Mereo BioPharma Group plc American Depositary Shares Each Representing Five Ordinary Share (Nominal Value £0.003 per ordinary share) SALES AGREEMENT
Exhibit 1.2
$50,000,000
American Depositary Shares
Each Representing Five Ordinary Share
(Nominal Value £0.003 per ordinary share)
October 6, 2020
SVB LEERINK LLC
1301 Avenue of the Xxxxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Mereo BioPharma Group plc, a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales with registered number 09481161 (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with SVB Leerink LLC (the “Agent”), as follows:
(i) Issuance and Sale of Shares. The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell through the Agent American Depositary Shares of the Company (“ADSs”) each representing five (5) ordinary shares, nominal value £0.003 per ordinary share, to be issued by the Company (the “Ordinary Shares”), with such ADSs having an aggregate offering price of up to $50,000,000, subject to the limitations set forth in Section 5(c) (the “Placement Shares”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitation set forth in this Section 1 on the aggregate gross sales price of the Placement Shares that may be issued and sold under this Agreement from time to time shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and that the Agent shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The issuance and sale of the Placement Shares through the Agent will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on October 6, 2020 and initially declared effective by the Commission on or about the date hereof, although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company to issue any Placement Shares. The ADSs will be issued pursuant to the deposit agreement, dated as of April 23, 2019 (the “Deposit Agreement”), among the Company, Citibank, N.A., as depositary (the “Depositary”), and all holders and beneficial holders of the ADSs issued thereunder.
The Company has prepared and will file, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), with the Commission a registration statement on Form F-3, including (a) a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the Ordinary Shares, to be issued from time to time by the Company, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”), and (b) a prospectus supplement specifically relating to the Placement Shares to be issued from time to time pursuant to this Agreement (the “Prospectus
Supplement”) to the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement. The Company will furnish to the Agent, for use by the Agent, copies of the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement at the time it becomes effective, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement, including all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in a Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act or deemed to be a part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B or Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The base prospectus, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it may be supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form in which such prospectus and/or Prospectus Supplement have most recently been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, together with any “issuer free writing prospectus” (as used herein, as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act (“Rule 433”)), relating to the Placement Shares that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company or (ii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i), in each case, in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g), is herein called the “Prospectus.” The Company has filed with the Commission a registration statement on Form F-6 (No. 333-223890), filed with the Commission by the Depositary and the Company on March 23, 2018, and amended by pre-effective amendments No. 1 and No. 2 filed with the Commission by the Depositary and the Company on April 9, 2018 and January 25, 2019, covering the registration of the ADSs under the Securities Act. The registration statement relating to the ADSs, as amended at the time it became effective, is hereinafter referred to as the “ADS Registration Statement.” The Company has also filed with the Commission, in accordance with Section 12 of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, a registration statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-38452) under the Exchange Act to register, under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, the ADSs and the Ordinary Shares.
Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus or any issuer free writing prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents, if any, that are or are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein (the “Incorporated Documents”), including, unless the context otherwise requires, the documents, if any, filed as exhibits to such Incorporated Documents. Any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus or any issuer free writing prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing of any document under the Exchange Act on or after the most-recent effective date of the Registration Statement, or the respective dates of the Prospectus Supplement, Prospectus or such issuer free writing prospectus, as the case may be, and incorporated therein by reference. For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include the most recent copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System or, if applicable, the Interactive Data Electronic Application system when used by the Commission (collectively, “XXXXX”).
(ii) Placements. Each time that the Company wishes to issue and sell any Placement Shares through the Agent hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify the Agent by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) (each such notice, a “Placement Notice”) containing the parameters in accordance with which it desires such Placement Shares to be sold, which at a minimum shall include the maximum number or amount of Placement Shares to be sold, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number or amount of Placement Shares that may be sold in any one Trading Day (as defined in Section 3) and any minimum price below which sales may not be made, a form of which containing such minimum sales parameters is attached hereto as Schedule 1. The Placement Notice must originate from one of the individuals authorized to act on behalf of the Company and set forth on Schedule 2 (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the
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Company listed on such Schedule 2), and shall be addressed to each of the recipients from the Agent set forth on Schedule 2, as such Schedule 2 may be updated by either party from time to time by sending a written notice containing a revised Schedule 2 to the other party in the manner provided in Section 12 (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the Company set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply). The Placement Notice shall be effective upon receipt by the Agent unless and until (i) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Agent declines to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion, within two Trading Days of the date the Agent receives the Placement Notice, (ii) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Agent suspends sales under the Placement Notice for any reason in its sole discretion, (iii) the entire amount of the Placement Shares has been sold pursuant to this Agreement, (iv) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Company suspends sales under or terminates the Placement Notice for any reason in its sole discretion, (v) the Company issues a subsequent Placement Notice and explicitly indicates that its parameters supersede those contained in the earlier dated Placement Notice or (vi) this Agreement has been terminated pursuant to the provisions of Section 11. The amount of any discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to the Agent in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares effected through the Agent shall be calculated in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 3 and shall be paid in such manner as may be compliant with the UK Companies Xxx 0000 (“CA 2006”). It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor the Agent will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Shares unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to the Agent and the Agent does not decline such Placement Notice pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified therein and herein. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice, the terms of the Placement Notice will control with respect to the matters covered thereby.
(iii) Sale of Placement Shares by the Agent. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, including Section 5(c), upon the Agent’s acceptance of the terms of a Placement Notice as provided in Section 2, and unless the sale of the Placement Shares described therein has been declined, suspended or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, the Agent, for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations (and including applicable laws, rules and regulations in any other relevant jurisdiction) and the rules of the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) to sell such Placement Shares up to the number or amount specified in, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of, such Placement Notice. The Agent will provide written confirmation to the Company (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the Company set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) no later than the opening of the Trading Day (as defined below) immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Placement Shares hereunder setting forth the number or amount of Placement Shares sold on such Trading Day, the volume-weighted average price of the Placement Shares sold and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company. Unless otherwise specified by the Company in a Placement Notice, the Agent may sell Placement Shares by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 of the Securities Act, including sales made directly on or through Nasdaq, on or through any other existing trading market for the ADSs or to or through a market maker. If expressly authorized by the Company (including in a Placement Notice), the Agent may also sell Placement Shares in negotiated transactions. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6(zz), except as may be otherwise agreed by the Company and the Agent, the Agent shall not purchase Placement Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement unless the Company and the Agent enter into a separate written agreement setting forth the terms of such sale. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that the Agent will be
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successful in selling Placement Shares, (ii) the Agent will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Placement Shares for any reason other than a failure by the Agent to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations (and including applicable laws, rules and regulations in any other relevant jurisdiction) and the rules of Nasdaq to sell such Placement Shares as required under this Agreement and (iii) the Agent shall be under no obligation to purchase Placement Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement unless the Company and the Agent enter into a separate written agreement setting forth the terms of such sale. For the purposes hereof, “Trading Day” means any day on which the ADSs are purchased and sold on Nasdaq, and which is a business day for the purposes of the AIM Rules for Companies (as defined below).
It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that the Agent shall, in performing its obligations hereunder, comply (if applicable) with the requirements of the EU Regulation (EU 596/2014) on market abuse (the “Market Abuse Regulation”), including (without limitation) Article 11 of the Market Abuse Regulation (where appropriate).
The Agent will (a), to the extent applicable in the performance of its duties hereunder, comply with all applicable provisions of the United Kingdom Financial Services and Markets Xxx 0000, as amended (“FSMA”), and (b) only communicate or cause to be communicated in the United Kingdom any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of the FSMA) received by them in connection with the issue or sale of any Placement Shares in circumstances in which section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to the Company.
In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom (each a “Relevant State”), the Agent represents, warrants and agrees that it will not make an offer of any Placement Shares to the public in that Relevant State, except that it may make an offer to the public in that Relevant State of any Placement Shares at any time under the following exemptions under Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the “Prospectus Regulation”): (a) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under the Prospectus Regulation, (b) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under the Prospectus Regulation), or (c) in any other circumstances falling within article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation; provided in each case that no such offer of the Placement Shares shall require the Company to publish a prospectus pursuant to article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation. For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any Placement Shares in any Relevant State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the relevant Placement and the Placing Shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to subscribe for the Placement Shares.
(iv) Suspension of Sales.
(a) The Company or the Agent may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) or by telephone (confirmed immediately by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2), suspend any sale of Placement Shares; provided, however, that such suspension shall not affect or impair either party’s obligations with respect to any Placement Shares sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice. Each of the parties agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective against the other party unless notice is sent by one of the individuals named on Schedule 2 hereto to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply).
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(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, during any period in which the Company is, or could be deemed to be, in possession of material non-public information (other than material non-public information that Placement Shares are intended to be sold pursuant to the terms of this Agreement), the Company and the Agent agree that (i) no sale of Placement Shares will take place, (ii) the Company shall not request the sale of any Placement Shares and shall cancel any effective Placement Notices instructing the Agent to make any sales and (iii) the Agent shall not be obligated to sell or offer to sell any Placement Shares.
(v) Settlement and Delivery of the Placement Shares.
(a) Settlement of Placement Shares. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice, settlement for sales of Placement Shares will occur on the second Trading Day following the date on which such sales are made or on such later Trading Day as may be required for the Company to comply with the AIM Rules for Companies in respect of admission of the relevant Ordinary Shares to be represented by the Placement Shares to trading on AIM (each, a “Settlement Date”). The amount of proceeds to be delivered to the Company on a Settlement Date against receipt of the Placement Shares sold (the “Net Proceeds”) will be equal to the aggregate gross sales price received by the Agent at which such Placement Shares were sold, after deduction of (i) the Agent’s commission, discount or other compensation for such sales payable by the Company pursuant to Section 2 hereof, (ii) any other amounts due and payable by the Company to the Agent hereunder pursuant to Section 7(g) hereof and (iii) any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales.
(b) Delivery of Placement Shares. On each Settlement Date and against payment of the purchase price for the relevant Placement Shares, the Company will, or will cause the Depositary or its transfer agent (if applicable) to, electronically transfer the Placement Shares being sold against the deposit with the Depositary’s custodian (or nominee) of the corresponding number of Ordinary Shares necessary for the issuance of the Placement Shares by crediting the Agent’s or its designee’s account (provided the Agent shall have given the Company written notice of such designee prior to the Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System (“DWAC”) or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto, which in all cases shall be duly authorized, freely tradeable, transferable, registered ADSs in good deliverable form. On each Settlement Date, the Ordinary Shares to be credited by the Company to the account of the Depositary shall be credited as fully paid, free from any encumbrance and on terms that they will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing Ordinary Shares. On each Settlement Date, the Agent will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on or prior to the Settlement Date. The Agent shall be responsible for providing DWAC instructions or other instructions for delivery by other means with regard to the transfer of the Placement Shares being sold. In addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 9(a) hereto, the Company agrees that if the Company or its transfer agent (if applicable), or the Depositary, defaults in its obligation to deliver duly authorized, freely tradeable, transferable, registered ADSs in good deliverable form by 2:30 P.M., New York City time, on a Settlement Date (other than as a result of a failure by the Agent to provide instructions for delivery), the Company will (i) take all necessary action to cause the full amount of any Net Proceeds that were delivered to the Company’s account with respect to such settlement, together with any costs incurred by the Agent and/or its clearing firm in connection with recovering such Net Proceeds, to be immediately returned to the Agent or its clearing firm no later than 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on such Settlement Date, by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Agent or its clearing firm, (ii) indemnify and hold the Agent and its clearing firm harmless against any loss, claim, damage, or expense (including reasonable legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company, its transfer agent (if applicable) or the Depositary and (iii) pay to the Agent any commission, discount or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.
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(c) Limitations on Offering Size. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares if, in giving effect to the sale of such Placement Shares, the aggregate number or gross sales proceeds of Placement Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement would exceed the lesser of: (i) the number or dollar amount of ADSs registered pursuant to, and available for offer and sale under, the Registration Statement pursuant to which the offering of Placement Shares is being made, (ii) the number or dollar amount of Ordinary Shares permitted to be offered and sold by the Company under Form F-3 (including General Instruction I.B.5. thereof, if such instruction is applicable), (iii) the number of Ordinary Shares representing the pound sterling nominal amount of Ordinary Shares that the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof is authorized to allot from time to time, in accordance with the Company’s articles of association and pursuant to a valid authority under section 551 of the CA 2006 (as defined below) and a valid power under section 570 of the CA 2006 to allot Ordinary Shares as if section 561 of the CA 2006 did not apply (less Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise, conversion or exchange of any outstanding securities of the Company or otherwise reserved from the Company’s authorized capital stock), or (iv) the dollar amount of Ordinary Shares for which the Company has filed the Prospectus Supplement. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement at a price lower than the minimum price authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof, and notified to the Agent in writing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto acknowledge and agree that compliance with the limitations set forth in this Section 5(c) on the number or dollar amount of Placement Shares that may be issued and sold under this Agreement from time to time shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and that the Agent shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance.
6. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Agent that as of the date of this Agreement, and as of (i) each Representation Date (as defined in Section 7(m)), (ii) each date on which a Placement Notice is given, (iii) the date and time of each sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and (iv) each Settlement Date (each such time or date referred to in clauses (i) through (iv), an “Applicable Time”):
(a) Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement meet the requirements for and comply with the conditions for the use of Form F-3 (including General Instructions I.A and I.B.1.) under the Securities Act. The Registration Statement will be filed with the Commission and will be declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act prior to the issuance of any Placement Notices by the Company. At the time the Registration Statement originally became effective and at the time the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019, was filed with the Commission, the Company met the then-applicable requirements for use of Form F-3 (including General Instructions I.A and I.B.1.) under the Securities Act. The Registration Statement meets, and the offering and sale of Placement Shares as contemplated hereby comply with, the requirements of Rule 415(a)(1)(x) under the Securities Act. The Agent is named as the agent engaged by the Company in the section entitled “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus Supplement. The Company has not received, and has no notice from the Commission of, any notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(1) under the Securities Act objecting to the use of the shelf registration statement form. No stop order of the Commission preventing or suspending the use of the base prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus, or the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, has been issued, and no proceedings for such purpose are pending before or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission. At the time of the initial filing of the Registration Statement, the Company paid the required Commission filing fees relating to the securities covered by the Registration Statement, including the Shares that may be sold pursuant to this Agreement, in accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act. Copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any such amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing and all Incorporated Documents that were filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement have been delivered, or are available through XXXXX, to the Agent and its counsel.
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(b) ADS Registration Statement. The ADS Registration Statement has (i) been prepared by the Company in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, (ii) been filed with the Commission under the Securities Act, and (iii) become effective under the Securities Act. The Commission has not issued any order suspending the effectiveness of the ADS Registration Statement, and no proceeding for that purpose has been instituted or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened by the Commission. The ADS Registration Statement, at the time it became effective under the Securities Act, (i) conformed in all respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder and (ii) and did not, as of the applicable effective date, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
(c) Accurate Disclosure. None of the Registration Statement, the ADS Registration Statement and any amendment thereto, at its effective time, or at any Settlement Date, contained, contains or will contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. Neither the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto (including any prospectus wrapper), as of its date, at the time of any filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b), or at any Settlement Date, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, at the time the Registration Statement became effective or when such documents incorporated by reference were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, when read together with the other information in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as the case may be, did not and will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), the ADS Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto) or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto, including any prospectus wrapper) made in reliance upon and in conformity with the written information furnished to the Company by the Agent Information (as defined below) expressly for use therein.
(d) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. No Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, ADS Registration Statement or the Prospectus, and any other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified. Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act or that was prepared by or behalf of or used or referred to by the Company complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act.
(e) Company Not Ineligible Issuer. At the time of filing the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto, at any time during which a Placement Notice is in effect and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
(f) Emerging Growth Company Status. From the time of the initial confidential submission of the Registration Statement to the Commission through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”).
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(g) Stamp Taxes. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, while the Company’s Ordinary Shares are admitted to trading on AIM but are not listed on any market (with the term “listed” being construed in accordance with section 99A of the Finance Act 1986) and AIM continues to be accepted as a “recognized growth market” (as construed in accordance with section 99A of Finance Act 1986), no stamp duty, stamp duty reserve, registration, stamp or other issuance or transfer taxes or other similar taxes or duties are payable in the United Kingdom by or on behalf of the Agent in connection with (i) the issuance of Ordinary Shares by the Company or the deposit of the Ordinary Shares by the Company in accordance with the terms of the Deposit Agreement against the issuance of the ADSs or American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) evidencing ADSs (if any); (ii) the issuance by the Depositary of the ADSs or ADRs evidencing ADSs (if any) in accordance with the terms of the Deposit Agreement; (iii) the sale, agreement to sell, issuance or delivery of the ADSs or ADRs evidencing ADSs (if any) to the Agent; (iv) the initial sale, agreement to sell or delivery by the Agent of the ADSs or ADRs evidencing ADSs (if any) to or for the account of purchasers thereof; or (v) the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement.
(h) Dividends and Distributions. Except as described in the Prospectus, all dividends and other distributions declared and payable on the Ordinary Shares may under applicable English law and regulations be paid to the Depositary in pounds sterling and may be converted into foreign currency that may be transferred out of the United Kingdom in accordance with the Deposit Agreement.
(i) Foreign Private Issuer. The Company is a “foreign private issuer” within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
(j) Independent Accountants. The accountants who certified the audited financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are an independent registered public accounting firm as required by, and delivered their report thereon in compliance with, the Securities Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).
(k) Financial Statements. The consolidated financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, together with the related notes, comply as to form in all material respects with Regulation S-X under the Securities Act and present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries (as defined below) at the dates indicated and the results of operations and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved except as may be expressly stated in the related notes thereto. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.
(l) Compliance with the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002. There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any applicable provision of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith, including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications.
(m) No Material Adverse Change in Business. Except as otherwise stated therein, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, (A) there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings,
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business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (B) there have been no transactions entered into by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, other than those in the ordinary course of business, which are material with respect to the Company and its Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, (C) there have been no material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent, entered into by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and (D) there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock.
(n) Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a public limited company under the laws of England and Wales (to the extent such concepts are applicable in England and Wales) and has corporate or similar power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement; and the Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing (to the extent such concept applies) in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to be so qualified or to be in good standing would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(o) Good Standing of the Company’s Subsidiaries. Each subsidiary of the Company (each, a “Subsidiary” and, collectively, the “Subsidiaries”) has been duly organized and is validly existing in good standing (to the extent such concept applies) under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, has corporate or similar power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing (to the extent such concept applies) in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to be so qualified or to be in good standing (to the extent such concept applies) would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of each Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully paid and non-assessable (to the extent such concept applies) and is owned by the Company, directly or through Subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity. None of the outstanding shares of capital stock of any Subsidiary was issued in violation of the preemptive or similar rights of any securityholder of such Subsidiary. The only Subsidiaries of the Company are the entities listed on Exhibit 21.1 to the Registration Statement.
(p) Capitalization.
i. The issued and outstanding share capital of the Company is as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares of the Company have been duly authorized and are validly issued and fully paid and no further contribution in respect of such Ordinary Shares will be required to be made to the Company by the holders of such shares by reason solely of them being such holders. None of the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares of the Company was issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company.
ii. The Ordinary Shares may be issued to the Depositary’s custodian or its nominee against payment therefor to the Company following which the Depositary will issue ADSs (or ADRs evidencing ADSs) against the deposit of Ordinary Shares underlying such ADSs (or ADRs evidencing ADSs) and at the time of issue such issuance of Ordinary Shares will be within all authorizations of the directors for the issuance of Ordinary Shares under the CA 2006. Upon due issuance by the Depositary of the ADSs against the deposit of the Ordinary Shares in respect thereof in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, such ADSs will be duly and validly issued and the persons in whose names the
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ADSs are registered will be entitled to the rights specified therein and in the Deposit Agreement. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the allotment and issue of the Ordinary Shares in the form of ADSs by the Company and the deposit of the Ordinary Shares with the Depositary or its nominee and the issuance of the ADSs evidencing such Ordinary Shares as contemplated by this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement will not trigger any anti-dilution rights of any holder of any Ordinary Shares or ADSs, securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Ordinary Shares or ADSs or options, warrants or other rights to purchase Ordinary Shares or ADSs or any other securities of the Company with respect to such Ordinary Shares, ADSs, securities, options, warrants or rights, save for any rights of preemption under the CA 2006 that will, at the time of allotment of the relevant Ordinary Shares, have been validly waived or disapplied. The Deposit Agreement and the ADRs evidencing ADSs (if any) or ADSs conform in all material respects to each description thereof in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. Each holder of ADS and, to the extent applicable, ADRs issued pursuant to the Deposit Agreement shall be entitled, subject to the Deposit Agreement, to seek enforcement of its rights through the Depositary or its nominee registered as a representative of the holders of the ADSs and ADRs, as applicable, in a direct suit, action or proceeding against the Company.
(q) Authorization of Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(r) Authorization and Description of Ordinary Shares. On each Settlement Date, the Company and its directors will have the power and authority to allot and issue the Ordinary Shares underlying the ADSs to be delivered on such Settlement Date pursuant to this Agreement without further sanction or consent by any securityholder of the Company (including under section 551 of the CA 2006) and, when the Ordinary Shares are issued and allotted by the Company to the Depositary’s custodian (or its nominee) and the ADSs are issued and delivered pursuant to the Deposit Agreement against payment of the consideration therefor, those ADSs (and the underlying Ordinary Shares) will be validly issued and fully paid without any encumbrance; and on each Settlement Date, the issuance of the relevant Ordinary Shares will not be subject to the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company, or any such rights will have been validly disapplied. The Ordinary Shares will conform in all material respects to all statements relating thereto contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and such description conforms in all material respects to the rights set forth in the instruments defining the same.
(s) Authorization of Deposit Agreement. The Deposit Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and, assuming due authorization, execution and delivery by the Depositary, constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as rights to indemnification thereunder may be limited by applicable law and public policy considerations and subject, as to enforceability, to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equity principles; upon due issuance by the Depositary of the ADSs against the deposit of the Ordinary Shares in respect thereof in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, such ADSs will be duly and validly issued, and the persons in whose names the ADSs are registered will be entitled to the rights specified therein, respectively, and in the Deposit Agreement; and the Deposit Agreement and the ADSs conform in all material respects to the descriptions thereof contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. There has been no change in the Company’s agreement with the Depositary in connection with any pre-release of the ADSs and no such change is currently contemplated.
(t) Registration Rights. There are no persons with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities registered for sale pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise registered for sale or sold by the Company under the Securities Act pursuant to this Agreement, other than those rights that have been disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and have been waived.
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(u) Absence of Violations, Defaults and Conflicts. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is (A) in violation of its charter, articles of association, by-laws or similar organizational document, (B) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which either of them may be bound or to which any of the properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”), or (C) in violation of any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having jurisdiction over the Company or its Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties, assets or operations (each, a “Governmental Entity”), except in the case of each of (B) and (C) above, for such defaults or violations that would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the performance of the Deposit Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein or therein and in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (including the allotment and issuance of the Placement Shares and deposit with the Depositary or its nominee of the Ordinary Shares represented by the ADSs and the use of the proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares as described therein under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) and compliance by the Company with its obligations hereunder have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action by the Company and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any properties or assets of the Company or its Subsidiaries pursuant to, the Agreements and Instruments (except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults or Repayment Events or liens, charges or encumbrances that would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect), nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of the charter, by-laws or similar organizational document of the Company or its Subsidiaries or any law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any Governmental Entity. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or its Subsidiaries.
(v) Listing. The ADSs have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market, subject to notice of issuance. The Company is in compliance with all trading and admission requirements and continuing obligations pursuant to the AIM Rules for Companies published by the London Stock Exchange from time to time (the “AIM Rules for Companies”) and the UK Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules made by the UK Financial Conduct Authority as amended from time to time, in each case as applicable to the Company and except where non-compliance would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(w) Absence of Labor Dispute. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or its Subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or its Subsidiaries’ principal suppliers, manufacturers, customers or contractors, which, in either case, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(x) Absence of Monitoring Agreements. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to any corporate integrity agreements, monitoring agreements, consent decrees, settlement orders, or similar agreements with or imposed by any governmental or regulatory authority. The Company and each
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of its Subsidiaries is in compliance with all applicable U.S. or non-U.S. laws, rules, regulations, orders and decrees governing its business and the regulation of pharmaceuticals or biohazardous substances or materials, including without limitation the U.S. federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, U.S. data privacy and securities laws and U.S. health care fraud and abuse laws, except where noncompliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(y) Absence of Proceedings. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of the AIM Rules for Companies, except, for any such violation or default that would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.
(z) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries possess all licenses, certificates, authorizations and permits issued by, and has made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate U.S. or non-U.S. governmental or regulatory authorities of competent jurisdiction (including, without limitation, the FDA, the EMA or comparable U.S. or non-U.S. governmental authorities of competent jurisdiction) that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (collectively, the “Governmental Permits”), except where any failures to possess or make the same would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all such Governmental Permits, and all such Governmental Permits are valid and in full force and effect, except where such non-compliance, invalidity or failure to be in full force and effect would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received written notification of any revocation, modification, suspension, termination or invalidation (or proceedings related thereto) of any such Governmental Permit and the Company has no knowledge that any such Governmental Permit requiring renewal will not be renewed, except where any revocation, modification, suspension, termination or invalidation (or proceedings related thereto) would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries have filed, obtained, maintained or submitted all material reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any applicable laws or Governmental Permits, and all such material reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were complete and accurate on the date filed in all material respects (or were materially corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission), except where the failure to so file, obtain, maintain or submit, or such incompleteness or inaccuracy, would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(aa) Company Studies and Trials. The studies, tests and preclinical studies or clinical trials conducted by or on behalf of the Company and its Subsidiaries that are described in the Prospectus (the “Company Studies and Trials”) were and, if still pending, are being conducted, to the Company’s knowledge, in all material respects in accordance with applicable laws and regulations; the descriptions of the results of the Company Studies and Trials contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are, to the Company’s knowledge, accurate in all material respects; except to the extent disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company has no knowledge of any other studies or trials not described in the Prospectus, the results of which materially call into question the results described or referred to in the Prospectus when viewed in the context in which such results are described and the clinical state of development; and except to the extent disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company has not received any written notices or correspondence from the FDA, the EMA or comparable U.S. or non-U.S. governmental authorities of competent jurisdiction requiring the termination, suspension or material modification of any Company Studies and Trials where such termination, suspension or material modification would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company, nor its Subsidiaries nor to the Company’s knowledge, any of their respective directors, officers, employees or agents is debarred, suspended or excluded, or has been convicted of any crime that would result in a debarment, suspension or exclusion from any U.S. federal or state government health care program or human clinical research.
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(bb) Accuracy of Exhibits. There are no contracts or documents which are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which have not been so described and filed as required.
(cc) Relationships. No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, shareholders, customers or suppliers of the Company, on the other hand, that is required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which is not so described.
(dd) Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any Governmental Entity is necessary or required for the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering, allotment or issuance of the ADSs or the issuance and deposit with the Depositary or its nominee of the Ordinary Shares against issuance of ADRs evidencing ADSs (if any) and/or ADSs to be delivered, or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except (A) such as have been already obtained or as may be required under the Securities Act, the rules of Nasdaq, state securities laws or the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and (B) such as have been or will be obtained (where applicable) from the UK Financial Conduct Authority and London Stock Exchange plc or pursuant to the AIM Rules for Companies, the CA 2006 and/or the FSMA.
(ee) Title to Property. The Company and its Subsidiaries do not own any real property and any material real property and buildings held under lease by the Company and its Subsidiaries is held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with such exceptions as are not material and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its Subsidiaries. The Company and its Subsidiaries have good title to all other properties owned by them, in each case, free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests, claims, restrictions or encumbrances of any kind except such as (A) are described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or (B) would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and all of the leases and subleases material to the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, and under which the Company or its Subsidiaries holds properties described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, are in full force and effect, and neither the Company nor any such Subsidiary has received any notice of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any Subsidiary under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company or such Subsidiary to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease.
(ff) Title to Intellectual Property; Privacy and Data Protection. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus and except as would not individually or in the aggregate reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Company and each of its Subsidiaries solely owns or otherwise possesses the valid right to use all (A) patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark registrations, service marks, service xxxx registrations, Internet domain name registrations, copyrights, copyright registrations, licenses and trade secret rights and (B) inventions, software, works of authorships, trademarks, service marks, trade names, databases, formulae, know how, Internet domain names and all other intellectual property (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary confidential information, systems, or procedures) and all rights associated with any of foregoing in any jurisdiction ((A) and (B) collectively, “Intellectual Property Rights”) that are necessary to conduct their respective businesses as currently conducted, or otherwise used or held for use
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in, their respective businesses as currently conducted, and as proposed to be conducted as described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (collectively, and together with all other Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company or exclusively licensed to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, the “Company Intellectual Property Rights”), (ii) to the Company’s knowledge the Company’s and its respective Subsidiaries’ businesses as now conducted and as proposed to be conducted as described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus do not and will not give rise to any infringement of, misappropriation of, or other violation of, any valid and enforceable Intellectual Property Rights of any other Person, and neither the Company nor any of its respective Subsidiaries has in the past three (3) years infringed, misappropriated, or otherwise violated, any Intellectual Property Rights of any other Person, (iii) there are no third parties who have any rights to any Intellectual Property Rights described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus as being owned by or exclusively licensed to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, including no liens, security interests, or other encumbrances, except for customary reversionary rights of third-party licensors with respect to Intellectual Property Rights that are disclosed as licensed to the Company or one or more of its Subsidiaries and non-exclusive licenses of Intellectual Property Rights granted by the Company or its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business, (iv) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no infringement, misappropriation or other violation by third parties of any Company Owned IP (as defined below), (v) there is no pending, and neither the Company nor or any of its Subsidiaries has received written notice of any threatened, action, suit, proceeding, or claim against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (A) alleging the infringement, misappropriation or other violation by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any Intellectual Property Right of any Person; or (B) challenging the ownership, validity, enforceability, patentability or scope of any Company Intellectual Property Rights owned by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (collectively, “Company Owned IP”), or to the Company’s knowledge, exclusively licensed to, the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, including no interferences, oppositions, reexaminations, or government proceedings, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding, or claim, (vi) the Company and its Subsidiaries maintain commercially reasonable policies and procedures designed to protect the security, integrity and privacy of personally identifiable information, as defined under any applicable law (“Protected Information”) and have taken all reasonable steps to protect, maintain and safeguard the confidentiality of any confidential Company Owned IP, including the execution of appropriate nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements with their employees, (vii) the Company and its Subsidiaries are presently and were in the past three (3) years in compliance in all material respects with all applicable U.S. and/or non-U.S. laws relating to privacy, data protection, or the collection and use of Personal Information collected, used, or held for use by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in the conduct of their respective businesses there has been no unauthorized access to, or any unauthorized use, disclosure, losses or theft of, or security breaches relating to, any Protected Information received, or transmitted, by, or in the possession, custody or control of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (viii) no claims have been asserted or threatened in writing against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries alleging a violation of any person’s privacy or Personal Information or data rights, (ix) the Company and each of its Subsidiaries solely owns all right, title and interest in and to all Intellectual Property Rights created or otherwise developed by any present or former employee, consultant or contractor of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in the course of his, her, or its employment or other relationship with the Company or such Subsidiaries, free of any restrictions on the use or ownership of such Intellectual Property Rights, (x) the Company Owned IP is subsisting, in full force and effect and is being duly maintained, and, to the Company’s knowledge, if issued or registered, is valid and enforceable.
(gg) Environmental Laws. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (A) neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation of any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or
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judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products, asbestos-containing materials or mold (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (B) the Company and its Subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their requirements, (C) there are no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigation or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or any Subsidiary and (D) there are no events or circumstances that would reasonably be expected to form the basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or proceeding by any private party or Governmental Entity, against or affecting the Company or any Subsidiary relating to Hazardous Materials or any Environmental Laws.
(hh) Accounting Controls and Disclosure Controls. The Company and its Subsidiaries maintain effective internal control over financial reporting (as defined under Rule 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act) and a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences, and (E) the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and is prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto. Except as described in the Registration Statement, and the Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (1) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (2) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially adversely affected, or is reasonably likely to materially adversely affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15 and Rule 15d-15 under the Exchange Act) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer or officers and principal financial officer or officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure.
(ii) Payment of Taxes. All tax returns of the Company and its Subsidiaries required by law to be filed have been timely filed or appropriate extensions have been requested pursuant to applicable United States, non-United States, state, local or other law except insofar as the failure to file such returns or request such extensions would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, and have paid all taxes due pursuant to such returns or pursuant to any assessment received by the Company and its Subsidiaries, except for such taxes, if any, as are being contested in good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been established by the Company or its respective Subsidiary in conformity with IFRS or other applicable accounting principles or as would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company in respect of any income and corporation tax liability for any years not finally determined are, in conformity with IFRS, adequate to meet any assessments or re-assessments for additional income tax for any years not finally determined, except to the extent of any inadequacy that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
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(jj) Insurance. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries carry or are entitled to the benefits of insurance, with financially sound and reputable insurers, in such amounts and covering such risks as is generally maintained by companies of established repute and similar size engaged in the same or similar business, and all such insurance is in full force and effect. The Company has no reason to believe that it or its Subsidiaries will not be able (A) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (B) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its business as now conducted and at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has been denied any insurance coverage which it has sought or for which it has applied.
(kk) Investment Company Act. The Company is not required, and upon the allotment and issuance of the Ordinary Shares and the deposit with the Depositary or its nominee of the Ordinary Shares as herein contemplated and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will not be required, to register as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).
(ll) Absence of Manipulation. Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any affiliate of the Company has taken, nor will the Company or any affiliate take, directly or indirectly, any action which is designed, or would reasonably be expected, to cause or result in, or which constitutes, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares or to result in a violation of Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Neither the Company, nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor any person acting on its or their behalf (save for the Agent, in respect of whom no representation is provided) will take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to result in, or that has constituted or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, the stabilization of the Placement Shares in violation of applicable European Union or English laws or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares.
(mm) Market Abuse Regulation. The Company has complied in all material respects with the applicable provisions of the Market Abuse Regulation and has taken adequate measures and has adequate procedures in place in order to ensure such compliance, and none of the allotment and issue of the Placement Shares and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will constitute a violation by the Company of the Market Abuse Regulation, and no person acting on its behalf (save for the Agent, in respect of whom no representation is provided) has done any act or engaged in any course of conduct constituting such violation.
(nn) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. None of the Company, its Subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or its Subsidiaries is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “FCPA”), including, without limitation, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and the Company has and, to the knowledge of the Company, its affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.
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(oo) Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Entity (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”); and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any Governmental Entity involving the Company or its Subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(pp) OFAC. None of the Company, its Subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or representative of the Company or its Subsidiaries is an individual or entity (“Person”) currently the subject or target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the United States Government, including, without limitation, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor is the Company located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions; and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the sale of the Securities, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partners or other Person, to fund any activities of or business with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is the subject of Sanctions or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any Person (including any Person participating in the transaction, whether as agent, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions.
(qq) Lending Relationship. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company (i) does not have any material lending or other material relationship with any banking or lending affiliate of the Agent and (ii) does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of any Agent.
(rr) Statistical and Market-Related Data. Any statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes, after reasonable inquiry, to be reliable and accurate in all material respects and, to the extent required, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources.
(ss) No Rated Securities. The Company has no debt securities or preferred stock that is rated by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as that term is defined by the Commission for purposes of Rule 436(g)(2) under the Securities Act).
(tt) No Broker Fees. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any Person that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or the Agent for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or other like payment in connection with the offering of the Securities contemplated hereby.
(uu) Valid Choice of Laws. The choice of the laws of the State of New York as the governing law of this Agreement is a valid choice of law under the laws of England and Wales and will be recognized by courts in England and Wales except as may be limited by general principles of equity and except where to do so would be inconsistent with or overridden by the Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations (Rome I). The Company has the corporate power to submit, and pursuant to Section 16 of this Agreement, has legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably
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submitted, to the personal jurisdiction of each New York State and United States federal court sitting in The City of New York, New York (each, a “New York Court”) and has validly and irrevocably waived any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding brought in any such court; and the Company has the power to designate, appoint and empower an authorized agent for service of process in any action arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the offering of the Placement Shares in any New York Court and service of process effected on such authorized agent will be effective to notify the Company of any action under this Agreement.
(vv) No Sovereign Immunity. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries nor any of their respective properties, assets or revenues enjoy any rights of immunity from legal proceedings or the execution of judgement or other attachment in England and Wales, pursuant to the Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx Xxx 0000, or the United States, pursuant to the Foreign Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx Xxx 0000, with respect to this Agreement, the Deposit Agreement or the Placement Shares.
(ww) Proper Form. This Agreement and the Deposit Agreement are each in proper form to be enforceable in England and Wales in accordance with its terms; to ensure the legality, validity, enforceability or admissibility into evidence in England and Wales of this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement it is not necessary that this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement, respectively, be filed or recorded with any court or other authority in England and Wales (other than court filings in the ordinary course of proceedings).
(xx) Enforceability of Judgment. Any final judgment for a fixed or readily calculable sum of money rendered by a New York Court having jurisdiction under its own domestic laws and recognized by the English courts as having jurisdiction (according to English conflicts of laws principles and rules of English private international law at the time when proceedings were initiated) to give such final judgment in respect of any suit, action or proceeding against the Company based upon this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement and any instruments or agreements entered into for the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein would be declared enforceable against the Company, without re-examination or review of the merits of the cause of action in respect of which the original judgment was given or re-litigation of the matters adjudicated upon, by the courts of England and Wales; provided, however, that the Company may have defenses open to it and enforcement may not be permitted if, among other things, (a) the judgment was obtained by fraud, or in proceedings contrary to natural or substantial justice, or contravenes public policy in England or the Human Rights Xxx 0000 (or any subordinate legislation made thereunder, to the extent applicable); (b) the judgment is for a sum payable in respect of taxes, or other charges of a like nature or is in respect of a fine or other penalty or otherwise based on a foreign law that an English court considers to relate to a penal, revenue or other public law; (c) the judgment amounts to judgment on a matter previously determined by an English court or conflicts with a judgment on the same matter given by a court other than a New York Court or was obtained in breach of a jurisdiction or arbitration clause except with the agreement of the defendant or the defendant’s subsequent submission to the jurisdiction of the court; (d) the judgment is given in proceedings brought in breach of an agreement for the settlement of disputes; (e) the judgment has been arrived at by doubling, trebling or otherwise multiplying a sum assessed as compensation for the loss or damage sustained, or is a judgment that is otherwise specified in section 5 of the Protection of Trading Xxxxxxxxx Xxx 0000, or is a judgment based on measures designated by the Secretary of State under section 1 of that Act; and (f) enforcement proceedings are not commenced within six years of the date of such judgment. The Company is not aware of any reason why the enforcement in England and Wales of such a New York Court judgment would be, as of the date hereof, contrary to public policy of England and Wales or the Human Rights Xxx 0000 (or any subordinate legislation made thereunder, to the extent applicable).
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(yy) No Immunity from Suit. Except as provided by laws or statutes generally applicable to transactions of the type described in this Agreement, neither the Company nor any of its respective properties, assets or revenues has any right of immunity under United Kingdom, New York or United States law, from any legal action, suit or proceeding, from the giving of any relief in any such legal action, suit or proceeding, from set-off or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction of any law of the United Kingdom, New York or United States federal court, from service of process, attachment upon or prior judgment, or attachment in aid of execution of judgment, or from execution of a judgment, or other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any relief or for the enforcement of a judgment, in any such court, with respect to its obligations, liabilities or any other matter under or arising out of or in connection with this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement. To the extent that the Company or any of its respective properties, assets or revenues may have or may hereafter become entitled to any such right of immunity in any such court in which proceedings may at any time be commenced, the Company waives or will waive such right to the extent permitted by law and has consented to such relief and enforcement as provided in Section 16 of this Agreement.
(zz) The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Agent has informed the Company that the Agent may, to the extent permitted under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, purchase and sell Ordinary Shares for its own account while this Agreement is in effect; provided, that (i) no such purchase or sales shall take place while a Placement Notice is in effect (except to the extent the Agent may engage in sales of Placement Shares purchased or deemed purchased from the Company as a “riskless principal” or in a similar capacity) and (ii) the Company shall not be deemed to have authorized or consented to any such purchases or sales by the Agent, except as may be otherwise agreed by the Company and the Agent.
(aaa) The Company is not a party to any agreement with an agent or underwriter for any other “at the market” or continuous equity transaction.
(bbb) The Company is not required to register as a “broker” or “dealer” in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Act and does not, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, control or have any other association with (within the meaning of Article I of the By-laws of FINRA) any member firm of FINRA. No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company, on the one hand, and the directors, officers or shareholders of the Company, on the other hand, which is required by the rules of FINRA to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, which is not so described. All of the information (including, but not limited to, information regarding affiliations, security ownership and trading activity) provided to the Agent or its counsel by the Company, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or warrants, options or rights to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with the filing to be made and other supplemental information to be provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110 in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement is true, complete and correct.
(ccc) As of the close of trading on Nasdaq on October 1, 2020, the aggregate market value of the outstanding voting and non-voting common equity (as defined in Rule 405) of the Company held by Persons other than affiliates of the Company (pursuant to Rule 144 of the Securities Act, those that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, control, or are controlled by, or are under common control with, the Company) (the “Non-Affiliate Shares”), was approximately $165,652,152.93 (calculated by multiplying (x) the price at which the common equity of the Company was last sold on Nasdaq on October 1, 2020 by (y) the number of Non-Affiliate Shares outstanding on October 1, 2020). The Company is not a shell company (as defined in Rule 405) and has not been a shell company for at least 12 calendar months previously.
(ddd) Neither the issuance, sale and delivery of the Placement Shares nor the application of the proceeds thereof by the Company as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will violate Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any other regulation of such Board of Governors.
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(eee) Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its affiliates (within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act) has, prior to the date hereof, made any offer or sale of any securities which could be “integrated” (within the meaning of the Securities Act) with the offer and sale of the Placement Shares hereunder.
(fff) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has (i) failed to pay any dividend or sinking fund installment on preferred stock or (ii) defaulted on any installment or payment due on indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental on one or more long-term leases, which defaults, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(ggg) Each financial or operational projection or other “forward-looking statement” (as defined by Section 27A of the Securities Act or Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (i) was so included by the Company in good faith and with reasonable basis after due consideration by the Company of the underlying assumptions, estimates and other applicable facts and circumstances and (ii) as required, is accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying those factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statement. No such statement was made with the knowledge of a director or senior manager of the Company that was false or misleading.
(hhh) The Company has duly and properly filed or caused to be filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the “PTO”) and applicable foreign and international patent authorities all patents and applications relating to the same owned by the Company and its Subsidiaries (the “Company Patent Applications”). To the Company’s knowledge, the Company has complied with the PTO’s duty of candor and disclosure for the Company Patent Applications and has made no material misrepresentation in the Company Patent Applications. To the Company’s knowledge, the Company Patent Applications disclose patentable subject matter. The Company has not been notified of any inventorship challenges nor has any interference been declared or provoked nor is any material fact known by the Company that would preclude the issuance of patents with respect to the Company Patent Applications or would render such patents, if issued, invalid or unenforceable. Except as would not have a Material Adverse Effect, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has breached or is currently in breach of any provision of any license, contract or other agreement governing the use by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of Intellectual Property owned by third parties (collectively, the “Licenses”) and no third party has alleged any such breach and the Company is unaware of any facts that would form a reasonable basis for such a claim. To the Company’s knowledge, no other party to any of the Licenses has breached or is currently in breach of any provision of the Licenses. Each of the Licenses is in full force and effect and constitutes a valid and binding agreement between the parties thereto, enforceable in accordance with its terms, and there has not occurred any default under or any other breach of any provision of such Licenses or any event that, with the giving of notice or lapse of time, would constitute a breach or default thereunder. Except as would not have a Material Adverse Effect, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has been or is currently involved in any disputes regarding any of the Licenses. To the Company’s knowledge, all pending and issued patents licensed to the Company pursuant to the Licenses are subsisting, in full force and effect and are being duly maintained and, to the Company’s knowledge, if issued, are valid and enforceable. To the Company’s knowledge, all patent applications licensed to the Company pursuant to the Licenses are being duly prosecuted.
Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to the Agent or its counsel in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company, as to matters covered thereby, to the Agent.
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7. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees with the Agent that:
(a) Registration Statement Amendments. After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which the Prospectus relating to any Placement Shares is required to be delivered by the Agent under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act or a similar rule); (i) the Company will notify the Agent promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than Incorporated Documents, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus, other than Incorporated Documents, has been filed and of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus or for additional information; (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon the Agent’s request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in the Agent’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Placement Shares by the Agent (provided, however, that the failure of the Agent to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect the Agent’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that the only remedy the Agent shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to make such filing (but without limiting the Agent’s rights under Section 9 hereof) will be to cease making sales under this Agreement until such amendment or supplement is filed); (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus, other than Incorporated Documents, relating to the Placement Shares or a security convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for the Placement Shares unless a copy thereof has been submitted to the Agent within a reasonable period of time before the filing and the Agent has not reasonably objected thereto (provided, however, that the failure of the Agent to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect the Agent’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that the only remedy the Agent shall have with respect to the Company’s making such filing notwithstanding the Agent’s objection (but without limiting the Agent’s rights under Section 9 hereof) will be to cease making sales under this Agreement) and the Company will furnish to the Agent at the time of filing thereof a copy of any Incorporated Document, except for those documents available via XXXXX; and (iv) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, other than Incorporated Documents, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act and, in the case of any Incorporated Document, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the Exchange Act, within the time period prescribed.
(b) Notice of Commission Stop Orders. The Company will advise the Agent, promptly after it receives notice or obtains knowledge thereof, of the issuance or threatened issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, of the suspension of the qualification of the Placement Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction or of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose; and it will promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such a stop order should be issued. The Company will advise the Agent promptly after it receives any request by the Commission for any amendments to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplements to the Prospectus or for additional information related to the offering of the Placement Shares or for additional information related to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.
(c) Delivery of Prospectus; Subsequent Changes. During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by the Agent under the Securities Act with respect to the offer and sale of the Placement Shares (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act or a similar rule), the Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as from time to time in force, and
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will file on or before their respective due dates (taking into account any extensions available under the Exchange Act) all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, 15(d) or any other provision of or under the Exchange Act. If during such period any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act, the Company will promptly notify the Agent to suspend the offering of Placement Shares during such period and the Company will promptly amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance. If the Company has omitted any information from the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, it will use its best efforts to comply with the provisions thereof and make all requisite filings with the Commission pursuant to said Rule 430B and to notify the Agent promptly of all such filings if not available on XXXXX.
(d) Listing of Ordinary Shares and ADSs. For such time as the Ordinary Shares are admitted to trading on AIM, the Company (i) shall supply all such information, execute such documents, give all such undertakings and pay all such fees as may be required by the London Stock Exchange in connection with such admission to trading, including in connection with any Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to this Agreement, and (ii) shall comply with the requirements of the London Stock Exchange, the AIM Rules for Companies or any other applicable law or regulation in connection with the admission to AIM of the Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to this Agreement. During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by the Agent under the Securities Act with respect to the offer and sale of the Placement Shares (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act or a similar rule), the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the ADSs to be listed on Nasdaq. The Company will timely file with Nasdaq all material documents and notices required by Nasdaq of companies that have or will issue securities that are traded on Nasdaq.
(e) Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company will furnish to the Agent and its counsel (at the expense of the Company) copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (including all Incorporated Documents) and all amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that are filed with the Commission during any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered under the Securities Act (including all Incorporated Documents filed with the Commission during such period), in each case as soon as reasonably practicable and in such quantities as the Agent may from time to time reasonably request and, at the Agent’s request, will also furnish copies of the Prospectus to each exchange or market on which sales of the Placement Shares may be made; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus) to the Agent to the extent such document is available on XXXXX.
(f) Earnings Statement. The Company will make generally available to its securityholders and to the Agent as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15 months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter, an earnings statement covering a 12-month period that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) of and Rule 158 under the Securities Act.
(g) Expenses. The Company, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereunder are consummated or this Agreement is terminated in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 hereunder, will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder, including expenses relating to (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement and each amendment and supplement thereto, of the Prospectus and of each amendment and supplement thereto and of this
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Agreement and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Placement Shares, (ii) the preparation, issuance, sale and delivery of the Placement Shares and (to the extent permitted under English law) any taxes due or payable in connection therewith, (iii) the qualification of the Placement Shares under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(w) of this Agreement, including filing fees (provided, however, that any fees or disbursements of counsel for the Agent in connection therewith shall be paid by the Agent except as set forth in clauses (vii) and (viii) below), (iv) the printing and delivery to the Agent and its counsel of copies of the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, and of this Agreement, (v) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing or qualification of the Placement Shares for trading on Nasdaq, (vi) the filing fees and expenses, if any, owed to the Commission or FINRA and the fees and expenses of any transfer agent or registrar for the Shares, (vii) the fees and associated expenses of the Agent’s outside legal counsel for filings with the FINRA Corporate Financing Department in an amount not to exceed $15,000 (excluding FINRA filing fees referred to in clause (vi) above and in addition to the fees and disbursements referred to in clause (viii) below), and (viii) the reasonable fees and disbursements of the Agent’s outside legal counsel (A) in an amount not to exceed $50,000 arising out of executing this Agreement and the Company’s delivery of the initial certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) and (B) in an amount not to exceed $15,000 in connection with each Representation Date (as defined below) on which the Company is required to provide a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) (in addition to the fees and associated expenses referred to in clause (vii) above).
(h) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the Net Proceeds as described in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.”
(i) Notice of Other Sales. Without the prior written consent of the Agent, the Company will not, directly or indirectly, offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Ordinary Shares (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Ordinary Shares, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Ordinary Shares during the period beginning on the fifth Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which any Placement Notice is delivered to Agent hereunder and ending on the second Trading Day immediately following the final Settlement Date with respect to Placement Shares sold pursuant to such Placement Notice (or, if the Placement Notice has been terminated or suspended prior to the sale of all Placement Shares covered by a Placement Notice, the date of such suspension or termination); and will not directly or indirectly in any other “at the market offering” or continuous equity transaction offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Ordinary Shares (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Ordinary Shares, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, Ordinary Shares prior to the later of the termination of this Agreement and the sixtieth day immediately following the final Settlement Date with respect to Placement Shares sold pursuant to such Placement Notice; provided, however, that such restrictions will not be required in connection with the Company’s issuance or sale of (i) Ordinary Shares, options to purchase Ordinary Shares, other securities under the Company’s existing equity incentive plans, or Ordinary Shares issuable upon the exercise of options or vesting of other securities, pursuant to any employee or director stock option or benefits plan, stock ownership plan or dividend reinvestment plan (but not s Ordinary Shares subject to a waiver to exceed plan limits in its dividend reinvestment plan) of the Company whether now in effect or hereafter implemented, (ii) Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of securities or the exercise of warrants, options, loan notes or other rights in effect or outstanding, and disclosed in filings by the Company available on XXXXX or otherwise in writing to the Agent and (iii) Ordinary Shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares as consideration for mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or strategic alliances occurring after the date of this Agreement which are not issued for capital raising purposes; provided, however, that no such notice shall be required for issuance of Ordinary Shares underlying warrants issued by the Company to warrant holders prior to the date of this Agreement or upon
conversion of outstanding convertible notes outstanding as of the date of this Agreement, in each case to the extent such warrants have been disclosed in the Prospectus.
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(j) Change of Circumstances. The Company will, at any time during a fiscal quarter in which the Company intends to tender a Placement Notice or sell Placement Shares, advise the Agent promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge of any information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document provided or required to be provided to the Agent pursuant to this Agreement.
(k) Due Diligence Cooperation. During the term of this Agreement, the Company will cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by the Agent, its affiliates agents and counsel from time to time in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as the Agent may reasonably request.
(l) Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement Shares. The Company agrees that on or prior to such dates as the Securities Act shall require, the Company will (i) file a prospectus supplement with the Commission under the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, which prospectus supplement will set forth, within the relevant period, the number or amount of Placement Shares sold through the Agent, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to the Agent with respect to such Placement Shares and (ii) deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus supplement to each exchange or market on which such sales were effected as may be required by the rules or regulations of such exchange or market; provided, that, unless a prospectus supplement containing such information is required to be filed under the Securities Act, the requirement of this Section 7(l) may be satisfied by Company’s inclusion in the Company’s Form 20-F or Form 6-K, as applicable, of the number or amount of Placement Shares sold through the Agent, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to the Agent with respect to such Placement Shares during the relevant period.
(m) Representation Dates; Certificate. On or prior to the date on which the Company first delivers a Placement Notice pursuant to this agreement (the “First Placement Notice Date”) and each time the Company:
(i) amends or supplements the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares (other than a prospectus supplement filed in accordance with Section 7(l) of this Agreement) by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker or supplement but not by means of incorporation of document(s) by reference into the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares;
(ii) files an annual report on Form 20-F under the Exchange Act (including any Form 20-F/A containing amended financial information or a material amendment to the previously filed Form 20-F);
(iii) files a report on Form 6-K under the Exchange Act containing quarterly financial
information (other than an earnings release that is “furnished”) that is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and Prospectus; or
(iv) files a report on Form 6-K under the Exchange Act containing amended financial information (other than an earnings release that is “furnished”) that is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and Prospectus (each date of filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) shall be a “Representation Date”), the Company shall
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furnish the Agent (but in the case of clause (iv) above only if (1) a Placement Notice is pending or in effect and (2) the Agent requests such certificate within three Business Days after the filing of such Form 6-K with the Commission) with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) (modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented), within two Trading Days of any Representation Date. The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 7(m) shall be waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice is pending or in effect, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of (1) the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date) and (2) the next occurring Representation Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Shares following a Representation Date on which the Company relied on the waiver referred to in the previous sentence and did not provide the Agent with a certificate under this Section 7(m), then before the Company delivers a Placement Notice or the Agent sells any Placement Shares pursuant thereto, the Company shall provide the Agent with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m), dated the date of such Placement Notice. Within two Trading Days of each Representation Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Agent such further information, certificates and documents as the Agent may reasonably request.
(n) Legal Opinions. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and on any date which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent (i) the written opinion and negative assurance letter of Xxxxx Xxxxx LLP, U.S. counsel to the Company, or such other counsel satisfactory to the Agent, and (ii) the written opinion of Xxxxx Xxxxx International LLP, English counsel for the company, or such other counsel satisfactory to the Agent (collectively, “Company Counsel”), each in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, dated the date that the opinions and negative assurance letter are required to be delivered, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, that in lieu of such opinions and negative assurance letter for subsequent Representation Dates, Company Counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior opinion or negative assurance letter delivered by such counsel under this Section 7(n) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion or negative assurance letter shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).
(o) Intellectual Property Opinion. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and on any date which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent the written opinion of external counsel for the Company with respect to intellectual property matters satisfactory to the Agent (“Intellectual Property Counsel”), in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion letter is required to be delivered, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, that in lieu of such written opinion for subsequent Representation Dates, Intellectual Property Counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior opinion letter delivered by such counsel under this Section 7(o) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such opinion letter (except that statements in such prior opinion letter shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).
(p) Comfort Letter. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and on any date which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause its independent registered public accounting firm (and any other independent accountants whose report is included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus) to furnish the Agent letters (the “Comfort Letters”), dated the date each Comfort Letter is delivered, which
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shall meet the requirements set forth in this Section 7(p); provided, that if requested by the Agent, the Company shall cause a Comfort Letter to be furnished to the Agent within 10 Trading Days of the occurrence of any material transaction or event that necessitates the filing of additional, pro forma, amended or revised financial statements (including any restatement of previously issued financial statements). Each Comfort Letter shall be in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and each Comfort Letter from the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm shall (i) confirm that they are an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the PCAOB, (ii) state, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) update the Initial Comfort Letter with any information that would have been included in the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter.
(q) Market Activities. The Company will not, directly or indirectly, and will cause its officers, directors and Subsidiaries not to (i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of Ordinary Shares or ADSs or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase Ordinary Shares or ADSs in violation of Regulation M, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Placement Shares other than the Agent; provided, however, that the Company may bid for and purchase Ordinary Shares or ADSs in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act.
(r) Insurance. The Company and its Subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as is reasonable and customary for the business for which it is engaged.
(s) Compliance with Laws. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, all material environmental and any other certificates, authorizations or permits required by any applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws, rules, regulations, treaties, statutes or codes promulgated by any governmental authorities in order to conduct their businesses as described in the Prospectus (collectively, “Permits”), and the Company and each of its Subsidiaries shall conduct their respective businesses, or cause their respective businesses to be conducted, in substantial compliance with such Permits and with all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws, rules, regulations, treaties, statutes and codes promulgated by any and all governmental authorities (including Environmental Laws, Money Laundering Laws and Occupational Laws, and any relating to privacy, data protection, or the collection and use of Personal Information collected, used, or held for use by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in connection with the conduct of their respective businesses), except where the failure to maintain or be in compliance with such Permits, or be in compliance with such applicable laws, rules, regulations, treaties, statutes or codes, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(t) Investment Company Act. The Company will conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that neither it nor any of its Subsidiaries will be or become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act.
(u) Securities Act and Exchange Act. The Company will use its best efforts to comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the sales of, or dealings in, the Placement Shares as contemplated by the provisions hereof and the Prospectus.
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(v) No Offer to Sell. Other than a free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) approved in advance by the Company and the Agent, neither the Agent nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than the Agent in its capacity as agent) will make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to any written communication (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act), required to be filed with the Commission, that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy Placement Shares hereunder.
(w) Blue Sky and Other Qualifications. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts, in cooperation with the Agent, to qualify the Placement Shares for offering and sale, or to obtain an exemption for the Placement Shares to be offered and sold, under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Agent may designate and to maintain such qualifications and exemptions in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement); provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject. In each jurisdiction in which the Placement Shares have been so qualified or exempt, the Company will file such statements and reports as may be required by the laws of such jurisdiction to continue such qualification or exemption, as the case may be, in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement).
(x) Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act. The Company and its subsidiaries will use their best efforts to comply with all effective applicable provisions of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act.
(y) Emerging Growth Company. The Company will promptly notify the Agent if the company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the completion of the Agent’s distribution of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement.
(z) Renewal of Registration Statement. If, immediately prior to the third anniversary of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement (the “Renewal Date”), any of the Placement Shares remain unsold and this Agreement has not been terminated, the Company will, prior to the Renewal Date, file a new shelf registration statement or, if applicable, an automatic shelf registration statement relating to the Ordinary Shares that may be offered and sold pursuant to this Agreement (which shall include a prospectus reflecting the number or amount of Placement Shares that may be offered and sold pursuant to this Agreement), in a form satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, and, if such registration statement is not an automatic shelf registration statement, will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Date. The Company will take all other reasonable actions necessary or appropriate to permit the public offer and sale of the Placement Shares to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement and this Agreement. From and after the effective date thereof, references herein to the “Registration Statement” shall include such new shelf registration statement or such new automatic shelf registration statement, as the case may be.
(aa) General Instruction I.B.5. of Form F-3. If, from and after the date of this Agreement, the Company is no longer eligible to use Form F-3 (including pursuant to General Instruction I.B.5.) at the time it files with the Commission an annual report on Form 20-F or any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, then it shall promptly notify the Agent and, within two Business Days after the date of filing of such annual report on Form 20-F or amendment to the Registration Statement, the Company shall file a new prospectus supplement with the Commission reflecting the number of Ordinary Shares available to be offered and sold by the Company under this Agreement pursuant to General Instruction I.B.5. of Form F-3; provided, however, that the Company may delay the filing of any such
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prospectus supplement for up to 30 days if, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, it is in the best interest of the Company to do so, provided that no Placement Notice is in effect or pending during such time. Until such time as the Company shall have corrected such misstatement or omission or effected such compliance, the Company shall not notify the Agent to resume the offering of Placement Shares.
(bb) Tax Indemnity. The Company will (to the extent permitted under English law) indemnify and hold harmless the Agent against any documentary, stamp or similar issue tax, including any interest and penalties, on the issue and sale of the Placement Shares and on the execution and delivery of this Agreement. All payments to be made by the Company to the Agent under this Agreement shall be made without withholding or deduction for or on account of any present or future taxes, duties or governmental charges whatsoever unless the Company is compelled by law to deduct or withhold such taxes, duties or charges. In that event, the Company shall (to the extent permitted under English law) pay to the Agent such additional amounts (after taking into account any taxes payable as a result) as may be necessary in order that the net amounts received after such withholding or deduction shall equal the amounts that would have been received if no withholding or deduction had been made.
(cc) Transfer Agent. The Company has engaged and will maintain, at its sole expense, a transfer agent and, if necessary under the jurisdiction of organization of the Company, a registrar for the Ordinary Shares.
(dd) Depositary. The Company has engaged and will maintain, at its sole expense, a depositary for its ADSs.
(ee) CA 2006 Compliance. The Company will not issue a Placement Notice unless the relevant Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to such Placement Notice can be issued in compliance with section 551 of the CA 2006 and within an existing disapplication under section 561(1) of the CA 2006.
8. Conditions to the Agent’s Obligations. The obligations of the Agent hereunder with respect to a Placement will be subject to the continuing accuracy and completeness of the representations and warranties made by the Company herein, to the due performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, to the completion by the Agent of a due diligence review satisfactory to the Agent in its reasonable judgment, and to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by the Agent in its sole discretion) of the following additional conditions:
(a) Registration Statement Effective. The Registration Statement shall be effective and shall be available for all offers and sales of Placement Shares (i) that have been issued pursuant to all prior Placement Notices and (ii) that will be issued pursuant to any Placement Notice.
(b) Prospectus Supplement. The Company shall have filed with the Commission the Prospectus Supplement pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second Business Day following the date of this Agreement.
(c) No Material Notices. None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing: (i) receipt by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any request for additional information from the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority during the period of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the response to which would require any post-effective amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; (ii) the issuance by the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose; (iii) receipt by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any notification with respect to the suspension of the
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qualification or exemption from qualification of any of the Placement Shares for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; or (iv) the occurrence of any event that makes any material statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any material Incorporated Document untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or Incorporated Documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and, in the case of the Prospectus, so that it will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(d) No Misstatement or Material Omission. The Agent shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in the Agent’s opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in the Agent’s opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
(e) Material Changes. Except as contemplated in the Prospectus, or disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the Commission, there shall not have been any material adverse change, on a consolidated basis, in the authorized capital stock of the Company or any Material Adverse Effect or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or any downgrading in or withdrawal of the rating assigned to any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities), if any, by any rating organization or a public announcement by any rating organization that it has under surveillance or review its rating of any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities), if any, the effect of which, in the judgment of the Agent (without relieving the Company of any obligation or liability it may otherwise have), is so material as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering of the Placement Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.
(f) Company Counsel Legal Opinions. The Agent shall have received the opinions and negative assurance letters, as applicable, of Company Counsel and Intellectual Property Counsel required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(n) and Section 7(o), as applicable, on or before the date on which such delivery of such opinions and negative assurance letters are required pursuant to Section 7(n) and Section 7(o), as applicable.
(g) Agent’s Counsel Legal Opinion. The Agent shall have received from Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx LLP, U.S. counsel for the Agent, and Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx (International) LLP, English counsel for the Agent, such opinions and negative assurance letter, on or before the date on which the delivery of the Company Counsel legal opinion and negative assurance letter are required pursuant to Section 7(n), with respect to such matters as the Agent may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they may request to enable them to pass upon such matters.
(h) Opinion of Counsel for Depositary. The Agent shall have received from Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxx & Xxxxx LLP, counsel for the Depositary, an opinion, on or before the date of the first Placement Notice, satisfactory in form and substance to the Agent and its counsel.
(i) Deposit Agreement. The Deposit Agreement shall be in full force and effect and the Company and the Depositary shall have taken all action to permit the deposit of underlying Ordinary Shares and the issuance of the Placement ADSs in accordance with the Deposit Agreement.
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(j) Depositary’s Certificate. On or prior to the date of the first Placement Notice, the Depositary shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to the Agent a certificate satisfactory to the Agent of one of its authorized officers with respect to the deposit with it of the Placement Shares, the issuance of the ADSs evidencing the Placement Shares pursuant to the Deposit Agreement and such other customary matters related thereto as the Representatives may reasonably request.
(j) Comfort Letter. The Agent shall have received the Comfort Letters required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(p) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letters are required pursuant to Section 7(p).
(k) Representation Certificate. The Agent shall have received the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(m) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 7(m).
(l) Secretary’s Certificate. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date, the Agent shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by the Secretary of the Company and attested to by an executive officer of the Company, dated as of such date and in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, certifying as to (i) the articles of association of the Company, (ii) the resolutions of the board of directors of the Company or duly authorized committee thereof authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Placement Shares and (iii) the incumbency of the officers of the Company duly authorized to execute this Agreement and the other documents contemplated by this Agreement (including each of the officers set forth on Schedule 2).
(m) No Suspension. The ADSs shall be duly listed, and admitted and authorized for trading, subject to official notice of issuance, on Nasdaq. Trading in the ADSs shall not have been suspended on, and the ADSs shall not have been delisted from, Nasdaq.
(n) Other Materials. On each date on which the Company is required to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m), the Company shall have furnished to the Agent such appropriate further information, opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as the Agent may have reasonably requested. All such information, opinions, certificates, letters and other documents shall have been in compliance with the provisions hereof. The Company shall have furnished the Agent with conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as the Agent may have reasonably requested.
(o) Securities Act Filings Made. All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424(b) or Rule 433 under the Securities Act to have been filed prior to the issuance of any Placement Notice hereunder shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) of the Securities Act) or Rule 433, as applicable.
(p) Approval for Listing. Either (i) the Placement Shares shall have been approved for listing on Nasdaq, subject only to notice of issuance, or (ii) the Company shall have filed an application for listing of the Placement Shares on Nasdaq at, or prior to, the First Placement Notice Date and Nasdaq shall have reviewed such application and not provided any objections thereto.
(q) Deposit of Ordinary Shares. The Ordinary Shares underlying the Placement Shares to be issued on the relevant Settlement Date will, at the relevant Settlement Date, be issued to, and deposited with, the Depositary’s custodian (or its nominee) in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement and otherwise comply with the Deposit Agreement so that ADSs representing such Ordinary Shares will be issued by the Depositary against receipt of such Ordinary Shares.
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(r) FINRA. FINRA shall have raised no objection to the terms of the offering contemplated hereby and the amount of compensation allowable or payable to the Agent as described in the Prospectus.
(s) No Termination Event. There shall not have occurred any event that would permit the Agent to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 11(a).
9. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) Company Indemnification. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Agent, its affiliates and their respective partners, members, directors, officers, employees and agents, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the Agent within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with the Agent, in each case from and against any and all losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any and all investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any and all amounts paid in settlement (in accordance with this Section 9), any action, suit, investigation or proceeding between any of the indemnified parties and any indemnifying parties or between any indemnified party and any third party (including any governmental or self-regulatory authority, or otherwise, or any claim asserted or threatened), as and when incurred, to which the Agent, or any such other person may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, liabilities, expenses or damages arise out of or are based, directly or indirectly, on (x) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus) or in any free writing prospectus or in any application or other document executed by or on behalf of the Company or based on written information furnished by or on behalf of the Company filed in any jurisdiction in order to qualify the ADSs and Ordinary Shares under the securities laws thereof or filed with the Commission, (y) the omission or alleged omission to state in any such document a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (solely with respect to the Prospectus, in light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading or (z) any breach by any of the indemnifying parties of any of their respective representations, warranties or agreements contained in this Agreement; provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to the extent that such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage arises from the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and is caused, directly or indirectly, by an untrue statement or omission, or alleged untrue statement or omission, made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Agent’s Information. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company might otherwise have.
(b) Agent Indemnification. The Agent agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors and each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with the Company against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in Section 9(a), as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendments thereto) or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Agent’s Information.
(c) Procedure. Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section 9 will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against an indemnifying party or parties under this Section 9, notify each such indemnifying party of the commencement of such action, enclosing a copy of all papers
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served, but the omission so to notify such indemnifying party will not relieve the indemnifying party from (i) any liability that it might have to any indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 9 and (ii) any liability that it may have to any indemnified party under the foregoing provision of this Section 9 unless, and only to the extent that, such omission results in the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses by the indemnifying party. If any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the indemnifying party of its commencement, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in and, to the extent that it elects by delivering written notice to the indemnified party promptly after receiving notice of the commencement of the action from the indemnified party, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense of the action, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense, the indemnifying party will not be liable to the indemnified party for any other legal expenses except as provided below and except for the reasonable costs of investigation subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense. The indemnified party will have the right to employ its own counsel in any such action, but the fees, expenses and other charges of such counsel will be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (1) the employment of counsel by the indemnified party has been authorized in writing by the indemnifying party, (2) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded (based on advice of counsel) that there may be legal defenses available to it or other indemnified parties that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party, (3) a conflict or potential conflict exists (based on advice of counsel to the indemnified party) between the indemnified party and the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying party will not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party) or (4) the indemnifying party has not in fact employed counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the commencement of the action, in each of which cases the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel will be at the expense of the indemnifying party or parties. It is understood that the indemnifying party or parties shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of more than one separate firm (plus local counsel) admitted to practice in such jurisdiction at any one time for all such indemnified party or parties. All such fees, disbursements and other charges will be reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly after the indemnifying party receives a written invoice relating to such fees, disbursements and other charges in reasonable detail. An indemnifying party will not, in any event, be liable for any settlement of any action or claim effected without its written consent. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of each indemnified party, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any pending or threatened claim, action or proceeding relating to the matters contemplated by this Section 9 (whether or not any indemnified party is a party thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (1) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party, from all liability arising out of such claim, action or proceeding and (2) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(d) Settlement Without Consent if Failure to Reimburse. If an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for which it is entitled to be reimbursed under this Section 9, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 9(a) effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.
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(e) Contribution. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in the foregoing paragraphs of this Section 9 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable or insufficient from the Company or the Agent, the Company and the Agent will contribute to the total losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit, investigation or proceeding or any claim asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by the Company from persons other than the Agent, such as persons who control the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act, officers of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and directors of the Company, who also may be liable for contribution) to which the Company and the Agent may be subject in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Agent on the other hand. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Agent on the other hand shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total Net Proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total compensation received by the Agent from the sale of Placement Shares on behalf of the Company. If, but only if, the allocation provided by the foregoing sentence is not permitted by applicable law, the allocation of contribution shall be made in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in the foregoing sentence but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, with respect to the statements or omission that resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action, suit, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations with respect to such offering. Such relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Agent, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 9(e) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action, suit, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 9(e) shall be deemed to include, for the purpose of this Section 9(e), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action, suit, investigation, proceeding or claim to the extent consistent with this Section 9. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 9(e), the Agent shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the commissions received by it under this Agreement and no person found guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) will be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 9(e), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, any affiliates of the Agent, any partners, members, directors, officers, employees and agents of the Agent and each person that is controlled by or under common control with the Agent will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement will have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the provisions hereof. Any party entitled to contribution, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made under this Section 9(e), will notify any such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission to so notify will not relieve that party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have under this Section 9(e) except to the extent that the failure to so notify such other party materially prejudiced the substantive rights or defenses of the party from whom contribution is sought. Except for a settlement entered into pursuant to the last sentence of Section 9(c) hereof or pursuant to Section 9(d) hereof, no party will be liable for contribution with respect to any action or claim settled without its written consent if such consent is required pursuant to Section 9(c) hereof.
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10. Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery. The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 9 of this Agreement and all representations and warranties of the Company herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto shall survive, as of their respective dates, regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of the Agent, any controlling persons, or the Company (or any of their respective officers, directors, employees or controlling persons), (ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement Shares and payment therefor or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.
11. Termination.
(a) The Agent shall have the right, by giving notice as hereinafter specified, at any time to terminate this Agreement if (i) any Material Adverse Effect, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, has occurred that, in the judgment of the Agent, may materially impair the ability of the Agent to sell the Placement Shares hereunder, (ii) the Company shall have failed, refused or been unable to perform any agreement on its part to be performed hereunder; provided, however, in the case of any failure of the Company to deliver (or cause another person to deliver) any certification, opinion or letter required under Section 7(m), Section 7(n), Section 7(o) or Section 7(p), the Agent’s right to terminate shall not arise unless such failure to deliver (or cause to be delivered) continues for more than 15 calendar days from the date such delivery was required, (iii) any other condition of the Agent’s obligations hereunder is not fulfilled, (iv) any suspension or limitation of trading in the Placement Shares or in securities generally on Nasdaq shall have occurred, (v) a general banking moratorium shall have been declared by any of United States federal or New York authorities, or (vi) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of national or international hostilities or any crisis or calamity, or any change in the United States or international financial markets, or any substantial change or development involving a prospective substantial change in United States or international political, financial or economic conditions that, in the judgment of the Agent, may materially impair the ability of the Agent to sell the Placement Shares hereunder or to enforce contracts for the sale of securities. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination. If the Agent elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 11(a), the Agent shall provide the required notice as specified in Section 12.
(b) The Company shall have the right, by giving 10 days’ prior notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 11(f), Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(c) The Agent shall have the right, by giving 10 days’ prior notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 11(f), Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(d) Unless earlier terminated pursuant to this Section 11, this Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the issuance and sale of all of the Placement Shares through the Agent on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein; provided that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 11(f), Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
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(e) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 11(a), (b), (c), or (d) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided, however, that any such termination by mutual agreement shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 11(f), Section 16 and Section 17 shall remain in full force and effect.
(f) Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided, however, that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by the Agent or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Placement Shares, such Placement Shares shall settle in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. Upon termination of this Agreement, the Company shall not be required to pay to the Agent any discount or commission with respect to any Placement Shares not otherwise sold by the Agent under this Agreement; provided, however, that the Company shall remain obligated to reimburse the Agent’s expenses pursuant to Section 7(g).
12. Notices. All notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by any party to any other party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be in writing, unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, and if sent to the Agent, shall be delivered to:
SVB Leerink LLC
1301 Avenue of the Xxxxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx00000
Attention: Xxxxx X. Xxx
E-mail: xxxxx.xxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
SVB Leerink LLC
1301 Avenue of the Xxxxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Esq.
E-mail: xxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx
and if to the Company, shall be delivered to:
Xxx Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxx, 0xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxx X0X 0XX Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Attention: General Counsel
E-mail: xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
with copies (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx LLP
000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, P.C.
E-mail: xxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Xxxxx Xxxxx LLP
0000 Xxxxxx xx xxx Xxxxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
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Attention: Xxxxx X. Xxxxx
E-mail: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Xxxxx Xxxxx International LLP
000 Xxxxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxx XX0X 0XX
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Attention: Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
E-mail: xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Each party to this Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the parties to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose. Each such notice or other communication shall be deemed given (i) when delivered personally on or before 4:30 P.M., New York City time, on a Business Day, or, if such day is not a Business Day, on the next succeeding Business Day, (ii) by Electronic Notice as set forth in the next paragraph, (iii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a nationally-recognized overnight courier or (iv) on the Business Day actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid). For purposes of this Agreement, “Business Day” shall mean any day on which Nasdaq and commercial banks in the City of New York are open for business.
An electronic communication (“Electronic Notice”) shall be deemed written notice for purposes of this Section 12 if sent to the electronic mail address specified by the receiving party in Section 12. Electronic Notice shall be deemed received at the time the party sending Electronic Notice receives actual acknowledgment of receipt from the person whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply. Any party receiving Electronic Notice may request and shall be entitled to receive the notice on paper, in a non-electronic form (“Non-electronic Notice”), which shall be sent to the requesting party within 10 days of receipt of the written request for Non-electronic Notice.
13. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and the Agent and their respective successors and the affiliates, controlling persons, officers, directors and other persons referred to in Section 9 hereof. References to any of the parties contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the successors and permitted assigns of each such party. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto, the persons referred to in the preceding sentence and their respective successors and permitted assigns any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party; provided, however, that the Agent may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliate of the Agent without obtaining the Company’s consent, so long as such affiliate is a registered broker-dealer.
14. Adjustments for Share Splits. The parties acknowledge and agree that all share-related numbers contained in this Agreement shall be adjusted to take into account any share split, share dividend or similar event effected with respect to the Ordinary Shares.
15. Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability; Waiver. This Agreement (including all schedules (as amended pursuant to this Agreement) and exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. Neither this Agreement nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company and the Agent; provided, however, that
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Schedule 2 of this Agreement may be amended by either party from time to time by sending a notice containing a revised Schedule 2 to the other party in the manner provided in Section 12 and, upon such amendment, all references herein to Schedule 2 shall automatically be deemed to refer to such amended Schedule 2. In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable as written by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be given full force and effect to the fullest possible extent that it is valid, legal and enforceable, and the remainder of the terms and provisions herein shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision was not contained herein, but only to the extent that giving effect to such provision and the remainder of the terms and provisions hereof shall be in accordance with the intent of the parties as reflected in this Agreement. No implied waiver by a party shall arise in the absence of a waiver in writing signed by such party. No failure or delay in exercising any right, power, or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any right, power, or privilege hereunder.
16. GOVERNING LAW AND TIME; WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO THE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAWS. SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
17. Consent to Jurisdiction. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan, for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection with any of the transactions contemplated hereby, and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum, or that the venue of such suit, action or proceeding is improper. Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested) to such party at the address in effect for notices under Section 12 of this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient notice of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any manner permitted by law.
18. Construction.
(a) The section and exhibit headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.
(b) Words defined in the singular shall have a comparable meaning when used in the plural, and vice versa.
(c) The words “hereof,” “hereto,” “herein” and “hereunder” and words of similar import, when used in this Agreement, shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement.
(d) Wherever the word “include,” “includes” or “including” is used in this Agreement, it shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation.”
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(e) References herein to any gender shall include each other gender.
(f) References herein to any law, statute, ordinance, code, regulation, rule or other requirement of any governmental authority shall be deemed to refer to such law, statute, ordinance, code, regulation, rule or other requirement of any governmental authority as amended, reenacted, supplemented or superseded in whole or in part and in effect from time to time and also to all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
19. Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses. Each of the Company and the Agent represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the other party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Placement Shares that would constitute an issuer free writing prospectus, or that would otherwise constitute a free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405), required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Agent or by the Company, as the case may be, is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents and warrants that it has treated and agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an issuer free writing prospectus, and that it has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping.
20. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:
(a) the Agent has been retained to act as sales agent in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares, the Agent has acted at arms’ length and no fiduciary or advisory relationship between the Company or any of its respective affiliates, shareholders (or other equity holders), creditors or employees or any other party, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, has been or will be created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether the Agent has advised or is advising the Company on other matters and the Agent has no duties or obligations to the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement except the obligations expressly set forth herein;
(b) the Company is capable of evaluating, and understanding and understands and accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(c) neither the Agent nor its affiliates have provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and it has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate;
(d) the Company has been advised and is aware that the Agent and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that the Agent and its affiliates have no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship or otherwise; and
(e) the Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against the Agent or its affiliates for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and agrees that the Agent and its affiliates shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including shareholders (or other equity holders), creditors or employees of the Company.
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21. Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes. In the event that the Agent is a Covered Entity and becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from the Agent of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
In the event that the Agent is a Covered Entity and the Agent or a BHC Act Affiliate of the Agent becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against the Agent are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
For purposes of this Agreement, (A) “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k); (B) “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b); (C) “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable; and (D) “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Xxxx-Xxxxx Xxxx Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
22. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed Agreement by one party to the other may be made by facsimile or electronic transmission.
23. Use of Information. The Agent may not provide any information gained in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including due diligence, to any third party other than its legal counsel advising it on this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement unless expressly approved by the Company in writing.
24. Agent’s Information. As used in this Agreement, “Agent’s Information” means solely the following information in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus: the 12th and 13th paragraph under the heading “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus Supplement.
All references in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to XXXXX. All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information that is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as the case may be.
All references in this Agreement to “supplements” to the Prospectus shall include any supplements, “wrappers” or similar materials prepared in connection with any offering, sale or private placement of any Placement Shares by the Agent outside of the United States.
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Blank]
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If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and the Agent, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and the Agent.
Very truly yours, | ||
For and on behalf of | ||
By: | /s/ Xxxxxx Scots-Xxxxxx | |
Name: Xxxxxx Scots-Knight | ||
Title: Chief Executive Officer & Director | ||
ACCEPTED as of the date first-above written: | ||
SVB LEERINK LLC | ||
By: | /s/ Xxxxx X. Xxx | |
Name: Xxxxx X. Xxx | ||
Title: Head of Alternative Equities |
SCHEDULE 1
FORM OF PLACEMENT NOTICE
From: |
[ ] | |
[TITLE] | ||
Cc: |
[ ] | |
To: |
SVB Leerink LLC | |
Subject: |
SVB Leerink—At the Market Offering—Placement Notice |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Sales Agreement, dated October 6, 2020 (the “Agreement”), by and between Mereo BioPharma Group plc, a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales (the “Company”), and SVB Leerink LLC (“SVB Leerink”), I hereby request on behalf of the Company that SVB Leerink sell up to [ ] ADSs of the Company, at a minimum market price of $ per ADS. Sales should begin [on the date of this Placement Notice] and end on [DATE] [until all ADSs that are the subject of this Placement Notice are sold] [the aggregate sales price of the ADSs reaches $ ].
SCHEDULE 2
The Company
Xxxxxx Scots-Xxxxxx
xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Xxxxxxx Sermon
xx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
SVB Leerink
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx Xxxxxxx
xxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx
SCHEDULE 3
Compensation
The Company shall pay SVB Leerink commission in cash equal to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from the sales of Placement Shares pursuant to the terms of the Sales Agreement of which this Schedule 3 forms a part.
Exhibit 7(m)
FORM OF OFFICERS’ CERTIFICATE
[•]
Each of Dr. Xxxxxx Scots-Xxxxxx, the Chief Executive Officer of Mereo BioPharma Group plc, a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales (the “Company”), and Xxxxxxx Sermon, the General Counsel of the Company, does hereby certify in their respective capacity and on behalf of the Company, pursuant to Section 7(m) of the Sales Agreement, dated October 6, 2020 (the “Sales Agreement”), by and between the Company and SVB Leerink LLC, that, after due inquiry, to the best of the knowledge of the undersigned:
(i) The representations and warranties of the Company in Section 6 of the Sales Agreement (A) to the extent such representations and warranties are subject to qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, are true and correct on and as of the date hereof, except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date, with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof, and (B) to the extent such representations and warranties are not subject to any qualifications or exceptions relating to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, are true and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof as if made on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof, except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date.
(ii) The Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied pursuant to the Sales Agreement at or prior to the date hereof.
(iii) As of the date hereof, (A) the Registration Statement complies in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading, (B) the Prospectus complies in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading and (C) no event has occurred as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein not untrue or misleading or for clauses (A) and (B) above, to be true and correct.
(iv) There has been no material adverse change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in the condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, results of operations, business, properties, operations, assets, liabilities or prospects of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, since the date as of which information is given in the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented to the date hereof.
(v) The Company does not possess any material non-public information (other than material non-public information that Placement Shares are intended to be sold pursuant to the terms of the Sales Agreement).
In connection with the Placement Notice dated [●] requesting the Agent to sell up to [●] ADSs, the Board has existing and sufficient authority under section 551 of the Companies Xxx 0000 and existing and sufficient disapplication of pre-emption rights under section 561(1) of the Companies Act 2006 to allot and issue [●] Ordinary Shares underlying such ADSs, and has not taken any action or entered into any agreement which would result in such authorities being insufficient to allow the allotment and/or issue of such Ordinary Shares.
Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Sales Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the undersigned, in such individual’s respective capacity as Chief Executive Officer or General Counsel of the Company, has executed this Officers’ Certificate on behalf of the Company as of the date first written above.
By: |
| |
Name: Xxxxxx Scots-Xxxxxx | ||
Title: Chief Executive Officer | ||
By: |
| |
Name: Xxxxxxx Sermon | ||
Title: General Counsel |
[Company Signature Page to Officers’ Certificate]