Liberty Lane Acquisition Corp. One Liberty Lane Hampton, New Hampshire 03842 Goldman, Sachs & Co. 85 Broad Street New York, New York 10004 Re: Initial Public Offering Ladies and Gentlemen:
Exhibit 10.15
[ ] , 2008
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx & Co.
00 Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
00 Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Re: Initial Public Offering
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This letter is being delivered to you in accordance with the proposed Underwriting Agreement
(the “Underwriting Agreement”) to be entered into by and between Liberty Lane Acquisition
Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx & Co. (the
“Underwriter”), relating to an underwritten initial public offering (the “IPO”) of
the Company’s units (the “Units”), each Unit composed of one share of the Company’s common
stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”) and one half (1/2) of one warrant (a
“Warrant”), each whole Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Common
Stock of the Company. Certain capitalized terms used herein are defined in Section 1
hereof.
In order to induce the Company and the Underwriter to enter into the Underwriting Agreement
and to proceed with the IPO, and in recognition of the benefit that such IPO will confer upon the
undersigned, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which
are hereby acknowledged, the undersigned hereby agrees with the Company and the Underwriter as
follows.
1. As used herein:
| a. | “Business Combination” shall mean the initial acquisition by the Company of one or more assets or operating businesses through a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination meeting the conditions described in the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation; | ||
| b. | “Initial Stockholders” shall mean all stockholders, officers and directors who are stockholders of the Company immediately prior to the IPO; | ||
| c. | “IPO Shares” shall mean the shares of Common Stock issued in the Company’s IPO; | ||
| d. | “Portfolio Company” shall mean Prestolite Wire, Mr. Xxxxxx, Sign Supply USA, East West Plastic and Electronic Products Corp. and Xxxxxxx Ecologics; | ||
| e. | “Registration Statement” shall mean the registration statement filed by the Company on Form S-1 (No. 333-149886) with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 25, 2008, and any amendment or supplement thereto, in connection with the IPO; and | ||
| f. | “Trust Account” shall mean the trust account established under the Investment Management Trust Agreement to be entered into between the Company and |
| American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the amounts therein to be released only in the event of the consummation of a Business Combination, a liquidation of the Company or as otherwise permitted by the Investment Management Trust Agreement. |
2. If the Company solicits approval of its stockholders of a Business Combination, the
undersigned will vote all shares of the Company’s Common Stock that may be acquired by the
undersigned in any private placement, the IPO or in the aftermarket in favor of such Business
Combination.
3. In the event that the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination by the later of
(i) 24 months from the consummation of the IPO (the “Consummation Date”) or (ii) 30 months
from the Consummation Date in the event that either a letter of intent, an agreement in principle
or a definitive agreement to consummate a Business Combination was executed but no Business
Combination was consummated within such 24-month period (the later of such dates being referred to
herein as the “Termination Date”), the undersigned shall, to the fullest extent permitted
by the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) and the undersigned’s power, (a) take
all reasonable action necessary to dissolve the Corporation and liquidate the Trust Account to
holders of IPO Shares as promptly as practicable after approval by the Company’s stockholders
(subject to the requirements of the DGCL) and (b) promptly cause the Company to prepare and file a
proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission setting out the plan of dissolution and
distribution. The undersigned further agrees to vote all of the shares that may be acquired by the
undersigned in any private placement, the IPO or in the aftermarket in favor of any dissolution and
plan of distribution recommended by the Company’s Board of Directors. The undersigned hereby waives
any and all right, title, interest or claim of any kind the undersigned may have in the future as a
result of, or arising out of, any contracts or agreements with the Company and will not seek
recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. The undersigned acknowledges and
agrees that there will be no distribution from the Trust Account with respect to any Warrants, all
rights of which will terminate on the Company’s liquidation.
4. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, neither the undersigned, nor any member
of the family of the undersigned, nor any affiliate of the undersigned will be entitled to receive
and will not accept any fees or other cash payments prior to, or for any services they render in
order to effectuate, the consummation of a Business Combination.
5. Neither the undersigned, nor any member of the family of the undersigned, nor any affiliate
of the undersigned will be entitled to receive or accept a finder’s fee or any other compensation
in the event the undersigned, any member of the family of the undersigned or any affiliate of the
undersigned originates a Business Combination.
6. In order to minimize potential conflicts of interest that may arise from multiple
affiliations, the undersigned agrees that, until the earlier of (i) the consummation of the
Business Combination, (ii) the Termination Date and (iii) such time as he ceases to be an officer
or director of the Company, to present to the Company for its consideration, and not to any other
person or entity unless the opportunity is rejected by the Company, any opportunity involving the
potential acquisition, other than in a competitive sale process, by the Company of a Controlling
Interest (as defined below) in any business that is not publicly traded on a stock exchange or
over-the-counter market and has an enterprise value of between $350 million and
$1 billion (a “Covered Opportunity”); provided, however, that except as provided below
in Section 7 with respect to Liberty Lane Opportunities (as defined below), if a Covered
Opportunity is an opportunity of an entity to whom the undersigned has at that time a fiduciary
duty or contractual obligation to present such opportunity, the undersigned may present such
Covered Opportunity to such other entity rather than the Company. A “Controlling Interest”
means the Company would acquire the ability to exercise control over the management and operations
of the Covered Opportunity, whether through the acquisition of a majority of the voting equity
interests of the Covered Opportunity or through the acquisition of a significant voting equity
interest that enables the Company to exercise a greater degree of control over the Covered
Opportunity than any other equity holder.
7. Notwithstanding the proviso in Section 6 above, pursuant to that certain letter
agreement dated as of [ ], 2008 among Liberty Lane Partners, the Company, Liberty Lane Funding
LLC and the Underwriter, to the extent the undersigned has fiduciary duties or contractual
obligations to Liberty Lane Partners or any Portfolio Company, the undersigned shall first present
to the Company any Covered Opportunity that is an opportunity of Liberty Lane Partners or any
Portfolio Company (a “Liberty Lane Opportunity”) other than any Liberty Lane Opportunity
involving the acquisition of a business similar or related to that of a Portfolio Company.
8. The undersigned hereby waives the undersigned’s right to exercise conversion rights with
respect to any shares of Common Stock owned or to be owned by the undersigned, directly or
indirectly, and agrees that the undersigned will not seek conversion with respect to such shares in
connection with any vote to approve a Business Combination.
9. The undersigned agrees that prior to the consummation of a Business Combination, the
undersigned will not propose any amendment to Article FIFTH of the Company’s Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation or support, endorse or recommend any proposal that stockholders amend
any provision in the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation related to the
requirements that the Company seek stockholder approval before effecting the Business Combination
and not consummate a Business Combination if public stockholders owning 35% or more of the shares
sold in the IPO exercise their conversion rights. Should such a proposal be put before stockholders
other than through actions by the undersigned, the undersigned agrees to vote against such
proposal. This paragraph may not be modified or amended under any circumstances.
10. The undersigned’s Directors and Officers Questionnaire furnished to the Company and the
Underwriter attached hereto as Exhibit A, and the undersigned’s biographical information in
the Registration Statement is true and accurate in all respects, and does not omit any material
information with respect to the undersigned’s background. The undersigned’s Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) Questionnaire furnished to the Company and the Underwriter
attached hereto as Exhibit B is true and accurate in all respects. The undersigned
represents and warrants that:
| a. | the undersigned is not subject to, or a respondent in, any legal action for any injunction, cease-and-desist order or order or stipulation to desist or refrain from any act or practice relating to the offering of securities in any jurisdiction; | ||
| b. | the undersigned has never been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any crime (i) involving any fraud, (ii) relating to any financial transaction or handling of |
| funds of another person, (iii) pertaining to any dealings in any securities or (iv) evincing moral turpitude, and the undersigned is not currently a defendant in any such criminal proceeding; |
| c. | the undersigned has never been suspended or expelled from membership in any securities or commodities exchange or association or had a securities or commodities license or registration denied, suspended or revoked; | ||
| d. | a petition under any federal bankruptcy laws or any state insolvency law was not filed by or against, nor was a receiver fiscal agent or similar officer appointed by a court for the business or property of the undersigned, or for any partnership in which the undersigned was a general partner, in each case within the past ten years or for any corporation or business association of which the undersigned was an executive officer within the past ten years; | ||
| e. | the undersigned has not been subject to any order prohibiting and is not subject to any legal proceeding seeking to prohibit the undersigned from engaging in any type of business practice; | ||
| f. | the undersigned has not been found by a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action by the Securities and Exchange Commission or by any other federal or state regulatory authority to have violated any federal or state securities law; and | ||
| g. | the undersigned has not been found by a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or by any other federal or state administrative or regulatory authority to have violated any federal or state commodities law. |
11. The undersigned authorizes any employer, financial institution, or consumer credit
reporting agency to release to the Underwriter and its legal representatives or agents (including
any investigative search firm retained by the Underwriter) any information they may have about the
undersigned’s background and finances (“Information”), purely for the purposes of the
Company’s IPO (and shall thereafter hold such information confidential). Neither the Underwriter
nor its agents shall be violating the undersigned’s right of privacy in any manner in requesting
and obtaining the Information and the undersigned hereby releases them from liability for any
damage whatsoever in that connection.
12. The undersigned has full right and power, without violating any agreement by which the
undersigned is bound, to enter into this Agreement and to serve as a Chief Executive Officer,
President and Director of the Company.
13. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the
State of New York applicable to contracts executed in and to be performed in that State, including,
without limitation, Sections 5-1401 and 5-1402 of the New York General Obligations Law and the New
York Civil Practice Laws and Rules 327(b). Each of the Company and the undersigned hereby
(i) agrees that any action, proceeding or claim against the undersigned arising out of or relating
in any way to this Agreement shall be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York
or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and irrevocably submits
to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be exclusive and (ii) waives any objection to such
exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
14. Each party hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives the right to a trial by
jury in any action, suit, counterclaim or other proceeding (whether based on contract, tort or
otherwise) arising out of, connected with or relating to this Agreement.
15. The undersigned acknowledges and understands that the Company and the Underwriter will
rely upon the agreements, representations and warranties set forth herein in proceeding with the
IPO. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to render the Underwriter a representative of, or a
fiduciary with respect to, the Company, its stockholders, or any creditor or vendor of the Company
with respect to the subject matter hereof.
16. This Agreement shall be binding on the undersigned and such person’s respective
successors, heirs, personal representatives and assigns. This Agreement shall terminate on the
earlier of (i) the date upon which the Business Combination is consummated and (ii) the date upon
which the liquidation and distribution of the Trust Account is completed, provided that the
following Sections shall survive such termination: 1, 4, 13, 14, 16 and 17.
17. No term or provision of this Agreement may be amended, changed, waived altered or modified
except by written instrument executed and delivered by the undersigned, the Company and the
Underwriter.
[Signature Page to Follow]
| Name: Xxxx X. Xxxxxxx | ||||
Accepted and agreed:
By:
|
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| Title: | ||||
| XXXXXXX, XXXXX & CO. | ||||
