AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER
Exhibit 2.1
EXECUTION COPY
by and among
ALBERTON
ACQUISITION CORPORATION,
as the Purchaser,
ALBERTON
MERGER SUBSIDIARY, INC.,
as Merger Sub,
and
SOLARMAX
TECHNOLOGY, INC.
as the Company,
Dated October 27, 2020
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page | |
I. MERGER | 2 |
1.1. Merger | 2 |
1.2. Effective Time | 2 |
1.3. Effect of the Merger | 2 |
1.4. Tax Treatment | 2 |
1.5. Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws | 3 |
1.6. Directors and Officers of the Surviving Corporation | 3 |
1.7. Domestication of the Purchaser | 3 |
1.8. Merger Consideration | 3 |
1.9. Effect of Merger on Company Securities | 3 |
1.10. Surrender of Company Securities and Disbursement of Merger Consideration | 4 |
1.11. Right of Appraisal | 6 |
1.12. Effect of Transaction on Merger Sub Stock | 6 |
1.13. Taking of Necessary Action; Further Action | 6 |
II. CLOSING | 7 |
2.1. Closing | 7 |
III. representations and warranties of THE purchaser | 7 |
3.1. Organization and Standing | 7 |
3.2. Authorization; Binding Agreement | 8 |
3.3. Governmental Approvals | 8 |
3.4. Non-Contravention | 8 |
3.5. Capitalization | 9 |
3.6. SEC Filings and Purchaser Financials | 10 |
3.7. Absence of Certain Changes | 11 |
3.8. Compliance with Laws | 11 |
3.9. Actions; Orders; Permits | 11 |
3.10. Taxes and Returns | 11 |
3.11. Employees and Employee Benefit Plans | 12 |
3.12. Properties | 12 |
3.13. Material Contracts | 12 |
3.14. Transactions with Affiliates | 13 |
3.15. Investment Company Act | 13 |
3.16. Finders and Brokers | 13 |
3.17. Ownership of Stockholder Merger Consideration | 13 |
3.18. Certain Business Practices | 13 |
3.19. Insurance | 14 |
3.20. Independent Investigation | 14 |
3.21. Information Supplied | 14 |
Iv. representations and warranties of THE COMPANY | 15 |
4.1. Organization and Standing | 15 |
4.2. Authorization; Binding Agreement | 15 |
4.3. Capitalization | 16 |
4.4. Subsidiaries | 17 |
4.5. Governmental Approvals | 17 |
4.6. Non-Contravention | 18 |
4.7. Financial Statements | 18 |
4.8. Absence of Certain Changes | 19 |
4.9. Compliance with Laws | 19 |
i
4.10. Company Permits | 19 |
4.11. Litigation | 20 |
4.12. Material Contracts | 20 |
4.13. Intellectual Property | 20 |
4.14. Taxes and Returns | 22 |
4.15. Real Property | 23 |
4.16. Personal Property | 24 |
4.17. Title to and Sufficiency of Assets | 24 |
4.18. Employee Matters | 24 |
4.19. Benefit Plans | 25 |
4.20. Environmental Matters | 26 |
4.21. Transactions with Related Persons | 27 |
4.22. Insurance | 27 |
4.23. Top Customers and Suppliers | 28 |
4.24. Certain Business Practices | 28 |
4.25. Investment Company Act | 28 |
4.26. Finders and Brokers | 28 |
4.27. Independent Investigation | 28 |
4.28. Information Supplied | 29 |
V. COVENANTS | 29 |
5.1. Access and Information | 29 |
5.2. Conduct of Business of the Company | 30 |
5.3. Conduct of Business of the Purchaser | 32 |
5.4. Annual and Interim Financial Statements | 34 |
5.5. Purchaser Public Filings | 34 |
5.6. No Solicitation | 34 |
5.7. No Trading | 35 |
5.8. Notification of Certain Matters | 35 |
5.9. Efforts | 36 |
5.10. Tax Matters | 37 |
5.11. Further Assurances | 37 |
5.12. Extensions | 37 |
5.13. The Registration Statement | 38 |
5.14. [Deleted] | 41 |
5.15. Public Announcements | 41 |
5.16. Confidential Information | 41 |
5.17. Post-Closing Board of Directors and Executive Officers | 42 |
5.18. Indemnification of Directors and Officers; Tail Insurance | 43 |
5.19. Trust Account Proceeds | 44 |
VI. Closing conditions | 44 |
6.1. Conditions to Each Party’s Obligations | 44 |
6.2. Conditions to Obligations of the Company | 45 |
6.3. Conditions to Obligations of the Purchaser | 46 |
6.4. Frustration of Conditions | 47 |
VII. TERMINATION AND EXPENSES | 48 |
7.1. Termination | 48 |
7.2. Effect of Termination | 49 |
7.3. Fees and Expenses | 49 |
ii
VIII. WAIVERS and releases | 50 |
8.1. Waiver of Claims Against Trust | 50 |
Ix. MISCELLANEOUS | 51 |
9.1. Notices | 51 |
9.2. Binding Effect; Assignment | 51 |
9.3. Third Parties | 52 |
9.4. Arbitration | 52 |
9.5. Governing Law; Jurisdiction | 52 |
9.6. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL | 53 |
9.7. Specific Performance | 53 |
9.8. Severability | 53 |
9.9. Amendment | 53 |
9.10. Waiver | 54 |
9.11. Entire Agreement | 54 |
9.12. Interpretation | 54 |
9.13. Counterparts | 55 |
9.14. Non-Survival of Representations, Warranties | 55 |
X DEFINITIONS | 55 |
10.1. Certain Definitions | 55 |
10.2. Section References | 65 |
INDEX OF EXHIBITS
Exhibit | Description | |
Exhibit A-1 | Form of Company Voting Agreement | |
Exhibit A-2 | Form of Sponsor Voting Agreement | |
Exhibit B-1 | Form of Organizational Documents of the Purchaser after the Domestication | |
Exhibit B-2… | Form of Organizational Documents of the Purchaser after the Merger | |
Exhibit C | Form of Lock-Up Agreement |
iii
This Agreement and Plan of Merger (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into October 27, 2020, by and among (i) Alberton Acquisition Corporation, a British Virgin Island corporation (together with its successors, including, following its continuation as a Nevada corporation after the Domestication (as defined below) after the Domestication (as defined below), the “Purchaser”), (ii) Alberton Merger Subsidiary Inc., a Nevada corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Purchaser (“Merger Sub”), and (iii) SolarMax Technology, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”). The Purchaser, Merger Sub, and the Company are sometimes referred to herein individually as a “Party” and, collectively, as the “Parties”.
RECITALS:
A. The Company, directly and indirectly through its subsidiaries, is an integrated solar energy company that among other related activities, identifies and procures solar farm system projects for resale to third party developers and related services in the People’s Republic of China (“China”), provides engineering, procuring and construction services for solar farms and residential and commercial photovoltaic systems; providing exterior and interior light-emitting diodes, known as LED, lighting sales and retrofitting services for governmental and commercial applications;
B. The Purchaser owns all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Merger Sub, which was formed for the sole purpose of the Merger (as defined below);
C. At least one day prior to the consummation of the Merger, the Purchaser shall redomicile as Nevada corporation by way of its continuation out of the British Virgin Islands to Nevada under Section 184 of the Companies Act, and the applicable provisions of the Chapter 78 of the Nevada Revised Statutes (“Nevada Corporate Law”) and the applicable provisions of the Chapter 92A of the Nevada Revised Statutes (“Nevada M&A Law,” together with Nevada Corporate Law, the “Nevada Law”), and shall no longer be considered as a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands;
D. The Parties intend to effect the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving entity (the “Merger”), as a result of which (i) all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company immediately prior to the Effective Time, shall no longer be outstanding and shall automatically be cancelled and shall cease to exist, in exchange for the right for each Company Stockholder to receive its portion of the Stockholder Merger Consideration (as defined herein), (ii) the Company Options (as defined herein) shall be assumed (with equitable adjustments to the number and exercise price of such assumed Company Options) by Purchaser with the result that such assumed Company Options shall be replaced with Assumed Options (as defined herein) exercisable into shares of Purchaser Common Stock, all upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Nevada Law, all in accordance with the terms of this Agreement;
E. The boards of directors of the Company, the Purchaser and Merger Sub have each (i) determined that the Merger is fair, advisable and in the best interests of their respective companies and stockholders, (ii) approved this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Merger, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, and (iii) determined to recommend to their respective stockholders the approval and adoption of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Merger;
1
F. The Purchaser has received voting and support agreements in the form attached as Exhibit A-1 hereto (collectively, the “Voting Agreements”) signed by the Company and certain holders of Company Stock (as defined herein);
G. The Company has received voting and support agreements in the form attached as Exhibit A-2 hereto (collectively, the “Sponsor Voting Agreements”) signed by Purchaser and each of the Sponsor and the Insider;
H. The Parties intend that the Merger will qualify as a tax-free “reorganization” for purposes of Sections 354 and 361 of the Code and that the Purchaser, the Company and Merger Sub will each be a “party to the Reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code (as defined herein); and
I. Certain capitalized terms used herein are defined in Article X hereof.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises set forth above, which are incorporated in this Agreement as if fully set forth below, and the representations, warranties, covenants and agreements contained in this Agreement, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the Parties hereto agree as follows:
Article
I
MERGER
1.1 Merger. At the Effective Time, and subject to and upon the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including Section 5.10, and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Nevada Law, Merger Sub and the Company shall consummate the Merger, pursuant to which Merger Sub shall be merged with and into the Company, following which the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub shall cease and the Company shall continue as the surviving corporation and as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Purchaser. The Company, as the surviving corporation after the Merger, is hereinafter sometimes referred to as the “Surviving Corporation” (provided, that references to the Company for periods after the Effective Time shall include the Surviving Corporation).
1.2 Effective Time. The Parties hereto shall cause the Merger to be consummated by filing the Articles of Merger for the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company (the “Articles of Merger”) with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Nevada Law (the time of such filing, or such later time as may be specified in the Articles of Merger, being the “Effective Time”).
1.3 Effect of the Merger. At the Effective Time, the effect of the Merger shall be as provided in this Agreement, the Articles of Merger and the applicable provisions of the Nevada Law. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, and subject thereto, at the Effective Time, all the property, rights, privileges, agreements, powers and franchises, debts, Liabilities, duties and obligations of Merger Sub and the Company shall become the property, rights, privileges, agreements, powers and franchises, debts, Liabilities, duties and obligations of the Surviving Corporation, which shall include the assumption by the Surviving Corporation of any and all agreements, covenants, duties and obligations of Merger Sub and the Company set forth in this Agreement to be performed after the Effective Time.
1.4 Tax Treatment. For federal income tax purposes, the Merger is intended to constitute a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368 of the Code. The Parties adopt this Agreement as a “plan of reorganization” within the meaning of Sections 1.368-2(g) and 1.368-3(a) of the United States Treasury Regulations.
2
1.5 Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws. Subject to the terms of Section 5.18, at the Effective Time, the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Company, each as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, shall remain in effect as the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Surviving Corporation. The Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Surviving Corporation following the Merger shall be in the form of Exhibit B-2.
1.6 Directors and Officers of the Surviving Corporation. At the Effective Time, the board of directors and executive officers of the Surviving Corporation shall be the board of directors and executive officers of the Company, after giving effect to Section 5.17, each to hold office in accordance with the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws of the Surviving Corporation until their respective successors are duly elected or appointed and qualified..
1.7 Domestication of the Purchaser. At least one day prior to the Effective Time, the Purchaser shall redomicile from the British Virgin Islands to become a Nevada corporation by way of its continuation out of the British Virgin Islands under Section 184 of the Companies Act, and the applicable provisions of the Nevada Law (the “Domestication”) so as to continue as a Nevada corporation. The Organizational Documents of the Purchaser’s successor-in-interest after the Domestication (the “Successor”) shall be in the form set forth in Exhibit B-1 and otherwise in form and substance similar to its Organizational Documents immediately prior to the Domestication, and the Organizational Documents of the Purchaser after the Merger shall be in the form set forth in Exhibit B-2 and otherwise in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser and the Company, except that the name of the Successor shall be amended to be “SolarMax Technology Holdings, Inc.” or another name that includes SolarMax acceptable to the Company. In connection with the Domestication, all of the issued and outstanding Purchaser Securities shall remain outstanding on substantially identical terms as securities of the Purchaser following the Domestication.
1.8 Merger Consideration. As consideration for the Merger, the Company Stockholders collectively shall be entitled to receive from the Purchaser, in the aggregate, a number of shares of Purchaser Common Stock equal to (i) Three Hundred Million U.S. Dollars ($300,000,000) divided by the Redemption Price (but excluding holders of Company Options with respect to the treatment of Company Options) in accordance with this Agreement is also referred to herein as the “Stockholder Merger Consideration”). The holders of Company Options shall receive such number of Assumed Purchaser Options as described in Section 1.10(e) with such terms and conditions as described in Section 1.9(c).
1.9 Effect of Merger on Company Securities. At the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of any Party or the holders of any Company Securities or the holders of any shares of capital stock of the Purchaser or Merger Sub:
(a) Company Stock. Subject to clause (b) below and Section 1.11, all shares of Company Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time will automatically be cancelled and cease to exist in exchange for the right to receive the Stockholder Merger Consideration, with each Company Stockholder being entitled to receive its portion of the Stockholder Merger Consideration upon delivery of the Transmittal Documents in accordance with Section 1.10. As of the Effective Time, each Company Stockholder shall cease to have any other rights in and to the Company or the Surviving Corporation. For purposes of Section 1.8 and this Section 1.9(a), the Restricted Shares shall be treated in the same manner as shares of issued and outstanding Company Stock, and the Shareholders Merger Consideration allocable to the Restricted Shares shall be subject to the applicable restricted stock agreements.
3
(b) Treasury Stock. Notwithstanding clause (a) above or any other provision of this Agreement to the contrary, at the Effective Time, if there are any Company Securities that are owned by the Company as treasury shares or any Company Securities owned by any direct or indirect Subsidiary of the Company immediately prior to the Effective Time, such Company Securities shall be canceled and shall cease to exist without any conversion thereof or payment therefor.
(c) Company Options. Each outstanding Company Option (whether vested or unvested) shall be assumed by Purchaser and automatically converted into an option for shares of Purchaser Common Stock (each, an “Assumed Option”). Subject to the subsequent sentence, each Assumed Option will be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Company Equity Plan (except any references therein to the Company or Company Common Stock will instead mean the Purchaser and Purchaser Common Stock, respectively) and the applicable instrument of grant. References in any instrument of grant to the IPO Date or words of like import shall refer to the Effective Date. Each Assumed Option shall: (i) have the right to acquire a number of shares of Purchaser Common Stock equal to (as rounded up to the nearest whole number) the product of (A) the number of shares of Company Common Stock which the Company Option had the right to acquire immediately prior to the Effective Time, multiplied by (B) the Conversion Ratio; (ii) have an exercise price equal to (as rounded up to the nearest whole cent) the quotient of (A) the exercise price of the Company Option (in U.S. Dollars), divided by (B) the Conversion Ratio; and (iii) be subject to the same vesting schedule as the applicable Company Option. The Purchaser shall take all corporate action necessary to reserve for future issuance, and shall maintain such reservation for so long as any of the Assumed Options remain outstanding, a sufficient number of shares of Purchaser Common Stock for delivery upon the exercise of such Assumed Option. From and after the Closing, the Company and the Purchaser shall not issue any new awards under the Company Equity Plan.
(d) Company Convertible Notes. All outstanding Company Convertible Notes shall become convertible into such number of shares of Purchaser Common Stock determined by dividing the conversion price of the Company Convertible Note at the Effective Time by the Conversion Ratio,
1.10 Surrender of Company Securities and Disbursement of Merger Consideration.
(a) Promptly after the date of this Agreement, the Purchaser shall appoint Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company or another agent reasonably acceptable to the Company (the “Exchange Agent”) for the purpose of exchanging the certificates representing Company Stock (“Company Certificates”). At or prior to the Effective Time, the Purchaser shall deposit, or cause to be deposited, with the Exchange Agent the Stockholder Merger Consideration. Promptly after the date hereof and subject to the Registration Statement, as hereinafter defined, being declared effective by the SEC, the Purchaser shall send, or shall cause the Exchange Agent to send, to each Company Stockholder, a letter of transmittal for use in such exchange, in the form mutually agreeable to the Parties (a “Letter of Transmittal”) (which shall specify that the delivery of Company Certificates in respect of the Stockholder Merger Consideration shall be effected, and risk of loss and title shall pass, only upon proper delivery of the Company Certificates to the Exchange Agent (or a Lost Certificate Affidavit)) for use in such exchange.
4
(b) Each Company Stockholder shall be entitled to receive its portion of the Stockholder Merger Consideration in respect of the Company Stock represented by the Company Certificate(s) (excluding any Company Securities described in Section 1.9(b) and the Appraisal Shares, as defined in and subject to the provisions of Section 1.11), as soon as reasonably practicable after the Effective Time, but subject to the delivery to the Exchange Agent of the following items (collectively, the “Transmittal Documents”): (i) the Company Certificate(s) for its Company Stock (or a Lost Certificate Affidavit), together with a properly completed and duly executed Letter of Transmittal and such other documents as may be reasonably requested by the Exchange Agent or the Purchaser; and (ii) if such Company Stockholder is a Significant Stockholder, a duly executed counterpart to the lock-up agreement with the Purchaser, effective as of the Effective Time, substantially in the form attached as Exhibit C hereto (each a “Lock-Up Agreement”). Until so surrendered, each Company Certificate shall represent after the Effective Time for all purposes only the right to receive such portion of the Stockholder Merger Consideration attributable to such Company Certificate.
(c) If any portion of the Stockholder Merger Consideration is to be delivered or issued to a Person other than the Person in whose name the surrendered Company Certificate is registered immediately prior to the Effective Time, it shall be a condition to such delivery that (i) the transfer of such Company Stock shall have been permitted in accordance with the terms of the any agreement between the Company Stockholder and the Company with respect to the Company, each as in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time, (ii) such Company Certificate shall be properly endorsed or shall otherwise be in proper form for transfer and, (iii) the recipient of such portion of the Stockholder Merger Consideration, or the Person in whose name such portion of the Stockholder Merger Consideration is delivered or issued, shall have already executed and delivered counterparts to the Lock-Up Agreement (if the transferor was a Significant Stockholder), and such other Transmittal Documents as are reasonably deemed necessary by the Exchange Agent or Purchaser and (iv) the Person requesting such delivery shall pay to the Exchange Agent any transfer or other Taxes required as a result of such delivery to a Person other than the registered holder of such Company Certificate or establish to the satisfaction of the Exchange Agent that such Tax has been paid or is not payable.
(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, in the event that any Company Certificate shall have been lost, stolen or destroyed, in lieu of delivery of a Company Certificate to the Exchange Agent, the Company Stockholder may instead deliver to the Exchange Agent an affidavit of lost certificate and, if reasonably required by the Exchange Agent, indemnity of loss in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser (a “Lost Certificate Affidavit”), which at the reasonable discretion of the Purchaser may include a requirement that the owner of such lost, stolen or destroyed Company Certificate deliver a bond in such customary amount as indemnity against any claim that may be made against it or the Surviving Corporation with respect to the shares of Company Stock represented by the Company Certificates alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed. Any Lost Certificate Affidavit properly delivered in accordance with this Section 1.10(d) shall be treated as a Company Certificate for all purposes of this Agreement.
(e) After the Effective Time, there shall be no further registration of transfers of Company Stock. If, after the Effective Time, Company Certificates are presented to the Surviving Corporation, the Purchaser or the Exchange Agent, they shall be canceled and exchanged for the applicable portion of the Stockholder Merger Consideration provided for, and in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 1.10. No dividends or other distributions declared or made after the date of this Agreement with respect to Purchaser Common Stock with a record date after the Effective Time will be paid to the holders of any Company Certificates that have not yet been surrendered with respect to the Purchaser Common Stock to be issued upon surrender thereof until the holders of record of such Company Certificates shall surrender such certificates (or provide a Lost Certificate Affidavit), if applicable, and provide the other Transmittal Documents. Subject to applicable Law, following surrender of any such Company Certificates (or delivery of a Lost Certificate Affidavit), if applicable, and delivery of the other Transmittal Documents, Purchaser shall promptly deliver to the record holders thereof, without interest, the certificates representing the Purchaser Common Stock issued in exchange therefor and the amount of any such dividends or other distributions with a record date after the Effective Time theretofore paid with respect to such Purchaser Common Stock.
5
(f) All securities issued upon the surrender of Company Securities in accordance with the terms hereof shall be deemed to have been issued in full satisfaction of all rights pertaining to such Company Securities. Any portion of the Stockholder Merger Consideration made available to the Exchange Agent pursuant to Section 1.10(a) that remains unclaimed by Company Stockholders two (2) years after the Effective Time shall be returned to the Purchaser, upon demand, and any such Company Stockholder who has not exchanged its Company Stock for the applicable portion of the Stockholder Merger Consideration in accordance with this Section 1.10 prior to that time shall thereafter look only to the Purchaser for payment of the portion of the Stockholder Merger Consideration in respect of such shares of Company Stock without any interest thereon (but with any dividends paid with respect thereto). Notwithstanding the foregoing, none of the Surviving Corporation, the Purchaser or any Party hereto shall be liable to any Person for any amount properly paid to a public official pursuant to any applicable abandoned property, escheat or similar law.
(g) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, no fraction of a share of Purchaser Common Stock will be issued by virtue of the Merger or the transactions contemplated hereby, and each Person who would otherwise be entitled to a fraction of a share of Purchaser Common Stock (after aggregating all fractional shares of Purchaser Common Stock that otherwise would be received by such holder) shall instead have the number of shares of Purchaser Common Stock issued to such Person rounded up in the aggregate to the nearest whole share of Purchaser Common Stock.
1.11 Right of Appraisal. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, shares of Company Stock that are outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time and that are held by any Person who is entitled to demand and who properly demands appraisal of such shares (the “Appraisal Shares”) pursuant to, and who complies in all respects with, the Nevada M&A Law shall not be converted into the right to receive Merger Consideration, but rather the holders of Appraisal Shares shall be entitled to be paid the fair value of such Appraisal Shares in accordance with the Nevada M&A Law; provided, however, that if any such holder shall fail to perfect or shall otherwise waive, withdraw or lose the right to appraisal under the Nevada M&A Law, then the right of such holder to be paid the fair value of such holder’s Appraisal Shares shall cease and such Appraisal Shares shall be deemed to have been converted as of the Effective Time into, and to have become exchangeable solely for the right to receive, Merger Consideration as provided in Section 1.8, without interest. The Company shall provide prompt notice to Purchaser of any demands received by the Company for appraisal of any shares of Company Stock, and Purchaser shall have the right to participate in all negotiations and proceedings with respect to such demands. Prior to the Effective Time, the Company shall not, without the prior written consent of Purchaser, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, make any payment with respect to, or settle or offer to settle, any such demands, or agree to do any of the foregoing. The Parties hereby agree and acknowledge that in any appraisal proceeding with respect to the Appraisal Shares and to the fullest extent permitted by applicable Law, the fair value of the Appraisal Shares shall be determined in accordance with the Nevada M&A Law.
1.12 Effect of Transaction on Merger Sub Stock. At the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of any Party or the holders of any Company Securities or the holders of any shares of capital stock of the Purchaser or Merger Sub, each share of Merger Sub Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be converted into an equal number of shares of common stock of the Surviving Corporation, with the same rights, powers and privileges as the shares so converted and shall constitute the only outstanding shares of capital stock of the Surviving Corporation.
1.13 Taking of Necessary Action; Further Action. If, at any time after the Effective Time, any further action is necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of this Agreement and to vest the Surviving Corporation with full right, title and possession to all assets, property, rights, privileges, powers and franchises of the Company and Merger Sub, the officers and directors of the Company and Merger Sub are fully authorized in the name of their respective corporations or otherwise to take, and will take, all such lawful and necessary action, so long as such action is not inconsistent with this Agreement.
6
Article
II
CLOSING
2.1 Closing. Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set forth in Article VI, the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (the “Closing”) shall take place at the offices of Ellenoff Xxxxxxxx & Schole, LLP (“EGS”), 0000 Xxxxxx xx xxx Xxxxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000, on a date and at a time to be agreed upon by Purchaser and the Company, which date shall be no later than the second (2nd) Business Day after all the Closing conditions to this Agreement have been satisfied or waived, or at such other date, time or place as the Purchaser and the Company may mutually agree upon in writing (the date and time at which the Closing is actually held being the “Closing Date”).
Article
III
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE PURCHASER
Except as set forth (i) in the disclosure schedules delivered by the Purchaser to the Company on the date hereof (the “Purchaser Disclosure Schedules”), the Section numbers of which are numbered to correspond to the Section numbers of this Agreement to which they refer, or (ii) the SEC Reports that are available on the SEC’s website through XXXXX (other than disclosures in the “Risk Factors” or “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” sections of such reports and other disclosures that are similarly predictive or forward-looking in nature), provided, however, that nothing disclosed in such SEC Reports shall be deemed to be a qualification of, or modification to, the representations and warranties set forth in Section 3.1, Section 3.2, Section 3.3, Section 3.4, Section 3.5 and Section 3.7, the Purchaser represents and warrants to the Company, as of the date hereof and as of the Closing, as follows:
3.1 Organization and Standing. The Purchaser is a business company duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of the British Virgin Islands. Merger Sub is a corporation duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Nevada. The Purchaser and Merger Sub have all requisite corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate their respective properties and to carry on their respective businesses as now being conducted. The Purchaser and Merger Sub are duly qualified or licensed and in good standing to do business in each jurisdiction in which the character of the property owned, leased or operated by it or the nature of the business conducted by it makes such qualification or licensing necessary. The Purchaser has heretofore made available to the Company accurate and complete copies of the Organizational Documents of the Purchaser and Merger Sub, as currently in effect. Neither the Purchaser nor Merger Sub is in violation of any provision of its Organizational Documents.
7
3.2 Authorization; Binding Agreement. The Purchaser and Merger Sub have all requisite corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party, to perform the Purchaser’s or Merger Sub’s obligations hereunder and thereunder and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, subject to obtaining the Required Purchaser Stockholder Approval. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby (a) have been duly and validly authorized by the board of directors of the Purchaser and Merger Sub and by the Purchaser as sole stockholder of Merger Sub, and (b) other than the Required Purchaser Stockholder Approval, no other corporate proceedings, other than as set forth elsewhere in this Agreement, on the part of the Purchaser are necessary to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. This Agreement has been, and each Ancillary Document to which the Purchaser or Merger Sub is a party shall be when delivered, duly and validly executed and delivered by the Purchaser and Merger Sub and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement and such Ancillary Documents by the other parties hereto and thereto, constitutes, or when delivered shall constitute, the valid and binding obligation of the Purchaser and Merger Sub, enforceable against the Purchaser and Merger Sub in accordance with its terms, except to the extent that enforceability thereof may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization and moratorium laws and other laws of general application affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally or by any applicable statute of limitation or by any valid defense of set-off or counterclaim, and the fact that equitable remedies or relief (including the remedy of specific performance) are subject to the discretion of the court from which such relief may be sought (collectively, the “Enforceability Exceptions”).
3.3 Governmental Approvals. Except as otherwise described in Schedule 3.3, no Consent of or with any Governmental Authority, on the part of the Purchaser or Merger Sub is required to be obtained or made in connection with the execution, delivery or performance by the Purchaser of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party or the consummation by the Purchaser of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, other than (a) such filings as contemplated by this Agreement, (b) any filings required with Nasdaq or the SEC with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (c) applicable requirements, if any, of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and any state “blue sky” securities Laws, and the rules and regulations thereunder and (d) where the failure to obtain or make such Consents or to make such filings or notifications, would not have a Material Adverse Effect on the Purchaser. Neither Purchaser nor Merger Sub is required to submit any notice, report or other filing with any Governmental Authority in connection with the execution, delivery or performance by it of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and no consent, approval or authorization of any Governmental Authority or any other party or Person is required to be obtained by Purchaser arent or Merger Sub in connection with its execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
3.4 Non-Contravention. Except as otherwise described in Schedule 3.4, the execution and delivery by the Purchaser and Merger Sub of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party, the consummation by the Purchaser and Merger Sub of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, and compliance by the Purchaser with any of the provisions hereof and thereof, will not (a) conflict with or violate any provision of the Purchaser’s or Merger Sub’s Organizational Documents, (b) subject to obtaining the Consents from Governmental Authorities referred to in Section 3.3 hereof, and the waiting periods referred to therein having expired, and any condition precedent to such Consent or waiver having been satisfied, conflict with or violate any Law, Order or Consent applicable to the Purchaser or Merger Sub or any of their respective properties or assets, or (c) (i) violate, conflict with or result in a breach of, (ii) constitute a default (or an event which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a default) under, (iii) result in the termination, withdrawal, suspension, cancellation or modification of, (iv) accelerate the performance required by the Purchaser under, (v) result in a right of termination or acceleration under, (vi) give rise to any obligation to make payments or provide compensation under, (vii) result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the properties or assets of the Purchaser under, (viii) give rise to any obligation to obtain any third party Consent or provide any notice to any Person or (ix) give any Person the right to declare a default, exercise any remedy, claim a rebate, chargeback, penalty or change in delivery schedule, accelerate the maturity or performance, cancel, terminate or modify any right, benefit, obligation or other term under, any of the terms, conditions or provisions of, any Purchaser Material Contract, except for any deviations from any of the foregoing clauses (a), (b) or (c) that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Purchaser.
8
3.5 Capitalization.
(a) As of the date of this Agreement, the Purchaser is authorized to issue (i) 300,000,000 shares of Purchaser Common Stock with no par value, 4,616,238 of which are issued and outstanding on the date of this Agreement and 1,000 of which are subject to redemption by the Purchaser,, (ii) 100,000,000 preferred shares of no par value, none of which are issued and outstanding or have been authorized for issuance. The issued and outstanding Purchaser Securities as of the date of this Agreement are set forth on Schedule 3.5(a). All outstanding shares of Purchaser Common Stock are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and not subject to or issued in violation of any purchase option, right of first refusal, preemptive right, subscription right or any similar right under any provision of the Companies Act or the Nevada Law, as then applicable, the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents, or any Contract to which the Purchaser is a party. None of the outstanding Purchaser Securities has been issued in violation of any applicable securities Laws.
(b) Prior to giving effect to the Merger, Merger Sub is authorized to issue one share of Merger Sub Common Stock, which share is validly issued and outstanding and owned by the Purchaser. Prior to giving effect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, other than Merger Sub, the Purchaser does not have any Subsidiaries or own any equity interests, including convertible securities, in any other Person and has not guaranteed any obligations of any other Person.
(c) Except as set forth in this Section 3.5, Schedule 3.5(a) or Schedule 3.5(c), there are no (i) outstanding options, warrants, puts, calls, convertible securities, preemptive or similar rights, (ii) bonds, debentures, notes or other Indebtedness having general voting rights or that are convertible or exchangeable into securities having such rights or (iii) subscriptions or other rights, agreements, arrangements, Contracts or commitments of any character (other than this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents), (A) relating to the issued or unissued shares of the Purchaser or (B) obligating the Purchaser to issue, transfer, deliver or sell or cause to be issued, transferred, delivered, sold or repurchased any options or shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for such shares, or (C) obligating the Purchaser to grant, extend or enter into any such option, warrant, call, subscription or other right, agreement, arrangement or commitment for such capital shares. Other than the Redemption or as expressly set forth in this Agreement, there are no outstanding obligations of the Purchaser to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of the Purchaser or to provide funds to make any investment (in the form of a loan, capital contribution or otherwise) in any Person. Except as set forth in Schedule 3.5(c), there are no shareholders agreements, voting trusts or other agreements or understandings to which the Purchaser is a party with respect to the voting of any shares of the Purchaser.
(d) Except as set forth in Schedule 3.5(d), Purchaser has no Indebtedness as of the date of this Agreement.
(e) Since the date of formation of the Purchaser, and except as contemplated by this Agreement (including any redemptions that may occur in connection with the Second Extension, if any), the Purchaser has not declared or paid any distribution or dividend in respect of its shares and has not repurchased, redeemed or otherwise acquired any of its shares, and the Purchaser’s board of directors has not authorized any of the foregoing except in connection with the Initial Extension.
9
3.6 SEC Filings and Purchaser Financials.
(a) The Purchaser, since its formation, has timely filed all forms, reports, schedules, statements, registration statements, prospectuses and other documents required to be filed or furnished by the Purchaser with the SEC under the Securities Act and/or the Exchange Act, together with any amendments, restatements or supplements thereto, and will file all such forms, reports, schedules, statements and other documents required to be filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement. Except to the extent available on the SEC’s web site through XXXXX, the Purchaser has delivered to the Company copies in the form filed with the SEC of all of the following: (i) the Purchaser’s annual reports on Form 10-K for each fiscal year of the Purchaser beginning with the first year the Purchaser was required to file such a form, (ii) the Purchaser’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for each fiscal quarter that the Purchaser filed such reports to disclose its quarterly financial results in each of the fiscal years of the Purchaser referred to in clause (i) above, (iii) all other forms, reports, registration statements, prospectuses and other documents (other than preliminary materials) filed by the Purchaser with the SEC since the beginning of the first fiscal year referred to in clause (i) above (the forms, reports, registration statements, prospectuses and other documents referred to in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) above, whether or not available through XXXXX, are, collectively, the “SEC Reports”) and (iv) all certifications and statements required by (A) Rules 13a-14 or 15d-14 under the Exchange Act, and (B) 18 U.S.C. §1350 (Section 906 of SOX) with respect to any report referred to in clause (i) above (collectively, the “Public Certifications”). The SEC Reports (x) were prepared in all material respects in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and SOX, as the case may be, and the rules and regulations thereunder and (y) did not, as of their respective effective dates (in the case of SEC Reports that are registration statements filed pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act) and at the time they were filed with the SEC (in the case of all other SEC Reports) 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 made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Public Certifications are each true as of their respective dates of filing. As used in this Section 3.6, the term “file” shall be broadly construed to include any manner permitted by SEC rules and regulations in which a document or information is furnished, supplied or otherwise made available to the SEC. As of the date of this Agreement, (A) the Purchaser Public Units, the Purchaser Common Stock and the Purchaser Public Warrants are listed on Nasdaq, (B) the Purchaser has not received any written deficiency notice from Nasdaq relating to the continued listing requirements of such Purchaser Securities except as disclosed in the Purchaser’s Form 8-K filed on September 4, 2020, (C) there are no Actions pending or, to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, threatened against the Purchaser by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority with respect to any intention by such entity to suspend, prohibit or terminate the quoting of such Purchaser Securities on Nasdaq, (D) such Purchaser Securities are in compliance with all of the applicable listing and corporate governance rules of Nasdaq (except as disclosed in clause (B) above, and (E) there are no outstanding or unresolved comments in comment letters received from the SEC with respect to the SEC Reports.
(b) The financial statements, including the notes thereto, of the Purchaser contained or incorporated by reference in the SEC Reports (the “Purchaser Financials”), fairly present in all material respects the financial position and the results of operations, changes in shareholders’ equity, and cash flows of the Purchaser at the respective dates of and for the periods referred to in such financial statements, all in accordance with (i) GAAP methodologies applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved and (ii) Regulation S-X or Regulation S-K, as applicable (except as may be indicated in the notes thereto and for the omission of notes and audit adjustments in the case of unaudited quarterly financial statements to the extent permitted by Regulation S-X or Regulation S-K, as applicable).
(c) Except as and to the extent reflected or reserved against in the Purchaser Financials or as set forth on Schedule 3.6(c), the Purchaser has not incurred any Liabilities or obligations of the type required to be reflected on a balance sheet in accordance with GAAP that is not adequately reflected or reserved on or provided for in the Purchaser Financials, other than Liabilities of the type required to be reflected on a balance sheet in accordance with GAAP that have been incurred since the Purchaser’s formation in the ordinary course of business; provided, that any such Liabilities which have been incurred subsequent to the most recent Purchaser Financials are set forth on Schedule 3.6(c).
10
3.7 Absence of Certain Changes. As of the date of this Agreement, except as set forth in Schedule 3.7, the Purchaser has, (a) since its formation, conducted no business other than its formation, the public offering of its securities (and the related private offerings), public reporting and its search for an initial Business Combination as described in the IPO Prospectus (including the investigation of the Target Companies and the negotiation and execution of this Agreement) and related activities and (b) since June 30, 2020, not been subject to a Material Adverse Effect on the Purchaser.
3.8 Compliance with Laws. The Purchaser is, and has since its formation been, in compliance in all material respects with all Laws applicable to it and the conduct of its business, and the Purchaser has not received written notice alleging any violation of applicable Law in any material respect by the Purchaser.
3.9 Actions; Orders; Permits. There is no pending or, to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, threatened material Action to which the Purchaser is subject. There is no material Action that the Purchaser has pending against any other Person. The Purchaser is not subject to any material Orders of any Governmental Authority, nor are any such Orders pending. The Purchaser holds all Permits necessary to lawfully conduct its business as presently conducted, and to own, lease and operate its assets and properties, all of which are in full force and effect, except where the failure to hold such Consent or for such Consent to be in full force and effect would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Purchaser.
3.10 Taxes and Returns.
(a) The Purchaser has timely filed, or caused to be timely filed, all Tax Returns required to be filed by it, which Tax Returns are accurate and complete in all material respects, and has paid, collected or withheld, or caused to be paid, collected or withheld, all Taxes required to be paid, collected or withheld, in each case, except where the failure to file such Tax Returns or pay, collect or withhold such Taxes would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Purchaser. Schedule 3.10(a) sets forth each jurisdiction where the Purchaser files or is required to file a Tax Return. There are no audits, examinations, investigations or other proceedings pending against the Purchaser in respect of any Tax, and the Purchaser has not been notified in writing of any proposed Tax claims or assessments against the Purchaser (other than, in each case, claims or assessments for which adequate reserves in the Purchaser Financials have been established in accordance with GAAP or are immaterial in amount). There are no Liens with respect to any Taxes upon any of the Purchaser’s assets, other than Permitted Liens. The Purchaser has no outstanding waivers or extensions of any applicable statute of limitations to assess any material amount of Taxes. There are no outstanding requests by the Purchaser for any extension of time within which to file any Tax Return or within which to pay any Taxes shown to be due on any Tax Return.
(b) Since the date of its formation, the Purchaser has not (i) changed any Tax accounting methods, policies or procedures except as required by a change in Law, (ii) made, revoked, or amended any material Tax election, (iii) filed any amended Tax Returns or claim for refund or (iv) entered into any closing agreement affecting or otherwise settled or compromised any material Tax Liability or refund.
(c) The Purchaser has not taken any action, and does not have Knowledge of any fact or circumstance, that would reasonably be expected to prevent the Merger from qualifying as “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code.
11
(d) Except as set forth in Schedule 3.10(d), there is no Tax due in connection with or as a result of the Domestication. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Agreement, the representations and warranties in this Section 3.10 and Section 3.11 are the only representations and warranties in this Agreement with respect to the Tax matters of Purchaser and Merger Sub and no representation or warranty is given and no indemnity shall be owed under this Agreement with respect to any taxable period (or part thereof) that begins after the Closing.
3.11 Employees and Employee Benefit Plans. Except as set forth in Schedule 3.11, the Purchaser (a) does not have, and since its inception never has had, any employees or independent contractors, and (b) does not maintain, sponsor, contribute to, or been required to contribute to (and, since its inception, has not maintained, sponsored or contributed to, or been required to be contribute to) or otherwise have or had any Liability under, any Benefit Plans. The Purchaser does not currently maintain and has never maintained, sponsored or contributed to, or been required to contribute to, and does not have any Liability under, a “defined benefit plan” (as defined in Section 414(j) of the Code), a “multiemployer plan” (as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA) or a “multiple employer plan” (as described in Section 413(c) of the Code) or any Benefit Plans otherwise subject to Title IV of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code, and the Purchaser has not incurred any Liability or otherwise could have any Liability, contingent or otherwise, under Title IV of ERISA and no condition presently exists that is expected to cause such Liability to be incurred. The consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents will not: (i) entitle any individual to severance pay, unemployment compensation or other benefits or compensation; (ii) accelerate the time of payment or vesting, or increase the amount of any compensation due, or in respect of, any individual; or (iii) result in or satisfy a condition to the payment of compensation that would, in combination with any other payment, result in an “excess parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code.
3.12 Properties. The Purchaser does not own, license or otherwise have any right, title or interest in any material Intellectual Property. The Purchaser does not own or lease any real property or material Personal Property.
3.13 Material Contracts.
(a) Except as set forth on Schedule 3.13(a), other than this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents, there are no Contracts to which the Purchaser is a party or by which any of its properties or assets may be bound, subject or affected, which (i) creates or imposes a Liability greater than $100,000, (ii) may not be cancelled by the Purchaser on less than sixty (60) days’ prior notice without payment of a material penalty or termination fee or (iii) prohibits, prevents, restricts or impairs in any material respect any business practice of the Purchaser as its business is currently conducted, any acquisition of material property by the Purchaser, or restricts in any material respect the ability of the Purchaser from engaging in business as currently conducted by it or from competing with any other Person (each, a “Purchaser Material Contract”). All Purchaser Material Contracts have been made available to the Company other than those that are exhibits to the SEC Reports. Other than the letter of intent dated September 3, 2020 between the Purchaser and the Company, neither the Purchaser nor Merger Sub is a party to any outstanding letter or intent, memorandum of understanding or similar document or oral understanding or is engaged in any negotiations or discussions with respect thereto.
12
(b) With respect to each Purchaser Material Contract: (i) the Purchaser Material Contract was entered into at arms’ length and in the ordinary course of business; (ii) the Purchaser Material Contract is legal, valid, binding and enforceable in all material respects against the Purchaser and, to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, the other parties thereto, and is in full force and effect (except as such enforcement may be limited by the Enforceability Exceptions); (iii) the Purchaser is not in breach or default in any material respect, and no event has occurred that with the passage of time or giving of notice or both would constitute such a breach or default in any material respect by the Purchaser, or permit termination or acceleration by the other party, under such Purchaser Material Contract; and (iv) to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, no other party to any Purchaser Material Contract is in breach or default in any material respect, and no event has occurred that with the passage of time or giving of notice or both would constitute such a breach or default by such other party, or permit termination or acceleration by the Purchaser under any Purchaser Material Contract.
3.14 Transactions with Affiliates. Schedule 3.14 sets forth a true, correct and complete list of the Contracts and arrangements that are in existence as of the date of this Agreement under which there are any existing or future Liabilities or obligations between the Purchaser and any (a) present or former director, officer or employee or Affiliate of the Purchaser, or any immediate family member of any of the foregoing, or (b) record or beneficial owner of more than five percent (5%) of the Purchaser’s issued and outstanding shares as of the date hereof. Schedule 3.14 also lists any discussions or negotiations with respect to any transaction of the type described in this Section 3.14.
3.15 Investment Company Act. The Purchaser is not an “investment company” or a Person directly or indirectly “controlled” by or acting on behalf of an “investment company,” in each case within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
3.16 Finders and Brokers. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.16, no broker, finder or investment banker is entitled to any brokerage, finder’s or other fee or commission from the Purchaser, the Target Companies or any of their respective Affiliates in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby based upon arrangements made by or on behalf of the Purchaser.
3.17 Ownership of Stockholder Merger Consideration. All shares of Purchaser Common Stock to be issued and delivered to the Company Stockholders as Stockholder Merger Consideration in accordance with Article I shall be, upon issuance and delivery of such Purchaser Common Stock, fully paid and non-assessable, free and clear of all Liens, other than restrictions arising from applicable securities Laws, the applicable Lock-Up Agreement and any Liens incurred by the Company or any Company Stockholder, and the issuance and sale of such Purchaser Common Stock pursuant hereto will not be subject to or give rise to any preemptive rights or rights of first refusal. All such shares of Purchaser Common Stock, when issued, will have been registered pursuant to the Securities Act.
3.18 Certain Business Practices.
(a) Neither the Purchaser, nor any of its Representatives acting on its behalf, has (i) used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees, to foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns or violated any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, (iii) made any other unlawful payment or (iv) since the formation of the Purchaser, directly or indirectly, given or agreed to give any gift or similar benefit in any amount to any customer, supplier, governmental employee or other Person who is or may be in a position to help or hinder the Purchaser or assist it in connection with any actual or proposed transaction.
(b) The operations of the Purchaser are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with laundering statutes in all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Authority, and no Action involving the Purchaser with respect to the any of the foregoing is pending or, to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, threatened.
13
(c) None of the Purchaser or any of its directors or officers, or, to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, any other Representative acting on behalf of the Purchaser is currently identified on the specially designated nationals or other blocked person list or otherwise currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”), and the Purchaser has not, directly or indirectly, used any funds, or loaned, contributed or otherwise made available such funds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, in connection with any sales or operations in any other country sanctioned by OFAC or for the purpose of financing the activities of any Person currently subject to, or otherwise in violation of, any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC in the last five (5) fiscal years.
3.19 Insurance. Schedule 3.19 lists all insurance policies (by policy number, insurer, coverage period, coverage amount, annual premium and type of policy) held by the Purchaser relating to the Purchaser or its business, properties, assets, directors, officers and employees, copies of which have been provided to the Company. All premiums due and payable under all such insurance policies have been timely paid and the Purchaser is otherwise in material compliance with the terms of such insurance policies. All such insurance policies are in full force and effect, and to the Knowledge of the Purchaser, there is no threatened termination of, or material premium increase with respect to, any of such insurance policies. There have been no insurance claims made by the Purchaser. The Purchaser has reported to its insurers all claims and pending circumstances that would reasonably be expected to result in a material claim.
3.20 Independent Investigation. The Purchaser has conducted its own independent investigation, review and analysis of the business, results of operations, prospects, condition (financial or otherwise) or assets of the Target Companies, and acknowledges that it has been provided adequate access to the personnel, properties, assets, premises, books and records, and other documents and data of the Target Companies for such purpose. The Purchaser acknowledges and agrees that: (a) in making its decision to enter into this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, it has relied solely upon its own investigation and the express representations and warranties of the Company set forth in Article IV (including the related portions of the Company Disclosure Schedules); and (b) none of the Company nor its respective Representatives have made any representation or warranty as to the Target Companies, or this Agreement, except as expressly set forth in Article IV (including the related portions of the Company Disclosure Schedules).
3.21 Information Supplied. None of the information supplied or to be supplied by the Purchaser expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference: (a) in any report, form, registration or other filing made with any Governmental Authority (including the SEC) with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any Ancillary Documents; (b) in the Registration Statement; or (c) in the mailings or other distributions to the Company’s stockholders and/or prospective investors with respect to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or in any amendment to any of documents identified in (a) through (c), will, when filed, made available, mailed or distributed, as the case may be, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. None of the information supplied or to be supplied by the Purchaser expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference in any of the Signing Press Release, the Signing Filing, the Closing Press Release and the Closing Filing will, when filed or distributed, as applicable, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Purchaser makes no representation, warranty or covenant with respect to any information supplied by or on behalf of the Company or its Affiliates.
14
Article
IV
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
Except as set forth in the disclosure schedules delivered by the Company to the Purchaser on the date hereof (the “Company Disclosure Schedules”), the Section numbers of which are numbered to correspond to the Section numbers of this Agreement to which they refer, the Company hereby represents and warrants to the Purchaser, as of the date hereof and as of the Closing, as follows:
4.1 Organization and Standing. The Company is a corporation duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the Nevada Law and has all requisite corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on its business as now being conducted. Each Subsidiary of the Company is a corporation or other entity duly formed, validly existing and in good standing under the Laws of its jurisdiction of organization (to the extent the “good standing” concept is applicable in the case of any jurisdiction outside of the United States), except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company, and has all requisite corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on its business as now being conducted. Each Target Company is duly qualified or licensed and in good standing in the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated (to the extent the “good standing” concept is applicable in the case of any jurisdiction outside of the United States), except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company, and has all requisite corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to carry on its business as now being conducted. The Company has provided to the Purchaser accurate and complete copies of its Organizational Documents and the Organizational Documents of each of its Subsidiaries, as currently in effect. No Target Company is in violation of any provision of its Organizational Documents in any material respect.
4.2 Authorization; Binding Agreement. The Company has all requisite corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party, to perform the Company’s obligations hereunder and thereunder and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, subject to obtaining the Required Company Stockholder Approval. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which the Company is a party and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, (a) have been duly and validly authorized by the Company’s board of directors in accordance with the Company’s Organizational Documents, the Nevada Law or any other applicable Law or any material Contract to which the Company is a party or by which its securities are bound and (b) other than the Required Company Stockholder Approval, no other corporate proceedings on the part of the Company are necessary to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which it is a party or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. This Agreement has been, and each Ancillary Document to which the Company is or is required to be a party shall be when delivered, duly and validly executed and delivered by the Company and assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement and any such Ancillary Document by the other parties hereto and thereto, constitutes, or when delivered shall constitute, the legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, subject to the Enforceability Exceptions. The Company’s board of directors, by resolutions duly adopted at a meeting duly called and held or by an action in writing signed by all directors (i) determined that this Agreement and the Merger and the other transactions contemplated hereby are advisable, fair to, and in the best interests of, the Company and its stockholders, (ii) approved this Agreement and the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement in accordance with the Nevada M&A Law, (iii) directed that this Agreement be submitted to the Company’s stockholders for adoption and (iv) resolved to recommend that the Company stockholders adopt this Agreement. The Voting Agreements delivered by the Company as of the date hereof are in full force and effect.
15
4.3 Capitalization.
(a) The Company is authorized to issue (i) 15,000,000 share of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, none of which area issued or outstanding, and 500,000,000 shares of Company Common Stock, of which 68,994,159 shares are issued and 66,844,159 shares are outstanding All of the issued and outstanding Company Stock and other equity interests of the Company as of the date hereof are set forth on Schedule 4.3(a), along with the beneficial and record owners thereof, all of which shares and other equity interests, to the Actual Knowledge of the Company, are owned free and clear of any Liens other than those imposed under the Company Charter. All of the outstanding shares and other equity interests of the Company have been duly authorized, are fully paid and non-assessable and not in violation of any purchase option, right of first refusal, preemptive right, subscription right or any similar right under any provision of Nevada Corporate Law, any other applicable Law, or the Company Charter or any Contract to which the Company is a party. None of the outstanding shares or other equity interests of the Company were issued in violation of any applicable securities Laws.
(b) The Company has reserved 15,120,000 shares of Company Common Stock for issuance to officers, directors, employees and consultants of the Company pursuant to the Company Equity Plan, which was duly adopted by the Company’s board of directors and approved by the Company’s stockholders and 336,000 shares of Company Common Stock issuable upon exercise of options granted prior to the adoption of the Company Equity Plan. Of the shares of Company Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Company Equity Plan, (x) 10,523,789 of such shares are reserved for issuance upon exercise of currently outstanding Company Options as of the date hereof, and (y) 4,596,211 shares remain available for future awards permitted under the Company Equity Plan as of the date hereof. The Company has furnished to the Purchaser complete and accurate copies of the Company Equity Plan and forms of agreements used thereunder. Schedule 4.3(b) sets forth the beneficial and record owners of all outstanding Company Options and Company Convertible Notes (including in each case the grant date, number and type of shares issuable thereunder, the exercise price, the expiration date and any vesting schedule) as of the date of this Agreement. Other than as set forth on Schedule 4.3(b), as of the date of this Agreement there are no Company Convertible Securities, or preemptive rights or rights of first refusal or first offer, nor are there any Contracts, commitments, arrangements or restrictions to which the Company or, to the Knowledge of the Company, any of its stockholders is a party or bound relating to any equity securities of the Company, whether or not outstanding; provided, however, that the Company may issue Company Convertible Notes to former limited partners of Clean Energy Fund, LP (“CEF”) in respect of loans made to the Company by CEF, which loans have become or may become due subsequent to the date of this Agreement. There are no outstanding or authorized equity appreciation, phantom equity or similar rights with respect to the Company. There are no voting trusts, proxies, shareholder agreements or any other agreements or understandings with respect to the voting of the Company’s equity interests to which the Company is a party or to the Actual Knowledge of the Company, the Company’s securities are bound other than the Voting Agreement. Except as set forth in the Company Charter or as disclosed in Schedule 4.3(b), there are no outstanding contractual obligations of the Company to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any equity interests or securities of the Company, nor has the Company granted any registration rights to any Person with respect to the Company’s equity securities. All of the Company’s securities have been granted, offered, sold and issued in compliance with all applicable United States securities Laws. As a result of the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, no equity interests of the Company are issuable and no rights in connection with any interests, warrants, rights, options or other securities of the Company accelerate or otherwise become triggered (whether as to vesting, exercisability, convertibility or otherwise) except that certain options either vest or become exercisable upon the effectiveness of the Merger.
16
(c) Each Company Option intended to qualify as an “incentive stock option” under the Code so qualifies. Each grant of a Company Option was duly authorized no later than the date on which the grant of such Company Option was by its terms to be effective by all necessary corporate action, and: (i) the stock option agreement governing such grant was duly executed and delivered by each party thereto; (ii) each such grant was made in accordance with the terms of the Company Equity Plan (or the terms of board authorization of options not granted under the Company Equity Plan) and all other applicable Laws; (iii) the per share exercise price of each Company Option was equal or greater than the fair market value of a share of Company Common Stock on the applicable grant date as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors; and (iv) each such grant was properly accounted for in accordance with GAAP in the financial statements (including the related notes) of the Company.
(d) Except as disclosed in Schedule 4.3(d), since January 1, 2019, the Company has not declared or paid any distribution or dividend in respect of its equity interests and has not repurchased, redeemed or otherwise acquired any equity interests of the Company, and the board of directors of the Company has not authorized any of the foregoing.
4.4 Subsidiaries. Schedule 4.4 sets forth the name of each principal Subsidiary of the Company, and with respect to each Subsidiary its jurisdiction of organization. Except as set forth in Schedule 4.4, all of the outstanding equity securities of each Subsidiary of the Company are duly authorized and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable (if applicable), and were offered, sold and delivered in compliance with all applicable Laws, and owned by one or more of the Company or its Subsidiaries free and clear of all Liens (other than those, if any, imposed by such Subsidiary’s Organizational Documents). There are no Contracts to which the Company or any of its Affiliates is a party or bound with respect to the voting (including voting trusts or proxies) of the equity interests of any Subsidiary of the Company other than the Organizational Documents of any such Subsidiary. There are no outstanding or authorized options, warrants, rights, agreements, subscriptions, convertible securities or commitments to which any Subsidiary of the Company is a party or which are binding upon any Subsidiary of the Company providing for the issuance or redemption of any equity interests of any Subsidiary of the Company. There are no outstanding equity appreciation, phantom equity, profit participation or similar rights granted by any Subsidiary of the Company. Other than restrictions imposed by the Laws of China, no Subsidiary of the Company has any limitation on its ability to make any distributions or dividends to its equity holders, whether by Contract, Order or applicable Law. Except for the equity interests of the Subsidiaries listed on Schedule 4.4, the Company does not own or have any rights to acquire, directly or indirectly, any equity interests of, or otherwise Control, any Person. Except as set forth in Schedule 4.4, no Subsidiary is a participant in any joint venture, partnership or similar arrangement or agreement relating to the transfer or sale of any equity interest in the Subsidiary. There are no outstanding contractual obligations of the Company or its Subsidiaries to provide material funds to, or make any material investment (in the form of a loan, capital contribution or otherwise) in, any other Person except as set forth in Schedule 4.4.
4.5 Governmental Approvals. Except as otherwise described in Schedule 4.5, no Consent of or with any Governmental Authority on the part of any Target Company is required to be obtained or made in connection with the execution, delivery or performance by the Company of this Agreement or any Ancillary Documents or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby other than (a) such filings as expressly contemplated by this Agreement and (b) where the failure to obtain or make such Consents, has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.
17
4.6 Non-Contravention. Except as otherwise described in Schedule 4.6, the execution and delivery by the Company (or any other Target Company, as applicable) of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which any Target Company is a party, and the consummation by any Target Company of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby and compliance by any Target Company with any of the provisions hereof and thereof, will not (a) conflict with or violate any provision of any Target Company’s Organizational Documents, (b) subject to obtaining the Consents from Governmental Authorities referred to in Section 4.5 hereof, the waiting periods referred to therein having expired, and any condition precedent to such Consent or waiver having been satisfied, conflict with or violate any Law, Order or Permit applicable to any Target Company or any of its properties or assets, or (c) (i) violate, conflict with or result in a breach of, (ii) constitute a default (or an event which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a default) under, (iii) result in the termination, withdrawal, suspension, cancellation or modification of (iv) accelerate the performance required by any Target Company under,(v) result in a right of termination or acceleration under, (vi) give rise to any obligation to make payments or provide compensation under, (vii) result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the properties or assets of any Target Company under, (viii) give rise to any obligation to obtain any third party Consent or provide any notice to any Person or (ix) give any Person the right to declare a default, exercise any remedy, claim a rebate, chargeback, penalty or change in delivery schedule, accelerate the maturity or performance, cancel, terminate or modify any right, benefit, obligation or other term under, any of the terms, conditions or provisions of any Company Material Contract, except for any deviations from any of the foregoing clauses (b) or (c) that have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.
4.7 Financial Statements.
(a) As used herein, the term “Company Financials” means (i) the audited consolidated financial statements of the Target Companies, consisting of the consolidated balance sheets of the Target Companies as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the years then ended, and (ii) the unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Target Companies for the six months ended June 30, 2020, consisting of the unaudited consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, (the “Interim Balance Sheet Date”), and the related unaudited draft consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), changes in stockholder equity and cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019. True and correct copies of the Company Financials have been or will be, as the case may be, provided to the Purchaser. The Company Financials (A) were prepared in accordance with GAAP, consistently applied throughout and among the periods involved (except that the unaudited statements will be prepared in accordance with Section 8-03 of Regulation S-X), and (B) fairly present in all material respects the consolidated financial position of the Target Companies as of the respective balance sheet dates and the consolidated results of the operations and cash flows of the Target Companies for the periods indicated. No Target Company has ever been subject to the reporting requirements of Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Exchange Act.
(b) The Target Companies maintains internal accounting controls that are designed to provide reasonable assurance that (i) each Target Company does not maintain any off-the-book accounts and that such Target Company’s assets are used only in accordance with such Target Company’s management directives, (ii) transactions that require such authorization are executed with management’s authorization, (iii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of the financial statements of such Target Company and to maintain accountability for such Target Company’s assets, and (iv) accounts, notes and other receivables and inventory are recorded accurately, and proper and adequate procedures are implemented to effect the collection of accounts, notes and other receivables on a current and timely basis. No Target Company has been subject to or involved in any material fraud that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the internal controls over financial reporting of any Target Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company, which is privately owned, makes no representation that the Target Companies have effective internal controls over financial accounting and reporting as defined in SOX. Except as set forth in Schedule 4.7(b), since January 1, 2019, no Target Company or its Representatives has received any material written complaint, allegation, assertion or claim regarding the impropriety or inadequacy of accounting or auditing practices, procedures, methodologies or methods of any Target Company or its internal accounting controls, including any material written complaint, allegation, assertion or claim that any Target Company has engaged in questionable accounting or auditing practices, which has not been resolved.
18
(c) The Target Companies do not have any Indebtedness, other than the Indebtedness set forth on Schedule 4.7(c), and in such amounts (including principal and any accrued but unpaid interest or other obligations with respect to such Indebtedness), as set forth on Schedule 4.7(c). Except as disclosed on Schedule 4.7(c), no Indebtedness of any Target Company contains any restriction upon (i) the prepayment of any of such Indebtedness, (ii) the incurrence of Indebtedness by any Target Company, or (iii) the ability of the Target Companies to grant any Lien on their respective properties or assets.
(d) Except as set forth on Schedule 4.7(d), no Target Company is subject to any Liabilities or obligations that would be required to be reflected on a balance sheet prepared in accordance with GAAP, except for those that are either (i) adequately reflected or reserved on or provided for in the consolidated balance sheet of the Company and its Subsidiaries as of the Interim Balance Sheet Date contained in the Company Financials or (ii) not material and that were incurred after the Interim Balance Sheet Date in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice (other than Liabilities for breach of any Contract or violation of any Law).
4.8 Absence of Certain Changes. Except as set forth on Schedule 4.8 or for actions expressly contemplated by this Agreement, since the Interim Balance Sheet Date, each Target Company has, in all material respects, (a) conducted its business only in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (b) not been subject to a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.
4.9 Compliance with Laws. Except as set forth on Schedule 4.9, no Target Company is or has been in conflict or non-compliance with, or in default or violation of, nor has any Target Company received, since January 1, 2014, any written or, to the Knowledge of the Company, oral notice from any Governmental Authority of any conflict or non-compliance with, or default or violation of, any applicable Laws by which it or any of its properties, assets, employees, business or operations are or were bound or affected, except in each case as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.
4.10 Company Permits. The Target Companies hold all Permits necessary to lawfully conduct in all material respects the business of the Target Companies, taken as a whole, as presently conducted and as currently contemplated to be conducted, and to own, lease and operate its material assets and properties (collectively, the “Company Permits”). The Company has made available to the Purchaser true, correct and complete copies of all material Company Permits. To the Company’s Knowledge, all of the Company Permits are in full force and effect, and no suspension or cancellation of any of the Company Permits is pending or threatened, except where the failure to be in full force and effect or suspension or cancellation has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company. No Target Company is in violation in any material respect of the terms of any Company Permit where such violation has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.
19
4.11 Litigation. Except as described on Schedule 4.11, there is no (a) material Action of any nature currently pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened (and no such Action has been brought since January 1, 2018); or (b) material Order pending now or rendered by a Governmental Authority since January 1, 2018, in either case of (a) or (b) by or against any Target Company, its current or former directors, officers or equity holders (provided, that any litigation involving the directors, officers or equity holders of a Target Company must be related to the Target Company’s business, equity securities or assets), its business, equity securities or assets. To the Knowledge of the Company, none of the current or former officers, senior management or directors of any Target Company have been charged with, indicted for, arrested for, or convicted of any felony or any crime involving fraud.
4.12 Material Contracts.
(a) The Company has made available to the Purchaser, true, correct and complete copies of, each Contract (including written summaries of oral Contracts), other than Company Benefit Plans, to which any Target Company is a party or by which any Target Company, or any of its properties or assets are bound or affected (each such Contract, a “Company Material Contract”) that will be required to be filed with the Registration Statement under applicable SEC requirements or would otherwise be required to be filed by the Company as an exhibit for a Form S-1 pursuant to Items 601(b)(1), (2), (4), (9) or (10) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act as if the Company was the registrant.
(b) Except as disclosed in Schedule 4.12(b), with respect to each Company Material Contract: (i) such Company Material Contract is valid and binding and enforceable in all respects against the Target Company party thereto and, to the Knowledge of the Company, each other party thereto, and is in full force and effect (except, in each case, as such enforcement may be limited by the Enforceability Exceptions); (ii) no Target Company is in breach or default in any material respect, and no event has occurred that with the passage of time or giving of notice or both would constitute a material breach or material default by any Target Company, or permit termination or acceleration by the other party thereto, under such Company Material Contract; (iii) to the Knowledge of the Company, no other party to such Company Material Contract is in breach or default in any material respect, and no event has occurred that with the passage of time or giving of notice or both would constitute such a material breach or material default by such other party, or permit termination or acceleration by any Target Company, under such Company Material Contract; (iv) no Target Company has received written or, to the Knowledge of the Company, oral notice of an intention by any party to any such Company Material Contract to terminate such Company Material Contract or amend the terms thereof, other than modifications in the ordinary course of business that do not adversely affect any Target Company and the expiration of a Material Contract upon the expiration or termination date set forth in such Company Material Contract; and (vi) no Target Company has waived any material rights under any such Company Material Contract.
4.13 Intellectual Property.
(a) Each Target Company owns, free and clear of all Liens (other than Permitted Liens), and, to the Knowledge of the Company, has valid and enforceable rights in, all Company Registered IP owned by that Target Company. No item of Company Registered IP that consists of a pending Patent application fails to identify all pertinent inventors, and for each Patent and Patent application in the Company Registered IP, the Target Companies have obtained valid assignments of inventions from each inventor. Except as set forth on Schedule 4.13(a), all Company Registered IP is owned exclusively by the applicable Target Company without obligation to pay royalties, licensing fees or other fees, or otherwise account to any third party with respect to such Company Registered IP. For purposes of this Agreement: (i) “Company Registered IP” means all U.S. and foreign Patents and Patent applications, Trademark registrations and applications, copyright registrations and applications, and registered Internet Assets, in each case that are owned by a Target Company or in which a Target Company is the owner, applicant or assignee; and (ii) “Company IP Licenses” means all Intellectual Property licenses, sublicenses and other agreements, under which a Target Company is a licensee or otherwise is authorized to use or practice any material Intellectual Property (other than “shrink wrap,” “click wrap,” and “off the shelf” software agreements and other agreements for Software commercially available on reasonable terms to the public generally with license, maintenance, support and other fees of less than $40,000 per year per license (collectively, “Off-the-Shelf Software”) of a third Person.
20
(b) The Company IP Licenses include all of the licenses, granted to the Target Companies for any material Intellectual Property necessary to operate the Target Companies as presently conducted. To the Knowledge of the Company, except where the Company or any Target Company, as applicable, may have intentionally abandoned or let expire any registration or application for the following, all registrations for Copyrights, Patents, Trademarks and Internet Assets that are owned by any Target Company are valid and in force, and all pending applications by any Target Company to register any Copyrights, Patents and Trademarks are in good standing and have not been challenged by any third Person. No Target Company is party to any Contract that requires a Target Company to assign to any Person all of its rights in any Intellectual Property developed by a Target Company under such Contract and material to that Target Company’s business.
(c) No Action is pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened against a Target Company that challenges the validity, enforceability, ownership, or right to use, sell, license or sublicense any Intellectual Property currently owned by the Target Companies. Except as set forth in Schedule 4.13(c), no Target Company has received any written or, to the Knowledge of the Company, oral notice or claim asserting or suggesting that any infringement, misappropriation, violation, dilution or unauthorized use by such Target Company of the Intellectual Property of any other Person is or may be occurring or has or may have occurred, as a consequence of the business activities of any Target Company, nor to the Knowledge of the company is there a reasonable basis therefor. There are no Orders to which any Target Company is a party or is otherwise bound that (i) restrict the rights of a Target Company to use, transfer, license or enforce any Intellectual Property owned by a Target Company, or (ii) grant any third Person any right with respect to any Intellectual Property owned by a Target Company. To the Knowledge of the Company, no Target Company is currently infringing, or has, in the past, infringed, misappropriated or violated any Intellectual Property of any other Person in any material respect in connection with the ownership, use or license of any Intellectual Property owned or purported to be owned by a Target Company or, to the Knowledge of the Company, otherwise in connection with the conduct of the respective businesses of the Target Companies. To the Company’s Knowledge, no third party is infringing upon, has misappropriated or is otherwise violating any Intellectual Property owned by any Target Company (“Company IP”) in any material respect.
(d) All key employees and independent contractors of a United States Target Company have assigned to the Target Companies ownership of all Company IP arising from the services performed for a Target Company by such Persons. No current or former officers, employees or independent contractors of a Target Company have claimed any ownership interest in any Intellectual Property currently owned by a Target Company. To the Knowledge of the Company, there has been no violation by a Target Company’s employees or subcontractors of such Target Company’s policies or practices related to protection of Company IP or any confidentiality or nondisclosure Contract relating to the Intellectual Property owned by a Target Company. To the Company’s Knowledge, none of the employees of any Target Company is obligated under any Contract, or subject to any Order, that would materially interfere with the use of such employee’s efforts to promote the interests of the Target Companies, or that would materially conflict with the business of any Target Company as presently conducted. Each Target Company has taken reasonable security measures in order to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value of the material Company IP.
21
(e) To the Knowledge of the Company, no Person has obtained unauthorized access to third party information and data in the possession of a Target Company, nor has there been any other material compromise of the security, confidentiality or integrity of such information or data. Each Target Company has materially complied with all applicable Laws relating to privacy, personal data protection, and the collection, processing and use of personal information and its own privacy policies and guidelines. To the Knowledge of the Company, the operation of the business of the Target Companies has not and does not violate, in any material respect, any right to privacy or publicity of any third person, or constitute unfair competition or trade practices under applicable Law.
4.14 Taxes and Returns.
(a) Each Target Company has timely filed, or caused to be timely filed, all federal, state, local and foreign Tax Returns required to be filed by it (taking into account all available extensions), which Tax Returns are accurate and complete in all material respects, and has paid, collected or withheld, or caused to be paid, collected or withheld Taxes required to be paid, collected or withheld, in each case, except where the failure to file such Tax Returns or pay, collect or withhold such Taxes has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company. Each Target Company has complied with all applicable Laws relating to Tax, except where the failure to so comply has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.
(b) There is no Action currently pending or, threatened in writing against a Target Company by a Governmental Authority in a jurisdiction where the Target Company does not file Tax Returns that it is or may be subject to taxation by that jurisdiction.
(c) Except as set forth on Schedule 4.14(c), no Target Company is being audited by any Tax authority or has been notified in writing by any Tax authority that any such audit is contemplated or pending. There are no claims, assessments, audits, examinations, investigations or other Actions pending against a Target Company in respect of any Tax, and no Target Company has been notified in writing of any proposed Tax claims or assessments against it (other than, in each case, claims or assessments for which adequate reserves in the Company Financials have been established).
(d) There are no Liens with respect to any Taxes upon any Target Company’s assets, other than Permitted Liens.
(e) Each Target Company has collected or withheld all Taxes currently required to be collected or withheld by it, and all such Taxes have been paid to the appropriate Governmental Authorities or set aside in appropriate accounts for future payment when due, in each case, except where the failure to collect, withhold, pay or set aside such Taxes has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.
(f) No Target Company has any outstanding waivers or extensions of any applicable statute of limitations to assess any amount of material Taxes. There are no outstanding requests by a Target Company for any extension of time within which to file any Tax Return or within which to pay any Taxes shown to be due on any Tax Return (other than any extension for which approval of a Governmental Authority is not required).
(g) No Target Company has made any change in accounting method for tax purposes (except as required by a change in Law) or received a ruling from, or signed an agreement with, any taxing authority that would reasonably be expected to have a material impact on its Taxes following the Closing.
22
(h) No Target Company has participated in, or sold, distributed or otherwise promoted, any “listed transaction,” as defined in Treasury Regulation section 1.6011-4.
(i) No Target Company has any Liability for the Taxes of another Person (other than another Target Company) (i) under any applicable Tax Law, (ii) as a transferee or successor, or (iii) by contract or indemnity (excluding commercial agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business the primary purpose of which was not the sharing of Taxes), in each case, except where such Liability for Taxes has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company. No Target Company is a party to or bound by any Tax indemnity agreement, Tax sharing agreement or Tax allocation agreement or similar agreement, arrangement or practice (excluding commercial agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business the primary purpose of which was not the sharing of Taxes) with respect to Taxes (including advance pricing agreement, closing agreement or other agreement relating to Taxes with any Governmental Authority) that will be binding on any Target Company with respect to any period following the Closing Date.
(j) No Target Company has requested, or is the subject of or bound by any private letter ruling, technical advice memorandum, closing agreement or similar ruling, memorandum or agreement with any Governmental Authority with respect to any income or other material Taxes, nor is any such request outstanding.
(k) No Target Company: (i) has constituted either a “distributing corporation” or a “controlled corporation” (within the meaning of Section 355(a)(1)(A) of the Code) in a distribution of securities (to any Person or entity that is not a member of the consolidated group of which the Company is the common parent corporation) qualifying for, or intended to qualify for, Tax-free treatment under Section 355 of the Code (A) within the two-year period ending on the date hereof or (B) in a distribution which could otherwise constitute part of a “plan” or “series of related transactions” (within the meaning of Section 355(e) of the Code) in conjunction with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; or (ii) is or has ever been (A) a U.S. real property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897(c)(2) of the Code, or (B) a member of any consolidated, combined, unitary or affiliated group of corporations for any Tax purposes other than a group of which the Company is or was the common parent corporation.
(l) No Target Company has taken any action, or has Knowledge of any fact or circumstance, that would reasonably be expected to prevent the Merger from qualifying as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the Company makes no representation or warranty related to (i) the amount, value or condition of any Tax asset or attribute (e.g. net operating loss carry-forward or Tax credit carry-forward) of the Company, or the ability of Purchaser, the Surviving Corporation or any of their Affiliates to utilize such Tax asset or attribute in any Tax period or portion thereof beginning on or after the Closing Date or (ii) any Taxes attributable to any Tax period or portion thereof beginning after the Closing Date.
4.15 Real Property. The Company has provided to the Purchaser a true and complete copy of each of all current leases, lease guarantees, agreements and documents, including all amendments, terminations and modifications thereof or waivers thereto, relating to all premises currently leased or subleased by a Target Company (collectively, the “Company Real Property Leases”), and in the case of any oral Company Real Property Lease, a written summary of the material terms of such Company Real Property Lease. The Company Real Property Leases are valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with their terms and are in full force and effect. To the Knowledge of the Company, no event has occurred which (whether with or without notice, lapse of time or both or the happening or occurrence of any other event) would constitute a default on the part of a Target Company or any other party under any of the Company Real Property Leases, and no Target Company has received written or, to the Knowledge of the Company, oral notice of any such condition. No Target Company owns or has ever owned any real property or any interest in real property (other than the leasehold interests in the Company Real Property Leases).
23
4.16 Personal Property. The Personal Property which is currently owned, used or leased by a Target Company are, in the aggregate, suitable for their intended use in the business of the Target Companies. The operation of each Target Company’s business as it is now conducted is not dependent upon the right to use the Personal Property of Persons other than a Target Company, except for such Personal Property that is owned by, leased, licensed or otherwise contracted to a Target Company.
4.17 Title to and Sufficiency of Assets. Each Target Company has title to, or a valid leasehold interest in or right to use, all of its assets, free and clear of all Liens other than (a) Permitted Liens, (b) the rights of lessors under leasehold interests, (iii) Liens specifically identified on the Interim Balance Sheet and (d) Liens set forth on Schedule 4.17. The assets of the Target Companies constitute all of the assets, rights and properties that are used in the operation of the businesses of the Target Companies as it is now conducted, and taken together, are adequate and sufficient for the operation of the businesses of the Target Companies as currently conducted, except as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.
4.18 Employee Matters.
(a) Except as set forth in Schedule 4.18(a), no Target Company is a party to any collective bargaining agreement or other Contract covering a group of employees or labor organization, and the Company has no Knowledge of any activities or proceedings of any labor union or other party to organize or represent such employees. There has not occurred or, to the Knowledge of the Company, been threatened any strike, slow-down, picketing, work-stoppage, or other similar labor activity with respect to any such employees. Schedule 4.18(a) sets forth all unresolved material labor controversies (including unresolved grievances and age or other discrimination claims), if any, that are pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened between any Target Company and Persons employed by or providing services as independent contractors to a Target Company. No current officer of a significant Target Company has provided any Target Company written or, to the Knowledge of the Company, oral notice of his or her plan to terminate his or her employment with any Target Company.
(b) Except as set forth in Schedule 4.18(b), each Target Company (i) is and has been in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Laws respecting employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment, health and safety and wages and hours, and other Laws relating to discrimination, disability, labor relations, hours of work, payment of wages and overtime wages, pay equity, immigration, workers compensation, working conditions, employee scheduling, occupational safety and health, family and medical leave, and employee terminations, and has not received written or, to the Knowledge of the Company, oral notice that there is any pending Action involving unfair labor practices against a Target Company, (ii) is not liable for any material past due arrears of wages or any material penalty for failure to comply with any of the foregoing, and (iii) to its Knowledge, is not liable for any material payment to any Governmental Authority with respect to unemployment compensation benefits, social security or other benefits or obligations for employees, independent contractors or consultants (other than routine payments to be made in the ordinary course of business and consistent with past practice).
24
(c) Except as set forth on Schedule 4.18(c), (A) no employee is a party to a written employment Contract with a Target Company and each is employed “at will,” and (B) the Target Companies have paid in full to all their employees all wages, salaries, commission, bonuses and other compensation due to their employees, including overtime compensation, and no Target Company has any material obligation or Liability (whether or not contingent) with respect to severance payments to any such employees under the terms of any written or, to the Company’s Knowledge, oral agreement, or commitment or any applicable Law, custom, trade or practice. Except as set forth in Schedule 4.18(c), each United States Target Company employee has entered into the Company’s standard form of employee non-disclosure, inventions and restrictive covenants agreement with a Target Company (whether pursuant to a separate agreement or incorporated as part of such employee’s overall employment agreement), a copy of which has been made available to the Purchaser by the Company.
(d) Except as set forth on Schedule 4.18(d), all independent contractors (including consultants) currently engaged by any Target Company are a party to a written Contract with a Target Company. Except as set forth on Schedule 4.18(d), each such independent contractor has entered into customary covenants regarding confidentiality, non-competition and assignment of inventions and copyrights in such Person’s agreement with a Target Company, a copy of which has been provided to the Purchaser by the Company. For the purposes of applicable Law, including the Code, all independent contractors who are currently, or within the last six (6) years have been, engaged by a Target Company are bona fide independent contractors and not employees of a Target Company.
4.19 Benefit Plans.
(a) Except as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to result in a Liability material to the Target Companies in the United States, taken as a whole, with respect to each Benefit Plan of a Target Company (each a “Company Benefit Plan”), there are no funded benefit obligations for which contributions have not been made or properly accrued and there are no unfunded benefit obligations that have not been accounted for by reserves, or otherwise properly footnoted in accordance with GAAP on the Company Financials. No Target Company is or has in the past been a member of a “controlled group” for purposes of Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Code, nor does any Target Company have any Liability with respect to any collectively-bargained for plans, whether or not subject to the provisions of ERISA.
(b) Except as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to result in a Liability material to the Target Companies, taken as a whole, each Company Benefit Plan is and has been operated at all times in compliance with all applicable Laws in all material respects, including ERISA and the Code. Each Company Benefit Plan which is intended to be “qualified” within the meaning of Section 401(a) of the Code (i) has been determined by the IRS to be so qualified (or is based on a prototype plan which has received a favorable opinion letter) during the period from its adoption to the date of this Agreement and (ii) its related trust has been determined to be exempt from taxation under Section 501(a) of the Code or the Target Companies have requested an initial favorable IRS determination of qualification and/or exemption within the period permitted by applicable Law. To the Knowledge of the Company, no fact exists which would reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the qualified status of such Company Benefit Plans or the exempt status of such trusts.
(c) Except as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to result in a Liability material to the Target Companies, taken as a whole, with respect to each Company Benefit Plan: (i) such Company Benefit Plan has been administered and enforced in all material respects in accordance with its terms, and all applicable Law, including the Code and ERISA; (ii) no breach of fiduciary duty has occurred; (iii) no Action is pending, or to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened (other than routine claims for benefits arising in the ordinary course of administration); (iv) no prohibited transaction, as defined in Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred, excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administration exemption; and (v) all contributions and premiums due through the Closing Date have been made in all material respects as required under ERISA or have been fully accrued in all material respects in accordance with GAAP on the Company Financials.
25
(d) No Company Benefit Plan is a “defined benefit plan” (as defined in Section 414(j) of the Code), a “multiemployer plan” (as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA) or a “multiple employer plan” (as described in Section 413(c) of the Code) or is otherwise subject to Title IV of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code, and no Target Company has incurred any Liability or otherwise could have any Liability, contingent or otherwise, under Title IV of ERISA and no condition presently exists that is expected to cause such Liability to be incurred. No Company Benefit Plan will become a multiple employer plan with respect to any Target Company immediately after the Closing Date. No Target Company currently maintains or has ever maintained, or is required currently or has ever been required to contribute to or otherwise participate in, a multiple employer welfare arrangement or voluntary employees’ beneficiary association as defined in Section 501(c)(9) of the Code.
(e) Except as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to result in a Liability material to the Target Companies, taken as a whole, with respect to each Company Benefit Plan which is a “welfare plan” (as described in Section 3(1) of ERISA): (i) no such plan provides medical or death benefits with respect to current or former employees of a Target Company beyond their termination of employment (other than coverage mandated by Law, which is paid solely by such employees); and (ii) there are no reserves, assets, surplus or prepaid premiums under any such plan. Each Target Company has complied with the provisions of Section 601 et seq. of ERISA and Section 4980B of the Code.
(f) Except as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to result in a Liability material to the Target Companies, taken as a whole, the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents will not: (i) entitle any individual to severance pay, unemployment compensation or other benefits or compensation; or (ii) accelerate the time of payment or vesting, or increase the amount of any compensation due, or in respect of, any individual.
(g) Except as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to result in a Liability material to the Target Companies, taken as a whole, (i) each Company Benefit Plan that is subject to Section 409A of the Code (each, a “Section 409A Plan”) as of the Closing Date has been administered in material compliance, and is in documentary compliance in all material respects, with the applicable provisions of Section 409A of the Code, the regulations thereunder; and other official guidance issued thereunder; and (ii) there is no Contract or plan to which any Target Company is a party or by which it is bound to compensate any employee, consultant or director for penalty taxes paid or liability incurred pursuant to Section 409A of the Code.
4.20 Environmental Matters. Except as set forth in Schedule 4.20:
(a) To the Knowledge of the Company, each Target Company is and has been in compliance in all material respects with applicable Environmental Laws, including obtaining, maintaining in good standing, and complying with all material Permits required for its business and operations by Environmental Laws (“Environmental Permits”), no Action or Order from any Governmental Authority is pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened in writing to revoke, modify, or terminate any such Environmental Permit, and, to the Company’s Knowledge, no facts, circumstances, or conditions currently exist that could adversely affect such continued compliance with Environmental Laws and Environmental Permits.
(b) No Target Company has manufactured, treated, stored, disposed of, arranged for or permitted the disposal of, generated, handled or Released any Hazardous Material, or owned or operated any property or facility, in a manner that has given or would reasonably be expected to give rise to any material Liability or obligation under applicable Environmental Laws. No fact, circumstance, or condition exists in respect of any Target Company or any property currently or formerly owned, operated, or leased by any Target Company or any property to which a Target Company arranged for the disposal or treatment of Hazardous Materials that could reasonably be expected to result in a Target Company incurring any material Environmental Liabilities.
(c) There is no investigation of the business, operations, or currently owned, operated, or leased property of a Target Company or, to the Company’s Knowledge, previously owned, operated, or leased property of a Target Company pending or, to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened that could lead to the imposition of any Liens under any Environmental Law or material Environmental Liabilities.
26
4.21 Transactions with Related Persons. Except as set forth on Schedule 4.21, no Target Company nor any of its Affiliates, nor any officer, director, manager, employee, trustee or beneficiary of a Target Company or any of its Affiliates, nor any immediate family member of any of the foregoing (whether directly or indirectly through an Affiliate of such Person) (each of the foregoing, a “Related Person”) is presently, or, since January 1, 2018, has been, a party to any transaction with a Target Company, including any Contract or other arrangement (a) providing for the furnishing of services by (other than as officers, directors or employees of the Target Company), (b) providing for the rental of real property or Personal Property from or (c) otherwise requiring payments to (other than for services or expenses as directors, officers or employees of the Target Company in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice) any Related Person or any Person in which any Related Person has an interest as an owner, officer, manager, director, trustee or partner or in which any Related Person has any direct or indirect interest (other than the ownership of securities representing no more than five percent (5%) of the outstanding voting power or economic interest of a publicly traded company).
4.22 Insurance.
(a) Copies of all insurance policies held by a Target Company relating to a Target Company or its business, properties, assets, directors, officers and employees have been provided to the Purchaser. All premiums due and payable under all such insurance policies have been paid and the Target Companies are otherwise in material compliance with the terms of such insurance policies. As of the date hereof, each such insurance policy (i) is legal, valid, binding, enforceable and in full force and effect and (ii) to the Knowledge of the Company, will continue to be legal, valid, binding, enforceable, and in full force and effect on identical terms following the Closing. No Target Company has any self-insurance or co-insurance programs. Since January 1, 2019, no Target Company has received any notice from, or on behalf of, any insurance carrier relating to or involving any adverse change or any material change other than in the ordinary course of business, in the conditions of insurance, any refusal to issue an insurance policy, other than in the ordinary course of business, or non-renewal of a policy.
(b) Each Target Company has reported to its insurers all material claims and pending circumstances that would reasonably be expected to result in a material claim, except where such failure to report such a claim would not be reasonably likely to be material to the Target Companies, taken as a whole. No Target Company has made any claim against an insurance policy as to which the insurer is denying coverage.
27
4.23 Top Customers and Suppliers. As of the date hereof, the relationships of the Target Companies with each customer of the Target Companies that accounted for ten percent (10%) or more of the Company’s consolidated revenues for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 and the six months ended June 30, 2020 (the “Top Customers”) and each supplier of goods or services to the Target Companies that accounted for ten percent (10%) of the Company’s purchases (on a consolidated basis) for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 and the six months ended June 30, 2020 (the “Top Suppliers”) has a good commercial working relationships, and (i) no Top Supplier or Top Customer has cancelled or terminated, or, to the Actual Knowledge of the Company, intends to cancel or otherwise terminate, any material relationships of such Person with a Target Company, other than a termination that results from the completion of a pending contract or purchase order and (ii) no Target Company has within the past two (2) years been engaged in any material Action with any Top Supplier or Top Customer.
4.24 Certain Business Practices.
(a) No Target Company, nor any of their respective Representatives acting on their behalf has (i) used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees, to foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns or violated any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 or (iii) made any other unlawful payment. No Target Company, nor any of their respective Representatives acting on their behalf has directly or indirectly, given or agreed to give any unlawful gift or similar benefit in any material amount to any customer, supplier, governmental employee or other Person who is or may be in a position to help or hinder any Target Company or assist any Target Company in connection with any actual or proposed transaction.
(b) The operations of each Target Company are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with laundering statutes in all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Authority, and no Action involving a Target Company with respect to the any of the foregoing is pending or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(c) No Target Company or any of their respective directors or officers, or, to the Knowledge of the Company, any other Representative acting on behalf of a Target Company is currently identified on the specially designated nationals or other blocked person list or otherwise currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC, and no Target Company has, directly or indirectly, used any funds, or loaned, contributed or otherwise made available such funds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, in connection with any sales or operations in Cuba, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Myanmar or any other country sanctioned by OFAC or for the purpose of financing the activities of any Person currently subject to, or otherwise in violation of, any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC in the last four (4) fiscal years.
4.25 Investment Company Act . No Target Company is an “investment company” or a Person directly or indirectly “controlled” by or acting on behalf of an “investment company,” in each case within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
4.26 Finders and Brokers . Except as set forth in Schedule 4.26, no Target Company has incurred or will incur any Liability for any brokerage, finder’s or other fee or commission in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby.
4.27 Independent Investigation. The Company has conducted its own independent investigation, review and analysis of the business, results of operations, prospects, condition (financial or otherwise) or assets of the Purchaser, and acknowledges that it has been provided adequate access to the personnel, properties, assets, premises, books and records, and other documents and data of the Purchaser for such purpose. The Company acknowledges and agrees that: (a) in making its decision to enter into this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, it has relied solely upon its own investigation and the express representations and warranties of the Purchaser set forth in Article III (including the related portions of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules and the SEC Reports); and (b) neither the Purchaser nor any of its Representatives have made any representation or warranty as to the Purchaser or this Agreement, except as expressly set forth in Article III (including the related portions of the Purchaser Disclosure Schedules).
28
4.28 Information Supplied. None of the information supplied or to be supplied by the Company expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference: (a) in any report, form, registration or other filing made with any Governmental Authority (including the SEC) with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any Ancillary Documents; (b) in the Registration Statement; or (c) in the mailings or other distributions to the Purchaser’s stockholders and/or prospective investors with respect to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or in any amendment to any of documents identified in (a) through (c), will, when filed, made available, mailed or distributed, as the case may be, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. None of the information supplied or to be supplied by the Company expressly for inclusion or incorporation by reference in any of the Signing Press Release, the Signing Filing, the Closing Press Release and the Closing Filing will, when filed or distributed, as applicable, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company makes no representation, warranty or covenant with respect to any information supplied by or on behalf of the Purchaser or its Affiliates.
Article
V
COVENANTS
5.1 Access and Information.
(a) Subject to Section 5.16, the Company shall give, and shall direct its Representatives to give, the Purchaser and its Representatives, at reasonable times during normal business hours and upon reasonable intervals and notice, reasonable access to all offices and other facilities and to appropriate officers and employees and to respective properties, Contracts, agreements, commitments, books and records, financial and operating data and other information (including Tax Returns, internal working papers, client files, client Contracts and director service agreements), of or pertaining to the Target Companies, as the Purchaser or its Representatives may reasonably request regarding the Target Companies and their respective businesses, assets, Liabilities, financial condition, prospects, operations, management, employees and other aspects (including unaudited quarterly financial statements, including a consolidated quarterly balance sheet and income statement, a copy of each material report, schedule and other document filed with or received by a Governmental Authority pursuant to the requirements of applicable securities Laws, and independent public accountants’ work papers (subject to the consent or any other conditions required by such accountants, if any)) and instruct each of the Company’s Representatives to reasonably cooperate with the Purchaser and its Representatives in their investigation; provided, however, that the Purchaser and its Representatives shall conduct any such activities in such a manner as not to unreasonably interfere with the business or operations of the Target Companies. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may restrict or otherwise prohibit access to any documents or information to the extent that (a) any applicable Law requires the Company to restrict or otherwise prohibit access to such documents or information; (b) access to such documents would be in violation of the HSR Act, Xxxxxxx Act, or any applicable non-U.S. antitrust or competition laws; (c) access to such documents or information would give rise to a material risk of waiving any attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine or other similar privilege applicable to such documents or information; or (d) such documents or information are reasonably pertinent to any adverse legal proceeding between the Company and its Affiliates, on the one hand, and Purchaser and its Affiliates, on the other hand. Nothing in this Section 5.1 will be construed to require the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective Representatives to prepare any reports, statements, analyses, appraisals, opinions or other information not otherwise prepared in the ordinary course of business.
29
(b) Subject to Section 5.16, the Purchaser shall give, and shall direct its Representatives to give, the Company and its Representatives, at reasonable times during normal business hours and upon reasonable intervals and notice, access to all offices and other facilities and to all appropriate officers and employees and to respective properties, Contracts, agreements, commitments, books and records, financial and operating data and other information (including Tax Returns, internal working papers, client files, client Contracts and director service agreements), of or pertaining to the Purchaser or its Subsidiaries, as the Company or its Representatives may reasonably request regarding the Purchaser, its Subsidiaries and their respective businesses, assets, Liabilities, financial condition, prospects, operations, management, employees and other aspects (including unaudited quarterly financial statements, including a consolidated quarterly balance sheet and income statement, a copy of each material report, schedule and other document filed with or received by a Governmental Authority pursuant to the requirements of applicable securities Laws, and independent public accountants’ work papers (subject to the consent or any other conditions required by such accountants, if any)) and instruct each of the Purchaser’s Representatives to reasonably cooperate with the Company and its Representatives in their investigation; provided, however, that the Company and its Representatives shall conduct any such activities in such a manner as not to unreasonably interfere with the business or operations of the Purchaser or any of its Subsidiaries. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Purchaser may restrict or otherwise prohibit access to any documents or information to the extent that (a) any applicable Law requires the Purchaser to restrict or otherwise prohibit access to such documents or information; (b) access to such documents would be in violation of the HSR Act, Xxxxxxx Act, or any applicable non-U.S. antitrust or competition laws; (c) access to such documents or information would give rise to a material risk of waiving any attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine or other similar privilege applicable to such documents or information; or (d) such documents or information are reasonably pertinent to any adverse legal proceeding between the Company and its Affiliates, on the one hand, and Purchaser and its Affiliates, on the other hand. Nothing in this Section 5.1 will be construed to require the Purchaser, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective Representatives to prepare any reports, statements, analyses, appraisals, opinions or other information not otherwise prepared in the ordinary course of business.
5.2 Conduct of Business of the Company .
(a) Unless the Purchaser shall otherwise consent in writing (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), during the period from the date of this Agreement and continuing until the earlier of the termination of this Agreement in accordance with Section 7.1 or the Closing (the “Interim Period”), except as expressly contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth on Schedule 5.2, the Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, (i) conduct their respective businesses, in all material respects, in the ordinary course of business substantially consistent with past practice, (ii) comply with all Laws applicable to the Target Companies and their respective businesses, assets and employees, and (iii) take all commercially reasonable measures necessary or appropriate to preserve intact, in all material respects, their respective business organizations, to keep available the services of their respective managers, directors, officers, employees and consultants to the extent that the Company deems appropriate, and to preserve the possession, control and condition of their respective material assets, all as consistent with past practice. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain from the key executive employees in its China division a non-dislosure and non-competition agreement.
(b) Without limiting the generality of Section 5.2(a) and except as contemplated by the terms of this Agreement or as set forth on Schedule 5.2, during the Interim Period, without the prior written consent of the Purchaser (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), the Company shall not, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to not:
(i) amend, waive or otherwise change, in any respect, its Organizational Documents, except as required by applicable Law;
30
(ii) authorize for issuance, issue, grant, sell, pledge, dispose of or propose to issue, grant, sell, pledge or dispose of any of its equity securities or any options, warrants, commitments, subscriptions or rights of any kind to acquire or sell any of its equity securities, or other securities, including any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any of its shares or other equity securities or securities of any class and any other equity-based awards, or engage in any hedging transaction with a third Person with respect to such securities, except for the issuance of Company Options in connection with employee compensation in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and the issuance of Company Convertible Debt in accordance with past practice in excess of $250,000, except that the $250,000 limitation shall not apply to convertible notes issued to former limited partners of Clean Energy Funding, LP;
(iii) other than cash dividends made by any Subsidiary of the Company to the Company or one of its Subsidiaries, split, combine, recapitalize or reclassify any of its shares or other equity interests or issue any other securities in respect thereof or pay or set aside any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, equity or property or any combination thereof) in respect of its equity interests, or directly or indirectly redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire or offer to acquire any of its securities except as set forth in Schedule 5.2(b);
(iv) incur, create, assume, prepay or otherwise become liable for any Indebtedness (directly, contingently or otherwise), make a material loan or advance to or material investment in any third party (other than advancement of expenses to employees in the ordinary course of business), or guarantee or endorse any Indebtedness, Liability or obligation of any Person except with respect to Subsidiaries other that borrowings in the normal course of business;
(v) increase the wages, salaries or compensation of its officers other than in the ordinary course of business, consistent with past practice, or make or commit to make any bonus payment (whether in cash, property or securities) to any employee other than in the ordinary course of business, consistent with past practice or pursuant to existing employment agreements, or enter into, establish, materially amend or terminate any material Company Benefit Plan with, for or in respect of any current officer, in each case other than as required by applicable Law, pursuant to the terms of any Company Benefit Plans or in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
(vi) make or rescind any material election relating to Taxes, settle any claim, action, suit, litigation, proceeding, arbitration, investigation, audit or controversy relating to Taxes, file any amended Tax Return or claim for refund, or make any material change in its accounting or Tax policies or procedures, in each case, except as required by applicable Law or in compliance with GAAP;
(vii) establish any Subsidiary other than in the ordinary course of business or enter into any new line of business;
(viii) revalue any of its material assets or make any change in accounting methods, principles or practices, except to the extent required by applicable Law or required to comply with GAAP and after consulting with the Company’s outside auditors;
(ix) waive, release, settle or compromise any claim, action or proceeding (including any suit, action, claim, proceeding or investigation relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby) in excess of $250,000 (individually or in the aggregate) or that otherwise impose non-monetary obligations that are material to the business or operations of the Target Companies taken as a whole other than the issuance of Company Convertible Debt to limited partners of CEF;
(x) acquire, including by merger, consolidation, acquisition of stock or assets, or any other form of business combination, any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, other business organization or any division thereof, or any material amount of assets outside the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice;
31
(xi) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization;
(xii) enter into any agreement, understanding or arrangement with respect to the voting of equity securities of the Company other than the Voting Agreement;
(xiii) enter into, amend, waive or terminate (other than terminations in accordance with their terms) any transaction with any Related Person (other than compensation and benefits and advancement of expenses, in each case, provided in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice); or
(xiv) authorize or agree to do any of the foregoing actions.
5.3 Conduct of Business of the Purchaser.
(a) Unless the Company shall otherwise consent in writing (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), during the Interim Period, except as expressly contemplated by this Agreement or as set forth on Schedule 5.3, the Purchaser shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, (i) conduct their respective businesses, in all material respects, in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, (ii) comply with all Laws applicable to the Purchaser and its Subsidiaries and their respective businesses, assets and employees, and (iii) take all commercially reasonable measures necessary or appropriate to preserve intact, in all material respects, their respective business organizations, to keep available the services of their respective managers, directors, officers, employees and consultants, and to preserve the possession, control and condition of their respective material assets, all as consistent with past practice.
(b) Without limiting the generality of Section 5.3(a) and except as contemplated by the terms of this Agreement (including the Domestication, the Initial Extension and the Second Extension and the provisions of Section 5.20) or as set forth on Schedule 5.3, during the Interim Period, without the prior written consent of the Company (except with respect to Section 5.3(b)(ii) and (iv) (unless set forth on Schedule 5.3), such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), the Purchaser shall not, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to not:
(i) amend, waive or otherwise change, in any respect, its Organizational Documents, except as required by Law;
(ii) authorize for issuance, issue, grant, sell, pledge, dispose of or propose to issue, grant, sell, pledge or dispose of any of its equity securities or any options, warrants, commitments, subscriptions or rights of any kind to acquire or sell any of its equity securities, or other securities, including any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any of its equity securities or other security interests of any class and any other equity-based awards, or engage in any hedging transaction with a third Person with respect to such securities;
(iii) split, combine, recapitalize or reclassify any of its shares or other equity interests or issue any other securities in respect thereof or pay or set aside any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, equity or property or any combination thereof) in respect of its shares or other equity interests, or directly or indirectly redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire or offer to acquire any of its securities;
32
(iv) incur, create, assume, prepay or otherwise become liable for any Indebtedness (directly, contingently or otherwise) in excess of $50,000 (individually or in the aggregate), make a material loan or advance to or material investment in any third party, or guarantee or endorse any Indebtedness, Liability or obligation of any Person (provided, that this Section 5.3(b)(iv) shall not prevent the Purchaser from borrowing funds necessary to finance its ordinary course administrative expenses and its Expenses incurred in connection with the consummation of the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the Initial Extension and the Second Extension, up to aggregate additional Indebtedness during the Interim Period of $1,000,000 (each of such borrowings, a “Bridge Loan”);
(v) make or rescind any material election relating to Taxes, settle any claim, action, suit, litigation, proceeding, arbitration, investigation, audit or controversy relating to Taxes, file any amended Tax Return or claim for refund, or make any material change in its accounting or Tax policies or procedures, in each case except as required by applicable Law or in compliance with GAAP;
(vi) amend, waive or otherwise change the Trust Agreement in any manner adverse to the Purchaser;
(vii) establish any Subsidiary or enter into any new line of business;
(viii) revalue any of its material assets or make any change in accounting methods, principles or practices, except to the extent required by applicable Law or to comply with GAAP and after consulting the Purchaser’s outside auditors;
(ix) waive, release, settle or compromise any claim, action or proceeding (including any suit, action, claim, proceeding or investigation relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby) in excess of $250,000 (individually or in the aggregate) or that otherwise impose non-monetary obligations that are material to the business or operations of the Purchaser;
(x) acquire, including by merger, consolidation, acquisition of stock or assets, or any other form of business combination, any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, other business organization or any division thereof, or any material amount of assets outside the ordinary course of business;
(xi) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization (other than with respect to the Merger);
(xii) enter into any agreement, understanding or arrangement with respect to the voting of Purchaser Securities; or
(xiii) authorize or agree to do any of the foregoing actions.
(c) Purchaser shall submit to Nasdaq a plan reasonably acceptable to the Company to regain compliance with the Nasdaq Minimum Public Holders Rule or otherwise satisfy Nasdaq as to its compliance with such Rule..
33
5.4 Annual and Interim Financial Statements. From the date hereof through the Closing Date, within forty five (45) calendar days following the end of each calendar month or each three-month quarterly period and ninety (90) days after the completion of each fiscal year, the Company shall deliver to the Purchaser a consolidated income statement and an consolidated balance sheet for the period from the Interim Balance Sheet Date through the end of such calendar month, quarterly period or fiscal year and the applicable comparative period in the preceding fiscal year. The financial information for the monthly period shall be derived from the Company’s books and records and need not be prepared in accordance with GAAP. The financial statements for the quarterly and annual period shall be in the form that would be applicable for a filing with the SEC on Form 10-Q and Form 10-K, respectively.
5.5 Purchaser Public Filings. During the Interim Period, the Purchaser will keep current and timely file all of its public filings with the SEC and otherwise comply in all material respects with applicable securities Laws and shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the listing of the Purchaser Public Units, the Purchaser Common Stock and the Purchaser Public Warrants on Nasdaq; provided, that the Parties acknowledge and agree that from and after the Closing, Purchaser intends to list on Nasdaq only the Purchaser Common Stock and the Purchaser Public Warrants.
5.6 No Solicitation.
(a) For purposes of this Agreement, (i) an “Acquisition Proposal” means any inquiry, proposal or offer, or any indication of interest in making an offer or proposal, from any Person or group at any time relating to an Alternative Transaction, and (ii) an “Alternative Transaction” means (A) with respect to the Company and its Affiliates, a transaction (other than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement) concerning the sale of (x) 15% or more of the consolidated assets of the Target Companies (other than in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice) or (y) 15% or more of any class of equity interests or profits of the Target Companies, in any case, whether such transaction takes the form of a sale of shares or other equity, assets, merger, consolidation, issuance of debt securities, management Contract, joint venture or partnership, or otherwise and (B) with respect to the Purchaser and its Affiliates, a transaction (other than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement) concerning a Business Combination.
(b) During the Interim Period, each Party shall not, and shall cause its Representatives to not, without the prior written consent of the Company and the Purchaser, directly or indirectly, (i) solicit, assist, initiate or facilitate the making, submission or announcement of, or intentionally encourage, any Acquisition Proposal, (ii) furnish any non-public information regarding such Party or its Affiliates or their respective businesses, operations, assets, Liabilities, financial condition, prospects or employees to any Person or group (other than a Party to this Agreement or their respective Representatives) in connection with or in response to an Acquisition Proposal, (iii) engage or participate in discussions or negotiations with any Person or group with respect to, or that could be expected to lead to, an Acquisition Proposal, (iv) subject to Section 5.6(c), approve, endorse or recommend, or publicly propose to approve, endorse or recommend, any Acquisition Proposal, or (v) negotiate or enter into any letter of intent, agreement in principle, acquisition agreement or other similar agreement related to any Acquisition Proposal.
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of Section 5.6(b), prior to obtaining the Required Company Stockholder Approval, the Company’s board of directors may, directly or indirectly, through any Representative, with respect to any third party (and its Representatives) that has made an Acquisition Proposal after the date of this Agreement that was not solicited in violation of Section 5.6(b) and that the Company’s board of directors determines in good faith (after consultation with its financial advisor and its outside legal counsel) either constitutes or is reasonably expected to lead to a Superior Proposal, (x) engage or participate in discussions or negotiations with such third party (and its Representatives), and/or (y) furnish any non-public information relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to such third party (and its Representatives and actual and potential debt financing sources), provided that, in the case of any action taken pursuant to the foregoing (x) or (y): (i) the Company’s board of directors has determined in good faith (after consultation with its financial advisor and its outside legal counsel) that the failure to take such action would reasonably be expected to be inconsistent with its fiduciary duties; (ii) either the Company is already a party to a confidentiality agreement with such third party or the Company enters into a confidentiality agreement with such third party; (iii) the Company notifies Purchaser of the identity of such Person and provides Purchaser with the material terms of such Acquisition Proposal; and (iv) contemporaneously with furnishing any non-public information to such third party (and/or its Representatives), the Company furnishes such non-public information to Purchaser (and/or its Representatives) (to the extent such information has not been previously furnished to Purchaser).
34
(d) Each Party shall notify the others as promptly as practicable (and in any event within 48 hours) orally and in writing of the receipt by such Party or any of its Representatives of any bona fide inquiries, proposals or offers, requests for information or requests for discussions or negotiations regarding or constituting any Acquisition Proposal or any bona fide inquiries, proposals or offers, requests for information or requests for discussions or negotiations that could be expected to result in an Acquisition Proposal, specifying in each case, the material terms and conditions thereof (including a copy thereof if in writing or a written summary thereof if oral) and the identity of the party making such inquiry, proposal, offer or request for information. Each Party shall keep the others promptly informed of the status of any such inquiries, proposals, offers or requests for information. During the Interim Period, subject to Section 5.6(c), each Party shall, and shall cause its Representatives to, immediately cease and cause to be terminated any solicitations, discussions or negotiations with any Person with respect to any Acquisition Proposal and shall, and shall direct its Representatives to, cease and terminate any such solicitations, discussions or negotiations.
5.7 No Trading. The Company acknowledges and agrees that it is aware, and that the Company’s Affiliates are aware (and to the Knowledge of the Company each of their respective Representatives is aware or, upon receipt of any material nonpublic information of the Purchaser, will be advised) of the restrictions imposed by U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq promulgated thereunder or otherwise (the “Federal Securities Laws”) and other applicable foreign and domestic Laws on a Person possessing material nonpublic information about a publicly traded company. The Company hereby agrees that, while it is in possession of such material nonpublic information, it shall not purchase or sell any securities of the Purchaser (other than to engage in the Merger in accordance with Article I), communicate such information to any third party, take any other action with respect to the Purchaser in violation of such Laws, or cause or encourage any third party to do any of the foregoing except as provided in this Agreement.
5.8 Notification of Certain Matters. During the Interim Period, each of the Parties shall give prompt notice to the other Parties if such Party or its Affiliates: (a) fails to comply with or satisfy any covenant, condition or agreement to be complied with or satisfied by it or its Affiliates hereunder in any material respect; (b) receives any notice or other communication in writing from any third party (including any Governmental Authority) alleging (i) that the Consent of such third party is or may be required in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or (ii) any non-compliance with any Law by such Party or its Affiliates; (c) receives any notice or other communication from any Governmental Authority in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; (d) discovers any fact or circumstance that, or becomes aware of the occurrence or non-occurrence of any event the occurrence or non-occurrence of which, would reasonably be expected to cause or result in any of the conditions to set forth in Article VI not being satisfied or the satisfaction of those conditions being materially delayed; or (e) becomes aware of the commencement or threat, in writing, of any Action against such Party or any of its Affiliates, or any of their respective properties or assets, or, to the Knowledge of such Party, any officer, director, partner, member or manager, in his, her or its capacity as such, of such Party or of its Affiliates with respect to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. No such notice shall constitute an acknowledgement or admission by the Party providing the notice regarding whether or not any of the conditions to the Closing have been satisfied or in determining whether or not any of the representations, warranties or covenants contained in this Agreement have been breached.
35
5.9 Efforts.
(a) Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, each Party shall use its commercially reasonable efforts, and shall cooperate fully with the other Parties, to take, or cause to be taken, all actions and to do, or cause to be done, all things necessary, proper or advisable under applicable Laws and regulations to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (including the receipt of all applicable Consents of Governmental Authorities) and to comply as promptly as practicable with all requirements of Governmental Authorities applicable to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(b) As soon as reasonably practicable following the date of this Agreement, the Parties shall cooperate in all respects with each other and use (and shall cause their respective Affiliates to use) their respective commercially reasonable efforts to prepare and file with Governmental Authorities requests for approval of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and shall use all commercially reasonable efforts to have such Governmental Authorities approve the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. Each Party shall give prompt written notice to the other Parties if such Party or its Representatives receives any notice from such Governmental Authorities in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and shall promptly furnish the other Parties with a copy of such Governmental Authority notice. If any Governmental Authority requires that a hearing or meeting be held in connection with its approval of the transactions contemplated hereby, whether prior to the Closing or after the Closing, each Party shall arrange for Representatives of such Party to be present for such hearing or meeting. If any objections are asserted with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement under any applicable Law or if any Action is instituted (or threatened to be instituted) by any applicable Governmental Authority or any private Person challenging any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any Ancillary Document as violative of any applicable Law or which would otherwise prevent, materially impede or materially delay the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby, the Parties shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to resolve any such objections or Actions so as to timely permit consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Ancillary Documents, including in order to resolve such objections or Actions which, in any case if not resolved, could reasonably be expected to prevent, materially impede or materially delay the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby. In the event any Action is instituted (or threatened to be instituted) by a Governmental Authority or private Person challenging the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, or any Ancillary Document, the Parties shall, and shall cause their respective Representatives to, cooperate in all respects with each other and use their respective commercially reasonable efforts to contest and resist any such Action and to have vacated, lifted, reversed or overturned any Order, whether temporary, preliminary or permanent, that is in effect and that prohibits, prevents or restricts consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents.
(c) Prior to the Closing, each Party shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain any Consents of Governmental Authorities or other third Persons as may be necessary for the consummation by such Party or its Affiliates of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or required as a result of the execution or performance of, or consummation of the transactions contemplated by, this Agreement by such Party or its Affiliates, and the other Parties shall provide reasonable cooperation in connection with such efforts.
36
(d) During the Interim Period, Purchaser shall obtain the agreement of the underwriter in the Purchaser’s initial public offering and the holders of the Purchaser’s promissory notes that were outstanding on September 3, 2020 that all deferred underwriting and related fees due to such underwriter and all of such outstanding promissory notes shall be settled by the delivery by the Sponsor and its affiliates of shares of Company Common Stock or other securities owned by them.
(e) During the Interim Period, Purchaser shall obtain the agreement of the Sponsor to transfer to the Purchaser for cancellation such number of shares of Purchaser Common Stock as has a value equal to the cash paid by the Surviving Corporation to pay all of the Purchaser’s liabilities, including contingent liabilities, on the Closing Date (other than Purchaser Closing Expenses). The term “Purchaser Closing Expenses” shall mean all expenses relating to this Agreement and the Merger which are incurred by Purchaser on or after the date that the Registration Statement is initially filed with the SEC, but shall not include any expenses relating to the Second Extension. The notes issued by the Purchaser to the Company in connection with the Extension Loans pursuant to Section 5.12(a) shall not be treated as expenses related to the extension of the date the acquisition must be completed.
5.10 Tax Matters. Each of the Parties shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Merger to qualify as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code. None of the Parties shall (and each of the Parties shall cause their respective Subsidiaries not to) take any action, or fail to take any action, that could reasonably be expected to cause the Merger to fail to qualify as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code. The Parties intend to report and, except to the extent otherwise required by Law, shall report, for federal income tax purposes, the Merger as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code.
5.11 Further Assurances. The Parties hereto shall further cooperate with each other and use their respective commercially reasonable efforts to take or cause to be taken all actions, and do or cause to be done all things, necessary, proper or advisable on their part under this Agreement and applicable Laws to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement as soon as reasonably practicable, including preparing and filing as soon as practicable all documentation to effect all necessary notices, reports and other filings.
5.12 Extensions.
(a) The Purchaser and the Company acknowledge that the Purchaser has elected to extend the date by which the Purchaser must consummate its initial Business Combination from April 27, 2020 to October 26, 2020 (the “Initial Extension”). The Purchaser and the Company acknowledge that in order to finance the Initial Extension, the Company has made loans to the Purchaser of $60,000 per month as a non-interest bearing loan (collectively, the “Extension Loans” and each an “Extension Loan”), repayable upon the earlier of the consummation of the Purchaser’s Business Combination or liquidation (subject to Section 8.1) and agreed to make additional Extension Loans in the amount of the lesser of (x) $60,000 per month or (y) the monthly cash contribution to be paid to the public stockholders of Purchaser who have not redeemed their Purchaser Shares in connection with the Second Extension; provided, that the Company shall not be required to make Extension Loans for more than six months, including Loans made prior to the date of this Agreement.
37
(b) The Company and the Purchaser reasonably believes that the Closing is not likely to occur by October 26, 2020, but that the parties are reasonably capable of causing the Closing to occur prior to April 26, 2021 (the “Outside Date”), and the Purchaser has extended the deadline for the Purchaser to consummate its initial Business Combination beyond the Initial Extension (the “Second Extension”) to a date no earlier than the Outside Date (or such earlier date as the Company and the Purchaser may otherwise agree, and which may be structured as multiple monthly or other periodic extensions at the election of the Purchaser without the requirement to seek additional Purchaser stockholder approval) and shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain such approval. The Purchaser shall obtain the agreement of the Sponsor to make such loans to the Purchaser as shall be necessary to finance such Second Extension in excess of the Extension Loans made or to be made by the Company pursuant to Section 5.12(a), and to pay the costs and expenses of Second Extension (including the amount of any additional deposits to the Trust Account that the Purchaser has agreed to make, and in the event that the Second Extension is structured as multiple monthly or other periodic extensions at the election of the Purchaser (any such individual or collective loans, “Second Extension Loan”), repayable upon the earlier of the consummation of the Purchaser’s Business Combination or liquidation (subject to Sections 5.9(c) and 8.1).
5.13 The Registration Statement.
(a) As promptly as practicable after the date hereof, the Purchaser shall prepare with the reasonable assistance of the Company, and file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 (as amended or supplemented from time to time, and including the Proxy Statement contained therein, the “Registration Statement”) in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of the Purchaser Common Stock to be issued under this Agreement as the Merger Consideration, which Registration Statement will also contain a proxy statement (as amended, the “Proxy Statement”) for the purpose of (x) soliciting proxies from Purchaser stockholders for the matters to be acted upon at the Purchaser Special Meeting and providing the Public Stockholders an opportunity in accordance with the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents and the IPO Prospectus to have their Purchaser Common Stock redeemed (the “Redemption”) in conjunction with the stockholder vote on the Purchaser Stockholder Approval Matters and (y) soliciting proxies from holders of Company Stock for the matters to be acted upon at the Company Special Meeting.
(i) The Proxy Statement shall include proxy materials for the purpose of soliciting proxies from Purchaser stockholders to vote, at an extraordinary general meeting of Purchaser stockholders to be called and held for such purpose (the “Purchaser Special Meeting”), in favor of resolutions approving (i) the Domestication by the holders of Purchaser Common Stock in accordance with the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents, the Companies Act, the Nevada Law and the rules and regulations of the SEC and NASDAQ; (ii) the adoption and approval of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby or referred to herein, including the Merger and the Domestication, by the holders of Purchaser Common Stock in accordance with the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents, the Companies Act, the Nevada Law and the rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq, (iii) the amendment of Article 47.4 of the Memorandum of Association of the Purchaser to change the words “upon such consummation” to “prior to or upon such consummation”; (iv) the adoption and approval of the Articles of Incorporation of the Purchaser upon the Domestication (the “Interim Purchaser Charter”) in substantially the form set forth in Exhibit B-1, (v) the adoption and approval of the Articles of Incorporation of the Purchaser following the consummation of the Merger (the “Amended Purchaser Charter,” in substantially the form set forth in Exhibit B-2; (vi) the adoption and approval of a new equity incentive plan in a form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser and the Company (the “Incentive Plan”), and which Incentive Plan will provide for awards for a number of shares of Purchaser Common Stock equal to the sum of (x) five percent (5.0%) of the aggregate number of shares of Purchaser Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately after the Closing (giving effect to the Redemption and shares issued in any private financing) and (y) such number of shares of Purchaser Common Stock as may be issuable pursuant to the Assumed Options; (vii) approval of the issuance of shares of Purchaser Common Stock (w) issuable to the holders of Company Common Stock as the Merger Consideration pursuant to this Agreement, (x) issuable upon conversion of any Company Convertible Notes outstanding at the Effective Time and any Company Convertible Notes which may be issued subsequent to the Effective Time to limited partners of CEF in respect of loans made by CEF to a subsidiary of the Company, (y) issuable upon exercise or conversion of Purchaser Securities issued to the Purchaser’s public shareholders in connection with the First and Second Extensions, and (z) issued or issuable in one or more private placements subsequent to the date of this Agreement, including shares issuable upon convertible securities issued in connection with such private placements and (viii) the election of the Purchaser’s Board to serve upon completion of the Merger (the approvals described in foregoing clauses (i) through (viii), collectively, the “Purchaser Stockholder Approval Matters”), and (ix) the adjournment of the Purchaser Special Meeting, if necessary or desirable in the reasonable determination of Purchaser. If on the date for which the Purchaser Special Meeting is scheduled, Purchaser has not received proxies representing a sufficient number of shares to obtain the Required Purchaser Stockholder Approval, whether or not a quorum is present, Purchaser may make one or more successive postponements or adjournments of the Purchaser Special Meeting.
38
(ii) The Proxy Statement shall include proxy materials for the purpose of soliciting proxies from holders of Company Stock to vote, at a special meeting of holders of Company Stock to be called and held for such purpose (the “Company Special Meeting”), in favor of resolutions approving (i) the adoption and approval of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby or referred to herein, including the Merger and the Company Preferred Stock Exchange, by the holders of Company Stock in accordance with the Company’s Organizational Documents and the Nevada M&A Law, and (ii) such other matters as the Company and Purchaser shall hereafter mutually determine to be necessary or appropriate in order to effect the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement (the approvals described in foregoing clauses (i) through (ii), collectively, the “Company Stockholder Approval Matters”), and (iii) the adjournment of the Company Special Meeting, if necessary or desirable in the reasonable determination of Company. If on the date for which the Company Special Meeting is scheduled, the Company has not received proxies representing a sufficient number of shares to obtain the Required Company Stockholder Approval, whether or not a quorum is present, the Company may, and shall do so if requested by Purchaser, make one or more successive postponements or adjournments of the Company Special Meeting.
(b) In connection with the Registration Statement, Purchaser will file with the SEC financial and other information about the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in accordance with applicable Law and applicable proxy solicitation and registration statement rules set forth in the Purchaser Organizational Documents, the Company Organizational Documents, the Companies Act, the Nevada Law and the rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq. Purchaser and the Company shall provide the respective counsel of the other party with a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on the Registration Statement and any amendment or supplement thereto prior to filing the same with the SEC. The Company shall provide Purchaser with such information concerning the Target Companies and their stockholders, officers, directors, employees, assets, Liabilities, condition (financial or otherwise), business and operations that may be required or appropriate for inclusion in the Registration Statement, or in any amendments or supplements thereto
(c) Each of Purchaser and the Company shall take any and all reasonable and necessary actions required to satisfy the requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and other applicable Laws in connection with the Registration Statement, the Purchaser Special Meeting, the Redemption, the Domestication and the Company Special Meeting. Each of Purchaser and the Company shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to, make their respective directors, officers and employees, upon reasonable advance notice, available to the Company and Purchaser in connection with the drafting of the public filings with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the Registration Statement, and responding in a timely manner to comments from the SEC. Each Party shall promptly correct any information provided by it for use in the Registration Statement (and other related materials) if and to the extent that such information is determined to have become false or misleading in any material respect or as otherwise required by applicable Laws. Purchaser shall amend or supplement the Registration Statement and cause the Registration Statement, as so amended or supplemented, to be filed with the SEC and to be disseminated to Purchaser stockholders, in each case as and to the extent required by applicable Laws and subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents.
39
(d) To the extent that any opinions relating to the Tax treatment of the Merger are required in connection with the Registration Statement, the Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause EGS, to deliver its opinion to the Company, and Purchaser shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Li LLC (“HTFL”) to deliver its opinion to Purchaser.
(e) In connection with the opinions relating to the Tax treatment of the Merger required to be delivered in connection with the Registration Statement, upon the request of EGS and/or HTFL, officers of each of the Company and Purchaser shall use commercially reasonable efforts to deliver to EGS and HTFL, as applicable, certificates, dated as of the necessary date for the Registration Statement, signed by such officer of the Company or Purchaser, as applicable, containing customary representations in connection with such opinions.
(f) Purchaser and the Company, with the assistance of the other Parties, shall promptly respond to any SEC comments on the Registration Statement and shall otherwise use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Registration Statement to “clear” comments from the SEC and become effective. Each Party shall provide the other Party with copies of any written comments, and shall inform the other Party of any material oral comments, that such Party or its Representatives receive from the SEC or its staff with respect to the Registration Statement, the Purchaser Special Meeting, the Redemption, the Domestication and the Company Special Meeting promptly after the receipt of such comments and shall give the other Party a reasonable opportunity under the circumstances to review and comment on any proposed written or material oral responses to such comments.
(g) As soon as practicable following the Registration Statement “clearing” comments from the SEC and becoming effective, Purchaser and the Company shall distribute the Registration Statement to Purchaser’s stockholders and the Company Stockholders, and, pursuant thereto, the Purchaser shall call the Purchaser Special Meeting in accordance with the Companies Act for a date as promptly as practicable, but in no event later than thirty (30) days, following the effectiveness of the Registration Statement and the Company shall call the Company Special Meeting in accordance with the Nevada Law for a date as promptly as practicable, but in no event later than thirty (30) days, following the effectiveness of the Registration Statement.
(h) Purchaser shall comply with all applicable Laws, any applicable rules and regulations of Nasdaq, Purchaser’s Organizational Documents and this Agreement in the preparation, filing and distribution of the Registration Statement, any solicitation of proxies thereunder, the calling and holding of the Purchaser Special Meeting and the Redemption.
(i) The Company shall comply with all applicable Laws, any applicable rules and regulations of Nasdaq, the Company’s Organizational Documents and this Agreement in the preparation, filing and distribution of the Registration Statement, any solicitation of proxies thereunder, the calling and holding of the Company Special Meeting.
40
5.14 [Deleted] .
5.15 Public Announcements.
(a) The Parties agree that no public release, filing or announcement concerning this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall be issued by any Party or any of their Affiliates without the prior written consent of the Purchaser and the Company (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), except as such release or announcement may be required by applicable Law or the rules or regulations of any securities exchange, in which case the applicable Party shall use commercially reasonable efforts to allow the other Parties reasonable time to comment on, and arrange for any required filing with respect to, such release or announcement in advance of such issuance.
(b) The Parties shall mutually agree upon and, as promptly as practicable after the execution of this Agreement (but in any event within four (4) Business Days thereafter), issue a press release announcing the execution of this Agreement (the “Signing Press Release”). Promptly after the issuance of the Signing Press Release, the Purchaser shall file a current report on Form 8-K (the “Signing Filing”) with the Signing Press Release and a description of this Agreement as required by Federal Securities Laws, which the Company shall review, comment upon and approve (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) prior to filing (with the Company reviewing, commenting upon and approving such Signing Filing in any event no later than the third (3rd) Business Day after the execution of this Agreement so long as the Purchaser delivers a draft of such Signing Filing to the Company a reasonable amount of time prior to such filing deadline)). The Parties shall mutually agree upon and, as promptly as practicable after the Closing (but in any event within four (4) Business Days thereafter), issue a press release announcing the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (the “Closing Press Release”). Promptly after the issuance of the Closing Press Release, the Purchaser shall file a current report on Form 8-K (the “Closing Filing”) with the Closing Press Release and a description of the Closing as required by Federal Securities Laws. In connection with the preparation of the Signing Press Release, the Signing Filing, the Closing Filing, the Closing Press Release, or any other report, statement, filing notice or application made by or on behalf of a Party to any Governmental Authority or other third party in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, each Party shall, upon request by any other Party, furnish the Parties with all information concerning themselves, their respective directors, officers and equity holders, and such other matters as may be reasonably necessary or advisable in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, or any other report, statement, filing, notice or application made by or on behalf of a Party to any third party and/ or any Governmental Authority in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby.
5.16 Confidential Information.
(a) The Company hereby agrees that during the Interim Period and, in the event this Agreement is terminated in accordance with Article VII or terminated as a result of a failure of the Purchaser to complete a Business Combination by April 26, 2020, for a period of two (2) years after such termination, it shall, and shall cause its Representatives to: (i) treat and hold in strict confidence any Purchaser Confidential Information, and will not use for any purpose (except in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents, performing their obligations hereunder or thereunder, enforcing their rights hereunder or thereunder, or in furtherance of their authorized duties on behalf of the Purchaser or its Subsidiaries), nor directly or indirectly disclose, distribute, publish, disseminate or otherwise make available to any third party any of the Purchaser Confidential Information without the Purchaser’s prior written consent; and (ii) in the event that the Company or any of its Representatives, during the Interim Period or, in the event this Agreement is terminated in accordance with Article VII, for a period of two (2) years after such termination, becomes legally compelled to disclose any Purchaser Confidential Information, (A) provide the Purchaser to the extent legally permitted and reasonably practicable under the circumstances with prompt notice of such requirement so that the Purchaser or an Affiliate thereof may seek, at the Purchaser’s cost, a protective Order or other remedy or waive compliance with this Section 5.16(a), and (B) in the event that such protective Order or other remedy is not obtained, or the Purchaser waives compliance with this Section 5.16(a), furnish only that portion of such Purchaser Confidential Information which is legally required to be provided as advised by outside counsel and to exercise its reasonable efforts to obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded such Purchaser Confidential Information. In the event that this Agreement is terminated and the transactions contemplated hereby are not consummated, the Company shall, and shall cause its Affiliates and Representatives to, promptly deliver to the Purchaser or destroy (at the Company’s election) any and all copies (in whatever form or medium) of Purchaser Confidential Information and destroy all notes, memoranda, summaries, analyses, compilations and other writings related thereto or based thereon. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company and its Representatives shall be permitted to disclose any and all Purchaser Confidential Information to the extent required by the Federal Securities Laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company’s obligations under this Section 5.16(a) shall terminate after one year in the event of a liquidation of the Purchaser whether as a result of the failure of the Purchaser to complete a Business Combination by the Outside Date.
41
(b) The Purchaser hereby agrees that during the Interim Period and, in the event this Agreement is terminated in accordance with Article VII, for a period of two (2) years after such termination, it shall, and shall cause its Representatives to: (i) treat and hold in strict confidence any Company Confidential Information, and will not use for any purpose (except in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents, performing its obligations hereunder or thereunder or enforcing its rights hereunder or thereunder), nor directly or indirectly disclose, distribute, publish, disseminate or otherwise make available to any third party any of the Company Confidential Information without the Company’s prior written consent; and (ii) in the event that the Purchaser or any of its Representatives, during the Interim Period or, in the event this Agreement is terminated in accordance with Article VII, for a period of two (2) years after such termination, becomes legally compelled to disclose any Company Confidential Information, (A) provide the Company to the extent legally permitted and reasonably practicable under the circumstances with prompt notice of such requirement so that the Company may seek, at the Company’s cost, a protective Order or other remedy or waive compliance with this Section 5.16(b) and (B) in the event that such protective Order or other remedy is not obtained, or the Company waives compliance with this Section 5.16(b), furnish only that portion of such Company Confidential Information which is legally required to be provided as advised by outside counsel and to exercise its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain assurances that confidential treatment will be accorded such Company Confidential Information. In the event that this Agreement is terminated and the transactions contemplated hereby are not consummated, the Purchaser shall, and shall cause its Representatives to, promptly deliver to the Company or destroy (at Purchaser’s election) any and all copies (in whatever form or medium) of Company Confidential Information and destroy all notes, memoranda, summaries, analyses, compilations and other writings related thereto or based thereon. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Purchaser and its Representatives shall be permitted to disclose any and all Company Confidential Information to the extent required by the Federal Securities Laws. The obligations of the Purchaser pursuant to this Section 5.16(b) are in addition to the obligations of Purchaser pursuant to the confidentiality agreement dated June 5, 2020
5.17 Post-Closing Board of Directors and Executive Officers.
(a) The Parties shall take all necessary action, including causing the directors of the Purchaser, that are not Purchaser Directors (as defined below) to resign, so that effective as of the Closing, the Purchaser’s board of directors (the “Post-Closing Purchaser Board”) will consist of those individuals who are directors of the Company on the Closing Date plus one individual (the “Purchaser Director Designee”)to be designated by the Purchaser who shall meet the Nasdaq requirement for an independent director and shall be acceptable to the Company. The Surviving Corporation shall not have any obligation to include such designee as a designee for election at the next annual meeting following the Closing Date, it being understood that the Surviving Corporation’s nominees for directors shall be recommended by the Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors. At or prior to the Closing, the Purchaser will provide each Director with a customary director indemnification agreement.
(b) The individuals serving as the executive officers of the Company shall continue in the same positions with the Surviving Corporation, and any employment agreements with executive officers shall be assumed by the Surviving Corporation.
42
5.18 Indemnification of Directors and Officers; Tail Insurance.
(a) For a period of six (6) years commencing at the Effective Time, the Parties agree that all rights to exculpation, indemnification and advancement of expenses existing in favor of the current or former directors and officers of the Company, Purchaser or Merger Sub and each Person who served as a director, officer, member, trustee or fiduciary of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, pension or other employee benefit plan or enterprise at the request of the Company, Purchaser or Merger Sub (the “D&O Indemnified Parties”) as provided in their respective Organizational Documents or under any indemnification, employment or other similar agreements between any D&O Indemnified Party and the Company, Purchaser or Merger Sub, in each case as in effect on the date of this Agreement, shall survive the Merger and continue in full force and effect. For a period of six (6) years commencing at the Effective Time, the Purchaser shall cause the Organizational Documents of the Purchaser and the Surviving Corporation to contain provisions no less favorable with respect to exculpation and indemnification of and advancement of expenses to D&O Indemnified Parties than are set forth as of the date of this Agreement in the Organizational Documents of Purchaser and the Company, respectively, to the extent permitted by applicable Law, and during such six-year period such provision shall not be repealed, amended or otherwise modified in any manner except as required by applicable Law. The provisions of this Section 5.18 shall survive the consummation of the Merger and are intended to be for the benefit of, and shall be enforceable by, each of the D&O Indemnified Parties and their respective heirs and representatives.
(b) For the benefit of the Purchaser’s and Merger Sub’s directors and officers, the Purchaser shall be permitted prior to the Effective Time to obtain and fully pay the premium for a “tail” insurance policy that provides coverage for up to a six-year period from and after the Effective Time for events occurring prior to the Effective Time (the “Purchaser D&O Tail Insurance”) that is substantially equivalent to and in any event not less favorable in the aggregate than the Purchaser’s existing policy or, if substantially equivalent insurance coverage is unavailable, comparable coverage. For purposes of this Agreement, the purchase of such Purchaser D&O Tail Insurance shall be treated as a Purchaser Closing Expense. If obtained, the Purchaser shall maintain the Purchaser D&O Tail Insurance in full force and effect, and continue to honor the obligations thereunder, and the Purchaser shall timely pay all premiums with respect to the Purchaser D&O Tail Insurance.
(c) For the benefit of the Company’s directors and officers, the Company shall be permitted prior to the Effective Time to obtain and fully pay the premium for a “tail” insurance policy that provides coverage for up to a six-year period from and after the Effective Time (the “Company D&O Tail Insurance”) for events occurring prior to the Effective Time that is substantially equivalent to and in any event not less favorable in the aggregate than the Company’s existing policy or, if substantially equivalent insurance coverage is unavailable, comparable coverage. For purposes of this Agreement, the purchase of such Company D&O Tail Insurance shall be treated as an Expense of the Company. If obtained, the Company shall maintain the Company D&O Tail Insurance in full force and effect, and continue to honor the obligations thereunder, and the Company shall timely pay all premiums with respect to the Company D&O Tail Insurance.
43
5.19 Trust Account Proceeds.
(a) Purchaser shall use its good faith efforts to maintain a minimum net tangible assets of not less than 5,000,001, including funds remaining in the Trust Account after all Redemptions and proceeds from any Backstop Financing and Private Placement prior to or upon consummation of the Merger. Further, each of the Purchaser and the Company will, and will cause their respective Representatives to, cooperate with the other Party and provide their respective commercially reasonable efforts to support any recycling of Purchaser’s public securities and any Backstop Financing sought by the Purchaser in order to retain such cash and cash equivalents, including having the Company’s senior management participate in any roadshows as requested by the Purchaser; provided, that no such cooperation shall require the Company to provide any consents pursuant to Section 5.3.
(b) The Parties agree that after the Closing, the funds in the Trust Account, after taking into account payments for the Redemption, shall first be used to pay any Purchaser Closing Expenses and Company Closing Expenses. Such Expenses, as well as any Expenses that are required to be paid by delivery of the Purchaser’s securities, will be paid at the Closing. Any remaining cash will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Article
VI
CLOSING CONDITIONS
6.1 Conditions to Each Party’s Obligations. The obligations of each Party to consummate the Merger and the other transactions described herein shall be subject to the satisfaction or written waiver (where permissible) by the Company and the Purchaser of the following conditions:
(a) Required Purchaser Stockholder Approval. The Purchaser Stockholder Approval Matters that are submitted to the vote of the shareholders of the Purchaser at the Purchaser Special Meeting in accordance with the Proxy Statement shall have been approved by the requisite vote of the shareholders of the Purchaser at the Purchaser Special Meeting in accordance with the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents, applicable Law and the Proxy Statement (the “Required Purchaser Stockholder Approval”).
(b) Required Company Stockholder Approval. The Company Special Meeting shall have been held in accordance with the Nevada Corporation Law and the Company’s Organizational Documents, and at such meeting, the requisite vote of the Company Stockholders shall have authorized, approved and consented to, the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and each of the Ancillary Documents to which the Company is a party or bound, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, including the Merger (the “Required Company Stockholder Approval”).
(c) Requisite Regulatory Approvals. All Consents required to be obtained from or made with any Governmental Authority in order to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall have been obtained or made.
(d) [Reserved].
(e) No Law or Order. No Governmental Authority shall have enacted, issued, promulgated, enforced or entered any Law (whether temporary, preliminary or permanent) or Order that is then in effect and which has the effect of making the transactions or agreements contemplated by this Agreement illegal or which otherwise prevents or prohibits consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
44
(f) No Litigation. There shall not be any pending Action brought by a Governmental Authority to enjoin or otherwise restrict the consummation of the Closing.
(g) Net Tangible Assets Test. Prior to or upon the Closing, after giving effect to the completion of the Redemption, the Merger and any private placement, the Purchaser shall have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001.
(h) Purchaser Domestication. The Domestication shall have been consummated in accordance with Section 1.7.
(i) Appointment to the Board. The members of the Post-Closing Purchaser Board shall have been elected or appointed as of the Closing consistent with the requirements of Section 5.17.
(j) Registration Statement. The Registration Statement shall have been declared effective by the SEC and shall remain effective as of the Closing.
(k) Nasdaq Approval. Nasdaq shall have advised the Purchaser that, upon completion of the Merger, the Purchaser shall continue to be listed on Nasdaq and all outstanding deficiencies have been addressed to the satisfaction of Nasdaq.
6.2 Conditions to Obligations of the Company. In addition to the conditions specified in Section 6.1, the obligations of the Company to consummate the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement are subject to the satisfaction or written waiver (by the Company) of the following conditions:
(a) Representations and Warranties. All of the representations and warranties of the Purchaser set forth in this Agreement and in any certificate delivered by the Purchaser pursuant hereto shall be true and correct on and as of the date of this Agreement and on and as of the Closing Date as if made on the Closing Date, except for (i) those representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date (which representations and warranties shall have been accurate as of such date), and (ii) any failures to be true and correct that (without giving effect to any qualifications or limitations as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect), individually or in the aggregate, have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on, or with respect to, the Purchaser.
(b) Agreements and Covenants. The Purchaser shall have performed in all material respects all of the Purchaser’s obligations and complied in all material respects with the Purchaser’s agreements and covenants under this Agreement to be performed or complied with by it on or prior to the Closing Date.
(c) No Material Adverse Effect. No Material Adverse Effect shall have occurred with respect to the Purchaser since the date of this Agreement which is continuing and uncured.
(d) Proceeds of Private Placement or Backstop Financing. The Purchaser shall have received net proceeds from the Private Placement or Backstop Financing sufficient such that, after giving effect to the Merger, the Redemption and the receipt of such net proceeds, the Purchaser will satisfy the applicable listing requirements of Nasdaq.
45
(e) Closing Deliveries.
(xiv) Officer Certificate. The Purchaser shall have delivered to the Company a certificate, dated the Closing Date, signed by an executive officer of the Purchaser in such capacity, certifying as to the satisfaction of the conditions specified in Sections 6.2(a), 6.2(b) and 6.2(c).
(xv) Secretary Certificate. The Purchaser shall have delivered to the Company a certificate from its secretary or other executive officer certifying as to, and attaching, (A) copies of the Purchaser’s Organizational Documents as in effect as of the Closing Date (immediately prior to giving effect to the Domestication and after giving effect to the Domestication), (B) the resolutions of the Purchaser’s board of directors authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and each of the Ancillary Documents to which it is a party or by which it is bound, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, (C) evidence that the Required Purchaser Stockholder Approval has been obtained and (D) the incumbency of officers authorized to execute this Agreement or any Ancillary Document to which the Purchaser is or is required to be a party or otherwise bound.
(xvi) Good Standing. The Purchaser shall have delivered to the Company a good standing certificate (or similar documents applicable for such jurisdictions) for the Purchaser certified as of a date no later than thirty sixty (30) days prior to the Closing Date from the proper Governmental Authority of the Purchaser’s jurisdiction of organization.
(xvii) Resignations. The Company shall have received written resignations, effective as of the Closing, of each of the directors (and officers of the Purchaser as requested by the C Company prior to the Closing other than those who are to remain on the Post-Closing Purchaser Board in accordance with Section 5.17.
(xviii) Opinion of Counsel. Purchaser shall have delivered to the Transfer Agent, with a copy to the Company, an opinion, in standard form and reasonably acceptable to the Company, that the shares of Purchaser Common Stock issued to the Company’s stockholders as the Merger Consideration have been issued pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act.
(xix) Settlement of Certain Obligations by Delivery of Sponsor Shares. Purchaser shall have satisfied all deferred underwriting fees and expenses, including deferred fee and other obligations arising from the Purchaser’s initial public offering and all notes that are outstanding on September 3, 2020 by delivery of outstanding Sponsor Shares.
6.3 Conditions to Obligations of the Purchaser. In addition to the conditions specified in Section 6.1, the obligations of the Purchaser and Merger Sub to consummate the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement are subject to the satisfaction or written waiver (by the Purchaser) of the following conditions:
(a) Representations and Warranties. All of the representations and warranties of the Company set forth in this Agreement and in any certificate delivered by the Company, shall be true and correct on and as of the date of this Agreement and on and as of the Closing Date as if made on the Closing Date, except for (i) those representations and warranties that address matters only as of a particular date (which representations and warranties shall have been accurate as of such date), and (ii) any failures to be true and correct that (without giving effect to any qualifications or limitations as to materiality or Material Adverse Effect), individually or in the aggregate, have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on, or with respect to, the Company.
46
(b) Agreements and Covenants. The Company shall have performed in all material respects all of its obligations and complied in all material respects with its agreements and covenants under this Agreement to be performed or complied with by it on or prior to the Closing Date.
(c) No Material Adverse Effect. No Material Adverse Effect shall have occurred with respect to the Company and the Target Companies, taken as whole, since the date of this Agreement which is continuing and uncured.
(d) Closing Deliveries.
(xx) Officer Certificate. The Purchaser shall have received a certificate from the Company, dated as the Closing Date, signed by an executive officer of the Company in such capacity, certifying as to the satisfaction of the conditions specified in Sections 6.3(a), 6.3(b) and 6.3(c).
(xxi) Secretary Certificate. The Company shall have delivered to the Purchaser a certificate executed by the Company’s secretary certifying as to the validity and effectiveness of, and attaching, (A) copies of the Company’s Organizational Documents as in effect as of the Closing Date (immediately prior to the Effective Time), (B) the requisite resolutions of the Company’s board of directors authorizing and approving the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and each Ancillary Document to which the Company is a party or bound, and the consummation of the Merger and the other transactions contemplated hereby and thereby, and the adoption of the Surviving Corporation Organizational Documents, and recommending the approval and adoption of the same by the Company Stockholders at a duly called meeting of stockholders, (C) evidence that the Required Company Stockholder Approval has been obtained and (D) the incumbency of officers of the Company authorized to execute this Agreement or any Ancillary Document to which the Company is or is required to be a party or otherwise bound.
(xxii) Good Standing. The Company shall have delivered to the Purchaser a good standing certificate for the Company and each significant United States subsidiary certified as of a date no later than thirty (30) days prior to the Closing Date from the proper Governmental Authority of the Company’s or such subsidiary’s jurisdiction of organization, and, with respect to the Company’s principal PRC subsidiaries, evidence of such subsidiaries’ status reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser.
(xxiii) Transmittal Documents. The Exchange Agent shall have received the Transmittal Documents from Company Stockholders (excluding officers, directors and 1% stockholders), whose stock holdings represent not less than the number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock that, together with the shares of Purchase Common Stock held by public stockholders, will satisfy the Nasdaq public float and stockholder requirements, each in form reasonably acceptable to the Transfer Agent for transfer on the books of the Company.
(xxiv) Lock-Up Agreements. The Purchaser shall have received a Lock-Up Agreement for each Significant Stockholder, duly executed by such Significant Stockholder, or such Significant Stockholder shall otherwise be subject to substantially similar transfer restrictions that are in favor of the Purchaser.
6.4 Frustration of Conditions. Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, no Party may rely on the failure of any condition set forth in this Article VI to be satisfied if such failure was caused by the failure of such Party or its Affiliates (or with respect to the Company, any Target Company or Company Stockholder) failure to comply with or perform any of its covenants or obligations set forth in this Agreement.
47
Article
VII
TERMINATION AND EXPENSES
7.1 Termination. This Agreement may be terminated and the transactions contemplated hereby may be abandoned at any time prior to the Closing as follows:
(a) by mutual written consent of the Purchaser and the Company;
(b) by written notice by the Purchaser or the Company if the Closing shall not have occurred on or before the Outside Date; provided, however, that the right to terminate this Agreement under this Section 7.1(b) shall not be available to a Party if the breach or violation by such Party or its Affiliates of any representation, warranty, covenant or obligation under this Agreement was the principal cause of, or resulted in, the failure of the Closing to occur on or before the Outside Date;
(c) by written notice by either the Purchaser or the Company if a Governmental Authority of competent jurisdiction shall have issued an Order or taken any other action permanently restraining, enjoining or otherwise prohibiting the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and such Order or other action has become final and non-appealable; provided, however, that the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 7.1(c) shall not be available to a Party if the failure by such Party or its Affiliates to comply with any provision of this Agreement has been a substantial cause of, or substantially resulted in, such action by such Governmental Authority;
(d) by written notice by the Company, if (i) there has been a material breach by the Purchaser of the representations, warranties, covenants and agreements contained in this Agreement, or if any representation or warranty of the Purchaser shall have become materially untrue or materially inaccurate, in any case, which would result in a failure of a condition set forth in Section 6.2(a) or Section 6.2(b) to be satisfied (treating the Closing Date for such purposes as the date of this Agreement or, if later, the date of such breach), and (ii) the breach or inaccuracy is incapable of being cured or is not cured within the earlier of (A) twenty (20) days after written notice of such breach or inaccuracy is provided by the Company or (B) the Outside Date and such breach has a Material Adverse Effect;
(e) by written notice by the Purchaser, if (i) there has been a breach by the Company of any of its representations, warranties, covenants or agreements contained in this Agreement, or if any representation or warranty of such Parties shall have become untrue or inaccurate, in any case, which would result in a failure of a condition set forth in Section 6.3(a) or Section 6.3(b) to be satisfied (treating the Closing Date for such purposes as the date of this Agreement or, if later, the date of such breach), and (ii) the breach or inaccuracy is incapable of being cured or is not cured within the earlier of (A) twenty (20) days after written notice of such breach or inaccuracy is provided by the Purchaser or (B) the Outside Date and such breach has a Material Adverse Effect;
(f) by written notice by either the Purchaser or the Company, if there shall have been a Material Adverse Effect on the other Party following the date of this Agreement which is continuing and incapable of being cured or, if capable of cure, is uncured after twenty (20) days after the date that written notice of such Material Adverse Effect is provided by the Party not having a Material Adverse Effect;
(g) by written notice by either the Purchaser or the Company, if the Purchaser Special Meeting is held (including any adjournment or postponement thereof) and has concluded, the Purchaser’s stockholders have duly voted, and the Required Purchaser Stockholder Approval was not obtained;
48
(h) by written notice by either the Purchaser or the Company, if the Company Special Meeting is held (including any adjournment or postponement thereof) and has concluded, the Company Stockholders have duly voted, and the Required Company Stockholder Approval was not obtained; or
(i) by written notice by either the Purchaser or the Company in the event that (i) twenty (20) Business Days have elapsed since the date of the Purchaser Special Meeting and (ii) the condition set forth in Section 6.2(d) remains unsatisfied and unwaived by the Company.
7.2 Effect of Termination. This Agreement may only be terminated in the circumstances described in Section 7.1 and pursuant to a written notice delivered by the applicable Party to the other applicable Parties, which sets forth the basis for such termination, including the provision of Section 7.1 under which such termination is made. In the event of the valid termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 7.1, this Agreement shall forthwith become void, and there shall be no Liability on the part of any Party or any of their respective Representatives, and all rights and obligations of each Party shall cease, except: (i) Sections 5.15, 5.16, 7.3, 8.1, Article IX and this Section 7.2 shall survive the termination of this Agreement, and (ii) nothing herein shall relieve any Party from Liability for any willful breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or obligation under this Agreement or any wilful misstatement of material facts which cause the representations and warranties of the Party, taken as a whole, to be materially misleading, in either case, prior to termination of this Agreement (in each case of clauses (i) and (ii) above, subject to Section 8.1). Without limiting the foregoing, and except as provided in Section 7.3 and this Section 7.2 (but subject to Section 8.1, and subject to the right to injunctions, specific performance or other equitable relief in accordance with Section 9.7, the Parties’ sole right prior to the Closing with respect to any breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or other agreement contained in this Agreement by another Party or with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall be the right, if applicable, to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 7.1.
7.3 Fees and Expenses. Subject to Sections 5.12 and 8.1, all Expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall be paid by the Party incurring such expenses; provided however, that all remaining unpaid Expenses at the time of the Closing shall be borne and paid by the Purchaser after the Closing. To the extent that any Expenses of the Purchaser other than Purchaser Closing Expenses are paid in cash by the Purchaser at or after the Closing, the Sponsor and its Affiliates shall deliver to the Purchaser at the Closing for cancellation such number of shares of Purchaser Common Stock in an amount equal to the cash value of such payments divided by the Redemption Price. For the absence of doubt, the Company and/or the Purchaser after the Closing shall pay Purchaser Closing Expenses as well as all expenses incurred by the Company. As used in this Agreement, “Expenses” shall include all out-of-pocket expenses (including all fees and expenses of counsel, accountants, investment bankers, financial advisors, financing sources, experts and consultants to a Party hereto or any of its Affiliates) incurred by a Party or on its behalf in connection with or related to the authorization, preparation, negotiation, execution or performance of this Agreement or any Ancillary Document related hereto and all other matters related to the consummation of this Agreement. With respect to the Purchaser, Expenses shall not include any and all fees or commissions payable to the underwriter of the Purchaser’s initial public offering, including any deferred fees, however described, and any legal fees relating to the IPO that are payable upon consummation of a Business Combination all of which are to be satisfied by delivery of Sponsor Shares.
49
Article
VIII
WAIVERS AND RELEASES
8.1 Waiver of Claims Against Trust. Reference is made to the IPO Prospectus. The Company represents and warrants that it has read the IPO Prospectus and understands that Purchaser has established the Trust Account containing the proceeds of the IPO and overallotment shares acquired by the Purchaser’s underwriters (including interest accrued from time to time thereon) for the benefit of Purchaser’s public stockholders (including overallotment shares acquired by Purchaser’s underwriters) (the “Public Stockholders”) and that, except as otherwise described in the IPO Prospectus, Purchaser may disburse monies from the Trust Account only: (a) to the Public Stockholders in the event they elect to redeem their Purchaser Common Stock in connection with the consummation of its initial business combination (as such term is used in the IPO Prospectus) (“Business Combination”) or in connection with an extension of the deadline to consummate a Business Combination, (b) to the Public Stockholders if the Purchaser fails to consummate a Business Combination within twelve (12) months as such date by be extended pursuant to Purchaser Organizational Documents as the same may be amended) after the closing of the IPO, (c) with respect to any interest earned on the amounts held in the Trust Account, as necessary to pay any taxes and for working capital purposes, and (d) to the Purchaser after or concurrently with the consummation of its Business Combination. For and in consideration of Purchaser entering into this Agreement and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the Company hereby agrees on behalf of itself and its Affiliates that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, neither the Company nor its Affiliates does now or shall at any time hereafter have any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account or distributions therefrom, or make any claim against the Trust Account (including any distributions therefrom), regardless of whether such claim arises as a result of, in connection with or relating in any way to, this Agreement or any proposed or actual business relationship between the Purchaser or its Representatives, on the one hand, and the Company or its Representatives, on the other hand, this Agreement or any other matter, and regardless of whether such claim arises based on contract, tort, equity or any other theory of legal liability (any and all such claims are collectively referred to hereafter as the “Released Claims”). The Company on behalf of itself and its Affiliates hereby irrevocably waives any Released Claims that the Company or its Affiliates may have against the Trust Account (including any distributions therefrom) now or in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with Purchaser or its Representatives and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account (including any distributions therefrom) for any reason whatsoever (including for an alleged breach of this Agreement or any other agreement with Purchaser or its Affiliates). The Company agrees and acknowledges that such irrevocable waiver is material to this Agreement and specifically relied upon by the Purchaser and its Affiliates to induce Purchaser to enter in this Agreement, and the Company further intends and understands such waiver to be valid, binding and enforceable against the Company and each of its Affiliates under applicable Law. To the extent the Company or any of its Affiliates commences any action or proceeding based upon, in connection with, relating to or arising out of any matter relating to the Purchaser or its Representatives, which proceeding seeks, in whole or in part, monetary relief against the Purchaser or its Representatives, the Company hereby acknowledges and agrees the Company’s and its Affiliates’ sole remedy shall be against funds held outside of the Trust Account and that such claim shall not permit any the Company or its Affiliates (or any Person claiming on any of their behalves or in lieu of them) to have any claim against the Trust Account (including any distributions therefrom) or any amounts contained therein. In the event that the Company or any of its Affiliates commences Action based upon, in connection with, relating to or arising out of any matter relating to the Purchaser or its Representatives which proceeding seeks, in whole or in part, relief against the Trust Account (including any distributions therefrom) or the Public Stockholders, whether in the form of money damages or injunctive relief, the Purchaser and its Representatives, as applicable, shall be entitled to recover from the Company, its Affiliates, and the Company Stockholders, the associated legal fees and costs in connection with any such Action, in the event the Purchaser or its Representatives, as applicable, prevails in such Action. For the avoidance of doubt, each Sponsor shall be deemed to be an Affiliate of the Purchaser prior to the Closing. This Section 8.1 shall survive termination of this Agreement for any reason.
50
Article
IX
MISCELLANEOUS
9.1 Notices. All notices, consents, waivers and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given when delivered (i) in person, (ii) by facsimile or other electronic means, with affirmative confirmation of receipt, (iii) upon delivery or attempted delivery if sent by reputable, nationally recognized overnight courier service that provides evidence of delivery or if sent by registered or certified mail, pre-paid and return receipt requested, in each case to the applicable Party at the following addresses (or at such other address for a Party as shall be specified by like notice):
If to the Purchaser or Merger Sub at or prior to the Closing, to: Alberton
Acquisition Corporation 000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxx Xxxx Attn: Xxxx Xxxx Telephone: Email:
|
with a copy (which will not constitute notice) to:
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Li LLC 0000 Xxxxxxxx; 00xx xxxxx Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000 Attn: Arila Zhou, Esq. Telephone No. (000) 000-0000 Email:azhou @xxxxxxxxxx.xxx |
If to the Company or the Surviving Corporation, to: SolarMax
Technology, Inc. Xxxxxxxxx,
Xxxxxxxxxx 00000 |
Ellenoff
Xxxxxxxx & Schole LLP Email: xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx
|
If to the Purchaser after the Closing, to: SolarMax
Technology, Inc. Xxxxxxxxx,
Xxxxxxxxxx 00000 |
with a copy (which will not constitute notice) to: Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Li LLC 0000 Xxxxxxxx; 00xx xxxxx Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000 Attn: Arila Zhou, Esq. Telephone No.:(000) 000-0000 Email: xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx and Ellenoff
Xxxxxxxx & Schole LLP Email: xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx |
9.2 Binding Effect; Assignment. This Agreement and all of the provisions hereof shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the Parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns. This Agreement shall not be assigned by operation of Law or otherwise without the prior written consent of the Purchaser and the Company, and any assignment without such consent shall be null and void; provided that no such assignment shall relieve the assigning Party of its obligations hereunder.
51
9.3 Third Parties. Except for the rights of the D&O Indemnified Parties set forth in Section 5.18, which the Parties acknowledge and agree are express third party beneficiaries of this Agreement, nothing contained in this Agreement or in any instrument or document executed by any party in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby shall create any rights in, or be deemed to have been executed for the benefit of, any Person that is not a Party hereto or thereto or a successor or permitted assign of such a Party.
9.4 Arbitration. Any and all disputes, controversies and claims (other than applications for a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, permanent injunction or other equitable relief or application for enforcement of a resolution under this Section 9.4) arising out of, related to, or in connection with this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby (a “Dispute”) shall be governed by this Section 9.4. A party must, in the first instance, provide written notice of any Disputes to the other parties subject to such Dispute, which notice must provide a reasonably detailed description of the matters subject to the Dispute. The parties involved in such Dispute shall seek to resolve the Dispute on an amicable basis within ten (10) Business Days of the notice of such Dispute being received by such other parties subject to such Dispute (the “Resolution Period”); provided, that if any Dispute would reasonably be expected to have become moot or otherwise irrelevant if not decided within sixty (60) days after the occurrence of such Dispute, then there shall be no Resolution Period with respect to such Dispute. Any Dispute that is not resolved during the Resolution Period may immediately be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration pursuant to the then-existing Expedited Procedures (as defined in the AAA Procedures) of the Commercial Arbitration Rules (the “AAA Procedures”) of the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”). Any party involved in such Dispute may submit the Dispute to the AAA to commence the proceedings after the Resolution Period. To the extent that the AAA Procedures and this Agreement are in conflict, the terms of this Agreement shall control. The arbitration shall be conducted by one arbitrator nominated by the AAA promptly (but in any event within five (5) Business Days) after the submission of the Dispute to the AAA and reasonably acceptable to each party subject to the Dispute, which arbitrator shall be a commercial lawyer with substantial experience arbitrating disputes under acquisition agreements. The arbitrator shall accept his or her appointment and begin the arbitration process promptly (but in any event within five (5) Business Days) after his or her nomination and acceptance by the parties subject to the Dispute. The proceedings shall be streamlined and efficient. The arbitrator shall decide the Dispute in accordance with the substantive law of the State of New York. Time is of the essence. Each party shall submit a proposal for resolution of the Dispute to the arbitrator within twenty (20) days after confirmation of the appointment of the arbitrator. The arbitrator shall have the power to order any party to do, or to refrain from doing, anything consistent with this Agreement, the Ancillary Documents and applicable Law, including to perform its contractual obligation(s); provided, that the arbitrator shall be limited to ordering pursuant to the foregoing power (and, for the avoidance of doubt, shall order) the relevant party (or parties, as applicable) to comply with only one or the other of the proposals. The arbitrator’s award shall be in writing and shall include a reasonable explanation of the arbitrator’s reason(s) for selecting one or the other proposal. The seat of arbitration shall be in New York County, State of New York. The language of the arbitration shall be English.
9.5 Governing Law; Jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be governed by, construed and enforced in accordance with the Laws of the State of New York without regard to the conflict of laws principles thereof. Subject to Section 9.4, all Actions arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be heard and determined exclusively in any state or federal court located in New York, New York (or in any appellate court thereof) (the “Specified Courts”). Subject to Section 9.4, each Party hereto hereby (a) submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of any Specified Court for the purpose of any Action arising out of or relating to this Agreement brought by any Party hereto and (b) irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert by way of motion, defense or otherwise, in any such Action, any claim that it is not subject personally to the jurisdiction of the above-named courts, that its property is exempt or immune from attachment or execution, that the Action is brought in an inconvenient forum, that the venue of the Action is improper, or that this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby may not be enforced in or by any Specified Court. Each Party agrees that a final judgment in any Action shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by Law. Each Party irrevocably consents to the service of the summons and complaint and any other process in any other Action relating to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, on behalf of itself, or its property, by personal delivery of copies of such process to such Party at the applicable address set forth in Section 9.1. Nothing in this Section 9.5 shall affect the right of any Party to serve legal process in any other manner permitted by Law.
52
9.6 WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO HEREBY WAIVES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY WITH RESPECT TO ANY ACTION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF, UNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY. EACH PARTY HERETO (A) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE OF ANY OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF ANY ACTION, SEEK TO ENFORCE THAT FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTIES HERETO HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION 9.6.
9.7 Specific Performance. Each Party acknowledges that the rights of each Party to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby are unique, recognizes and affirms that in the event of a breach of this Agreement by any Party, money damages may be inadequate and the non-breaching Parties may have not adequate remedy at law, and agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement were not performed by an applicable Party in accordance with their specific terms or were otherwise breached. Accordingly, each Party shall be entitled to an injunction or restraining order to prevent breaches of this Agreement and to seek to enforce specifically the terms and provisions hereof, without the requirement to post any bond or other security or to prove that money damages would be inadequate, this being in addition to any other right or remedy to which such Party may be entitled under this Agreement, at law or in equity.
9.8 Severability. In case any provision in this Agreement shall be held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in a jurisdiction, such provision shall be modified or deleted, as to the jurisdiction involved, only to the extent necessary to render the same valid, legal and enforceable, and the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions hereof shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby nor shall the validity, legality or enforceability of such provision be affected thereby in any other jurisdiction. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the Parties will substitute for any invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision a suitable and equitable provision that carries out, so far as may be valid, legal and enforceable, the intent and purpose of such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision.
9.9 Amendment. This Agreement may be amended, supplemented or modified only by execution of a written instrument which refers to this Agreement, states that it is an amendment, supplement or modification and signed by the Purchaser, the Merger Sub and the Company.
53
9.10 Waiver. The Purchaser on behalf of itself and its Affiliates, including the Merger Sub, and the Company on behalf of itself and its Affiliates, may in its sole discretion (i) extend the time for the performance of any obligation or other act of any other non-Affiliated Party hereto, (ii) waive any inaccuracy in the representations and warranties by such other non-Affiliated Party contained herein or in any document delivered pursuant hereto and (iii) waive compliance by such other non-Affiliated Party with any covenant or condition contained herein. Any such extension or waiver shall be valid only if set forth in an instrument in writing signed by the Party or Parties to be bound thereby. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no failure or delay by a Party in exercising any right hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise of any other right hereunder.
9.11 Entire Agreement. This Agreement and the documents or instruments referred to herein, including any exhibits and schedules attached hereto, which exhibits and schedules are incorporated herein by reference, together with the Ancillary Documents, embody the entire agreement and understanding of the Parties hereto in respect of the subject matter contained herein. There are no restrictions, promises, representations, warranties, covenants or undertakings, other than those expressly set forth or referred to herein or the documents or instruments referred to herein, which collectively supersede all prior agreements and the understandings among the Parties with respect to the subject matter contained herein.
9.12 Interpretation. The table of contents and the Article and Section headings contained in this Agreement are solely for the purpose of reference, are not part of the agreement of the Parties and shall not in any way affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) any pronoun used in this Agreement shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine or neuter forms, and words in the singular, including any defined terms, include the plural and vice versa; (b) reference to any Person includes such Person’s successors and assigns but, if applicable, only if such successors and assigns are permitted by this Agreement, and reference to a Person in a particular capacity excludes such Person in any other capacity; (c) any accounting term used and not otherwise defined in this Agreement or any Ancillary Document has the meaning assigned to such term in accordance with GAAP; (d) “including” (and with correlative meaning “include”) means including without limiting the generality of any description preceding or succeeding such term and shall be deemed in each case to be followed by the words “without limitation”; (e) the words “herein,” “hereto,” and “hereby” and other words of similar import in this Agreement shall be deemed in each case to refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular Section or other subdivision of this Agreement; (f) the word “if” and other words of similar import when used herein shall be deemed in each case to be followed by the phrase “and only if”; (g) the term “or” means “and/or”; (h) any agreement, instrument, insurance policy, Law or Order defined or referred to herein or in any agreement or instrument that is referred to herein means such agreement, instrument, insurance policy, Law or Order as from time to time amended, modified or supplemented, including (in the case of agreements or instruments) by waiver or consent and (in the case of statutes, regulations, rules or orders) by succession of comparable successor statutes, regulations, rules or orders and references to all attachments thereto and instruments incorporated therein; (i) except as otherwise indicated, all references in this Agreement to the words “Section,” “Article,” “Schedule” and “Exhibit” are intended to refer to Sections, Articles, Schedules and Exhibits to this Agreement; and (j) the term “Dollars” or “$” means United States dollars. Any reference in this Agreement to a Person’s directors shall including any member of such Person’s governing body and any reference in this Agreement to a Person’s officers shall including any Person filling a substantially similar position for such Person. Any reference in this Agreement or any Ancillary Document to a Person’s shareholders or stockholders shall include any applicable owners of the equity interests of such Person, in whatever form, including with respect to the Purchaser its stockholders under the Companies Act or Nevada Law, as then applicable, or its Organizational Documents. The Parties have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this Agreement. Consequently, in the event an ambiguity or question of intent or interpretation arises, this Agreement shall be construed as if drafted jointly by the Parties hereto, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or disfavoring any party by virtue of the authorship of any provision of this Agreement. To the extent that any Contract, document, certificate or instrument is represented and warranted to by the Company to be given, delivered, provided or made available by the Company, in order for such Contract, document, certificate or instrument to have been deemed to have been given, delivered, provided and made available to the Purchaser or its Representatives, such Contract, document, certificate or instrument shall have been posted to the electronic data site maintained on behalf of the Company for the benefit of the Purchaser and its Representatives and the Purchaser and its Representatives have been given access to the electronic folders containing such information.
54
9.13 Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed and delivered (including by facsimile or other electronic transmission) in one or more counterparts, and by the different Parties hereto in separate counterparts, each of which when executed shall be deemed to be an original but all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement.
9.14 Non-Survival of Representations, Warranties. The representations and warranties of the Company and Purchaser contained in this Agreement or in any certificate or instrument delivered by or on behalf of the Company or the Purchaser pursuant to this Agreement shall not survive the Closing, and from and after the Closing, the Company and the Purchaser and their respective Representatives shall not have any further obligations, nor shall any claim be asserted or action be brought against the Company or the Purchaser or their respective Representatives with respect thereto. The covenants and agreements made by the Company and the Purchaser in this Agreement or in any certificate or instrument delivered pursuant to this Agreement, including any rights arising out of any breach of such covenants or agreements, shall not survive the Closing, except for those covenants and agreements contained herein and therein that by their terms apply or are to be performed in whole or in part after the Closing (which such covenants shall survive the Closing and continue until fully performed in accordance with their terms).
Article
X
DEFINITIONS
10.1 Certain Definitions. For purpose of this Agreement, the following capitalized terms have the following meanings:
“Accounting Principles” means in accordance with GAAP as in effect at the date of the financial statement to which it refers or if there is no such financial statement, then as of the Closing Date, using and applying the same accounting principles, practices, procedures, policies and methods (with consistent classifications, judgments, elections, inclusions, exclusions and valuation and estimation methodologies) used and applied by the Target Companies in the preparation of the latest audited Financial Statements. In any event, the Accounting Principles (i) shall not include any purchase accounting or other adjustment arising out of the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (ii) shall be based on facts and circumstances as they exist at or prior to the Closing and shall exclude the effect of any act, decision or event occurring after the Closing and (iii) shall follow the defined terms contained in this Agreement.
“Action” means any notice of noncompliance or violation, or any claim, demand, charge, action, suit, litigation, audit, settlement, complaint, stipulation, assessment, arbitration, hearing, proceeding or investigation, by or before any Governmental Authority.
“Actual Knowledge” means, with respect to the Company, the actual knowledge of any of the Company Knowledge Persons without any inquiry requirements.
“Affiliate” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person directly or indirectly Controlling, Controlled by, or under common Control with such Person.
55
“Ancillary Documents” means each agreement, instrument or document attached hereto as an Exhibit, and the other agreements, certificates and instruments to be executed or delivered by any of the Parties hereto in connection with or pursuant to this Agreement.
“Backstop Financing” means any backstop arrangements and/or private placements of equity securities of the Purchaser which is permitted by Section 5.3 (including any such transactions which are permitted by Schedule 5.3) or to which the Company has consented pursuant to Section 5.3, other than a Bridge Loan.
“Benefit Plans” of any Person means any and all deferred compensation, executive compensation, incentive compensation, equity purchase or other equity-based compensation plan, employment or consulting, severance or termination pay, holiday, vacation or other bonus plan or practice, hospitalization or other medical, life or other insurance, supplemental unemployment benefits, profit sharing, pension, or retirement plan, program, agreement, commitment or arrangement, and each other employee benefit plan, program, agreement or arrangement, including each “employee benefit plan” as such term is defined under Section 3(3) of ERISA, maintained or contributed to or required to be contributed to by a Person for the benefit of any employee or terminated employee of such Person, or with respect to which such Person has any Liability, whether direct or indirect, actual or contingent, whether formal or informal, and whether legally binding or not.
“Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday on which commercial banking institutions in New York, New York are authorized to close for business.
“Chardan” means Chardan Capital Markets LLC, the sole book-running manager in Purchaser’s IPO.
“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor statute thereto, as amended. Reference to a specific section of the Code shall include such section and any valid treasury regulation promulgated thereunder.
“Company Charter” means the Company’s Restated Articles of Incorporation, as amended and effective under the Nevada Corporate Law.
“Companies Act” means the British Virgin Islands Business Companies Xxx 0000, as amended.
“Company Common Stock” means the common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the Company.
“Company Confidential Information” means all confidential or proprietary documents and information concerning the Target Companies or any of their respective Representatives, furnished in connection with this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby; provided, however, that Company Confidential Information shall not include any information which, (i) at the time of disclosure by the Purchaser or its Representatives, is generally available publicly and was not disclosed in breach of this Agreement or (ii) at the time of the disclosure by the Company or its Representatives to the Purchaser or its Representatives was previously known by such receiving party without violation of Law or any confidentiality obligation by the Person receiving such Company Confidential Information.
“Company Convertible Notes” means the Company’s secured convertible notes.
56
“Company Convertible Securities” means, collectively, the Company Options, the Company Convertible Notes and any other rights to subscribe for or purchase any capital stock of the Company or securities convertible into or exchangeable for, or that otherwise confer on the holder any right to acquire any capital stock of the Company.
“Company Equity Plan” means the Company’s 2016 Long-Term Incentive Plan.
“Company Knowledge Persons” means Xxxxx Xxx and Xxxxxxx Xxxxx, and, with respect to the Company’s business in China such person as shall be designated in writing by Xxxxx Xxx.
“Company Option” means an option to purchase Company Stock that was granted pursuant to the Company Equity Plan or was granted by the Company prior to the adoption of the Company Equity Plan.
“Company Preferred Stock” means the preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share.
“Company Securities” means, collectively, the Company Stock, the Company Options, and the Company Convertible Notes.
“Company Security Holders” means, collectively, the holders of Company Securities.
“Company Stock” means any shares of the Company Common Stock.
“Company Stockholders” means, collectively, the holders of Company Stock.
“Consent” means any consent, approval, waiver, authorization or Permit of, or written notice to or declaration or filing with any Governmental Authority or any other Person.
“Contracts” means all contracts, agreements, binding arrangements, bonds, notes, indentures, mortgages, debt instruments, purchase order, licenses (and all other contracts, agreements or binding arrangements concerning Intellectual Property), franchises, leases and other instruments or obligations of any kind, written or oral (including any amendments and other modifications thereto).
“Control” of a Person means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise. “Controlled,” “Controlling” and “under common Control with” have correlative meanings. Without limiting the foregoing a Person (the “Controlled Person”) shall be deemed Controlled by (a) any other Person (the “10% Owner”) (i) owning beneficially, as meant in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act, securities entitling such Person to cast ten percent (10%) or more of the votes for election of directors or equivalent governing authority of the Controlled Person or (ii) entitled to be allocated or receive ten percent (10%) or more of the profits, losses, or distributions of the Controlled Person; (b) an officer, director, general partner, partner (other than a limited partner), manager, or member (other than a member having no management authority that is not a 10% Owner) of the Controlled Person; or (c) a spouse, parent, lineal descendant, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, or brother-in-law of an Affiliate of the Controlled Person or a trust for the benefit of an Affiliate of the Controlled Person or of which an Affiliate of the Controlled Person is a trustee.
“Conversion Ratio” means the number of Purchaser Shares issuable to the holders of Company Stock pursuant to Section 1.9(a) with respect to one share of Company Stock, computed to two decimal places.
57
“Copyrights” means copyrights in any works of authorship or mask works, including all renewals and extensions thereof, copyright registrations and applications for registration and renewal, and non-registered copyrights.
“Environmental Law” means any Law in any way relating to (a) the protection of human health and safety, (b) the protection, preservation or restoration of the environment and natural resources (including air, water vapor, surface water, groundwater, drinking water supply, surface land, subsurface land, plant and animal life or any other natural resource), or (c) the exposure to, or the use, storage, recycling, treatment, generation, transportation, processing, handling, labeling, production, release or disposal of Hazardous Materials, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, 42 USC. Section 9601 et. seq., the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 USC. Section 6901 et. seq., the Toxic Substances Control Act, 15 USC. Section 2601 et. seq., the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 USC. Section 1151 et seq., the Clean Air Act, 42 USC. Section 7401 et seq., the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, 7 USC. Section 111 et. seq., Occupational Safety and Health Act, 29 USC. Section 651 et. seq. (to the extent it relates to exposure to Hazardous Substances), the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, 15 USC. Section 2601 et. seq., the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 USC. Section 300f et. seq., the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and analogous state acts.
“Environmental Liabilities” means, in respect of any Person, all Liabilities, obligations, responsibilities, Remedial Actions, Losses, damages, costs, and expenses (including all reasonable fees, disbursements, and expenses of counsel, experts, and consultants and costs of investigation and feasibility studies), fines, penalties, sanctions, and interest incurred as a result of any claim or demand by any other Person or in response to any violation of Environmental Law, whether known or unknown, accrued or contingent, whether based in contract, tort, implied or express warranty, strict liability, criminal or civil statute, to the extent based upon, related to, or arising under or pursuant to any Environmental Law, Environmental Permit, Order, or Contract with any Governmental Authority or other Person, that relates to any environmental, health or safety condition, violation of Environmental Law, or a Release or threatened Release of Hazardous Materials.
“ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.
“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles as in effect in the United States of America.
“Governmental Authority” means any federal, state, local, foreign or other governmental, quasi-governmental or administrative body, instrumentality, department or agency, court, tribunal, administrative hearing body, arbitration panel, commission, or other similar dispute-resolving panel or body.
“Hazardous Material” means any waste, gas, liquid or other substance or material that is defined, listed or designated as a “hazardous substance,” “pollutant,” “contaminant,” “hazardous waste,” “regulated substance,” “hazardous chemical,” or “toxic chemical” (or by any similar term) under any Environmental Law, or any other material regulated, or that could result in the imposition of Liability or responsibility, under any Environmental Law, including petroleum and its by-products, asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon, mold, and urea formaldehyde insulation.
58
“Indebtedness” of any Person means, without duplication, (a) all indebtedness of such Person for borrowed money (including the outstanding principal and accrued but unpaid interest), (b) obligations for the deferred purchase price of property or services (other than trade payables incurred in the ordinary course of business), (c) any other indebtedness of such Person that is evidenced by a note, bond, debenture, credit agreement or similar instrument, (d) all obligations of such Person under leases that should be classified as capital leases in accordance with GAAP, (e) all obligations of such Person for the reimbursement of any obligor on any line or letter of credit, banker’s acceptance, guarantee or similar credit transaction, in each case, that has been drawn or claimed against, (f) all obligations of such Person in respect of acceptances issued or created, (g) all interest rate and currency swaps, caps, collars and similar agreements or hedging devices under which payments are obligated to be made by such Person, whether periodically or upon the happening of a contingency, (h) all obligations secured by an Lien on any property of such Person, (i) any premiums, prepayment fees or other penalties, fees, costs or expenses associated with payment of any Indebtedness of such Person and (j) all obligation described in clauses (a) through (i) above of any other Person which is directly or indirectly guaranteed by such Person or which such Person has agreed (contingently or otherwise) to purchase or otherwise acquire or in respect of which it has otherwise assured a creditor against loss.
“Insider” means Keqing (Xxxxx) Xxx
“Intellectual Property” means all of the following as they exist in any jurisdiction throughout the world: Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets, Internet Assets, Software and intellectual property rights in any of the foregoing.
“Internet Assets” means all domain name registrations, web sites and web addresses.
“Intervening Event” shall mean any material event, circumstance, change, effect, development or condition occurring or arising after the date hereof with respect to the Target Companies that was not reasonably foreseeable or known by the Company’s directors as of or prior to the date hereof and does not relate, directly or indirectly, to any Acquisition Proposal or Acquisition Transaction or any of the events or occurrences of the nature described in clauses (i) through (iv) of the definition of Material Adverse Effect (solely as applied to the Company and its Subsidiaries).
“IPO” means the initial public offering of Purchaser Public Units pursuant to the IPO Prospectus.
“IPO Prospectus” means the final prospectus of the Purchaser, dated October 23, 2018, and filed with the SEC on October 24, 2018 (File No. 333- 227653).
“IRS” means the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (or any successor Governmental Authority).
“Knowledge” means, with respect to (i) the Company, the actual knowledge of any of the Company Knowledge Persons in each case after reasonable inquiry of those employees who the Knowledge Person reasonable believes to be expected to have actual knowledge of the matter in question, or (ii) any other Party, the actual knowledge of its executive officers, in each case after reasonable inquiry of those employees such officer reasonable believes to be expected to have actual knowledge of the matter in question.
“Law” means any federal, state, local, municipal, foreign or other law, statute, legislation, principle of common law, ordinance, code, edict, decree, proclamation, treaty, convention, rule, regulation, directive, requirement, writ, injunction, settlement, Order or Consent that is or has been issued, enacted, adopted, passed, approved, promulgated, made, implemented or otherwise put into effect by or under the authority of any Governmental Authority.
59
“Liabilities” means any and all liabilities, Indebtedness, Actions or obligations of any nature (whether absolute, accrued, contingent or otherwise, whether known or unknown, whether direct or indirect, whether matured or unmatured and whether or not required to be recorded or reflected on a balance sheet under GAAP).
“Lien” means any mortgage, pledge, security interest, attachment, right of first refusal, option, proxy, voting trust, encumbrance, lien or charge of any kind (including any conditional sale or other title retention agreement or lease in the nature thereof), restriction (whether on voting, sale, transfer, disposition or otherwise), any subordination arrangement in favor of another Person, or any filing or agreement to file a financing statement as debtor under the Uniform Commercial Code or any similar Law, but shall exclude licenses of Intellectual Property.
“Material Adverse Effect” means, with respect to any specified Person, any fact, event, occurrence, change or effect that has had, or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect upon (a) the business, assets, liabilities, results of operations, or condition (financial or otherwise) of such Person and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (b) the ability of such Person or any of its Subsidiaries on a timely basis to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Ancillary Documents to which it is a party or bound or to perform its obligations hereunder or thereunder; provided, however, that for purposes of clause (a) above, any changes or effects directly or indirectly attributable to, resulting from, relating to or arising out of the following (by themselves or when aggregated with any other, changes or effects) shall not be deemed to be, constitute, or be taken into account when determining whether there has or may, would or could have occurred a Material Adverse Effect: (i) general changes in the financial or securities markets or general economic or political conditions in the country or region in which such Person or any of its Subsidiaries do business; (ii) changes, conditions or effects that generally affect the industries in which such Person or any of its Subsidiaries principally operate; (iii) changes in GAAP or other applicable accounting principles or mandatory changes in the regulatory accounting requirements applicable to any industry in which such Person and its Subsidiaries principally operate; (iv) conditions caused by acts of God, terrorism, war (whether or not declared) or natural disaster, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfires in California; (v) any failure in and of itself by such Person or its Subsidiaries to meet any internal or published budgets, projections, forecasts or predictions of financial performance for any period (provided that the underlying cause of any such failure may be considered in determining whether a Material Adverse Effect has occurred or would reasonably be expected to occur to the extent not excluded by another exception herein); (vi) the public announcement or pendency of this Agreement, the Merger or any other transactions contemplated by this Agreement; (vii) any action required to be taken pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or the failure to take any action specifically prohibited by the terms of this Agreement; (viii) any action taken at the express written request of the other Party in accordance with such request; and (ix), with respect to the Purchaser, the consummation and effects of the Redemption (or any redemption in connection with the Second Extension); provided, further, that any event, occurrence, fact, condition, or change referred to in clauses (i) - (ix) immediately above shall be taken into account in determining whether a Material Adverse Effect has occurred or could reasonably be expected to occur to the extent that such event, occurrence, fact, condition, or change has a disproportionate effect on such Person or any of its Subsidiaries compared to other participants in the industries in which such Person or any of its Subsidiaries primarily conducts its businesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to the Purchaser, the amount of the Redemption (or any redemption in connection with the Second Extension, if any) shall not be deemed to be a Material Adverse Effect on or with respect to the Purchaser.
“Merger Sub Common Stock” means the shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of Merger Sub.
“Nasdaq” means the Nasdaq Capital Market.
60
“Order” means any order, decree, ruling, judgment, injunction, writ, determination, binding decision, verdict, judicial award or other action that is or has been made, entered, rendered, or otherwise put into effect by or under the authority of any Governmental Authority.
“Organizational Documents” means, with respect to any Person that is an entity, its certificate of incorporation or formation, memorandum and articles of organization, bylaws, operating agreement or similar organizational documents, in each case, as amended.
“Patents” means any patents or patent applications (including any divisionals, provisionals, continuations, continuations-in-part, substitutions, or reissues thereof, whether or not patents are issued on any such applications and whether or not any such applications are amended, modified, withdrawn, or refiled).
“PCAOB” means the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (or any successor thereto).
“Per Share Price” means an amount equal to (i) the Merger Consideration, divided by (ii) the Company Shares issued and outstanding at the Effective Time.
“Permits” means all federal, state, local or foreign or other third-party permits, grants, easements, consents, approvals, authorizations, exemptions, licenses, franchises, concessions, ratifications, permissions, clearances, confirmations, endorsements, waivers, certifications, designations, ratings, registrations, qualifications or orders of any Governmental Authority or any other Person.
“Permitted Liens” means (a) Liens for Taxes or assessments and similar governmental charges or levies, which either are (i) not delinquent or (ii) being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings, and adequate reserves have been established with respect thereto, (b) other Liens imposed by operation of Law arising in the ordinary course of business for amounts which are not due and payable and as would not in the aggregate materially adversely affect the value of, or materially adversely interfere with the use of, the property subject thereto, (c) Liens incurred or deposits made in the ordinary course of business in connection with social security, (d) Liens on goods in transit incurred pursuant to documentary letters of credit, in each case arising in the ordinary course of business, or (v) Liens arising under this Agreement or any Ancillary Document.
“Person” means an individual, corporation, partnership (including a general partnership, limited partnership or limited liability partnership), limited liability company, association, trust or other entity or organization, including a government, domestic or foreign, or political subdivision thereof, or an agency or instrumentality thereof.
“Personal Property” means any machinery, equipment, tools, vehicles, furniture, leasehold improvements, office equipment, plant, parts and other tangible personal property.
“Pre-Closing Tax Period” means any taxable period (or portion thereof) ending on or before the Closing Date.
“Pro Rata Share” means with respect to each Company Stockholder, a fraction expressed a percentage equal to (i) the portion of the Stockholder Merger Consideration payable by the Purchaser to such Company Stockholder in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, divided by (ii) the total Stockholder Merger Consideration payable by the Purchaser to all Company Stockholders in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
61
“Purchaser Charter” means, initially, the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Purchaser, as amended and effective under the Companies Act, and following Domestication, the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the Purchaser, as amended and effective under the Nevada Law.
“Purchaser Common Stock” means the Purchaser’s ordinary shares of no par value prior to the Domestication and Domestication (and, for the avoidance of doubt, references herein to a particular number of shares of Common Stock prior to the Domestication are references to that number of ordinary shares of no par value) and the common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Successor upon consummation of the Domestication.
“Purchaser Confidential Information” means all confidential or proprietary documents and information concerning the Purchaser or any of its Representatives; provided, however, that Purchaser Confidential Information shall not include any information which, (i) at the time of disclosure by the Company or its respective Representatives, is generally available publicly and was not disclosed in breach of this Agreement or (ii) at the time of the disclosure by the Purchaser or its Representatives to the Company or its Representatives, was previously known by such receiving party without violation of Law or any confidentiality obligation by the Person receiving such Purchaser Confidential Information.
“Purchaser Private Warrant” means the warrants issued in private placements at the time of consummation of the IPO in connection with the issuance of private units. Each Purchaser Private Warrant is to purchase one (1) share of Purchaser Common Stock at a purchase price of $11.50 per share.
“Purchaser Public Unit” means the units issued in the IPO consisting of one (1) share of Purchaser Common Stock and one (1) Purchaser Public Warrant.
“Purchaser Public Warrants” means one whole warrant that was included in as part of each Purchaser Public Unit, entitling the holder thereof to purchase one (1) share of Purchaser Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share.
“Purchaser Securities” means the Purchaser Public Units, the Purchaser Common Stock, the Purchaser Public Warrants, the Purchaser Private Warrants and the Purchaser UPO, collectively.
“Purchaser UPO” means the option issued to Chardan and/or its designee to purchase up to 130,000 Purchaser Public Units at a price of $11.50 per unit, provided the exercise price per unit may be adjusted as stated in the option.
“Redemption Price” means an amount equal to price at which each share of Purchaser Common Stock is redeemed or converted pursuant to the Redemption (as equitably adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, combinations, recapitalizations and the like after the Closing).
“Reference Time” means the close of business of the Company on the Closing Date (but without giving effect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including any payments by Purchaser hereunder to occur at the Closing, but treating any obligations in respect of Indebtedness or other liabilities that are contingent upon the consummation of the Closing as currently due and owing without contingency as of the Reference Time).
62
“Release” means any release, spill, emission, leaking, pumping, injection, deposit, disposal, discharge, dispersal, or leaching into the indoor or outdoor environment, or into or out of any property.
“Remedial Action” means all actions to (i) clean up, remove, treat, or in any other way address any Hazardous Material, (ii) prevent the Release of any Hazardous Material so it does not endanger or threaten to endanger public health or welfare or the indoor or outdoor environment, (iii) perform pre-remedial studies and investigations or post-remedial monitoring and care, or (iv) correct a condition of noncompliance with Environmental Laws.
“Representatives” means, as to any Person, such Person’s Affiliates and the respective managers, directors, officers, employees, independent contractors, consultants, advisors (including financial advisors, counsel and accountants), agents and other legal representatives of such Person or its Affiliates.
“Restricted Shares” mean shares of Company Stock which were issued pursuant to restricted stock grants and which are not treated as outstanding shares pursuant to GAAP.
“SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission (or any successor Governmental Authority).
“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
“Significant Stockholder” means (i) an officer of the Company, (ii) a director of the Company or (iii) any Company Stockholder that immediately prior to the Effective Time owns more than five percent (5%) of the outstanding equity of the Company on a fully diluted basis.
“Software” means any computer software programs, including all source code, object code, and documentation related thereto and all software modules, tools and databases.
“SOX” means the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002, as amended.
“Sponsor” means Xxxx Xx Hong Kong Shareholding Co., Limited.
“Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person, any corporation, partnership, association or other business entity of which (i) if a corporation, a majority of the total voting power of shares of stock entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors, managers or trustees thereof is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by that Person or one or more of the other Subsidiaries of that Person or a combination thereof, or (ii) if a partnership, association or other business entity, a majority of the partnership or other similar ownership interests thereof is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by any Person or one or more Subsidiaries of that Person or a combination thereof. For purposes hereof, a Person or Persons will be deemed to have a majority ownership interest in a partnership, association or other business entity if such Person or Persons will be allocated a majority of partnership, association or other business entity gains or losses or will be or control the managing director, managing member, general partner or other managing Person of such partnership, association or other business entity. A Subsidiary of a Person will also include any variable interest entity which is consolidated with such Person under applicable accounting rules.
63
“Superior Proposal” means any Acquisition Proposal made by a third party after the date of this Agreement that (i) was not solicited in violation of Section 5.6 and (ii) the Company’s board of directors in good faith (after consultation with its financial advisor and its outside legal counsel, and after taking into account the terms and conditions of such Acquisition Proposal, including (x) the financial, legal, regulatory and other aspects of such Acquisition Proposal and (y) the possibility of the ability of the Company’s stockholders to participate in the continuing growth of the Company after the consummation of such Acquisition Proposal) is more favorable to the Company’s stockholders than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (taking into consideration the requirement to pay the Termination Fee hereunder) and is reasonably expected to be consummated in accordance with its terms. For purposes of the reference to an “Acquisition Proposal” in this definition, all references to “fifteen percent (15%)” in the definition of “Acquisition Transaction” will be deemed to be references to “50%.
“Target Company” means each of the Company and its direct and indirect Subsidiaries.
“Tax Return” means any return, declaration, report, claim for refund, information return or other documents (including any related or supporting schedules, statements or information) filed or required to be filed in connection with the determination, assessment or collection of any Taxes or the administration of any Laws or administrative requirements relating to any Taxes.
“Taxes” means (a) all direct or indirect federal, state, local, foreign and other net income, gross income, gross receipts, sales, use, value-added, ad valorem, transfer, franchise, profits, license, lease, service, service use, withholding, payroll, employment, social security and related contributions due in relation to the payment of compensation to employees, excise, severance, stamp, occupation, premium, property, windfall profits, alternative minimum, estimated, customs, duties or other taxes, fees, assessments or charges of any kind whatsoever, together with any interest and any penalties, additions to tax or additional amounts with respect thereto, (b) any Liability for payment of amounts described in clause (a) whether as a result of being a member of an affiliated, consolidated, combined or unitary group for any period or otherwise through operation of law and (c) any Liability for the payment of amounts described in clauses (a) or (b) as a result of any tax sharing, tax group, tax indemnity or tax allocation agreement with, or any other agreement to indemnify, any other Person.
“Trade Secrets” means any trade secrets, and other rights in confidential or proprietary business or technical information.
“Trademarks” means all rights in any trademarks, service marks, trade dress, trade names, brand names or logos (including, in each case, the goodwill associated therewith), whether registered or unregistered, and all registrations and applications for registration and renewal thereof.
“Trust Account” means the trust account established by Purchaser with the proceeds from the IPO pursuant to the Trust Agreement in accordance with the IPO Prospectus.
“Trust Agreement” means that certain Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated as of October 23, 2018, as it may be amended, by and between the Purchaser and the Trustee, as well as any other agreements entered into related to or governing the Trust Account.
“Trustee” means Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, in its capacity as trustee under the Trust Agreement.
64
10.2 Section References. The following capitalized terms, as used in this Agreement, have the respective meanings given to them in the Section as set forth below adjacent to such terms:
Term | Section | |
AAA | 9.4 | |
AAA Procedures | 9.4 | |
Acquisition Proposal | 5.6(a) | |
Agreement | Preamble | |
Alternative Transaction | 5.6(a) | |
Amended Purchaser Charter | 5.13(a)(i) | |
Amended Purchaser By-Laws | 5.13(a)(i) | |
Assumed Option | 1.10(e) | |
Bridge Loan | 5.3(b)(iv) | |
Business Combination | 8.1 | |
Articles of Merger | 1.2 | |
Closing | 2.1 | |
Closing Date | 2.1 | |
Closing Filing | 5.15(b) | |
Closing Press Release | 5.15(b) | |
Closing Statement | 1.13 | |
Company | Preamble | |
Company Benefit Plan | 4.19(a) | |
Company Certificates | 1.11(a) | |
Company D&O Tail Insurance | 5.18(c) | |
Company Directors | 5.17(a) | |
Company Disclosure Schedules | Article IV | |
Company Financials | 4.7(a) | |
Company IP | 4.13(c) | |
Company IP Licenses | 4.13(a) | |
Company Material Contract | 4.12(a) | |
Company Parties | 7.3(b) | |
Company Permits | 4.10 | |
Company Preferred Stock Exchange | 1.7 | |
Company Real Property Leases | 4.15 | |
Company Registered IP | 4.13(a) | |
Company Stockholder Approval Matters | 5.13(a)(ii) | |
Company Special Meeting | 5.13(a)(ii) | |
Domestication | 1.7 | |
D&O Indemnified Parties | 5.18(a) | |
Dispute | 9.1 | |
Effective Time | 1.2 | |
EGS | 1.2 | |
Enforceability Exceptions | 2.1 | |
Environmental Permits | 3.2 | |
Exchange Agent | 4.20(a) | |
Expenses | 1.11(a) | |
Extension Loan | 7.4 | |
Federal Securities Laws | 5.12(a) | |
HTFL | 5.7 | |
Incentive Plan | 5.13(d) | |
Initial Extension | 5.13(a)(i) | |
Interim Balance Sheet Date | 5.12(a) | |
Interim Period | 4.7(a) | |
Interim Purchaser Charter | 5.13(a)(i) | |
Letter of Transmittal | 5.2(a) | |
Lock-Up Agreement | 1.11(a) | |
Lost Certificate Affidavit | 1.11(b) | |
Merger | 1.11(d) | |
Merger Consideration | Recitals | |
Merger Sub | 1.9 | |
Nevada Corporate Law | Recitals | |
Nevada Law | Recitals | |
Nevada M&A Law | Recitals | |
OFAC | 1.1 |
65
Term | Section | |
Off-the-Shelf Software | 3.18(c) | |
Outside Date | 5.12(b) | |
Party(ies) | Preamble | |
Post-Closing Purchaser Board | 5.17(a) | |
Proxy Statement | 5.13(a) | |
Public Certifications | 3.6(a) | |
Public Stockholders | 8.1 | |
Purchaser | Preamble | |
Purchaser D&O Tail Insurance | 5.18(b) | |
Purchaser Directors | 5.17(a) | |
Purchaser Disclosure Schedules | Article III | |
Purchaser Financials | 3.6(b) | |
Purchaser Material Contract | 3.13(a) | |
Purchaser Special Meeting | 5.13(a)(i) | |
Purchaser Stockholder Approval Matters | 5.13(a)(i) | |
Redemption | 5.13(a) | |
Registration Statement | 5.13(a) | |
Related Person | 4.21 | |
Released Claims | 8.1 | |
Replacement Purchaser Warrant | 1.10(c) | |
Required Company Stockholder Approval | 6.1(b) | |
Required Purchaser Stockholder Approval | 6.1(a) | |
Resolution Period | 9.4 | |
SEC Reports | 3.6(a) | |
Section 409A Plan | 4.19(g) | |
Second Extension | 5.12(b) | |
Second Extension Loan | 5.12(b) | |
Signing Filing | 5.15(a) | |
Signing Press Release | 9.5 | |
Specified Courts | 9.5 | |
Sponsor Voting Agreements | Recitals | |
Stockholder Merger Consideration | 1.9 | |
Successor | 1.8 | |
Surviving Corporation | 1.1 | |
Top Customers | 4.23 | |
Top Suppliers | 4.23 | |
Transmittal Documents | 1.11(b) | |
Voting Agreements | Recitals |
[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK; SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]
66
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each Party hereto has caused this Agreement and Plan of Merger to be signed and delivered as of the date first written above.
The Purchaser: | |||
ALBERTON ACQUISITION CORPORATION | |||
By: | /s/ Xxxx Xxxx | ||
Name: | Xxxx Xxxx | ||
Title: | CEO | ||
Merger Sub: | |||
ALBERTON MERGER SUBSIDIARY, INC. | |||
By: | /s/ Xxxx Xxxx | ||
Name: | Xxxx Xxxx | ||
Title: | CEO | ||
The Company: | |||
SOLARMAX TECHNOLOGY, INC. | |||
By: | /s/ Xxxxx Xxx | ||
Name: | Xxxxx Xxx | ||
Title: | CEO |
[Signature Page to Merger Agreement]