SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT
Exhibit
10.3
ClearOne
Communications, Inc.
-and
-
ClearOne
Communications of Canada, Inc.
-
and -
3814149
Canada, Inc. , 3814157 Canada Inc, Stechyson Family Trust, Xxx Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxx
Xxxxxxxxx, and Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx Family Trust
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Page No. | |||
ARTICLE
1 – INTERPRETATION
|
2
|
||
|
1.1
|
Definitions
|
2
|
|
1.2
|
Time
of the Essence
|
8
|
|
1.3
|
Calculation
of Time
|
8
|
|
1.4
|
Business
Days
|
8
|
|
1.5
|
Currency
|
8
|
|
1.6
|
Headings
|
8
|
|
1.7
|
Plurals
and Gender
|
8
|
|
1.8
|
Statutory
References
|
8
|
|
1.9
|
Construction
|
9
|
|
1.10
|
Exhibits
|
9
|
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE
2 – PURCHASE AND SALE OF PURCHASED SHARES
|
9
|
||
|
2.1
|
Purchase
and Sale of Purchased Shares
|
9
|
|
2.2
|
Purchase
Price
|
9
|
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE
3 – CLOSING ARRANGEMENTS
|
10
|
||
|
3.1
|
Place
of Closing
|
10
|
|
3.2
|
Delivery
of Certificates
|
10
|
|
3.3
|
Payment
of Purchase Price
|
11
|
|
3.4
|
Payoff
of Liabilities/Merchaniaries of Holdback
|
12
|
|
3.5
|
Lock
Up
|
13
|
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE
4 – REPRESENTATION AND WARRANTIES
|
13
|
||
|
4.1
|
Representations
and Warranties of the Vendors
|
13
|
|
4.2
|
Representations
and Warranties of the Purchase and the Parent
|
35
|
|
4.3
|
Non-Waiver
|
37
|
|
4.4
|
Nature
and Survival of Vendor’s Representations and Warranties
|
37
|
|
4.5
|
Survival
of Purchaser’s and Parent’s Representations and Warranties
|
37
|
|
4.6
|
Vendors
Covenants
|
37
|
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE
5 – CONDITIONS PRECENDENT TO THE PERFORMANCE BY
THE
PARTIES OF THEIR OBLIGATIONS UNDER THIS
AGREEMENT
|
38
|
||
|
5.1
|
The
Purchaser’s Conditions
|
38
|
|
5.2
|
Conditions
of the Vendors
|
41
|
|
5.3
|
Waiver
by Purchaser
|
43
|
|
5.4
|
Waiver
by Vendors
|
43
|
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE
6 – INDEMNIFICATION
|
43
|
||
|
6.1
|
Indemnification
by Vendors
|
43
|
|
6.2
|
Indemnification
by the Purchase and the Parent
|
44
|
|
6.3
|
Limitation
of Liability
|
44
|
(ii)
|
6.4
|
The
Parent’s Guarantee
|
44
|
|
6.5
|
Procedure
for Indemnification
|
44
|
|
6.6
|
Additional
Rules and Procedures
|
45
|
|
6.7
|
Rights
Cumulative
|
46
|
|
6.8
|
GST
|
47
|
|
6.9
|
Set-Off
Rights
|
47
|
|
6.10
|
Exception
|
47
|
|
|
|
|
ARTICLE
7 – GENERAL
|
47
|
||
|
7.1
|
Public
Notices
|
47
|
|
7.2
|
Term
Sheet
|
48
|
|
7.3
|
Confidentiality
|
48
|
|
7.4
|
Stand-Off
|
48
|
|
7.5
|
Expenses
|
48
|
|
7.6
|
Further
Assurances
|
48
|
|
7.7
|
Assignment
and Enurement
|
48
|
|
7.8
|
Entire
Agreement
|
49
|
|
7.9
|
Waiver
|
49
|
|
7.10
|
Notices
|
49
|
|
7.11
|
Severability
|
50
|
|
7.12
|
Execution
by Facsimile
|
50
|
|
7.13
|
Counterparts
|
51
|
|
7.14
|
Governing
Law and Jurisdiction for Disputes
|
51
|
|
7.15
|
Resolution
of Disputes by Arbitrator
|
51
|
|
7.16
|
Remedies
|
51
|
|
7.17
|
Undisputed
Amounts
|
52
|
|
7.18
|
Survival
|
52
|
|
7.19
|
Good
Faith
|
52
|
(iii)
THIS
AGREEMENT
made as
of the 16th day of August, 0000
X
X X X X X X:
ClearOne
Communications of Canada Inc..,
a
corporation incorporated under the laws of the Province of New Brunswick,
Canada, and wholly owned by Xxxxxxx Ventures, Inc., a corporation organised
under the laws of the State of Utah, United States;
(the
“Purchaser”)
-
and
-
ClearOne
Communications, Inc.,
a
corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Utah, United States,
and
the sole shareholder of Xxxxxxx Ventures, Inc.
(the
“Parent”)
-
and
-
3814149
Canada, Inc. , 3814157 Canada Inc
Stechyson Family Trust, Xxx Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx and Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
Family Trust
(collectively,
the “Vendors”)
RECITALS:
1. The
Vendors are the owners of all of the issued and outstanding shares in the
capital of Stechyson Electronics Ltd., a corporation organised under the Canada
Business Corporations Act (the “Corporation”); and
2. The
Vendors wish to sell to the Purchaser and the Purchaser wishes to purchase
from
the Vendors all of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of the
Corporation.
NOW
THEREFORE
in
consideration of the mutual covenants set out in this Agreement and for other
good and valuable consideration (the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby
irrevocably acknowledged), the parties agree as follows:
1
ARTICLE
1 -
INTERPRETATION
1.1 Definitions
Throughout
this Agreement, except as otherwise expressly provided, the following words
and
expressions shall have the following meanings:
(a) “Accredited
Investor”
has
the
meaning set out in
Regulation D, Rule 501(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and
(b) “Adverse
Consequences”
means
all actions, suits, proceedings, hearings, investigations, charges, complaints,
claims, demands, injunctions, judgments, orders, decrees, rulings, damages,
dues, penalties, fines, costs, amounts paid in settlement, liabilities,
obligations, taxes, liens, losses, damages of any kind, expenses and fees,
including court costs and attorney fees and expenses
(c) "Ordinary
Course of Business"
means
the ordinary course of business consistent with past custom and practice
(including with respect to quantity and frequency).
(d) “Accepting
Party”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section 7.18;
(e) “Accounts
Receivable”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section 4.1(v);
(f) “Act”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section 7.15;
(g) “Affiliate”
shall
have the meaning given to it in the Business Corporations Act
(Ontario);
(h) “Agreement”,
“this
Agreement”,
“the
Agreement”,
“hereof”,
“herein”,
“hereto”,
“hereby”,
“hereunder”
and
similar expressions mean this share purchase agreement, including all of its
exhibits and all instruments supplementing, amending or confirming this
Agreement. All references to “Articles”
or
“Sections”
mean
and refer to the specified Article or Section of this Agreement;
(i) “Arm’s
Length”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in the Tax Act and the related
jurisprudence;
(j) “Authority”
means
any governmental authority, body, agency or department, whether federal,
provincial or municipal and any court, tribunal or similar body;
(k) “Balance
Sheet”
means
the audited balance sheet of the Corporation as at October 31, 2001 forming
part
of the Financial Statements;
(l) “Business”
means
the business presently carried on by the Corporation consisting of the
distribution and sale of services, audio /video products and accessories;
2
(m) “Business
Day”
means
any day which is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a day observed as a holiday under
the laws of the Province of Ontario, the federal laws of Canada applicable
to
the Province of Ontario, or the State of Utah, United States;
(n) “Cash”
shall
mean Canadian dollars, which amounts shall be in the cash accounts of the
Corporation as of the Time of Closing
(o) “Claim”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section 6.1;
(p) “Closing”
means
the completion of the transactions described in this Agreement and Closing
shall
be deemed to have occurred and shall be effective at such time that counsel
for
Vendors and counsel for Parent shall have each faxed to the other instructions
to deliver all documents, certificates and instruments held in trust by such
counsel to his respective client and funds required to wired at Closing shall
have been received in the account designated by Vendors;
(q) “Closing
Date”
or
“Date of Closing” means the date on which Close shall be deemed to have
occurred;
(r)
“Closing
Financial Statements”
means
the unaudited balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flow as
of
the closing date, and the nine-month period ended on July 31, 2002 and an
internal trial balance which shows shows all accounts of the Corporation
including but not limited to assets, liabilities, equity, sales, expenses,
and
income as of the August 16, 2002 along with a bring-down certificate as of
the
Closing Date signed by Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx e
(s)
“Corporation”
means
Stechyson Electronics Ltd., a corporation incorporated under the Canada Business
Corporations Act, and its successors;
(t) “Cost
of Goods Sold”
means
the purchase price of products plus applicable exchange rate, duties, brokerage
and freight, less any applicable discounts and rebates payable in relation
to
the products and less any wages paid in relation to the services provided.
(u) “Debt”
means
all current liabilities and long term debt of the Corporation;
(v) “Deficiency”
shall
have the meaning as defined in Section 2.2(ii)(b);
(w) “EBITDA”
means
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization calculated in
accordance with U.S. GAAP;
(x) “Encumbrance”
means
any mortgage, lien (including any construction lien or certificate of action
filed with respect thereto), pledge, charge, security interest, restriction,
claim, set-off or encumbrance of any nature whatsoever;
3
(y) “Environmental
Laws”
means
all applicable Laws relating in whole or in part to the pollution or protection
of the environment, occupational or public health and safety, Hazardous
Substances.
(z) “Holdback
Funds”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section 3.3(e);
(aa) “Holdback
Account”
has
the
meaning set forth in Section 3.3(e).
(bb) “ETA”
means
the Excise Tax Act (Canada);
(cc) “Financial
Statements”
means
the Closing Financial Statements, and the audited financial statements of the
Corporation for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2001, consisting of balance
sheet as of those dates, statement of income (loss) and retained earnings
(deficit) and, for the fiscal years ended October 31, 1999 and October 31,
2000,
unaudited financial statements consisting of balance sheets, statements of
income (loss) and retained earnings (deficit), statements of cash flows and
all
notes thereto, copies of which are annexed as Exhibit 1.1(cc)
hereto;
(dd) “Future
Products”
means
products created, developed or distributed by the Corporation, as same may
be
further developed, modified or enhanced from time to time, after the date of
this Agreement;
(ee)
“GAAP”
means
Canadian generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis
and which are in accordance with recommendations from time to time of the
Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (as published in the CICA handbook)
at the date on which such generally accepted accounting principles are
applied;
(ff)
“Governmental
Entity”
means
Canadian federal and provincial regulatory and taxing authorities;
(gg) “Gross
Sales”
shall
mean sales of all Products and services invoiced during the applicable period.
(hh) “GST”
means
all Taxes payable under the ETA or under any provincial legislation similar
to
the ETA and any reference to a specific provision of the ETA or any such
provincial legislation shall refer to any successor provision thereto of like
or
similar effect;
(ii) “Hazardous
Substance”
means
a
Substance which is or is deemed to be alone, or in any combination, any
pollutant, contaminant, waste, solid waste, liquid waste, industrial waste,
hazardous waste, hazardous toxic, dangerous substance or dangerous good, a
deleterious substance, a pollution or contamination or any other substance
or
material currently or hereafter prohibited, controlled or regulated under any
Environmental Laws whether or not such substance is defined as hazardous under
the Environmental Law.
(jj)
“Indemnified
Party”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section 6.5;
4
(kk) “Indemnifying
Party”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section 6.5;
(ll) “Intellectual
Property”
means
all intellectual property of any nature owned or used by the Corporation which
is reasonably necessary in the operation of the Business, including, but not
limited to, all trade names (including, for certainty, the trade names “OM Video
“ and “Xxxxxxx.xx”, domain names, business names, service marks, logos,
trademarks, certification marks, distinguishing guises, industrial designs,
copyrights, copyrightable works, formulae, processes, research data, technical
expertise, know how, trade secrets, inventions and patents, whether domestic
or
foreign and whether registered or unregistered, whether in existence or now
under development and all applications for registration in respect thereof,
any
rights to royalties, any claims for past infringements of such Intellectual
Property (but only to the extent they exist and are legal) and including such
intellectual property listed in Exhibit 1.1(ll) to this Agreement;
(mm) “Inventories”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section 4.1(u);
(nn) "Laws”
means
all applicable federal, provincial, municipal or local laws, statutes,
regulations, ordinances, rules, guidelines, orders, directives or other
requirements of any Authority.
(oo) “Lease”
means
the lease between Commercial Property
Developments as
landlord and the Corporation, dated August 1, 2000 and amended on February
1,
2002;
(pp) “Liability”
means
any direct or indirect indebtedness, liability, guaranty, endorsement, claim,
loss, damage, deficiency, cost, expense, obligation or responsibility, fixed
or
unfixed, known or unknown, asserted or unasserted, liquidated or unliquidated,
secured or unsecured.
(qq) “Location”
means
the premises leased by the Corporation pursuant to the Lease;
(rr) “Material
Adverse Effect”
means,
where used in relation to the Corporation, a material adverse effect on the
business, operations, assets, financial condition or prospects of the
Corporation, as the case may be;
(ss) “Material
Change”
means
a
material adverse change in the condition, business, operations, prospects,
affairs, assets and personnel of the Business;
(tt) “Operating
Profit Margin”
shall
mean income (determined according to US GAAP) before interest and taxes and
the
items listed in Exhibit 2.2(ii)(b).
(uu) “Net
Working Capital”
shall
mean an amount which shall be calculated as the net amount of current assets
less current liabilities, specifically defined as [(Cash
+
short-term investments + accounts receivable + other receivables + inventory
+
prepaid expenses + GST credits + any other non-capital assets) less (accounts
payable + accruals + unearned or deferred revenues + currency exchange premiums
+ payroll payable + commissions payable + payroll benefits payable + taxes
payable + any other liabilities due to others within the period of the next
12
months)];
5
(vv)
“Offer”
means
an attempt or solicitation to buy securities of the Corporation or an interest
in its securities, or to acquire a substantial portion of its assets, for
value;
(ww) “Options”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section 4.1(e);
(xx) “Parent”
means
ClearOne
Communications, Inc., a corporation organised under the laws of the State of
Utah, United States,
Inc.;
(yy) “Parties”
means,
collectively, the Purchaser, the Parent and each of the Vendors, and “Party”
means any of them;
(zz)
“Payment”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section 6.8;
(aaa) “Person”
means
an individual, partnership, unincorporated association, organization, syndicate,
corporation, trust and a trustee, executor, administrator or other legal or
personal representative;
(bbb)
“Plans”
means
all plans, arrangements, programs, policies, practices or undertakings, whether
oral or written, formal or informal, funded or unfunded, registered or
unregistered which the Corporation is a party to or bound by or under which
the
Corporation has any liability or which has any application to the employees
of
the Corporation relating to retirement savings, pensions or benefits, including
any defined benefit pension plan, defined contribution pension plan, group
registered retirement savings plan, or supplemental pension or retirement plan,
or any bonus, profit sharing, stock option, share purchase, stock appreciation,
deferred compensation, incentive compensation, supplemental unemployment
benefits, hospitilization, health, dental, disability, life insurance, death
or
survivor’s benefit, employment insurance, vacation pay, severence or termination
pay or other benefit plan with respect to any of its employees, retired
employees or former employees and individuals working on contract with the
Corporation or other individuals providing services to the Corporation of a
kind
normally provided by employees, or eligible dependents of any such
person;
(ccc)
“Products”
means
the audio products, video products, and audio/video accessories and services
currently provided, distributed and sold by the Corporation;
(ddd)
“Pro
Rata Portion”
and
“Pro
Rata Portions”
have
the meanings attributed thereto in Section 2.1;
(eee) “Purchased
Shares”
means
the shares listed in Exhibit 4.1(f) which are all of the_ issued and outstanding
common shares in the capital of the Corporation;
(fff)
“Purchase
Price”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section 2.2;
6
(ggg)
“Purchaser”
means
ClearOne Communications of Canada
Inc.,
a
corporation incorporated under the laws of the Province of New Brunswick, Canada
and wholly owned by Xxxxxxx Ventures, Inc., a corporation organised under the
laws of the State of Utah, United States;
(hhh)
“Real
Property”
means
any real property, whether owned or leased, and used for the conduct of the
Business or previously used for such purpose;
(iii)
“Regulatory
Approvals”
means
all necessary approvals, permits, sanctions, rulings, orders or consents from
any Authority or self-regulatory organization within or outside of Canada with
respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(jjj) "Security
Interest"
means
any mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, charge, or other security
interest
(kkk)“Substance”
means
any substance, waste, liquid, gaseous or solid matter, fuel, micro-organism,
sound, vibration, heat, odour, radiation, energy vector, plasma, and organic
or
inorganic matter.
(lll)
“Tax
Act”
means
the Income Tax Act (Canada);
(mmm) “Tax”
;“Tax”
or
“Taxes”
shall
mean all federal, provincial, municipal, state, local, foreign and other duties,
levies, taxes, assessments, reassessments or other Government charges of any
nature whatsoever, including, without limitation,
income,
estimated income, capital, land transfer, value-added, business, occupation,
franchise, property, sales, transfer, use, employment, wage, payroll, commercial
rent or withholding taxes, workers compensation levies, customs excise duties,
social security and unemployment insurance charges and retirement contributions,
including interest, penalties, fines and additions in connection therewith
for
which the Corporation may be liable;
(nnn)
“Tax
Return”
means
any return, report, information return, election, designation or other document
(including any related or supporting information) with respect to
Taxes;
(ooo)
“Time
of Closing”
means
4:00 PM on the Closing Date or such other time as the Purchaser and the Vendors
may agree upon;
(ppp)
“Threshold”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section 6.6(f);
(qqq)
“Third
Party Claim”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section 6.5;
(rrr)
“Undisputed
Amount”
has
the
meaning attributed thereto in Section7.17; and
(sss)
“Vendors”
has
the
meanings set forth in the recitals, above.
7
1.2 |
Time
of the Essence
|
Time
shall be of the essence in and of this Agreement and every part hereof. Any
extension, waiver or variation of any provision of this Agreement shall not
be
deemed to affect this provision and there shall be no implied waiver of this
provision.
1.3 |
Calculation
of Time
|
Unless
otherwise specified, time periods within or following which any payment is
to be
made or act is to be done shall be calculated by excluding the day on which
the
period commences and including the day on which the period ends. Where the
last
day of any such time period is not a Business Day, such time period shall be
extended to the next Business Day following the day on which it would otherwise
end.
1.4 |
Business
Days
|
Whenever
any action to be taken or payment to be made pursuant to this Agreement would
otherwise be required to be made on a day that is not a Business Day in the
United States or in Canada, such action shall be taken or such payment shall
be
made on the first Business Day that is a Business Day both in the United States
and in Canada on the following such day.
1.5 |
Currency
|
Unless
otherwise specified, all references to amounts of money in this Agreement refer
to Canadian currency. Conversions to/from U.S. dollars shall be made in
accordance with the rates published in the Wall Street Journal for the date
prior to the date when the conversion needs to be made.
1.6 |
Headings
|
The
descriptive headings preceding Articles and Sections of this Agreement are
inserted solely for convenience of reference and are not intended as complete
or
accurate descriptions of the content of such Articles or Sections. The division
of this Agreement into Articles and Sections shall not affect the interpretation
of this Agreement.
1.7 |
Plurals
and Gender
|
The
use
of words in the singular or plural, or referring to a particular gender, shall
not limit the scope or exclude the application of any provision of this
Agreement to such persons or circumstances as the context otherwise
permits.
1.8 |
Statutory
References
|
8
Any
reference to a statute shall mean the statute in force as at the date of this
Agreement (together with all regulations promulgated thereunder) as the same
may
be amended, re-enacted, consolidated or replaced from time to time, and any
successor statute thereto, unless otherwise expressly provided.
1.9 |
Construction
|
The
words
“including”, “include”, and “includes” shall mean “including without
limitation”, “include, without limitation” and “includes, without limitation”,
respectively.
1.10 |
Exhibits
|
The
Exhibits described herein and annexed hereto are incorporated by this reference
and are deemed to form part of this Agreement.
ARTICLE
2 -
PURCHASE AND SALE OF PURCHASED SHARES
2.1 |
Purchase
and Sale of Purchased
Shares
|
Subject
to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, at the Time of Closing, each
of
the Vendors (as beneficial owner) shall sell, convey and assign those of the
Purchased Shares set out opposite his or her name on Exhibit 3.3(a) free and
clear from all liens, charges and encumbrances for that portion of the Purchase
Price set out opposite each Vendor’s name in Exhibit 3.3(a) (each such portion
being that Vendor’s “Pro Rata Portion” and, collectively, the Vendors’“Pro Rata
Portions”), and the Purchaser shall purchase such shares.
2.2 |
Purchase
Price
|
The
consideration to be paid by the Purchaser for the Purchased Shares shall be
US$8,000,000 subject to adjustments set out herein. Payment of the Purchase
Price is more fully described in Section 3.3, below.
(i) Pre
Closing Adjustments:
The
Cash
Proceeds (as hereinafter defined) and the Purchase Price shall be decreased
by
the amount that Purchaser or Parent has paid as of Closing to Corporation or
any
affiliate pursuant to that certain letter agreement dated April 18, 2002, a
copy
of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 2.2(i) which amounts the Parties agree
shall constitute a non-refundable deposit toward the Purchase Price. The Vendors
do hereby agree that notwithstanding the fact that such amount was not paid
to
any of them, such payments constitute part of the Purchase Price.
(ii) Post
Closing Adjustments:
(a)
Within
six months following Closing, Purchaser shall examine the financial records
of
Corporation and determine if the following conditions (the “Post Closing
Conditions”) existed at the Time of Closing: (a) Corporation had in its accounts
at least $300,000 Canadian Cash (which for purposes of this calculation will
not
include
9
checks
which were in the possession of the Corporation at the time of Closing but
have
not been honoured and collected as of the date of this calculation) , (b)
Corporation had a minimum of $675,000 Canadian Net Working Capital, (c)
Corporation had no long-term liabilities and (d) there were no amounts owing
on
any line of credit of the Corporation. If any of these conditions have failed
to
exist at the Time of Closing, then, if the failure is as to (a), (b) or (c)
above then Purchaser shall draw from Holdback Funds an amount sufficient to
remedy the deficiency, and if the failure is as to (d) above, Purchaser shall
draw from Holdback Funds an amount necessary to pay off all amounts outstanding
pursuant to any line of credit Purchaser may draw such amounts as provided
above
from the Holdback Funds without notice and without complying with the procedure
set out in Article 6 hereof, (without limitation, without complying with the
procedures set out in Section 6.9 hereof) and seek additional remedies for
any
deficiency. . Purchaser’s calculations to determine if the above conditions were
met, shall be unilateral and not subject to discussion with Vendors. Within
10
days following any draw, Purchaser shall provide a courtesy notice to Vendors
that such draws from Holdback Funds have been made and provide such information
as is reasonably requested by Vendors.
(b) Subject
to Section 2.2(ii)(c) below, if during the ninety (90) day period following
Closing, Corporation requires Cash in excess of the amount in the Corporation’s
accounts at the Time of Closing (the “Deficiency”), then Purchaser may draw from
the Holdback Funds without notice and without complying with the procedure
set
out in Article 6 hereof, (without limitation, without complying with the
procedures set out in Section 6.9 hereof) an amount sufficient to fund such
Deficiency, but not to exceed Can
$150,000, and the Purchase Price shall be reduced by such amount. The
determination of the Deficiency by Purchaser shall be unilateral and not subject
to discussion with Vendors. The expense items listed on Exhibit 2.2(ii)(b)
shall
not be included in the calculation of the Deficiency. Exhibit 2.2(ii)(b) must
be
signed by all parties in order to be operative.
(c) If
the
Corporations Net Working Capital at Closing exceeds Can$675,000, then the amount
that may be drawn from the Holdback Funds pursuant to Section 2.2(ii)(a) or
(b)
above or to satisfy obligations owed pursuant to the
pending audit by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
shall be
decreased by the amount that the Corporation’s Net Working Capital exceeds
Can$675,000.
ARTICLE
3 -
CLOSING ARRANGEMENTS
3.1 |
Place
of Closing
|
The
Closing shall take place at the Time of Closing by express delivery of executed
documents to each party’s counsel in trust with faxed instructions for disbursal
or by another means agreed upon by the Purchaser and the Vendors.
3.2 |
Delivery
of Certificates
|
The
Vendors shall transfer and deliver to the Purchaser’s counsel prior to the Time
of Closing share certificates representing the Purchased Shares duly endorsed
in
blank for transfer, or accompanied by irrevocable security transfer powers
of
attorney duly executed in blank. The
10
3.3 |
Payment
of Purchase Price
|
Subject
to the pre closing and post closing adjustments provided for above, the Purchase
Price shall be paid by the Purchaser in the following manner:
(a) By
delivery to the Vendors at the Closing by wire transfer of $5,000,000 less
$324,000 totalling $4,676,000 to an account of Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx, (pursuant to
instructions to be delivered by Xx Xxxxxx) who is hereby appointed by Vendor’s
and each of them as Vendors’ agent to receive such wire transfer and Vendors
agree that wire of funds to Xx Xxxxxx constitutes delivery of funds to each
of
the Vendors. The respective Pro Rata Portions, of each Vendor in the Purchase
Price is as set out on Exhibit 3.3(a) and as adjusted pursuant to Paragraph
2.2
above;
(b) US
$1,600,000 by wire transfer to CIBC World Markets pursuant to the written
agreement attached hereto as Exhibit 3.3(b) which provides irrevocable, not
subject to amendment, instructions to CIBC World Markets to purchase over a
period of ninety (90) days in the market, shares of ClearOne common stock based
upon the formula set out therein;
(c) IF
the
separate operations of the Corporation, during the 12-month period beginning
on
Date of Closing and ending 12 months after the Date of Closing (the “Earn Out
Calculation Period”) achieves the following earn out criteria, then an amount of
earn out calculated as follows shall be paid in the manner set forth
below:
11
Earn
Out Criteria
|
“Earn
Out Amount”
|
1.
IF the Corporation’s Gross Sales during the Earn Out Calculation Period
exceed Canadian $11,900,000 (“Earn Out Sales”).
2.
IF the Corporation’s Operating Profit Margin during the Earn Out
Calculation Period exceeds 15.6% (“Earn Out OPM”).
3.
IF Xxx Xxxxxxxxx is fired by Corporation following Closing without
“Cause”
as that term is defined in the Employment Agreement attached hereto
as
Exhibit 4.6(a)(1)
|
1.
THEN
an amount equal to (Earn Out Sales - C$11,900,000) multiplied by
US
$0.3077, up to a maximum of US $400,000 shall be paid pursuant to
the
following subsection.
By
way of examples only:
if
Earn Out Sales are Can$12,800,000 , minus Can$ 11,900,000, equals
Can$900,000 multiplied by .3077 equals US$276,930
If
Earn Out Sales are Can$ 13,200,000, minus Can$ 11,900,000 multiplied
by
.3077 equals $US400,010 and the Earn Out Amount would be
$US400,000.
2.
THEN
an amount equal to (Earn Out OPM) - (15.6%) multiplied by US $800,000
up
to a maximum of US$400,000 shall be paid pursuant to the following
subsection. By way of examples only:
if Earn Out OPM is 16.1%, the calculation would be as
follows:
16.1%
minus 15.6% equals .5%
Ignore
the % sign
.5
multiplied by $800,000 US equals $400,000US
if
Earn Out OPM is 15.9%,minus 15.6% equals .3%
Ignore
the % sign
.3
multiplied by $800,000 equals $US240,000
3.
THEN $800,000 US_shall be paid pursuant to the following subsection.
|
12
(d) The
Earn
Out Amount will be paid (promptly following determination) in cash wired to
CIBC
World Markets for the purchase over a period of ninety (90) days in the market,
of shares of ClearOne Common Stock pursuant to the written agreement attached
hereto as Exhibit 3.3(b) which provides irrevocable, not subject to amendment,
instructions to CIBC World Markets to purchase shares of ClearOne common stock.
Determination by Purchaser of the Earn-Out conditions shall be
unilateral and not subject to discussion with Vendors. ;
Purchaser shall act reasonably to promptly calculate any Earn Out Amount .
(e) Transfer
of US $600,000 (the “Holdback Funds”) to a separate account held by Parent (the
“Holdback Account”), to be disbursed in accordance with the terms hereof.; The
Holdback Account shall be at a commercial bank in the United States. The
Holdback Funds shall be invested in a money market account with such bank and
shall be invested for liquidity rather than highest return. The interest earned
on the Holdback Funds shall be considered part of the Holdback Funds, and will
be disbursed in accordance with this agreement.
3.4
Payoff
of Liabilities/Mechanics of
Holdback
(a) Excluding
ordinary course of business trade payables which are not in default, payroll
tax
not in default, and sales taxes not in default prior to Closing the Vendors
will
cause the Corporation to pay-off those liabilities set forth on Exhibit 3.4(a),
and those set forth in the Closing Financial Statements, and any liabilities
of
the Corporation accruing prior to the date of Closing and not reflected thereon
(the “Liabilities”);
(b) To
the
extent that the Cash or Net Working Capital remaining in the Corporation
following the Closing is insufficient to pay-off the Liabilities then Purchaser
may draw an amount from Holdback Funds sufficient to pay-off such liabilities
and Purchaser may draw such amount without notice and without complying with
the
procedures set out in Article 6 hereof, (without limitation, without complying
with the procedures set out in Section 6.9 hereof)
Without
limitation, the Parties agree that the Holdback Funds will be available to
satisfy any obligation of the Corporation based on the pending audit by the
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency without
notice and without complying with the procedure set out in Article 6 hereof,
(without limitation, without complying with the procedures set out in Section
6.9 hereof) and seek additional remedies for any deficiency.
(c) If
at the
end of the six month period following Closing all of the Post Closing Conditions
have been determined by Purchaser to have been met, then Purchaser shall
transfer to the Vendors 1/3 of the Holdback Funds which remain in the Holdback
Account, pro rata as set out in Exhibit 3.3 (a)
(d)
At
such
time that Purchaser shall have received from its Canadian counsel reasonable
assurances that the pending audit by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
has
been completed and that there is a final determination that there is no
liability
13
owed
by
the Corporation based on such audit, then Purchaser shall transfer to the
Vendors 25% of the Holdback Funds which remain in the Holdback
Account, pro rata as set out in Exhibit 3.3 (a)
3.5
Lockup
All
shares of
ClearOne common stock purchased pursuant to Paragraphs 3.3 (b), (c) and (d)
shall be subject to the Lockup Agreement the form of which is attached hereto
as
Exhibit 3.5 and which shall generally prohibit the resale of any such shares
for
a period of 12 months as to 3814157
Canada Inc, Xxx Xxxxxxxxx, and Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx Family Trust
and 90
days as to 3814149
Canada, Inc., Stechyson Family Trust, Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx, from
the
date of purchase.
ARTICLE
4
- REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES,
AND COVENANTS
4.1
Representations
and Warranties of the Vendors
The
Corporation and the Vendors and each of them, jointly and severally represent
and warrant to the Purchaser and the Parent (and acknowledge that the Purchaser
and the Parent are relying on such representations and warranties in completing
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement) that as of the Closing
Date:
(a)
Corporate
The
Corporation is a corporation duly incorporated and organized and is validly
existing and in good standing under the federal laws of Canada and the Province
of Ontario and has all necessary corporate power, authority and capacity to
own
its properties and assets and to carry on the Business as presently conducted.
The Corporation is a private company as that term is defined in the Securities
Act
(Ontario). Neither the nature of the Business nor the location or character
of
the property owned or leased by the Corporation requires the Corporation to
be
registered, licensed or otherwise qualified in any jurisdiction other than
in
Ontario, where as at the Time of Closing it shall be duly registered, licensed
or otherwise qualified for such purpose. Copies of the articles and by-laws
of
the Corporation, including any amendments thereto, are attached hereto as
Exhibit 4.1(a).
(b)
Subsidiaries
The
Corporation does not own, directly or indirectly, nor has it agreed to acquire
(i) any of the outstanding shares or securities convertible into shares of
any other corporation, or (ii) any participating interest in any
partnership, joint venture or other business enterprise.
(c)
Binding
Agreement, Validity of
Transactions
Vendors,
and Corporation and each of them has full power and authority (including full
corporate and trust power and authority) to execute and deliver
this
14
Agreement
and to perform its obligations hereunder. Without limiting the generality
of the
foregoing, the board of directors of Corporation and the trustees of all
vendors
have duly authorized the execution, delivery, and performance of this Agreement.
This
Agreement constitutes a legal, valid, and binding obligation of the Vendors
and
the Corporation and each of them, enforceable against each in accordance
with
its terms (subject, as to the enforcement of remedies, to bankruptcy,
reorganization, insolvency, moratorium, and other laws relating to or affecting
creditors’ rights generally and subject to the availability of equitable
remedies). The execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Vendors and
the
Corporation , the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement and the fulfilment by the Vendors and Corporation of the terms,
conditions and provisions hereof do not and will not, except as set out in
Exhibit 4.1(c):
(i) Contravene,
or conflict with or violate or result in the breach or default (with or without
the giving of notice or lapse of time, or both) or acceleration of any
obligations of any of the Vendors or the Corporation under, or require the
consent or approval of any Person under:
(A) Any
constitution, statute, law, or rule, applicable to such Vendor or the
Corporation;
(B) any
judgment, order, writ, injunction, ruling or decree of any court or of any
Authority which is presently applicable to such Vendor or the
Corporation;
(C) the
articles, by-laws or any resolutions of the Corporation or amendments thereto
or
restatements thereof;
(D) the
constituent documents of the Vendors’, as applicable; or
(E) the
provisions of any agreement, arrangement or understanding to which such Vendor
or the Corporation is a party or by which any of them are bound.
(ii) create
in
any party the right to accelerate, terminate, modify or cancel any agreement
to
which the Corporation or any Vendor is a party, and Vendors further represent
and warrant that there are no single source suppliers for any item it purchases
from its suppliers.
(iii) require
any notice under any agreement, contract, lease, license, instrument, or
other
arrangement to which any of Corporation or Vendor is a party or by which
it is
bound or to which any of its assets is subject (or result in the imposition
of
any Security Interest upon any of its assets).
(iv) require
any notice to, make any filing with, or obtain any authorization, consent,
or
approval of any government or governmental agency in order for the Parties
to
consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. Corporation and
Vendors have obtained each and every third party
15
consent
necessary to accomplish the intent of this Agreement. Neither Corporation
nor
any Vendor has any liability or obligation to pay any fees to any broker,
finder, with the exception of a nominal filing fee which must paid in connection
with a post closing notice with Investment Canada
(d) Licences,
Permits and Authorizations
The
Corporation has conducted the Business in compliance with, and the Corporation
holds all licenses, permits and authorizations necessary for the lawful
operation of the Business pursuant to, all applicable statutes, laws,
ordinances, rules and regulations of all Authorities having jurisdiction over
the Corporation or over any part of the Business, all of which licenses, permits
and authorizations are listed on Exhibit 4.1(d) and all of which are valid
and
subsisting and in good standing with no violations in respect thereof as of
the
date of this Agreement.
(e)
Capitalization
The
authorized share capital of the Corporation is as follows:.
an
unlimited number of common shares, one vote per share, discretionary dividends,
an unlimited number of Class A preferred shares, Class B preferred shares,
Class
C preferred shares, Class D preferred shares, Class E preferred shares, Class
F
preferred shares, all of which are non-voting, redeemable and
retractable.
The
number of shares that are issued and outstanding are as set forth on Exhibit
4.1(e). The issued and outstanding share capital has been duly and validly
issued and is outstanding as fully paid and non-assessable shares in the capital
of the Corporation. There are no outstanding securities (of any kind)
convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any shares of the capital
stock of the Corporation, nor does the Corporation have outstanding any rights
to subscribe for or to purchase, or any options rights or warranties for the
purchase of, or any agreements providing for the issuance of, any shares of
its
capital stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable
for any shares of its capital stock. On the Closing Date, the Purchased Shares
shall constitute all the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of the
Corporation and all of the Options shall have been extinguished and shall be
void and of no further effect.
(f)
Ownership
of Purchased Shares/Authority
The
Vendors are the only registered and beneficial owners of the Purchased Shares
free and clear of any Encumbrances, owning the number of shares set out beside
each Vendors’ name in Exhibit 4.1(f) attached hereto. There is no contract,
option or other right of another binding upon or which at any time in the future
may become binding upon any of the Vendors to sell, transfer, assign, pledge,
charge, mortgage or in any other way dispose of or encumber any of the Purchased
Shares, respectively, other than pursuant to this Agreement.
(g)
Financial
Statements
The
Financial Statements present fairly the financial position of the Corporation
as
of and for the periods stated therein, have been prepared in accordance with
(Canadian) GAAP, applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods covered
thereby and consistent with prior fiscal years of the Corporation. The Balance
Sheet presents fairly a true and complete statement of the assets, liabilities
(whether accrued, absolute,
16
contingent
or otherwise) and financial condition of the Corporation as of the dates
stated
therein, and the statements of income (loss) and retained earnings (deficit)
and, for the periods covered thereby, statement of cash flows forming a part
of
the Financial Statements accurately set forth the results of the operations
of
the Corporation and the source and application of the funds thereof throughout
the periods covered thereby. The Corporation has not produced or had prepared
audited financial statements for any period ending, or as at a date, after
October 31, 2001 nor are any of the Vendors in possession of such financial
statements.
(h)
Absence
of Undisclosed Liabilities
Except
to
the extent reflected or reserved against in the Balance Sheet or incurred
subsequent to the date thereof and disclosed in Exhibit 4.1(h)(1) and except
normal trade creditors payable in the ordinary and normal course of business,
the Corporation does not have any outstanding indebtedness or any liabilities
or
obligations (whether accrued, absolute, contingent or otherwise) nor any
outstanding commitments or obligations of any kind whether or not such
obligations or commitments are presently considered liabilities of the
Corporation under Canadian GAAP. At the Time of Closing, all long-term debt
of
the Corporation shall be paid in full. Corporation will not during the period
between the date of this agreement and Closing make any payments other than
in
the Ordinary Course of Business and as are set out in Exhibit
4.1(h)(2).
(i)
Tax
Matters
Except
as
disclosed in Exhibit 4.1(i):
(i) The
Corporation has duly filed on a timely basis with the appropriate Governmental
Entities, all Tax Returns required to be filed for taxable periods ending on
or
before the Closing Date. All such Tax Returns are true, correct and complete
in
all material respects. To the best of the Corporation’s knowledge, no such Tax
Return contains any misstatement or omits any statement that should have been
included therein. No Tax Return has been amended. The Corporation is not the
beneficiary of any extension of time within which to file any Income Tax
Return.
(ii) The
tax
liability of the Corporation for previous taxation periods is as indicated
in
its Tax Returns. All Taxes shown as due on such Tax Returns or otherwise due
or
claimed to be due by any Governmental Entity have been paid. All instalments,
assessments and reassessments of which the Corporation is aware of or has
received notice of and all other Taxes which are due and payable by it, have
been paid in full. Reserves and provisions for Taxes accrued but not yet due
on
or before the Closing Date as reflected in the Corporation’s Financial
Statements are adequate as of the date of the Corporation’s Financial
Statements, in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting
principles. No deficiencies for Taxes have been proposed, asserted or assessed
against the Corporation that are not adequately reserved against.
17
(iii) Attached
as Exhibit 4.1(i) are complete and correct copies of all Tax Returns that
have
been filed from 1999 to the date hereof and copies of all correspondence
with
taxing authorities.
(iv) No
claim
has ever been made by or is expected from any Governmental Entity in a
jurisdiction in which any one of the members of the Corporation does not
file
Tax Returns that it is or may be subject to taxation in that
jurisdiction.
(v) No
unresolved assessments, reassessments, audits, claims, actions, suits,
proceedings, or investigations exist or have been initiated with regard to
any
Taxes or Tax Returns of the Corporation. To the knowledge of the Corporation,
no
assessment, reassessment, audit or investigation by any Governmental Entity
is
underway, threatened or imminent with respect to Taxes for which the Corporation
may be liable, in whole or part.
(vi) The
Tax
Returns of the Corporation have not been audited by Revenue Canada. The Ontario
Ministry of Revenue has audited the Corporation’s 2000 Tax Return.
(vii) No
election, consent for extension, nor any waiver that extends any applicable
statute of limitations relating to the determination of a Tax liability of
the
Corporation has been filed or entered into and is still effective.
(viii) There
are
no liens for Taxes on the assets of the Corporation.
(ix) The
Corporation is not a party to, is not bound by, nor has any obligation under,
any tax sharing agreement, tax indemnification agreement or similar contract
or
arrangement.
(x) The
Corporation has properly withheld and remitted all amounts required to be
withheld and remitted (including without limitation, income tax, Canadian
Pension Plan contributions, Unemployment Insurance and Xxxxxxx’x Compensation
premiums) and has paid such amounts due to the appropriate authority on a
timely
basis and in the form required under the appropriate legislation.
(xi) The
Corporation has not been and currently is not required to file any Tax Returns
in any jurisdiction outside of Canada.
(xii) There
has
never been a change of control of the Corporation for the purposes of the
Income
Tax Act (Canada).
(xiii) No
amount
in respect of any outlay or expense that is deductible for the purposes of
computing the Corporation’s income for the purposes of the Tax
Act has
been
owing by the Corporation for longer than two (2) years to a person with whom
the
Corporation was not dealing at arm’s length (for the purposes of the
Tax
Act)
at the
time the outlay or expense was incurred. The
18
Corporation
has not, either directly or indirectly, transferred property to or acquired
property from a person with whom it was not dealing at arm’s length (for the
purposes of the Tax
Act)
for
consideration other than consideration equal to the fair market value of
the
property at the time of the disposition or acquisition
thereof.
(xiv) The
Corporation has not claimed a deduction with respect to an outlay or expense
that may be considered unreasonable under the circumstances.
(xv) All
amounts of consideration paid or agreed to be paid by the Corporation with
respect to the acquisition from, the use or reproduction of property of, or
services rendered by, a non-resident of Canada with whom the Corporation was
not
dealing at arm’s length for the purposes of and within the meaning of the
Income
Tax Act (Canada)
have been no greater than amounts which would be considered reasonable in the
circumstances had such non-resident been dealing at arm'’ length with the
Corporation. All amounts of consideration paid or agreed to be paid to the
Corporation with respect to the acquisition by, the use or reproduction of
property by, loan to, or services rendered to, a non-resident of Canada with
whom the Corporation was not dealing at arm’s length for the purposes of and
within the meaning of the Income
Tax Act (Canada)
have been no less than amounts which would be considered reasonable in
circumstances had such non-resident been dealing at arm’s length with the
Corporation.
(xvi) There
are
no circumstances which exist and would result in, or which have existed and
resulted in, any of Sections 80 to and including Section 80.04 of the
Income
Tax Act (Canada)
applying to the Corporation.
(xvii) The
Corporation is a registrant for the purposes of the ETA
having
registration number
R105007314 T001,
and is
not a financial institution within the meaning of the Excise
Tax Act (Canada).
The Corporation has not made any elections under the ETA.
(xviii) The
Vendors are not non-residents of Canada within the meaning of the Tax
Act.
(j)
Absence
of Changes
Since
June 30, 2002:
(i) no
Material Change has occurred in any of the assets, business, financial
condition, results of operation or prospects of the Corporation nor has any
other event, condition or state of facts occurred or arisen that might
materially and adversely affect, or threaten to materially and adversely affect,
the Corporation or the business, the results of operations or prospects of
the
Corporation or the ability of the Corporation to carry on its business
substantially the same as such business was being conducted as of June 30,
2002;
19
(ii) no
damage, destruction or loss, labour trouble or any other event, development
or
condition of any character (whether or not covered by insurance) has occurred
which might have a Material Adverse Effect; and
(iii) the
Corporation has been operated in the ordinary course of
business.
(k) Absence
of Unusual Transactions
Since
June 30, 2002, the Corporation has not:
(i) transferred,
assigned, sold or otherwise disposed of any of its assets or cancelled any
debts
or claims except in each case in the ordinary and normal course of
business;
(ii) incurred
or assumed any obligation or liability including capitalized lease obligations,
(direct or contingent), except those listed in Exhibit 4.1(k) hereto and except
unsecured current obligations and liabilities incurred in the ordinary and
normal course of business;
(iii) issued
or
sold any shares in its capital or any warrants, bonds, debentures or other
corporate securities of the Corporation or issued, granted or delivered any
right, option or other commitment for the issuance of any such other
securities;
(iv) discharged
or satisfied any lien or encumbrance, or paid any obligation or liability (fixed
or contingent) other than liabilities included in the Balance Sheet and
liabilities incurred since the date thereof in the ordinary and normal course
of
business;
(v) except
as
disclosed in Exhibit 4.1(k), declared, set aside, or made any payment of any
dividend or other distribution in respect of any shares in its capital or
purchased or redeemed any such shares or effected any subdivision, consolidation
or reclassification of any such shares or repaid in full or in part any
shareholder loans;
(vi) suffered
an operating loss or any extraordinary loss, or waived any rights of substantial
value, or entered into any commitment or transaction not in the ordinary and
normal course of business where such loss, rights, commitment or transaction
is
or would be material in relation to the Corporation;
(vii) except
as
set out in Exhibit 4.1(k) qualified, amended or changed or taken any action
to
amend or change its constating documents or by-laws;
(viii) except
as
disclosed in Exhibit 4.1(k), made any wage or salary increases or in respect
of
personnel which it employs, including officers and directors;
20
(ix) except
as
disclosed in Exhibit 4.1(k) hereto, mortgaged, pledged, subjected to lien,
granted as security interest in or otherwise encumbered any of its assets
or
property, whether tangible or intangible;
(x) except
as
disclosed in Exhibit 4.1(k), paid or become liable for any management fee
or any
other fee or charge whatsoever to the Vendors or any Person who is an associate
of the Vendors or paid or agreed to pay any bonus or like payment to any
Person;
(xi) loaned
or
agreed to lend money to any Person including a shareholder; or
(xii) entered
into any material agreement, contract, lease, or license outside the Ordinary
Course of Business;
(xiii) received
any information that any party (including Corporation) has accelerated,
terminated, made material modifications to, or cancelled any material agreement,
contract, lease, or license to which Corporation is bound;
(xiv) made
any
material capital expenditures outside the Ordinary Course of
Business;
(xv) made
any
material capital investment in, or any material loan to, any other Person
outside the Ordinary Course of Business;
(xvi) granted
any license or sublicense of any material rights under or with respect to
any
Intellectual Property;
(xvii) entered
into any employment contract or collective bargaining agreement, written
or
oral, or modified the terms of any existing such contract or
agreement;
(xviii) adopted,
amended, modified, or terminated any bonus, profit-sharing, incentive,
severance, or other plan, contract, or commitment for the benefit of any
of its
directors, officers, and employees (or taken any such action with respect
to any
other Employee Benefit Plan) except as otherwise provided in this
Agreement;
(xix) made
any
other material change in employment terms for any of its directors, officers,
and employees
(xx) authorized
or agreed or otherwise become committed to any of the
foregoing.
(l)
Title
to Properties
Except
as
disclosed in the Balance Sheet or in Exhibit 4.1(l) hereto, the Corporation
has
good and marketable title to all of its assets, real and personal, including
21
but
not
limited to those reflected on the Balance Sheet or acquired since the date
of
the Balance Sheet (except as since transferred, sold or otherwise disposed
of in
the ordinary and normal course of business), free and clear of all
Encumbrances.
(m) Leases
of Personal Property
Exhibit
4.1(m) sets forth a true and complete list in all material respects of all
equipment, other personal property and fixtures in the possession or custody
of
the Corporation which, as of the date hereof, is leased or held under licence
or
similar arrangement and of the leases, licenses, agreements, or other
documentation relating thereto.
(n)
Leases
of Real Property
(i) Other
than the Lease, the Corporation is not a party to or bound by any lease,
sublease, license or other instrument relating to real property and the
Corporation has not entered into any other instrument relating to real property.
The interest held by the Corporation under the Leases is free and clear of
any
and all Encumbrances.
(ii) The
Lease
is in good standing and in full force and effect without amendment, and the
Corporation is entitled to the benefit of the Lease.
(iii) All
amounts of rent and other amounts presently owing under the Lease have been
paid.
(iv) The
Corporation has complied with all of its obligations under the Lease and
the
Corporation is not in default or breach, nor has it received a notice of
default
or breach of its obligations under the Lease.
(v) Attached
hereto as Exhibit 4.1(n) is a consent to assignment executed by the landlord
as
is necessary for this transaction
(o) Real
Property
The
Corporation does not own any real property or, except for the Lease, any
interest in real property.
(p) Fixed
Assets
Each
item of
tangible assets, machinery, equipment, vehicles, furniture, office equipment,
computer hardware and software with a value greater than C$2,000 wherever
situate and owned by the Corporation is set out in Exhibit 4.1(p)
hereto.
22
(q)
Condition
of Assets
All
tangible
assets of the Corporation are in good condition, repair and (where applicable)
proper working order, having regard to the use and age thereof, except only
for
reasonable wear and tear.
(r)
Services
Warranty
All
of the
services rendered by Corporation have conformed in all material respects with
all applicable contractual commitments and all express and implied warranties,
and ,
after
diligent inquiry, Corporation has no knowledge of any material liability (,
whether asserted or unasserted, whether absolute or contingent, whether accrued
or unaccrued, whether liquidated or unliquidated, and whether due or to become
due) for damages in connection therewith.
(s) Product
Liability
After
diligent inquiry, Corporation has no knowledge of any material
liability (whether asserted or unasserted, whether absolute or contingent,
whether accrued or unaccrued, whether liquidated or unliquidated, and whether
due or to become due) arising out of any injury to individuals or property
as a
result of the ownership, possession, or use of any product manufactured, sold,
leased, or delivered by Corporation.
(t) Litigation
Except
as
disclosed in Exhibit 4.1(t) there is no suit, action, dispute, civil or criminal
litigation, claim, arbitration or legal, administrative or other proceeding
or
governmental investigation, including appeals and applications for review
(collectively, “Claims”), pending or, to the best of the Vendors’ knowledge,
threatened against the Corporation or affecting any of its assets or properties
or the Business. There are no facts or circumstances known to the Vendors which
are likely to give rise to any such Claims. Except as disclosed in Exhibit
4.1(t), there is not presently outstanding against the Corporation ( or
affecting its Business or properties) any judgement, execution, decree,
injunction, rule or order of any court, Authority, administrative agency or
arbitrator.
(u) Inventories
Exhibit
4.1(u) sets forth a detailed list of the inventories (the “Inventories”) of the
Corporation as at July 31, 2002 and as of August 16, 2002e, which list is true
and correct. The Inventories are in good condition, are merchantable, are of
a
quality and quantity useable or saleable in the ordinary course of business,
are
fit for the purposes for which they are intended (except to the extent, if
any,
written down to net realizable value on the Financial Statements) and are
carried on the books of the Corporation at the lower of cost or net realizable
value. Inventories are labelled and stored in compliance with all applicable
federal, provincial and local laws, ordinances, and governmental rules and
regulations.
23
(v) Accounts
Receivable
Exhibit
4.1(v) sets forth a detailed list of the accounts receivable (the “Accounts
Receivable”) of the Corporation as at July 31, 2002 and as of August 16, 2002
which list is true and correct. The Accounts Receivable of the Corporation
set
out in Exhibit 4.1(v) are, and all other accounts receivable at the Time of
Closing shall be, bona fide and good and collectible at their face amounts
in
the ordinary course of business (subject to no defence, counterclaim or set-off)
except to the extent of any reserves provided for doubtful accounts in the
ordinary course of business which reserves are set out in Exhibit
4.1(v).
(w)
Material
Contracts
Except
for the Encumbrances referred to in Exhibit 4.1(l), the leases and agreements
referred to in Exhibit 4.1(m), the Leases, the written employment contracts
referred to in Exhibit 4.1(x) and the contracts and agreements (including
government grants or incentives) referred to in Exhibit 4.1(w), the Corporation
is not a party to or bound by any material contract or commitment either now
or
in the future, whether oral or written. The contracts, leases and agreements
referred to in the Leases and Exhibits 4.1(m), 4.1(x) and 4.1(w) are all legal,
valid, binding, enforceable and in full force and effect unamended and no
default exists in respect thereof on the part of the Corporation or on the
part
of any of the other parties thereto. The Corporation is not in default or in
breach of any lease, contract or commitment to which it is a party and there
exists no condition, event or act which, with the giving of notice or lapse
of
time or both would constitute such a default or breach and all such contracts
and commitments are in good standing and in full force and effect without
amendment thereto and the Corporation is entitled to all benefits thereunder.
No
party to any contract has repudiated such contract or express an intention
to
not perform such contract.
The
term
“material contract” as used in this paragraph shall be deemed to include but not
be limited to the following:
(i)
any
agreement (or group of related agreements) in excess of $20,000Can for the
sale
or lease of personal property to or from any Person;
(ii)
any
agreement (or group of related agreements)
in
excess of $20,000Can
for the
purchase or sale of raw materials, commodities, supplies, products, or other
personal property, or for the furnishing or receipt of services;
(iii)
any
agreement concerning a partnership or joint venture;
(iv)
any
agreement (or group of related agreements) under which it has created, incurred,
assumed, or guaranteed any indebtedness for borrowed money, or any capitalized
lease obligation or under which it has imposed a Security Interest on any of
its
assets, tangible or intangible;
(v)
any
agreement concerning confidentiality or noncompetition;
24
(vi)
any
agreement involving any Vendors;
(vii)
any
profit sharing, stock option, stock purchase, stock appreciation, deferred
compensation, severance, or other material plan or arrangement for the benefit
of its current or former directors, officers, and employees;
(viii)
any
license of Intellectual Property
(ix)
any
written agreement for the employment of any individual on a full-time,
part-time, consulting, or other basis;
(x) any
agreement under which it has advanced or loaned any amount to any of its
directors, officers, and employees
(xi)
any
agreement under which the consequences of a default or termination could have
a
material adverse effect on the business, financial condition, operations,
results of operations, or future prospects of the Corporation; or
(xii)
any
other
agreement (or group of related agreements) the performance of which involves
consideration in excess of $20,000 Can.
(x) Employment
Matters
(i) Exhibit
4.1(x) contains a complete and accurate list of all employees, agents and
independent contractors of the Corporation and, to the extent applicable, their
positions, current salaries, benefits and other remunerations, dates of last
salary increases and dates of hire with the Corporation or any predecessors
of
the Corporation. Exhibit 4.1(x) also indicates which employees are parties
to a
written or oral agreement of employment (including confidentiality and
non-competition agreements).
(ii) Except
as
disclosed in Exhibit 4.1(x), the Corporation is not a party to any agreements
with past employees, agents or independent contractors in respect of whom the
Corporation has continuing obligations. There are no oral contracts of
employment entered into with any employees employed by the Corporation, which
are not terminable in accordance with applicable law and the Corporation has
not
entered into any agreements with such employees with respect to the termination
of employment. The Corporation does not have any obligation to re-instate any
employees.
(iii) Except
for Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx and Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx, who have resigned
and executed full releases which are attached hereto as Exhibit 4.1(x)(iii),
at
the Time of Closing, the Corporation will not have terminated, laid-off or
dismissed (whether such dismissal is actual or constructive) in the four weeks
preceding the Date of Closing any employees of the Corporation.
25
(iv) All
liabilities in respect of employees have or shall have been paid in full
to the
Closing Date, including premium contributions, remittance and assessments
for
unemployment insurance, employer health tax, Canada Pension Plan, income
tax,
Workers’ Compensation and any other employment related legislation, accrued
wages, Taxes, salaries, commissions and employee benefit plan
payments.
(v) There
are
no outstanding, pending, threatened or anticipated assessments, actions,
causes
of action, claims, complaints, demands, orders, prosecutions or suits against
the Corporation, or its directors, officers or agents pursuant to or under
any
applicable rules, regulations, orders or laws, including Canada Pension Plan,
unemployment insurance, Tax, employer health tax, employment standards, labour
relations, occupational health and safety, human rights, workers’ compensation
and pay equity laws.
(vi) The
Corporation has not made any agreements, whether directly or indirectly,
with
any labour union, employee association or other similar entity or made
commitments to or conducted negotiations with any labour union or employee
association or similar entity with respect to any future agreements. No trade
union, employee association or other similar entity has any bargaining rights
acquired by either certification or voluntary recognition with respect to
the
employees of the Corporation. The Vendors, after diligent inquiry, are not
aware
of any current attempts to organize or establish any other labour union,
employee association or other similar entity.
(vii) All
vacation pay, bonuses, commissions and other emoluments relating to the
employees of the Corporation are accurately reflected in all respects and
have
been accrued in the financial records of the Corporation.
(viii) Except
as
described in Exhibit 4.1(x), the Corporation is in compliance with all federal,
provincial, state, local foreign and other applicable law respecting employment
and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment and wages and
hours.
(ix)
Corporation has no liability, and anticipates no liability, to the Canada
Customs and Revenue Agency, or to employees, in connection with any audit
by
that agency.
(x) There
is
no unfair labour practice, complaint, charge or other matter against or
involving the Corporation pending or threatened before any governmental
authority.
(xi) All
officers and employees have been thoroughly interviewed (the notes from such
interviews are attached as Exhibit 4.1(x)(xi)) and based upon such interviews
no
officer or employee employed by the Corporation has indicated his or her
intention to resign following Closing except that Norm, Xxxxxxx and Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxx will not continue their employment.
26
(xii) The
consummation of the transaction contemplated by this agreement will not entitle
any current or former officer or employee of the Corporation to severance
pay,
pay in lieu of notice, unemployment compensation, or any other similar payment,
nor accelerate the time of payment or date of vesting, nor increase the amount
of any compensation due to any officer or employee of the
Corporation.
(y) Pension
and Benefit Matters
(i) Exhibit
4.1(y) hereto is a complete list of each written or unwritten employee benefit,
pension or retirement plan, program, agreement or arrangement whether formal
or
informal and whether legally binding or not, including any plan or arrangement
relating to bonuses, incentive compensation, stock purchase rights, stock
options, severance or termination pay, hospitalization or other medical or
dental benefits, disability, life or other insurance, supplemental unemployment
benefits or profit sharing (“Employee Plan”), and all deferred compensation
arrangements in which any of the employees of Vendor re
participants.
(ii) Each
of
the Employee Plans is duly registered where required by law, is in good standing
and is maintained in material compliance with applicable laws.
(iii) Neither
the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement nor the consummation
of the transactions herein or therein contemplated will cause Buyer or any
affiliate thereof to be liable to any person pursuant to the terms of any
Employee Plan or applicable law.
(iv) Vendor
is
not a party to any pending or threatened action, claim, suit or proceeding
by
any person or governmental instrumentality concerning any Employee Plan which
relates to Vendor or any of its employees.
(v) All
payments due from Vendor (on account of employment contracts or otherwise)
for
Employee Plans have been paid for all periods ended on or prior to the date
hereof, and for the period from the date hereof through the Closing Date, shall
be paid by Vendor. Vendor has no Employee Plan that constitutes a “registered
pension plan” as that term is defined in s. 248(1) of the Income Tax Act
(Canada).
(z) Legal
Compliance
After
diligent inquiry, Corporation represents and warrants that to the best of
Vendors knowledge it has complied with all applicable laws (including rules,
regulations, codes, plans, injunctions, judgments, orders, decrees, rulings,
and
charges thereunder) of federal, state, local, and foreign governments (and
all
agencies thereof), and no action, suit, proceeding, hearing, investigation,
charge, complaint, claim, demand, or notice has been filed or commenced against
any of
27
them
alleging any failure so to comply, except where the failure to comply would
not
have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition, operations,
results of operations, or future prospects of the Corporation and its
business.
(aa) Insurance
The
Corporation has all of its assets, property and undertaking and the Business
insured against loss or damage by all insurable hazards or risks on a
replacement cost basis and such insurance coverage will be continued in full
force and effect (with all premiums paid) up to and including the Closing Date.
Exhibit
4.1(aa) sets forth the following information with respect to each material
insurance policy (including policies providing property, casualty, liability,
and workers' compensation coverage and bond and surety arrangements) with
respect to which Corporation is a party, a named insured, or otherwise the
beneficiary of coverage:
(i)
the
name,
address, and telephone number of the agent;
(ii)
the
name
of the insurer, the name of the policyholder, and the name of each covered
insured;
(iii)
the
policy number and the period of coverage;
(iv)
the
scope
(including an indication of whether the coverage is on a claims made,
occurrence, or other basis) and amount (including a description of how
deductibles and ceilings are calculated and operate) of coverage;
and
(v)
a
description of any retroactive premium adjustments or other material
loss-sharing arrangements.
With
respect to each such insurance policy: (A) the policy is legal, valid, binding,
enforceable, and in full force and effect in all material respects; (B)
Corporation is not in material breach or default (including with respect to
the
payment of premiums or the giving of notices), and no event has occurred which,
with notice or the lapse of time, would constitute such a material breach or
default, or permit termination, modification, or acceleration, under the policy;
and (C) no party to the policy has repudiated any material provision thereof.
(bb) Intellectual
Property
General
(i) Exhibit
1.1(ll) contains a complete and accurate list of all of the Intellectual
Property, and details, if any, of all registrations thereof and all applications
for registration in respect thereof, and indicate in each case whether such
Intellectual Property is owned by or licensed to the Corporation.
(ii) All
registrations with, and applications to, Authorities on behalf of, or for the
benefit of, the Corporation in respect of the Intellectual Property are
28
valid
and
in full force and effect (subject to adjudication, of which there is presently
none) and are not in arrears in respect of payment of any taxes or maintenance
fees or the taking of any other actions by the Corporation to maintain their
validity or effectiveness, other than routine filings and payments applicable
to
registrations of that kind.
(iii) All
intellectual property reasonably necessary for the conduct of the Business
by
the Corporation, as currently conducted, is owned by, or licensed to, the
Corporation.
(A) Except
as
disclosed in Exhibit 1.1(ll) hereto, no licences or sublicenses have been
granted by the Corporation to third parties permitting the use of any
Intellectual Property, nor is there any obligation on the part of the
Corporation to enter into a licence or sublicense with a third party to permit
such third party to use any of the Intellectual Property. With regard to the
items listed in Exhibit 1.1(ll), the
license, sublicense, agreement, or permission covering the item is legal, valid,
binding, enforceable, and in full force and effect in all material
respects;
(B)
no
party
to the license, sublicense, agreement, or permission is in material breach
or
default, and no event has occurred which with notice or lapse of time would
constitute a material breach or default or permit termination, modification,
or
acceleration thereunder;
(C)
no
party
to the license, sublicense, agreement, or permission has repudiated any material
provision thereof; and
(iv) Except
as
disclosed in the Exhibit 4.1(bb)(iv) hereto, to the best of the Vendors’
knowledge, there has been no infringement or violation of the rights of the
Corporation in and to any of the Intellectual Property. The Corporation has
not
interfered with, infringed upon, misappropriated, or violated any material
intellectual property rights of third parties in any material respect, and
neither Vendors nor their affiliates nor the Corporation has ever received
any
charge, complaint, claim, demand, or notice alleging any such interference,
infringement, misappropriation, or violation (including any claim that
Corporation must license or refrain from using any intellectual property rights
of any third party).
(v) The
Corporation has all rights necessary to enable it to lawfully and without
infringement of the rights of any third party place on its websites and in
its
Products the content currently on the Corporation’s websites (and to permit
others to view and/or download and use such content in the manner allowed by
those sites), and contained in the Products. The Corporation has not placed
any
content on any website or in any Product or distributed such content in a manner
which infringes the rights of any third party to a materially adverse extent
or
which could reasonably be expected to give rise to any claim having any Material
Adverse Effect. No legal proceedings alleging infringement in respect of the
content on the Corporation’s websites or Products of any type (including CD-ROMs
and software) have ever been brought.
29
(vi) The
software listed on Exhibit 1.1(ll) shall not contain any clock, timer, counter,
or other limiting or disabling code, design or routine that would cause the
software to be erased, made inoperable or otherwise rendered incapable of
performing in accordance with its performance specifications and descriptions
or
otherwise limit or restrict the Purchaser’s ability to use a copy of the
software after a specific or random number of years or copies, or any viruses,
Trojan horses, or other disabling or disruptive codes or commands.
(vii)
Corporation
has not ever agreed to indemnify any Person for or against any interference,
infringement, misappropriation, or other conflict with respect to the use of
any
intellectual property.
Copyrights
(i) The
Corporation owns
all
equitable and legal rights in and to all copyrightable works forming part of
the
Intellectual Property (including all source code versions of the Products),
other than works used in the Business under a contract listed in Exhibit
4.1(w) (“Works”).
All Works are protectable under the copyright laws of the United States and
Canada and have been, or are capable of being, registered in the United States
and Canadian copyright offices. A complete list of all Works reasonably
necessary for the conduct of Business is included on Exhibit
1.1(ll).
(ii) The
Works
listed on Exhibit 1.1(ll) have not been incorporated, in whole or in part,
into
any completed works which are not listed on Exhibit 1.1(ll), whether published
or unpublished.
(iii) Except
as
noted in Exhibit 1.1(ll), the Works listed thereon are each original works
of
authorship and are comprised of material created solely by the Corporation’s
employees in the course of their employment or by contractors who have executed
forms of assignment vesting all rights in such Works in the Corporation. No
material created by any other persons or any other legal entities have been
incorporated in any of the Works except where the Corporation has acquired
the
rights to do so.
(iv) The
Corporation has taken no action, and the Vendors are aware of no facts, which
would cause any of the Works listed on Exhibit 1.1(ll) to be adjudicated in
any
legal forum to have entered the public domain.
(v) The
authors of all Works have waived, to the extent permitted by law, in whole
any
moral rights he or she may have in the Works, in favour of all future acquirors
of the Works.
Trademarks
(i) The
Corporation owns all equitable and legal title to all words, symbols, devices,
designs, logos, artistic renderings, and similar items which have
30
come
to
indicate a particular source of origin with respect to the Corporation’s goods
and/or services and which are reasonably necessary for the conduct of Business.
Collectively, these properties are referred to in this Agreement as “the
Marks”.
(ii) To
the
knowledge of the Vendors, the Corporation is entitled to use in Canada all
generic, descriptive and non-distinctive words, symbols, devices, photographs,
designs, artistic renderings and packages designs which it has incorporated
in
the sale, promotion, advertising or licensing of its goods and/or
services.
(iii) There
are
no claims pending or which, to the Vendors’ knowledge, may be successfully
brought against the continued use, or attempted or continued registration of
any
of the marks presently being used by the Corporation in the United States,
Canada or throughout the world.
(iv) There
are
no claims pending or which, to the Vendors’ knowledge, may be validly brought
against the continued use of any generic, descriptive and/or non-distinctive
words, symbols, devices, photographs, designs, artistic renderings and package
designs which have been incorporated in the sale, promotion, advertising or
licensing of the Corporation’s goods and/or services in the United States or
throughout the world. The Vendors are aware of no facts which would support
any
such claims, actual or potential.
(v) All
properties which the Corporation recognizes as Marks are listed on Exhibit
1.1(ll) by xxxx, goods or services, registration number, and date the Xxxx
was
first used.
(vi) All
Marks
listed on Exhibit 1.1(ll) are currently in use in Canada.
Domain
Names
(i) All
domain names listed on Exhibit 1.1(ll) have been duly registered with an ICANN
approved Registrar of the corresponding country top level domain name
registration authority approved registrar(“ICANN”) through ICANN’s registration
procedures, and are operating, active domain names. The Corporation has taken
all reasonable steps to maintain in force the domain name registrations listed
on Exhibit 1.1(ll).
(ii) ICANN’s
records show the Corporation to be the sole Person in exclusive control of
the
domain names listed in Exhibit 1.1(ll).
(iii) Neither
ICANN nor any third party has advised the Corporation that any of the domain
names listed in Exhibit 1.1(ll) infringe,
dilute, or interfere with the rights of any other party, or may infringe, dilute
or interfere with the rights of any other party.
31
(iv) ICANN
has
not notified the Corporation that any of the domain names listed in Exhibit
1.1(ll) have been placed on “hold” or are otherwise subject to a dispute or
potential dispute pursuant to NSI's dispute resolution policy.
(v) There
are
no claims pending or, to the knowledge of the Vendors, which may be validly
brought against the continued use or registration of any of the domain names
presently being used by the Corporation in the United States or throughout
the
world, as listed on Exhibit 1.1(ll). The Vendors are aware of no facts which
would support any such claims, actual or potential.
(cc) Computer
Systems
The
Corporation owns or licences all of the computer systems reasonably necessary
for the operation of the Business as it is currently conducted. All such
computer systems of the Corporation, including, but not limited to, mainframes,
mini-computers and special purpose systems are fully operational.
(dd) Source
Code Versions
All
source code versions of the Products are accurate and complete in all material
respects and are sufficient for the ongoing operation and conduct of the
Business, and for the enhancement and/or modification of the Products to which
such source code versions relate.
(ee) Contracts
with Non-Arm’s Length Persons
Except
as
set forth in Exhibit 4.1(ee), there are no existing contracts or arrangements
to
which the Corporation is a party in which any of the Vendors, any director
or
officer of the Corporation or any other Person not dealing at arm’s length with
the Vendors or the Corporation, or any director or officer of the Corporation
has an interest, whether directly or indirectly, including, without limitation,
arrangements for the payment of management or consulting fees of any kind
whatsoever.
(ff) Agreements
Restricting Business
The
Corporation is not a party to any agreement or arrangement which restricts
the
freedom of the Corporation to carry on the Business, including any contract
or
agreement which contains covenants by the Corporation not to compete in any
line
of business with any other Person.
(gg) Bank
Accounts, etc.
There
is
set forth in Exhibit 4.1(gg) hereto the name of each bank or other depository
in
which the Corporation maintains any bank account, trust account or safety
deposit box and the names of all persons authorized to draw thereon or who
have
access thereto.
32
(hh) Absence
of Guarantees
The
Corporation has not given or agreed to give and is not a party to or bound
by
any guarantee of indebtedness, indemnity, bond or suretyship or other
obligations of another Person or Persons or any other commitment by which the
Corporation is, or is contingently, responsible for such indebtedness or other
obligations except as specifically provided for or referred to in this Agreement
or in any exhibit hereto.
(ii) Corporate
Records
The
minute books of the Corporation contain, and will contain at the Closing Date,
accurate and complete minutes of all meetings and resolutions of its directors
and shareholders held since its incorporation. All resolutions of the
Corporation were duly passed and all meetings of the Corporation were duly
held,
and its share certificate books and share certificate registers are, and will
at
the Closing Date be, complete and accurate and shall reflect all transactions
contemplated by this Agreement.
(jj)
Consents
No
consent, approval or authorization of, or declaration, filing (other than
administrative filings with Tax authorities, companies registries and the like)
or registration with, any Authority or other person is required to be made
or
obtained by the Corporation or the Vendors prior to, or as a condition of,
the
consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement.
(kk) Powers
of Attorney
The
Corporation has not given any power of attorney to any Person for any purpose
whatsoever.
(ll) Brokers
The
Vendors and the Corporation have not engaged any broker or other agent in
connection with the transactions contemplated in this Agreement and,
accordingly, there is no commission, fee or other remuneration payable to any
broker or agent who purports or may purport to act or have acted for the Vendors
or the Corporation.
(mm) Full
Disclosure
None
of
the foregoing representations and statements of fact contains any untrue
statement of a material fact or omits to state any material fact necessary
to
make any such statement or representation not misleading to a prospective
purchaser of the Purchased Shares seeking full information as to the Corporation
and its properties, businesses and affairs. There is no fact that the Vendors
have not disclosed to the Purchaser in writing having, or, so far as the Vendors
can foresee, that might have, a Material Adverse Effect or that might materially
adversely effect the ability of the Vendors to perform their obligations under
this Agreement. No condition exists that would materially adversely affect
Purchaser’s ability to continue to conduct the Business following Closing. The
33
parties
hereto agree that a fact disclosed in one Exhibit hereto does not constitute
disclosure in any other Exhibit hereto.
(nn) Only
Business-Customer and Supply Relationships
The
Corporation has not in the last 5 years carried on and does not currently carry
on any business other than the Business. After diligent inquiry, to the best
of
Vendors knowledge, no condition presently exists which would cause an adverse
change in Business following Closing which change is based upon relationships
with customers or suppliers of the Corporation or the Business. After diligent
inquiry, to the best of Vendors knowledge, no person has committed any act
or
omitted to commit any act which act or omission has had, or with the passage
of
time would have the effect of damaging relationships with Corporation’s
customers or suppliers. There is set forth in Exhibit 4.1(nn) copies of all
correspondence from customers or suppliers, within the past 24 months which
contains material complaints or criticism, regarding the Corporation, its
conduct or the conduct of employees or business practices. Exhibit 4.1(nn)
also
contains all information (whether or not it has been reduced to writing or
not)
regarding any other material problems of any kind which Corporation has had
with
customers or suppliers which has occurred in the last 24 months.
(oo) US
Securities Laws
Each
Vendor agrees that: (1) Purchaser has made no recommendation to any Vendor
to
purchase shares of ClearOne common stock in the market as provided in this
Agreement and has made no representation regarding the current or future price
of ClearOne common stock (2) Purchaser has provided no information to any Vendor
which is not contained in any publicly available document () Each Vendor has
been advised by its professional advisors regarding the merits and risks of
an
investment in ClearOne common stock (4) each Vendor agrees and acknowledges
that
the investment in ClearOne common stock involves substantial risk based upon
the
future performance of ClearOne as well as risks associated with the market
generally(5) each Vendor can sustain the a loss of its investment in the
ClearOne common stock.
(pp) Ontario
Securities Laws
Each
of
the Vendors is by virtue of such Vendor’s net worth, investment experience and
sophistication able to evaluation and assess the merits and risks associated
with holding the ClearOne Shares as an investment.
(i)
Each
of
the Vendors is acquiring the ClearOne Shares as principal for such Vendor’s own
account and not for the benefit of any other person.
(ii)
Each
of
the Vendors is a resident of the Province of Ontario.
34
(iii)
Each
of
the Vendors acknowledges that the ClearOne Shares may not be resold otherwise
than in compliance with the resale restrictions applicable to the Vendors and
any purchaser of the ClearOne Shares, including, without limitation, such
restrictions under the Ontario Securities Laws.
(qq) Environmental
Matters
(i) The
Corporation has carried and is carrying on its business and its assets always
have been and are now in compliance with all Environmental Laws. Neither the
Corporation nor any of its directors or officers has ever been convicted of
any
offence for non-compliance with any Environmental Law, been fined or otherwise
penalized for non-compliance with an Environmental Law, or settle any
prosecution for non-compliance with any Environmental Law short of
conviction.
(ii) The
Corporation has filed all reports and other information and obtained all
permits, certifications, programs, registrations, licences and other approvals
(collectively “Permits”)
copies
or a list of which are attached as Exhibit 4.1(qq)(ii) to
enable
it to carry on its business as now conducted in compliance with Environmental
Laws. All of the Permits are valid and in good standing and transferable, there
has been no violation of any Permit by the Corporation and no proceeding is
pending, or to the knowledge of the Sellers, threatened to revoke or limit
any
Permit.
(iii) No
control orders, stop orders or other orders or directives have been issued
from
an Authority with respect to any environmental matter to the Corporation in
respect to its business or assets (including any owned or leased real property)
or, to the knowledge of the Vendors (after due inquiry), to any other Person
in
respect of any such matter. To the knowledge of the Vendors (after due inquiry),
no fact or circumstance exists which could give rise to such an order or
directive being issued.
(iv) No
Hazardous Substance originating from any real property owned or leased by the
Corporation, or any other assets of the Corporation, has been released onto
nor
has migrated or is migrating to any neighbouring, adjoining or proximate
property. No Hazardous Substance originating from any neighbouring or adjoining
properties, has been released onto, has migrated onto, or is migrating towards
any real property owned or leased by the Corporation or any other asset of
the
Corporation. No Hazardous Substance is present on, in or under any real property
owned or leased by the Corporation or any other asset of the Corporation in
levels or concentrations in excess of those prescribed by Environmental Laws,
whether or not such presence is in violation of Environmental Laws.
(v) The
Corporation has stored, treated and disposed of all Hazardous Substances used
or
generated in or otherwise relating to its business and assets in compliance
with
Environmental Laws. The Corporation has not incurred and is not incurring any
liability pursuant to Environmental Law in connection with its business and
assets including arising as a result of dealing in Hazardous
Substances.
35
(vi) None
of
the Sellers nor the Corporation has received any written or oral notice of
any
alleged violation of Environmental Laws or other damage to the environment
emanating from or occurring on any of the real property owned or leased by
the
Corporation or on any property in the vicinity of any of the real property,
owned or leased by the Corporation or has incurred any environmental Liability
in connection with any of the Corporation's assets and, to the knowledge of
the
Sellers (after due inquiry), no present or past fact, condition or circumstance
exists which would give rise to such a claim or liability, or potential
liability.
(vii) There
are
no above ground or underground storage tanks at, on, in or under the real
property owned or leased by the Corporation. None of the real property owned
or
leased by the Corporation has ever been used by any Person as a landfill site,
a
waste disposal site, or as a location for the disposal of Hazardous Substances
or waste, has ever had any urea formaldehyde foam insulation, asbestos, pcbs,
or
radioactive substances located thereon.
(viii) All
information provided to the Purchaser or its environmental consultants or
similar representatives in connection with any environmental audit or other
investigation will be true and complete in all material respects. The Sellers
and the Corporation have not conducted an environmental audit (including any
evaluation, assessment, review or study) of any of the real property owned
or
leased by the Corporation, the business or assets of the Corporation except
those in respect of which copies have been provided to the Purchaser, as listed
on Exhibit 4.1(qq)(viii). The Purchaser has been provided with correct and
complete copies of all reports required to be made to Authorities under
Environmental Laws, and all correspondence relating thereto.
The
representations contained in Environmental Matters subparagraphs (iv) and (vii)
are limited to the best knowledge of the Vendors upon the condition that the
Vendors have used best efforts to determine if those representations are true.
If Vendors have not used such best efforts, then those representations are
not
subject to a best knowledge limitation.
4.2
Representations
and Warranties of the Purchaser and the
Parent
The
Purchaser and the Parent hereby jointly and severally represent and warrant
to
the Vendors (and acknowledge that the Vendors are relying on the representations
and warranties in completing the transactions contemplated hereby)
that:
(a) Corporate
- Purchaser
The
Purchaser is a corporation duly incorporated and validly existing under the
laws
of the Province of New Brunswick. The Purchaser has the corporate power and
authority to own and hold its properties and to carry on its business as now
conducted.
36
(b) Corporate
- Parent
The
Parent is a corporation duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing
under the laws of the State of Utah, United States. The Parent has the corporate
power and authority to own and hold its properties and to carry on its business
as now conducted and as proposed to be conducted.
(c) Authority
Each
of
the Purchaser and the Parent has all necessary corporate power, authority and
capacity to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder
and the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the performance by each
of
the Purchaser and the Parent of its obligations hereunder has been duly
authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Purchaser and
the Parent, respectively.
(d) Capitalization
- Parent
The
authorized capital stock of the Parent consists of fifty million
(50,000,000)
common
shares,
of
which 10,269,117 are outstanding as of May 1, 2002. All of the outstanding
shares are validly issued and outstanding, fully paid and non-assessable, with
no personal liability attaching to the ownership thereof.
(e) Enforceability
This
Agreement constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of each of the
Purchaser and the Parent, enforceable against each of them in accordance with
its terms (subject, as to the enforcement of remedies, to bankruptcy,
reorganization, insolvency, moratorium, and other laws relating to or affecting
creditors’ rights generally and subject to the availability of equitable
remedies). The execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Purchaser and
the
Parent, the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and the
fulfilment by the Purchaser and the Parent of the terms, conditions and
provisions hereof will not: contravene or violate or result in the breach (with
or without the giving of notice or lapse of time, or both) or acceleration
of
any obligations of the Purchaser or the Parent under:
(A) any
laws
applicable to the Purchaser or the Parent;
(B) any
judgement, order, writ, injunction or decree of any court or of any Authority
which is presently applicable to the Purchaser or the Parent;
(C) the
articles of incorporation, by-laws or any resolutions of the Purchaser or the
Parent or any amendments thereto or restatements thereof; or
(D) the
provisions of any agreement, arrangement or understanding to which the Purchaser
or the Parent is a party or by which it is bound.
37
(f) Brokers
The
Purchaser has not engaged any broker or other agent in connection with the
transactions contemplated in this Agreement and, accordingly, there is no
commission, fee or other remuneration payable to any broker or agent who
purports or may purport to have acted for the Purchaser.
4.3 Non-Waiver
No
investigations made by or on behalf of any party at any time shall have the
effect of waiving, diminishing the scope of or otherwise affecting any
representation or warranty made by the other parties herein or pursuant
hereto.
4.4 Nature
and Survival of Vendor’s Representations and
Warranties
The
representations and warranties of the Vendors contained in this Agreement or
in
any document or certificate given pursuant to this Agreement shall survive
the
Closing for the benefit of the Purchaser and Parent as follows:3 years for
Claims based on breaches of warranties regarding tax matters and two years
for
all other Claims unless a bona fide notice of Claim shall have been made in
writing before the expiry of that period, in which case the representation
and
warranty to which such notice applies shall survive in respect of that Claim
until the final determination or settlement of that claim.
4.5 Survival
of Purchaser’s and Parent’s Representations and
Warranties
The
representations and warranties of the Purchaser and the Parent contained in
this
Agreement or any document or certificate given pursuant to this Agreement shall
survive the Closing for the benefit of the Vendors for a period of two (2)
years
unless a bona fide notice of Claim shall have been made in writing before the
expiry of that period, in which case the representation and warranty to which
such notice applies shall survive in respect of that Claim until the final
determination or settlement of that claim.
4.6 Vendors
Covenants
(a) Non-Compete.
With
the
exception of Xxx Xxxxxxxxx each Vendor agrees that, for a period of three (3)
years following the Closing, it will not compete directly or indirectly with
the
Purchaser, as more fully described in the Non-Compete Agreement substantially
in
the form set forth in Exhibit 4.6(a). Xxx Xxxxxxxxx will execute and deliver
the
Employment Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit 4.6(a)(1).
(b) Employee
Matters.
No
employees of Corporation shall be terminated as a result of this transaction
except for Norm, Xxxxxxx and Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx each of whom has executed and
delivered a release as attached hereto as Exhibit 4.1(x)(iii).
38
(c) Matters
Regarding the Share Resale
(i) The
Vendors will comply with all applicable securities laws in connection with
the
resale of the shares of ClearOne common stock purchased in the market pursuant
to Section 3 above, including, without limitation, the provisions of the
Securities Act of 1933, Securities
Act (Ontario)
and the regulations, rules, policies, blanket orders and rulings thereunder
(the
“Ontario Securities Laws”), and shall consult with its own legal advisors to
ensure such compliance.
(ii) The
Vendors will execute and deliver within the applicable time periods all
documentation as may be required by any applicable securities laws, including,
without limitation, the Ontario Securities Laws, to permit the resale by
the
Vendors of ClearOne shares.
ARTICLE
5 -
CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO THE PERFORMANCE
BY
THE PARTIES OF THEIR OBLIGATIONS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT
5.1
The
Purchaser’s Conditions
The
obligation of the Purchaser to complete the purchase of the Purchased Shares
hereunder shall be subject to the satisfaction of, or compliance with, at or
before the Time of Closing, each of the following conditions (each of which
is
hereby acknowledged to be inserted for the exclusive benefit of the
Purchaser):
(a) Representations
and Warranties
All
representations and warranties of the Vendors made pursuant to this Agreement
shall be true and correct with the same force and effect as if made at and
as of
the Time of Closing and the Vendors shall have delivered to the Purchaser at
the
Time of Closing a certificate dated the Closing Date, duly executed by a senior
officer of each of the Vendors reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser, to such
effect. The receipt of such certificate and the closing of the transaction
of
purchase and sale provided for in this Agreement shall not be nor deemed to
be a
waiver of the representations and warranties of the Vendors contained in this
Agreement, which representations and warranties shall continue in full force
and
effect for the benefit of the Purchaser as provided in Article
4.
(b) Performance
of Obligations
The
Vendors shall have performed or complied with, in all respects, all of their
obligations, covenants and agreements in this Agreement which are to be
performed or complied with by the Vendors at or prior to the Time of Closing,
and the Vendors shall have delivered to the Purchaser at the Time of Closing
a
certificate dated the Closing Date under corporate seal, duly executed by a
senior officer of each of the Vendors reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser,
to
such effect.
39
(c) Receipt
of Closing Documentation
All
documentation relating to the due authorization and completion of the purchase
and sale of the Purchased Shares and all actions and proceedings taken on
or
prior to the Closing Date in connection with the performance by the Vendors
of
their obligations, covenants and agreements under this Agreement , including
but
not limited to delivery of the Closing Financial Statements and all Exhibits
hereto shall be satisfactory to the Purchaser and its counsel, acting
reasonably, and the Purchaser shall have received copies of all such
documentation or other evidence as it may reasonably request in order to
establish the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and the
taking of all corporate proceedings in connection therewith in compliance
with
these conditions, in form and substance satisfactory to the Purchaser and
its
counsel, acting reasonably.
(d) Vendors’
Closing Opinion
The
Purchaser
shall have received an opinion dated as of the Closing Date in form and
substance reasonably satisfactory to Purchaser’s counsel, from counsel for the
Vendors and from counsel to the Corporation in such form and as to such matters
as the Purchaser or its counsel may request provided that, insofar as the
opinions expressed in such opinion are based on matters of fact, such opinions
may be based upon certificates of the Vendors, public officials and officers
of
the Corporation as counsel may deem reasonably appropriate and, as to matters
involving the laws of jurisdictions in which such counsel is not qualified
to
practice, on opinions of recognized local counsel in such
jurisdictions.
(e) Employment
Agreements
Xxx
Xxxxxxxxx shall
have entered into Employment Agreements with the Corporation in the form
attached as Exhibit 4.6(a)(1) respectively.
(f) Approvals
The
acquisition of all of the Purchased Shares pursuant to this Agreement shall
have
been approved by the Board of Directors and, if necessary, by the shareholders
of the Corporation and approvals or waivers, if any, required by the Investment
Canada Act.
(g) Lease
Matters
The
Vendors
shall have obtained from the landlord under the Lease an acknowledgement
that:
(i) the
Lease
is in good standing and in full force and effect without amendment;
(ii) the
closing of the transactions contemplated herein (including the amalgamation
of
the Corporation into the Purchaser) will not result in the
40
termination
of or an increase in the rent presently being paid under the Lease or any change
in terms of the Lease as they exist on the date hereof; and
(iii) the
Corporation has paid or caused to be paid all rents and other amounts presently
owing under the Lease.
(h) No
Action to Restrain
No
action or
proceeding shall be pending or threatened by any Authority or any other Person
(including a party hereto) to restrain or prohibit the completion of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement or to prevent or restrain the
Corporation from carrying on the Business as presently carried on.
(i) Directors
and Officers
All
directors
and officers of the Corporation specified by the Purchaser shall have resigned
and shall have executed a form of release satisfactory to the Purchaser and
its
counsel. In addition, all employees (other than Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx) deemed necessary
to the successful operation of the Corporation by the Purchaser shall continue
to be in the employ of the Corporation as of the Closing.
(j) Due
Diligence
The
Purchaser
has commenced the conduct of investigations of the business and financial
position of the Corporation and shall continue such investigations after the
execution of this Agreement and prior to the Closing and the Purchaser shall
have been satisfied, in its absolute discretion, with the results of its due
diligence review of the Corporation and the Business, including its review
of
the Financial Statements, the Closing Financial Statements and all Exhibits
hereto.
k) Board
Approval
The
board of
directors of the Purchaser and the Parent shall have approved of the transaction
contemplated in this Agreement.
(l) Options
Cancelled (if applicable)
Any
Optionee
of the Corporation
shall,
upon payment of consideration (if any) by the Vendors (and not by the
Corporation, the Purchaser or the Parent), have surrendered to the Corporation
all of the his
or
her
Options
for cancellation and delivered a general release to and in favour of the
Corporation and all of its directors, officers and shareholders past and
present, in form and substance satisfactory to the Purchaser, acting
reasonably.
(m) Vendor
Agreements
Each
beneficial owner of the Vendors shall have entered into his or her respective
Vendor Agreement.
41
(n) Cash
The
cash
account of the Company shall contain at least C$300,000 including checks
that
are dated prior to Closing and were received prior to Closing.
(o) Net
Working Capital
The
Net
Working Capital of the Company
shall be at least C$675,000.
(p) Liabilities
The
Liabilities shall have been paid or terminated, as applicable, as of the
Closing
with the exception of accounts payable and other amounts owing to various
government agencies in the ordinary course of business.
(q) Encumbrances
All
encumbrances on property of the Corporation shall have been released and
Purchaser shall have received copies of such releases and such encumbrances
shall be shown on the public record to have been released.
(r) Line
of Credit
All
of the
Corporation’s lines of credit shall have been terminated and copies of such
termination shall have been delivered to Purchaser.
(s)
Ernst
and Young shall provide an opinion regarding the Corporation’ equity and no
detrimental effect from corporate reorganization, in form and substance
satisfactory to Purchaser.
(t) The
Closing Financial Statements shall be satisfactory to the Purchaser both
in form
and content.
5.2
Conditions
of the Vendors
The
obligation of the Vendors to complete the sale of the Purchased Shares hereunder
shall be subject to the satisfaction of or compliance with in all material
respects, at or before the Time of Closing, of each of the following conditions
(each of which is hereby acknowledged to be inserted for the exclusive benefit
of the Vendors):
(a)
Representations
and Warranties
All
representations and warranties that the Purchaser and the Parent made pursuant
to this Agreement shall be true and correct with the same force and effect
as if
made at and as of the Time of Closing and the Purchaser and the Parent shall
have delivered to the Vendors at the Time of Closing a certificate dated the
Closing Date, duly executed by a senior officer of the Purchaser and the Parent
acceptable to the Vendors, to such effect. The receipt of such certificate
and
the Closing of the transaction of purchase
42
and
sale
provided for in this Agreement shall not be nor be deemed to be a waiver
of the
representations and warranties of the Purchaser and the Parent contained
in this
Agreement, which representations and warranties shall continue in full force
and
effect for the benefit of the Vendors as provided in Article
4.
(b)
Performance
of Agreement
The
Purchaser
and the Parent shall have performed or complied with, in all respects all of
its
obligations, covenants and agreements in this Agreement which are to be
performed or complied with by the Purchaser and the Parent at or prior to the
Time of Closing and shall have delivered to the Vendors at the time of Closing
a
certificate dated the Closing Date under corporate seal, duly executed by a
senior officer of the Purchaser and the Parent acceptable to the Vendors, to
such effect.
(c)
Receipt
of Closing Documentation
All
documentation relating to the due authorization and completion of the purchase
and sale of the Purchased Shares and all actions and proceedings taken on or
prior to the Closing Date in connection with the performance by the Purchaser
and the Parent of their respective obligations under this Agreement shall be
satisfactory to the Vendors and their counsel, acting reasonably, and the
Vendors shall have received copies of all such documentation or other evidence
as they may reasonably request in order to establish the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby and the taking of all corporate proceedings
in
connection therewith in compliance with these conditions, in form and substance
satisfactory to the Vendors and their counsel, acting reasonably.
(d) No
Action to Restrain
No
action or
proceeding shall be pending or threatened by any Authority or any other Person
(including a party hereto) to restrain or prohibit the completion of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(e)
Opinion
of Parent’s General Counsel
The
Vendors
shall have received an opinion dated the Closing Date, in form and substance
reasonably satisfactory to Vendors Counsel, from Parent’s General Counsel,
confirming the matters warranted in paragraphs b, c, d, e, f of Section 4.2
hereof, provided that, insofar as the opinion, expressed with respect to such
matters as are based on matters of fact, such opinions may be based solely
upon
an officer of the Parent and such evidence as such general counsel may
reasonably deem appropriate.
(f) Opinion
of Purchaser’s Counsel
The
Vendors
shall have received an opinion dated the Closing Date, in form and substance
reasonably satisfactory to Vendors Counsel, from Purchaser’s Counsel, confirming
the matters warranted in paragraphs a, c and f of Section 4.2 hereof, provided
that, insofar as the opinion, expressed with respect to such matters as are
based on
43
matters
of fact, such opinions may be based solely upon an officer of the Parent
or
Purchaser and such evidence as such counsel may reasonably deem
appropriate.
5.3
Waiver
by Purchaser
If
any of
the conditions set forth in Section 5.1
have not
been fulfilled, performed or satisfied at or prior to August 19, 2002 the
Purchaser may, by written notice to the Vendors terminate all of its obligations
hereunder and the Purchaser shall be released from all its obligations under
this Agreement. Any of such conditions may be waived in whole or in part by
the
Purchaser by instrument in writing given to the Vendors without prejudice to
any
of the Purchaser’s rights of termination in the event of non-performance of any
other condition, obligation or covenant in whole or in part, and without
prejudice to its right to complete the transaction of purchase and sale
contemplated by this Agreement and claim damages for breach of representation,
warranty or covenant.
5.4
Waiver
by Vendors
If
any of
the conditions set forth in Section 5.2
have not
been fulfilled, performed or satisfied at or prior to _August 19, 2002 the
Vendors may, by written notice executed by all of the Vendors and given to
the
Purchaser, terminate all of their obligations hereunder and the Vendors shall
be
released from all their obligations under this Agreement. Any of such conditions
may be waived in whole or in part by the Vendors by instrument in writing
executed by all of the Vendors and given to the Purchaser, without prejudice
to
any of the Vendors’ rights of termination in the event of non-performance of any
other condition, obligation or covenant in whole or in part, and without
prejudice to their right to complete the transaction of purchase and sale
contemplated by this Agreement and claim damages for breach of representation,
warranty or covenant.
ARTICLE
6 -
INDEMNIFICATION
6.1 Indemnification
by Vendors
The
Vendors jointly and severally covenant and agree with the Purchaser and the
Corporation to indemnify and save harmless the Purchaser and the Corporation,
from and against any claim, demand, action, cause of action, damage, loss
(including lost profits), cost, liability or expense (including reasonable
professional fees and disbursements) (a “Claim”) (including without limitation
any liability based on an employee’s dismissal prior to Closing or other
liability to any employee prior to Closing)which may be made or brought against
the Purchaser or the Corporation or any one or more of them, or which they
or
any one or more of them may suffer or incur in respect of, as a result of,
or
arising out of:
(a) any
nonfulfillment of any covenant or agreement on the part of the Vendors, or
any
one or more of them, contained in this Agreement or any document or certificate
given pursuant to this Agreement;
44
(b) any
inaccuracy in or breach of any representation or warranty of the Vendors, or
any
one or more of them, contained in this Agreement or any document or certificate
given pursuant to this Agreement; or
(c) any
debts
and liabilities of the Corporation for Taxes existing at the Time of Closing,
or
any reassessment for Taxes for any period ending on or before the
Closing
Date,
for which no adequate reserve has been provided for and disclosed in the Balance
Sheet.
6.2
Indemnification
by the Purchaser
and the Parent
The
Purchaser and the Parent covenant and agree with the Vendors to jointly and
severally indemnify and save harmless the Vendors, from and against any Claim
which may be made or brought against the Vendors, or one or more of them, or
which they or one or more of them may suffer or incur, directly or indirectly,
in respect of, as a result of, or arising out of:
(a) any
non-fulfillment of any covenant or agreement on the part of the Purchaser under
this Agreement or any document or certificate given pursuant to this
Agreement;
(b) any
inaccuracy in or breach of any of the Purchaser’s representations or warranties
contained in this Agreement or any document or certificate given pursuant to
this Agreement;
6.3
Limitation
of Liability
In
no
event shall an Indemnifying Party be liable for Claims, whether or not
previously made by an Indemnified Party, to the extent the aggregate value
of
all Claims exceeds the Purchase Price. The parties acknowledge that Purchase
Price represents the maximum liability of the Purchaser and the Parent, on
the
one hand, and the Vendors, on the other hand. Further, all demand for payment
of
indemnification shall be subject to Sections 4.4 and 4.5 hereof and all other
provisions of this Agreement.
6.4
The
Parent’s Guarantee
The
Parent hereby guarantees the performance of and compliance with all of the
Purchaser’s obligations, covenants and agreements under this Agreement and Xxx
Stechyson’s employment agreement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit
4.6(a)(1)
6.5
Procedure
for Indemnification
(a) Claims
Other Than Third Party Claims
Following
receipt from the Vendors or the Purchaser, as the case may be (the “Indemnified
Party”), of a written notice of a claim for indemnification which has not arisen
in respect of a Third Party Claim, the party who is in receipt of such notice
(the “Indemnifying Party”) shall have 30 days to make such investigation of the
Claim as the Indemnifying Party considers desirable. For the purpose of such
investigation, the
45
Indemnified
Party shall make available to the Indemnifying Party the information relied
upon
by the Indemnified Party to substantiate the claim. If the Indemnified Party
and
the Indemnifying Party agree at or prior to the expiration of such 30 day
period
(or any mutually agreed upon extension thereof) to the validity and amount
of
the Claim, the Indemnifying Party shall immediately pay to the Indemnified
Party
the Undisputed Amount. If the Indemnified Party and the Indemnifying Party
do
not agree within such period (or any mutually agreed upon extension thereof),
such dispute shall be resolved by arbitration as set out in Section 7.15.
(b) Third
Party Claims
The
Indemnified Party shall notify the Indemnifying Party in writing as soon
as is
reasonably practicable after being informed in writing that facts exist which
may result in a Claim originating from a Person other than the Indemnified
Party
(a “Third Party Claim”) and in respect of which a right of indemnification given
pursuant to Section 6.1
or
6.2
may
apply. The Indemnifying Party shall have the right to elect, by written notice
delivered to the Indemnified Party within 10 days of receipt by the Indemnifying
Party of the notice from the Indemnified Party in respect of the Third Party
Claim, at the sole expense of the Indemnifying Party, to participate in or
assume control of the negotiation, settlement or defence of the Third Party
Claim, provided that:
(i) such
will
be done at all times in a diligent and bona fide matter;
(ii) the
Indemnifying Party acknowledges in writing its obligation to indemnify the
Indemnified Party in accordance with the terms contained in this Agreement
in
respect of that Third Party Claim; and
(iii) the
Indemnifying Party shall pay all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred
by
the Indemnified Party as a result of such participation or
assumption.
If
the
Indemnifying Party elects to assume such control, the Indemnified Party shall
co-operate with the Indemnifying Party and its counsel and shall have the
right
to participate in the negotiation, settlement or defence of such Third Party
Claim at its own expense. If the Indemnifying Party does not so elect or,
having
elected to assume such control, thereafter fails to proceed with the settlement
or defence of any such Third Party Claim, the Indemnified Party shall be
entitled to assume such control. In such case, the Indemnifying Party shall
co-operate where necessary with the Indemnified Party and its counsel in
connection with such Third Party Claim and the Indemnifying Party shall be
bound
by the results obtained by the Indemnified Party with respect to such Third
Party Claim.
6.6
Additional
Rules and Procedures
The
obligation of the parties to indemnify each other pursuant to this Article
6
shall
also be subject to the following:
46
(a) an
Indemnified Party shall only be entitled to make a claim for indemnification
pursuant to Section 6.1
or
6.2,
as the
case be, if written notice containing reasonable particulars of such Claim
is
delivered to the Indemnifying Party within the time periods provided for
in
Section 6.5(a) or 6.5(b) as the case may be;
(b) if
any
Third Party Claim is of a nature such that the Indemnified Party is required
by
applicable law to make a payment to any Person (a “Third Party”) with respect to
such Third Party Claim before the completion of settlement negotiations or
related legal proceedings, the Indemnified Party may make such payment and
the
Indemnifying Party shall, forthwith after demand by the Indemnified Party,
reimburse the Indemnified Party for any such payment. If the amount of any
liability under the Third Party Claim in respect of which such a payment
was
made, as finally determined, is less than the amount which was paid by the
Indemnifying Party to the Indemnified Party, the Indemnified Party shall,
forthwith after receipt of the difference from the Third Party, pay such
difference to the Indemnifying Party;
(c) except
in
the circumstances contemplated by Section 6.5 above, and whether or not the
Indemnifying Party assumes control of the negotiation, settlement or defence
of
any Third Party Claim, the Indemnified Party shall not settle or compromise
any
Third Party Claim except with the prior written consent of the Indemnifying
Party (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld). A failure by the
Indemnifying Party to respond in writing to a written request by the Indemnified
Party for consent for a period of five days or more, shall be deemed a consent
by the Indemnifying Party to such request;
(d) the
Indemnifying Party and the Indemnified Party shall provide each other on
an
ongoing basis with all information which may be relevant to the other’s
liability hereunder and shall supply copies of all relevant documentation
promptly as they become available;
(e) notwithstanding
Section 6.5, the Indemnifying Party shall not settle any Third Party Claim
or
conduct any related legal or administrative proceeding in a manner which
would,
in the opinion of the Indemnified Party, acting reasonably, have a material
adverse impact on the Indemnified Party, provided the Indemnified Party agrees
to release the Indemnifying Party from any liability in relation to third
party
claims; and
(f) no
party
will have any liability in respect of indemnification under this Article
6 until
the total dollar amount arising thereunder exceeds C$50,000 (the “Threshold
Amount”). In the event a party’s liabilities under this Section 6 exceeds the
Threshold Amount, then in such event the party obligated for indemnification
shall fully indemnify and reimburse the other party for all amounts up to
the
Threshold Amount, as well as amounts in excess of such amount.
6.7
Rights
Cumulative
The
rights of indemnification contained in this Article
6 are
cumulative and are in addition to every other right or remedy of the parties
contained in this Agreement or otherwise.
47
6.8
GST
If
the
Vendors and the Purchaser acting reasonably determine that any payment (the
“Payment”) made pursuant to this Article
6
is
subject to GST or are deemed by the ETA to be inclusive of GST, the Indemnifying
Party agrees to pay to the Indemnified Party in addition to the Payment an
amount equal to the Payment multiplied by the applicable rate of
GST.
6.9
Set-Off
Rights
The
Holdback Funds shall be placed in a separate account of the Purchaser or Parent
at Closing pursuant to Article 3 above, for a period of one year from the
Closing (the “Holdback Period).. If Purchaser determines that it has a Claim it
shall notify Xxx Xxxxxxxxx on behalf of the Vendors (hereinafter for purposes
of
this Section, the “Vendor”) in writing of such Claim (the “Set-Off Claim”)
stating (i) the amount of the Claim, and (ii) the basis for such Claim for
the
Vendor to evaluate the Set-Off Claim; Vendor shall have ten (10) days to
evaluate and respond to the Set-Off Claim in writing. If Vendor does not dispute
the Set-Off Claim, Purchaser shall be entitled to set off such claim against
the
Holdback Funds. In the event that the Vendor disputes a Set-Off Claim, the
parties will resolve such dispute using the procedure described in Section
7.15
below, provided that, if the HoldbackPeriod described in this section expires
during the existence of a dispute involving a Set-Off Claim, the Purchaser
shall
retain an amount equal to the Set-Off Claim pending resolution of the dispute,
and will release the balance of the Holdback Funds to Vendor.
6.10 Exception
Notwithstanding
any other provision in this Agreement, if Purchaser has an expressed right
pursuant to this Agreement to draw HoldbackFunds without compliance with Article
6 then Purchaser may draw Holdback Funds without regard to any limitation in
this Article 6 and without compliance with any provision of this Article 6
and,
without limiting the generality of the above, such draw Holdback Funds shall
not
be subject to the limitations set out in Section 6.6(f) hereof. However, any
draw from Holdback Funds by Purchaser shall be based on Purchaser’s reasonable
interpretation of this Agreement and applicable facts and Vendors reserve the
right to arbitrate any claim that Purchaser was not entitled to draw funds
from
the Holdback under the terms of this Agreement.
The
foregoing indemnification provisions in this Article 6 are in addition to,
and
not in derogation of, any statutory, equitable, or common law remedy any Party
may have with respect to the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement.
ARTICLE
7 -
GENERAL
7.1
Public
Notices
All
public notices to third parties and all other publicity concerning the matters
contemplated by this Agreement shall be jointly planned and co-ordinated by
the
Parties and no Party shall act unilaterally in this regard without the prior
approval of the other Parties, except where the Party making such notice is
required to do so by law or by the applicable regulations
48
or
policies of any regulatory agency of competent jurisdiction or any stock
exchange in circumstances where prior consultation with the other Parties
is not
practicable.
7.2
Term
Sheet
The
Parties acknowledge that this Agreement supersedes any and all versions of
that
that certain unexecuted term sheet between the Vendors and the Purchaser.
7.3
Confidentiality
The
existence and terms and conditions of this Agreement are confidential until
publicly disclosed. The parties acknowledge and agree that they are parties
to a
mutual non-disclosure agreement, and continue to be bound by the terms thereof.
7.4
Stand-Off
The
Vendors, on behalf of themselves, the Corporation, its officers, directors,
attorneys, and advisors, agree not to (i) solicit, initiate, or encourage
the submission of any proposal or offer from any person relating to the
acquisition of any capital stock or other voting securities, or any substantial
portion of the assets, of the Corporation (including any acquisition structured
as a merger, consolidation, or share exchange), or (ii) participate other
than with Purchaser in any discussions or negotiations regarding, furnish any
information with respect to, assist or participate in, or facilitate in any
other manner any effort or attempt by any person to do or seek any of the
foregoing (collectively, the “Stand-Off”). The Vendors and/or the Corporation
will notify Parent immediately if any person makes any proposal, offer, inquiry,
or contact with respect to any of the foregoing. The Corporation will deal
exclusively with Purchaser notwithstanding any third party proposals. The Stand
Off will expire at the earlier of (i) sixty (60) days from the effective date
of
this Agreement (ii) or the Closing.
7.5
Expenses
Each
Party to this Agreement shall pay its respective legal, accounting and other
professional advisory fees, costs and expenses incurred in connection with
the
negotiation, preparation or execution of this Agreement and all documents and
instruments executed or delivered pursuant to this Agreement, as well as any
other costs and expenses incurred.
7.6
Further
Assurances
The
Parties shall do all such things and provide all such reasonable assurances
as
may be required to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement,
and each Party shall provide such further documents or instruments required
by
any other party as may be reasonably necessary or desirable to effect the
purpose of this Agreement and carry out its provisions, whether before or after
Closing.
7.7
Assignment
and Enurement
Neither
this Agreement nor any benefits or duties accruing under this Agreement shall
be
assignable by any Party without the prior written consent of each of the other
Parties, which
49
consent
shall not be unreasonably
withheld or delayed. Subject to the foregoing, this Agreement shall ensure
to
the benefit of and be binding upon the Parties and their respective successors
(including any successor by reason of amalgamation of any Party) and
permitted assigns.
7.8
Entire
Agreement
With
respect to the subject matter of this Agreement, this Agreement and its
Exhibits supersedes all prior understandings and communications between the
parties or any of them, oral or written. This Agreement, together with any
exhibits and checklists attached hereto and any document delivered pursuant
to
this Agreement, constitutes the entire agreement between the Parties with
respect to the matters herein and supersedes all prior agreements,
understandings, negotiations and discussions relating to the subject matter
hereof. The execution of this Agreement has not been induced by, nor do any
of
the Parties rely upon or regard as material, any representations, promises,
agreements or statements whatsoever not incorporated herein and made a part
hereof. This Agreement shall not be amended, altered or qualified except by
written agreement signed by all of the Parties.
7.9
Waiver
Except
as
otherwise expressly set out herein, no waiver of any provision of this Agreement
shall be binding unless it is in writing. No indulgence or forbearance by a
Party shall constitute a waiver of such Party’s right to insist on performance
in full and in a timely manner of all covenants in this Agreement. Waiver of
any
provision shall not be deemed to waive the same provision thereafter, or any
other provision of this Agreement at any time.
7.10 Notices
All
payments and communications which may be or are required to be given by any
party to any other party, shall be in writing and (i) delivered personally,
(ii) sent by prepaid courier service or mail, or (iii) sent by prepaid
telecopier or other similar means of electronic communication to the parties
at
their following respective addresses:
For
the
Purchaser and the Parent:
Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
ClearOne
Communications, Inc.
0000
Xxxx
Xxxxxxxx Xxx
Xxxx
Xxxx
Xxxx, Xxxx 00000
Attention:
Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
Telecopier:
(000)
000-0000
50
with
a
copy to:
J.
Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
Xxxxx,
Snow, Sessions, & Xxxxxxx
000
Xxxxx
Xxxx
Xxxx
Xxxx
Xxxx, Xxxx 00000
Attention:
J.
Xxxxx
Xxxxxx
Telecopier:
(000)
000-0000
For
the Vendors:
Xxx
Xxxxxxxxx
0000
Xxxxxxx Xx
Xxxxxx,
Xxxxxxx
X0X0X0
with
a copy to:
Norm
Stechyon
0000
Xxxxxxx Xxxx Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxx,
XX, X0X 0X0
Telecopier:
000
000 0000
Any
such
notice so given shall be deemed conclusively to have been given and received
when so personally delivered or delivered, by courier or on the day on which
termination is confirmed if sent by telecopier or other electronic communication
or on the fifth day following the sending thereof by mail. Any party may
from
time to time change its address hereinbefore set forth by notice to the other
parties in accordance with this section.
7.11 Severability
If
any
provision of this Agreement or portion thereof or the application thereof
to any
Person or circumstance shall to any extent be invalid or unenforceable:
(a) the remainder of this Agreement or the application of such provision or
portion thereof to any other Person or circumstance shall not be affected
thereby; and (b) the Parties will negotiate in good faith to amend this
Agreement to implement the intentions set forth herein. If the Parties cannot
agree on an appropriate amendment, any Party may refer the matter for
determination pursuant to and in accordance with Section 7.15.
Each
provision of this Agreement shall be valid and enforceable to the fullest
extent
permitted by law.
7.12 Execution
by Facsimile
The
signature of any of the Parties hereto may be evidenced by a facsimile copy
of
this Agreement bearing such signature.
51
7.13 Counterparts
This
Agreement may be signed in one or more counterparts, each of which so signed
shall be deemed to be an original, and such counterparts together shall
constitute one and the same instrument. Notwithstanding the date of execution
of
any counterpart, each counterpart shall be deemed to bear the effective date
set
forth below.
7.14 Governing
Law and Jurisdiction for Disputes
This
Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws
of the
Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein and
shall
be treated, in all respects, as an Ontario contract and the parties hereto
do
attorn to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Ontario.
7.15 Resolution
of Disputes by Arbitrator
(a) Any
dispute, controversy or claim arising out of this contract, including any
question regarding its existence, validity or termination, shall be submitted
by
any party to be finally resolved by arbitration under the Ontario
Arbitration Act,
1991 as
amended (the “Act”). The Act is incorporated by reference into this
clause.
(b) The
language of the arbitration shall be English. The arbitration shall be governed
by the substantive and procedural law of Ontario. The venue for the arbitration
shall be Ottawa.
(c) The
arbitration shall be conducted by a single arbitrator appointed by agreement
between the parties, or in the absence of agreement, in accordance with the
Act.
(d) The
arbitration must be complete, and a decision rendered, within ninety (90)
days
of the submission of the dispute to arbitration.
(e) The
decision arrived at pursuant to the arbitration shall be final and binding.
No
appeal shall lie from the arbitration. Any award granted as a result of
arbitration proceedings under this section shall be recognized internationally,
and may be entered in any court having jurisdiction to enforce such
awards.
(f) The
prevailing Party in any arbitration brought to enforce or interpret this
Agreement shall be entitled to reasonable costs, fees, losses, and expenses
including attorney’s fees.
7.16 Remedies
The
parties hereto agree that irreparable damage would occur in the event that
any
of the provisions of this Agreement are not performed in accordance with
their
specific terms or are otherwise breached. It is accordingly agreed that the
parties shall be entitled to seek an injunction or injunctions to prevent
breaches of this Agreement and to enforce specifically the terms and provisions
hereof in an arbitration proceeding brought pursuant to Section 7.15 of this
Agreement.
52
7.17 Undisputed
Amounts
Subject
to the express provisions of this Agreement, where there is any dispute as
to
the amount of money owing by any Party to any other Party hereunder, the
portion
of the amount owing that is not in dispute or otherwise contested or challenged
(the “Undisputed Amount”) if any, shall be paid within the time required herein
or if the required time has elapsed, shall be paid immediately, without
deduction or abatement, but without prejudice to the rights of the Parties
to
contest, challenge or otherwise dispute the appropriate disposition of the
remaining portion of the money claimed hereunder.
7.18
Survival
Unless
replaced, amended or withdrawn prior to any detrimental reliance thereon
by the
Accepting Party (as defined in this paragraph), all covenants, agreements,
indemnities, warranties and representations set forth herein or in any
certificate or other document delivered pursuant to or in connection with
this
Agreement by or on behalf of one Party to another Party (the “Accepting Party”)
shall be deemed to have been relied upon by the Accepting Party notwithstanding
any investigations heretofore or hereafter made by or on behalf of the Accepting
Party or its agents, and shall, unless expressly provided otherwise, survive
in
full force and effect and not merge upon the execution, termination or expiry
of
this Agreement.
7.19 Good
Faith
All
parties hereto covenant to act in good faith and fairly in connection with
all
obligations set out herein including, without limitation, allowing Vendors
a
good faith attempt to earn the Earn Out Amount. In connection therewith,
Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxxx shall have reasonable rights and responsibilities regarding operations
of the Corporation subject to reasonable controls by Parent.
[Signatures
appear on the following page]
53
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF
the
parties have hereunto duly executed this Agreement on the date first above
written.
/s/ Xxxxx X.
Xxxxxxxx
Witness
|
PURCHASER:
ClearOne
Communications of Canada, Inc., a
New
Brunswick corporation
Per: /s/ Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx
Its: President
&
CEO
|
/s/ Xxxxx X.
Xxxxxxxx
Witness
|
PARENT:
ClearOne
Communications, Inc., a Utah
corporation
Per: /s/ Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxx
Its: President
&
CEO
|
Witness
|
VENDORS:
3814149
Canada Inc., a Canadian corporation
Per:
Its:
|
Witness
|
3814157
Canada Inc., a Canadian corporation
Per:
Its:
|
Witness
|
Stechyson
Family Trust
Per:
Its:
|
Witness
|
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxx Family Trust
Per:
Its:
Xxx
Xxxxxxxxx
Xxxx
Xxxxxxxxx
|