity.
The
representations, warranties and covenants and indemnification obligations
of the
Company and each Indemnifying Party pursuant to Section 10.01
shall
survive the Closing for a period of 24 months, except for Damages arising
out of Parent Indemnified Taxes or a breach of any of the representations
or
warranties in either Section
4.08,
Section
4.09
or
Section
4.17,
which
shall survive for a period of five years, and any claims for indemnification
in
accordance with this ARTICLE
X
with
respect to any representation or warranty must be made (and will be null
and
void unless made) prior to the end of the applicable survival period. Upon
expiration of such periods, no Indemnifying Party shall have any liability
for
Damages under such indemnification obligations unless it has received written
notice from an Indemnified Party claiming indemnification prior to the
expiration of the applicable period as required.
54
10.03 Additional
Provisions.
(a) Limitations
on Indemnified Amounts of the Stockholders.
In no
event shall the aggregate indemnity obligations of the Stockholders exceed
an
amount equal to the Merger Consideration, nor shall the aggregate indemnity
obligations of any Stockholder exceed the amount of Merger Consideration
that
may be distributable to such Stockholder (including such Stockholder’s
applicable percentage interest in the Escrowed Consideration). The liability
of
the Stockholders for indemnification under this ARTICLE
X
by
reason of or arising out of any breach by the Company of any representation,
warranty or covenant shall not be modified, waived or diminished by any
examination or investigation conducted by Parent of the books, records
or
operations of the Company.
(b) Limitations
on Indemnified Amounts of Parent.
In no
event shall the Parent’s aggregate indemnity obligations exceed an amount equal
to the Merger Consideration. The liability of Parent for indemnification
under
this ARTICLE
X
by
reason of or arising out of any breach by Parent or Merger Sub of any
representation, warranty or covenant shall not be modified, waived or diminished
by any examination or investigation conducted by the Company or its Affiliates,
representatives or agents of the books, records or operations of Parent
or
Merger Sub.
(c) Satisfaction
of Indemnification Obligations.
Parent
and Merger Sub agree that all Damages shall be satisfied as
follows:
(i) As
to
each Stockholder, first with the Escrowed Consideration attributable to
such
Stockholder, until such Stockholder’s pro rata amount of the aggregate amount of
unresolved indemnification claims made for the benefit of the Parent Indemnified
Persons exceeds the value of the Escrowed Consideration attributable to
such
Stockholder; and
(ii) Second,
the Parent Indemnified Persons shall be free to pursue Damages directly
against
the Stockholders severally subject to the maximum potential indemnification
obligation of the Stockholders as provided in Section
10.03(a).
(d) No
Limitation in Event of Fraud.
Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, nothing in this ARTICLE
X
(including the provisions of paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) of this Section
10.03)
or
otherwise shall limit, in any manner, any remedy at law or equity, to which
any
party may be entitled as a result of fraud by any Indemnifying Party or
its
employees, officers or directors or a violation of the federal securities
laws.
(e) Exclusivity
of Remedy; Survival of Covenants.
Following the Closing, except in respect of claims based upon fraud or
violation
of the federal securities laws and any indemnification accorded by the
Stock
Restriction Agreement or Stock Restriction and Non-Compete Agreement, the
indemnification accorded by this Section 10.03
shall be
the sole and exclusive remedy of the parties indemnified under this ARTICLE
X
in
respect of any misrepresentation or inaccuracy in, or breach of, any
representation or warranty or any breach or failure in performance of any
covenant or agreement made in this Agreement or in any document
55
or
certificate delivered pursuant hereto.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of any breach or failure
in
performance after the Closing of any covenant or agreement, a non-breaching
party shall also be entitled to seek specific performance, injunctive
or other
equitable relief. The covenants of any party shall terminate according
to the
terms of such covenant and the expiration of the applicable statutes
of
limitations.
(f) Subrogation.
Upon
making any payment to an Indemnified Party for any indemnification claim
pursuant to this ARTICLE
X,
an
Indemnifying Party shall be subrogated, to the extent of such payment,
to any
rights that the Indemnified Party may have against any other persons with
respect to the subject matter underlying such indemnification claim and
the
Indemnified Party shall take such actions as the Indemnifying Party may
reasonably require to perfect such subrogation or to pursue such rights
against
such other persons as the Indemnified Party may have.
10.04 Claim
Notice; Definitions; Third Party Claim Procedures.
(a) Claim
Notice.
An
Indemnified Party shall give each Indemnifying Party from whom indemnification
is sought prompt written notice (a “Claim
Notice”)
of any
claim, demand, action, suit, proceeding or discovery of fact upon which
the
Indemnified Party intends to base the claim for indemnification under this
ARTICLE
X,
which
shall contain (i) a description and a good faith estimate of the amount
of any
Damages incurred or reasonably expected to be incurred by the Indemnified
Party,
(ii) a statement that the Indemnified Party is entitled to indemnification
under
this ARTICLE
X
for such
Damages, and (iii) a demand for payment, provided, however, that no failure
to
give such Claim Notice shall excuse any Indemnifying Party from any obligation
hereunder except to the extent the Indemnifying Party is materially and
actually
prejudiced by such failure. Parent, Merger Sub, the Company and the
Representative agree that the procedures set forth in the Escrow Agreement
with
respect to Claim Notices and responses thereto shall govern all claims
made
against the Escrowed Consideration.
(b) Procedure.
The
Indemnified Party may, upon reasonable notice, tender the exclusive defense
of a
Third Party Claim (subject to the provisions of this Section
10.04(b))
to the
Indemnifying Party. If (i) the defense of a Third Party Claim is so tendered
and
within thirty (30) days thereafter such tender is accepted without qualification
(or reservation of rights) by the Indemnifying Party; or (ii) within 30
days
after the date on which written notice of a Third Party Claim has been
given
pursuant to this Section
10.04(b),
the
Indemnifying Party shall acknowledge in writing to the Indemnified Party
and
without qualification (or reservation of rights) its indemnification obligations
as provided in this ARTICLE
X;
then,
except as hereinafter provided, the Indemnified Party shall not, and the
Indemnifying Party shall, have the right to contest, defend, litigate or
settle
such Third Party Claim. The Indemnified Party shall have the right to be
represented by counsel at its own expense in any such contest, defense,
litigation or settlement conducted by the Indemnifying Party provided that
the
Indemnified Party shall be entitled to reimbursement therefor if the
Indemnifying Party shall lose its right to contest, defend, litigate and
settle
the Third Party Claim as herein provided. The Indemnifying Party shall
lose its
right to defend and settle the Third Party Claim if it shall fail to diligently
contest, defend, litigate and settle the Third Party Claim as provided
herein.
So long as the Indemnifying Party has not lost its right to defend, litigate
and
settle and/or obligation to contest,
56
ARTICLE
XI
REPRESENTATIVE
11.01 Appointment
of Representative.
The
initial Representative shall be Xxxx
Xxxxxxx (the
“Representative”).
The
Representative shall be the attorney-in-fact and agent of Principals with
respect to the matters set forth in this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything
to
the contrary set forth in this Agreement, the Representative shall have
no
duties or responsibilities except those expressly set forth herein, and
no
implied covenants, functions, responsibilities, duties, obligations or
liabilities on behalf of any Principal shall otherwise exist against the
Representative. The foregoing power is irrevocable and coupled with an
interest,
and shall not be affected by the death, incapacity, illness, dissolution
or
other inability to act of any of the Principals.
11.02 Authority.
By
executing this Agreement, each Principal grants the Representative full
power
and authority:
(a) to
accept
delivery of, on behalf of such Principal, such documents as may be deemed
by the
Representative, in his sole discretion, to be appropriate to consummate
this
Agreement;
(b) to
(i)
dispute or refrain from disputing, on behalf of such Principal, any claim
made
by Parent or the Surviving Entity under this Agreement; (ii) negotiate
and
compromise, on behalf of such Principal, any dispute that may arise under,
and
to exercise or refrain from exercising any remedies available under this
Agreement, and (iii) execute, on behalf of such Principal, any settlement
agreement, release or other document with respect to such dispute or
remedy;
(c) to
give
or agree to, on behalf of such Principal, any and all consents, waivers,
amendments or modifications, deemed by the Representative, in his sole
discretion, to be necessary or appropriate, under this Agreement, and,
in each
case, to execute and deliver any documents that may be necessary or appropriate
in connection therewith;
(d) to
enforce, on behalf of such Principal, any claim against Parent, Merger
Sub or
the Surviving Entity arising under this Agreement; and
(e) to
give
such instructions and to take such action or refrain from taking such action,
on
behalf of such Principals, as the Representative deems, in his sole discretion,
necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this
Agreement.
11.03 Reliance.
Each
Principal agrees that: (a) in all matters in which action by the Representative
is required or permitted, the Representative is authorized to act on behalf
of
such Principal, notwithstanding any dispute or disagreement among Principals
or
between any Principal and the Representative, and Parent, Merger Sub and
the
Surviving Entity shall be entitled to rely on any and all action taken
by the
Representative, under this Agreement without any liability to, or obligation
to
inquire of, any of the Principals notwithstanding any knowledge on the
part of
the Parent of any such dispute or disagreement; (b) the power and authority
of
the Representative, as described in this Agreement, shall be effective
until all
rights and obligations of Principals under this Agreement have terminated,
expired or been fully performed; and (c) if
57
the
Representative resigns or otherwise ceases to function in his or her capacity
as
such for any reason whatsoever, a majority of the Principals shall have
the
right, exercisable upon written notice delivered to Purchaser to appoint
another
individual to serve as a new Representative to fill the vacancy caused
by the
circumstance described above.
11.04 Indemnification
of Parent
Indemnified Persons.
Each
Stockholder shall severally indemnify the Parent Indemnified Persons against,
and agree to hold the Parent Indemnified Person harmless from, any and
all
Damages incurred or suffered by any Parent Indemnified Person arising out
of,
with respect to or incident to the operation of, or any breach of any covenant
or agreement pursuant to, this ARTICLE XI
by a
Stockholder or the Representative, or the designation, appointment and
actions
of the Representative pursuant to the provisions hereof, including with
respect
to (a) actions taken by the Representative, and (b) reliance in good faith
by
any Parent Indemnified Person on, and actions in good faith taken by any
Parent
Indemnified Person in response to or in reliance on, the instructions of,
notice
given by or any other action taken by the Representative.
11.05 Indemnification
of Representative.
Each
Stockholder shall severally indemnify and hold any Person serving as the
Representative harmless from and against any Damages (except as result
from such
Person’s bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct) that such Person may
suffer or incur in connection with any action taken by such Person as the
Representative. Each Stockholder shall bear its pro-rata portion of such
Damages. No Person serving as Representative shall be liable to any Stockholder
with respect to any action or omission taken or omitted to be taken by
the
Representative pursuant to this ARTICLE XI,
except
for such Person’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. No Representative
shall be responsible in any manner whatsoever for any failure or inability
of
Parent or Merger Sub, or of anyone else, to honor any of the provisions
of this
Agreement. The Representative shall be fully protected by the Stockholders
in
acting on and relying upon any written notice, direction, request, waiver,
notice, consent, receipt or other paper or document which they in good
faith
believe to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper
party
or parties. The Representative shall not be liable to the Stockholders
for any
error of judgment, or any act done or step taken or omitted by any of them
in
good faith or for any mistake in fact or law, or for anything which any
of them
may do or refrain from doing in connection herewith, except for their own
bad
faith, willful misconduct or gross negligence. The Representative may seek
the
advice of legal counsel, engage experts or otherwise incur reasonable expenses
in the event of any dispute or question as to the construction of any of
the
provisions of this Agreement or their duties hereunder, and they shall
incur no
liability to Stockholders with respect to any action taken, omitted or
suffered
by them in good faith in accordance with the opinion of such counsel or
experts.
The Stockholders shall severally, on a pro rata basis in accordance with
their
ownership of Company Common Stock, hold the Representative harmless from
and
against any and all such expenses, and, in addition to any and all other
remedies available, the Representative shall have the right to set-off
against
any amounts due to the Stockholders.
ARTICLE
XII
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
12.01 Notices.
All
notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall
be
deemed given when delivered personally, via electronic mail (with confirmation
from recipient) or telecopied (with confirmation from
58
recipient)
provided that a copy of all electronic
communications and telecopies is sent by one of the other delivery methods
set
forth in this Section
12.01
within
one day of being sent electronically or telecopied, three (3) days after
mailed by registered or certified mail (return receipt requested) or
on the day
delivered by an express courier (with confirmation from recipient) to
the
parties at the following addresses (or at such other address for a party
as
shall be specified by like notice):
(a) if
to
Parent or Merger Sub, to:
Perficient,
Inc.
1120
South Capital of Xxxxx Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx 0,
Xxxxx 000
Xxxxxx,
Xxxxx 00000
Attn:
Xxxx X. XxXxxxxx, Chief Executive Officer
Phone:
(000)
000-0000
Facsimile: (000)
000-0000
Email:
Xxxx.XxXxxxxx@Xxxxxxxxxx.xxx
with
a
copy to:
Xxxxxx
& Xxxxxx L.L.P.
The
Terrace 7
0000
Xxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 000
Xxxxxx,
Xxxxx 00000
Attn:
X.
Xxxxx Xxx III, Esq.
Phone:
(000)
000-0000
Facsimile: (000)
000-0000
Email:
xxxx@xxxxx.xxx
(b) if
to the
Company, to:
e
tech
solutions, Inc.
0000
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxx 000
Xxxx
Xxxxxxx, XX 00000
Attn:
Xxxx Xxxxxx
Phone:
(000)
000-0000
Facsimile: (000)
000-0000
with
a
copy to:
Xxxxxxxx
Ronon Xxxxxxx & Xxxxx, LLP
0000
Xxx
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx,
XX 00000-0000
Attn:
Xxxx Xxxxxxxx, Esq.
Phone:
(000)
000-0000
Facsimile: (000)
000-0000
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
59
if to the Representative, to:
Xxxx
Xxxxxxx
_______________________
_______________________
with
a
copy to:
Xxxxxxxx
Ronon Xxxxxxx & Xxxxx, LLP
0000
Xxx
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx,
XX 00000-0000
Attn:
Xxxx Xxxxxxxx, Esq.
Phone: (000)
000-0000
Facsimile: (000)
000-0000
Email:
xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
(c) if
to a
Principal, to such Person’s address as shown on the signature page of this
Agreement, with a copy to:
Xxxxxxxx
Ronon Xxxxxxx & Xxxxx, LLP
0000
Xxx
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx,
XX 00000-0000
Attn:
Xxxx Xxxxxxxx, Esq.
Phone: (000)
000-0000
Facsimile: (000)000-0000
Email: xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
12.02 Interpretation.
When a
reference is made in this Agreement to Sections, Exhibits or Schedules,
such
reference shall be to a Section of or Exhibit or Schedule to this Agreement
unless otherwise indicated. The table of contents and headings contained
in this
Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way
the
meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. Whenever the words “include,”
“includes”
or
“including”
are
used in this Agreement, they shall be deemed to be followed by the words
“without
limitation.”
12.03 Counterparts
and Facsimile Execution.
This
Agreement may be executed in counterparts, all of which shall be considered
one
and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have
been
signed by each of the parties and delivered to the other parties, it being
understood that all parties need not sign the same counterpart. Any counterpart
or other signature delivered by facsimile shall be deemed for all purposes
as
being a good and valid execution and delivery of this Agreement by that
party.
12.04 Entire
Agreement.
This
Agreement (including the documents and the instruments referred to herein)
constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all prior agreements and
understandings, both written and oral, among the parties with respect to
the
subject matter hereof.
60
12.05 Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to any applicable conflicts of law principles thereof.
12.06 Enforcement
of Agreement.
The
parties hereto agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that
the
provisions contained in Sections 7.05(b)
or
6.02
of this
Agreement were not performed in accordance with its specific terms or were
otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that the parties shall be
entitled
to an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches of Sections 7.05(b)
or
6.02
of this
Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions thereof
in any
court of the United States or any court located in (a) the city of Austin
in the
State of Texas, this being in addition to any other remedy to which they
are
entitled at law or in equity.
12.07 Severability.
Any term
or provision of this Agreement which is invalid or unenforceable in any
jurisdiction shall, as to that jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent
of
such invalidity or unenforceability without rendering invalid or unenforceable
the remaining terms and provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity
or enforceability of any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement in
any
other jurisdiction. If any provision of this Agreement is deemed to be
so broad
as to be unenforceable, the provision shall be interpreted to be only so
broad
as is enforceable.
12.08 Assignment.
Neither
this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests or obligations hereunder
shall
be assigned by any of the parties hereto (whether by operation of law or
otherwise) without the prior written consent of the other parties. Subject
to
the preceding sentence, this Agreement will be binding upon, inure to the
benefit of and be enforceable by the parties and their respective successors
and
assigns. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, this Agreement
(including the documents and instruments referred to herein) is not intended
to
confer upon any person other than the parties hereto any rights or remedies
hereunder.
12.09 Amendment.
This
Agreement may be amended with respect to any of the terms contained herein
only
by written agreement, signed by each of the parties hereto, except that
no
amendment affecting Stockholders who are not Principals may be made without
their written consent.
[Signature
Page Follows]
61
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties to this Agreement have executed this Agreement
as
of the date first above written.
PARENT: | ||
Perficient Inc. | ||
|
|
|
By: | /s/ Xxxx X. XxXxxxxx | |
Name: Xxxx X. XxXxxxxx |
||
Title: Chief Executive Officer |
MERGER SUB: | ||
PFT
MergeCo III, Inc.
|
||
|
|
|
By: | /s/ Xxxx X. XxXxxxxx | |
Name: Xxxx X. XxXxxxxx |
||
Title: Chief Executive Officer |
COMPANY: | ||
e tech solutions, Inc. | ||
|
|
|
: | By: | /s/ Xxxx Xxxxxx |
Name: Xxxx Xxxxxx |
||
Title: Chief Executive Officer |
REPRESENTATIVE | ||
|
|
|
/s/ Xxxx Xxxxxxx | ||
Name: Xxxx Xxxxxxx |
PRINCIPALS | ||
|
|
|
By: | /s/ Xxxx Xxxxxx | |
Name: Xxxx Xxxxxx |
||
Address:________________________________ ________________________________ |
|
|
|
By: | /s/ Xxxx Xxxxxxx | |
Name: Xxxx Xxxxxxx |
||
Address:________________________________ ________________________________ |
|
|
|
By: | /s/ Xxxx Xxxxxxx | |
Name: Xxxx Xxxxxxx |
||
Address:________________________________ ________________________________ |
EXHIBIT A
FORM
OF CONTRACTOR SERVICES AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT B
FORM
OF ESCROW AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT C
FORM
OF LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
EXHIBIT D
FORM
OF STOCK RESTRICTION AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT E
FORM
OF STOCK RESTRICTION AND NON-COMPETE AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT F
FORM
OF LLC SUB MERGER AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT G
FORM
OF IRREVOCABLE PROXY
EXHIBIT H
FORM
OF OPINION OF COUNSEL TO THE COMPANY