SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT
10.1
This
Securities Purchase Agreement (this “Agreement”) is dated
as of December 24, 2009, between General Steel Holdings, Inc., a Nevada
corporation (the “Company”), and each
purchaser identified on the signature pages hereto (each, including its
successors and assigns, a “Purchaser” and
collectively the “Purchasers”).
WHEREAS,
subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and pursuant to
an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
(the “Securities
Act”), the Company desires to issue and sell to each Purchaser, and each
Purchaser, severally and not jointly, desires to purchase from the Company,
securities of the Company as more fully described in this
Agreement.
NOW,
THEREFORE, IN CONSIDERATION of the mutual covenants contained in this Agreement,
and for other good and valuable consideration the receipt and adequacy of which
are hereby acknowledged, the Company and each Purchaser agree as
follows:
ARTICLE
I.
DEFINITIONS
1.1 Definitions. In
addition to the terms defined elsewhere in this Agreement, for all purposes of
this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings set forth in this Section
1.1:
“Acquiring Person”
shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.5.
“Action” shall have
the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(j).
“Affiliate” means any
Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls
or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person as such terms are
used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act. With
respect to a Purchaser, any investment fund or managed account that is managed
on a discretionary basis by the same investment manager as such Purchaser will
be deemed to be Affiliate of such Purchaser.
“Board of Directors”
means the board of directors of the Company.
“Business Day” means
any day except any Saturday, any Sunday, any day which is a federal legal
holiday in the United States or any day on which banking institutions in the
State of New York are authorized or required by law or other governmental action
to close.
“Closing” means the
closing of the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to Section
2.1.
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“Closing Date” means
the Trading Day on which all of the Transaction Documents have been executed and
delivered by the applicable parties thereto, and all conditions precedent to (i)
the Purchasers’ obligations to pay the Subscription Amount and (ii) the
Company’s obligations to deliver the Securities, in each case, have been
satisfied or waived, but in no event later than the third Trading Day following
the date hereof.
“Commission” means the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Common Stock” means
the common stock of the Company, par value $0.001 per share, and any other class
of securities into which such securities may hereafter be reclassified or
changed.
“Common Stock
Equivalents” means any securities of the Company or the Subsidiaries
which would entitle the holder thereof to acquire at any time Common Stock,
including, without limitation, any debt, preferred stock, rights, options,
warrants or other instrument that is at any time convertible into or exercisable
or exchangeable for, or otherwise entitles the holder thereof to receive, Common
Stock.
“Company Counsel”
means Xxxxx & Xxxxxxxx LLP, with offices located at 000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx,
Xxxxxx, XX 00000.
“Evaluation Date”
shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(r).
“Exchange Act” means
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder.
“Exempt Issuance”
means the issuance of (a) shares of Common Stock or options to employees,
officers or directors of the Company pursuant to any stock or option plan duly
adopted for such purpose, by a majority of the non-employee members of the Board
of Directors or a majority of the members of a committee of non-employee
directors established for such purpose, (b) securities upon the exercise or
exchange of or conversion of any Securities issued hereunder and/or other
securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into shares of Common
Stock issued and outstanding on the date of this Agreement (including the
Existing PIPE Securities), provided that such securities have not been amended
since the date of this Agreement to increase the number of such securities or to
decrease the exercise price, exchange price or conversion price of such
securities, and (c) securities issued pursuant to acquisitions or strategic
transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested directors of the
Company, provided that any such issuance shall only be to a Person (or to the
equityholders of a Person) which is, itself or through its subsidiaries, an
operating company or an owner of an asset in a business synergistic with the
business of the Company and shall provide to the Company additional benefits in
addition to the investment of funds, but shall not include a transaction in
which the Company is issuing securities primarily for the purpose of raising
capital or to an entity whose primary business is investing in
securities.
“Existing PIPE
Securities” means the existing outstanding promissory notes convertible
into shares of Common Stock and warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock
issued in accordance with the Securities Purchase Agreement December 13, 2007,
by and among the Company and the buyers listed on the Schedule of Buyers
thereto, along with the Common Stock issued in connection
therewith.
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“GAAP” shall have the
meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(h).
“Intellectual Property
Rights” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section
3.1(o).
“Liens” means a lien,
charge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first refusal, preemptive right
or other restriction.
“Material Adverse
Effect” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section
3.1(b).
“Material Permits”
shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(m).
“Money Laundering
Laws” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section
3.1(jj).
“Offered Security”
shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.11(e)
“OFAC” shall have the
meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(gg).
“Participation
Maximum” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section
4.11(a).
“Per Share Purchase
Price” equals $4.50, subject to adjustment
for reverse and forward stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations and
other similar transactions of the Common Stock that occur after the date of this
Agreement.
“Person” means an
individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated
association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company,
government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any
kind.
“Pre-Notice” shall
have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.11(b).
“Principal
Shareholders” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section
2.3(b)(v).
“Pro Rata Portion”
shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.11(e).
“Proceeding” means an
action, claim, suit, investigation or proceeding (including, without limitation,
an informal investigation or partial proceeding, such as a deposition), whether
commenced or threatened.
“Prospectus” means the
final prospectus filed for the Registration Statement.
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“Prospectus
Supplement” means the supplement to the Prospectus that is filed with the
Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act and
delivered by the Company to each Purchaser at the Closing.
“Purchaser Party”
shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.8.
“Registration
Statement” means the effective registration statement with Commission
file No. 333-161585 which registers the sale of the Shares, the Warrants and the
Warrant Shares to the Purchasers.
“Required Approvals”
shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(e).
“Rule 144” means Rule
144 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Rule
may be amended from time to time, or any similar rule or regulation hereafter
adopted by the Commission having substantially the same effect as such
Rule.
“Rule 424” means Rule
424 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Rule
may be amended or interpreted from time to time, or any similar rule or
regulation hereafter adopted by the Commission having substantially the same
purpose and effect as such Rule.
“SEC Reports” shall
have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(h).
“Securities” means the
Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares.
“Securities Act” means
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder.
“Shareholder Approval”
means such approval as may be required by the applicable rules and regulations
of The New York Stock Exchange (or any successor entity) from the shareholders
of the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction
Documents and the transactions contemplated pursuant to that certain Securities
Purchase Agreement, dated December 13, 2007, including the Shares, Warrant
Shares and Existing PIPE Securities (as amended, including pursuant to those
certain letter agreements entered into by and among the holders of Existing PIPE
Securities and the Company on the date hereof) in excess of 19.99% of the issued
and outstanding Common Stock on the applicable Closing Date.
“Shares” means the
shares of Common Stock issued or issuable to each Purchaser pursuant to this
Agreement.
“Short Sales” means
all “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 of Regulation SHO under the Exchange
Act (but shall not be deemed to include the location and/or reservation of
borrowable shares of Common Stock).
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“Subscription Amount”
means, as to each Purchaser, the aggregate amount to be paid for Shares and
Warrants purchased hereunder as specified below such Purchaser’s name on the
signature page of this Agreement and next to the heading “Subscription Amount,”
in United States dollars and in immediately available funds.
“Subsequent Financing”
shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.11(a).
“Subsequent Financing
Notice” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section
4.11(b).
“Subsidiary” means any
subsidiary of the Company as set forth on Schedule 3.1(a), and
shall, where applicable, also include any direct or indirect subsidiary of the
Company formed or acquired after the date hereof.
“Trading Day” means a
day on which the principal Trading Market is open for trading; provided that
"Trading Day" shall not include any day on which the Common Stock is scheduled
to trade on such exchange or market for less than 4.5 hours or any day that the
Common Stock is suspended from trading during the final hour of trading on such
exchange or market (or if such exchange or market does not designate in advance
the closing time of trading on such exchange or market, then during the hour
ending at 4:00:00 p.m., New York time).
“Trading Market” means
any of the following markets or exchanges on which the Common Stock is listed or
quoted for trading on the date in question: the NYSE AMEX, the Nasdaq Capital
Market, the Nasdaq Global Market, the Nasdaq Global Select Market, or the New
York Stock Exchange (or any successors to any of the foregoing).
“Transaction
Documents” means this Agreement, the Warrants, the Voting Agreements and
any other documents or agreements executed in connection with the transactions
contemplated hereunder.
“Transfer Agent” means
Securities Transfer Company, the current transfer agent of the Company, with a
mailing address of 0000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 000 Xxxxxx, XX 00000
and a facsimile number of (000) 000-0000, and any successor transfer agent of
the Company.
“Variable Rate
Transaction” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section
4.12(b).
“Voting Agreement”
shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 2.3(b)(v).
“Warrants” means,
collectively, the Common Stock purchase warrants delivered to the Purchasers at
the Closing in accordance with Section 2.2(a) hereof, which Warrants shall be
exercisable commencing 181 days
following the Closing Date and have a term of exercise equal to 2 years, in the form of Exhibit A attached
hereto.
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“Warrant Shares” means
the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants.
“WS” means Xxxxxxxxx
Xxxxx LLP with offices located at 000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000, Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000-0000.
ARTICLE
II.
PURCHASE
AND SALE
2.1 Closing. On
the Closing Date, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein,
substantially concurrent with the execution and delivery of this Agreement by
the parties hereto, the Company agrees to sell, and the Purchasers, severally
and not jointly, agree to purchase, up to an aggregate of 6,666,667 Shares and
3,333,333 Warrants. Each Purchaser shall deliver to the Company, via
wire transfer or a certified check, immediately available funds equal to such
Purchaser’s Subscription Amount as set forth on the signature page hereto
executed by such Purchaser and the Company shall deliver to each Purchaser its
respective Shares and a Warrant as determined pursuant to Section 2.2(a), and
the Company and each Purchaser shall deliver the other items set forth in
Section 2.2 deliverable at the Closing. Upon satisfaction of the
covenants and conditions set forth in Sections 2.2 and 2.3, the Closing shall
occur at the offices of WS or such other location as the parties shall mutually
agree. The Closing shall occur in accordance with Rule 15c6-1 of the
Exchange Act.
2.2 Deliveries.
(a) On
or prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered
to each Purchaser the following:
(i) this
Agreement duly executed and delivered by the Company;
(ii) a
legal opinion of Company Counsel, substantially in the form of Exhibit B attached
hereto;
(iii) a
copy of the irrevocable instructions to the Company’s transfer agent, duly
executed and delivered by the Company, instructing the transfer agent to deliver
via the Depository Trust Company Deposit Withdrawal Agent Commission System
(“DWAC”) Shares
equal to such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount divided by the Per Share Purchase
Price, registered in the name of such Purchaser;
(iv) a
Warrant registered in the name of such Purchaser to purchase up to a number of
shares of Common Stock equal to 50% of such Purchaser’s
Shares, with an exercise price equal to $5.00 subject to adjustment
therein (such Warrant certificate may be delivered within three Trading Days of
the Closing Date); and
(v) the
Prospectus and Prospectus Supplement (which may be delivered in accordance with
Rule 172 under the Securities Act).
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(b) On
or prior to the Closing Date, each Purchaser shall deliver or cause to be
delivered to the Company the following:
(i) this
Agreement duly executed and delivered by such Purchaser; and
(ii) such
Purchaser’s Subscription Amount (less, in the case of Empery Asset Master Ltd.
(a Purchaser), the amount withheld pursuant to Section 5.2) by wire transfer to
the account as specified in writing by the Company.
2.3 Closing
Conditions.
(a) The
obligations of the Company hereunder in connection with the Closing are subject
to the following conditions being met:
(i) the
accuracy in all material respects (except for those representations and
warranties that are qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, which
are true and correct in all respects) on the Closing Date of the representations
and warranties of the Purchasers contained herein (except for representations
and warranties that speak as of a specific date, which shall be true and correct
as of such specified date);
(ii) all
obligations, covenants and agreements of each Purchaser required to be performed
at or prior to the Closing Date shall have been performed; and
(iii) the
delivery by each Purchaser of the items set forth in Section 2.2(b) of this
Agreement.
(b) The
respective obligations of the Purchasers hereunder in connection with the
Closing are subject to the following conditions being met, which may be waived
in the sole discretion of such Purchaser:
(i) the
accuracy in all material respects except for those representations and
warranties that are qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, which
are true and correct in all respects when made and on the Closing Date of the
representations and warranties of the Company contained herein (except for
representations and warranties that speak as of a specific date, which shall be
true and correct as of such specified date);
(ii) all
obligations, covenants and agreements of the Company required to be performed at
or prior to the Closing Date shall have been performed;
(iii) the
delivery by the Company of the items set forth in Section 2.2(a) of this
Agreement;
(iv) there
shall have been no Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company since the
date hereof;
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(v) the
Company shall have obtained voting agreements reasonably acceptable to the
Purchasers (“Voting
Agreement”) duly executed by holders (“Principal
Shareholders”) of at least 50.1% of the issued and outstanding voting
capital stock of the Company as of the date of this Agreement agreeing to vote
in favor of Shareholder Approval; and
(vi) from
the date hereof to the Closing Date, trading in the Common Stock shall not have
been suspended by the Commission or the Company’s principal Trading Market
(except for any suspension of trading of limited duration agreed to by the
Company, which suspension shall be terminated prior to the Closing), and, at any
time prior to the Closing Date, trading in securities generally as reported by
Bloomberg L.P. shall not have been suspended or limited, or minimum prices shall
not have been established on securities whose trades are reported by such
service, or on any Trading Market, nor shall a banking moratorium have been
declared either by the United States or New York State authorities.
ARTICLE
III.
REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES
3.1 Representations and
Warranties of the Company. Except as set forth in the SEC
Reports, Prospectus or the Prospectus Supplement or any information contained or
incorporated therein, the Company hereby makes the following representations and
warranties to each Purchaser:
(a) Subsidiaries. All
of the direct and indirect subsidiaries of the Company are set forth on
Schedule 3.1(a)
hereto. The Company owns, directly or indirectly, all of the capital
stock or other equity interests of each Subsidiary free and clear of any Liens,
and all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of each Subsidiary
are validly issued and are fully paid, non-assessable and free of preemptive and
similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities. If the
Company has no subsidiaries, all other references to the Subsidiaries or any of
them in the Transaction Documents shall be disregarded.
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(b) Organization and
Qualification. The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is an
entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized, validly existing and in good
standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or
organization, with the requisite power and authority to own and use its
properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently
conducted. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation nor
default of any of the provisions of its respective certificate or articles of
incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter
documents. Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries is duly qualified
to conduct business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other
entity in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or
property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the
failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the case may be, could not
have or reasonably be expected to result in: (i) a material adverse effect on
the legality, validity or enforceability of any Transaction Document, (ii) a
material adverse effect on the results of operations, assets, business or
condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as
a whole, or (iii) a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to perform
in any material respect on a timely basis its obligations under any Transaction
Document (any of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “Material Adverse
Effect”); provided, however, that neither
of the following standing alone shall be deemed, in and of itself, to constitute
a Material Adverse Effect: (i) a change in the market price or trading volume of
the Common Stock or (ii) changes in general economic conditions so long as such
changes do not have a materially disproportionate effect on the Company. Each of
the Company and the Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in
good standing as a foreign corporation or other entity in each jurisdiction in
which the nature of the business conducted or property owned by it makes such
qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good
standing, as the case may be, could not have or reasonably be expected to result
in a Material Adverse Effect and no Proceeding has been instituted in any such
jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing or seeking to revoke, limit or
curtail such power and authority or qualification. and no Proceeding has been
instituted in any such jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing or seeking
to revoke, limit or curtail such power and authority or
qualification.
(c) Authorization;
Enforcement. The Company has the requisite corporate power and
authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by each
of the Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations
hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of each of the
Transaction Documents by the Company and the consummation by it of the
transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly authorized by all
necessary action on the part of the Company and no further action is required by
the Company, the Board of Directors or the Company’s stockholders in connection
therewith other than in connection with the Required Approvals. Each
Transaction Document to which it is a party has been (or upon delivery will have
been) duly executed by the Company and, when delivered in accordance with the
terms hereof and thereof, will constitute the valid and binding obligation of
the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except
(i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy,
insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application
affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws
relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other
equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution
provisions may be limited by applicable law.
(d) No
Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the
Company of the Transaction Documents, the issuance and sale of the Securities
and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby
to which it is a party do not and will not (i) conflict with or violate any
provision of the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s certificate or articles of
incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents, or (ii)
conflict with, or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of
time or both would become a default) under, result in the creation of any Lien
upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary, or give
to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation
(with or without notice, lapse of time or both) of, any agreement, credit
facility, debt or other instrument (evidencing a Company or Subsidiary debt or
otherwise) or other understanding to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a
party or by which any property or asset of the Company or any Subsidiary is
bound or affected, or (iii) subject to the Required Approvals, conflict with or
result in a violation of any law, rule, regulation, order, judgment, injunction,
decree or other restriction of any Trading Market, court or governmental
authority to which the Company or a Subsidiary is subject (including federal and
state securities laws and regulations and the regulations of any Trading
Market), or by which any property or asset of the Company or a Subsidiary is
bound or affected; except in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), such as
could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
Effect.
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(e) Filings, Consents and
Approvals. The Company is not required to obtain any consent,
waiver, authorization or order of, give any notice to, or make any filing or
registration with, any court or other federal, state, local or other
governmental authority or other Person in connection with the execution,
delivery and performance by the Company of the Transaction Documents, other
than: (i) the filings required pursuant to Section 4.4 of this Agreement, (ii)
the filing with the Commission of the Prospectus Supplement, (iii)
application(s) to each applicable Trading Market for the listing of the
Securities for trading thereon in the time and manner required thereby and (iv)
such filings as are required to be made under applicable state securities laws
(collectively, the “Required
Approvals”).
(f) Issuance of the Securities;
Registration. The Securities are duly authorized and, when
issued and paid for in accordance with the applicable Transaction Documents,
will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of
all Liens imposed by the Company. The Warrant Shares, when issued in
accordance with the terms of the Warrants, will be validly issued, fully paid
and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the
Company. The Company has reserved from its duly authorized capital
stock the maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to this
Agreement and the Warrants. The Company has prepared and filed the Registration
Statement in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act, which
became effective on October 22, 2009 (the “Effective Date”),
including the Prospectus, and such amendments and supplements thereto as may
have been required to the date of this Agreement. The Registration
Statement is effective under the Securities Act and no stop order preventing or
suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or suspending or
preventing the use of the Prospectus has been issued by the Commission and no
proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or, to the knowledge of the
Company, are threatened by the Commission. At the time
the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto became effective, at the
date of this Agreement and at the Closing Date, the Registration Statement and
any amendments thereto conformed and will conform in all material respects to
the requirements of the Securities Act and did not and will not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required
to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading;
and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, at time the
Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto was issued and at the Closing
Date, conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of
the Securities Act and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a
material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the
statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made,
not misleading.
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(g) Capitalization. The
capitalization of the Company is as set forth in the SEC Reports. The
Company has not issued any capital stock since its most recently filed periodic
report under the Exchange Act, other than pursuant to the exercise of employee
stock options under the Company’s stock option plans, the issuance of shares of
Common Stock to employees pursuant to the Company’s employee stock purchase
plans and pursuant to the conversion and/or exercise of Common Stock Equivalents
outstanding as of the date of the most recently filed periodic report under the
Exchange Act. No Person has any right of first refusal, preemptive
right, right of participation, or any similar right to participate in the
transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. Except as a
result of the purchase and sale of the Securities and the Existing PIPE
Securities or as disclosed in the SEC Reports, there are no outstanding options,
warrants, scrip rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character
whatsoever relating to, or securities, rights or obligations convertible into or
exercisable or exchangeable for, or giving any Person any right to subscribe for
or acquire, any shares of Common Stock, or contracts, commitments,
understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may
become bound to issue additional shares of Common Stock or Common Stock
Equivalents. Except with respect to the Existing PIPE Securities, the
issuance and sale of the Securities will not obligate the Company to issue
shares of Common Stock or other securities to any Person (other than the
Purchasers) and will not result in a right of any holder of Company securities
to adjust the exercise, conversion, exchange or reset price under any of such
securities. All of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are
validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, have been issued in compliance
with all federal and state securities laws, and none of such outstanding shares
was issued in violation of any preemptive rights or similar rights to subscribe
for or purchase securities. No further approval or authorization of
any stockholder, the Board of Directors or third party is required for the
issuance and sale of the Securities. Except as disclosed in the SEC
Reports or in any exhibit thereto, there are no stockholders agreements, voting
agreements or other similar agreements with respect to the Company’s capital
stock to which the Company is a party or, to the knowledge of the Company,
between or among any of the Company’s stockholders.
(h) SEC Reports; Financial
Statements. The Company has filed all reports, schedules,
forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by the Company under
the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including pursuant to Section 13(a) or
15(d) thereof, for the two years preceding the date hereof (or such shorter
period as the Company was required by law or regulation to file such material)
(the foregoing materials, including the exhibits thereto and documents
incorporated by reference therein, together with the Prospectus and the
Prospectus Supplement, being collectively referred to herein as the “SEC Reports”) on a
timely basis or has received a valid extension of such time of filing and has
filed any such SEC Reports prior to the expiration of any such
extension. As of their respective dates, the SEC Reports complied in
all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the
Exchange Act, as applicable, and none of the SEC Reports, when filed, contained
any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements
therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not
misleading. The financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Reports
comply in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the
rules and regulations of the Commission with respect thereto as in effect at the
time of filing. Such financial statements have been prepared in
accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied
on a consistent basis during the periods involved (“GAAP”), except as may
be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto and
except that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes
required by GAAP, and fairly present in all material respects the financial
position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of and for the
dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then
ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, immaterial,
year-end audit adjustments.
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(i)
Material Changes;
Undisclosed Events, Liabilities or Developments. Since the
date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports,
except as specifically disclosed in a subsequent SEC Report filed prior to the
date hereof, (i) there has been no event, occurrence or development that has had
or that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect,
(ii) the Company has not incurred any liabilities (contingent or otherwise)
other than (A) trade payables and accrued expenses incurred in the ordinary
course of business consistent with past practice and (B) liabilities not
required to be reflected in the Company’s financial statements pursuant to GAAP
or disclosed in filings made with the Commission, (iii) the Company has not
altered its method of accounting, (iv) the Company has not declared or made any
dividend or distribution of cash or other property to its stockholders or
purchased, redeemed or made any agreements to purchase or redeem any shares of
its capital stock and (v) the Company has not issued any equity securities to
any officer, director or Affiliate, except pursuant to existing Company stock
option plans. The Company does not have pending before the Commission
any request for confidential treatment of information.
(j)
Litigation. There
is no action, suit, inquiry, notice of violation, proceeding or investigation
pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the
Company, any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties before or by any
court, arbitrator, governmental or administrative agency or regulatory authority
(federal, state, county, local or foreign) (collectively, an “Action”) which (i)
adversely affects or challenges the legality, validity or enforceability of any
of the Transaction Documents or the Securities or (ii) could, if there were an
unfavorable decision, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material
Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor, to the
knowledge of the Company, any director or officer thereof, is or has been the
subject of any Action involving a claim of violation of or liability under
federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary
duty. There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Company, there
is not pending or contemplated, any investigation by the Commission involving
the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, any current or former director
or officer of the Company. The Commission has not issued any stop
order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement
filed by the Company or any Subsidiary under the Exchange Act or the Securities
Act.
12
(k) Labor
Relations. No material labor dispute exists or, to the
knowledge of the Company, is imminent with respect to any of the employees of
the Company, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
Effect. The Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all
U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to
employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment and
wages and hours, except where the failure to be in compliance could not,
individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect.
(l)
Compliance. Neither
the Company nor any Subsidiary: (i) is in default under or in violation of (and
no event has occurred that has not been waived that, with notice or lapse of
time or both, would result in a default by the Company or any Subsidiary under),
nor has the Company or any Subsidiary received notice of a claim that it is in
default under or that it is in violation of, any indenture, loan or credit
agreement or any other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by
which it or any of its properties is bound (whether or not such default or
violation has been waived), (ii) is in violation of any judgment, decree or
order of any court, arbitrator or governmental body or (iii) is or has been in
violation of any statute, rule, ordinance or regulation of any governmental
authority, including without limitation all foreign, federal, state and local
laws relating to taxes, environmental protection, occupational health and
safety, product quality and safety and employment and labor matters, except in
each case as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material
Adverse Effect.
(m) Regulatory
Permits. The Company and the Subsidiaries possess all
certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal,
state, local or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their
respective businesses as currently conducted as described in the SEC Reports,
except where the failure to possess such permits could not reasonably be
expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (“Material Permits”),
and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received any notice of
proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Material
Permit.
(n) Title to
Assets. The Company and the Subsidiaries have good and
marketable title in fee simple to all real property owned by them and good and
marketable title in all personal property owned by them that is material to the
business of the Company and the Subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all
Liens, except for Liens as do not materially affect the value of such property
and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of
such property by the Company and the Subsidiaries and Liens for the payment of
federal, state or other taxes, the payment of which is neither delinquent nor
subject to penalties. Any real property and facilities held under
lease by the Company and the Subsidiaries are held by them under valid,
subsisting and enforceable leases with which the Company and the Subsidiaries
are in compliance, except where the failure to be in compliance would not
reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
13
(o) Patents and
Trademarks. The Company and the Subsidiaries have, or have
rights to use, all patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark
applications, service marks, trade names, trade secrets, inventions, copyrights,
licenses and other intellectual property rights and similar rights necessary for
use in connection with their respective businesses as described in the SEC
Reports and which the failure to so could reasonably be expected to
have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, the “Intellectual Property
Rights”). None of, and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary
has received a notice (written or otherwise) that any of, the Intellectual
Property Rights has expired, terminated or been abandoned, or is expected to
expire or terminate or be abandoned, within two (2) years from the date of this
Agreement, in either case which are material to the Company’s
business. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received, since
the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC
Reports, a written notice of a claim or otherwise has any knowledge that the
Intellectual Property Rights violate or infringe upon the rights of any Person,
except as would not have a Material Adverse Effect. To the knowledge
of the Company, all such Intellectual Property Rights are enforceable and there
is no existing infringement by another Person of any of the Intellectual
Property Rights. The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken
reasonable security measures to protect the secrecy and confidentiality of all
of their intellectual properties, except where failure to do so could not,
individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material
Adverse Effect.
(p) Insurance. The
Company and the Subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial
responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent
and customary in the businesses in which the Company and the Subsidiaries are
engaged, including, but not limited to, directors and officers insurance
coverage at least equal to the aggregate Subscription Amount. Neither
the Company nor any Subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be
able to renew its 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 without a significant increase in cost.
(q) Transactions With Affiliates
and Employees. Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, none of
the officers or directors of the Company and, to the knowledge of the Company,
none of the employees of the Company is presently a party to any transaction
with the Company or any Subsidiary (other than for services as employees,
officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement
providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real
or personal property to or from, or otherwise requiring payments to or from any
officer, director or such employee or, to the knowledge of the Company, any
entity in which any officer, director, or any such employee has a substantial
interest or is an officer, director, trustee or partner, in each case in excess
of $120,000 other than for (i) payment of salary or consulting fees for services
rendered, (ii) reimbursement for expenses incurred on behalf of the Company and
(iii) other employee benefits, including stock option agreements under any stock
option plan of the Company.
14
(r) Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx; Internal
Accounting Controls. The Company is in material compliance
with any and all applicable requirements of the Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 that
are effective as of the date hereof, and any and all applicable rules and
regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder that are effective as of
the date hereof and as of the Closing Date, except where the failure to be in
compliance would not have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and
the Subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to
provide reasonable assurance that: (i) transactions are executed in accordance
with management’s general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are
recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in
conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability, (iii) access to
assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific
authorization, and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with
the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with
respect to any differences. The Company has established disclosure controls and
procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
Company and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that
information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports it files or
submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported,
within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and
forms. The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the
effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as of the end
of the period covered by the Company’s most recently filed periodic report under
the Exchange Act (such date, the “Evaluation
Date”). The Company presented in its most recently filed
periodic report under the Exchange Act the conclusions of the certifying
officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based
on their evaluations as of the Evaluation Date. Since the Evaluation
Date, there have been no changes in the Company’s internal control over
financial reporting (as such term is defined in the Exchange Act) that has
materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s
internal control over financial reporting.
(s) Certain
Fees. Except as set forth in the Prospectus Supplement, no
brokerage or finder’s fees or commissions are or will be payable by the Company
to any broker, financial advisor or consultant, finder, placement agent,
investment banker, bank or other Person with respect to the transactions
contemplated by the Transaction Documents. The Purchasers shall have
no obligation with respect to any fees or with respect to any claims made by or
on behalf of other Persons for fees of a type contemplated in this Section that
may be due in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction
Documents.
(t) Investment Company.
The Company is not, and is not an Affiliate of, and immediately after receipt of
payment for the Securities, will not be or be an Affiliate of, an “investment
company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended. The Company shall conduct its business in a manner so that
it will not become an “investment company” subject to registration under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
(u) Registration
Rights. Except as set forth in the Registration Rights
Agreement, dated December 13, 2007, by and among the Company and the buyers
listed on the signature page thereto and as described in the SEC Reports, no
Person has any right to cause the Company to effect the registration under the
Securities Act of any securities of the Company.
15
(v) Listing and Maintenance
Requirements. The Common Stock is registered pursuant to
Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act, and the Company has taken no action
designed to, or which to its knowledge is likely to have the effect of,
terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act nor has
the Company received any notification that the Commission is contemplating
terminating such registration. Except as set forth on Schedule 3.1(u)
hereto, the Company has not, in the 12 months preceding the date hereof,
received notice from any Trading Market on which the Common Stock is or has been
listed or quoted to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the
listing or maintenance requirements of such Trading Market. The Company is, and
has no reason to believe that it will not in the foreseeable future continue to
be, in compliance with all such listing and maintenance
requirements.
(w) RESERVED.
(x) Disclosure. Except
with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions
contemplated by the Transaction Documents, the Company confirms that neither it
nor any other Person acting on its behalf has provided any of the Purchasers or
their agents or counsel with any information that it believes constitutes or
might constitute material, non-public information which is not otherwise
disclosed in the Prospectus Supplement. The Company understands
and confirms that the Purchasers will rely on the foregoing representation in
effecting transactions in securities of the Company. All of the
disclosure furnished by or on behalf of the Company to the Purchasers regarding
the Company, its business and the transactions contemplated hereby, including
the Disclosure Schedules to this Agreement, is true and correct and does not
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material
fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The press releases
disseminated by the Company during the twelve months preceding the date of this
Agreement taken as a whole do not contain any untrue statement of a material
fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary
in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under
which they were made and when made, not misleading. The Company
acknowledges and agrees that no Purchaser makes or has made any representations
or warranties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby other than
those specifically set forth in Section 3.2 hereof.
(y) No Integrated
Offering. Assuming the accuracy of the Purchasers’ representations and
warranties set forth in Section 3.2 and except as set forth on Schedule 3.1(y),
neither the Company, nor any of its Affiliates, nor any Person acting on its or
their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any
security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that
would cause this offering of the Securities to be integrated with prior
offerings by the Company for purposes of any applicable shareholder approval
provisions of any Trading Market on which any of the securities of the Company
are listed or designated.
16
(z) Solvency. Based
on the consolidated financial condition of the Company as of the Closing Date,
after giving effect to the receipt by the Company of the proceeds from the sale
of the Securities hereunder, (i) the fair saleable value of the Company’s assets
exceeds the amount that will be required to be paid on or in respect of the
Company’s existing debts and other liabilities (including known contingent
liabilities) as they mature, (ii) the Company’s assets do not constitute
unreasonably small capital to carry on its business as now conducted and as
proposed to be conducted including its capital needs taking into account the
particular capital requirements of the business conducted by the Company, and
projected capital requirements and capital availability thereof, and (iii) the
current cash flow of the Company, together with the proceeds the Company would
receive, were it to liquidate all of its assets, after taking into account all
anticipated uses of the cash, would be sufficient to pay all amounts on or in
respect of its liabilities when such amounts are required to be
paid. The Company does not intend to incur debts beyond its ability
to pay such debts as they mature (taking into account the timing and amounts of
cash to be payable on or in respect of its debt). The Company has no
knowledge of any facts or circumstances which lead it to believe that it will
file for reorganization or liquidation under the bankruptcy or reorganization
laws of any jurisdiction within one year from the Closing Date.
(aa) Tax
Status. Except for matters that would not, individually or in
the aggregate, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse
Effect, the Company and each Subsidiary (i) has made or filed all United States
federal and state income and all foreign income and franchise tax returns,
reports and declarations required by any jurisdiction to which it is subject,
(ii) has paid all taxes and other governmental assessments and charges that are
material in amount, shown or determined to be due on such returns, reports and
declarations and (iii) has set aside on its books provision reasonably adequate
for the payment of all material taxes for periods subsequent to the periods to
which such returns, reports or declarations apply. There are no
unpaid taxes in any material amount claimed to be due by the taxing authority of
any jurisdiction, and the officers of the Company or of any Subsidiary know of
no basis for any such claim.
(bb) Foreign Corrupt
Practices. Neither the Company, nor to the knowledge of the
Company, any agent or other person acting on behalf of the Company, has (i)
directly or indirectly, used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts,
entertainment or other unlawful expenses related to foreign or domestic
political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic
government officials or employees or to any foreign or domestic political
parties or campaigns from corporate funds, (iii) failed to disclose fully any
contribution made by the Company (or made by any person acting on its behalf of
which the Company is aware) which is in violation of law, or (iv) violated in
any material respect any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977,
as amended.
(cc) Accountants. The
Company’s accounting firm is set forth in the Prospectus. To the
knowledge and belief of the Company, such accounting firm (i) is a registered
public accounting firm as required by the Exchange Act and (ii) shall express
its opinion with respect to the financial statements to be included in the
Company’s Annual Report for the year ending December 31, 2009.
17
(dd) Acknowledgment Regarding
Purchasers’ Purchase of Securities. The Company acknowledges
and agrees that each of the Purchasers is acting solely in the capacity of an
arm’s length purchaser with respect to the Transaction Documents and the
transactions contemplated thereby. The Company further acknowledges
that no Purchaser is acting as a financial advisor or fiduciary of the Company
(or in any similar capacity) with respect to the Transaction Documents and the
transactions contemplated thereby and any advice given by any Purchaser or any
of their respective representatives or agents in connection with the Transaction
Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby is merely incidental to the
Purchasers’ purchase of the Securities. The Company further
represents to each Purchaser that the Company’s decision to enter into this
Agreement and the other Transaction Documents has been based solely on the
independent evaluation of the transactions contemplated hereby by the Company
and its representatives.
(ee) Acknowledgement Regarding
Purchaser’s Trading Activity. Anything in this Agreement or elsewhere
herein to the contrary notwithstanding (except for Sections 3.2(b) and 4.14
hereof), it is understood and acknowledged by the
Company that: (i) none of the Purchasers have been asked by the Company to
agree, nor has any Purchaser agreed, to desist from purchasing or selling, long
and/or short, securities of the Company, or “derivative” securities based on
securities issued by the Company or to hold the Securities for any specified term; (ii) past or future open market
or other transactions by any Purchaser, specifically including, without
limitation, Short Sales or “derivative” transactions, before or after the
closing of this or future private placement transactions, may negatively impact
the market price of the Company’s publicly-traded securities; (iii) any Purchaser, and counter-parties in “derivative” transactions to which any such
Purchaser is a party, directly or indirectly, presently may have a “short”
position in the Common Stock, and (iv) each Purchaser shall not be deemed to
have any affiliation with or control over any arm’s length counter-party in any
“derivative” transaction. The Company further understands and
acknowledges that (y) one or more Purchasers may engage in hedging activities at
various times during the period that the Securities are outstanding, including,
without limitation, during the periods that the value of the Warrant Shares
deliverable with respect to Securities are being determined, and (z) such
hedging activities (if any) could reduce the value of the existing stockholders'
equity interests in the Company at and after the time that the hedging
activities are being conducted. The Company acknowledges that such
aforementioned hedging activities do not constitute a breach of any of the
Transaction Documents.
(ff) Regulation M
Compliance. The Company has not, and to its knowledge no one acting
on its behalf has, (i) taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to
cause or to result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any
security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of any of these
Securities, (ii) sold, bid for, purchased, or, paid any compensation for
soliciting purchases of, any of the Securities, or (iii) paid or agreed to pay
to any Person any compensation for soliciting another to purchase any other
securities of the Company, other than, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii),
compensation paid to the Company’s placement agent in connection with the
placement of the Securities.
(gg) Office of Foreign Assets
Control. Neither the Company nor, to the Company's knowledge,
any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company is currently
subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets
Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”).
18
(hh) U.S. Real Property Holding
Corporation. The Company is not and has never been a U.S. real
property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the Company shall so certify upon
Purchaser’s request.
(ii) Bank Holding Company
Act. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or
Affiliates is subject to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the
“BHCA”) and to
regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal
Reserve”). Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or
Affiliates owns or controls, directly or indirectly, five percent (5%) or more
of the outstanding shares of any class of voting securities or twenty-five
percent or more of the total equity of a bank or any entity that is subject to
the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve. Neither the
Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates exercises a controlling
influence over the management or policies of a bank or any entity that is
subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve.
(jj) Money
Laundering. The operations of the Company are and have been
conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record-keeping
and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting
Act of 1970, as amended, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable
rules and regulations thereunder (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
with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the
Company, threatened.
(kk) Placement Agent
Agreement. The Company has entered into a Placement Agent Agreement,
dated as of December 24, 2009, with Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxx, LLC and FT Global
Capital, Inc. as co-placement agents that contains certain representations,
warranties, covenants and agreements of the Company that, may be relied upon by
the Purchasers, each of which shall be a third party beneficiary
thereof.
3.2
Representations and
Warranties of the Purchasers. Each Purchaser, for itself and
for no other Purchaser, hereby represents and warrants as of the date hereof and
as of the Closing Date to the Company as follows (unless as of a specific date
therein):
(a) Organization;
Authority. Such Purchaser is either an individual or an entity
duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the
jurisdiction of its organization with full right, corporate or partnership power
and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and
thereunder. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and performance by such
Purchaser of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement have been duly
authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership, limited liability company or
similar action, as applicable, on the part of such Purchaser. Each
Transaction Document to which it is a party has been duly executed by such
Purchaser, and when delivered by such Purchaser in accordance with the terms
hereof, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of such
Purchaser, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except: (i) as
limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency,
reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting
enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to
the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable
remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be
limited by applicable law.
19
(b) Certain Transactions and
Confidentiality. Other than consummating the transactions
contemplated hereunder, such Purchaser has not, nor has any Person acting on
behalf of or pursuant to any understanding with such Purchaser, directly or
indirectly executed any purchases or sales, including Short Sales, of the
securities of the Company during the period commencing as of the time that such
Purchaser first received a term sheet (written or oral) as of the Company or any
other Person representing the Company setting forth the material terms of the
transactions contemplated hereunder and ending immediately prior to the
execution hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Purchaser that
is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage
separate portions of such Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio managers have no
direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers
managing other portions of such Purchaser’s assets, the representation set forth
above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets managed by the
portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase the Securities
covered by this Agreement. Other than to other Persons party to this
Agreement, such Purchaser has maintained the confidentiality of all disclosures
made to it in connection with this transaction (including the existence and
terms of this transaction). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for avoidance of
doubt, nothing contained herein shall constitute a representation or warranty,
or preclude any actions, with respect to the identification of the availability
of, or securing of, available shares to borrow in order to effect Short Sales or
similar transactions in the future.
The
Company acknowledges and agrees that the representations contained in Section
3.2 shall not modify, amend or affect such Purchaser’s right to rely on the
Company’s representations and warranties contained in this Agreement or any
representations and warranties contained in any other Transaction Document or
any other document or instrument executed and/or delivered in connection with
this Agreement or the consummation of the transaction contemplated
hereby.
ARTICLE
IV.
OTHER
AGREEMENTS OF THE PARTIES
4.1 Warrant
Shares. If all or any portion of a Warrant is exercised at a
time when there is an effective registration statement to cover the issuance of
the Warrant Shares or if the Warrant is exercised via cashless exercise, the
Warrant Shares issued pursuant to any such exercise shall be issued free of all
legends. If at any time following the date hereof the Registration
Statement (or any subsequent registration statement registering the sale or
resale of the Warrant Shares) is not effective or is not otherwise available for
the issuance of the Warrant Shares by the Company, the Company shall promptly
notify the holders of the Warrants in writing that such registration statement
is not then effective and thereafter shall promptly notify such holders when the
registration statement is effective again and available for the issuance of the
Warrant Shares (it being understood and agreed that the foregoing shall not
limit the ability of the Company to issue, or any Purchaser to sell, any of the
Warrant Shares in compliance with applicable federal and state securities
laws). The Company shall use best efforts to keep a registration
statement (including the Registration Statement) registering the issuance of the
Warrant Shares effective during the term of the Warrants.
20
4.2 Furnishing of
Information. Until the earlier of the time that (i) no
Purchaser owns Securities or (ii) the Warrants have expired, the Company
covenants to timely file (or obtain extensions in respect thereof and file
within the applicable grace period) all reports required to be filed by the
Company after the date hereof pursuant to the Exchange Act. As long
as any Purchaser owns Securities, if the Company is not required to file reports
pursuant to the Exchange Act, it will prepare and furnish to the Purchasers and
make publicly available in accordance with Rule 144(c) such information as is
required for the Purchasers to sell the Securities, including without
limitation, under Rule 144. The Company further covenants that it will take such
further action as any holder of Securities may reasonably request, to the extent
required from time to time to enable such Person to sell such Securities without
registration under the Securities Act, including without limitation, within the
requirements of the exemption provided by Rule 144.
4.3 Integration. The
Company shall not sell, offer for sale or solicit offers to buy or otherwise
negotiate in respect of any security (as defined in Section 2 of the Securities
Act) that would be integrated with the offer or sale of the Securities for
purposes of the rules and regulations of any Trading Market such that it would
require shareholder approval prior to the closing of such other transaction
unless shareholder approval is obtained before the closing of such subsequent
transaction.
4.4 Securities Laws Disclosure;
Publicity. The Company shall, by 9:00 a.m. (New York City
time) on (a) the date hereof, issue a press release disclosing the material
terms of the transactions contemplated hereby and (b) the fourth (4th)
Trading Day immediately following the date hereof, file a Current Report on Form
8-K with the Commission, disclosing the material terms of the transactions
contemplated hereby, and including the Transaction Documents as exhibits
thereto. From and after the issuance of such press release, the
Company shall have publicly disclosed all material, non-public information
delivered to any of the Purchasers by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or
any of their respective officers, directors, employees or agents in connection
with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. The
Company and each Purchaser shall consult with each other in issuing any other
press releases with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby, and neither
the Company nor any Purchaser shall issue any such press release nor otherwise
make any such public statement without the prior consent of the Company, with
respect to any press release of any Purchaser, or without the prior consent of
each Purchaser, with respect to any press release of the Company, which consent
shall not unreasonably be withheld or delayed, except if such disclosure is
required by law, in which case the disclosing party shall promptly provide the
other party with prior notice of such public statement or
communication. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not
publicly disclose the name of any Purchaser, or include the name of any
Purchaser in any filing with the Commission or any regulatory agency or Trading
Market, without the prior written consent of such Purchaser, except (a) as
required by federal securities law in connection with the filing of final
Transaction Documents (including signature pages thereto) with the Commission
and (b) to the extent such disclosure is required by law or Trading Market
regulations, in which case the Company shall provide the Purchasers with prior
notice of such disclosure permitted under this clause (b). On or
prior to 8:30 am on the Business Day following the Closing Date, the Company
shall file the Prospectus Supplement with the Commission in accordance with Rule
424 under the Securities Act.
21
4.5 Shareholder Rights
Plan. No claim will be made or enforced by the Company or,
with the consent of the Company, any other Person, that any Purchaser is an
“Acquiring Person” under any control share acquisition, business combination,
poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or similar
anti-takeover plan or arrangement in effect or hereafter adopted by the Company,
or that any Purchaser could be deemed to trigger the provisions of any such plan
or arrangement, by virtue of receiving Securities under the Transaction
Documents or under any other agreement between the Company and the
Purchasers.
4.6 Non-Public
Information. Except with respect to the material terms and
conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, so
long as any Purchaser owns Securities, the Company covenants and agrees that
neither it, nor any other Person acting on its behalf will provide any Purchaser
or its agents or counsel with any information that the Company believes
constitutes material non-public information, unless prior thereto such Purchaser
shall have executed a written agreement with the Company regarding the
confidentiality and use of such information. The Company understands
and confirms that each Purchaser shall be relying on the foregoing covenant in
effecting transactions in securities of the Company.
4.7 Use of
Proceeds. The Company shall use the net proceeds from the sale
of the Securities hereunder as set forth in the Prospectus
Supplement.
22
4.8 Indemnification of
Purchasers. Subject to the provisions of this Section
4.8, the Company will indemnify and hold each Purchaser and its directors,
officers, shareholders, members, partners, employees and agents (and any other
Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles
notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title), each Person who
controls such Purchaser (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act
and Section 20 of the Exchange Act), and the directors, officers, shareholders,
agents, members, partners or employees (and any other Persons with a
functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a
lack of such title or any other title) of such controlling persons (each, a
“Purchaser
Party”) harmless from any and all losses, liabilities, obligations,
claims, contingencies, damages, costs and expenses, including all judgments,
amounts paid in settlements, court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees and
costs of investigation that any such Purchaser Party may suffer or incur as a
result of or relating to (a) any breach of any of the representations,
warranties, covenants or agreements made by the Company in this Agreement or in
the other Transaction Documents or (b) any action instituted against a Purchaser
in any capacity, or any of them or their respective Affiliates, by any
stockholder of the Company who is not an Affiliate of such Purchaser, with
respect to any of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents
(unless such action is based upon a breach of such Purchaser’s representations,
warranties or covenants under the Transaction Documents or any agreements or
understandings such Purchaser may have with any such stockholder or any
violations by such Purchaser of state or federal securities laws or any conduct
by such Purchaser which constitutes fraud, gross negligence, willful misconduct
or malfeasance). If any action shall be brought against any Purchaser
Party in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to this Agreement,
such Purchaser Party shall promptly notify the Company in writing, and the
Company shall have the right to assume the defense thereof with counsel of its
own choosing reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser Party. Any
Purchaser Party shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such
action and participate in the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such
counsel shall be at the expense of such Purchaser Party except to the extent
that (i) the employment thereof has been specifically authorized by the Company
in writing, (ii) the Company has failed after a reasonable period of time to
assume such defense and to employ counsel or (iii) in such action there is, in
the reasonable written opinion of counsel to the Purchasers furnished to the
Company a material conflict on any material issue between the position of the
Company and the position of such Purchaser Party, in which case the Company
shall be responsible for the reasonable fees and expenses of no more than one
such separate counsel. The Company will not be liable to any
Purchaser Party under this Agreement (y) for any settlement by a Purchaser Party
effected without the Company’s prior written consent, which shall not be
unreasonably withheld or delayed; or (z) to the extent, but only to the extent
that a loss, claim, damage or liability is attributable to any Purchaser Party’s
breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made
by such Purchaser Party in this Agreement or in the other Transaction Documents.
The indemnification required by this Section 4.8 shall be made by periodic
payments of the amount thereof during the course of the investigation or
defense, as and when bills are received or are incurred, but if the Purchaser
Party is later determined not to be entitled to indemnification under this
Section 4.8 or otherwise, the Purchaser Party will promptly return any moneys
paid pursuant to this sentence. The indemnity agreements contained herein shall
be in addition to any cause of action or similar right of any Purchaser Party
against the Company or others, and (y) any liabilities the Company may be
subject to pursuant to law.
4.9 Reservation of Common
Stock. As of the date hereof, the Company has reserved and the Company
shall continue to reserve and keep available at all times, free of preemptive
rights, a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock for the purpose of
enabling the Company to issue Shares pursuant to this Agreement and Warrant
Shares pursuant to any exercise of the Warrants.
4.10 Listing of Common
Stock. The Company hereby agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts
to maintain the listing or quotation of the Common Stock on the Trading Market
on which it is currently listed, and concurrently with the Closing, the Company
shall apply to list or quote all of the Shares and Warrant Shares on such
Trading Market and promptly secure the listing of all of the Shares and Warrant
Shares on such Trading Market. The Company further agrees, if the Company
applies to have the Common Stock traded on any other Trading Market, it will
then include in such application all of the Shares and Warrant Shares, and will
take such other action as is necessary to cause all of the Shares and Warrant
Shares to be listed or quoted on such other Trading Market as promptly as
possible. The Company will then take all action reasonably necessary
to continue the listing and trading of its Common Stock on a Trading Market and
will comply in all respects with the Company’s reporting, filing and other
obligations under the bylaws or rules of the Trading Market.
23
4.11
Participation in
Future Financing.
(a) From
the date hereof until the date that is the 12 month anniversary of the Closing
Date, upon any issuance by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of Common
Stock, Common Stock Equivalents or Indebtedness (or a combination of units
hereof) (a “Subsequent
Financing”), each Purchaser shall have the right to participate in up to
an amount of the Subsequent Financing equal to 100% of the Subsequent Financing
(the “Participation
Maximum”) on the same terms, conditions and price provided for in the
Subsequent Financing; provided, that the Participation Maximum shall be reduced
to the extent required, if any, by the principal Trading Market in order for the
Company to comply with the listing agreement for such Trading
Market.
(b) At
least five (5) Trading Days prior to the closing of the Subsequent Financing,
the Company shall deliver to each Purchaser a written notice of its intention to
effect a Subsequent Financing (“Pre-Notice”), which
Pre-Notice shall ask such Purchaser if it wants to review the details of such
financing (such additional notice, a “Subsequent Financing
Notice”). Upon the request of a Purchaser, and only upon a request
by such Purchaser, for a Subsequent Financing Notice, the Company shall
promptly, but no later than 1 Trading Day after such request, deliver a
Subsequent Financing Notice to such Purchaser. The Subsequent Financing
Notice shall describe in reasonable detail the proposed terms of such Subsequent
Financing, the amount of proceeds intended to be raised thereunder and the
Person or Persons through or with whom such Subsequent Financing is proposed to
be effected and shall include a term sheet or similar document relating thereto
as an attachment.
(c) Any
Purchaser desiring to participate in such Subsequent Financing must provide
written notice to the Company by not later than 5:30 p.m. (New York City time)
on the fifth (5th)
Trading Day after all of the Purchasers have received the Pre-Notice that the
Purchaser is willing to participate in the Subsequent Financing, the amount of
the Purchaser’s participation, and that the Purchaser has such funds ready,
willing, and available for investment on the terms set forth in the Subsequent
Financing Notice. If the Company receives no notice from a Purchaser
as of such fifth (5th)
Trading Day, such Purchaser shall be deemed to have notified the Company that it
does not elect to participate.
(d) If
by 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on the fifth (5th)
Trading Day after all of the Purchasers have received the Pre-Notice,
notifications by the Purchasers of their willingness to participate in the
Subsequent Financing (or to cause their designees to participate) is, in the
aggregate, less than the total amount of the Subsequent Financing, then the
Company may effect the remaining portion of such Subsequent Financing on the
terms and with the Persons set forth in the Subsequent Financing
Notice.
24
(e) If
by 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on the fifth (5th)
Trading Day after all of the Purchasers have received the Pre-Notice, the
Company receives responses to a Subsequent Financing Notice from Purchasers
seeking to purchase more than the aggregate amount of the Participation Maximum,
each such Purchaser shall have the right to purchase its Pro Rata Portion (as
defined below) of the Participation Maximum. “Pro Rata Portion”
means the ratio of (x) the Subscription Amount of Securities purchased on the
Closing Date by a Purchaser participating under this Section 4.11 and (y) the
sum of the aggregate Subscription Amounts of Securities purchased on the Closing
Date by all Purchasers participating under this Section 4.11 plus the aggregate
subscription amounts of investors party to securities purchase agreement(s)
contemplated by clause (d) in the definition of Exempt Issuance that are
participating in such Subsequent Financing pursuant to participation rights
granted to such investors under such agreements that are substantially similar
to this Section 4.11.
(f) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this Section 4.11 and unless otherwise agreed to by
the Purchasers, the Company shall either confirm in writing to the Purchasers
that the transaction with respect to the Subsequent Financing has been abandoned
or shall publicly disclose its intention to issue the securities offered in such
Subsequent Financing (“Offered Securities”),
in either case in such a manner such that the Purchasers will not be in
possession of material non-public information, by the twenty-fifth (25th)
Business Day following delivery of the Subsequent Financing
Notice. If by the twenty-fifth (25th) Business Day following delivery
of the Subsequent Financing Notice no public disclosure regarding a transaction
with respect to the Offered Securities has been made, and no notice regarding
the abandonment of such transaction has been received by the Purchasers, such
transaction shall be deemed to have been abandoned and the Purchasers shall not
be deemed to be in possession of any material, non-public information with
respect to the Company. Should the Company decide to pursue such
transaction with respect to the Offered Securities, the Company shall provide
each Purchaser with another Subsequent Financing Notice and each Purchaser will
again have the right of participation set forth in this Section
4.11. The Company shall not be permitted to deliver more than one
such Subsequent Financing Notice to the Purchasers in any 60 day
period.
(g) Notwithstanding
anything herein to the contrary, in the event the Company shall propose to
reduce the size of the Subsequent Financing, then each Purchaser may, at its
sole option and in its sole discretion, reduce the number or amount of its
elected participation in the Subsequent Financing to an amount that shall be not
less than the number or amount of the amount of such Subsequent Financing that
such Purchaser elected to purchase pursuant to Section 4.11(c) above multiplied
by a fraction, (i) the numerator of which shall be the number or amount of the
Subsequent Financing that the Company actually proposes to issue, sell or
exchange (including securities to be issued or sold to Purchasers pursuant to
Section 4.11(a) above prior to such reduction) and (ii) the denominator of which
shall be the original amount of the Subsequent Financing. In the
event that any Purchaser so elects to reduce the number or amount of its elected
participation in the Subsequent Financing, the Company may not issue, sell or
exchange more than the reduced number or amount of the Subsequent Financing
unless and until such securities have again been offered to the Purchasers in
accordance with Section 4.11(c) above.
(h) Notwithstanding
the foregoing, this Section 4.11 shall not apply in respect of (i) an Exempt
Issuance, or (ii) an underwritten public offering of Common Stock pursuant to a
bona fide firm commitment underwritten public offering with a nationally
recognized underwriter which generates gross proceeds to the Company in excess
of $30 million and where no investors are contacted privately prior to the
public announcement of such offering.
25
4.12
Subsequent Equity
Sales.
(a) From
the date hereof until March 1, 2010, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary
shall issue, enter into any agreement to issue or announce the issuance or
proposed issuance of any shares of Common Stock or Common Stock
Equivalents.
(b) From
the date hereof until twelve (12) months after the Closing Date, the Company
shall be prohibited from effecting or entering into an agreement to effect any
issuance by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of Common Stock or Common
Stock Equivalents for cash consideration (or a combination of units hereof)
involving a Variable Rate Transaction. “Variable Rate
Transaction” means a transaction in which the Company (i) issues or sells
any debt or equity securities that are convertible into, exchangeable or
exercisable for, or include the right to receive additional shares of Common
Stock either (A) at a conversion price, exercise price or exchange rate or other
price that is based upon and/or varies with the trading prices of or quotations
for the shares of Common Stock at any time after the initial issuance of such
debt or equity securities, or (B) with a conversion, exercise or exchange price
that is subject to being reset at some future date after the initial issuance of
such debt or equity security or upon the occurrence of specified or contingent
events directly or indirectly related to the business of the Company or the
market for the Common Stock or (ii) enters into any agreement, including, but
not limited to, an equity line of credit, whereby the Company may sell
securities at a future determined price. Any Purchaser shall be
entitled to obtain injunctive relief against the Company to preclude any such
issuance, which remedy shall be in addition to any right to collect
damages.
(c) Notwithstanding
the foregoing, this Section 4.12 shall not apply in respect of an Exempt
Issuance and no Variable Rate Transaction shall be an Exempt
Issuance.
(d) The
Company shall not issue any securities pursuant to clause (c) of the definition
of Exempt Issuance from the date hereof until the date that is the thirty (30)
day anniversary of the Closing Date.
4.13
Equal Treatment of
Purchasers. No consideration (including any modification of
this Agreement) shall be offered or paid to any Purchaser to amend or consent to
a waiver or modification of any provision of this Agreement unless the same
consideration is also offered to all of the parties to the Transaction
Documents. For clarification purposes, this provision constitutes a
separate right granted to each Purchaser by the Company and negotiated
separately by each Purchaser, and is intended for the Company to treat the
Purchasers as a class and shall not in any way be construed as the Purchasers
acting in concert or as a group with respect to the purchase, disposition or
voting of Securities or otherwise. The provisions of this Section
4.13 notwithstanding, nothing in this Agreement shall prohibit the Company from
negotiating and entering into separate settlements with any one or more
Purchasers in the event of litigation or any other dispute arising out of the
transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents without triggering the
obligation to make a similar payment to any other Purchaser.
26
4.14 Certain Transactions and
Confidentiality. Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the
other Purchasers, covenants that neither it nor any Affiliate acting on its
behalf or pursuant to any understanding with it will execute any purchases or
sales, including Short Sales of any of the Company’s securities during the
period commencing with the execution of this Agreement and ending at such time
that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly
announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section
4.4. Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers,
covenants that until such time as the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement are publicly disclosed by the Company pursuant to the initial press
release as described in Section 4.4, such Purchaser will maintain the
confidentiality of the existence and terms of this transaction and the
information included in the Prospectus Supplement. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, and notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the
contrary, the Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that (i) no Purchaser
makes any representation, warranty or covenant hereby that it will not engage in
effecting transactions in any securities of the Company after the time that the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced
pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4, (ii) no
Purchaser shall be restricted or prohibited from effecting any transactions in
any securities of the Company in accordance with applicable securities laws from
and after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are
first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in
Section 4.4 and (iii) no Purchaser shall have any duty of confidentiality to the
Company or its Subsidiaries after the issuance of the initial press release as
described in Section 4.4. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a
Purchaser that is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio
managers manage separate portions of such Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio
managers have no direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the
portfolio managers managing other portions of such Purchaser’s assets, the
covenant set forth above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets
managed by the portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase
the Securities covered by this Agreement.
4.15 Enforcement of Voting
Agreement. The Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to
effectuate the transactions contemplated by the Voting
Agreements. The Company shall not amend or waive any provision of the
Voting Agreement and shall enforce the provisions of the Voting Agreement in
accordance with its terms. If the Principal Shareholders breach any provisions
of the Voting Agreement, the Company shall promptly use its reasonable best
efforts to seek specific performance of the terms of the Voting Agreement in
accordance with Section 4.02 thereof. In addition, if the Company
receives any notice from the Principal Shareholders pursuant to the Voting
Agreement, the Company shall promptly, but in no event later than two (2)
Business Days, deliver a copy of such notice to each Purchaser.
27
4.16 Shareholder Approval.
The Company shall provide each shareholder entitled to vote at a special or
annual meeting of shareholders of the Company (the "Shareholder
Meeting"), which shall be called as promptly as practicable after the
date hereof, but in no event later than six (6) months from the Closing Date
(the "Shareholder
Meeting Deadline"), a proxy statement, in a form reasonably acceptable to
the Purchasers after review by Xxxxxxx Xxxx & Xxxxx LLP at the expense of
the Company, soliciting each such shareholder's affirmative vote at the
Shareholder Meeting for approval of resolutions (the "Resolutions")
providing for Shareholder Approval, and the Company shall use its reasonable
best efforts to solicit its shareholders' approval of such Resolutions and to
cause the Board of Directors of the Company to recommend to the shareholders
that they approve the Resolutions. The Company shall be obligated to seek
to obtain the Shareholder Approval by the Shareholder Meeting Deadline.
If, despite the Company's reasonable best efforts, the Shareholder Approval is
not obtained at the Shareholder Meeting, the Company shall cause an additional
Shareholder Meeting to be held each calendar quarter thereafter until
Shareholder Approval is obtained.
ARTICLE
V.
MISCELLANEOUS
5.1 Termination.
This Agreement may be terminated by any Purchaser or by the Company with respect
to any Purchaser, as to such Purchaser’s obligations hereunder only and without
any effect whatsoever on the obligations between the Company and the other
Purchasers, by written notice to the other parties, if the Closing has not been
consummated on or before December 31, 2009; provided, however, that no such
termination will affect the right of any party to xxx for any breach by the
other party (or parties).
5.2 Fees and Expenses. Except as
expressly set forth in the Transaction Documents to the contrary, each party
shall pay the fees and expenses of its advisers, counsel, accountants and other
experts, if any, and all other expenses incurred by such party incident to the
negotiation, preparation, execution, delivery and performance of this
Agreement. The Company shall pay all Transfer Agent fees, stamp taxes
and other taxes and duties levied in connection with the delivery of any
Securities to the Purchasers. The Company shall reimburse Empery
Asset Master Ltd. (a Purchaser) or its designee(s) for all reasonable costs and
expenses, incurred in connection with the transactions contemplated by the
Transaction Documents (including all reasonable legal fees and disbursements in
connection therewith, documentation and implementation of the transactions
contemplated by the Transaction Documents and due diligence in connection
therewith) up to a maximum reimbursement of $25,000, which amount may be
withheld by such Purchaser from its Subscription Amount at the
Closing.
5.3 Entire
Agreement. The Transaction Documents, together with the
exhibits and schedules thereto, the Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement,
contain the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject
matter hereof and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, oral or
written, with respect to such matters, which the parties acknowledge have been
merged into such documents, exhibits and schedules.
5.4 Notices. Any
and all notices or other communications or deliveries required or permitted to
be provided hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given and
effective on the earliest of: (a) the date of transmission, if such notice or
communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile number set forth on
the signature pages attached hereto prior to 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on a
Trading Day, (b) the next Trading Day after the date of transmission, if such
notice or communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile number set
forth on the signature pages attached hereto on a day that is not a Trading Day
or later than 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any Trading Day, (c) the second
(2nd)Trading
Day following the date of mailing, if sent by U.S. nationally recognized
overnight courier service or (d) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such
notice is required to be given. The address for such notices and
communications shall be as set forth on the signature pages attached
hereto.
28
5.5 Amendments;
Waivers. No provision of this Agreement may be waived,
modified, supplemented or amended except in a written instrument signed, in the
case of an amendment, by the Company and the Purchasers holding at least 67% in
interest of the Shares based on the initial Subscription Amounts hereunder or,
in the case of a waiver, by the party against whom enforcement of any such
waived provision is sought. No waiver of any default with respect to
any provision, condition or requirement of this Agreement shall be deemed to be
a continuing waiver in the future or a waiver of any subsequent default or a
waiver of any other provision, condition or requirement hereof, nor shall any
delay or omission of any party to exercise any right hereunder in any manner
impair the exercise of any such right.
5.6 Headings. The
headings herein are for convenience only, do not constitute a part of this
Agreement and shall not be deemed to limit or affect any of the provisions
hereof.
5.7 Successors and
Assigns. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the
benefit of the parties and their successors and permitted
assigns. The Company may not assign this Agreement or any rights or
obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of each Purchaser (other
than by merger). Any Purchaser may assign any or all of its rights
under this Agreement to any Person to whom such Purchaser assigns or transfers
any Securities, in which event such assignee shall be deemed to be a Purchaser
hereunder with respect to such assigned rights.
5.8 No Third-Party
Beneficiaries. This Agreement is intended for the benefit of
the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns and is
not for the benefit of, nor may any provision hereof be enforced by, any other
Person, except as otherwise set forth in Section 4.8.
5.9 Governing
Law. All questions concerning the construction, validity,
enforcement and interpretation of the Transaction Documents shall be governed by
and construed and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of
New York, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law
thereof. Each party agrees that all legal proceedings concerning the
interpretations, enforcement and defense of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement and any other Transaction Documents (whether brought against a
party hereto or its respective affiliates, directors, officers, shareholders,
employees or agents) shall be commenced exclusively in the state and federal
courts sitting in the City of New York. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to
the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City
of New York, borough of Manhattan for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder
or in connection herewith or with any transaction contemplated hereby or
discussed herein (including with respect to the enforcement of any of the
Transaction Documents), and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert
in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject
to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is
improper or is an inconvenient venue for such proceeding. Each party
hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process
being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof
via registered or certified mail or overnight delivery (with evidence of
delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this
Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient
service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall
be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any other manner
permitted by law. If either party shall commence an action or
proceeding to enforce any provisions of the Transaction Documents, then, in
addition to the obligations of the Company under Section 4.8, the prevailing
party in such action or proceeding shall be reimbursed by the other party for
its reasonable attorneys’ fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the
investigation, preparation and prosecution of such action or
proceeding.
29
5.10 Survival. The
representations and warranties contained herein shall survive the Closing and
the delivery of the Securities.
5.11 Execution. This
Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, all of which when taken
together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become
effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to the
other party, it being understood that both parties need not sign the same
counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered by
facsimile transmission or by e-mail delivery of a “.pdf” format data file, such
signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or
on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if
such facsimile or “.pdf” signature page were an original thereof.
5.12 Severability. If
any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a
court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable,
the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions set forth
herein shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected,
impaired or invalidated, and the parties hereto shall use their commercially
reasonable efforts to find and employ an alternative means to achieve the same
or substantially the same result as that contemplated by such term, provision,
covenant or restriction. It is hereby stipulated and declared to be the
intention of the parties that they would have executed the remaining terms,
provisions, covenants and restrictions without including any of such that may be
hereafter declared invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable.
5.13 Rescission and Withdrawal
Right. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in
(and without limiting any similar provisions of) any of the other Transaction
Documents, whenever any Purchaser exercises a right, election, demand or option
under a Transaction Document and the Company does not perform within a
commercially reasonable time its related obligations, then such Purchaser may
rescind or withdraw, in its sole discretion from time to time upon written
notice to the Company, any relevant notice, demand or election in whole or in
part without prejudice to its future actions and rights; provided, however, that
in the case of a rescission of an exercise of a Warrant, the applicable
Purchaser shall be required to return any shares of Common Stock subject to any
such rescinded exercise notice concurrently with the return to such Purchaser of
the aggregate exercise price paid to the Company for such shares and the
restoration of such Purchaser’s right to acquire such shares pursuant to such
Purchaser’s Warrant (including, issuance of a replacement warrant certificate
evidencing such restored right).
30
5.14 Replacement of Securities. If
any certificate or instrument evidencing any Securities is mutilated, lost,
stolen or destroyed, the Company shall issue or cause to be issued in exchange
and substitution for and upon cancellation thereof (in the case of mutilation),
or in lieu of and substitution therefor, a new certificate or instrument, but
only upon receipt of evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Company of such
loss, theft or destruction. The applicant for a new certificate or
instrument under such circumstances shall also pay any reasonable third-party
costs (including customary indemnity) associated with the issuance of such
replacement Securities.
5.15 Remedies. In
addition to being entitled to exercise all rights provided herein or granted by
law, including recovery of damages, each of the Purchasers and the Company will
be entitled to specific performance under the Transaction
Documents. The parties agree that monetary damages may not be
adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of any breach of
obligations contained in the Transaction Documents and hereby agree to waive and
not to assert in any action for specific performance of any such obligation the
defense that a remedy at law would be adequate.
5.16 Payment Set
Aside. To the extent that the Company makes a payment or
payments to any Purchaser pursuant to any Transaction Document or a Purchaser
enforces or exercises its rights thereunder, and such payment or payments or the
proceeds of such enforcement or exercise or any part thereof are subsequently
invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside, recovered
from, disgorged by or are required to be refunded, repaid or otherwise restored
to the Company, a trustee, receiver or any other person under any law
(including, without limitation, any bankruptcy law, state or federal law, common
law or equitable cause of action), then to the extent of any such restoration
the obligation or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be
revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been
made or such enforcement or setoff had not occurred.
5.17 Independent Nature of
Purchasers’ Obligations and Rights. The obligations of each
Purchaser under any Transaction Document are several and not joint with the
obligations of any other Purchaser, and no Purchaser shall be responsible in any
way for the performance or non-performance of the obligations of any other
Purchaser under any Transaction Document. Nothing contained herein or
in any other Transaction Document, and no action taken by any Purchaser pursuant
thereto, shall be deemed to constitute the Purchasers as a partnership, an
association, a joint venture or any other kind of entity, or create a
presumption that the Purchasers are in any way acting in concert or as a group
with respect to such obligations or the transactions contemplated by the
Transaction Documents. Each Purchaser shall be entitled to
independently protect and enforce its rights including, without limitation, the
rights arising out of this Agreement or out of the other Transaction Documents,
and it shall not be necessary for any other Purchaser to be joined as an
additional party in any proceeding for such purpose. Each Purchaser
has been represented by its own separate legal counsel in their review and
negotiation of the Transaction Documents. For reasons of
administrative convenience only, each Purchaser and its respective counsel have
chosen to communicate with the Company through WS. WS does not
represent any of the Purchasers and only represents Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxx, LLC
and FT Global, Inc., the placement agents for the transactions contemplated
hereby. The Company has elected to provide all Purchasers with the
same terms and Transaction Documents for the convenience of the Company and not
because it was required or requested to do so by any of the
Purchasers.
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5.18 Liquidated
Damages. The Company’s obligations to pay any partial
liquidated damages or other amounts owing under the Transaction Documents is a
continuing obligation of the Company and shall not terminate until all unpaid
partial liquidated damages and other amounts have been paid notwithstanding the
fact that the instrument or security pursuant to which such partial liquidated
damages or other amounts are due and payable shall have been
canceled.
5.19 Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays,
etc. If the last or appointed day for the taking of any
action or the expiration of any right required or granted herein shall not be a
Business Day, then such action may be taken or such right may be exercised on
the next succeeding Business Day.
5.20 Construction. The
parties agree that each of them and/or their respective counsel has reviewed and
had an opportunity to revise the Transaction Documents and, therefore, the
normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be
resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation
of the Transaction Documents or any amendments hereto. In addition, each
and every reference to share prices and shares of Common Stock in any
Transaction Document shall be subject to adjustment for reverse and forward
stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations and other similar transactions
of the Common Stock that occur after the date of this Agreement.
5.21 WAIVER OF
JURY TRIAL. IN ANY
ACTION, SUIT, OR PROCEEDING IN ANY JURISDICTION BROUGHT BY ANY PARTY AGAINST ANY
OTHER PARTY, THE PARTIES EACH KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY, TO THE GREATEST
EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, HEREBY ABSOLUTELY, UNCONDITIONALLY,
IRREVOCABLY AND EXPRESSLY WAIVES FOREVER TRIAL BY JURY.
(Signature
Pages Follow)
32
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto
have caused this Securities Purchase Agreement to be duly executed by their
respective authorized signatories as of the date first indicated
above.
GENERAL
STEEL HOLDINGS
|
Address for Notice:
Kun
Tai International Mansion
Building,
Suite 2315
Yi
Xx. 00, Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx
100020
|
|
By:__________________________________________
Name:
Title:
With
a copy to (which shall not constitute notice):
|
Fax:
+86(10)587-797-_____
|
|
Xxxxx
& Xxxxxxxx LLP
000
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxx,
XX 00000
Telephone:
(000) 000-0000
Fax:
(000) 000-0000
Email:
xxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Attention:
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx, Esq.
|
[REMAINDER
OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
SIGNATURE
PAGE FOR PURCHASER FOLLOWS]
33
[PURCHASER
SIGNATURE PAGES TO GSI SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT]
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Securities Purchase Agreement
to be duly executed by their respective authorized signatories as of the date
first indicated above.
Name of
Purchaser: ________________________________________________________
Signature of Authorized Signatory of
Purchaser: _________________________________
Name of
Authorized Signatory:
_______________________________________________
Title of
Authorized Signatory:
________________________________________________
Email
Address of Authorized
Signatory:_________________________________________
Facsimile
Number of Authorized Signatory:
__________________________________________
Address
for Notice of Purchaser:
Address
for Delivery of Securities for Purchaser (if not same as address for
notice):
Subscription
Amount: $_________________
Shares:
_________________
Warrants:
______________
EIN
Number: [PROVIDE
THIS UNDER SEPARATE COVER]
[SIGNATURE
PAGES CONTINUE]
34