STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT Dated as of August 1, 2008, by and among Waste Connections, Inc., on the one hand, and Harold LeMay Enterprises, Incorporated and its Shareholders, on the other hand
EXECUTION
COPY
Dated as
of August 1, 2008, by and among
Waste
Connections, Inc.,
on the
one hand, and
Xxxxxx
XxXxx Enterprises, Incorporated
and
its
Shareholders,
on the
other hand
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
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||||
Page
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1.
|
PURCHASE
OF CORPORATION’S STOCK
|
1
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1.1
|
Shares
to be Purchased
|
1
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||
1.2
|
Purchase
Price
|
1
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||
1.3
|
Allocation
of the Purchase Price
|
5
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1.4
|
Excluded
Assets
|
5
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||
2.
|
CLOSING
TIME AND PLACE
|
5
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2.1
|
Closing
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5
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2.2
|
Termination
|
6
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2.3
|
Notice
and Effect of Termination
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7
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3.
|
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF THE CORPORATION AND
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THE
SHAREHOLDERS
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7
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3.1
|
Organization,
Standing and Qualification
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7
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3.2
|
Capitalization
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7
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3.3
|
Authority
for Agreement
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8
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3.4
|
No
Breach or Default
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8
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3.5
|
Consents
Required
|
9
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||
3.6
|
Subsidiaries
|
9
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||
3.7
|
Financial
Statements
|
9
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||
3.8
|
Litigation
|
10
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||
3.9
|
Accurate
and Complete Records
|
10
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3.10
|
Licenses
and Permits
|
10
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||
3.11
|
Assets,
etc., Necessary to Business
|
10
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||
3.12
|
Fixed
Assets
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11
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||
3.13
|
Real
Property
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12
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3.14
|
Contracts
|
13
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3.15
|
Insurance
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14
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3.16
|
Personnel
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15
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3.17
|
Benefit
Plans and Union Contracts
|
16
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||
3.18
|
Taxes
|
20
|
||
3.19
|
Copies
Complete; Required Consents
|
22
|
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
(continued)
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||||
Page
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||||
3.20
|
Customers,
Xxxxxxxx, Current Receipts and Receivables
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22
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3.21
|
No
Change
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23
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3.22
|
Closing
Date Debt; Effective Date Current Assets and Effective
Date
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Current
Liabilities
|
24
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3.23
|
Bank
and Credit Card Accounts
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25
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3.24
|
Compliance
With Laws
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26
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3.25
|
Related
Party Transactions
|
27
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3.26
|
Underground
Storage Tanks
|
27
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||
3.27
|
Powers
of Attorney
|
28
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||
3.28
|
Patents,
Trademarks, Trade Names, etc
|
28
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3.29
|
Suppliers
and Customers
|
29
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3.30
|
Absence
of Certain Business Practices
|
29
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||
3.31
|
No
Misleading Statements
|
29
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3.32
|
Brokers;
Finders
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29
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3.33
|
Tax
Election Matters
|
29
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||
3.34
|
Limitation
on Sellers’ Representations and Warranties
|
29
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||
4.
|
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES OF WCI
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30
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4.1
|
Existence
and Good Standing
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30
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4.2
|
Authorization
of Agreement
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30
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4.3
|
No
Breach or Default
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31
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4.4
|
No
Restrictions on Authority
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31
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4.5
|
Governmental
Consents
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31
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4.6
|
No
Contractual Restrictions
|
31
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4.7
|
Litigation
|
31
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||
4.8
|
No
Misleading Statements
|
31
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||
4.9
|
Brokers;
Finders
|
32
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||
4.10
|
Investment
Representations
|
32
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||
4.11
|
Limitation
on WCI’s Representations and Warranties
|
32
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5.
|
COVENANTS
FROM SIGNING TO CLOSING
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32
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5.1
|
Operations
|
32
|
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
(continued)
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Page
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5.2
|
No
Change
|
33
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5.3
|
Obtain
Consents
|
34
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5.4
|
Access;
Confidential Information
|
34
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5.5
|
Financial
Statements
|
35
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5.6
|
Notice
of Material Adverse Change
|
35
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5.7
|
Control
of the Corporation’s Operations
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35
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5.8
|
Acquisition
Transactions
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36
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5.9
|
Schedules
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36
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5.10
|
Leases
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37
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6.
|
CONDITIONS
PRECEDENT TO OBLIGATION OF WCI TO CLOSE
|
37
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6.1
|
Representations
and Warranties
|
37
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||
6.2
|
Conditions
|
37
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||
6.3
|
No
Material Adverse Change
|
37
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||
6.4
|
Certificates
|
37
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||
6.5
|
No
Litigation
|
37
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||
6.6
|
Other
Deliveries
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38
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||
6.7
|
Governmental
Approvals; Consents to Transfer
|
38
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6.8
|
Release
of Security Interests
|
38
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6.9
|
Due
Diligence; Schedules
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38
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||
6.10
|
Title
Insurance
|
38
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||
6.11
|
HSR
Waiting Period
|
38
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||
6.12
|
Closing
of the Equity Purchase Agreement
|
39
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||
7.
|
CONDITIONS
PRECEDENT TO OBLIGATION OF THE SHAREHOLDERS
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|||
TO
CLOSE
|
39
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7.1
|
Representations
and Warranties
|
39
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||
7.2
|
Conditions
|
39
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||
7.3
|
Certificate
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39
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||
7.4
|
No
Litigation
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39
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||
7.5
|
Other
Deliveries
|
39
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||
7.6
|
HSR
Waiting Period
|
39
|
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
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||||
(continued) | ||||
Page
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7.7
|
Closing
of the Equity Purchase Agreement
|
39
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||
8.
|
CLOSING
DELIVERIES
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40
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||
8.1
|
WCI
Deliveries
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40
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||
8.2
|
Shareholder
and Corporation Deliveries
|
40
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||
9.
|
ADDITIONAL
COVENANTS OF WCI, THE CORPORATION AND THE
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SHAREHOLDERS
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41
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9.1
|
Agreement
to Cooperate
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41
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||
9.2
|
Release
of Guaranties
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42
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||
9.3
|
Release
of Security Interests
|
42
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||
9.4
|
Confidentiality
|
43
|
||
9.5
|
Broker’s
and Finder’s Fees
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43
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||
9.6
|
Taxes
|
43
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||
9.7
|
Tax
Returns
|
43
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||
9.8
|
General
Release by Shareholders
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44
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||
9.9
|
Certain
Tax Matters
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45
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||
9.10
|
Shareholders’
Representative
|
45
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||
9.11
|
Corporation
401(k) Plan
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46
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||
9.12
|
Corporation
Employees and Other Benefits
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47
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||
9.13
|
Notification
of Certain Matters
|
48
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||
9.14
|
Termination
of RETRO Program
|
48
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||
10.
|
INDEMNIFICATION
|
48
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||
10.1
|
Indemnity
by the Shareholders
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48
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||
10.2
|
Limitations
on the Shareholders’ Indemnities
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50
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||
10.3
|
Claims
|
51
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||
10.4 |
Survival
of Representations and Warranties and Indemnification
Obligations
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53
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||
10.5
|
No
Exhaustion of Remedies or Subrogation; Right of Setoff
|
53
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||
11.
|
OTHER
POST-CLOSING COVENANTS OF THE SHAREHOLDERS
|
54
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||
11.1
|
Restrictive
Covenants
|
54
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||
11.2
|
Rights
and Remedies On Breach
|
56
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||
12.
|
GENERAL
|
57
|
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
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||||
(continued) | ||||
Page
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12.1
|
Assignment
|
57
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||
12.2
|
Public
Announcements
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57
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||
12.3
|
Counterparts
|
57
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||
12.4
|
Notices
|
57
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||
12.5
|
Applicable
Law; Attorneys’ Fees
|
58
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||
12.6
|
No
Waiver Relating to Claims for Misconduct or Fraud
|
58
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||
12.7
|
Payment
of Fees and Expenses
|
58
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||
12.8
|
Incorporation
by Reference
|
59
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||
12.9
|
Captions
|
59
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||
12.10
|
Number
and Gender of Words
|
59
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||
12.11
|
Entire
Agreement
|
59
|
||
12.12
|
Waiver
|
59
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||
12.13
|
Severability
|
59
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||
12.14
|
Construction
|
59
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||
12.15
|
Electronic
Execution
|
60
|
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
|
|||
GLOSSARY
|
|||
The
definitions of the terms used below can be found on the page
indicated:
|
4
|
F
|
||||
401(k)
Plan
|
46
|
Facility
|
12
|
||
Financial
Statements
|
9
|
||||
A
|
Fixed
Assets
|
11
|
|||
FTC
|
41
|
||||
Absolute
Obligations
|
51
|
|
|
||
Acquisition
Transaction
|
36
|
G
|
|||
Adjustments
|
2
|
|
|||
Affiliate
|
60
|
General
Deductible Amount
|
50
|
||
Agreement
|
1
|
Golden
Parachute Payment
|
20
|
||
Annual
Financial Statements
|
9
|
|
|||
Antitrust
Division
|
42
|
H
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|||
|
|||||
B
|
|
Hazardous
Material
|
27
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||
Hazardous
Waste
|
27
|
||||
Balance
Sheet Date
|
9
|
HSR
Act
|
9
|
||
Business
|
1
|
|
|||
business
day
|
59
|
I
|
|
||
|
|
||||
C
|
Indemnifying
Party
|
51
|
|||
|
Indemnitee
|
48
|
|||
Claim
|
51
|
Indemnitees
|
48
|
||
Claims
Notice
|
51
|
Indemnity
Event
|
48
|
||
Closing
|
5
|
Indemnity
Events
|
48
|
||
Closing
Date
|
5
|
Initial
Schedules
|
36
|
||
Closing
Date Debt
|
24
|
IRS
|
17
|
||
Code
|
16
|
|
|||
Confidential
Information
|
55
|
K
|
|||
Corporation
|
1
|
|
|
||
Corporation’s
Stock
|
1
|
knowledge
|
60
|
||
|
|||||
D
|
|
L
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||
Damages
|
8
|
Laws
|
26
|
||
day
|
59
|
Lease
|
40
|
||
Delivered
Documents
|
22
|
Lease
Termination Agreement
|
40
|
||
Leased
Property
|
12
|
||||
E
|
|
Licenses
and Permits
|
10
|
||
|
|
Litigation
|
10
|
||
EBITDA
|
5
|
LLC
|
1
|
||
Effective
Date
|
6
|
|
|||
Effective
Date Current Assets
|
25
|
M
|
|||
Effective
Date Current Liabilities
|
25
|
|
|
||
Environmental
Laws
|
26
|
Management
Company
|
1
|
||
Environmental
Site
|
49
|
Material
Contracts
|
14
|
||
Environmental
Site Losses
|
49
|
Maximum
Claim Limit
|
50
|
||
Equity
Purchase Agreement
|
1
|
Minimum
Claim Amount
|
50
|
||
ERISA
|
16
|
Misconduct
|
51
|
||
ERISA
Affiliate
|
16
|
Multiemployer
Plans
|
16
|
||
ERISA
Plans
|
16
|
|
|||
Exchange
Act
|
35
|
N
|
|
||
Excluded
Assets
|
5
|
|
|
||
Excluded
Liabilities
|
5
|
Net
Loss
|
2
|
||
|
Net
Profit
|
2
|
|||
|
|||||
|
O
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
Other
Property
|
12
|
Owned
Property
|
12
|
Shareholders’
Representative
|
45
|
||
Signing
Date
|
7
|
||||
P
|
SPD
|
17
|
|||
Straddle
Periods
|
44
|
||||
PBGC
|
17
|
Supplemental
Material
|
36
|
||
Permitted
Liens
|
11
|
|
|||
Plan
Termination Date
|
46
|
T
|
|||
Plans
|
16
|
|
|||
Property
Lease
|
12
|
Tax
|
20
|
||
Purchase
Price
|
1
|
Taxes
|
20
|
||
|
Termination
Date
|
7
|
|||
R
|
Third
Party Claim
|
51
|
|||
|
Title
Company
|
00
|
|||
XXXX
|
00
|
Title
Policies
|
38
|
||
Real
Property
|
12
|
True
Up Calculations
|
2
|
||
Reasonable
efforts
|
60
|
True
Up Date
|
2
|
||
Recipient
|
20
|
|
|||
Records,
Notifications and Reports
|
27
|
U
|
|
||
Release
|
49
|
||||
Remaining
Schedules
|
36
|
Unpaid
Taxes
|
25
|
||
Required
Governmental Consents
|
9
|
USTs
|
27
|
||
Restrictive
Agreements
|
14
|
|
|||
Restrictive
Covenants
|
00
|
X
|
|
||
Xxxxxxx
|
00
|
||||
XXXX
Xxx
|
15
|
||||
S
|
|
WCI
|
1
|
||
|
|
Working
Capital Deficit
|
2
|
||
Shareholder
Expenses
|
59
|
Working
Capital Surplus
|
2
|
||
Shareholders
|
1
|
||||
|
|||||
|
|
||||
|
THIS STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT
(the “Agreement”), dated as
of August 1, 2008, is entered into by and among Waste Connections, Inc., a
Delaware corporation (“WCI”), on the one
hand, and Xxxxxx XxXxx Enterprises, Incorporated, a Washington corporation (the
“Corporation”),
and all of the shareholders of the Corporation, which are listed on
Schedule 3.2 attached hereto (collectively, the “Shareholders”), on
the other hand.
WHEREAS, the Corporation is
engaged in municipal solid waste, industrial non-hazardous waste, commercial
solid waste, construction and demolition waste, green or yard waste, electronic
waste or any other waste or residual product collection, processing, transfer,
transport, recycling and disposal business and operations in the State of
Washington, and
other related solid waste activities (the “Business”);
WHEREAS, the Shareholders own
all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of the Corporation (the “Corporation’s
Stock”);
WHEREAS, WCI wishes to acquire
from the Shareholders all of the Corporation’s Stock; and
WHEREAS, as a material part of
this Agreement, Waste Connections of Washington, Inc., Land Recovery, Inc.,
Resource Investments, Inc. and the shareholders of Land Recovery, Inc. and
Resource Investments, Inc. entered into an Equity Purchase Agreement, of even
date herewith (the “Equity Purchase
Agreement”), whereby Waste Connections of Washington, Inc. agreed to
purchase from Land Recovery, Inc. and Resource Investments, Inc. all of the
membership interests of Xxxxxx County Recycling, Composting and Disposal, LLC
(the “LLC”) and
all of capital stock of Xxxxxx County Landfill Management, Inc. (the “Management Company”)
held by them, which constitutes 49% of the total issued and outstanding
membership interests of the LLC and 49% of the total issued and outstanding
capital stock of the Management Company;
NOW, THEREFORE, in
consideration of the premises and of the mutual agreements, representations,
warranties, provisions and covenants herein contained, the parties hereto, each
intending to be bound hereby, agree as follows:
1. PURCHASE OF CORPORATION’S
STOCK
1.1 Shares to be
Purchased. At the Closing, the Shareholders shall sell and
deliver to WCI, and WCI shall purchase from the Shareholders, all of the
Corporation’s Stock in exchange for the delivery by WCI to or for the account of
the Shareholders, at the Closing, of the purchase price described in
Section 1.2 (the “Purchase
Price”).
1.2 Purchase Price.
(a) The
Purchase Price is: two hundred three million three hundred and
twenty-five thousand dollars ($203,325,000.00), (i) minus the Closing Date
Debt, (ii) plus or minus, as the case may be, that amount by which the
Effective Date Current Assets are greater
STOCK
PURCHASE AGREEMENT
HLE
than (the “Working Capital
Surplus”) or less than (the “Working Capital
Deficit”) the Effective Date Current Liabilities, (iii) minus, to
account for changes in the working capital of the Corporation between the
Effective Date and the Closing Date, an amount equal to the aggregate payments
made by the Corporation (A) to the Shareholders in the form of
distributions or bonuses from the Effective Date through the Closing Date, and
(B) on the obligations constituting the Closing Date Debt from the
Effective Date through the Closing Date, (iv) plus or minus, as the case
may be, an amount equal to the Net Profit or Net Loss of the Corporation for the
period from the Effective Date through the Closing Date, plus (v) the
EBITDA between the Closing Date and November 30, 2008, if WCI causes the
Closing to occur prior to December 1, 2008 pursuant to
Section 2.1. The Shareholders shall provide good faith estimates
of the amounts of each of the items referred to in clauses (i) through (v)
of this Section 1.2(a), (y) prior to the Signing Date, as if the
Closing were occurring as of such date, and (z) at least five (5) business
days prior to the Closing Date, which estimates shall be subject to WCI’s review
and confirmation as to their accuracy and completeness. As used
herein, the term “Net
Profit“ or “Net
Loss“ shall mean the net profit or net loss of the Corporation from the
Effective Date through the Closing Date, calculated in accordance with WCI’s
historical accounting practices, consistently applied. The Purchase
Price, based upon the estimates provided by the Shareholders pursuant to
clause (z) of this Section 1.2(a), shall be paid to the Shareholders
on the Closing Date, by wire transfer in immediately available funds, in the
respective percentages set forth on Schedule 3.2.
(b) Within
one hundred twenty (120) days after the Closing Date (the “True Up Date”) and in
any event within ten (10) business days after the True Up Calculations are
completed, WCI shall determine and provide to the Shareholders’ Representative
the actual amounts of each of the items referred to in clauses (i) through
(v) of Section 1.2(a) (the “True Up
Calculations”). If the Shareholders’ Representative accepts
the True Up Calculations, or if the Shareholders’ Representative fails to give
notice to WCI of any objection within thirty (30) days after receipt of the True
Up Calculations, the True Up Calculations shall be the final and binding
calculation of the Purchase Price adjustments set forth in Section 1.2(c)
(the “Adjustments”). If
the Shareholders’ Representative gives notice to WCI of an objection to the True
Up Calculations within thirty (30) days after receipt of the True Up
Calculations, WCI and the Shareholders’ Representative shall attempt in good
faith to resolve their differences. If WCI and the Shareholders’
Representative are able to resolve their differences, the True Up Calculations,
as modified to reflect the resolution of the differences between WCI and the
Shareholders’ Representative, shall be the final and binding calculation of the
Purchase Price Adjustments. If, however, WCI and the Shareholders’
Representative are unable to resolve their differences, WCI and the
Shareholders’ Representative shall submit any disputed items to the Seattle or
Tacoma office of Xxxx Xxxxx LLP. The determination of either such
office of Xxxx Xxxxx LLP shall be final and binding on WCI and the Shareholders,
and the True Up Calculations, as modified to reflect (i) those differences,
if any, that WCI and the Shareholders’ Representative were able to resolve, and
(ii) the certified public accountant’s determination with regard to the
remaining disputed items, shall be the final and binding resolution of the
Purchase Price Adjustments.
(c) The
following Purchase Price Adjustments, as applicable, shall be made promptly
after the True Up Calculations are finally determined pursuant to
Section 1.2(b):
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(i) If
the actual Closing Date Debt as determined by the True Up Calculations is less
than the estimated Closing Date Debt, or the actual aggregate amount paid by the
Corporation on the obligations constituting Closing Date Debt from the Effective
Date through the Closing Date as determined by the True Up Calculations is less
than the aggregate amount estimated, WCI shall promptly pay an amount equal to
any such difference to the Shareholders.
(ii) If
the actual Closing Date Debt as determined by the True Up Calculations exceeds
the estimated Closing Date Debt, or the actual aggregate amount paid by the
Corporation on the obligations constituting Closing Date Debt from the Effective
Date through the Closing Date as determined by the True Up Calculations exceeds
the aggregate amount estimated, the Shareholders shall promptly pay an amount
equal to any such excess to WCI.
(iii) If
there was an estimated Working Capital Deficit as determined on the Closing
Date, and
(A) if
the actual Working Capital Deficit as determined by the True Up Calculations
exceeds the estimated Working Capital Deficit as determined on the Closing Date,
the Shareholders shall promptly pay to WCI an amount equal to the
excess;
(B) if
the actual Working Capital Deficit as determined by the True Up Calculations is
less than the estimated Working Capital Deficit as determined on the Closing
Date, WCI shall promptly pay to the Shareholders an amount equal to the
difference; or
(C) if
there is an actual Working Capital Surplus as determined by the True Up
Calculations, WCI shall promptly pay to the Shareholders an amount equal to the
sum of (x) the amount of the estimated Working Capital Deficit as determined on
the Closing Date, and (y) the amount of the actual Working Capital Surplus as
determined by the True Up Calculations.
(iv) If
there was an estimated Working Capital Surplus as determined on the Closing
Date, and
(A) if
the actual Working Capital Surplus as determined by the True Up Calculations
exceeds the estimated Working Capital Surplus as determined on the Closing Date,
WCI shall promptly pay to the Shareholders an amount equal to the
excess;
(B) if
the actual Working Capital Surplus as determined by the True Up Calculations is
less than the estimated Working Capital Surplus as determined on the Closing
Date, the Shareholders shall promptly pay to WCI an amount equal to the
difference; or
(C) if
there is an actual Working Capital Deficit as determined by the True Up
Calculations, the Shareholders shall promptly pay to WCI an amount equal to the
sum of (x) the amount of the estimated Working Capital Surplus as determined
on
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the Closing Date, and (y) the amount of the actual Working Capital
Deficit as determined by the True Up Calculations.
(v) If
the Corporation made distributions or paid bonuses to the Shareholders between
the Effective Date and the Closing Date, and
(A) if
the actual amount of such distributions or bonuses as determined by the True Up
Calculations is less than the estimated amount of such distributions or bonuses
as determined on the Closing Date, WCI shall promptly pay to the Shareholders an
amount equal to the difference, or
(B) if
the actual amount of such distributions or bonuses as determined by the True Up
Calculations exceeds the estimated amount of such distributions or bonuses as
determined on the Closing Date, the Shareholders shall promptly pay to WCI an
amount equal to the excess.
(vi) If
the Corporation had a Net Profit, or if WCI elected to cause the Closing to
occur before December 1, 2008 and there was any positive EBITDA, as
determined on the Closing Date, and:
(A) if
the actual Net Profit or EBITDA for the applicable period as determined by the
True Up Calculations exceeds the estimated Net Profit or EBITDA for such
applicable period as determined on the Closing Date, WCI shall promptly pay to
the Shareholders an amount equal to the excess;
(B) if
the actual Net Profit or EBITDA for the applicable period as determined by the
True Up Calculations is less than the estimated Net Profit or EBITDA for such
applicable period as determined on the Closing Date, the Shareholders shall
promptly pay to WCI an amount equal to the difference; or
(C) if
there is an actual Net Loss as determined by the True Up Calculations, the
Shareholders shall promptly pay to WCI an amount equal to the sum of (x) the
amount of the estimated Net Profit as determined on the Closing Date, and (y)
the amount of the actual Net Loss as determined by the True Up
Calculations.
(vii) If
the Corporation had a Net Loss as determined on the Closing Date,
and:
(A) if
the actual Net Loss as determined by the True Up Calculations exceeds the
estimated Net Loss as determined on the Closing Date, the Shareholders shall
promptly pay to WCI an amount equal to the excess;
(B) if
the actual Net Loss as determined by the True Up Calculations is less than the
estimated Net Loss as determined on the Closing Date, WCI shall promptly pay to
the Shareholders an amount equal to the difference; or
(C) if
there is an actual Net Profit as determined by the True Up Calculations, WCI
shall promptly pay to the Shareholders an amount equal to the sum
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of (x) the amount of the estimated Net Loss as determined on the
Closing Date, and (y) the amount of the actual Net Profit as determined by the
True Up Calculations.
(viii) When
the Shareholders have provided a copy of
the Corporation’s short year tax returns, WCI shall pay an amount equal to the
Unpaid Taxes that the Shareholders must pay with respect to such returns, if
any, to the Shareholders. If WCI disputes the amount of Taxes shown
as due on such return, it shall pay any undisputed amount and may retain the
balance in dispute from any payment due under this Section until such dispute is
resolved in accordance with Section 1.2(b). Upon receipt of the
amount due under this Section 1.2(c)(viii), the Shareholders shall pay the
final taxes due to the taxing authority and shall promptly provide evidence to
WCI that all such Taxes have been paid.
Additional
payments due between WCI and the Shareholders pursuant to this Section 1.2(c)
may be netted against each other and the net amount due shall be paid by the
party owing the same in immediately available funds by wire transfer within ten
(10) days after the determination thereof. Any amount owed by the
Shareholders to WCI shall be payable by the Shareholders severally in proportion
to the portion of the Purchase Price received by each of them.
1.3 Allocation of the Purchase
Price. The Purchase Price shall be allocated among the
Restrictive Covenants and the assets of the Corporation as agreed by the parties
and set forth on Schedule 1.3. Any final adjustment to the
Purchase Price pursuant to Section 1.2(c) shall be allocated to or deducted
from the goodwill of the Corporation. This allocation shall be
binding on the parties for federal and state income tax
purposes. Notwithstanding the foregoing, WCI shall not be limited to
the amount of the Purchase Price allocated to the Restrictive Covenants for
Damages arising from breach of the Restrictive Covenants by the Shareholders or
their Affiliates.
1.4 Excluded
Assets. Prior to the Closing, the assets of the Corporation
listed on Schedule 1.4 (the “Excluded Assets”)
shall be distributed or otherwise transferred by the Corporation to the
Shareholders or other persons, and WCI shall acquire no interest in, liability
for or claim to any of the Excluded Assets, or any Damages or Taxes associated
with, related to or arising from or in connection with any Excluded Assets, the
ownership, operation or use thereof, or the distribution or transfer thereof by
or from the Corporation to the Shareholders or any other person (the “Excluded
Liabilities”).
2. CLOSING TIME AND
PLACE
2.1 Closing. Subject to
Section 2.2, the closing of the transactions contemplated herein (the “Closing”) shall take
place as promptly as practicable after the date on which the conditions set
forth in Sections 6 and 7 are fulfilled or waived or on such other date as
WCI and the Shareholders’ Representative shall agree (the “Closing
Date”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the conditions set
forth in Sections 6 and 7 are fulfilled or waived prior to December 1,
2008, the parties shall defer the Closing until December 1, 2008, unless WCI
elects, in its sole discretion, to cause the Closing to occur on an earlier
date, in which case the Closing shall occur on such earlier date, and WCI shall
cause the Corporation to pay to the Shareholders, in the respective percentages
set forth on Schedule 3.2, any earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization of the Corporation (“EBITDA”) from the Closing Date
through
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November 30, 2008. WCI shall not take any action or
omit to take any action with the intention of reducing the amount of EBITDA
payable to the Shareholders under this Section 2.1. The Closing
shall take place at the Law Offices of Shartsis Xxxxxx LLP, Xxx Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx,
Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxx, Xxx Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000, or at such other time or
place as WCI and the Shareholders’ Representative shall agree. At the
Closing, WCI, the Corporation and the Shareholders shall deliver to each other
the documents, instruments and other items described in Section 8 of this
Agreement. At the election of WCI and the Shareholders, the Closing
of this transaction may take place through an exchange of consideration and
documents using overnight courier service or facsimile. For financial
reporting purposes, the Closing shall be deemed effective as of 11:59 p.m. on
the last day of the calendar month preceding the month in which the Closing
occurs (the “Effective Date”), and
the Shareholders shall be paid the Net Profit or shall bear the Net Loss, as
applicable, for the period from the Effective Date through the Closing
Date.
2.2 Termination. Notwithstanding
anything in this Agreement to the contrary, this Agreement and the obligations
of the parties hereunder may be terminated on or prior to Closing as
follows:
(a) By
the Corporation or the Shareholders’ Representative (i) in the event the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement have been prohibited or enjoined by
reason of any final, unappealable judgment, decree or order entered or issued by
a court of competent jurisdiction in litigation or proceedings involving any of
the parties hereto that was not entered at the request or with the support of
the Corporation or the Shareholders and if the Corporation and the Shareholders
shall have used reasonable efforts to prevent the entry of such order;
(ii) in the event WCI breaches a representation or warranty of WCI
contained in this Agreement which has not been cured and is not capable of being
cured prior to the earlier of (A) the expiration of thirty (30) days after
notice of such breach is given by the Corporation or the Shareholders to WCI and
(B) the Termination Date; or (iii) if WCI fails to perform in any material
respect any of its covenants contained in this Agreement required to be
performed prior to the Closing and does not cure such failure prior to the
earlier of (A) thirty (30) days after written notice of such failure is
given in writing to WCI by the Corporation or the Shareholders and (B) the
Termination Date.
(b) By
WCI (i) in the event the transactions contemplated by this Agreement have
been prohibited or enjoined by reason of any final, unappealable judgment,
decree or order entered or issued by a court of competent jurisdiction in
litigation or proceedings involving any of the parties hereto that was not
entered at the request or with the support of WCI and if WCI shall have used
reasonable efforts to prevent the entry of such order; (ii) in the event,
the Corporation or any Shareholder breaches a representation or warranty of the
Corporation or the Shareholders, respectively, contained in this Agreement which
has not been cured and is not capable of being cured prior to the earlier of
(A) expiration of thirty (30) days after written notice of such breach is
given by WCI to the Corporation and the Shareholders and (B) the
Termination Date; (iii) if the Corporation or any Shareholder fails to
perform in any material respect any of their respective covenants contained in
this Agreement required to be performed by the Corporation or the Shareholders
prior to the Closing and the Corporation or the Shareholders, as the case may
be, do not cure such failure prior to the earlier of (A) thirty (30) days
after written notice of such failure is given in writing to the Corporation or
any Shareholders by
WCI, and
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(B) the Termination Date; (iv) if WCI determines, on or
before the date specified in Section 6.9, that the results of its due diligence
review are not acceptable; or (v) pursuant to Section 5.9(b).
(c) By
WCI or the Shareholders’ Representative if the Closing hereunder shall not have
taken place by December 29, 2008, or, by such later date as may be agreed
in writing by WCI, the Corporation and the Shareholders’ Representative
(the “Termination
Date”); provided, however, that a party shall not have the right to
terminate under this Section 2.2(c) if the conditions precedent to such
party’s obligation to close have been fully satisfied and such party has failed
or refused to close after being requested in writing to close by the other
party.
(d) WCI,
the Corporation and the Shareholders’ Representative may terminate this
Agreement by mutual consent.
(e) This
Agreement shall automatically terminate upon any termination of the Equity
Purchase Agreement.
2.3 Notice and Effect of
Termination. On termination of this Agreement, the
transactions contemplated herein shall forthwith be abandoned and all continuing
obligations of the parties under or in connection with this Agreement shall be
terminated and of no further force or effect; provided, however, that, except as
provided in Section 5.9(b), nothing herein shall relieve any party from
liability for any misrepresentation, breach of warranty or breach of covenant
contained in this Agreement prior to such
termination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the confidentiality
obligations set forth in Sections 5.4 and 9.4 shall survive the termination of
this Agreement for any reason. If this Agreement has terminated due
to the breach of any party, such party shall remain liable for any damages
arising from such breach.
3. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE
CORPORATION AND THE SHAREHOLDERS
The
Corporation and the Shareholders, jointly and severally, (a) represent and warrant to
WCI that each of the following representations and warranties is true and
correct as of the date of this Agreement (the “Signing Date”) and
will be true and correct as of the Closing Date with respect to the Shareholders
and the Corporation, as the case may be, and (b) agree that such
representations and warranties shall survive the Closing as provided in Section
10.4:
3.1 Organization, Standing and
Qualification. The Corporation is duly organized, validly
existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of
Washington. The Corporation has full corporate power and authority to
own and lease its properties and to carry on the Business as now
conducted. The Corporation is licensed to conduct business as a
foreign corporation in the state of Oregon and is not required to be qualified
or licensed to conduct business as a foreign corporation in any other
jurisdiction.
3.2 Capitalization. Schedule 3.2
sets forth the authorized and outstanding capital of the Corporation, the names,
addresses, social security numbers or taxpayer identification numbers of the
record and beneficial owners of all of the issued and outstanding capital stock
of the Corporation, the number of shares so owned, the allocation of the
Purchase Price among the Shareholders as agreed to among themselves, and wire
transfer instructions for
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each Shareholder relating to the bank account to which the
applicable portion of the Purchase Price should be sent. All of the
issued and outstanding shares of the capital stock of the Corporation are owned
of record and beneficially by the Shareholders, as set forth on Schedule 3.2,
and are and as of the Closing will be free and clear of all liens, security
interests, encumbrances, restrictions, pledges and claims of every kind, except
as otherwise set forth on Schedule 3.2. Each share of the
capital stock of the Corporation is duly and validly authorized and issued,
fully paid and nonassessable, and was not issued in violation of any preemptive
rights of any past or present shareholder of the Corporation. No
option, warrant, call, conversion or other right or commitment of any kind
(including any of the foregoing created in connection with any indebtedness of
the Corporation) exists that obligates the Corporation to issue any of its
authorized but unissued capital stock or other equity interest or that obligates
the Shareholders to transfer any Corporation’s Stock to any
person. Except as otherwise set forth on Schedule 3.2, neither
the Corporation nor any Shareholder is a party to any, and there exist no,
voting trusts, stockholder agreements, pledge agreements, or other agreements
relating to or restricting the transferability of any shares of the
Corporation’s Stock or any equity interest in the Corporation. The
Corporation’s Stock has been issued in accordance with all applicable federal
and state securities laws. The Corporation’s Stock being acquired by
WCI hereunder constitutes all of the outstanding capital stock of the
Corporation.
3.3 Authority for
Agreement. The Corporation and the Shareholders have full
right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement, and all documents and
agreements necessary to give effect to the provisions of this Agreement, and to
perform its, his or her obligations hereunder and thereunder. The
execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Corporation and the consummation
of the transactions contemplated hereby by the Corporation have been duly
authorized by the Corporation’s Board of Directors and all other corporate
actions and proceedings required to be taken by or on behalf of the Corporation
to enter into this Agreement and consummate the transactions contemplated hereby
have been duly and properly taken. This Agreement and all other
agreements and documents executed in connection herewith have been duly and
validly executed and delivered by the Corporation and the Shareholders and,
subject to the due authorization, execution and delivery by WCI, constitute the
legal, valid and binding obligations of the Corporation and the Shareholders
enforceable against the Corporation and the Shareholders in accordance with
their respective terms, except as limited by (a) applicable bankruptcy,
insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium, and other laws of
general application relating to or affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights
and equity principles generally and (b) laws relating to the availability
of specific performance, injunctive relief, or other equitable
remedies.
3.4 No Breach or
Default. Except as disclosed on Schedule 3.4, the
execution and delivery by the Corporation and the Shareholders of this
Agreement, and the consummation by the Shareholders of the transactions
contemplated hereby, will not, after the giving of notice or lapse of
time or otherwise:
(a) violate
or result in the breach of any of the terms or conditions of, or constitute a
default under, or allow for the acceleration or termination of, or in any manner
release any party from any obligation under, or result in any lien, claim or
encumbrance on the Corporation’s Stock or the assets of the Corporation under,
any of the Material Contracts, Restrictive Agreements, Licenses and Permits or
any mortgage, deed, lease, note, bond,
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indenture, agreement, license or other instrument or obligation of
any kind or nature to which the Corporation or any Shareholder is a party, or by
which the Corporation or any Shareholder, or any of the Corporation’s or any
Shareholder’s assets, is or may be bound or affected; or
(b) violate
any applicable Law, or any order, writ, injunction or decree of any court,
administrative agency or governmental authority, or require the approval,
consent or permission of any governmental or regulatory authority;
or
(c) violate
the Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws of the Corporation.
3.5 Consents
Required. Except for any filings required by the
Xxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”) and any
consents and approvals listed on Schedule 3.4 or 3.5 (all of which have been or
will have been obtained prior to the Closing), none of the Delivered Documents
nor the transactions contemplated by this Agreement requires notice to, or
consent or approval of, any governmental agency or other third party to any of
the transactions contemplated hereby. Specifically, but without
limitation, Schedule 3.5 lists the Washington Utilities and Transportation
Commission and also sets forth the name of any governmental agency from whom the
Corporation, the Shareholders or WCI must obtain consent (the “Required Governmental
Consents”) in order to (i) execute this Agreement and consummate the
transactions contemplated herein, and (ii) effect a direct or indirect
transfer of any of the Material Contracts or Licenses and Permits required as a
result of the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
3.6 Subsidiaries. Schedule 3.6
lists all subsidiaries of the Corporation and all securities or other interest
in any other business entity owned by the Corporation or any of the
Corporation’s subsidiaries other than any that are Excluded
Assets. At the Closing, WCI shall obtain indirect beneficial
ownership (through the Corporation) of each such subsidiary, security and
interest.
3.7 Financial
Statements. Attached to Schedule 3.7 are copies of the annual
financial statements (“Annual Financial
Statements”) for the Corporation’s three (3) most recent fiscal years and
interim financial statements (together with the Annual Financial Statements, the
“Financial
Statements”) for the Corporation for the period from the first day of the
current fiscal year to June 30, 2008 (the “Balance Sheet
Date”). The Annual Financial Statements have been reviewed by McGladrey
& Xxxxxx. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.7, the Financial
Statements are true and correct in all material respects and fairly present
(a) the financial position of the Corporation as of the respective dates of
the balance sheets included in said statements; and (b) the results of
operations for the respective periods indicated. The Financial
Statements have been prepared in accordance with the Corporation’s historical
accounting practices, applied consistently with prior periods, except that the
interim financial statements dated as of the Balance Sheet Date do not reflect
any normal year-end adjustment that could arise during an audit of such interim
financial statements, the net effect of which adjustments, in the aggregate,
will not exceed Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars
($250,000). Except to the extent reflected or reserved against in the
Corporation’s balance sheet as of the Balance Sheet Date or as disclosed on
Schedule 3.8 or 3.22(a) and 3.22(b), the Corporation did not have as of the
Balance Sheet Date, nor will the Corporation have as of the Closing Date, any
liabilities of any nature, whether accrued, absolute, contingent or otherwise,
including, without limitation, Tax
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liabilities due or to become due, other than liabilities not
exceeding Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000) incurred in the
ordinary course of business since the Signing Date.
3.8 Litigation. Schedule
3.8 lists all claims, suits and proceedings or governmental investigations,
either administrative or judicial (“Litigation”),
pending, or to the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, threatened
against the Corporation, or any of the Corporation’s assets, operations or
personnel (while acting as an agent of the Corporation). Schedule 3.8
includes a summary description of each such Litigation
listing: (a) the name of each court, agency, bureau, board or
body before which any such Litigation is pending; (b) the date such
Litigation was instituted; (c) the parties to such Litigation; (d) a
brief description of the factual basis alleged to underlie such Litigation
including the date or dates of all known material occurrences; and (e) the
amount claimed and other relief sought. Except as set forth on
Schedule 3.8, no Litigation is pending or, to the knowledge of the
Corporation or the Shareholders, threatened involving the Corporation (or its
officers, directors, employees or agents (while acting as an agent of the
Corporation)), the Corporation’s Stock, or any of the assets, Business or
operations of the Corporation.
3.9 Accurate and Complete
Records. The corporate minute books, stock ledgers, financial
records and other books, ledgers and records of the Corporation:
(a) have
been made available to WCI and its agents at the Corporation’s offices or at the
offices of WCI’s attorneys or the Corporation’s attorneys; and
(b) are
accurate and complete, reflect all material corporate transactions required to
be authorized by the Board of Directors and/or Shareholders of the Corporation
and do not contain or reflect any material discrepancies.
3.10 Licenses and
Permits. To the knowledge of the Corporation or any
Shareholder, the Corporation has all franchises, licenses and permits necessary
for the Corporation to occupy each Facility, own its assets, and operate and
conduct the Business as currently conducted by the Corporation, including
without limitation all consents, authorizations, zoning, land use and
environmental permits, variances or approvals relating to the operation of the
Business, any of the Real Property or any Facility that are not Excluded Assets
(the “Licenses and
Permits”). Schedule 3.10 is a complete and accurate list
of all Licenses and Permits. Schedule 3.5 sets forth the name of
any governmental agency from whom the Corporation must obtain consent in order
to effect a direct or indirect transfer of any of the Licenses and Permits
required as a result of the consummation of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement. No waivers or exemptions relating to any of the
Licenses or Permits exist. To the knowledge of the Corporation or any
Shareholder, each employee of the Corporation has all Licenses and Permits
required for each such employee to perform his or her designated duties for the
Corporation (including valid drivers licenses), and, to the knowledge of the
Corporation or any Shareholder, no waivers, exemptions or defaults relating
thereto exist, nor do any grounds for revocation, suspension or limitation of
any Licenses and Permits exist.
3.11 Assets, etc., Necessary to
Business. The Corporation possesses good, valid and marketable
title to all properties and assets (real, personal and mixed, tangible and
intangible) used or known to be necessary for the conduct of the Business as
currently conducted
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by the Corporation, free and clear of any lien, encumbrance or
charge of any kind (including, without limitation, mortgages, security
interests, leases, covenants, assessments, easements, options, rights of first
refusal, restrictions, reservations, defects in title, encroachments and other
encumbrances) except: (a) liens for current taxes not yet due;
(b) minor imperfections of title and encumbrances, if any, that are de
minimis and do not materially impair the value or interfere with the present or
continued use of such property or asset and (c) those identified on
Schedules 3.11, 3.12 and 3.13 (the “Permitted
Liens”). All Material Contracts and Licenses and Permits have
been duly obtained and are in full force and effect and no proceedings are
pending or, to the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, threatened
that may result in the revocation, cancellation, suspension, limitation or
adverse modification of any of the same. Neither the Corporation nor
any Shareholder has any knowledge of any reason why all Material Contracts and
Licenses and Permits will not remain in effect after consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby.
3.12 Fixed
Assets.
(a) Schedule
3.12(a) lists individually or, for items of de minimis value, by category,
substantially all of the fixed assets (other than real estate) owned or leased
by the Corporation and used or known to be necessary in connection with the
Business that are not Excluded Assets, including the Corporation’s depreciation
records, and, to the extent in the Corporation’s possession, identification of
each vehicle by description and serial number, identification of machinery,
equipment and general description of parts, supplies and inventory (the “Fixed
Assets”). Also attached to Schedule 3.12(a) are, to the
extent in the Corporation’s possession, copies of all motor vehicle titles and
current registrations relating to the Fixed Assets. Except as
described on Schedule 3.12(a), all of the Fixed Assets used by the
Corporation in the Business (a) are in operable condition given their age
and use by the Corporation, ordinary wear and tear excepted; and
(b) adequately perform the functions for which they are used by the
Corporation. To the extent the motor vehicles and rolling stock owned
or leased by the Corporation are required to be licensed and/or registered in
accordance with applicable Law, such motor vehicles and rolling stock are
properly licensed and registered and, to the knowledge of the Corporation or any
Shareholder, are in material compliance with all applicable Laws. All
leases of Fixed Assets are listed on and attached to Schedule 3.14 and are
in full force and effect and binding on the parties thereto and neither the
Corporation nor, to the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, any
other party to such leases is in breach of any of the material provisions
thereof. Except as described on Schedule 3.14, no leases,
options, rights of first refusal or any other agreements or arrangements, either
oral or written, exist that create or confer on any person or entity the right
to acquire any of the Fixed Assets or any portion thereof or create in or confer
on any person or entity (other than the Corporation) any right, title or
interest therein or in any portion thereof.
(b) Schedule 1.4
is a true and complete list of all of the Excluded Assets. Prior to
the Closing Date, the Corporation shall have distributed or otherwise
transferred the Excluded Assets to the Shareholders or other persons in
accordance with applicable Law and as shall be reflected in minutes of meetings
of the Board of Directors contained in the Corporation’s minute
book. All assets used or necessary in the ownership or operation of
the Business that are not included on Schedule 1.4 as an Excluded Asset
shall be deemed to be owned by the Corporation. All Excluded Assets
have been transferred by the Corporation to the
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Shareholders “AS IS,” “WHERE IS” and “WITH ALL FAULTS”, with the
implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and any
other warranties, express or implied, having been disclaimed. The
Shareholders agree that none of the Shareholders nor any successor, assign,
executor or heir of any Shareholder shall have any claim against the
Corporation, and hereby release the Corporation from, all liabilities, whether
known or unknown, contingent or liquidated, in respect of or relating to the
Excluded Assets prior to, from or after the Closing Date. The
Shareholders acknowledge that this paragraph is a material inducement to WCI
entering into this Agreement.
3.13 Real
Property. Except for any parcel of real property that is an
Excluded Asset, Schedule 3.13 lists each parcel of real property owned or
being acquired by the Corporation between the Signing Date and the Closing Date
(collectively, the “Owned Property”),
leased by the Corporation (the “Leased Property”) or
otherwise used by the Corporation in connection with the Business (the “Other Property” and,
collectively with the Owned Property and the Leased Property, the “Real
Property”).
(a) For
each parcel of Real Property Schedule 3.13 lists the street address thereof
(each, a “Facility”), and the
status of such property as Owned Property, Leased Property or Other
Property. Schedule 3.13 also lists and, where applicable, includes
copies of the following:
(i) for
each parcel of Owned Property, the legal description thereof and a current
preliminary title report issued by the Title Company (as defined in
Section 6.11), and, to the extent in the Corporation’s possession,
(A) copies of all deeds, outstanding mortgages, deeds of trust and other
encumbrances, (B) copies of any existing surveys, (C) copies of any
existing title insurance policies or lawyer’s title opinions, and
(D) copies of any other document or instrument affecting such property or
title thereto, whether or not recorded;
(ii) for
each parcel of Leased Property, copies all leases affecting such property (each
a “Property
Lease”) or, if any such lease is oral, Schedule 3.13 contains a
written summary of the principal terms of such lease; and
(iii) for
each parcel of Other Property, a description of the extent to which the
Corporation utilizes such property including, without limitation, the manner of
such use and the terms and conditions affecting such use, together with a copy
of any documents affecting such property or the use thereof, whether or not
recorded.
(b) Except
as otherwise set forth on Schedule 3.13:
(i) To
the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, no material physical,
design or mechanical defects exist in or on any of the Real Property or any
Facility. To the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder,
none of the Real Property nor any Facility is in material violation of any
zoning, public health, building code or other similar laws applicable thereto or
to the ownership, occupancy and/or operation thereof, nor does there exist any
waiver or exemption relating to any of the Real Property or any Facility with
respect to any non-conforming use or other zoning or building code
matters. To the knowledge of the
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Corporation or any Shareholder, there are no encroachments on the
Real Property or any Facility and no encroachment of any improvements to each
onto adjacent property other than as set forth in the preliminary title report
issued by the Title Company for the applicable parcel of property. To
the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, none of the improvements to
the Real Property violate setback, building or side lines, nor do they encroach
on any easements located on the Real Property, and each Facility is in good and
operable condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, and in material compliance
with all applicable Laws.
(ii) Neither
the Corporation nor any Shareholder knows of any
facts that would adversely affect the possession, use or occupancy of any of the
Real Property or any Facility other than as set forth in the preliminary title
report issued by the Title Company for the applicable parcel of
property. No portion of the Real Property nor any Facility is
currently subject to condemnation proceedings, and, to the knowledge of the
Corporation or any Shareholder, no condemnation or taking is threatened or
contemplated. To the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder,
no public improvements exist that may result in special assessments against or
otherwise affect the Real Property or any Facility.
(iii) To
the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, the Corporation has all
easements, rights, licenses, permits and approvals necessary to continue
operation of the Business including those related to the Real Property and any
Facility, copies of which, to the extent in the Corporation’s possession, are
set forth on Schedule 3.10 or 3.13.
(iv) To
the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, all utilities serving the
Real Property and each Facility are adequate to operate each in the manner it is
currently operated and all utility lines, pipes, hook-ups and wires serving the
Real Property and each Facility are located within recorded easements for the
benefit of each, and any associated charges accrued to date have been fully
paid.
(v) All
of the Property Leases are in full force and effect and binding on the parties
thereto and neither the Corporation nor, to the knowledge of the Corporation or
any Shareholder, any other party to any such lease is in breach of any of the
material provisions thereof. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.4
or 3.5, the transactions contemplated herein do not constitute an event of
default under any Property Lease or require the consent of any landlord
thereto. To the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, the
respective landlord’s interest in each Property Lease has not been assigned to
any third party nor has any such interest been mortgaged, pledged or
hypothecated and the Corporation has not assigned any portion of any Property
Lease. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.13, the Corporation has
not sublet all or any part of the Leased Property or leased all or any part of
the Owned Property.
3.14 Contracts. Schedule 3.14
lists, and includes copies of, all material contracts and agreements, and
written summaries of principal terms of all material oral agreements, to which
the Corporation is a party or by which it or any of its property or the
Corporation’s Stock is bound (other than those items included on
Schedule 3.22(a)) that are not Excluded Assets, including, but not limited
to, (a) franchises and service agreements pursuant to which the Corporation
is authorized to collect and haul industrial, commercial and residential solid
waste, (b) leases not included on any other Schedule, (c) joint
venture or partnership
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agreements, (d) indemnification agreements, guarantees,
suretyships or obligations to assure or incur any obligation of a third party,
(e) contracts with any labor organizations, (f) employment agreements,
promissory notes, loan agreements, bonds, mortgages, deeds of trust, liens,
pledges, conditional sales contracts or other debt or security agreements,
(g) Restrictive Agreements and, (h) any other agreements, contracts or
commitment that involves or could result in aggregate payments to or by the
Corporation of Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000) or more or that
is not cancelable by the Corporation without penalty within sixty (60) days (“Material
Contracts”). Except as disclosed on Schedule 3.14, all
contracts and agreements included on Schedule 3.14 are in full force and
effect and binding on the parties thereto and no proceedings are pending or, to
the knowledge of the Corporation or the Shareholders, threatened that may result
in the revocation, cancellation, suspension or adverse modification of the
same. Except as described on Schedule 3.14, neither the
Corporation nor, to the Corporation’s or any Shareholder’s knowledge, any other
party to such contracts and agreements is in breach thereof, and none of the
parties has threatened to breach any of the material provisions thereof or
notified the Corporation or any Shareholder of a default
thereunder, or exercised any options thereunder. Except as disclosed
on Schedule 3.14, none of the Material Contracts has been modified,
amended, assigned or transferred and each is in full force and effect and is
valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with its respective terms, except
as enforcement may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or
similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of
equity. Except as
set forth on Schedule 3.14, all agreements or contracts made by the
Corporation or any Shareholder for any improvements to a Facility or the Real
Property have been fully paid and there are no mechanic’s or materialmen’s liens
arising from any labor or material furnished to such Facility or Real
Property. To the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder,
none of the Material Contracts is subject to any counterclaims or offsets nor to
any security interest, lien, encumbrance or claim of others created or suffered
to exist on any interest created under any of the Material Contracts (except for
those that result from or relate to leased assets). No purchase
commitment by the Corporation exceeds the Corporation’s ordinary business
requirements. The term “Restrictive
Agreements“ mean any non-competition, non-solicitation or similar
agreements or any agreement that contains a non-competition, non-solicitation or
similar provision related to the Business, regardless of whether such agreements
restrict or benefit the Corporation or the Business.
3.15 Insurance. Schedule 3.15
is a complete list, and includes copies, of all insurance policies currently in
effect, or with respect to “occurrence” policies, that were in effect, that
relate to operation of the Business, cover the Real Property or any other
property used by the Corporation. Schedule 3.15 summarizes the
following information for each such policy: the name of the insurer,
the type of risks insured, the deductible and limits of coverage and the annual
premium. Also attached to Schedule 3.15 (but only to the extent
not included in Schedule 3.8) is (a) a list of pending insurance
claims relating to the Corporation and the Business, and a four-year claims
history relating to the Corporation and the Business prepared by the applicable
insurance carrier(s), including a list of all insurance loss runs for worker’s
compensation claims received in the last four (4) policy years; and (b) the
Corporation’s National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) Workers
Compensation Experience Rating for the last four (4) policy
years. During the last five (5) years, no material insurance coverage
of the Corporation has lapsed. To the knowledge of the Corporation
and any Shareholder, the Corporation is not in default or breach with respect to
any provision contained in any such
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insurance policies, nor has the Corporation failed to give
any notice or to present any claim thereunder in due and timely fashion.
3.16 Personnel.
(a) Schedule 3.16(a)
lists all officers, directors and employees (by type or classification) of the
Corporation and their respective rates of compensation, including all employment
agreements with non-union officers, directors and employees and, to the extent
available from the Corporation’s payroll system with respect to any officers,
directors and employees, (i) their hourly or monthly base compensation and
(ii) any bonuses to which they are
entitled. Schedule 3.16(a) also lists, to the extent in the
Corporation’s possession, the driver’s license number for each driver of the
Corporation’s motor vehicles. Except as disclosed on Schedule
3.16(a), all written or oral employment contracts with employees of the
Corporation are terminable “at will” without payment of severance or other
benefits (including, without limitation, stock options or other rights to obtain
equity in the Corporation).
(b) Schedule 3.16(b)
lists for each
employee (including any employees who are officers or directors), to the extent
available from the Corporation’s payroll system, the following information for
the period from January 1st of the
current year through the end of the last pay period prior to the
Closing: (i) gross earnings; (ii) federal income taxes
withheld; (iii) state income taxes withheld; (iv) state unemployment
and disability taxes withheld; (v) federal unemployment taxes withheld;
(vi) FICA taxes withheld; and (vii) 401(k) contributions
withheld. Schedule 3.16(b) also includes a copy of the Corporation’s
most recent payroll tax return.
(c) Except
as set forth on Schedule 3.16(b), there are no pending federal, state or
common law claims filed against the Corporation or any of its employees based on
sex, sexual or other harassment, employment, age, occupational health and
safety, disability, or race or other discrimination, including claims of
wrongful termination, by any employees of the Corporation or by any of the
individuals performing work for the Corporation but engaged through an outside
employment agency, if any, and there are no facts or circumstances known to the
Corporation or any Shareholders that could reasonably be expected to give rise
to such complaint or claim. To the knowledge of the Corporation or
any Shareholder, the Corporation (i) is in compliance in all material
respects with all applicable Laws respecting employment, employment practices,
terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, in each case, with
respect to its employees and independent contractors; (ii) has not received
any notice of any claim that it has not complied in any material respect with
any Law relating to employment, including any provisions thereof relating to
wages, hours, collective bargaining, the payment of social security and similar
taxes, equal employment opportunity, employment discrimination, the Worker
Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the “WARN Act”) and
employee safety; and (iii) has not received any notice of any claim that it
is liable for any arrearages of wages or any Taxes or penalties for failure to
comply with any of the foregoing that it has not paid or resolved so that the
Corporation has no obligation for such matters that is not reflected on or
reserved against on the Financial Statements.
(d) To
the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, the Corporation (i) is
not liable for any arrears of wages or any penalty for failure to comply
with
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any employment Law; and, (ii) except for contributions or
premiums that have accrued but are not yet late or delinquent under the terms of
any applicable union contracts, any Plans or Multiemployer Plans, or any
applicable Law, is not liable for any payment to any trust or other fund or to
any governmental or administrative authority, with respect to unemployment
compensation benefits, social security or other benefits for employees, other
than the routine benefit payments to be made in the normal course of business
and consistent with past practice.
3.17 Benefit Plans and Union
Contracts.
(a) Benefit
Plans.
(i) Schedule 3.17(a)
lists each employment, bonus, deferred compensation, incentive compensation,
stock purchase, stock option, stock appreciation right or other stock-based
incentive, severance, change-in-control or termination pay, hospitalization or
other medical, disability, life or other insurance, supplemental unemployment
benefits, profit-sharing, pension or retirement plan, program, agreement or
arrangement and each other employee benefit plan, program, agreement or
arrangement, sponsored, maintained or contributed to or required to be
contributed to by the Corporation, or by any trade or business, whether or not
incorporated (an “ERISA Affiliate”),
that together with the Corporation would be deemed a “single employer” within
the meaning of Section 400l(b)(l) of the Employment Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), or treated
as a single employer under Section 414(b), (c) or (m) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), for the
benefit of any current or former employee, independent contractor or director of
the Corporation or any ERISA Affiliate (the “Plans”). Schedule 3.17(a)
identifies each of the Plans that is an “employee welfare benefit plan,” or
“employee pension benefit plan” as such terms are defined in Sections 3(1)
and 3(2) of ERISA (the “ERISA
Plans”). Except for amendments that are required for the Plans
to meet the requirements of applicable Law, tax-qualified status under
Section 401(a) of the Code, or regulatory guidance, neither the Corporation
nor any ERISA Affiliate has any formal plan or commitment, whether legally
binding or not, to create any additional Plan or modify or change any existing
Plan that would affect any current or former employee, independent contractor or
director of the Corporation or any ERISA Affiliate. For the purposes
of this Agreement, Plans and ERISA Plans do not include any Multiemployer Plans
(as defined in ERISA section 4001(a)(3)) to which the Corporation or any ERISA
Affiliate may contribute or have an obligation to contribute now or in the past
(“Multiemployer
Plans”. The Corporation has made or, prior to the Closing Date
will make, or will reserve against on the Financial Statements for, all
contributions that the Corporation is required to make to Multiemployer Plans
for the period prior to the Closing Date.
(ii) With
respect to each of the Plans, Schedule 3.17(a) includes true and complete
copies of each of the following documents, as applicable:
(A) a
copy of the Plan documents (including all amendments thereto) for each written
Plan or a written description of any Plan that is not otherwise in
writing;
(B) a
copy of the annual report or Internal Revenue Service Form 5500 Series, if
required under ERISA or the Code, with respect to each Plan for
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the last three (3) Plan years ending prior to the date of this
Agreement for which such a report was filed;
(C) a
copy of the actuarial report, if required under ERISA, with respect to each
ERISA Plan for the last three (3) Plan years ending prior to the date of this
Agreement for which a report was required;
(D) a
copy of the most recent Summary Plan Description (“SPD”), together with
all Summaries of Material Modification issued with respect to such SPD, if
required under ERISA, with respect to each ERISA Plan, and all other material
employee communications relating to each ERISA Plan;
(E) if
the Plan is funded through a trust or any other funding vehicle, a copy of the
trust or other funding agreement (including all amendments thereto) and the
latest financial statements thereof, if any;
(F) all
contracts relating to the Plans, including insurance contracts, investment
management agreements, subscription and participation agreements and record
keeping agreements; and
(G) the
most recent determination letter, or opinion, notification or advisory letter,
issued by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) with respect to
each Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the
Code.
(iii) Except
as set forth on Schedule 3.17(a), neither the Corporation nor any ERISA
Affiliate has incurred any liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect to any
ERISA Plan or Multiemployer Plan that has not been satisfied in full, and, to
the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, no condition exists that
presents a material risk to the Corporation or any ERISA Affiliate of incurring
any liability under such Title, other than liability for premiums due the
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”), which
payments have been or will be made when due. To the extent this
representation applies to Sections 4064, 4069 or 4204 of Title IV of ERISA, it
is made not only with respect to the ERISA Plans and Multiemployer Plans, but
also with respect to any employee benefit plan, program, agreement or
arrangement subject to Title IV of ERISA to which the Corporation or any current
or former ERISA Affiliate made, or was required to make, contributions during
any prior year.
(iv) The
Corporation has not received written notice that the PBGC has instituted
proceedings pursuant to Section 4042 of ERISA to terminate any of the ERISA
Plans subject to Title IV of ERISA, and, to the knowledge of the Corporation or
any Shareholder, no condition exists that presents a material risk that such
proceedings will be instituted by the PBGC.
(v) To
the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, none of the Corporation,
any ERISA Affiliate, any of the ERISA Plans, any trust created thereunder, nor
to the Corporation’s or any Shareholder’s knowledge, any trustee or
administrator thereof has engaged in a transaction or has taken or failed to
take any action in connection therewith which the Corporation or any ERISA
Affiliate could be subject to any
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material liability for either a civil penalty assessed pursuant
to Section 409, 502(i) or 502(l) of ERISA, or a tax imposed pursuant to
Section 4975(a) or (b), 4976 or 4980B of the Code.
(vi) All
contributions and premiums that the Corporation and each ERISA Affiliate is
required to pay under the terms of each of the ERISA Plans and Section 412 of
the Code, have, to the extent due, been paid in full or properly recorded on the
financial statements or records of the Corporation, and, to the knowledge of the
Corporation or any Shareholder, none of the ERISA Plans or any trust established
thereunder has incurred any “accumulated funding deficiency” (as defined in
Section 302 of ERISA and Section 412 of the Code), whether or not waived, as of
the last day of the most recent fiscal year of each of the ERISA Plans ended
prior to the date of this Agreement. No lien has been imposed under
Section 412(n) of the Code or Section 302(f) of ERISA on the assets of the
Corporation or any ERISA Affiliate, and, to the knowledge of the Corporation or
any Shareholder, no event or circumstance has occurred that is reasonably likely
to result in the imposition of any such lien on any such assets on account of
any ERISA Plan.
(vii) With
respect to any Multiemployer Plan (A) neither the Corporation nor any ERISA
Affiliate has, since September 26, 1980, made or suffered a “complete
withdrawal” or a “partial withdrawal,” as such terms are respectively defined in
Sections 4203 and 4205 of ERISA and the execution of this Agreement and the
Closing will not result in any complete or partial withdrawal from any
Multiemployer Plan, (B) no event has occurred that presents a material risk of a
complete or partial withdrawal, (C) neither the Corporation nor any ERISA
Affiliate has any contingent liability under Section 4204 of ERISA, (D) no
circumstances exist that present a material risk that any such Multiemployer
Plan will go into reorganization, and (E) the aggregate withdrawal liability of
the Corporation and the ERISA Affiliates, computed as if a complete withdrawal
by the Corporation and all of its ERISA Affiliates had occurred under each such
Multiemployer Plan on the date hereof, would be zero (0).
(viii) To
the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, each of the Plans has been
operated and administered in all material respects in accordance with its terms
and applicable Laws, including but not limited to ERISA and the
Code.
(ix) Each
Plan that is intended to be qualified under Code Section 401(a) has received a
determination letter or has properly relied on an opinion, notification or
advisory letter from the IRS and has been timely amended as required to maintain
its tax qualified status since the date of the most recent determination letter
or opinion, notification or advisory letter. To the knowledge of the
Corporation or any Shareholder, each such Plan has been operated in material
compliance with all applicable provisions of the Code and
regulations.
(x) Any
fund established under an ERISA Plan that is intended to satisfy the
requirements of Section 501(c)(9) of the Code has satisfied such
requirements.
(xi) No
Plan provides benefits, including without limitation death or medical benefits
(whether or not insured), with respect to current or former employees of the
Corporation or any ERISA Affiliate after retirement or other termination of
service (other
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than (A) benefits provided in Material Contracts with employees or
independent contractors, (B) coverage mandated by applicable Law,
(C) death benefits or retirement benefits under any “employee pension
plan,” as that term is defined in Section 3(2) of ERISA, (D) deferred
compensation benefits accrued as liabilities on the books of the Corporation or
an ERISA Affiliate, or (D) benefits, the full direct cost of which is borne by
the current or former employee (or beneficiary thereof)).
(xii) Except
as set forth in Schedule 3.17(a), the consummation of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement will not, either alone or in combination with any
other event, (a) entitle any current or former employee, officer or director of
the Corporation or any ERISA Affiliate to severance pay, unemployment
compensation or any other similar termination payment, or (b) accelerate the
time of payment or vesting, or increase the amount of or otherwise enhance any
benefit due any such employee, officer or director.
(xiii) There
are no pending or, to the Corporation’s or any Shareholder’s knowledge,
threatened or anticipated claims by or on behalf of any Plan, by any current or
former employee or beneficiary under any such Plan or otherwise involving any
such Plan (other than routine claims for benefit).
(xiv) All
required notices, statements, reports and descriptions (including Form 5500
annual reports, summary annual reports, summary plan descriptions, and
amendments thereof) have been timely filed and distributed as required by ERISA
and the Code to each employee, participant or beneficiary entitled thereto for
each Plan. All such filings, as amended, were complete and accurate
in all material respects as of the dates of such filings.
(xv) All
contributions due to any Multiemployer Plan have been timely paid and there are
no pending or, to the Corporation’s or any Shareholder’s knowledge, threatened
or anticipated claims against the Corporation or any ERISA Affiliate by or on
behalf of any Multiemployer Plan.
(xvi) All
contributions or other amounts withheld from any employee’s pay for deposit to a
401(k) plan or for payment of any health or insurance premiums or for any other
purpose with respect to a Plan have been timely deposited or transmitted to an
insurance company in accordance with ERISA and applicable Department of Labor
regulations and written guidance.
(xvii) No
action, whether formal or informal, is necessary or has been taken within the
last five (5) years by the Corporation or any ERISA Affiliate under any
voluntary compliance programs sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service or the
Department of Labor to correct any failure to comply with applicable tax Code
qualification rules or with ERISA or applicable DOL regulations with respect to
any Plan.
(b) Union
Contracts. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.17(b), no
union contracts or agreements between the Corporation and any collective
bargaining group are currently in effect, nor have any such contracts ever been
in effect. To the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder,
the Corporation is and has been in compliance in all material respects with all
applicable Laws respecting nondiscrimination in employment and is
not
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engaged in any unfair labor practice. Except as set
forth on Schedule 3.17(b), no charge is pending nor, to the Corporation’s
or any Shareholder’s knowledge, threatened, against the Corporation before any
court or agency alleging unlawful discrimination in employment practices and no
charge of or proceeding with regard to any unfair labor practice against it is
pending before the National Labor Relations Board or any other
tribunal. No labor strike, dispute, slow down or stoppage currently
exists or, to the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, is threatened
against the Corporation. Schedule 3.17(b) contains a list of all
arbitration or grievance proceedings that have occurred since the Balance Sheet
Date. The Corporation has not experienced any labor strike,
slow-down, work stoppage, labor difficulty or other job action during the last
five (5) years.
(c) Parachute
Payments. No payment made to any employee, officer, director
or independent contractor of the Corporation (the “Recipient”) pursuant
to any employment contract, severance agreement or other arrangement (the “Golden Parachute
Payment”) will be nondeductible by the Corporation because of the
application of Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code to the Golden Parachute
Payment, nor will the Corporation be required to compensate any Recipient
because of the imposition of an excise tax (including any interest or penalties
related thereto) on the Recipient by reason of Sections 280G and 4999 of the
Code.
3.18 Taxes.
(a) Definition of
Taxes. For the purposes of this Agreement, “Tax“ or “Taxes“ refers
(i) to any and all federal, state, local and foreign taxes, assessments and
other governmental charges, duties, impositions and liabilities relating to
taxes, including taxes based on or measured by gross receipts, income, profits,
sales, use and occupation, and value added, ad valorem, transfer, franchise,
withholding, payroll, recapture, employment, fuel, excise and property taxes,
together with all interest, penalties and additions imposed with respect to such
amounts, (ii) any obligations under any agreements or arrangements with any
other person with respect to such amounts and including any liability for Taxes
of a predecessor entity, and (iii) any liability for amounts described in
clause (i) of this section as a result of being a member of an affiliated,
consolidated, combined or unitary group.
(b) Tax Returns and
Audits.
(i) The
Corporation has timely filed all federal, state, local and foreign returns,
estimates, forms, information statements and reports (“Returns”) relating to
Taxes required to be filed by the Corporation with any Tax authority for all
fiscal periods for which returns are due prior to the Closing
Date. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.18, the Corporation has
duly paid all Taxes and other related charges reflected on each of such Returns
that are required to be paid by the Corporation prior to the Signing Date (to
the extent this representation applies to such period) or the Closing Date (to
the extent this representation applies to such period). Copies of all
Returns for the five (5) most recent years ending prior to the date of this
Agreement, and the Corporation’s latest property tax statements, are included on
Schedule 3.18.
(ii) The
Corporation has withheld or paid, with respect to its employees, all federal and
state income Taxes, Taxes pursuant to the Federal Insurance
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Contribution Act, Taxes pursuant to the Federal Unemployment Tax
Act and other Taxes required to be withheld.
(iii) Except
as set forth on Schedule 3.18, the
Corporation has not been delinquent in the payment of any Tax nor is there any
Tax deficiency outstanding, assessed or, to the knowledge of the Corporation or
any Shareholder, proposed against the Corporation. The Corporation
has not executed any unexpired waiver of any statute of limitations on or
extension of any period for the assessment or collection of any
Tax.
(iv) No
audit or other examination of any Return of the Corporation by any Tax authority
is presently in progress, nor has the Corporation been notified in writing of
any request for such an audit or other examination.
(v) No
adjustment relating to any Returns filed or required to be filed by the
Corporation has been proposed in writing by any Tax authority to the Corporation
or any representative thereof.
(vi) The
Corporation does not have any liability for any unpaid Taxes (whether or not
shown to be due on any Return) which has not been accrued for or reserved on the
Corporation’s balance sheet as of the Balance Sheet Date in accordance with the
Corporation’s historical accounting practices, whether asserted or unasserted,
contingent or otherwise, which is material to the Corporation. There
are no liens with respect to Taxes on any of the assets of the Corporation,
other than liens which are not individually or in the aggregate material, or
customary liens for current Taxes not yet due and payable.
(vii) The
Corporation has not filed any consent agreement under former Section 341(f) of
the Code or agreed to have former Section 341(f)(2) of the Code apply to
any disposition of a subsection (f) asset (as defined in former
Section 341(f)(4) of the Code) owned by the Corporation.
(viii) The
Corporation (A) has never been a member of a consolidated group other than a
consolidated group of which the Corporation is the parent corporation and (B) is
not party to or has any obligation under any tax-sharing, tax indemnity or tax
allocation agreement or arrangement (other than such agreements existing as of
the date hereof between current members of the Corporation’s affiliated
group).
(ix) To
the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, none of the Corporation’s
assets are tax-exempt use property within the meaning of Section 168(h) of
the Code.
(x) The
Corporation has not constituted either a “distributing corporation” or a
“controlled corporation” in a distribution of stock qualifying for tax-free
treatment under Section 355 of the Code (A) in the three (3) years prior to
the date of this Agreement or (B) in a distribution which could otherwise
constitute part of a “plan” or “series of related transactions” (within the
meaning of Section 355(e) of the Code) in conjunction with this
Agreement.
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(xi) The
Corporation is in full compliance with all terms and conditions of any Tax
exemptions, Tax holiday or other Tax reduction agreement or order of a
territorial or foreign government and the consummation of this Agreement will
not have any material adverse effect on the continued validity and effectiveness
of any such Tax exemptions, Tax holiday or other Tax reduction agreement or
order.
(xii) The
Corporation has not with respect to any open taxable period applied for and been
granted permission to adopt a change in its method of accounting requiring
adjustments under Section 481 of the Code or comparable state or foreign
law.
(xiii) Except
as set forth on Schedule 3.18, the
Corporation is not a partner or owner in any entity classified as a partnership
for federal income tax purposes.
(xiv) The
Corporation has not made an election under Regulations Section 301.7701-3
with respect to any entity.
(xv) No
stock options, stock appreciation rights or other equity based awards issued or
granted by the Corporation are not in material compliance with Code Section
409A. Each “nonqualified deferred compensation plan” (as such term is
defined in Code Section 409A and the guidance thereunder) under which the
Corporation makes or is obligated to make payments is in good faith operational
compliance with the requirements of Code Section 409A and the guidance
thereunder. No payment to be made by the Corporation is or will be
subject to penalties of Code Section 409A.
3.19 Copies Complete; Required
Consents. Except as disclosed on Schedule 3.19, the
certified copies of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Corporation,
as amended, and the copies of all Material Contracts, Licenses and Permits and
all other leases, instruments, agreements, licenses, permits, certificates, site
assessments or other documents that have been delivered or made available to WCI
in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby (the “Delivered Documents”)
are complete and accurate and are true and correct copies of the originals
thereof.
3.20 Customers, Xxxxxxxx, Current Receipts
and Receivables. Except to the extent of the allowance for bad
debts reflected on the Financial Statements or otherwise disclosed on Schedule
3.20, the Corporation’s accounts and notes receivable are fully collectible in
the amounts shown on Schedule 3.20. The billing and information
system of the Corporation contains a list of the Corporation’s customers as of
the Closing Date, including customer names, addresses and billing
rates. Schedule 3.20 is a current, accurate and complete list of, and
includes:
(a) a
materially accurate and complete aging of all accounts and notes receivable from
customers as of the last day of the month preceding the Signing Date showing amounts due in
30-day aging categories; and
(b) the
average monthly revenues of the Corporation derived from xxxxxxxx to its
customers for each of the twelve (12) months preceding the Signing
Date. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.20, neither the
Corporation nor any Shareholder has any knowledge of any reason why the
Corporation’s average monthly revenues derived from xxxxxxxx to its
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customers after the Closing Date should not continue during the
twelve (12) months following the Closing Date at approximately the same rate as
before the Closing Date.
3.21 No Change. Except
as set forth on Schedule 3.21, since the Balance Sheet Date, the Business has
been conducted only in the ordinary course and there has been no change in the
condition (financial or otherwise) of the assets, liabilities or operations of
the Corporation other than changes in the ordinary course of business, none of
which either singly or in the aggregate has been materially
adverse. Specifically, and without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, except as set forth on Schedules 1.4 and 3.21, with respect to
the Corporation, since the Balance Sheet Date there has not been:
(a) any
material change in its financial condition, assets, liabilities (contingent or
otherwise), income, operations or business which would have a material adverse
effect on the financial condition, assets, liabilities (contingent or
otherwise), income, operations of the Corporation or the Business, taken as a
whole;
(b) any
material damage, destruction or loss (whether or not covered by insurance)
adversely affecting any material portion of its properties or
Business;
(c) any
change in or agreement to change (i) its shareholders; (ii) ownership
of its authorized capital or outstanding securities, or (iii) its
securities;
(d) any
declaration or payment of, or any agreement to declare or pay, any dividend or
distribution in respect of its capital stock or any direct or indirect
redemption, purchase or other acquisition of any of its capital
stock;
(e) any
increase or bonus or promised increase or bonus in the compensation payable or
to become payable by it, in excess of usual and customary practices, to any of
its directors, officers, employees or agents, or any accrual or arrangement for
or payment of any bonus or other special compensation to any director, officer,
employee or agent or any severance or termination pay paid to any of its present
or former directors, officers, employees or agents;
(f) any
labor dispute or any other event or condition of any character with respect to
the Corporation’s employees, materially adversely affecting the Business or
future prospects;
(g) other
than the distribution or transfer of the Excluded Assets, any sale or transfer,
or any agreement to sell or transfer, of any of its material assets, property or
rights to any other person, including, without limitation, to any Shareholder or
any Affiliate thereof;
(h) any
cancellation, or agreement to cancel, any material indebtedness or other
material obligation owing to it, including, without limitation, any indebtedness
or obligation of any Shareholder or any
Affiliate thereof;
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(i) any
plan, agreement or arrangement granting any preferential rights to purchase or
acquire any interest in any of its assets, property or rights or requiring
consent of any party to the transfer and assignment of any such assets, property
or rights;
(j) any
purchase or acquisition of, or any agreement, plan or arrangement to purchase or
acquire, any of its property, rights or assets outside the ordinary course of
the Business;
(k) any
waiver of any of its material rights or claims;
(l) any
new or any amendment or termination of any existing Material Contracts, Licenses
and Permits or other right to which it is a party; or
(m) any
other material transaction.
3.22 Closing Date Debt; Effective Date
Current Assets and Effective Date Current Liabilities.
(a) Schedule 3.22(a)
includes, as of the Signing Date, as if the Closing occurred on such date, and
will include, at least five (5) business days prior to the Closing Date, a good
faith estimate of: (i) the amount of the aggregate debt
(excluding current liabilities, which shall be included in the calculation of
Effective Date Current Liabilities) of the Corporation outstanding on the
Closing Date required to be repaid by WCI or the Corporation at or immediately
after the Closing Date and all prepayment penalties and costs incurred or to be
incurred by WCI or the Corporation in connection with the repayment of any such
debt; (ii) the amount of the aggregate debt (excluding current liabilities,
which shall be included in the calculation of Effective Date Current
Liabilities) of the Corporation outstanding on the Closing Date which will
remain outstanding obligations of the Corporation after the Closing Date, and
all prepayment penalties and costs applicable to such debt if repaid prior to
maturity, including in each case all interest accrued through and including the
Closing Date; (iii) the aggregate amount of the present value as of the
Closing Date, discounted at the lease rate factor, if known, inherent in the
lease or, if the lease rate factor is not known, at the rate charged to the
Corporation by a third party lender in connection with its most recent borrowing
to finance equipment, of all lease obligations of the Corporation that are not
capitalized lease or real property lease obligations; (iv) the aggregate
amount of the present value as of the Closing Date of all capitalized lease
obligations (determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles) of the Corporation; (v) the aggregate amount of all
undischarged judgments against the Corporation; (vi) the aggregate amount
of all obligations secured by tax liens against the Corporation’s assets and the
total of the aggregate mortgage debt secured by the judgment liens encumbering,
and the Federal tax liens filed against, the Real Property; and (vii) the
amount of the Shareholder Expenses pursuant to Section 12.7 and Taxes payable
for the Straddle Periods as set forth in Section 9.7(b) (the amounts referred to
in the foregoing clauses (i) through (vii) being referred to collectively as,
the “Closing Date
Debt”). The Closing Date Debt listed on Schedule 3.22(a)
is an estimate of the Closing Date Debt and is subject to the True Up
Calculations described in Section 1.2. Schedule 3.22(a)
includes, or prior to the Closing will be updated by the Shareholders’
Representative to include, wire transfer instructions for creditors whose
Closing Date Debt WCI has designated for payment, and attached to
Schedule 3.22(a) will be pay-off
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letters or instructions from such creditors in the form provided
by WCI’s bank or acceptable to WCI. On WCI’s payment of the Closing
Date Debt associated with the Corporation’s capitalized lease obligations, the
Corporation shall have good, marketable and unencumbered title to all assets
subject to such leases.
(b) Schedule 3.22(b)
includes, as of the Signing Date, as if the Closing occurred on such date, and
will include, at least five (5) business days prior to the Closing Date, a good
faith estimate of: (i) the amount of the aggregate current liabilities,
including without limitation trade payables, deferred revenue, pension and
profit sharing contributions, accrued vacation and sick leave benefits and any
reserve for unpaid Taxes, penalties and interest (“Unpaid Taxes“), of
the Corporation as of the Effective Date (the “Effective Date Current
Liabilities“), and (ii) the amount of the aggregate current assets
of the Corporation as of the Effective Date, including without limitation cash,
prepaid expenses the benefit of which survives the Closing and the accounts
receivable of the Corporation earned prior to the Effective Date, and
collectible (less an allowance for doubtful accounts) on or after the Effective
Date, but excluding the amount of restricted cash reflected on the Corporation’s
Financial Statements related to bonds payable by the Corporation, which shall be
deducted from the calculation of Closing Date Debt related to such bonds (the
“Effective Date
Current Assets“). For the avoidance of doubt, the parties
acknowledge and agree that the short-term portion of the debt owed by the
Corporation in respect of its bonds outstanding as of the Closing Date shall be
included in the calculation of Effective Date Current Liabilities, and the
long-term portion of such debt shall be included in the calculation of Closing
Date Debt. Schedule 3.22(b) also includes a good faith estimate
of the aggregate payments to be made by the Corporation (A) to the
Shareholders in the form of distributions or bonuses from the Effective Date
through the Closing Date, and (B) on the obligations constituting the
Closing Date Debt from the Effective Date through the Closing
Date. From the Balance Sheet Date through the Closing Date, all trade
payables have been incurred only in the ordinary course of business consistent
with comparable prior periods. As of the Closing Date, there are no
current payables that are more than sixty (60) days past due.
3.23 Bank and Credit Card
Accounts.
(a) Schedule 3.23(a)
is a complete and accurate list of:
(i) the
name of each bank in which the Corporation has accounts or safe deposit
boxes;
(ii) the
name(s) in which the accounts or boxes are held;
(iii) the
type of account; and
(iv) the
name of each person authorized to draw thereon or have access
thereto.
(b) Schedule 3.23(b)
is a complete and accurate list of:
(i) each
credit card or other charge account issued to the Corporation; and
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(ii) the
name of each person to whom such credit cards or other charge accounts have been
issued.
3.24 Compliance With
Laws. Except as disclosed on Schedule 3.24, to the knowledge
of the Corporation or any Shareholder, the Corporation has complied, and is
presently in compliance, with all federal, state and local laws, ordinances,
codes, rules, regulations, Licenses and Permits, orders, judgments, awards,
decrees, consent judgments, consent orders and requirements (collectively “Laws”) applicable to
it, including, but not limited to, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the
federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, and applicable Laws relating to the
public health, safety or protection of the environment (collectively, “Environmental
Laws”). Except as disclosed on Schedule 3.8 or 3.24, no
party has asserted in writing or, to the knowledge of the Corporation or the
Shareholders, orally that the Corporation has violated, or is in violation of,
any applicable Laws. Specifically and without limiting the generality
of the foregoing, except as disclosed on Schedule 3.8 or 3.24:
(a) To
the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, except as permitted under
applicable Laws, including, without limitation, the federal Resource
Conservation Recovery Act, 42 US §6901 et seq. (“RCRA”), the
Corporation has not accepted, processed, handled, transferred, generated,
treated, stored or disposed of any Hazardous Material, and, to the knowledge of
the Corporation or any Shareholder, the Corporation has not accepted, processed,
handled, transferred, generated, treated, stored or disposed of asbestos,
medical waste, radioactive waste or municipal waste, except in compliance with
Environmental Laws that apply to the time period during which the actions
occurred.
(b) To
the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, during the Corporation’s
ownership, leasing or use of any parcel of the Real Property and, to the
knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, prior to the Corporation’s
ownership, leasing or use of any Real Property, no Hazardous Material, other
than that allowed under Environmental Laws that apply to the time period during
which the actions occurred, including, without limitation, RCRA, has been
disposed of, or otherwise released on any Real Property.
(c) To
the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, during the Corporation’s
ownership, leasing or use of any of the Real Property and, to the knowledge of
the Corporation or any Shareholder, prior to the Corporation’s ownership,
leasing or use of any of the Real Property, none of the Real Property has ever
been subject to or received any notice of any private, administrative or
judicial action, or notice of any intended private, administrative or judicial
action relating to the presence or alleged presence of Hazardous Material in,
under, on or emanating from any of the Real Property or any real property now or
previously owned or leased by the Corporation that has not been resolved or
terminated. There are no pending and, to the Corporation’s or any
Shareholder’s knowledge, no threatened actions or proceedings from any
governmental agency or any other entity involving remediation of any condition
of any of the Real Property, including, without limitation, petroleum
contamination, pursuant to Environmental Laws.
(d) Except
as allowed under Environmental Laws that apply to the time period during which
the actions occurred, the Corporation has not knowingly sent,
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transported or arranged for the transportation or disposal
of any Hazardous Material to any site, location or facility.
(e) Schedule 3.24
includes copies of: (i) all records, notifications, reports,
permit and license applications, engineering and geologic studies, and
environmental impact reports, tests or assessments (collectively, “Records, Notifications and
Reports”) that (A) are material to the operation of the Business as
currently conducted, (B) relate to the discharge or release of materials
into the environment and/or the handling or transportation of waste materials or
hazardous or toxic substances or otherwise relate to the protection of the
public health or the environment, or (C) were filed with or submitted to
appropriate governmental agencies during the past twenty-four (24) months by the
Corporation or any Shareholder or agent thereof with respect to the Business;
and (ii) all material written notifications from such governmental agencies
to the Corporation, any Shareholder or their agents in response to or relating
to any of such Records, Notifications and Reports.
(f) As
used in this Agreement, “Hazardous Material“
means the substances (i) defined as “Hazardous Waste“ in
00 XXX 000, and substances defined in any comparable state statute or
regulation; (ii) any substance the presence of which requires remediation
pursuant to any Environmental Laws; and (iii) any substance required to be
disposed of in a manner expressly prescribed by Environmental Laws.
3.25 Related Party
Transactions. Schedule 3.25 is a complete and accurate
list of the accounts and notes receivable of the Corporation from and advances
to employees, former employees, officers, directors, any Shareholder and any
Affiliate of the foregoing that are not Excluded Assets which have not been
fully repaid. Except as disclosed in Schedule 3.25, none of the
Shareholders nor any of their Affiliates owns any assets or real property used
or necessary in the ownership or operation of the Business, nor has entered into
any transaction with or is a party to any agreement, lease or other instrument
or arrangement with the Corporation, written or oral, nor is indebted to or is
owed money by the Corporation. The Corporation undertakes no, and has
no obligation to undertake any, payment, performance or other obligation on
behalf of any Shareholder (or any Affiliate thereof) in satisfaction of any
payment, performance or other obligation owed by such Shareholder (or Affiliate)
to any third party. Except as disclosed in Schedule 3.25, none
of the Shareholders nor any of their Affiliates owns any direct or indirect
interest of any kind in, or controls or is a director, officer, employee,
shareholder or partner of, or consultant or lender to or borrower from or has
the right to participate in the profits of, any person which is a competitor of
the Corporation.
3.26 Underground Storage
Tanks. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.26, to the
knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, no underground storage tanks
containing petroleum products or wastes or other hazardous substances regulated
by 40 CFR 280 or other Environmental Laws (“USTs”) are currently
located on any of the Real Property. Except as set forth on
Schedule 3.26, to the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, the
Corporation has not owned or leased any real property not included in the
Facility Properties having any USTs. As to each UST identified on
Schedule 3.26, the Corporation has provided to WCI on Schedule 3.26, the
following:
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(a) the
location of the UST, information and material, including any available drawings
and photographs, showing the location, and whether the Corporation currently
owns or leases the property on which the UST is located (and if the Corporation
does not currently own or lease such property, the dates on which it did and the
current owner or lessee of such property);
(b) the
date of installation and specific use or uses of the UST;
(c) copies
of tank and piping tightness tests and cathodic protection tests and similar
studies or reports for the UST;
(d) a
copy of each notice to or from a governmental body or agency relating to each
UST;
(e) other
material records with regard to the UST, including, without limitation, repair
records, financial assurance compliance records and records of ownership;
and
(f) to
the extent not otherwise set forth pursuant to the above, a summary description
of instances, past or present, in which the UST failed to meet applicable
standards and regulations for tightness or otherwise and the extent of such
failure, and any other operational or environmental problems with regard to the
UST, including, without limitation, spills (including spills in connection with
delivery of materials to the UST), releases from the UST and soil
contamination.
Except to
the extent set forth on Schedule 3.26, the Corporation has complied with
Environmental Laws that apply to the time period during which the actions
occurred regarding the installation, use, testing, monitoring, operation and
closure of each UST described on Schedule 3.26.
3.27 Powers of
Attorney. The Corporation has not granted any power of
attorney (except routine powers of attorney relating to representation before
governmental agencies) or entered into any agency or similar agreement whereby a
third party may bind or commit the Corporation in any manner.
3.28 Patents, Trademarks, Trade Names,
etc. Schedule 3.28 lists all patents, trade names, domain
names, fictitious business names, trademarks, service marks and copyrights owned
by the Corporation or that it is licensed to use (other than such items that are
Excluded Assets and licenses to use commercially-available software for personal
computer operating systems that were provided when the computer was purchased
and licenses to use software for personal computers that are granted to
purchasers of such software). Except as set forth on Schedule 3.28,
to the knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, no patents, trade
secrets, know-how, intellectual property, trademarks, trade names, assumed
names, copyrights or designations used by the Corporation in the Business
infringe on, or constitute a misappropriation or violation of, any patents,
trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets or any other rights of any
person. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.28, neither the Corporation
nor any Shareholder has knowledge of any claims of third parties to the use of
any such names or similar names or other intellectual property rights, or has
knowledge of any basis for any such claim or claims.
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3.29 Suppliers and
Customers. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.29, neither the
Corporation nor any Shareholder has
knowledge of any fact (other than general economic and industry conditions)
which indicates that any of the suppliers supplying products, components,
materials or providing use of, or access to, landfills or disposal sites to the
Corporation intends to cease providing such items to the Corporation, nor does
the Corporation or any Shareholder have knowledge of any fact (other than
general economic and industry conditions) which indicates that any of the
customers of the Corporation intends to terminate, limit or reduce its business
relations with the Corporation. Except as provided on the
Corporation’s balance sheet, the Corporation did not have as of the Balance
Sheet Date, nor will the Corporation have as of the Closing Date, any
liabilities due or to become due to suppliers, whether accrued, absolute,
contingent or otherwise, including, without limitation, Tax
liabilities.
3.30 Absence of Certain Business
Practices. Other than lobbying activities and gifts of nominal
value to public officials during the holiday season, in each case as permitted
by applicable Law, neither the Corporation nor any Shareholder has directly
or indirectly within the past five (5) years given or agreed to give any gift or
similar benefit to any customer, supplier, governmental employee or other person
who is or may be in a position to help or hinder the Business in connection with
any actual or proposed transaction that (a) might subject the Corporation
to any damage or penalty in any civil, criminal or governmental litigation or
proceeding; or (b) if not given in the past, might have had a material
adverse effect on the Business, financial condition or results of operations of
the Corporation.
3.31 No Misleading
Statements. The representations and warranties of the
Corporation and each Shareholder contained in this Agreement, the Exhibits and
Schedules hereto and all other documents and information furnished to WCI and
its representatives pursuant hereto are complete and accurate in all material
respects and do not include any untrue statement of a material fact or, to the
knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, omit to state any material fact
necessary to make any statements made not misleading. To the
knowledge of the Corporation or any Shareholder, there is no material fact
relating to the Corporation or the Corporation’s Stock that has not been set
forth or described in this Agreement or in the Schedules hereto.
3.32 Brokers;
Finders. No person has acted directly or indirectly as a
broker, finder or financial advisor for the Corporation or any Shareholder in
connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and no person
is entitled to any broker’s, finder’s, financial advisory or similar fee or
payment in respect thereof based in any way on any agreement, arrangement or
understanding made by or on behalf of the Corporation or any Shareholder, which
fees in all events shall be payable by the Shareholders.
3.33 Tax Election
Matters. The Corporation has elected to be treated as an S
Corporation within the meaning of the Code since 1987 and such election is still
effective and has remained effective at all times since elected.
3.34 Limitation on Sellers’
Representations and Warranties. WCI ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES
THAT, EXCEPT FOR THE REPRESENTATIONS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION 3 OF
THIS AGREEMENT, (I) THE PURCHASE OF THE CORPORATION’S STOCK AND THE
CORPORATION, ITS
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BUSINESS
AND ASSETS SHALL BE ON AN "AS IS", "WHERE IS", "WITH ALL FAULTS BASIS" SUBJECT
TO REASONABLE WEAR AND TEAR FROM THE SIGNING DATE UNTIL CLOSING, AND (II)
NEITHER THE SHAREHOLDERS NOR ANY DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, ATTORNEYS,
ACCOUNTANTS, CONSULTANTS, AGENTS OR REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SHAREHOLDERS OR THE
CORPORATION, NOR ANY PERSON PURPORTING TO REPRESENT ANY OF THE FOREGOING, HAVE
MADE ANY REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, GUARANTY, PROMISE, PROJECTION OR PREDICTION
WHATSOEVER WITH RESPECT TO THE CORPORATION’S STOCK OR THE CORPORATION’S
BUSINESS, ASSETS OR LIABILITIES OR ANY ASPECT OF SUCH STOCK OR THE CORPORATION,
WRITTEN OR ORAL, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARISING BY OPERATION OF LAW OR OTHERWISE,
INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WCI ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT WCI IS NOT
RELYING ON ANY STATEMENT MADE OR INFORMATION PROVIDED TO WCI BY THE SHAREHOLDERS
OR ANY DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, ATTORNEYS, ACCOUNTANTS,
CONSULTANTS, AGENTS OR REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SHAREHOLDERS OR THE CORPORATION,
OR ANY PERSON PURPORTING TO REPRESENT ANY OF THE FOREGOING, EXCEPT FOR THE
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES EXPRESSLY MADE BY THE SHAREHOLDERS IN THIS
SECTION 3 OF THIS AGREEMENT.
WCI’s
Initials ____________
4. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF
WCI
WCI
represents and warrants to the Shareholders that each of the following
representations and warranties is true and correct as of the Signing Date and
will be true and correct as of the Closing, and agrees that such representations
and warranties shall survive the Closing as provided in Section
10.4:
4.1 Existence and Good
Standing. WCI is a corporation duly organized, validly
existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of
Delaware. WCI has full corporate power and authority to own and lease
its properties and to carry on its business as now conducted. WCI is
not required to be qualified or licensed to conduct business as a foreign
corporation in any jurisdiction where the failure to be so qualified would have
a material adverse effect on its financial condition.
4.2 Authorization of
Agreement. WCI has full corporate right, power, and
authority to enter into this Agreement, and all documents and agreements
necessary to give effect to the provisions of this Agreement, and perform its
obligations hereunder. The execution and delivery of this Agreement
by WCI and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby by WCI have
been duly authorized by WCI’s Board of Directors or by the Executive Committee
of WCI’s Board of Directors and all other corporate actions and proceedings
required to be taken by or on behalf of WCI. This Agreement and all
other agreements and documents executed in connection herewith have been duly
and validly executed and delivered by WCI and, subject to the due authorization,
execution and delivery by the Corporation and the Shareholders,
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constitute
the legal, valid and binding obligations of WCI enforceable against WCI in
accordance with their respective terms, except as enforcement may be limited by
bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting creditors’
rights generally and by general principles of equity.
4.3 No Breach or
Default. The execution and delivery by WCI of this Agreement
and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby will not, after the
giving of notice, or the lapse of time or otherwise: (a) violate any
provision of any Law, or any order, writ, injunction or decree of any court,
administrative agency or governmental authority applicable to WCI or require the
approval, consent or permission of any governmental body or authority, except as
required under the HSR Act; (b) violate the Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation or Amended and Restated Bylaws of WCI, or
(c) conflict with, result in a breach of, or constitute a default under any
material agreement or instrument to which WCI is a party or by which it is
bound.
4.4 No Restrictions on
Authority. WCI has not at any time taken or been the subject
of any action that may have an adverse effect on its ability to comply with or
perform any of the covenants or obligations under this
Agreement. There is no proceeding pending, and to WCI’s knowledge, no
person has threatened to commence any proceeding, that may have an adverse
effect on the ability of WCI to comply with or perform any of the covenants or
obligations under this Agreement. No event has occurred, and no
claim, dispute or other condition or circumstance exists, that might directly or
indirectly give rise to or serve as a basis for the commencement of any such
proceeding.
4.5 Governmental
Consents. Except for any filings required by the HSR Act or
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, no consent, approval, order or
authorization of, or registration, qualification, designation, declaration or
filing with, any federal, state or local governmental authority on the part of
WCI is required in connection with the consummation of the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
4.6 No Contractual
Restrictions. No provisions exist in any article, document, or
instrument to which WCI is a party or by which it is bound that would be
violated by consummation of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
4.7 Litigation. There
is no action, suit, proceeding or investigation pending or, to WCI’s knowledge,
threatened against WCI that affects or may affect the legality, validity or
enforceability of this Agreement, or the right of WCI to enter into this
Agreement, or the ability of WCI to consummate the transactions contemplated
hereby.
4.8 No Misleading
Statements. The representations and warranties of WCI
contained in this Agreement, the Exhibits and Schedules hereto and all other
documents and information furnished to the Shareholders and their
representatives pursuant hereto are accurate and complete in all material
respects, and do not include any untrue statement of a material fact or, to the
knowledge of WCI, omit to state any material fact necessary to make
the statements made not misleading.
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4.9 Brokers;
Finders. No person has acted directly or indirectly as a
broker, finder or financial advisor for WCI in connection with the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement and no person is entitled to any broker’s,
finder’s, financial advisory or similar fee or payment in respect thereof based
in any way on any agreement, arrangement or understanding made by or on behalf
of WCI that shall result in any fee or other payment payable by the
Shareholders.
4.10 Investment
Representations. WCI is acquiring the Corporation’s Stock
pursuant to this Agreement for its own account, for investment and not with a
view to resale or distribution.
4.11 Limitation on WCI’s Representations
and Warranties. THE SHAREHOLDERS ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT,
EXCEPT FOR THE REPRESENTATIONS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION 4 OF
THIS AGREEMENT, NEITHER WCI NOR ANY DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES,
ATTORNEYS, ACCOUNTANTS, CONSULTANTS, AGENTS OR REPRESENTATIVES OF WCI, NOR ANY
PERSON PURPORTING TO REPRESENT ANY OF THE FOREGOING, HAS MADE ANY
REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, GUARANTY, PROMISE, PROJECTION OR PREDICTION WHATSOEVER
WITH RESPECT TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS AGREEMENT, WRITTEN OR ORAL, EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, ARISING BY OPERATION OF LAW OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. THE SHAREHOLDERS ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THEY ARE NOT
RELYING ON ANY STATEMENT MADE OR INFORMATION PROVIDED TO THE SHAREHOLDERS BY WCI
OR ANY DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, ATTORNEYS, ACCOUNTANTS,
CONSULTANTS, AGENTS OR REPRESENTATIVES OF WCI, OR ANY PERSON PURPORTING TO
REPRESENT ANY OF THE FOREGOING, EXCEPT FOR THE REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
EXPRESSLY MADE BY WCI IN THIS SECTION 4 OF THIS AGREEMENT.
Shareholders’
Representative’s Initials: ____________
5. COVENANTS FROM SIGNING TO
CLOSING
5.1 Operations. Between
the Signing Date and the Closing, the Corporation will, and the Shareholders
will cause the Corporation to:
(a) carry
on the Business in substantially the same manner as it has heretofore and not
introduce any new method, or discontinue any existing method, of operation or
accounting;
(b) maintain
and preserve the Effective Date Current Assets and pay any Effective Date
Current Liabilities only in the ordinary course of business and consistent with
past practice;
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(c) maintain
its properties and facilities, including those held under leases, in as good
working order and condition as at present, ordinary wear and tear
excepted;
(d) keep
in full force and effect present insurance policies or other comparable
insurance coverage;
(e) use
reasonable efforts to maintain and preserve its business organization intact,
retain its present employees and maintain its relationship with suppliers,
customers and others having business relations with it;
(f) file
on a timely basis all notices, reports or other filings required to be filed
with or reported to any federal, state, municipal or other governmental
department, commission, board, bureau, agency or any instrumentality of any of
the foregoing wherever located with respect to the continuing operations of the
Corporation;
(g) perform
in all material respects its obligations under all Material Contracts and comply
with the terms and conditions of all Licenses and Permits and all applicable
laws, rules, regulations and consent orders;
(h) file
on a timely basis all complete and correct applications or other documents
necessary to maintain, renew or extend any site assessment, Permit, License,
variance or any other approval required by any governmental authority necessary
and/or required for the continuing operation of the Business, whether or not
such approval would expire before or after the Closing; and
(i) advise
WCI promptly in writing of any breach of any representation or warranty or any
covenant, or any material change in any document, Schedule, Exhibit, or other
information delivered pursuant to this Agreement.
5.2 No Change. Between
the Signing Date and the Closing, the Corporation will not, and the Shareholders
will not permit the Corporation to, take any action described below without the
prior written consent of WCI:
(a) make
any change in its Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws;
(b) authorize,
issue, transfer, pledge, distribute or sell any of the Corporation’s Stock or
any other securities (including without limitation rights to acquire, or
instruments convertible into, Corporation’s Stock or other
securities);
(c) except
for the distribution by the Corporation to the Shareholders of the Excluded
Assets or as disclosed on Schedule 5.2, declare or pay any dividend or make
any distribution in respect of its capital stock whether now or hereafter
outstanding, or purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire or retire for value any
shares of its capital stock;
(d) other
than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or as disclosed on
Schedule 5.2, enter into any contract or commitment or incur or agree to
incur any liability other than in the ordinary course of business or make any
single capital expenditure in excess of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) or in
excess of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) in
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the aggregate during any consecutive thirty (30) day period
without regard to whether such capital expenditure is in the ordinary course of
business;
(e) except
as set forth on Schedule 3.16(a) or 5.2, change or promise to change the
compensation payable or to become payable to any director, officer, employee or
agent, or make or promise to make any bonus payment to any such person other
than consistent with past practice or in accordance with agreements to which the
Corporation is a party as of the Signing Date;
(f) create,
assume or otherwise permit the imposition of any security interest, mortgage,
pledge or other lien or encumbrance on or grant any option or right of first
refusal with respect to any assets or properties whether now owned or hereafter
acquired;
(g) except
for the distribution by the Corporation to the Shareholders of the Excluded
Assets, sell, assign, lease or otherwise transfer or dispose of any property or
equipment other than in the ordinary course of business;
(h) merge
or consolidate or agree to merge or consolidate with or into any firm,
corporation or other entity;
(i) waive
any material rights or claims;
(j) except
for the termination of the 401(k) Plan pursuant to Section 9.11, if
applicable, or as disclosed in Schedule 5.2, amend, terminate or enter into any
material agreement or any site assessment, permit, license or other right,
unless it is necessary to renew such agreement, permit, license or other right
in accordance with its terms;
(k) enter
into any other transaction outside the ordinary course of the Corporation’s
Business or prohibited hereunder; or
(l) take
any action or suffer or permit any event to occur that would cause any
representation or warranty of the Corporation or any Shareholder to become
untrue as of the Closing Date.
5.3 Obtain
Consents. Promptly after the Signing Date, the Corporation
will, and the Shareholders shall cause the Corporation to, make all filings and
take all steps reasonably necessary to obtain all other approvals and consents
required to be obtained by the Corporation or the Shareholders to consummate the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement and otherwise to satisfy the
conditions of Section 6.7.
5.4 Access; Confidential
Information. Between the Signing Date and the Closing, the
Shareholders and the Corporation will, and the Shareholders will cause the
Corporation to, afford to the employees and authorized representatives of WCI,
including, without limitation, its engineers, counsel, independent auditors and
investment bankers, access to the Facilities, plants, Facility Properties and
other properties, books and records of the Corporation, and will timely furnish
WCI with such additional financial and operating data and other information as
to the Business and properties of the Corporation as WCI may from time to time
reasonably request. The Shareholders will and will cause the
Corporation to cooperate with
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WCI, its representatives and counsel in the preparation of any
documents or other material that may be required by any governmental
agency. Unless approved by the Shareholders’ Representative, and
except as necessary or appropriate in connection with the filing of the
Notification and Report Form under the HSR Act and any documents or
correspondence related thereto, the filing by WCI of a Form 8-K or other reports
as required by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or as
otherwise required by Law or in connection with any legal proceeding, from the
Signing Date to the Closing Date, WCI will cause all information obtained from
the Shareholders and the Corporation in connection with the negotiation and
performance of this Agreement to be treated as confidential, except information
that (a) is or becomes publicly known through no wrongful act or omission
of WCI, (b) was rightfully known by WCI before receipt from the Corporation or
the Shareholders, (c) becomes rightfully known to WCI without confidential
or proprietary restriction from a source other than the Corporation or the
Shareholders that does not owe a duty of confidentiality to the Corporation or
the Shareholders with respect to such information, or (d) is independently
developed by WCI without the use of or reference to such information of the
Corporation or the Shareholders. WCI will not use, and will not
knowingly permit others to use, any of such confidential information for any
purpose other than in connection with the evaluation of the Corporation, the
Shareholders or the Business or the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby. At least five (5) days prior to any permitted
disclosure of confidential information of the Corporation or the Shareholders
(to the extent commercially practicable and legally permitted), WCI will provide
the Shareholders’ Representative of a copy of the proposed
disclosure. The Corporation will not, and the Shareholders will not
and will cause the Corporation not to, disclose to any third persons other than
their accountants, bankers, counsel or other advisers any of the terms or
provisions of this Agreement prior to the Closing without the prior written
consent of WCI.
5.5 Financial
Statements. If requested by WCI, the Corporation shall, and
the Shareholders shall cause the Corporation to furnish WCI with unaudited
monthly balance sheets and statements of income and retained earnings and cash
flows of the Corporation on a consolidated and consolidating basis within twenty
(20) days after each month end for each month ending more than twenty (20) days
prior to the Closing, in each case certified by the Corporation’s chief
financial officer to be prepared based upon the Corporation’s current accounting
practices for management reports applied consistently during the periods covered
thereby (except that the Corporation’s unaudited financial statements do not
include footnote disclosure).
5.6 Notice of Material Adverse
Change. The Corporation and the Shareholders shall promptly
notify WCI of any material adverse change in the condition (financial or
otherwise), Business, properties or assets of the Corporation, including any
lawsuit, claim, audit, investigation, or other proceeding, between the Signing
Date and the Closing.
5.7 Control of the Corporation’s
Operations. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall give to
WCI, directly or indirectly, rights or obligations to control or direct the
Corporation’s operations prior to the Closing. Prior to the Closing,
the Corporation shall exercise, consistent with the terms and conditions of this
Agreement, complete control and supervision of its operations.
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5.8 Acquisition
Transactions. From the Signing Date to the earlier of the
Closing and the Termination Date, neither the Corporation nor any Shareholder
shall initiate, solicit, negotiate, encourage or provide information to
facilitate, and the Corporation and the Shareholders shall use reasonable good
faith efforts to cause any officer, director or employee of the Corporation, or
any counsel, accountant, investment banker, financial advisor or other agent
retained by it or them not to initiate,
solicit, discuss, negotiate, encourage or provide information to facilitate, any
proposal or offer to acquire all or any substantial part of the Business or
properties of the Corporation or any capital stock (including without limitation
the Corporation’s Stock) of the Corporation, whether by merger, purchase of
assets or otherwise, whether for cash, securities or any other consideration or
combination thereof (any such transactions being referred to herein as an “Acquisition
Transaction”). The Corporation and the Shareholders shall
immediately notify WCI after receipt of any written proposal for an Acquisition
Transaction. Such notice to WCI shall be made orally and in
writing.
5.9 Schedules.
(a) Prior
to the Signing Date, the Corporation shall deliver to WCI Schedules 1.4, 3.2,
3.4, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.18, 3.22(a), 3.22(b) and 3.25 to this Agreement
(the “Initial
Schedules”) for WCI’s review, and WCI shall have the right to request
revisions thereto. Within fifteen (15) days after the Signing Date,
the Corporation shall deliver all other Schedules to this Agreement for WCI’s
review (the “Remaining
Schedules”), and WCI shall have the right to request revisions
thereto. Nothing in any Schedule will be deemed adequate to disclose
an exception to a representation or warranty made herein, unless the Schedule
identifies the exception with reasonable particularity and describes the
relevant facts in reasonable detail. Without limiting the generality
of the foregoing, the mere listing on a Schedule (or inclusion of a copy
attached to a Schedule) of a document or other item will not be deemed adequate
to disclose and exception to a representation or warranty made herein (unless
the representation or warranty has to do with the existence of the document or
other item itself). Any matter disclosed on any Initial Schedule or
Remaining Schedule to this Agreement shall be deemed to qualify a representation
or warranty contained in Section 3, regardless of whether such
representation or warranty expressly refers to a Schedule, and to have been
disclosed on every other Schedule that refers to such Schedule by cross
reference, so long as the nature of the matter disclosed is obvious from a fair
reading of the Schedule on which the matter is disclosed. The due
diligence review of the Corporation by WCI or any of its representatives or
agents shall in no way affect or alter any of the representations and warranties
made by the Corporation or the Shareholders.
(b) From
time to time after the delivery of the Initial Schedules and the Remaining
Schedules pursuant to Section 5.9(a), but not more than five (5) business
days prior to the Closing Date, the Corporation and the Shareholders shall have
the right to supplement or amend the Schedules with respect to any matter
hereafter arising or discovered after the delivery of the Schedules as provided
herein (the “Supplemental
Material”). If the Remaining Schedules or Supplemental
Material disclose facts that, absent such disclosure, would constitute a
material breach of the Corporation’s or the Shareholders’ representations or
warranties, WCI shall notify the Shareholders’ Representative thereof within
five (5) business days after receipt of the applicable Remaining Schedule or
Supplemental Material, and the Corporation or the Shareholders, as applicable,
shall have five (5) business days to cure any such breach, and if not cured
within such five (5) business-day period, WCI may terminate this Agreement by
delivering
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a termination notice to the Shareholders’ Representative pursuant
to Section 2.2(b) within five (5) days after expiration of the five (5)
business-day cure period. The termination notice must specify the
representation or warranty breached, identify the specific facts in the
Remaining Schedules or the Supplemental Material that constitute the breach, and
describe why the breach is material. If the Agreement shall not have
been terminated by WCI during such five-day (5-day) period, WCI shall have
waived the right to terminate the Agreement based on such Remaining Schedules or
Supplemental Material and to bring any action for misrepresentation, breach of
warranty or breach of covenant contained in this Agreement based upon such
Remaining Schedules or Supplemental Material, if true and correct, and such
Remaining Schedules and Supplemental Material, if true and correct, shall be
deemed to qualify the representation or warranty contained in Section 3 as
required hereunder in a timely manner for all purposes under this
Agreement.
5.10 Leases. WCI and the
applicable Shareholders shall negotiate in good faith and agree on the terms and
conditions of the Leases within thirty (30) days after the Signing
Date.
6. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO OBLIGATION OF
WCI TO CLOSE
The
obligations of WCI under this Agreement are subject to the satisfaction, on or
before the date set forth in this Section 6 or, if no date is set forth herein,
at or before Closing, of all of the following conditions precedent, unless
waived in writing by WCI:
6.1 Representations and
Warranties. All representations and warranties of the
Corporation and the Shareholders contained in this Agreement or in any
statement, Exhibit, Schedule, certificate or document delivered by the
Corporation or any Shareholder under this Agreement shall be true, correct and
complete on and as of the date when made, subject to Section 5.9(b), and at
all times prior to the Closing Date, shall be deemed to be made again on the
Closing Date, and shall then be true, correct and complete as of the Closing
Date.
6.2 Conditions. The
Corporation and the Shareholders shall have performed, satisfied and complied
with all covenants, agreements and conditions required by this Agreement to be
performed, satisfied or complied with by them on or before the Closing
Date.
6.3 No Material Adverse
Change. Since the Signing Date, there shall not have been any
material adverse change in the condition (financial or otherwise), business,
prospects, reputation, properties or assets of the Corporation.
6.4 Certificates. The
President of the Corporation shall have delivered to WCI a certificate, dated as
of the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to WCI,
certifying to the fulfillment of the conditions set forth in Sections 6.1,
6.2, 6.3, 6.5, 6.7 and 6.8, and the Shareholders shall have delivered to WCI a
certificate dated as of the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably
satisfactory to WCI, certifying to the fulfillment of the conditions set forth
in Sections 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.5, 6.7 and 6.8 applicable to the
Shareholders.
6.5 No Litigation. None
of the transactions contemplated hereby shall have been enjoined by any court or
by any federal or state governmental branch, agency, commission or regulatory
authority and no suit or other proceeding challenging the transactions
contemplated
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hereby shall have been threatened or instituted and no
investigative or other demand shall have been made by any federal or state
governmental branch, agency, commission or regulatory authority.
6.6 Other
Deliveries. The Shareholders shall have delivered the items
which they are required to deliver under Section 8 of this
Agreement.
6.7 Governmental Approvals; Consents to
Transfer. All Required Governmental Consents shall have been
received (and shall be in a form that is reasonably acceptable to WCI), and each
other party whose consent is required to the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement, shall have consented to such transactions (and shall be in a form
that is reasonably acceptable to WCI).
6.8 Release of Security
Interests. All security interests in assets of the Corporation
that have been created in favor of financial institutions or other lenders to
secure indebtedness of (a) any Shareholder or any Affiliate thereof (other
than the Corporation) shall have been released and (b) the Corporation shall
have been agreed to be released (other than in the case of Permitted Liens)
pursuant to payoff letters in form and substance acceptable to WCI upon full
payment of the applicable debt owed.
6.9 Due Diligence;
Schedules. WCI and its representatives have and shall continue
to have reasonable rights of inspection of the Business and assets in connection
with WCI’s due diligence review, and the results of WCI’s due diligence review
shall be determined by WCI to be acceptable, if at all, within thirty (30) days
after the Signing Date. If the Corporation or Shareholders deliver
Supplemental Materials under Section 5.9(b), WCI shall have the right to
terminate this Agreement as set forth in such Section.
6.10 Title Insurance. A
title insurance company selected by WCI (the “Title Company”)
shall, within forty-five days after the Signing
Date, be irrevocably committed to issue, at the expense of WCI, within three (3)
business days after the Closing Date, an Owner’s Standard Coverage Policy of
title insurance for each parcel of Owned Property (collectively, the “Title Policies”),
insuring fee simple title to such Owned Property in the Corporation, subject
only to then current, non-delinquent real property taxes and assessments,
standard printed conditions and exceptions, and such title exceptions as shall
have been accepted in writing by WCI, containing such endorsements as WCI may
reasonably require. In connection with the foregoing, any parcel of
Owned Property not vested in the Corporation as of the Signing Date shall be
conveyed to the Corporation within five (5) business days prior to the Closing
Date by duly executed and recorded Grant Deed, and, together with such Grant
Deed, the grantor thereunder shall execute and deliver to the Corporation an
unconditional general release of any and all claims, known or unknown, that such
grantor may have against the Corporation with respect to any prior use or
occupancy of such parcel of Owned Property by the Corporation prior to the
conveyance thereof to the Corporation, which general release shall be in form
and substance reasonably satisfactory to WCI.
6.11 HSR Waiting
Period. The waiting period under the HSR Act, if applicable to
the consummation of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby,
shall have expired or been terminated.
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6.12 Closing of the Equity Purchase
Agreement. The only remaining condition to the closing of the
Equity Purchase Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
thereby shall be the closing of the transaction under this Agreement and the
parties to the Equity Purchase Agreement must be ready to close concurrently
with or promptly after the closing of this transaction.
7. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO OBLIGATION OF
THE SHAREHOLDERS TO CLOSE
The
obligations of the Shareholders under this Agreement are subject to the
satisfaction, at or before Closing, of all of the following conditions
precedent, unless waived in writing by the Shareholders:
7.1 Representations and
Warranties. All representations and warranties of WCI
contained in this Agreement or in any statement, Exhibit, Schedule, certificate
or document delivered by WCI under this Agreement shall be true, correct and
complete on and as of the date when made and at all times prior to the Closing
Date, shall be deemed to be made again at the Closing Date, and shall then be
true, correct and complete as of the Closing Date.
7.2 Conditions. WCI
shall have performed, satisfied and complied with all covenants, agreements and
conditions required by this Agreement to be performed, satisfied or complied
with by it on or before the Closing Date.
7.3 Certificate. WCI
shall have delivered to the Shareholders a certificate, dated as of the Closing
Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Shareholders,
certifying to the fulfillment of the conditions set forth in Sections 7.1, 7.2
and 7.4.
7.4 No Litigation. None
of the transactions contemplated hereby shall have been enjoined by any court or
by any federal or state governmental branch, agency, commission or regulatory
authority and no suit or other proceeding challenging the transactions
contemplated hereby shall have been threatened or instituted and no
investigative or other demand shall have been made by any federal or state
governmental branch, agency, commission or regulatory authority.
7.5 Other
Deliveries. WCI shall have delivered the items that it is
required to deliver under Sections 8(a) and 8(b) of this
Agreement.
7.6 HSR Waiting
Period. The waiting period under the HSR Act, if applicable to
the consummation of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby,
shall have expired or been terminated.
7.7 Closing of the Equity Purchase
Agreement. The only remaining condition to the closing of the
Equity Purchase Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
thereby shall be the closing of the transaction under this Agreement and the
parties to the Equity Purchase Agreement must be ready to close concurrently
with or promptly after the closing of this transaction.
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8. CLOSING
DELIVERIES
At the
Closing, the respective parties shall make the deliveries indicated
below:
8.1 WCI Deliveries.
(a) WCI
shall deliver the Purchase Price payable to the Shareholders at the Closing
pursuant to Section 1.2(a).
(b) WCI
shall execute and deliver to the Corporation and the Shareholders the
certificate described in Section 7.3.
(c) WCI
shall cause the Corporation to execute and deliver an Employment Agreement with
Xxxxx Xxxxxx form and substance reasonably acceptable to WCI and Xxxxx Xxxxxx,
unless WCI waives such Employment Obligation as a condition precedent to WCI’s
obligation to close.
(d) WCI
shall execute and deliver those certain Leases (the “Leases”) and that
certain Lease Termination Agreement (the “Lease Termination
Agreement”) with those certain Shareholders and for those certain
properties described on Exhibit 8.1(d) attached hereto, which shall be
subject to the material terms set forth on such Exhibit and in form and
substance reasonably acceptable to WCI and such Shareholders, together with such
SNDAs, Memorandums of Lease, and Estoppel Certificates, as applicable,
reasonably requested by, and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to,
WCI with respect to any lessor financing.
8.2 Shareholder and Corporation
Deliveries.
(a) The
Shareholders shall deliver to WCI the certificates representing the
Corporation’s Stock free and clear of all liens, security interests,
encumbrances, restrictions, pledges and claims, accompanied by a stock power
duly executed in blank by each Shareholder.
(b) The
Shareholders shall deliver to WCI an opinion of counsel for the Shareholders,
dated as of the Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to
WCI.
(c) The
Shareholders shall deliver evidence reasonably satisfactory to WCI that all
consents necessary to satisfy the conditions described in Section 6.7 have been
obtained.
(d) The
Corporation and the Shareholders shall execute and deliver to WCI the
certificates described in Section 6.4.
(e) The
Corporation shall deliver to WCI evidence satisfactory to WCI showing that all
written and oral employment contracts other than those that are terminable “at
will” without payment of severance (other than normal severance benefits
approved by WCI) or other benefits (including, without limitation, stock options
or other rights to obtain equity in the Corporation) with non-union employees of
the Corporation have been terminated, effective as of the Closing.
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(f) The
Shareholders shall cause each officer and director of the Corporation to deliver
a resignation as an officer and/or director of the Corporation.
(g) The
applicable Shareholders shall execute and deliver the Leases and the Termination
of Lease, and the Shareholders shall cause to be executed and delivered such
SNDAs, Memorandums of Lease, and Estoppel Certificates, as applicable,
reasonably requested by, and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to,
WCI.
(h) Xxxxx
Xxxxxx shall execute and deliver the Employment Agreement), unless WCI waives
such Employment Obligation as a condition precedent to WCI’s obligation to
close.
(i) The
Shareholders shall deliver a copy of the resolutions of the Board of Directors
and Shareholders (along with any required spousal consents) approving this
Agreement and the transactions described herein, certified by the Secretary of
the Corporation.
(j) The
Shareholders shall deliver a certified copy of the resolutions described in
Section 9.11, if 401(k) Plan is terminated pursuant to such
Section.
(k) The
Shareholders shall execute and deliver such other instruments and items as WCI
shall reasonably request relating to transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
9. ADDITIONAL COVENANTS OF WCI, THE
CORPORATION AND THE SHAREHOLDERS
9.1 Agreement to
Cooperate.
(a) Subject
to the terms and conditions herein provided, each of the parties hereto shall
use reasonable efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all action and to do, or
cause to be done, all things necessary, proper or advisable under applicable
laws and regulations to consummate and make effective the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement, including using its reasonable efforts to obtain
all Required Governmental Consents and all other necessary or appropriate
waivers, consents or approvals of third parties required in order to preserve
material contractual relationships of the Corporation, to effect all necessary
registrations, filings and submissions and to lift any injunctive or other legal
bar to this transaction (and, in such case, to proceed with the transaction as
expeditiously as possible); provided, however, that in using its reasonable
efforts the Corporation, the Shareholders and WCI shall not be required to take
any action or to agree to any condition, including without limitation any
condition imposed by any government authority with respect to the transfer of
any License or Permit or obtaining any Required Governmental Consent, that, in
such party’s reasonable judgment, imposes a materially adverse financial burden
or operating condition on such party.
(b) Without
limitation of the foregoing, if required by applicable Law, each of WCI and the
Corporation undertakes and agrees to file as soon as practicable, and in any
event within five (5) days after the Signing Date, a Notification and Report
Form under the HSR Act with the federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the
Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (the “Antitrust
Division”). Each of WCI and the Corporation shall
(i) respond as
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promptly as practicable to any inquiries received from the FTC or
the Antitrust Division for additional information or documentation and to all
inquiries and requests received from any State Attorney General or other
governmental authority in connection with antitrust matters and (ii) not
extend any waiting period under the HSR Act or enter into any agreement with the
FTC or the Antitrust Division not to consummate the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement, except with the prior consent of the other parties
hereto. Each party shall promptly notify the other parties of any
communication to that party from the FTC, the Antitrust Division, any State
Attorney General or any other governmental entity and permit the other parties
to review in advance any proposed communication to any of the foregoing.
(c) In
the event any litigation is commenced against the Corporation by any person or
entity relating to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, WCI shall
have the right, at its own expense, to participate therein, and the Corporation
will not settle any such litigation without the consent of WCI, which consent
will not be unreasonably withheld.
(d) Following
the Closing, the Shareholders, the Corporation and WCI shall each deliver or
cause to be delivered at such times and places as shall be reasonably requested
such additional instruments as WCI or the Shareholders may reasonably request
for the purpose of carrying out this Agreement, including without limitation,
with respect to the Corporation and the Shareholders, any indemnities (including
a gap indemnity, a mechanics’ lien indemnity, and a parties in possession
indemnity), affidavits or other documents that are applicable only to periods
prior to the Closing Date that are required by Title Company in connection with
the issuance of the Title Policies or in order for the Corporation to confirm
that it has good and marketable title to the Owned Property. The
Shareholders will cooperate with WCI and/or the Corporation after the Closing,
at the expense of WCI, in furnishing information, evidence, testimony and other
assistance in connection with any actions, proceedings or disputes of any nature
with respect to matters pertaining to all periods prior to the Closing
Date.
9.2 Release of
Guaranties. WCI shall use reasonable efforts to obtain the
termination and release promptly after the Closing of the personal guaranties of
the Shareholders listed on Schedule 9.2, all of which relate to
indebtedness of the Corporation included in the Financial Statements as of the
Balance Sheet Date and WCI shall indemnify the Shareholders and hold the
Shareholders harmless from and against all losses, expenses or claims by third
parties to enforce or collect indebtedness owed by the Corporation as of the
Closing which is personally guaranteed by the Shareholders pursuant to such
guaranties. The Shareholders may notify the obligees under such
guaranties that the Shareholders have terminated the Shareholders’ obligations
under such guaranties. The Shareholders shall cooperate with WCI in
obtaining such releases.
9.3 Release of Security
Interests. Between the Signing Date and the Closing Date, the
Shareholders and their Affiliates shall cause those security interests in the
assets of the Corporation that have been created in favor of financial
institutions or other lenders to secure indebtedness of any Shareholder or any
Affiliate thereof (other than indebtedness of the Corporation) to be released in
a manner reasonably satisfactory to WCI, and shall cause all guaranties by the
Corporation relating to the indebtedness of any Shareholder and/or Affiliate
thereof to be released to the reasonable satisfaction of WCI.
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9.4 Confidentiality. Except
for disclosures that are necessary for a party to fulfill its obligations
pursuant to Section 6.7 or to comply with applicable Law (including the
filing by WCI of a Form 8-K or other reports as required by the Exchange Act),
or disclosures made in connection with any legal proceeding (subject to Section
11.1(b)), neither WCI, the Corporation nor the Shareholders shall disclose or
make any public announcement of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement
without the prior written consent of the other parties. If required
to make such disclosure or announcement by applicable Law or in connection with
a legal proceeding, the party making the disclosure or announcement (to the
extent commercially practicable and legally permitted) shall provide written
notice to the other parties at least twenty-four (24) hours before such
disclosure or announcement is expected to be made.
9.5 Broker’s and Finder’s
Fees. WCI, on the one hand, and the Shareholders on behalf of
themselves and the Corporation, on the other hand, shall pay and be responsible
for any broker’s, finder’s or financial advisory fee incurred by such party in
connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
9.6 Taxes. WCI shall
reasonably cooperate with the Shareholders, at the Shareholders’ expense, with
respect to any matters involving the Shareholders arising out of the
Shareholders’ ownership of the Corporation prior to the Closing, including
matters relating to Tax returns and any Tax audits, appeals, claims or
litigation with respect to such Tax returns or the preparation of such Tax
returns. In connection therewith, WCI shall make available to the
Shareholders such files, documents, books and records of the Corporation for
inspection and copying as may be reasonably requested by the Shareholders and
shall cooperate with the Shareholders with respect to retaining information and
documents which relate to such matters.
9.7 Tax
Returns.
(a) As
soon as reasonably practicable after the Closing, the Shareholders shall
prepare, at their sole cost and expense, all short year federal, state, county,
local and foreign tax returns for the period beginning with the first day of the
Corporation’s fiscal year in which the Closing occurs and ending on the Closing
Date. Such returns shall (a) be prepared in a financially
responsible and conservative manner; (b) not, without WCI’s prior written
consent, contain any elections that would have an adverse effect on the
financial condition or tax position of the Corporation after the Closing Date;
(c) compute any penalties and interest due with the return; (d)
include (i) any and all dividends or distributions to any Shareholder, or other
changes in stockholders equity that occurs on or after the Closing Date but
prior to the Closing and (ii) any distributions of the Excluded Assets to any
Shareholder that occurs on or after the Closing Date but prior to the Closing;
and (e) be delivered to WCI together with all necessary supporting
schedules (including Form 8023 pursuant to Section 9.9(b)) within one
hundred twenty (120) days following the Closing Date (or at least sixty (60)
days prior to the date on which such return is required to be filed with
extensions, if earlier) for WCI’s approval prior to its filing (but such
approval shall not relieve the Shareholders of their responsibility for the
Taxes assessed under these returns). The Shareholders shall be
responsible for the execution of the returns and payment of all Taxes shown to
be due or that may come to be due on such returns or otherwise relating to the
period on or prior to the Closing Date, but, to the extent that there are any
prepaid taxes in the Effective Date Current Assets or tax reserves in the
Effective
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Date Current Liabilities, the Corporation shall pay such amounts
towards the Taxes due and the Shareholders shall pay any excess. The
Shareholders shall also be responsible for all Taxes arising from the conversion
of the Corporation from a cash to accrual basis of reporting and for all Taxes
attributable to “built in gains,” whether due on such returns or on the return
filed by WCI or the Corporation for the period commencing after the Closing
Date. At the time of the filing of such returns, the Corporation and
the Shareholders shall each pay his, her or its share of the Taxes due and shall
contemporaneously deliver to WCI an executed copy of each such final tax returns
along with copies of payments submitted by the Shareholders with those
returns.
(b) The
Corporation and Shareholders shall prepare or cause to be prepared and file all
Tax Returns with respect to the Corporation for all taxable periods that begin
before and end after the Closing Date (the “Straddle
Periods”). The Shareholders shall pay or cause to be paid all
Taxes of the Corporation that are allocable to the pre-Closing portion of the
Straddle Periods, but to the extent that there are any prepaid taxes in the
Effective Date Current Assets or tax reserves in the Effective Date Current
Liabilities that are not used to pay the Taxes due under Section 9.7(a), the
Corporation shall pay such amounts towards the Taxes due and the Shareholders
shall pay any excess. With respect to a Straddle Period, the parties
hereto will, to the extent permitted by applicable Law, elect with the relevant
taxing authorities to treat for all purposes the Closing Date as the last day of
a taxable period of the Corporation. In any case where applicable Law
does not permit the Corporation to treat the Closing Date as the last day of a
taxable period, then for purposes of this Agreement, the portion of such Taxes
that is attributable to the pre-Closing portion of a Straddle Period shall be
(i) in the case of Taxes that are not based on income or gross receipts, the
total amount of such Taxes for the period in question multiplied by a fraction,
the numerator of which is the number of days in the period up to the Closing
Date, and the denominator of which is the total number of days in the entire
period in question, and (ii) in the case of Taxes that are based on income or
gross receipts, the Taxes that would be due with respect to the period up to the
Closing Date, if such period were a taxable period.
9.8 General Release by
Shareholders. Each Shareholder (and, if applicable, such
Shareholder in his, her or its capacity as an officer and/or director of the
Corporation) hereby fully releases and discharges the Corporation and its
directors, officers, agents and employees from all rights, claims and actions,
known or unknown, of any kind whatsoever, which such Shareholder (and, if
applicable, such Shareholder in his, her or its capacity as an officer
and/or director of the Corporation) now has against the Corporation and its
directors, officers, agents and employees, arising out of or relating to events
arising prior to or on the Closing Date, except (a) compensation (including
accrued vacation) as an employee of the Corporation for current periods
expressly described and specifically excepted from such release on
Schedule 9.8 and (b) the obligations of the Corporation to such Shareholder
that arise after the Closing Date that are disclosed on
Schedule 9.8. Specifically, but not by way of limitation, each
Shareholder (and, if applicable, such Shareholder in his, her or its capacity as an officer
and/or director of the Corporation) waives any right of indemnification,
contribution or other recourse against the Corporation which he or she now has
or may hereafter have against the Corporation with respect to representations,
warranties or covenants made in this Agreement by the Corporation.
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9.9 Certain Tax
Matters. Each Shareholder acknowledges that WCI has indicated
its intention to make an election under Section 338(h)(10) of the Code and its
state equivalent, if any. Each Shareholder agrees that WCI, in its
discretion, may make such election; provided, however, that such election shall
be made no later than the due date for such election. If such
election is made by WCI:
(a) WCI
shall be authorized to complete Forms 8023 and 8883; and
(b) The
Shareholders shall sign such completed Form 8023 prior to the filing of
their short year
tax return and shall attach a signed copy of Form 8023 and a copy of Form
8883 to the short year tax return of the Corporation.
(c) The
Purchase Price shall be allocated among the assets of the Corporation as agreed
by the parties and set forth on Schedule 1.3 as adjusted in accordance with
Section 1.3.
9.10 Shareholders’
Representative.
(a) In
order to administer efficiently the rights and obligations of the Shareholders
under this Agreement, the Shareholders hereby designate and appoint Xxxxxx XxXxx
as the Shareholders’ Representative (the “Shareholders’
Representative”) to serve as the Shareholders’ agent and attorney-in-fact
for the limited purposes set forth in this Agreement.
(b) Each
of the Shareholders hereby appoints the Shareholders’ Representative as such
Shareholder’s agent, proxy and attorney-in-fact, with full power of
substitution, for all purposes set forth in this Agreement, including, without
limitation, the full power and authority on such Shareholder’s behalf
(i) to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(ii) to disburse any funds received hereunder to the Shareholders;
(iii) to execute and deliver on behalf of each Shareholder any amendment of
or waiver under this Agreement, and to agree to resolution of all Claims
hereunder; (iv) to retain legal counsel and other professional services, at
the expense of the Shareholders, in connection with the performance by the
Shareholders’ Representative of this Agreement including without limitation all
actions taken on behalf of the Shareholders as an Indemnifying Party pursuant to
Section 10.3; and (v) to do each and every act and exercise any and all
rights which such Shareholder or Shareholders are permitted or required to do or
exercise under this Agreement and the other agreements, documents and
certificates executed in connection herewith (including without limitation
initialing on the Shareholders’ behalf acceptance of WCI’s disclaimers of
warranty in Section 4.7). Each of the Shareholders agrees that such
agency and proxy are coupled with an interest, are therefore irrevocable without
the consent of the Shareholders’ Representative and shall survive the death,
bankruptcy or other incapacity of any Shareholder.
(c) Each
of the Shareholders hereby agrees that any amendment or waiver under this
Agreement, and any action taken on behalf of the Shareholders to enforce the
rights of the Shareholders under this Agreement, and any action taken with
respect to any Claim (including any action taken to object to, defend,
compromise or agree to the payment of such Claim), shall be effective if
approved in writing by the Shareholders’ Representative, and that
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each and every action so taken shall be binding and conclusive on
every Shareholder, whether or not such Shareholder had notice of, or approved,
such amendment or waiver.
(d) Xxxxxx
XxXxx shall serve as the Shareholders’ Representative until he resigns or is
otherwise unable or unwilling to serve. In the event that a
Shareholders’ Representative resigns from such position or is otherwise unable
or unwilling to serve, the remaining Shareholders shall select, by the vote of
the holders of a majority of the Corporation’s Stock immediately prior to the
Closing, a successor representative to fill such vacancy, shall provide prompt
written notice to WCI of such change and such substituted representative shall
then be deemed to be the Shareholders’ Representative for all purposes of this
Agreement.
9.11 Corporation 401(k)
Plan. The Corporation currently has in place the Xxxxxx XxXxx
Enterprises, Inc. Retirement Plan (the “401(k) Plan”) for the
benefit of its employees and the Corporation’s Financial Statements have an
accrued liability for the 2008 contribution to the 401(k) Plan. WCI
shall, at its sole election, either cause the Corporation to continue the 401(k)
Plan after Closing in accordance with its terms for the employees of the
Corporation or request that the Shareholders (and, in such event, the
Shareholders shall) cause the Corporation to terminate the 401(k) Plan effective
as of the date immediately preceding the Closing Date (the “Plan Termination
Date”). Such election by WCI shall be made within thirty (30)
days after the Signing Date (or such later date prior to the Closing if a
material liability is disclosed or discovered with respect to the 401(k)
Plan). If WCI continues the 401(k) Plan, all amounts accrued in the
Effective Date Current Liabilities for 2008 contributions to the 401(k) Plan
shall be contributed to the 401(k) Plan to the extent permitted by the 401(k)
Plan or, to the extent they are not contributed, removed from Effective Date
Current Liabilities in the True-Up Calculations and, if WCI causes the
Shareholders to terminate the 401(k) Plan immediately prior to Closing, WCI
shall allow each employee to participate in WCI’s 401(k) plan and grant each
employee credit for service with the Corporation from the date of his or her
initial hiring by the Corporation for the purposes of such plan. If
WCI elects to continue the 401(k) Plan, the Shareholders shall cause the
Corporation to amend the 401(k) Plan prior to Closing to exclude any employees
of WCI or its Affiliates from becoming eligible to participate in the 401(k)
Plan on or after the Closing. If WCI requests that the 401(k) Plan be
terminated effective as of the Plan Termination Date, (i) all amounts
accrued in the Effective Date Current Liabilities for contribution to the 401(k)
Plan shall be contributed to WCI’s 401(k) plan, to the extent permitted under
such plan, or paid to the employees, to the extent any amounts exceed
the contributions permitted under WCI’s 401(k) plan, and no such amounts shall
appear as Effective Date Current Liabilities, (ii) effective the day after the
Closing Date, WCI shall grant each employee credit for service with the
Corporation from the date of his or her initial hiring by the Corporation for
the purposes of such employee’s participation in WCI’s 401(k) plan and, until
the earlier to occur of (y) December 31, 2009 and (z) the date any
such employee no longer remains employed by the Corporation, provide such
employee of the Corporation with additional compensation so that he or she is in
substantially the same economic position as if the 401(k) Plan had not been
terminated, and (iii) the Shareholders shall take all necessary actions to
terminate the 401(k)Plan including, but not limited to, the adoption by the
Corporation’s Board of Directors prior to the Closing of a resolution in a form
and substance satisfactory to WCI pursuant to which:
(a) The
401(k) Plan is terminated effective as of the Plan Termination
Date.
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(b) The
Shareholders are responsible for all 401(k) Plan contributions owing to the
401(k) Plan as of the Closing Date, but WCI shall pay all costs of amendments
(required for the termination, but not required under Section 9.11(f)), notices,
advisors and other reasonable similar costs in connection with the
termination.
(c) No
person is permitted to become a participant in the 401(k) Plan after the Plan
Termination Date.
(d) No
contributions are made to the 401(k) Plan with respect to service or
compensation after the Plan Termination Date.
(e) All
persons who are or have been participants in the 401(k) Plan shall be fully
vested in their accounts under the 401(k) Plan as of the Plan Termination Date
to the extent permitted by the terms of the 401(k) Plan, or as necessary to keep
the 401(k) Plan in compliance with all applicable requirements for tax-qualified
status under Section 401(a) of the Code.
(f) The
401(k) Plan shall be amended in the manner and to the extent necessary to bring
it into compliance with all applicable requirements for tax-qualified status
under Section 401(a) of the Code.
(g) On
termination of the 401(k) Plan, the assets of the 401(k) Plan shall be
distributed to participants to the extent such distribution is consistent with
the requirements for tax-qualified status under Section 401(a) of the Code and
the distribution restrictions applicable under Section 401(k) of the Code (i) as
soon as administratively feasible after either the Plan Termination Date, or
(ii) if an application is made to the IRS for a letter of determination
regarding the effect of the termination of the 401(k) Plan on its tax-qualified
status, as soon as administratively feasible after either receipt of a letter
with respect to such application or, if such application is withdrawn, the date
of withdrawal.
(h) No
loans shall be made by or with respect to the 401(k) Plan after the Plan
Termination Date. Participants with outstanding loans under the
401(k) Plan shall continue to make loan payments after the Plan Termination Date
in accordance with the terms applicable to such loans.
(i) Any
participant or beneficiary investment elections in connection with the 401(k)
Plan on file as of the Plan Termination Date shall continue to be effective
after the Plan Termination Date until changed by such participant or beneficiary
pursuant to the 401(k) Plan’s investment election procedures.
9.12 Corporation Employees and Other
Benefits. WCI shall cause the Corporation to continue to
provide the employees of the Corporation with any bonus, group insurance,
medical, dental and disability insurance, sick leave, personal leave, comp time,
vacation and other benefit plans generally made available by WCI to its
employees of similar rank, position and seniority, and shall grant each employee
of the Corporation credit for service with the Corporation from the date of his
or her initial hiring by the Corporation for the purposes of such
plans. At least forty-five (45) days prior to Closing, WCI will
provide to the Corporation a detailed summary of the benefit programs it will
offer to the Corporation’s employees after
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Closing, and the Corporation’s employees shall be given the
opportunity to cash out or be paid, as applicable, their accrued vacation, sick
pay and bonuses, to the extent permitted under applicable Law and the applicable
benefit plans of the Corporation, provided they elect to do so prior to the
Closing, and, in such case, the Corporation shall pay such amounts so elected to
the employees.
9.13 Notification of Certain
Matters. The Corporation, WCI and the Shareholders agree to
give prompt notice to each other of, and to use commercially reasonable efforts
to remedy (a) the occurrence or failure to occur of any event which
occurrence or failure to occur would be likely to cause any of its or their
representations or warranties in this Agreement to be untrue or inaccurate in
any material respect at the Closing Date, and (b) any material failure on
any such party’s part to comply with or satisfy any covenant, condition or
agreement to be complied with or satisfied by it or them hereunder; provided,
however, that, except as set forth in Section 5.9(b), the delivery of any notice
pursuant to this Section 9.13 shall not limit or otherwise affect the
remedies available hereunder to the party receiving such notice.
9.14 Termination of RETRO
Program. The Corporation has participated in the group
retrospective rating program, commonly known as the RETRO Program, offered by
the Washington Sate Department of Labor and Industries in connection with its
obligations for workers’ compensation premiums. If, within thirty-six
(36) months after the Closing Date, the Corporation opts out of the RETRO
Program, then WCI shall, or shall cause the Corporation to, assign to the
Shareholders or their designee all rights under the RETRO Program to refunds
payable to the Corporation in respect of premiums paid by the Corporation, or
reserved for in the Effective Date Current Liabilities for, periods prior to the
Closing Date.
10. INDEMNIFICATION
10.1 Indemnity by the
Shareholders. The Shareholders, jointly and severally, but
subject to the limitations set forth in Section 10.2, covenant and agree
that they will indemnify and hold harmless WCI, the Corporation and their
respective directors, officers and agents and their respective successors and
assigns (individually an “Indemnitee“ and
collectively the “Indemnitees”), from
and after the date of this Agreement, against any and all losses, damages,
assessments, fines, penalties, adjustments, liabilities, claims, deficiencies,
costs and expenses (including specifically, but without limitation, reasonable
attorneys’ fees, court costs, witness fees and expenses of investigation)
(collectively, “Damages”), identified
by an Indemnitee in a Claims Notice, or asserted by an Indemnitee in litigation
commenced against any Shareholder with respect
to each of the following contingencies (each, an “Indemnity Event”, and
collectively, the “Indemnity
Events”):
(a) Any
misrepresentation, breach of warranty, or nonfulfillment of any agreement or
covenant on the part of any Shareholder or the
Corporation pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or any misrepresentation in
or omission from any Exhibit, Schedule, list, certificate, or other instrument
furnished or to be furnished to WCI pursuant to the terms of this Agreement,
regardless of whether, in the case of a breach of a representation or warranty,
WCI relied on the truth of such representation or warranty.
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(b) Any
Environmental Site Losses at any Environmental Site (as hereinafter defined) to
the extent such Environmental Site Losses (i) exceed the reserves therefor
as of the Closing Date on the Financial Statements of the Corporation,
(ii) are not stipulated by a third party as being subject to
indemnification by such third party and not actually fully indemnified by such
third party and (iii) are not covered by insurance as provided in
Section 10.3(g). “Environmental Site
Losses“ shall mean any and all Damages and expenditures (including,
without limitation, expenses in connection with site evaluations, risk
assessments and feasibility studies), arising out of or required by an interim
or final judicial or administrative decree, judgment, injunction, mandate,
interim or final permit condition or restriction, cease and desist order,
abatement order, compliance order, consent order, clean-up order, exhumation
order, reclamation order or any other remedial action that is required to be
undertaken under any Law (that applies to the time period during which such
activities occurred) in respect of operating activities by the Corporation to
the extent occurring or arising prior to the Closing Date on or affecting any
Environmental Site, including, but not limited to (A) any actual or alleged
violation of any Law respecting the protection of the environment that applies
to the time period during which such activities occurred, including, but not
limited to, RCRA and CERCLA if, and then only to the extent, they apply to the
time period during which such activities occurred and (B) any remedies or
violations, whether by a private or public action, alleged or sought to be
assessed as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of any Hazardous Material
existing, on or prior to the Closing from operating activities by the
Corporation to the extent occurring or arising prior to the Closing Date, at any
Environmental Site, whether or not any Release resulting from any such Hazardous
Material Release is into the air, water (including groundwater) or land and
whether such Release arose before, on or after the Closing
Date. “Environmental Site“
shall mean any Facility, UST and other waste storage, processing, treatment or
disposal facility, and any other business site or other real property owned,
leased, controlled, operated or used by the Corporation or by any predecessor
thereof prior to the Closing. The term “Release“ shall mean
any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging,
injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping or disposing into the ambient
environment. Notwithstanding anything in this Section to the
contrary, a Release composed solely of Hazardous Material contained in mixed
municipal solid waste lawfully disposed of in a landfill during the time the
Corporation owned, operated and/or used such landfill does not constitute an
Environmental Site Loss.
(c) Any
Taxes incurred or payable by the Corporation for periods on or prior to the
Closing to the extent such Taxes exceed the reserve therefor included in
Effective Date Current Liabilities, including any Taxes arising from WCI making
the tax election under Section 338(h)(10) of the Code pursuant to
Section 9.9 hereof or failing to comply with ERISA or any tax qualification
rules.
(d) Any
amount owed by the Corporation that exceeds the reserve therefor included in
Effective Date Current Liabilities arising from or related to (i) any
employee wages, pension or other benefits due to or required to be contributed
in respect of any employees, directors or other service providers of the
Corporation on or prior to the Closing Date or (ii) any withdrawal
liability due to any partial or complete withdrawal occurring on or before the
Closing Date.
(e) Any
Excluded Liabilities, whether arising prior to, on or after the Closing
Date.
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(f) Any
liability based on, attributable to or resulting from any indemnification
agreements, guarantees, suretyships, obligations to assure or incur any
obligation of a Shareholder provided by the Corporation.
(g) Any
actions, suits, arbitrations, proceedings, demands, assessments, adjustments,
costs and expenses (including specifically, but without limitation, reasonable
attorneys’ fees and expenses of investigation) incident to any of the
foregoing.
10.2 Limitations on the Shareholders’
Indemnities.
(a) The
obligation of the Shareholders to indemnify the Indemnitees as provided in
Section 10.1 shall only apply after the aggregate amount of such
obligations exceeds One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) (the “General Deductible
Amount”), at which time the indemnification obligations shall be
effective as to all amounts on first dollar basis. Any Claim (as
defined in Section 10.3 below) not exceeding
Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) in value (the “Minimum Claim
Amount”) shall be considered de minimis and the Shareholders shall not be
obligated to indemnify any Indemnitee for such Claim. In addition,
Claims under the Minimum Claim Amount shall not be aggregated with respect to
the General Deductible Amount. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
General Deductible Amount and the Minimum Claim Amount shall not apply to any
indemnification obligations related to, based on or arising in connection with
any fraud or Misconduct or any breach or non-performance of any of the Absolute
Obligations. For purposes of this Agreement, “Absolute Obligations“
mean any representation, warranty or covenant contained in any of Sections 3.1
through 3.4, 3.18, 3.22 (without duplication as to amounts resolved through the
True Up Calculations), 3.25, 3.32, 3.33, 9.5, 9.7, 9.9 or 11.1 hereof or the
obligations of the Corporation or the Shareholders pursuant to Sections 10.1(c)
through 10.1(g) hereof. In the event that a representation contained
in this Agreement is breached and such representation is qualified by words or
phrases such as “material,” “materially,” “immaterial,” “immaterially,”
“nonmaterial,” “substantially,” or words of similar import, such qualifiers
shall be disregarded for purposes of determining if a breach occurred or
calculating the amount of any obligation of indemnity arising pursuant to this
Section 10. Notwithstanding the disclosure contained on any
Schedule to qualify any representation or warranty related to any Absolute
Obligation (other than a disclosure on Schedule 3.4 or 3.25 to qualify any
representation or warranty contained in Section 3.4 (except for subsection
(c) thereof) or 3.25), any Damages resulting from the subject matter so
disclosed shall be subject to indemnification pursuant to this Section 10 on the
same basis as any other Absolute Obligation.
(b) Except
for fraud, the maximum amount that the Indemnitees can recover for Claims as a
result of one or more Indemnity Events pursuant to the provisions hereof
(including those based upon Misconduct or Absolute Obligations, or the breach or
non-performance thereof) from any Shareholder shall not in the aggregate exceed
the amount of consideration such Shareholder receives under this
Agreement. Further, except for fraud or Misconduct and except with
respect to Claims based on or arising in connection with any of the Absolute
Obligations, or the breach or non-performance thereof, the maximum amount that
the Indemnitees can recover from the Shareholders for such other Claims as a
result of one or more Indemnity Events pursuant to the provisions hereof shall
not in the aggregate exceed (for the applicable period the “Maximum Claim Limit”)
(i) as to any Claims for which a Claims Notice
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was given before the first anniversary of the Closing Date,
Forty-Five Million Dollars ($45,000,000), (ii) as to any Claims for which a
Claims Notice was given on or after the first, and before the second,
anniversary of the Closing Date, the excess of Thirty Million Dollars
($30,000,000) over any amounts recovered from Shareholders for Indemnity Events
applicable to any Claims for which a Claims Notice was given before the first
anniversary of the Closing Date, and (iii) as to any Claims for which a
Claims Notice was given on or after the second, and before the third,
anniversary of the Closing Date, the excess of Fifteen Million Dollars
($15,000,000) over any amounts recovered from Shareholders for Indemnity Events
applicable to any Claims for which a Claims Notice was given before the second
anniversary of the Closing Date. Except for fraud, the maximum amount
that the Indemnitees can recover from any Shareholder, for Claims as a result of
one or more Indemnity Events subject to the Maximum Claim Limit pursuant to the
provisions hereof, shall not in the aggregate exceed such Shareholder’s pro rata
share of the applicable Maximum Claim Limit based upon the respective
percentages of the Corporation’s Stock owned by such Shareholder set forth on
Schedule 3.2. For the purposes of this Section 10, “Misconduct“ shall
mean willful misconduct, misappropriation or intentional or knowing
misrepresentation or concealment.
10.3 Claims. In the event that any
claim (“Claim”)
is hereafter asserted against or arises with respect to any Indemnitee as to
which such Indemnitee may be entitled to indemnification hereunder, the
Indemnitee shall notify the Shareholders’ Representative on behalf
of each and all of the Shareholders (the ”Indemnifying Party”),
in writing thereof (the “Claims Notice”)
within sixty (60) days after (i) receipt of written notice of commencement
of any third party litigation against such Indemnitee (a “Third Party Claim”);
(ii) receipt by such Indemnitee of written notice of any Third Party Claim
pursuant to an invoice, notice of claim or assessment against such Indemnitee;
or (iii) such Indemnitee becomes aware of the existence of any other event
in respect of which indemnification may be sought from the Indemnifying Party
(including, without limitation, any inaccuracy of any representation or warranty
or breach of any covenant). The Claims Notice shall describe the
Claim and the specific facts and circumstances in reasonable detail, and shall
indicate the amount, if known, or an estimate, if possible, of the losses that
have been or may be incurred or suffered by the Indemnitee.
(a) Defense by Indemnifying
Party. The Indemnifying Party shall have the right to assume
the defense of any Third Party Claim with the Indemnifying Party’s own counsel
(which counsel shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnitee) if the
Indemnifying Party provides written notice of its election to assume such
defense within ten (10) days after the Indemnifying Party has received a Claims
Notice with respect to such Third Party Claim and such Third Party Claim is
solely for money damages and the cumulative total of all Claims (including such
Claim) does not exceed the limit set forth in Section 10.2(b) at the time
the Claim is made; provided, however, the Indemnifying Party must conduct the
defense of the Third Party Claim actively and diligently in order to preserve
the Indemnifying Party’s rights and rights of the Indemnitee. The
Indemnitee may participate, at the Indemnitee’s own expense, in the defense of
any Claim assumed by the Indemnifying Party.
(b) Defense by
Indemnitee. If, within 10 days of the Indemnifying Party’s
receipt of a Claims Notice, the Indemnifying Party shall not have elected to
defend the Third Party Claim or if in the reasonable judgment of the Indemnitee
the Indemnifying Party fails to adequately defend the Third Party Claim, the
Indemnitee shall have the right to assume
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control of the defense and/or compromise of such Claim, and the
costs and expenses of such defense, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, shall
be added to the Claim. The Indemnifying Party shall promptly, and in
any event within 10 days after demand therefor, reimburse the Indemnitee for the
costs of defending the Claim, including attorneys’ fees and expenses.
(c) Cooperation. The party assuming the
defense of any Claim shall keep the other party reasonably informed at all times
of the progress and development of its or their defense of and compromise
efforts with respect to such Claim and shall furnish the other party with copies
of all relevant pleadings, correspondence and other papers. In
addition, the parties to this Agreement shall cooperate with each other and make
available to each other and their representatives all available relevant records
or other materials required by them for their use in defending, compromising or
contesting any Claim. Subject to Section 10.4, the failure to
timely deliver a Claims Notice or otherwise notify the Indemnifying Party of the
commencement of such actions in accordance with this Section 10.3 shall not
relieve the Indemnifying Party from the obligation to indemnify hereunder except
to the extent that the Indemnifying Party establishes by competent evidence that
it has been prejudiced thereby.
(d) No Consent to
Judgment. The Indemnifying Party will not consent to the entry
of any judgment or enter into any settlement with respect to the Third-Party
Claim without the prior consent of the Indemnitee (which consent shall not be
unreasonably withheld or delayed), provided that the Indemnifying Party may
consent to the entry of a judgment or enter into a settlement if the judgment or
proposed settlement (i) includes an unconditional release of all liability
of each Indemnitee with respect to such Third-Party Claim, and
(ii) involves only the payment of money damages by the Indemnifying Party
and does not impose an injunction or other equitable relief upon the Indemnitee
or impose any restrictions on the operation of the business of the Indemnitee or
Affiliates of the Indemnitee. So long as the Indemnifying Party has
assumed and is conducting the defense of the Third-Party Claim in accordance
with Section 10.3(a), the Indemnitee will not consent to the entry of any
judgment or enter into any settlement with respect to the Third-Party Claim
without the prior written consent of the Indemnifying Party (which consent shall
not be unreasonably withheld or delayed by the Indemnifying Party).
(e) Conflicts of
Interest. In the event both the Indemnitee and the
Indemnifying Party are named as defendants in an action or proceeding initiated
by a third party, they shall both be represented by the same counsel (on whom
they shall reasonably agree), unless such counsel, the Indemnitee or the
Indemnifying Party shall determine that such counsel has a conflict of interest
in representing both the Indemnitee and the Indemnifying Party in the same
action or proceeding and the Indemnitee and the Indemnifying Party do not waive
such conflict to the satisfaction of such counsel.
(f) Service of
Process. The Indemnifying Party hereby consents to the
non-exclusive jurisdiction of any court in which a Third Party Claim is brought
against any Indemnitee for purposes of any Claim that an Indemnitee may have
under this Agreement with respect to such Third Party Claim or the matters
alleged therein, and agree that process may be served on the Indemnifying
Parties with respect to such claim anywhere in the world at the address set
forth in, or determined pursuant to, Section 12.4.
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(g) Insurance. Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Agreement, no party shall be entitled to
indemnification or other remedy with respect to any Damages for which insurance
proceeds are available from occurrence-based policies that were obtained by the
Corporation and in effect prior to the Closing Date (but only to the extent of
the net proceeds actually received by the Indemnitee).
(h) Exclusive
Remedy. Except for fraud, the indemnification provisions of
this Section 10 shall be the exclusive remedy for any Claim by an Indemnitee for
monetary damages arising under this Agreement or from the transactions
contemplated hereby provided that nothing in this Section 10 shall be deemed to
be the exclusive remedy or shall limit the remedies of any party with respect to
the breach or nonfulfillment by any party of any other obligation or covenant in
this Agreement, or any of the agreements contemplated by this
Agreement or entered into pursuant hereto, that is required to be satisfied or
fulfilled after the Closing Date. In addition, the parties shall be
entitled to pursue any claims for non-monetary relief to which they may be
entitled at law or in equity.
10.4 Survival of Representations and
Warranties and Indemnification Obligations. The
representations and warranties of the parties contained in this Agreement and in
any certificate, Exhibit or Schedule delivered pursuant hereto, or in any other
writing delivered pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement, other than the
Equity Purchase Agreement, the liability of the party making such
representations and warranties for breaches thereof, and the indemnification
obligations of the Shareholders under Section 10.1, shall survive the
Closing and expire on the later of the third (3rd) anniversary of the Closing
Date or, as to any Claim for which a Claims Notice was given before such date,
the final resolution of such Claim, except in the case of any Claim related to,
based on or arising in connection with any fraud or Misconduct or any breach or
non-performance of any Absolute Obligations as to which such liabilities and
indemnification obligations shall expire thirty (30) days following the
expiration of the applicable statute of limitations (irrespective of the date of
discovery). The parties hereto in executing and delivering and in
carrying out the provisions of this Agreement are relying solely on the
representations, warranties, Schedules, Exhibits, agreements and covenants
contained in this Agreement, or in any writing or document delivered pursuant to
the provisions of this Agreement, and not upon any representation, warranty,
agreement, promise or information, written or oral, made by any person other
than as specifically set forth herein or therein.
10.5 No Exhaustion of Remedies or
Subrogation; Right of Setoff. Each Shareholder waives any
right to require any Indemnitee to (a) proceed against the Corporation, any
other Shareholder or any other person; or (b) pursue any other remedy
whatsoever in the power of any Indemnitee. WCI may, but shall not be
obligated to, set off against any and all payments due any Shareholder any
amount to which any Indemnitee is entitled to be indemnified hereunder with
respect to any Indemnity Event. Such right of set off shall be
separate and apart from any and all other rights and remedies that the
Indemnitees may have against any Shareholders or their successors. No
consent of any Shareholder shall be required for any assignment or reassignment
of the rights of WCI or the Corporation under this Section 10.
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11. OTHER POST-CLOSING COVENANTS OF THE
SHAREHOLDERS
11.1 Restrictive
Covenants. The Corporation, each of the Shareholders and their
respective Affiliates acknowledges that (a) WCI, as the purchaser of the
Corporation’s Stock, is and will be engaged in the same business as the
Business; (b) the Shareholders and their Affiliates are intimately familiar
with the Business; (c) the Business is currently conducted in the State of
Washington and WCI intends to continue the Business in the State of Washington;
(d) the Shareholders and their Affiliates have had access to trade secrets
of and confidential information concerning the Business; (e) the agreements
and covenants contained in this Section 11.1 are essential to protect the
Business and the goodwill being acquired; and (f) the Shareholders and
their Affiliates have the means to support themselves and their dependents other
than by engaging in a business substantially similar to the Business and the
provisions of this Section 11.1 will not impair such
ability. Each Shareholder covenants and agrees as follows:
(a) Non-Compete. During
the Restricted Period, the Shareholders and their Affiliates shall not,
without the prior written consent of WCI, which consent may be withheld in WCI’s
sole and absolute discretion, anywhere within the State of Washington, directly
or indirectly, acting individually or as the owner, shareholder, partner, member
or employee of any entity other than WCI or one of its subsidiaries, directly or
indirectly, (i) own or operate a business similar to or competitive with
the Business, including without limitation engaging in the operation of a solid
waste collection, transportation, disposal and/or composting business, transfer
facility, recycling facility, materials recovery facility or landfill or, or
portable toilet and septic service business; (ii) whether or not for
compensation, enter the employ of, or render any personal services to or for the
benefit of, or assist in or facilitate the solicitation of customers for, or
receive remuneration in the form of salary, commissions or otherwise from, any
business similar to the Business, provided that (A) the Shareholders may provide
lobbying services relating to the solid waste industry in general and general
business consulting services that are unrelated to the Business in each case
that do not involve the use or disclosure of any Confidential Information of the
Corporation, and (B) the descendents of the Shareholders may enter the employ
of, or render personal services to businesses similar to the Business for
compensation as long as they do not (x) hold a director, officer or other
policy-making or managerial position, (y) participate in any bid or proposal to
engage in any business similar to the Business or (z) violate any other
provision of this Section 11.1(a); (iii) as owner or lessor of real estate
or personal property, rent to or lease any facility, equipment or other assets
to any business engaged in the Business, other than the Corporation, WCI or any
Affiliate of the Corporation or WCI, engaged in the Business; or
(iv) receive or purchase a financial interest in, make a loan to, or make a
gift in support of, any enterprise engaged in the Business in any capacity,
including, without limitation, as a sole proprietor, partner, shareholder,
member, officer, director, principal, agent, trustee or lender; provided, however, that a
Shareholder or an Affiliate thereof may own, directly or indirectly, solely as
an investment, securities of any business traded on any national securities
exchange or NASDAQ, provided that such Shareholder or Affiliate is not a
controlling person of, or a member of a group that controls, such business and
provided, further, that such Shareholder or Affiliates does not, in the
aggregate, directly or indirectly, own two percent (2%) or more of any class of
securities of such business.
For
purposes of this Agreement, the term “Restricted Period”
shall mean the period beginning as of the date of this Agreement and ending five
(5) years thereafter; provided,
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however, that if a court of competent jurisdiction determines that
such period is unenforceable, Restricted Period shall mean the period beginning
as of the date of this Agreement and ending four (4) years thereafter; provided,
however, that if a court of competent jurisdiction determines that such period
is unenforceable, Restricted Period shall mean the period beginning as of the
date of this Agreement and ending three (3) years thereafter; provided, however,
that if a court of competent jurisdiction determines that such period is
unenforceable, Restricted Period shall mean the period beginning as of the date
of this Agreement and ending two (2) years thereafter provided, however, that if
a court of competent jurisdiction determines that such period is unenforceable,
Restricted Period shall mean the period beginning as of the date of this
Agreement and ending one (1) year thereafter, or such other period as the court
shall determine to be reasonable. As to any Shareholder or any
Affiliate thereof, the Restricted Period shall be extended by the number of days
in any period in which such Shareholder or Affiliate thereof is determined by a
court of competent jurisdiction to be in default or breach of this Section
11.1.
(b) Confidential
Information. Each of the Shareholders and their Affiliates
shall keep secret and retain in strictest confidence, and shall not use for the
benefit of themselves or others, all data and information relating to the
Business (“Confidential
Information”), including, without limitation, know-how, trade secrets,
customer lists, vehicle routing, supplier lists, details of contracts, pricing
policies, operational methods, marketing plans or strategies, bidding
information, practices, policies or procedures, product development techniques
or plans, and technical processes; provided, however, that the term “Confidential
Information” shall not include information that (i) is or becomes
generally available to the public other than as a result of disclosure by any
Shareholder or any Affiliate thereof, (ii) is general knowledge in the
solid waste handling and landfill business and not specifically related
primarily to the Business of the Corporation or (iii) relating to the
Excluded Assets. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Shareholders and
their Affiliates may disclose and discuss confidential information in connection
with any legal proceeding and shall provide WCI prior written notice of such
disclosure at least forty-eight (48) hours before such disclosure is made, if
possible.
(c) Non-Solicitation. Without
the consent of WCI, which may be granted or withheld by WCI in its discretion,
during the Restricted Period, neither the Shareholders nor any of their
Affiliates shall solicit any employees of the Corporation or its Affiliates,
except for any Shareholders and their Affiliates who may also be employed by the
Corporation, WCI or their respective Affiliates, to leave the employ of the
Corporation or its Affiliates and join any Shareholder or any of their
Affiliates in any business endeavor owned or pursued by any Shareholder, nor
shall any Shareholder hire any employee of the Corporation, WCI or any of their
respective Affiliates within sixty (60) days after such employee’s employment
with the Corporation, WCI or one of their respective Affiliates terminates for
any reason except for any Shareholders and their Affiliates who may also be
employed by the Corporation, WCI or their respective Affiliates.
(d) No
Disparagement. From and after the date hereof, neither the
Shareholders, on the one hand, nor WCI, on the other hand, shall, in any way or
to any person or entity or governmental or regulatory body or agency, denigrate
or derogate the others or any of such others’ Affiliates, or any officer,
director, employee, product, service or procedure of any such company or others
whether or not such denigrating or derogatory statements shall be true and
whether or not such statements are based on acts or omissions which are learned
by any
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party after the date hereof or on acts or omissions which occur
after the date hereof, or otherwise. This paragraph does not apply to
the extent that testimony is required by legal or regulatory process, provided
that the party required to give such testimony gives the other party not less
than five (5) days’ prior written notice of such proposed
testimony. In addition to all other rights and remedies under
applicable Law, the parties shall be entitled to have the provisions of this
Section 11.1(d) specifically enforced by a court of competent jurisdiction and
to injunctive relief to enforce the terms of this Section 11.1(d) and to
restrain the other parties from any violation hereof.
11.2 Rights and Remedies On
Breach. If any Shareholder or Affiliate thereof breaches, or
threatens to commit a breach of, any of the provisions of Section 11.1 (the
“Restrictive
Covenants”), WCI shall have the following rights and remedies, each of
which rights and remedies shall be independent of the others and severally
enforceable, and each of which is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other
rights and remedies available to WCI at law or in equity:
(a) Specific
Performance. Each Shareholder agrees that any breach or
threatened breach of the Restrictive Covenants would cause irreparable injury to
WCI and that money damages would not provide an adequate remedy to
WCI. Accordingly, in addition to any other rights or remedies, WCI
shall be entitled to have the Restrictive Covenants specifically enforced by any
court of competent jurisdiction, and to injunctive relief to enforce the terms
of the Restrictive Covenants and to restrain such Shareholder or Affiliate from
any violation thereof.
(b) Accounting. The
right and remedy to require each Shareholder to account for and pay over to WCI
all compensation, profits, monies, accruals, increments or other benefits
derived or received by a Shareholder as the result of any transactions
constituting a breach of the Restrictive Covenants.
(c) Severability of Covenants. Each
Shareholder acknowledges and agrees that the Restrictive Covenants are
reasonable and valid in prohibited business activity and geographical and
temporal scope and in all other respects. If the business activities,
period of time or geographical area covered by the Restrictive Covenants should
be deemed too extensive by any court, then the parties intend that the
Restrictive Covenants be construed to cover the maximum scope of business
activities, period of time and geographical area (not exceeding those
specifically set forth herein), if any, as may be permissible under applicable
Law.
(d) Blue-Penciling. If
any court determines that any of the Restrictive Covenants, or any part thereof,
is unenforceable because of the scope of the business activities covered, the
duration or the geographic area, such court shall reduce the scope, duration or
area of such provision, as the case may be, to the minimum extent necessary to
render it enforceable and, in its reduced form, such provision shall then be
enforced.
(e) Enforceability in
Jurisdiction. WCI and the Shareholders intend to and hereby
confer jurisdiction to enforce the Restrictive Covenants on the courts of any
jurisdiction within the geographic scope of the Restrictive
Covenants. If the courts of any one or more of such jurisdictions
hold the Restrictive Covenants unenforceable by reason of the
breadth
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of such scope or otherwise, such determination shall not bar or in
any way affect WCI’s right to the relief provided above in the courts of any
other jurisdiction within the geographic scope of the Restrictive Covenants as
to breaches of such covenants in such other respective jurisdictions, such
covenants as they relate to each jurisdiction being, for this purpose, severable
into diverse and independent covenants.
12. GENERAL
12.1 Assignment. This
Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties
hereto, the successors or assigns of WCI and the heirs, legal representatives or
assigns of the Shareholders; provided, however, that any such assignment shall
be subject to the terms of this Agreement and shall not relieve the assignor of
its, his or her responsibilities under this Agreement. Neither any
Shareholder nor WCI shall assign or otherwise transfer this Agreement without
the prior written consent of the other parties, provided that WCI shall have the
right to transfer or assign this Agreement to an Affiliate, but such transfer or
assignment will not relieve WCI of any liability or responsibility under this
Agreement.
12.2 Public
Announcements. Except as required by Law, no party shall make
any public announcement or filing with respect to the transactions provided for
herein prior to the Closing without the prior written consent of the other
parties hereto.
12.3 Counterparts. This
Agreement may be executed in two (2) or more counterparts, each of which shall
be deemed an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the
same instrument.
12.4 Notices. All
notices, requests, demands and other communications hereunder shall be deemed to
have been duly given if in writing and either delivered personally, sent by
facsimile transmission or by nationally recognized overnight delivery service,
or mailed by postage prepaid registered or certified U.S. mail, return receipt
requested, to the addresses designated below or such other addresses as may be
designated in writing by notice given hereunder, and shall be effective on
personal delivery or facsimile transmission thereof or on delivery by registered
or certified U.S. mail or one (1) business day following deposit with a
nationally recognized overnight delivery service:
If
to the Shareholders:
|
Xxxxxx
XxXxx
0000
Xxxxxx Xxxx X.X.
Xxxxxxx,
XX 00000
Telephone
No.: (000) 000-0000
|
With
a copy to:
|
Hillis,
Clark, Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxxx
500
Xxxxxxx Building
0000
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx,
XX 00000-0000
Attention: Xxxxx
X. Xxxx, Xx. Esq.
Telephone
No.: (000) 000-0000
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
|
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If
to WCI:
|
Waste
Connections, Inc.
00
Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 000
Xxxxxx,
XX 00000-0000
Attention: Xxxxxx
X. Xxxxxxxxxxxx
Telephone
No.: (000) 000-0000
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
|
With
a copy to:
|
Shartsis
Xxxxxx LLP
Xxx
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxx
Xxxxxxxxx, XX 00000-0000
Attention: Xxxxx
X. Xxxxxx, Esq.
Telephone
No.: (000) 000-0000
Facsimile
No.: (000) 000-0000
|
12.5 Applicable Law; Attorneys’
Fees. Except as otherwise stated, this Agreement shall be
governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of
Washington without
giving effect to its conflict of laws provisions. In the event of any
dispute or controversy between WCI on the one hand and the Corporation or the
Shareholders on the other hand relating to the interpretation of this Agreement
or to the transactions contemplated hereby, the prevailing party shall be
entitled to recover from the other party reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses
incurred by the prevailing party, as awarded by the court. Such award
shall include post-judgment attorney’s fees and costs and those on any
appeal.
12.6 No Waiver Relating to Claims for
Misconduct or Fraud. Notwithstanding anything herein to the
contrary other than the limitation set forth in Section 10.2(b), the liability
of any party under this Agreement shall be in addition to, and not exclusive of,
any other liability that such party may have at law or equity based on such
party’s Misconduct or fraud. Notwithstanding anything in this
Agreement to the contrary other than the limitation set forth in Section
10.2(b), none of the provisions set forth in this Agreement shall be deemed a
waiver by any party to this Agreement of any right or remedy which such party
may have at law or equity based on any other party’s Misconduct or fraud, nor
shall any such provisions limit, or be deemed to limit (a) the amounts of
recovery sought or awarded in any such claim for Misconduct or fraud;
(b) the time period during which such a claim for Misconduct or fraud may
be brought, or (c) the recourse which any such party may seek against
another party with respect to such a claim for Misconduct or
fraud. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Section shall
allow any party to recover more than once for damages or claims based on the
same set of circumstances.
12.7 Payment of Fees and
Expenses. Whether or not the transactions herein contemplated
shall be consummated, each party hereto will pay its own fees, expenses and
disbursements incurred in connection herewith and all other costs and expenses
incurred in the performance and compliance with all conditions to be performed
hereunder (including, in the case of the Shareholders, any such fees, expenses
and disbursements paid or accrued by, or charged to, the
Corporation). The portion of the real estate excise Taxes incurred in
connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement that is
calculated based upon the book value of all real estate owned by the Corporation
(that is not an Excluded Asset) shall be jointly and severally borne by the
Shareholders and paid when due (collectively, the “Shareholder
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Expenses”); provided, however, that WCI shall bear and pay when
due (i) the portion of the real estate excise Taxes incurred in connection with
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement that is calculated based upon
the excess of the value allocated to such real estate owned by the Corporation
(that is not an Excluded Asset) on Schedule 1.3 over the Corporation’s book
value for such real estate, (ii) the title insurance premiums and all other
costs incurred in connection with the issuance of the Title Policies and (iii)
the fees and other costs incurred in connection with filing the Notification and
Report Form under, and compliance with, the HSR Act.
12.8 Incorporation by
Reference. All Schedules and Exhibits attached hereto are
incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth at each point
referred to in this Agreement.
12.9 Captions. The
captions in this Agreement are for convenience only and shall not be considered
a part hereof or affect the construction or interpretation of any provisions of
this Agreement.
12.10 Number and Gender of
Words. Whenever the singular number is used herein, the same
shall include the plural where appropriate, and shall apply to all of such
number, and to each of them, jointly and severally, and words of any gender
shall include each other gender where appropriate.
12.11 Entire
Agreement. This Agreement (including the Schedules and
Exhibits hereto) and the other documents delivered pursuant hereto constitute
the entire agreement and understanding between the Corporation, the Shareholders
and WCI and supersede any prior agreement and understanding relating to the
subject matter of this Agreement. This Agreement may be modified or
amended only by a written instrument executed or approved by the Corporation,
the Shareholders and WCI.
12.12 Waiver. No waiver
by any party hereto at any time of any breach of, or compliance with, any
condition or provision of this Agreement to be performed by any other party
hereto may be deemed a waiver of similar or dissimilar provisions or conditions
at the same time or at any prior or subsequent time.
12.13 Severability. If
any provision of this Agreement or the application of any provision shall be
held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be prohibited or unenforceable in
any jurisdiction, such provision shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective
to the extent of such prohibited unenforceability. The remaining
provisions of this Agreement shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and
any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not
invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other
jurisdiction.
12.14 Construction. The
language in all parts of this Agreement must be in all cases construed simply
according to its fair meaning and not strictly for or against any
party. Unless expressly stated otherwise, “including” means
“including but not limited to” and all references herein to a “day“ are deemed to be
a reference to a calendar day, and all references to “business day“ mean
any day of the year other than a Saturday, Sunday or a public or bank holiday in
State of Washington or California. Unless expressly stated otherwise,
cross-references herein refer to provisions within this Agreement and are not
references to the overall
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transaction or to any other document. For purposes of
this Agreement, the term “Affiliate“ means,
with respect to any person, any person that directly or indirectly through one
or more intermediaries controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control
with such person, and in the case of a corporation includes directors and
officers, in the case of individuals includes the individual’s spouse, father,
father-in-law, mother, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, brothers,
brothers-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law,
children and grandchildren, and in the case of a trust includes the grantors,
trustees and beneficiaries of the trust. Wherever reference is made
in this Agreement to the “knowledge“ of the
Corporation, such term means the actual knowledge of Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxx Xxxxx,
Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxx Xxx, Xxxx Xxxxxxx and Xxx Xxxxxxxx, or any knowledge which
should have been obtained by any such person on reasonable inquiry by a
reasonable business person, and whenever reference is made to the “knowledge” of
the Shareholders, such term means the actual knowledge of such person (or such
person’s trustee, if the Shareholder is a trust), or any knowledge which should
have been obtained by any such person (or trustee) upon such reasonable inquiry
as would be undertaken by a reasonable business person. “Reasonable efforts“
means the efforts that a reasonable person desirous of achieving the result
would use in similar circumstances to ensure that such result is achieved as
soon as reasonably practicable.
12.15 Electronic
Execution. The exchange of copies of this Agreement and of
signature pages by facsimile transmission or by electronic transmission in Adobe
Acrobat format shall constitute effective execution and delivery of this
Agreement as to the parties and may be used in lieu of the original Agreement
for all purposes. Signatures of the parties transmitted by facsimile
transmission or by electronic transmission in Adobe Acrobat format shall be
deemed to be their original signatures for all purposes. At the
request of any party, any facsimile or electronic document shall be re-executed
in original form by the parties who executed the facsimile or electronic
document. No party may raise the use of a facsimile machine or the
fact that any signature was transmitted through the use of a facsimile machine
as a defense to the enforcement of this Agreement or any amendment or other
document executed in compliance with this Section.
[Signatures
appear on the following page.]
STOCK
PURCHASE AGREEMENT
HLE
60
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the
parties hereto have executed this Stock Purchase Agreement by persons thereunto
duly authorized as of the date first above written.
WCI:
|
CORPORATION:
|
|||
Waste
Connections, Inc.
|
Xxxxxx
XxXxx Enterprises, Incorporated
|
|||
By: /s/ Xxxxxx X.
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxx X.
Xxxxxxxxxxxx,
Chief Executive
Officer
|
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxx X. XxXxx | ||
Title:
President
|
||||
SHAREHOLDERS:
|
||||
/s/ Xxxxx X. XxXxx | ||||
Xxxxx
X. XxXxx
/s/ Xxxxxx XxXxx
|
||||
Xxxxxx
XxXxx
/s/ Xxxxxxx XxXxx
|
||||
Xxxxxxx
XxXxx
/s/ Xxxxxxx XxXxx-Xxxxx
|
||||
Xxxxxxx
XxXxx-Xxxxx
/s/ Xxxxxx X. XxXxx
|
||||
Xxxxxx
X. XxXxx
Xxxxxx
X. XxXxx Marital Trust
|
||||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxx X. XxXxx | |||
Xxxxx X.
XxXxx
, Trustee
|
||||
Xxxxxx
X. XxXxx Exemption Trust
|
||||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxx X. XxXxx | |||
Xxxxx X.
XxXxx
, Trustee
|
||||
Xxxxxx
and Xxxxx XxXxx Trust
|
||||
By:
|
/s/ H. Xxxxxx XxXxx, Xx. | |||
H. Xxxxxx XxXxx,
Xx. ,
Trustee
|
||||
/s/ Xxxxxx XxXxx-Xxxxxxxx | ||||
Xxxxxx
XxXxx-Xxxxxxxx
/s/ Xxxxx XxXxx Xxxxxx
|
||||
Xxxxx
XxXxx Xxxxxx
|
STOCK PURCHASE
AGREEMENT
HLE
S-1