1,250,000 SHARES(1)
IWL COMMUNICATIONS, INCORPORATED
COMMON STOCK
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
____________, 1997
CRUTTENDEN XXXX INCORPORATED
As Representative of the several Underwriters
c/o Cruttenden Xxxx Incorporated
00000 Xxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 000
Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000
Ladies and Gentlemen:
IWL Communications, Incorporated, a Texas corporation (the "Company")
addresses you as the Representative of each of the persons, firms and
corporations listed in Schedule A hereto (herein collectively called the
"Underwriters") and hereby confirms its agreement with the several Underwriters
as follows:
1. DESCRIPTION OF SHARES. The Company proposes to issue and sell
1,250,000 shares of its authorized and unissued Common Stock, par value $0.01
per share, (the "Firm Shares") to the several Underwriters. The Company also
proposes to grant to the Underwriters an option to purchase up to 187,500
additional shares of the Company's Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share
(the "Option Shares"), as provided in Section 7 hereof. As used in this
Agreement, the term "Shares" shall include the Firm Shares and the Option
Shares. All shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the
Company to be outstanding after giving effect to the sales contemplated
hereby, including the Shares, are hereinafter referred to as "Common Stock."
2. REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND AGREEMENTS OF THE COMPANY.
The Company represents and warrants to and agrees with each
Underwriter that:
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(1) Plus an option to purchase up to 187,500 additional shares from the
Company to cover over-allotments.
(a) A registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-_____)
with respect to the Shares, including a prospectus, has been prepared by the
Company in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the "Act"), and the applicable rules and regulations (the "Rules and
Regulations") of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") under
the Act and has been filed with the Commission; such amendments to such
registration statement, such amended prospectuses and such abbreviated
registration statements pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Rules and Regulations as
may have been required prior to the date hereof have been similarly prepared and
filed with the Commission; and the Company will file such additional amendments
to such registration statement, such amended prospectuses and such abbreviated
registration statements as may hereafter be required. Copies of such
registration statement and amendments together with each exhibit filed
therewith, of each related prospectus (the "Preliminary Prospectuses") and of
any abbreviated registration statement pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Rules and
Regulations have been delivered to you.
If the registration statement relating to the Shares has been
declared effective under the Act by the Commission, the Company will prepare and
promptly file with the Commission the information omitted from the registration
statement pursuant to Rule 430A(a) or, if Cruttenden Xxxx Incorporated, on
behalf of the several Underwriters, shall agree to the utilization of Rule 434
of the Rules and Regulations, the information required to be included in any
term sheet filed pursuant to Rule 434(b) or (c), as applicable, of the Rules and
Regulations pursuant to subparagraph (1), (4) or (7) of Rule 424(b) of the Rules
and Regulations or as part of a post-effective amendment to the registration
statement (including a final form of prospectus). If the registration statement
relating to the Shares has not been declared effective under the Act by the
Commission, the Company will prepare and promptly file an amendment to the
registration statement, including a final form of prospectus, or, if Cruttenden
Xxxx Incorporated, on behalf of the several Underwriters, shall agree to the
utilization of Rule 434 of the Rules and Regulations, the information required
to be included in any term sheet filed pursuant to Rule 434(b) or (c), as
applicable, of the Rules and Regulations. The term "Registration Statement" as
used in this Agreement shall mean such registration statement, including
financial statements, schedules and exhibits (including exhibits incorporated by
reference), in the form in which it became or becomes, as the case may be,
effective (including, if the Company omitted information from the registration
statement pursuant to Rule 430A(a) or files a term sheet pursuant to Rule 434 of
the Rules and Regulations, the information deemed to be a part of the
registration statement at the time it became effective pursuant to Rule 430A(b)
or Rule 434(d) of the Rules and Regulations) and, in the event of any amendment
thereto or the filing of any abbreviated registration statement pursuant to Rule
462(b) of the Rules and Regulations relating thereto after the effective date of
such registration statement, shall also mean (from and after the effectiveness
of such amendment or the filing of such abbreviated registration statement) such
registration statement as so amended, together with any such abbreviated
registration statement. The term "Prospectus" as used in this Agreement shall
mean the prospectus relating to the Shares as included in such Registration
Statement at the time it becomes effective (including, if the Company omitted
information from the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430A(a) of the
Rules and Regulations, the information deemed to be a part of the Registration
Statement at the time it became effective pursuant to Rule 430A(b) of the Rules
and Regulations); PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that if in reliance on Rule 434 of
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the Rules and Regulations and with the consent of Cruttenden Xxxx Incorporated,
on behalf of the several Underwriters, the Company shall have provided to the
Underwriters a term sheet pursuant to Rule 434(b) or (c), as applicable, prior
to the time that a confirmation is sent or given for purposes of Section
2(10)(a) of the Act, the term "Prospectus" shall mean the "prospectus subject to
completion" (as defined in Rule 434(g) of the Rules and Regulations) last
provided to the Underwriters by the Company and circulated by the Underwriters
to all prospective purchasers of the Shares (including the information deemed to
be a part of the Registration Statement at the time it became effective pursuant
to Rule 434(d) of the Rules and Regulations). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if
any revised prospectus shall be provided to the Underwriters by the Company for
use in connection with the offering of the Shares that differs from the
prospectus referred to in the immediately preceding sentence (whether or not
such revised prospectus is required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to
Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations), the term "Prospectus" shall refer to
such revised prospectus from and after the time it is first provided to the
Underwriters for such use. If in reliance on Rule 434 of the Rules and
Regulations and with the consent of Cruttenden Xxxx Incorporated, on behalf of
the several Underwriters, the Company shall have provided to the Underwriters a
term sheet pursuant to Rule 434(b) or (c), as applicable, prior to the time that
a confirmation is sent or given for purposes of Section 2(10)(a) of the Act, the
Prospectus and the term sheet, together, will not be materially different from
the prospectus in the Registration Statement.
(b) The Commission has not issued any order preventing or
suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or instituted proceedings for
that purpose, and each such Preliminary Prospectus has conformed in all material
respects to the requirements of the Act and the Rules and Regulations and, as of
its date, has not included any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to
state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of
the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and at the time
the Registration Statement became or becomes, as the case may be, effective and
at all times subsequent thereto up to and on the Closing Date (hereinafter
defined) and on any later date on which Option Shares are to be purchased, (i)
the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and any amendments or supplements
thereto, contained and will contain all material information required to be
included therein by the Act and the Rules and Regulations and will in all
material respects conform to the requirements of the Act and the Rules and
Regulations, (ii) the Registration Statement, and any amendments or supplements
thereto, did not and will not include any 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) the Prospectus, and any
amendments or supplements thereto, did not and will not include any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make
the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were
made, not misleading; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that none of the representations and
warranties contained in this subparagraph (b) shall apply to information
contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any
amendment or supplement thereto, in reliance upon, and in conformity with,
written information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company by such
Underwriter specifically for use in the preparation thereof.
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(c) The Company and its subsidiaries are duly incorporated and
validly existing as corporations in good standing under the laws of the
jurisdiction of their incorporation with full power and authority (corporate and
other) to own, lease and operate their properties and conduct their business as
described in the Prospectus; the Company and its subsidiaries are duly qualified
to do business as foreign corporations and in good standing in each jurisdiction
in which the ownership or leasing of their properties or the conduct of their
business requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so
qualified or be in good standing would not have a material adverse effect on the
condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, operations, business or business
prospects of the Company; no proceeding has been instituted in any such
jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing, or seeking to revoke, limit or
curtail, such power and authority or qualification; the Company and its
subsidiaries are in possession of and operating in compliance with all
authorizations, licenses, certificates, consents, orders and permits from state,
federal and other regulatory authorities that are material to the conduct of
their business, all of which are valid and in full force and effect; the Company
and its subsidiaries are not in violation of their charter or bylaws or in
default in the performance or observance of any material obligation, agreement,
covenant or condition contained in any material bond, debenture, note or other
evidence of indebtedness, or in any material lease, contract, indenture,
mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, joint venture or other agreement or
instrument to which the Company (or any of its subsidiaries) are a party or by
which their properties may be bound; and the Company and its subsidiaries are
not in material violation of any law, order, rule, regulation, writ, injunction,
judgment or decree of any court, government or governmental agency or body,
domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company, its subsidiaries or
over their properties. The Company does not own or control, directly or
indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than IWL
Communications, Ltd., a corporation organized under the laws of Russia, IWL
Baltija Communications (Latvia) SIA, a corporation organized under the laws of
Latvia, each of which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and Kenwood
Systems Group, Inc., a California corporation of which the Company owns 50% of
the outstanding Common Stock.
(d) The Company has full legal right, power and authority to
enter into this Agreement and perform the transactions contemplated hereby.
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company
and is a valid and binding agreement on the part of the Company, enforceable in
accordance with its terms, except as rights to indemnification hereunder may be
limited by applicable law and except as the enforcement hereof may be limited by
applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar
laws relating to or affecting creditors' rights generally or by general
equitable principles; the making and performance of this Agreement by the
Company and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated will not
result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or
constitute a default under, (i) any bond, debenture, note or other evidence of
indebtedness, or under any lease, contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust,
loan agreement, joint venture or other agreement or instrument to which the
Company is a party or by which its properties may be bound, (ii) the charter or
bylaws of the Company or (iii) any law, order, rule, regulation, writ,
injunction, judgment or decree of any court, administrative agency, regulatory
body, government or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign, having
jurisdiction over the Company or its properties. No consent, approval,
authorization or order of or qualification with any court, government or
governmental agency or
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body, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or its
properties is required for the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the
consummation by the Company of the transactions herein contemplated, except such
as may be required under the Act, by the National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc. (the "NASD"), the rules of the Nasdaq National Market, or under
state or other securities or Blue Sky laws, all of which requirements have been
satisfied in all material respects.
(e) There is not any pending or, to the Company's knowledge,
threatened, any action, suit, claim or proceeding against the Company, any of
its officers, any of its properties or its subsidiaries, assets or rights before
any court, administrative agency, regulatory body, government or governmental
agency or body, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company, its
officers, its properties, its subsidiaries or otherwise which (i) might,
individually or in the aggregate, result in any material adverse change in the
condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, operations, business or business
prospects of the Company or might materially and adversely affect the Company's
properties, assets or rights, (ii) might prevent consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby or (iii) is required to be disclosed in the
Registration Statement or Prospectus and is not so disclosed; and there are no
agreements, contracts, leases or documents of the Company of a character
required to be described or referred to in the Registration Statement or
Prospectus or to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement by the Act
or the Rules and Regulations which have not been accurately described in all
material respects in the Registration Statement or Prospectus or filed as
exhibits to the Registration Statement. The Company and its subsidiaries are
not a party or subject to the provisions of any injunction, judgment, decree or
order of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, government or
governmental agency or body domestic or foreign, that could be expected to
result in a material adverse change in the condition (financial or other),
earnings, operations, business or business prospects of the Company.
(f) All outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been
duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable, have
been issued in compliance with all federal and state securities laws, were not
issued in violation of or subject to any preemptive rights or other rights to
subscribe for or purchase securities, and the authorized and outstanding capital
stock of the Company is as set forth in the Prospectus under the caption
"Capitalization" and conforms in all material respects to the statements
relating thereto contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (and
such statements correctly state the substance of the instruments defining the
capitalization of the Company); the Shares have been duly authorized for
issuance and sale to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement, and, when
issued and delivered by the Company against payment therefor in accordance with
the terms of this Agreement, will be duly and validly issued and fully paid and
nonassessable, and will be sold free and clear of any pledge, lien, security
interest, encumbrance, claim or equitable interest; and no preemptive right,
co-sale right, registration right, right of first refusal or other similar right
of shareholders exists with respect to any of the Shares or the issuance and
sale thereof other than those that have been satisfied or expressly waived prior
to the date hereof and those that will automatically expire upon and will not
apply to the consummation of the transactions contemplated on or before the
Closing Date. No further approval or authorization of any shareholder, the
Board of Directors of the Company or others is required for
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the issuance and sale or transfer of the Shares except as may be required under
the Act or under state or other securities or Blue Sky laws. Except as
disclosed in the Registration Statement, Prospectus and the financial statements
of the Company, and the related notes thereto included in the Prospectus, the
Company has no outstanding options to purchase, or any preemptive rights or
other rights to subscribe for or to purchase, any securities or obligations
convertible into, or any contracts or commitments to issue or sell, shares of
its capital stock or any such options, rights, convertible securities or
obligations. The description of the Company's stock option, stock bonus and
other stock plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights granted and
exercised thereunder, set forth in the Prospectus fairly and accurately presents
the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements,
options and rights.
(g) KPMG Peat Marwick LLP, Independent Auditors, which has
examined the financial statements of the Company, together with the related
schedules and notes, as of December 31, 1996 and 1995 and for each of the years
in the three (3) years ended June 30, 1996 filed with the Commission as a part
of the Registration Statement, which are included in the Prospectus, are
independent accountants within the meaning of the Act and the Rules and
Regulations; the audited financial statements of the Company, together with the
related schedules and notes, and the unaudited financial information, forming
part of the Registration Statement and Prospectus, fairly present the financial
position and the results of operations of the Company at the respective dates
and for the respective periods to which they apply; and all audited financial
statements of the Company, together with the related schedules and notes, and
the unaudited financial information, filed with the Commission as part of the
Registration Statement, have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles consistently applied throughout the periods involved
except as may be otherwise stated therein. The selected and summary financial
and statistical data included in the Registration Statement present fairly the
information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with the
audited financial statements presented therein. No other financial statements
or schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement.
(h) Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information
is given in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, there has not been (i)
any material adverse change in the condition (financial or otherwise), earnings,
operations, business or business prospects of the Company, (ii) any transaction
that is material to the Company, (iii) any obligation, direct or contingent,
that is material to the Company, incurred by the Company, except obligations
incurred in the ordinary course of business, (iv) any change in the capital
stock or outstanding indebtedness of the Company, (v) any dividend or
distribution of any kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the
Company, (vi) any default in the payment of principal of or interest on any
outstanding debt obligations, or (vii) any loss or damage (whether or not
insured) to the property of the Company which has been sustained or will have
been sustained which has a material adverse effect on the condition (financial
or otherwise), earnings, operations, business or business prospects of the
Company.
(i) Except as set forth in the Registration Statement and
Prospectus, (i) the Company has good and marketable title to all properties and
assets described in the Registration
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Statement and Prospectus as owned by it, free and clear of any pledge, lien,
security interest, encumbrance, claim or equitable interest, other than such as
would not have a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or
otherwise), earnings, operations, business or business prospects of the Company,
(ii) the agreements to which the Company is a party described in, or filed as
exhibits to, the Registration Statement and Prospectus are valid agreements,
enforceable by the Company, except as the enforcement thereof may be limited by
applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar
laws relating to or affecting creditors' rights generally or by general
equitable principles and, to the Company's knowledge, the other contracting
party or parties thereto are not in material breach or material default under
any of such agreements, and (iii) the Company has valid and enforceable leases
for all properties described in the Registration Statement and Prospectus as
leased by it, except as the enforcement thereof may be limited by applicable
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws
relating to or affecting creditors' rights generally or by general equitable
principles. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement and Prospectus,
the Company owns or leases all such properties as are necessary to its
operations as now conducted or as proposed to be conducted.
(j) The Company and its subsidiaries have timely filed all
necessary federal, state and foreign income and franchise tax returns and have
paid all taxes shown thereon as due, and there is no tax deficiency that has
been or, to the Company's knowledge, might be asserted against the Company (or
any of its subsidiaries) that might have a material adverse effect on the
condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, operations, business or business
prospects of the Company; and all tax liabilities are adequately provided for on
the books of the Company.
(k) The Company maintains insurance with insurers of recognized
financial responsibility of the types and in the amounts generally deemed
prudent for its business and consistent with insurance coverage maintained by
similar companies in similar businesses, including, but not limited to,
insurance covering real and personal property owned or leased by the Company
against theft, damage, destruction, acts of vandalism, products liability,
errors and omissions, and all other risks customarily insured against, all of
which insurance is in full force and effect; the Company has not been refused
any insurance coverage sought or applied for; and the Company does not have any
reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance
coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from
similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that
would not materially and adversely affect the condition (financial or
otherwise), earnings, operations, business or business prospects of the Company.
(l) To the Company's knowledge, no labor disturbance by the
employees of the Company exists or is imminent; and the Company is not aware of
any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its
principal suppliers, subcontractors, authorized dealers or international
distributors that might be expected to result in a material adverse change in
the condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, operations, business or
business prospects of the Company. No collective bargaining agreement exists
with any of the Company's employees and, to the Company's knowledge, no such
agreement is imminent.
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(m) The Company owns or possesses exclusive rights to use all
patents, patent rights, inventions, trade secrets, know-how, trademarks, service
marks, trade names and copyrights which are necessary to conduct its business as
now conducted and as described in the Registration Statement and Prospectus;
except as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the
expiration of any patents, patent rights, trade secrets, trademarks, service
marks, trade names or copyrights would not have a material adverse effect on the
condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, operations, business or business
prospects of the Company; the Company has not received any notice of, and has no
knowledge of, any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of the
Company by others with respect to any patent, patent rights, inventions, trade
secrets, know-how, trademarks, service marks, trade names or copyrights; and the
Company has not received any notice of, nor has it any knowledge of, any
infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any
patent, patent rights, inventions, trade secrets, know-how, trademarks, service
marks, trade names or copyrights which, singly or in the aggregate, if the
subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, might have a material
adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, operations,
business or business prospects of the Company.
(n) The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and is
approved for quotation on the Nasdaq National Market, and the Company has taken
no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the
registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act or delisting the Common
Stock from the Nasdaq National Market, nor has the Company received any
notification that the Commission or the NASD is contemplating terminating such
registration or listing.
(o) The Company has been advised concerning the Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), and the rules and regulations
thereunder, and has in the past conducted, and intends in the future to conduct,
its affairs in such a manner as to ensure that it is not and will not become an
"investment company" or a company "controlled" by an "investment company" within
the meaning of the 1940 Act and such rules and regulations.
(p) The Company has not distributed and will not distribute
prior to the later of (i) the Closing Date, or any date on which Option Shares
are to be purchased, as the case may be, and (ii) completion of the distribution
of the Shares, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of
the Shares other than any Preliminary Prospectuses, the Prospectus, the
Registration Statement and other materials, if any, permitted by the Act.
(q) The Company (nor any of its subsidiaries) has not at any
time during the last five (5) years (i) made any unlawful contribution to any
candidate for foreign office or failed to disclose fully any contribution in
violation of law, or (ii) made any payment to any federal or state governmental
officer or official, or other person charged with similar public or quasi-public
duties, other than payments required or permitted by the laws of the United
States or any jurisdiction thereof.
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(r) The Company has not taken and will not take, directly or
indirectly, any action designed to or that might reasonably be expected to cause
or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Common Stock to
facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares.
(s) Except as otherwise set forth in the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus, each officer and director of the Company, and
each shareholder that holds restricted securities has agreed in writing that
such person will not, except as described below, for a period of 365 days
from the date of the final Prospectus (the "Lock-Up Period"), sell, offer to
sell, solicit an offer to buy, contract to sell, loan, pledge, grant any
option to purchase, or otherwise transfer or dispose of (collectively, a
"Disposition"), any shares of Common Stock, or any securities convertible
into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock (collectively,
"Securities"), now owned or hereafter acquired by such person or with respect
to which such person has or hereafter acquires the power of disposition
otherwise than (i) on exercise (on a cash or cashless basis, whether in a
traditional cashless exercise or in a "brokers" cashless exercise), of Common
Stock options or warrants outstanding, it being understood, however, that the
shares of Common Stock received (net of shares sold by or on behalf of such
person in a "brokers" cashless exercise or shares delivered to the Company in
a traditional cashless exercise thereof) by such person upon exercise thereof
shall be subject to the terms of the Lock-Up Agreement (as defined below),
(ii) on the transfer of shares of Common Stock or Securities during such
person's lifetime by BONA FIDE gift or upon death by will or intestacy,
provided that any transferee agrees to be bound by the Lock-Up Agreement, and
(iii) on the transfer or other disposition of shares of Common Stock or
Securities as a distribution to limited partners or shareholders of such
person, provided that the distributees thereof agree to be bound by the terms
of the Lock-Up Agreement. The foregoing restriction has been expressly
agreed to preclude the holder of the Securities from engaging in any hedging,
pledge or other transaction which is designed to or may reasonably be
expected to lead to or result in a Disposition of Securities during the
Lock-up Period, even if such Securities would be disposed of by someone other
than such shareholder. Such prohibited hedging, pledge or other transactions
would include, without limitation, any short sale (whether or not against the
box) any pledge of shares covering an obligation that matures, or could
reasonably mature during the Lock-Up Period, or any purchase, sale or grant
of any right (including, without limitation, any put or call option) with
respect to any Securities or with respect to any security (other than a
broad-based market basket or index) that includes, relates to or derives any
significant part of its value from Securities. Furthermore, such person has
also agreed and consented to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the
Company's transfer agent against the transfer of the Securities held by such
person except in compliance with this restriction. The Company has provided
to counsel for the Underwriters a complete and accurate list of all
securityholders of the Company as of February 28, 1997 and the number and
type of securities held by each securityholder. The Company has provided to
counsel for the Underwriters true, accurate and complete copies of all of the
agreements pursuant to which its officers, directors and shareholders have
agreed to such or similar restrictions (the "Lock-up Agreements") presently
in effect or effected hereby. The Company hereby represents and warrants
that it will not release any of its officers, directors or other shareholders
from any Lock-up Agreements currently existing or hereafter effected without
the prior written consent of Cruttenden Xxxx Incorporated.
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(t) The Company maintains a system of internal accounting
controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are
executed in accordance with management's general or specific authorizations,
(ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial
statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to
maintain accountability for assets, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in
accordance with management's general or specific authorization, and (iv) the
recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at
reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any
differences.
(u) There are no outstanding loans, advances (except normal
advances for business expenses in the ordinary course of business) or guarantees
of indebtedness by the Company to or for the benefit of any of the officers or
directors of the Company or any of the members of the families of any of them,
except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
(v) Other than Cruttenden Xxxx Incorporated, on behalf of the
several Underwriters, no person is or will be owed any finders fee or commission
or similar payment in connection with the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
3. PURCHASE, SALE AND DELIVERY OF SHARES. On the basis of the
representations, warranties and agreements herein contained, but subject to the
terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to sell to the
Underwriters, and each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to
purchase from the Company, at a purchase price of $_____ per share, the
respective number of Firm Shares which is set forth opposite the name of such
Underwriter in Schedule A hereto (subject to adjustment as provided in Section
10).
Delivery of definitive certificates for the Firm Shares to be
purchased by the Underwriters pursuant to this Section 3 shall be made against
payment of the purchase price therefor by the several Underwriters by certified
or official bank check or checks drawn in next-day funds, payable to the order
of the Company (and the Company agrees not to deposit any such check in the bank
on which it is drawn, and not to take any other action with the purpose or
effect of receiving immediately available funds, until the business day
following the date of delivery to the Company and, in the event of any breach of
the foregoing, the Company shall reimburse the Underwriters for the interest
lost and any other expenses borne by the Underwriters by reason of such breach),
at the offices of Xxxxxxx, Phleger & Xxxxxxxx LLP, 000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx
0000, Xxxxxx, Xxxxx (or at such other place as may be agreed upon between the
Representative and the Company, at 7:00 A.M. Pacific daylight savings time, (a)
on the third (3rd) full business day following the first day that Shares are
traded, (b) if this Agreement is executed and delivered after 1:30 P.M. Pacific
daylight savings time, the fourth (4th) full business day following the day that
this Agreement is executed and delivered or (c) at such other time and date not
later than seven (7) full business days following the first day that Shares are
traded as the Representative and the Company may determine (or at such time and
date to which payment and delivery shall have been postponed pursuant to Section
10 hereof), such time and date of payment and delivery being herein called the
"Closing Date"; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that if the Company has not made available to
the Representative copies
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of the Prospectus within the time provided in Section 4(d) hereof, the
Representative may, in its sole discretion, postpone the Closing Date until no
later than two (2) full business days following delivery of copies of the
Prospectus to the Representative. The certificates for the Firm Shares to be so
delivered will be made available to you at such office or such other location
including, without limitation, in New York City, as you may reasonably request
for checking at least one (1) full business day prior to the Closing Date and
will be in such names and denominations as you may request, such request to be
made at least two (2) full business days prior to the Closing Date. If the
Representative so elects, delivery of the Firm Shares may be made by credit
through full fast transfer to the accounts at The Depository Trust Company
designated by the Representative.
It is understood that you, individually, and not as the Representative
of the several Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment of
the purchase price on behalf of any Underwriter or Underwriters whose check or
checks shall not have been received by you prior to the Closing Date for the
Firm Shares to be purchased by such Underwriter or Underwriters. Any such
payment by you shall not relieve any such Underwriter or Underwriters of any of
its or their obligations hereunder.
After the Registration Statement becomes effective, the several
Underwriters intend to make a public offering (as such term is described in
Section 11 hereof) of the Firm Shares at a public offering price of $_____ per
share. After the public offering, the several Underwriters may, in their
discretion, vary the public offering price.
The information set forth on the front cover page (insofar as such
information relates to the Underwriters) concerning stabilization,
over-allotment and passive market making by the Underwriters, and under the
first, third, eighth and last paragraphs under the caption "Underwriting" in any
Preliminary Prospectus and in the Prospectus constitutes the only information
furnished by the Underwriters to the Company for inclusion in any Preliminary
Prospectus, the Prospectus or the Registration Statement, and you, on behalf of
the respective Underwriters, represent and warrant to the Company that the
statements made therein do not include any untrue statement of a material fact
or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to
make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they
were made, not misleading.
4. FURTHER AGREEMENTS OF THE COMPANY. The Company agrees with the
several Underwriters that:
(a) The Company will use its best efforts to cause the
Registration Statement and any amendment thereof, if not effective at the time
and date that this Agreement is executed and delivered by the parties hereto, to
become effective as promptly as possible; the Company will use its best efforts
to cause any abbreviated registration statement pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the
Rules and Regulations as may be required subsequent to the date the Registration
Statement is declared effective to become effective as promptly as possible; the
Company will notify you, promptly after it shall receive notice thereof, of the
time when the Registration Statement, any subsequent amendment to the
Registration Statement or any abbreviated registration statement has become
-11-
effective or any supplement to the Prospectus has been filed; if the Company
omitted information from the Registration Statement at the time it was
originally declared effective in reliance upon Rule 430A(a) of the Rules and
Regulations, the Company will provide evidence satisfactory to you that the
Prospectus contains such information and has been filed, within the time period
prescribed, with the Commission pursuant to subparagraph (1) or (4) of Rule
424(b) of the Rules and Regulations or as part of a post-effective amendment to
such Registration Statement as originally declared effective which is declared
effective by the Commission; if the Company files a term sheet pursuant to Rule
434 of the Rules and Regulations, the Company will provide evidence satisfactory
to you that the Prospectus and term sheet meeting the requirements of Rule
434(b) or (c), as applicable, of the Rules and Regulations have been filed,
within the time period prescribed, with the Commission pursuant to subparagraph
(7) of Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations; if for any reason the filing of
the final form of Prospectus is required under Rule 424(b)(3) of the Rules and
Regulations, it will provide evidence satisfactory to you that the Prospectus
contains such information and has been filed with the Commission within the time
period prescribed; it will notify you promptly of any request by the Commission
for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus or for additional information; promptly upon your request, it will
prepare and file with the Commission any amendments or supplements to the
Registration Statement or Prospectus which, in the opinion of counsel for the
several Underwriters ("Underwriters' Counsel"), may be necessary or advisable in
connection with the distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters; it will
promptly prepare and file with the Commission, and promptly notify you of the
filing of, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or
Prospectus which may be necessary to correct any statements or omissions, if, at
any time when a prospectus relating to the Shares is required to be delivered
under the Act, any event shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus
or any other prospectus relating to the Shares as then in effect would include
any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading; in case any Underwriter is required
to deliver a prospectus nine (9) months or more after the effective date of the
Registration Statement in connection with the sale of the Shares, it will
prepare promptly upon request, but at the expense of such Underwriter, such
amendment or amendments to the Registration Statement and such prospectus or
prospectuses as may be necessary to permit compliance with the requirements of
Section 10(a)(3) of the Act; and it will file no amendment or supplement to the
Registration Statement or Prospectus which shall not previously have been
submitted to you a reasonable time prior to the proposed filing thereof or to
which you shall reasonably object in writing, subject, however, to compliance
with the Act and the Rules and Regulations and the provisions of this Agreement.
(b) The Company will advise you, promptly after it shall receive
notice or obtain knowledge, of the issuance of any stop order by the Commission
suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of the initiation
or threat of any proceeding for that purpose; and it will promptly use its best
efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal at
the earliest possible moment if such stop order should be issued.
(c) The Company will use its best efforts (including by
providing full cooperation with your counsel, whose services in this matter are
required and which you and the
-12-
Company will seek to expedite) to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under
the securities laws of such jurisdictions as you may designate and to continue
such qualifications in effect for so long as may be required for purposes of the
distribution of the Shares, except that the Company shall not be required in
connection therewith or as a condition thereof to qualify as a foreign
corporation or to execute a general consent to service of process in any
jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise required to be so qualified or to so
execute a general consent to service of process. In each jurisdiction in which
the Shares shall have been qualified as above provided, the Company will make
and file such statements and reports in each year as are or may be required by
the laws of such jurisdiction for such purpose.
(d) The Company will furnish to you, as soon as available, and,
in the case of the Prospectus and any term sheet or abbreviated term sheet under
Rule 434, in no event later than the first full business day following the first
day that Shares are traded, copies of the Registration Statement (two of which
will be signed and which will include all exhibits), each Preliminary
Prospectus, the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to such documents,
including any prospectus prepared to permit compliance with Section 10(a)(3) of
the Act, all in such quantities as you may from time to time reasonably request.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Cruttenden Xxxx Incorporated, on behalf of the
several Underwriters, shall agree to the utilization of Rule 434 of the Rules
and Regulations, the Company shall provide to you copies of a Preliminary
Prospectus updated in all respects through the date specified by you in such
quantities as you may from time to time reasonably request.
(e) The Company will make generally available to its
securityholders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than the
forty-fifth (45th) day following the end of the fiscal quarter first
occurring after the first anniversary of the effective date of the
Registration Statement, an earnings statement (which will be in reasonable
detail but need not be audited) complying with the provisions of Section
11(a) of the Act and covering a twelve (12) month period beginning after the
effective date of the Registration Statement.
(f) During a period of five (5) years after the date hereof, the
Company will furnish to its shareholders as soon as practicable after the end of
each respective period, annual reports (including financial statements audited
by independent certified public accountants) and, upon request by a shareholder,
unaudited quarterly reports of operations for each of the first three quarters
of the fiscal year, and will furnish to you and the other several Underwriters
hereunder, upon request (i) concurrently with furnishing such reports to its
shareholders, statements of operations of the Company for each of the first
three (3) quarters in the form furnished to the Company's shareholders, (ii)
concurrently with furnishing to its shareholders, a balance sheet of the Company
as of the end of such fiscal year, together with statements of operations, of
shareholders' equity, and of cash flows of the Company for such fiscal year,
accompanied by a copy of the certificate or report thereon of independent
certified public accountants, (iii) as soon as they are available, copies of all
reports (financial or other) mailed to shareholders, (iv) as soon as they are
available, copies of all reports and financial statements furnished to or filed
with the Commission, any securities exchange or the NASD, (v) every material
press release and every material news item or article in respect of the Company
or
-13-
its affairs which was generally released to shareholders or prepared by the
Company, and (vi) any additional information of a public nature concerning the
Company, or its business which you may reasonably request. During such five (5)
year period, if the Company shall have active subsidiaries, the foregoing
financial statements shall be on a consolidated basis to the extent that the
accounts of the Company and such subsidiaries are consolidated, and shall be
accompanied by similar financial statements for any significant subsidiary which
is not so consolidated.
(g) The Company will apply the net proceeds from the sale of the
Shares being sold by it in the manner set forth under the caption "Use of
Proceeds" in the Prospectus.
(h) The Company will maintain a transfer agent and, if necessary
under the jurisdiction of incorporation of the Company, a registrar (which may
be the same entity as the transfer agent) for its Common Stock.
(i) If the transactions contemplated hereby are not consummated
by reason of any failure, refusal or inability on the part of the Company to
perform any agreement on its part to be performed hereunder or to fulfill any
condition of the Underwriters' obligations hereunder, or if the Company shall
terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 11(a) hereof, or if the
Underwriters shall terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 11(a) or 11(b),
then the provisions of Section 11 of that certain letter agreement dated October
17, 1996 between you and the Company (the "Letter Agreement") shall govern
payment and reimbursement obligations of the parties notwithstanding that the
Letter Agreement shall have ceased to be of full force or effect for any other
purpose.
(j) If at any time during the ninety (90) day period after the
Registration Statement becomes effective, any rumor, publication or event
relating to or affecting the Company shall occur as a result of which in your
opinion the market price of the Common Stock has been or is likely to be
materially affected (regardless of whether such rumor, publication or event
necessitates a supplement to or amendment of the Prospectus), the Company will,
after written notice from you advising the Company to the effect set forth
above, forthwith prepare, consult with you concerning the substance of and
disseminate a press release or other public statement, reasonably satisfactory
to you, responding to or commenting on such rumor, publication or event.
(k) During the Lock-up Period, the Company will not, without the
prior written consent of Cruttenden Xxxx Incorporated, effect the Disposition
of, directly or indirectly, any Securities other than the sale of the Firm
Shares and the Option Shares hereunder and the Company's issuance of options or
Common Stock under the Company's presently authorized stock option and stock
purchase plans described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
(l) The terms of paragraph 9 of the Letter Agreement are hereby
incorporated by reference and made obligations of the Company and Cruttenden
Xxxx Incorporated as part of this Agreement notwithstanding that the Letter
Agreement shall have ceased to be of full force or effect for any other purpose.
-14-
(m) The Company shall reimburse and pay to Cruttenden Xxxx
Incorporated a nonaccountable expense allowance equal to two percent (2.0%) of
the total Price to Public shown on the front cover of the Prospectus, including,
if exercised, with respect to the over-allotment option. Cruttenden Xxxx
Incorporated acknowledges that $30,000 of the amount payable pursuant to this
paragraph has already been paid.
-15-
5. EXPENSES.
(a) The Company agrees with each Underwriter that:
(i) The Company will pay and bear all costs and
expenses in connection with the preparation, printing and filing of the
Registration Statement (including financial statements, schedules and exhibits),
Preliminary Prospectuses and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements
thereto; the printing of this Agreement, the Agreement Among Underwriters, the
Selected Dealer Agreement, the Preliminary Blue Sky Survey and any Supplemental
Blue Sky Survey, the Underwriters' Questionnaire and Power of Attorney, and any
instruments related to any of the foregoing; the issuance and delivery of the
Shares hereunder to the several Underwriters, including transfer taxes, if any,
the cost of all certificates representing the Shares and transfer agents' and
registrars' fees; the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company; all
fees and other charges of the Company's independent certified public
accountants; the cost of furnishing to the several Underwriters copies of the
Registration Statement (including appropriate exhibits), Preliminary Prospectus
and the Prospectus, and any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing;
NASD filing fees and the cost of qualifying the Shares under the laws of such
jurisdictions as you may designate (including filing fees and fees and
disbursements of Underwriters' Counsel in connection with such NASD filings and
Blue Sky qualifications); and all other expenses directly incurred by the
Company in connection with the performance of its obligations hereunder. The
provisions of this Section 5(a)(i) are intended to relieve the Underwriters from
the payment of the expenses and costs which the Company hereby agrees to pay.
(ii) In addition to its other obligations under Section
8(a) hereof, the Company agrees that, as an interim measure during the pendency
of any claim, action, investigation, inquiry or other proceeding described in
Section 8(a) hereof, it will reimburse the Underwriters on a monthly basis for
all reasonable legal or other expenses incurred in connection with investigating
or defending any such claim, action, investigation, inquiry or other proceeding,
notwithstanding the absence of a judicial determination as to the propriety and
enforceability of the Company's obligation to reimburse the Underwriters for
such expenses and the possibility that such payments might later be held to have
been improper by a court of competent jurisdiction. To the extent that any such
interim reimbursement payment is so held to have been improper, the Underwriters
shall promptly return such payment to the Company together with interest,
compounded daily, determined on the basis of the prime rate (or other commercial
lending rate for borrowers of the highest credit standing) listed from time to
time in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL which represents the base rate on corporate
loans posted by a substantial majority of the nation's thirty (30) largest banks
(the "Prime Rate"). Any such interim reimbursement payments which are not made
to the Underwriters within thirty (30) days of a request for reimbursement shall
bear interest at the Prime Rate from the date of such request.
(b) In addition to their other obligations under Section 8(b)
hereof, the Underwriters severally and not jointly agree that, as an interim
measure during the pendency of any claim, action, investigation, inquiry or
other proceeding described in Section 8(b) hereof, they will
-16-
reimburse the Company on a monthly basis for all reasonable legal or other
expenses incurred in connection with investigating or defending any such claim,
action, investigation, inquiry or other proceeding, notwithstanding the absence
of a judicial determination as to the propriety and enforceability of the
Underwriters' obligation to reimburse the Company for such expenses and the
possibility that such payments might later be held to have been improper by a
court of competent jurisdiction. To the extent that any such interim
reimbursement payment is so held to have been improper, the Company shall
promptly return such payment to the Underwriters together with interest,
compounded daily, determined on the basis of the Prime Rate. Any such interim
reimbursement payments which are not made to the Company within thirty (30) days
of a request for reimbursement shall bear interest at the Prime Rate from the
date of such request.
(c) It is agreed that any controversy arising out of the
operation of the interim reimbursement arrangements set forth in Sections
5(a)(ii) and 5(b) hereof, including the amounts of any requested reimbursement
payments, the method of determining such amounts and the basis on which such
amounts shall be apportioned among the reimbursing parties, shall be settled by
arbitration conducted under the provisions of the Constitution and Rules of the
Board of Governors of the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. or pursuant to the Code
of Arbitration Procedure of the NASD. Any such arbitration must be commenced by
service of a written demand for arbitration or a written notice of intention to
arbitrate, therein electing the arbitration tribunal. In the event the party
demanding arbitration does not make such designation of an arbitration tribunal
in such demand or notice, then the party responding to said demand or notice is
authorized to do so. Any such arbitration will be limited to the operation of
the interim reimbursement provisions contained in Sections 5(a)(ii) and 5(b)
hereof and will not resolve the ultimate propriety or enforceability of the
obligation to indemnify for expenses which is created by the provisions of
Sections 8(a) and 8(b) hereof or the obligation to contribute to expenses which
is created by the provisions of Section 8(d) hereof.
6. CONDITIONS OF UNDERWRITERS' OBLIGATIONS. The obligations of the
several Underwriters to purchase and pay for the Shares as provided herein shall
be subject to the accuracy, as of the date hereof and the Closing Date and any
later date on which Option Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be, of
the representations and warranties of the Company herein, to the performance by
the Company of its obligations hereunder and to the following additional
conditions:
(a) The Registration Statement shall have become effective not
later than 2:00 P.M., Pacific daylight savings time, on the date following the
date of this Agreement, or such later date and time as shall be consented to in
writing by you; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness thereof shall
have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been initiated
or, to the knowledge of the Company or any Underwriter, threatened by the
Commission, and any request of the Commission for additional information (to be
included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or otherwise) shall
have been complied with to the satisfaction of Underwriters' Counsel.
-17-
(b) All corporate proceedings and other legal matters in
connection with this Agreement, the form of Registration Statement and the
Prospectus, and the registration, authorization, issue, sale and delivery of the
Shares, shall have been reasonably satisfactory to Underwriters' Counsel, and
such counsel shall have been furnished with such papers and information as they
may reasonably have requested to enable them to pass upon the matters referred
to in this Section.
(c) Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement
and prior to the Closing Date, or any later date on which Option Shares are to
be purchased, as the case may be, there shall not have been any change in the
condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, operations, business or business
prospects of the Company from that set forth in the Registration Statement or
Prospectus, which, in your sole judgment, is material and adverse and that makes
it, in your sole judgment, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the
public offering of the Shares as contemplated by the Prospectus.
(d) You shall have received on the Closing Date and on any later
date on which Option Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be, the
following opinion of counsel for the Company dated the Closing Date or such
later date on which Option Shares are to be purchased addressed to the
Underwriters and with reproduced copies or signed counterparts thereof for each
of the Underwriters, to the effect that:
(i) The Company and its subsidiaries have been
duly incorporated and are validly existing as corporations in good
standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of their incorporation;
(ii) The Company has the corporate power and
authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its
business as described in the Prospectus;
(iii) The Company is duly qualified to do business
as a foreign corporation and is in good standing in each jurisdiction,
if any, in which the ownership or leasing of its properties or the
conduct of its business requires such qualification, except where the
failure to be so qualified or be in good standing would not have a
material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise),
earnings, operations or business of the Company. To such counsel's
knowledge, the Company does not own or control, directly or
indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than
IWL Communications, Ltd., a corporation organized under the laws of
Russia, IWL Baltija Communications (Latvia) SIA, a corporation
organized under the laws of Latvia, each of which is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the Company, and Kenwood Systems Group, Inc., a
California corporation of which the Company owns 50% of the
outstanding Common Stock;
(iv) The authorized, issued and outstanding
capital stock of the Company is as set forth in the Prospectus under
the caption "Capitalization" as of
-18-
the dates stated therein, the issued and outstanding shares of capital
stock of the Company have been duly and validly issued and are fully
paid and nonassessable, and will not have been issued in violation of
or subject to any preemptive right, co-sale right, registration right,
right of first refusal or other similar right;
(v) The Firm Shares or the Option Shares, as the
case may be, to be issued by the Company pursuant to the terms of this
Agreement have been duly authorized and, upon issuance and delivery
against payment therefor in accordance with the terms hereof, will be
duly and validly issued and fully paid and nonassessable and will not
have been issued in violation of or subject to any preemptive right,
co-sale right, registration right, right of first refusal or other
similar right contained in the Company's charter or bylaws or in any
other agreement or contract to which the Company is a party; and the
forms of certificates evidencing the Common Stock comply with Texas
law;
(vi) The Company has the corporate power and
authority to enter into this Agreement and to issue, sell and deliver
to the Underwriters the Shares to be issued and sold by it hereunder;
(vii) This Agreement has been duly authorized by
all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company and has been
duly executed and delivered by the Company and, assuming due
authorization, execution and delivery by you, is a valid and binding
agreement of the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms,
except insofar as indemnification provisions may be limited by
applicable law and except as enforceability may be limited by
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws
relating to or affecting creditors' rights generally or by general
equitable principles;
(viii) The Registration Statement has become
effective under the Act and, to such counsel's knowledge, no stop
order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has
been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted
or are pending or threatened under the Act;
(ix) The Registration Statement and the
Prospectus, and each amendment or supplement thereto (other than the
financial statements (including supporting schedules), financial data
derived therefrom and other financial and statistical information
included therein as to which such counsel need express no opinion), as
of the effective date of the Registration Statement, complied as to
form in all material respects with the requirements of the Act and the
applicable Rules and Regulations;
-19-
(x) The information in the Prospectus under the
caption "Description of Capital Stock," to the extent that it
constitutes matters of law or legal conclusions, has been reviewed by
such counsel and is a fair summary of such matters and conclusions;
(xi) The description in the Registration Statement
and the Prospectus of the charter and bylaws of the Company and
of statutes are accurate and fairly present the information
required to be presented by the Act and the applicable Rules and
Regulations;
(xii) To such counsel's knowledge, there are no
agreements, contracts, leases or documents to which the Company is a
party of a character required to be described or referred to in the
Registration Statement or Prospectus or to be filed as an exhibit to
the Registration Statement which are not described or referred to
therein or filed as required;
(xiii) The performance of this Agreement and the
consummation of the transactions herein contemplated (other than
performance of the Company's indemnification obligations hereunder,
concerning which no opinion need be expressed) will not (a) result in
any violation of the charter or bylaws of the Company or (b) result in
a material breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of,
or constitute a default under, any material bond, debenture, note or
other evidence of indebtedness, or any material lease, contract,
indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, joint venture or
other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by
which its properties are bound, or any applicable statute, rule or
regulation or any order, writ or decree of any court, government or
governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or
any of its properties or operations; provided, however, that such
counsel need not express any opinion or belief with respect to state
securities or Blue Sky laws;
(xiv) No consent, approval, authorization or order
of or qualification with any court, government or governmental agency
or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties
or operations is necessary in connection with the consummation by the
Company of the transactions herein contemplated, except such as have
been obtained under the Act or such as may be required under state or
other securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and
the distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters;
(xv) To such counsel's best knowledge, there are
no legal or governmental proceedings pending or threatened against the
Company of a character required to be disclosed in the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus by the Act or the Rules and Regulations,
other than those described therein;
-20-
(xvi) The Company is not in violation of its
respective charter or bylaws.
-21-
(xvii) To such counsel's best knowledge, except as
set forth in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, no holders of
Common Stock or other securities of the Company have registration
rights with respect to securities of the Company and, except as set
forth in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, all holders of
securities of the Company having rights to registration of such shares
of Common Stock or other securities, because of the filing of the
Registration Statement by the Company have, with respect to the
offering contemplated thereby, waived such rights or such rights have
expired by reason of lapse of time following notification of the
Company's intent to file the Registration Statement; and
(xviii) Except as set forth in the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus, such counsel has no knowledge of any
actual or threatened action, suit, claim or proceeding relating to
patents, patent rights or licenses, trademarks or trademark rights,
copyrights, collaborative research, licenses or royalty arrangements
or agreements or trade secrets, know-how or proprietary techniques or
technology, including, processes and substances, owned by or affecting
the business operations of the company which are pending or threatened
against the Company and which action, suit, claim or proceeding would,
with respect to any of the foregoing, have a material adverse effect
on the condition (financial or other), earnings, operations, business
or business prospects of the Company.
In addition, such counsel shall state that such counsel has acted
as outside corporate legal counsel to the Company and participated in
conferences with officials and other representatives of the Company, the
Representative, Underwriters' Counsel and the independent certified public
accountants of the Company, at which such conferences the contents of the
Registration Statement and Prospectus and related matters were discussed, and
although they have not verified the accuracy or completeness of the statements
contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, nothing has come to
the attention of such counsel which leads such counsel to believe that, at the
time the Registration Statement became effective and at all times subsequent
thereto up to and on the Closing Date and on any later date on which Option
Shares are to be purchased, the Registration Statement and any amendment or
supplement thereto (other than the financial statements including supporting
schedules, other financial information derived therefrom and other financial
and statistical information included therein, as to which such counsel need
express no opinion) contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted
to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein not misleading, or at the Closing Date or any later date on
which the Option Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be, the
Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto
(except as aforesaid) contained any untrue statement of a material fact or
omitted to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in
the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
Counsel rendering the foregoing opinion may rely as to questions
of law not involving the laws of the United States or the State of Texas upon
opinions of local counsel, and as to questions of fact upon representations or
certificates of officers of the Company, and of government
-22-
officials, in which case their opinion is to state that they are so relying and
that they have no knowledge of any material misstatement or inaccuracy in any
such opinion, representation or certificate. Copies of any opinion,
representation or certificate so relied upon shall be delivered to you, as
Representative of the Underwriters, and to Underwriters' Counsel.
(e) You shall have received on the Closing Date and on any later
date on which Option Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be, an opinion
of Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP, in form and substance reasonably
satisfactory to you, with respect to the sufficiency of all such corporate
proceedings and other legal matters relating to this Agreement and the
transactions contemplated hereby as you may reasonably require, and the Company
shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they may have requested
for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters.
(f) You shall have received on the Closing Date and on any later
date on which Option Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be, an opinion
of Swiddler & Berlin dated the Closing Date or such later date on which Option
Shares are to be purchased and addressed to the Underwriters and with reproduced
copies or signed counterparts thereof for each of the Underwriters, that the
information in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus under the captions
"Risk Factors--Government Regulation" and "Business--Government Regulation," to
the extent that they constitute matters of law or legal conclusions, have been
reviewed by such counsel and are a fair and accurate summary of such matters.
In addition, such counsel shall state that such counsel has
represented the Company in regulatory-related matters, and has participated in
conferences with officials and other representatives of the Company, the
Representative, Underwriters' Counsel and the independent certified public
accountants of the Company, at which such conferences the contents of the
relevant sections ("Relevant Sections") of the Registration Statement and
Prospectus and related matters were discussed, and although they have not
verified the accuracy or completeness of the statements contained in the
Relevant Sections of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, nothing has
come to the attention of such counsel which leads such counsel to believe that,
at the time the Registration Statement became effective and at all times
subsequent thereto up to and on the Closing Date and on any later date on which
Option Shares are to be purchased, the Relevant Sections of the Registration
Statement and any amendment or supplement thereto (other than the financial
statements including supporting schedules and other financial and statistical
information derived therefrom, as to which such counsel need express no comment)
contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material
fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein
not misleading, or at the Closing Date or any later date on which the Option
Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be, the Relevant Sections of the
Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto
(except as aforesaid) contained any untrue statement of a material fact or
omitted to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in
the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
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(g) You shall have received on the Closing Date and on any later
date on which Option Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be, a letter
from KPMG Peat Marwick LLP, Independent Auditors ("Peat Marwick"), addressed to
the Underwriters, dated the Closing Date or such later date on which Option
Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be (in each case, the "Bring Down
Letter"), confirming that they are independent certified public accountants with
respect to the Company within the meaning of the Act and the applicable
published Rules and Regulations and based upon the procedures described in a
letter delivered to you concurrently with the execution of this Agreement
(herein called the "Original Letter"), but carried out to a date not more than
five (5) business days prior to the Closing Date or such later date on which
Option Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be, (i) confirming, to the
extent true, that the statements and conclusions set forth in the Original
Letter are accurate as of the Closing Date or such later date on which Option
Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be, and (ii) setting forth any
revisions and additions to the statements and conclusions set forth in the
Original Letter that are necessary to reflect any changes in the facts described
in the Original Letter since its date, or to reflect the availability of more
recent financial statements, data or information. The Bring Down Letter shall
not disclose any change in the condition (financial or otherwise), earnings,
operations, business or business prospects of the Company from that set forth in
the Registration Statement or Prospectus, which, in your sole judgment, is
material and adverse and that makes it, in your sole judgment, impracticable or
inadvisable to proceed with the public offering of the Shares as contemplated by
the Prospectus. The Original Letter from Peat Marwick shall be addressed to or
for the use of the Underwriters in form and substance satisfactory to the
Underwriters and shall (i) represent, to the extent true, that they are
independent certified public accountants with respect to the Company within the
meaning of the Act and the applicable published Rules and Regulations, (ii) set
forth their opinion with respect to their examination of the balance sheet of
the Company as of June 30, 1996, 1995 and 1994 and March 31, 1997 and related
statements of operations, shareholders' equity and cash flows for the twelve
(12) months ended June 30, 1996, 1995 and 1994 and the nine (9) months ended
Xxxxx 00, 0000, (xxx) state that nothing came to their attention that caused
them to believe that the financial statements included in the Registration
Statement and Prospectus do not comply as to form in all material respects with
the applicable accounting requirements of Rule 11-02 of Regulation S-X and that
any adjustments thereto have not been properly applied to the historical amounts
in the compilation of such statements, and (iv) address other matters agreed
upon by Peat Marwick and you. In addition, you shall have received from Peat
Marwick a letter addressed to the Company and made available to you for the use
of the Underwriters stating that their review of the Company's system of
internal accounting controls, to the extent they deemed necessary in
establishing the scope of their examination of the Company's financial
statements as of March 31, 1997, did not disclose any weaknesses in internal
controls that they considered to be material weaknesses.
(h) You shall have received on the Closing Date and on any later
date on which Option Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be, a
certificate of the Company, dated the Closing Date or such later date on which
Option Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be, signed by the Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, to the effect
that, and you shall be satisfied that:
-24-
(i) The representations and warranties of the
Company in this Agreement are true and correct, as if made on and as
of the Closing Date or any later date on which Option Shares are to be
purchased, as the case may be, and the Company has complied with all
the agreements and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be
performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Date or any later
date on which Option Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be;
(ii) No stop order suspending the effectiveness of
the Registration Statement has been issued and no proceedings for that
purpose have been instituted or are pending or threatened under the
Act;
(iii) When the Registration Statement became
effective and at all times subsequent thereto up to the delivery of
such certificate, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and
any amendments or supplements thereto, contained all material
information required to be included therein by the Act and the Rules
and Regulations, and in all material respects conformed to the
requirements of the Act and the Rules and Regulations, the
Registration Statement, and any amendment or supplement thereto, did
not and does not include any 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, the
Prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereto, did not and does
not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of
the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and,
since the effective date of the Registration Statement, there has
occurred no event required to be set forth in an amended or
supplemented Prospectus which has not been so set forth; and
(iv) Subsequent to the respective dates as of
which information is given in the Registration Statement and
Prospectus, there has not been (a) any material adverse change in the
condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, operations, business or
business prospects of the Company, (b) any transaction that is
material to the Company, except transactions entered into in the
ordinary course of business, (c) any obligation, direct or contingent,
that is material to the Company, incurred by the Company, except
obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business, (d) any
change in the capital stock or outstanding indebtedness of the Company
that is material to the Company or is out of the ordinary course of
business of the Company, (e) any dividend or distribution of any kind
declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the Company, or (f) any
loss or damage (whether or not insured) to the property of the Company
which has been sustained or will have been sustained which has a
material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise),
earnings, operations, business or business prospects of the Company.
-25-
(i) The Company shall have obtained and delivered to you an
agreement from each officer and director of the Company, each shareholder that
holds restricted securities and each entity that is a shareholder and is
affiliated with an officer or director of the Company in writing prior to the
date hereof that such person will not, except as described below, during the
Lock-up Period, effect the Disposition of any Securities now owned or hereafter
acquired by such person or with respect to which such person has or hereafter
acquires the power of disposition, otherwise than (i) on exercise (on a cash or
cashless basis, whether in a traditional cashless exercise or in a "brokers"
cashless exercise), of Common Stock options or warrants outstanding, it being
understood, however, that the shares of Common Stock received (net of shares
sold by or on behalf of such person in a "brokers" cashless exercise or shares
delivered to the Company in a traditional cashless exercise thereof) by such
person upon exercise thereof shall be subject to the terms of the Lock-Up
Agreement, (ii) on the transfer of shares of Common Stock or Securities during
such person's lifetime by BONA FIDE gift or upon death by will or intestacy,
provided that any transferee agrees to be bound by the Lock-Up Agreement, and
(iii) on the transfer or other disposition of shares of Common Stock or
Securities as a distribution to limited partners or shareholders of such person,
provided that the distributees thereof agree to be bound by the terms of the
Lock-Up Agreement. The foregoing restriction shall have been expressly agreed
to preclude the holder of the Securities from engaging in any hedging, pledge or
other transaction which is designed to or may reasonably be expected to lead to
or result in a Disposition of Securities during the Lock-Up Period, even if such
Securities would be disposed of by someone other than the such holder. Such
prohibited hedging, pledge or other transactions would include, without
limitation, any short sale (whether or not against the box), any pledge of
shares covering an obligation that matures or could reasonably mature during the
Lock-Up Period, or any purchase, sale or grant of any right (including, without
limitation, any put or call option) with respect to any Securities or with
respect to any security (other than a broad-based market basket or index) that
includes, relates to or derives any significant part of its value from
Securities. Furthermore, such person will have also agreed and consented to the
entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company's transfer agent against
the transfer of the Securities held by such person except in compliance with
this restriction.
(j) The Company shall have furnished you a warrant for the
purchase of up to 125,000 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price per share
equal to 120% of the offering price per share of the Shares, in the form
attached hereto as Exhibit A.
(k) The Company shall have furnished to you such further
certificates and documents as you shall reasonably request (including
certificates of officers of the Company) as to the accuracy of the
representations and warranties of the Company herein, as to the performance by
the Company of its obligations hereunder and as to the other conditions
concurrent and precedent to the obligations of the Underwriters hereunder.
All such opinions, certificates, letters and documents will be in
compliance with the provisions hereof only if they are reasonably satisfactory
to Underwriters' Counsel. The Company will furnish you with such number of
conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and documents as you
shall reasonably request.
-26-
7. OPTION SHARES.
(a) On the basis of the representations, warranties and
agreements herein contained, but subject to the terms and conditions herein set
forth, the Company hereby grants to the several Underwriters, for the purpose of
covering over-allotments in connection with the distribution and sale of the
Firm Shares only, a nontransferable option to purchase up to an aggregate of
187,500 Option Shares at the purchase price per share for the Firm Shares set
forth in Section 3 hereof. Such option may be exercised by the Representative
on behalf of the several Underwriters on one (1) or more occasions in whole or
in part during the period of forty-five (45) days after the date on which the
Firm Shares are initially offered to the public by giving written notice (the
"Option Notice") to the Company. The number of Option Shares to be purchased by
each Underwriter upon the exercise of such option shall be the same proportion
of the total number of Option Shares to be purchased by the several Underwriters
pursuant to the exercise of such option as the number of Firm Shares purchased
by such Underwriter (set forth in Schedule A hereto) bears to the total number
of Firm Shares purchased by the several Underwriters (set forth in Schedule A
hereto), adjusted by the Representative in such manner as to avoid fractional
shares.
Delivery of definitive certificates for the Option Shares to be
purchased by the several Underwriters pursuant to the exercise of the option
granted by this Section 7 shall be made against payment of the purchase price
therefor by the several Underwriters by certified or official bank check or
checks drawn in next-day funds, payable to the order of the Company (and the
Company agrees not to deposit any such check in the bank on which it is drawn,
and not to take any other action with the purpose or effect of receiving
immediately available funds, until the business day following the date of its
delivery to the payee). In the event of any breach of the foregoing, the
Company shall reimburse the Underwriters for the interest lost and any other
expenses borne by them by reason of such breach. Such delivery and payment
shall take place at the offices of Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP, 000 Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000, Xxxxxx, Xxxxx or at such other place as may be agreed upon
between the Representative and the Company (i) on the Closing Date, if written
notice of the exercise of such option is received by the Company at least two
(2) full business days prior to the Closing Date, or (ii) on a date which shall
not be later than the third (3rd) full business day following the date the
Company receives written notice of the exercise of such option, if such notice
is received by the Company after the date two (2) full business days prior to
the Closing Date.
The certificates for the Option Shares to be so delivered will be
made available to you at such office or such other location including, without
limitation, in New York City, as you may reasonably request for checking at
least one (1) full business day prior to the date of payment and delivery and
will be in such names and denominations as you may request, such request to be
made at least two (2) full business days prior to such date of payment and
delivery. If the Representative so elects, delivery of the Option Shares may be
made by credit through full fast transfer to the accounts at The Depository
Trust Company designated by the Representative.
It is understood that you, individually, and not as the
Representative of the several Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to)
make payment of the purchase price on
-27-
behalf of any Underwriter or Underwriters whose check or checks shall not have
been received by you prior to the date of payment and delivery for the Option
Shares to be purchased by such Underwriter or Underwriters. Any such payment by
you shall not relieve any such Underwriter or Underwriters of any of its or
their obligations hereunder.
(b) Upon exercise of any option provided for in Section 7(a)
hereof, the obligations of the several Underwriters to purchase such Option
Shares will be subject (as of the date hereof and as of the date of payment and
delivery for such Option Shares) to the accuracy of and compliance with the
representations, warranties and agreements of the Company herein, to the
accuracy of the statements of the Company and officers of the Company made
pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its
obligations hereunder, to the conditions set forth in Section 6 hereof, and to
the condition that all proceedings taken at or prior to the payment date in
connection with the sale and transfer of such Option Shares shall be
satisfactory in form and substance to you and to Underwriters' Counsel, and you
shall have been furnished with all such documents, certificates and opinions as
you may request in order to evidence the accuracy and completeness of any of the
representations, warranties or statements, the performance of any of the
covenants or agreements of the Company or the satisfaction of any of the
conditions herein contained.
8. INDEMNIFICATION AND CONTRIBUTION.
(a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each
Underwriter against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or
several, to which such Underwriter may become subject (including, without
limitation, in its capacity as an Underwriter or as a "qualified independent
underwriter" within the meaning of Schedule E of the Bylaws of the NASD), under
the Act, the Exchange Act or otherwise, specifically including, but not limited
to, losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof)
arising out of or based upon (i) any breach of any representation, warranty,
agreement or covenant of the Company herein contained, (ii) any untrue statement
or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in the Registration
Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto, or the omission or alleged
omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or (iii) any untrue
statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in any
Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto,
or the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to
be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of
the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and agrees to
reimburse each Underwriter for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred
by it in connection with investigating or defending any such loss, claim,
damage, liability or action; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that the Company shall not be
liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage,
liability or action arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or
alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the
Registration Statement, such Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any
such amendment or supplement thereto, in reliance upon, and in conformity with,
written information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company by such
Underwriter, directly or through you, specifically for use in the preparation
thereof and, PROVIDED FURTHER, that the indemnity agreement provided in this
Section 8(a) with respect to any Preliminary
-28-
Prospectus shall not inure to the benefit of any Underwriter from whom the
person asserting any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or actions based upon
any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of material fact or omission or
alleged omission to state therein a material fact purchased Shares, if a copy of
the Prospectus in which such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or
omission or alleged omission was corrected had not been sent or given to such
person within the time required by the Act and the Rules and Regulations, unless
such failure is the result of noncompliance by the Company with Section 4(d)
hereof.
The indemnity agreement in this Section 8(a) shall extend upon
the same terms and conditions to, and shall inure to the benefit of, each
person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Act or
the Exchange Act. This indemnity agreement shall be in addition to any
liabilities which the Company may otherwise have.
(b) Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to
indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any losses, claims, damages or
liabilities, joint or several, to which the Company may become subject under the
Act or otherwise, specifically including, but not limited to, losses, claims,
damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arising out of or based
upon (i) any breach of any representation, warranty, agreement or covenant of
such Underwriter herein contained, (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue
statement of any material fact contained in the Registration Statement or any
amendment or supplement thereto, or the omission or alleged omission to state
therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein not misleading, or (iii) any untrue statement or alleged
untrue statement of any material fact contained in any Preliminary Prospectus or
the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, or the omission or
alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary to make the
statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were
made, not misleading, in the case of subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of this
Section 8(b) to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement
or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in reliance
upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such
Underwriter, directly or through you, specifically for use in the preparation
thereof, and agrees to reimburse the Company for any legal or other expenses
reasonably incurred by the Company in connection with investigating or defending
any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action.
The indemnity agreement in this Section 8(b) shall extend upon
the same terms and conditions to, and shall inure to the benefit of, each
officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and each director
of the Company, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the
meaning of the Act or the Exchange Act. This indemnity agreement shall be in
addition to any liabilities which each Underwriter may otherwise have.
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this
Section 8 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party
shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against any indemnifying
party under this Section 8, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the
commencement thereof, but the omission so to notify the indemnifying party will
not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party
otherwise than under this
-29-
Section 8 except to the extent that it has been prejudiced by such omission. In
case any such action is brought against any indemnified party, and it notified
the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party will
be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall elect by
written notice delivered to the indemnified party promptly after receiving the
aforesaid notice from such indemnified party, to assume the defense thereof,
with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, that if the defendants in any such action include both the indemnified
party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably
concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it which are different
from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, the indemnified
party or parties shall have the right to select separate counsel to assume such
legal defenses and to otherwise participate in the defense of such action on
behalf of such indemnified party or parties. Upon receipt of notice from the
indemnifying party to such indemnified party of the indemnifying party's
election so to assume the defense of such action and approval by the indemnified
party of counsel, the indemnifying party will not be liable to such indemnified
party under this Section 8 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred
by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof unless (i) the
indemnified party shall have employed separate counsel in accordance with the
proviso to the next preceding sentence (it being understood, however, that the
indemnifying party shall not be liable for the expenses of more than one
separate counsel (together with appropriate local counsel) approved by the
indemnifying party representing all the indemnified parties under Section 8(a)
or 8(b) hereof who are parties to such action), (ii) the indemnifying party
shall not have employed counsel satisfactory to the indemnified party to
represent the indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of
commencement of the action or (iii) the indemnifying party has authorized the
employment of counsel for the indemnified party at the expense of the
indemnifying party. In no event shall any indemnifying party be liable in
respect of any amounts paid in settlement of any action unless the indemnifying
party shall have approved the terms of such settlement; PROVIDED that such
consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. No indemnifying party shall,
without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any
settlement of any pending or threatened proceeding in respect of which any
indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnification could have
been sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement includes
an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on all
claims that are the subject matter of such proceeding.
(d) In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in
any action in which a claim for indemnification is made pursuant to this Section
8 but it is judicially determined (by the entry of a final judgment or decree by
a court of competent jurisdiction and the expiration of time to appeal or the
denial of the last right of appeal) that such indemnification may not be
enforced in such case notwithstanding the fact that this Section 8 provides for
indemnification in such case, all the parties hereto shall contribute to the
aggregate losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which they may be subject
(after contribution from others) in such proportion so that the Underwriters
severally and not jointly are responsible pro rata for the portion represented
by the percentage that the underwriting discount bears to the public offering
price, and the Company is responsible for the remaining portion, PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, that (i) no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in
excess of the amount by which the underwriting discount applicable to the Shares
purchased by such Underwriter exceeds the amount of damages which such
Underwriter has otherwise been
-30-
required to pay and (ii) no person guilty of a fraudulent misrepresentation
(within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to
contribution from any person who is not guilty of such fraudulent
misrepresentation. The contribution agreement in this Section 8(d) shall extend
upon the same terms and conditions to, and shall inure to the benefit of, each
person, if any, who controls any Underwriter or the Company within the meaning
of the Act or the Exchange Act and each officer of the Company who signed the
Registration Statement and each director of the Company.
(e) The parties to this Agreement hereby acknowledge that they
are sophisticated business persons who were represented by counsel during the
negotiations regarding the provisions hereof including, without limitation, the
provisions of this Section 8, and are fully informed regarding said provisions.
They further acknowledge that the provisions of this Section 8 fairly allocate
the risks in light of the ability of the parties to investigate the Company and
its business in order to assure that adequate disclosure is made in the
Registration Statement and Prospectus as required by the Act and the Exchange
Act.
9. REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, COVENANTS AND AGREEMENTS TO SURVIVE
DELIVERY. All representations, warranties, covenants and agreements of the
Company and the Underwriters herein or in certificates delivered pursuant
hereto, and the indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 8
hereof shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of any
investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any person controlling
any Underwriter within the meaning of the Act or the Exchange Act, or by or on
behalf of the Company, or any of its officers, directors or controlling persons
within the meaning of the Act or the Exchange Act, and shall survive the
delivery of the Shares to the several Underwriters hereunder or termination of
this Agreement.
10. SUBSTITUTION OF UNDERWRITERS. If any Underwriter or Underwriters
shall fail to take up and pay for the number of Firm Shares agreed by such
Underwriter or Underwriters to be purchased hereunder upon tender of such Firm
Shares in accordance with the terms hereof, and if the aggregate number of Firm
Shares which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters so agreed but failed to
purchase does not exceed 10% of the Firm Shares, the remaining Underwriters
shall be obligated, severally in proportion to their respective commitments
hereunder, to take up and pay for the Firm Shares of such defaulting Underwriter
or Underwriters.
If any Underwriter or Underwriters so defaults and the aggregate
number of Firm Shares which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed
but failed to take up and pay for exceeds 10% of the Firm Shares, the remaining
Underwriters shall have the right, but shall not be obligated, to take up and
pay for (in such proportions as may be agreed upon among them) the Firm Shares
which the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters so agreed but failed to
purchase. If such remaining Underwriters do not, at the Closing Date, take up
and pay for the Firm Shares which the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters so
agreed but failed to purchase, the Closing Date shall be postponed for
twenty-four (24) hours to allow the several Underwriters the privilege of
substituting within twenty-four (24) hours (including non-business hours)
another underwriter or underwriters (which may include any nondefaulting
Underwriter) satisfactory to the Company. If no such underwriter or
underwriters shall have been substituted as aforesaid by such postponed Closing
Date,
-31-
the Closing Date may, at the option of the Company, be postponed for a further
twenty-four (24) hours, if necessary, to allow the Company the privilege of
finding another underwriter or underwriters, satisfactory to you, to purchase
the Firm Shares which the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters so agreed but
failed to purchase. If it shall be arranged for the remaining Underwriters or
substituted underwriter or underwriters to take up the Firm Shares of the
defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters as provided in this Section 10, (i) the
Company shall have the right to postpone the time of delivery for a period of
not more than seven (7) full business days, in order to effect whatever changes
may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus,
or in any other documents or arrangements, and the Company agrees promptly to
file any amendments to the Registration Statement, supplements to the Prospectus
or other such documents which may thereby be made necessary, and (ii) the
respective number of Firm Shares to be purchased by the remaining Underwriters
and substituted underwriter or underwriters shall be taken as the basis of their
underwriting obligation. If the remaining Underwriters shall not take up and
pay for all such Firm Shares so agreed to be purchased by the defaulting
Underwriter or Underwriters or substitute another underwriter or underwriters as
aforesaid and the Company shall not find or shall not elect to seek another
underwriter or underwriters for such Firm Shares as aforesaid, then this
Agreement shall terminate.
In the event of any termination of this Agreement pursuant to the
preceding paragraph of this Section 10, then, other than as set forth in the
Letter Agreement, the Company shall not be liable to any Underwriter (except as
provided in Sections 5 and 8 hereof) nor shall any Underwriter (other than an
Underwriter who shall have failed, otherwise than for some reason permitted
under this Agreement, to purchase the number of Firm Shares agreed by such
Underwriter to be purchased hereunder, which Underwriter shall remain liable to
the Company and the other Underwriters for damages, if any, resulting from such
default) be liable to the Company (except to the extent provided in Sections 5
and 8 hereof).
The term "Underwriter" in this Agreement shall include any person
substituted for an Underwriter under this Section 10.
11. EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS AGREEMENT AND TERMINATION.
(a) This Agreement shall become effective at the earlier of (i)
6:30 A.M., Pacific daylight savings time, on the first full business day
following the effective date of the Registration Statement, or (ii) the time of
the public offering of any of the Shares by the Underwriters after the
Registration Statement becomes effective. The time of the public offering shall
mean the time of the release by you, for publication, of the first newspaper
advertisement relating to the Shares, or the time at which the Shares are first
generally offered by the Underwriters to the public by letter, telephone,
telegram or telecopy, whichever shall first occur. By giving notice as set
forth in Section 12 before the time this Agreement becomes effective, you, as
Representative of the several Underwriters, or the Company, may prevent this
Agreement from becoming effective without liability of any party to any other
party, except as provided in Sections 4(i) and 8 hereof.
-32-
(b) You, as Representative of the several Underwriters,
shall have the right to terminate this Agreement by giving notice as hereinafter
specified at any time on or prior to the Closing Date or on or prior to any
later date on which Option Shares are to be purchased, as the case may be, (i)
if the Company shall have failed, refused or been unable to perform any
agreement on its part to be performed, or because any other condition of the
Underwriters' obligations hereunder required to be fulfilled is not fulfilled,
including, without limitation, any change in the condition (financial or
otherwise), earnings, operations, business or business prospects of the Company
from that set forth in the Registration Statement or Prospectus, which, in your
sole judgment, is material and adverse, or (ii) if additional governmental
restrictions, not in force and effect on the date hereof, shall have been
imposed upon trading in securities generally or minimum or maximum prices shall
have been generally established on the New York Stock Exchange or on the
American Stock Exchange or in the over the counter market by the NASD, or
trading in securities generally shall have been suspended on either such
exchange or in the over the counter market by the NASD, or if a banking
moratorium shall have been declared by federal, New York or California
authorities, or (iii) if the Company shall have sustained a loss by strike,
fire, flood, earthquake, accident or other calamity of such character as to
interfere materially with the conduct of the business and operations of the
Company regardless of whether or not such loss shall have been insured, or (iv)
if there shall have been a material adverse change in the general political or
economic conditions or financial markets as in your judgment makes it
inadvisable or impracticable to proceed with the offering, sale and delivery of
the Shares, or (v) if there shall have been an outbreak or escalation of
hostilities or of any other insurrection or armed conflict or the declaration by
the United States of a national emergency which, in the opinion of the
Representative, makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public
offering of the Shares as contemplated by the Prospectus. In the event of
termination pursuant to subparagraph (i) above, the Company shall remain
obligated to pay costs and expenses pursuant to Sections 4(i), 5 and 8 hereof.
Any termination pursuant to any of subparagraphs (ii) through (v) above shall be
without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Sections
4(i) and 8 hereof.
If you elect to prevent this Agreement from becoming effective or to
terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 11, you shall promptly
notify the Company by telephone, telecopy or telegram, in each case confirmed by
letter. If the Company shall elect to prevent this Agreement from becoming
effective, the Company shall promptly notify you by telephone, telecopy or
telegram, in each case, confirmed by letter.
12. NOTICES. All notices or communications hereunder, except as herein
otherwise specifically provided, shall be in writing and if sent to you shall be
mailed, delivered, telegraphed (and confirmed by letter) or telecopied (and
confirmed by letter) to you c/o Cruttenden Xxxx Incorporated, 00000 Xxx Xxxxxx,
Xxxxx 000, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000, telecopier number (000) 000-0000,
Attention: General Counsel; if sent to the Company, such notice shall be
mailed, delivered, telegraphed (and confirmed by letter) or telecopied (and
confirmed by letter) to 00000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 000, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000,
telecopier number (000) 000-0000, Attention: Xxxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx.
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13. PARTIES. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding
upon the several Underwriters and the Company and their respective executors,
administrators, successors and assigns. Nothing expressed or mentioned in this
Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person or entity, other
than the parties hereto and their respective executors, administrators,
successors and assigns, and the controlling persons within the meaning of the
Act or the Exchange Act, officers and directors referred to in Section 8 hereof,
any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim in respect of this Agreement or
any provisions herein contained, this Agreement and all conditions and
provisions hereof being intended to be and being for the sole and exclusive
benefit of the parties hereto and their respective executors, administrators,
successors and assigns and said controlling persons and said officers and
directors, and for the benefit of no other person or entity. No purchaser of
any of the Shares from any Underwriter shall be construed a successor or assign
by reason merely of such purchase.
In all dealings with the Company under this Agreement, you shall act
on behalf of each of the several Underwriters, and the Company shall be entitled
to act and rely upon any statement, request, notice or agreement made or given
by you jointly or by Cruttenden Xxxx Incorporated on behalf of you.
14. APPLICABLE LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in
accordance with, the laws of the State of Texas.
15. COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be signed in several counterparts,
each of which will constitute an original.
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If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding among the
Company and the several Underwriters, please so indicate in the space provided
below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding
agreement between the Company and the several Underwriters.
Very truly yours,
IWL COMMUNICATIONS, INCORPORATED
By
------------------------------------
Accepted as of the date first above written:
CRUTTENDEN XXXX INCORPORATED
On their behalf and on behalf of each of the
several Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto.
By CRUTTENDEN XXXX INCORPORATED
By
-----------------------------------
Authorized Signatory
SCHEDULE A
Number of
Firm Shares
Underwriters To Be
----------------------- Purchased
-----------
Total.........................................................1,250,000
-----------
-----------
