AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER by and among
AGREEMENT
AND PLAN OF MERGER
by and
among
UTILITY
INVESTMEN RECOVERY, INC.
GAS
ACQUISITION CORP.
and
GLOBAL
AUTOMOTIVE SUPPLY, INC.
February
21, 2008
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
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Page
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ARTICLE
I DEFINITIONS
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1
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Section
1.1
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Definitions.
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1
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ARTICLE II THE MERGER 6 |
6
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Section
2.1
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Merger
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6
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Section
2.2
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Effective
Time
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6
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Section
2.3
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Certificate
of Incorporation
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6
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Section
2.4
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Effects
of the Merger
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7
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Section
2.5
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Closing
|
7
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Section
2.6
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Tax-Free
Merger
|
7
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ARTICLE III MERGER CONSIDERATION; CONVERSION AND EXCHANGE OF SECURITIES |
8
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Section
3.1
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Manner
and Basis of Converting and Exchanging Capital Stock
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8
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Section
3.2
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Surrender
and Exchange of Certificates
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8
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Section
3.3
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Options,
Warrants
|
10
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Section
3.4
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Parent
Common Stock
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11
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ARTICLE IV REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY |
11
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Section
4.1
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Organization
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11
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Section
4.2
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Authorization;
Validity of Agreement
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11
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Section
4.3
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Capitalization
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11
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Section
4.4
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Consents
and Approvals; No Violations
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11
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Section
4.5
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Financial
Statements
|
12
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Section
4.6
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No
Undisclosed Liabilities
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12
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Section
4.7
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Litigation
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13
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Section
4.8
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No
Default; Compliance with Applicable Laws
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13
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Section
4.9
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Broker’s
and Finder’s Fees
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13
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Section
4.10
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Contracts
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13
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Section
4.11
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Tax
Returns and Audits
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13
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Section
4.12
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Patents
and Other Intangible Assets
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14
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Section
4.13
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Employee
Benefit Plans; ERISA
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14
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Section
4.14
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Title
to Property and Encumbrances
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15
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Section
4.15
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Condition
of Properties
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15
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Section
4.16
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Insurance
Coverage
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15
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Section
4.17
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Environmental
Matters
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16
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Section
4.18
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Disclosure
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17
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ARTICLE V REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF PARENT AND ACQUISITION CORP |
17
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Section
5.1
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Organization
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17
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Section
5.2
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Authorization;
Validity of Agreement
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17
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Section
5.3
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Consents
and Approvals; No Violations
|
18
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Section
5.4
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Litigation
|
18
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Section
5.5
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No
Default; Compliance with Applicable Laws
|
18
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Section
5.6
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Broker’s
and Finder’s Fees; Broker/Dealer Ownership
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18
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Section
5.7
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Capitalization
of Parent
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18
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Section
5.8
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Acquisition
Corp
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18
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Section
5.9
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Validity
of Shares
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19
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Section
5.10
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SEC
Reporting and Compliance
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19
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Section
5.11
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Financial
Statements
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20
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Section
5.12
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No
General Solicitation
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20
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Section
5.13
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Absence
of Undisclosed Liabilities
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20
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Section
5.14
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Changes
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21
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Section
5.15
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Tax
Returns and Audits
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21
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Section
5.16
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Employee
Benefit Plans; ERISA
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22
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Section
5.17
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Interested
Party Transaction
|
22
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Section
5.18
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Questionable
Payments
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23
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Section
5.19
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Obligations
to or by Stockholders
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23
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Section
5.20
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Schedule
of Assets and Contracts
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23
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Section
5.21
|
Environmental
Matters
|
24
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Section
5.22
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Employees
|
24
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Section
5.23
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Title
to Property and Encumbrances
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24
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Section
5.24
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Condition
of Properties
|
25
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Section
5.25
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Insurance
Coverage
|
25
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Section
5.26
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Disclosure
|
25
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Section
5.27
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No
Liabilities
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25
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ARTICLE VI CONDUCT OF BUSINESSES PENDING THE MERGER |
25
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Section
6.1
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Conduct
of Business by the Company Pending the Merger
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25
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Section
6.2
|
Conduct
of Business by Parent and Acquisition Corp
|
26
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ARTICLE VII ADDITIONAL AGREEMENTS |
27
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Section
7.1
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Access
and Information
|
27
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Section
7.2
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Additional
Agreements
|
28
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Section
7.3
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Publicity
|
28
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Section
7.4
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Appointment
of Directors
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28
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Section
7.5
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Name
Changes
|
28
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Section
7.6
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Stockholder
Consent
|
28
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ARTICLE VIII CONDITIONS OF PARTIES’ OBLIGATIONS |
29
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Section
8.1
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Company
Obligations
|
29
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Section
8.2
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Parent
and Acquisition Corp. Obligations
|
31
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ARTICLE IX INDEMNIFICATION AND RELATED MATTERS |
32
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|
Section
9.1
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Indemnification
by Parent
|
32
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Section
9.2
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Survival
|
33
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Section
9.3
|
Time
Limitations
|
33
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Section
9.4
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Limitation
on Liability
|
33
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Section
9.5
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Notice
of Claims
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33
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ARTICLE
X TERMINATION PRIOR TO CLOSING
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34
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Section
10.1
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Termination
of Agreement
|
34
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Section
10.2
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Termination
of Obligations
|
34
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ARTICLE XI MISCELLANEOUS |
35
|
|
Section
11.1
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Amendments
|
35
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Section
11.2
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Notices
|
35
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Section
11.3
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Entire
Agreement
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35
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Section
11.4
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Expenses
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36
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Section
11.5
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Severability
|
36
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Section
11.6
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Successors
and Assigns; Assignment.
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36
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Section
11.7
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No
Third Party Beneficiaries
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36
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Section
11.8
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Counterparts;
Delivery by Facsimile
|
36
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Section
11.9
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Waiver
|
36
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Section
11.10
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No
Constructive Waivers
|
37
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Section
11.11
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Further
Assurances.
|
37
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Section
11.12
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Recitals
|
37
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Section
11.13
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Headings
|
37
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Section
11.14
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Governing
Law
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37
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Section
11.15
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Dispute
Resolution
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37
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Section
11.16
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Interpretation
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38
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LIST
OF EXHIBITS
Exhibit
|
Description
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Exhibit A
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Certificate
of Incorporation of Surviving Corporation
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Exhibit B
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By-laws
of Surviving Corporation
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Exhibit C
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Directors
of Parent Pre-Effective Time and Post-Effective Time
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Exhibit D
|
Certificate
of Incorporation of Parent
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Exhibit E
|
Bylaws
of Parent
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AGREEMENT
AND PLAN OF MERGER
THIS
AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER is entered into as of February 21, 2008 by and
among UTILITY INVESTMENT RECOVERY, INC., a Nevada corporation (“Parent”), GAS
ACQUISITION CORP., a Nevada corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent
(“Acquisition
Corp.”), and GLOBAL AUTOMOTIVE SUPPLY, INC., a Nevada corporation (the
“Company”).
W I T N E S S E T
H:
WHEREAS,
the respective Boards of Directors of each of Parent, Acquisition Corp. and the
Company have approved, and deem it advisable and in the best interests of their
respective stockholders to consummate, the acquisition of the Company by Parent,
which acquisition is to be effected by the merger of the Company with and into
the Acquisition Corp., with the Acquisition Corp. being the surviving
entity (the “Merger”), upon the
terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement (as defined
herein);
WHEREAS,
the parties hereto intend that the Merger shall qualify as a reorganization
within the meaning of Section 368(a)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
as amended (the “Code”), by reason of
Section 368(a)(2)(E) of the Code; and
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual agreements and covenants hereinafter
set forth, the parties hereto agree as follows:
ARTICLE
I
DEFINITIONS
Section
1.1 Definitions. Capitalized
terms used in this Agreement shall have the following meanings:
“Acquisition Corp.”
shall have the meaning given to such term in the preamble to this
Agreement.
“Acquisition Proposal”
shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 6.2
hereof.
“Action” shall mean
any claim, action, suit, proceeding, investigation or order.
“Affiliate” shall
mean, with respect to any Person, any Person directly or indirectly controlling,
controlled by or under common control with, such Person. For the
purposes of this definition, “control” (including,
with correlative meaning, the terms “controlling,” “controlled by” and
“under common control
with”) means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to
direct or cause the direction of management and policies of such Person through
the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.
“Agreement” shall mean
this Agreement and Plan of Merger, including the exhibits attached
hereto or referred to herein, as the same may be amended or modified from time
to time in accordance with the provisions hereof.
“Balance Sheet” shall
have the meaning given to such term in Section 4.5
hereof.
1
“Balance Sheet Date”
shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 4.5
hereof.
“By-laws” shall have
the meaning given to such term in Section 2.3(b)
hereof.
“Certificate of
Incorporation” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 2.3(a)
hereof.
“Closing” shall have
the meaning given to such term in Section 2.5
hereof.
“Closing Date” shall
have the meaning given to such term in Section 2.5
hereof.
“Code” shall have the
meaning given to such term in the second recital to this Agreement.
“Commission” shall
mean the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Company” shall have
the meaning given to such term in the preamble to this Agreement.
“Company Capital
Stock” shall mean, collectively, the Company Common Stock and the Company
Preferred Stock, if any.
“Company Common Stock”
shall mean the common stock, par value $0.01, of the Company.
“Company Material Adverse
Effect” shall mean any change, effect or circumstance that is materially
adverse or is reasonably likely to be materially adverse to the business,
assets, liabilities, condition (financial or otherwise) or operations of the
Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, other than any such change,
effect or circumstance relating to general economic, regulatory or political
conditions, except to the extent such change, effect or circumstance
disproportionately affects the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a
whole.
“Company Preferred
Stock” shall mean, collectively, all Preferred Stock, if any, issued or
issuable by the Company.
“Company Stock
Options” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 3.3(a)
hereof.
“Contract” shall have
the meaning given to such term in Section 4.4
hereof.
“Consents” shall mean
any permits, filings, notices, licenses, consents, authorizations,
accreditation, waivers, approvals and the like of, to, with or by any
Person.
“Determination
Date” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 9.6
hereof.
“Dissenting Shares”
shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 3.2(d)
hereof.
“Effective Time” shall
have the meaning given to such term in Section 2.2
hereof.
“Employee Benefit
Plans” shall have the meaning assigned to it in Section 4.13
hereof.
2
“Environmental Law”
shall mean the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability
Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601 et seq.; the Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Act of 1986, 42 U.S.C. §§ 11001 et seq.; the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 et seq.; the Toxic Substances Control Act,
15 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq.; the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 136 et seq. and comparable state statutes dealing with the
registration, labeling and use of pesticides and herbicides; the Clean Air Act,
42 U.S.C. §§ 7401 et seq.; the Clean Water Act (Federal Water Pollution Control
Act), 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251 et seq.; the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 300f
et seq.; and the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, 49 U.S.C. §§ 1801 et
seq., as any of the above referenced statutes have been amended as of the date
hereof, all rules, regulations and policies promulgated pursuant to any of the
above referenced statutes, and any other foreign, federal, state or local law,
statute, ordinance, rule, regulation or policy governing environmental matters,
as the same have been amended as of the date hereof.
“ERISA” shall mean the
Employee Retirement Income Securities Act of 1974, as amended, and the
regulations issued thereunder.
“Exchange Act” shall
mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and
regulations issued thereunder.
“Fair Market Value”
shall mean, with respect to a share of Common Stock on any Determination Date,
the average of the daily closing prices for the 10 consecutive business days
prior to such date. The closing price for each day shall be the last
sales price or in case no sale takes place on such day, the average of the
closing high bid and low asked prices, in either case (a) as officially quoted
on the OTC Bulletin Board, the NASDAQ Stock Market or such other market on which
the Common Stock is then listed for trading or quoted, or (b) if, in the
reasonable judgment of the Board of Directors of Parent, the OTC Bulletin Board
or the NASDAQ Stock Market is no longer the principal United States market for
the Common Stock, then as quoted on the principal United States market for the
Common Stock as determined by the Board of Directors of Parent, or (c) if, in
the reasonable judgment of the Board of Directors of the Parent, there exists no
principal United States market for the Common Stock, then as reasonably
determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of Parent.
“Federal Securities
Laws” means the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the rules and
regulations promulgated thereunder.
“GAAP” shall mean
generally accepted accounting principles as in effect from time to time in the
United States consistently applied.
“Hazardous Material”
means any substance or material meeting any one or more of the following
criteria: (a) it is or contains a substance designated as or meeting
the characteristics of a hazardous waste, hazardous substance, hazardous
material, pollutant, chemical substance or mixture, contaminant or toxic
substance under any Environmental Law; (b) its presence at some quantity
requires investigation, notification or remediation under any Environmental Law;
(c) it contains, without limiting the foregoing, asbestos, polychlorinated
biphenyls, petroleum hydrocarbons, petroleum derived substances or waste,
pesticides, herbicides, crude oil or any fraction thereof, nuclear fuel, natural
gas or synthetic gas; or (d) mold.
3
“Incentive Plans”
shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 3.3(d)
hereof.
“Indebtedness” shall
mean any obligation of the Company that under GAAP is required to be shown on
the Balance Sheet of the Company as a Liability. Any obligation secured by a
Lien on, or payable out of the proceeds of production from, property of the
Company shall be deemed to be Indebtedness even though such obligation is not
assumed by the Company.
“Indebtedness for Borrowed
Money” shall mean (a) all Indebtedness in respect of money borrowed
including, without limitation, Indebtedness which represents the unpaid amount
of the purchase price of any property and is incurred in lieu of borrowing money
or using available funds to pay such amounts and not constituting an account
payable or expense accrual incurred or assumed in the ordinary course of
business of the Company, (b) all Indebtedness evidenced by a promissory note,
bond or similar written obligation to pay money, or (c) all such Indebtedness
guaranteed by the Company or for which the Company is otherwise contingently
liable.
“Information
Statement” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 7.7
hereof.
“Intellectual
Property” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 4.12(b)
hereof.
“Investment Company
Act” shall mean the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended.
“Letter of
Transmittal” shall have the meaning assigned to it in Section 3.2
hereof.
“Liability” shall mean
any and all liability, debt, obligation, deficiency, Tax, penalty, fine, claim,
cause of action or other loss, cost or expense of any kind or nature whatsoever,
whether asserted or unasserted, absolute or contingent, accrued or unaccrued,
liquidated or unliquidated, and whether due or to become due and regardless of
when asserted.
“Lien” shall mean any
mortgage, pledge, security interest, encumbrance, lien or charge of any kind,
including, without limitation, any conditional sale or other title retention
agreement, any lease in the nature thereof and the filing of or agreement to
give any financing statement under the Uniform Commercial Code of any
jurisdiction and including any lien or charge arising by statute or other
law.
“Merger” shall have
the meaning given to such term in the second recital to this
Agreement.
“NRS” shall mean the
Nevada Revised Statutes, as amended.
“Parent” shall have
the meaning given to such term in the preamble to this Agreement.
“Parent Balance Sheet”
shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.13
hereof.
“Parent Balance Sheet
Date” shall have the meaning assigned to it in Section 5.13
hereof.
4
“Parent Common Stock”
shall mean the common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of Parent.
“Parent Employee Benefit
Plans” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.16
hereof.
“Parent Financial
Statements” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.10
hereof.
“Parent Material Adverse
Effect” means any change, effect or circumstance that is materially
adverse or is reasonably likely to be materially adverse to the business,
assets, liabilities, condition (financial or otherwise) or operations of Parent
and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, other than any such change, effect or
circumstance relating to general economic, regulatory or political conditions,
except to the extent such change, effect or circumstance disproportionately
affects Parent and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
“Parent Preferred
Stock” shall mean the preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, of
Parent.
“Parent SEC Documents”
shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 5.9
hereof.
“Permitted Liens”
shall mean (a) Liens for taxes and assessments or governmental charges or levies
not at the time due or in respect of which the validity thereof shall currently
be contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings; (b) Liens in respect of
pledges or deposits under workmen’s compensation laws or similar legislation,
carriers’, warehousemen’s, mechanics’, laborers’ and materialmens’ and similar
Liens, if the obligations secured by such Liens are not then delinquent or are
being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings; and (c) Liens
incidental to the conduct of the business of the Company that were not incurred
in connection with the borrowing of money or the obtaining of advances or
credits and which do not in the aggregate materially detract from the value of
its property or materially impair the use made thereof by the Company in its
business.
“Parent Stockholder
Consent” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 7.6
hereof.
“Person” shall mean
any individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint
venture, trust or other entity or organization, including any government or
political subdivision or an agency or instrumentality thereof.
“Securities Act” shall
mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations
issued thereunder.
“Stockholder” shall
mean any record holder of Company Capital Stock.
“Surviving
Corporation” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 2.1
hereof.
“Tax” or “Taxes” shall mean (a)
any and all taxes, assessments, customs, duties, levies, fees, tariffs, imposts,
deficiencies and other governmental charges of any kind whatsoever
5
(including,
but not limited to, taxes on or with respect to net or gross income, franchise,
profits, gross receipts, capital, sales, use, ad valorem, value added, transfer,
real property transfer, transfer gains, transfer taxes, inventory, capital
stock, license, payroll, employment, social security, unemployment, severance,
occupation, real or personal property, estimated taxes, rent, excise, occupancy,
recordation, bulk transfer, intangibles, alternative minimum, doing business,
withholding and stamp), together with any interest thereon, penalties, fines,
damages costs, fees, additions to tax or additional amounts with respect
thereto, imposed by the United States (federal, state or local) or other
applicable jurisdiction; (b) any liability for the payment of any amounts
described in clause (a) as a result of being a member of an affiliated,
consolidated, combined, unitary or similar group or as a result of transferor or
successor liability, including, without limitation, by reason of Code Section
1.1502-6; and (c) any liability for the payments of any amounts as a result of
being a party to any Tax Sharing Agreement or as a result of any express or
implied obligation to indemnify any other Person with respect to the payment of
any amounts of the type described in either clauses (a) or
(b).
“Tax Return” shall
include all returns and reports (including elections, declarations, disclosures,
schedules, estimates and information returns (including Form 1099 and
partnership returns filed on Form 1065)) required to be supplied to a Tax
authority relating to Taxes.
“Tax Sharing
Agreements” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 4.15
hereof.
ARTICLE
II
THE
MERGER
Section
2.1 Merger. Upon
the terms and subject to the conditions of this Agreement, at the Effective
Time, the Company shall be merged with and into Acquisition Corp. in
accordance with the Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”). Following
the Effective Time, the separate corporate existence of the Company shall cease,
and Acquisition Corp. shall continue as the corporation surviving the Merger
(sometimes hereinafter referred to as the “Surviving
Corporation”).
Section
2.2 Effective
Time. The Parent, the Company and Acquisition Corp. shall
cause a certificate of merger to be filed on the Closing Date (or on such other
date as the Company and Parent may agree in writing) with the Secretary of State
of the State of Nevada as provided in the NRS, and shall make all other filings
or recordings required by the NRS in connection with the Merger. The
Merger shall become effective at such time as the certificate of merger is duly
filed in accordance with the NRS and the Secretary of State of Nevada or such
later time as specified in the certificate of merger, and such time is
hereinafter referred to as the “Effective
Time.”
Section
2.3 Certificate of
Incorporation; By-laws; Directors and Officers.
(a) The
certificate of incorporation of Acquisition Corp. as in effect immediately prior
to the Effective Time, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit A hereto,
shall be the certificate of incorporation of the Surviving Corporation (the
“Certificate of
Incorporation”) from and after the Effective Time until thereafter
changed or amended as provide therein or in accordance with applicable
law.
6
(b) The
by-laws of Acquisition Corp. as in effect immediately prior to the Effective
Time, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit B hereto,
shall be the by-laws of the Surviving Corporation (the “By-laws”) from and
after the Effective Time until thereafter changed or amended as provided therein
or in accordance with applicable law.
(c) One or
more of the directors of the Company immediately prior to the Effective Time
shall be the initial directors of the Surviving Corporation and shall hold
office from the Effective Time until their respective successors have been duly
elected or appointed and qualified or until their earlier death, resignation or
removal in accordance with the Certificate of Incorporation and
By-laws. The officers of the Company immediately prior to the
Effective Time shall be the initial officers of the Surviving Corporation and
shall hold office from the Effective Time until their respective successors have
been duly elected or appointed and qualified or until their earlier death,
resignation or removal in accordance with the Certificate of Incorporation and
By-laws.
(d) At the
Effective Time as contemplated by Section 2.2 hereof, the officers and directors
of the Parent designated on Exhibit C hereto
shall resign, to be replaced by the officers and directors designated on Exhibit C hereto, who
shall immediately take such offices or who shall take such offices upon
compliance with the Federal Securities Laws, as the case may be. The
appointment of new directors in accordance with the terms of this Section 2.3(d)
shall be accomplished through the filling of vacancies in the Board of Directors
of the Parent in compliance with the applicable provisions of the NRS and the
by-laws of the Parent and without the vote (by written consent or otherwise) of
the shareholders of the Parent.
Section
2.4 Effects of the
Merger. The Merger shall have the effects set forth in the
NRS. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, at the
Effective Time, except as otherwise provided herein, all of the property,
rights, privileges, powers and franchises of the Company and Acquisition Corp.
shall vest in the Surviving Corporation, and all debts, liabilities and duties
of the Company and Acquisition Corp. shall become the debts, liabilities and
duties of the Surviving Corporation. The Company acknowledges that, from and
after the Effective Time, Parent shall have the absolute and unqualified right
to deal with the assets and business of the Surviving Corporation as its own
property without limitation on the disposition or use of such assets or the
conduct of such business.
Section
2.5 Closing. The
consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the
Merger (the “Closing”), shall take
place: (a) at the offices of Cane Xxxxx LLP, 0000 X. Xxxx Xxxxxxx Xx., Xxx
Xxxxx, XX at 10:00 a.m. local time on the date on which all of the conditions to
the Closing set forth in Article VIII hereof
shall be fulfilled or waived in accordance with this Agreement (other than
conditions that can be satisfied only at the Closing, but subject to the
fulfillment or waiver of those conditions at the Closing); or (b) at such other
place, time and date as the Company and Parent may agree in writing (the “Closing
Date”).
Section
2.6 Tax-Free
Merger. The parties hereto intend that the Merger will be
treated as a tax-free reorganization under Section 368 of the Code.
7
ARTICLE
III
MERGER CONSIDERATION;
CONVERSION AND EXCHANGE OF SECURITIES
Section
3.1 Manner and Basis of
Converting and
Exchanging
Capital Stock. At the Effective Time, by virtue of the Merger
and without any action on the part of the Company, Parent or Acquisition Corp.
or the holders of any outstanding shares of capital stock or other securities of
the Company, Parent or Acquisition Corp.:
(a) Acquisition Corp.
Stock. Each share of common stock, par value $0.001 per share,
of Acquisition Corp. issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective
Time shall be converted into and become one validly issued, fully paid and
non-assessable share of capital stock, no par value per share, of the Surviving
Corporation, such that Parent shall be the holder of all of the issued and
outstanding shares of capital stock of the Surviving Corporation following the
Merger.
(b) Company Common Stock.
Shares of Company Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the
Effective Time (including all shares of Company Common Stock issued upon
conversion of all Company Preferred Stock immediately prior to the Effective
Time) shall be exchanged for the right to receive shares of Parent Common
Stock at the ratio of 2:91, or two shares of Parent Common Stock per every
ninety-one shares of Company Common Stock.
(c) Treasury Stock.
Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, each share of
Company Capital Stock held in the treasury of the Company and each share of
Company Capital Stock, if any, owned by Parent or any direct or indirect
wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent immediately prior to the Effective Time shall
be canceled in the Merger and shall not be converted or exchanged into the right
to receive any shares of capital stock or other securities of
Parent.
(d) No Fractional
Shares. No fractional shares of Parent Common Stock shall be
issued in, or as a result of, the Merger. Any fractional shares of
Parent Common Stock that a holder of record of Company Capital Stock would
otherwise be entitled to receive as a result of the Merger shall be
aggregated. If a fractional share of Parent Common Stock results from
such aggregation, the number of shares required to be issued to such record
holder shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number of shares of Parent
Common Stock.
Section
3.2 Surrender and Exchange of
Certificates.
(a) Letter of
Transmittal. Promptly after the Effective Time, Parent shall
mail, or cause to be mailed, to each record holder of certificate(s) formerly
representing ownership of Company Capital Stock that was converted into the
right to receive Parent Common Stock pursuant to Section 3.1 hereof
(i) a letter of transmittal (“Letter of
Transmittal”) for delivery of such certificate(s) to Parent and (ii)
instruction for use in effecting the surrender of certificate(s), in each case
in form and substance mutually agreeable to the Company and
Parent. Delivery shall be effected, and risk of loss and title to the
Parent Common Stock shall pass, only upon delivery to the Parent (or a duly
authorized agent of Parent) of certificate(s) formerly representing ownership of
Company Capital Stock (or an affidavit of lost certificate and indemnification
or surety bond) and a properly completed and duly executed Letter of
8
Transmittal,
as described in Section 3.2(b)
hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Parent shall not be required
to mail, or cause to be mailed, a Letter of Transmittal to any record holder of
certificate(s) formerly representing ownership of Company Capital Stock if such
holder has previously agreed or consented to the exchange of certificates that
are held in custody by the Company for the benefit of such
holder.
(b) Exchange
Procedures. Parent shall issue to each former record holder of
Company Capital Stock, upon delivery to Parent (or a duly authorized agent of
Parent) of (i) certificate(s) formerly representing ownership of Company Capital
Stock endorsed in blank or accompanied by duly executed stock powers (or an
affidavit of lost certificate and indemnification in form and substance
reasonably acceptable to Parent stating that, among other things, the former
record holder has lost his or her certificate(s) or that such certificate(s)
have been destroyed) and (ii) a properly completed and duly executed Letter of
Transmittal in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Parent, a
certificate or certificates registered in the name of such former record holder
representing the number of shares of Parent Common Stock that such former record
holder is entitled to receive in accordance with Section 3.1
hereof. Subject to Section 3.2(d)
hereof, until the certificate(s) (or affidavit) is delivered together with the
Letter of Transmittal in the manner contemplated by this Section 3.2(b), each
certificate (or affidavit) previously representing ownership of Company Capital
Stock shall be deemed at and after the Effective Time to represent only the
right to receive Parent Common Stock and the former record holders thereof shall
cease to have any other rights with respect to his or her Company Capital
Stock.
(c) Termination of Exchange
Process. Any Parent Common Stock that remains unclaimed by a
former record holder of Company Capital Stock at the first anniversary of the
Effective Time may be deemed “abandoned property” subject to applicable
abandoned property, escheat and other similar laws in the State in which the
former record holder resides. None of the Company, Parent,
Acquisition Corp. or the Surviving Corporation shall be liable to any person in
respect of any Parent Company Stock delivered to a public official pursuant to
any applicable abandoned property, escheat or similar law.
(d) Dissenting
Shares. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the
contrary, shares of Company Capital Stock issued and outstanding immediately
prior to the Effective Time and held by a Stockholder who has not voted in favor
of the Merger or consented thereto in writing and who has demanded appraisal for
such shares of Company Capital Stock in accordance with the NRS (“Dissenting Shares”)
shall not be entitled to vote for any purpose or receive dividends, shall not be
converted into the right to receive Parent Common Stock in accordance with Section 3.1 hereof,
and shall only be entitled to receive such consideration as shall be determined
pursuant to the NRS; provided, however, that if,
after the Effective Time, such Stockholder fails to perfect or withdraws or
loses his or her right to appraisal or otherwise fails to establish the right to
be paid the value of such Stockholder’s shares of Company Capital Stock under
the NRS, such shares of Company Capital Stock shall be treated as if they had
converted as of the Effective Time into the right to receive Parent Common Stock
in accordance with Section 3.1 hereof,
and such shares of Company Capital Stock shall no longer be Dissenting
Shares. All negotiations with respect to payment for Dissenting
Shares shall be handled jointly by Parent and the Company prior to the Closing
and exclusively by Parent thereafter. In the event that one percent
(1%) or more of the outstanding shares of the Company are Dissenting Shares, the
Parent has the sole discretion to terminate this Agreement, which shall
forthwith
9
become
void and of no further force and effect and the parties hereto shall be released
from any and all obligations hereunder; provided, however, that nothing herein
shall relieve any party hereto from liability for the breach of any of its
representations, warranties, covenants or agreements set forth in this
Agreement.
(e) Stock Transfer
Books. At the Effective Time, the stock transfer books of the
Company will be closed and there will be no further registration of transfers of
shares of Company Capital Stock thereafter on the records of the
Company. If, after the Effective Time, certificates formerly
representing Company Capital Stock are presented to the Surviving Corporation,
these certificates shall be canceled and exchanged for the number of shares of
Parent Common Stock to which the former record holder may be entitled pursuant
to Section 3.1
hereof.
(f) Further Rights in Company Stock. All
shares of Parent Common Stock issued upon exchange of shares of Company Capital
Stock in accordance with the terms hereof shall be deemed to have been issued in
full satisfaction of all rights pertaining to such shares of Company Capital
Stock.
Section
3.3 Options,
Warrants.
(a) As of the
Effective Time, the Company warrants that no options to purchase
Company Common Stock issued by the Company, shall exist, and that further,
with the sole exception of the warrants described in subsection (b) hereto, no
convertible securities or other rights to purchase the Company Common Stock
shall exist,
(b) As of the
Effective Time, warrants to purchase 2,730,000 shares of Company Common Stock
shall be issued and outstanding by the Company. Those warrants,
whether vested or unvested, (the “Old Warrant” or the
“Old
Securities”) shall be automatically converted to become warrants to
purchase shares of Parent Common Stock (“Parent Warrant”) without
further action by the holder thereof, all in accordance with the
applicable provisions of the Old Warrant. The Parent Warrant shall
constitute a warrant to acquire the same number of shares of Parent Common
Stock as is equal to the number of Company Common Stock subject to the
unexercised portion of the Old Warrant (with any fraction resulting from such
multiplication to be rounded down to the nearest whole number), adjusted for the
exchange ratio set forth in section 3.1(b). The strike price per share of
each Parent Warrant shall be the same as the current strike price of such Old
Warrant, adjusted for the exchange ratio set forth in section
3.1(b). The expiration date on each Parent Warrant shall be the same
as the current expiration date of such Old Warrant.
(c) As soon
as practicable after the Effective Time, the Parent or the Surviving Corporation
shall take appropriate actions to collect the Old Securities and the agreements
evidencing the Old Securities, which shall be deemed to be canceled and shall
entitle the holder to exchange the Old Securities for Parent Options and Parent
Warrants in the Parent.
(d) The
Parent shall take all corporate action necessary to reserve for issuance a
sufficient number of shares of Parent Common Stock for delivery upon exercise of
the Parent Options and Parent Warrants to be issued for Old Securities in
accordance with this Section 3.3.
10
Section
3.4 Parent Common
Stock. Parent shall reserve a sufficient number of shares of
Parent Common Stock to complete the conversion and exchange of Company Capital
Stock into Parent Common Stock contemplated by Sections 3.1 and
3.2 hereof, and
the issuance of any Parent Common Stock underlying options and warrants, notes
or other rights to acquire Parent Common Stock in accordance with Section 3.3
hereof. Parent covenants and agrees that immediately prior to the
Effective Time there will be 3,892,857 shares of Parent Common Stock issued and
outstanding, and that no other common or preferred stock or equity securities of
the Parent, or any options, warrants, rights or other agreements or instruments
convertible, exchangeable or exercisable into common or preferred stock or
equity securities of the Parent, shall be issued or outstanding immediately
prior to the Effective Time, except as disclosed herein.
ARTICLE
IV
REPRESENTATIONS AND
WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
The
Company hereby represents and warrants to Parent as follows:
Section
4.1 Organization. The
Company (i) is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing (or its
equivalent) under the laws of the State of Nevada, (ii) has all licenses,
permits, authorizations and other Consents necessary to own, lease and operate
its properties and assets and to carry on its business as it is now being
conducted and (iii) has all requisite corporate or other applicable power and
authority to own, lease and operate its properties and assets and to carry on
its business as it is now being conducted and presently proposed to be
conducted, except where such failure would not have, or be reasonably likely to
have, a Company Material Adverse Effect. The Company is duly
qualified or authorized to conduct business and is in good standing (or its
equivalent) as a foreign corporation or other entity in all jurisdictions in
which the ownership or use of its assets or nature of the business conducted by
it makes such qualification or authorization necessary, except where the failure
to be so duly qualified, authorized and in good standing would not have a
Company Material Adverse Effect.
Section
4.2 Authorization; Validity of
Agreement. The Company has all requisite corporate power and
authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to consummate the
transactions contemplated hereby. The execution, delivery and
performance by the Company of this Agreement and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby have been duly authorized by the Board of
Directors of the Company and no other action (except the approval of the
requisite Stockholders solely with respect to consummation of the Merger) on the
part of the Company or any of its Stockholders or subsidiaries is necessary to
authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of
the transactions contemplated hereby. This Agreement has been duly
executed and delivered by the Company and (assuming due and valid authorization,
execution and delivery hereof by Parent and Acquisition Corp.) is a valid and
binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance
with its terms, except as such enforcement is limited by bankruptcy, insolvency
and other similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally
and by general principles of equity.
Section
4.3 Capitalization. As
of the Effective Date the authorized and issued capital stock of the Company
shall consist of 355,637,175 shares of Company Common Stock and 0 shares of the
Company Preferred Stock. All the outstanding shares of Company Capital
Stock are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and
non-assessable. As of the Effective Time,
11
there
shall be no rights in favor of any person to purchase any Company Preferred
Stock and the only existing right to purchase the Company Common Stock shall be
the “Old Warrant” to purchase 1,778,186 shares of Company Common Stock, which
Old Warrant shall be converted into the Parent Warrant at Closing, with
corresponding adjustments to the strike price and number of underlying shares as
set forth in the exchange ratio described in section 3.1(b).
Section
4.4 Consents and Approvals; No
Violations. Except for (a) approval of the Merger by the
requisite Stockholders and (b) filing of the certificate of merger with the
Secretary of State of the State of Nevada, neither the execution, delivery or
performance of this Agreement by the Company nor the consummation of the
transactions contemplated hereby will (i) violate any provision of its
certificate of incorporation or by-laws; (ii) violate, conflict with or result
in a breach of any provision of, or constitute a default (or an event which,
with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a default) under, require
the consent of or result in the creation of any encumbrance upon any of the
properties of the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any material note,
bond, mortgage, indenture, deed of trust, license, franchise, permit, lease,
contract, agreement or other instrument (collectively, “Contract”) to which
the Company or any its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties may be
bound; (iii) require any Consent, approval or authorization of, or notice to, or
declaration, filing or registration with, any governmental entity by or with
respect to the Company or any of its subsidiaries; or (iv) violate any order,
writ, judgment, injunction, decree, law, statute, rule or regulation applicable
to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties
or assets; except, in the cases of clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv), any such
violations, conflicts, breaches, defaults or encumbrances, or any failure to
receive any such Consent, approval or authorization, or to make any such notice,
declaration, filing or registration as will not result in, or could reasonably
be expected to result in, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
Section
4.5 Financial
Statements. The Company has delivered or made available as of
the date hereof or shall, prior to the Closing Date, deliver or make available
to Parent the audited comparative balance sheets of the Company for the fiscal
years ended December 31, 2006 and December 31, 2007 (hereinafter, December 31,
2007 shall be referred to as the “Balance Sheet Date”)
and the related consolidated and consolidating statements of income,
stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company for the fiscal years ended
December 31, 2006 and December 31, 2007. The foregoing financial
statements (including any notes thereto) (i) have been prepared based upon the
books and records of the Company, (ii) have been prepared in accordance with
GAAP (except as otherwise noted therein), and (iii) present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position, results of operations and cash flows
of the Company as at their respective dates and for the periods then
ended. To the knowledge of the Company, since the Balance Sheet Date,
no fact or condition exists that has not been disclosed to Parent that has had
or could reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse
Effect.
Section
4.6 No Undisclosed
Liabilities. As of the date hereof, except (a) for Liabilities
reflected on the face of the balance sheet dated December 31, 2007 (the “Balance Sheet”) and
(b) Liabilities of the same type, magnitude and scope as those reflected on the
Balance Sheet which have arisen since the Balance Sheet Date in the ordinary
course of business, and which would not, in the aggregate, result in a Company
Material Adverse Effect, the Company does not have any Liability.
12
Section
4.7 Litigation. There
is no Action pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, involving
the Company or its subsidiaries or affecting any of the officers, directors or
employees of the Company or its subsidiaries with respect to the Company’s or
any subsidiary’s business by or before any governmental entity or by any third
party that has had or could reasonably be expected to have a Company Material
Adverse Effect and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries have received
written notice that any such Action is threatened. Neither the
Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in default under any judgment, order or
decree of any governmental entity applicable to its business, which default
could reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse
Effect.
Section
4.8 No Default; Compliance with
Applicable Laws. The Company is not in default or violation of
any material term, condition or provision of (i) its certificate of
incorporation or by-laws or (ii) to the Company’s knowledge, any law applicable
to the Company or its property and assets, and the Company has not received
written notice of any violation of or Liability under any of the foregoing
(whether material or not).
Section
4.9 Broker’s and Finder’s
Fees. To the knowledge of the Company, no Person has, or as a
result of the transactions contemplated or described herein will have, any right
or valid claim against the Company for any commission, fee or other compensation
as a finder or broker, or in any similar capacity.
Section
4.10 Contracts.
(a) The
Company is not in violation or breach of any material contract, except such
violations that, in the aggregate, would not result in, or would not reasonably
be expected to result in, a Company Material Adverse Effect. There
does not exist any event or condition that, after notice or lapse of time or
both, would constitute an event of default or breach under any material Contract
on the part of the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, any
other party thereto or would permit the modification, cancellation or
termination of any material Contract or result in the creation of any lien upon,
or any person acquiring any right to acquire, any assets of the
Company, other than any events or conditions that, in the aggregate would not
result in, or would not reasonably be expected to result in, a Company Material
Adverse Effect. The Company has not received in writing any claim or threat that
the Company has breached any of the terms and conditions of any material
Contract, other than any material Contracts the breach of which, in the
aggregate, would not result in, or would not reasonably be expected to result
in, a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(b) The consent
of, or the delivery of notice to or filing with, any party to a material
Contract is not required for the execution and delivery by the Company of this
Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated under the
Agreement.. The Company has made available to Parent and Acquisition
Corp. true and complete copies of all Contracts and other documents requested by
Parent or Acquisition Corp.
Section
4.11 Tax Returns and
Audits. All required federal, state and local Tax Returns of
the Company have been accurately prepared and duly and timely filed, and all
federal, state and local Taxes required to be paid with respect to the periods
covered by such returns have been paid. The Company is not and has
not been delinquent in the payment of any Tax. The Company has not
had a Tax deficiency proposed or assessed against it and has not executed a
13
waiver of
any statute of limitations on the assessment or collection of any
Tax. None of the Company’s federal income Tax Returns nor any state
or local income or franchise Tax Returns has been audited by governmental
authorities. The reserves for Taxes reflected on the Balance Sheet
are and will be sufficient for the payment of all unpaid Taxes payable by the
Company as of the Balance Sheet Date. Since the Balance Sheet Date,
the Company has made adequate provisions on its books of account for all Taxes
with respect to its business, properties and operations for such
period. The Company has withheld or collected from each payment made
to each of its employees the amount of all Taxes (including, but not limited to,
federal, state and local income taxes, Federal Insurance Contribution Act taxes
and Federal Unemployment Tax Act taxes) required to be withheld or collected
therefrom, and has paid the same to the proper Tax receiving officers or
authorized depositaries. There are no federal, state, local or
foreign audits, actions, suits, proceedings, investigations, claims or
administrative proceedings relating to Taxes or any Tax Returns of the Company
now pending, and the Company has not received any notice of any proposed audits,
investigations, claims or administrative proceedings relating to Taxes or any
Tax Returns. The Company is not obligated to make a payment, nor is
it a party to any agreement that under certain circumstances could obligate it
to make a payment, that would not be deductible under Section 280G of the
Code. The Company has not agreed nor is required to make any
adjustments under Section 481(a) of the Code (or any similar provision of state,
local and foreign law) by reason of a change in accounting method or otherwise
for any Tax period for which the applicable statute of limitations has not yet
expired. The Company is not a party to, is not bound by and does not
have any obligation under, any Tax sharing agreement, Tax indemnification
agreement or similar contract or arrangement, whether written or unwritten
(collectively, “Tax
Sharing Agreements”), nor does it have any potential liability or
obligation to any Person as a result of, or pursuant to, any Tax Sharing
Agreements.
Section
4.12 Patents and Other Intangible
Assets.
(a) To the
knowledge of the Company, the Company (i) owns or has the right to use, pursuant
to a valid license, sublicense, agreement, or permission, free and clear of all
Liens, all patents, trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights, licenses
and rights with respect to the foregoing used in or necessary for the conduct of
its business as now conducted or proposed to be conducted without infringing
upon or otherwise acting adversely to the right or claimed right of any Person
under or with respect to any of the foregoing.
(b) To the
knowledge of the Company, the Company owns and has the right to use all trade
secrets, if any, including know-how, negative know-how, formulas, patterns,
programs, devices, methods, techniques, inventions, designs, processes, computer
programs and technical data and all information that derives independent
economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known or known by
competitors (collectively, “Intellectual
Property”) required for or incident to the development, operation and
sale of all products and services sold by the Company, free and clear of any
right, Lien or claim of others. All Intellectual Property can and
will be transferred by the Company to the Surviving Corporation as a result of
the Merger and without the consent of any Person other than the
Company.
Section
4.13 Employee Benefit Plans;
ERISA.
(a) All
“employee benefit plans” (within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the ERISA) of
the Company and other employee benefit or fringe benefit arrangements,
practices,
14
contracts,
policies or programs of every type, other than programs merely involving the
regular payment of wages, commissions, or bonuses established, maintained or
contributed to by the Company, whether written or unwritten and whether or not
funded, are in material compliance with the applicable requirements of ERISA,
the Code and any other applicable state, federal or foreign
law.
(b) There are
no pending claims or lawsuits that have been asserted or instituted against any
Employee Benefit Plan, the assets of any of the trusts or funds under the
Employee Benefit Plans, the plan sponsor or the plan administrator of any of the
Employee Benefit Plans or against any fiduciary of an Employee Benefit Plan with
respect to the operation of such plan, nor does the Company have any knowledge
of any incident, transaction, occurrence or circumstance which might reasonably
be expected to form the basis of any such claim or lawsuit.
(c) There is
no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened investigation, or
pending or possible enforcement action by the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service or any other
government agency with respect to any Employee Benefit Plan and the Company has
no knowledge of any incident, transaction, occurrence or circumstance which
might reasonably be expected to trigger such an investigation or enforcement
action.
(d) No actual
or, to the knowledge of the Company, contingent Liability exists with respect to
the funding of any Employee Benefit Plan or for any other expense or obligation
of any Employee Benefit Plan, except as disclosed on the Balance Sheet, and no
contingent Liability exists under ERISA with respect to any “multi-employer
plan,” as defined in Section 3(37) or Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA.
(e) No events
have occurred or are reasonably expected to occur with respect to any Employee
Benefit Plan that would cause a material change in the costs of providing
benefits under such Employee Benefit Plan or would cause a material change in
the cost of providing such Employee Benefit Plan.
Section
4.14 Title to Property and
Encumbrances. The Company has good and valid title to all
properties and assets used in the conduct of its business (except for property
held under valid and subsisting leases which are in full force and effect and
which are not in default) free of all Liens except Permitted Liens and such
ordinary and customary imperfections of title, restrictions and encumbrances as
do not in the aggregate constitute a Company Material Adverse
Effect.
Section
4.15 Condition of
Properties. All facilities, machinery, equipment, fixtures and
other properties owned, leased or used by the Company are in operating
condition, subject to ordinary wear and tear, and are adequate and sufficient
for the Company’s existing business.
Section
4.16 Insurance
Coverage. There is in full force and effect one or more
policies of insurance issued by insurers of recognized responsibility insuring
the Company and its properties, products and business against such losses and
risks, and in such amounts, as are customary for corporations of established
reputation engaged in the same or similar business and similarly
situated. The Company has not been refused any insurance coverage
sought or applied
15
for, and
the Company has no reason to believe that it will be unable to renew its
existing insurance coverage as and when the same shall expire upon terms at
least as favorable to those currently in effect, other than possible increases
in premiums that do not result from any act or omission of the
Company. No suit, proceeding or action or, to the knowledge of the
Company, threat of suit, proceeding or action has been asserted or made against
the Company due to alleged bodily injury, disease, medical condition, death or
property damage arising out of the function or malfunction of a product,
procedure or service designed, manufactured, sold or distributed by the
Company.
Section
4.17 Environmental
Matters.
(a) To the
knowledge of the Company, the Company has never generated, used, handled,
treated, released, stored or disposed of any Hazardous Materials on any real
property on which it now has or previously had any leasehold or ownership
interest, except in compliance with all applicable Environmental
Laws.
(b) To the
knowledge of the Company, the historical and present operations of the business
of the Company are in compliance with all applicable Environmental Laws, except
where any non-compliance has not had and would not reasonably be expected to
have a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(c) There are
no material pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, demands,
claims, information requests or notices of noncompliance or violation against or
to the Company relating to any Environmental Law; and, to the knowledge of the
Company, there are no conditions or occurrences on any of the real property used
by the Company in connection with its business that would reasonably be expected
to lead to any such demands, claims or notices against or to the Company, except
such as have not had, and would not reasonably be expected to have, a Company
Material Adverse Effect.
(d) To the
knowledge of the Company, (i) the Company has not, sent or disposed of,
otherwise had taken or transported, arranged for the taking or disposal of (on
behalf of itself, a customer or any other party) or in any other manner
participated or been involved in the taking of or disposal or release of a
Hazardous Material to or at a site that is contaminated by any Hazardous
Material or that, pursuant to any Environmental Law, (A) has been placed on the
“National Priorities List”, the “CERCLIS” list, or any similar state or federal
list, or (B) is subject to or the source of a claim, an administrative order or
other request to take “removal”, “remedial”, “corrective” or any other
“response” action, as defined in any Environmental Law, or to pay for the costs
of any such action at the site; (ii) the Company is not involved in (and has no
basis to reasonably expect to be involved in) any suit or proceeding and has not
received (and has no basis to reasonably expect to receive) any written notice,
request for information or other communication from any governmental authority
or other third party with respect to a release or threatened release of any
Hazardous Material or a violation or alleged violation of any Environmental Law,
and has not received (and has no basis to reasonably expect to receive) written
notice of any claims from any Person relating to property damage, natural
resource damage or to personal injuries from exposure to any Hazardous Material;
and (iii) the Company has timely filed every report required to be filed,
acquired all necessary certificates, approvals and permits, and generated and
maintained all required data, documentation and records under all Environmental
Laws, in all such instances except where the failure to do so would not
reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company
Material Adverse Effect.
16
Section
4.18 Disclosure. There
is no fact relating to the Company that the Company has not disclosed to Parent
in writing that has had or is currently having a Company Material Adverse
Effect. No representation or warranty by the Company herein and no
information disclosed in the exhibits hereto by the Company contains any untrue
statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary to make
the statements contained herein or therein not misleading.
Section
4.19 Conversion of
Loans. The Company warrants and represents that certain loans
shall be converted to Company Common Stock as outlined in Exhibit F
hereto. Further, the Company warrants that no other convertible
securities or other rights to acquire any interest in the Company exist as of
the Effective Date excepting only the Old Warrant.
ARTICLE
V
REPRESENTATIONS AND
WARRANTIES OF PARENT AND ACQUISITION CORP.
Parent
and Acquisition Corp. hereby represent and warrant to the Company as
follows:
Section
5.1 Organization. Each
of Parent and Acquisition Corp. (i) is duly organized, validly existing and in
good standing under the laws of its State of incorporation or organization, (ii)
has all licenses, permits, authorizations and other Consents necessary to own,
lease and operate its properties and assets and to carry on its business as it
is now being conducted and (iii) has all requisite corporate or other applicable
power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and assets and to
carry on its business as it is now being conducted and presently proposed to be
conducted, in each case except where such failures would not have, or be
reasonably likely to have an apparent Material Adverse Effect. Each
of Parent and Acquisition Corp. is duly qualified or authorized to conduct
business and is in good standing (or its equivalent) as a foreign corporation or
other entity in all jurisdictions in which the ownership or use of its assets or
nature of the business conducted by it makes such qualification or authorization
necessary, except where the failure to be so duly qualified, authorized and in
good standing would not have an apparent Material Adverse Effect.
Section
5.2 Authorization; Validity of
Agreement. Each of Parent and Acquisition Corp. has all
requisite corporate power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement
and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. The
execution, delivery and performance by each of Parent and Acquisition Corp. of
this Agreement and all other agreements and instruments to be executed pursuant
to this Agreement, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby
and thereby, have been duly authorized by the Board of Directors of each of
Parent and Acquisition Corp. and the stockholder of Acquisition Corp., and no
other action on the part of either of Parent or Acquisition Corp. is necessary
to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement and all other
agreements and instruments to be executed pursuant to this Agreement and the
consummation by either of Parent or Acquisition Corp. of the transactions
contemplated hereby and thereby. This Agreement has been duly
executed and delivered by the Parent and Acquisition Corp. and (assuming due and
valid authorization, execution and delivery hereof by the Company) is a valid
and binding obligation of each of Parent and Acquisition Corp., enforceable
against each of them in accordance with its terms, except as such enforcement is
limited by bankruptcy, insolvency and other similar laws affecting the
enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of
equity.
17
Section
5.3 Consents and Approvals; No
Violations. Except for filing of the certificate of merger
with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada, neither the execution,
delivery or performance of this Agreement by either of Parent and Acquisition
Corp. nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby will (i)
violate any provision of the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of Parent
or Acquisition Corp.; (ii) violate, conflict with or result in a breach of any
provision of, or constitute a default (or an event which, with notice or lapse
of time or both, would constitute a default) under, require the consent of or
result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the properties of Parent or
Acquisition Corp. under any Contract to which Parent or Acquisition Corp. or any
of their properties may be bound; (iii) require any Consent, approval or
authorization of, or notice to, or declaration, filing or registration with, any
governmental entity by or with respect to Parent or any subsidiary of Parent, or
(iv) violate any order, writ, judgment, injunction, decree, law, statute, rule
or regulation applicable to any of Parent or Acquisition Corp. or any of their
respective properties or assets; except, in the cases of clauses (ii), (iii) and
(iv), any such violations, conflicts, breaches, defaults or encumbrances, or any
failure to receive any such Consent, approval or authorization, or to make any
such notice, declaration, filing or registration as will not result in, or could
reasonably be expected to result in, a Parent Material Adverse
Effect.
Section
5.4 Litigation. There
is no Action pending or, to the knowledge of the Parent, threatened, involving
Parent or Acquisition Corp. or any subsidiary of Parent or affecting the
officers, directors or employees of Parent or Acquisition Corp. or any
subsidiary of Parent with respect to Parent’s, Acquisition Corp.’s, or any of
Parent’s subsidiaries’, businesses by or before any governmental entity or by
any third party and none of Parent, Acquisition Corp. nor any subsidiary of
Parent has received written notice that any such Action is
threatened. None of Parent, Acquisition Corp. nor any subsidiary of
Parent is in default under any judgment, order or decree of any governmental
entity applicable to its business which could reasonably be expected to have a
Parent Material Adverse Effect.
Section
5.5 No Default; Compliance with
Applicable Laws. Neither Parent nor any of Parent’s
subsidiaries is in default or violation of any material term, condition or
provision of (i) their respective certificate of incorporation, by-laws or
similar organizational documents or (ii) any law applicable to Parent or any of
Parent’s subsidiaries or its property and assets and neither Parent nor any of
Parent’s subsidiaries has received written notice of any violation of or
Liability under any of the foregoing (whether material or not).
Section
5.6 Broker’s and Finder’s Fees;
Broker/Dealer Ownership. No person(s), firm, corporation or
other entity is entitled by reason of any act or omission of Parent or
Acquisition Corp. to any broker’s or finder’s fees, commission or other similar
compensation, nor, with respect to the execution, delivery and performance of
this Agreement or with respect to the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby will any such person have any right or valid claim against
the Company, Parent or Acquisition Corp. to any such payment.
Section
5.7 Capitalization of
Parent. As of the date hereof, the authorized capital stock of
Parent consists of 90,000,000 shares of Parent Common Stock and 10,000,000
shares of Parent Preferred Stock. As of the date hereof and
immediately prior to the Effective Time, there
18
are
3,892,857 shares of Parent Common Stock, par value $0.001, issued and
outstanding and 0 shares of Parent Preferred Stock issued and
outstanding. Other than as provided in Article III of this
Agreement in connection with securities to be issued or to become issuable in
connection with or as a result of the Merger, Parent has no outstanding options,
warrants, rights or commitments to issue shares of Parent Common Stock or any
capital stock or other securities of Parent or Acquisition Corp., and there are
no outstanding securities convertible or exercisable into or exchangeable for
shares of Parent Common Stock or any capital stock or other securities of Parent
or Acquisition Corp. There is no voting trust, agreement or
arrangement among any of the beneficial holders of Parent Common Stock affecting
the nomination or election of directors or the exercise of the voting rights of
Parent Common Stock. There are no registration rights or similar
rights applicable to any shares of Parent Common Stock or any capital stock or
other securities of Parent or Acquisition Corp. All outstanding
shares of the capital stock of Parent are validly issued and outstanding, fully
paid and non-assessable, and none of such shares have been issued in violation
of the preemptive rights of any person. All of the shares of Parent
Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time have
been issued in compliance with the Securities Act and applicable state
securities laws and (i) pursuant to effective registration statements filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission and/or (ii) in reliance on valid
exemptions from registration or qualification
thereunder.
Section
5.8 Acquisition Corp.
Acquisition Corp. is a Nevada corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Parent that was formed on January 23, 2008 specifically for the purpose of the
Merger and that has not conducted any business or acquired any property, and
will not conduct an business or acquire any property prior to the Closing Date,
except in preparation for and otherwise in connection with the transactions
contemplated by this Agreement. Parent owns all of the issued and
outstanding capital stock of Acquisition Corp., as no outstanding options,
warrants or rights to purchase capital stock or other securities of Acquisition
Corp., other than the capital stock of Acquisition Corp. owned by
Parent. Except for Acquisition Corp., Parent has no subsidiaries.
Acquisition Corp. has no subsidiaries.
Section
5.9 Validity of
Shares. The shares of Parent Common Stock to be issued in
accordance with Article III hereof,
when issued and delivered in accordance with the terms hereof, shall be duly
authorized, validly issued, fully paid and
non-assessable.
Section
5.10 SEC Reporting and
Compliance.
(a) Parent
filed a registration statement on Form SB-2 under the Securities Act which
became effective on March 19, 2007. Since that date, Parent has
timely filed with the Commission all registration statements, proxy statements,
information statements and reports required to be filed by Parent pursuant to
the Exchange Act (collectively, the “Parent SEC
Documents”). Parent has not filed with the Commission a
certificate on Form 15 pursuant to the Exchange Act.
(b) None of
the Parent SEC Documents, as of their respective dates, contained any untrue
statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary in
order to make the statements contained therein not misleading. Each
of the Parent SEC Documents complied, and each Parent SEC Document to be filed
with the Commission prior to the Effective Date shall comply, in all material
respects, with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and the
Securities Exchange, as the case may be. Each of the financial
statements (including, in
19
each
case, any related notes), contained in the Parent SEC Documents, including any
Parent SEC Documents filed after the date of this Agreement until the Closing,
complied, as of its respective filing date, in all material respects with all
applicable accounting requirements and the published rules and regulations of
the Commission with respect thereto.
(c) Nothing
has occurred with respect to which Parent would be required to file, any report
on Form 8-K prior to the date hereof for which Parent has failed to file such
report. Prior to and until the Closing, Parent will provide to the
Company copies of any and all amendments or supplements to the Parent SEC
Documents filed with the Commission and all subsequent registration statements
and reports filed by Parent subsequent to the filing of the Parent SEC Documents
with the Commission and any and all subsequent information statements, proxy
statements, reports or notices filed by the Parent with the Commission or
delivered to the stockholders of Parent.
(d) Parent is
not an “investment company” within the meaning of Section 3 of the Investment
Company Act.
(e) The
Parent Common Stock is presently eligible for quotation and trading on the NASD
Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board.
(f) Between
the date hereof and the Closing Date, Parent shall continue to satisfy any
applicable filing requirements of the Exchange Act or the Securities Act, as the
case may be, and all other requirements of applicable securities
laws.
(g) To the
knowledge of Parent, Parent has complied with the Securities Act, Exchange Act
and all other applicable federal and state securities
laws.
Section
5.11 No General
Solicitation. In issuing Parent Common Stock in the Merger
hereunder, neither Parent nor anyone acting on its behalf has offered to sell
Parent Common Stock by any form of general solicitation or
advertising.
Section
5.12 Financial
Statements. The balance sheets, and statements of income,
stockholders’ equity and cash flows (including any notes thereto) contained in
the Parent SEC Documents (the “Parent Financial
Statements”) (i) have been prepared in accordance with GAAP, (ii) are in
accordance with the books and records of the Parent, and (iii) present fairly in
all material respects the financial condition of the Parent at the dates therein
specified and the results of its operations and changes in financial position
for the periods therein specified.
Section
5.13 Absence of Undisclosed
Liabilities. Neither Parent nor Acquisition
Corp. has any Liability at or prior to the Closing, except (a) as
disclosed in the Parent SEC Documents, (b) to the extent set forth on or
reserved against in the balance sheet of Parent as of October 31, 2007 (the
“Parent Balance
Sheet”) or the notes to the Parent Financial Statements, (c) current
Liabilities incurred and obligations under agreements entered into in the usual
and ordinary course of business, consistent with past practice, since October
31, 2007 (the “Parent
Balance Sheet Date”), none of which, individually or in the aggregate,
constitutes a Parent Material Adverse Effect, (d) attorney’s fees and accounting
fees incurred by the Parent since the Parent Balance Sheet Date, including those
related to this Agreement and all of the transactions related thereto and
contemplated thereby, including but not limited to preparation and filing of
disclosures with the SEC, and (e) by the specific terms of any written
agreement, document or arrangement attached as an exhibit to the Parent SEC
Documents.
20
Section
5.14 Changes. Since
the Parent Balance Sheet Date, except as disclosed in the Parent SEC Documents,
Parent has not (a) incurred any debts, obligations or Liabilities, absolute,
accrued or, to the Parent’s knowledge, contingent, whether due or to become due,
except for current Liabilities incurred in the usual and ordinary course of
business, (b) discharged or satisfied any Liens other than those securing, or
paid any obligation or Liability other than, current liabilities shown on the
Parent Balance Sheet and current Liabilities incurred since the Parent Balance
Sheet Date, in each case in the usual and ordinary course of business, (c)
mortgaged, pledged or subjected to Lien any of its assets, tangible or
intangible, other than in the usual and ordinary course of business, (d) sold,
transferred or leased any of its assets, except in the usual and ordinary course
of business, (e) cancelled or compromised any debt or claim, or waived or
released any right of material value, (f) suffered any physical damage,
destruction or loss (whether or not covered by insurance) that could reasonably
be expected to have a Parent Material Adverse Effect, (g) entered into any
transaction other than in the usual and ordinary course of business, (h)
encountered any labor union difficulties, (i) made or granted any wage or salary
increase or made any increase in the amounts payable under any profit sharing,
bonus, deferred compensation, severance pay, insurance, pension, retirement or
other employee benefit plan, agreement or arrangement, other than in the
ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, or entered into any
employment agreement, (j) issued or sold any shares of capital stock, bonds,
notes, debentures or other securities or granted any options (including employee
stock options), warrants or other rights with respect thereto, (k) declared or
paid any dividends on or made any other distributions with respect to, or
purchased or redeemed, any of its outstanding capital stock, (l) suffered or
experienced any change in, or condition affecting, the financial condition of
the Parent other than changes, events or conditions in the usual and ordinary
course of its business, none of which (either by itself or in conjunction with
all such other changes, events and conditions) could reasonably be expected to
have a Parent Material Adverse Effect, (m) made any change in the accounting
principles, methods or practices followed by it or depreciation or amortization
policies or rates theretofore adopted, (n) made or permitted any amendment or
termination of any material Contract, agreement or license to which it is a
party, (o) suffered any material loss not reflected in the Parent Balance Sheet
or its statement of income for the year ended on the Parent Balance Sheet Date,
(p) paid, or made any accrual or arrangement for payment of, bonuses or special
compensation of any kind or any severance or termination pay to any present or
former officer, director, employee, stockholder or consultant, (q) made or
agreed to make any charitable contributions or incurred any non-business
expenses in excess of $1,000 in the aggregate, or (r) entered into any Contract,
agreement or license, or otherwise obligated itself, to do any of the
foregoing.
Section
5.15 Tax Returns and
Audits. All required federal, state and local Tax Returns of
the Parent have been accurately prepared in all material respects and duly and
timely filed, and all federal, state and local Taxes required to be paid with
respect to the periods covered by such returns have been paid to the extent that
the same are material and have become due, except where the failure so to file
or pay could not reasonably be expected to have a Parent Material Adverse
Effect. The Parent is not and has not been delinquent in the payment
of any Tax. The Parent has not had a Tax deficiency assessed against
it. None of the Parent’s federal income Tax Returns nor any state or
local income or franchise Tax Returns has been audited by governmental
authorities. The reserves for Taxes reflected on the Parent Balance
Sheet are
21
sufficient
for the payment of all unpaid Taxes payable by the Parent with respect to the
period ended on the Parent Balance Sheet Date. There are no federal,
state, local or foreign audits, actions, suits, proceedings, investigations,
claims or administrative proceedings relating to Taxes or any Tax Returns of the
Parent now pending, and the Parent has not received any notice of any proposed
audits, investigations, claims or administrative proceedings relating to Taxes
or any Tax Returns.
Section
5.16 Employee Benefit Plans;
ERISA.
(a) Except as
disclosed in the Parent SEC Documents, there are no “employee benefit plans”
(within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA) nor any other employee benefit or
fringe benefit arrangements, practices, contracts, policies or programs other
than programs merely involving the regular payment of wages, commissions, or
bonuses established, maintained or contributed to by the Parent, whether written
or unwritten and whether or not funded. Any plans listed in the
Parent SEC Documents are hereinafter referred to as the “Parent Employee Benefit
Plans.”
(b) Any
current and prior material documents, including all amendments thereto, with
respect to each Parent Employee Benefit Plan have been made available to the
Company.
(c) All
Parent Employee Benefit Plans are in material compliance with the applicable
requirements of ERISA, the Code and any other applicable state, federal or
foreign law.
(d) There are
no pending, or to the knowledge of the Parent, threatened, claims or lawsuits
that have been asserted or instituted against any Parent Employee Benefit Plan,
the assets of any of the trusts or funds under the Parent Employee Benefit
Plans, the plan sponsor or the plan administrator of any of the Parent Employee
Benefit Plans or against any fiduciary of a Parent Employee Benefit Plan with
respect to the operation of such plan.
(e) There is
no pending, or to the knowledge of the Parent, threatened, investigation or
pending or possible enforcement action by the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service or any other
government agency with respect to any Parent Employee Benefit Plan and Parent
has no knowledge of any incident, transaction, occurrence or circumstance which
might reasonably be expected to trigger such an investigation or enforcement
action.
(f) No actual
or, to the knowledge of Parent, contingent Liability exists with respect to the
funding of any Parent Employee Benefit Plan or for any other expense or
obligation of any Parent Employee Benefit Plan, except as disclosed on the
Parent Financial Statements or the Parent SEC Documents, and to the knowledge of
the Parent, no contingent Liability exists under ERISA with respect to any
“multi-employer plan,” as defined in Section 3(37) or Section 4001(a)(3) of
ERISA.
Section
5.17 Interested Party
Transactions. Except as disclosed in the Parent SEC Documents,
no officer, director or stockholder of the Parent or any Affiliate of any such
Person or the Parent has or has had, either directly or indirectly, (a) an
interest in any Person that (i) furnishes or sells services or products that are
furnished
22
or sold
or are proposed to be furnished or sold by the Parent or (ii) purchases from or
sells or furnishes to the Parent any goods or services, or (b) a beneficial
interest in any Contract to which the Parent is a party or by which it may be
bound or affected.
Section
5.18 Questionable
Payments. Neither the Parent, Acquisition Corp. nor to the
knowledge of the Parent, any director, officer, agent, employee or other Person
associated with or acting on behalf of the Parent or Acquisition Corp., has used
any corporate funds for (a) unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or
other unlawful expenses relating to political activity, (b) made any direct or
indirect unlawful payments to government officials or employees from corporate
funds, (c) established or maintained any unlawful or unrecorded fund of
corporate monies or other assets, (d) made any false or fictitious entries on
the books of record of any such corporations, or (e) made any bribe, rebate,
payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment.
Section
5.19 Obligations to or by
Stockholders. Except as disclosed in the Parent SEC Documents,
the Parent has no Liability or obligation or commitment to any stockholder of
Parent or any Affiliate or “associate” (as such term is defined in Rule 405
under the Securities Act) of any stockholder of Parent, nor does any stockholder
of Parent or any such Affiliate or associate have any Liability, obligation or
commitment to the Parent.
Section
5.20 Schedule of Assets and
Contracts. Except as expressly set forth in this Agreement,
the Parent Balance Sheet or the notes thereto, the Parent is not a party to any
Contract not made in the ordinary course of business that is material to the
Parent. Parent does not own any real property. Parent is
not a party to any Contract (a) with any labor union, (b) for the purchase of
fixed assets or for the purchase of materials, supplies or equipment in excess
of normal operating requirements, (c) for the employment of any officer,
individual employee or other Person on a full-time basis or any contract with
any Person for consulting services, (d) with respect to bonus, pension, profit
sharing, retirement, stock purchase, stock option, deferred compensation,
medical, hospitalization or life insurance or similar plan, contract or
understanding with any or all of the employees of Parent or any other Person,
(e) relating to or evidencing Indebtedness for Borrowed Money or subjecting any
asset or property of Parent to any Lien or evidencing any Indebtedness, (f)
guaranteeing of any Indebtedness, (g) under which Parent is lessee of or holds
or operates any property, real or personal, owned by any other Person, (h) under
which Parent is lessor or permits any Person to hold or operate any property,
real or personal, owned or controlled by Parent, (i) granting any preemptive
right, right of first refusal or similar right to any Person, (j) with any
Affiliate of Parent or any present or former officer, director or stockholder of
Parent, (k) obligating Parent to pay any royalty or similar charge for the use
or exploitation of any tangible or intangible property, (1) containing a
covenant not to compete or other restriction on the parent’s ability to conduct
a business or engage in any other activity, (m) with respect to any distributor,
dealer, manufacturer’s representative, sales agency, franchise or advertising
contract or commitment, (n) regarding the registration of securities under the
Securities Act, (o) characterized as a collective bargaining agreement, or (p)
with any Person continuing for a period of more than three months from the
Closing Date that involves an expenditure or receipt by Parent in excess of
$1,000. The Parent maintains no insurance policies and insurance
coverage of any kind with respect to Parent, its business, premises, properties,
assets, employees and agents. Parent has furnished to the Company
true and complete copies of all agreements and other documents requested by the
Company.
23
Section
5.21 Environmental
Matters.
(a) The
Parent has never generated, used, handled, treated, released, stored or disposed
of any Hazardous Materials on any real property on which it now has or
previously had any leasehold or ownership interest, except in compliance with
all applicable Environmental Laws.
(b) The
historical and present operations of the business of the Parent compliance with
all applicable Environmental Laws, except where any non-compliance has not had
and would not reasonably be expected to have a Parent Material Adverse
Effect.
(c) (i) The
Parent has not, sent or disposed of, otherwise had taken or transported,
arranged for the taking or disposal of (on behalf of itself, a customer or any
other party) or in any other manner participated or been involved in the taking
of or disposal or release of a Hazardous Material to or at a site that is
contaminated by any Hazardous Material or that, pursuant to any Environmental
Law, (A) has been placed on the “National Priorities List”, the “CERCLIS” list,
or any similar state or federal list, or (B) is subject to or the source of a
claim, an administrative order or other request to take “removal”, “remedial”,
“corrective” or any other “response” action, as defined in any Environmental
Law, or to pay for the costs of any such action at the site; (ii) the Parent is
not involved in (and has no basis to reasonably expect to be involved in) any
suit or proceeding and has not received (and has no basis to reasonably expect
to receive) any written notice, request for information or other communication
from any governmental authority or other third party with respect to a release
or threatened release of any Hazardous Material or a violation or alleged
violation of any Environmental Law, and has not received (and has no basis to
reasonably expect to receive) written notice of any claims from any Person
relating to property damage, natural resource damage or to personal injuries
from exposure to any Hazardous Material; and (iii) the Parent has timely filed
every report required to be filed, acquired all necessary certificates,
approvals and permits, and generated and maintained all required data,
documentation and records under all Environmental Laws, in all such instances
except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have,
individually or in the aggregate, a Parent Material Adverse Effect.
(d) There are
no material pending or, to the knowledge of Parent, threatened, demands, claims,
information requests or notices of noncompliance or violation against or to the
Parent relating to any Environmental Law; and, to the knowledge of Parent, there
are no conditions or occurrences on any of the real property used by Parent in
connection with its business that would reasonably be expected to lead to any
such demands, claims or notices against or to Parent, except such as have not
had, and would not reasonably be expected to have, a Parent Material Adverse
Effect.
Section
5.22 Employees. Other
than pursuant to ordinary arrangements of employment compensation, Parent is not
under any obligation or liability to any officer, director, employee or
Affiliate of Parent.
Section
5.23 Title to Property and
Encumbrances. Parent has good and valid title to all
properties and assets used in the conduct of its business (except for property
held under valid and subsisting leases which are in full force and effect and
which are not in default) free of all Liens except Permitted Liens and such
ordinary and customary imperfections of title, restrictions and encumbrances as
do not, individually or in the aggregate constitute a Parent Material Adverse
Effect.
24
Section
5.24 Condition of
Properties. All facilities, machinery, equipment, fixtures and
other properties owned, leased or used by Parent are in operating condition,
subject to ordinary wear and tear, and are adequate and sufficient for the
Parent’s existing business.
Section
5.25 Insurance
Coverage. There is in full force and effect one or more
policies of insurance issued by insurers of recognized responsibility insuring
Parent and its properties, products and business against such losses and risks,
and in such amounts, as are customary for corporations of established reputation
engaged in the same or similar business and similarly
situated. Parent has not been refused any insurance coverage sought
or applied for, and Parent has no reason to believe that it will be unable to
renew its existing insurance coverage as and when the same shall expire upon
terms at least as favorable to those currently in effect, other than possible
increases in premiums that do not result from any act or omission of
Parent. No suit, proceeding or action or, to the best current actual
knowledge of Parent, threat of suit, proceeding or action has been asserted or
made against Parent due to alleged bodily injury, disease, medical condition,
death or property damage arising out of the function or malfunction of a
product, procedure or service designed, manufactured, sold or distributed by
Parent.
Section
5.26 Disclosure. There
is no fact relating to Parent or Acquisition Corp. that Parent has not disclosed
to the Company in writing that has had, is having or is reasonably likely to
have a Parent Material Adverse Effect. No representation or warranty
by Parent or Acquisition Corp. herein and no information disclosed in the
exhibits hereto by Parent or Acquisition Corp. contains any untrue statement of
a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary to make the
statements contained herein or therein not misleading.
Section
5.27 No Liabilities. As of
the Closing Date, there are no Liabilities or Indebtedness of the Parent or
Acquisition Corp. of any kind whatsoever, whether recorded on the Balance Sheet
of Parent or Acquisition Corp. or not, whether accrued, contingent, absolute,
determined, determinable or otherwise, and there is no existing condition,
situation or set of circumstances which could reasonably be expected to result
in such Liability or Indebtedness. Neither the Parent nor the
Acquisition Corp. is a guarantor of any Indebtedness of any other person, firm
or corporation.
ARTICLE
VI
CONDUCT OF BUSINESSES
PENDING THE MERGER
Section
6.1 Conduct of Business by the
Company Pending the Merger. Prior to the Effective Time,
unless Parent or Acquisition Corp. shall otherwise agree in writing or as
otherwise contemplated by this Agreement:
(i) the
business of the Company shall be conducted only in the ordinary course
consistent with the past practice;
(ii) except
with respect to the issuance of Company Common Stock in connection
with the conversion of Company Preferred Stock immediately prior to
the Effective Time, the Company shall not (A) directly or indirectly redeem,
purchase or otherwise acquire or agree to redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire
any shares of
25
Company Capital Stock; (B) amend its certificate of incorporation or by-laws except to effectuate the transactions contemplated in this Agreement; or (C) split, combine or reclassify the outstanding Company Capital Stock or declare, set aside or pay any dividend payable in cash, stock or property or make any distribution with respect to any such stock;
(iii) except
with respect to the issuance of Company Common Stock in connection
with the conversion of Company Preferred Stock immediately prior to
the Effective Time, the Company shall not (A) issue any additional shares of, or
options, warrants or rights of any kind to acquire any shares of, Company
Capital Stock; (B) acquire or dispose of any fixed assets or acquire or dispose
of any other substantial assets other than in the ordinary course of business;
(C) incur additional Indebtedness or any other Liabilities or enter into any
other transaction other than in the ordinary course of business; (D) enter into
any Contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement with respect to any of the
foregoing except this Agreement; or (E) except as contemplated by this
Agreement, enter into any Contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement to
dissolve, merge, consolidate or enter into any other material business
combination; and
(iv) the
Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to preserve intact the business of
the Company, to keep available the service of its present officers and key
employees, and to preserve the good will of those having business relationships
with it.
Section
6.2 Conduct of Business by
Parent and Acquisition Corp. Pending the Merger. Prior to the
Effective Time, unless the Company shall otherwise agree in writing or as
otherwise contemplated expressly permitted by this
Agreement:
(i) the
business of Parent and Acquisition Corp. shall be conducted only in the ordinary
course consistent with past practice;
(ii) neither
Parent nor Acquisition Corp. shall (A) directly or indirectly redeem, purchase
or otherwise acquire or agree to redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire any
shares of its capital stock; (B) amend its certificate of incorporation or
by-laws; or (C) split, combine or reclassify its capital stock or declare, set
aside or pay any dividend payable in cash, stock or property or make any
distribution with respect to such stock; and
(iii) neither
Parent nor Acquisition Corp. shall (A) issue or agree to issue any additional
shares of, or options, warrants or rights of any kind to acquire shares of, its
capital stock; (B) acquire or dispose of any assets other than in the ordinary
course of business; (C) incur additional Indebtedness or any other Liabilities
or enter into any other transaction except in the ordinary course of business;
(D) enter into any Contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement with respect
to any of the foregoing except this Agreement, or (E) except as contemplated by
this Agreement, enter into any Contract, agreement, commitment or arrangement to
dissolve, merge; consolidate or enter into any other material business contract
or enter into any negotiations in connection therewith.
(iv) Parent
shall use its best efforts to preserve intact the business of Parent and
Acquisition Corp., to keep available the service of its present officers and key
employees, and to preserve the good will of those having business relationships
with Parent and Acquisition Corp. and to file all required SEC Reports under the
Exchange Act;
26
(v) neither
Parent nor Acquisition Corp. will, nor will they authorize any director or
authorize or permit any officer or employee or any attorney, accountant or other
representative retained by them to, make, solicit, encourage any inquiries with
respect to, or engage in any negotiations concerning, any Acquisition Proposal
(as defined below). Parent will promptly advise the Company in
writing of any such inquiries or Acquisition Proposal (or requests for
information) and the substance thereof. As used in this paragraph,
“Acquisition
Proposal” shall mean any proposal for a merger or other business
combination involving the Parent or Acquisition Corp. or for the acquisition of
a substantial equity interest in either of them or any material assets of either
of them other than as contemplated by this Agreement. Parent will
immediately cease and cause to be terminated any existing activities,
discussions or negotiations with any Person conducted heretofore with respect to
any of the foregoing; and
(vi) neither
Parent nor Acquisition Corp. will enter into any new employment agreements with
any of their officers or employees or grant any increases in the compensation or
benefits of their officers and employees.
ARTICLE
VII
ADDITIONAL
AGREEMENTS
Section
7.1 Access and
Information. The Company, Parent and Acquisition Corp. shall
each afford to the other and to the other’s accountants, counsel and other
representatives reasonable access during normal business hours throughout the
period prior to the Effective Time of all of its properties, books, contracts,
commitments and records (including but not limited to Tax Returns) and during
such period, each shall furnish promptly to the other all information concerning
its business, properties and personnel as such other party may reasonably
request, provided that no investigation pursuant to this Section 7.1 shall
affect any representations or warranties made herein. Each party
shall hold, and shall cause its employees and agents to hold, in confidence all
such information (other than such information that (i) becomes generally
available to the public other than as a result of a disclosure by such party or
its directors, officers, managers, employees, agents or advisors, or (ii)
becomes available to such party on a non-confidential basis from a source other
than a party hereto or its advisors, provided that such source is not known by
such party to be bound by a confidentiality agreement with or other obligation
of secrecy to a party hereto or another party until such time as such
information is otherwise publicly available; provided, however,
that: (A) any such information may be disclosed to such party’s
directors, officers, employees and representatives of such party’s advisors who
need to know such information for the purpose of evaluating the transactions
contemplated hereby (it being understood that such directors, officers,
employees and representatives shall be informed by such party of the
confidential nature of such information); (B) any disclosure of such information
may be made as to which the party hereto furnishing such information has
consented in writing; and (C) any such information may be disclosed pursuant to
a judicial, administrative or governmental order or request provided, that the
requested party will promptly so notify the other party so that the other party
may seek a protective order or appropriate remedy and/or waive compliance with
this Agreement and if such protective order or
27
other
remedy is not obtained or the other party waives compliance with this provision,
the requested party will furnish only that portion of such information which is
legally required and will exercise its best efforts to obtain a protective order
or other reliable assurance that confidential treatment will be accorded the
information furnished. If this Agreement is terminated, each party
will deliver to the other all documents and other materials (including copies)
obtained by such party or on its behalf from the other party as a result of this
Agreement or in connection herewith, whether so obtained before or after the
execution hereof.
Section
7.2 Additional
Agreements. Subject to the terms and conditions herein
provided, each of the parties hereto agrees to use its commercially reasonable
best efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all action and to do, or cause to be
done, all things necessary, proper or advisable under applicable laws and
regulations to consummate and make effective the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement, including using its commercially reasonable best efforts to
satisfy the conditions precedent to the obligations of any of the parties hereto
to obtain all necessary waivers, and to lift any injunction or other legal bar
to the Merger (and, in such case, to proceed with the Merger as expeditiously as
possible). In order to obtain any necessary governmental or
regulatory action or non-action, waiver, Consent, extension or approval, each of
Parent, Acquisition Corp. and the Company agrees to take all reasonable actions
and to enter into all reasonable agreements as may be necessary to obtain timely
governmental or regulatory approvals and to take such further action in
connection therewith as may be necessary. In case at any time after
the Effective Time any further action is necessary or desirable to carry out the
purposes of this Agreement, the proper officers and/or directors of Parent,
Acquisition Corp. and the Company shall take all such necessary
action.
Section
7.3 Publicity. No
party shall issue any press release or public announcement pertaining to the
Merger that has not been agreed upon in advance by Parent and the Company,
except as Parent reasonably determines to be necessary in order to comply with
the rules of the Commission; provided that in such
case Parent will use its best efforts to allow Company to review and reasonably
approve any of the same prior to its release.
Section
7.4 Appointment of
Directors. Immediately upon the Effective Time, Parent shall,
in accordance with Section 2.3(d),
require and accept the resignations of those officers and directors of Parent
listed on Exhibit C hereto under the heading “Pre-Effective Time,” and shall
immediately upon the Effective Time, cause the appointments of those officers
and directors of Parent identified in Exhibit C hereto
under the heading “Following Notice Filings”, subject to any notice and waiting
period requirements of federal law. At the first annual meeting of
Parent’s stockholders and thereafter, the election of members of Parent’s Board
of Directors shall be accomplished in accordance with the by-laws of
Parent.
Section
7.5 Name
Change. As soon as practicable on or after the Effective Time,
Parent shall take all required legal actions to change Parent’s corporate name
to “Global Automotive Supply, Inc.” (the “Name
Change”).
Section
7.6 Stockholder
Consent.
(a) So long
as the Board of Directors of the Company shall not have withdrawn, modified or
changed its recommendation in accordance with the provisions of Section 7.8(b) hereof, the
Company, acting through its Board of Directors, shall, in accordance with
28
Nevada
law and its certificate of incorporation and by-laws, take all actions
reasonably necessary to establish a record date for, duly call, give notice of,
convene, and hold a stockholders meeting for the purpose of obtaining the
requisite approval and adoption of this Agreement and the transactions
contemplated hereby by the Stockholders. The Company shall notify
each Stockholder, whether or not entitled to vote, of the proposed Company
stockholders’ meeting. Such meeting notice shall state that the
purpose, or one of the purposes, of the meeting is to consider the Merger and
shall contain or be accompanied by a copy or summary of this
Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board of Directors of
the Company shall not be required to take all actions reasonably necessary to
establish a record date for, duly call, give notice of, convene and hold a
stockholders meeting for the purpose of obtaining the requisite approval and
adoption of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby by the
Stockholders if the Company’s Board of Directors and the requisite Stockholders
otherwise take all actions reasonably necessary to approve this Agreement and
the transactions contemplated hereby by written consent in lieu of a meeting of
the stockholders of the Company to the extent permitted by
applicable law.
(b) The Board
of Directors of the Company shall unanimously recommend such approval and shall
use all reasonable efforts to solicit and obtain such approval; provided, however, that the
Board of Directors of the Company may at any time prior to approval of the
Stockholders (i) decline to make, withdraw, modify or change any recommendation
or declaration regarding this Agreement or the Merger or (ii) recommend and
declare advisable any other offer or proposal, to the extent the Board of
Directors of the Company determines in good faith, based upon advice of legal
counsel, that withdrawing, modifying, changing or declining to make its
recommendation regarding this Agreement or the Merger or recommending and
declaring advisable any other offer or proposal is necessary to comply with its
fiduciary duties under applicable law (which declinations, withdrawal,
modification or change shall not constitute a breach by the Company of this
Agreement). The Company shall provide written notice to Parent
promptly upon the Company taking any action referred to in the foregoing
proviso.
(c) Pursuant
to the NRS, at any time before the certificate of merger is filed with the
Secretary of State of the State of Nevada, including any time after the Merger
is authorized by the Stockholders, the Merger may be abandoned and this
Agreement may be terminated in accordance with the terms hereof, without further
action by the Stockholders.
ARTICLE
VIII
CONDITIONS OF PARTIES’
OBLIGATIONS
Section
8.1 Company
Obligations. The obligations of Parent and Acquisition Corp.
under this Agreement are subject to the fulfillment by the Company at or prior
to the Closing of the following conditions, any of which may be waived in whole
or in part by Parent.
(a) No Errors, etc. The
representations and warranties of the Company under this Agreement shall be
deemed to have been made again on the Closing Date and shall then be true and
correct in all material respects.
29
(b) Compliance with
Agreement. The Company shall have performed and complied in
all material respects with all agreements and conditions required by this
Agreement to be performed or complied with by it on or before the Closing
Date.
(c) No Company Material Adverse
Effect. Since the date hereof, there shall not have been any
event or circumstance that has resulted in a Company Material Adverse Effect,
and no event has occurred or circumstance exists that would reasonably be
expected to result in a Company Material Adverse Effect.
(d) Certificate of
Officers. The Company shall have delivered to Parent and
Acquisition Corp. a certificate dated the Closing Date, executed on its behalf
by the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, certifying the satisfaction of
the conditions specified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this Section
8.1.
(e) No Restraining
Action. No Action or proceeding before any court, governmental
body or agency shall have been threatened, asserted or instituted to restrain or
prohibit, or to obtain substantial damages in respect of, this Agreement or the
carrying out of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(f) Conversion of Company
Preferred Stock. The Company shall have completed the
conversion of all issued and outstanding Company Preferred Stock to Company
Common Stock.
(g) Conversion of Company
Loans. The Company shall have completed the conversion of the
Convertible A Loans into 53,960,000 shares of Company Common Stock, the Bridge
Loan held by Remington Partners into 15,166,652 shares of Company Common Stock,
and the conversion of the Convertible B Loans into 283,840,008 shares of Company
Common Stock.
(h) Supporting
Documents. Parent and Acquisition Corp. shall have received
the following:
(1) Copies of
resolutions of the Board of Directors and the stockholders of the Company,
certified by the President of the Company, authorizing and approving the Merger
and the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and all other
documents and instruments to be delivered pursuant hereto and
thereto.
(2) A
certificate of incumbency executed by the Secretary of the Company certifying
the names, titles and signatures of the officers authorized to execute any
documents referred to in this Agreement and further certifying that the
certificate of incorporation and by-laws of the Company delivered to Parent and
Acquisition Corp. at the time of the execution of this Agreement have been
validly adopted and have not been amended or modified since the date
hereof.
(3) Evidence
as of a recent date of the good standing and corporate existence of the Company
issued by the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada.
30
Section
8.2 Parent and Acquisition Corp.
Obligations. The obligations of the Company under this
Agreement are subject to the fulfillment by Parent and Acquisition Corp. at or
prior to the Closing of the following conditions any of which may be waived in
whole or in part by the Company:
(a) No Errors,
etc. The representations and warranties of Parent and
Acquisition Corp. under this Agreement shall be deemed to have been made again
on the Closing Date and shall then be true and correct in all material
respects.
(b) Compliance with
Agreement. Parent and Acquisition Corp. shall have performed
and complied in all material respects with all agreements and conditions
required by this Agreement to be performed or complied with by them on or before
the Closing Date.
(c) No Parent Material Adverse
Effect. Since the date hereof, there shall not have been any
event or circumstance that has resulted in a Parent Material Adverse Effect and
no event has occurred or circumstance exists that would be reasonably expected
to result in such a Parent Material Adverse Effect.
(d) Certificate of
Officers. Parent and Acquisition Corp. shall have delivered to
the Company a certificate dated the Closing Date, executed on their behalf by
their respective Presidents, certifying the satisfaction of the conditions
specified in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this Section
8.2.
(e) Assignment. Parent
shall have completed, if necessary, an assignment of all assets and liabilities
of the Parent immediately prior to the Effective Time (other than its ownership
interest in Acquisition Corp.) to an unrelated third party in a transaction
satisfactory to the Company.
(f) Supporting
Documents. The Company shall have received the
following:
(1) Copies of
resolutions of Parent’s and Acquisition Corp.’s respective board of directors
and the sole stockholder of Acquisition Corp., certified by their respective
Secretaries, authorizing and approving the Merger and the execution, delivery
and performance of this Agreement and all other documents and instruments to be
delivered by them pursuant hereto.
(2) A
certificate of incumbency executed by the respective Secretaries of Parent and
Acquisition Corp. certifying the names, titles and signatures of the officers
authorized to execute the documents referred to in paragraph (1) above and
further certifying that the certificates of incorporation and by-laws of Parent
and Acquisition Corp. appended thereto have not been amended or
modified.
(3) A
certificate, dated the Closing Date, executed by the Secretary of each of the
Parent and Acquisition Corp., certifying that, except for the filing of the
certificate of merger with the Secretary of State of the State of
Nevada: (i) all consents, authorizations, orders and approvals of,
and filings and registrations with, any court, governmental body or
instrumentality that are required to be obtained by Parent or Acquisition Corp.
for the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the
Merger shall have been duly made or obtained; and (ii) no action or
31
proceeding
before any court, governmental body or agency has been threatened, asserted or
instituted against Parent or Acquisition Corp. to restrain or prohibit, or to
obtain substantial damages in respect of, this Agreement or the carrying out of
the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(4) A
certificate of Parent’s transfer agent and registrar, certifying as of the
business day prior to the Closing Date, a true and complete list of the names
and addresses of the record owners of all of the outstanding shares of Parent
Common Stock, together with the number of shares of Parent Common Stock held by
each record owner.
(5) The
executed resignations of all directors and officers of Parent, with the director
resignations to take effect following the notice period required by federal law,
and (ii) executed releases from each such director and officer in the form and
substance acceptable to the Company in its sole discretion.
(6) Evidence
as of a recent date of the good standing and corporate existence of each of the
Parent and Acquisition Corp. issued by the Secretary of State of their
respective states of incorporation.
(7) Such
additional supporting documentation and other information with respect to the
transactions contemplated hereby as the Company may reasonably
request.
ARTICLE
IX
INDEMNIFICATION AND RELATED
MATTERS
Section
9.1 Indemnification by
Parent. Parent shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company
and the Stockholders (collectively, the “Company Indemnified
Parties”), and shall reimburse the Company Indemnified Parties for, any
loss, liability, claim, damage, expense (including, but not limited to, costs of
investigation and defense and reasonable attorneys’ fees) or diminution of value
(collectively, “Damages”) arising
from or in connection with (a) any inaccuracy, in any material respect, in any
of the representations and warranties of Parent and Acquisition Corp. in this
Agreement or in any certificate delivered by Parent and Acquisition Corp. to the
Company pursuant to this Agreement, or any actions, omissions or statements of
fact inconsistent with any such representation or warranty, (b) any failure by
Parent or Acquisition Corp. to perform or comply in any material respect with
any covenant or agreement in this Agreement, (c) any claim for brokerage or
finder’s fees or commissions or similar payments based upon any agreement or
understanding alleged to have been made by any such party with Parent or
Acquisition Corp. in connection with any of the transactions contemplated by
this Agreement, (d) Taxes attributable to any transaction or event occurring on
or prior to the Closing, (e) any claim relating to or arising out of any
Liabilities of either Parent or Acquisition Corp. on or prior to Closing or with
respect to accounting fees arising thereafter, or (f) any litigation, action,
claim, proceeding or investigation by any third party relating to or arising out
of the business or operations of Parent, or the actions of Parent or any holder
of Parent capital stock prior to the Effective Time.
32
Section
9.2 Survival. All
representations, warranties, covenants and agreements of Parent and Acquisition
Corp. contained in this Agreement or in any instrument delivered pursuant to
this Agreement shall survive until twelve (12) months after the Effective
Date. The representations and warranties of the Company contained in
this Agreement or in any instrument delivered pursuant to this Agreement will
terminate at, and have no further force and effect after, the Effective
Time.
Section
9.3 Time
Limitations. Neither Parent nor Acquisition Corp. shall have
any liability (for indemnification or otherwise) with respect to any
representation or warranty, or covenant or agreement to be performed and
complied with prior to the Effective Time, unless on or before the twelve month
anniversary of the Effective Time (the “Claims Deadline”),
Parent is given notice of a claim with respect thereto, in accordance with Section 9.5,
specifying the factual basis therefore in reasonable detail to the extent then
known by the Company Indemnified Parties.
Section
9.4 Limitation on
Liability. The obligations of Parent and Acquisition Corp. to
the Company Indemnified Parties set forth in Section 9.1 shall be
subject to the following limitations:
(a) The
aggregate liability of Parent and Acquisition Corp. to the Company shall not
exceed $50,000.
(b) Other
than claims based on fraud or for specific performance, injunctive or other
equitable relief, the Company Indemnified Parties’ sole and exclusive remedy for
any and all claims for Damages pursuant to Section 9.1 hereof
shall be the indemnification provided under the terms and subject to the
conditions of this Article
IX.
Section
9.5 Notice of
Claims.
(a) If, at
any time on or prior to the Claims Deadline, Company Indemnified Parties shall
assert a claim for indemnification pursuant to Section 9.1, such
Company Indemnified Parties shall submit to Parent a written claim
stating: (i) that a Company Indemnified Party incurred or reasonably
believes it may incur Damages and the amount or reasonable estimate thereof of
any such Damages; and (ii) in reasonable detail, the facts alleged as the basis
for such claim and the section or sections of this Agreement alleged as the
basis or bases for the claim.
(b) In the
event that any action, suit or proceeding is brought against any Company
Indemnified Party with respect to which Parent may have liability under this
Article IX, the
Parent shall have the right, at its cost and expense, to defend such action,
suit or proceeding in the name and on behalf of the Company Indemnified Party;
provided, however, that a
Company Indemnified Party shall have the right to retain its own counsel, with
fees and expenses paid by Parent, if representation of the Company Indemnified
Party by counsel retained by Parent would be inappropriate because of actual or
potential differing interests between Parent and the Company Indemnified
Party. In connection with any action, suit or proceeding subject to
this Article
IX, Parent and each Company Indemnified Party agree to render to each
other such assistance as may reasonably be required in order to ensure proper
and adequate defense of such action, suit or proceeding. Parent shall
not, without the prior written consent of the applicable Company Indemnified
Parties, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, settle or
compromise any claim or demand if such settlement or compromise does not include
an irrevocable and unconditional release of such Company Indemnified Parties for
any liability arising out of such claim or demand.
33
ARTICLE
X
TERMINATION PRIOR TO
CLOSING
Section
10.1 Termination of
Agreement. This Agreement may be terminated at any time prior
to the Closing:
(a) by the
mutual written consent of the Company, Acquisition Corp. and
Parent;
(b) by the
Company, if Parent or Acquisition Corp. (i) fails to perform in any material
respect any of its agreements contained herein required to be performed by it on
or prior to the Effective Time, (ii) materially breaches any of its
representations, warranties or covenants contained herein, which failure or
breach is not cured within thirty (30) days after the Company has notified
Parent and Acquisition Corp. of its intent to terminate this Agreement pursuant
to this paragraph (b);
(c) by Parent
and Acquisition Corp., if the Company (i) fails to perform in any material
respect any of its agreements contained herein required to be performed by it on
or prior to the Closing Date, (ii) materially breaches any of its
representations, warranties or covenants contained herein, which failure or
breach is not cured within thirty (30) days after Parent or Acquisition Corp.
has notified the Company of its intent to terminate this Agreement pursuant to
this paragraph (c);
(d) by either
the Company, on the one hand, or Parent and Acquisition Corp., on the other
hand, if there shall be any order, writ, injunction or decree of any court or
governmental or regulatory agency binding on Parent, Acquisition Corp. or the
Company, which prohibits or materially restrains any of them from consummating
the transactions contemplated hereby; provided that the
parties hereto shall have used their best efforts to have any such order, writ,
injunction or decree lifted and the same shall not have been lifted within
ninety (90) days after entry, by any such court or governmental or regulatory
agency;
(e) by either
the Company, on the one hand, or Parent and Acquisition Corp., on the other
hand, if the Closing has not occurred on or prior to November 30, 2007, for any
reason other than delay or nonperformance of the party seeking such
termination;
(f) by the
Company if the Board of Directors of the Company determines in good faith, based
upon advice of legal counsel, that termination pursuant to this Section 10.1(f) is
necessary to comply with its fiduciary duties under applicable law as provided
in Section
7.8
hereof.
Section
10.2 Termination of
Obligations. Termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section
10.1 hereof shall terminate all obligations of the parties hereunder, except for
the obligations under Article IX, Article X, and Sections 11.4, 11.7, 11.14, 11.15 and 11.16 hereof; provided, however, that
termination pursuant to paragraphs (b) or (c) of Section 10.1 shall
not relieve the defaulting or breaching party or parties from any liability to
the other parties hereto.
34
ARTICLE
XI
MISCELLANEOUS
Section
11.1 Amendments. Subject
to applicable law, this Agreement may be amended or modified by the parties
hereto by written agreement executed by each party to be bound thereby and
delivered by duly authorized officers of the parties hereto at any time prior to
the Effective Time; provided, however, that after
the approval of the Merger by the requisite Stockholders, no amendment or
modification of this Agreement shall be made that by law requires further
approval from any Stockholders without such further approval.
Section
11.2 Notices. Any
notice, request, instruction, other document or communications to be given
hereunder by any party hereto to any other party hereto shall be in writing and
shall be deemed to have been duly given (a) when delivered personally, (b) upon
confirmation of delivery if by electronic mail, (c) upon receipt of a
transmission confirmation (with a confirming copy delivered personally or sent
by overnight courier) if sent by facsimile or like transmission, or (d) on the
next business day when sent by Federal Express, United Parcel Service, U.S.
Express Mail or other reputable overnight courier for guaranteed next day
delivery, as follows:
If
to Parent or Acquisition Corp., to:
|
Utility
Investment Recovery, Inc.
Attention: Xxxxxx
X. DeFancisci
0000
Xxxxxxx Xxxxx #000
Xxxxxxx,
XX 00000
|
If
to the Company, to:
|
Global
Automotive Supply, Inc.
Attention: Xxxxxx
X. DeFancisci
0000
Xxxxxxx Xxxxx #000
Xxxxxxx,
XX 00000
|
or to
such other persons or addresses as may be designated in writing by the party to
receive such notice. Nothing in this Section 11.2 shall be
deemed to constitute consent to the manner and address for service of process in
connection with any legal proceeding (including arbitration arising in
connection with this Agreement), which service shall be effected as required by
applicable law.
Section
11.3 Entire
Agreement. This Agreement and the exhibits attached hereto or
referred to herein constitute the entire agreement of the parties hereto, and
supersede all prior agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among
the parties hereto, with respect to the subject matter hereof and
thereof.
35
Section
11.4 Expenses. Except
as otherwise expressly provided herein, whether or not the Merger occurs, all
expenses and fees incurred by Parent and Acquisition Corp. on one hand, and the
Company on the other, shall be borne solely and entirely by the party that has
incurred the same; provided, that if the
Merger occurs, Parent agrees to pay, and shall cause the Surviving Corporation
to pay, any unpaid fees and expenses of the Company (including fees and expenses
of its counsel and other advisors) in connection with the consummation of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
Section
11.5 Severability. If
any term or other provision of this Agreement is invalid, illegal or incapable
of being enforced by any rule of law or public policy, all other conditions and
provisions of this Agreement will nevertheless remain in full force and effect
so long as the economic or legal substance of the transactions contemplated
hereby is not affected in any manner materially adverse to any
party. Upon such determination that any term or other provision is
invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced, the parties hereto will
negotiate in good faith to amend or modify this Agreement so as to effect the
original intent of the parties as closely as possible in an acceptable manner to
the end that transactions contemplated hereby are fulfilled to the extent
possible.
Section
11.6 Successors and Assigns;
Assignment. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to
the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and
assigns. Neither this Agreement nor any of the rights, interests or
obligations hereunder shall be assigned or delegated by any of the parties
hereto without, in the case of Parent and Acquisition Corp., the prior written
approval of the Company and, in the case of the Company, the prior written
approval of Parent.
Section
11.7 No Third Party
Beneficiaries. Except as set forth in Section 9.1 and Section 11.6, nothing
herein expressed or implied shall be construed to give any person other than the
parties hereto (and their successors and assigns as permitted herein) any legal
or equitable rights hereunder.
Section
11.8 Counterparts; Delivery by
Facsimile. This Agreement may be executed in multiple
counterparts, and by the different parties hereto in separate counterparts, each
of which when executed will be deemed to be an original but all of which taken
together will constitute one and the same agreement. This Agreement
and each other agreement or instrument entered into in connection herewith or
therewith or contemplated hereby or thereby, and any amendments hereto or
thereto, to the extent signed and delivered by means of a facsimile machine or
by electronic mail, shall be treated in all manner and respects as an original
agreement or instrument and shall be considered to have the same binding legal
effect as if it were the original signed version thereof delivered in
person. At the request of any party hereto or to any such agreement
or instrument, each other party hereto or thereto shall re-execute original
forms thereof and deliver them to all other parties. No party hereto
or to any such agreement or instrument shall raise the use of a facsimile
machine or electronic mail to deliver a signature or the fact that any signature
or agreement or instrument was transmitted or communicated through the use of a
facsimile machine or electronic mail as a defense to the formation or
enforceability of a contract and each such party forever waives any such
defense.
Section
11.9 Waiver. At
any time prior to the Effective Time, any party hereto may (a) extend the time
for the performance of any of the obligations or other acts of the other party
36
hereto;
(b) waive any inaccuracies in the representations and breaches of the warranties
of the other party contained herein or in any document delivered pursuant
hereto; and (c) waive compliance by the other party with any of the agreements
or conditions contained herein. Any such extension or waiver will be
valid only if set forth in an instrument in writing signed by the party or
parties to be bound thereby.
Section
11.10 No Constructive
Waivers. No failure or delay on the part of any party hereto
in the exercise of any right hereunder will impair such right or be construed to
be a waiver of, or acquiescence in, any breach of any representation, warranty,
agreement or covenant herein, nor will any single or partial exercise of any
such right preclude other or further exercise thereof or of any other
right. No waiver by any party of any default, misrepresentation, or
breach of warranty or covenant hereunder, whether intentional or not, shall be
deemed to extend to any prior or subsequent default, misrepresentation, or
breach of warranty or covenant hereunder or affect in any way any rights arising
by virtue of any prior or subsequent such occurrence.
Section
11.11 Further
Assurances. The parties hereto shall use their commercially
reasonable efforts to do and perform or cause to be done and performed all such
further acts and things and shall execute and deliver all such other agreements,
certificates, instruments or documents as any other party hereto may reasonably
request in order to carry out fully the intent and purposes of this Agreement
and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby.
Section
11.12 Recitals. The
recitals set forth above are incorporated herein and, by this reference, are
made part of this Agreement as if fully set forth herein.
Section
11.13 Headings. The
headings contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall
not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this
Agreement.
Section
11.14 Governing
Law. This Agreement and the agreements, instruments and
documents contemplated hereby shall be governed by and construed and enforced in
accordance with the laws of the State of Nevada without regard to its conflicts
of law principles.
Section
11.15 Dispute
Resolution. The parties hereto shall initially attempt to
resolve all claims, disputes or controversies arising under, out of or in
connection with this Agreement by conducting good faith negotiations amongst
themselves. If the parties hereto are unable to resolve the matter
following good faith negotiations, the matter shall thereafter be resolved by
binding arbitration and each party hereto hereby waives any right it may
otherwise have to the resolution of such matter by any means other than binding
arbitration pursuant to this Section
11.15. Whenever a party shall decide to institute arbitration
proceedings, it shall provide written notice to that effect to the other parties
hereto. The party giving such notice shall, however, refrain from
instituting the arbitration proceedings for a period of sixty (60) days
following such notice. During this period, the parties shall make
good faith efforts to amicably resolve the claim, dispute or controversy without
arbitration. Any arbitration hereunder shall be conducted in the
English language under the commercial arbitration rules of the American
Arbitration Association. Any such arbitration shall be conducted in
Las Vegas, Nevada by a panel of three arbitrators: one arbitrator
shall be appointed by each of Parent and Company; and the third shall be
appointed by the American Arbitration Association. The panel of
arbitrators shall have the authority to grant specific
performance. Judgment upon the award so rendered may be entered in
any court having jurisdiction or application may be made to such court for
judicial acceptance of
37
any award
and an order of enforcement, as the case may be. In no event shall a
demand for arbitration be made after the date when institution of a legal or
equitable proceeding based on the claim, dispute or controversy in question
would be barred under this Agreement or by the applicable statute of
limitations. The prevailing party in any arbitration in accordance
with this Section
11.15 shall be entitled to recover from the other party, in addition to
any other remedies specified in the award, all reasonable costs, attorneys’ fees
and other expenses incurred by such prevailing party to arbitrate the claim,
dispute or controversy.
Section
11.16 Interpretation.
(a) When a
reference is made in this Agreement to a section or article, such reference
shall be to a section or article of this Agreement unless otherwise clearly
indicated to the contrary.
(b) Whenever
the words “include”, “includes” or “including” are used
in this Agreement, they shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without
limitation.”
(c) The words
“hereof”,
“hereby”,
“herein” and
“herewith” and
words of similar import shall, unless otherwise stated, be construed to refer to
this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement,
and article, section, paragraph, exhibit and schedule references are to the
articles, sections, paragraphs, exhibits and schedules of this Agreement unless
otherwise specified.
(d) The words
“knowledge,” or
“known to,” or
similar terms, when used in this Agreement to qualify any representation or
warranty, refer to the knowledge or awareness of certain specific facts or
circumstances related to such representation or warranty of the persons in the
Applicable Knowledge Group (as defined herein) which a prudent business person
would have obtained after reasonable investigation or due diligence on the part
of any such person. For the purposes hereof, the “Applicable Knowledge
Group” with respect to the Company shall be Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
XX. For the purposes hereof, the “Applicable Knowledge
Group” with respect to Parent and the Acquisition Corp. shall be Xx.
Xxxxxx Xxx.
(e) The word
“subsidiary”
shall mean any entity of which at least a majority of the outstanding shares or
other equity interests having ordinary voting power for the election of
directors or comparable managers of such entity is owned, directly or indirectly
by another entity or person.
(f) For
purposes of this Agreement, “ordinary course of
business” means the ordinary course of business consistent with past
custom and practice (including with respect to quantity and
frequency).
(g) The
plural of any defined term shall have a meaning correlative to such defined
term, and words denoting any gender shall include all genders. Where
a word or phrase is defined herein, each of its other grammatical forms shall
have a corresponding meaning.
(h) A
reference to any legislation or to any provision of any legislation shall
include any modification or re-enactment thereof, any legislative provision
substituted therefor and all regulations and statutory instruments issued
thereunder or pursuant thereto, unless the context requires
otherwise.
(i) The
parties hereto have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this
Agreement. In the event an ambiguity or question of intent or
interpretation arises, this Agreement shall be construed as if drafted jointly
by the parties, and no presumption or burden of proof shall arise favoring or
disfavoring any party by virtue of the authorship of any provisions of this
Agreement.
[The remainder of this page is
intentionally left blank]
38
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has caused this Agreement to be
executed as of the date first above written by their respective officers
thereunto duly authorized.
COMPANY:
|
||
Global Automotive
Supply, INC.
|
||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxx X.
XxXxxxxxxxx
|
|
Name:
|
Xxxxxx
X. XxXxxxxxxxx
|
|
Title:
|
CEO
|
|
PARENT:
|
||
Utility
Investment Recovery, Inc.
|
||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxx X.
XxXxxxxxxxx
|
|
Name:
|
Xxxxxx
X. XxXxxxxxxxx
|
|
Title:
|
CEO
|
|
ACQUISITION
CORP.:
|
||
GAS
Acquisition Corp.
|
||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxx X.
XxXxxxxxxxx
|
|
Name:
|
Xxxxxx
X. XxXxxxxxxxx
|
|
Title:
|
CEO
|
39
Exhibit
A
Certificate
of Incorporation of Surviving Corporation
See attached.
Exhibit
B
By-Laws
of Surviving Corporation
See attached.
21
Exhibit
C
Officers
and Directors of Parent
— Pre-Effective
Time and Post-Effective Time—
Pre-Effective Time:,
Xxxxxx X. XxXxxxxxxxx President, Secretary/ Treasurer, CEO, CFO and sole
Director
Following Notice
Filings:
The
following persons shall be appointed as Officers and Directors of
Parent:
Name
|
Office(s)
|
Xxxxxx
XxXxxxxxxxx
|
President,
CEO
|
Xxx
Xxxxxxxx
|
Vice
President
|
Exhibit
D
Certificate
of Incorporation of Parent
See
attached.
Exhibit
E
Bylaws
of Parent
See
attached.