SUPPORT AGREEMENT
Exhibit 10.1
THIS SUPPORT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”), dated as of January 17, 2023, is made by and among Leap Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Leap”), and HealthCare Ventures IX, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“Stockholder”).
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, entered into on or around the date hereof, by and among Leap, Fire Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Leap (“First Merger Sub”), Flame Biosciences LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Leap (“Second Merger Sub”), Flame Biosciences, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Flame”), and the Stockholder Representative named therein (the “Merger Agreement”), (i) First Merger Sub will be merged with and into the Company (the “First Merger”) with the Company surviving as a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Leap, and (ii) immediately thereafter, the Company will be merged with and into Second Merger Sub (the “Second Merger” and, together with the First Merger, the “Merger”) with Second Merger Sub surviving as a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Leap;
WHEREAS, Stockholder beneficially owns and has sole or shared voting power with respect to the number of shares of capital stock of Leap indicated opposite Stockholder’s name on Schedule 1 attached hereto;
WHEREAS, as an inducement and a condition to the willingness of Leap, First Merger Sub, Second Merger Sub and the Company to enter into the Merger Agreement, and in consideration of the substantial expenses incurred and to be incurred by them in connection therewith, Stockholder has agreed to enter into and perform this Agreement; and
WHEREAS, all capitalized terms used in this Agreement without definition herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Merger Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of, and as a condition to, Leap, First Merger Sub, Second Merger Sub and the Company entering into the Merger Agreement and proceeding with the transactions contemplated thereby, and in consideration of the substantial expenses incurred and to be incurred by them in connection therewith, Stockholder and Leap agree as follows:
| 1) | Agreement to Vote Shares. Stockholder agrees that, from and after the date hereof until the Expiration Date (as defined in Section 2 below), at any meeting of the stockholders of Leap or any adjournment or postponement thereof, or in connection with any written consent of the stockholders of Leap, with respect to the Parent Stockholder Matters, Stockholder shall: |
| a) | appear at such meeting or otherwise cause to be counted as present thereat for purposes of calculating a quorum (i) all of the shares of capital stock of Leap that are owned of record or beneficially by Stockholder as of the date of this Agreement and that Stockholder is entitled to vote or cause to be voted on any of the Parent Stockholder Matters (the “Shares”) and (ii) any New Shares (as defined in Section 3 below); |
| b) | vote (or cause to be voted), or deliver a written consent (or cause a written consent to be delivered) covering all of the Shares and any New Shares: (i) in favor of the Parent Stockholder Matters and any matter that could reasonably be expected to facilitate the Parent Stockholder Matters; (ii) against any proposal or other matter that is intended to, or would reasonably be expected to, impede, interfere with, delay, postpone, discourage or materially and adversely affect the consummation of the Parent Stockholder Matters; and (iii) to approve any proposal to adjourn or postpone the applicable meeting of the stockholders of Leap to a later date, if there are not sufficient votes for the approval of the Parent Stockholder Matters on the date on which such meeting is held. Stockholder shall not take or commit or agree to take any action inconsistent with the foregoing. |
| 2) | Expiration Date. As used in this Agreement, the term “Expiration Date” shall mean the earlier to occur of (a) the effective time of the approval of the Parent Stockholder Matters or (b) upon mutual written agreement of Leap and Stockholder. |
| 3) | Additional Purchases. Stockholder agrees that any shares of capital stock or other equity securities of Leap that (i) Stockholder purchases or with respect to which Stockholder otherwise acquires sole or shared voting power (including any proxy) after the execution of this Agreement and prior to the Expiration Date, including, without limitation, by gift or succession, in the event of a stock split, or as a dividend or distribution of any Shares and (ii) Stockholder is entitled to vote or cause to be voted on any of the Parent Stockholder Matters (“New Shares”), shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement to the same extent as if they constituted the Shares. |
| 4) | Share Transfers. From and after the date hereof until the earlier of (i) the date that the Parent Stockholder Meeting is held and a vote of the stockholders of Leap is taken at the Parent Stockholder Meeting seeking approval of the Parent Stockholder Matters and (ii) the Expiration Date, Stockholder shall not, directly or indirectly, (a) sell, assign, transfer, tender, pledge or otherwise dispose of any Shares or any New Shares, (b) deposit any Shares or New Shares into a voting trust or enter into a voting agreement or similar arrangement with respect to such Shares or New Shares or grant any proxy or power of attorney with respect thereto (other than this Agreement), (c) enter into any Contract, option, commitment or other arrangement or understanding with respect to the direct or indirect sale, transfer, assignment, pledge or other disposition of any Shares or New Shares, or (d) take any action that would make any representation or warranty of Stockholder contained herein untrue or incorrect or have the effect of preventing or disabling Stockholder from performing Stockholder’s obligations under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Stockholder may make (1) transfers by will or by operation of law or other transfers for estate-planning purposes, provided that in each such case the applicable transferee has signed a voting agreement in substantially the form hereof, (2) if Stockholder is a partnership or limited liability company, a transfer to one or more partners or members of Stockholder or to an Affiliated corporation, trust or other Entity under common control with Stockholder, or if Stockholder is a trust, a transfer to a beneficiary, provided that in each such case the applicable transferee has signed a voting agreement in substantially the form hereof, and (3) transfers, sales or other dispositions as Leap may otherwise agree in writing in its sole discretion. If any voluntary or involuntary transfer of any Shares or New Shares covered hereby shall occur (including a transfer or disposition permitted by Section 4(1) through Section 4(3), sale by a Stockholder’s trustee in bankruptcy, or a sale to a purchaser at any creditor’s or court sale), the transferee (which term, as used herein, shall include any and all transferees and subsequent transferees of the initial transferee) shall take and hold such Shares and/or New Shares subject to all of the restrictions, obligations and rights under this Agreement, which shall continue in full force and effect, notwithstanding that such transferee is not a Stockholder and has not executed a counterpart hereof or joinder hereto. |
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| 5) | Representations and Warranties of Stockholder. Stockholder hereby represents and warrants to Leap as follows: |
| a) | Stockholder is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated, organized or constituted, (ii) Stockholder has all necessary power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement, to perform Stockholder’s obligations hereunder and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, and (iii) the execution and delivery of this Agreement, performance of Stockholder’s obligations hereunder and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby by Stockholder have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of Stockholder and no other proceedings on the part of Stockholder are necessary to authorize this Agreement, or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby; |
| b) | this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by or on behalf of Stockholder and, to Stockholder’s knowledge and assuming this Agreement constitutes a valid and binding agreement of Leap, constitutes a valid and binding agreement with respect to Stockholder, enforceable against Stockholder in accordance with its terms, except as enforcement may be limited by general principles of equity whether applied in a court of law or a court of equity and by bankruptcy, insolvency and similar Laws affecting creditors’ rights and remedies generally; |
| c) | as of the date of this Agreement, Stockholder beneficially owns the number of Shares indicated opposite Stockholder’s name on Schedule 1, and has sole or shared voting power with respect to such Shares and none of the Shares are subject to any voting trust or other agreement, arrangement or restriction with respect to the voting of the Shares that restrict Stockholder’s ability to perform its obligations set forth in this Agreement, except as contemplated by this Agreement; |
| d) | the execution and delivery of this Agreement by Stockholder does not, and the performance by Stockholder of its obligations hereunder and the compliance by Stockholder with any provisions hereof will not, violate or conflict with, result in a material breach of or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a material default) under, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation of, any agreement, instrument, note, bond, mortgage, Contract, lease, license, permit or other obligation or any order, arbitration award, judgment or decree to which Stockholder is a party or by which Stockholder is bound, or any law, statute, rule or regulation to which Stockholder is subject or any Organizational Document of Stockholder; except for any of the foregoing as would not reasonably be expected to prevent or delay the performance by Stockholder of its obligations under this Agreement in any material respect; |
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| e) | the execution and delivery of this Agreement by Stockholder does not, and the performance of this Agreement by Stockholder does not and will not, require any consent, approval, authorization or permit of, or filing with or notification to, any Governmental Body by Stockholder except for applicable requirements, if any, of the Exchange Act, and except where the failure to obtain such consents, approvals, authorizations or permits, or to make such filings or notifications, would not prevent or delay the performance by Stockholder of its obligations under this Agreement in any material respect; and |
| f) | as of the date of this Agreement, there is no Legal Proceeding pending or, to the knowledge of Stockholder, threatened against Stockholder that would reasonably be expected to prevent or delay the performance by Stockholder of its obligations under this Agreement in any material respect. |
| 6) | Irrevocable Proxy. Subject to the final sentence of this Section 6, by execution of this Agreement, Stockholder does hereby appoint Leap and any of its designees with full power of substitution and resubstitution, as Stockholder’s true and lawful attorney and irrevocable proxy, to the fullest extent of Stockholder’s rights with respect to the Shares and any New Shares, to vote and exercise all voting and related rights, including the right to sign Stockholder’s name (solely in its capacity as a stockholder of Leap) to any stockholder consent, if Stockholder is unable to perform or otherwise does not perform its obligations under this Agreement, with respect to such Shares and/or New Shares solely with respect to the matters set forth in Section 1 hereof. Stockholder intends this proxy to be irrevocable and coupled with an interest hereunder until the Expiration Date, hereby revokes any proxy previously granted by Stockholder with respect to the Shares and represents that none of such previously-granted proxies are irrevocable. The irrevocably proxy and power of attorney granted herein shall survive the death or incapacity of Stockholder and the obligations of Stockholder shall be binding on Stockholder’s heirs, personal representatives, successors, transferees and assigns. Stockholder xxxxxx agrees not to grant any subsequent powers of attorney or proxies with respect to any Shares with respect to the matters set forth in Section 1 until after the Expiration Date. Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, this irrevocable proxy and the other terms and provisions set forth in this Section 6 shall automatically terminate upon the Expiration Date. |
| 7) | Other Remedies; Specific Performance. Except as otherwise provided herein, any and all remedies herein expressly conferred upon a party hereto will be deemed cumulative with, and not exclusive of, any other remedy conferred hereby, or by law or equity upon such party, and the exercise by a party hereto of any one remedy will not preclude the exercise of any other remedy. The parties hereto agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that the parties hereto shall be entitled to an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions hereof without the need of posting bond in any court of the United States or any state having jurisdiction, this being in addition to any other remedy to which they are entitled at law or in equity. |
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| 8) | Directors and Officers. This Agreement shall apply to Stockholder solely in Stockholder’s capacity as a stockholder of Leap and not in Stockholder’s or any of its Affiliate’s capacity as a director, officer or employee of Leap or any of its Subsidiaries or in Stockholder’s capacity as a trustee or fiduciary of any employee benefit plan or trust. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, nothing in this Agreement shall (or require Stockholder to attempt to) limit or restrict a director and/or officer of Leap in the exercise of his or her fiduciary duties as a director and/or officer of Leap or in his or her capacity as a trustee or fiduciary of any employee benefit plan or trust or prevent or be construed to create any obligation on the part of any director and/or officer of Leap or any trustee or fiduciary of any employee benefit plan or trust from taking any action in his or her capacity as such director, officer, trustee and/or fiduciary. |
| 9) | No Ownership Interest. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to vest in Leap any direct or indirect ownership or incidence of ownership of or with respect to any Shares or New Shares. All rights, ownership and economic benefits of and relating to the Shares or any New Shares shall remain vested in and belong to Stockholder, and Leap does not have authority to exercise any power or authority to direct Stockholder in the voting of any of the Shares or the New Shares, except as otherwise provided herein. |
| 10) | Termination. This Agreement shall terminate and shall have no further force or effect as of the Expiration Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, neither party hereto shall have any further obligations or liabilities under this Agreement; provided, however, nothing set forth in this Section 10 or elsewhere in this Agreement shall relieve either party hereto from liability for any fraud or for any willful and material breach of this Agreement prior to termination hereof. |
| 11) | Further Assurances. Stockholder shall, from time to time, execute and deliver, or cause to be executed and delivered, such additional or further consents, documents and other instruments as Leap may reasonably request for the purpose of effectively carrying out the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. |
| 12) | Disclosure. Stockholder hereby agrees that Leap may publish and disclose in any registration statement, any prospectus filed with any regulatory authority in connection with the Contemplated Transactions and any related documents filed with such regulatory authority and as otherwise required by law, Stockholder’s identity and ownership of Shares and New Shares and the nature of Stockholder’s commitments, arrangements and understandings under this Agreement and may further file this Agreement as an exhibit to any registration statement or prospectus or in any other filing made by Leap as required by law or the terms of the Merger Agreement, including with the SEC or other regulatory authority, relating to the Contemplated Transactions, all subject to prior review and an opportunity to comment by Xxxxxxxxxxx’s counsel. |
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| 13) | Notice. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given if delivered personally or sent by overnight courier (providing proof of delivery), by facsimile transmission (providing confirmation of transmission) or by electronic transmission (providing confirmation of transmission) to Leap in accordance with Section 9.6 of the Merger Agreement and to Stockholder at his, her or its address or email address (providing confirmation of transmission) set forth on Schedule 1 attached hereto (or at such other address for a party as shall be specified by like notice). |
| 14) | Severability. Any term or provision of this Agreement that is invalid or unenforceable in any situation in any jurisdiction shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining terms and provisions of this Agreement or the validity or enforceability of the offending term or provision in any other situation or in any other jurisdiction. If a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction declares that any term or provision of this Agreement is invalid or unenforceable, the parties hereto agree that the court making such determination shall have the power to limit such term or provision, to delete specific words or phrases or to replace such term or provision with a term or provision that is valid and enforceable and that comes closest to expressing the intention of the invalid or unenforceable term or provision, and this Agreement shall be valid and enforceable as so modified. In the event such court does not exercise the power granted to it in the prior sentence, the parties hereto agree to replace such invalid or unenforceable term or provision with a valid and enforceable term or provision that will achieve, to the extent possible, the economic, business and other purposes of such invalid or unenforceable term or provision. |
| 15) | Assignability. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and shall be enforceable by and inure solely to the benefit of, the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns; provided, however, that neither this Agreement nor any of either party’s rights or obligations hereunder may be assigned or delegated by such party without the prior written consent of the other party, and any attempted assignment or delegation of this Agreement or any of such rights or obligations by such party without the other party’s prior written consent shall be void and of no effect. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to or shall confer upon any Person (other than the parties hereto) any right, benefit or remedy of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement. |
| 16) | No Waivers. No waivers of any breach of this Agreement extended by Leap to Stockholder shall be construed as a waiver of any rights or remedies of Leap with respect to any subsequent breach of Stockholder of this Agreement. No waiver of any provisions hereof by either party hereto shall be deemed a waiver of any other provisions hereof by such party, nor shall any such waiver be deemed a continuing waiver of any provision hereof by such party. |
| 17) | Applicable Law; Jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the Laws of the state of Delaware, regardless of the laws that might otherwise govern under applicable principles of conflicts of laws. In any action or Legal Proceeding between the parties hereto arising out of or relating to this Agreement, each of the parties hereto: (i) irrevocably and unconditionally consents and submits to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the Court of Chancery of the state of Delaware or to the extent such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, the Superior Court of the State of Delaware or the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, (ii) agrees that all claims in respect of such action or Legal Proceeding shall be heard and determined exclusively in accordance with clause (i) of this Section 17, (iii) waives any objection to laying venue in any such action or Legal Proceeding in such courts, (iv) waives any objection that such courts are an inconvenient forum or do not have jurisdiction over such party hereto, and (v) agrees that service of process upon such party in any such action or Legal Proceeding shall be effective if notice is given in accordance with Section 13 of this Agreement. |
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| 18) | Waiver of Jury Trial. THE PARTIES HERETO HEREBY WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY WITH RESPECT TO ANY ACTION OR LEGAL PROCEEDING RELATED TO OR ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT AND THE MATTERS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY. |
| 19) | No Agreement Until Executed. Irrespective of negotiations among the parties hereto or the exchanging of drafts of this Agreement, this Agreement shall not constitute or be deemed to evidence a Contract, agreement, arrangement or understanding between the parties hereto unless and until (a) the Parent Board has approved, for purposes of any applicable provision of the certificate of incorporation of Leap, the Merger Agreement and the Contemplated Transactions, (b) the Merger Agreement is executed by all parties thereto, and (c) this Agreement is executed by the parties hereto. |
| 20) | Entire Agreement; Counterparts; Exchanges by Facsimile. This Agreement and the other agreements referred to in this Agreement constitute the entire agreement and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, between the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof. This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original and all of which shall constitute one and the same instrument. The exchange of a fully executed Agreement (in counterparts or otherwise) by the parties hereto by facsimile or electronic transmission via “.pdf” shall be sufficient to bind the parties to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. |
| 21) | Amendment. This Agreement may not be amended, supplemented or modified, and no provisions hereof may be modified or waived, except by an instrument in writing signed on behalf of each party hereto; provided, however, that the rights or obligations of Stockholder may be waived, amended or otherwise modified in a writing signed by Leap and Stockholder. |
| 22) | Fees and Expenses. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, the Merger Agreement or any other agreement contemplated by the Merger Agreement to which a party hereto is a party, each party hereto shall bear its own expenses in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby. |
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| 23) | Voluntary Execution of Agreement. This Agreement is executed voluntarily and without any duress or undue influence on the part or behalf of the parties hereto. Each of the parties hereto hereby acknowledges, represents and warrants that (i) it has read and fully understood this Agreement and the implications and consequences thereof; (ii) it has been represented in the preparation, negotiation, and execution of this Agreement by legal counsel of its own choice, or it has made a voluntary and informed decision to decline to seek such counsel; and (iii) it is fully aware of the legal and binding effect of this Agreement. |
| 24) | Construction. |
| a) | For purposes of this Agreement, whenever the context requires: the singular number shall include the plural, and vice versa; the masculine gender shall include the feminine and neuter genders; the feminine gender shall include the masculine and neuter genders; and the neuter gender shall include masculine and feminine genders. |
| b) | The parties hereto agree that any rule of construction to the effect that ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be applied in the construction or interpretation of this Agreement. |
| c) | As used in this Agreement, the words “include” and “including,” and variations thereof, shall not be deemed to be terms of limitation, but rather shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation.” |
| d) | Except as otherwise indicated, all references in this Agreement to “Sections,” and “Schedules” are intended to refer to Sections of this Agreement and Schedules to this Agreement, respectively. |
| e) | The underlined headings contained in this Agreement are for convenience of reference only, shall not be deemed to be a part of this Agreement and shall not be referred to in connection with the construction or interpretation of this Agreement. |
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EXECUTED as of the date first above written.
| HEALTHCARE VENTURES IX L.P. | |||
| By: | HealthCare Partners IX, LLC, in its capacity as General Partner | ||
| By: | /s/ Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx | ||
| Name: Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx | |||
| Title: Authorized Signatory | |||
| LEAP THERAPEUTICS, INC. | |||
| By: | /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxx | ||
| Name: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxx | |||
| Title: Chief Executive Officer and President | |||
SCHEDULE 1
| Name, Address and Email Address of Stockholder | Shares | |
| HealthCare Ventures IX L.P. 00 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx X0 Xxxxxxxxx, XX 00000 Attention: Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx Email: xxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx | 4,144,804 shares of common stock of Leap |
