Exhibit (d)(1)
AGREEMENT
AND PLAN OF MERGER
among
BEN HOLDINGS, INC.,
BEN MERGER SUB, INC.
and
BANKRATE, INC.
Dated as of July 22, 2009
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
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Pages
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ARTICLE 1
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The Offer
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A-2
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Section 1.1.
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The Offer
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A-2
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Section 1.2.
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Company Action
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A-4
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Section 1.3.
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Boards of Directors and Committees; Section 14(f)
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A-5
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Section 1.4.
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Top-Up Option
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A-6
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ARTICLE II
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The Merger
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A-6
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Section 2.1
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The Merger
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A-6
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Section 2.2
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Closing
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A-6
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Section 2.3
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Effective Time
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A-6
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Section 2.4
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Effects of the Merger
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A-7
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Section 2.5
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Articles and By-laws of the Surviving Corporation
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A-7
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Section 2.6
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Directors
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A-7
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Section 2.7
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Officers
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A-7
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Section 2.8
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Further Assurances
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A-7
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ARTICLE III
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Conversion of Shares; Exchange of Certificates
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A-7
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Section 3.1
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Effect on Capital Stock
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A-7
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Section 3.2
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Exchange of Certificates
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A-8
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Section 3.3
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Effect of the Offer and the Merger on Company Stock Options and
Company Restricted Shares
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A-10
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ARTICLE IV
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Representations and Warranties of the Company
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A-11
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Section 4.1
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Qualification, Organization, Subsidiaries, etc
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A-11
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Section 4.2
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Capital Stock
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A-12
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Section 4.3
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Subsidiaries
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A-12
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Section 4.4
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Corporate Authority Relative to This Agreement; No Violation
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A-12
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Section 4.5
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Reports and Financial Statements; Internal Control
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A-13
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Section 4.6
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Disclosure Documents
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A-14
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Section 4.7
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No Undisclosed Liabilities
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A-15
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Section 4.8
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Compliance with Law; Permits
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A-15
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Section 4.9
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Employee Benefit Plans
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A-16
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Section 4.10
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Affiliate Transactions
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A-17
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Section 4.11
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Absence of Certain Changes or Events
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A-17
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Section 4.12
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Investigations; Litigation
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A-18
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Section 4.13
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Tax Matters
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A-18
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Section 4.14
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Labor Matters
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A-18
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Section 4.15
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Intellectual Property
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A-19
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Section 4.16
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Property
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A-20
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Section 4.17
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Required Vote of the Company Shareholders
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A-20
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Section 4.18
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Material Contracts
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A-20
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Section 4.19
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Finders or Brokers
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A-21
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Section 4.20
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Opinions of Financial Advisors
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A-21
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Section 4.21
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State Takeover Statutes; Charter Provisions
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A-22
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Section 4.22
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No Other Information
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A-22
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A-i
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Pages
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ARTICLE V
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Representations and Warranties of Parent and Merger Sub
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A-22
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Section 5.1
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Qualification; Organization
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A-22
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Section 5.2
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Authority Relative to This Agreement; No Violation
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A-22
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Section 5.3
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Disclosure Documents
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A-23
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Section 5.4
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Available Funds
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A-23
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Section 5.5
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Ownership and Operations of Merger Sub
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A-23
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Section 5.6
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Finders or Brokers
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A-23
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Section 5.7
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Ownership of Shares
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A-24
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Section 5.8
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Certain Arrangements
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A-24
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Section 5.9
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Investigations; Litigation
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A-24
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Section 5.10
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No Other Information
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A-24
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Section 5.11
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Access to Information; Disclaimer
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A-24
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ARTICLE VI
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Covenants and Agreements
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A-24
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Section 6.1
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Conduct of Business
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A-24
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Section 6.2
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Solicitation
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A-27
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Section 6.3
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Filings; Other Actions
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A-29
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Section 6.4
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Efforts
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A-30
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Section 6.5
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Takeover Statute
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A-31
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Section 6.6
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Public Announcements
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A-31
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Section 6.7
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Indemnification and Insurance
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A-31
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Section 6.8
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Access; Confidentiality
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A-33
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Section 6.9
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Notification of Certain Matters
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A-33
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Section 6.10
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Rule 16b-3
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A-33
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Section 6.11
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Control of Operations
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A-33
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Section 6.12
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Certain Transfer Taxes
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A-34
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Section 6.13
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Obligations of Merger Sub and the Surviving Corporation
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A-34
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Section 6.14
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Shareholder Litigation
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A-34
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Section 6.15
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Stock Exchange De-listing
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A-34
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Section 6.16
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Rule 14d-10(d)
Matters
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A-34
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Section 6.17
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FIRPTA Certificate
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A-34
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ARTICLE VII
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Conditions to the Merger
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A-34
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Section 7.1
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Conditions to Each Party’s Obligation to Effect the Merger
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A-34
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Section 7.2
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Frustration of Closing Conditions
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A-34
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ARTICLE VIII
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Termination
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A-35
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Section 8.1
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Termination or Abandonment
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A-35
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Section 8.2
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Effect of Termination
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A-36
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Section 8.3
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Termination Fees
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A-36
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A-ii
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Pages
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ARTICLE IX
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Miscellaneous
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A-39
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Section 9.1
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No Survival of Representations and Warranties
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A-39
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Section 9.2
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Expenses
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A-39
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Section 9.3
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Counterparts; Effectiveness
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A-39
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Section 9.4
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Governing Law
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A-39
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Section 9.5
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Specific Performance; Jurisdiction; Enforcement
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A-39
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Section 9.6
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Waiver of Jury Trial
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A-40
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Section 9.7
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Notices
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A-40
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Section 9.8
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Assignment; Binding Effect
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A-41
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Section 9.9
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Severability
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A-42
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Section 9.10
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Entire Agreement; Benefit
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A-42
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Section 9.11
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Amendments; Waivers
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A-42
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Section 9.12
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Headings
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A-42
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Section 9.13
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Interpretation
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A-42
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Section 9.14
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Certain Definitions
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A-43
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A-iii
AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER, dated as of July 22, 2009
(this “
Agreement”), among
Ben Holdings, Inc., a
Delaware corporation (“
Parent”), Ben Merger
Sub, Inc., a
Florida corporation and a wholly owned Subsidiary
of Parent (“
Merger Sub”), and Bankrate, Inc., a
Florida corporation (the “
Company”).
W I T N E
S S E T H:
WHEREAS, the respective boards of directors of Parent and Merger
Sub have each unanimously (i) determined that it is in the
best interests of their respective shareholders for Parent to
acquire the Company on the terms and subject to the conditions
set forth herein, (ii) approved and declared advisable the
merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company (the
“
Merger”) upon the terms and subject to the
conditions set forth in this Agreement and in accordance with
the
Florida Business Corporations Act (“
FBCA”)
and (iii) adopted this Agreement and approved the
execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by Parent
and Merger Sub and the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby, including the Offer and the Merger;
WHEREAS, the board of directors of the Company (the
“Board”) has unanimously (i) determined
that it is fair and advisable for Parent to acquire the Company
on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein,
(ii) approved and adopted this Agreement, including the
Offer and the Merger, upon the terms and subject to the
conditions set forth in this Agreement and in accordance with
the FBCA, and (iii) is recommending that the shareholders
of the Company accept the Offer, tender their Shares into the
Offer and, to the extent required by applicable Law, approve the
Merger and this Agreement, in each case on the terms and subject
to the conditions of this Agreement;
WHEREAS, the Board has unanimously approved in advance the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement for the purposes of
Sections 607.0901 and 607.0902 of the FBCA such that such
sections of the FBCA do not and shall not apply to the Offer,
the Merger, this Agreement, the Support Agreements or the other
transactions contemplated hereby;
WHEREAS, on the terms and conditions set forth herein, Merger
Sub has agreed to commence a tender offer to purchase all of the
outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share,
of the Company (“Shares”) at a price of $28.50
per Share, payable net to the seller in cash without interest
subject to any withholding of Taxes required by applicable Law
(such price, or any higher price as may be paid in the Offer in
accordance with this Agreement, the “Offer
Price”) (as it may be amended from time to time as
permitted by this Agreement, the “Offer”);
WHEREAS, following consummation of the Offer, on the terms and
subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, Merger
Sub will be merged with and into the Company, with the Company
surviving the Merger as a wholly owned Subsidiary of Parent in
accordance with the FBCA, and each Share that is not tendered
and accepted pursuant to the Offer (other than Excluded Shares
(as defined below) and the Support Agreement Shares (as defined
below)) will thereupon be canceled and converted into the right
to receive cash in an amount equal to the Offer Price, in each
case, on the terms and conditions set forth herein;
WHEREAS, the Support Agreement Shares will not be tendered and
will remain outstanding following the Offer;
WHEREAS, concurrently with the execution and delivery of this
Agreement, and as a condition and inducement to the willingness
of the Company to enter into this Agreement, (i) Apax US
VII, L.P., Apax Europe VII-A, L.P., Apax Europe VII-B, L.P.,
Apax Europe VII-1, L.P. (the “Funds”) and
Parent have entered into an equity commitment letter, dated as
of the date hereof (the “First Equity Commitment
Letter”, (ii) the Funds, Parent and the Company
have entered into an equity commitment letter, dated as of the
date hereof (the “Second Equity Commitment
Letter” and together with the First Equity Commitment
Letter, the “Equity Commitment Letters”) and
(iii) Parent and the Company have entered into a limited
guarantee, dated as of the date hereof, in favor of the Company
with respect to certain obligations of Parent and Merger Sub
under this Agreement (the “Limited Guarantee”);
WHEREAS, immediately prior to the execution and delivery of this
Agreement, and as a condition and inducement to the willingness
of Parent and Merger Sub to enter into this Agreement, certain
shareholders and
A-1
optionholders of the Company have delivered to Parent and Merger
Sub non-tender and support agreements (the “Support
Agreements”) dated as of the date hereof, providing
that such shareholders and optionholders shall, among other
things (i) agree not to tender into the Offer,
(ii) support the Merger and the other transactions
contemplated hereby and (iii) transfer the Shares
identified as rollover shares pursuant to the Support Agreements
(the “Rollover Shares”) to Parent or an
Affiliate of Parent prior to the Effective Time on the terms and
subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, and each
on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the
Support Agreements; and
WHEREAS, Parent, Merger Sub and the Company wish to make certain
representations, warranties, covenants and agreements in
connection with the Offer and the Merger and also to prescribe
certain conditions to the Offer and the Merger.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the
representations, warranties, covenants and agreements contained
herein, and intending to be legally bound hereby, Parent, Merger
Sub and the Company hereby agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
The Offer
Section 1.1 The Offer.
(a) Provided that this Agreement shall not have been
terminated in accordance with Article 8, and that no event
shall have occurred and be continuing that, had the Offer been
commenced, would give rise to a right to terminate the Offer
pursuant to any of the conditions set forth in Annex A, no
later than 5:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings time on
July 28, 2009, Parent shall cause Merger Sub to commence,
and Merger Sub shall commence (within the meaning of
Rule 14d-2
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
“Exchange Act”)), the Offer. In the Offer, each
Share accepted by Merger Sub in accordance with the terms of the
Offer shall be exchanged for the right to receive from Merger
Sub the Offer Price. Parent shall cause Merger Sub to accept for
payment, and Merger Sub shall accept for payment, all Shares
which have been validly tendered and not withdrawn pursuant to
the Offer as soon as practicable following the Expiration Date.
Notwithstanding the above, the obligation of Merger Sub to
accept for payment, and pay for all Shares tendered pursuant to
the Offer shall be subject (x) to the condition that the
number of Shares validly tendered and not withdrawn shall be at
least the minimum number of Shares required to approve this
Agreement, the Merger and the other transactions contemplated
herein pursuant to the organizational documents of the Company
and the FBCA (the “Minimum Condition”), and
(y) to the other conditions set forth in Annex A. The
conditions to the Offer set forth in Annex A are for the
sole benefit of Parent and Merger Sub and may be asserted by
Parent or Merger Sub regardless of the circumstances (including
any action or inaction by Parent or Merger Sub, provided
that nothing therein shall relieve any party hereto from any
obligation or liability such party has under the Agreement)
giving rise to such condition or may be waived by Parent or
Merger Sub, in their sole discretion, in whole or in part at any
time and from time to time, subject to the following sentence.
Merger Sub expressly reserves the right to increase the amount
of consideration payable in the Offer and to waive any condition
of the Offer, except the Minimum Condition; provided
that, Merger Sub, at its sole option, may waive such Minimum
Condition (i) if the number of Shares validly tendered and
not withdrawn shall be at least equal to the difference between
(x) the minimum number of Shares required to approve this
Agreement, the Merger and the other transactions contemplated
herein pursuant to the organizational documents of the Company
and the FBCA, less (y) the number of Shares subject to
Support Agreements or (ii) with the prior written consent
of the Company. The failure of Parent or Merger Sub at any time
to exercise any of the foregoing rights shall not be deemed a
waiver of any such right and each such right shall be deemed an
ongoing right that may be asserted at any time and from time to
time. Without the prior written consent of the Company, Merger
Sub shall not decrease the amount of consideration payable in
the Offer or change the form of consideration payable in the
Offer, decrease the number of Shares sought to be purchased in
the Offer, impose additional conditions to the Offer or reduce
the time period during which the Offer shall remain open. The
Company agrees that no Shares held by the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries will be tendered in the Offer.
A-2
(b) On the date of commencement of the Offer, Parent and
Merger Sub shall (i) file or cause to be filed with the SEC
a combined
Schedule 13E-3
and Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO with respect to
the Offer (together with all amendments and supplements thereto,
the “Schedule TO”) and related Offer to
Purchase, form of letter of transmittal and summary
advertisement and other ancillary Offer documents and
instruments pursuant to which the Offer will be made
(collectively, and including any supplements or amendments
thereto, the “Offer Documents”) and
(ii) cause the Offer Documents to be disseminated to the
holders of Shares as and to the extent required by applicable
Law. The Company shall promptly furnish to Parent and Merger Sub
in writing all information concerning the Company that may be
required by applicable securities Laws or reasonably requested
by Parent or Merger Sub for inclusion in the Offer Documents.
The Company hereby consents to the inclusion in the Offer
Documents of all material disclosure relating to (i) the
company financial advisor Xxxxx & Company LLC
(including the amount of fees and other consideration that
Xxxxx & Company LLC will receive upon consummation of
or as a result of the Offer and the Merger, and the conditions
therefor), (ii) the financial advisor Xxxxxxx &
Company (including the amount of fees and other consideration
that Xxxxxxx & Company shall receive in connection
with the opinion referred to in Section 4.20),
(iii) the opinions of each of Xxxxx & Company LLC
and Xxxxxxx & Company referred to in Section 4.20
and (iv) the information that formed the basis for
rendering each of such opinions, subject to the approval of the
form of such disclosure by Xxxxx & Company LLC and
Xxxxxxx & Company, respectively, such approval not to
be unreasonably withheld or delayed. Each of Parent, Merger Sub
and the Company agrees promptly to correct any information
provided by it for use in the Schedule TO or the Offer
Documents if and to the extent that such information shall have
become false or misleading in any material respect or as
otherwise required by applicable Law. Parent and Merger Sub
shall use their reasonable best efforts to cause the
Schedule TO as so corrected, to be filed with the SEC and
the Offer Documents as so corrected to be disseminated to
holders of Shares, in each case, as soon as reasonably
practicable and as and to the extent required by applicable
federal securities Laws. The Company and its counsel shall be
given a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on the
Schedule TO and the Offer Documents each time before any
such document is filed with the SEC, and Parent and Merger Sub
shall give reasonable and good faith consideration to any
comments made by the Company and its counsel. Parent and Merger
Sub shall provide the Company and its counsel with (i) any
written comments or other communications, and shall inform them
of any oral comments or other communications, that Parent,
Merger Sub or their counsel may receive from time to time from
the SEC or its staff with respect to the Schedule TO or
Offer Documents promptly after receipt of those comments or
other communications and (ii) a reasonable opportunity to
participate in the response of Parent and Merger Sub to those
comments and to provide comments on that response (to which
reasonable and good faith consideration shall be given).
(c) Subject to the terms and conditions thereof, the Offer
shall remain open until at least midnight, New York City time,
on the twentieth Business Day (for this purpose calculated in
accordance with
Rule 14d-1(g)(3)
under the Exchange Act) following the date the Offer is
commenced (the initial “Expiration Date,” and
any expiration time and date established pursuant to an
authorized extension of the Offer as so extended, also an
“Expiration Date”); provided, however,
that Merger Sub shall: (i) from time to time extend the
Offer for one or more periods of up to 20 Business Days each,
the length of each such period to be determined by Merger Sub in
its sole discretion, if at the scheduled Expiration Date any of
the conditions of the Offer, including the Minimum Condition and
the conditions and requirements set forth in
Annex A, shall not have been satisfied or waived,
until such time as such conditions are satisfied or waived to
the extent permitted by this Agreement, and (ii) extend the
Offer for any period required by any rule, regulation,
interpretation or position of the SEC or the staff thereof
applicable to the Offer. Merger Sub may, from time to time,
extend the Offer for a period of no more than 20 days in
the aggregate, if at the scheduled Expiration Date less than 80%
of the number of Shares then outstanding less the number of
shares held by persons subject to Support Agreements (the
“Support Agreement Shares”) have been validly
tendered and not withdrawn. Notwithstanding the above, in no
event shall Merger Sub be required to, or shall Parent be
required to cause Merger Sub to, extend the Offer beyond the
Outside Date (as hereinafter defined). In no event shall Merger
Sub extend the Offer beyond the Outside Date without the consent
of the Company. Parent and Merger Sub shall comply with the
obligations respecting prompt payment and announcement under the
Exchange Act, and, without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, Merger Sub shall, and Parent shall cause Merger Sub
to, accept for payment, and pay for, all Shares validly tendered
and not withdrawn pursuant to the Offer promptly following the
acceptance of such Shares for payment pursuant to the terms and
subject to the conditions of the Offer and this Agreement. This
A-3
paragraph shall not be deemed to impair, limit or otherwise
restrict in any manner the right of Parent or Merger Sub to
terminate this Agreement pursuant to Article VIII.
Section 1.2 Company
Action.
(a) The Company hereby approves of and consents to the
Offer and represents and warrants that the Board, at a meeting
duly called and held, has, subject to the terms and conditions
set forth herein, unanimously (i) determined that it is
fair and advisable for Parent to acquire the Company on the
terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein and
approved this Agreement and the transactions contemplated
hereby, including the Offer and the Merger, in all respects and
such approval constitutes approval of the Offer, this Agreement
and the Merger for purposes of the FBCA, (ii) resolved to
recommend that the shareholders of the Company accept the Offer,
tender their Shares in the Offer and to the extent required,
that the shareholders of the Company approve and adopt this
Agreement and the Merger (such recommendation, the
“Recommendation”) and (iii) taken all
other actions necessary to exempt the Offer, the Merger, this
Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby from any
“fair price,” “moratorium,” “control
share acquisition,” “interested shareholder,”
“business combination,” “affiliated
transaction” or other similar statute or regulation
promulgated by a Governmental Entity (“Takeover
Statute”). The Company consents to the inclusion of
such approval and Recommendation in the Offer Documents.
(b) The Company hereby agrees to file with the SEC on the
date that Parent and Merger Sub file the Offer Documents
pursuant to Section 1.1(b), a Solicitation/Recommendation
Statement on
Schedule 14D-9
pertaining to the Offer (together with any amendments or
supplements thereto, the
“Schedule 14D-9”)
containing the Recommendation. The Company agrees to use its
reasonable best efforts to mail such
Schedule 14D-9
to the shareholders of the Company concurrently with the mailing
of the Offer Documents. The
Schedule 14D-9
will comply in all material respects with the provisions of
applicable federal securities laws and, on the date filed with
the SEC and on the date first published, sent or given to the
Company’s shareholders and at the Acceptance Time, shall
not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state any 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,
except that no representation is made by the Company with
respect to information supplied by Parent or Merger Sub in
writing for inclusion in the
Schedule 14D-9.
The Company, Parent and Merger Sub each agrees promptly to
correct any information provided by it for use in the
Schedule 14D-9,
if and to the extent that it shall have become false or
misleading in any material respect and the Company further
agrees to take all steps necessary to cause the
Schedule 14D-9,
as so corrected to be filed with the SEC and disseminated to the
holders of Shares as and to the extent required by applicable
federal securities laws. Parent, Merger Sub and their counsel
shall be given a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on
the
Schedule 14D-9
(including each amendment or supplement thereto) before it is
filed with the SEC and the Company shall give reasonable and
good faith consideration to any comments made by Parent, Merger
Sub and their counsel. In addition, the Company shall provide
Parent, Merger Sub and their counsel with copies of any written
comments, and shall inform them of any oral comments, that the
Company or its counsel may receive from time to time from the
SEC or its staff with respect to the
Schedule 14D-9
promptly after receipt of such comments, and any written or oral
responses thereto. Parent, Merger Sub and their counsel shall be
given a reasonable opportunity to review any such responses and
the Company shall give reasonable and good faith consideration
to any comments made by Parent, Merger Sub and their counsel
prior to their submission.
(c) In connection with the Offer, the Company will promptly
furnish Parent and Merger Sub with mailing labels, security
position listings and any available listing or computer files
containing the names and addresses of the record holders of the
Shares as of a recent date and shall furnish Merger Sub with
such additional information and assistance (including, without
limitation, updated lists of shareholders, mailing labels and
lists of securities positions) as Merger Sub or its agents may
reasonably request in communicating the Offer to the record and
beneficial holders of Shares. Subject to Section 6.2, the
Company shall, and shall cause its directors, officers,
employees and other Representatives to, use their reasonable
best efforts to make solicitations and recommendations to the
holders of Shares for purposes of causing the Minimum Condition
to be satisfied, including without limitation that upon
Parent’s request, the Company, Parent and Merger Sub shall
promptly prepare a joint presentation to RiskMetrics Group
recommending this Agreement and the transactions contemplated
hereby, including the Offer and the Merger.
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Section 1.3 Board
of Directors and Committees; Section 14(f).
(a) Promptly upon the acceptance for payment by Merger Sub
(the time of such acceptance, the “Acceptance
Time”), Parent or any of their Affiliates of Shares
pursuant to and in accordance with the terms of the Offer and
from time to time thereafter, and subject to the last four
sentences of this Section 1.3(a), Merger Sub shall be
entitled to designate up to such number of directors, rounded up
to the nearest whole number constituting at least a majority of
the directors, on the Company Board as will give Merger Sub
representation on the Company Board equal to the product of the
number of directors on the Company Board (giving effect to any
increase in the number of directors pursuant to this
Section 1.3) and the percentage that such number of Shares
so purchased plus the number of Support Agreement Shares bears
to the total number of outstanding Shares (not on a fully
diluted basis), and the Company shall, upon request by Merger
Sub, promptly take all actions necessary, including, at the
election of the Company, increasing the size of the Company
Board or securing the resignation of such number of directors,
to enable Merger Sub’s designees to be appointed to the
Company Board and to cause Merger Sub’s designees to be so
appointed (the date on which the majority of the Company’s
directors are designees of Merger Sub that have been effectively
appointed to the Company Board in accordance herewith, the
“Board Appointment Date”). The Company shall
use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Board Appointment
Date to be the same day as the Acceptance Time. At such times,
subject to applicable Law and stock exchange listing standards,
the Company will cause persons designated by Merger Sub to
constitute a majority of each committee of the Company Board,
other than any committee of the Company Board established to
take action under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
the Company shall use all reasonable efforts to ensure that at
least three of the members of the Company Board as of the date
hereof who qualify as independent directors for purposes of the
continued listing requirements of NASDAQ and SEC rules and
regulations (such directors, the “Independent Incumbent
Directors”) shall remain members of the Company Board
until the Effective Time (as defined in Section 2.3
hereof). If the number of Independent Incumbent Directors is
reduced below three prior to the Effective Time, the remaining
Independent Incumbent Directors (or if there is only one such
director, that remaining director) shall be entitled to
designate a person (or persons) to fill such vacancy (or
vacancies), and each Independent Incumbent Director shall also
designate a successor to ensure that there will always be at
least one Independent Incumbent Director at all times prior to
the Effective Time (provided each such person meets the
independence requirements of the rules and regulations of the
SEC and NASDAQ and, once any such person fills a vacancy, such
director (or directors) shall be deemed to be an Independent
Incumbent Director (or Independent Incumbent Directors) for
purposes hereof). If no Independent Incumbent Directors remain
prior to the Effective Time, a majority of the members of the
Board shall be entitled to fill such vacancies (provided
each such person meets the independence requirements of the
rules and regulations of the SEC and NASDAQ and such director
(or directors) shall be deemed to be an Independent Incumbent
Director (or Independent Incumbent Directors) for purposes
hereof). The provisions of this Section 1.3 are in addition
to and shall not limit any rights that Parent, Merger Sub or any
of their respective Affiliates may have as a record holder or
beneficial owner of Shares as a matter of applicable Law with
respect to the election of directors or otherwise.
(b) The Company’s obligation to appoint designees to
the Company Board shall be subject to Section 14(f) of the
Exchange Act and
Rule 14f-1
promulgated thereunder. The Company shall promptly take all
action required pursuant to such Section and Rule in order to
fulfill its obligations under this Section 1.3 and shall
include in the
Schedule 14D-9
such information with respect to the Company and its officers
and directors as is required under such Section and Rule in
order to fulfill its obligations under this Section 1.3.
Merger Sub will supply to the Company in writing promptly for
inclusion into the
Schedule 14D-9
and be solely responsible for any information with respect to
itself and its nominees, officers, directors and Affiliates
required by such Section and Rule.
(c) Following the election or appointment of Merger
Sub’s designees pursuant to this Section 1.3 and prior
to the Effective Time, if there shall be any Independent
Incumbent Directors, any termination of this Agreement by the
Company, any extension by the Company of the time for the
performance of any of the obligations or other acts of Parent or
Merger Sub or waiver of any of the Company’s rights
hereunder, or any amendment of this Agreement, or other action
adversely affecting the rights of shareholders of the Company
(other than Parent or Merger Sub) to receive the Offer Price
(except as permitted by the terms of this Agreement), will
require the concurrence of a majority of such Independent
Incumbent Directors.
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Section 1.4 Top-Up
Option.
(a) The Company hereby grants to Parent and Merger Sub an
irrevocable option (the
“Top-Up
Option”) to purchase, at a price per Share equal to the
Offer Price, up to such number of Shares (the
“Top-Up
Option Shares”) that, when added to the number of
Shares owned by Parent and Merger Sub and any wholly owned
Subsidiary of Parent or Merger Sub immediately prior to the time
of exercise of the
Top-Up
Option, constitutes one Share more than 80% of the number of
Shares that will be outstanding on a fully diluted basis
immediately after the issuance of the
Top-Up
Option Shares. The
Top-Up
Option will be exercised by Parent or Merger Sub immediately
after the Acceptance Time if following such Acceptance Time,
Parent or Merger Sub do not own 80% of the outstanding Shares;
provided, however, that the obligation of the
Company to deliver
Top-Up
Option Shares upon the exercise of the
Top-Up
Option is subject to the conditions that (i) no judgment,
injunction, order or decree of any Governmental Entity shall
prohibit the exercise of the
Top-Up
Option or the delivery of the
Top-Up
Option Shares in respect of such exercise, (ii) the
issuance of the
Top-Up
Option Shares will not cause the Company to have more Shares
outstanding than are authorized by the Restated Articles of
Incorporation of the Company, and (iii) Merger Sub has
accepted for payment and paid for all Shares validly tendered in
the Offer and not withdrawn. The parties shall cooperate to
ensure that the issuance of the
Top-Up
Option Shares is accomplished consistent with all applicable
legal requirements of all Governmental Entities, including
compliance with an applicable exemption from registration of the
Top-Up
Option Shares under the Securities Act.
(b) The Company shall, as soon as practicable following
receipt of notice from Parent or Merger Sub, as the case may be,
of their intent to exercise of the
Top-Up
Option, notify Parent and Merger Sub of the number of Shares
then outstanding. The closing of the purchase of the
Top-Up
Option Shares will take place at a time and on a date to be
specified by Parent or Merger Sub, which shall be no later than
one Business Day after the exercise of the
Top-Up
Option, at the offices of Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx LLP, 000
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, unless another time,
date or place is specified by Parent or Merger Sub. Parent or
Merger Sub, as the case may be, shall pay the Company an amount
equal to the Offer Price multiplied by the number of
Top-Up
Option Shares specified by Parent (the
“Top-Up
Consideration”), and the Company shall, at
Parent’s or Merger Sub’s request, cause to be issued
to Parent or Merger Sub a certificate representing the
Top-Up
Option Shares. The
Top-Up
Consideration may be paid by Merger Sub or Parent by executing
and delivering to the Company a promissory note having a
principal amount equal to the aggregate cash purchase price for
the Top-Up
Shares. Any such promissory note shall bear interest at the rate
of interest per annum equal to the prime lending rate prevailing
from time to time during such period as published in The Wall
Street Journal, shall mature on the first anniversary of the
date of execution and delivery of such promissory note and may
be prepaid without premium or penalty.
ARTICLE II
The Merger
Section 2.1 The
Merger. At the Effective Time, upon the terms
and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement and in
accordance with the applicable provisions of the FBCA, Merger
Sub shall be merged with and into the Company, whereupon the
separate corporate existence of Merger Sub shall cease, and the
Company shall continue as the surviving company in the Merger
(the “Surviving Corporation”) and a wholly
owned Subsidiary of Parent.
Section 2.2 Closing. The
closing of the Merger (the “Closing”) shall
take place at the offices of Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx LLP, 000
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx at 10:00 a.m., local
time, on a date to be specified by the parties (the
“Closing Date”) which shall be no later than
the second Business Day after the satisfaction or waiver (to the
extent permitted by applicable Law) of the conditions set forth
in Article VI (other than those conditions that by their
nature are to be satisfied at the Closing, but subject to the
satisfaction or waiver of such conditions).
Section 2.3
Effective
Time. On the Closing Date, the Company shall
cause the Merger to be consummated by executing, delivering and
filing articles of merger (the “
Articles of
Merger”) with the Secretary of State of the State of
Florida in accordance with the relevant provisions of the FBCA
and other applicable
Florida Law. The Merger shall become
effective on such date as the Articles of Merger are duly filed
with the Secretary of State of the State of
Florida, or at such
later date as may be agreed by Parent and the Company in writing
and specified in the
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Articles of Merger in accordance with the FBCA (such date as the
Merger becomes effective is referred to herein as the
“Effective Time”).
Section 2.4 Effects
of the Merger. The Merger shall have the
effects set forth in this Agreement and the applicable
provisions of the FBCA.
Section 2.5 Articles
and By-laws of the Surviving Corporation.
(a) The Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation of
the Company, as amended prior to the date hereof (the
“Articles of Incorporation”) shall be the
articles of incorporation of the Surviving Corporation following
the Merger until thereafter amended in accordance with the
provisions thereof, hereof and of applicable Law, in each case
consistent with the obligations set forth in Section 6.7.
(b) The by-laws of Merger Sub, as in effect as of
immediately prior to the Effective Time, shall by virtue of the
Merger, be the by-laws of the Surviving Corporation until
thereafter amended in accordance with the provisions thereof,
hereof and of applicable Law, in each case consistent with the
obligations set forth in Section 6.7.
Section 2.6 Directors. Subject
to applicable Law, the directors of Merger Sub as of immediately
prior to the Effective Time shall be the initial directors of
the Surviving Corporation and shall hold office until their
respective successors are duly elected and qualified, or their
earlier death, resignation or removal.
Section 2.7 Officers. The
officers of the Company as of immediately prior to the Effective
Time shall be the initial officers of the Surviving Corporation
and shall hold office until their respective successors are duly
elected and qualified, or their earlier death, resignation or
removal.
Section 2.8 Further
Assurances. If at any time after the
Effective Time the Surviving Corporation shall consider or be
advised that any deeds, bills of sale, assignments or assurances
or any other acts or things are necessary, desirable or proper
(a) to vest, perfect or confirm, of record or otherwise, in
the Surviving Corporation its right, title or interest in, to or
under any of the rights, privileges, powers, franchises,
properties or assets of either Merger Sub or the Company, or
(b) otherwise to carry out the purposes of this Agreement,
the Surviving Corporation and its proper officers and directors
or their designees shall be authorized to execute and deliver,
in the name and on behalf of either of Merger Sub and the
Company, all such deeds, bills of sale, assignments and
assurances and to do, in the name and on behalf of either Merger
Sub or the Company, all such other acts and things as may be
necessary, desirable or proper to vest, perfect or confirm the
Surviving Corporation’s right, title or interest in, to or
under any of the rights, privileges, powers, franchises,
properties or assets of Merger Sub or the Company and otherwise
to carry out the purposes of this Agreement.
ARTICLE III
Conversion
of Shares; Exchange of Certificates
Section 3.1 Effect
on Capital Stock.
(a) At the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and
without any action on the part of the Company, Parent, Merger
Sub or the holders of any securities of the Company, Parent or
Merger Sub subject to Sections 3.1(d) and 3.1(e), each
issued and outstanding Share outstanding immediately prior to
the Effective Time other than (i) any Cancelled Shares (as
defined, and to the extent provided in Section 3.1(a)),
(ii) any Dissenting Shares (as defined, and to the extent
provided in Section 3.1(e)), and (iii) any Rollover
Shares, shall thereupon be converted automatically into and
shall thereafter represent the right to receive the Offer Price.
All Shares that have been converted into the right to receive
the Offer Price as provided in this Section 3.1 shall be
automatically cancelled and shall cease to exist, and the
holders of Certificates which immediately prior to the Effective
Time represented such Shares shall cease to have any rights with
respect to such Shares other than the right to receive the Offer
Price.
(b) Parent, Merger Sub and Company-Owned
Shares. Each Share that is owned, directly or
indirectly, by Parent or Merger Sub immediately prior to the
Effective Time, if any (other than any Rollover Shares, which
shall remain outstanding following the Effective Time), or held
by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries immediately prior to
the Effective Time (in each case, other than any such Shares
held on behalf of third parties) (the “Cancelled
Shares”) shall, by virtue of the Merger and without any
action on the part of the holder thereof, be cancelled and
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retired and shall cease to exist, and no consideration shall be
delivered in exchange for such cancellation and retirement.
(c) Conversion of Merger Sub Common
Stock. At the Effective Time, by virtue of the
Merger and without any action on the part of the holder thereof,
each share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of Merger
Sub issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective
Time shall be converted into and become one validly issued,
fully paid and nonassessable share of common stock, par value
$0.01 per share, of the Surviving Corporation and, together with
Rollover Shares, shall constitute the only outstanding shares of
capital stock of the Surviving Corporation. From and after the
Effective Time, all certificates representing the common stock
of Merger Sub shall be deemed for all purposes to represent the
number of shares of common stock of the Surviving Corporation
into which they were converted in accordance with the
immediately preceding sentence.
(d) Adjustments. If at any time during
the period between the date of this Agreement and the Effective
Time, any change in the outstanding shares of capital stock of
the Company, or securities convertible or exchangeable into or
exercisable for shares of capital stock, shall occur as a result
of any reclassification, recapitalization, stock split
(including a reverse stock split) or subdivision or combination,
exchange or readjustment of Shares, or any stock dividend or
stock distribution with a record date during such period
(excluding, in each case, normal quarterly cash dividends),
merger or other similar transaction, the Offer Price shall be
equitably adjusted to reflect such change; provided that
nothing in this Section 3.1(d) shall be construed to permit
the Company to take any action with respect to its securities
that is prohibited by the terms of this Agreement.
(e) Dissenters’ Rights. The
provisions of this Section 3.1(e) shall not apply unless
the shareholders of the Company are determined to have the right
to dissent from the Merger, and receive the fair value of their
Shares, pursuant to
Sections 607.1301-607.1333
of the FBCA. In such event, and notwithstanding anything in this
Agreement to the contrary, Shares that are issued and
outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time and which
are held by a shareholder who did not vote in favor of the
Merger (or consent thereto in writing) and who is entitled to
demand and properly demands appraisal of such Shares pursuant
to, and who complies in all respects with, the applicable
provisions of the FBCA (the “Dissenting
Shareholders”), shall not be converted into or be
exchangeable for the right to receive the Offer Price (the
“Dissenting Shares,” and together with the
Cancelled Shares, the “Excluded Shares”), but
instead such holder shall be entitled to payment of the
appraised value of such Shares in accordance with the applicable
provisions of the FBCA (and at the Effective Time, such
Dissenting Shares shall no longer be outstanding and shall
automatically be cancelled and shall cease to exist, and such
holder shall cease to have any rights with respect thereto,
except the right to receive the appraised value of such
Dissenting Shares in accordance with the applicable provisions
of the FBCA), unless and until such holder shall have failed to
perfect or shall have effectively withdrawn or lost rights to
appraisal under the FBCA. If any Dissenting Shareholder shall
have failed to perfect or shall have effectively withdrawn or
lost such right, such holder’s Shares shall thereupon be
treated as if they had been converted into and become
exchangeable for the right to receive, as of the Effective Time,
the Offer Price for each such Share in accordance with
Section 3.1(a), without any interest thereon. The Company
shall give Parent (i) prompt notice of any written demands
for appraisal of any Shares, attempted withdrawals of such
demands and any other instruments served pursuant to the FBCA
and received by the Company relating to shareholders’
rights of appraisal and (ii) the opportunity to participate
in negotiations and proceedings with respect to demands for
appraisal under the FBCA. The Company shall not, except with the
prior written consent of Parent, voluntarily make any payment
with respect to, or settle, or offer or agree to settle, any
such demand for payment.
Section 3.2 Exchange
of Certificates.
(a) Paying Agent. At or immediately
subsequent to the Effective Time, Parent shall deposit, or shall
cause to be deposited, with a U.S. bank or trust company
that shall be appointed by Parent and approved in advance by the
Company (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld) to act
as a paying agent hereunder (the “Paying
Agent”), in trust for the benefit of holders of the
Shares, cash in U.S. dollars sufficient to pay the
aggregate Offer Price in exchange for all of the Shares
outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (other than
the Excluded Shares and the Rollover Shares) pursuant to the
provisions of this Article III (such cash being hereinafter
referred to as the “Exchange Fund”).
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(b) Payment Procedures.
(i) As soon as reasonably practicable after the Effective
Time and in any event not later than the second Business Day
following the Effective Time, the Paying Agent shall mail to
each holder of record of Shares whose Shares were converted into
the Offer Price pursuant to Section 3.1, (A) a letter
of transmittal which shall specify that delivery shall be
effected, and risk of loss and title to the certificates that
immediately prior to the Effective Time represented Shares
(“Certificates” or
“Certificate”) shall pass, only upon delivery
of Certificates to the Paying Agent (and shall be in such form
and have such other provisions as Parent and the Company may
reasonably determine prior to the Effective Time) and
(B) instructions for use in effecting the surrender of
Certificates (or effective affidavits of loss in lieu thereof)
or non-certificated Shares represented by book-entry
(“Book-Entry Shares”) in exchange for the Offer
Price.
(ii) Upon surrender of Certificates (or effective
affidavits of loss in lieu thereof) or Book-Entry Shares to the
Paying Agent together with such letter of transmittal, duly
completed and validly executed in accordance with the
instructions thereto, and such other documents as may
customarily be required by the Paying Agent, the holder of such
Certificates or Book-Entry Shares shall be entitled to receive
in exchange therefor an amount (after giving effect to any
required Tax withholdings) equal to the product of (x) the
number of Shares represented by such holder’s properly
surrendered Certificates (or effective affidavits of loss in
lieu thereof) and Book-Entry Shares multiplied by (y) the
Offer Price. No interest will be paid or accrued on any amount
payable upon due surrender of Certificates or Book-Entry Shares.
In the event of a transfer of ownership of Shares that is not
registered in the transfer or stock records of the Company, any
cash to be paid upon due surrender of the Certificate formerly
representing such Shares may be paid to such a transferee if
such Certificate is presented to the Paying Agent, accompanied
by all documents required to evidence and effect such transfer
and to evidence that any applicable stock transfer or other
Taxes have been paid or are not applicable.
(iii) The Surviving Corporation, the Company, Parent,
Merger Sub and the Paying Agent shall be entitled to deduct and
withhold from the consideration otherwise payable under this
Agreement to any Person such amounts as are required to be
withheld or deducted under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended (the “Code”), or any provision of
U.S. state, local or foreign Tax Law with respect to the
making of such payment. To the extent that amounts are so
withheld or deducted and paid over to the applicable
Governmental Entity, such withheld or deducted amounts shall be
treated for all purposes of this Agreement as having been paid
to such Person in respect of which such deduction and
withholding were made.
(c) Closing of Transfer Books. At the
Effective Time, the stock transfer books of the Company shall be
closed, and there shall be no further registration of transfers
on the stock transfer books of the Surviving Corporation of the
Shares that were outstanding immediately prior to the Effective
Time. If, after the Effective Time, Certificates are presented
to the Surviving Corporation or Parent for transfer, they shall
be cancelled and exchanged for the proper amount pursuant to and
subject to the requirements of this Article III.
(d) Termination of Exchange Fund. Any
portion of the Exchange Fund (including the proceeds of any
investments thereof) that remains undistributed to the former
holders of Shares for 180 days after the Effective Time
shall be delivered to the Surviving Corporation upon demand, and
any former holders of Shares who have not surrendered their
Shares in accordance with this Section 3.2 shall thereafter
look only to the Surviving Corporation for payment of their
claim for the Offer Price, without any interest thereon, upon
due surrender of their Shares.
(e) No Liability. Notwithstanding
anything herein to the contrary, none of the Company, Parent,
Merger Sub, the Surviving Corporation, the Paying Agent or any
other person shall be liable to any former holder of Shares for
any amount properly delivered to a public official pursuant to
any applicable abandoned property, escheat or similar Law. If
any Certificate shall not have been surrendered prior to the
date on which the related Offer Price would, pursuant to
applicable Law, escheat to or become the property of any
Governmental Entity, any such Offer Price shall, to the extent
permitted by applicable Law, immediately prior to such time,
become the property of the Surviving Corporation, free and clear
of all claims or interests of any Person previously entitled
thereto.
(f) Investment of Exchange Fund. The
Paying Agent shall invest all cash included in the Exchange Fund
as reasonably directed by Parent; provided,
however, that any investment of such cash shall in all
events be limited to
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direct short-term obligations of, or short-term obligations
fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by, the
U.S. government and that no such investment or loss thereon
shall affect the amounts payable to holders of Certificates or
Book-Entry Shares pursuant to this Article III, and in the
event of any losses to the Exchange Fund from any investment
such that the Exchange Fund is diminished below the level
required for the Paying Agent to make prompt cash payment under
Section 3.2(b), the Company shall immediately deposit
additional cash into the Exchange Fund to the extent necessary
to reimburse the Exchange Fund for such investment losses. Any
interest and other income, net of any losses, resulting from
such investments shall be paid to the Surviving Corporation.
(g) Lost Certificates. In the case of any
Certificate that has been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the
making of an affidavit of that fact by the person claiming such
Certificate to be lost, stolen or destroyed and, if required by
Parent or the Paying Agent, the posting by such person of an
indemnity agreement or, at the election of Parent or the Paying
Agent, a bond in customary amount as indemnity against any claim
that may be made against it with respect to such Certificate,
the Paying Agent will deliver in exchange for such lost, stolen
or destroyed Certificate an amount equal to the number of Shares
represented by such lost, stolen or destroyed Certificate
multiplied by the Offer Price.
Section 3.3 Effect
of the Offer and the Merger on Company Stock Options and Company
Restricted Shares.
(a) Each outstanding option to acquire Shares (each, a
“Company Stock Option”), whether or not then
vested or exercisable, that is outstanding immediately prior to
the Acceptance Time (other than Company Stock Options held by
persons who enter Support Agreements and separately agree to the
treatment of such Company Stock Options in the Offer and the
Merger, which Company Stock Options shall be treated in the
manner so agreed) shall, as of immediately prior to the
Acceptance Time, become fully vested and be cancelled and in
exchange therefor be converted into the right to receive a
payment in cash, payable in U.S. dollars and without
interest, equal to the product of (i) the excess, if any,
of (x) the Offer Price over (y) the exercise price per
Share subject to such Company Stock Option, multiplied by
(ii) the number of Shares for which such Company Stock
Option shall not theretofore have been exercised;
provided, that if the exercise price per Share of any
such Company Stock Option is equal to or greater than the Offer
Price, such Company Stock Option shall be cancelled without any
cash payment being made in respect thereof. The Surviving
Corporation or the Company, as applicable, shall pay the holders
of such cancelled Company Stock Options the cash payments
described in this Section 3.3(a) on or as soon as
reasonably practicable after the date on which the Acceptance
Time occurs, but in any event within ten (10) Business Days
thereafter.
(b) Other than Company Restricted Shares held by persons
who enter into Support Agreements and agree otherwise,
immediately prior to the Acceptance Time, (i) each award of
restricted Company common stock (the “Company Restricted
Shares”) other than the Rollover Shares shall vest in
full and (ii) subject to the ultimate vesting of such
Company Restricted Shares, the holder thereof shall have the
right to tender (or to direct the Company to tender on his or
her behalf) such Company Restricted Shares then held (net of any
Shares withheld to satisfy employment and income tax
obligations) into the Offer. To the extent any Shares that were
formerly Company Restricted Shares are not so tendered, upon the
Effective Time, they shall be converted into the right to
receive the Offer Price in accordance with the procedures in
Section 3.2(b).
(c) The Surviving Corporation, the Company, Parent and
Merger Sub shall be entitled to deduct and withhold from the
amounts otherwise payable pursuant to this Section 3.3 to
any holder of Company Stock Options or Company Restricted Shares
such amounts as are required to be deducted and withheld with
respect to the making of such payment under the Code, or any
provision of state, or local Tax Law, and the person making such
deduction or withholding shall make any required filings with
and payments to Tax authorities relating to any such deduction
or withholding. To the extent that amounts are so deducted and
withheld, such withheld amounts shall be treated for all
purposes of this Agreement as having been paid to the holder of
the Company Stock Options or Company Restricted Shares in
respect of which such deduction and withholding was made.
(d) The Board of Directors of the Company (or the
appropriate committee thereof) shall take the actions necessary
to effectuate the foregoing provisions of this Section 3.3.
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ARTICLE IV
Representations
and Warranties of the Company
Except (i) as disclosed in, and reasonably apparent from,
any report, schedule, form or other document filed with, or
furnished to, the SEC after December 31, 2007 and publicly
available prior to the date of this Agreement (other than
(x) any forward-looking disclosures set forth in any risk
factor section, (y) any disclosures in any section
designated as relating to forward looking statements and
(z) any other disclosures included therein to the extent
they are primarily predictive, cautionary or forward-looking in
nature) (collectively, the “Filed SEC
Documents”) or (ii) as disclosed in the
corresponding section of the disclosure letter delivered by the
Company to Parent immediately prior to the execution of this
Agreement (the “Company Disclosure Letter”), it
being agreed that disclosure of any item in any section of the
Company Disclosure Letter shall also be deemed disclosure with
respect to any other section of this Agreement to which the
relevance of such item is reasonably apparent on its face), the
Company represents and warrants to Parent and Merger Sub as
follows:
Section 4.1 Qualification,
Organization, Subsidiaries, etc.
(a) Each of the Company and its Significant Subsidiaries is
a legal entity duly organized, validly existing and in good
standing under the Laws of its respective jurisdiction of
organization. Each of the Company and its Significant
Subsidiaries has all requisite corporate, partnership or similar
power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and
assets and to carry on its business as presently conducted,
except where the failure to have such power or authority would
not, individually or in the aggregate, have or be reasonably
expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect as defined
below.
(b) Each of the Company and its Significant Subsidiaries is
qualified to do business and is in good standing as a foreign
corporation (or other legal entity) in each jurisdiction where
the ownership, leasing or operation of its assets or properties
or conduct of its business requires such qualification, except
where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would
not, individually or in the aggregate, have or be reasonably
expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect. The Company
has made available to Parent complete and correct copies of the
organizational or governing documents of the Company and each of
its Significant Subsidiaries, each as amended to date, and each
as so made available is in full force and effect. Neither the
Company nor any Significant Subsidiary is in violation of its
organizational or governing documents.
(c) As used in this Agreement, any reference to any fact,
circumstance, event, change, effect or occurrence having a
“Company Material Adverse Effect” means any
fact, circumstance, event, change, effect or occurrence that,
individually or in the aggregate with all other facts,
circumstances, events, changes, effects, or occurrences,
(i) has or is reasonably expected to have a material
adverse effect on or with respect to the business, results of
operation or financial condition of the Company and its
Subsidiaries taken as a whole, or (ii) that prevents or
materially delays or materially impairs the ability of the
Company to consummate the Merger; provided,
however, that, a Company Material Adverse Effect shall
not include facts, circumstances, events, changes, effects or
occurrences (A) in or affecting economic conditions
generally or the financial or securities markets in the United
States or elsewhere in the world, (B) in or affecting the
industries in which the Company or its Subsidiaries operate
generally or in any specific jurisdiction or geographical area
in the United States or elsewhere in the world or
(C) resulting from or arising out of (1) the
announcement or the existence of, or compliance with, or taking
any action required or permitted by, this Agreement or the
transactions contemplated hereby, (2) any taking of any
action at the request of Parent or Merger Sub, (3) any
litigation arising from allegations of a breach of fiduciary
duty or other violation of applicable Law relating to this
Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, (4) any
adoption, implementation, promulgation, repeal, modification,
reinterpretation or proposal of any rule, regulation, ordinance,
order, protocol or any other applicable law of or by any
national, regional, state or local Governmental Entity in the
United States or elsewhere in the world, (5) any changes in
GAAP or accounting standards or interpretations thereof,
(6) any weather-related or other force majeure event or
outbreak or escalation of hostilities or acts of war or
terrorism, or (7) any changes in the share price or trading
volume of the Shares, in the Company’s credit rating or in
any analyst’s recommendations with respect to the Company,
or the failure of the Company to meet projections or forecasts
(including any analyst’s projections) (except that the
underlying causes of such change referenced in this
clause 4.1(c)(ii)(C)(7) can, unless excluded by another
clause of this proviso, be considered for purposes of
determining whether a Company Material Adverse Effect has
occurred).
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Section 4.2 Capital
Stock.
(a) The authorized capital stock of the Company consists of
100,000,000 Shares and 10,000,000 shares of preferred
stock, $.01 par value share (“Preferred
Stock”). As of July 20, 2009,
(i) 19,148,003 Shares were issued and outstanding,
(ii) no Shares were held in treasury or owned by a
Subsidiary of the Company, (iii) (A) 2,623,762 Shares
were reserved for issuance pursuant to the outstanding Company
Stock Options and (B) 1,174,001 additional Shares were
reserved for issuance for future grant pursuant to the Company
Stock Plans, and (iv) no shares of Preferred Stock were
issued or outstanding. All outstanding Shares, and all Shares
reserved for issuance as noted in clause (iii) of the
foregoing sentence, when issued in accordance with the
respective terms thereof, are or will be duly authorized,
validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and free of
pre-emptive rights.
(b) Except as set forth in subsection (a) above, as of
the date hereof, (i) the Company does not have any shares
of its capital stock issued or outstanding other than Shares
that have become outstanding after July 20, 2009 upon
exercise of Company Stock Options outstanding as of such date
and (ii) there are no outstanding subscriptions, options,
warrants, calls, convertible securities or other similar rights,
agreements or commitments relating to the issuance of capital
stock or other equity interests to which the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries is a party obligating the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries to (A) issue, transfer or sell any shares of
capital stock or other equity interests of the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries or securities convertible into or exchangeable
for such shares or equity interests, (B) grant, extend or
enter into any such subscription, option, warrant, call,
convertible securities or other similar right, agreement or
arrangement, (C) redeem, repurchase, or otherwise acquire
any such shares of capital stock or other equity interests or
(D) provide funds to, or make any investment (in the form
of a loan, capital contribution or otherwise) in any Person
(other than funds to or investments in a wholly owned Subsidiary
of the Company in the ordinary course of business consistent
with past practice).
(c) Except for the awards to acquire Shares under the
Company Stock Plans, neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries has outstanding bonds, debentures, notes or other
obligations, the holders of which have the right to vote (or
which are convertible into or exercisable for securities having
the right to vote) with the shareholders of the Company on any
matter.
(d) There are no shareholder agreements, registration
agreements, voting trusts or other agreements or understandings
to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party with
respect to the voting or registration of the capital stock or
other equity interest of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
or any preemptive rights with respect thereto.
Section 4.3 Subsidiaries.
(a) Section 4.3 of the Company Disclosure Letter sets
forth a complete and correct list of each “significant
subsidiary” of the Company as such term is defined in
Regulation S-X
promulgated by the SEC (each, a “Significant
Subsidiary”). Section 4.3 of the Company
Disclosure Letter also sets forth the jurisdiction of
organization and percentage of outstanding equity interests
(including partnership interests and limited liability company
interests) owned by the Company or its Subsidiaries and any
other Person of each Significant Subsidiary. All equity
interests (including partnership interests and limited liability
company interests) of the Company’s Significant
Subsidiaries held by the Company or by any other Subsidiary have
been duly and validly authorized and are validly issued, fully
paid and non-assessable and were not issued in violation of any
preemptive or similar rights, purchase option, call or right of
first refusal or similar rights. All such equity interests owned
by the Company or its Subsidiaries are free and clear of any
Liens, other than restrictions imposed by applicable Law.
(b) Except for the Significant Subsidiaries disclosed in
Section 4.3 of the Company Disclosure Letter, the Company
does not own, directly or indirectly, any capital stock or other
voting or equity securities or interests in any Person that is
material to the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries,
taken as a whole.
Section 4.4 Corporate
Authority Relative to This Agreement; No Violation.
(a) The Company has the requisite corporate power and
authority to enter into this Agreement and, subject to receipt
of the Company Shareholder Approval (if required by applicable
Law to consummate the Merger), to consummate the transactions
contemplated hereby. The execution and delivery of this
Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby have been duly and validly authorized by the Board
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and, except for (i) the Company Shareholder Approval (if
required by applicable Law to consummate the Merger) and
(ii) the filing of the Articles of Merger with the
Secretary of State of the State of
Florida, no other corporate
proceedings on the part of the Company are necessary to
authorize the consummation of the transactions contemplated
hereby. This Agreement has been duly and validly executed and
delivered by the Company and, assuming this Agreement has been
duly executed by Parent and Merger Sub, constitutes the valid
and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the
Company in accordance with its terms, subject to the effects of
bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization,
moratorium and other similar Laws relating to or affecting
creditors’ rights generally, general equitable principles
(whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at Law).
(b) Other than in connection or in compliance with
(i) the FBCA, or any applicable
Florida anti-takeover or
investor protection statute, (ii) the Exchange Act,
(iii) the
Xxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx
Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and the rules
and regulations promulgated thereunder (the “
HSR
Act”) and (iv) the approvals set forth on
Section 4.4(b) of the Company Disclosure Letter
(collectively, the “
Company Approvals”), no
authorization, consent or approval of, or filing with, any
United States or foreign governmental or regulatory agency,
commission, court, body, entity or authority (each, a
“
Governmental Entity”) is necessary, under
applicable Law, for the consummation by the Company of the
transactions contemplated hereby, except for such
authorizations, consents, approvals or filings that, if not
obtained or made, would not, individually or in the aggregate,
be material to the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole.
(c) The execution and delivery by the Company of this
Agreement does not, and the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby and compliance with the provisions hereof by
the Company will not, (i) result in any violation of, or
default (with or without notice or lapse of time, or both)
under, require consent under, or give rise to a right of
termination, cancellation or acceleration of any obligation or
to the loss of any benefit under any loan, guarantee of
indebtedness or credit agreement, note, bond, mortgage,
indenture, lease, agreement, Contract, instrument, permit,
Company Permit, concession, franchise, right or license binding
upon the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or result in the
creation of any liens, claims, mortgages, encumbrances, pledges,
security interests, equities or charges of any kind (each, a
“Lien”) upon any of the properties or assets of
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (ii) conflict with
or result in any violation of any provision of the certificate
or articles of incorporation or by-laws or other equivalent
organizational document of the Company or any of its Significant
Subsidiaries or (iii) assuming that the consents and
approvals referred to in Section 4.4(b) are duly obtained,
conflict with or violate any applicable Laws, other than, in the
case of clauses (i) and (iii), as would not, individually
or in the aggregate, have or be reasonably expected to have a
Company Material Adverse Effect.
Section 4.5 Reports
and Financial Statements; Internal Control.
(a) The Company and its Significant Subsidiaries have filed
all forms, documents, statements and reports required to be
filed by them with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
“SEC”) since January 1, 2007 (the forms,
documents, statements and reports filed with the SEC since
January 1, 2007, including any amendments thereto, the
“Company SEC Documents”). As of their
respective dates, or, if amended or superseded by a subsequent
filing, as of the date of the last such amendment or superseding
filing prior to the date hereof, the Company SEC Documents
complied, and each of the Company SEC Documents filed subsequent
to the date of this Agreement will comply, in all material
respects with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the “Securities Act”), the Exchange
Act and the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 (the
“Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act”), as the case may be, and
the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. As
of the time of filing with the SEC, none of the Company SEC
Documents so filed or that will be filed subsequent to the date
of this Agreement contained or will contain, as the case may be,
any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in
order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except
to the extent that the information in such Company SEC Document
has been amended or superseded by a later Company SEC Document
filed prior to the date hereof. The Company has made available
to Parent correct and complete copies of all material
correspondence between the SEC, on the one hand, and the Company
and any of its Subsidiaries, on the other hand, occurring since
January 1, 2007 and prior to the date hereof. As of the
date hereof, there are no material outstanding or unresolved
comments in comment letters from the SEC staff with respect to
any of the Company SEC Documents. To the
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Knowledge of the Company, as of the date hereof, none of the
Company SEC Documents is the subject of ongoing SEC review,
outstanding SEC comment or outstanding SEC investigation.
(b) The financial statements (including all related notes
and schedules) of the Company and its Subsidiaries included in
the Company SEC Documents fairly present in all material
respects the financial position of the Company and its
Subsidiaries, as at the respective dates thereof, and the
results of their operations and their cash flows for the
respective periods then ended (subject, in the case of the
unaudited statements, to normal year-end audit adjustments and
to any other adjustments described therein, including the notes
thereto) in conformity with United States generally accepted
accounting principles (“GAAP”) (except, in the
case of the unaudited statements or foreign Subsidiaries, as
permitted by the SEC) applied on a consistent basis during the
periods involved (except as may be indicated therein or in the
notes thereto). Except as set forth in Section 4.5(b) of
the Company Disclosure Letter, the Company has not received any
written advice or written notification from its independent
certified public accountants that it has used any improper
accounting practice that would have the effect of not reflecting
or incorrectly reflecting in the financial statements or in the
books and records of the Company and its Subsidiaries, any
properties, assets, liabilities, revenues or expenses in any
material respect.
(c) The Company and the Company’s Subsidiaries have
established and maintained a system of internal control over
financial reporting (as defined in
Rule 13a-15
under the Exchange Act). Such internal controls are, in all
material respects, (i) sufficient to provide reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of the Company’s
financial reporting and the preparation of Company financial
statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP and
(ii) designed to ensure that material information relating
to the Company and its Subsidiaries required to be included in
reports filed under the Exchange Act, is made known to the
Company’s principal executive officer and its principal
financial officer by others within those entities, particularly
during the periods in which the periodic reports required under
the Exchange Act are being prepared, and such disclosure
controls and procedures are effective in timely alerting the
Company’s principal executive officer and its principal
financial officer to material information required to be
included in the Company’s periodic reports required under
the Exchange Act. Since January 1, 2007, the Company’s
principal executive officer and its principal financial officer
have disclosed to the Company’s auditors and the audit
committee of the Board (i) all Known significant
deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation
of internal controls over financial reporting that are
reasonably likely to adversely affect the Company’s ability
to record, process, summarize and report financial information
and (ii) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees who have a significant role in the
Company’s internal controls and the Company has provided to
Parent copies of any material written materials relating to each
of the foregoing. The Company has made available to Parent all
such disclosures made by management to the Company’s
auditors and audit committee since January 1, 2007.
(d) Since the enactment of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act, neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has made any prohibited
loans to any executive officer of the Company (as defined in
Rule 3b-7
under the Exchange Act) or director of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries. There are no outstanding loans or other extensions
of credit made by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any
executive officer (as defined in
Rule 3b-7
under the Exchange Act) or director of the Company.
Section 4.6 Disclosure
Documents.
(a) Each document required to be filed by the Company with
the SEC or required to be distributed or otherwise disseminated
to the Company’s shareholders in connection with the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement (the
“Company Disclosure Documents”), including the
Schedule 14D-9,
and the proxy or information statement of the Company (the
“Company Proxy Statement”), if any, to be filed
with the SEC in connection with the Merger, and any amendments
or supplements thereto, when filed, distributed or disseminated,
as applicable, will comply as to form in all material respects
with the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act.
(b) (i) The Company Proxy Statement, as supplemented
or amended, if applicable, at the time such Company Proxy
Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto is first mailed
to shareholders of the Company and at the time such shareholders
vote on approval of the Merger and at the Effective Time, and
(ii) Company Disclosure Documents (other than the Company
Proxy Statement), at the time of the filing of such Company
Disclosure Documents or any supplement or amendment thereto and
at the time of any distribution or dissemination thereof, will
not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state any material fact necessary in order to make
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the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading. The representations
and warranties contained in this Section 4.6(b) will not
apply to statements or omissions included in the Company
Disclosure Documents based upon information furnished to the
Company in writing by Parent or Merger Sub specifically for use
therein.
(c) The information with respect to the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries that the Company furnishes to Parent or Merger
Sub in writing specifically for use in the Schedule TO and
the Offer Documents, at the time of the filing of the
Schedule TO, at the time of any distribution or
dissemination of the Offer Documents and at the time of the
consummation of the Offer, will not contain any untrue statement
of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary
in order to make the statements made therein, in the light of
the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
Section 4.7 No
Undisclosed Liabilities. Except (i) as
set forth or reserved against in the Company’s consolidated
balance sheets (or the notes thereto) for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2008 included in the Company SEC Documents
filed prior to the date hereof, (ii) for transactions
contemplated by this Agreement or the financing of such
transactions and (iii) for liabilities and obligations
incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past
practice since December 31, 2008, neither the Company nor
any Subsidiary of the Company has any liabilities or obligations
required to be reflected or reserved in the Company’s
consolidated balance sheets in accordance with GAAP, whether or
not accrued, absolute, contingent or otherwise and whether due
or to become due, that would, individually or in the aggregate,
be material to the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole.
Section 4.8 Compliance
with Law; Permits.
(a) The Company and each of its Significant Subsidiaries
is, and since the later of January 1, 2007 and its
respective date of formation or organization has been, in
compliance in all material respects with and is not in default
under or in violation of and has no material liability under any
applicable federal, state, local or foreign or provincial law,
statute, ordinance, rule, regulation, judgment, order,
injunction, decree or agency requirement of or undertaking to or
agreement with any Governmental Entity, including common law
(collectively, “Laws” and each, a
“Law”). Neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries has received any notices, complaints or written
communication since January 1, 2007 from any Governmental
Entity or any other person that alleges that the Company or any
of its Subsidiaries is not in compliance in any respect with any
applicable Law in any material respect, nor been subject to any
investigation or inspection in connection therewith.
(b) The Company and its Significant Subsidiaries are in
possession of all material franchises, tariffs, grants,
authorizations, licenses, permits, easements, variances,
exceptions, consents, certificates, approvals and orders of any
Governmental Entity necessary for the Company and its
Subsidiaries to own, lease and operate their properties and
assets or to carry on their businesses as they are now being
conducted (the “Company Permits”). All Company
Permits are in full force and effect, the Company and its
Subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with the
terms of each Company Permit, and no Company Permit shall cease
to be effective as a result of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement, in each case, except as would not, individually
or in the aggregate, be material to the Company and its
Subsidiaries taken as a whole.
(c) The Company and its Significant Subsidiaries have no
liability with respect to hazardous materials or any
environmental, health or safety matter, except as would not,
individually or in the aggregate, have or be reasonably expected
to have a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(d) Except for matters that, individually or in the
aggregate, would not have a Company Material Adverse Effect,
neither the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company, nor, to the
Knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee
or other Person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries has, in the course of its actions for, or on behalf
of, any of them (i) used any corporate funds for any
unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful
expenses relating to political activity; (ii) made any
direct or indirect unlawful payment to any foreign or domestic
government official or employee from corporate funds;
(iii) violated any provision of the U.S. Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended (including the rules
and regulations promulgated thereunder, the
“FCPA”); or (iv) made any unlawful bribe,
rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful
payment to any foreign or domestic government official or
employee. During the last three (3) years, neither the
Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any
communication that alleges
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that the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or any
Representative thereof is, or may be, in violation of, or has,
or may have, any material liability under, the FCPA which has
not been resolved.
Section 4.9 Employee
Benefit Plans.
(a) Section 4.9(a) of the Company Disclosure Letter
sets forth a true and complete list of each “employee
benefit plan” within the meaning of Section 3(3) of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended
(“ERISA”) (whether or not such plan is subject
to ERISA), each bonus, incentive, deferred compensation,
vacation, stock purchase, stock option, equity, severance,
employment, change of control or material fringe or other
material benefit or compensation plan, program, arrangement or
agreement that is sponsored, maintained, contributed or required
to be contributed to by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
for the benefit of their current or former employees, officers,
contractors or directors or with respect to which the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries has or could reasonably be expected to
have any material liability or obligation in respect of the
Company’s or any of its Subsidiaries’ (including their
predecessor entities’ or any entity whose assets were
partially or completely acquired by the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries) current or former employees, officers, contractors
or directors (collectively, the “Company Benefit
Plans”).
(b) The Company has heretofore made available to Parent
true and complete copies of (i) each of the Company Benefit
Plans and any related trust or funding agreement, (ii) each
writing constituting a part of such Company Benefit Plan,
including all amendments thereto and the most recent summary
plan description distributed to participants, (iii) the
most recent Annual Report (Form 5500 Series) and
accompanying schedules and audit reports, if any, related
thereto and (iv) the most recent determination letter from
the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) (if
applicable) for such Company Benefit Plan.
(c) (i) each of the Company Benefit Plans has been
operated, funded and administered in all material respects in
accordance with its terms and with applicable Laws, including,
but not limited to, ERISA, the Code and in each case the
regulations thereunder; (ii) each of the Company Benefit
Plans intended to be “qualified” within the meaning of
Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable
determination letter from the IRS, and to the Knowledge of the
Company, there are no existing circumstances or events that have
occurred that could reasonably be expected to adversely affect
the qualification of such Company Benefit Plan; (iii) no
Company Benefit Plan is subject to Title IV of ERISA;
(iv) no Company Benefit Plan provides and neither the
Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any obligation to
provide health or life insurance benefits (whether or not
insured), with respect to current or former employees, officers,
contractors or directors of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries (including any predecessor entities or any entity
whose assets were partially or completely acquired by the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries) beyond their retirement or
other termination of service, other than coverage mandated by
Part 6 of Subtitle B of Title I of ERISA,
Section 4980B of the Code or similar state Law
(“COBRA”); (v) no liability under
Title IV of ERISA or Sections 412 or 430 of the Code
has been incurred by the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any
ERISA Affiliate that has not been satisfied in full, and, to the
Knowledge of the Company, no condition exists that presents a
risk to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any ERISA
Affiliate of incurring a material liability thereunder;
(vi) no Company Benefit Plan is nor do any of the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries have any liability or obligation
under or with respect to any “multiemployer pension
plan” (as such term is defined in Section 3(37) of
ERISA) or any plan that has two or more contributing sponsors at
least two of whom are not under common control, within the
meaning of Section 4063 of ERISA; (vii) all material
contributions or other material amounts payable by the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries as of the Acceptance Time to or with
respect to each Company Benefit Plan in respect of current or
prior plan years or any period of time ending prior to the
Acceptance Time have or shall have been paid or accrued in
accordance with GAAP; (viii) neither the Company nor any of
its Subsidiaries nor, to the Knowledge of the Company, any other
Person (with respect to whom the Company has an obligation to
indemnify) has engaged in a transaction in connection with which
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries could reasonably be
expected to be subject to either a material civil penalty
assessed pursuant to Section 409 or 502(i) of ERISA or a
material Tax imposed pursuant to Section 4975 or 4976 of
the Code; (ix) there are no pending, threatened or
anticipated claims (other than routine claims for benefits),
proceedings, litigation, audits, investigations or actions
involving any of the Company Benefit Plans or any trusts related
thereto which could reasonably be expected to result in any
material liability of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries;
(x) the Company and its Subsidiaries and the ERISA
Affiliates are in compliance in all material respects with the
requirements of COBRA; and (xi) neither the Company nor any
of its Subsidiaries has any current or potential liability or
obligation (including any
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indemnification obligation to any ERISA fiduciary) to or in
connection with any “employee stock ownership plan”
(as defined in Section 4975 of the Code) or any stock bonus
plan intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the
Code. “ERISA Affiliate” means any Person that
is or at any relevant time was a member of a group described in
Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Code or
Section 4001(b)(1) of ERISA that includes or included the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or that is or at any
relevant time was a member of the same “controlled
group” as the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant
to Section 4001(a)(14) of ERISA.
(d) The parties acknowledge that certain payments have been
made or are to be made, and certain benefits have been granted
or are to be granted, according to employment compensation,
severance, employment agreement and other Company Benefit Plans
(collectively, the “Arrangements”) to certain
holders of Shares and other securities of the Company (the
“Covered Securityholders”). All such amounts
payable under the Arrangements (i) are being paid or
granted as compensation for past services performed, future
services to be performed, or future services to be refrained
from performing, by the Covered Securityholders (and matters
incidental thereto) and (ii) are not calculated based on
the number of Shares tendered or to be tendered into the Offer
by the applicable Covered Securityholder. The adoption,
approval, amendment or modification of each Arrangement since
the discussions relating to the transactions contemplated hereby
between the Company and Parent began has been approved as an
employment compensation, severance or other employee benefit
arrangement solely by independent directors of the Company in
accordance with the “safe harbor” requirements of
Rule 14d-10(d)(2)
under the Exchange Act and the instructions thereto as a result
of the taking prior to the execution of this Agreement of all
necessary actions by the Company Board, the compensation
committee thereof or its independent directors, to the extent
required.
(e) The consummation of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement will not, either alone or in combination with
another event, (i) entitle any current or former employee,
director, consultant or officer of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries (including any predecessor entities or any entity
whose assets were partially or completely acquired by the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries) to severance pay,
unemployment compensation or any other compensatory payment or
benefit, except as set forth on Section 4.9(e) of the
Company Disclosure Letter, or (ii) accelerate the time of
payment or vesting or funding of, or increase the amount of any
compensation or benefit due any such current or former employee,
director, consultant or officer of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries (including any predecessor entities or any entity
whose assets were partially or completely acquired by the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries), except as set forth on
Section 4.9(e) of the Company Disclosure Letter.
(f) No amount paid or payable (whether in cash or property
or the vesting of property) by the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries as a result of the consummation of the Merger to
any of its respective employees, officers, directors,
stockholders or consultants under any Company Benefit Plans or
otherwise, would not be deductible by reason of
Section 280G of the Code or would be subject to an excise
tax under Section 4999 of the Code. Neither the Company nor
any of its Subsidiaries has any indemnity obligation for any
Taxes imposed under Section 4999 or 409A of the Code.
Section 4.10 Affiliate
Transactions. Except for Company Benefit
Plans, there are no Contracts or arrangements that are in
existence as of the date of this Agreement under which the
Company has any existing or future material liabilities between
the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries, on the one
hand, and, on the other hand, any (i) present officer or
director of either the Company or any of its Significant
Subsidiaries or any person that has served as such an officer or
director within the past two years or any of such officer’s
or director’s immediate family members, (ii) record or
beneficial owner of more than 5% of the Shares as of the date
hereof, or (iii) to the Knowledge of the Company, any
Affiliate of any such officer, director or owner (other than the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries), in each case that is of a
type that would be required to be disclosed in the Company SEC
Documents pursuant Item 404 of
Regulation S-K
that has not been so disclosed (each, an “Affiliate
Transaction”). The Company has made available to Parent
copies of each Contract or other relevant documentation
(including any amendments or modifications thereto) available as
of the date hereof providing for each Affiliate Transaction.
Section 4.11 Absence
of Certain Changes or Events. Since
December 31, 2008, except as otherwise required or
contemplated by this Agreement, (a) the business of the
Company and its Subsidiaries has been conducted, in all material
respects, in the ordinary course of business consistent with
past practice, (b) there have not been any facts,
circumstances, events, changes, effects or occurrences that,
individually or in the aggregate, have
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had or would be reasonably expected to have a Company Material
Adverse Effect, and (c) prior to the date hereof, neither
the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has taken any action,
that if taken after the date of this Agreement without
Parent’s consent, would constitute a breach of any of the
covenants set forth in clauses (ii), (iv), (v), (viii), (x), or
(xii) through (xvi) of (b).
Section 4.12 Investigations;
Litigation. As of the date hereof, there are
no (i) investigations or proceedings pending or, to the
Knowledge of the Company, threatened by any Governmental Entity
with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any of
their respective properties, (ii) actions, suits or
proceedings pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company,
threatened against or affecting the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, or any of their respective properties, at Law or
in equity, or (iii) orders, judgments or decrees of any
Governmental Entity against the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties which, in the
case of clauses (i), (ii) or (iii), individually or in the
aggregate, are or would be material to the Company and its
Subsidiaries taken as a whole.
Section 4.13 Tax
Matters.
(a) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate,
have or be reasonably expected to have a Company Material
Adverse Effect, (i) the Company and each of its
Subsidiaries have prepared and timely filed (taking into account
any extension of time within which to file) all Tax Returns
required to be filed by any of them, and all such Tax Returns
are complete and accurate, (ii) the Company and each of its
Subsidiaries have paid all Taxes that are required to be paid by
any of them, except, in the case of clause (ii) hereof,
with respect to matters contested in good faith and for which
adequate reserves have been established on the financial
statements of the Company and its Subsidiaries in accordance
with GAAP, (iii) the U.S. federal income Tax Returns
of the Company and each of its Subsidiaries through the Tax year
ending December 31, 2004 have been examined or are
currently being examined by the IRS (or the period for
assessment of the Taxes in respect of which such Tax Returns
were required to be filed has expired), (iv) all
assessments for Taxes due with respect to completed and settled
examinations or any concluded litigation have been fully paid,
(v) there are no audits, examinations, investigations or
other proceedings pending or threatened in writing in respect of
U.S. federal income Tax matters of the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries, (vi) there are no Liens for Taxes on any
of the assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries other
than statutory Liens for Taxes not yet due and payable,
(vii) none of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has
been a “controlled corporation” or a
“distributing corporation” in any distribution that
was purported or intended to be governed by Section 355 of
the Code (or any similar provision of state, local or foreign
Law) occurring during the two-year period ending on the date
hereof, (viii) neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries has engaged in any “listed transaction”
within the meaning of Section 6011 of the Code and the
Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, (ix) neither
the Company nor any Subsidiary of the Company (A) has been
a member of an affiliated group filing a consolidated federal
income tax return (other than a group the common parent of which
was the Company) or (B) has any liability for the Taxes of
any Person (other than the Company or any of its present or
former Subsidiary) under Treasury
regulation Section 1.1502-6
(or any similar provision of state, local, foreign or provincial
law).
(b) As used in this Agreement,
(i) “Tax” or “Taxes”
means any and all federal, state, local or foreign or provincial
taxes, imposts, levies or other assessments, including all net
income, gross receipts, capital, sales, use, transfer,
franchise, profits, inventory, capital stock, value added, ad
valorem, license, withholding, payroll, employment, social
security, unemployment, excise, severance, stamp, occupation,
property and estimated taxes, customs duties, fees, assessments
and charges of any kind whatsoever, including any and all
interest, penalties, fines, additions to tax or additional
amounts imposed by any Governmental Entity in connection with or
with respect thereto, whether disputed or not, and
(ii) “Tax Return” means any return, report
or similar filing (including any attached schedules, supplements
and additional or supporting material) filed or required to be
filed with respect to Taxes, including any information return,
claim for refund, amended return or declaration of estimated
Taxes (and including any amendments with respect thereto).
Section 4.14 Labor
Matters. Neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries is (a) a party to, or bound by, any collective
bargaining agreement, Contract or other agreement or
understanding with a labor union or labor organization, or
(b) subject to a material dispute, strike or work stoppage.
To the Knowledge of the Company, there are no organizational
efforts with respect to the formation of a collective bargaining
unit presently being made or threatened, involving employees of
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
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Section 4.15 Intellectual
Property.
(a) (i) Either the Company or a Subsidiary of the
Company owns or is licensed or otherwise possesses valid and
enforceable rights to use, all material Intellectual Property
(as defined below) used in or necessary for the conduct of their
respective businesses as currently conducted, free and clear of
all Liens, (ii) as of the date hereof, there are no pending
or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened claims by any
person alleging that the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has
infringed, misappropriated or otherwise conflicted with the
Intellectual Property of any person and (iii) the conduct
of the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries has not
infringed, misappropriated or otherwise conflicted with any
Intellectual Property of any person. For purposes of this
Agreement, “Intellectual Property” shall mean
all intellectual property in any jurisdiction in the world,
including without limitation, all (i) patents, inventions
(whether or not reduced to practice or patentable), trademarks
and service marks (including any trade dress, logos and any
other indicia of origin and the goodwill of any business
symbolized thereby), trade names, Internet domain names,
copyrights and copyrightable works (whether or not registered),
designs and trade secrets, (ii) applications for and
registrations, issuances and renewals of such patents,
trademarks, service marks, trade names, domain names, copyrights
and works (whether or not copyrightable) and designs,
(iii) lists (including customer and vendor lists), data,
databases, processes, formulae, methods, specifications,
schematics, plans, studies, technology, know-how, improvements,
web site and other content, computer software programs and
related documentation, and other confidential or proprietary
data and information, (iv) computer software, data and
databases including, but not limited to, object code, source
code, operating and other systems, tools, firmware, related
documentation and all copyrights therein.
(b) The Company has taken commercially reasonable steps to
protect and preserve its rights in any material Intellectual
Property of the Company and its Subsidiaries in all material
respects. Without limiting anything in Section 4.15(a), no
prior or current employee or officer or any prior or current
consultant or contractor of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries has asserted or has any ownership or other right,
title or interest in or to any material Intellectual Property
used by the Company or its Subsidiaries in the operation of
their respective businesses (except as may be set forth in those
development agreements disclosed in Section 4.15(b) of the
Company Disclosure Letter that were entered into with
consultants and contractors in the ordinary course of business
where any such consultants or contractors granted the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries a valid and enforceable written license
including rights sufficient for the Company or such Subsidiary
to conduct the business of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, including as currently conducted).
(c) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has
licensed any of the material Intellectual Property owned by the
Company and its Subsidiaries to any third party, except for any
such Contract where such Intellectual Property is licensed on a
non-exclusive basis in the ordinary course of business, nor has
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries entered into any Contract
limiting or imposing any obligation or condition on its right or
ability to use, license, sell, distribute or otherwise exploit
fully any of such Intellectual Property, including software.
(d) Since January 1, 2007, there have been no
settlements, forbearances to xxx, consents, judgments or orders
to which the Company or its Subsidiaries are a party or with
respect to which such parties are bound that (i) restrict
the rights of the Company or its Subsidiaries to use, license,
sell, distribute or otherwise exploit fully any material
Intellectual Property in connection with its business in any
material respect or (ii) permit third parties to use any
material Intellectual Property owned by the Company and its
Subsidiaries other than on behalf of the Company and its
Affiliates.
(e) The Company and its Subsidiaries are each in compliance
with its privacy policies and terms of use and with all
applicable data protection, privacy and other Laws governing the
collection, use, storage, distribution, transfer or disclosure
(whether electronically or in any other form or medium) of any
personal information or data in all material respects. There has
not been any notice to, complaint against, or audit, proceeding
or investigation conducted or claim asserted with respect to the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries by any person (including any
Governmental Authority) regarding the collection, use, storage,
distribution, transfer or disclosure of personal information,
and none is pending, or to the Knowledge of the Company,
threatened (and to the Knowledge of the Company, there is no
basis for the same, except as has not resulted in, or could not
reasonably be expected to result in, any material liability of
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries). To the Knowledge of the
Company, neither the Company nor its Subsidiaries has
experienced any incident in which any personal information or
data was or may
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have been stolen or subject to any unauthorized access or use
that has resulted in, or could reasonably be expected to result
in, any material liability of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries.
(f) The computer software, hardware, firmware, networks,
platforms, servers, interfaces, applications, web sites and
related systems (collectively, “Systems”) used
by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are sufficient for the
current needs of the Company and its Subsidiaries in all
material respects (including as to capacity and ability to
process current and anticipated peak volumes in a timely
manner), and, except as would not, individually or in the
aggregate, have or be reasonably expected to have a Company
Material Adverse Effect, there have been no operational or
continued failures, disruptions, substandard performance,
failure, breakdowns, bugs or outages or other adverse events in
the past eighteen (18) months affecting any of the Systems
that have had, or could reasonably be expected to result in, any
disruption to or adverse impact on the operation of any of the
respective businesses of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken commercially
reasonable steps to provide for the security, continuity and
integrity of their Systems and the
back-up and
recovery of data and information stored or contained therein and
to prevent and guard against any unauthorized access or use
thereof, in each case in all material respects. To the Knowledge
of the Company, there have been no unauthorized intrusions or
breaches of the security thereof or other unauthorized access or
use of any of the foregoing that have resulted in, or could
reasonably be expected to result in, any material liability of
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(g) No software owned or developed by or on behalf of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries (“Software”)
that is material to the business of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries is subject to any “copyleft” or other
obligation or condition (including any obligation or condition
under any “open source” license) that could
(i) require, or condition the use or distribution of, or
access to, the Software, on the disclosure, licensing, or
distribution of any source code for any portion of the Software
or (ii) otherwise impose any limitation, restriction, or
condition on the right or ability of the Company to use,
license, sell or distribute any Software in any material respect.
Section 4.16 Property. Except
as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or be
reasonably expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect,
the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company owns and has good
title to all its personal property and has valid leasehold
interests in all of its leased properties, sufficient to conduct
their respective businesses as currently conducted, free and
clear of all Liens (except in all cases for Liens permissible
under any applicable loan agreements and indentures and for
title exceptions, defects, encumbrances, Liens, charges,
restrictions, restrictive covenants and other matters, whether
or not of record, which in the aggregate do not materially
affect the continued use of the property for the purposes for
which the property is currently being used), assuming the timely
discharge of all obligations owing under or related to the
personal property and the leased property. Except as would not,
individually or in the aggregate, have or be reasonably expected
to have a Company Material Adverse Effect, all leases under
which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries lease any real or
personal property are valid and effective against the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries and the counterparties thereto, in
accordance with their respective terms, and there is not, under
any of such leases, any existing default by the Company or any
of its Subsidiaries which, with notice or lapse of time or both,
would become a default by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
Section 4.17 Required
Vote of the Company Shareholders. Assuming
the accuracy of the representations and warranties in
Sections 5.7 and 5.8, and if required by applicable law to
approve the Merger, the affirmative vote of the holders of
outstanding Shares, voting together as a single class,
representing at least a majority of all Shares outstanding shall
be the only vote of shareholders required to approve this
Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby (the
“Company Shareholder Approval”).
Section 4.18 Material
Contracts.
(a) Except as disclosed in Section 4.9(a),
Section 4.9(f) and Section 4.18 of the Company
Disclosure Letter, (a) neither the Company, nor any of its
Subsidiaries is a party to, and (b) none of the Company,
any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective properties
or assets is bound by, Contracts that:
(i) are or would be required to be filed by the Company as
a “material contract” pursuant to Item 601(b)(10)
of
Regulation S-K
under the Securities Act or disclosed by the Company on a
Current Report on
Form 8-K;
A-20
(ii) with respect to a joint venture, partnership, limited
liability or other similar agreement or arrangement, related to
the formation, creation, operation, management or control of any
partnership or joint venture that is material to the business of
the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or in which
the Company owns more than a 20% voting or economic interest, or
with respect to which the Company has obligations of more than
$250,000 in the aggregate;
(iii) relate to indebtedness for borrowed money, the
deferred purchase price of property or service, any credit
agreement, note, bond, mortgage, debenture or other similar
instrument, any letter of credit or similar facilities, any
obligation to purchase, redeem, retire, defease or otherwise
acquire for value any capital stock or any warrants, rights or
options to acquire such capital stock, or any guarantee with
respect to an obligation of any other Person, in each case,
having an outstanding principal amount in excess of $250,000;
(iv) relate to an acquisition, divestiture, merger or
similar transaction that contains representations, covenants,
indemnities or other obligations (including indemnification,
“earn-out” or other contingent obligations), that are
still in effect and, individually or in the aggregate, could
reasonably be expected to result in payments in excess of
$250,000;
(v) other than an acquisition subject to clause (iv)
above, obligate the Company to make any capital commitment or
expenditure (including pursuant to any joint venture) in excess
of $250,000; or
(vi) prohibits the payment of dividends or distributions in
respect of the capital stock of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, prohibits the pledging of the capital stock of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries or prohibits the issuance of
guarantees by any Subsidiary of the Company;
Each Contract of the type described in clauses (i) through
(vi) above is referred to herein as a “Material
Contract.”
(b) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate,
have a Company Material Adverse Effect, (i) each Material
Contract is valid and binding on the Company and any of its
Subsidiaries to the extent such Subsidiary is a party thereto,
as applicable, and is in full force and effect and enforceable
against the Company or its Subsidiary in accordance with its
terms, (ii) to the Knowledge of the Company, each Material
Contract is valid and binding on the other parties thereto, is
in full force and effect and enforceable against such other
party in accordance with its terms, (iii) the Company and
each of its Subsidiaries has performed all obligations required
to be performed by it to date under each Material Contract,
(iv) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has
received written notice of, the existence of any event or
condition which constitutes, or, after notice or lapse of time
or both, will constitute, a material default or breach on the
part of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries under any such
Material Contract, (v) neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries has received written notice from any other party to
a Material Contract with respect to the termination, non-renewal
or renegotiation in any material respects of the terms of, and
otherwise has no Knowledge that such other party intends to
terminate, not renew, or renegotiate in any material respects
the terms of, any Material Contract.
(c) The Company has made available to Parent, as of the
date of this Agreement, true, correct and complete copies of
(including all amendments or modifications to), all Material
Contracts.
Section 4.19 Finders
or Brokers. Except for Xxxxx &
Company LLC and Xxxxxxx & Company (the fees of which
shall be paid by the Company), neither the Company nor any of
its Subsidiaries has engaged any investment banker, broker or
finder in connection with the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement. No investment banker, broker or finder or other
Person is entitled to any brokerage, finder’s, financial
advisor’s or other similar fee or any commission in
connection with or upon consummation of the Offer, the Merger or
the other transactions contemplated hereby based upon
arrangements made by or on behalf of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries. The Company has provided to Parent a copy of the
engagement letters of Xxxxx & Company LLC and
Xxxxxxx & Company.
Section 4.20 Opinions
of Financial Advisors. The Board of Directors
of the Company and the directors of the Company other than
holders of Rollover Shares have received the opinions of
Xxxxx & Company LLC and Xxxxxxx & Company,
respectively, each dated as of the date of this Agreement, to
the effect that, as of such date, the Offer Price to be received
by the Company’s shareholders, other than holders of
Rollover Shares, in the Offer and the Merger is fair, from a
financial point of view, to such holders.
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Section 4.21 State
Takeover Statutes; Charter
Provisions. Assuming the accuracy of the
representations and warranties in Sections 5.7 and 5.8, the
Board of Directors of the Company has taken all actions
necessary so that no anti-takeover statute or regulation,
including any affiliate transaction or control share
acquisition, in each case under the FBCA or other applicable
laws of the State of
Florida shall be applicable to the
execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement, the Offer,
the consummation of the Merger and the other transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
Section 4.22 No
Other Information. The Company acknowledges
that neither Parent nor Merger Sub make any representations or
warranties as to any matter whatsoever except as expressly set
forth in Article V of this Agreement. The representations
and warranties set forth in Article V of this Agreement are
made solely by Parent and Merger Sub, and no Representative of
Parent or Merger Sub shall have any responsibility or liability
related or with respect thereto, except in the case of fraud or
intentional misrepresentation.
ARTICLE V
Representations
and Warranties of Parent and Merger Sub
Except as disclosed in the disclosure letter delivered by Parent
to the Company immediately prior to the execution of this
Agreement (the “Parent Disclosure Letter”),
each of Parent and Merger Sub hereby represents and warrants to
the Company as follows:
Section 5.1 Qualification;
Organization.
(a) Each of Parent and Merger Sub is a corporation or other
entity duly organized, validly existing and in good standing
under the Laws of its respective jurisdiction of organization.
Each of Parent and Merger Sub has all requisite corporate power
and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and
assets and to carry on its business as presently conducted.
(b) Each of Parent and Merger Sub is qualified to do
business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation in
each jurisdiction where the ownership, leasing or operation of
its assets or properties or conduct of its business requires
such qualification, except where the failure to be so qualified,
licensed or in good standing would not, individually or in the
aggregate, have or be reasonably expected to materially delay or
prevent the consummation of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement. The organizational or governing documents of
Parent and Merger Sub, are in full force and effect. Neither
Parent nor Merger Sub is in violation of its organizational or
governing documents. A true and correct copy of the
organizational or governing documents of Parent and Merger Sub
have previously been provided to the Company.
Section 5.2 Authority
Relative to This Agreement; No Violation.
(a) Each of Parent and Merger Sub has all requisite power
and authority to enter into this Agreement and to consummate the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement. The execution and
delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement have been duly and
validly authorized by the Board of Directors Parent and Merger
Sub and no other proceedings on the part of Parent or Merger Sub
are necessary to authorize the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby. This Agreement has been duly and validly
executed and delivered by Parent and Merger Sub and, assuming
this Agreement constitutes the valid and binding agreement of
the Company, this Agreement constitutes the valid and binding
agreement of Parent and Merger Sub, enforceable against each of
Parent and Merger Sub in accordance with its terms, subject to
the effects of bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance,
reorganization, moratorium and other similar Laws relating to or
affecting creditors’ rights generally, general equitable
principles (whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at
Law).
(b) Other than in connection with or in compliance with
(i) the provisions of the FBCA, (ii) the Exchange Act,
and (iii) the HSR Act (collectively, the “Parent
Approvals”), no authorization, consent or approval of,
or filing with, any Governmental Entity is necessary for the
consummation by Parent or Merger Sub of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
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(c) The execution and delivery by Parent and Merger Sub of
this Agreement does not, and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby and compliance with the
provisions hereof will not (i) result in any violation of,
or default (with or without notice or lapse of time, or both)
under, require consent under, or give rise to a right of
termination, cancellation or acceleration of any obligation or
to the loss of any benefit under any loan, guarantee of
indebtedness or credit agreement, note, bond, mortgage,
indenture, lease, agreement, Contract, instrument, permit,
concession, franchise, right or license binding upon Parent or
any of its Subsidiaries or result in the creation of any Lien
upon any of the properties or assets of Parent or any of its
Subsidiaries, (ii) conflict with or result in any violation
of any provision of the certificate of incorporation or by-laws
or other equivalent organizational document, in each case as
amended, of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries or
(iii) conflict with or violate any applicable Laws.
Section 5.3 Disclosure
Documents.
(a) The information with respect to Parent and any of its
Subsidiaries that Parent furnishes to the Company in writing
specifically for use in any Company Disclosure Document will not
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state
any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made
therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were
made, not misleading (i) in the case of the Company Proxy
Statement, as supplemented or amended, if applicable, at the
time such Company Proxy Statement or any amendment or supplement
thereto is first mailed to shareholders of the Company and at
the time such shareholders vote on approval of the Merger and at
the Effective Time, and (ii) in the case of any Company
Disclosure Document other than the Company Proxy Statement, at
the time of the filing of such Company Disclosure Document or
any supplement or amendment thereto and at the time of any
distribution or dissemination thereof.
(b) The Schedule TO, when filed, and the Offer
Documents, when distributed or disseminated, will comply as to
form in all material respects with the applicable requirements
of the Exchange Act and, at the time of such filing, at the time
of such distribution or dissemination and at the time of
consummation of the Offer, will not contain any untrue statement
of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary
to make the statements made therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
provided that the representations and warranties contained in
this Section 5.3(b) will not apply to statements or
omissions included in the Schedule TO and the Offer
Documents based upon information furnished in writing to Parent
or Merger Sub by the Company specifically for use therein.
Section 5.4 Available
Funds. Parent and Merger Sub, collectively,
have available to them, and as of the Effective Time will have
available to them, all funds necessary for the payment of the
aggregate Offer Price and sufficient for the satisfaction of all
of Parent’s and Merger Sub’s obligations under this
Agreement, and, in connection therewith, no portion of the
aggregate Offer Price will be financed with the proceeds from
indebtedness for borrowed funds (other than internal loans from
the Funds or any of their Affiliates to Parent or Merger Sub,
all of which are available as of the date hereof and will be
available at the Acceptance Time and the Effective Time). Parent
has received the executed Equity Commitment Letters, relating to
the commitment of the Funds to provide cash funds that, together
with the rollover commitments made in the Support Agreements,
are sufficient to permit each of Parent and Merger Sub to
fulfill its payment obligations under this Agreement, including
payment of the Offer Price in the Offer and the Merger and
related fees and expenses.
Section 5.5 Ownership
and Operations of Merger Sub. As of the date
of this Agreement, the authorized capital stock of Merger Sub
consists of 100 shares of common stock, par value $.01 per
share, all of which are validly issued and outstanding. All of
the issued and outstanding capital stock of Merger Sub is, and
at the Effective Time will be, owned by Parent or a direct or
indirect wholly owned Subsidiary of Parent. Neither Parent nor
Merger Sub has conducted any business other than incident to its
formation and in relation to this Agreement, the Merger and the
other transactions contemplated hereby and the financing of such
transactions.
Section 5.6 Finders
or Brokers. Except for Xxxxxxxx Inc., neither
Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries has engaged any investment
banker, broker or finder in connection with the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement who might be entitled to any fee
or any commission in connection with or upon consummation of the
Offer or the Merger or the other transactions contemplated
hereby.
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Section 5.7 Ownership
of Shares. Neither Parent nor Merger Sub, nor
any of their Affiliates, owns any Shares, beneficially, of
record or otherwise, as of the date hereof or at any time prior
to the time that is immediately prior to the Expiration Date.
Section 5.8 Certain
Arrangements. Other than the Support
Agreements, there are no Contracts between Parent or Merger Sub,
on the one hand, and any member of the Company’s management
or directors, on the other hand, as of the date hereof that
relate in any way to the Company or the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement. Prior to the Board approving
this Agreement, the Offer, the Merger and the other transactions
contemplated thereby for purposes of the applicable provisions
of the FBCA, neither Parent nor Merger Sub, alone or together
with any other person, was at any time, or became, an
“interested shareholder” thereunder or has taken any
action that would cause any anti-takeover statute under the FBCA
to be applicable to this Agreement, the Offer, the Merger, or
any transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
Section 5.9 Investigations;
Litigation. As of the date hereof, there are
no (i) investigations or proceedings pending or, to the
Knowledge of Parent or Merger Sub, threatened in writing by any
Governmental Entity with respect to the Parent or any of its
Subsidiaries, (ii) actions, suits or proceedings pending
or, to the Knowledge of Parent or Merger Sub, threatened in
writing against or affecting Parent or any of its Subsidiaries,
or any of their respective properties, at Law or in equity, or
(iii) orders, judgments or decrees of any Governmental
Entity against Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, which, in the
case of clauses (i), (ii) or (iii), individually or in the
aggregate, would or would be reasonably expected to prevent or
materially delay the consummation of the Offer or the Merger.
Section 5.10 No
Other Information. Parent and Merger Sub
acknowledge that the Company makes no representations or
warranties as to any matter whatsoever except as expressly set
forth in Article IV of this Agreement. The representations
and warranties set forth in Article IV of this Agreement
are made solely by the Company, and no Representative of the
Company shall have any responsibility or liability related or
with respect thereto, except in the case of fraud or intentional
misrepresentation.
Section 5.11 Access
to Information; Disclaimer. Parent and Merger
Sub each acknowledges and agrees that it (a) has had an
opportunity to discuss the business and affairs of the Company
and its Subsidiaries with the management of the Company,
(b) has had reasonable access to (i) the books and
records of the Company and its Subsidiaries and (ii) the
electronic dataroom maintained by the Company for purposes of
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (c) has
been afforded the opportunity to ask questions of and receive
answers from officers of the Company and (d) has conducted
its own independent investigation of the Company and its
Subsidiaries, their respective businesses and the transactions
contemplated hereby, and has not relied on any representation,
warranty or other statement by any Person on behalf of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries, other than the
representations and warranties of the Company expressly
contained in Article IV of this Agreement and that all
other representations and warranties are specifically disclaimed.
ARTICLE VI
Covenants
and Agreements
Section 6.1 Conduct
of Business.
(a) From and after the date hereof and prior to the earlier
of the Board Appointment Date and the date, if any, on which
this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 8.1 (the
“Termination Date”, such time period, the
“Interim Period”), and except (i) as may
be otherwise required by applicable Law, (ii) with the
prior written consent of Parent (not to be unreasonably
withheld, conditioned or delayed), (iii) as expressly
contemplated or permitted by this Agreement or (iv) as
disclosed in Section 6.1 of the Company Disclosure Letter,
the Company shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to
(1) conduct its business in all material respects in the
ordinary course consistent with past practices, and (2) use
commercially reasonable best efforts to maintain and preserve
intact its business organization and advantageous business
relationships and to retain the services of its key officers and
key employees in each case, in all material respects;
provided, however, that no action by the Company
or its Subsidiaries with respect to matters specifically
addressed by any provision of Section 6.1(b) shall be
deemed a breach of this sentence unless such action constitutes
a breach of such provision of Section 6.1(b).
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(b) The Company agrees with Parent that during the Interim
Period, except as set forth in Section 6.1(b) of the
Company Disclosure Letter or as otherwise expressly contemplated
or expressly permitted by this Agreement, the Company shall not,
and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, without the
prior written consent of Parent (not to be unreasonably
withheld, conditioned or delayed):
(i) adjust, split, combine or reclassify any capital stock
or otherwise amend the terms of its capital stock;
(ii) make, declare, set aside, establish a record date for,
or pay any dividend, or make any other distribution on (whether
payable in cash, stock, property or a combination thereof), or
directly or indirectly redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire,
pledge or encumber, any shares of its capital stock or any
securities or obligations convertible (whether currently
convertible or convertible only after the passage of time or the
occurrence of certain events) into or exchangeable for any
shares of its capital stock, except in connection with cashless
exercises or similar transactions pursuant to the exercise of
stock options or settlement of other awards or obligations
outstanding as of the date hereof (or permitted hereunder to be
granted after the date hereof); provided that this
Section 6.1(b)(ii) shall not apply to dividends or
distributions paid in cash by Subsidiaries to the Company or to
dividends or distributions made to the Company or its wholly
owned Subsidiaries;
(iii) issue or sell any additional shares of capital stock
or other equity interests, any securities convertible into, or
any rights, warrants or options to acquire, any such shares of
capital stock or other equity interests, except pursuant to the
exercise of stock options or settlement of other awards
outstanding as of the date hereof (or permitted hereunder to be
granted after the date hereof) and in accordance with the terms
of such instruments.
(iv) purchase, sell, transfer, license, assign, mortgage,
encumber, abandon, fail to maintain or otherwise dispose of any
properties or assets having a value in excess of $100,000 in the
aggregate (other than sales of inventory or non-exclusive
licenses of Intellectual Property, or commodity, purchase, sale
or hedging agreements, in each case in the ordinary course of
business);
(v) make any capital expenditures (or authorize or commit
to make any capital expenditures) that are not contemplated by
the capital expenditure budget set forth in
Section 6.1(b)(v) of the Company Disclosure Letter, having
an aggregate value in excess of $250,000 for any twelve
(12) consecutive month period;
(vi) incur, create, assume or otherwise become liable for,
any indebtedness for borrowed money (including the issuance of
any debt security and the assumption or guarantee or the
obligations of any Person), in each case in an amount in excess
of $100,000 in the aggregate;
(vii) make any investment in excess of $100,000 in the
aggregate, whether by purchase of stock or securities,
contributions to capital, property transfers, or entering into
binding agreements with respect to any such investment or
acquisition;
(viii) make any acquisition of any interest in another
Person or business or division or assets thereof for
consideration in excess of $100,000 in the aggregate, whether by
purchase of stock or securities, contributions to capital,
property transfers, or entering into binding agreements with
respect to any such investment or acquisition;
(ix) except to the extent required by Law or by Contracts
in existence as of the date hereof that have been disclosed or
made available to Parent or by the Company Benefit Plans, in
accordance with the 2009 budget previously provided to Parent or
in the ordinary course of business consistent with past
practice, (A) grant or announce any incentive awards or
increase the salaries, bonuses or other compensation and
benefits payable by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to
any current or former employees, officers, directors or
consultants of the Company or any such Subsidiary, (B) hire
any new employees, unless such hiring is in the ordinary course
of business consistent with past practice and is with respect to
employees having an annual base salary and incentive
compensation opportunity not to exceed $120,000, (C) pay or
agree to pay any pension, retirement, termination or severance
pay, bonus or other employee benefit not required by any
existing Company Benefit Plan or other agreement or arrangement
in effect on the date of this Agreement to any employee,
officer, director or consultant of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, (D) enter into or amend any employment,
consulting, bonus, severance, retention, retirement or similar
agreement, except for agreements for (x) newly
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hired employees in the ordinary course of business consistent
with past practice with an annual base salary and incentive
compensation opportunity not to exceed $120,000 or
(y) promoted employees in the ordinary course of business
consistent with past practice, (E) amend or adopt any
compensation or benefit plan, program, agreement or arrangement
including any pension, retirement, profit-sharing, bonus or
other employee benefit or welfare benefit plan (other than any
such adoption or amendment that does not increase the cost to
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of maintaining the
applicable compensation or benefit plan) with or for the benefit
current or former employees, officers, directors or consultants
of the Company or any such Subsidiary, or (F) accelerate
the vesting of, or the lapsing of restrictions with respect to,
any stock options or other stock-based compensation;
(x) compromise, settle or agree to settle any pending or
threatened suit, action, claim, obligation, proceeding or
investigation (including any suit, action, claim, proceeding or
investigation relating to this Agreement or the transactions
contemplated hereby), or consent to the same, other than
compromises, settlements or agreements in the ordinary course of
business consistent with past practice that involve only the
payment of monetary damages not in excess of $250,000 in the
aggregate;
(xi) amend, change or waive any provision of its Articles
of Incorporation or its By-laws or other equivalent
organizational documents or, in the case of the Company, enter
into any agreement with any of its shareholders in their
capacity as such;
(xii) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation,
dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring,
recapitalization or other reorganization of such entity (other
than among wholly owned Subsidiaries);
(xiii) implement or adopt any material change in its
financial accounting principles, practices or methods, other
than as required by GAAP, applicable Law or regulatory
guidelines;
(xiv) grant any Lien on any of its assets;
(xv) enter into any new line of business outside of its
existing business segments;
(xvi) make, change or rescind any material Tax election,
change an annual accounting period for Tax purposes, adopt or
change any accounting method for Tax purposes, file an amendment
to any material Tax Return, enter into any closing agreement,
settle or compromise any material Tax claim or assessment
relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, consent to
any extension or waiver of the limitation period applicable to
any material Tax claim or assessment relating to the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries, or take any similar action, if such
election, adoption, change, amendment, agreement, settlement,
consent or other action would have the effect of materially
increasing the Tax liability of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries or materially decreasing any Tax attribute of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries (except to the extent that
any such election, adoption, change, amendment, agreement,
settlement, consent or other action or omission is required by
Law);
(xvii) take any action intended to result in any of the
conditions to the offer set forth on Annex A or to the
Merger set forth in Article VII not being satisfied or
intended to prevent, delay or impair the ability of the Company
to consummate the Merger; or
(xviii) agree to take, make any commitment to take, enter
into any letter of intent or agreement in principle with respect
to or adopt any resolutions of its Board of Directors in support
of, any of the actions prohibited by this Section 6.1(b).
(c) From and after the date hereof and prior to the earlier
of the Board Appointment Date or the Termination Date, and
except (i) as may be otherwise required by applicable Law,
or (ii) as expressly contemplated or permitted by this
Agreement, Parent and Merger Sub shall take no action which is
intended to or which would reasonably be expected to adversely
affect or delay the ability of any of the parties hereto from
obtaining any necessary approvals of any regulatory agency or
other Governmental Entity required for the transactions
contemplated hereby, performing its covenants and agreements
under this Agreement or consummating the transactions
contemplated hereby or otherwise delay or prohibit consummation
of Offer, the Merger or other transactions contemplated hereby.
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Section 6.2 Solicitation.
(a) Subject to Section 6.2(b), (c) and (d), from
the date hereof until the earlier of the Board Appointment Date
or the Termination Date, the Company agrees that neither it nor
any Subsidiary of the Company shall, and that it shall direct
its respective officers, directors, employees, agents, advisors,
Affiliates and other representatives (in each case, acting in
their capacity as such (“
Representatives”) not
to, directly or indirectly, (i) initiate, solicit, propose,
encourage or knowingly facilitate (including by providing
information) any inquiries, proposals or offers with respect to,
or the making or completion of, an Alternative Proposal or offer
that would reasonably be expected to lead to an Alternative
Proposal, (ii) engage, continue or participate in any
negotiations concerning, or provide or cause to be provided any
non-public information or data relating to the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries in connection with, or have any discussions
(other than to state that they are not permitted to have
discussions) with any person relating to, an actual or proposed
Alternative Proposal or offer that would reasonably be expected
to lead to an Alternative Proposal, or otherwise knowingly
facilitate any effort or attempt to make or implement an
Alternative Proposal or offer that would reasonably be expected
to lead to an Alternative Proposal, (iii) to the extent
permitted by applicable Law, grant any waiver, amendment or
release under any standstill or confidentiality agreement or
Takeover Statutes, or otherwise knowingly facilitate any effort
or attempt by any person to make an Alternative Proposal
(including providing consent or authorization to make an
Alternative Proposal to any officer or employee of the Company
or to the Board (or any member thereof) pursuant to any Existing
Confidentiality Agreement), (iv) approve, endorse or
recommend, or propose to approve, endorse or recommend, or
execute or enter into, any letter of intent, agreement in
principle,
merger agreement, acquisition agreement, option
agreement or other similar agreement relating to any Alternative
Proposal or offer that would reasonably be expected to lead to
an Alternative Proposal, or (vi) resolve to propose or
agree to do any of the foregoing;
provided,
however, it is understood and agreed that any
determination or action by the Board expressly permitted under
the terms and conditions of Section 6.2(b), (c) or
(d), or Section 8.1(c)(ii), shall not be deemed to be a
breach or violation of this Section 6.2(a). Subject to
Section 6.2(b), (c) and (d), from and after the date
hereof, the Company shall, shall cause each of its Subsidiaries
to, and shall direct each of its Representatives to, immediately
cease any solicitations, discussions or negotiations with any
Person (other than the parties hereto) that has made or
indicated an intention to make an Alternative Proposal, in each
case that exist as of the date hereof.
(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in
Section 6.2(a), at any time prior to the earlier of the
Acceptance Time or the Company Shareholder Approval, the Company
may, in response to an unsolicited Alternative Proposal which
did not result from or arise in connection with a knowing or
intentional breach of Section 6.2(a) and which the Board
determines, in good faith, (i) after consultation with
outside legal counsel that failure to take such action would be
inconsistent with the directors’ fiduciary duties under
applicable Laws, and (ii) after consultation with its
outside counsel and financial advisors, constitutes or would
reasonably be expected to lead to a Superior Proposal,
(x) furnish non-public information with respect to the
Company and its Subsidiaries to the person making such
Alternative Proposal and its Representatives pursuant to one or
more customary confidentiality agreements with standstill
provisions identical in all substantive respects and otherwise
not materially less favorable in the aggregate to the Company
than the Confidentiality Agreement, and (y) participate in
discussions or negotiations with such person and its
Representatives regarding such Alternative Proposal;
provided that the Company shall have complied with the
terms and conditions of Section 6.2 including this
Section 6.2(b) and shall substantially concurrently make
available to Parent any non-public information concerning the
Company and its Subsidiaries that is provided to any person
making such Alternative Proposal and that was not previously
made available to Parent.
(c) Neither the Board of Directors of the Company nor any
committee thereof shall (i) withhold, withdraw (or not
continue to make), qualify or modify in a manner adverse to
Parent or Merger Sub, or publicly propose to withhold, withdraw
(or not continue to make), qualify or modify in a manner adverse
to Parent or Merger Sub, the Recommendation, (ii) adopt,
approve or recommend, or publicly propose to adopt, approve,
endorse or recommend, any Alternative Proposal,
(iii) subject to Section 6.2(d), fail to publicly
recommend against any Alternative Proposal (other than an
Alternative Proposal described in clause (iv) below for
which the Company shall have 10 Business Days) or (y) fail
to publicly reaffirm the Recommendation, in each case of
(x) and (y) within two (2) Business Days after
Parent so requests in writing; provided that Parent may
make such request no more than two (2) times,
(iv) subject to Section 6.2(d), fail to recommend
against any Alternative Proposal subject to
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Regulation 14D under the Exchange Act in a
Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on
Schedule 14D-9
within ten (10) Business Days after the commencement of
such Alternative Proposal, (iv) fail to include the
Recommendation in the Offer Documents, (v) enter into any
letter of intent, memorandum of understanding or similar
document or Contract relating to any Alternative Proposal (other
than any confidentiality agreement entered into in accordance
with Section 6.2(b)) or (vi) take any other action or
make any other public statement that is inconsistent with the
Recommendation (any action described in clauses (i) through
(vi), an “Adverse Recommendation Change”);
provided that the Company may terminate this Agreement in
accordance with Section 8.1(c)(ii). Notwithstanding the
foregoing, but subject to Section 8.3(a), if, prior to the
earlier of the Acceptance Time or the Company Shareholder
Approval, the Board determines in good faith after consultation
with its outside legal counsel and financial advisors that
failure to make an Adverse Recommendation Change would be
inconsistent with the Board’s exercise of its fiduciary
duties, the Board or any committee thereof may make an Adverse
Recommendation Change.
(d) Nothing contained in this Agreement shall prohibit the
Company or the Board from (i) disclosing to its
shareholders a position contemplated by
Rules 14d-9
and 14e-2(a)
promulgated under the Exchange Act or making any required
disclosure to the Company’s shareholders if, in the good
faith judgment of the Board, after consultation with its outside
counsel, failure to disclose such information would reasonably
be expected to violate its obligations under applicable Law;
provided that any such disclosure (other than a
“stop-look-and-listen” communication or similar
communication of the type contemplated by
Rule 14d-9(f)
under the Exchange Act) shall be deemed to be a Adverse
Recommendation Change unless the Company Board expressly
publicly reaffirms the Recommendation within two
(2) Business Days following a written request by Parent, or
(ii) making any “stop-look-and-listen”
communication or similar communication of the type contemplated
by
Rule 14d-9(f)
under the Exchange Act.
(e) From and after the date hereof until the earlier of the
Board Appointment Date or the Termination Date, the Company
shall promptly advise Parent orally (and in any event within
48 hours) and subsequently in writing of (x) any
Alternative Proposal, (y) any request for non-public
information relating to the Company or its Subsidiaries, other
than requests for information not reasonably expected to be
related to an Alternative Proposal, and (z) any inquiry or
request for discussion or negotiation regarding an Alternative
Proposal, including in each case the identity of the person
making any such Alternative Proposal or indication or inquiry
and the material terms of any such Alternative Proposal or
indication or inquiry (including, if applicable, copies of any
written requests, proposals or offers, including proposed
agreements). The Company shall keep Parent reasonably informed
on a reasonably current basis of the status and terms (including
any material changes to the terms thereof) of any such
Alternative Proposal or indication or inquiry (including, if
applicable, any revised copies of any written requests,
proposals or offers) and the status of any such discussions or
negotiations, including any change in the Company’s
intentions as previously stated.
(f) The approval of the Board for purposes of causing any
Takeover Statute to be inapplicable to the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement shall be irrevocable and no
Adverse Recommendation Change shall change the approval of the
Board for purposes of causing any Takeover Statute to be
inapplicable to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
To the extent Parent
and/or the
Company believes that there has been a breach of the standstill
provisions of any Existing Confidentiality Agreement by the
counterparty thereto or receives written notice of an
anticipated breach of such standstill provisions, the Company
shall take all necessary actions to enforce such Existing
Confidentiality Agreement.
(g) As used in this Agreement, “Alternative
Proposal” shall mean any inquiry, proposal or offer
from any Person or group of Persons other than Parent or one of
its Subsidiaries for (i) a merger, reorganization,
consolidation, sale of assets, share exchange, business
combination, joint venture, recapitalization, liquidation,
dissolution or similar transaction involving an acquisition of
the Company (or any Subsidiary or Subsidiaries of the Company
whose business constitutes 20% or more of the net revenues, net
income or assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a
whole), (ii) the acquisition in any manner, directly or
indirectly, of over 20% of the equity securities (by vote or
value) or consolidated total assets of the Company and its
Subsidiaries, in each case other than the Merger, or
(iii) the acquisition (whether by merger, consolidation,
equity investment, share exchange, joint venture or otherwise)
by any third party, directly or indirectly, of any entity that
holds assets representing, directly or indirectly, 20% or more
of the net revenues, net income or assets of the Company and
Subsidiaries of the Company, taken as a whole, (iv) any
tender offer or exchange offer, as such terms are defined under
the Exchange Act, that, if
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consummated, would result in any third party beneficially owning
20% or more of the outstanding Shares and any other voting
securities of the Company, or (v) any combination of the
foregoing.
(h) As used in this Agreement, “Superior
Proposal” shall mean any bona fide written Alternative
Proposal on terms which the Board determines in good faith,
after consultation with the Company’s outside legal counsel
and financial advisors, to be more favorable from a financial
point of view to the holders of Shares than the transactions
provided for in this Agreement (after taking into account the
expected timing and risk of consummation), taking into account,
among other things, all the terms, conditions, impact and all
legal, financing and regulatory aspects, shareholder litigation,
break up fee and expense reimbursement provisions and other
events or circumstances beyond the control of the party invoking
the condition of such proposal (in each case taking into account
any revisions to this Agreement made or proposed in writing by
Parent prior to the time of determination); provided that
for purposes of the definition of “Superior Proposal,”
the references to “20%” in the definition of
Alternative Proposal shall be deemed to be references to
“50%.”
(i) The Company agrees that in the event any Company
Representative acting on behalf of the Company takes any action
which, if taken by the Company, would constitute a breach of
this Section 6.2, then the Company shall be deemed to be in
breach of this Section 6.2 for all purposes of this
Agreement.
Section 6.3 Filings;
Other Actions.
(a) As promptly as reasonably practicable after
consummation of the Offer, if required, the Company shall
prepare and file with the SEC the Company Proxy Statement, and
Parent and the Company shall cooperate with each other in
connection with the preparation of the Company Proxy Statement.
The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to have the
Company Proxy Statement cleared by the staff of the SEC as
promptly as reasonably practicable after such filing. The
Company will use its reasonable best efforts to cause the
Company Proxy Statement to be mailed to the Company’s
shareholders as promptly as reasonably practicable after the
Company Proxy Statement is cleared by the staff of the SEC. The
Company shall as promptly as reasonably practicable notify
Parent of the receipt of any oral or written comments from the
staff of the SEC relating to the Company Proxy Statement. The
Company shall cooperate and provide Parent with a reasonable
opportunity to review and comment on (i) the draft of the
Company Proxy Statement (including each amendment or supplement
thereto) and (ii) all written responses to requests for
additional information by and replies to written comments of the
staff of the SEC, prior to filing of the Company Proxy Statement
with or sending such to the SEC, and the Company will provide to
Parent copies of all such filings made and correspondence with
the SEC or its staff with respect thereto. Concurrently with the
preparation and filing of the Company Proxy Statement, the
Parties shall jointly prepare and file with the SEC the
Schedule 13E-3
with respect to the Merger. The Parties shall cooperate and
consult with each other in preparation of the
Schedule 13E-3,
including, without limitation, furnishing to the others the
information relating to it required by the Exchange Act to be
set forth in the
Schedule 13E-3.
Each Party shall use its reasonable best efforts to resolve all
SEC comments with respect to the
Schedule 13E-3
and any other required filings as promptly as practicable after
receipt thereof. Each Party agrees to promptly correct any
information provided by it for use in the
Schedule 13E-3
which shall have become false or misleading. If at any time
prior to the Effective Time, any information should be
discovered by any party hereto which should be set forth in an
amendment or supplement to the Company Proxy Statement or
Schedule 13E-3
so that the Company Proxy Statement or
Schedule 13E-3
would not include any misstatement of a material fact or omit to
state any material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, the
party which discovers such information shall promptly notify the
other parties hereto and, to the extent required by applicable
Law, an appropriate amendment or supplement describing such
information shall be promptly filed by the Company with the SEC
and disseminated by the Company to the shareholders of the
Company; provided, however, that prior to such
filing, the Company and Parent as the case may be, shall consult
with the other Party with respect to such amendment or
supplement and shall afford the other Party and their
Representatives reasonable opportunity to comment thereon.
(b) If, at any time following the Acceptance Time, Parent,
Merger Sub and any other Subsidiary of Parent shall collectively
own at least 80% of the outstanding Shares, the parties shall
take all necessary and appropriate action to cause the Merger to
be effected as soon as practicable without a meeting of
shareholders of the Company in accordance with
Section 607-1104
of
Florida Law (such actions, the “
Requisite
Short-Form Merger”).
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(c) Subject to the other provisions of this Agreement, if a
shareholder vote is required for consummation of the Merger, the
Company shall take all action necessary in accordance with the
FBCA and the Articles of Incorporation and the by-laws of the
Company (the “By-laws”) to duly call, give
notice of, convene and hold a meeting of its shareholders as
promptly as reasonably practicable after consummation of the
Offer to consider and vote upon the adoption and approval of
this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby (such
meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, the
“Company Meeting”). At the Company Meeting,
(i) Parent and its Subsidiaries will vote all Shares owned
by them or as to which they have been granted a proxy in favor
of approval and adoption of this Agreement, and (ii) Parent
and the Company will use reasonable best efforts to solicit from
its shareholders proxies in favor of the approval of this
Agreement, the Merger and the other transactions contemplated
hereby, and (iii) the Company will be entitled to adjourn
or postpone the Company Shareholders Meeting one (1) time
(and will postpone or adjourn the Company Shareholders Meeting
one (1) time at the written request of Parent), provided
that any such adjournment or postponement shall be no longer
than 30 days after the originally scheduled meeting date.
Section 6.4 Efforts.
(a) Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this
Agreement, each of the parties hereto shall use its reasonable
best efforts to take, or to cause to be taken, all actions, to
file, or cause to be filed, all documents and to do, or to cause
to be done, and to assist and to cooperate with the other
parties in doing, all things necessary, proper or advisable to
consummate and make effective, as promptly as practicable, the
Offer and Merger and the other transactions contemplated hereby,
including (i) the obtaining of all necessary actions or
nonactions, waivers, consents, clearances, approvals, and
expirations or terminations of waiting periods, including the
Company Approvals and the Parent Approvals, from Governmental
Entities and the making of all necessary registrations and
filings and the taking of all steps as may be necessary to
obtain an approval, clearance, or waiver from, or to avoid an
action or proceeding by, any Governmental Entity, (ii) the
obtaining of all necessary consents, approvals or waivers from
third parties, (iii) the giving of notice, if required,
under real property leases, (iv) the defending of any
lawsuits or other legal proceedings, whether judicial or
administrative, challenging this Agreement or the consummation
of the Offer or the Merger and the other transactions
contemplated hereby and (v) the execution and delivery of
any additional instruments reasonably necessary to consummate
the transactions contemplated hereby; provided,
however, that in no event shall the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries be required to pay prior to the Board Appointment
Date any fee, penalties or other consideration to any third
party to obtain any consent or approval required for the
consummation of the Offer or the Merger. No party hereto shall
take any action that would reasonably be expected to prevent or
materially delay or impede the receipt of any necessary actions
or nonactions, waivers, consents, clearances, approvals, and
expirations or terminations of waiting periods, including the
Company Approvals and the Parent Approvals, from Governmental
Entities.
(b) Subject to the terms and conditions herein provided and
without limiting the foregoing, the Company and Parent shall
(i) promptly, but in no event later than 5:30 p.m.
Eastern Daylight Savings time on July 28, 2009, file any
and all Notification and Report Forms required under the HSR Act
with respect to the Offer, the Merger and the other transactions
contemplated hereby, and use reasonable best efforts to cause
the expiration or termination of any applicable waiting periods
under the HSR Act, (ii) use reasonable best efforts to
cooperate with each other in (x) determining whether any
filings are required to be made with, or consents, permits,
authorizations, waivers, clearances, approvals, and expirations
or terminations of waiting periods are required to be obtained
from, any third parties or other Governmental Entities in
connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement and
the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and
(y) timely making all such filings and timely obtaining all
such consents, permits, authorizations or approvals,
(iii) supply to any Governmental Entity as promptly as
practicable any additional information or documentary material
that may be requested pursuant to any Regulatory Law or by such
Governmental Entity, and (iv) use reasonable best efforts
to take, or cause to be taken, all other actions and do, or
cause to be done, all other things necessary, proper or
advisable to consummate and make effective the Offer, the Merger
and the other transactions contemplated hereby.
(c) Each of Parent and the Company shall, upon request by
the other, furnish the other with all information concerning
itself, its Subsidiaries, directors, officers and stockholders
and such other matters as may be reasonably necessary or
advisable in connection with any statement, filing, notice or
application made by or on behalf of Parent, the Company or any
of their respective Subsidiaries to any third party
and/or any
Governmental Entity in
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connection with the Merger and the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement. Subject to applicable legal limitations and the
instructions of any Governmental Entity, the Company and Parent
shall keep each other apprised of the status of matters relating
to the completion of the Offer, the Merger and the other
transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including promptly
furnishing the other with copies of notices or other
communications received by the Company or Parent, as the case
may be, or any of their respective Subsidiaries or Affiliates,
from any third party
and/or any
Governmental Entity with respect to such Merger or transactions.
The Company and Parent shall permit counsel for the other party
reasonable opportunity to review in advance, and consider in
good faith the views of the other party in connection with, any
proposed written communication to any Governmental Entity. Each
of the Company and Parent agrees not to participate in any
substantive meeting or discussion, either in person or by
telephone, with any Governmental Entity in connection with the
proposed transactions unless it consults with the other party in
advance and, to the extent not prohibited by such Governmental
Entity, gives the other party the opportunity to attend and
participate.
(d) In furtherance and not in limitation of the covenants
of the parties contained in this Section 6.4, if any
administrative or judicial action or proceeding, including any
proceeding by a private party, is instituted (or threatened to
be instituted) challenging the Offer, the Merger or any other
transaction contemplated by this Agreement as violative of any
Regulatory Law, each of the Company and Parent shall cooperate
in all respects with each other and shall use its respective
reasonable best efforts to contest and resist any such action or
proceeding and to have vacated, lifted, reversed or overturned
any decree, judgment, injunction or other order, whether
temporary, preliminary or permanent, that is in effect and that
prohibits, prevents or restricts consummation of the Offer, the
Merger or any other transaction contemplated hereby.
(e) For purposes of this Agreement, “Regulatory
Law” means any and all state, federal and foreign
statutes, rules, regulations, orders, decrees, administrative
and judicial doctrines and other Laws requiring notice to,
filings with, or the consent, clearance or approval of, any
Governmental Entity, or that otherwise may cause any
restriction, in connection with the Offer, the Merger and the
transactions contemplated thereby, including (i) the
Xxxxxxx Act of 1890, the Xxxxxxx Antitrust Act of 1914, the HSR
Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 and all other Laws
that are designed or intended to prohibit, restrict or regulate
actions having the purpose or effect of monopolization or
restraint of trade or lessening competition through merger or
acquisition, (ii) any Law governing the direct or indirect
ownership or control of any of the operations or assets of the
Company and its Subsidiaries or (iii) any Law with the
purpose of protecting the national security or the national
economy of any nation.
Section 6.5 Takeover
Statute. If any “fair price,”
“moratorium,” “business combination,”
“control share acquisition” or other form of
anti-takeover statute or regulation shall become applicable to
the Offer, the Merger, the
Top-Up
Option or the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement
after the date of this Agreement, each of the Company and Parent
and the members of their respective Boards of Directors shall
grant such approvals and take such actions as are reasonably
necessary so that the Offer, the Merger and the other
transactions contemplated hereby may be consummated as promptly
as practicable on the terms contemplated herein and otherwise
act to eliminate if possible, and otherwise to minimize, the
effects of such statute or regulation on the Offer, the Merger,
the Top-Up
Option and the other transactions contemplated hereby.
Section 6.6 Public
Announcements. Until the Board Appointment
Date, the Company and Parent will consult with and provide each
other the reasonable opportunity to review and comment upon any
press release or other public statement or comment prior to the
issuance of such press release or other public statement or
comment relating to this Agreement or the transactions
contemplated herein and shall not issue any such press release
or other public statement or comment prior to such consultation
except as may be required by applicable Law or by obligations
pursuant to any listing agreement with any national securities
exchange. Parent and the Company agree that the press release
announcing the execution and delivery of this Agreement shall be
a joint release of Parent and the Company.
Section 6.7 Indemnification
and Insurance.
(a) Parent and Merger Sub agree that all rights to
exculpation, indemnification and advancement of expenses for
acts or omissions occurring at or prior to the Effective Time,
whether asserted or claimed prior to, at or after the Effective
Time, now existing in favor of the current or former directors,
officers or employees, as the case may be, of the Company or its
Subsidiaries as provided in their respective certificates of
incorporation or by-laws or other
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organization documents or in any agreement shall survive the
Offer or the Merger and shall continue in full force and effect.
Parent and the Surviving Corporation shall maintain in effect
any and all exculpation, indemnification and advancement of
expenses provisions of the Company’s and any of its
Subsidiaries’ articles of incorporation and by-laws or
similar organization documents in effect immediately prior to
the Effective Time or in any indemnification agreements of the
Company or its Subsidiaries with any of their respective current
or former directors, officers or employees in effect as of the
date hereof, and shall not for a period of six (6) years
from the Closing Date amend, repeal or otherwise modify any such
provisions in any manner that would adversely affect the rights
thereunder of any individuals who at the Effective Time were
current or former directors, officers or employees of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries and all rights to
indemnification in respect of any Action pending or asserted or
any claim made within such period shall continue until the
disposition of such Action or resolution of such claim.
(b) From and after the Board Appointment Date, each of
Parent and the Surviving Corporation shall, to the fullest
extent permitted under applicable Law, indemnify and hold
harmless (and advance funds in respect of each of the foregoing)
each current and former director or officer of the Company or
any of its Subsidiaries (each, together with such person’s
heirs, executors or administrators, an “Indemnified
Party”) against any costs or expenses (including
advancing reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses in
advance of the final disposition of any claim, suit, proceeding
or investigation to each Indemnified Party to the fullest extent
permitted by Law), judgments, fines, losses, claims, damages,
liabilities and amounts paid in settlement in connection with
any actual or threatened claim, action, suit, proceeding or
investigation, whether civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative (an “Action”), arising out of,
relating to or in connection with any Action or omission
occurring or alleged to have occurred whether before or after
the Board Appointment Date in connection with such Indemnified
Party serving as an officer, director, employee or other
fiduciary of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any
entity if such service was at the request or for the benefit of
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(c) For a period of six (6) years from the Board
Appointment Date, Parent shall either cause to be maintained in
effect the current policies of directors’ and
officers’ liability insurance and fiduciary liability
insurance maintained by the Company and its Subsidiaries or
provide substitute policies or purchase or cause the Surviving
Corporation to purchase a “tail policy,” in either
case of at least the same coverage and amounts containing terms
and conditions that are not less advantageous in the aggregate
than such policy with respect to matters arising on or before
the Board Appointment Date; provided, however,
that after the Board Appointment Date, Parent shall not be
required to pay with respect to such insurance policies in
respect of any one policy year annual premiums in excess of 250%
of the last annual premium paid by the Company prior to the date
hereof in respect of the coverage required to be obtained
pursuant hereto, but in such case shall purchase as much
coverage as reasonably practicable for such amount;
provided, further, that if the Surviving
Corporation is unable to obtain the insurance otherwise required
by this Section 6.7(c), it shall purchase the maximum
amount of coverage that can be obtained for 250% of such last
annual premium, in respect of each policy year within such
period. At the Company’s option, the Company may purchase
prior to the Board Appointment Date, a six-year prepaid
“tail policy” on terms and conditions providing
substantially equivalent benefits as the current policies of
directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and
fiduciary liability insurance maintained by the Company and its
Subsidiaries with respect to matters arising on or before the
Board Appointment Date, covering without limitation the
transactions contemplated hereby. If such tail prepaid policy
has been obtained by the Company prior to the Board Appointment
Date, Parent shall cause such policy to be maintained in full
force and effect, for its full term, and cause all obligations
thereunder to be honored by the Surviving Corporation.
(d) The rights of each Indemnified Party hereunder shall be
in addition to, and not in limitation of, any other rights such
Indemnified Party may have under the Articles of Incorporation,
the By-laws or other similar organization documents of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries or the Surviving Corporation,
any other indemnification agreement or arrangement, the FBCA or
otherwise (it being agreed that no such document may be amended
after the Board Appointment Date in any manner that adversely
affects the rights of any Indemnified Person). The provisions of
this Section 6.7 shall survive the consummation of the
Offer or the Merger and, notwithstanding any other provision of
this Agreement that may be to the contrary, expressly are
intended to benefit, and are enforceable by, each of the
Indemnified Parties and their heirs and legal representatives.
(e) In the event Parent, the Surviving Corporation or any
of their respective successors or assigns (i) consolidates
with or merges into any other Person and shall not be the
continuing or Surviving Corporation or entity in
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such consolidation or merger or (ii) transfers 50% or more
of its properties and assets to any person, then, and in either
such case, proper provision shall be made so that the successors
and assigns of Parent or the Surviving Corporation, as the case
may be, shall assume all of the obligations set forth in this
Section 6.7. The agreements and covenants contained herein
shall not be deemed to be exclusive of any other rights to which
any Indemnified Party is entitled, whether pursuant to Law,
Contract or otherwise. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to,
shall be construed to or shall release, waive or impair any
rights to directors’ and officers’ insurance claims
under any policy that is or has been in existence with respect
to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or their respective
officers, directors and employees, it being understood and
agreed that the indemnification provided for in this
Section 6.7 is not prior to, or in substitution for, any
such claims under any such policies.
Section 6.8 Access;
Confidentiality. The Company shall afford to
Parent, and to Parent’s Representatives, access during
normal business hours and on reasonable notice during the
Interim Period to all of its and its Subsidiaries’
properties, Contracts, books and records and to those officers,
employees and agents of the Company to whom Parent reasonably
requests access, and, during such period, the Company shall
furnish, as promptly as practicable, to Parent all information
concerning its and its Subsidiaries’ business, properties,
Contracts, assets, liabilities, personnel and financial
information and other aspects of the Company and its
Subsidiaries as Parent may reasonably request. Except for
disclosures expressly permitted by the terms of the
Confidentiality Agreement, Parent shall hold, and shall cause
its Representatives to hold, all information received from the
Company or its Representatives, directly or indirectly, in
confidence in accordance with the Confidentiality Agreement.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Person shall be required by
this Section 6.8 to provide any other party or such
party’s representatives with any information that such
party reasonably believes it may not provide to any other party
by reason of applicable Law which constitutes information
protected by attorney/client privilege; provided that the
Company shall take reasonable steps to permit inspection of or
to disclose non-privileged information on a basis that does not
compromise such privilege. For purposes of the Confidentiality
Agreement, the execution of this Agreement by the Company shall
constitute written consent by the Company to Parent, Merger, Sub
and their Representatives to take all actions permitted or
contemplated by this Agreement including, but not limited to,
Section 8.1(c)(ii).
Section 6.9 Notification
of Certain Matters. The Company shall give
prompt notice to Parent, and Parent and Merger Sub shall give
prompt notice to the Company, of (i) any notice or other
communication received by such party from any Governmental
Entity in connection with the Offer or Merger or the other
transactions contemplated hereby or from any person alleging
that the consent of such person is or may be required in
connection with the Offer or the Merger or the other
transactions contemplated hereby, if the subject matter of such
communication or the failure of such party to obtain such
consent could be material to the Company, the Surviving
Corporation or Parent, (ii) any actions, suits, claims,
investigations or proceedings commenced or, to such party’s
Knowledge, threatened against, relating to or involving or
otherwise affecting such party or any of its Subsidiaries which
relate to the Offer, the Merger or the other transactions
contemplated hereby, or (iii) the occurrence, or
non-occurrence, of any event that, individually or in the
aggregate, would reasonably be expected to cause any condition
to the obligations of any Party to effect the Merger or any of
the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement not to be
satisfied. The parties agree and acknowledge that the
Company’s compliance or failure of compliance with this
Section 6.9 shall not be taken into account for purposes of
determining whether the condition referred to in
Paragraph D of Annex A shall have been satisfied.
Section 6.10 Rule 16b-3. Prior
to the Effective Time, the Company shall be permitted to take
such steps as may be reasonably necessary or advisable hereto to
cause dispositions of Company equity securities (including
derivative securities) pursuant to the transactions contemplated
by this Agreement by each individual who is a director or
officer of the Company to be exempt under
Rule 16b-3
promulgated under the Exchange Act.
Section 6.11 Control
of Operations. Without in any way limiting
any party’s rights or obligations under this Agreement, the
parties understand and agree that (i) nothing contained in
this Agreement shall give Parent or Merger Sub, directly or
indirectly, the right to control or direct the Company’s
operations prior to the Board Appointment Date, and
(ii) prior to the Board Appointment Date, the Company shall
exercise, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement,
complete control and supervision over its operations.
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Section 6.12 Certain
Transfer Taxes. Any liability arising out of
any real estate transfer Tax with respect to interests in real
property owned directly or indirectly by the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries immediately prior to the Merger, if applicable
and due with respect to the Offer or Merger, shall be borne by
the Surviving Corporation or Parent and expressly shall not be a
liability of shareholders of the Company.
Section 6.13 Obligations
of Merger Sub and the Surviving
Corporation. Parent shall take all action
necessary to cause Merger Sub and the Surviving Corporation to
perform their respective obligations under this Agreement.
Section 6.14 Shareholder
Litigation. The Company shall control, and
the Company shall give Parent the opportunity to participate in
the defense of any litigation brought by shareholders of the
Company against the Company
and/or its
directors relating to the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement; provided, however, that the Company
shall not compromise, settle, come to an arrangement regarding
or agree to compromise, settle or come to an arrangement
regarding any Transaction Litigation, or consent to the same
without the prior written consent of Parent.
Section 6.15 Stock
Exchange De-listing. Prior to the Closing
Date, the Company shall cooperate with Parent and use reasonable
best efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions, and do
or cause to be done all things, reasonably necessary, proper or
advisable on its part under applicable Laws and rules and
policies of the Nasdaq to cause the delisting of the Company of
the Shares from the Nasdaq as promptly as practicable after the
Effective Time and the deregistration of the Shares under the
Exchange Act as promptly as practicable after such delisting.
Section 6.16 Rule 14d-10(d)
Matters. Prior to the Acceptance Time and to
the extent permitted by Law, the Company (acting through its
Board, compensation committee or its independent directors, to
the extent required) will take all such steps as may be required
to cause each agreement, arrangement or understanding entered
into by the Company or its Subsidiaries on or after the date
hereof with any of the Covered Securityholders pursuant to which
compensation is paid to such officer, director or employee to be
approved as an “employment compensation, severance or other
employee benefit arrangement” within the meaning of
Rule 14d-10(d)(1)
under the Exchange Act and to otherwise satisfy the requirements
of the non-exclusive safe harbor set forth in
Rule 14d-10(d)
under the Exchange Act.
Section 6.17 FIRPTA
Certificate. On the Closing Date, the Company
shall provide to Parent an affidavit, dated as of the Closing
Date, signed under penalty of perjury, and in form and substance
required under the Treasury Regulations issued pursuant to
Section 1445(f) and Section 897 of the Code, so that
Parent is exempt from withholding any portion of the aggregate
consideration with respect to the Merger under Section 1445
of the Code.
ARTICLE VII
Conditions
to the Merger
Section 7.1 Conditions
to Each Party’s Obligation to Effect the
Merger. The respective obligations of each
party to effect the Merger shall be subject to the fulfillment
(or waiver by all parties) at or prior to the Effective Time of
the following conditions:
(a) this Agreement shall have been approved and adopted, if
required, by the requisite vote of the shareholders of the
Company;
(b) No Governmental Entity of competent jurisdiction shall
have enacted, issued or entered any restraining order,
preliminary or permanent injunction or similar order or legal
restraint or prohibition which remains in effect that enjoins or
otherwise prohibits consummation of the Merger; and
(c) Merger Sub shall have purchased Shares pursuant to the
Offer.
Section 7.2 Frustration
of Closing Conditions. Neither the Company
nor Parent may rely, either as a basis for not consummating the
Merger or terminating this Agreement and abandoning the Merger,
on the failure of any condition set forth in Section 7.1,
as the case may be, to be satisfied if such failure was caused
in any material respect by such party’s breach of any
provision of this Agreement or failure to use such efforts to
consummate the Merger and the other transactions contemplated
hereby as required by Section 6.4.
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ARTICLE VIII
Termination
Section 8.1 Termination
or Abandonment. Notwithstanding anything
contained in this Agreement to the contrary, this Agreement may
be terminated and the Offer and the Merger may be abandoned at
any time prior to the Effective Time, whether before or after
any approval of the matters presented in connection with the
Merger by the shareholders of the Company:
(a) by the mutual written consent of the Company and Parent;
(b) by either the Company or Parent, if:
(i) the Offer has not been consummated by the date that is
nine months from the date hereof (the “Outside
Date”); provided; however, that no party
may terminate this Agreement pursuant to this clause (i) if
such party’s failure to fulfill any of its obligations
under this Agreement shall have proximately caused the Offer not
to have been consummated on or before said date;
(ii) if any court of competent jurisdiction shall have
issued or entered an injunction or similar legal restraint or
order permanently enjoining or otherwise prohibiting the
consummation of the Offer or the Merger and such injunction,
legal restraint or order shall have become final and
non-appealable, provided that the party seeking to
terminate this Agreement pursuant to this
Section 8.1(b)(ii) shall have used such efforts as may be
required by Section 6.4 to prevent, oppose and remove such
injunction; provided, further, that the right to
terminate this Agreement pursuant to this
Section 8.1(b)(ii) shall not be available to any Party
whose breach of any provision of this Agreement results in the
imposition of any such injunction or similar legal restraint or
the failure of such injunction or similar legal restraint to be
resisted, resolved or lifted, as applicable; or
(c) by the Company, if:
(i) prior to the consummation of the Offer, Parent or
Merger Sub shall have (x) breached or failed to perform in
any material respect any of its covenants or obligations
required to be performed by it under this Agreement or
(y) breached any of its representations or warranties,
which breach or failure would reasonably be expected to prevent
or materially delay the consummation of the Offer or the Merger
and is either incurable or, if curable, is not cured by Parent
and/or
Merger Sub by the earlier of (A) 30 days following
receipt by Parent of written notice of such breach or failure
and (B) the Outside Date; provided, at the time of
the delivery of such written notice, the Company shall not be in
material breach of its obligations under this Agreement;
(ii) in order to enter into a transaction that is a
Superior Proposal, if prior to the Acceptance Time, (A) the
Board has received a Superior Proposal that is not withdrawn,
(B) the Board has determined in good faith, after
consultation with its independent financial advisor and outside
legal counsel, that failure to terminate this Agreement in order
to enter into a Superior Proposal would be inconsistent with the
directors’ fiduciary duties under applicable Laws,
(C) the Company shall have complied with its obligations
under Section 6.2, (D) the Company has given Parent at
least 3 Business Days (the “Notice Period”)
advance written notice that, absent any revisions to the terms
and conditions of this Agreement, the Company will terminate
this Agreement pursuant to this Section 8.1(c)(ii) and included
with such notice the identity of the person making such Superior
Proposal and the most current written agreement relating to the
transaction that constitutes such Superior Proposal,
(E) prior to effecting such termination, the Company shall,
and shall cause its legal advisors to, during the Notice Period
(1) negotiate with Parent and the Parent Representatives in
good faith (to the extent Parent desires to negotiate) to make
such adjustments in the terms and conditions of this Agreement,
so that such Alternative Proposal would cease to constitute a
Superior Proposal, and (2) permit Parent and the Parent
Representatives to make a presentation to the Board (which may
be telephonic) regarding this Agreement and any adjustments with
respect thereto (to the extent Parent desires to make such
presentation); provided, that in the event of any
material revisions to the Alternative Proposal that the Board
has determined to be a Superior Proposal, the Company shall be
required to deliver a new written notice to Parent and to comply
with the requirements of this Section 8.1(c)(ii) with
respect to such new written notice; (F) at least 3 Business
Days following receipt by Parent of the notice referred to in
clause (D) above and after taking into account any revised
proposal made by Parent since receipt of such notice, the Board
shall have determined in good faith that
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such revised proposal is not at least as favorable from a
financial point of view to the holders of Shares than such
Superior Proposal, taking into account all the terms and
conditions of such proposal; and (G) prior to or
concurrently with such termination, the Company pays the fee due
under Section 8.3 and any attempted termination by the Company
pursuant to this Section 8.1(c)(ii) without such prior or
concurrent payment will be deemed null and void; or
(iii) (A) Merger Sub fails to commence the Offer
within the time required by Section 1.1(a) or terminates or
makes any change to the Offer in material violation of the terms
of this Agreement or (B) at any Expiration Date, Merger Sub
shall fail to accept for payment and pay for Shares validly
tendered and not withdrawn in the Offer subject to the terms of
and in accordance with Section 1.1(a) and at such time all
of the conditions set forth on Annex A are satisfied or no
subsequent Expiration Date is established pursuant to an
authorized extension of the Offer;
(d) by Parent, if:
(i) prior to the consummation of the Offer, there shall
have been a breach of any representation or warranty on the part
of the Company set forth in this Agreement or if any
representation or warranty of the Company shall have become
untrue in either case such that the condition set forth in
paragraph (iii)(b) of Annex A would not be satisfied or
would be incapable of being satisfied by the earlier of
(A) 30 days following receipt by Company of written
notice of such breach or (B) the Outside Date;
(ii) there shall have been a breach or breaches by the
Company of its covenants or agreements hereunder that remains
uncured, or is incapable of being cured, within twenty
(20) Business Days following written notice thereof from
Parent and Merger Sub such that the condition set forth in
paragraph (iii)(c) of Annex A would not be satisfied or
would be incapable of being satisfied by the earlier of
(A) 30 days following receipt by Company of written
notice of such breach or (B) the Outside Date;
(iii) the Company gives Parent the notification
contemplated by Section 8.1(c)(ii)(D);
(iv) the Board shall have made an Adverse Recommendation
Change or the Company shall have breached in any material
respect its obligations under Section 6.2;
(v) as of any Expiration Date subsequent to the later of
the 120th Business Day following the commencement of the
Offer and the 30th Business Day following the satisfaction
of clause (B) of this clause (v), (A) the Minimum
Condition shall not have been satisfied, but all other
conditions of the offer set forth on Annex A shall have
been satisfied and (B) the Parent in good faith believes
that the SEC has concluded its review of the Schedule TO,
Schedule 13E-3,
and
Schedule 14D-9; or
(vi) Parent tenders the Parent Termination Fee to the
Company by wire transfer of the same day funds to one or more
accounts designated by the Company in Section 8.1(d)(vi) of the
Company Disclosure Letter.
Section 8.2 Effect
of Termination. In the event of termination
of this Agreement pursuant to Section 8.1, then subject to
the payment of fees and expenses to the extent required by
Section 8.3 this Agreement shall forthwith become null and
void and there shall be no liability or obligation on the part
of the Company, Parent, Merger Sub or their respective
Subsidiaries or Affiliates, except that the Confidentiality
Agreement and the provisions of Sections 8.3, 9.2, 9.4, 9.5
and 9.6 will survive the termination hereof; provided,
however, that nothing herein shall relieve any party from
liability for willful breach of this Agreement, subject only,
with respect to any such liabilities of Parent Group, to
Section 8.3(c)(iii) and 8.3(f) hereof. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, in no event shall any party be liable for punitive
damages.
Section 8.3 Termination
Fees.
(a) Company Termination Fee. In the event
that:
(i) (A) a bona fide Alternative Proposal shall have
been made known to the Company, the Board, or senior management
of the Company, or shall have been made directly to the
shareholders of the Company or any person shall have publicly
announced a bona fide intention (not subsequently withdrawn) to
make an Alternative Proposal and (B) following the
occurrence of an event described in the preceding clause (A),
this Agreement is terminated by the Company or Parent pursuant
to Section 8.1(b)(i) at a time when Parent would
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have been entitled to terminate this Agreement pursuant to
Section 8.1(b)(i) or by Parent pursuant to 8.1(d)(ii) or
8.1(d)(v) and (B) the Company enters into a letter of
intent, agreement in principle, acquisition agreement or other
definitive agreement with respect to an Alternative Proposal, or
consummates an Alternative Proposal, within twelve
(12) months of the date this Agreement is terminated
(provided that for purposes of this
Section 8.3(a)(i), the references to “20%” in the
definition of Alternative Proposal shall be deemed to be
references to “50%”); or
(ii) this Agreement is terminated by the Company pursuant
to Section 8.1(c)(ii); or
(iii) this Agreement is terminated by Parent pursuant to
Section 8.1(d)(iii) or Section 8.1(d)(iv).
then in any such event under clause (i), (ii) or
(iii) of this Section 8.3(a), the Company shall pay to
Parent or an Affiliate of Parent designated in writing by Parent
(“Payee”) a termination fee of $30,000,000 in
cash (the “Termination Fee”), it being
understood that in no event shall the Company be required to pay
the Termination Fee on more than one occasion.
(b) Payment of Company Termination
Fee. Any payment required to be made pursuant to
clause (i) of Section 8.3(a) shall be made to Payee on
the date an Alternative Proposal is consummated or any such
letter is exercised or agreement is entered into (and in any
event not later than two Business Days after delivery to the
Company of notice of demand for payment) less the amount of any
Parent Expenses previously paid to Parent pursuant to
Section 8.3(d), if any; any payment required to be made
pursuant to clause (ii) of Section 8.3(a) shall be
made to Payee concurrently with, and as a condition to the
effectiveness of, the termination of this Agreement; any payment
required to be made pursuant to clause (iii) of
Section 8.3(a) shall be made to Payee promptly following
termination of this Agreement (and in any event not later than
two Business Days after delivery to the Company of notice of
demand for payment); and in each case such payment shall be made
by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account to
be designated by Parent.
(c) Parent Termination Fee.
(i) In the event this Agreement is terminated by Parent
pursuant to Section 8.1(d)(vi), Parent shall tender or cause to
be tendered the Parent Termination Fee to the Company prior to
or concurrently with such termination, by wire transfer of same
day funds to one or more accounts designated by the Company.
(ii) For the avoidance of doubt, in no event shall Parent
be obligated to pay, or cause to be paid, the Parent Termination
Fee on more than one occasion.
(iii) If Parent becomes obligated to pay the Parent
Termination Fee pursuant to this Section 8.3(c), the
Company agrees that its right to receive the Parent Termination
Fee from Parent shall be its sole and exclusive remedy against
Parent and the Parent Group and, upon payment of the Parent
Termination Fee, neither Parent nor any member of the Parent
Group shall have any liability or obligation to the Company
relating to or arising out of this Agreement, the Limited
Guarantee, the Second Equity Commitment Letter or the
transactions contemplated hereby.
(d) Expense Reimbursement. In the event
this Agreement is terminated by Parent pursuant to
Section 8.1(d)(v) under circumstances in which the Company
Termination Fee is not then payable pursuant to
Section 8.3(a), then the Company shall, following receipt
of an invoice therefor, promptly (in any event within two
(2) Business Days) pay all of Parent’s reasonably
documented
out-of-pocket
fees and expenses (including reasonable legal fees and expenses)
actually incurred by Parent and its Affiliates on or prior to
the termination of this Agreement in connection with the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement (the “Parent
Expenses”), which amount shall in no event exceed
$3,000,000 in the aggregate, by wire transfer of same day funds
to one or more accounts designated by Parent; provided,
that the existence of circumstances which could require the
Company Termination Fee to become subsequently payable by the
Company pursuant to Section 8.3(b) shall not relieve the
Company of its obligations to pay the Parent Expenses pursuant
to this Section 8.3(d); provided, further,
that the payment by the Company of Parent Expenses pursuant to
this Section 8.3(d) shall not relieve the Company of any
subsequent obligation to pay the Company Termination Fee
pursuant to Section 8.3(b) except to the extent indicated
in Section 8.3(b).
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(e) Acknowledgement. Each of the parties
hereto acknowledges that (i) the agreements contained in
this Section 8.3 are an integral part of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement; (ii) the damages resulting
from termination of this Agreement under circumstances where a
Company Termination Fee or a Parent Termination Fee is payable
are uncertain and incapable of accurate calculation and
therefore, the amounts payable pursuant to Section 8.3(a)
or Section 8.3(c) are not a penalty, but rather are
liquidated damages in a reasonable amount that will compensate
Parent and Merger Sub or the Company, as the case may be, for
the efforts and resources expended and opportunities foregone
while negotiating this Agreement and in reliance on this
Agreement and on the expectation of the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby, which amount would otherwise
be impossible to calculate with precision; and
(iii) without the agreements contained in this
Section 8.3, the Parties would not have entered into this
Agreement. Accordingly, if the Company fails to promptly pay any
amount due pursuant to Section 8.3(a) or
Section 8.3(d) or if Parent fails to promptly pay any
amount due pursuant to Section 8.3(c) and, in order to
obtain such payment, Parent or the Company, as the case may be,
commences a suit that results in a judgment against the Company
for the amount set forth in Section 8.3(a) or
Section 8.3(d) or any portion thereof, or a judgment
against Parent for the amount set forth in Section 8.3(c)
or any portion thereof, the Company shall pay to Parent, or
Parent shall pay to the Company, as the case may be, costs and
expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the
prevailing Party and its Affiliates in connection with such
suit, together with interest on the amount of such amount or
portion thereof at the prime rate of Citibank N.A. in effect on
the date such payment was required to be made through the date
of payment.
(f) Limitations on Liabilities.
(i) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the
maximum aggregate liability of the Parent Group for damages or
otherwise shall be limited to $570,800,000 (the “Parent
Liability Cap”). In no event shall the Company or its
Affiliates seek or permit to be sought on behalf of the Company
any damages or any other recovery, judgment or damages of any
kind, including consequential, indirect, or punitive damages,
from any member of the Parent Group other than Parent in
connection with this Agreement or the transactions contemplated
hereby; provided that the parties agree that subject to the
terms and conditions of the Second Equity Commitment Letter and
all of the terms, conditions and limitations of the Limited
Guarantee, the Company can cause each of the Funds to provide
funds to Parent to the extent provided in the Second Equity
Commitment Letter which shall in no event exceed the Parent
Liability Cap. The Company acknowledges and agrees that it has
no right of recovery against, and no personal liability shall
attach to, in each case with respect to damages, any member of
the Parent Group (other than Parent to the extent provided in
this Agreement and the Limited Guarantee), through Parent or
otherwise, whether by or through attempted piercing of the
corporate, limited partnership or limited liability company
veil, by or through a claim by or on behalf of Parent against
the Funds or any other member of the Parent Group, by the
enforcement of any assessment or by any legal or equitable
proceeding, by virtue of any statute, regulation or applicable
Law, or otherwise, except for its rights to cause each of the
Funds (but not any other member of the Parent Group (including
any general partner or managing member)) to fund to Parent its
commitment to the extent provided in the Second Equity
Commitment Letter, subject to the terms and conditions thereof
and all of the terms, conditions and limitations of the Limited
Guarantee including the Parent Liability Cap and the other
limitations described therein. Recourse against the Funds under
the Second Equity Commitment Letter, subject to the amount of
the Parent Liability Cap and all of the terms, conditions and
limitations of the Limited Guarantee shall be the sole and
exclusive remedy of the Company and its Affiliates against the
Funds and any other member of the Parent Group (other than
Parent to the extent provided in this Agreement) in respect of
any liabilities or obligations arising under, or in connection
with, this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
The Company acknowledges that both Parent and Merger Sub are
newly-formed companies and do not have any material assets
except in connection with this Agreement and the Equity
Commitment Letters. The Company specifically acknowledges the
separate corporate existence of each of Parent and Merger Sub.
The liabilities of the Parent Group referred to in this
paragraph shall not be limited to reimbursement of expenses or
out-of-pocket
costs, and may include, subject to the Parent Liability Cap and
to the extent proven, the benefit of the bargain lost by the
Company’s shareholders (taking into consideration relevant
matters, including other combination opportunities and the time
value of money), which shall be deemed in such event to be
damages of the Company.
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(ii) The provisions of this Section 8.3(f) are
intended to be for the benefit of, and shall be enforceable by,
the Company and each member of the Parent Group.
ARTICLE IX
Miscellaneous
Section 9.1 No
Survival of Representations and
Warranties. None of the representations and
warranties in this Agreement or in any instrument delivered
pursuant to this Agreement shall survive the occurrence of the
Merger.
Section 9.2 Expenses. Whether
or not the Offer and Merger are consummated, and except as set
forth in Section 8.3, all costs and expenses incurred in
connection with the Offer and Merger, this Agreement and the
transactions contemplated hereby shall be paid by the party
incurring or required to incur such expenses, except expenses
incurred in connection with the printing, filing and mailing of
the Company Proxy Statement (including applicable SEC filing
fees) and all fees paid in respect of any HSR Act or other
regulatory filing shall be borne one-half by the Company and
one-half by Parent.
Section 9.3 Counterparts;
Effectiveness. This Agreement may be executed
in two or more consecutive counterparts (including by facsimile
or email pdf format), each of which shall be an original, with
the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were
upon the same instrument, and shall become effective when one or
more counterparts have been signed by each of the parties and
delivered (by telecopy, email or otherwise) to the other parties.
Section 9.4 Governing
Law. This Agreement, and all claims or causes
of action (whether at Law, in contract or in tort) that may be
based upon, arise out of or relate to this Agreement, the Equity
Commitment Letters, the Limited Guarantee or the negotiation,
execution or performance hereof or thereof, shall be governed by
and construed in accordance with the Laws of the State of
Delaware, without giving effect to any choice or conflict of Law
provision or rule (whether of the State of Delaware or any other
jurisdiction) that would cause the application of the Laws of
any jurisdiction other than the State of Delaware except matters
relating to the fiduciary duties of the Board and internal
corporate affairs and the Company shall be governed by the laws
of the State of Florida.
Section 9.5 Specific
Performance; Jurisdiction;
Enforcement. (a) The parties hereto
agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that any
of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed by the
parties hereto in accordance with their specific terms or were
otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that Parent and
Merger Sub, on the one hand, and the Company, on the other hand,
shall be entitled to an injunction or injunctions to prevent
breaches of this Agreement and the Second Equity Commitment
Letter by the other (as applicable) and to enforce specifically
the terms and provisions of this Agreement exclusively in the
Delaware Court of Chancery and any state appellate court
therefrom within the State of Delaware (or, if the Delaware
Court of Chancery declines to accept jurisdiction over a
particular matter, any state or federal court within the State
of Delaware) and this right shall include the right of the
Company to cause Parent and Merger Sub to fully enforce the
terms of the Second Equity Commitment Letter against the Funds
to the fullest extent permissible pursuant to the Second Equity
Commitment Letter and applicable Laws and to thereafter cause
the Offer, the Merger and the transactions contemplated by the
Merger to be consummated on the terms and subject to the
conditions thereto set forth in this Agreement. Each of the
parties hereto hereby waives (i) any defenses in any action
for specific performance, including the defense that a remedy at
law would be adequate and (ii) any requirement under any
Law to post a bond or other security as a prerequisite to
obtaining equitable relief. If any party brings any Action to
enforce specifically the performance of the terms and provisions
hereof by any other party, the Outside Date shall automatically
be extended by (x) the amount of time during which such
Action is pending, plus twenty (20) Business Days or
(y) such other time period established by the Delaware
court presiding over such Action.
(b) (i) The Company hereby agrees that, except as
provided in Section 9.5(b)(ii) below, specific performance
shall be its sole and exclusive remedy (but for the avoidance of
doubt, the Company may plead or otherwise seek monetary damages
in the alternative) with respect to breaches by Parent or Merger
Sub or any other Person or otherwise in connection with this
Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby and, except as
provided in Section 9.5(b)(ii) below, that it may not seek
or accept any other form of relief that may be available for
breach
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under this Agreement, the Second Equity Commitment Letter or the
Limited Guarantee or otherwise in connection with this Agreement
or the transactions contemplated hereby (including monetary
damages).
(ii) If a court of competent jurisdiction has declined to
specifically enforce the obligations of Parent and Merger Sub to
consummate the Merger pursuant to a claim for specific
performance brought against Parent and Merger Sub pursuant to
this Section 9.5 the Company may pursue any other remedy
available to it at law or in equity, including monetary damages.
If such a court has granted an award of damages for such alleged
breach against Parent, the Company may enforce such award and
accept damages for such alleged breach (which Parent agrees
shall not be limited to reimbursement of expenses or
out-of-pocket
costs, and may include, subject to the Parent Liability Cap and
to the extent proven, the benefit of the bargain lost by the
Company’s shareholders (taking into consideration relevant
matters, including other combination opportunities and the time
value of money)) only if, within two (2) weeks following
such award, Parent and Merger Sub have not consummated the Offer
and the Merger. In addition, the Company agrees to cause any
legal action or proceeding still pending to be dismissed with
prejudice at such time as Parent and Merger Sub consummate the
Offer and the Merger.
(c) In addition, each of the parties hereto irrevocably
agrees that any legal action or proceeding with respect to this
Agreement, the Equity Commitment Letters and the Limited
Guarantee and the rights and obligations arising hereunder and
thereunder, or for recognition and enforcement of any judgment
in respect of this Agreement, the Equity Commitment Letters and
the Limited Guarantee and the rights and obligations arising
hereunder or thereunder brought by the other party hereto or its
successors or assigns, shall be brought and determined
exclusively in the Delaware Court of Chancery and any state
appellate court therefrom within the State of Delaware (or, if
the Delaware Court of Chancery declines to accept jurisdiction
over a particular matter, any state or federal court within the
State of Delaware). Each of the parties hereto hereby
irrevocably submits with regard to any such action or proceeding
for itself and in respect of its property, generally and
unconditionally, to the personal jurisdiction of the aforesaid
courts and agrees that it will not bring any action relating to
this Agreement, the Equity Commitment Letters and the Limited
Guarantee or any of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement or the Equity Commitment Letters in any court other
than the aforesaid courts. Each of the parties hereto hereby
irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert as a defense,
counterclaim or otherwise, in any Action or proceeding with
respect to this Agreement or the Equity Commitment Letters and
the Limited Guarantee, (a) any claim that it is not
personally subject to the jurisdiction of the above named courts
for any reason other than the failure to serve in accordance
with this Section 9.5, (b) any claim that it or its
property is exempt or immune from jurisdiction of any such court
or from any legal process commenced in such courts (whether
through service of notice, attachment prior to judgment,
attachment in aid of execution of judgment, execution of
judgment or otherwise) and (c) to the fullest extent
permitted by the applicable Law, any claim that (i) the
suit, action or proceeding in such court is brought in an
inconvenient forum, (ii) the venue of such suit, action or
proceeding is improper or (iii) this Agreement, the Equity
Commitment Letters and the Limited Guarantee, or the subject
matter hereof or thereof, may not be enforced in or by such
courts. Each of the parties hereto irrevocably consents to the
service of process out of the Delaware Court of Chancery and any
state appellate court therefrom within the State of Delaware
(or, if the Delaware Court of Chancery declines to accept
jurisdiction over a particular matter, any state or federal
court within the State of Delaware) in any such action or
proceeding by the mailing of copies thereof by registered mail,
postage prepaid, to it its address set forth in Section 9.7
of this Agreement, such service of process to be effective upon
acknowledgment of receipt of such registered mail. Nothing
herein shall affect the right of any party to serve process in
any other manner permitted by applicable law.
Section 9.6 WAIVER
OF JURY TRIAL. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO
IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY
LEGAL PROCEEDING BETWEEN THE PARTIES HERETO ARISING OUT OF OR
RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, THE EQUITY COMMITMENT LETTERS AND
THE LIMITED GUARANTEE OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR
THEREBY.
Section 9.7 Notices. Any
notice required to be given hereunder shall be sufficient if in
writing, and sent by facsimile transmission (provided
that any notice received by facsimile transmission or otherwise
at the addressee’s location on any Business Day after
5:00 p.m. (addressee’s local time) shall be deemed to
have been received at 9:00 a.m. (addressee’s local
time) on the next Business Day), by reliable overnight delivery
service (with proof of
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service), hand delivery or certified or registered mail (return
receipt requested and first-class postage prepaid), addressed as
follows:
To Parent or Merger Sub:
c/o BEN
Holdings, Inc.
000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Telecopy:
000-000-0000
Attention: Xxxxx Xxxxxx
with copies to:
Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx LLP
000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Telecopy:
000-000-0000
Attention: Xxxx X. Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
To the Company:
Bankrate, Inc.
00000 X.X. Xxxxxxx Xxx, Xxxxx 000
Xxxxx Xxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxxxx 00000
Telecopy:
(000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxx X. XxXxxxx
with a copy to:
Wachtell, Lipton, Xxxxx & Xxxx
00 Xxxx 00xx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Telecopy:
(000) 000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxxxx X. Xxxxx
Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
or to such other address as any party shall specify by written
notice so given, and such notice shall be deemed to have been
delivered as of the date so telecommunicated, personally
delivered or mailed. Any party to this Agreement may notify any
other party of any changes to the address or any of the other
details specified in this Section 9.7; provided,
however, that such notification shall only be effective
on the date specified in such notice or five (5) Business
Days after the notice is given, whichever is later. Rejection or
other refusal to accept or the inability to deliver because of
changed address or facsimile of which no notice was given shall
be deemed to be receipt of the notice as of the date of such
rejection, refusal or inability to deliver.
Section 9.8 Assignment;
Binding Effect. Neither this Agreement nor
any of the rights, interests or obligations hereunder shall be
assigned by any of the parties hereto (whether by operation of
Law or otherwise) without the prior written consent of the other
parties, except that Merger Sub may assign, in its sole
discretion, any of or all of its rights, interest and
obligations under this Agreement to Parent or to any direct or
indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Parent and to any parties
providing debt financing to the Surviving Corporation for
purposes of creating a security interest herein or otherwise
assigning as collateral in respect of such debt financing, but
no such assignment shall relieve Merger Sub of its obligations
hereunder. Subject to the preceding sentence, this Agreement
shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the
parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.
Parent shall cause Merger Sub, and any assignee thereof, to
perform its obligations under this Agreement and shall be
responsible for any failure of Merger Sub or such assignee to
comply with any representation, warranty, covenant or other
provision of this Agreement.
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Section 9.9 Severability. Any
term or provision of this Agreement which is invalid or
unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to that
jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or
unenforceability without rendering invalid or unenforceable the
remaining terms and provisions of this Agreement in any other
jurisdiction. If any provision of this Agreement is so broad as
to be unenforceable, such provision shall be interpreted to be
only as broad as is enforceable.
Section 9.10 Entire
Agreement; Benefit. This Agreement (including
the exhibits and letters hereto), the Equity Commitment Letters,
the Confidentiality Agreement, the Limited Guarantee and the
Support Agreements constitute the entire agreement, and
supersede all other prior agreements and understandings, both
written and oral, between the parties, or any of them, with
respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof. This Agreement
is not intended to grant and does not grant standing to any
person other than the parties except, following the Effective
Time, for the provisions of Section 6.7. The
representations and warranties set forth in Articles 4 and
5 and the covenants set forth in Section 6.1 have been made
solely for the benefit of the parties to this Agreement and
(a) may be intended not as statements of fact, but rather
as a way of allocating the risk to one of the parties if those
statements prove to be inaccurate; (b) have been qualified
by reference to the Company Disclosure Letter and the Parent
Disclosure Letter, each of which contains certain disclosures
that are not reflected in the text of this Agreement; and
(c) may apply standards of materiality in a way that is
different from what may be viewed as material by shareholders
of, or other investors in, the Company.
Section 9.11 Amendments;
Waivers. At any time prior to the Effective
Time, any provision of this Agreement may be amended or waived
if, and only if, such amendment or waiver is in writing and
signed, in the case of an amendment, by the Company, Parent and
Merger Sub, or in the case of a waiver, by the party against
whom the waiver is to be effective; provided,
however, that after receipt of Company Shareholder
Approval (if any), if any such amendment or waiver shall by
applicable Law or in accordance with the rules and regulations
of the Nasdaq Global Select Market require further approval of
the shareholders of the Company, the effectiveness of such
amendment or waiver shall be subject to the approval of the
shareholders of the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no
failure or delay by the Company or Parent in exercising any
right hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any
single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further
exercise of any other right hereunder.
Section 9.12 Headings. Headings
of the Articles and Sections of this Agreement are for
convenience of the parties only and shall be given no
substantive or interpretive effect whatsoever. The table of
contents to this Agreement is for reference purposes only and
shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of
this Agreement.
Section 9.13 Interpretation. When
a reference is made in this Agreement to an Article or Section,
such reference shall be to an Article or Section of this
Agreement unless otherwise indicated. Whenever the words
“include,” “includes” or
“including” are used in this Agreement, they shall be
deemed to be followed by the words “without
limitation.” The words “hereof,”
“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. The word “or” shall be deemed to mean
“and/or.” All terms defined in this Agreement shall
have the defined meanings when used in any certificate or other
document made or delivered pursuant thereto unless otherwise
defined therein. The definitions contained in this Agreement are
applicable to the singular as well as the plural forms of such
terms and to the masculine as well as to the feminine and neuter
genders of such term. Any agreement, instrument or statute
defined or referred to herein or in any agreement or instrument
that is referred to herein means such agreement, instrument or
statute as from time to time amended, modified or supplemented,
including (in the case of agreements or instruments) by waiver
or consent and (in the case of statutes) by succession of
comparable successor statutes and references to all attachments
thereto and instruments incorporated therein. Each of the
parties has participated in the drafting and negotiation of this
Agreement. If an ambiguity or question of intent or
interpretation arises, this Agreement must be construed as if it
is drafted by all the parties, and no presumption or burden of
proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any party by virtue of
authorship of any of the provisions of this Agreement.
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Section 9.14 Certain
Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement,
the following terms will have the following meanings when used
herein:
(a) “Affiliates” shall mean, as to any
person, any other person which, directly or indirectly,
controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with,
such person. As used in this definition,
“control” (including, with its correlative
meanings, “controlled by” and “under common
control with”) shall mean the possession, directly or
indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of
management or policies of a person, whether through the
ownership of securities or partnership or other ownership
interests, by Contract or otherwise.
(b) “Business Day” shall mean any day
other than a Saturday, Sunday or a day on which the banks in New
York or Florida are authorized by Law or executive order to be
closed.
(c) “Company Stock Plans” means the
Bankrate, Inc. 2008 Equity Compensation Plan, the Bankrate, Inc.
1997 Equity Compensation Plan, as amended and the Bankrate, Inc.
Second Amended and Restated 1999 Equity Compensation Plan.
(d) “Confidentiality Agreement” means the
confidentiality agreement, dated as of June 5, 2009, by and
between Apax Partners, L.P. and the Company.
(e) “Contracts” means any contracts,
agreements, licenses, notes, bonds, mortgages, indentures,
commitments, leases or other instruments or obligations, whether
written or oral.
(f) “Knowledge” or “Known” means
(i) with respect to Parent or Merger Sub, the actual
knowledge of the individuals listed on Section 9.14(f)(i)
of the Parent Disclosure Letter and (ii) with respect to
the Company, the actual knowledge of the individuals listed on
Section 9.14(f)(ii) of the Company Disclosure Letter.
(g) “orders” means any orders, judgments,
injunctions, awards, decrees or writs handed down, adopted or
imposed by, including any consent decree, settlement agreement
or similar written agreement with, any Governmental Entity.
(h) “Parent Group” shall mean,
collectively, Parent, the Funds or any of their respective
former, current or future directors, officers, employees,
agents, general or limited partners, managers, members,
stockholders, Affiliates or assignees or any former, current or
future director, officer, employee, agent, general or limited
partner, manager, member, stockholder, Affiliate or assignee of
any of the foregoing.
(i) “Parent Termination Fee” shall mean an
amount in cash equal to $570,800,000.
(j) “person” or “Person”
shall mean an individual, a corporation, a partnership, a
limited liability company, an association, a trust or any other
entity, group (as such term is used in Section 13 of the
Exchange Act) or organization, including, without limitation, a
Governmental Entity, and any permitted successors and assigns of
such person
(k) “Subsidiaries” of any party shall mean
any corporation, partnership, association, trust or other form
of legal entity of which (i) more than 50% of the
outstanding voting securities are on the date hereof directly or
indirectly owned by such party, or (ii) such party or any
Subsidiary of such party is the general partner (excluding
partnerships in which such party or any Subsidiary of such party
does not have a majority of the voting interests in such
partnership)
(l) Each of the following terms is defined on the page set
forth opposite such term:
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Acceptance Time
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Section 1.3(a)
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Action
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Section 6.7(b)
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Adverse Recommendation Change
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Section 6.2(c)
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Affiliate Transaction
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Section 4.10
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Affiliates
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Section 9.14
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Agreement
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Preamble
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Alternative Proposal
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Section 6.2(f)
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Arrangements
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Section 4.9(d)
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Articles of Incorporation
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Section 2.5(a)
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Articles of Merger
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Section 2.3
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Board
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Recitals
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Board Appointment Date
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Section 1.3(a)
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Book-Entry Shares
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Section 3.2(b)(i)
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Business Day
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Section 9.14(b)
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By-laws
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Section 6.3(c)
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Cancelled Shares
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Section 3.1(b)
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Certificate
|
|
Section 3.2(b)(i)
|
Certificates
|
|
Section 3.2(b)(i)
|
Closing
|
|
Section 2.2
|
Closing Date
|
|
Section 2.2
|
COBRA
|
|
Section 4.9(c)
|
Code
|
|
Section 3.2(b)(iii)
|
Company
|
|
Preamble
|
Company Approvals
|
|
Section 4.4(b)
|
Company Benefit Plans
|
|
Section 4.9(a)
|
Company Disclosure Documents
|
|
Section 4.6(a)
|
Company Disclosure Letter
|
|
Article IV
|
Company Material Adverse Effect
|
|
Section 4.1(c)
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Company Meeting
|
|
Section 6.3(c)
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Company Permits
|
|
Section 4.8(b)
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Company Proxy Statement
|
|
Section 4.6(a)
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Company Restricted Shares
|
|
Section 3.3(b)
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Company SEC Documents
|
|
Section 4.5(a)
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Company Shareholder Approval
|
|
Section 4.17
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Company Stock Option
|
|
Section 3.3(a)
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Company Stock Plans
|
|
Section 9.14(c)
|
Confidentiality Agreement
|
|
Section 9.14)(d)
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Contracts
|
|
Section 9.14(e)
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control
|
|
Section 9.14(a)
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Covered Securityholders
|
|
Section 4.9(d)
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Dissenting Shares
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|
Section 3.1(e)
|
Dissenting Shareholders
|
|
Section 3.1(e)
|
Effective Time
|
|
Section 2.3
|
ERISA
|
|
Section 4.9(a)
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ERISA Affiliate
|
|
Section 4.9(c)
|
Equity Commitment Letters
|
|
Recitals
|
Exchange Act
|
|
Section 1.1(a)
|
Exchange Fund
|
|
Section 3.2(a)
|
Excluded Shares
|
|
Section 3.1(e)
|
Existing Confidentiality Agreements
|
|
Section 4.22
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Expiration Date
|
|
Section 1.1(c)
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FBCA
|
|
Recitals
|
A-44
|
|
|
FCPA
|
|
Section 4.8(d)
|
First Equity Commitment Letter
|
|
Recitals
|
Filed SEC Documents
|
|
Article IV
|
GAAP
|
|
Section 4.5(b)
|
Governmental Entity
|
|
Section 4.4(b)
|
HSR Act
|
|
Section 4.4(b)
|
Independent Incumbent Directors
|
|
Section 1.3(a)
|
Indemnified Party
|
|
Section 6.7(b)
|
Intellectual Property
|
|
Section 4.15(a)(i)
|
Interim Period
|
|
Section 6.1(a)
|
IRS
|
|
Section 4.9(b)
|
Knowledge
|
|
Section 9.14(f)
|
Law
|
|
Section 4.8(a)
|
Laws
|
|
Section 4.8(a)
|
Lien
|
|
Section 4.4(c)
|
Limited Guarantee
|
|
Recitals
|
Material Contract
|
|
Section 4.18(a)
|
Merger
|
|
Recitals
|
Merger Sub
|
|
Preamble
|
Minimum Condition
|
|
Section 1.1(a)
|
Notice Period
|
|
Section 8.1(c)(ii)
|
Offer
|
|
Recitals
|
Offer Documents
|
|
Section 1.1(b)
|
Offer Price
|
|
Recitals
|
orders
|
|
Section 9.14(g)
|
Outside Date
|
|
Section 8.1(b)(i)
|
Parent
|
|
Preamble
|
Parent Approvals
|
|
Section 5.2(b)
|
Parent Disclosure Letter
|
|
Article V
|
Parent Group
|
|
Section 9.14(h)
|
Parent Liability Cap
|
|
Section 8.3(f)(ii)
|
Parent Termination Fee
|
|
Section 9.14(i)
|
Payee
|
|
Section 8.3(a)
|
Paying Agent
|
|
Section 3.2(a)
|
person
|
|
Section 9.14(h)
|
Person
|
|
Section 9.14(h)
|
Preferred Stock
|
|
Section 4.2(a)
|
Recommendation
|
|
Section 1.2(a)
|
Regulatory Law
|
|
Section 6.4(e)
|
Representatives
|
|
Section 6.2(a)
|
Rollover Shares
|
|
Recitals
|
Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act
|
|
Section 4.5(a)
|
Schedule TO
|
|
Section 1.1(b)
|
Requisite Short-Form Merger
|
|
Section 6.3(b)
|
Schedule 14D-9
|
|
Section 1.2(b)
|
X-00
|
|
|
XXX
|
|
Xxxxxxx 4.5(a)
|
Second Equity Commitment Letter
|
|
Recitals
|
Securities Act
|
|
Section 4.5(a)
|
Shares
|
|
Recitals
|
Significant Subsidiary
|
|
Section 4.3
|
Software
|
|
Section 4.15(h)
|
Subsidiaries
|
|
Section 9.14(i)
|
Superior Proposal
|
|
Section 6.2(g)
|
Support Agreements
|
|
Recitals
|
Support Agreement Shares
|
|
Section 1.1(c)
|
Surviving Corporation
|
|
Section 2.1
|
Systems
|
|
Section 4.15(f)
|
Takeover Statute
|
|
Section 1.2(a)
|
Tax
|
|
Section 4.13(b)(i)
|
Tax Return
|
|
Section 4.13(b)(ii)
|
Taxes
|
|
Section 4.13(b)(i)
|
Termination Date
|
|
Section 6.1(a)
|
Termination Fee
|
|
Section 8.3(a)
|
Top-Up
Consideration
|
|
Section 1.4(b)
|
Top-Up Option
|
|
Section 1.4(a)
|
Top-Up
Option Shares
|
|
Section 1.4(a)
|
A-46
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this
Agreement to be duly executed and delivered as of the date first
above written.
Name: Xxxxx Xxxxxx
BEN MERGER SUB, INC.
Name: Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxx
A-47
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this
Agreement to be duly executed and delivered as of the date first
above written.
BANKRATE, INC.
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
|
|
|
|
Title:
|
Chief Executive Officer
|
A-48
ANNEX A
CONDITIONS OF THE OFFER
THE CAPITALIZED TERMS USED HEREIN HAVE THE MEANINGS SET
FORTH
IN THE AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER TO WHICH THIS
ANNEX A IS
ATTACHED
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Offer (subject to
compliance with Section 1.1(a) of the Agreement and any
applicable rules and regulations of the SEC, including
Rule 14e-1(c)
under the Exchange Act), Merger Sub (1) shall not be
required to accept for payment or pay for any tendered Shares,
and (2) may delay the acceptance for payment of or the
payment for any tendered Shares on the terms set forth in the
Agreement if (i) any applicable waiting period under the
HSR Act shall not have expired or been terminated, (ii) the
Minimum Condition shall not have been satisfied or (iii) at
any time on or after the date hereof and prior to the acceptance
for payment of Shares, any of the following conditions shall
have occurred and continue to exist:
(a) any order, decree, injunction or ruling restraining or
enjoining or otherwise materially delaying or preventing the
acceptance for payment of, or the payment for, some or all of
the Shares or otherwise prohibiting consummation of the Offer
shall have been issued by a Governmental Entity or any statute,
rule or regulation shall have been enacted that prohibits or
makes illegal the acceptance for payment of, or the payment for,
some or all of the Shares;
(b) (A) the representations and warranties of the
Company set forth in Section 4.2, Section 4.3(a),
Section 4.4(a) or Section 4.5, without giving effect
to materiality or “Company Material Adverse Effect”
qualifications, shall not be true and correct in all material
respects at and as of immediately prior to the expiration of the
Offer as if made at and as of such time (other than such
representations and warranties that by their terms address
matters only as of another specified time, which shall be true
and correct in all material respects only as of such time) and
(B) all of the remaining representations and warranties of
the Company set forth in this Agreement, without giving effect
to materiality or “Company Material Adverse Effect”
qualifications shall not be true and correct at and as of
immediately prior to the expiration of the Offer as if made at
and as of such time (other than such representations and
warranties that by their terms address matters only as of
another specified time, which shall be true and correct only as
of such time) except, with respect to this clause (B), where the
failure of such representations and warranties to be so true and
correct would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a
Company Material Adverse Effect;
(c) the Company shall have breached or failed to perform in
any material respect any of its covenants or obligations to be
performed or complied with by it under the Agreement prior to
the Expiration Date;
(d) the Company shall have failed to deliver to Parent a
certificate signed by an executive officer of the Company dated
as of the date on which the Offer expires certifying that the
conditions specified in the foregoing clauses (b) and
(c) do not exist;
(e) since the date of the
Merger Agreement, any fact(s),
circumstance(s), event(s), change(s), effect(s) or occurrence(s)
shall have occurred, other than as set forth in the Company
Disclosure Letter, which has or have had, individually or in the
accurate, a Company Material Adverse Effect;
(f) prior to the purchase of Shares pursuant to the Offer,
the Board shall have withdrawn or modified (including by
amendment of the
Schedule 14D-9)
in a manner adverse to Merger Sub the Recommendation or shall
have made an Adverse Recommendation Change; or
(g) the Agreement shall have been terminated in accordance
with its terms.
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if Parent
tenders payment of the Parent Termination Fee to the Company
pursuant to Section 8.3(c), then the Offer shall
automatically terminate upon the tendering of the Parent
Termination Fee with no other action required by any party
hereto.
The foregoing conditions are for the sole benefit of Parent and
Merger Sub and may be asserted by Parent or Merger Sub
regardless of the circumstances (including any action or
inaction by Parent or Merger Sub, provided that nothing
herein shall relieve any party hereto from any obligation or
liability such party has under the
1
Agreement) giving rise to such condition or may be waived by
Parent or Merger Sub, in their sole discretion, in whole or in
part at any time and from time to time, in each case except for
the Minimum Condition; provided that Merger Sub, at its
sole option, may waive such Minimum Condition (i) if the
number of Shares validly tendered and not withdrawn shall be at
least the minimum number of Shares required to approve the
Agreement, the Merger and the other transactions contemplated
herein pursuant to the organizational documents of the Company
and the FBCA, less the number of Shares subject to Support
Agreements or (ii) with the consent of the Company.
2