Cascade Bancorp (an Oregon chartered bank holding company) [________] Shares of Common Stock (No Par Value Per Share) UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
(an
Oregon chartered bank holding company)
[________]
Shares of Common Stock
(No Par
Value Per Share)
[___________],
2009
XXXXX,
XXXXXXXX & XXXXX, INC.
as
Representative of the several Underwriters
c/o
Keefe, Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx, Inc.
000
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
0xx
Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
Cascade
Bancorp, an Oregon chartered bank holding company (the “Company”), confirms its
agreements with Xxxxx, Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx, Inc. (“Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx”) and the
other Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto (collectively, the “Underwriters”,
which term shall also include any underwriter substituted as hereinafter
provided in Section 10 hereof), for whom Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx is acting as
representative (in such capacity, the “Representative”), with respect to (i) the
sale by the Company and the purchase by the
Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the respective numbers of
shares of Common Stock, no par value per share, of the Company (“Common Stock”)
set forth in Schedule A hereto and (ii) the grant by the Company to the
Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the option described in
Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any part of [______] additional shares of
Common Stock to cover over-allotments, if any. The aforesaid [_______] shares of
Common Stock (the “Initial Securities”) to be purchased by the Underwriters and
all or any part of the [__________] shares of Common Stock subject to the option
described in Section 2(b) hereof (the “Option Securities”) are hereinafter
called, collectively, the “Securities”.
The
Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of
the Securities as soon as the Representative deems advisable after this
Agreement has been executed and delivered.
The
Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”)
a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-162377), as amended by Amendment
No. 1 thereto1,
including the related preliminary prospectus or prospectus covering the
registration of the Securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
“1933 Act”). Promptly after execution and delivery of this Agreement, the
Company will prepare and file a prospectus in accordance with the provisions of
Rule 430A (“Rule 430A”) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the
1933 Act (the “1933 Act Regulations”) and paragraph (b) of Rule 424 (“Rule
424(b)”) of the 1933 Act Regulations. The information included in such
prospectus that was omitted from such registration statement at the time it
became effective but that is deemed to be part of such registration statement at
the time it became effective pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 430A is referred
to as “Rule 430A Information.” Each prospectus used before such registration
statement became effective, and any prospectus that omitted, as applicable, the
Rule 430A Information, that was used after such effectiveness and prior to the
execution and delivery of this Agreement, is herein called a “preliminary
prospectus.” Such registration statement, including each amendment thereto, the
exhibits and any schedules thereto, if any, and the documents incorporated by
reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-1 under the 1933 Act, at the
time it became effective and including the Rule 430A Information is herein
called the “Registration Statement.” Any registration statement filed pursuant
to Rule 462(b) of the 1933 Act Regulations is herein referred to as the “Rule
462(b) Registration Statement,” and after such filing the term “Registration
Statement” shall include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The prospectus,
including the documents incorporated by reference therein, in the form first
furnished to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offering of the
Securities is herein called the “Prospectus.” For purposes of this Agreement,
all references to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the
Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be
deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic
Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (“XXXXX”).
On
October 29, 2009, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with
Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx (“Xx. Xxxxxx”) for the purchase and sale of $25 million of
shares of Common Stock (the “Xxxxxx Securities Purchase Agreement”) and a
separate Securities Purchase Agreement with an affiliate of Lightyear Fund II,
L.P. (“Lightyear”) for the purchase and sale of $40 million of shares of Common
Stock (the “Lightyear Securities Purchase Agreement” and, together with the
Xxxxxx Securities Purchase Agreement, the “Securities Purchase Agreements” and,
such purchases and sales, the “Private Offerings”). On October 26, 2009, the
Company entered into a binding letter agreement with Xxxxx & Company
Financial Management, LLC (the “Letter Agreement”) for the restructuring of the
Company’s trust preferred securities in an aggregate principal amount of
$66,500,000 (the “Trust Preferred Restructuring”). On December 7, 2009, the
holders of the Common Stock approved (i) an amendment to the Company’s
articles of incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of Common
Stock from 45,000,000 to 300,000,000 (the “Authorized Share Increase” and, such
amendment, the “Share Increase Charter Amendment”), (ii) the issuance of up to
$65 million of Common Stock in the Private Offerings (the “Private Offering
Issuance”) and (iii) an amendment to the Company’s articles of incorporation to
effect a one for ten reverse split of the Common Stock and payment of cash for
resulting fractional shares (the “Reverse Split” and, such amendment, the
“Reverse Split Charter Amendment”). The Securities Purchase Agreements, the
Letter Agreement, the Share Increase Charter Amendment and the Reverse Split
Charter Amendment collectively are referred to herein as the “Transaction
Documents,” and the Private Offerings (including the Private Offering Issuance),
the Authorized Share Increase, the Reverse Split and the Trust Preferred
Restructuring collectively are referred to herein as the
“Transactions.”
1 To
be updated to reflect/refer to any amendments filed.
2
All
references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other
information which is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration
Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus (or other references of
like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements
and schedules and other information which is incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as the
case may be; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements
to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus
shall be deemed to mean and include the filing of any document under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “1934 Act”) which is incorporated by
reference in the Registration Statement, such preliminary prospectus or the
Prospectus, as the case may be.
SECTION
1. Representations and
Warranties and Agreements.
(a) Representations and Warranties by
the Company. The Company represents and warrants to each
Underwriter as of the date hereof, as of the Closing Time referred to in Section
2(c) hereof, and as of each Date of Delivery (if any) referred to in Section
2(b) hereof, and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:
(i) Compliance with Registration
Requirements. (A) At the time of filing the Registration
Statement, any 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments
thereto, and (B) at the date hereof, the Company was not an “ineligible issuer”
as defined in Rule 405 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 405”). Each of the
Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement has become
effective under the 1933 Act and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of
the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto or any Rule
462(b) Registration Statement has been issued and no proceedings for that
purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company,
are contemplated by the Commission, and any request on the part of the
Commission for additional information has been complied with.
3
At the
respective times the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration
Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto became effective and at the
Closing Time (and, if any Option Securities are purchased, at the Date of
Delivery), the Registration Statement, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement
and any amendments and supplements thereto complied and will comply in all
material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act
Regulations and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material
fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary
to make the statements therein not misleading. Neither the Prospectus nor any
amendments or supplements thereto, at the time the Prospectus or any such
amendment or supplement was issued and at the Closing Time (and, if any Option
Securities are purchased, at the Date of Delivery), included or will include an
untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or will omit to state a material
fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
Each
preliminary prospectus and the prospectus filed as part of the Registration
Statement as originally filed or as part of any amendment thereto, or filed
pursuant to Rule 424 under the 1933 Act, complied when so filed in all material
respects with the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations and each preliminary
prospectus and the Prospectus delivered to the Underwriters for use in
connection with this offering was identical to the electronically transmitted
copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to XXXXX, except to the extent
permitted by Regulation S-T.
As of the
Applicable Time, neither (x) the Issuer-Represented General Free Writing
Prospectus(es) (as defined below) issued at or prior to the Applicable Time (as
defined below), the Statutory Prospectus (as defined below) and the information
set forth on Schedule B-2 hereto, all considered together (collectively, the
“General Disclosure
Package”), nor (y) any individual Issuer-Represented Limited Use Free
Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure
Package, included any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state
any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the
light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading.
As used
in this subsection and elsewhere in this Agreement:
“Applicable Time” means ●:00
[a/p]m (Eastern time) on [_______], 2009.
“Statutory Prospectus” as of
any time means the prospectus relating to the Securities that is included in the
Registration Statement immediately prior to that time, including any document
incorporated by reference therein and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed
to be a part thereof. For purposes of this definition, information contained in
a form of prospectus that is deemed retroactively to be a part of the
Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430A shall be considered to be included
in the Statutory Prospectus as of the actual time that form of prospectus is
filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b).
4
“Issuer-Represented Free Writing
Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in
Rule 433 of the 1933 Act Regulations (“Rule 433”), relating to the
Securities that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company
or (ii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains
a description of the Securities or of the offering that does not reflect the
final terms, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the
Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the
Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g).
“Issuer-Represented General Free
Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus
that is intended for general distribution to prospective investors, as evidenced
by its being specified in Schedule B hereto.
“Issuer-Represented Limited Use Free
Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus
that is not an Issuer-Represented General Free Writing Prospectus.
Each
Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all
subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the
Securities or until any earlier date that the issuer notified or notifies Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxx as described in the next sentence, did not, does not and will not
include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the
information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including
any document incorporated by reference therein and any preliminary or other
prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or
modified.
The
representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements
in or omissions from the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the
Prospectus or any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance
upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any
Underwriter through Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx expressly for use therein.
(ii) Incorporated
Documents. The documents incorporated or deemed to be
incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, at
the time they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, complied and will
comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1934 Act and the
rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (the “1934 Act Regulations”)
and, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, at the
time the Registration Statement became effective, at the time the Prospectus was
issued and at the Closing Time (and, if any Option Securities are purchased, at
the Date of Delivery), did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a
material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
5
(iii) Independent
Accountants. Xxxxx LLP, as successor to Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx &
Company, P.C., the accounting firm that certified the financial statements and
supporting schedules of the Company included in the Registration Statement and
the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm as required
by the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations. With respect to the Company, Xxxxx
LLP is not and has not been, and, prior to its merger with Xxxxx LLP, Xxxxxxx,
Xxxxx & Company, P.C. was not and had not been, in violation of the auditor
independence requirements of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 (“Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx
Act”) and the related rules and regulations of the Commission.
(iv) Financial
Statements. The financial statements included in the
Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus,
together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly the financial
position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated
and the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the
Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods specified; said
financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the
periods involved. The supporting schedules, if any, included in the Registration
Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus present fairly in
accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein. The selected
financial data and the summary financial information included in the
Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus
present fairly the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis
consistent with that of the audited financial statements included in the
Registration Statement and the books and records of the Company. No other
financial statements or schedules are required to be included in the
Registration Statement. To the extent applicable, all disclosures contained in
the Registration Statement or the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial
measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the
Commission) comply with Regulation G of the 1934 Act, the 1934 Act Regulations
and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the 1933 Act, as
applicable.
(v) No Material Adverse Change
in Business. Since the respective dates as of which
information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure
Package and the Prospectus, except as otherwise stated therein, (A) there
has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or
in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its
subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the
ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (B) there have
been no transactions entered into by the Company or any of its subsidiaries,
other than those in the ordinary course of business, which are material with
respect to the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, and
(C) there has been
no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on
any class of its capital stock.
6
(vi) Good Standing of the
Company. The Company has been duly organized and is validly
existing as a chartered bank holding company in good standing under the laws of
the State of Oregon and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and
operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the General
Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its
obligations under this Agreement; and the Company is duly qualified as a foreign
corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other
jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the
ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the
failure so to qualify or to be in good standing, singly or in the aggregate,
would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(vii) Good Standing of
Subsidiaries. Each “significant subsidiary” of the Company (as
such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X) (each a “Subsidiary” and,
collectively, the “Subsidiaries”) has been duly organized and is validly
existing as a corporation under the laws of the jurisdiction of its
incorporation, has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its
properties and to conduct its business as described in the General Disclosure
Package and the Prospectus and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to
transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such
qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of
property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify,
singly or in the aggregate, would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.
Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, all of the issued
and outstanding capital stock of each such Subsidiary has been duly authorized
and validly issued, is fully paid and non-assessable and is owned by the
Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security
interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity; none of the
outstanding shares of capital stock of any Subsidiary was issued in violation of
the preemptive or similar rights of any securityholder of such Subsidiary. The
only subsidiaries of the Company are the subsidiaries listed on Schedule D
hereto, other than Cascade Bancorp Financial Services, Inc., an Oregon
corporation, which is an inactive subsidiary of the Company.
7
(viii) Capitalization. The
authorized, issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company is as set forth
in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus in the column entitled
“Actual” under the caption “Capitalization” (except for subsequent issuances, if
any, pursuant to this Agreement, pursuant to reservations, agreements or
employee benefit plans referred to in the Prospectus or pursuant to the exercise
of convertible securities or options referred to in the Prospectus). The shares
of issued and outstanding capital stock have been duly authorized and validly
issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; none of the outstanding shares of
capital stock was issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar rights
of any securityholder of the Company. Except as described in the General
Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no outstanding rights
(contractual or otherwise), warrants or options to acquire, or instruments
convertible into or exchangeable for, or agreements or understandings with
respect to the sale or issuance of, any shares of capital stock of or other
equity interest in the Company except pursuant to the Company’s stock option
plans and awards currently in effect on the date hereof.
(ix) Authorization of
Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed
and delivered by the Company.
(x) Authorization and
Description of Securities. The Securities to be purchased by
the Underwriters from the Company have been duly authorized for issuance and
sale to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and
delivered by the Company pursuant to this Agreement against payment of the
consideration set forth herein, will be validly issued and fully paid and
non-assessable; the Common Stock conforms to all statements relating thereto
contained in the Prospectus and such description conforms to the rights set
forth in the instruments defining the same; no holder of the Securities will be
subject to personal liability for the debts of the Company by reason of being
such a holder; and the issuance of the Securities is not subject to the
preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the
Company.
8
(xi) Absence of Defaults and
Conflicts. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is
in violation of its charter or by-laws or in default in the performance or
observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any
contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note,
lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its
subsidiaries is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound, or to which
any of the property or assets of the Company or any subsidiary is subject
(collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”) except for such defaults that,
singly or in the aggregate, would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; and
the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Transaction
Documents and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and
therein and in the Registration Statement (including the issuance and sale of
the Securities, the consummation of the Transactions, and the use of the
proceeds from the sale of the Securities and the Private Offerings as described
in the Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) and compliance by the
Company with its obligations hereunder and thereunder have been duly authorized
by all necessary corporate action and do not and will not, whether with or
without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or
constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under,
or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon
any property or assets of the Company or any subsidiary pursuant to, the
Agreements and Instruments (except for such conflicts, breaches or defaults or
liens, charges or encumbrances that, singly or in the aggregate, would not
result in a Material Adverse Effect), nor will such action result in any
violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws of the Company or any
subsidiary or any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order,
writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic
or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any subsidiary or any of
their assets, properties or operations. As used herein, a “Repayment Event”
means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or
other evidence of indebtedness or any preferred stock or other security (or any
person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase,
redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness, preferred
stock or other security by the Company or any subsidiary.
(xii) Absence of Labor
Dispute. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or
any subsidiary exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent, and the
Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the
employees of any of its or any subsidiary’s principal suppliers, manufacturers,
customers or contractors, which, in either case, singly or in the aggregate, may
reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xiii) Absence of
Proceedings. There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or
investigation before or brought by any court or governmental agency or body,
domestic or foreign, now pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company,
threatened, against or affecting the Company or any subsidiary, which is
required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement (other than as disclosed
therein), or which, singly or in the aggregate, might reasonably be expected to
result in a Material Adverse Effect, or which might reasonably be expected to
materially and adversely affect the properties or assets thereof or the
consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement or the
Transactions or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder or
under the Transaction Documents; the aggregate of all pending legal or
governmental proceedings to which the Company or any subsidiary is a party or of
which any of their respective property or assets is the subject which are not
described in the Registration Statement, including ordinary routine litigation
incidental to the business, singly or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be
expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
9
(xiv) Accuracy of
Exhibits. There are no contracts or documents which are
required to be described in the Registration Statement, or the General
Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference
therein or to be filed as exhibits thereto which have not been so described and
filed as required.
(xv) Possession of Intellectual
Property. The Company and its subsidiaries own or possess, or
can acquire on reasonable terms, adequate patents, patent rights, licenses,
inventions, copyrights, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented
and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or
procedures and excluding generally commercially available “off the shelf”
software programs licensed pursuant to shrink wrap or “click and accept”
licenses), trademarks, service marks, trade names or other intellectual property
(collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary to carry on the business now
operated by them, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has
received any notice or is otherwise aware of any infringement of or conflict
with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property or of
any facts or circumstances which would render any Intellectual Property invalid
or inadequate to protect the interest of the Company or any of its subsidiaries
therein, and which infringement or conflict (if the subject of any unfavorable
decision, ruling or finding) or invalidity or inadequacy, singly or in the
aggregate, would result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xvi) Absence of Further
Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval,
consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any court or
governmental authority or agency is necessary or required for the performance by
the Company of its obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering,
issuance or sale of the Securities hereunder or the consummation of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Transactions, except such as
have been already obtained or as may be required under the 1933 Act or the 1933
Act Regulations or state securities laws.
(xvii) Possession of Licenses and
Permits. The Company and its subsidiaries possess such
permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively,
“Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or
foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct the business now
operated by them; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the
terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, except where the failure
so to comply would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse
Effect; all of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect,
except where the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such
Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not, singly or in the
aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and neither the Company nor any of
its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the
revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses which, singly or in
the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding,
would result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any of its
Subsidiaries has failed to file with applicable regulatory authorities any
statement, report, information or form required by any applicable law,
regulation or order, except where the failure to be so in compliance would not,
singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, all such filings
were in material compliance with applicable laws when filed and no material
deficiencies have been asserted by any regulatory commission, agency or
authority with respect to any such filings or submissions.
10
(xviii) Title to
Property. The Company and its subsidiaries have good and
marketable title to all real property owned by the Company and its subsidiaries
and good title to all other properties owned by them, in each case, free and
clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests, claims, restrictions
or encumbrances of any kind except such as (a) are described in the General
Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or (b) do not, singly or in the aggregate,
materially affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use
made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company or any of its
subsidiaries; and all of the leases and subleases material to the business of
the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, and under which
the Company or any of its subsidiaries holds properties described in the General
Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are in full force and effect, and neither
the Company nor any subsidiary has any notice of any material claim of any sort
that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any
subsidiary under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or
questioning the rights of the Company or such subsidiary to the continued
possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or
sublease.
(xix)
Compliance with Cuba
Act. The Company has complied with, and is and will be in
compliance with, the provisions of that certain Florida act relating to
disclosure of doing business with Cuba, codified as Section 517.075 of the
Florida statutes, and the rules and regulations thereunder, or is exempt
therefrom.
(xx) Investment Company
Act. The Company is not, and upon the issuance and sale of the
Securities as herein contemplated and the application of the net proceeds
therefrom as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus will
not be, an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment
company” as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended (the “1940 Act”).
11
(xxi) Environmental
Laws. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the
General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, except as would not require
disclosure in the Registration Statement under Item 103 of Regulation S-K, and
except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse
Effect, (A) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of
any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance,
code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative
interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent,
decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the
environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water,
groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without
limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release
of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous
substances, petroleum or petroleum products, asbestos-containing materials or
mold (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to the manufacture, processing,
distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of
Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (B) the Company and
its subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals required under
any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their
requirements, (C) there are no pending or threatened administrative, regulatory
or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of
noncompliance or violation, investigation or proceedings relating to any
Environmental Law against the Company or any of its subsidiaries and (D) there
are no events or circumstances that might reasonably be expected to form the
basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or proceeding
by any private party or governmental body or agency, against or affecting the
Company or any of its subsidiaries relating to Hazardous Materials or any
Environmental Laws.
(xxii) Taxes. The
Company and each of the subsidiaries has (a) timely filed all material foreign,
United States federal, state and local tax returns, information returns, and
similar reports that are required to be filed (taking into account valid
extensions), and all tax returns are true, and complete in all material respects
and were prepared in substantial compliance with applicable tax laws, (b) paid
in full all taxes required to be paid by it and any other assessment, fine or
penalty levied against it, except for any such tax assessment, fine or penalty
that is currently being contested in good faith or as would not, singly or in
the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, and (c) established on the most
recent balance sheet reserves that are adequate for the payment of all taxes not
yet due and payable.
(xxiii) Insurance. The
Company and its Subsidiaries carry, or are covered by, insurance in such amounts
and covering such risks as the Company reasonably believes are adequate for the
conduct of the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries and the value of
their properties and as are customary in the business in which the Company and
its Subsidiaries are engaged; neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries
has been refused any insurance coverage sought or applied for; and the Company
has no reason to believe that they will not be able to renew their existing
insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar
coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a
cost that would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse
Effect.
12
(xxiv)
Statistical and Market
Data. The statistical and market related data contained in the
Prospectus and Registration Statement are based on or derived from sources which
the Company believes are reliable and accurate.
(xxv) Relationship. No
relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any of
its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, shareholders,
customers or suppliers of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on the other,
that is required by the Securities Act or by the rules and regulations of the
Commission thereunder to be described in the Registration Statement and/or the
Prospectus and that is not so described.
(xxvi)
Internal Control Over
Financial Reporting. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries
maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide
reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with
management’s general or specific authorizations; (B) transactions are recorded
as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with
generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability;
(C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general
or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is
compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action
is taken with respect to any differences. Except as described in the
Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and Prospectus, since the end
of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (I) no material
weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or
not remediated) and (II) no change in the Company’s internal control over
financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to
materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial
reporting.
(xxvii) Disclosure Controls and
Procedures. The Company and its Subsidiaries employ disclosure
controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15 under the 1934
Act), which (A) are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed
by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the 1934 Act is
recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified
in the Commission’s rules and forms and that material information relating to
the Company and its Subsidiaries is made known to the Company’s principal
executive officer and principal financial officer by others within the Company
and its Subsidiaries to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure, and (B) are
effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were
established. Based on the evaluation of the Company’s and each Subsidiary’s
disclosure controls and procedures described above, the Company is not aware of
(1) any significant deficiency in the design or operation of internal controls
which could adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize
and report financial data or any material weaknesses in internal controls or (2)
any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees
who have a significant role in the Company’s internal controls. Since the most
recent evaluation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures described
above, there have been no significant changes in internal controls or in other
factors that could significantly affect internal controls.
13
(xxviii)
Compliance with the
Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act. There is and has been no failure on the
part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their
capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any provision of the
Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection
therewith, including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906
related to certifications.
(xxix) Pending Procedures and
Examinations. The Registration Statement is not the subject of
a pending proceeding or examination under Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the 1933 Act,
and the Company is not the subject of a pending proceeding under Section 8A of
the 1933 Act in connection with the offering of the Securities.
(xxx) Compliance with Banking
Regulations. The Company is duly registered as a bank holding
company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended. Bank of the
Cascades (the “Bank”) holds the requisite authority from each of the States of
Oregon and Idaho to do business as an Oregon-chartered bank and as branches
thereof under the laws of the States of Oregon and Idaho, respectively, and the
deposit accounts in the Bank are insured up to the applicable limits by the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”). Each of the Company and its
subsidiaries is in compliance in all material respects with all laws
administered by, and all rules and regulations of, the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System (“Fed”), the FDIC, the Oregon Division of Finance and
Corporate Securities, and any other federal or state bank regulatory authority
with jurisdiction over the Company or any Subsidiary (collectively, “Bank
Regulatory Authorities”), except as described in the Registration Statement, the
General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and, except as described in the
Registration Statement, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is a
party to any written agreement or memorandum of understanding with, or a party
to any commitment letter or similar undertaking to, or is subject to any order
or directive by, or is a recipient of any extraordinary supervisory letter from,
or has adopted any board of director resolutions at the request of, any Bank
Regulatory Authority.
14
(xxxi) Restriction on
Dividends. The Bank is not currently prohibited, directly or
indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other
distribution on the Bank’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans
or advances to the Bank from the Company or from transferring any of the Bank’s
property or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company, except
as described in the Registration Statement.
(xxxii) Unlawful
Payments. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor,
to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or other
person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its
subsidiaries has (A) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution,
gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity;
(B) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any foreign or domestic
government official or employee from corporate funds; (C) violated or is in
violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977; or (D)
made any bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful
payment.
(xxxiii)
Anti-Money
Laundering. The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries
are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial
recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign
Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, money laundering statutes of all
jurisdictions applicable to the Company and its subsidiaries, the rules and
regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules regulations or
guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency
(collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding
by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any
arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the
Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company,
threatened.
(xxxiv)
OFAC. Neither
the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company,
any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of its
subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the
Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”); and
the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering, or
lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary,
joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing
the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions
administered by OFAC.
(xxxv)
No Registration
Rights. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the
General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, no person has the right to
require the Company or any of its subsidiaries to register any securities for
sale under the 1933 Act by reason of the filing of the Registration Statement
with the Commission or the issuance and sale of the Securities to be sold by the
Company hereunder.
15
(xxxvi) No Stabilization or
Manipulation. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries,
nor any affiliates of the Company or its Subsidiaries, has taken, directly or
indirectly, any action designed to or that could reasonably be expected to cause
or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the
Securities.
(xxxvii)
No Unauthorized Use of
Prospectus. The Company has not distributed and, prior to the
later to occur of (i) the Closing Time and (ii) completion of the distribution
of the Securities, will not distribute any prospectus (as such term is defined
in the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations) in connection with the offering
and sale of the Securities other than the Registration Statement, any
preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or other materials, if any, permitted by
the 1933 Act or by the 1933 Act Regulations and approved by Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxx.
(xxxviii)
Forward-Looking
Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning
of Section 27A of the 1933 Act and Section 21E of the 0000 Xxx) contained in the
Registration Statement and the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a
reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.
(xxxix)
Lock-up
Agreements. Each of the Company’s executive officers and
directors and certain other shareholders, in each case as listed on Schedule E
hereto, has executed and delivered a lock-up agreement as contemplated by
Section 5(i) hereof.
(xl) Fees. Other
than as contemplated by this Agreement, there is no broker, finder or other
party that is entitled to receive from the Company or any subsidiary any
brokerage or finder’s fee or any other fee, commission or payment as a result of
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(xli) ERISA. The
Company and each of the subsidiaries or their “ERISA Affiliates” (as defined
below) are in compliance in all material respects with all presently applicable
provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended,
including the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (“ERISA”); no
“reportable event” (as defined in ERISA) has occurred with respect to any
“employee benefit plan” (as defined in ERISA) for which the Company or any of
the subsidiaries or ERISA Affiliates would have any liability; the Company and
each of the subsidiaries or their ERISA Affiliates have not incurred and do not
expect to incur liability under (i) Title IV of ERISA with respect to
termination of, or withdrawal from, any “employee benefit plan” or (ii) Sections
412, 4971, 4975 or 4980B of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder
(collectively the “Code”); and each “employee benefit plan” for which the
Company and each of its Subsidiaries or any of their ERISA Affiliates would have
any liability that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code
is so qualified in all material respects and nothing has occurred, whether by
action or by failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification.
“ERISA Affiliate” means, with respect to the Company or a subsidiary, any member
of any group of organizations described in Sections 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of
the Code or Section 400(b) of ERISA of which the Company or such subsidiary is a
member.
16
(xlii) Investment
Securities. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has good
and marketable title to all securities held by it (except securities sold under
repurchase agreements or held in any fiduciary or agency capacity) free and
clear of any lien, claim, charge, option, encumbrance, mortgage, pledge or
security interest or other restriction of any kind, except for such defects in
title or liens, claims, charges, options, encumbrances, mortgages, pledges or
security interests or other restrictions of any kind that would not be material
to the Company and its subsidiaries. Such securities are valued on the books of
the Company and its subsidiaries in accordance with GAAP.
(xliii) Derivative
Securities. Any and all material swaps, caps, floors, futures,
forward contracts, option agreements (other than employee stock options) and
other derivative financial instruments, contracts or arrangements, whether
entered into for the account of the Company or one of its subsidiaries or for
the account of a customer of the Company or one of its subsidiaries, were
entered into in the ordinary course of business and in accordance with
applicable laws, rules, regulations and policies of all applicable regulatory
agencies and with counterparties believed to be financially responsible at the
time. The Company and each of its subsidiaries have duly performed in all
material respects all of their obligations thereunder to the extent that such
obligations to perform have accrued, and there are no breaches, violations or
defaults or allegations or assertions of such by any party
thereunder.
(xliv) Transaction
Documents. All conditions set forth in Section 1.2(c) of each of the
Securities Purchase Agreements either (x) have been satisfied as of the date
hereof (and the Company has delivered to the Underwriters and their counsel
evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters and their counsel of such
satisfaction) or (y) based on the Company’s conversations with Xx. Xxxxxx
and Lightyear, reasonably believes that such conditions will be satisfied prior
to or concurrently with the Closing, and nothing has come to the attention of
the Company that causes it to reasonably believe that any of the conditions set
forth in Section 1.2(c) of each of the Securities Purchase Agreements will not
be satisfied prior to or concurrently with the Closing. The holders
of the Common Stock have approved, by the required number of votes, the
Authorized Share Increase, the Private Offering Issuance and the Reverse Split,
and the Company has delivered to the Underwriters and their counsel evidence
reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriters and their counsel of such
approval.
17
(b) Officer’s
Certificates. Any certificate signed by any officer of the
Company or any of its subsidiaries delivered to the Representative or to counsel
for the Underwriters shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the
Company to each Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.
SECTION
2. Sale and Delivery to
Underwriters; Closing.
(a) Initial
Securities. On the basis of the representations and warranties
herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the
Company agrees to sell to each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, and each
Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Company at
the price per share set forth in Schedule C, that number of Initial Securities
set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter, plus any
additional number of Initial Securities which such Underwriter may become
obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 hereof, bears to
the total number of Initial Securities, subject, in each case, to such
adjustments among the Underwriters as the Representative in its sole discretion
shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional
securities.
(b) Option
Securities. In addition, on the basis of the representations
and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein
set forth, the Company hereby grants an option to the Underwriters, severally
and not jointly, to purchase up to an additional [______] shares of Common Stock
at the price per share set forth in Schedule C. The option hereby granted will
expire 30 days after the date hereof and may be exercised in whole or in part
from time to time only for the purpose of covering over-allotments which may be
made in connection with the offering and distribution of the Initial Securities
upon notice by the Representative to the Company setting forth the number of
Option Securities as to which the several Underwriters are then exercising the
option and the time and date of payment and delivery for such Option Securities.
Any such time and date of delivery (a “Date of Delivery”) shall be determined by
the Representative, but shall not be later than seven full business days after
the exercise of said option, nor in any event prior to the Closing Time, as
hereinafter defined. If the option is exercised as to all or any portion of the
Option Securities, each of the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly,
will purchase that proportion of the total number of Option Securities then
being purchased which the number of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A
opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Initial
Securities, subject in each case to such adjustments as the Representative in
its discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional
shares.
18
(c) Payment. Delivery
of certificates for the Initial Securities (the “Closing”) shall be made at the
offices of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Xxxxxxx & Xxxx LLP, 000 Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx,
Xxxxx 0000, Xxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000, or at such other place as shall be
agreed upon by the Representative and the Company, at 9:00 A.M. (Eastern
time) on the third (fourth, if the pricing occurs after 4:30 P.M. (Eastern time)
on any given day) business day after the date hereof (unless postponed in
accordance with the provisions of Section 10), or such other time not later than
ten business days after such date as shall be agreed upon by the Representative
and the Company (such time and date of payment and delivery being herein called
“Closing Time”).
In
addition, in the event that any or all of the Option Securities are purchased by
the Underwriters, delivery of certificates for such Option Securities shall be
made at the above-mentioned offices, or at such other place as shall be agreed
upon by the Representative and the Company, on each Date of Delivery as
specified in the notice from the Representative to the Company.
Payment
shall be made to the Company by wire transfer of immediately available funds to
a bank account designated by the Company against delivery to the Representative
for the respective accounts of the Underwriters of certificates for the
Securities to be purchased by them. It is understood that each Underwriter has
authorized the Representative, for its account, to accept delivery of, receipt
for, and make payment of the purchase price for, the Initial Securities and the
Option Securities, if any, which it has agreed to purchase. Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx,
individually and not as representative of the Underwriters, may (but shall not
be obligated to) make payment of the purchase price for the Initial Securities
or the Option Securities, if any, to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds
have not been received by the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as
the case may be, but such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from its
obligations hereunder.
(d) Denominations;
Registration. The Company shall deliver the Initial Securities
and the Option Securities, if any, through the facilities of The Depository
Trust Company, unless otherwise instructed by the Representative.
SECTION
3. Covenants of the
Company. The Company covenants with each Underwriter as
follows:
19
(a) Compliance with Securities
Regulations and Commission Requests. The Company, subject to
Section 3(b), will comply with the requirements of Rule 430A and will notify the
Representative immediately, and confirm the notice in writing, (i) when any
post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement shall become effective,
or any supplement to the Prospectus or any amended Prospectus shall have been
filed, (ii) of the receipt of any comments from the Commission,
(iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the
Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or for
additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop
order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any order
preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus, or of the
suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any
jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of
such purposes or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(e) of the 1933 Act
concerning the Registration Statement and (v) if the Company becomes the subject
of a proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act in connection with the offering
of the Securities. The Company will promptly effect the filings necessary
pursuant to Rule 424(b) in the manner and within the time period required by
Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)) and will take such steps as it
deems necessary to ascertain promptly whether the form of prospectus transmitted
for filing under Rule 424(b) was received for filing by the Commission and, in
the event that it was not, it will promptly file such prospectus. The Company
will make every reasonable effort to prevent the issuance of any stop order and,
if any stop order is issued, to obtain the lifting thereof at the earliest
possible moment.
(b) Filing of
Amendments. The Company will give the Representative notice of
its intention to file or prepare any amendment to the Registration Statement
(including any filing under Rule 462(b)) or any amendment, supplement or
revision to either any preliminary prospectus (including the prospectus included
in the Registration Statement at the time it became effective) or to the
Prospectus, whether pursuant to the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act or otherwise, will
furnish the Representative with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount
of time prior to such proposed filing or use, as the case may be, and will not
file or use any such document to which the Representative or counsel for the
Underwriters shall reasonably object.
(c) Delivery of Registration
Statements. The Company has furnished or will deliver to the
Representative and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, signed copies
of the Registration Statement as originally filed and of each amendment thereto
(including exhibits filed therewith or incorporated by reference therein and
documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein) and
signed copies of all consents and certificates of experts, and will also deliver
to the Representative, without charge, a conformed copy of the Registration
Statement as originally filed and of each amendment thereto (without exhibits)
for each of the Underwriters. The copies of the Registration Statement and each
amendment thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the
electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to
XXXXX, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
20
(d) Delivery of
Prospectuses. The Company has delivered to each Underwriter,
without charge, as many copies of each preliminary prospectus as such
Underwriter reasonably requested, and the Company hereby consents to the use of
such copies for purposes permitted by the 1933 Act. The Company will furnish to
each Underwriter, without charge, during the period when the Prospectus is
required to be delivered under the 1933 Act or the 1934 Act, such number of
copies of the Prospectus (as amended or supplemented) as such Underwriter may
reasonably request. The Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto
furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically
transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to XXXXX, except
to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(e) Continued Compliance with Securities
Laws. The Company will comply with the 1933 Act and the 1933
Act Regulations and the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations so as to permit
the completion of the distribution of the Securities as contemplated in this
Agreement and in the Prospectus. If at any time when a prospectus is required by
the 1933 Act to be delivered in connection with sales of the Securities, any
event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary,
in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters or for the Company, to amend the
Registration Statement or amend or supplement the Prospectus in order that the
Prospectus will not include any untrue statements of a material fact or omit to
state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not
misleading in the light of the circumstances existing at the time it is
delivered to a purchaser, or if it shall be necessary, in the opinion of such
counsel, at any such time to amend the Registration Statement or amend or
supplement the Prospectus in order to comply with the requirements of the 1933
Act or the 1933 Act Regulations, the Company will promptly prepare and file with
the Commission, subject to Section 3(b), such amendment or supplement as may be
necessary to correct such statement or omission or to make the Registration
Statement or the Prospectus comply with such requirements, and the Company will
furnish to the Underwriters such number of copies of such amendment or
supplement as the Underwriters may reasonably request. If at any time following
issuance of an Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or
occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer-Represented Free
Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information contained
in the Registration Statement or included or would include an untrue statement
of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary
in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances
prevailing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company has promptly
notified or will promptly notify the Representative and has promptly amended or
will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer-Represented
Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement
or omission.
21
(f) Blue Sky
Qualifications. The Company will use its best efforts, in
cooperation with the Underwriters, to qualify the Securities for offering and
sale under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions
as the Representative may designate and to maintain such qualifications in
effect for a period of not less than one year from the later of the effective
date of the Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement;
provided, however, that the
Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process
or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any
jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in
respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so
subject. In each jurisdiction in which the Securities have been so qualified,
the Company will file such statements and reports as may be required by the laws
of such jurisdiction to continue such qualification in effect for a period of
not less than one year from the effective date of the Registration Statement and
any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The Company will also supply the
Underwriters with such information as is necessary for the determination of the
legality of the Securities for investment under the laws of such jurisdiction as
the Underwriters may request.
(g) Rule 158. The
Company will timely file such reports pursuant to the 1934 Act as are necessary
in order to make generally available to its securityholders as soon as
practicable an earnings statement for the purposes of, and to provide the
benefits contemplated by, the last paragraph of Section 11(a) of the 1933
Act.
(h) Use of
Proceeds. The Company will use the net proceeds received by it
from the sale of the Securities in the manner specified in the Prospectus under
“Use of Proceeds.”
(i) Listing. The
Company will use its best efforts to obtain, effect and maintain the quotation
of the Securities on the Nasdaq Capital Market and will file with the Nasdaq
Capital Market all documents and notices required by the Nasdaq Capital Market
of companies that have securities that are traded in the over-the-counter market
and quotations for which are reported by the Nasdaq Capital
Market.
22
(j) Restriction on Sale of
Securities. During a period of 90 days from the date of the
Prospectus, the Company will not, without the prior written consent of Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxx, (i) directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell,
sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to
sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or
dispose of any share of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or
exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or file any registration statement
under the 1933 Act with respect to any of the foregoing or (ii) enter into any
swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in
part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of the
Common Stock, whether any such swap or transaction described in clause (i) or
(ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other
securities, in cash or otherwise. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A)
the Securities to be sold hereunder, (B) any shares of Common Stock issued by
the Company upon the exercise of an option or warrant or the conversion of a
security outstanding on the date hereof and referred to in the Prospectus, (C)
any shares of Common Stock issued or options to purchase Common Stock granted
pursuant to existing employee benefit plans of the Company referred to in the
Prospectus provided that such
options shall not be vested and exercisable within the 90 day period referred to
above, or (D) any shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to any non-employee
director stock plan or dividend reinvestment plan. In the event that either (i)
during the period that begins on the date that is 15 calendar days plus three
(3) business days before the last day of the 90 day restricted period and ends
on the last day of the 90 day restricted period, the Company issues an earnings
release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs, or
(ii) prior to the expiration of the 90 day restricted period, the Company
announces that it will release earnings results during the 16 day period
beginning on the last day of the 90 day restricted period, the restrictions set
forth herein will continue to apply until the expiration of the date that is 15
calendar days plus three (3) business days after the date on which the earnings
release is issued or the material news or event related to the Company occurs.
The Company shall promptly notify the Representative of any earnings releases,
news or events that may give rise to an extension of the initial restricted
period.
(k) Reporting
Requirements. The Company, during the period when the
Prospectus is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act or the 1934 Act, will
file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the 1934
Act within the time periods required by the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act
Regulations.
(l) Issuer Free Writing
Prospectus. The Company represents and agrees that, unless it
obtains the prior consent of Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx and each Underwriter represents and
agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Company and the
Representative, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the
Securities that would constitute an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined
in Rule 433, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as
defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free
writing prospectus consented to by the Representative and the Company is
hereinafter referred to as an “Issuer Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The
Company represents that it has treated or agrees that it will treat each Issuer
Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as
defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of
Rule 433 applicable to any Issuer Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including
timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record
keeping.
23
SECTION
4. Payment of
Expenses.
(a) Expenses. The
Company will pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to the performance of
its obligations under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation,
printing and filing of the Registration Statement (including financial
statements and exhibits) as originally filed and of each amendment thereto,
(ii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of this
Agreement, any Agreement among Underwriters and such other documents as may be
required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery
of the Securities, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the
certificates for the Securities to the Underwriters, including any stock or
other transfer taxes and any stamp or other duties payable upon the sale,
issuance or delivery of the Securities to the Underwriters, (iv) the fees
and disbursements of the Company’s counsel, accountants and other advisors,
(v) the qualification of the Securities under securities laws in accordance
with the provisions of Section 3(f) hereof, including filing fees and the
reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection
therewith and in connection with the preparation of a survey of the status of
the Common Stock under the securities laws in effect in certain jurisdictions
(the “Blue Sky Survey”) and any supplement thereto, (vi) the printing and
delivery to the Underwriters of copies of each preliminary prospectus, any
Issuer Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and of the Prospectus and any
amendments or supplements thereto (including any costs associated with
electronic delivery of these materials), (vii) the preparation, printing
and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of the Blue Sky Survey and any
supplement thereto, (viii) the fees and expenses of any transfer agent or
registrar for the Securities, (ix) the costs and expenses of the Company
relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection
with the marketing of the Securities, including without limitation, expenses
associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and
expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show
presentations, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers
of the Company and any such consultants, and the cost of aircraft and other
transportation chartered in connection with the road show, (x) the filing fees
incident to, and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the
Underwriters in connection with, the review by the Financial Industry Regulatory
Authority, Inc. ( “FINRA”) of the terms of the sale of the Securities and (xi)
the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the inclusion of the
Securities in the Nasdaq Capital Market.
(b) Termination of
Agreement If this Agreement is terminated by the
Representative in accordance with the provisions of Section 5 or
Section 9(a)(i) hereof, the Company shall reimburse the Underwriters for
all of their out-of-pocket expenses, including the reasonable fees and
disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters.
24
SECTION
5. Conditions of Underwriters’
Obligations. The obligations of the several Underwriters
hereunder are subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of
the Company contained in Section 1 hereof or in certificates of any officer of
the Company or any subsidiary of the Company delivered pursuant to the
provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its covenants and other
obligations hereunder, and to the following further conditions:
(a) Effectiveness of Registration
Statement. The Registration Statement, including any Rule
462(b) Registration Statement, has become effective and at Closing Time no stop
order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been
issued under the 1933 Act or proceedings therefor initiated or threatened by the
Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional
information shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of
counsel to the Underwriters. A prospectus containing the Rule 430A Information
shall have been filed with the Commission in the manner and within the time
period required by Rule 424(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)) (or a
post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been filed and
declared effective in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430A). Any
material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the
1933 Act shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time
periods prescribed for such filings by Rule 433.
(b) Opinion of Counsel for
Company. At Closing Time, the Representative shall have
received the favorable opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx LLP, counsel for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to
counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such
letter for each of the other Underwriters to the effect set forth in Exhibit A
hereto and to such further effect as counsel to the Underwriters may reasonably
request, each in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the
Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each
of the other Underwriters.
(c) Opinion of Counsel for
Underwriters. At Closing Time, the Representative shall have
received the favorable opinion, dated as of Closing Time, of Skadden, Arps,
Slate, Xxxxxxx & Xxxx LLP, special counsel for the Underwriters, together
with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for the other Underwriters. The
opinion shall address the matters as the Underwriters may reasonably request. In
giving such opinion such counsel may rely, as to all matters governed by the
laws of jurisdictions other than the law of the State of New York and the
federal law of the United States, upon the opinions of counsel satisfactory to
the Representative. Such counsel may also state that, as to any facts material
to such opinion that they did not independently establish or verify, they have
relied upon statements and representations of officers and other representatives
of the Company and others and of public officials.
25
(d) Officers’
Certificate. At Closing Time, there shall not have been, since
the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given
in the preliminary prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus,
as of the execution of this Agreement or the Applicable Time, any material
adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings,
business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries
considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of
business, and the Representative shall have received a certificate of the
President or a Vice President of the Company and of the chief financial or chief
accounting officer of the Company, dated as of Closing Time, to the effect that
(i) there has been no such material adverse change, (ii) the
representations and warranties in Section 1(a) hereof are true and correct
with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of Closing
Time, (iii) the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all
conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to Closing Time,
and (iv) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration
Statement has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been
instituted or are pending or are to their knowledge contemplated by the
Commission.
(e) Accountant’s Comfort
Letter. At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the
Representative and the Board of Directors of the Company shall have received
from Xxxxx LLP a letter dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to
the Representative, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for
each of the other Underwriters containing statements and information of the type
ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with
respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained
in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
(f) Bring-down Comfort
Letter. At Closing Time, the Representative shall have
received from Xxxxx LLP a letter, dated as of Closing Time, to the effect that
they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to
subsection (e) of this Section, except that the specified date referred to
shall be a date not more than three business days prior to Closing
Time.
(g) Approval of
Listing. The Common Stock (including the Securities) is
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the 1934 Act and is listed on the Nasdaq
Capital Market, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to
have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the
1934 Act or delisting the Common Stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market, nor has
the Company received any notification that the Commission or FINRA is
contemplating terminating such registration or listing.
26
(h) No
Objection. FINRA shall have confirmed that it has not raised
any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the
underwriting terms and arrangements.
(i)
Lock-up
Agreements. At the date of this Agreement, the Representative
shall have received an agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto
signed by the persons listed on Schedule E hereto (which, in the case of Xx.
Xxxxxx and Lightyear and their respective affiliates listed on Exhibit B hereto,
shall be contained in the Securities Purchase Agreements).
(j)
Delivery of
Prospectus. The Company shall have complied with the
provisions hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses, in electronic
or printed format, on the New York business day next succeeding the date of this
Agreement.
(k) No Termination
Event. On or after the date hereof, there shall not have
occurred any of the events, circumstances or occurrences set forth in Section
9(a).
(l)
Other
Transactions. At or prior to the Closing Time, the
Transactions shall have been consummated on the terms described in the
Prospectus and the Transaction Documents. The Transaction Documents
shall not have been amended, modified or supplemented since the date
hereof. The Company shall have delivered to the Underwriters and
their counsel evidence to their reasonable satisfaction of the satisfaction of
the conditions to closing of the Transactions.
(m) Conditions to Purchase of Option
Securities. In the event that the Underwriters exercise their
option provided in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any portion of
the Option Securities, the representations and warranties of the Company
contained herein and the statements in any certificates furnished by the Company
and any subsidiary of the Company hereunder shall be true and correct as of each
Date of Delivery and, at the relevant Date of Delivery, the Representative shall
have received:
(i) Officers’
Certificate. A certificate, dated such Date of Delivery, of
the President or a Vice President of the Company and of the chief financial or
chief accounting officer of the Company confirming that the certificate
delivered at the Closing Time pursuant to Section 5(d) hereof remains true
and correct as of such Date of Delivery.
(ii) Opinion of Counsel for
Company. The favorable opinion of Xxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx LLP,
counsel for the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the
Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to
be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the
opinion required by Section 5(b) hereof.
27
(iii) Opinion of Counsel for
Underwriters. The favorable opinion of Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Xxxxxxx & Xxxx LLP, special counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of
Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of
Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by
Section 5(c) hereof.
(iv) Bring-down Comfort
Letter. A letter from Xxxxx LLP, in form and substance
satisfactory to the Representative and dated such Date of Delivery,
substantially in the same form and substance as the letter furnished to the
Representative pursuant to Section 5(f) hereof, except that the “specified date”
in the letter furnished pursuant to this paragraph shall be a date not more than
five days prior to such Date of Delivery.
(v) No Termination
Event. There shall not have occurred prior to the Date of
Delivery any of the events, circumstances or occurrences set forth in Section
9(a).
(n) Additional
Documents. At Closing Time and at each Date of Delivery
counsel for the Underwriters shall have been furnished with such documents and
opinions as they may require for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon the
issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated, or in order to
evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the
fulfillment of any of the conditions, herein contained; and all proceedings
taken by the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities
as herein contemplated shall be satisfactory in form and substance to the
Representative and counsel for the Underwriters.
(o) Termination of
Agreement. If any condition specified in this Section shall
not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Agreement,
or, in the case of any condition to the purchase of Option Securities on a Date
of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, the obligations of the several
Underwriters to purchase the relevant Option Securities, may be terminated by
the Representative by notice to the Company at any time at or prior to Closing
Time or such Date of Delivery, as the case may be, and such termination shall be
without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section
4 and except that Sections 1, 6, 7 and 8 shall survive any such termination and
remain in full force and effect.
SECTION
6. Indemnification.
(a) Indemnification of
Underwriters. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold
harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule
501(b) under the 0000 Xxx) (“Affiliates”), its selling agents, and each person,
if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of
the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act to the extent and in the manner set
forth in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) as follows:
28
(i) against
any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred,
arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material
fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto),
including the Rule 430A Information, or the omission or alleged omission
therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make
the statements therein not misleading, or arising out of any untrue statement or
alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any preliminary
prospectus, any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or
any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission
therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein,
in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading;
(ii) against
any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred,
to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or
any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or
threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or
omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that
(subject to Section 6(d) below) any such settlement is effected with the written
consent of the Company; and
(iii) against
any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and
disbursements of counsel chosen by Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx), reasonably incurred in
investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any
investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or
threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or
omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that
any such expense is not paid under (i) or (ii) above;
provided, however, that this
indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or
expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged
untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with
written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxx expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment
thereto), including the Rule 430A Information or any preliminary prospectus, any
Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus, or the Prospectus (or any amendment
or supplement thereto); provided that the
parties acknowledge and agree that the only written information that the
Underwriters have furnished to the Company specifically for inclusion in the
Registration Statement, preliminary prospectus and Prospectus (or any amendment
or supplement thereto) are the concession and reallowance figures appearing in
the Prospectus in the section entitled “Underwriting” and the information
contained under the caption “Underwriting – Price stabilization, short positions
and passive market making.”
29
(b) Indemnification of Company,
Directors and Officers. Each Underwriter severally agrees to
indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, each of its officers who
signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the
Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the
1934 Act against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense
described in the indemnity contained in subsection (a) of this Section, as
incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged
untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any
amendment thereto), including the Rule 430A Information or any preliminary
prospectus, or any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus
(or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with
written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxx expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment
thereto) or such preliminary prospectus, or any Issuer-Represented Free Writing
Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto); provided that the
parties acknowledge and agree that the only written information that the
Underwriters have furnished to the Company specifically for inclusion in the
Registration Statement, preliminary prospectus, or any Issuer-Represented Free
Writing Prospectus and Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) are
the concession and reallowance figures appearing in the Prospectus in the
section entitled “Underwriting” and the information contained under the captions
“Underwriting – Price stabilization, short positions and passive market
making.”
(c) Actions against Parties;
Notification. Each indemnified party shall give notice as
promptly as reasonably practicable to each indemnifying party of any action
commenced against it in respect of which indemnity may be sought hereunder, but
failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying
party from any liability hereunder to the extent it is not materially prejudiced
as a result thereof and in any event shall not relieve it from any liability
which it may have otherwise than on account of this indemnity agreement. In the
case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(a) above, counsel to the
indemnified parties shall be selected by Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx, and, in the case of
parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(b) above, counsel to the indemnified
parties shall be selected by the Company. An indemnifying party may participate
at its own expense in the defense of any such action; provided, however, that counsel
to the indemnifying party shall not (except with the consent of the indemnified
party) also be counsel to the indemnified party. In no event shall the
indemnifying parties be liable for fees and expenses of more than one counsel
(in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for all
indemnified parties in connection with any one action or separate but similar or
related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general
allegations or circumstances. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior
written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to
the entry of any judgment with respect to any litigation, or any investigation
or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or
any claim whatsoever in respect of which indemnification or contribution could
be sought under this Section 6 or Section 7 hereof (whether or not the
indemnified parties are actual or potential parties thereto), unless such
settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each
indemnified party from all liability arising out of such litigation,
investigation, proceeding or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to
or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any
indemnified party.
30
(d) Settlement Without Consent if
Failure to Reimburse. If at any time an indemnified party
shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party
for fees and expenses of counsel, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall
be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 6(a)(ii)
effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more
than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request,
(ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such
settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered into and
(iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party
in accordance with such request prior to the date of such
settlement.
SECTION
7. Contribution. If
the indemnification provided for in Section 6 hereof is for any reason
unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect
of any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein,
then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount of such
losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by such indemnified
party, as incurred, (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the
relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters
on the other hand from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement
or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable
law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative
benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the
Company on the one hand and of the Underwriters on the other hand in connection
with the statements or omissions, which resulted in such
losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, as well as any other relevant
equitable considerations.
The
relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters
on the other hand in connection with the offering of the Securities pursuant to
this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the
total net proceeds from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this
Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company, on the one hand,
and the total underwriting discount and commissions received by the
Underwriters, on the other hand, in each case as set forth on the cover of the
Prospectus bear to the aggregate public offering price of the Securities as set
forth on the cover of the Prospectus.
31
The
relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the
other hand, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any
such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or
alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the
Company or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge,
access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or
omission.
The
Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if
contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were determined by pro rata allocation
(even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any
other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable
considerations referred to above in this Section 7. The aggregate amount of
losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified
party and referred to above in this Section 7 shall be deemed to include any
legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in
investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any
investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or
threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue
statement or omission or alleged omission.
Notwithstanding
the provisions of this Section 7, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute
any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the
Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the
public exceeds the amount of any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise
been required to pay by reason of any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or
omission or alleged omission.
No person
guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of
the 0000 Xxx) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not
guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.
For
purposes of this Section 7, each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter
within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act
and each Underwriter’s Affiliates and selling agents shall have the same rights
to contribution as such Underwriter, and each director of the Company, each
officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person,
if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933
Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act shall have the same rights to contribution as
the Company. The Underwriters’ respective obligations to contribute pursuant to
this Section 7 are several in proportion to the number of Initial Securities set
forth opposite their respective names in Schedule A hereto and not
joint.
32
SECTION
8. Representations, Warranties
and Agreements to Survive Delivery. All representations,
warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement or in certificates of
officers of the Company or any of its subsidiaries submitted pursuant hereto,
shall remain operative and in full force and effect, regardless of any (i)
investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or its Affiliates or
selling agents, any person controlling any Underwriter, its officers or
directors, or by or on behalf of the Company, and (ii) delivery of and payment
for the Securities.
SECTION
9. Termination of
Agreement.
(a) Termination;
General. The Representative may terminate this Agreement, by
notice to the Company, at any time at or prior to Closing Time (i) if there
has been, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective
dates as of which information is given in the preliminary prospectus, the
General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, any material adverse change in the
condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or
business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one
enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, or
(ii) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial
markets in the United States, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof
or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective
change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions,
including without limitation as a result of terrorist activities, in each case
the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the
Representative, impracticable or inadvisable to market the Securities or to
enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities, or (iii) if trading in
any securities of the Company has been suspended or materially limited by the
Commission or the Nasdaq Capital Market, or if trading generally on the American
Stock Exchange or the New York Stock Exchange or in the Nasdaq Capital Market
has been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices for
trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by any
of said exchanges or by such system or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any
other governmental authority, or (iv) a material disruption has occurred in
commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United
States or with respect to Clearstream or Euroclear Systems in Europe, or (v) if
a banking moratorium has been declared by the Federal, New York, Oregon or Idaho
authorities.
(b) Liabilities. If
this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section, such termination shall be
without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section
4 hereof, and Sections 1, 6, 7 and 8 shall survive such termination and remain
in full force and effect.
33
SECTION
10. Default by One or More of
the Underwriters. If one or more of the Underwriters shall
fail at Closing Time or a Date of Delivery to purchase the Securities which it
or they are obligated to purchase under this Agreement (the “Defaulted
Securities”), the Representative shall have the right, within 24 hours
thereafter, to make arrangements for one or more of the non-defaulting
Underwriters, or any other underwriters, to purchase all, but not less than all,
of the Defaulted Securities in such amounts as may be agreed upon and upon the
terms herein set forth; if, however, the Representative shall not have completed
such arrangements within such 24-hour period, then:
(a) if
the number of Defaulted Securities does not exceed 10% of the number of
Securities to be purchased on such date, each of the non-defaulting Underwriters
shall be obligated, severally and not jointly, to purchase the full amount
thereof in the proportions that their respective underwriting obligations
hereunder bear to the underwriting obligations of all non-defaulting
Underwriters, or
(b) if
the number of Defaulted Securities exceeds 10% of the number of Securities to be
purchased on such date, this Agreement or, with respect to any Date of Delivery
which occurs after the Closing Time, the obligation of the Underwriters to
purchase and of the Company to sell the Option Securities to be purchased and
sold on such Date of Delivery shall terminate without liability on the part of
any non-defaulting Underwriter.
No action
taken pursuant to this Section shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter from
liability in respect of its default.
In the
event of any such default which does not result in a termination of this
Agreement or, in the case of a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time,
which does not result in a termination of the obligation of the Underwriters to
purchase and the Company to sell the relevant Option Securities, as the case may
be, either (i) the Representative or (ii) the Company shall have the right to
postpone Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, for
a period not exceeding seven days in order to effect any required changes in the
Registration Statement or Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements.
As used herein, the term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for an
Underwriter under this Section 10.
SECTION
11. Notices. All
notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be
deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of
telecommunication. Notices to the Underwriters shall be directed to the
Representative at Xxxxx, Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx, Inc., 000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, 0xx Xxxxx,
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, attention of General Counsel; and notices to the
Company shall be directed to it at 0000 XX Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxx, Xxxxxx 00000,
attention of Chief Financial Officer.
34
SECTION
12. Parties. This
Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters,
the Company and their respective successors. Nothing expressed or mentioned in
this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, firm or
corporation, other than the Underwriters, the Company and their respective
successors and the controlling persons and officers and directors referred to in
Sections 6 and 7 and their heirs and legal representatives, any legal or
equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any
provision herein contained. This Agreement and all conditions and provisions
hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the
Underwriters, the Company and their respective successors, and said controlling
persons and officers and directors and their heirs and legal representatives,
and for the benefit of no other person, firm or corporation. No purchaser of
Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor by reason
merely of such purchase.
SECTION
13. No
Fiduciaries. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the
purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement, including the
determination of the public offering price of the Securities and any related
discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the
Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, (ii)
in connection with the offering contemplated hereby and the process leading to
such transaction each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal
and is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company or its shareholders, creditors,
employees or any other third party, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed or will
assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with
respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto
(irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising
the Company on other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the
Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby except the obligations
expressly set forth in this Agreement, (iv) the Underwriters and their
respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that
involve interests that differ from those of the Company, and (v) the
Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice
with respect to the offering contemplated hereby and the Company has consulted
its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed
appropriate.
SECTION
14. GOVERNING LAW AND
TIME. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
35
SECTION
15. General
Provisions. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of
the parties to this Agreement and supersedes all prior written or oral and all
contemporaneous oral agreements, understandings and negotiations with respect to
the subject matter hereof. This Agreement may be executed in two or more
counterparts, each one of which shall be an original, but all of which together
shall constitute one and the same instrument. The exchange of copies of this
Agreement and of signature pages by facsimile or other electronic means shall
constitute effective execution and delivery of this Agreement by the parties
hereto and may be used in lieu of the original signature pages to this Agreement
for all purposes. This Agreement may not be amended or modified unless in
writing by all of the parties hereto, and no condition herein (express or
implied) may be waived unless waived in writing by each party whom the condition
is meant to benefit. The Article and Section headings herein and the Table of
Contents are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction
hereof.
36
If the
foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign
and return to the Company a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along
with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement among the Underwriters
and the Company in accordance with its terms.
Very
truly yours,
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By:
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Name: | ||
Title: |
CONFIRMED
AND ACCEPTED,
|
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as
of the date first above written:
|
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XXXXX
XXXXXXXX & XXXXX, INC.
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By:
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Authorized
Signatory
|
For
itself and as Representative of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A
hereto.
SCHEDULE
A
Name of Underwriters
|
Number of Initial
Securities
|
|
Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx
& Xxxxx, Inc.
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Macquarie
Capital (USA) Inc.
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Total
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Schedule A
SCHEDULE
B
Issuer-Represented
General Free Writing Prospectus
[List, if
any]
Schedule
B
SCHEDULE
B-2
Information
Conveyed Orally to Accounts
Number of
Shares Offered: [
]
Number of
Shares Subject to Over-Allotment Purchase
Option: [
]
Offering
Price to the
Public: [
]
Net
Proceeds to Company (before
expenses): [
]
Schedule
B
SCHEDULE
C
[_______]
Shares of Common Stock
(No Par
Value Per Share)
1. The
initial public offering price per share for the Securities, determined as
provided in said Section 2, shall be $[____].
2. The
purchase price per share for the Securities to be paid by the several
Underwriters shall be $[____], being an amount equal to the initial public
offering price set forth above less $[____] per share; provided that the
purchase price per share for any Option Securities purchased upon the exercise
of the over-allotment option described in Section 2(b) shall be reduced by an
amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company
and payable on the Initial Securities but not payable on the Option
Securities.
Schedule
C
SCHEDULE
D
Bank of
the Cascades
Cascade
Bancorp Trust I
Cascade
Bancorp Statutory Trust II
Cascade
Bancorp Statutory Trust III
Cascade
Bancorp Statutory Trust IV
Schedule
D
SCHEDULE
E
Directors
Xxxxx X.
Xxxxxx
Xxxxx X.
Xxxxxx
Xxxx X.
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx X.
Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxx
Xxxx X.
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx X.
Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxx X.
Xxxxx
Xxxxx
Xxxxxxxx
Executive
Officers
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx X.
Xxxx
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx
X. Xxxx
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxx
Certain
Shareholders
Xxxxx X.
Xxxxxx, Two-Forty Associates, The Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx 0000 Xxxxxxxxxx Charitable
Lead Annuity Trust and The Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx 2008 Grantor Retained Annuity Trust
(lock-up set forth in Section 4.9 of the Xxxxxx Securities Purchase
Agreement)
BOTC
Holdings LLC (lock-up set forth in Section 4.7 of the Lightyear Securities
Purchase Agreement)
Schedule
E
EXHIBIT
A
FORM OF
OPINION OF COMPANY’S COUNSEL TO BE DELIVERED PURSUANT TO SECTION
5(b)
(a) The
Company is a registered bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act
of 1956, as amended, and has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a
corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Oregon.
(b) The
Company has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its
properties and to conduct its business as described in the Prospectus and to
enter into and perform its obligations under the Underwriting
Agreement.
(c) The
Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is
in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required,
whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of
business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing,
singly or in the aggregate, would not result in a Material Adverse
Effect.
(d) The
authorized, issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company is as set forth
in the Prospectus in the column entitled “Actual” under the caption
“Capitalization” (except for subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant to the
Underwriting Agreement, the Securities Purchase Agreements as described in the
Registration Statement or pursuant to reservations, agreements or employee
benefit plans referred to in the Prospectus or pursuant to the exercise of
options referred to in the Prospectus); the shares of issued and outstanding
capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued and
are fully paid and non-assessable; and none of the outstanding shares of capital
stock of the Company was issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar
rights of any securityholder of the Company.
(e) The
Securities to be purchased by the Underwriters from the Company have been duly
authorized for issuance and sale to the Underwriters pursuant to the
Underwriting Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company pursuant to
the Underwriting Agreement against payment of the consideration set forth in the
Underwriting Agreement, will be validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable
and no holder of the Securities is or will be subject to personal liability by
reason of being such a holder.
(f) The
issuance and sale of the Securities by the Company is not subject to the
preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the
Company.
Exhibit A
- 1
(g) The
activities of the Bank are permitted of an Oregon-chartered bank and the braches
thereof under the laws of the States of Oregon and Idaho, respectively, and are
permitted under applicable federal banking law, including the rules and
regulations of the Fed set forth in Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
The deposit accounts of the Bank are insured up to the applicable limits by the
FDIC.
(h) Each
Subsidiary has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation
in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or
formation, has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its
properties and to conduct its business as described in the Prospectus and is
duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good
standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether
by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business,
except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing, singly or in
the aggregate, would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; except as
otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, all of the issued and
outstanding capital stock of each Subsidiary has been duly authorized and
validly issued, is fully paid and non-assessable and, to the best of our
knowledge, is owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and
clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or
equity; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of any Subsidiary was
issued in violation of the preemptive or similar rights of any securityholder of
such Subsidiary.
(i)
The Underwriting Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and
delivered by the Company.
(j)
The Registration Statement, including any Rule 462(b) Registration
Statement, has been declared effective under the 1933 Act; any required filing
of the Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) has been made in the manner and within
the time period required by Rule 424(b); and, to the best of our knowledge, no
stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any
Rule 462(b) Registration Statement has been issued under the 1933 Act and no
proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or threatened
by the Commission.
(k) The
Registration Statement, including any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, the
Rule 430A Information, the Prospectus, and each amendment or supplement to the
Registration Statement and Prospectus, excluding the documents incorporated by
reference therein, as of their respective effective or issue dates (other than
the financial statements and supporting schedules included therein or omitted
therefrom, as to which we need express no opinion) complied as to form in all
material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act
Regulations.
Exhibit A
- 2
(l)
The documents incorporated by reference in the Prospectus (other
than the financial statements and supporting schedules included therein or
omitted therefrom, as to which we need express no opinion), when they were filed
with the Commission, complied as to form in all material respects with the
requirements of the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission
thereunder.
(m) The
form of certificate used to evidence the Common Stock complies in all material
respects with all applicable statutory requirements, with any applicable
requirements of the charter and by-laws of the Company and the requirements of
the Nasdaq Capital Market.
(n) To
the best of our knowledge, there is not pending or threatened any action, suit,
proceeding, inquiry or investigation, to which the Company or any subsidiary is
a party, or to which the property of the Company or any subsidiary is subject,
before or brought by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or
foreign, which, singly or in the aggregate, might reasonably be expected to
result in a Material Adverse Effect, or which might reasonably be expected to
materially and adversely affect the properties or assets thereof, the
consummation of the transactions contemplated in the Underwriting Agreement or
the performance by the Company of its obligations thereunder, or the
consummation of the Transactions.
(o) The
information (i) in the Prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference
therein under “Description of Capital Stock”, “Business–Supervision and
Regulation”, “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” and “Underwriting”
and (ii) in the Registration Statement under Item 14, to the extent that it
constitutes matters of law, summaries of legal matters, the Company’s charter
and bylaws or legal proceedings, or legal conclusions, has been reviewed by us
and is correct in all material respects.
(p) To
the best of our knowledge, there are no statutes or regulations that are
required to be described in the Prospectus that are not described as
required.
(q) All
descriptions in the Registration Statement of contracts and other documents to
which the Company or its subsidiaries are a party are accurate in all material
respects; to the best of our knowledge, there are no franchises, contracts,
indentures, mortgages, loan agreements, notes, leases or other instruments
required to be described or referred to in the Registration Statement or to be
filed as exhibits thereto other than those described or referred to therein or
filed or incorporated by reference as exhibits thereto, and the descriptions
thereof or references thereto are correct in all material
respects.
Exhibit A
- 3
(r)
To the best of our knowledge, neither the Company nor any subsidiary is in
violation of its charter or by-laws and no default by the Company or any
subsidiary exists in the due performance or observance of any material
obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract,
indenture, mortgage, loan agreement, note, lease or other agreement or
instrument that is described or referred to in the Registration Statement or the
Prospectus or filed or incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the
Registration Statement.
(s) No
filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration,
qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency,
domestic or foreign (other than under the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations,
which have been obtained, or as may be required under the securities or blue sky
laws of the various states, as to which we need express no opinion) is necessary
or required in connection with the due authorization, execution and delivery of
the Underwriting Agreement or for the offering, issuance, sale or delivery of
the Securities.
(t)
The execution, delivery and performance of the Underwriting Agreement and
the Transaction Documents and the consummation of the transactions contemplated
in the Underwriting Agreement, in the Transaction Documents and in the
Registration Statement (including the issuance and sale of the Securities, the
consummation of the Transactions, and the use of the proceeds from the sale of
the Securities and the Private Offerings as described in the Prospectus under
the caption “Use of Proceeds”) and compliance by the Company with its
obligations under the Underwriting Agreement and the Transaction Documents do
not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or lapse of time
or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event
(as defined in Section 1(a)(xi) of the Underwriting Agreement) under or result
in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any
property or assets of the Company or any subsidiary pursuant to any contract,
indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or any
other agreement or instrument, known to us, to which the Company or any
subsidiary is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound, or to which
any of the property or assets of the Company or any subsidiary is subject
(except for such conflicts, breaches or defaults or liens, charges or
encumbrances that, singly or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse
Effect), nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of the
charter or by-laws of the Company or any subsidiary, or any applicable law,
statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree, known to us, of any
government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having
jurisdiction over the Company or any subsidiary or any of their respective
properties, assets or operations.
(u) The
Company is not an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an
“investment company,” as such terms are defined in the 1940
Act.
Exhibit A
- 4
Nothing
has come to our attention that would lead us to believe that the Registration
Statement or any amendment thereto, including the Rule 430A Information (except
for financial statements and schedules and other financial data included or
incorporated by reference therein or omitted therefrom, as to which we need make
no statement), at the time such Registration Statement or any such amendment
became effective, contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to
state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the
statements therein not misleading or that the Prospectus or any amendment or
supplement thereto (except for financial statements and schedules and other
financial data included or incorporated by reference therein or omitted
therefrom, as to which we need make no statement), at the time the Prospectus
was issued, at the time any such amended or supplemented prospectus was issued
or at the Closing Time, included or includes an untrue statement of a material
fact or omitted or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the
statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were
made, not misleading.
Furthermore,
we have no reason to believe that the documents specified in the General
Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time and as of the Closing Date, contained
any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact
necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
In
rendering such opinion, such counsel may rely as to matters of fact (but not as
to legal conclusions), to the extent they deem proper, on certificates of
responsible officers of the Company and public officials. Such opinion shall not
state that it is to be governed or qualified by, or that it is otherwise subject
to, any treatise, written policy or other document relating to legal opinions,
including, without limitation, the Legal Opinion Accord of the ABA Section of
Business Law (1991).
Exhibit A
- 5
EXHIBIT
B
[_________],
2009
XXXXX,
XXXXXXXX & XXXXX, INC.
as
Representative of the several
Underwriters
to be named in the
Underwriting
Agreement
000
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, 0xx
Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Re: Proposed Public Offering by
Cascade Bancorp
Dear
Sirs:
The undersigned, a shareholder,
executive officer and/or director of Cascade Bancorp, an Oregon chartered bank
holding company (the “Company”),
understands that Xxxxx, Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxx, Inc. (“Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx”), as
representative of the Underwriters, proposes to enter into an Underwriting
Agreement (the “Underwriting
Agreement”) with the Company providing for the public offering of shares
(the “Securities”) of the
Company’s common stock, no par value per share (the “Common Stock”). In
recognition of the benefit that such an offering will confer upon the
undersigned as a shareholder, executive officer and/or director of the Company,
and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of
which are hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees with each underwriter to
be named in the Underwriting Agreement (collectively, the “Underwriters”) that,
during a period of 90 days from the date of the Underwriting Agreement, the
undersigned will not, without the prior written consent of Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx,
directly or indirectly, (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any
option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant
any option, right or warrant for the sale of, or otherwise dispose of or
transfer any shares of the Common Stock or any securities convertible into or
exchangeable or exercisable for Common Stock, whether now owned or hereafter
acquired by the undersigned or with respect to which the undersigned has or
hereafter acquires the power of disposition, or file any registration statement
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with respect to any of the
foregoing or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction
that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic
consequence of ownership of the Common Stock, whether any such swap or
transaction is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in
cash or otherwise. In the event that either (i) during the period that begins on
the date that is 15 calendar days plus three (3) business days before the last
day of the 90 day restricted period and ends on the last day of the 90 day
restricted period, the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a
material event relating to the Company occurs, or (ii) prior to the expiration
of the 90 day restricted period, the Company announces that it will release
earnings results during the 16 day period beginning on the last day of the 90
day restricted period, the restrictions set forth herein will continue to apply
until the expiration of the date that is 15 calendar days plus three (3)
business days after the date on which the earnings release is issued or the
material news or event related to the Company occurs. The Company shall promptly
notify Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx of any earnings releases, news or events that may give
rise to an extension of the initial restricted period.
Exhibit B
- 1
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the undersigned may transfer the undersigned’s shares of Common
Stock (i) as a bona
fide gift or gifts, provided that the
donee or donees agree to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth
herein, (ii) to any trust or family limited partnership for the direct or
indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned,
provided that
the trustee of the trust or general partner of the family limited partnership,
as the case may be, agrees to be bound by the restrictions set forth herein, and
provided, further, that any
such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value, (iii) pledged in a bona
fide transaction outstanding as of the date hereof to a lender to the
undersigned, as disclosed in writing to the Underwriters, (iv) pursuant to the
exercise by the undersigned of stock options that have been granted by the
Company prior to, and are outstanding as of, the date of the Underwriting
Agreement, where the Common Stock received upon any such exercise is held by the
undersigned, individually or as fiduciary, in accordance with the terms of this
Lock-Up Agreement, or (v) with the prior written consent of Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx. For
purposes of this Lock-Up Agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any
relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first
cousin.
The
undersigned now has and, except as contemplated by clauses (i) through (v)
above, for the duration of the Lock-Up Agreement will have good and marketable
title to the undersigned’s shares of Common Stock, free and clear of all liens,
encumbrances, and claims whatsoever, except with respect to any liens,
encumbrances and claims that were in existence on the date hereof. The
undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions
with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the
undersigned’s common stock, except in compliance with this Lock-Up Agreement. In
furtherance of the foregoing, the Company and its transfer agent are hereby
authorized to decline to make any transfer of securities if such transfer would
constitute a violation or breach of this Lock-Up Agreement.
The
undersigned represents and warrants that the undersigned has full power and
authority to enter into this Lock-Up Agreement. The undersigned agrees that the
provisions of this Lock-Up Agreement shall be binding also upon the successors,
assigns, heirs and personal representatives of the undersigned.
Exhibit B
- 2
The
undersigned understands that, if the Underwriting Agreement does not become
effective, or if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof
which survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for
and delivery of the Common Stock to be sold thereunder, the undersigned shall be
released from all obligations under this Lock-up Agreement.
This
Lock-up Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws
of the State of New York.
Very
truly yours,
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Signature:
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Print
Name:
|
Exhibit B
- 3