NOVADEL PHARMA, INC. Common Stock and Warrants PLACEMENT AGENT AGREEMENT
Exhibit 1.1
NOVADEL PHARMA, INC.
Common Stock and Warrants
March 31, 2010
Chardan
Capital Markets, LLC
00 Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Ladies and Gentlemen:
NovaDel Pharma, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes to issue and sell to certain investors (collectively, the “Investors” or “Buyers”) up to an aggregate of (a) 9,100,001 shares (the “Shares” or “Common Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, $0.001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”); (b) warrants with a five year exercise term to purchase up to an aggregate of 4,550,001 shares of Common Stock (the “Series A Warrants”); and (c) warrants with a six month exercise term to purchase 3,033,334 shares of Common Stock (the “Series B Warrants”, and together with the Series A Warrants, the “Warrants”) pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-159485) (the “Registration Statement”). The Common Shares and Warrants may be collectively referred to herein as the “Securities” and the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants may be referred to herein as the “Warrant Shares”. The Company desires to engage Chardan Capital Markets, LLC as its placement agent (the “Placement Agent”) in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities to the Investors. The terms of such offering and the Securities (the “Offering”) shall be mutually agreed upon by the Company and the Investors and nothing herein constitutes that Placement agent would have the power or authority to bind the Company or any Investor or create an obligation for the Company to issue any Securities or complete the Offering.
The Company confirms its agreement with the Placement Agent as follows:
1. Agreement to Act as Placement Agent.
(a) On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company herein contained and subject to all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Company engages the Placement Agent to act as its placement agent in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities, and the Placement Agent hereby agrees, as an agent of the Company, to use reasonable efforts to solicit offers to purchase the Securities upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus (as defined below).
(b) As compensation for the services rendered hereunder, upon the sale of any Securities by the Company under this Agreement, whether at a single closing or from time to time, the Company shall pay to the Placement Agent: by wire transfer of immediately available funds payable to the order of the Placement Agent, to an account or accounts designated by the Placement Agent, an amount equal to 6.0% of the gross proceeds received by the Company from each such sale of Securities to Introduced Parties (defined below) (referred to herein as the “Fee”).
(c) An investor shall be an “Introduced Party” if: (x) the Placement Agent arranges
a meeting with such investor (or any of its affiliates), which is accepted by the Company; (y) Chardan arranges a conference call with such investor (or any of its affiliates), which is accepted by the Company; or (z) Chardan furnishes the Prospectus (defined below) and other Offering materials to such investor (or any of its affiliates). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term Introduced Party does not include any of the Company’s officers, directors or holders of in excess of 5% of the Company’s common stock prior to the date of this agreement (or any of their affiliates). The Placement Agent may, in its discretion, retain other brokers or dealers to act as subagents on the Placement Agent’s behalf in connection with the Offering of the Securities, payment to whom shall be solely the responsibility of the Placement Agent.
(d) This Agreement shall not give rise to a commitment by the Placement Agent or any of its affiliates to underwrite or purchase any of the Securities or otherwise provide any financing, and the Placement Agent shall have no authority to bind the Company in respect of the sale of any Securities. The Company shall have the sole right to accept offers to purchase the Securities and may reject any such offer in whole or in part. The sale of the Securities shall be made pursuant to securities purchase agreements (the “Purchase Agreements”). This Agreement, the Purchase Agreements and any other documents executed and delivered by the Company and the Investors in connection with the Offering shall be collectively referred to herein as the “Transaction Documents.”
2. Delivery and Payment. Delivery and payment of the Securities sold to Investors shall be as provided in the Purchase Agreements. Each date of delivery and payment of any Securities shall be a “Closing Date.” The Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that the execution of this Agreement does not constitute a commitment by Placement Agent to purchase the Securities and does not ensure the successful placement of the Securities or any portion thereof or the success of Placement Agent with respect to securing any other financing on behalf of the Company.
3. Representations and Warranties of the Company. As of each Closing Date and as to the Securities sold on such Closing Date, the Company represents, warrants and covenants to the Placement Agent that:
(a) Organization and Qualification. Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries is an entity duly organized and validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is formed, and has the requisite power and authorization to own its properties and to carry on its business as now being conducted and as presently proposed to be conducted. Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries is duly qualified as a foreign entity to do business and is in good standing in every jurisdiction in which its ownership of property or the nature of the business conducted by it makes such qualification necessary, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or be in good standing would not have a Material Adverse Effect. As used in this Agreement, “Material Adverse Effect” means any material adverse effect on (i) the business, properties, assets, liabilities, operations (including results thereof), condition (financial or otherwise) or prospects of the Company or any Subsidiary, either individually or taken as a whole, (ii) the transactions contemplated hereby or in any of the other Transaction Documents or (iii) the authority or ability of the Company to perform any of its obligations under any of the Transaction Documents. The Company has no Subsidiaries. “Subsidiaries” means any Person (A) that is a “Significant Subsidiary” as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X of the 0000 Xxx) of the Company or (B) in which the Company, directly or indirectly, (I) owns at least 50% of the outstanding capital stock or holds at least 50% of equity or similar interest of such Person or (II) controls or operates all or at least 50% of the business, operations or administration of such Person, and each of the foregoing is individually referred to herein as a “Subsidiary.”
(b) Authorization; Enforcement; Validity. The Company has the requisite power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents and to issue the Securities in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof. The execution
2
and delivery of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents by the Company and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby (including, without limitation, the issuance of the Common Shares, the issuance of the Warrants and the reservation for issuance and issuance of the Warrant Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants) have been duly authorized by the Company’s board of directors. Other than the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) of the prospectus supplement required by the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act” or the “1933 Act”), (the “Prospectus Supplement”) supplementing the base prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement (the “Prospectus”) and any other filings as may be required by any state securities agencies) no further filing, consent or authorization is required by the Company, its board of directors or its stockholders or other governing body. A final prospectus supplement to the Prospectus relating to the Securities being offered by the Company and the offering thereof will be filed promptly by the Company with the SEC in accordance with Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations under the 1933 Act and the plan of distribution therein and the Company has advised the Placement Agent of all further information (financial and other) with respect to the Company required to be set forth therein. This Agreement has been, and the other Transaction Documents will be prior to the Closing, duly executed and delivered by the Company, and each constitutes the legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its respective terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by general principles of equity or applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, liquidation or similar laws relating to, or affecting generally, the enforcement of applicable creditors’ rights and remedies and except as rights to indemnification and to contribution may be limited by federal or state securities law. The Company has delivered, or will as promptly as practicable deliver, to the Placement Agent complete conformed copies of the Registration Statement and of each consent and certificate of experts, as applicable, filed as a part thereof, and conformed copies of the Registration Statement (without exhibits), the Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement, as amended or supplemented, in such quantities and at such places as the Placement Agent reasonably requests. Neither the Company nor any of its directors and officers has distributed and none of them will distribute, prior to the Closing Date, any offering material in connection with the Offering and sale of the Securities other than the Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement, the Registration Statement, copies of the documents incorporated by reference therein and any other materials permitted by the 1933 Act. Without the prior written consent of the Placement Agent, the Company has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules and Regulations under the 1933 Act.
(c) Issuance of Securities; Registration Statement. The issuance of the Common Shares and the Warrants are duly authorized and, upon issuance and sale in accordance with the terms of the Transaction Documents, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and free from all preemptive or similar rights, taxes, liens, charges and other encumbrances with respect to the issue thereof. As of the Closing, the Company shall have reserved from its duly authorized capital stock 120% of the maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants (without taking into account any limitations on the exercise of the Warrants set forth therein). The issuance of the Warrant Shares is duly authorized, and upon exercise in accordance with the Warrants, the Warrant Shares, when issued, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free from all preemptive or similar rights, taxes, liens, charges and other encumbrances with respect to the issue thereof, with the holders being entitled to all rights accorded to a holder of Common Stock. The issuance by the Company of the Securities has been registered under the 1933 Act, the Securities are being issued pursuant to the Registration Statement and all of the Securities are freely transferable and freely tradable by each of the Buyers without restriction. The Registration Statement is effective and available for the issuance of the Securities thereunder and the Company has not received any notice that the SEC has issued or intends to issue a stop-order with respect to the Registration Statement or that the SEC otherwise has suspended or withdrawn the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, either temporarily or permanently, or intends or has threatened in writing to
3
do so. The “Plan of Distribution” section under the Registration Statement permits the issuance and sale of the Securities hereunder and as contemplated by the other Transaction Documents. Upon receipt of the Securities, each of the Buyers will have good and marketable title to the Securities. The Registration Statement and any prospectus included therein, including the Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act” or the “Exchange Act”) and the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder and all other applicable laws and regulations. At the time the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto became effective, at the date of this Agreement and at each deemed effective date thereof pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2) of the 1933 Act, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto (including, without limitation the Prospectus Supplement), at the time the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto was issued and at the Closing Date, complied, and will comply, in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and did not, and will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. There are no documents required to be filed with the SEC in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby that (x) have not been filed as required pursuant to the 1933 Act or (y) will not be filed within the requisite time period. There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Prospectus or Prospectus Supplement, or to be filed as exhibits or schedules to the Registration Statement, that have not been described or filed as required. The Registration Statement is available under the 1933 Act to be used by the Company for the offering and sale of the Securities contemplated by this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents, and the SEC has not notified the Company of any objection to the use of the form of the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 401(g)(1) under the 1933 Act. The filing of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 qualifies under the 1933 Act as a Section 10(a)(3) update to the Registration Statement. The Registration Statement meets the requirements set forth in Rule 415(a)(1)(x) under the 1933 Act. At the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the 0000 Xxx) relating to any of the Securities, the Company was not and is not an “Ineligible Issuer” (as defined in Rule 405 under the 1933 Act). The Company (i) has not distributed any offering material in connection with the offer or sale of any of the Securities and (ii) until no Buyer holds any of the Securities, shall not distribute any offering material in connection with the offer or sale of any of the Securities to, or by, any of the Buyers (if required), in each case, other than the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement.
(d) No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance of the Transaction Documents by the Company and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby (including, without limitation, the issuance of the Common Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares and the reservation for issuance of the Warrant Shares) will not (i) result in a violation of the Certificate of Incorporation (as defined below) (including, without limitation, any certificates of designation contained therein) or other organizational documents of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, any capital stock of the Company, or Bylaws (as defined below), (ii) conflict with, or constitute a default (or an event which with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation of, any agreement, indenture or instrument to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party, or (iii) result in a violation of any law, rule, regulation, order, judgment or decree (including, without limitation, federal and state securities laws and regulations and the rules and regulations of the OTC Bulletin Board (the “Principal Market”) and including all applicable federal laws, rules and regulations) applicable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or by which any property or asset of the Company or any of its
4
Subsidiaries is bound or affected except, in the case of clause (ii) or (iii) above, to the extent such violations that could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(e) Consents. The Company is not required to obtain any consent from, authorization or order of, or make any filing or registration with (other than the filing with the SEC of the Prospectus Supplement and any other filings as may be required by any state securities agencies), any court, governmental agency or any regulatory or self-regulatory agency or any other Person in order for it to execute, deliver or perform any of its obligations under, or contemplated by, the Transaction Documents, in each case, in accordance with the terms hereof or thereof. All consents, authorizations, orders, filings and registrations which the Company is required to obtain at or prior to the Closing have been obtained or effected on or prior to the Closing Date, and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries are aware of any facts or circumstances which might prevent the Company from obtaining or effecting any of the registration, application or filings contemplated by the Transaction Documents other than as disclosed in subsection (b) above. The Company is not in violation of the requirements of the Principal Market and has no knowledge of any facts or circumstances which could reasonably lead to delisting or suspension of the Common Stock in the foreseeable future.
(f) Acknowledgment Regarding Buyer’s Purchase of Securities. The Company acknowledges and agrees that, to its knowledge, each Buyer is acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length purchaser with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby and that, to its knowledge, no Buyer is (i) an officer or director of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (ii) an “affiliate” (as defined in Rule 144 promulgated under the 1933 Act (or a successor rule thereto) (collectively, “Rule 144”)) of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or (iii) a “beneficial owner” of more than 10% of the shares of Common Stock (as defined for purposes of Rule 13d-3 of the 1934 Act). The Company further acknowledges that no Buyer is acting as a financial advisor or fiduciary of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (or in any similar capacity) with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, and any advice given by a Buyer or any of its representatives or agents in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby is merely incidental to such Buyer’s purchase of the Securities. The Company further represents to each Buyer that the Company’s decision to enter into the Transaction Documents has been based solely on an independent evaluation by the Company and its representatives.
(g) Placement Agent’s Fees. The Company shall be responsible for the payment of any placement agent’s fees, financial advisory fees, or brokers’ commissions (other than for Persons engaged by any Buyer or its investment advisor) relating to or arising out of the transactions contemplated hereby. Other than the Placement Agent, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has engaged any placement agent or other agent in connection with the offer or sale of the Securities.
(h) No Integrated Offering. None of the Company, its Subsidiaries or any of their affiliates, nor any Person acting on their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would cause this offering of the Securities to require approval of stockholders of the Company under any applicable stockholder approval provisions, including, without limitation, under the rules and regulations of any exchange or automated quotation system on which any of the securities of the Company are listed or designated for quotation. None of the Company, its Subsidiaries, their affiliates nor any Person acting on their behalf will take any action or steps that would cause the offering of any of the Securities to be integrated with other offerings of securities of the Company.
(i) Dilutive Effect. The Company understands and acknowledges that the number of Warrant Shares will increase in certain circumstances. The Company further acknowledges that its obligation to issue the Warrant Shares upon exercise of the Warrants in accordance with this Agreement and the
5
Warrants is absolute and unconditional, regardless of the dilutive effect that such issuance may have on the ownership interests of other stockholders of the Company.
(j) Application of Takeover Protections; Rights Agreement. The Company and its board of directors have taken all necessary action, if any, in order to render inapplicable any control share acquisition, interested stockholder, business combination, poison pill (including, without limitation, any distribution under a rights agreement) or other similar anti-takeover provision under the Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws or other organizational documents or the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or otherwise which is or could become applicable to any Buyer as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including, without limitation, the Company’s issuance of the Securities and any Buyer’s ownership of the Securities. The Company and its board of directors have taken all necessary action, if any, in order to render inapplicable any stockholder rights plan or similar arrangement relating to accumulations of beneficial ownership of shares of Common Stock or a change in control of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(k) SEC Documents; Financial Statements. During the two (2) years prior to the date hereof, the Company has timely filed all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by it with the SEC pursuant to the reporting requirements of the 1934 Act (all of the foregoing filed prior to the date hereof and all exhibits included therein and financial statements, notes and schedules thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein being hereinafter referred to as the “SEC Documents”). The Company has delivered to the Placement Agent, the Buyers or their respective representatives true, correct and complete copies of each of the SEC Documents not available on the XXXXX system. As of their respective dates, the SEC Documents complied in all material respects with the requirements of the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder applicable to the SEC Documents, and none of the SEC Documents, at the time they were filed with the SEC, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a 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. As of their respective dates, the financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Documents complied as to form in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the published rules and regulations of the SEC with respect thereto as in effect as of the time of filing. Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied, during the periods involved (except (i) as may be otherwise indicated in such financial statements or the notes thereto, or (ii) in the case of unaudited interim statements, to the extent they may exclude footnotes or may be condensed or summary statements) and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company as of the dates thereof and the results of its operations and cash flows for the periods then ended (subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal year-end audit adjustments which will not be material, either individually or in the aggregate). No other information provided by or on behalf of the Company to any of the Placement Agent or Buyers which is not included in the SEC Documents contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading, in the light of the circumstance under which they are or were made.
(l) Absence of Certain Changes. Except as set forth in the SEC Documents, since the date of the Company’s most recent audited financial statements contained in a Form 10-K, there has been no material adverse change and no material adverse development in the business, assets, liabilities, properties, operations (including results thereof), condition (financial or otherwise) or prospects of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. Except as set forth in the SEC Documents, since the date of the Company’s most recent audited financial statements contained in a Form 10-K, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has (i) declared or paid any dividends, (ii) sold any assets, individually or in the aggregate, outside of the ordinary course of business or (iii) made any material capital expenditures, individually or in the aggregate. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has taken any steps to
6
seek protection pursuant to any law or statute relating to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, receivership, liquidation or winding up, nor does the Company or any Subsidiary have any knowledge or reason to believe that any of their respective creditors intend to initiate involuntary bankruptcy proceedings or any actual knowledge of any fact which would reasonably lead a creditor to do so. The Company and its Subsidiaries, individually and on a consolidated basis, are not as of the date hereof, and after giving effect to the transactions contemplated hereby to occur at the Closing will not be, Insolvent (as defined below). For purposes of this Section 3(l), “Insolvent” means, (I) with respect to the Company and its Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, (i) the present fair saleable value of the Company’s and its Subsidiaries’ assets is less than the amount required to pay the Company’s and its Subsidiaries’ total Indebtedness (as defined below), (ii) the Company and its Subsidiaries are unable to pay their debts and liabilities, subordinated, contingent or otherwise, as such debts and liabilities become absolute and matured or (iii) the Company and its Subsidiaries intend to incur or believe that they will incur debts that would be beyond their ability to pay as such debts mature; and (II) with respect to the Company and each Subsidiary, individually, (i) the present fair saleable value of the Company’s or such Subsidiary’s (as the case may be) assets is less than the amount required to pay its respective total Indebtedness, (ii) the Company or such Subsidiary (as the case may be) is unable to pay its respective debts and liabilities, subordinated, contingent or otherwise, as such debts and liabilities become absolute and matured or (iii) the Company or such Subsidiary (as the case may be) intends to incur or believes that it will incur debts that would be beyond its respective ability to pay as such debts mature. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has engaged in any business or in any transaction, and is not about to engage in any business or in any transaction, for which the Company’s or such Subsidiary’s remaining assets constitute unreasonably small capital.
(m) No Undisclosed Events, Liabilities, Developments or Circumstances. No event, liability, development or circumstance has occurred or exists, or is reasonably expected to exist or occur with respect to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective businesses, properties, liabilities, prospects, operations (including results thereof) or condition (financial or otherwise) that (i) would be required to be disclosed by the Company under applicable securities laws on a registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC relating to an issuance and sale by the Company of its Common Stock and which has not been publicly announced, (ii) could have a material adverse effect on any Buyer’s investment hereunder or (iii) could have a Material Adverse Effect.
(n) Conduct of Business; Regulatory Permits. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of any term of or in default under its Certificate of Incorporation, any certificate of designation, preferences or rights of any other outstanding series of preferred stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or Bylaws or their organizational charter, certificate of formation or certificate of incorporation or bylaws, respectively. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of any judgment, decree or order or any statute, ordinance, rule or regulation applicable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries will conduct its business in violation of any of the foregoing, except in all cases for possible violations which could not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company is not in violation of any of the rules, regulations or requirements of the Principal Market and has no knowledge of any facts or circumstances that could reasonably lead to delisting or suspension of the Common Stock by the Principal Market in the foreseeable future. Since January 1, 2008, (i) the Common Stock has been listed or designated for quotation on the Principal Market or an Eligible Market (as defined in the Purchase Agreement), (ii) trading in the Common Stock has not been suspended by the SEC or the Principal Market and (iii) the Company has received no communication, written or oral, from the SEC or the Principal Market regarding the suspension or delisting of the Common Stock from the Principal Market. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries possess all certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses, except where the failure to possess such certificates, authorizations or
7
permits would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, and neither the Company nor any such Subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such certificate, authorization or permit.
(o) Foreign Corrupt Practices. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries nor any director, officer or employee or, to the Company’s knowledge, any agent 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, the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (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 or is in violation of any provision of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended; or (iv) made any unlawful bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment to any foreign or domestic government official or employee.
(p) Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act. The Company and each Subsidiary is in compliance with all applicable requirements of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 that are effective as of the date hereof, and all applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC thereunder that are effective as of the date hereof.
(q) Transactions With Affiliates. Except as disclosed in the SEC Documents, none of the officers, directors or employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is presently a party to any transaction with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (other than for ordinary course services as employees, officers or directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from, or otherwise requiring payments to or from any such officer, director or employee or, to the knowledge of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, any corporation, partnership, trust or other Person in which any such officer, director or employee has a substantial interest or is an employee, officer, director, trustee or partner.
(r) Equity Capitalization. As of the date hereof, the authorized capital stock of the Company consists of (i) 200,000,000 shares of Common Stock, of which, 89,343,457 are issued and outstanding and 28,099,000 shares are reserved for issuance pursuant to securities (other than the Warrants) exercisable or exchangeable for, or convertible into, shares of Common Stock and (ii) 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, of which none are issued and outstanding. 3,012 shares of Common Stock are held in treasury. All of such outstanding shares are duly authorized and have been, or upon issuance will be, validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable. 30,955,000 shares of the Company’s issued and outstanding Common Stock on the date hereof are owned by Persons who are “affiliates” (as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act and calculated based on the assumption that only officers, directors and holders of at least 10% of the Company’s issued and outstanding Common Stock are “affiliates” without conceding that any such Persons are “affiliates” for purposes of federal securities laws) of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. To the Company’s knowledge, except as set forth in the SEC Documents, no Person owns 10% or more of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock (calculated based on the assumption that all Common Stock Equivalents (as defined in the Warrants), whether or not presently exercisable or convertible, have been fully exercised or converted (as the case may be) taking account of any limitations on exercise or conversion (including “blockers”) contained therein without conceding that such identified Person is a 10% stockholder for purposes of federal securities laws). Except as disclosed in the SEC Documents,: (i) none of the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s capital stock is subject to preemptive rights or any other similar rights or any liens or encumbrances suffered or permitted by the Company or any Subsidiary; (ii) there are no outstanding options, warrants, scrip, rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities or rights convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, any capital stock of the Company or any of its
8
Subsidiaries, or contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements (including, without limitation, any equity line of credit) by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is or may become bound to issue additional capital stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or options, warrants, scrip, rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities or rights convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, any capital stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (iii) there are no outstanding debt securities, notes, credit agreements, credit facilities or other agreements, documents or instruments evidencing Indebtedness of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is or may become bound; (iv) there are no financing statements securing obligations in any amounts filed in connection with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (v) there are no agreements or arrangements under which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is obligated to register the sale of any of their securities under the 1933 Act (except pursuant to this Agreement); (vi) there are no outstanding securities or instruments of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries which contain any redemption or similar provisions, and there are no contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is or may become bound to redeem a security of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (vii) there are no securities or instruments containing anti-dilution or similar provisions that will be triggered by the issuance of the Securities; (viii) neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has any stock appreciation rights or “phantom stock” plans or agreements or any similar plan or agreement; and (ix) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries have any liabilities or obligations required to be disclosed in the SEC Documents which are not so disclosed in the SEC Documents, other than those incurred in the ordinary course of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ respective businesses and which, individually or in the aggregate, do not or could not have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has furnished to the Buyers true, correct and complete copies of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, as amended and as in effect on the date hereof (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), and the Company’s bylaws, as amended and as in effect on the date hereof (the “Bylaws”), and the terms of all securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, shares of Common Stock and the material rights of the holders thereof in respect thereto that have not otherwise been disclosed in the SEC Documents.
(s) Indebtedness and Other Contracts. Except as disclosed in the SEC Documents, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries (i) has any outstanding Indebtedness (as defined below), (ii) is a party to any contract, agreement or instrument, the violation of which, or default under which, by the other party(ies) to such contract, agreement or instrument could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (iii) is in violation of any term of, or in default under, any contract, agreement or instrument relating to any Indebtedness, except where such violations and defaults would not result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect, or (iv) is a party to any contract, agreement or instrument relating to any Indebtedness, the performance of which, in the judgment of the Company’s officers, has or is expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. For purposes of this Agreement: (x) “Indebtedness” of any Person means, without duplication (A) all indebtedness for borrowed money, (B) all obligations issued, undertaken or assumed as the deferred purchase price of property or services (including, without limitation, “capital leases” in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) (other than trade payables entered into in the ordinary course of business), (C) all reimbursement or payment obligations with respect to letters of credit, surety bonds and other similar instruments, (D) all obligations evidenced by notes, bonds, debentures or similar instruments, including obligations so evidenced incurred in connection with the acquisition of property, assets or businesses, (E) all indebtedness created or arising under any conditional sale or other title retention agreement, or incurred as financing, in either case with respect to any property or assets acquired with the proceeds of such indebtedness (even though the rights and remedies of the seller or bank under such agreement in the event of default are limited to repossession or sale of such property), (F) all monetary obligations under any leasing or similar arrangement which, in connection with generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied for the periods covered thereby, is classified as a capital lease, (G) all indebtedness referred to in clauses (A) through (F) above secured by (or for which the holder of such Indebtedness has
9
an existing right, contingent or otherwise, to be secured by) any mortgage, claim, lien, pledge, charge, tax, encumbrance, security interest or other encumbrance upon or in any property or assets (including accounts and contract rights) owned by any Person, even though the Person which owns such assets or property has not assumed or become liable for the payment of such indebtedness, and (H) all Contingent Obligations in respect of indebtedness or obligations of others of the kinds referred to in clauses (A) through (G) above; (y) “Contingent Obligation” means, as to any Person, any direct or indirect liability, contingent or otherwise, of that Person with respect to any indebtedness, lease, dividend or other obligation of another Person if the primary purpose or intent of the Person incurring such liability, or the primary effect thereof, is to provide assurance to the obligee of such liability that such liability will be paid or discharged, or that any agreements relating thereto will be complied with, or that the holders of such liability will be protected (in whole or in part) against loss with respect thereto; and (z) “Person” means an individual, a limited liability company, a partnership, a joint venture, a corporation, a trust, an unincorporated organization, any other entity and a government or any department or agency thereof.
(t) Absence of Litigation. There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or by the Principal Market, any court, public board, governmental agency or other self-regulatory organization or body pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, the Common Stock or any of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ officers or directors which is outside of the ordinary course of business or individually or in the aggregate which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Company, there is not pending or contemplated, any investigation by the SEC involving the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any current or former director or officer of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. The SEC has not issued any stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement filed by the Company under the 1933 Act or the 1934 Act, including, without limitation, the Registration Statement.
(u) Insurance. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as management of the Company believes to be prudent and customary in the businesses in which the Company and its Subsidiaries are engaged. Neither the Company nor any such Subsidiary has been refused any insurance coverage sought or applied for, and neither the Company nor any such Subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will be unable to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that would not have a Material Adverse Effect.
(v) Employee Relations. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to any collective bargaining agreement or employs any member of a union. The Company believes that its and its Subsidiaries’ relations with their respective employees are good. To the Company’s knowledge, no executive officer (as defined in Rule 501(f) promulgated under the 0000 Xxx) or other key employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has notified the Company or any such Subsidiary that such officer intends to leave the Company or any such Subsidiary or otherwise terminate such officer’s employment with the Company or any such Subsidiary. No executive officer or other key employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is, or is now expected to be, in violation of any material term of any employment contract, confidentiality, disclosure or proprietary information agreement, non-competition agreement, or any other contract or agreement or any restrictive covenant, and the continued employment of each such executive officer or other key employee (as the case may be) does not subject the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any liability with respect to any of the foregoing matters. The Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations respecting labor, employment and employment practices and benefits, terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, except where failure to be in compliance would not, either individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
10
(w) Title. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries owns any real property. Except as set forth in the SEC Documents, the Company and its Subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all personal property, owned by them which is material to the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries, in each case, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and any of its Subsidiaries. Any real property and facilities held under lease by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with such exceptions as are not material and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property and buildings by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(x) Intellectual Property Rights. Except as set forth in the SEC Documents, the Company and its Subsidiaries own or possess adequate rights or licenses to use all trademarks, trade names, service marks, service xxxx registrations, service names, patents, patent rights, copyrights, original works, inventions, licenses, approvals, governmental authorizations, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights and all applications and registrations therefor (“Intellectual Property Rights”) necessary to conduct their respective businesses as now conducted and as presently proposed to be conducted. None of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ Intellectual Property Rights have expired, terminated or been abandoned, or are expected to expire, terminate or be abandoned, within three years from the date of this Agreement. Except as set forth in the SEC Documents, the Company has no knowledge of any infringement by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of Intellectual Property Rights of others. There is no claim, action or proceeding being made or brought, or to the knowledge of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, being threatened, against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries regarding their Intellectual Property Rights. The Company is not aware of any facts or circumstances which might give rise to any of the foregoing infringements or claims, actions or proceedings. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries have taken reasonable security measures to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value of all of their Intellectual Property Rights.
(y) Environmental Laws. The Company and its Subsidiaries (i) are in compliance with all Environmental Laws (as defined below), (ii) have received all permits, licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses and (iii) are in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval where, in each of the foregoing clauses (i), (ii) and (iii), the failure to so comply could be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. The term “Environmental Laws” means all federal, state, local or foreign laws relating to pollution or protection of human health or the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata), including, without limitation, laws relating to emissions, discharges, releases or threatened releases of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, or toxic or hazardous substances or wastes (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) into the environment, or otherwise relating to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials, as well as all authorizations, codes, decrees, demands or demand letters, injunctions, judgments, licenses, notices or notice letters, orders, permits, plans or regulations issued, entered, promulgated or approved thereunder.
(z) Tax Status. Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries (i) has timely made or filed all foreign, federal and state income and all other tax returns, reports and declarations required by any jurisdiction to which it is subject, (ii) has timely paid all taxes and other governmental assessments and charges that are material in amount, shown or determined to be due on such returns, reports and declarations, except those being contested in good faith and (iii) has set aside on its books provision reasonably adequate for the payment of all taxes for periods subsequent to the periods to which such returns, reports or declarations apply and except in each case where the failure to file, pay or set aside could not be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. There are no unpaid taxes in any material amount claimed to be due by the taxing authority of any jurisdiction, and the officers of the
11
Company and its Subsidiaries know of no basis for any such claim. The Company is not operated in such a manner as to qualify as a passive foreign investment company, as defined in Section 1297 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(aa) Internal Accounting and Disclosure Controls. Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries maintains internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the 0000 Xxx) that is effective to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, including that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset and liability accountability, (iii) access to assets or incurrence of liabilities is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets and liabilities is compared with the existing assets and liabilities at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any difference. The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the 0000 Xxx) that are effective in ensuring that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the 1934 Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC, including, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the 1934 Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer or officers and its principal financial officer or officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any notice or correspondence from any accountant or other Person relating to any potential material weakness or significant deficiency in any part of the internal controls over financial reporting of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(bb) Off Balance Sheet Arrangements. There is no transaction, arrangement, or other relationship between the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and an unconsolidated or other off balance sheet entity that is required to be disclosed by the Company in its 1934 Act filings and is not so disclosed or that otherwise could be reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(cc) Investment Company Status. The Company is not, and upon consummation of the sale of the Securities will not be, an “investment company,” an affiliate of an “investment company,” a company controlled by an “investment company” or an “affiliated person” of, or “promoter” or “principal underwriter” for, an “investment company” as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
(dd) Manipulation of Price. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has, and, to the knowledge of the Company, no Person acting on their behalf has, directly or indirectly, (i) taken any action designed to cause or to result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Securities, (ii) sold, bid for, purchased, or paid any compensation for soliciting purchases of, any of the Securities (other than the Placement Agent), or (iii) paid or agreed to pay to any Person any compensation for soliciting another to purchase any other securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(ee) U.S. Real Property Holding Corporation. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is, or has ever been, and so long as any of the Securities are held by any of the Buyers, shall become, a U.S. real property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the Company and each Subsidiary shall so certify upon any Buyer’s request.
12
(ff) Registration Eligibility. The Company currently can use the Registration Statement for the issuance and sale of the Securities to the Buyers.
(gg) Bank Holding Company Act. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is subject to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”) and to regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”). Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or affiliates owns or controls, directly or indirectly, five percent (5%) or more of the outstanding shares of any class of voting securities or twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the total equity of a bank or any equity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or affiliates exercises a controlling influence over the management or policies of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve.
(hh) Shell Company Status. The Company is not, and has never been, an issuer identified in, or subject to, Rule 144(i).
(ii) FDA; Studies. Since the respective dates as of which information is set forth in the SEC Documents, (i) all of the descriptions of the Company’s legal and governmental proceedings and procedures before the United States Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) or any other national, departmental, state or local governmental body exercising comparable authority are true and correct in all material respects, (ii) except as disclosed in the SEC Documents, the studies, tests and preclinical and clinical trials conducted by or on behalf of the Company and its Subsidiaries that are described in the SEC Documents were and, if still pending, are (a) with respect to the foregoing conducted by employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (“Company Studies”), being conducted in accordance with experimental protocols, procedures and controls pursuant to, where applicable, accepted professional scientific standards, in each case in all necessary respects and in all material respects; and (b) with respect to the foregoing conducted on behalf of the Company or independently by others using the Company’s or any of its Subsidiaries’ technologies, products or product candidates (“Independent Studies”), to the Company’s knowledge, after due inquiry, being conducted in accordance with experimental protocols, procedures and controls pursuant to, where applicable, accepted professional scientific standards, in each case in all necessary respects and in all material respects; (iii) the descriptions of the results of the Company Studies, and, to the Company’s knowledge, after due inquiry, the Independent Studies, contained in the SEC Documents are true and correct in all material respects; and (iv) except as disclosed in the SEC Documents, neither the Company nor its Subsidiaries have received any notices or correspondence from the FDA, or any national, state or local governmental body exercising comparable authority requiring the termination, suspension or material modification of any of the Company Studies or Independent Studies.
(jj) Illegal or Unauthorized Payments; Political Contributions. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries nor, to the best of the Company’s knowledge (after reasonable inquiry of its officers and directors), any of the officers, directors, employees, agents or other representatives of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any other business entity or enterprise with which the Company or any Subsidiary is or has been affiliated or associated, has, directly or indirectly, made or authorized any payment, contribution or gift of money, property, or services, whether or not in contravention of applicable law, (a) as a kickback or bribe to any Person or (b) to any political organization, or the holder of or any aspirant to any elective or appointive public office except for personal political contributions not involving the direct or indirect use of funds of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(kk) Money Laundering. The Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with, and have not previously violated, the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and all other applicable U.S. and non-U.S. anti-money laundering laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the laws, regulations and Executive
13
Orders and sanctions programs administered by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, including, but not limited, to (i) Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001 entitled, “Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism” (66 Fed. Reg. 49079 (2001)); and (ii) any regulations contained in 31 CFR, Subtitle B, Chapter V.
(ll) Management. Except as set forth in the SEC Documents hereto, during the past five year period, no current or former officer or director or, to the knowledge of the Company, stockholder of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has been the subject of:
|
|
|
|
(i) a petition under bankruptcy laws or any other insolvency or moratorium law or the appointment by a court of a receiver, fiscal agent or similar officer for such Person, or any partnership in which such person was a general partner at or within two years before the filing of such petition or such appointment, or any corporation or business association of which such person was an executive officer at or within two years before the time of the filing of such petition or such appointment; |
|
|
|
|
|
(ii) a conviction in a criminal proceeding or a named subject of a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations that do not relate to driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence); |
|
|
|
|
|
(iii) any order, judgment or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any court of competent jurisdiction, permanently or temporarily enjoining any such person from, or otherwise limiting, the following activities: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acting as a futures commission merchant, introducing broker, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, floor broker, leverage transaction merchant, any other person regulated by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission or an associated person of any of the foregoing, or as an investment adviser, underwriter, broker or dealer in securities, or as an affiliated person, director or employee of any investment company, bank, savings and loan association or insurance company, or engaging in or continuing any conduct or practice in connection with such activity; |
|
|
|
|
|
Engaging in any type of business practice; or |
|
|
|
|
|
Engaging in any activity in connection with the purchase or sale of any security or commodity or in connection with any violation of securities laws or commodities laws; |
|
|
|
|
(iv) any order, judgment or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any authority barring, suspending or otherwise limiting for more than 60 days the right of any such person to engage in any activity described in the preceding sub paragraph, or to be associated with persons engaged in any such activity; |
|
|
|
|
|
(v) a finding by a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action or by the SEC or other authority to have violated any securities law, regulation or decree and the judgment in such civil action or finding by the SEC or any other authority has not been subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated; or |
|
|
|
|
|
(vi) a finding by a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action or by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have violated any federal commodities law, and the |
14
|
|
|
|
judgment in such civil action or finding has not been subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated. |
(mm) No Additional Agreements. The Company does not have any agreement or understanding with any Buyer with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents other than as specified in the Transaction Documents.
(nn) Registration Rights. No holder of securities of the Company has rights to the registration of any securities of the Company because of the filing of the Registration Statement or the issuance of the Securities hereunder that could expose the Company to material liability or any Buyer to any liability or that could impair the Company’s ability to consummate the issuance and sale of the Securities in the manner, and at the times, contemplated hereby, which rights have not been waived by the holder thereof as of the date hereof.
(oo) Public Utility Holding Act. None of the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a “holding company,” or an “affiliate” of a “holding company,” as such terms are defined in the Public Utility Holding Act of 2005.
(pp) Federal Power Act. None of the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is subject to regulation as a “public utility” under the Federal Power Act, as amended.
(qq) Disclosure. The Company confirms that neither it nor any other Person acting on its behalf has provided any of the Buyers or their agents or counsel with any information that constitutes or could reasonably be expected to constitute material, non-public information concerning the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, other than the existence of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents. All disclosure provided to the Buyers regarding the Company and its Subsidiaries, their businesses and the transactions contemplated hereby, including the schedules to the Purchase Agreement, furnished by or on behalf of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is true and correct and does 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. Each press release issued by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries during the twelve (12) months preceding the date of this Agreement did not at the time of release contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. No event or circumstance has occurred or, to the Company’s knowledge, information exists with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or its or their business, properties, liabilities, prospects, operations (including results thereof) or conditions (financial or otherwise), which, under applicable law, rule or regulation, requires public disclosure at or before the date hereof or announcement by the Company but which has not been so publicly disclosed.
(rr) FINRA Affiliations. There are no present affiliations with any FINRA member firm among the Company’s officers, directors or, to the knowledge of the Company, any five percent (5%) or greater stockholder of the Company, except as set forth in the Prospectus or Prospectus Supplement.
4. Agreements of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees with the Placement Agent as follows:
(a) The Company will not, during such period as the Prospectus is required by law to be delivered in connection with sales of the Securities by the Company or a dealer, file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, unless a copy thereof shall first have been submitted to the Placement Agent within a reasonable period of time prior to the filing thereof and the
15
Placement Agent shall not have objected thereto in good faith and on reasonable grounds.
(b) During the term of this Agreement, the Company will notify the Placement Agent promptly, and will confirm such advice in writing, (i) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement becomes effective, (ii) of any request by the SEC for amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information, (iii) of the issuance by the SEC of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose or the threat thereof, (iv) of the happening of any event that in the judgment of the Company makes any statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus untrue or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances in which they are made, not misleading, and (v) of receipt by the Company or any representative or attorney of the Company of any other communication from the SEC relating to the Company, the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus. If at any time the SEC shall issue any order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement during the term of this Agreement, the Company will make every reasonable effort to obtain the withdrawal of such order at the earliest possible moment. During the term of this Agreement, if the Company has omitted any information from the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430A of the Rules and Regulations or has omitted any information from the Base Prospectus pursuant to Rule 430B or 430C of the Rules and Regulations, the Company will comply with the provisions of and make all requisite filings with the SEC pursuant to said Rule 430A, Rule 430B or 430C, as applicable, and notify the Placement Agent promptly of all such filings.
(c) The Company will not file any document under the 1934 Act or the 1934 Act Rules and Regulations before the termination of the Offering of the Securities, if such document would be deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Prospectus, without first providing a copy of such document to the Placement Agent at least twenty-four (24) hours before the filing, unless the Company reasonably determines that a delay of twenty-four (24) hours would or could result in a violation of any federal or state law or applicable regulation.
5. Indemnification.
(a) The Company agrees that it will indemnify and hold harmless the Placement Agent, the, partners, members, directors, officers and employees of the Placement Agent and each person, if any, who controls the Placement Agent within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act, from and against any and all losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any and all investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted), to which they, or any of them, may become subject under the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, liabilities, expenses or damages arise out of or are based on any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Prospectus Supplement, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or the omission or alleged omission to state in such document a material fact required to be stated in it or necessary to make the statements in it not misleading in the light of the circumstances in which they were made, or arise out of or are based in whole or in part on any inaccuracy in the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein or any failure of the Company to perform its obligations hereunder or under law in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby; provided, however, that the Company will not be liable to the extent that such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage arises from the sale of the Securities to any Investor and is based on an untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in reliance on and in conformity with information relating to the Placement Agent furnished in writing to the Company by the Placement Agent for inclusion in any preliminary prospectus, the
16
Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Prospectus Supplement or Issuer Free Writing Prospectus. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company might otherwise have.
(b) Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified by the Company under this Section 5 shall, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against the Company as the indemnifying party under this Section 5, notify the Company in writing of the commencement of such action, enclosing with such notice a copy of all papers served. If any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the Company of its commencement, the Company will be entitled to participate in and, to the extent that it elects by delivering written notice to the indemnified party promptly after receiving notice of the commencement of the action from the indemnified party to assume the defense of the action, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the Company. After notice from the Company to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense, the Company will not be liable to the indemnified party for any legal or other expenses except as provided below and except for the reasonable costs of investigation incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense. The indemnified party will have the right to employ its own counsel in any such action, but the fees, expenses and other charges of such counsel will be at the expense of such indemnified party, unless: (1) a conflict or potential conflict is reasonably determined to exist between the indemnified party and the Company (in which case the Company will not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party); or (2) the Company fails to employ counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the commencement of the action, in each of which cases the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel will be at the expense of the Company. It is understood that the Company shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of more than one separate firm admitted to practice in such jurisdiction at any one time for all such indemnified party or parties. All such fees, disbursements and other charges will be reimbursed by the Company promptly as they are incurred. The Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened action in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party unless such settlement (i) includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on any claims that are the subject matter of such action and (ii) does not include a statement as to, or an admission of, fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of an indemnified party.
(c) If the indemnification provided for by the Company in this Section 5 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Section 5 in respect of any losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages referred to therein, then the Company, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party, shall contribute to the amount paid or payable (including any investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by the Company from persons other than the Placement Agent, such as persons who control the Company within the meaning of the 1933 Act, officers of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and directors of the Company, who also may be liable for contribution) by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Placement Agent. The relative benefits received by the Company and the Placement Agent shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the Offering received by the Company bear to the total Fee received by the Placement Agent pursuant to this Agreement. If, but only if, the allocation provided by the foregoing sentence is not permitted by applicable law, the allocation of contribution shall be made in such
17
proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in the foregoing sentence but also the relative fault of the Company and the Placement Agent with respect to the statements or omissions that resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations with respect to such Offering. Such relative fault shall be determined by reference to whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Placement Agent, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Placement Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 5(c) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss claim, liability, expense or damage, or action in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 5(c) shall be deemed to include, for purposes of this Section 5(c), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. For purposes of this Section 5(c), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of the 1933 Act will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement will have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the provisions hereof. Any party entitled to contribution, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against any such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made under this Section 5(c), will notify any such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission so to notify will not relieve the party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have under this Section 5(c).
(d) The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in this Section 5 and the representations and warranties of the parties contained in this Agreement shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of the indemnified party, (ii) acceptance by the Investors of any of the Securities and payment therefor, or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.
6. Termination.
(a) Unless the term is extended in writing by the parties, this Agreement shall terminate upon the earlier of: (i) April 1, 2010; or (ii) upon mutual agreement of the parties.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 6(a), the obligations of the Placement Agent under this Agreement and the ability of the Company to sell any Securities to Investors pursuant to a Prospectus that mentions the Placement Agent may be terminated at any time on or prior to any Closing Date, by notice to the Company from the Placement Agent, without liability on the part of the Placement Agent to the Company, if in the reasonable judgment of the Placement Agent (i) a Material Adverse Effect shall have occurred, (ii) trading in any of the equity securities of the Company shall have been suspended by the SEC or by the Trading Market, (iii) trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange, The Nasdaq Stock Market or the Amex shall have been suspended or limited or minimum or maximum prices shall have been generally established on such exchange, or additional material governmental restrictions, not in force on the date of this Agreement, shall have been imposed upon trading in securities generally by such exchange, by order of the SEC or any court or other governmental authority, or by the Trading Market, (iv) a general banking moratorium shall have been declared by federal, New York State or California State authorities or any material disruption of the securities settlement or clearance services in the United States shall have occurred, or (v) any material adverse change in the financial or securities markets in the United States or in political, financial or economic conditions in the United States, any outbreak or material escalation of hostilities involving the United States, a declaration of a national
18
emergency or war by the United States, or other calamity or crisis, either within or outside the United States, shall have occurred, the effect of which is such as to make it, in the reasonable judgment of the Placement Agent, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with completion of the offering of the Securities.
(c) If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section 6 prior to the sale of any Securities, the Company shall not be under any liability to the Placement Agent except as provided in Section 5 hereof. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section 6 after the sale of any Securities, the Company shall be liable to pay any Fee with respect to the sale of such Securities that has occurred prior to such termination and shall otherwise be obligated as provided in this Agreement, including without limitation under Section 5 hereof. Upon any termination of this Agreement, the Company’s obligation to reimburse Placement Agent for out of pocket accountable expenses actually incurred by it and reimbursable upon closing of the Offering, if any are otherwise due under this Agreement, will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement, as permitted by FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(d).
7. Closing.
The obligations of the Placement Agent and the Investors, and the closing of the sale of the Securities hereunder are subject to the accuracy, when made and on the Closing Date, of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company and its Subsidiaries contained herein, to the accuracy of the statements of the Company and its Subsidiaries made in any certificates pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company and its Subsidiaries of their obligations hereunder, and to each of the following additional terms and conditions:
(a) No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the SEC, and any request for additional information on the part of the SEC (to be included in the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement or otherwise) shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Placement Agent.
(b) The Placement Agent shall not have discovered and disclosed to the Company on or prior to the Closing Date that the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement or any amendment or supplement thereto contains an untrue statement of a fact which, in the opinion of counsel for the Placement Agent, is material or omits to state any fact which, in the opinion of such counsel, is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
(c) All corporate proceedings and other legal matters incident to the authorization, form, execution, delivery and validity of each of this Agreement, the Securities, the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement and all other legal matters relating to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall be reasonably satisfactory in all material respects to counsel for the Placement Agent, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel all documents and information that they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters.
(d) The Common Stock is registered under the Exchange Act and, as of the Closing Date, the Shares shall be listed and admitted and authorized for trading on the Trading Market, and satisfactory evidence of such actions shall have been provided to the Placement Agent. The Company shall have taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act or delisting or suspending from trading the Common Stock from the Trading Market, nor has the Company received any information suggesting that the SEC or the Trading Market is contemplating terminating such registration or listing.
19
(e) No action shall have been taken and no statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any governmental agency or body which would, as of the Closing Date, prevent the issuance or sale of the Securities or materially and adversely affect or potentially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company; and no injunction, restraining order or order of any other nature by any federal or state court of competent jurisdiction shall have been issued as of the Closing Date which would prevent the issuance or sale of the Securities or materially and adversely affect or potentially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company.
(f) The Company shall not have sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, (i) any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood, terrorist act or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth in or contemplated by the Prospectus and (ii) any change in the capital stock or long-term debt of the Company or any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the business, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity, results of operations or prospects of the Company, otherwise than as set forth in or contemplated by the Prospectus, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii), is, in the judgment of the Placement Agent, so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the sale or delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by the Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement.
(g) Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq National Market or the NYSE Alternext US or in the over-the-counter market, or trading in any securities of the Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market, shall have been suspended or minimum or maximum prices or maximum ranges for prices shall have been established on any such exchange or such market by the SEC, by such exchange or by any other regulatory body or governmental authority having jurisdiction, (ii) a banking moratorium shall have been declared by federal or state authorities or a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States, (iii) the United States shall have become engaged in hostilities in which it is not currently engaged, the subject of an act of terrorism, there shall have been an escalation in hostilities involving the United States, or there shall have been a declaration of a national emergency or war by the United States, or (iv) there shall have occurred any other calamity or crisis or any change in general economic, political or financial conditions in the United States or elsewhere, if the effect of any such event in clause (iii) or (iv) makes it, in the sole judgment of the Placement Agent, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the sale or delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated by the Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement.
(h) The Company shall have prepared and filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K with respect to the Offering, including as an exhibit thereto this Agreement.
(i) The Company shall have entered into securities purchase agreements with each of the Investors and such agreements shall be in full force and effect and shall contain representations and warranties of the Company as agreed between the Company and the Investors.
(j) FINRA shall have raised no objection to the fairness and reasonableness of the terms and arrangements of this Agreement. In addition, the Company shall, if requested by the Placement Agent, make or authorize Placement Agent’s counsel to make on the Company’s behalf, an Issuer Filing with FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110 with respect to the Registration Statement and pay all filing fees required in connection therewith.
20
8. Placement Agent Information and Relationship. The Company agrees that any information or advice rendered by Placement Agent in connection with this engagement is for the confidential use of the Company only in their evaluation of the Offering and, except as otherwise required by law, the Company will not disclose or otherwise refer to the advice or information in any manner without Placement Agent’s prior written consent. This Agreement does not create, and shall not be construed as creating rights enforceable by any person or entity not a party hereto, except those entitled hereto by virtue of the indemnification provisions hereof. The Company acknowledges and agrees that Placement Agent is not and shall not be construed as a fiduciary of the Company and shall have no duties or liabilities to the equity holders or the creditors of the Company or any other person by virtue of this Agreement or the retention of Placement Agent hereunder, all of which are hereby expressly waived.
9. Notices. Notice given pursuant to any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be in writing and, unless otherwise specified, shall be: (1) mailed via nationally recognized overnight courier or delivered (a) if to the Company, to: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Chief Executive Officer, NovaDel Pharma, Inc., 00 Xxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxx Xxxxxx, 00000; or (b) if to the Placement Agent, to Chardan Capital Markets, LLC, Attention: Chief Executive Officer, 00 Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000; or (2) sent via facsimile with transmission receipt.
10. Miscellaneous.
(a) This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Placement Agent, the Company, the controlling persons, partners, members, directors and officers referred to in Section 5(a), and their respective successors and assigns. Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person other than the persons mentioned in the preceding sentence any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement, or any provisions herein contained, this Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof being intended to be and being for the sole and exclusive benefit of such persons and for the benefit of no other person.
(b) This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral), relating to the subject matter hereof. If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable in any respect, such determination will not affect such provision in any other respect or any other provision of this Agreement, which will remain in full force and effect. This Agreement may not be amended or otherwise modified or waived except by an instrument in writing signed by both Placement Agent and the Company. The representations, warranties, agreements and covenants contained herein shall survive the closing of the Offering and delivery and/or exercise of the Securities, as applicable.
(c) This Agreement will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed entirely in such State. This Agreement may not be assigned by either party without the prior written consent of the other party. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto, and their respective successors and permitted assigns. Any right to trial by jury with respect to any dispute arising under this Agreement or any transaction or conduct in connection herewith is waived. Any dispute arising under this Agreement may be brought into the courts of the State of New York or into the Federal Court located in New York, New York and, by execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company hereby accepts for itself and in respect of its property, generally and unconditionally, the jurisdiction of aforesaid courts. Each party hereto hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by delivering a copy thereof via overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any manner
21
permitted by law. If either party shall commence an action or proceeding to enforce any provisions of a Transaction Document, then the prevailing party in such action or proceeding shall be reimbursed by the other party for its attorneys’ fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such action or proceeding.
(d) This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the other party, it being understood that both parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission or a .pdf format file, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such facsimile or .pdf signature page were an original thereof.
(e) In case any provision in this Agreement shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
(f) Each of the Company and the Placement Agent hereby waives any right it may have to a trial by jury in respect of any claim based upon or arising out of this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
(g) This Agreement does not create, and shall not be construed as creating rights enforceable by any person or entity not a party hereto, except those entitled hereto by virtue of the indemnification provisions hereof. The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Placement Agent is not and shall not be construed as a fiduciary of the Company and shall have no duties or liabilities to the equity holders or the creditors of the Company or any other person by virtue of this Agreement or the retention of the Placement Agent hereunder, all of which are hereby expressly waived.
Signature page follows
22
Please confirm that the foregoing correctly sets forth the agreement among the Company and the Placement Agent.
|
|
|
|
Very truly yours, |
|
|
|
|
|
NOVADEL PHARMA, INC. |
|
|
|
|
|
By: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name: |
|
|
Title: Chief Executive Officer |
Confirmed as of the date first above written:
CHARDAN CAPITAL MARKETS, LLC
|
|
|
By: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name: |
|
|
Title: |
|
23