SENESCO TECHNOLOGIES, INC. Common Stock (par value $0.01 per share) At Market Issuance Sales Agreement
SENESCO
TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Common
Stock
(par
value $0.01 per share)
December
22, 2010
XxXxxxxx,
Xxxxx & Vlak LLC
The
Graybar Building
000
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 000
Xxx Xxxx,
XX 00000
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
Senesco
Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), confirms
its agreement (this “Agreement”) with
XxXxxxxx, Xxxxx & Vlak LLC (the “MLV”), as
follows:
1. Issuance and Sale of
Shares. The Company agrees that, from time to time during the
term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth
herein, it may issue and sell through MLV, shares (the “Placement Shares”) of
the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”) provided however, that in no
event shall the Company issue or sell through MLV such number of Shares that (a)
would cause the Company to not satisfy the eligibility requirements for use of
Form S-3 (including Instruction I.B.6. thereof), (b) exceeds the number of
shares of Common Stock registered on the effective Registration Statement (as
defined below) pursuant to which the offering is being made, or (c) exceeds the
number of authorized but unissued shares of the Company’s Common Stock (the
lesser of (a), (b), and (c), the “Maximum
Amount”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained
herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitations set forth
in this Section 1 on the amount of Placement Shares issued and sold under this
Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Company and that MLV shall
have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The issuance
and sale of Placement Shares through MLV will be effected pursuant to the
Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company and declared
effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”),
although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company
to use the Registration Statement to issue Common Stock.
The
Company has filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and
the rules and regulations thereunder (the “Securities Act
Regulations”), with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-3
(File No. 333-170140), including a base prospectus, relating to certain
securities, including the Placement Shares to be issued from time to time by the
Company, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has
filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and
the rules and regulations thereunder (the “Exchange Act
Regulations”). The Company has prepared a prospectus
supplement specifically relating to the Placement Shares (the “Prospectus
Supplement”) to the base prospectus included as part of such registration
statement. The Company will furnish to MLV, for use by MLV, copies of
the prospectus included as part of such registration statement, as supplemented
by the Prospectus Supplement, relating to the Placement
Shares. Except where the context otherwise requires, such
registration statement, including all documents filed as part thereof or
incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in a
Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to
Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act Regulations or deemed to be a part of
such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B of the Securities Act
Regulations, is herein called the “Registration
Statement.” The base prospectus, including all documents
incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it
may be supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form in which such
prospectus and/or Prospectus Supplement have most recently been filed by the
Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities
Act Regulations, together with the then issued Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus(es), is herein called the “Prospectus.” Any reference herein to
the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement
thereto shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by
reference therein, and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or
“supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall
be deemed to refer to and include the filing after the execution hereof of any
document with the Commission deemed to be incorporated by reference
therein.
Any
reference herein to the Registration Statement, any Prospectus Supplement,
Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (defined below) shall be deemed
to refer to and include the documents, if any, incorporated by reference therein
(the “Incorporated
Documents”), including, unless the context otherwise requires, the
documents, if any, filed as exhibits to such Incorporated Documents. Any
reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect
to the Registration Statement, any Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus or any
Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the
filing of any document under the Exchange Act on or after the date hereof that
is incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement. For
purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the
Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include
the most recent copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data
Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System, or if applicable, the Interactive Data
Electronic Application system when used by the Commission (collectively, “XXXXX”).
2. Placements. Each
time that the Company wishes to issue and sell Placement Shares hereunder (each,
a “Placement”),
it will notify MLV by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in
writing by the Parties) of the number of Placement Shares, the time period
during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number of
Placement Shares that may be sold in any one day and any minimum price below
which sales may not be made (a “Placement Notice”),
the form of which is attached hereto as Schedule
1. The Placement Notice shall originate from any of the
individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 3 (with a
copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such schedule),
and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from MLV set forth on Schedule 3, as such
Schedule 3 may be amended from time to time. The Placement Notice
shall be effective unless and until (i) MLV declines to accept the terms
contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion, (ii) the entire
amount of the Placement Shares thereunder have been sold, (iii) the Company
suspends or terminates the Placement Notice or (iv) the Agreement has been
terminated under the provisions of Section 12. The amount of any
discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to MLV in
connection with the sale of the Placement Shares shall be calculated in
accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 2. It is expressly
acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor MLV will have any
obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Shares unless
and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to MLV and MLV does not
decline such Placement Notice pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then
only upon the terms specified therein and herein. In the event of a
conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement
Notice, the terms of the Placement Notice will control.
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3. Sale of Placement Shares by
MLV. Subject to the provisions of Section 5(a), MLV,
for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially
reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and
applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of the
NYSE Amex Exchange (the “Exchange”), to sell
the Placement Shares up to the amount specified, and otherwise in accordance
with the terms of such Placement Notice. MLV will provide written
confirmation to the Company no later than the opening of the Trading Day (as
defined below) immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales
of Placement Shares hereunder setting forth the number of Placement Shares sold
on such day, the compensation payable by the Company to MLV pursuant to Section 2 with
respect to such sales, and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the
Company, with an itemization of the deductions made by MLV (as set forth in
Section 5(b))
from the gross proceeds that it receives from such sales. Subject to
the terms of the Placement Notice, MLV may sell Placement Shares by any method
permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in
Rule 415 of the Securities Act Regulations, including without limitation
sales made directly on the Exchange, on any other existing trading market for
the Common Stock or to or through a market maker. Subject to the
terms of a Placement Notice, MLV may also sell Placement Shares by any other
method permitted by law. “Trading Day” means
any day on which Common Stock are purchased and sold on the
Exchange.
4. Suspension of
Sales. The Company or MLV may, upon notice to the other party
in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the
other Party set forth on Schedule 3, if receipt of such correspondence is
actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent,
other than via auto-reply) or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable
facsimile transmission or email correspondence to each of the individuals of the
other Party set forth on Schedule 3), suspend
any sale of Placement Shares; provided, however, that such suspension shall not
affect or impair any party’s obligations with respect to any Placement Shares
sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice. Each of the
parties agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective
against any other party unless it is made to one of the individuals named on
Schedule 3
hereto, as such Schedule may be amended from time to time.
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5. Sale and Delivery to MLV;
Settlement.
(a) Sale of Placement
Shares. On the
basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the
terms and conditions herein set forth, upon MLV’s acceptance of the terms of a
Placement Notice, and unless the sale of the Placement Shares described therein
has been declined, suspended, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the
terms of this Agreement, MLV, for the period specified in the Placement Notice,
will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading
and sales practices to sell such Placement Shares up to the amount specified,
and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement
Notice. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no
assurance that MLV will be successful in selling Placement Shares, (ii) MLV will
incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if
it does not sell Placement Shares for any reason other than a failure by MLV to
use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and
sales practices and applicable law and regulations to sell such Placement Shares
as required under this Agreement and (iii) MLV shall be under no obligation to
purchase Placement Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement,
except as otherwise agreed by MLV and the Company.
(b) Settlement of Placement
Shares. Unless
otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice, settlement for sales of
Placement Shares will occur on the third (3rd)
Trading Day (or such earlier day as is industry practice for regular-way
trading) following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Settlement
Date”). The amount of proceeds to be delivered to the Company
on a Settlement Date against receipt of the Placement Shares sold (the “Net Proceeds”) will
be equal to the aggregate sales price received by MLV, after deduction for (i)
MLV’s commission, discount or other compensation for such sales payable by the
Company pursuant to Section 2 hereof, and (ii) any transaction fees imposed by
any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such
sales.
(c) Delivery of Placement
Shares. On or before each Settlement Date, the Company will,
or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Placement
Shares being sold by crediting MLV’s or its designee’s account (provided MLV
shall have given the Company written notice of such designee prior to the
Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and
Withdrawal at Custodian System or by such other means of delivery as may be
mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto which in all cases shall be freely
tradable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable
form. On each Settlement Date, MLV will deliver the related Net
Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on, or prior
to, the Settlement Date. The Company agrees that if the Company, or
its transfer agent (if applicable), defaults in its obligation to deliver
Placement Shares on a Settlement Date, the Company agrees that in addition to
and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 10(a)
hereto, it will (i) hold MLV harmless against any loss, claim, damage, or
expense (including reasonable legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out
of or in connection with such default by the Company or its transfer agent (if
applicable) and (ii) pay to MLV any commission, discount, or other compensation
to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.
(d) Denominations;
Registration. Certificates for
the Placement Shares, if any, shall be in such denominations and registered in
such names as MLV may request in writing at least two full Business Days (as
defined below) before the Settlement Date. The certificates for the
Placement Shares, if any, will be made available by the Company for examination
and packaging by MLV in The City of New York not later than noon (New York
time) on the Business Day prior to the Settlement Date.
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(e) Limitations on Offering
Size. Under no
circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any
Placement Shares if, after giving effect to the sale of such Placement Shares,
the aggregate gross sales proceeds of Placement Shares sold pursuant to this
Agreement would exceed the lesser of (A) together with all sales of
Placement Shares under this Agreement, the Maximum Amount, (B) the amount
available for offer and sale under the currently effective Registration
Statement and (C) the amount authorized from time to time to be issued and
sold under this Agreement by the Company’s board of directors, a duly authorized
committee thereof or a duly authorized executive committee, and notified to MLV
in writing. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request
the offer or sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement at a price
lower than the minimum price authorized from time to time by the Company’s board
of directors, a duly authorized committee thereof or a duly authorized executive
committee, and notified to MLV in writing. Further, under no
circumstances shall the Company cause or permit the aggregate offering amount of
Placement Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement to exceed the Maximum
Amount.
6. Representations and
Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants
to, and agrees with MLV that as of the date of this Agreement and as of each
Applicable Time (as defined below), unless such representation, warranty or
agreement specifies a different time or time:
(a) Registration Statement and
Prospectus. The Company and, assuming no act or omission on
the part of MLV that would make such statement untrue, the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement meet the requirements for and comply with the
conditions for the use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act. The
Registration Statement has been filed with the Commission and has been declared
effective under the Securities Act. The Prospectus Supplement will
name MLV as the agent in the section entitled “Plan of Distribution.” The
Company has not received, and has no notice of, any order of the Commission
preventing or suspending the use of the Registration Statement, or threatening
or instituting proceedings for that purpose. The Registration
Statement and the offer and sale of Placement Shares as contemplated hereby meet
the requirements of Rule 415 under the Act and comply in all material
respects with said Rule. Any statutes, regulations, contracts or
other documents that are required to be described in the Registration Statement
or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement have
been so described or filed. Copies of the Registration Statement, the
Prospectus, and any such amendments or supplements and all documents
incorporated by reference therein that were filed with the Commission on or
prior to the date of this Agreement have been delivered, or are available
through XXXXX, to MLV and its counsel. The Company has not
distributed and, prior to the later to occur of each Settlement Date and
completion of the distribution of the Placement Shares, will not distribute any
offering material in connection with the offering or sale of the Placement
Shares other than the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and any Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) to which MLV has
consented. The Common Stock are currently quoted on the Exchange
under the trading symbol “SNT”. Except as disclosed in the
Registration Statement, including the Incorporated Documents, the Company has
not, in the 12 months preceding the date hereof, received notice from the
Exchange to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the listing or
maintenance requirements, other than the requirement to have minimum
stockholders’ equity of at least $6,000,000. Except as disclosed in
the Registration Statement, including the Incorporated Documents, or the
Prospectus, the Company has no reason to believe that it will not in the
foreseeable future continue to be in compliance with all such listing and
maintenance requirements, other than the requirement to have minimum
stockholders’ equity of at least $6,000,000.
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(b) No Misstatement or
Omission. The Registration Statement, when it became
effective, and the Prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereto, on the
date of such Prospectus or amendment or supplement, conformed and will conform
in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities
Act. At each Settlement Date, the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus, as of such date, will conform in all material respects with the
requirements of the Securities Act. The Registration Statement, when
it became or becomes effective, did not, and will not, contain an untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be
stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not
misleading. The Prospectus and any amendment and supplement thereto,
on the date thereof and at each Applicable Time (defined below), did not or will
not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading. The documents
incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or any Prospectus Supplement did
not, and any further documents filed and incorporated by reference therein will
not, when filed with the Commission, contain an untrue statement of a material
fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated in such document or
necessary to make the statements in such document, in light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading. The foregoing shall not
apply to statements in, or omissions from, any such document made in reliance
upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Company by MLV
specifically for use in the preparation thereof.
(c) Conformity with Securities
Act and Exchange Act. The Registration Statement, the
Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement
thereto, and the documents incorporated by reference in the Registration
Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, when such
documents were or are filed with the Commission under the Securities Act or the
Exchange Act or became or become effective under the Securities Act, as the case
may be, conformed or will conform in all material respects with the requirements
of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable.
(d) Financial
Information. The consolidated financial statements of the
Company included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the
Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, together with the
related notes and schedules, present fairly, in all material respects, the
consolidated financial position of the Company and the Subsidiaries as of the
dates indicated and the consolidated results of operations, cash flows and
changes in stockholders’ equity of the Company for the periods specified and
have been prepared in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Act and
Exchange Act, as applicable, and in conformity with GAAP (as defined below)
applied on a consistent basis (except for such adjustments to accounting
standards and practices as are noted therein) during the periods involved; the
other financial and statistical data with respect to the Company and the
Subsidiaries contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration
Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, are
accurately and fairly presented and prepared on a basis consistent with the
financial statements and books and records of the Company; there are no
financial statements (historical or pro forma) that are required to be included
or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, or the Prospectus
that are not included or incorporated by reference as required; the Company and
the Subsidiaries (as defined below) do not have any material liabilities or
obligations, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations),
not described in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto and
Incorporated Documents), and the Prospectus which are required to be described
in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (including Exhibits thereto and
Incorporated Documents); and all disclosures contained or incorporated by
reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free
Writing Prospectuses, if any, regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such
term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with
Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the
Securities Act, to the extent applicable;
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(e) Conformity with XXXXX
Filing. The Prospectus delivered to MLV for use in connection
with the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement will be
identical to the versions of the Prospectus created to be transmitted to the
Commission for filing via XXXXX, except to the extent permitted by Regulation
S-T.
(f) Organization. The
Company and each of its Subsidiaries are, and will be, duly organized, validly
existing as a corporation and in good standing under the laws of their
respective jurisdictions of organization. The Company and each of its
Subsidiaries are, and will be, duly licensed or qualified as a foreign
corporation for transaction of business and in good standing under the laws of
each other jurisdiction in which their respective ownership or lease of property
or the conduct of their respective businesses requires such license or
qualification, and have all corporate power and authority necessary to own or
hold their respective properties and to conduct their respective businesses as
described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except where the
failure to be so qualified or in good standing or have such power or authority
would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect or
would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the assets,
business, operations, earnings, properties, condition (financial or otherwise),
prospects, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and the
Subsidiaries (as defined below) taken as a whole, or prevent or materially
interfere with consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby (a “Material Adverse
Effect”).
(g) Subsidiaries. The
subsidiaries set forth on Schedule 4
(collectively, the “Subsidiaries”), are
the Company’s only significant subsidiaries (as such term is defined in Rule
1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated by the Commission). Except as set
forth in the Registration Statement and in the Prospectus, the Company owns,
directly or indirectly, all of the equity interests of the Subsidiaries free and
clear of any lien, charge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first
refusal or other restriction, and all the equity interests of the Subsidiaries
are validly issued and are fully paid, nonassessable and free of preemptive and
similar rights.
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(h) No Violation or
Default. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is
(i) in violation of its charter or by-laws or similar organizational
documents; (ii) in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or
lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance
or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture,
mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to
which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are subject; or (iii) in violation
of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or
arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of each
of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such violation or default that would
not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect. Except as described in the Prospectus, the Prospectus
Supplement or the Incorporated Documents, to the Company’s knowledge, no other
party under any material contract or other agreement to which it or any of its
Subsidiaries is a party is in default in any respect thereunder where such
default would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect.
(i) No Material Adverse
Change. Subsequent to the respective dates as of which
information is given in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Free
Writing Prospectuses, if any (including any document deemed incorporated by
reference therein), there has not been (i) any Material Adverse Effect, or any
development involving a prospective Material Adverse Effect, in or affecting the
business, properties, management, financial, condition (financial or otherwise),
results of operations, or prospects of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as
a whole, (ii) any transaction which is material to the Company and the
Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (iii) any obligation or liability, direct or
contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), incurred by the
Company or any Subsidiary, which is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries
taken as a whole, (iv) any material change in the capital stock (other than as a
result of the sale of Placement Shares or other than as described in a proxy
statement filed on Schedule 14A or a Registration Statement on Form S-4 and
otherwise publicly announced) or outstanding long-term indebtedness of the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries or (v) any dividend or distribution of any
kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the Company or any
Subsidiary, other than in each case above in the ordinary course of business or
as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement or Prospectus (including
any document deemed incorporated by reference therein);
(j) Capitalization. The
issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been validly
issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and, other than as disclosed in the
Registration Statement, including the Incorporated Documents, the Prospectus or
the exhibits attached to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the
Commission on March 29, 2010 regarding a private placement between the Company
and certain accredited investors (the “March 2010 Financing
Documents”) are not subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first
refusal or similar rights. The Company has an authorized, issued and
outstanding capitalization as set forth in the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus as of the dates referred to therein (other than the grant of
additional options under the Company’s existing stock option plans, or changes
in the number of outstanding Common Stock of the Company due to the issuance of
shares upon the exercise or conversion of securities exercisable for, or
convertible into, Common Stock outstanding on the date hereof or as a result of
the issuance of Placement Shares) and such authorized capital stock conforms to
the description thereof set forth in the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus. The description of the Common Stock in the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus is complete and accurate in all material
respects. Except as disclosed in or contemplated by the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus, as of the date referred to therein, the Company did
not have outstanding any options to purchase, or any rights or warrants to
subscribe for, or any securities or obligations convertible into, or
exchangeable for, or any contracts or commitments to issue or sell, any shares
of capital stock or other securities.
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(k) Authorization;
Enforceability. The Company has full legal right, power and
authority to enter into this Agreement and perform the transactions contemplated
hereby. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and
delivered by the Company and is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the
Company enforceable in accordance with its terms, except to the extent that (i)
enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization,
moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general
equitable principles and (ii) the indemnification and contribution provisions of
Section 10 hereof may be limited by federal or state securities laws and public
policy considerations in respect thereof.
(l) Authorization of Placement
Shares. The Placement Shares, when issued and delivered
pursuant to the terms approved by the board of directors of the Company or a
duly authorized committee thereof, or a duly authorized executive committee,
against payment therefor as provided herein, will be duly and validly authorized
and issued and fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of any pledge, lien,
encumbrance, security interest or other claim (other than any pledge, lien,
encumbrance, security interest or other claim arising from an act or omission of
MLV or a purchaser or pursuant to the March 2010 Financing Documents), including
any statutory or contractual preemptive rights, resale rights, rights of first
refusal or other similar rights, and will be registered pursuant to Section 12
of the Exchange Act. The Placement Shares, when issued, will conform
in all material respects to the description thereof set forth in or incorporated
into the Prospectus.
(m) No Consents
Required. No consent, approval, authorization, order,
registration or qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or any
governmental or regulatory authority is required for the execution, delivery and
performance by the Company of this Agreement, and the issuance and sale by the
Company of the Placement Shares as contemplated hereby, except for such
consents, approvals, authorizations, orders and registrations or qualifications
as may be required under applicable state securities laws or by the by-laws and
rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or the
Exchange in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares by
MLV.
(n) No Preferential
Rights. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the
March 2010 Financing Documents and the Prospectus, (i) no person, as such
term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities
Act (each, a “Person”), has the
right, contractual or otherwise, to cause the Company to issue or sell to such
Person any Common Stock or shares of any other capital stock or other securities
of the Company (other than upon the exercise of options or warrants to purchase
Common Stock or upon the exercise of options that may be granted from time to
time under the Company’s stock option plans), (ii) no Person has any
preemptive rights, rights of first refusal, or any other rights (whether
pursuant to a “poison pill” provision or otherwise) to purchase any Common Stock
or shares of any other capital stock or other securities of the Company from the
Company which have not been duly waived with respect to the offering
contemplated hereby, (iii) no Person has the right to act as an
underwriter or as a financial advisor to the Company in connection with the
offer and sale of the Common Stock, and (iv) no Person has the right,
contractual or otherwise, to require the Company to register under the
Securities Act any Common Stock or shares of any other capital stock or other
securities of the Company, or to include any such shares or other securities in
the Registration Statement or the offering contemplated thereby, whether as a
result of the filing or effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the sale
of the Placement Shares as contemplated thereby or otherwise.
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(o) Independent Public
Accountant. McGladrey & Xxxxxx, LLP (the “Accountant”), whose
report on the consolidated financial statements of the Company is filed with the
Commission as part of the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed
with the Commission and incorporated into the Registration Statement, are and,
during the periods covered by their report, were independent public accountants
within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (United States). To the Company’s knowledge, after
due inquiry, the Accountant is not in violation of the auditor independence
requirements of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 (the “Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act”)
with respect to the Company.
(p) Enforceability of
Agreements. All agreements between the Company and third
parties expressly referenced in the Prospectus, other than such agreements that
have expired by their terms or whose termination is disclosed in documents filed
by the Company on XXXXX, are legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company
enforceable in accordance with their respective terms, except to the extent that
(i) enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency,
reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally
and by general equitable principles and (ii) the indemnification provisions
of certain agreements may be limited be federal or state securities laws or
public policy considerations in respect thereof, except for any unenforceability
that, individually or in the aggregate, would not unreasonably be expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect.
(q) No
Litigation. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement
or the Prospectus, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory actions, suits
or proceedings pending, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any legal, governmental
or regulatory investigations, to which the Company or a Subsidiary is a party or
to which any property of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is the subject
that, individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company
or any of its Subsidiaries, would reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect or materially and adversely affect the ability of the Company to
perform its obligations under this Agreement; to the Company’s knowledge, no
such actions, suits or proceedings are threatened or contemplated by any
governmental or regulatory authority or threatened by others that, individually
or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;
and (i) there are no current or pending legal, governmental or regulatory
investigations, actions, suits or proceedings that are required under the Act to
be described in the Prospectus that are not described in the Prospectus
including any Incorporated Document; and (ii) there are no contracts or
other documents that are required under the Securities Act to be filed as
exhibits to the Registration Statement that are not so filed.
10
(r) Licenses and
Permits. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or
the Prospectus, the Company and each of its Subsidiaries possess or have
obtained, all licenses, certificates, consents, orders, approvals, permits and
other authorizations issued by, and have made all declarations and filings with,
the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory
authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective
properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in the
Registration Statement and the Prospectus (the “Permits”), except
where the failure to possess, obtain or make the same would not, individually or
in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries have received
written notice of any proceeding relating to revocation or modification of any
such Permit or has any reason to believe that such Permit will not be renewed in
the ordinary course, except where the failure to obtain any such renewal would
not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect.
(s) Market
Capitalization. As of the close of trading on the
Exchange on the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of this
Agreement, the aggregate market value of the outstanding voting and
non-voting common equity (as defined in Securities Act Rule 405) of the Company
held by persons other than affiliates of the Company (pursuant to Securities Act
Rule 144, those that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries,
control, or are controlled by, or are under common control with, the
Company) (the “Non-Affiliate
Shares”), was approximately $14.2 million (calculated by multiplying (x)
the price at which the common equity of the Company was last sold on the
Exchange on the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement
times (y) the number of Non-Affiliate Shares). The Company is not a
shell company (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) and has not been
a shell company for at least 12 calendar months previously and if it has been a
shell company at any time previously, has filed current Form 10 information (as
defined in Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3) with the Commission at least 12
calendar months previously reflecting its status as an entity that is not a
shell company.
(t) No Material
Defaults. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has
defaulted on any installment on indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental
on one or more long-term leases, which defaults, individually or in the
aggregate, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect. The Company has not filed a report pursuant to Section 13(a)
or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the filing of its last Annual Report on Form
10-K, indicating that it (i) has failed to pay any dividend or sinking fund
installment on preferred stock or (ii) has defaulted on any installment on
indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental on one or more long-term
leases, which defaults, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(u) Certain Market
Activities. Neither the Company, nor any of the Subsidiaries,
nor any of their respective directors, officers or controlling persons has
taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed, or that has constituted or
might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or
otherwise, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the
Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares.
(v) Broker/Dealer
Relationships. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries
or any related entities (i) is required to register as a “broker” or
“dealer” in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Act or
(ii) directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or
is a “person associated with a member” or “associated person of a member”
(within the meaning set forth in the FINRA Manual).
11
(w) No
Reliance. The Company has not relied upon MLV or legal counsel
for MLV for any legal, tax or accounting advice in connection with the offering
and sale of the Placement Shares.
(x) Taxes. The
Company and each of its Subsidiaries have filed all federal, state, local and
foreign tax returns which have been required to be filed and paid all taxes
shown thereon through the date hereof, to the extent that such taxes have become
due and are not being contested in good faith, except where the failure to do so
would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect. Except as otherwise disclosed in or contemplated by the
Registration Statement or the Prospectus, no tax deficiency has been determined
adversely to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries which has had, or would
reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material
Adverse Effect. The Company has no knowledge of any federal, state or
other governmental tax deficiency, penalty or assessment which has been or might
be asserted or threatened against it which could have a Material Adverse
Effect.
(y) Title to Real and Personal
Property. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or
the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries have good and valid title in
fee simple to all items of real property and good and valid title to all
personal property described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus as being
owned by them that are material to the businesses of the Company or such
Subsidiary, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and claims,
except those that (i) do not materially interfere with the use made and
proposed to be made of such property by the Company and any of its Subsidiaries
or (ii) would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate,
to have a Material Adverse Effect. Any real property described in the
Registration Statement or Prospectus as being leased by the Company and any of
its Subsidiaries is held by them under valid, existing and enforceable leases,
except those that (A) do not materially interfere with the use made or
proposed to be made of such property by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
or (B) would not be reasonably expected, individually or in the aggregate,
to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(z) Intellectual
Property. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or
the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries own or possess adequate
enforceable rights to use all patents, patent applications, trademarks (both
registered and unregistered), service marks, trade names, trademark
registrations, service xxxx registrations, copyrights, licenses and know-how
(including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or
confidential information, systems or procedures) (collectively, the “Intellectual
Property”), necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as
conducted as of the date hereof, except to the extent that the failure to own or
possess adequate rights to use such Intellectual Property would not,
individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect; except as disclosed in writing to MLV, the Company and any of
its Subsidiaries have not received any written notice of any claim of
infringement or conflict which asserted Intellectual Property rights of others,
which infringement or conflict, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, would
result in a Material Adverse Effect; there are no pending, or to the Company’s
knowledge, threatened judicial proceedings or interference proceedings
challenging the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ rights in or to or the validity
of the scope of any of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ patents, patent
applications or proprietary information; no other entity or individual has any
right or claim in any of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ patents, patent
applications or any patent to be issued therefrom by virtue of any contract,
license or other agreement entered into between such entity or individual and
the Company or a Subsidiary or by any non-contractual obligation, other than by
written licenses granted by the Company or a Subsidiary; the Company
and its Subsidiaries have not received any written notice of any claim
challenging the rights of the Company or a Subsidiary in or to any Intellectual
Property owned, licensed or optioned by the Company or such Subsidiary which
claim, if the subject of an unfavorable decision would result in a Material
Adverse Effect.
12
(aa) Environmental
Laws. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries (i) are in compliance with any
and all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules, regulations,
decisions and orders relating to the protection of human health and safety, the
environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or
contaminants (collectively, “Environmental Laws”);
(ii) have received and are in compliance with all permits, licenses or
other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct
their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the
Prospectus; and (iii) have not received notice of any actual or potential
liability for the investigation or remediation of any disposal or release of
hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, except, in
the case of any of clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) above, for any such failure to
comply or failure to receive required permits, licenses, other approvals or
liability as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected
to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(bb) Disclosure
Controls. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries maintain
systems of internal accounting controls designed to provide reasonable assurance
that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general
or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to
permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to
assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific
authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared
with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken
with respect to any differences. The Company is not aware of any
material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting (other than
as set forth in the Prospectus). Since the date of the latest audited
financial statements of the Company included in the Prospectus, there has been
no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has
materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s
internal control over financial reporting (other than as set forth in the
Prospectus). The Company has established disclosure controls and
procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15) for the Company
and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material
information relating to the Company and each of its Subsidiaries is made known
to the certifying officers by others within those entities, particularly during
the period in which the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q, as the case may be, is being prepared. The Company’s
certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s controls
and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of the Form
10-K for the fiscal year most recently ended (such date, the “Evaluation
Date”). The Company presented in its Form 10-K for the fiscal
year most recently ended the conclusions of the certifying officers about the
effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on their
evaluations as of the Evaluation Date. Since the Evaluation Date,
there have been no significant changes in the Company’s internal controls (as
such term is defined in Item 307(b) of Regulation S-K under the Act) or, to the
Company’s knowledge, in other factors that could significantly affect the
Company’s internal controls. To the knowledge of the Company, the
Company’s “internal controls over financial reporting” and “disclosure controls
and procedures” are effective.
13
(cc) Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx. There
is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or, to the knowledge of
the Company, any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as
such, to comply with any applicable provisions of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act and the
rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Each of the principal
executive officer and the principal financial officer of the Company (or each
former principal executive officer of the Company and each former principal
financial officer of the Company as applicable) has made all certifications
required by Sections 302 and 906 of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act with respect to all
reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed
by it or furnished by it to the Commission. For purposes of the
preceding sentence, “principal executive officer” and “principal financial
officer” shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx
Act.
(dd) Finder’s
Fees. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has
incurred any liability for any finder’s fees, brokerage commissions or similar
payments in connection with the transactions herein contemplated, except as may
otherwise exist with respect to MLV pursuant to this Agreement.
(ee) Labor
Disputes. No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of
the Company or any of its Subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the
Company, is threatened which would reasonably be expected to result in a
Material Adverse Effect
(ff) Investment Company
Act. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is or,
after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Placement Shares, will be an
“investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company,” as
such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the
“Investment Company
Act”).
(gg) Operations. The
operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at
all times in compliance with applicable financial record keeping and reporting
requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as
amended, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions to which the Company
or its Subsidiaries are subject, the rules and regulations thereunder and any
related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or
enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering
Laws”), except as would not reasonably be expected to result in a
Material Adverse Effect; and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any
court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the
Company or any of its Subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is
pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(hh) Off-Balance Sheet
Arrangements. There are no transactions, arrangements and
other relationships between and/or among the Company, and/or, to the knowledge
of the Company, any of its affiliates and any unconsolidated entity, including,
but not limited to, any structural finance, special purpose or limited purpose
entity (each, an “Off
Balance Sheet Transaction”) that could reasonably be expected to affect
materially the Company’s liquidity or the availability of or requirements for
its capital resources, including those Off Balance Sheet Transactions described
in the Commission’s Statement about Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Conditions and Results of Operations (Release Nos. 33-8056;
34-45321; FR-61), required to be described in the Prospectus which have not been
described as required.
14
(ii) Underwriter
Agreements. The Company is not a party to any agreement with
an agent or underwriter for any other “at-the-market” or continuous equity
transaction.
(jj) ERISA. To
the knowledge of the Company, each material employee benefit plan, within the
meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,
as amended (“ERISA”), that is
maintained, administered or contributed to by the Company or any of its
affiliates for employees or former employees of the Company and any of its
Subsidiaries has been maintained in material compliance with its terms and the
requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations,
including but not limited to ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended (the “Code”); no prohibited
transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the
Code, has occurred which would result in a material liability to the Company
with respect to any such plan excluding transactions effected pursuant to a
statutory or administrative exemption; and for each such plan that is subject to
the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no
“accumulated funding deficiency” as defined in Section 412 of the Code has been
incurred, whether or not waived, and the fair market value of the assets of each
such plan (excluding for these purposes accrued but unpaid contributions)
exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such plan determined
using reasonable actuarial assumptions.
(kk) Forward Looking
Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) (a
“Forward Looking
Statement”) contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus
has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed
other than in good faith. The Forward Looking Statements incorporated
by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus from the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year most recently ended
(i) except for any Forward Looking Statement included in any financial
statements and notes thereto, are within the coverage of the safe harbor for
forward looking statements set forth in Section 27A of the Securities Act, Rule
175(b) under the Securities Act or Rule 3b-6 under the Exchange Act, as
applicable, (ii) were made by the Company with a reasonable basis and in
good faith and reflect the Company’s good faith commercially reasonable best
estimate of the matters described therein, and (iii) have been prepared in
accordance with Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Act.
(ll) Margin
Rules. Neither the issuance, sale and delivery of the
Placement Shares nor the application of the proceeds thereof by the Company as
described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will violate
Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or
any other regulation of such Board of Governors.
15
(mm) Insurance. The
Company and each of its Subsidiaries carry, or are covered by, insurance in such
amounts and covering such risks as the Company and each of its Subsidiaries
reasonably believe are adequate for the conduct of their properties and as is
customary for companies of similar size engaged in similar businesses in similar
industries.
(nn) No Improper
Practices. (i) Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s
knowledge, the Subsidiaries, nor to the Company’s knowledge, any of their
respective executive officers has, in the past five years, made any unlawful
contributions to any candidate for any political office (or failed fully to
disclose any contribution in violation of law) or made any contribution or other
payment to any official of, or candidate for, any federal, state, municipal, or
foreign office or other person charged with similar public or quasi-public duty
in violation of any law or of the character required to be disclosed in the
Prospectus; (ii) no relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or
among the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any Subsidiary or any
affiliate of any of them, on the one hand, and the directors, officers and
stockholders of the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any Subsidiary, on
the other hand, that is required by the Securities Act to be described in the
Registration Statement and the Prospectus that is not so described;
(iii) no relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the
Company or any Subsidiary or any affiliate of them, on the one hand, and the
directors, officers, stockholders or directors of the Company or, to the
Company’s knowledge, any Subsidiary, on the other hand, that is required by the
rules of FINRA to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus
that is not so described; (iv) except as described in the Prospectus, there
are no material outstanding loans or advances or material guarantees of
indebtedness by the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any Subsidiary to or
for the benefit of any of their respective officers or directors or any of the
members of the families of any of them; and (v) the Company has not offered, or
caused any placement agent to offer, Common Stock to any person with the intent
to influence unlawfully (A) a customer or supplier of the Company or any
Subsidiary to alter the customer’s or supplier’s level or type of business with
the Company or any Subsidiary or (B) a trade journalist or publication to
write or publish favorable information about the Company or any Subsidiary or
any of their respective products or services, and, (vi) neither the Company nor
any Subsidiary nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any employee or agent of the
Company or any Subsidiary has made any payment of funds of the Company or any
Subsidiary or received or retained any funds in violation of any law, rule or
regulation (including, without limitation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of
1977), which payment, receipt or retention of funds is of a character required
to be disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.
(oo) Status Under the Securities
Act. The Company was not and is not an ineligible issuer as
defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act at the times specified in Rules 164
and 433 under the Act in connection with the offering of the Placement
Shares.
(pp) No Misstatement or Omission
in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus. Each Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus, as of its issue date and as of each Applicable Time (as defined in
Section 24
below), did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted,
conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus, including any incorporated document deemed to be a
part thereof that has not been superseded or modified. The foregoing
sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus based upon and in conformity with written information
furnished to the Company by MLV specifically for use therein.
16
(qq) No
Conflicts. Neither the execution of this Agreement, nor the
issuance, offering or sale of the Placement Shares, nor the consummation of any
of the transactions contemplated herein and therein, nor the compliance by the
Company with the terms and provisions hereof and thereof will conflict with, or
will result in a breach of, any of the terms and provisions of, or has
constituted or will constitute a default under, or has resulted in or will
result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any
property or assets of the Company pursuant to the terms of any contract or other
agreement to which the Company may be bound or to which any of the property or
assets of the Company is subject, except (i) such conflicts, breaches or
defaults as may have been waived and (ii) such conflicts, breaches and defaults
that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; nor
will such action result (x) in any violation of the provisions of the
organizational or governing documents of the Company, or (y) in any material
violation of the provisions of any statute or any order, rule or regulation
applicable to the Company or of any court or of any federal, state or other
regulatory authority or other government body having jurisdiction over the
Company, except where such violation would not reasonably be expected to have a
Material Adverse Effect.
(rr) Clinical
Studies. The clinical, pre-clinical and other studies and
tests conducted by or, to the knowledge of the Company, on behalf of the Company
were, and, if still pending, are being, conducted in accordance in all material
respects with all statutes, laws, rules and regulations, as applicable
(including, without limitation, those administered by the FDA or by any foreign,
federal, state or local governmental or regulatory authority performing
functions similar to those performed by the FDA). Except as set forth
in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, the Company has not received any
written notices or other written correspondence from the FDA or any other
foreign, federal, state or local governmental or regulatory authority performing
functions similar to those performed by the FDA requiring the Company to
terminate or suspend any ongoing clinical or pre-clinical studies or
tests.
(ss) Compliance
Program. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and
the Prospectus, the Company has established and administers a compliance program
applicable to the Company, to assist the Company and the directors, officers and
employees of the Company in complying with applicable regulatory guidelines
(including, without limitation, those administered by the FDA and any other
foreign, federal, state or local governmental or regulatory authority performing
functions similar to those performed by the FDA); except where such
noncompliance would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse
Effect.
(tt) OFAC. (i)
The Company represents that, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
(collectively, the “Entity”) or any
director, officer, employee, agent, affiliate or representative of the Entity,
is a government, individual, or entity (in this paragraph (tt), “Person”) that is, or
is owned or controlled by a Person that is:
(A) the
subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the United
Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European
Union (“EU”),
Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), or other
relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”),
nor
17
(B) located,
organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions
(including, without limitation, Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan
and Syria).
(ii) The Entity represents
and covenants that it will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the
offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any
subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person:
(A) to
fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person or in any
country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the
subject of Sanctions; or
(B) in
any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person
(including any Person participating in the offering, whether as underwriter,
advisor, investor or otherwise).
(iii) The Entity represents
and covenants that, except as detailed in the Prospectus, for the past 5 years,
it has not knowingly engaged in, is not now knowingly engaged in, and will not
engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or
territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject
of Sanctions.
(uu) Stock Transfer
Taxes. On each Settlement Date, all stock transfer or other
taxes (other than income taxes) which are required to be paid in connection with
the sale and transfer of the Placement Shares to be sold hereunder will be, or
will have been, fully paid or provided for by the Company and all laws imposing
such taxes will be or will have been fully complied with.
Any certificate signed by an officer of
the Company and delivered to MLV or to counsel for MLV pursuant to or in
connection with this Agreement shall be deemed to be a representation and
warranty by the Company, as applicable, to MLV as to the matters set forth
therein.
18
7. Covenants of the
Company. The Company covenants and agrees with MLV
that:
(a) Registration Statement
Amendments. After the date of this Agreement and during any
period in which a Prospectus relating to any Placement Shares is required to be
delivered by MLV under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such
requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act),
(i) the Company will notify MLV promptly of the time when any subsequent
amendment to the Registration Statement, other than documents incorporated by
reference, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any
subsequent supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and of any request by the
Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or
Prospectus or for additional information, (ii) the Company will prepare and
file with the Commission, promptly upon MLV’s request, any amendments or
supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in MLV’s
reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the
distribution of the Placement Shares by MLV (provided, however, that the failure
of MLV to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or
liability hereunder, or affect MLV’s right to rely on the representations and
warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that the
only remedy MLV shall have with respect to the failure to make such filing shall
be to cease making sales under this Agreement until such amendment or supplement
is filed); (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to
the Registration Statement or Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares or a
security convertible into the Placement Shares unless a copy thereof has been
submitted to MLV within a reasonable period of time before the filing and MLV
has not objected thereto (provided, however, that the failure of MLV to make
such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability
hereunder, or affect MLV’s right to rely on the representations and warranties
made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that the only
remedy MLV shall have with respect to the failure to by the Company to obtain
such consent shall be to cease making sales under this Agreement) and the
Company will furnish to MLV at the time of filing thereof a copy of any document
that upon filing is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration
Statement or Prospectus, except for those documents available via XXXXX; and
(iv) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus
to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph
of Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act or, in the case of any document to be
incorporated therein by reference, to be filed with the Commission as required
pursuant to the Exchange Act, within the time period prescribed (the
determination to file or not file any amendment or supplement with the
Commission under this Section 7(a), based on the Company’s reasonable opinion or
reasonable objections, shall be made exclusively by the Company).
(b) Notice of Commission Stop
Orders. The Company will advise MLV, promptly after it
receives notice or obtains knowledge thereof, of the issuance or threatened
issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the
Registration Statement, of the suspension of the qualification of the Placement
Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or
threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose; and it will promptly use its
commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to
obtain its withdrawal if such a stop order should be issued. The
Company will advise MLV promptly after it receives any request by the Commission
for any amendments to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplements
to the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or for additional
information related to the offering of the Placement Shares or for additional
information related to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer
Free Writing Prospectus.
(c) Delivery of Prospectus;
Subsequent Changes. During any period in which a Prospectus
relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by MLV under the
Securities Act with respect to the offer and sale of the Placement Shares,
(including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to
Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will comply with all
requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as from time to time in
force, and to file on or before their respective due dates all reports and any
definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company
with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, 15(d) or any other
provision of or under the Exchange Act. If the Company has omitted
any information from the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430A under the
Act, it will use its best efforts to comply with the provisions of and make all
requisite filings with the Commission pursuant to said Rule 430A and to notify
MLV promptly of all such filings. If during such period any event
occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would
include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then
existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary to amend or
supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus to comply with the
Securities Act, the Company will promptly notify MLV to suspend the offering of
Placement Shares during such period and the Company will promptly amend or
supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus (at the expense of the
Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such
compliance.
19
(d) Listing of Placement
Shares. During any period in which the Prospectus relating to
the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by MLV under the Securities Act
with respect to the offer and sale of the Placement Shares, the Company will use
its reasonable best efforts to cause the Placement Shares to be listed on the
Exchange and to qualify the Placement Shares for sale under the securities laws
of such jurisdictions as MLV reasonably designate and to continue such
qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the
Placement Shares; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required in
connection therewith to qualify as a foreign corporation or dealer in securities
or file a general consent to service of process in any
jurisdiction.
(e) Delivery of Registration
Statement and Prospectus. The Company will furnish to MLV and
its counsel (at the expense of the Company) copies of the Registration
Statement, the Prospectus (including all documents incorporated by reference
therein) and all amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement or
Prospectus that are filed with the Commission during any period in which a
Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered under
the Securities Act (including all documents filed with the Commission during
such period that are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein), in each
case as soon as reasonably practicable and in such quantities as MLV may from
time to time reasonably request and, at MLV’s request, will also furnish copies
of the Prospectus to each exchange or market on which sales of the Placement
Shares may be made; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to
furnish any document (other than the Prospectus) to MLV to the extent such
document is available on XXXXX.
(f) Earnings
Statement. The Company will make generally available to its
security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15
months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter, an earnings
statement covering a 12-month period that satisfies the provisions of Section
11(a) and Rule 158 of the Securities Act.
(g) Use of
Proceeds. The Company will use the Net Proceeds as described
in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.”
20
(h) Notice of Other
Sales. Without the prior written consent of MLV, the Company
will not, directly or indirectly, offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant
any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Common Stock (other than the
Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible
into or exchangeable for Common Stock, warrants or any rights to purchase or
acquire, Common Stock during the period beginning on the fifth (5th) Trading Day
immediately prior to the date on which any Placement Notice is delivered to MLV
hereunder and ending on the fifth (5th) Trading Day immediately following the
final Settlement Date with respect to Placement Shares sold pursuant to such
Placement Notice (or, if the Placement Notice has been terminated or suspended
prior to the sale of all Placement Shares covered by a Placement Notice, the
date of such suspension or termination); and will not directly or indirectly in
any other “at-the-market” or continuous equity transaction offer to sell, sell,
contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Common
Stock (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or
securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, warrants or any
rights to purchase or acquire, Common Stock prior to the later of the
termination of this Agreement and the sixtieth (60th) day immediately following
the final Settlement Date with respect to Placement Shares sold pursuant to such
Placement Notice; provided, however, that such restrictions will not be required
in connection with the Company’s issuance or sale of (i) Common Stock,
options to purchase Common Stock or Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of
options, pursuant to any employee or director stock option or benefits plan,
stock ownership plan or dividend reinvestment plan (but not Common Stock subject
to a waiver to exceed plan limits in its dividend reinvestment plan) of the
Company whether now in effect or hereafter implemented; (ii) Common Stock
issuable upon conversion of securities or the exercise of warrants, options or
other rights in effect or outstanding, and disclosed in filings by the Company
available on XXXXX or otherwise in writing to MLV and (iii) Common Stock, or
securities convertible into or exercisable for Common Stock, offered and sold in
a privately negotiated transaction to vendors, customers, strategic partners or
potential strategic partners who are qualified institutional buyers and not more
than three persons that are "accredited investors" within the meaning of such
term under paragraph (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7) or (a)(8) of Rule 501 under
the Securities Act and otherwise conducted in a manner so as not to be
integrated with the offering of Common Stock hereby.
(i) Change of
Circumstances. The Company will, at any time during the
pendency of a Placement Notice advise MLV promptly after it shall have received
notice or obtained knowledge thereof, of any information or fact that would
alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or
other document required to be provided to MLV pursuant to this
Agreement.
(j) Due Diligence
Cooperation. The Company will cooperate with any reasonable
due diligence review conducted by MLV or its representatives in connection with
the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, providing
information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during
regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as MLV may
reasonably request.
(k) Required Filings Relating to
Placement of Placement Shares. The Company agrees that on such
dates as the Securities Act shall require, the Company will (i) file a
prospectus supplement with the Commission under the applicable paragraph of Rule
424(b) under the Securities Act (each and every filing under Rule 424(b), a
“Filing Date”),
which prospectus supplement will set forth, within the relevant period, the
amount of Placement Shares sold through MLV, the Net Proceeds to the Company and
the compensation payable by the Company to MLV with respect to such Placement
Shares, and (ii) deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus
supplement to each exchange or market on which such sales were effected as may
be required by the rules or regulations of such exchange or market.
21
(l) Representation Dates;
Certificate. On the date of this Agreement and each time the
Company:
(i) files
the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares or amends or supplements (other
than a prospectus supplement relating solely to an offering of securities other
than the Placement Shares) the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating
to the Placement Shares by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker, or
supplement but not by means of incorporation of documents by reference into the
Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement
Shares;
(ii)
files an annual report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act (including any Form
10-K/A containing amended financial information or a material amendment to the
previously filed Form 10-K);
(iii)
files its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act; or
(iv)
files a current report on Form 8-K containing amended financial information
(other than information “furnished” pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of
Form 8-K or to provide disclosure pursuant to Item 8.01 of Form 8-K
relating to the reclassification of certain properties as discontinued
operations in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No.
144) under the Exchange Act;
(Each
date of filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (i)
through (iv) shall be a “Representation
Date.”)
the
Company shall furnish MLV (but in the case of clause (iv) above only if MLV
reasonably determines that the information contained in such Form 8-K is
material) with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit
7(l). The requirement
to provide a certificate under this Section 7(l) shall be waived for any
Representation Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice is
pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the
date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar
quarter shall be considered a Representation Date) and the next occurring
Representation Date; provided, however, that such waiver shall not apply for any
Representation Date on which the Company files its annual report on Form
10-K. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently
decides to sell Placement Shares following a Representation Date when the
Company relied on such waiver and did not provide MLV with a certificate under
this Section 7(l), then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or MLV
sells any Placement Shares, the Company shall provide MLV with a certificate, in
the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(l), dated the date of the Placement
Notice.
22
(m) Legal
Opinion. (1) On the date of this Agreement and (2) within five
(5) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company
is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit
7(l) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished
to MLV written opinions of Xxxxxx, Xxxxx & Bockius LLP (“Company Counsel”), or
other counsel satisfactory to MLV, in form and substance satisfactory to MLV and
its counsel, which collectively address the legal opinions and negative
assurance requests set forth in Exhibit 7(m), modified, as necessary, to relate
to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or
supplemented, and with customary assumptions and exceptions; provided, however,
the Company shall be required to furnish to MLV no more than one opinion
hereunder per calendar quarter; provided, further, that in lieu of such opinions
for subsequent periodic filings under the Exchange Act, counsel may furnish MLV
with a letter (a “Reliance Letter”) to
the effect that MLV may rely on a prior opinion delivered under this Section
7(m) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that
statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented as of the date of the
Reliance Letter).
(n) Comfort
Letter. (1) On the date of this Agreement and (2) within five
(5) Trading Days of the Company’s filing of an Annual Report on Form 10-K with
the Commission, the Company shall cause its independent accountants to furnish
MLV letters (the “Comfort Letters”),
dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, which shall meet the
requirements set forth in this Section 7(n); provided, that if requested by MLV,
the Company shall cause a Comfort Letter to be furnished to MLV within ten (10)
Trading Days of the date of occurrence of any material transaction or event,
including the restatement of the Company’s financial statements. The
Comfort Letter from the Company’s independent accountants shall be in a form and
substance satisfactory to MLV, (i) confirming that they are an independent
public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the PCAOB,
(ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with
respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by
accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered
public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort
Letter”) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter with any
information that would have been included in the Initial Comfort Letter had it
been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration
Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such
letter.
(o) Market
Activities. The Company will not, directly or indirectly,
(i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or
might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of
the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of
Common Stock or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase Common Stock in violation
of Regulation M, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the
Placement Shares other than MLV.
(p) Investment Company
Act. The Company will conduct its affairs in such a manner so
as to reasonably ensure that neither it nor any of its Subsidiaries will be or
become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, an “investment
company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act.
(q) No Offer to
Sell. Other than an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus approved in
advance by the Company and MLV in its capacity as agent hereunder, neither MLV
nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than MLV in
their capacity as such) will make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to
any written communication (as defined in Rule 405 under the Act), required to be
filed with the Commission, that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of
an offer to buy Placement Shares hereunder.
23
(r) Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx
Act. The Company and the Subsidiaries will maintain and keep
accurate books and records reflecting their assets and maintain internal
accounting controls in a manner designed to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of
financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles and including those policies and procedures that
(i) pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail
accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of
the Company, (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are
recorded as necessary to permit the preparation of the Company’s consolidated
financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principals, (iii) that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being
made only in accordance with management’s and the Company’s directors’
authorization, and (iv) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention
or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the
Company’s assets that could have a material effect on its financial
statements. The Company and the Subsidiaries will maintain such
controls and other procedures, including, without limitation, those required by
Sections 302 and 906 of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act, and the applicable regulations
thereunder that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed
by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is
recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified
in the Commission’s rules and forms, including, without limitation, controls and
procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the
Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is
accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its
principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or persons
performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding
required disclosure and to ensure that material information relating to the
Company or the Subsidiaries is made known to them by others within those
entities, particularly during the period in which such periodic reports are
being prepared.
8. Representations and
Covenants of MLV. MLV represents and warrants that it is duly
registered as a broker-dealer under FINRA, the Exchange Act and the applicable
statutes and regulations of each state in which the Placement Shares will be
offered and sold, except such states in which MLV is exempt from registration or
such registration is not otherwise required. MLV shall continue, for
the term of this Agreement, to be duly registered as a broker-dealer under
FINRA, the Exchange Act and the applicable statutes and regulations of each
state in which the Placement Shares will be offered and sold, except such states
in which MLV is exempt from registration or such registration is not otherwise
required, during the term of this Agreement.
9. Payment of
Expenses.
(a) The
Company will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations
under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation, filing, including any
fees required by the Commission, and printing of the Registration Statement
(including financial statements and exhibits) as originally filed and of each
amendment and supplement thereto and each Free Writing Prospectus, in such
number as MLV shall deem necessary, (ii) the printing and delivery to MLV of
this Agreement and such other documents as may be required in connection with
the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Placement Shares,
(iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates, if any,
for the Placement Shares to MLV, including any stock or other transfer taxes and
any capital duties, stamp duties or other duties or taxes payable upon the sale,
issuance or delivery of the Placement Shares to MLV, (iv) the fees and
disbursements of the counsel, accountants and other advisors to the Company,
(v) the reasonable fees and disbursements of the counsel to MLV, (vi)
the fees and expenses of the transfer agent and registrar for the Common Stock,
(vii) the filing fees incident to any review by FINRA of the terms of the
sale of the Placement Shares, and (viii) the fees and expenses incurred in
connection with the listing of the Placement Shares on the
Exchange.
24
(b) If
Placement Shares having aggregate proceeds of 1/2 of the Maximum Amount or
more have not been offered and sold under this Agreement by September 30,
2011 (or such earlier date at which the Company terminates this Agreement), the
Company shall reimburse MLV for its reasonable out-of-pocket expenses,
including the reasonable fees and disbursements of a counsel for
MLV incurred by it in connection with the transactions contemplated
by this Agreement. The amount of expenses reimbursable shall be
calculated by multiplying a fraction, whereby the numerator is one-half of the
Maximum Amount less the number of
Placement Shares sold by September 30, 2011, and the denominator is one-half of
the Maximum Amount, times the total amount of out-of-pocket expenses (less any
amount paid under Section 9(a)(v)).
(c) Notwithstanding
the foregoing, MLV shall obtain the Company’s prior written consent prior to
incurring any individual expense in excess of $1,000. Additionally,
the Company shall only be required to reimburse MLV for its out-of-pocket
expenses pursuant to this Section 9 up to $25,000 in the aggregate.
10. Conditions to MLV’s
Obligations. The obligations of MLV hereunder with respect to
a Placement will be subject to the continuing accuracy and completeness of the
representations and warranties made by the Company herein, to the due
performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, to the completion by
MLV of a due diligence review satisfactory to it in its reasonable judgment, and
to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by MLV in its sole discretion) of the
following additional conditions:
(a) Registration Statement
Effective. The Registration Statement shall have become
effective and shall be available for the (i) resale of all Placement Shares
issued to MLV and not yet sold by MLV and (ii) sale of all Placement Shares
contemplated to be issued by any Placement Notice.
(b) No Material
Notices. None of the following events shall have occurred and
be continuing: (i) receipt by the Company of any request for additional
information from the Commission or any other federal or state governmental
authority during the period of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the
response to which would require any post-effective amendments or supplements to
the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; (ii) the issuance by the
Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority of any stop
order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the
initiation of any proceedings for that purpose; (iii) receipt by the
Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification
or exemption from qualification of any of the Placement Shares for sale in any
jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such
purpose; or (iv) the occurrence of any event that makes any material
statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any material
document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference untrue
in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the
Registration Statement, the Prospectus or documents so that, in the case of the
Registration Statement, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a
material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein
or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and, that in the case
of the Prospectus, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a
material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein
or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading.
25
(c) No Misstatement or Material
Omission. MLV shall not have advised the Company that the
Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto,
contains an untrue statement of fact that in MLV’s reasonable opinion is
material, or omits to state a fact that in MLV’s opinion is material and is
required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not
misleading.
(d) Material
Changes. Except as contemplated in the Prospectus, or
disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the Commission, there shall not
have been any material adverse change, on a consolidated basis, in the
authorized capital stock of the Company or any Material Adverse Effect, or any
development that could reasonably be expected to cause a Material Adverse
Effect, or a downgrading in or withdrawal of the rating assigned to any of the
Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities) by any rating
organization or a public announcement by any rating organization that it has
under surveillance or review its rating of any of the Company’s securities
(other than asset backed securities), the effect of which, in the case of any
such action by a rating organization described above, in the reasonable judgment
of MLV (without relieving the Company of any obligation or liability it may
otherwise have), is so material as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to
proceed with the offering of the Placement Shares on the terms and in the manner
contemplated in the Prospectus.
(e) Legal
Opinion. MLV shall have received the opinions of Company
Counsel required to be delivered pursuant Section 7(m) on or before the date on
which such delivery of such opinions are required pursuant to Section
7(m).
(f) Comfort
Letter. MLV shall have received the Comfort Letter required to
be delivered pursuant Section 7(n) on or before the date on which such delivery
of such letter is required pursuant to Section 7(n).
(g) Representation
Certificate. MLV shall have received the certificate required
to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(l) on or before the date on which delivery
of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 7(l).
(h) No
Suspension. Trading in the Common Stock shall not have been
suspended on the Exchange and the Common Stock shall not have been delisted from
the Exchange.
26
(i) Other
Materials. On each date on which the Company is required to
deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(l), the Company shall have furnished
to MLV such appropriate further information, certificates and documents as MLV
may reasonably request. All such opinions, certificates, letters and
other documents will be in compliance with the provisions hereof. The
Company will furnish MLV with such conformed copies of such opinions,
certificates, letters and other documents as MLV shall reasonably
request.
(j) Securities Act Filings
Made. All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424
under the Securities Act to have been filed prior to the issuance of any
Placement Notice hereunder shall have been made within the applicable time
period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424.
(k) Approval for
Listing. The Placement Shares shall either have been approved
for listing on the Exchange, subject only to notice of issuance, or the Company
shall have filed an application for listing of the Placement Shares on the
Exchange at, or prior to, the issuance of any Placement Notice.
(l) No Termination
Event. There shall not have occurred any event that would
permit MLV to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 12(a).
11. Indemnification and
Contribution.
(a) Company
Indemnification. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold
harmless MLV, its partners, members, directors, officers, employees and agents
and each person, if any, who controls MLV within the meaning of Section 15
of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act as
follows:
(i) against
any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred,
joint or several, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged
untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or
any amendment thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements
therein not misleading, or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue
statement of a material fact included in any related Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the
omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to
make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they
were made, not misleading;
(ii) against
any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred,
joint or several, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of
any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or
body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such
untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission;
provided that (subject to Section 11(d) below) any such settlement is effected
with the written consent of the Company, which consent shall not unreasonably be
delayed or withheld; and
(iii) against
any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and
disbursements of counsel), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or
defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any
governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever
based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue
statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under
(i) or (ii) above,
27
provided, however, that this
indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or
expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged
untrue statement or omission made solely in reliance upon and in conformity with
written information furnished to the Company by MLV expressly for use in the
Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or in any related Issuer Free
Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement
thereto).
(b) MLV
Indemnification. MLV agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the
Company and its directors and each officer of the Company who signed the
Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the
Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of
the Exchange Act or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with
the Company against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense
described in the indemnity contained in Section 11(c), as incurred, but only
with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or
omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendments thereto) or the
Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in
conformity with information relating to MLV and furnished to the Company in
writing by MLV expressly for use therein.
(c) Procedure. Any
party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section 11
will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against
such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against an indemnifying
party or parties under this Section 11, notify each such indemnifying party of
the commencement of such action, enclosing a copy of all papers served, but the
omission so to notify such indemnifying party will not relieve the indemnifying
party from (i) any liability that it might have to any indemnified party
otherwise than under this Section 11 and (ii) any liability that it may
have to any indemnified party under the foregoing provision of this Section 11
unless, and only to the extent that, such omission results in the forfeiture of
substantive rights or defenses by the indemnifying party. If any such
action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the indemnifying
party of its commencement, the indemnifying party will be entitled to
participate in and, to the extent that it elects by delivering written notice to
the indemnified party promptly after receiving notice of the commencement of the
action from the indemnified party, jointly with any other indemnifying party
similarly notified, to assume the defense of the action, with counsel reasonably
satisfactory to the indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying
party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense, the
indemnifying party will not be liable to the indemnified party for any legal or
other expenses except as provided below and except for the reasonable costs of
investigation subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with
the defense. The indemnified party will have the right to employ its
own counsel in any such action, but the fees, expenses and other charges of such
counsel will be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (1) the
employment of counsel by the indemnified party has been authorized in writing by
the indemnifying party, (2) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded
(based on advice of counsel) that there may be legal defenses available to it or
other indemnified parties that are different from or in addition to those
available to the indemnifying party, (3) a conflict or potential conflict
exists (based on advice of counsel to the indemnified party) between the
indemnified party and the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying
party will not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of
the indemnified party) or (4) the indemnifying party has not in fact
employed counsel to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time
after receiving notice of the commencement of the action, in each of which cases
the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel will be at the
expense of the indemnifying party or parties. It is understood that
the indemnifying party or parties shall not, in connection with any proceeding
or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable
fees, disbursements and other charges of more than one separate firm admitted to
practice in such jurisdiction at any one time for all such indemnified party or
parties. All such fees, disbursements and other charges will be
reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly after the indemnifying party
receives a written invoice relating to fees, disbursements and other charges in
reasonable detail. An indemnifying party will not, in any event, be liable for
any settlement of any action or claim effected without its written
consent. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written
consent of each indemnified party, settle or compromise or consent to the entry
of any judgment in any pending or threatened claim, action or proceeding
relating to the matters contemplated by this Section 11 (whether or not any
indemnified party is a party thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or
consent (1) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party
from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or
claim and (2) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault,
culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified
party.
28
(d) Settlement Without Consent
if Failure to Reimburse. If an indemnified party
shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party
for reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for which it is entitled to be
reimbursed under this Section 11, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall
be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 11(a)(ii)
effected without its written consent if (1) such settlement is entered into
more than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid
request, (2) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the
terms of such settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered
into and (3) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such
indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such
settlement.
29
(e) Contribution. In
order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which
the indemnification provided for in the foregoing paragraphs of this Section 11
is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be
unavailable from the Company or MLV, the Company and MLV will contribute to the
total losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any
investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with,
and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any
claim asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by the Company
from persons other than MLV, such as persons who control the Company within the
meaning of the Securities Act, officers of the Company who signed the
Registration Statement and directors of the Company, who also may be liable for
contribution) to which the Company and MLV may be subject in such proportion as
shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on
the one hand and MLV on the other hand. The relative benefits
received by the Company on the one hand and MLV on the other hand shall be
deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the sale of
the Placement Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to
the total compensation received by MLV (before deducting expenses) from the sale
of Placement Shares on behalf of the Company. If, but only if, the
allocation provided by the foregoing sentence is not permitted by applicable
law, the allocation of contribution shall be made in such proportion as is
appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in the
foregoing sentence but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand,
and MLV, on the other hand, with respect to the statements or omission that
resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action in respect
thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations with respect to
such offering. Such relative fault shall be determined by reference
to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a
material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates
to information supplied by the Company or MLV, the intent of the parties and
their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or
prevent such statement or omission. The Company and MLV agree that it
would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 11(e)
were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of
allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred
to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a
result of the loss, claim, liability, expense, or damage, or action in respect
thereof, referred to above in this Section 11(e) shall be deemed to include, for
the purpose of this Section 11(e), any legal or other expenses reasonably
incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending
any such action or claim to the extent consistent with Section 11(c)
hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section
11(e), MLV shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the
commissions received by it under this Agreement and no person found guilty of
fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the
Securities Act) will be entitled to contribution from any person who was not
guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this
Section 11(e), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the
meaning of the Securities Act, and any officers, directors, partners, employees
or agents of MLV, will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and
each officer and director of the Company who signed the Registration Statement
will have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case
to the provisions hereof. Any party entitled to contribution,
promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such
party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made under this
Section 11(e), will notify any such party or parties from whom contribution may
be sought, but the omission to so notify will not relieve that party or parties
from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may
have under this Section 11(e) except to the extent that the failure to so notify
such other party materially prejudiced the substantive rights or defenses of the
party from whom contribution is sought. Except for a settlement
entered into pursuant to the last sentence of Section 11(c) hereof, no party
will be liable for contribution with respect to any action or claim settled
without its written consent if such consent is required pursuant to Section
11(c) hereof.
12. Representations and
Agreements to Survive Delivery. The indemnity and contribution
agreements contained in Section 11 of this Agreement and all representations and
warranties of the Company herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto
shall survive, as of their respective dates, regardless of (i) any
investigation made by or on behalf of MLV, any controlling persons, or the
Company (or any of their respective officers, directors or controlling persons),
(ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement Shares and payment therefor
or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.
30
13. Termination.
(a) MLV
may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, as hereinafter specified
at any time (1) if there has been, since the time of execution of this
Agreement or since the date as of which information is given in the Prospectus,
any change, or any development or event involving a prospective change, in the
condition, financial or otherwise, or in the business, properties, earnings,
results of operations or prospects of the Company and its Subsidiaries
considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of
business, which individually or in the aggregate, in the sole judgment of MLV is
material and adverse and makes it impractical or inadvisable to market the
Placement Shares or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Placement Shares,
(2) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial
markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any
outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any
change or development involving a prospective change in national or
international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the
effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of MLV, impracticable or
inadvisable to market the Placement Shares or to enforce contracts for the sale
of the Placement Shares, (3) if trading in the Common Stock has been
suspended or limited by the Commission or the Exchange, or if trading generally
on the Exchange has been suspended or limited, or minimum prices for trading
have been fixed on the Exchange, (4) if any suspension of trading of any
securities of the Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market
shall have occurred and be continuing, (5) if a major disruption of securities
settlements or clearance services in the United States shall have occurred and
be continuing, or (6) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either
U.S. Federal or New York authorities. Any such termination shall be
without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of
Section 9 (Expenses), Section 11 (Indemnification), Section 12 (Survival of
Representations), Section 18 (Applicable Law; Waiver of Jury Trial) and Section
19 (Consent to Jurisdiction) hereof shall remain in full force and effect
notwithstanding such termination. If MLV elects to terminate this
Agreement as provided in this Section 13(a), MLV shall provide the required
notice as specified in Section 14 (Notices).
(b) The
Company shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days notice as
hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any
time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be
without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of
Section 9, Section 11, Section 12, Section 18 and Section 19 hereof shall remain
in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(c) MLV
shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days notice as hereinafter specified to
terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of
this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of
any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 9, Section
11, Section 12, Section 18 and Section 19 hereof shall remain in full force and
effect notwithstanding such termination.
(d) Unless
earlier terminated pursuant to this Section 13, this Agreement shall
automatically terminate upon the issuance and sale of all of the Placement
Shares through MLV on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein
except that the provisions of Section 9, Section 11, Section 11, Section 12,
Section 18 and Section 19 hereof shall remain in full force and effect
notwithstanding such termination.
31
(e) This
Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to
Sections 13(a), (b), (c), or (d) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the
parties; provided, however, that any such termination by mutual agreement shall
in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 9, Section 11, Section 12,
Section 18 and Section 19 shall remain in full force and effect. Upon
termination of this Agreement, the Company shall not have any liability to MLV
for any discount, commission or other compensation with respect to any Shares
not otherwise sold by MLV under this Agreement.
(f) Any
termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such
notice of termination; provided, however, that such termination shall not be
effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by
MLV or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall
occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Placement Shares, such
Placement Shares shall settle in accordance with the provisions of this
Agreement.
14. Notices. All
notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by any party
to any other party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be in writing,
unless otherwise specified, and if sent to MLV, shall be delivered
to:
XxXxxxxx,
Xxxxx & Vlak LLC
000
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
XX 00000
Attention: General
Counsel
Facsimile:
(000) 000-0000
with a
copy to:
|
Holme
Xxxxxxx & Xxxx LLP
|
|
0000
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
|
|
Xxxxxx,
XX 00000
|
Attention:
|
Xxxxx
X. Xxxxxx, Esq.
|
Facsimile:
|
(000)
000-0000
|
and if to
the Company, shall be delivered to:
Senesco
Technologies, Inc.
000
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 000
Xxx
Xxxxxxxxx, XX 00000
Attention:
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Ph.D., President and
CEO
Facsimile:
(000) 000-0000
with a
copy to:
Xxxxxx,
Xxxxx & Xxxxxxx LLP
000
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxx,
XX 00000
Attention:
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Esq.
Facsimile:
(000) 000-0000
32
Each
party to this Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the
parties to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such
purpose. Each such notice or other communication shall be deemed
given (i) when delivered personally or by verifiable facsimile transmission
(with an original to follow) on or before 4:30 p.m., New York City time, on
a Business Day or, if such day is not a Business Day, on the next succeeding
Business Day, (ii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a
nationally-recognized overnight courier and (iii) on the Business Day
actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail,
return receipt requested, postage prepaid). For purposes of this
Agreement, “Business
Day” shall mean any day on which the Exchange and commercial banks in the
City of New York are open for business.
An
electronic communication (“Electronic Notice”)
shall be deemed written notice for purposes of this Section 14 if sent to the
electronic mail address specified by the receiving party under separate
cover. Electronic Notice shall be deemed received at the time the
party sending Electronic Notice receives confirmation of receipt by the
receiving party. Any party receiving Electronic Notice may request
and shall be entitled to receive the notice on paper, in a nonelectronic form
(“Nonelectronic
Notice”) which shall be sent to the requesting party within ten (10) days
of receipt of the written request for Nonelectronic Notice.
15. Successors and
Assigns. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be
binding upon the Company and MLV and their respective successors and the
affiliates, controlling persons, officers and directors referred to in Section
11 hereof. References to any of the parties contained in this
Agreement shall be deemed to include the successors and permitted assigns of
such party. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is
intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto or their
respective successors and permitted assigns any rights, remedies, obligations or
liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided
in this Agreement. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations
under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other
party.
16. Adjustments for Stock
Splits. The parties acknowledge and agree that all
share-related numbers contained in this Agreement shall be adjusted to take into
account any share consolidation, stock split, stock dividend, corporate
domestication or similar event effected with respect to the Placement
Shares.
17. Entire Agreement; Amendment;
Severability. This Agreement (including all schedules and
exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto)
constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and
contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the
parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. Neither this
Agreement nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written
instrument executed by the Company and MLV. In the event that any one
or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any
circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable as written by a court of
competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be given full force and effect
to the fullest possible extent that it is valid, legal and enforceable, and the
remainder of the terms and provisions herein shall be construed as if such
invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision was not contained herein,
but only to the extent that giving effect to such provision and the remainder of
the terms and provisions hereof shall be in accordance with the intent of the
parties as reflected in this Agreement.
33
18. GOVERNING LAW AND TIME;
WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND
CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO
THE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAWS. SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK
CITY TIME. THE COMPANY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT
PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL
PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS
CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
19. CONSENT
TO JURISDICTION. EACH
PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY SUBMITS TO THE NON-EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE STATE
AND FEDERAL COURTS SITTING IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN, FOR
THE ADJUDICATION OF ANY DISPUTE HEREUNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY TRANSACTION
CONTEMPLATED HEREBY, AND HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, AND AGREES NOT TO ASSERT IN
ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING, ANY CLAIM THAT IT IS NOT PERSONALLY SUBJECT TO
THE JURISDICTION OF ANY SUCH COURT, THAT SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING IS
BROUGHT IN AN INCONVENIENT FORUM OR THAT THE VENUE OF SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR
PROCEEDING IS IMPROPER. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES PERSONAL
SERVICE OF PROCESS AND CONSENTS TO PROCESS BEING SERVED IN ANY SUCH SUIT, ACTION
OR PROCEEDING BY MAILING A COPY THEREOF (CERTIFIED OR REGISTERED MAIL, RETURN
RECEIPT REQUESTED) TO SUCH PARTY AT THE ADDRESS IN EFFECT FOR NOTICES TO IT
UNDER THIS AGREEMENT AND AGREES THAT SUCH SERVICE SHALL CONSTITUTE GOOD AND
SUFFICIENT SERVICE OF PROCESS AND NOTICE THEREOF. NOTHING CONTAINED
HEREIN SHALL BE DEEMED TO LIMIT IN ANY WAY ANY RIGHT TO SERVE PROCESS IN ANY
MANNER PERMITTED BY LAW.
20. Use of
Information. MLV may not use any information gained in
connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement, including due diligence, to advise any party with respect to
transactions not expressly approved by the Company.
21. Counterparts. This
Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be
deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same
instrument. Delivery of an executed Agreement by one party to the
other may be made by facsimile transmission.
34
22. Effect of
Headings.
The
section and Exhibit headings herein are for convenience only and shall not
affect the construction hereof.
23. Permitted Free Writing
Prospectuses.
The
Company represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior
consent of MLV, and MLV represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains
the prior consent of the Company, it has not made and will not make any offer
relating to the Placement Shares that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as
defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the
Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by MLV or
by the Company, as the case may be, is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted
Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents and warrants that it
has treated and agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus
as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has
complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to
any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the
Commission where required, legending and record keeping. For the
purposes of clarity, the parties hereto agree that all free writing
prospectuses, if any, listed in Exhibit 23
hereto are Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses.
24. Absence of Fiduciary
Relationship.
The Company acknowledges and agrees
that:
(a) MLV
is acting solely as agent in connection with the public offering of the
Placement Shares and in connection with each transaction contemplated by this
Agreement and the process leading to such transactions, and no fiduciary or
advisory relationship between the Company or any of its respective affiliates,
stockholders (or other equity holders), creditors or employees or any other
party, on the one hand, and MLV, on the other hand, has been or will be created
in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement,
irrespective of whether or not MLV has advised or is advising the Company on
other matters, and MLV has no obligation to the Company with respect to the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement except the obligations expressly set
forth in this Agreement;
(b) it
is capable of evaluating and understanding, and understands and accepts, the
terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement;
(c) MLV
has not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and it has consulted its own
legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed
appropriate;
(d) it
is aware that MLV and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of
transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company
and MLV has no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the
Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship or
otherwise; and
35
(e) it
waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against
MLV for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty in
connection with the sale of Placement Shares under this Agreement and agrees
that MLV shall not have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract,
tort or otherwise) to it in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any
person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on its behalf or in right of it or the
Company, employees or creditors of Company, other than in respect of MLV’s
obligations under this Agreement and to keep information provided by the Company
to MLV and MLV's counsel confidential to the extent not otherwise
publicly-available.
25. Definitions.
As used
in this Agreement, the following terms have the respective meanings set forth
below:
“Applicable Time”
means (i) each Representation Date and (ii) the time of each sale of any
Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement.
“Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in
Rule 433, relating to the Placement Shares that (1) is required to be
filed with the Commission by the Company, (2) is a “road show” that is a
“written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i) whether or
not required to be filed with the Commission, or (3) is exempt from filing
pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the
Placement Shares or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, in
each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if
not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant
to Rule 433(g) under the Securities Act Regulations.
“Rule 163,” “Rule 164,” “Rule 172,” “Rule 405,” “Rule 415,” “Rule 424,” “Rule 424(b),”
“Rule 430B,” and
“Rule 433”
refer to such rules under the Securities Act Regulations.
All
references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other
information that is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be
deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other
information that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or
the Prospectus, as the case may be.
All
references in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or
any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include
the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to XXXXX; all references in this
Agreement to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (other than any Issuer Free
Writing Prospectuses that, pursuant to Rule 433, are not required to be
filed with the Commission) shall be deemed to include the copy thereof filed
with the Commission pursuant to XXXXX; and all references in this Agreement to
“supplements” to the Prospectus shall include, without limitation, any
supplements, “wrappers” or similar materials prepared in connection with any
offering, sale or private placement of any Placement Shares by MLV outside of
the United States.
36
If the
foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and MLV,
please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this
letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and
MLV.
Very
truly yours,
|
|
SENESCO
TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
|
|
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx |
Name:
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
|
|
Title:
President and CEO
|
ACCEPTED
as of the date first-above written:
|
|
XXXXXXXX, XXXXX
& VLAK LLC
|
|
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxxx XxXxxxxx |
Name: Xxxxxxx
XxXxxxxx
|
|
Title:
President
|
SCHEDULE
1
_________________________________
FORM
OF PLACEMENT NOTICE
_________________________________
From:
|
Senesco
Technologies, Inc.
|
To:
|
XxXxxxxx,
Xxxxx & Vlak LLC
|
Attention:
Xxxxxxx XxXxxxxx
|
|
Subject:
|
At
Market Issuance—Placement
Notice
|
Gentlemen:
Pursuant
to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the At Market Issuance
Sales Agreement between Senesco Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the
“Company”) and
XxXxxxxx, Xxxxx & Vlak LLC (“MLV”), dated December
22, 2010, the Company hereby requests that MLV sell up to ____________ of the
Company’s Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share, at a minimum market price of
$_______ per share, during the time period beginning [month, day, time] and
ending [month, day, time].
SCHEDULE
2
__________________________
Compensation
__________________________
The
Company shall pay to MLV in cash, upon each sale of Placement Shares pursuant to
this Agreement, an amount equal to up to 6% of the gross proceeds from the sale
of such Placement Shares.
SCHEDULE
3
__________________________
Notice
Parties
__________________________
The
Company
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Ph.D.
Xxxx Xxxxxx
MLV
Xxxxxxx XxXxxxxx
Xxxx Xxxx
Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
SCHEDULE
4
__________________________
Subsidiaries
__________________________
Senesco,
Inc., a New Jersey corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the
Company.
EXHIBIT
7(l)
Form
of Representation Date Certificate
This
Officers Certificate (this “Certificate”) is
executed and delivered in connection with Section 7(l) of the At Market Issuance
Sales Agreement (the “Agreement”), dated
December 22, 2010, and entered into between Senesco Technologies, Inc. (the
“Company”) and
XxXxxxxx, Xxxxx & Vlak LLC. All capitalized terms used but not
defined herein shall have the meanings given to such terms in the
Agreement
The
undersigned, a duly appointed and authorized officer of the Company, having made
reasonable inquiries to establish the accuracy of the statements below and
having been authorized by the Company to execute this certificate on behalf of
the Company, hereby certifies as follows:
1. As
of the date of this Certificate, (i) the Registration Statement does not contain
any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements
therein not misleading and (ii) neither the Registration Statement nor the
Prospectus contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the
statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made,
not misleading and (iii) no event has occurred as a result of which it is
necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to make the statements
therein not untrue or misleading for (i) and (ii) to be true.
2. Each
of the representations and warranties of the Company contained in the Agreement
were, when originally made, and are, as of the date of this Certificate, true
and correct in all material respects.
3. Except
as waived by MLV in writing, each of the covenants required to be performed by
the Company in the Agreement on or prior to the date of the Agreement, this
Representation Date, and each such other date prior to the date hereof as set
forth in the Agreement, has been duly, timely and fully performed in all
material respects and each condition required to be complied with by the Company
on or prior to the date of the Agreement, this Representation Date, and each
such other date prior to the date hereof as set forth in the Agreement has been
duly, timely and fully complied with in all material respects.
4. Subsequent
to the date of the most recent financial statements in the Prospectus, and
except as described in the Prospectus, including Incorporated Documents, there
has been no material adverse change.
5. No
stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any
part thereof has been issued, and no proceedings for that purpose have been
instituted or are pending or threatened by any securities or other governmental
authority (including, without limitation, the Commission).
6. No
order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the
qualification or registration of the Placement Shares under the securities or
Blue Sky laws of any jurisdiction are in effect and no proceeding for such
purpose is pending before, or threatened, to the Company's knowledge or in
writing by, any securities or other governmental authority (including, without
limitation, the Commission).
The undersigned has executed this
Officer's Certificate as of the date first written above.
SENESCO
TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
|
|
By:
|
|
Name:
|
|
Title:
|
43
EXHIBIT
7(m)
1. The
Company is a corporation duly formed and validly existing in good standing under
the laws of the State of Delaware.
2. The
Company has the corporate power to own its properties and engage in its business
as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus
Supplement.
3. The
issuance and sale by the Company of the Placement Shares will not violate the
Company's articles of incorporation or by-laws.
4. The
execution and delivery by the Company of, and the performance by the Company of
its obligations under the Sales Agreement has been duly authorized by all
necessary corporate action on the part of the Company.
5. No
authorization or consent of or notice to any governmental authority is required
in connection with the issue and sale of the Placement Shares.
6. There
are no pre-emptive or other rights to subscribe for or purchase, or any
restriction on the voting or transfer of, the common shares of the Company
pursuant to the Company's certificate and articles of incorporation or by-laws,
except for the provision in the Company's by-laws that provides that the Company
may refuse to register a transfer of all or part of the shares held by a
shareholder where that shareholder has defaulted in the payment of any interest
and/or principal due in respect of any indebtedness owing by such shareholder to
the Company when same becomes due and payable and continues in such default for
a period of 30 days after notice in writing thereof has been given by the
Company to such shareholder.
7. The
Placement Shares have been validly created and allotted and, when issued to the
Purchasers in accordance with the terms of the Sales Agreement, will be validly
issued and outstanding as fully paid and non-assessable common shares of the
Company.
8. The
Company is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation in each
jurisdiction in which the Company owns any material property or conducts any
material business or in which the failure to be qualified as a
foreign corporation would have a Material Adverse Effect.
9. The
issuance and sale by the Company of the Placement Shares will not (i) breach or
result in a default by the Company under any agreement included as an exhibit to
the Registration Statement or as an exhibit to any report filed by the Company
with the Commission pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Xxx 0000 (the
“Exchange Act”) and expressly incorporated by reference into the Registration
Statement; or (ii) violate any applicable U.S. statute, law, rule or regulation,
or any decree, judgment or order specifically naming the Company (other than
state and foreign securities or blue sky laws of the various jurisdictions in
which the Placement Shares may be offered) except in the case of clause (ii) for
such violations that individually or in the aggregate could not be reasonably
expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
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10.
To our knowledge, there is no indenture, contract, lease, mortgage, deed of
trust, note agreement, loan or other agreement or instrument of a character
required to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, which is not
filed as required by the Securities Act and the rules and regulations
thereunder.
11.
No approval, authorization or other action by or filing with any governmental
authority is required on the part of the Company to permit the Company to issue
and sell the Placement Shares, except for such as have been duly obtained or
made or as may be required under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, blue sky
laws of any state, the NYSE Amex rules, or the rules and regulations of the
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).
12. To
our knowledge, except as described in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus
Supplement or the Incorporated Documents, including the exhibits filed in
connection therewith, there are no persons with registration rights or other
similar rights to have any securities of the Company registered pursuant to the
Registration Statement.
13. The
Registration Statement, Base Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement (other
than the financial statements and schedules and other financial data included or
incorporated by reference therein, as to which we express no opinion), as of
their respective effective and issue dates, complied as to form in all material
respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules
and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
14. Each
Transaction Document executed by the Company constitutes the valid and binding
agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its
terms.
15. The
Company is not subject to regulation as an “investment company” under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
The
opinion of counsel will be accompanied by a negative assurances
letter.
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EXHIBIT
23
Permitted
Free Writing Prospectuses
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